right now at 4:30 a surge of retail thefts across the bay area forcing action. new omicron cases every day. this is "today in the bay." good tuesday morning to you. i am kris sanchez. >> i am scott mcgrew. laura and marcus have the day

off. >> i had my plants out there and they were ready to collect a little rain we are getting this morning. we can still see lingering showers over the tri-valley as well as the south bay, so a little wet drive for you as you are heading up 101. a couple sprinkles, light rain, and this is a weak system that will be tapering off but we have a chance of some of the showers near the coast and in san francisco for the next couple of hours, and the rest of the day it will be clearing out and sunny. we will have another chance of rain in the forecast on thursday and we'll talk about that in a few minutes. northbound 101, i was

worried about the people involved this this crash but they may have been gone from the scene for quite sometime, actually. so far the longer drives are okay. we'll talk on them closer, coming up. local grocery stores are stepping up and implementing barriers. chicken orders were going on the the door, and you would never know there was a robbery. >> do you see people stealing in here? >> all the time, actually. >> at safeway at market and

church, customers say it's common. >> people would just walk out without paying. >> management reduced store hours, and closed a main entrance, locked up most products and installed fencing. there's only one way in and one way out. the new layout is causing mixed reaction. >> it feels safer. >> in a staeufplt safeway says in part like other local businesses we are working on ways to curtail escalating theft. security guards are visible. to prevent shopping cart theft, not all of them are allowed outside. some say it doesn't go far enough. >> i am hoping they can close the doors and keep people from escaping. >> he wants thieves stopped in their tracks and is worried the

store will be closed if the theft continues. >> closing the store affects me personally. the new omicron variant, and new studies indicate omicron appears to be less severe as other variants. >> these are very preliminary findings, but businesses that have been fighting to survive during the pandemic will take any good news they can get. >> the signals are encouraging regarding the severity. >> the words from the nation's top doctor like music to the years to the manager of sushi confidential. >> we are always scared of new variants. >> she worried omicron might be the next variant that sends

people to hospitals and ultimately closes businesses but now is breathing a sigh of relief after hearing the early news. medical experts across the world say the latest reports from the south africa where the variant accounts for most new infections are promising. >> it seems the initial reports of omicron, the disease is very mild. >> a ucsf professor that specializes in infectious diseases says omicron is infecting people at a troubling and that much faster rate, and hospitalizations are not increasing at the same rate and it appears to be less severe. >> they don't seem to be very severe, even if they are hospitalized. >> the jury is still out of the

effectiveness much current vaccines but there's no evidence they tonight work against the omicron variant. higher vaccination rates globally could be the best solution. >> this is not the end of the story as long as there are unvaccinated people around. new protocols are in effect at chase center. kids 5 through 11 must show proof of full vaccination or a negative test three days ahead of the game. be extra careful as you drive in, and i am sure mike will repeat that. >> it's going to be like that misting for the next couple of

hours, and then finally it will clear out today, kind of a cool afternoon. the rest of the week, we will get ready for another round of showers, and ahead we have a big storm by early next week. as we look at storm ranger right now, a little green coming through the altamont pass down through the south bay. that could set the stage for patchy dense fog. it will be warmer compared to yesterday. we'll talk more about that and what is ahead, coming up. there was quite a bit of water on the lens a few minutes ago, and it's clearer for our view but you see the glow from 101. fog, mist and drizzle will be a factor, and all of the bay got hit overnight and that will be a factor for a lot of the roadways because the sun is not out

there. there's fog coming out of the brentwood and discovery bay. possibly some puddling or ponding on some of the roadways locally, and the pass moving smoothly. >> thanks, mike. if you are looking for a luxury christmas gift, this might be for you. ahead on "today in the bay," the tiffany's item back by popular demand. growing the workforce, toyota building an all-new battery plant. we'll tell you where and the number of jobs it's expected to create.

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we made it past monday and we're coming up on 4:41. as you are heading out the door for your commute, going through the tri-valley, the roads could be slick after early-morning showers past by, and we will see a cloudy sky the next few hours, but we will get a little sunshine today. we will look at the radar as well as our forecast, coming up. slicker roadways here. you see a little glow on the roadways, so stay on our toes here. keeping us on our toes also, let's check in with bertha coombs. you have wall street looking like they will open in the

green. investors are taking the impact from the omicron variant in stride. the nasdaq looked like it was going to end in the red reversed late in the day to end up at 1% as well. we will get the latest report on consumer credit and the u.s. trade deficit. toyota announced it will build a battery plant for electric vehicles in north carolina. the capacity at the facility will be enough to produce 200,000 lithium ion batteries for all electric and plug-in vehicles annually by 2025.

meantime, 170 special versions as part of a partnership with tiffany & co. the special watch was disconnected less than a year ago because the detention and the demand for the watch had gone too far. it is expected to cost around 52k. >> you can change that face if you like a nice tiffany, blue,

too. >> it makes that apple watch look really, really cheap. >> yeah, that's not in my wheelhouse. returning to the courtroom, disgraced theranos founders elizabeth holmes back in the hot seat following a week-long break. when the defense is expected to wrap up its case. your commute from the south county will be a wet one. we will get a look at all of our microclimates coming up. oakland 880 moving smoothly. i believe they are finishing up the maintenance overnight, and we'll tell you where you can see more impact from the mist and drizzle, coming up.

