right now. the russian figure skater surrounded in controversy just competed, as well as all three team usa athletes. i'll have updates coming up. this is "today in the bay." good tuesday morning. thank you 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 can go with you. we broadcast not only to tv, you can watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv, our app. we're there for you. >> and we begin with breaking news this morning. this is surrounding the situation at the russia/ukraine border. russia says some of its troops are returning to their military bases. >> this is a good first sign but doesn't rule out a possible invasion. "today in the bay's" brie jackson live in washington this morning. a little sign of hope but ukraine is certainly not out of the woods just yet. >> reporter: that's right, good morning, marcus, laura. well, specifically ukraine says it's too early to tell if this

is a signal of de-escalation. the russian defense ministry says some units of its southern and western military districts were pulling back after completing their exercises near ukraine. but other military exercises which the u.s. and its allies fear might be used as a cover for an attack are continuing. at this point it's also still unknown the number of troops russia will withdraw, and keep in mind, russia has made two similar announcements in the past several months. yesterday the pentagon confirmed that the world is watching and waiting for russian president vladimir putin's next move. >> i would just tell you that it is entirely possible that he could move with little to no warning. >> reporter: that statement made before this morning's partial withdraw news, but of course that anticipation still very much real, despite news of troops moving away from the ukraine border. meanwhile, ahead of that news,

the president of ukraine calling for a day of unity amid reports that russia could possibly invade as early as wednesday, as the world waits to see what comes next. marcus, laura? >> very much so. brie jackson live from washington, thank you. you can head online any time for continuing coverage and learn how people in the bay area's ukrainian community are responding to the rising tensions. moving you forward on bay area covid hospitalizations, with encouraging new signs the most serious cases are declining. now, as you can see right here, by this time next month, that total is expected to fall 62%. so we could see those hospitalizations sitting around 3,000, just a little bit above there. now, right now statewide there are close to 8,200. this comes as the state mask mandate is set to expire. "today in the bay's" bob redell is live for us in pleasanton and some places say you're going to

still have to wear masks inside. >> reporter: good morning to you, marcus. you're talking about santa clarita county and the city of vallejo, the mask mandate will not lift tomorrow when it lifts most other places, including alameda county where i'm at. starting tomorrow you'll no longer need to wear one of these when you go into your local coffee shop or other local business. that's starting tomorrow, as long as you're fully vaccinated. so just after midnight tonight, the state of california will lift its indoor mask mandate, and as you can see on this map, eight of the nine bay area counties will go along with the guidance. santa clarita county says the rate of community transmission is still too high. it will be several weeks before it lifts restrictions, and the city of vallejo is keeping the mask mandate in place until city council can meet and discuss this on february 22nd. there are exceptions. you still must mask up inside places like schools, hospitals and public transit. also courthouses.

>> i think one big difference between the last time we took masks off in june of 2021 and now is that we have more options to keep people away from the hospital, even if they get infected and they are at risk for getting serious disease. so it's really important when somebody is older or if they're immunocompromised or if they have multiple medical comorbidities, particularly if you're not boosted, to call your health care provider and see if you're eligible for paxlovid, oral agent or monoclonal antibodies. they do work exceptionally well at keeping at-risk people away from the hospital. >> reporter: by thursday, governor newsom is expected to announce plans for how california moves to the endemic phase of covid when it comes to issues like community surveillance and testing protocols. reporting live here in

pleasanton, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> bob, thank you. 6:04 this morning, and things are heating up on the ice at the winter games. right now an olympic hallmark, women's figure skating. it is getting under way in the short program. but it's starting amidst a lot of controversy. >> some spoiler alerts coming here, in case you're planning to watch it all later this morning or take in tonight's prime time coverage. "today in the bay's" janelle wang live in beijing with the very latest for us. >> reporter: yeah, laura, marcus, please turn away if you don't want to hear what's happening. the ladies figure skating short competition wrapping up soon. it's been going on for several hours. here are the standings right now. alyssa liu currently in fourth, mariah bell in seventh. she fell on one of her jumps. so did karen chen of fremont. she fell on one of her jumps. she's currently in ninth. in first place, the russian figure skater who is surrounded in controversy right now, kamila

