life-saving medications are running short and how hospitals are responding. plus -- >> it just makes home transactions a little bit easier. >> more than just location, turns out vaccination rates may be impacting home sales. the signs that some experts are seeing in bay area neighborhoods. this is "today in the bay." and here we go, wednesday morning. thanks so much for making us a part of your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. if you're on the go, we're broadcasting not only to television, you can watch us on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. >> so, look, let's get you started with a look at the forecast. meteorologist kari hall, of course, tracking strong winds we were talking about. >> yeah, we're watching that midway peak of getting through this high wind event as we go through this wednesday. so we're looking at some gusty winds continuing today and the wind advisory in effect through midnight. areas shaded in red, that's the

high wind warning, elevations above 1,000 feet have already seen winds at 50 to 60, even over 70 miles per hour, and that may continue as we get to the peak of this wind event later this evening into the early afternoon. let's take a look at some of the current wind gusts. mainly 40 to 50-mile-per-hour winds still going on right now from parts of the north bay to the east bay, even down to the santa cruz mountains. i'll be watching out for the impacts and we'll talk more about the forecast and the calmer winds ahead in a few minutes. >> we'll look forward to that. thank you very much. two years into the pandemic, the u.s. covid death rate is far higher than most other nations. these numbers from johns hopkins university compare the seven-day average since april of 2020. the u.s. far exceeds countries like france and canada. over the past week, an average of more than 1,800 americans have died. in france and canada, it was

much lower, though it's mostly proportional to their lower populations. doctors in the united states are facing a new enemy in the fight against covid. medicine shortages. "today in the bay's" bob redell joins us live this morning. why are we facing this problem three years into the pandemic? >> reporter: well, laura, doctors have the same question. one doctor said that it's demoralizing and infuriating that they're not able to give certain medications to patients who need it to get over covid and there's a couple of things going on. one is the cdc says that the previous monoclonal antibody treatments made by regeneron and eli lilly, they no longer work with people who have the omicron variant of covid, and those are the people who make up 99% of infections. that leaves doctors scrambling for another treatment which is in short supply. doctors are clambering for two newly approved antiviral pills

made by pfizer and merck. the pfizer pill, which is considered to be the go-to over merck's version, is not yet at full production and those pills take six to eight months to manufacture. >> we shouldn't be dealing with such basic principles as tests and therapies three years into a pandemic. these should be issues that have already been resolved. >> reporter: as a result, doctors are having to ration those medicines for the patients who are highest risk and most vulnerable to covid. last month the white house indicated it was working with pfizer to speed up its production of antiviral pills. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you so much. 6:03, and developing for you this morning, we have more on what's going on with covid cases. some oakland teachers are staging a hunger strike from the

plans to close up to eight schools and merge three others. yesterday people were marching from westlake middle school to the district's offices. they believe the closures will unfairly affect black students. another demonstration is planned for tomorrow. the district says in part that it hopes that any staff member who is considering the hunger strike explores other means of protest that don't necessarily involve harm to themselves. happening today, a rally in san francisco to support investments for the aapi community. the rally is at 9:00 a.m. at the chinese historical society of america museum. it follows a supervisor's resolution to apologize for the city's racist history against the community dating back to the 1850s. leaders talked about it during the lunar new year's celebrations in chinatown. some say the entire nation needs to rethink the lunar new year entirely. >> it's not just a day off for the asian american community, but it's another chance for our country, asian or not, to learn about the holiday and the

culture and the history. >> san francisco's chinese new year parade celebrating the year of the tiger takes place february 19th. new this morning, can the covid vaccine help you sell your home? a new study from zillow shows higher vaccination rates in some cities is helping homes sell faster in certain areas. the study compares home sales in atlanta and san francisco. atlanta has the lowest vaccination rate and san francisco has the highest. zillow says that if atlanta had the same vaccination rate as san francisco, home sales may actually go up and sell on average two days sooner. one economist explains why the two phenomenons may be linked. >> it's having an impact on the speed of sales because it makes home transactions a little easier in places with higher vaccination rates, more open houses are taking place, more showings per home, and it's