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morning folks. we're looking at the golden gate bridge right here and you see the cones are gone, and that's great news but the water is still there. light rain around the bay area, keep that in mind and slow down just a bit, especially the on and off-ramps. have not had any reports of flooding, and the fog is a little easier and there's no warnings across the bridge. but you see some of the patchy fog, and out of the south bay, that mustard color in the

corner, patchy fog perhaps and some of the moisture in the soil so that makes the conditions right for what could be fog in some areas, right? >> yeah, we will see that possibly later on this morning. once this little bit of last rain clears out, we will get a look at where that rain is falling right now and it's pushing to the south of much of the bay area right now, heading towards southern california. it's a fairly weak system and then we have a break before the next round of rain later this week, and we can see all the clouds extending from hawaii into the pacific. you probably have been hearing about the big storm happening there and eventually will make it here in the bay area. we have had warm weather, especially last week, but now it's cooling down now that the system has moved in and finally some rain. let's get to our next storm

system coming in on thursday. unfortunately, a lot of the rain kind of skips the bay area, so we are not expecting a lot out of it, but we need snow in the sierra, and we are looking at about 0.1 of an inch of rain. this is going to bring us the potential for a couple inches of rain for the bay area and a big snow maker for the sierra. we are at about two to six inches of snow, but look at next week. check that out. 74 inches in kirkwood. kingville, 74 inches. this is like the storm we had in october so this could be here as early as sunday afternoon and into the evening. our temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. it will be a chilly but sunny weekend. we are only looking at high

temperatures reach into the mid-60s. now, let's talk about our climate in crisis. now we that are watching the sierra snowpack and heard the delays of the openings and ski season, let's look at our snowpack. it's 11% of the normal pack for this date, and the tahoe area, 16% of normal level. we had such a great start in october but little snow has fallen since then and it has quickly melted, and 30% of fresh water coming from snow-melt, and we know climate change is making that water source less reliable with more frequent droughts. only twice have we gotten the

normal amount of snow or better, and so we are seeing the climate models show we are going to have that happen more often, a lack of snowfall. you can find more stories on our climate in crisis page by going to nbcbayarea.com. 4:51. alameda county has its final map in place for redistricting the seats. later today the board will review the map and next week it will get final approval. and then the defendant and theranos founder expected to be back on the witness stand where when we last saw her she was being cross examined by prosecutors. you can follow our reporting of the theranos trial online at

nbcbayarea.com. just click on elizabeth holmes trial coverage. how much is too much to pay to go into space? next on "today in the bay," the amount of money a silicon valley capitalists, how much and who he is bringing along for the ride. and then the first state in the nation to criminalized several drugs. a senate bill 519 first introduced by scott wiener would allow anybody 21 years or older to possess the drugs along with growing them. the bill will also allow further research. oakland and san francisco already decriminalized those drugs. we'll be right back.

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how much would you pay for a ticket to space? how about somewhere around $28 million and then times two because one person bought a ticket for himself and for his son. the next blue origin launch is set for thursday. that's jeff bezos' space company, and aboard, the former ceo of palo alto networks, and he says he has been fascinated with space every since he was a kid. >> this is one which was the most unexpected and spectacular opportunity, so why not grab that? >> he got the tickets by bidding them on auction, and he didn't tell us exactly how much but in the ballpark of $28 million per

ticket. it's a sign the holidays are here. our own robert handa helped to light the tree last night. the celebration also included performances for different cultures. a luxury san francisco mansion once owned by a coffee mogul was sold for under the list price. is that unusual? >> the seven-bed, 7 1/2 bathroom home was once owned by the

coffee heir. somebody set fire to the christmas tree at jack london square. the commute a little bit slick but the rest of the day clearing. we'll talk about our next round of rain in the forecast, coming up. you can't see that slick roadway here in palo alto, but we do have cameras that are still showing that. do watch out. we will show you your drive in palo alto on 101. here's a look at downtown san francisco. can't see the traffic, but you can see the pretty lights. you're watching "today in the bay."

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right now at 5:00, seeking solutions to end the ongoing violence. a live report on the emergency action happening today in oakland in hopes of combating the recent spike in crime. plus, staying safe. the new covid safety protocols being implemented across the country to slow the spread of omicron. and the way the nation is commemorating the day ahead. we are broadcasting to your tv and streaming live on nbcbayarea.com so you can take us with you if you have to

leave. it's good to have you on this tuesday. i am kris sanchez. >> i am scott mcgrew. laura and marcus have the day off. overnight, light rain moved through the bay area so they have wet roads for your commute. how long is wet weather sticking around, kari? >> the rain was expected to be in the overnight hours and we will see it tapering off over the next few hours. we are seeing the sky clearing in the north bay, and that could set the stage for fog, and some of the light showers pushing through the south county right now as it moves away from the bay area, we will gradually see the sky clearing today. cool temperatures stick around and another round of rain moving in by the end of the week. i will have that in the forecast. that's coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you. in just a few hours, the city of oakland combating the recent spike in crime, especially homicid