valiyeva, she tested positive for a banned substance back in december. she's first. this is her during practice. we can't show competition right now until it ends. now, the court of arbitration ruled she can compete partly because she's a minor and is a protected person. and the test results are from a test in december. but the ioc are not happy. if she finishes in the top three there will be no medal ceremony at the games and no medals will be handed out until the matter is resolved. the figure skating competition that's going on live will air in prime time tonight so you can watch that. then the ladies free skate happens on thursday. the combined scores of the two events determine the top three. now, another thing that's changing in this competition, usually the top 24 advance, but it will be the top 25 because the ioc is not counting kamila valiyeva as a competitor. that's how tense the situation

right now is. let's talk about what happened in prime time last night. we're talking about our san francisco free skier, she did another amazing performance. the 18-year-old was born and raised in san francisco, eileen gu. she competes for team usa. she wins silver in this competition. she already has a gold in freeski big air from last week and still has the halfpipe later this week. also competing in the halfpipe, brita sigourney, who won bronze in pyeongchang and was asked about competing against eileen gu. >> i think she's an amazing skier and it's her choice who to represent, and she has her reasons for doing that and i'm excited to watch her ski because i think she has some crazy tricks up her sleeve. >> reporter: so, yes, eileen gu, i misspoke, she was born in the u.s. but competes for team china. that is her mother's home country. for the men it will be the skier

that won back-to-back golds in the halfpipe. one of the older competitors at the age of 31, but he says that makes him more dangerous because he has nothing to lose. the halfpipe got pressure snow earlier this week. people are loving it. we are, the athletes are, the volunteers and workers are, because we want to show you what's showing up and popping up all over the place in beijing and in our mountain clusters. snowmen, yes, they're showing up at venues, athletes village, inspired by the months cot, bing dwen dwen, which means robust ice panda. my photographer also built one, but he says the snow was too light and too dry, not sticking. his, to me, looked more like a snow cone, but i'm giving him an a for effort. a lot of people having fun. it doesn't really snow much here in beijing so people are enjoying the fresh powder. so a lot going on at the olympic

games. the ladies figure skating short program wrapping up very soon and we're going to have highlights for you coming up at the bottom of the hour. so for now we're going to send it back to you. >> you know what, i was hoping that they would do better, but -- >> well, some people still want to watch. la, la, la, la, la. you still get to see it later tonight. if you want to keep track of team usa's overall medal count, we're going to reveal the count now as the music plays. ♪ redwood city leaders are signing off on a new plan to help those struggling most to make it in the bay. they've approved more than $2 million to convert a former comfort inn into 50 affordable housing units. half of the money is expected to come from the federal program designed to assist the homeless. the city is currently working with san mateo county to

purchase the property. 6:09, let's take a live look out at san jose, downtown san jose this morning looking nice and clear for us. beautiful shot there. you see the sun starting to kind of peek over the mountains. hey, here i come. and so is meteorologist kari hall. here she comes with a look at the forecast. certainly going to be a lot cooler than we experienced over the weekend. i just can't get over the weekend weather. >> yeah, it was so nice, and yesterday we kind of snapped back to reality with the cool temperatures and the gusty winds. that continues today. take a look at this nice clear view of the bay bridge. we're starting out with a lot of our temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s. if it's going to be this cool, it's nice to see that we at least get some light snow for parts of the sierra. about 1 to 3 inches falling right now. so the roads are slick heading that way. we're also going to see this basically be it for quite a while. but at least a light coating of

snow there. and so as we bring you back home, we see the temperatures starting out very cool. in fairfield right now as you're stepping out the door it is 40 degrees. there will be a slow climb in temperatures, but the wind today will make it still feel very chilly. and, mike, how is it looking with the wait at the bay bridge? >> it's starting up right on schedule, pretty much. but the volume a little bit lighter. the metering lights were turned on about a quarter until 6:00 so we gave it time to build from the metering lights through the toll plaza and now the last five minutes have just seen this wait start, visible on our cam radio here. no problem down through the east shore freeway, a build for highway 37. look at highway 4. further back through pittsburg and bay point, now moving toward concord. no changes as far as any crashes, but, again, a little different pattern than we sometimes see starting over in concord. a little build, 84 there in castro valley and a little

slowing through hayward. a crash north 101 in san jose as the volume builds, we have a crash north 101, however it's off to the shoulder. that's better news. flow is steady. back to you. >> thank you. 6:11, warming temperatures continue to pose a threat worldwide. still ahead on "today in the bay," we talk to an expert from monterey bay aquarium about the impact our climate in crisis is having on our ocean wildlife. >> and buckle up if you're in the market for a car. it's not just soaring prices, but pent-up demand. everything you need to know before making your trip to the dealership. >> and you've noticed a lot of us back at work. major tech company bringing its employees back as well. we'll tell you who. take you out to the futures. you know the good news, possible good news that brie was telling you about, about ukraine, certainly has wall street excited. >> you know the old saying, man loves his dog. what about a robo dog? the new accessory that has come

people howling and others wondering why. rn about covid-19 the more questions and worries we have. calhope can help with free covid-19 emotional support. call 833-317-4673 or live chat at calhope.org today.