easier to interact in these markets. >> the full story is on nbc lx. you can watch it any time on lx.com and watch it on lx on infinity, channel 185 or over the air on 11-5. more than 90 million people in the path of a wicked winter storm in the midwest and northeast. this is video of the winter and snowy drive in illinois and kansas this morning. the weather service says up to 14 inches of snow possible in parts of michigan. airlines this morning have already canceled more than 1,000 flights. let's be happy we're in california this morning where we've got clear skies. windy, though. taking a live look outside overlooking downtown san jose. well, i was born and raised in california, so i guess i'm a little partial, kari. >> yeah, i mean, it's pretty nice, and when you think about what the weather is like in

other parts of the country, especially in the midwest where they're dealing with a big ice storm, that is just terrible to go through. let me tell you from personal experience. so we really can't complain about this, even though it's been pretty breezy. a live look outside in san jose where our temperatures are right now in the upper 40s across many of our microclimates. breezy winds are keeping temperatures warmer to start. where the winds are calmer, it is a little bit chillier. we're looking at temperatures starting in the mid-40s. take a look at our trend throughout the day. 60 degrees and sunny, but very gusty and some of the peak of the wind gusts will be hitting us later this morning into early in the afternoon before we start to see winds calming down. i'll be keeping an eye on the impacts of that and we'll talk about the forecast in a few minutes. mike, you're getting reports coming in from the east bay. >> yeah, in fact, almost all the activity we have is out of the east bay. let's take a look at the bay bridge toll plaza. the metering lights were turned on about 5:40 this morning, earlier than we've seen for a

number of weeks. we're just starting to see the build right here. the map shows you getting there, no problem. we've circled the bay bridge and the antioch bridge on the right. those two bridges have advisories by chp for windy conditions. highway 37, a little build. you see slowing sensors there. a lot of slowing for the tri-valley. heads-up south 680 through freemont, we have a slower drive. the earlier crash at vargas may be clearing, but there may be another one before you get there. the rest of the bay moves smoothly. back to you. >> thank you so much. so are you looking for a job? maybe someone you know? coming up on "today in the bay," we're going to break down the latest list of the best jobs in america. >> and starbucks is hiking prices again. i'll tell you why coming up. we'll take you out to the futures where we see a lot of green.

google alphabet posting record profits. >> will we get six more weeks of winter? the world's best-known groundhog has revealed his prediction and what meteorologist kari hall has to say about it all. it's all coming up. 6:08 right now.

good wednesday morning. it is 6:11. as you're heading out in the north bay, still pretty windy. santa rosa at 42 degrees and the

wind coming out of the north about 10 miles per hour. it's all clear, we don't have to worry about fog due to the high winds. we'll see more of the gusty winds as our temperatures go from the low 40s to around 60 degrees for today. we do have some warmer temperatures in our forecast as the winds calm down. we'll talk more about that coming up in a few minutes. >> tri-valley, you might have a second crash now, southbound 680. one reported at vargas. only one lane blocked from what i see. more traffic headed in that will bog you down in toward freemont. the backup at the bay bridge also builds and i'll show that to you coming up. >> reporter: well, good morning. very happy wednesday to you as well. google's parent alphabet has announced a 20 stock split. that means for every google share you own, you will own 20 worth 1/20th of the price.

that will bring google's share price down from a whopping $2,700 a share to around $140 a share. alphabet also recorded record profits. if it's too early and that stock split thing is confusing, think about it as a pizza. if i cut it into 20 slices, you still have the same size pizza and the same amount of pizza. in alphabet's case having a lower stock price by dividing them up could allow it to enter the dow industrials index. there are only 30 companies on that index ever, but ibm could be fazed out and ibm put in. starbucks is paying its employees now and it will have to charge more for a cup of coffee. this will be the third price hike in just a few months. there were price hikes in october and january as well. they say the price of raw materials and the cost of granting employees sick leave also contributed to the decision to raise prices. and look at this video. some folks in san francisco

trying out cruise earlier this week, the gm-owned car company that's been working on self-driving cars. it announced you can now take a ride in one of their robo-taxis, just passengers, in san francisco. the sign-up sheet is at getcruise.com. cruise announced more than $1 billion in additional funding from a venture firm called softbank, and we've talked about softbank before. it has been showeringil valley with billions and billions a charge of softbank. now, i've compared him in the past to the monopoly man. he walks around with money streaming out of his pockets. if you would like to know more, we give you the basics on our podcast sand hill road. you can find it anywhere you find podcasts. now, masayoshi is an older

