meteorologist kari hall tells us when we can expect rain to move out. of course, traditionally broadcasting on television, but we also stream live on nbcbayarea.com. good morning. thanks for joining us. >> we're going to check on the roads in a bit with mike, but first we want to talk about that rain. >> i think we're all welcoming the little bit of rain that we got during the overnight hours, but there is a lot more in the forecast which is great news. we can see storm ranger showing a lot of green here, but it is clearing farther north. that will be the trend as we go into the next couple hours. some of the heaviest rain right now is moving through spots like

the santa cruz mountains and the south county where we do have some heavier pockets of rain as we're stepping out the door this morning. with clearing conditions, we will also see some sunshine for this afternoon. get ready for that. our hour by hour forecast shows us all clearing out quickly, but it will be a chilly day. a great resource right now for the upcoming winter is our free app. with that app you can track the storm right on your phone. happening today, a public memorial service to honor the former police officer turned security guard killed as he was guarding a tv news crew. this as the search continues for the gunman who took his life. >> kris sanchez joins us live

with more. >> reporter: good morning. as that celebration of life happens here at the san jose civic center, it will be very hard to forget that for now there is no justice for his family and that the killer is on the loose. kevin nishita was a good family man and a good cop. he earned the department's highest honor. the family released a statement reading, thank you for the kind words and support you have extended, most especially being at the funeral service. your friendship means a lot and will never be forgotten. nearly two weeks after he was gunned down in oakland, the search continues for his killer and the possible get away car described as a white cura four

door sedan. he is one of 129 people murdered in oakland this year. oakland city leaders voted to unfreeze 60 police officer positions and will launch two extra police academies. however, the talk of offering hiring bonuses of up to $50,000 to draw veteran officers from other departments is on hold for now. while today's memorial service is open to the public, the san jose civic is a city owned property. that means everyone must show proof of vaccination. a negative covid test will not suffice. kaiser permanente is confirming recent bay area covid cases tied to a wedding in wisconsin involving hospital

workers. the hospital says workers were all vaccinated and tested positive after attending the same wedding. testing is underway to see if the outbreak spread. an east bay medical leader raising concerns about what she believes are bullying tactics by anti-vaccination activists. christina lawson was stalked and harassed by four men at her home and office in walnut creek monday night. she posted photos on social media claiming the same men were flying a drone over her home. all of this concerns contra costa county supervisor. >> unfortunately we're seeing in this country this increased polarization where people now are attacking others personally. they're bullying others. we're seeing that as part of information about covid, unfortunately. >> lawson says the men claimed affiliation with america's front line doctors, an anti-vaccine

group investigated by congress. we reached out repeatedly to the group and got no response. police tell us they found no evidence of a crime but are classifying it as a suspicious circumstance. developing in the central valley, stockton police have still not identifying the man shot and killed after firing his gun outside of police headquarters. after tackling the man, officers say he got up and charged those officers with the gun still in his hand. that's when officers killed him. no one else was injured. lawmakers in washington focusing efforts on protecting children online. instagram's leader got a grilling on capitol hill over social media's negative effects. alice barr live in washington. some of the heat surrounds a custom made app for kids.

>> that's right, laura. that idea was put on hold after outrage about the idea of marketing instagram specifically toward children 10-12. senators were none too happy to hear yesterday that while that idea was paused, it's not going away. >> too little too late. >> reporter: a tense first appearance before congress for instagram's ceo, in the hot seat after a whistleblower leaked documents showing the social media platform knows it can be harmful to teens. >> social media can fan those flames and fuel the fire of the mental health crisis that we face among teens. >> reporter: the u.s. surgeon general issuing a rare public health advisory, warning of a youth mental health crisis during the pandemic and calling on social media companies to counter the damage some users report. >> it makes everyone, especially