ling calhope can help with free covid-19 emotional support. anxious about the future, you're not alone. calhope offers free covid-19 emotional support. call 833-317-4673 or live chat at calhope.org today. right now at 6:15 on this tuesday morning, you're walking out to temperatures in the upper 30s right now. yes, it is a chilly start to the day, and we're feeling that in the tri-valley as well as the north bay. santa rosa now at 37 degrees. and the warm-up will be very

slow to happen. we'll talk about that and what's ahead in the forecast coming up. >> a little slowing is happening in san jose. here the camera just north of 680, it looks like things are starting to bunch up a little bit. there is a crash north of here, but everything should be to the shoulder by now. >> good morning, very happy tuesday to you. the stock market can't wait to get started with the possible good news that russia is withdrawing some forces from around ukraine. futures calling for a triple digit rise on the dow, all the indices looking to the showed you yesterday between putin and his foreign minister talking about the diplomatic path forward. back here at home, microsoft calling workers back to its headquarters in the seattle area and here in the bay area. the company says vaccination rates in those two places are some of the highest in the united states. workers have 30 days to make the adjustment back to the office. microsoft was one of the first

major companies to send workers home. it's been so long since the start of the outbreak. but you may recall seattle was the first major city to get hit hard by coronavirus back in march of 2020. now, at the time we didn't know the first covid death was here in the bay area. elon musk has donated billions of dollars worth of tesla stock to charity, according to a new financial filing from tesla. we don't know what charity. musk has been selling quite a bit of stock to settle tax issues and charitable donations will offset some of the tax. and it's also a nice thing to do. have you had an impossible burger yet? they've been out for a while. you can get them at burger king, along with fancy restaurants. the plant-based meat was invented by a stanford professor who, early on, asked investors for money even though he had nothing for them to try. >> you would think he would have a tray of things to taste. >> i think if he had a tray of things to taste, we would have passed at that point.

>> that bad at first, huh? >> the first few samples were quite comical. >> my interview with samir call, investor in impossible foods. this week on our sand hill road podcast. you can find sand hill road anywhere you find podcasts. samir is a board member of the u.s. ski team, which is really impressive. so he gets to say things like michaela and breezy and chloe and all these things because he knows them all and he gets to be super cool. i think it's really neat. >> that is cool. >> we get to say laura because we know laura. >> yes, we do. >> thanks, scott. >> my boys, it's 6:18 right now. if you've been in the market for a new car lately, we're probably going to tell you something you already know. buyers are seeing some of the tightest supplies in decades. a triple whammy is hitting car buyers, soaring inflation, unusually high demand and supply chain issues. all leading to serious frustrations for people looking

to buy new or used cars. here is one dealer talking about how times have changed during the pandemic. >> back in the summer of 2017, each of our two largest chevy stores had more than 1,700 new cars in stock in the summer of '17. for the last six, seven, eight months, we have been consistently closing the month, each store, with less than 40 cars in stock. but each store has been selling over 400 cars a month. >> you can see the entire story later this morning on the "today" show, starting at 7:00 a.m., following "today in the bay." so trending this morning, how would you like to carry your robotic dog on your chest like a baby? >> it may seem like something from a science fiction story, but this is real. the latest accessory from sony's robotic robotic dog. it acts just like a baby carrier. the carrier will cost roughly

$70, but an ibo runs $2,500. other accessories for the robo dog, toys, dog bowls and clothes. >> that would be a little strange for an adult man to be holding that. i can see little kids maybe. >> hey, i wanted that for christmas. we'll talk about that next year. >> it's called an ibo in kari is here for weather. >> yes, and take it away, quickly. >> yeah, let's just move on. let's start out with a live look outside in the east bay as you're heading out. a clear view in walnut creek. and it's also very chilly. we've had our cool start this morning and it's going to be a cool day. temperatures in the low 40s right now. and we can see the climb in temperatures, your lunchtime temperature at about 59 degrees, only 60, but at least it will be sunny today. and we're also dealing with these high winds.