episode and that is in the archives. this week's episode looks at some investors investing in big scientific developments in genomics, and all kinds of omics. one of the partners of the firm asked his wife to help him come up with a name. >> she said please tell me some things you will be investing in, and i said we'll do genomics. she said stop right there, you're going to call your firm omx ventures and make it look good, so spell it omx. that was it. >> bam, done. >> that's this week on sand hill road. what they're doing in biology is just incredible. it's beyond like bug-free corn and the things you think of. they're having yeast create drugs, instructing the yeast what drug to make. they're doing things like turning cells into computers. things that are just absolutely mind-blowing. you think electronics are cool

with the iphone 12. what they're doing in biology is just astonishing. >> how far we've come. >> it is pretty cool. thanks, scott. so it turns out the best job in america pays $145,000, and it has 14,000 current openings. glass door is out with its annual list of top jobs, based on earnings potential, overall job satisfaction and the number of openings. tech workers are coming out on top. enterprise architects who design i.t. infrastructure are number one. followed by stack engineers who develop websites and apps, and data scientists. >> if your new year's resolution included improving finances, experts say your credit should be front and center, guarding yourself against scams and identity theft should also be a top priority. they recommend signing up for free credit monitoring, which includes alerts when new accounts are opened or our credit changes. one wallet hub expert says

commit to paying off that debt and think about which credit card is best for which purchase. >> say you've been saving up for a new couch or something to do to renovate your home and you know it's going to take a while to pay that off. that's when you use the zero percent interest card. >> most experts recommend 6 to 18 months of take-home pay set aside for unexpected emergencies. they say if that's not realistic, they suggest starting off with a month or two, added by the end of any given year. trending this morning, so, laura, you know some people, get this, they are calling this the president trump et day. >> go on. >> this is what i mean. it is 2/2/22. you know, toot, toot, toot! february 2nd, 2022. it's also considered pretty lucky and some county clerks offices are expecting a surge in weddings. >> i guess it's the lucky number.

think of what happens 20 days from now. 2/22/22. keeps on going. and you know what else it is? >> what? >> groundhog day. and punxsutawney phil, i guess he saw his shadow, and that means six more weeks of winter, which for the folks back east that could be a rough one to swallow with all the blizzard-like conditions they've been facing in the bay area. it's been pleasant, windy. we could use some more snow. is there any in the long-range forecast or just the winds for the short-term? >> it's just the wind. and six more weeks of winter for us would mean more rain, but we're not seeing that. let's take a look at our climate prediction center outlook for temperatures. it does show above average temperatures for the bay area and southern california. so that would be more like spring. and then we're also looking at some lower than average rainfall, so it looks dry and warm. basically what we've seen will continue into the month of february based on the climate

prediction center. it has been windy out there and we're still dealing with wind advisories, high wind warning for parts of the north bay and that has been extended through midnight as gusts have been reaching 50, 60, 70 miles per hour, especially in the upper elevationness the north bay. the south bay has been calmer. our temperatures today headed for the low 60s. 62 in morgan hill and low 60s for much of the east bay. 61 in oakland. some upper 50s near the coastline and in palo alto expect a high of 62. we'll see upper 50s and low 60s in san francisco as well. as we look at the bottom of the screen, the seven-day forecast shows it does get warmer over the next few days. it's still cool with gusty winds today and high winds will continue for the north bay, as we see the high temperature in santa rosa reached 63 degrees. looking at what's happening across the rest of the region, out west and for much of the pacific, high pressure, and

that's been blocking those storm systems from coming in. it really hasn't moved. it doesn't plan to move any time soon. and we also get lows kind of going up and around that increase the winds and that's the reason why we're getting those gusty winds now. yesterday they went out and stock that long measuring stick down in the snow and measured the moisture content of the snow and it's still about 92% of normal across much of the sierra. it's going down very quickly. each day we get dry conditions. and also warm temperatures, upper 60s for our inland areas over the next few days, reaching into the 60s, but morning temperatures cold, near 40 degrees. mike, you're watching a lot of incidents in the east bay. how is it looking right now? >> looks like we may have two fewer. let's get out to the roadways. the green dominates the peninsula, the south bay. that's great. we're going over toward the tri-valley where we do see all that slowing. the two crashes on the 680, they