girls, feel bad about themselves. >> reporter: instagram announced new controls for young users including encouraging them to take breaks. starting this spring, letting parents see how long their teens spend on the app and set limits. the company also calling for federal regulation. >> we believe in more transparency and accountability and more control. >> reporter: senator mike lee said his staff created a fake account for a 13-year-old girl and said gram suggested inappropriate content. >> after we followed a famous female celebrity it changed and it went dark fast. >> if we recommended something we shouldn't have, i'm accountable for that. >> he said he would not stop developing a kids version of instagram, insisting it's more responsible to offer an age appropriate option. the push to regulate social media platforms is gaining ground with bipartisan support

on capitol hill. but still, getting any legislation through congress would be a challenge. south bay leaders are reaffirming their commitment to preserve the open space in coyote valley. it became a divisive issue last month when san jose leaders were grappling with the idea to develop a warehouse space. that plan went down in flames. today there will be a news conference focused on preserving the area's agricultural priorities. live look at our bridges this morning. two votes today could have a big impact on future air quality. the state's air resources board will consider new smog check requirements for heavy duty trucks, which supporters say could save more than 7,000 lives

and $70 billion. the board will vote on zero emissions standards for leaf blowers and other small engines. just about all tahoe's ski resorts are closed. mt. rose will open for business tomorrow. at it stands, only palisades tahoe will have limited runs open now. heavenly, kirkwood and north star are still waiting to announce opening day. they're hoping next week's forecasted storm will change things quickly. it seems that way because kari hall was talking about a lot of snow coming in the future. >> yes. we've been talking about this atmosphere river because it looks like the biggest storm we've had since october. it could mean huge amounts of

snow next week. take a look at some of these numbers. the possibility of 94 inches of snow kingvale. it's been pretty consistent in showing extremely high amounts of snow next week. if you plan to go there, make sure you can get there and back or make sure you can stay there through new york stock exchange week. it could snow through wednesday before we start to see that snow tapering off. so if you're going there, make sure you can stay a while. >> 84, the closure overnight has cleared. there's a signal right around the ge plant they're going to activate. i don't think there was a

closure overnight but we see the slower drive. the dublin interchange volume just starting to build. the rain is easing off around the bay. back to you. how about this for holiday spirit? coming up next, the possible added health benefits from one of christmas's signature symbols and why you may have to set it up in the wrong place. good economic news east bay finds out her legacy is much bigger than she ever thought. the way one simple dna test changed her life forever. and is there a link between omicron and hiv? the new research.

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set especially through tomorrow morning and the next morning. and we're looking at oakland. the freeway moving smoothly. well spaced over here on the nimitz. we'll show you will traffic is starting to build in the trivalley. happy thursday. we get first time jobless claims on thursday and we do expect more good news. there's been a lot of good news lately. the count of people who lost their jobs who went to the unemployment office looking for benefits has been falling steadily. you can understand why. businesses are desperate to find workers. there are more than 11 million unfilled jobs right now, so companies are very reluctant to lay off workers they already

have. that would be foolish. since the beginning of the year on the left showing the number of jobless claims, you want to see that declining as quickly as possible and that's exactly what's happening. data point after data point showing things are getting better. even gas prices are going down, though inflation is still high. that above everything else has the attention of the american consumer and the american voter. we get key data on inflation tomorrow. more up arrows on the stock market as well. traders are a bit nervous about chinese real estate company evergrande, which defaulted on its debt this week. lawmakers very suspicious of what we're doing in silicon valley and how that could hurt teenagers. there's an interesting new bill that could force social media companies to turn their data over to researchers. for instance, if a researcher

wanted to know how many people saw posts that encouraged diet habits that led to anorexia, that researcher could ask facebook for the data and facebook would have to provide it. in the early days of social media sociologists were super excited about studying it. but most social media companies have slammed shut the door on that data. this bill would open it back up. happy birthday is in order for "it's a wonderful life." the holiday classic came out 75 years ago. >> it's like it was yesterday. today harry smith went to the town of seneca falls where the town modeled its welcome to bedford falls sign.