take a look at our hour-by-hour wind gust forecast and it's about 10-15 miles per hour, but still pretty strong in san francisco with 30-mile-per-hour gusts today, and even going into the afternoon you can see all of these bright colors showing that our hills, elevations above 1,000 feet most likely will have some of the higher wind gusts into the afternoon. and then gradually the wind starts to calm down tonight. but overall it's going to be a gusty day coming along with these chilly temperatures that you're seeing with the seven-day forecast at the bottom of the screen. our temperatures today only reaching 58 in cupertino and 60 in gilroy. for the east bay we're up to about 60 in concord and 58 in fremont. we have upper 50s for much of the peninsula, as well as san francisco, and for the north bay we'll see our high temperatures headed for about 60 degrees today in santa rosa. overall we are already starting to see a change in our weather pattern with this first low moving in bringing the sierra

light snow. there will be another one dipping in by the middle of next week. it also looks like the bay area stays dry, but at least some light snow flurries or the sierra. then we're looking at temperatures going up and down. take a look at the ten-day forecast for morgan hill. chilly today, but milder tomorrow. then we'll see temperatures heading up to about 70 degrees on friday and then cooler for the weekend into early next week. that's what we're seeing in our seven-day forecast. for our valley temperatures and those gusty winds continue today, but it should feel nicer tomorrow as our temperatures come up a few more degrees with all of this sunshine. and now as we talk about our climate in crisis, the warmer temperatures are actually having a profound effect on marine life and the ecosystems. i talked to a research scientist about how a slight increase in temperatures can throw the whole marine ecosystem off balance. >> the survival of those animals when they're very small is highly dependent on things like temperature, ph level, which is

impacted by climate change and co2 being put into the atmosphere, and so that can be a very big determinant on the productivity of fish stocks. so a lot of the fish that we like to eat, dungeness crab in the northern part of their range, are being impacted, particularly by high acidity levels, so low ph, where that actually corrodes the shells of the small crab larva and the recruitment is not as well and there's going to be fewer crabs in the northern part of the range in that case. >> we talked about migration of sea life, the pacific blob, and even now you can help the struggling ocean ecosystems. you can watch that full interview on nbcbayarea.com on our climate in crisis page, also posted to social media a little bit later. mike, you were tracking two crashes in the south bay. >> yeah, and it sounds weird, but just like the climate, the

traffic is interrelated. when we have a crash here in san jose on 101, we worry about it rippling off to 280 and 680. that hasn't happened because the crash cleared to the shoulder. there was another 680 right near the mini golf course, but it hasn't turned out to be any slowing. a little slowing for 84 and 880 through hayward. typical spots we showed you before. and there's a disabled vehicle, a big rig on the shoulder of 680 at vargas. a distraction, no slowing. a little build. holding steady for the east bay approaching the bay bridge where the backup did fill up the toll plaza in the last few. >> a lot of folks out there. nbc bay area responds when we come back. >> he spends years paying off his mortgage. where are the documents proving he owns his home outright? i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next.

chris wrote us shortly after paying off his home mortgage. congrats, chris. his servicer, rocket mortgage, billed him $177 in recording fees. well, chris paid, and he expected a copy of the official payoff record for his $177. but he didn't get one. so chris asked us to step in because rocket mortgage wasn't responding. well, rocket mortgage took action after our call. chris confirmed he got the paperwork he wanted. rocket mortgage told us this. as a courtesy, we obtained a

copy of the recorded discharge and provided it to our client when we learned of this concern. as a courtesy? well, as it turns out california law doesn't require mortgage companies to automatically give you copies of the paperwork they file when you pay off your mortgage. the law only requires them to give you copies when you request them in writing. no matter whether you're chasing down a document or refund, maybe we can lend you a hand. go to nbcbayarea.com and click the responds option or call us, 888-966-tips. >> thank you. a highly watched recall election for three school board members. we're breaking down what got us to this moment.