may have just cleared. i saw a number of tow trucks arrive. the sensors showing a backup for 680 out of pleasantton and 84, look at the backup coming out of livermore and pleasantton. so far, the only two incidents in the area have cleared from 680. we are looking at slower traffic for highway 4, and of course at the bay bridge toll plaza, the metering lights have been on for about 45 minutes, like we've been seeing for the last few weeks. back to you. >> thanks, mike. it is 6:21. coming up next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> new rules require us to pick through our trash a little bit and sort out certain stuff. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll show you how and explain when you might be fined for not doing it. >> and this morning we are shining a light on african american pioneers in our

include, including regina jackson. for deck says she led the east oakland youth development center and she was the executive director there. this is where she worked with youth and helped them achieve their higher education. jackson was also appointed by mayor libby schaaf to be the compare of the oakland police commission where she served for four years. and of course we are celebrating black history here at nbc bay area, on our nbc bay area streaming app, see a story about a man who is taking the bicycle to a colorful place, many places. make sure you download it for free for your roku, apple tv or amazon fire, and look for the story under the must-see playlist. 6:22 right now. you're watching "today in the bay."

6:25 right now. the next time you take out the papers and your trash, your garbage may require a second glance. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is here to break down new rules for yard waste, food scraps that just kicked in. >> reporter: on january 1st, the state required all cities and counties to start up programs that provide organic waste collection. for things like yard trimmings and food scraps. many already do. many of houses and apartment complexes have green bins. if your home doesn't, just wait. >> you should see those bins showing up within the next year.

>> so what about larger apartment and condo complexes? we'll get to you in a minute. local governments are required to provide houses and smaller apartment complexes green bins for curbside pickup or let you haul away organics yourself. either way, it's each family's responsibility to sort through your waste. what do you put in the green bin? generally it's landscaping waste, wood, paper, carpet, textiles. the biggie is food waste. >> if you think about all of our food waste from eggshells to banana peels, that's what we're really focused on. 56% of the waste that we throw away right now is organic waste. >> the state says local governments like cities and counties are responsible for specific rules and rollout throughout 2022. so be on the lookout for information from your local recycling department. >> thanks, chris. coming up next, the top stories that we're following for you today, including gusty winds

continuing across the bay area. meteorologist kari hall is tracking it all. plus -- >> reporter: and we are less than two weeks away until the state's mask mandate expires. where do health professionals stand on the issue? we'll have that story coming up. >> and technology to the rescue. a car in the east bay stolen with children inside. we're going to tell you the device that helped lead police right to that car.

with certainty where we're going to be in two weeks. >> right now at 6:30, california's mask mandate expires in less than two weeks. some are arguing it should stay that way. we talked to our covid experts about what may happen next. >> plus, does covid have a negative effect on woman who are breastfeeding? what a new study reveals and one thing doctors say mothers should continue to do. this is "today in the bay." cute little faces to wake us up this morning. 6:30 right now. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. broadcasting live on your television, but also catch us live on roku, apple tv, amazon fire and online. the 2020 olympic games are under way. we have a bit of a spoiler alert. hard core curling fans may want to plug their ears, but team

usa's mixed team won their first match. what a great start for team usa. look at this gorgeous shot, a live look at china's great wall. the torch relay kicked off with a small ceremony already under way, celebrating the olympic games. we'll have much more on the winter games ahead at 6:45. >> and moving back here to home, we want to get a look at the forecast. meteorologist kari hall has a look at what we're starting out with today. >> yeah, this morning as you're getting ready, don't even bother with the comb and brush. just put on a hat and go. take a look at the wind that's gusting. this is a live look at the flag in san francisco. some of these gusts reaching 40 to 50 miles per hour with some gusts in the hills and parts of the north bay and east bay around mount diablo and santa cruz mountains. we've felt them coming through the delta and vacaville the winds in thet 30 to 40 miles pe hour. it's clear in san jose. a light breeze in parts of the

