we are live on the peninsula where two people have died during the rising flood waters. good evening, thanks for being with us for the special pregame edition of nbc bay area news. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm audrey asistio. we are counting down the kickoff of 49ers and nashville titans on nbc. >> this is a live look at nissan stadium in nashville. the 49ers, you can see them on the field for the pre-game warm up. temperature there in nashville in the mid 40s so it's a bit chilly. it's okay, at least it's dry. kickoff is at 5:20. nbc's anthony flores is on the field for us right there in the corner. he'll join us in a few minutes. first, a lot happening here at home. we knew the weather would cause problems. today it turned did he havely. here's a look at our live cams

across the bay area. gloomy skies and slick roads. people are on the move as we approach christmas. >> and we are seeing a lot of damage. this is highway 13 in oakland near red wood road. you can see there the eucalyptus tree snapped in half this morning. branches were hanging over-the-road. thankfully it didn't hit any cars. crews cleared the tree and highway 13 is fully reopened. rock slides are a big concern now. rocks tumbled down on fish ranch road in orinda during the commute. cars had to drive around the rocks as crews cleared them off the road. >> it is going to be treacherous days on end. we mentioned the deadly turn in the storm. two bodies were recovered from a car that was submerged in flood waters in millbrae. the car got stuck at the interception of hill crest and hem lock avenues, right near el camino real. we have team coverage of the storm. jeff ranieri is going to show us when the next round of rain will hit.

we begin with nbc bay area's stephanie there in millbrae for us where the car was submerged. stephanie, what happened? >> reporter: right. so, like you said, i'm here on hill bridge in millbrae, sorry. this is where or you're looking at an area where this morning was covered in water. authorities say it was at this underpass where crews dove in to rescue one person and they recovered two other bodies. a community turned into a raging river. >> i just seen the water level all the way up to a level i've never seen in my life. >> the water was rushing this way and the entirety of the underpass was completely filled with water. >> reporter: it all happened early this morning during the heart of the storm. public works is still trying to figure out what triggered all of this flooding, whether a creek jumped its banks or this was just a freak accident. >> our yard, my yard is sunk with water.

>> reporter: when the sheriff's office arrived deputies found two submerged cars under the bridge. one had a person standing on the roof. they managed to rescue that person, but things took a turn for the worse as they tried to get to the second car. >> they attempted to residue that vehicle, they attempted to gain access. the conditions became too dangerous for first responders. water was rising and they had to retreat for their own safety. >> reporter: crews pumped water out finding water in the second car. neither person has been identified yet. >> it is a good chance it's one of our community members. it's absolutely terrible. >> reporter: this is one of several areas of millbrae that saw flooding. multiple streets turned into ponds and the storm system isn't done yet. tonight the water has been cleared out, but as the investigation continues, neighbors are talking to neighbors to make sure everyone's okay. and the city is asking drivers to make sure they don't drive through standing water.

nbc bay area news. >> always important to stay extra cautious out there. stephanie, thank you. let's bring in meteorologist jeff ranieri now. you've been tracking all the rain so far. still what's to come our way? >> we have a couple more systems moving in. i also want to say when it comes to weather, flooding is a leading cause of death. so make sure if you approach any kind of water, you're not sure how deep it is, you just turn around and head in the other direction. the storm system that brought the heavy rainfall this morning, that has since moved out, but we definitely were under a period of three to five hours with pretty strong downpours through the bay area. look at our 24-hour rainfall totals. santa cruz mountains, 2 to 3 inches. millbrae where the two deaths happened, an inch and a half. we've had stronger storms in the past, but the ground is saturated. so that's why we real have i to watch out for these clogged street drains that can make that water rise really fast when you're driving out and about in your car. walnut creek over an inch.

san jose with 51/100. we are seeing a spotty chance of rain and possibility of low visibility and fog by 11:00 tonight. you can see scattered rainfall. tomorrow morning we get another blast of rain over the north bay. we're tracking the storm system into christmas weekend. i'll have full details in about 15 minutes. >> jeff, we'll see you shortly. the storm ranger is scanning atop san bruno mountain as we speak. the storm ranger picks up rain better than any other radar out there. be sure to download our nbc bay area app to track the radar to see when the rain will hetty your area. audrey. now to the spread of the omicron variant. according to researchers in the uk, the risk of hospitalization with omicron is only half of what it is with delta. london's imperial college looked at cases in london the first two weeks of december. they found the risk of hospitalization is 40 to 45% lower with omicron than with

