right now at 4:30, new travel restrictions taking effect as the first cases of the omicron variant are discovered in north america. the response and warning coming from the white house. plus, frightening moments for drivers on the bay bridge. look at that. a truck going the wrong way. it rammed into a chp cruiser. this is "today in the bay." a very good monday morning. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm scott mcgrew. marcus washington has the day off. monday december 29th. let's get a look at weather and trask. meteorologist kari hall is here

with the de tails. >> definitely a monday. patchy dense fog. a little hard to see in santa rosa where visibility is down to a quarter of a mile. light patchy fog elsewhere and a cool start once again this morning with temperatures in the mid-40s. right now at 44 degrees in livermore as well as morgan hill. 43 in dublin and some mid to upper 40s in parts of the north bay but this is where we're headed. it will be a really nice afternoon. reaching into the low 70s. our nice weather for the -- from the weekend continues today. and we'll see down the line if there's any rain in the forecast. mike, you're already tracking a crash in fremont? >> one of the few incidents in the report for chp. northbound 880 right here. thought it was the red light. that's on a rooftop very close to the camera. southbound moving smoothly around the warren on ramp, the off ramp where we should see the crash activity but no slowing here or on the map. we'll mark it for now just heading up toward mission boulevard. maybe your fast lane may be

blocked. couldn't see that on the live camera. a couple smaller incidents on the peninsula. show far, no slowing. a little fog over near brentwood and santa rosa. our top story this morning, new travel restrictions to slow the spread of the omicron covid variant. a live look at sfo neprestrictions take effect today. travelers from eight african nations will no longer be able to enter the united states p. other world leaders looking to ban travel to try to stop the spread. japan, israel and morocco will be among those suspending entry to foreign visitors. case of the new variant have now been confirmed in canada, france, australia and south africa. we get more from "today in the bay's" marianne favro. >> reporter: some of the international travelers say they're glad they're getting on planes now because it's just a matter of time before other countries issue travel banns. they are about to board a plane

to india. he admits the new omicron variant is concerning, which is why he plans to take extra precautions. >> we will just stay home and not going outside. just the family and stay apart. and we're using the masks all the time. >> reporter: because of concerns the omicron variant first discovered in south africa may be highly transmissible, at midnight, the u.s. will ban travel from south africa and seven other southern african countries. >> i'm going to nairobi. i'm going back to my country to see my father who is not feel willing. >> reporter: ann is relieved she could catch a flight to kenya before even more travel bans are implemented. davinder says he supports travel banns. >> it's good that we don't have to suffer like we did in the past. we should have done it before, closed the borders. we are closing. that's good. >> reporter: but the world health organization criticized

travel bans being placed on african countries saying not enough is known yet and that the restrictions may, quote, place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods. meanwhile, israel's new to ban foreigners from entering the country and is mandating quarantine for all israelis arriving from abroad. morocco also suspending incoming flights for two weeks. u.s. infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci explained why the omicron variant is so concerning. >> what clearly is giving indication that has the capability of transmitting rapidly. that's the thing that's causing us now to be concerned, but also to put the pressure on ourselves now to do something about our preparation for this. >> reporter: canada's health minister says the country's first two cases of omicron were found in ontario after two people who had recently traveled from nigeria tested positive. marianne favro, "today in the bay." happening today, president

biden will meet with dr. anthony fauci and members of the covid white house response team to be briefed on the latest developments with the variant. right now there's still a lot of questions about the effectiveness of vaccine booster shots against this particular variant. and if vaccinations blunt more severe cases. the president plans to give an update to the nation following that briefing. moderna's chief medical officer says if a new vaccine is needed, his company could have it ready by early next year. dr. paul burton says -- he called omicron a dangerous looking variant. but he's optimistic that they can fight it. >> i think we have cause to be hopeful. we've learned a lot about this virus in general. we've learned so much about how to deal with covid as well through simple measures and obviously through vaccines, but until we see how this virus now behaves in populations of older

people, people with other co-morbidities, we really will not get a handle on exactly how severe this could be. >> pfizer and johnson & johnson also testing to see how their vaccines stand up to the new variant. if it's needed, it can be ready early next year. our coverage continues on our website as well. we have posted an explainer. this is a live look at the bay bridge. take a look at yesterday. this was just chaos. a flat bed truck goes through the toll plaza the wrong way. slams into the chp patrol car actually pushing it backward. another video from a driver who pulled over with the truck. there you can see it coming at him. the chp says it involved some kind of dispute between the driver and workers at the toll plaza. the driver took off and then turned around, came back towards the toll plaza going the wrong way. the traffic camera shot.