south by the way. so chilly temperatures, starting out with upper 40s. we'll see the temperatures hold steady. i think the wind makes it feel colder. as we go into the rest of today we head for the low 60s with sunshine as we approach the peak of this wind event. we'll talk more in the forecast that's coming up in a few minutes. moving you forward this morning on the state's mask mandate, it's set to expire in two weeks and governor newsom's team are working hard crafting new guidelines. some argue maybe it's time to move from mask requirements. "today in the bay's" cierra johnson live this morning for us. what are those experts saying? >> reporter: good morning. well, there are some health experts that are pushing for a future without masks, specifically for those kids in school. now, one of the doctors leading that charge is a doctor locally here at ucsf. her name is dr. noble. she started a change.org petition asking state leaders to

consider kids when deciding whether or not to renew the mask mandate on february 15th. >> what we would like to see is that if that is not going to be extended for adults, that that is also the moment in which we lift the mask mandate for our kids. >> reporter: but some health care providers feel it may still be a bit too early for masks dr. peter chin-hong also with ucsf says we should continue to watch positivity rates in any new variants before any decisions are made. >> we can't predict with omicron with certainty where we're going to be in two weeks. i think that we're going to be fine, but, again, i would like to see the data before feeling perfectly confident. >> reporter: and as we've reported, some communities have already begun to loosen mask requirements, some in san francisco will be allowed to go maskless in certain settings if they're vaccinated, as well as boosted. health leaders say the guidelines apply to offices, gyms, religious gatherings, as

well as college classrooms. it is important to note that locations must have fewer than 100 people. again, that mask mandate for the state of california is expected to expire on february 15th, so we will definitely continue to follow that, as it is less than two weeks away. we're live in a very windy san francisco. cierra johnson for "today in the bay." since we're talking about schools and masks, let's talk about teachers. more than half of all teachers are now considering leaving the field sooner than planned. this is due to stresses brought on by the pandemic. that's almost double the number from july of 2020. thousands of teachers were polled nationally and 90% say burnout is a serious problem for educators. here's some reassuring news for nursing and expectant mothers. new studies show covid does not spread through breast milk.

"today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us with good news on the pandemic front. >> reporter: we can only imagine what it must be like to be pregnant during a pandemic and delivering a brand new baby during a pandemic, and yet so many mothers did do that. and now a little bit of good news for those mothers who maybe are still nursing. now, a ucla-led study found that breast milk did not transmit covid. they took samples of more than 100 nursing mothers. more than half of them who had tested positive for covid. researchers found that even in the mothers who were symptomatic, sick with covid, there was no transmission to their babies, even with that close contact. one of the professors of pediatrics leading the study says the findings validate an earlier smaller study, too. >> the fact that we could find zero out of more than 250 breast milk specimens from women who were as sick as being in the hospital in the intensive care

unit at the time the milk was given, without finding the infectious virus, we think it's very reassuring. >> reporter: so the doctor says that mothers should continue to breastfeed if they are well, and if they are sick they can still breastfeed if they mask up or consider pumping milk to give their babies in a bottle. i did ask the doctors if the babies got any covid antibodies from their mothers who had covid or perhaps who were vaccinated. he said this particular didn't study didn't look at that, but other studies have found that there are antibodies in the milk fwens covid. we don't know if it's a high enough level to offer the babies prolonged protection. good news that there might be a vaccine coming soon for the littlest ones. >> nice to hear the good news in that report. thanks, kris. 6:36 and new video this morning of a restaurant damaged in san francisco. so police say that vandals

shattered the glass at boulevard overnight on january 17th. the cost of the damage, more than $12,000. now, those repairs have already been made and police are continuing their investigation. now to a developing story, two young kids safe, thanks to apple air tag, in a car that was stolen. it happened about 7:00 last night. the car was stolen near the west oakland b.a.r.t. station with a toddler and infant inside. officers located it about a mile away, thanks to a install gps tracker. the infant and toddler were still inside, unhurt, and they were soon reunited, thankfully, with their mother. happening today for the first time in more than 20 years, some underground restrooms at b.a.r.t. stations are reopening. riders will be able to use the facilities at the powell station in san francisco. b.a.r.t. shut down those ten underground station restrooms following the september 11th terror attacks. they're having a toilet paper cutting ceremony at 11:00 this morning.