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right now at 6:30, new signs of a megadrought. we have team coverage on the troublesome data suggesting a drought not seen in generations, with no improvement coming any time soon. >> jobs on the line. san francisco voters today deciding the fate of three embattled school board members. the controversy leading up to this closely-watched election. plus -- >> really calls into question the constitutional use of this evidence. >> legal experts tackling the latest dispute in san francisco. the district attorney now pointing the finger at the police department in the way it handles sensitive evidence. the new allegations and the

response expected later today. this is "today in the bay." a very good tuesday morning to you. thanks so much for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. if you're on the go this morning, we're not only broadcasting here on television. you can catch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. first we want to give you a live look at our coverage on the climate in crisis. the state experiencing extended drought conditions the likes of which we've never seen before in this part of the world, at least not in recorded history. >> "today in the bay's" kris sanchez diving deeper into an alarming new study based on a unique reading of long-term water levels here. kris, the idea of a megadrought seems very real. >> reporter: right. so the drought that we are in, we have not seen in our lifetimes because it hasn't happened this deep since about

1200 years ago, and it is projected to continue to worsen and go on for at least another year, maybe even more. how do we know this, you might be wondering? ucla researchers looked at the moisture rings within trees and they say this century is the driest since 800 ad and that 42% of it is due to human activity like burning fossil fuels that raise temperatures around the globe. la nina conditions are also contributing, however not to the extent of other dry stretches and droughts in the globe's history. this is a look at the drought monitor map, which shows that most of california is still in that moderate to severe drought, and even worse continues are to our east, including in nevada and in colorado. of course, meteorologist kari hall has been tracking the drought and also the storms that could get us out of it and, kari, it doesn't look like we have any relief in sight. >> no, not any time soon.

we're not seeing any storms on the horizon. and this is actually the longest mid-winter dry spell we've ever had, now counting 40 days, and we know that we don't have any rain in the forecast. so as we look at all of these dry days here, we usually get about 20 days of dry weather in the middle of our rainy season, but it has extended well beyond that, unfortunately. and we're getting dry offshore winds. when we look at our reservoir levels and how far they are from capacity, 38% is the norm for some of our largest reservoirs in northern california. we have such a great start to the water year in october, but it's been such a dry january that those water levels are coming back down. and with the warm temperatures we've already seen, the sierra snow is melting significantly. we'll be keeping an eye on that. we'll talk more about what we're expecting as we go into the forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> thanks, kari. >> for more stories like this, you can visit online at

nbcbayarea.com. once you get there, just click on the climate in crisis tab. it is judgment day for three san francisco school board members facing recall. voters today are headed to the polls. ballots have been cast for weeks. "today in the bay's" sharon katsuda joins us live in san francisco this morning. there is certainly a lot riding on today's vote. >> reporter: that's right, laura. good morning. yes, this issue really started boiling over when the parents wanted the board to reopen the schools during the pandemic, but they say that it seemed like the board seemed to have different priorities. now, these are the three school board members at the focus of the recall effort, gabriela lopez, moliga and allison collins. organizers say they would like to recall all board members, but only these three had served enough time to face the challenge. both sides were out to get out the vote. recall supporters are critical of the district's efforts to rename schools in the name of social justice, all while the board kept city schools closed for in-person learning longer

than other big cities. this even led to the city suing the board and district over how long it was taking to reopen schools. >> our kids suffered through zoom school and mental health anguish because the school board didn't do its job. it failed at its job to safely reopen the schools. >> reporter: another issue, the way the board handled the ending of merit-based admissions at lowell high school. opponents say it's a waste of taxpayer resources since a regular election will take place in november. here's where you can find out where to cast your ballots. polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. if the majority support the recall of any of the school board members, then mayor london breed would find the replacements and they would serve through november. reporting live in san francisco, i'm sharon katsuda, "today in the bay." >> we'll continue to follow it. thank you so much. and also developing in san francisco, a new dispute leading

to new fallout between the district attorney's office and the police department. in this case the issue is tied to allegations of improper use of evidence. so the da's office yesterday claimed that police investigators used the dna provided by a victim from a rape kit to later arrest that same victim for a crime. the da boudin say it violates the evidence. >> it calls into constitution the use of evidence under the fourth amendment of the constitution. >> the chief bill scott responded last night saying in part, quote, whatever disagreements the district attorney beauten and i have, we agree that this issue needs to be addressed. at the end of the day, our respective departments exist to do justice for victims of crime. the last thing we should ever do is discourage their cooperation with us to accomplish that, end