now smith says he's a believer. >> i worried about this whole seneca falls/bedford falls thing. i have to confess i was pretty doubtful. >> understandable. >> right. huh. >> he is our local hero. miller lite announcing the sale of beernaments this year.

we all love christmas trees or at least most of us. the idea this holiday season is a tree in your bedroom. there are some benefits. researchers are saying it can boost the quality of your sleep. some couples even claim it improves their love lives. i posted on my facebook page that article and let you know about that study. do you think this can boost your love life, make it easier to sleep if you put the christmas tree in your bedroom? >> what's funny about that is my kids, i always give them their tree to decorate but this year we're going to put it in jack's room. >> he's going to sleep better. >> some beernaments for jack?

>> not yet. i'm trying to keep him little. your house is all decorated, kari. >> yes. we've got some christmas colors on the radar this morning as we are seeing green. the storm ranger scan is red. that's really getting us in the holiday spirit. we're going to see this rain quickly tapering off as it moves through. most of us getting just enough to wet the roads. but the rest of the day we get some sunshine as cold air settles in behind that. our polar outlook shows some really cold air spilling down. we'll have another round of extremely cold temperatures next week. not only will the sierra get some snow but some of our bay area peaks may get some snow next week. we'll be watching that. make sure you dress in layers today, wear a hat.

check those plants. they need to come inside tonight because it will be freezing. bring the pets inside. do not have them out there in these cold temperatures. also your car tires can go down, especially with the chilly temperatures. ahead of the rain we're taking a look at our reservoir as the water levels are still low across the state. we're going to be watching that as we get this next round of rain to see if they do get a big boost. we are expecting a boost sunday continuing into tuesday and wednesday as well as that sierra snow really dumping down. a lot of rain in our extended forecast. the timing is from sunday to tuesday. then we'll see the rain going up possibly over 4 inches in some spots, some gusty winds at 20-40 miles an hour. the valleys won't see as much of the rain.

the sierra snow at 2 to 6 feet although some spots could get much more. really promising signs here as we go through the forecast. enjoy the weekend. it will be sunny, but it will be very cold. next week we'll be gearing up for rain. a cold weekend in san francisco with those temperatures staying in the mid 50s. mike how is it looking right now through the tri valley? >> west 580 is moving relatively smoothly. i'm concerned there may be a little extra slowing because of a crash reported just approaching the area, the dublin interchange itself.

this could be a problem rippling out to the tri-valley. i don't know exactly the reason for that slowing on 84. i'm going to say it's probably construction. everything else is right on pace. next, the surprise of a lifetime. >> one day earlier this year i got a message from ellie. it said daughter. >> wow. >> so it happened to an east bay woman helping infertile couples have children. how a simple dna test changed her life.

sometimes you run across stories that seem unbelievable and this is one of them. >> it involves an east bay woman's desire to help infertile couples conceive. she decided to donate her eggs 20 years ago. following that she didn't think much about it. this summer she was contacted by not one, but two sets of twins. this was after she juic used a testing kit. they all met. >> i am not the mom. we are friends. we're close and we're building a relationship. >> we found out. i think ellie and i felt similarly. we didn't really care, because

no matter what our parents are always going to be our parents. >> it takes a village. coming up next, top stories we're following today including scott peterson's attorney promising to fight to free him. plus, thousands of students right here in the bay area may not be able to return to school as that deadline to show proof of vaccination looms.

♪give my regards to broadway!♪ ♪remember me to herald square!♪ ♪tell all the gang at forty second street♪ ♪that i will soon be there!♪ ♪whisper of how i'm yearning♪ ♪to mingle with the old-time throng!♪ ♪give my regards to old broadway♪ ♪and say that i'll be there, 'ere long!♪

right now at 5:30, with a looming vaccination deadline for california students, new signs families are not prepared. ahead in a live report, why we may not be done with distance learning. >> another bay area county considering an emergency water shortage declaration. how new water restrictions could be the latest bay area game