the restroom at the 19 street station in oakland will reopen later this month. it's 6:37, and take a look at that. it's not letting up at all. that wind is not playing with us. >> it might be too much for a kite. >> meteorologist kari hall has been monitoring what we can expect from these conditions, and clearly wind is still a factor for us today. >> yeah, it is. i mean, you want to make sure that you're prepared for that as you're heading out the door, because it's not going anywhere any time soon. and we've also seen tree limbs coming down. so far we haven't seen a lot of impacts to power, but we're going to be watching out for that. as far as temperatures, it's a chilly start with some upper 30s, low 40s. then as we go into today it's going to make it into the upper 50s and low 60s. this is basically what we've seen the past few days. the difference will be the high winds that, to me, makes it feel a lot colder than the actual temperature. we are going to see the winds calming down and slightly warmer

temperatures in the forecast. we'll talk more about that in a few minutes. mike, you were saying that you want to help folks plan for delays. >> yeah, kari. we know about the bay bridge toll plaza, but let me call out the north bay. the rumored closure for this bridge, the tennessee over-crossing, the tennessee street bridge will officially close today, we're told by caltrans. that was an update since last night, so the solano bridge you'll have to use to the south and that will affect route 6 for more delays. we're looking at highway 4, 37 and the bay bridge, all where you have your typical build. it's a lighter build but the metering lights were turned on earlier this morning. we're watching the east bay. here in the tri-valley, unexpected delays at south 680 starting to break up. earlier crash or perhaps crashes, packed things up as people were coming through

pleasanton and livermore. it's slower to clear, south bay, peninsula, and even south county looking great. back to you. >> thanks, mike. sometimes it's time for change. and sometimes that change takes some time. so nearly two years now, and washington football team now has a new nickname. just ahead this morning, the unveiling and more on how the team moves on from the controversial former nickname. >> reporter: just into our newsroom, president biden authorizing troop movements into eastern europe. let's take you out to the big board. stocks are doing well. google is up almost 10% this morning. >> let the winter olympics begin. we take you out to beijing for the ceremonial torch rally. you're watching "today in the bay."

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good wednesday morning. we're less than 30 minutes away from sunrise and it's starting out windy in parts of the bay area. it is clear. our temperatures start out around 50 degrees for walnut creek and we're seeing wind coming in from the north at about 13 miles per hour. our sunshine continues today as our highs reach near 60 degrees, but also still pretty gusty. we'll talk about when the wind calm down and temperatures come up in a few minutes. >> and the volume building here, coming up with more traffic. that's what we see at the bay bridge toll plaza. the metering lights have been on

for an hour now. finally seeing the buildup for these lanes. we'll show you how much recovery there is coming through freemont coming up. thanks so much. it's 6:43. governor newsom not laying out a timeline to replace the state's first surgeon general. the governor's office last night confirmed dr. nadine burke harris is stepping down. she was appointed in early 2019. so far, there's been no reason given for her resignation. the governor's statement says, in part, i thank her for the impactful initiatives and framework she has put in place as california's first-ever surgeon general and we'll continue this important work to promote healthier communities across the state. new this eastern europe. >> scott mcgrew, he says they will not fightorr: yes, make th absolutely clear. the statement from the white house, which is brand new into the newsroom, says the

department of defense will reposition certain europe-based units further east, as well as move some units currently in the united states to europe, so that the u.s. can maintain the heightened state of readiness. now, the white house says these are not permanent moves. do keep in mind we do rotate troops in and out of europe routinely, but it does sound like these are going farther east, that would be poland, perhaps, latvia, lithuania. president putin said yesterday it was the united states that was pressuring russia to invade. now, that's a false claim, but it may be a way for putin not to invade and appear like he's standing up to america, and our nato allies. putin also said he hoped dialogue would continue and that's a good sign. i was thinking about something secretary of state antony blinken said last week. i'll put it up on the screen. it says moscow would face a