quote. later this morning, boudin plans to hold a news conference on those allegations. a new house on the market in los gatos just the latest indicator of how hard it is to make it in the bay. it's a two bedroom, two bath home, but it's available only for applicants to a special south bay affordable housing program. for families that fall below a certain earnings threshold. according to the mercury news, close to 100 candidates are already vying to own it. the home is being sold below market value at a cost of $260,000. today is the deadline to apply. i'll try to put a link out on twitter for you. 6:38, and taking a live look at san francisco. look at that, the sun shining on the buildings this morning as the sunrises. meteorologist kari hall has been tracking the forecast for us today. beautiful sights out there. how are the temperatures feeling, kari? >> yeah, it looks nice and cool. i was looking at the moon setting over the hills in the live view of san francisco. it's a great start to our

morning, but it's windy and all of those winds are mixing out the fog, heading across the bay in oakland you're stepping out the door to temperatures in the mid-40s. we'll have sunshine, so you need a coat and sunglasses. it will be chilly and sunny and our temperatures only reaching into the upper 50s by 1:00 in the afternoon. we're also dealing with high winds at times in san francisco at about 30 miles per hour, and it stays windy in the hills even into this afternoon, as we're still looking at breezy conditions as this colder air continues to move into the bay area. we're going to talk more about that in the forecast coming up. mike, you're starting with a note for your afternoon and evening drive. >> traffic is predictable right now, but you might not be predicting this. road work going on eastbound, 92, the san mateo bridge coming to the hayward side. that means this afternoon or evening as you're heading from the foster city side over to hayward, you'll lose some lanes. there are two projects that i see that are coming up.

one starts at 5:00, one starts at 9:00 p.m. they will both restrict lanes and the second of the projects pay last until 1:00 p.m. tomorrow, that will affect tomorrow morning's commute, as well as your midday commute getting to the east bay. so the dumbarton bridge is a better alternate if you want to stay clear of that. we're looking at a smooth drive for the rest of the bay. >> there's an an alarming number of traffic deaths in one south bay city. coming up next on "today in the bay," an update on the latest incident happening overnight and the early morning traffic problems ahead of the commute. >> will there be peace in europe because a strong man is backing down? maybe, but we've been wrong before. also, take a look at this. the big game sunday left a lot of viewers pondering a whole lot of questions. ahead for you this morning, we're going to talk about google and what they say fans were

looking up during the super bowl. you don't want to miss that. maybe it was your question. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ off camera: and cut! ♪ ♪ this is amazing. we're almost ready for you. (on cellphone): don't say yes to that date yet. see you soon. ♪ ♪ come on let's go... ...push for another one! everything looks good, see you next year. see you next year, thank you. making your health a priority is real love. hologic. the science of sure.

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right now at 6:43, as you're getting up and heading out, it's going to be sunny, but still windy and very chilly. we are back to winter. take a look at these temperatures. mid-40s as you're stepping out in san jose, and it will only make it into the upper 50s and low 60s for this afternoon.

we'll talk about the changes in our forecast, more of them headed our way, coming up in a few minutes. >> we're taking a live look at san jose. northbound 101 starting to bog down. there was a crash in the area but that's cleared to the shoulder. i'll see if there's anything else causing this backup. the rest of the bay, your drive coming up. overnight investigation into a crash that killed a motorcyclist. the solo crash happened at around 1:00 in the morning at san jose at san tomas expressway and payne avenue. the roads were closed when our crews arrived at 4:00 this morning, but they're now back open. police say 15 people have now died this year in san jose traffic accidents. we have new video of a recycling plant fire raging in modesto. this is video posted on social media. the fire started late last night and it took crews four hours

just to get it under control. no reports of injuries or how it may have started. 6:44 right now. breaking news, the white house cautious this morning as it tries to interpret the signals coming from the kremlin about ukraine. >> scott mcgrew, you alerted us the moment you saw this yesterday. the kremlin seemed to be indicating that russia might not invade. >> might not invade. it was this scene with the russian president vladimir putin all the way down at the end of the table and the russian foreign minister, sergey lavrov talking about ukraine. we saw it, and we were meant to see it, staged for the tv cameras, but it was sending signals that diplomacy was still in the picture. we alerted this to you on monday on "today in the bay." lavrov recommended the kremlin keep looking for a diplomatic solution, to which putin said good. more new video this morning,

again, video controlled by moscow, this is the new german chancellor meeting with putin just now. germany, of course, the strongest nato ally in europe. it's curious to see the chancellor wearing that earpiece in his right ear for translation. putin speaks fluent german. putin was posted to east germany when he was in the kgb. russian saying that military exercises were complete, again a sign they may be looking for a way out. there are still more than 100,000 troops and tanks and artillery ready to go, so peace or war, which is it? even now, we're seeing more u.s. troops pouring into europe. new video of the 82nd airborne at fort bragg getting ready to board planes that will take them to poland. the white house has said repeatedly u.s. forces will not fight in ukraine, but certainly past wars tell us how easy it is for fighting to spill past borders.