changer. over night rain moves through. as it moves through we're looking at a few hundredths of an inch of rain, just enough to make the roads wet. we can already once again see drying conditions farther to the north. overall we'll be watching this system passing by. cool air coming in behind that. then we get ready for heavy rain in the forecast throughout the weekend. i'll have more on the drought monitor and weekend events coming up. as the deadline for california middle and high school students to submit proof

of vaccination approaches, thousands in the bay area are at risk of having to return to distance learning. >> cierra johnson is joining us live from san rafael where district leaders are expected to address parents later this afternoon. >> reporter: as you mentioned, thousands of students potentially at risk to return to distance learning. if you recall, it was back in october when governor newsom said by january 1st students in grade 7 through 12 must show proof of vaccination. take a look at your screen. this is where some of the districts within the bay area stand in terms of students showing proof of vaccination. right now 6,000 students in oakland unified schools have not shown proof of vaccination. 1600 in contra costa. about 12,000 in sacramento

unified. as some districts grapple with the looming deadline, another is hosting an informational session for students and parents. today at 4:00, marin county office of education will host an online public health update for staff, administrators, parents and guardians. the event is virtual. again, this session is virtual. organizers say it will be recorded and put on the school portal. folks here will address the public. this is all taking place as the deadline for thousands of students continues to loom. in the north bay tensions

are rising over proof of vaccination rules. the staff at the paper mill creek saloon in west marin found a note on the front door threatening to burn the place down over vaccine requirements. there are positive cases linked to different west marin bars. >> i know people who tested positive after this weekend at the other local venues that were not at our event. there's been no notifications from any other local event. i don't want to name names but it's frustrating. >> this isn't the only case of threatening notes. another involves one posted on the door of a san rafael gym. police are investigating. scott peterson's attorney is now focusing on freeing him all together. >> it was a dramatic day in court yesterday when peterson was resentenced to life in prison. at one point laci's mother

looked at peterson directly and called him a coward. the judge denied peterson's request to speak,but he could be granted a new trial in february. peterson's lawyer says they have new evidence that exonerates peterson. >> we now know that the burglary that occurred across the street, which the modesto police originally stated occurred december 26th, we now can present evidence it actually occurred at the time laci disappeared. >> peterson continues to maintain his innocence. we are learning new details about a deadly shooting in oakland. police have released this photo of a vehicle investigators believe was used in a shooting there of 28-year-old eric davis, who was trying to stop a car

theft back on november 28th. davis moved to oakland two years ago and his death has left family members devastated. a $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest. the drama in the elizabeth homes trial will build for the next week after testimony wrapped. the focus centered on her relationship with sunny balwani. closing arguments take place one week from today. after that the jury should start deliberations. let's take a peek outside this morning. christmas at the park. a little soggy out there.

>> if you are going out to christmas in the park later on, you need to wear extra layers. it's going to be very chilly out there. going into our weekend forecast, this is the kind of weather we'll have. highs reaching only into the mid 50s, temperatures dropping off to the upper 40s shortly after sunset. also walnut creek opens up their ice rink starting friday. we do have some nice weather for that. big coat and even extra layers there as well as temperatures go from the mid 50s to the mid 40s. more clouds and fog roll in there as we go into friday night. downtown berkeley holiday starts at 4:00 in the afternoon. it will be about 55 degrees and cooling down for the evening.

on sunday snow starts to come down in tahoe. we could see blizzard conditions there. if you're going to stay past saturday, you can stay for several days because we will see very heavy snow coming down in the sierra. we'll talk about what we will see here as rain move into the sierra and chilly temperatures remain. >> right now chains are required for highway 50 and interstate 80.

>> things are sort of simmering down there. still slow for 84. they're working on the signal there by the ge plant. there is that slow drive cutting through the tri-valley. highway 4, we expect to see more slowing in the next few minutes. the bay bridge toll plaza no backup but the metering lights turning on shortly because of that volume overall. protecting the right to choose. coming up next, the new options california will offer the rest of the nation if roe v wade is overturned. democracies gather to protect democracy and congress takes a stand on forced labor. an attack on a good

samaritan in san francisco. hear from the man who ended up getting stabbed.