continued going the young way down the highway. down the approach to the bridge. one officer suffered minor injuries. they did catch him and he was arrested. >> to eventually crash then? >> yeah, what a scary moment. look at that. like something out of a movie. >> it's horrible. >> it's terrible. >> after that -- >> after that, a number of people would have had a disagreement with that driver. >> he could have killed virtually a lot of people. >> we'll follow that case and figure out what the motivation was and the punishment. in the meantime, let's check in with kari on a monday morning. >> hi, monday. >> hi, monday. and, yes, we're starting out with a clear view of the bay bridge. everything is looking good as you head out. visibility is clear at least here but we've seen the patchy dense fog around santa rosa. we'll continue to see the fog linger for the next several hours. our temperature starting out cool in the mid-40s as we go into today, we are in for a really nice day.

temperatures headed for 72 degrees in santa rosa. san rafael, 70. and it's been a little warmer than normal due to all of the dry weather we've had recently. and it looks like that continues for a while longer. we'll see if there's any rain down the line but, mike, the freeway in fremont is now clear? >> that's right. the crash cleared. one lane that was blocked we looked near warren just south of tesla, no problems. it's not clear where you said up in santa rosa where the airport reading is a quarter mile visibility. that's a tough drive through 101 but creeping in toward novato. not as many stations reporting that dense fog. in past weeks. we'll track that, of course. the one remaining crash on the chp incident report. southbound 280 at 380. we saw that slowing there. coming up on "today in the bay, if to-go orders are your go to, the reason your favorite restaurant may be ready to take

delivery off the menu. plus, high demand crashes movie ticket theater sites everywhere and there's a new superhero. the caper of positive signs for the film industry.

the time is 4:41. as you are heading out, light patches of fog driving through, but the camera in dublin is looking good here. all clear and temperatures in the mid-40s. we'll have another really nice

day with sunshine in our forecast. we'll talk about the rest of our workweek forecast coming up in a few minutes. the camera in oakland looking good as well. we face south, the coliseum. headlights traveling north toward the bay bridge. no backup and no problems. that video from over the weekend, that was a little wild. hopefully things are calmer on the markets. let's check in with bertha. >> thanks very much, mike. good morning. i am bertha coombs from cnbc. and we are seeing wall street looking like it's going to open a bit higher this morning. friday we saw that big sell-off as investors tracked the latest developments with the new omicron covid variant. but for the moment, people are sort of taking a pause. we don't know what's going to happen with it. the markets are coming off a short session on friday when the dow posted its worst day in more than a year. that volatility exacerbated by the holiday week. the dow is down 905 points.

about 2.5%. the nasdaq and s&p 500 were both off more than 2% as well. all three indexes negative for the week. but remember, the fact is we are still up overall quite handsomely for the year nepdow up about 14%, the nasdaq 20% and the s&p, 22%. those are handsome gains. in focus this week, reports on housing, consumer confidence, manufacturing and the monthly jobs report on friday. meantime, some restaurants are taking delivery and to-go orders off the menu during busy periods as they struggle with labor shortages and a return of customers who are dining in. delivery and to-go are often less profitable for the restaurants and "the wall street journal" reporting that olive garden, longhorn steakhouse, cheesecake factory, applebee's and ihop are among those cutting down on delivery and online orders when their kitchens just get too busy. jordan restaurants, parent of

olive garden is reducing to-go and delivery obvious the weekends when its brands can only take about four orders every 15 minutes. so you'll need to plan ahead for that. also plan ahead if you want to watch the big blockbuster of the holiday season. moviegoers have been rushing to snag seats for "spider-man no way home." tickets went on sale online at midnight and within minutes, amc and fandango had both crashed. experts say they haven't seen this kind of demand since 2019 when tickets for "avengers end game" and "star wars the rise of skywalker" went on sale. they are offering incentives for people to get their tickets in advance giving out 86,000 to members of its stubs program. spider-man hits theaters on december 16th. and already, if you want to go see that on opening day, you really better get your act together. >> sounds like it.