swift, severe and united response if it invades ukraine. that's what you would expect a secretary of state to say. but then yesterday the white house issued this statement where the u.s. promised swift consequences. it's good to have a united statement, but there's that word swift again. now, it may be coincidence, but swift is also the name of the communication systems that world banks use to move money. if we cut russia from swift, we would cut them off from the world economy. of all of the sanctions, that would be the most devastating, and those statements may be designed to remind russia of that. well, speaking of money, the treasury department reports a record national debt, the first time it's crossed $30 trillion. much of that is new spending and the debt jumping under president biden, but the budget has not been balanced for years and years and years. that creates deficits, which contribute to debt. republicans in charge, democrats in charge, all of them running

deficits. well, we're certainly watching the troop movement news very carefully, talking about it on twitter and social media. on twitter you can join me @scott mcgrew. >> thanks, scott. new this morning, after nearly two years, the washington football team finally has a new nickname, and it was just unveiled on nbc's "today" show. >> what is the new team name? >> we are the commanders. >> commanders. i kind of like the sound of that. there you have it. the commanders decided to start the rebranding nearly two years ago because the decades old former nickname offended many native americans. later on the "today" show craig melvin will get reaction from players and fans. i talked to one person in dc and they said it will have to grow on them. all right, so here we go, 6:37 this morning, and the winter olympics are officially under way.

all morning long we have been telling you about the start of the curling matches. the opening ceremony about 48 hours way, and it will air live on nbc bay area starting at 3:30 a.m. starting at 5:00 a.m., "today in the bay" is doing a streaming newscast that you can watch on nbcbayarea.com. get your local news and weather while all of that is going on. here's a look at the great wall of china this morning, lit up and just as beautiful as it can be, as we welcome in the olympic games. >> majestic looking, isn't it? >> very much so. i love that. you know what? i love this, too, because a sign of olympic glory, now making its way through the streets surrounding beijing. so the winter olympic torch relay has already started. ♪♪ >> he's waiting like, light it, come on, come on.

more than 1,000 torchbearers will carry the flame through areas where the games are happening. it's northwestern suburban district and the neighboring city. chinese athletes participated in today's relay, including retired basketball star ming. very cool. we know who is being named to carry the flag for team usa in ceremony. it is bobsledder allan na meyers taylor and john shuster, who has hit the olympic stages five times, bringing home gold in 2018. meyers taylor has competed at four different winter olympic games, bringing home medals in three. they recently tested positive for covid and she's unable to attend the ceremony. three-time olympic speed skater brittany bowe will walk on her behalf. she had the opportunity, but covid took it away. >> darn it, covid. >> hopefully she'll be better to

compete. that darn covid. good way to put it. >> the best way i could put it this morning. 6:49 right now. let's get a look at the forecast for you. it is certainly a windy start to the day, kari. >> yeah, and as we were excited about the olympics, you may be wondering what the weather is like there. i just wanted to show you the seven-day forecast for beijing. highs in the mid-30s for the next couple of days, but then it will get a little bit warmer and morning temperatures in the teens. it probably feels like that here because it's been so windy and the wind advisory continues through midnight. and we've really been watching the north bay where some of the highest wind gusts have been kicking up. this morning it's 40 to 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts and we are approaching the peak of the wind event. starts out chilly with mid-40s. as we go into today, upper 50s, low 60s, no big change in our temperatures as of now. this is the same kind of weather we felt recently, but once the

winds calm down tonight, it is going to be cold tomorrow morning. so be prepared for that. a lot of spots dipping to near freezing, especially in the north bay and south county. then looking at our overall weather pattern, still no changes. it's been so dry across the region with all of the storms staying well to the north and west of here. high pressure is keeping it dry, and also really not moving much, even as we go into next week. it may still be dry, even through the middle of february. so this extended dry period will continue. our temperatures warming up, too. we're going from some low 60s for the inland areas to the upper 60s by the end of the weekend into early next week. and, mike, you've been watching the roads and those gusty wind. you need to keep a tight grip on that steering wheel. >> yeah, do be careful out there. antioch bridge, bay bridge. we also have the slowing in the tri-valley, which has started to recover. 84 showing great recovery out of livermore and pleasanton, down

toward 680. earlier crashes cleared. 880 cleared with a crash at 8th street. and pretty typical pattern coming through the east bay and out of the east bay. south bay, slowing for 101 and 87, typical there. and a build for 237 at milpitas. over toward the bay bridge, no slowing, no big changes. richmond bridge, just the backup. back to you. >> thanks so much. it's 6:52. more help is coming for those trying to make it in the bay. san francisco leaders have just acquired the gotham hotel in the city's heys valley neighborhood. the plan is to convert the building to 114 units of housing for people who are try to go get out of homelessness. they'll all have private restrooms as well. the move comes with a price tag of just under $26 million. >> next, a quick look at the top stories, including a hunger strike going on in the east bay

with the threat of school closures now looming. we'll be right back.