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the toll plaza has not seen the backup just yet, but you will see more slowing. we have that build for highway 37 as well. another water district in the bay area could soon be ready to declare a drought emergency. bob redell joining us in fremont. what would this mean? >> reporter: there would be no mandatory rationing of water, but they would be asked to cut back on non-essential water use. the alameda water district would serve customers here in fremont and union city.

it's considering an ordinance that would declare a water shortage emergency and get customers to reduce water usage by 15% through mandatory conservation measures. this ordinance is basically to counter the lack of supply. demand in 2022 for water expected to exceed the water supply by 15%. the ordinance would limit irrigation to one day every other week in the wintertime, once a week in the spring, twice a week in the summer. the hosing down of sidewalks and other hard surfaces would be prohibited, no filling of swimming pools. statewide there are proposed restrictions as well, proposed regulation from the state water resources control board would prohibit excessive irrigation within 48 hours of a rainstorm and ban use of portable water

for street cleaning. this is to counteract the fact that governor newsom has asked for californians to reduce water usage by 15% voluntarily. san jose city council members yesterday enacted new rules effective immediately. odd numbered addresses can irrigate mondays and thursdays, even numbered tuesdays and fridays. this only applies to sprinkler systems, not drip systems or hand held hoses. this is part of the city's effort to cut water usage by 15%. people in marin face more water restrictions. residents are prohibited from turning on outdoor sprinklers and drip irrigation systems. they cannot refill drained swimming pools. they could face fines of $250 in

addition to other penalties. san francisco also declaring a water shortage emergency. the public utilities commission is asking all of its customers to cut back water use by 10% based on what you used from july of 2019 to june of 2020. it also means your bill is going up. the commission issued a drought surcharge. the average customer will pay about $6 more a month starting in april. california would soon become a sanctuary state for women seeking abortions. that's the idea governor newsom says he supports after recent supreme court arguments over mississippi's abortion ban. experts say 24 states are either certain or very likely to follow if the high court approved. the california future of abortion council laid out how they'd help women travel to california for abortion.

>> it's incumbent upon the state of california and other reproductive freedom states to ensure access to abortion is available to those who need it. >> the council laid out 45 recommendations for lawmakers including asking for more staff. they're also pushing for women to be reimbursed for travel, gas and lodging and to have the state pay for abortions for those who can't afford it. it's likely the court will issue its ruling next june. bob dole's casket will lie in state at the u.s. capitol rotunda. he entered politics becoming one of the longest serving republican leaders. he served 36 years in congress. he died sunday from cancer at the age of 98. his funeral is tomorrow at the national cathedral.

president biden hosting a conference defining democracy. >> some of those countries with better records defining and defending democracies than we have really. many in washington worried about fair elections, attacks on democracy and institution. the conference will be largely virtual. more than 100 countries are participating. china has criticized the conference. but china not a democracy, wasn't invited anyway. the house has voted 428-1 to strengthen laws that would prevent american companies from importing goods made in china that were made by forced labor, specifically the ethnic group of uyghurs, a group chinese are accused of rounding up into camps. make no mistake, it is already illegal to import and sell items

made by slave labor. the resolution directs the state department to take a closer look at manufacturers and sales. there's a good chance you own something made under those conditions but the company that made it was looking the other way. speaker of the house nancy pelosi saying if the u.s. does not speak out for human rights in china because of commercial interests, we lose all moral authority to speak out for human rights any place in the world. all republicans, all democrats who voted voted yes except for one person thomas massey of kentucky. he was the one no vote. we've reached out to his office to find out why. the house voted to criticize the olympics committee for its handling of pentagon shea. the ioc talked to her but would

not release details. ioc says now they can't prove she's safe. president trump's former chief of staff asking courts to block a subpoena, perhaps a charge of contempt as well after he refused to answer questions at the white house's role in the attacks on the u.s. capitol. mark meadows originally agreed to testify but withdrew that agreement shortly after he published his book. we're watching what's happening with the summit on democracy at the white house. trending for you this morning -- ♪ tonight tonight won't be just any night ♪ >> that's because tonight you can see the debut of the brand new steven spielberg version of an all time classic. ♪ tonight tonight ♪