looks like action-packed, too. >> bertha coombs, thank you. good luck. coming up -- organized bay area retail robberies taking their toll. one business owner already saying enough is enough in san francisco's chinatown. the signs some believe show small businesses are getting hit the hardest.

mom, hurry, our show's gonna start soon. won't be too long. i'm leaving work now. ♪ people around ♪ ♪ christmas ♪ oh no. seriously? oh, don't worry. mommy'll be back soon. besides, we can record the show for her. it's not the same if she's not here. ♪ christmas ♪ ♪ the snow's coming down ♪ what the? oh my goodness. don't worry, i'm a nurse. we're on in 30 seconds. i don't suppose you can sing, can you? ♪ deck the halls ♪ ♪ but it's not like christmas at all ♪ mommy?

that's mommy. whoa. ♪ and all the fun we had last year ♪ ♪ pretty lights on the tree ♪ ♪ i'm watching them shine ♪ watch the full story at xfinity.com/sing2 good monday morning. the time is 4:47. and as you are heading out, it's a chilly start, but visibility

here in walnut creek is looking good for you this morning. as you are stepping out the door. but we've seen the patchy dense fog rolling through parts of the north bay. look at santa rosa. visibility down to a quarter of a mile. some of our other sensors dropping off the map here but just expect to encounter some of that fog as you drive to work this morning. we're starting out chilly but headed for the upper 60s and low 70s today. oakland will be at about 68 degrees at 3:30. and in novato, 66 degrees. more of the same in san francisco. and then cooling down into the upper 40s once again tonight. this is going to be very much like our weather is just on repeat each and every day. all because of nothing coming our way. we don't have any rain over the next few days. we can see this long line of clouds heading up around seattle. they've been just really hammered with rain here recently. and we've been missing out on all of that activity because of this high pressure that's not budging. and it's steering all of those

storm systems on to the north and off to the east. we're going to continue to see that weather pattern continue as that high pressure is not going to move. and now as we're at the end of november, heading toward december, this is usually one of our wettest months of the year. and we had that really great start to the water year. but since then, we really haven't seen much. and there's still not a lot in this forecast over the next few days. temperatures stay in the low 70s. a little bit warmer than normal. once again due to the lack of rainfall and all that sunshine. san francisco will have temperatures in the upper 60s. we'll see that continue through the weekend. it's looking all good here for outdoor activities but we really do need some rain at this point. mike, you're saying the tow truck has arrived in san bruno. >> here's sfo. it's not right near sfo because that's off 101. the tow truck is on 280 off 380. all the major freeways in the area and no slowing shows up anymore. i believe they've got everything hooked up.

watch for the flashing lights if traveling south out of san francisco and daly city. smooth drive on that side of the bay. same for the south bay including from the south county. no problems for the tri-valley but a little bit of fog for byron highway and discovery bay toward stockton. up in santa rosa where there is low visibility as well. a follow-up. business owner in chinatown is calling it quits after a burglary earlier this month. in an exclusive interview with "today in the bay's" sergio quintana, she says she does not feel safe doing business in san francisco anymore. >> reporter: throughout this chinatown jewelry store, the signs are everywhere. 80% off. going out of business. >> you basically are just trying to -- >> to sell what i have. >> reporter: the owner of the store agreed to talk on the condition that we not share her identity or reveal the store's name. she's concerned for her safety and wants to sell what little