delta. researchers say this still needs to be weighed against the greater risk of catching the variant, but they say overall people who have received at least two doses -- vaccine doses are substantially protected against hospitalization from omicron. well, tonight a last-minute christmas rush of a different kind of people are racing to get tested before their holiday gatherings. demand is outpacing the supply. nbc bay area's damian trujillo is live at the fairgrounds where lines were long all day. >> reporter: the fairgrounds was testing 1200 people per day. that number has jumped dramatically the last couple of days making appointments hard to find. two days before christmas and the lines are holiday long at the fair ground's covid testing site in san jose and many other places. >> the holidays are coming up so we wanted to make sure we have a negative test. >> we wanted to have the holiday with no worries, stay healthy. >> reporter: they were the lucky ones. on the county's testing website

there were no more appointments available today. christmas eve is also booked solid. the next few slots aren't until monday. >> just in the last week it's maybe tripled in our numbers on sundays. >> reporter: her i call is the clinical lead at the fair ground testing site. she said the numbers tripled in some cases, up to 3600 here yesterday alone, and that still wasn't enough. >> we're pulling in extra staff that are helping at vaccination sites that maybe have slowed down a bit and they're coming to help with the testing surges. >> reporter: she believes the testing surge is the result of several things. the holidays, concern about the new variant, kids off for winter break and the nationwide short ac of the antigen home test at cvs, walgreens and other pharmacies. santa clara county says it is adding testing slots throughout the day whenever possible and is working to expand capacitys so keep checking back. >> trying to fill up all of our tents with staff.

>> reporter: in san jose, damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. the city's latest effort to get boosters to as many as possible is paying off in clinics where a shift to drop-in patients meaning no appointment necessary. we tracked a steady stream set up on geary boulevard. they say it is worth it even if they had to wait in the cold and rain. >> i wait in jen. >> is it going to be nice for the holiday for maybe family gathering? >> yes, the added safety of knowing i got the booster would be great. >> heads up. the four sites, the kaiser tent as well as the chinese hospital, san francisco general and bay view will offer the drop-in service indefinitely for now. if you're looking to go tomorrow, only the zuckerberg

general site and center will be open christmas eve. this last-minute rush made some testing sites too busy. contra costa county is switching to appointment only. you can't just show up. the county announcing three sites will now require appointments. two of those sites are in richmond and the other in san ramon. contra costa county said it has distributed now 14,000 free rapid tests this week with many sites closed on holidays, the county says it plans on giving out more home test kits. now, if you haven't booked your appointment for your booster or maybe you don't know where to start, we're here to help you. head to nbcbayarea.com and search how to booster. you'll find a video from our consumer investigator chris chmura. he'll give you a step-by-step guide to get your third dose. valley transportation is looking for a consultant to help change its culture. this comes after a mass shooting in may resulted in the death of nine employees, then several months later a veteran employee died by suicide after suffering

trauma related to that shooting. since then, vta employees have urged the agency to take an inward look at issues that affect the experience of working at vta. the deadline for consultants to submit proposals is the end of january. we have new details this evening on that synagogue that went up in flames just weeks after hanukkah. this is the shabbat house. police now say this was not a hate crime. the fire started early yesterday morning, destroying, you can see there, so much of that downstairs and the walls. the rabbi told us surveillance video showed someone lurking around the building before someone started. they haven't ruled out a hate crime. no one was hurt thankfully. inside, four torah scrolls were saved. a third day of deliberations was not enough to reach a verdict in the elizabeth holmes fraud trial. but we did get a sense of where the jury is focused at this

moment. our business and tech reporter scott budman was inside the courtroom as jurors asked to rehear a call between holmes and investors. he joins us live from the san jose federal court house. so, scott, what were the jurors doing when that audio was played? >> reporter: good evening, audrey. they seemed to be taking it very seriously. heads down, they were taking notes. this was a call, by the way, that had a lot of happy investors on it. after all, theranos at the time had a $7 billion valuation. it was private, of course, but shares were going for $75 each. prosecutors, though, have told us and told the jury that holmes lied to investors, which is essentially the backbone of their case. elizabeth holmes and her lawyers were called back to court today when the jury asked the judge to replay conversations between her and investors. >> we built the business around

partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and our contracts with the military. >> reporter: on the tape holmes is heard talking about her plans to put theranos machines in retail stores. the potential for a future theranos ipo and her company's relationships with the military and pharmaceutical companies. relationships we now know were exaggerated, but does it add up to fraud? not necessarily. after all, start-up founders in silicon valley have rarely been expected to be honest all the time with investors. >> so, i'm going to be surprised if the jury holds elizabeth holmes to that standard. and if they do, start-up founders across silicon valley and the nation should be quaking in their boots a little bit. >> reporter: at the end of this third full day of deliberation, still no verdict from the jury. >> by coming back into the courtroom and listening to some of these recordings, it's going to be a refresher for them, and

it may sway some opinion. but it's not going to sway it in the next couple hours. >> reporter: and he's right. indeed, after a third day, no verdict yet. the jury will be back next monday morning to continue deliberations. live in san jose, scott budman, nbc bay area news. >> all right, scott, thank you for that update. appreciate it. we are closely monitoring the theranos case. as soon as a verdict comes down, we, of course, will bring it to you live with legal analysis and a break down of what's next for holmes. up next, times square's annual new year's eve celebration is still on, but there's going to be some major changes. we'll tell you about it. and are you ready? the 49ers are about to kickoff in nashville. we're live at nissan stadium as the niners make their playoff push. and if you're doing any traveling, even though we have our west coast rainfall, there are no delays due to weather from the west coast to the east coast.

i'm back with a look at how many more storms are ahead for us coming up in about six minutes.

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and easy this holiday season. a major announcement out of new york city. the party is still on. sort of. famed times square new year's eve celebration is a go, despite the soaring number of covid cases in the city. but it's not going to be the party it's been in years past. mayor bill de blasio made that announcement earlier today. he says the crowd will be limited to 15,000 people. normally it ranges close to a million. masks, of course, will be required. access to viewing areas will be controlled to ensure social distancing. gates will open much later than usual and people will have to show proof of full vaccination with a photo i.d. as you could imagine, reaction is mixed. >> let's all get together and be safe, but let's do it the correct way. wear our masks. if you're not vaccinated, stay home and just be cautious. >> just because you got vaccinated doesn't mean you won't get the covid.

so, but at least they're checking which is good. >> another change, once you're inside the event boundary, you won't be allowed to leave or go inside any business until it's all over. >> okay, we'll be watching. we'll also be watching the 49ers. about to take the field in nashville. this is a big game, right? >> i know. >> the 49ers are marching toward the playoffs. you can watch the game right here on nbc bay area. >> already stressing me out. i'm excited for it. our own anthony flores is on the field in nashville. pretty cool gig there today, anthony. it's a short week of practice, long trip across the country. how is the team looking right now? >> well, guys, fir of all, good evening and welcome to nashville, tennessee. the team looks confident and relaxed. the faithful are out in force tonight. look at this. we have fans from all over, from memphis, from arkansas, from ohio, from southern california, and all the way down at the end

from the bay area. this is the last thursday night game of the regular season, and it is a big one for the 49ers. a win all but guarantees them a spot in the playoffs. but it won't be easy. the titans have won five of the last six home games. you just heard and saw the 49ers will have plenty of fan support in the stands. now, the niners come in playing their best ball of the season. they have won five of their last six games, and they're currently in the six seed in the nfc playoff race. even though they're playing a first-place team on a short week after traveling across two time zones, the niners don't lack for confidence, especially on offense. >> i think it just goes back to us being in the rhythm. it starts with plays, but just the way we're executing on the field. we can feel it. i don't know if you can see it in a huddle, things are rolling. >> they have a good formula where they play good defense. when they play the ball they

don't turn it over. they won the games the last few years. >> as you can see this is a lot of red. this is your cue, guys. believe me, they've been cheering all day. the good news is the weather is about 20 degrees warmer today than it was yesterday, so weather should not be a factor in this game. kickoff comes your way at 5:20. lives in live in narnville, tennessee, anthony flores, back to you in the studio. >> it looks like he's in levi stadium. >> there is a lot of red here. >> excellent. anthony, hang tight. we'll get back to you through the night. kickoff is 5:20. stick around after the game for a special edition of nbc bay area news. sounds like they're in the bay area. >> they have good seats. i like it. let's go ahead and go back outside at this time, sfo in the last 30 minutes, we learned