>> the sharks and jets rumble all over again in the remake of the classic "west side story." the new film officially opens tomorrow but many bay area theaters are offering early premiers. the cast includes rita moreno now playing the store owner 60 years after playing anita in the first film. >> she'll be 90 on the 11th. >> she looks amazing. we have been needing this rain for quite some time.

i know you're going to be really excited about the snow in the forecast. this is ahead of some big rain we have coming our way. we take a look at our reservoirs at 74% capacity for the south bay. we're only at 10% of capacity at the reservoir and 19% at the coyote reservoir. we got the drought update this morning. we can see how expansive the drought is across the region. the darker the red, the more intense the drought is. the exceptional drought, the highest level of drought has continued in the central valley as well as parts of the east bay. there really wasn't a change from last week, but hopefully next week we will see some improvement after we do get that next atmospheric river coming in. right now we have light rain coming through. that's going to be clearing out. this next storm system will intensify as it moves across the

pacific. by the time it gets here we're looking at the possibility of heavy rain starting sunday and continuing through tuesday. tonight we're talking about a record low temperature in many spots. what we know about the incoming storm, we will see about 1-4 inches of rain and several feet of snow on the way. that rain will be moving in and continuing through next week. of course we'll have more updates on that. >> we saw things really backing up approaching the dublin interchange. moving more smoothly after what looked like the second traffic break. we do have slowing for 84. whatever was going on there, probably construction.

everything else, watch for those damp roads. happening now, major cuts being debated by san francisco school board. the district has six days to submit a new plan cutting $125 million or the state might intervene. at a special board meeting last night, one board member introduced a proposal shifting $50 million targeted for schools to central operations. authorities announce arrests in the caldor fire. plus as more americans prepare for holiday travel, one extremely popular holiday destination under siege. new reassuring words for travelers wondering if they should cancel their vacation all together.

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welcome back. the time is 5:57. you're watching "today in the bay." it's time for our climate hack.

>> it may not be my favorite thing to do, but it's got to get done, the dreaded dishes. now, i'm not using plastic silverware, but i am using a plastic sponge. that's a problem. the sponge will help me clean, but eventually it will be too dirty so i'll have to toss it and get a new one. those yellow and green sponges are made from plastic foam. when we throw them out, it takes hundreds of years for them to break down. a year's worth of sponges takes 52,000 years to break down in the dump. it's time for your climate hack. let's make a switch from traditional kitchen sponges to sustainable ones that are plastic free and oftentimes made from recycles materials. a great swap are silicone sponges. aside from being bacteria and

mildew resistant, you can also throw them in alongside the rest of your dishes in the dishwasher. plus they're super gentle and you're avoiding plastic packaging. the afternoon person uses about two sponges a month. switching to a more planet friendly option can cut that number in half. we could keep at least 10.4 million yellow and green sponges out of the landfill each year. >> she said it takes 52,000 years to break down. that's crazy. >> you can find more stories on our climate in crisis page on nbcbayarea.com. scott peterson was back in father and son now accused of starting the devastating caldor fire. the district attorney says david and travis smith are accused of reckless arson. the district attorney is not elaborating on the evidence.

meanwhile the pair's lawyer says his clients only called 911 to report what was happening. those flames destroyed more than 1,000 structures. remembering kevin nishita. details on the public memorial hours from now. i firmly believe instagram and the internet more broadly can be a positive force in young people's lives. >> the controversial proposal still raising a lot of questions. and our storm ranger scanning the skies. no your eyes are not deceiing you. when rain will hit your neighborhood.