merchandise she has left to recoup the costs of what she lost in the burglary. >> this last incident really basically pushed you to decide you don't want to keep doing this? >> yeah. i just think i told my husband, it's so dangerous. >> reporter: when thieves broke in a week and a half ago, they sawed through the steel gate outside. these are photoed of the shattered display cases. they made off with $250,000 worth of jewelry. the pandemic, the break-in and series of burglaries at other stores have all taken their toll. one of the big concerns with small business owners here in chinatown is all of the resources that are now being focused on union square when they could still use some help here. >> downtown has a very, very large presence of law enforcement because all the money involved. the high-end stores. you know, they are the ones that basically are demanding and they are being heard. >> reporter: ebert khan says

there is a police presence in chinatown and other parts of the city but it's not enough. they're worried more small business owners are going to do the same, pack up and close. >> how long have you been in business? >> 40 years in the jewelry. >> reporter: she's happy the landlord is letting her rent month to month. as soon as she can sell her last piece of jewelry she can close without having to get out of a lease. sergio quintana, today in the bay. coming up next, four-legged story of survival. an update on the coyote run rescue group likely saved from drowning in the bay. and heroic efforts by volunteers. san diego police and a heartbroken indiana have different ideas about what might have woman. the mother spent thanksgiving holiday in san diego passing out flyers. she heard from her daughter november 5th. earlier this year, she followed her boyfriend to santa cruz, then went home to indiana. her mother says she left again

to help him after he left a rehab facility. investigators do not believe norris is at risk. we'll be right back.

after nearly drowning in san francisco bay a coyote now back home in the wild. this is phoenix. a group including firefighters and animal control workers helped rescue him from the bay last friday. somehow he ended up in the water at marina green and was struggling to stay afloat. after a group effort to rescue the coyote, he was treated at a veterinary clinic. he was released into the natural area near the waterfront early yesterday. the top ten will be singing their heart out tonight on "the voice." this time around, the show will

chairj things up for the remaining artists. all of them are being asked to sing tunes out of their normal comfort zone. for some this could be make or break. others are embracing the challenge, including the youngest competitor ever. >> it's a perfect time to do something like this because my confidence is so high and hopefully it stays that high. >> you can watch "the vice" tonight on nbc bay area at 8:00 followed by jimmy fallon's new musical game "that's my jam" at 10:00 and stay tuned for the news at 11:00. coming up, do people really turn out for one of this year's biggest shopping weekends? digesting the rultss from black friday and what it means for the holiday shopping season and potential boost from today, cyber monday deals. >> and it's a cold start as you head out in antioch. getting back to work but we're also getting back to our sunshine. we'll talk about all of what's ahead as we head through the week. that's coming up next. and looking at dublin. the drive through the tri valley

out of the alta mont pass. smooth easy drive right in motion. we expect easing in after the thanksgiving holiday. more lights at christmas in the park, opened on friday after i opened up the ice skating rink . lots more to see and do after this break.

it just kind of exploded in the sense that when you look in south africa, you were having a low level of infection and then all of a sudden there was this big spike. >> right now at 5:00, global health leaders trying to slow the spread of the omicron covid variant as cases climb. we're live in washington with the new push coming today from the white house. theranos founder elizabeth holmes resumes her testimony in a matter of hours. the recent filing that tipped off a likely defense strategy. plus, black friday bust? new number shows america's top holiday shopping day came up far short compared to past years. the phenomenon experts believe drove a big dip in sales. this is "today in the bay." and here we go. monday morning quickly approaching 5:00. thanks for starting your day with us. marcus washington has the day off. thank you for waking up with us. let's get things started with a look at the all-important

forecast. meteorologist kari hall with sunny details. >> we're starting out with fog in parts of the north bay as you head out the door. visibility down to a half mile so be careful up there. temperatures in the mid-40s. we're seeing low 40s heading over toward concord, dublin. you saw livermore down to 43 degrees. and it's 44 in san jose. jacket to start out the day but not so much this afternoon. it's going to be very comfortable. reaching 70 in hayward as well as oakland and 70 in san rafael, san francisco reaching 66 degrees. we'll take a look ahead for what's coming our way for the rest of the week in the forecast in a few minutes. >> sounds good. thanks, kari. new travel restrictions take effect today as the u.s. and other countries try to stop the spread of the new covid variant. >> later this morning, president biden will update the nation on the united states' response. alice barr live in washington. what do we know that the