>> i feel that we are very prepared, despite a lot of the people on my team, including myself, are still kind of new. i think that we've prepared well enough to execute our jobs in whatever capacity that we need to do. >> now, back here at home we're keeping our eye on the developing story with donald trump's finances. his accounting firm has quit him as a client and warned the numbers they put together about his finances should not be relied upon. the tax firm won't say what happened, but we do know the new york attorney general and the manhattan district attorney and "the new york times" have uncovered evidence trump and his organization would overvalue trump properties in order to secure loans, then undervalue them when it came time to pay taxes. it's not just the prosecutors and the newspaper. trump's own former lawyer, michael cohen said that happened as well. the trump administration calls the fact that its own tax firm quit good news, saying it

renders the investigations moot. it does nothing of the sort. while we're talking about that on social media, for sure, and on twitter you'll find me @scott mcgrew. >> thank you. happening today, a vote that could lead to two new digital billboards in san jose overturning a 35-year ban. if the city council members approve the plan, the new billboards would be locate odd san jose airport property along highway 101. as part of the deal, sjc would be granted advertising 10% of the time, and yearly ad revenues are forecast to reach more than half a million. but last year the airport commission voted it down. the vote is scheduled to take place during today's regular meeting. 6:48 for you this morning, and trending on google, google now opening up about its top searches during the super bowl. >> the most searched for player during the game, bengals quarterback joe burrow. coming in right behind him, l.a. rams wide receiver odell beckham jr., followed by rams

quarterback, matthew stafford. as far as ads go, the most searched for on youtube was this one, for amazon alexa, featuring scarlet johannson. the most googled performer, there she is, mary j. blige. she did a great job, i thought. >> she did. she's the queen of hip hop/soul. she's the queen. >> all hail the queen. >> i didn't hear what you said. >> be quiet, beyonce might be watching. >> oh, i think beyonce, you know, does a curtsy to the queen. >> let's go to our queen. here's kari. >> let's get started this morning. it's been great to see the changes in our forecast and our weather pattern. finally some light snow happening in the sierra right now, even though we're seeing none of that going on in the bay

area. we're feeling the cold air and there is about 1 to 3 inches of snow falling for parts of the sierra this morning. so as this comes on through, we're seeing, also, some gusty winds as the weather system passes by, maybe up to 3 inches for parts of the southern sierra for today. let's get you out the door with a nice, smooth morning commute in the tri-valley, looking at dublin and our temperature at 40 degrees, we do see a lot of sunshine in our forecast today. but that really doesn't do much to help warm us up today. we're only going to reach into the upper 50s there, up to 60 in san jose this afternoon, and 60 in gilroy. for the east bay we're looking at mostly some upper 50s here, and gusty winds will make it feel even cooler. we're only reaching a high of 57 in danville and 57 in oakland. and we're also looking at upper 50s for parts of the peninsula, san francisco, as well as the north bay as our temperatures will be cooler than normal for this time of year. so big whiplash and a change

from what we've seen recently. we've got the first system sweeping through. it's bringing down some cooler temperatures and you get a little bit milder. by next week there will be another one possibly just like it that could bring in some snow for the sierra. we're going to miss out on all of those rain chances. it looks like our dry weather does continue, but our temperatures still going up and down. take a look at our ten-day forecast for santa rosa. cool today, warming up tomorrow, and the peak of the temperatures will be coming in and heading back down for the weekend into early next week. that's what we're seeing for a lot of our inland areas with our highs in the upper 60s and still looking pretty quiet here over the next seven days. and, mike, you've been watching the roads. how is it looking right now? >> it's good. and i'm watching facebook live. i was talking to our friends who are live joining my facebook page. we're streaming behind-the-scenes. folks have come back to the speed limit, which is great for san jose north 101. the crash is on the shoulder at alum rock. we see the build on 101 and 87