united airlines is planning to cancel flights because of the rise in omicron cases. they are letting impacted passengers know before they head to the airport. no word yet on whether this will impact flights at sfo or the other bay area airports. we, of course, will keep you updated with the details as soon as we learn them. okay, let's talk snow. if you can get to tahoe, you're going to see a lot of fresh powder. this is a live look from our mount row ski resort camera. can you see there? >> kind of. >> is there anyone skiing? looks like blizzard conditions. earlier today people heading to the snow. we saw rain and slush. they brought out umbrellas, anticipating the storm is on the way. chains, of course, required on interstate 80 and 50. there are some umbrellas. conditions are changing quickly. so if you are heading up there, be prepared, take your time and be careful. >> what is the best time, jeff, to head out, maybe right now? >> it would be good. i'm hesitant to say a best time just because it's going to be so

icy on the roads. really, you just have to be careful out there because we've got more rain, more snow on the way for us. i wanted to give you an overall view. we have a hit tomorrow morning, not like what we went through this morning. then on christmas, on saturday, then late sunday, and then as we roll into monday morning. we'll get you a look at storm ranger doppler radar. as we head to tonight and tomorrow morning we're going to see another hit of rainfall. i think by 6:00 in the morning, we've got moderate to heavier pockets over the north bay. then it moves off towards the east. i think we'll get in on some sunshine as we head into friday. so we're going to start it off for your morning forecast with temperatures down in the 40s, with 48 here in the south bay. tri-valley 46, coming in with 47 in the east bay. san francisco 50. and the north bay 44. let's take it through the daytime highs tomorrow. again, just a little rain in the morning. after that i think we have a pretty good day coming our way. if you still got some stuff to

cross off that christmas list, more gifts to buy or whatever you got to do, i think it's good for you in the afternoon. 54 here in san jose. plenty of those 50s back to the east bay. temperatures don't really change as we head throughout our micro climates tomorrow. 52. red wood city. up to the marina 52 as well. upper 40s and low 50s. now, we have that storm system on the way once we hit saturday on christmas. i wanted to show you christmas eve, though. there is a slight chance hereof spotty showers. again, nothing big. once we head into christmas morning, we get in on moderate to heavier rainfall. and then this should start to break up once we hit the afternoon on christmas. rainfall totals with this, we're good for about a half to three quarters of an inch here through the bay area. so we shouldn't see any major problems. but again, because we've had so much rainfall, you may have to watch out for isolated street flooding. up across the sierra, snow

totals stacking up. king vail 71 inches. that's from tomorrow into sunday. pines 21 inches, kirk wood 52. in my seven-day forecast, we have rainfall coming in for christmas three quarters of an inch. break by sunday. half inch, break on tuesday, quarter to half inch as we head into next wednesday's forecast. we'll see here through the inland valleys, a cold blast as well. 40s for daytime highs moving in starting on sunday. and that continues next week. we could be down to 43 for the high next wednesday, which could mean some low snow. if that storm stays in on next wednesday, we could get snow down to maybe a thousand feet, possibly lower. >> that's some low snow. >> people will be happy about that. >> you know who hasn't finished their christmas shopping? >> who? >> me. i know it's so bad. i'll try to get it done today. >> your family is watching now. you've been outed. >> sorry. >> thanks, jeff. coming up, prince harry and

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we're following some breaking news in the north bay. deputies in napa have identified a body likely to be that of a missing woman. crystal mccarthy, see her photo here, went missing last monday. police believe she was swept into the river during recent storms. the body was found today in the natural a river near the third street bridge. investigators say they won't be able to make a positive i.d. until after the autopsy. the faa is stepping in to investigate safety issues at reed hill view airport all thanks to the county's efforts to ban leaded gas at the facility next year. aviation groups along with pilots and passengers complained to the faa the county's rush created significant safety risks because there is not enough time

to safely transition to unleaded fuel. among the risks they listed, engine failure in aircraft using the wrong fuel, but the investigation goes beyond the fuel. in total, the faa is looking into eight potential violations at the airport. all right. harry and meghan are introducing their newest baby to the world. >> yes, take a look here. six month old lilibet diana or lilly for short is making her debut on the family's annual christmas card. looking so cute there. you can see prince harry holding archie and meghan lifting lilly in the air. the photographer took the picture this summer at the family's santa barbara home. the couple says they'll celebrate the season donating to organizations that help families. we head to nashville as we work toward kickoff. stay with us.

we wanted to get you a quick look at the seven-day forecast. we have another storm 340678ing -- moving in christmas day.

next wednesday a quarter to an inch. more rain on the way, guys. >> you still have to go shopping tonight. >> i know. look at that, santa claus in nashville. up next the 49ers and titans in tennessee. enjoy the game. we will see you right after the game. kickoff week 16 now on thursday night football.