6:55. welcome back. here's a look at the top stories on "today in the bay." >> first, doctors in the united states facing a new enemy in the fight against covid. medicine shortages. "today in the bay's" bob redell joins us live to talk about how the problem is happening even just three years into the

pandemic. >> reporter: that's what's frustrating for doctors. one doctor said it is infuriating and demoralizing to have to tell patients the fact that they do not have enough of the medicine that could help them get through covid. there's a couple of things going on. the cdc has determined that the previous go-to monoclonal antibody treatments by regeneron and eli lilly don't work on omicron patients, who now make up 99% of infections. that leaves doctors scrambling for another monoclonal treatment which is in short supply. doctors are clambering for two newly approved antiviral pills made by pfizer and merck. the pfizer pill, which is considered to be the go-to, is not yet at full production and those pills take six to eight months to manufacture. >> we shouldn't be dealing with such basic principles as tests and therapies three years into a pandemic. these should be issues that have already been resolved.

>> reporter: as a result, doctors are having to ration those medicines for the patients who are at highest risk and most vulnerable to covid infection. last month the white house indicated it was working with pfizer to speed up production of its antiviral pills. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you. now, some oakland teachers, they are now staging a hunger strike to protest the district's plan to close up to eight schools and merge five others. protesters yesterday marched from westlake middle school to the district offices. they believe the closures will unfairly affect black students. another demonstration is planned for tomorrow. the district says in part it hopes that any staff member who is considering a hunger strike explores other means of protests that don't involve harming themselves. >> 6:57 and happening today for the first time in more than 20 years, some underground restrooms at b.a.r.t. stations are reopening. riders will be able to use the facilities at the powell station? san francisco. b.a.r.t. shut down ten

underground restrooms following the september 11th terror attacks. a toilet paper cutting ceremony starts at 11:00 this morning. the restroom at 19th station in oakland will reopen later this month. if you live in the city, take a look at what you can experience when you step out the door. strong winds this morning across the bay area. meteorologist kari hall has been monitoring what we can expect from that forecast today. >> yeah, i can save you some time getting ready, hair slicked back in a bun or hat and it will be windy with highs in the mid-60s. mike? >> the bay bridge toll plaza, not filling in all the lanes just yet. we're going to get another live look at san raphael, southbound 101 shows the volume of traffic. consistently slow. let's hold steady as the camera does move. the wind really kicking in here as well. hold on with both hands as you're driving through some of our hills this morning. gusty winds reported all around.

>> thanks, mike. and before we go, today is a big day on "today in the bay." today marking 18 years kris sanchez has been with nbc bay area. >> that's right, she posted on facebook saying every day has been a blessing. kris, we're so lucky to have you on our team. you do a really great job every single day, telling really important stories. >> reporter: well, thank you. you know the trust we get from our viewers is paramount to what we do. we can't do it without their trust and i work hard for it every single day to earn it. it really has been a blessing working with each and every one of you. so many different matchups and pair-ups throughout the years and every one has been awesome. >> right, with different photographers and out in the field. you're a big part of our team. >> reporter: sometimes you work more with this person. >> believe me, i've worked with plenty. >> 18 years more to go. >> you've got 18 more. >> here's to hoping.

>> that's what's happening "today in the bay." we're back at 7:25 with a live local news update. >> and live look at the windy start to your wednesday morning in san francisco. more for you at midday at 11:00. have a great day. "today" show coming up next. good morning monster in the making. a powerful winter storm takes aim at 100 million people across 21 states. a 2,000 mile path of snow, ice and rain from new mexico to new england. more than 1,000 flights already canceled today al hasour full forecast. the race to vaccinate. pfizers and fda to green light its vaccine for children under the age of 5 the only group still not eligible here in the u.s but will enough parents let their kids get those shots the message health officials are