there's a disabled vehicle on 280. i'll track that just outside of downtown san jose. the other is off of 680. coming the opposite direction, your general build, standard flow. the bay bridge toll plaza has a backup and standard other areas. there's more slowing by the coliseum, a crash just reported. back to you. >> thank you so much. happening now, san francisco mayor london breed reminding people to file for the working families and child tax credits this year. the mayor making that push after announcing the creation of two free tax centers to assist low wage workers. those in foster care and families. they're available by appointment only starting on march 7th. one will open on otis street near mission delores. the other along mission street near bernal heights. >> and next a quick look at the top stories we're working on, ending masking in california. but not for all. we're moving you forward with the latest city to say not so

fast. and the concerns still being raised. and as we head to break, you heard mike talk about it just a moment ago. he is live right now on facebook. see behind the scenes. mike and scott are back in the studio and we're going to talk more about the headlines this morning. he's showing people now, you can see what's going on with the traffic. if you're heading out, mike has you covered. we'll be right back. you're watching "today in the bay."

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6:55, welcome back. here's a look at the top stories on "today in the bay." >> starting with breaking news on the crisis at the russia/ukraine border. russia says some of its troops are now returning to their home military bases, after completing exercises near ukraine. this is a really good first sign, but many believe a russian invasion is still possible. ukraine says it's too early to tell if this signals a de-escalation. stocks rebounded at the opening bell amidst the renewed optimism overseas. taking a live look right now, dow jones industrial average hovering around 300 points up. at midnight the state's indoor mask mandate is set to expire. if you're in santa clarita county or vallejo, the rules do not apply. every else, starting tomorrow, you be ditch the face coverings as long as you are fully vaccinated. however, you still must mask up in places like schools,

hospitals and public transit. also, courthouses in san francisco, san mateo and alameda counties still plan to require masks. >> the women's figure skating short program just wrapped up at the 2022 winter olympics. >> and we do want to warn you that some major spoilers are coming up here, in case you're planning to take advantage of our prime time coverage tonight. "today in the bay's" janelle wang is live for us in beijing with breaking news this morning. >> reporter: yeah, marcus and laura, four hours of competition just wrapping up in the past half hour. all of our figure skaters for team usa are in the top 13, so they advance to the free skate on thursday. the skater in the number one position, the russian figure skater, 15-year-old kamila valiyeva, in first place, the one caught in a doping scandal. her drug test from december came back positive this past week for a heart medication that can increase endurance. the court of arbitration ruled she can compete but the ioc is

basically not counting her as a competitor saying there will be no medal ceremony for this event and no medals will be handed out if she places in the top three. alyssa liu of california is currently in eighth, karen chen in 13th after falling in one of her jumps, and national champion mariah bell in 11th after falling in one of her jumps. the scores from tonight will be combined with the free skate program on thursday and that will determine who gets gold, silver and bronze. and, of course, it will air in prime time tonight and i will be back live then for your complete olympics wrap-up and tomorrow on "today in the bay." >> i don't know when you're sleeping but we really appreciate the coverage. >> thanks, janelle. women's figure skating short program isn't the only action on nbc bay area tonight. speedskating, freestyle skiing and team usa's men's hockey quarterfinal also taking place. it all begins right here on nbc bay area at 5:00. >> let's take a live look

outside. oh, beautiful. this on the reservoir this morning. kari has a look at the pts. >> it's all clear, but it's going to be a chilly start and our temperatures headed for the low 60s with gusts up to about 30 miles per hour. winds calm down tomorrow, we keep the sunshine and it starts to feel warmer by the end of the week. we will have a cooldown by the end of the week into early next week. >> things looking more chill for southbound 880. the crash was just at the top of the screen, under that blue bar. it did clear to the shoulder. there may have been a second, so that will slow you a bit toward hayward, but it should be getting better now. >> thank you very much. you see us on tv, we see our floor director. i want you to come right here. don't be shy. we're giving him a big shout-out and salute today. wave to the crowd. it's his last day with us and we just want to say we appreciate you and all that you've done for

us. >> we appreciate you, man. >> thank you. now get out of here. just kidding. we're going to miss you. we're a family here on "today in the bay" and we thank you for being part of it every morning with us. ♪ good morning. breaking overnight -- hope on the front lines. russia says it is pulling back some troops from ukraine's border and hinting at a potential diplomatic solution. after weeks of rising tension, is vladimir putin attempting to deescalate the crisis? and how will president biden respond? we're live at the white house and inside ukraine pandemic progress. with covid cases dropping, more states moving away from mandates and masks. but millions of children still being told to wear them in the classroom. >> schools are unlike most other