biggest cities still under a mask requirement. the looming decision and uncertainty surrounding their vote. this is "today in the bay." here we go, monday morning. a holiday, presidents' day. thank you so much for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. and we're going to remind you that because it's presidents' day, most banks, government agencies, are closed. most schools are closed for the day as well. look at you sleeping in. >> we're the lucky ones. we're at work today. >> we get to come to work. >> i'm marcus washington. thank you so much for making us a part of your morning. if you're at the gym, waking up early, we're not only on television. we're on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and you can catch us online. >> and let's see who else came in this morning. meteorologist kari hall. colder temperatures this morning. >> yeah, it's going to be cold all throughout the week, so get

ready. we are having a big drop in temperatures and it's also windy outside. you may have heard the winds roaring outside of the window. tomorrow we have a chance of showers. i'm so excited to see that. what i don't want to see is hail, and that could really cause some problems. we're also going to have freezing temperatures the next several mornings, but take a look at these temperatures today. if you see somebody wearing short sleeves, you know they didn't see my forecast. we're only going to reach into the mid to upper 50s today. >> thanks, kari. bay area ukrainians are faring for their loved ones this morning. we begin with "today in the bay's" cierra johnson covering the bay area angle. >> first, "today in the bay's" brie jackson is live in washington. nbc learning from u.s. intelligence details about russia's invasion plans. >> reporter: good morning, laura, marcus. that's right, this just in overnight, in a letter to the

u.n., u.s. officials say that russia has already made a list of ukrainians they plan to target if there, in fact, is an invasion. russia has denied that list, calling it an absolute fake. the letter also warns of possible lethal measures that russian troops plan to use to disperse peaceful protesters if protests might happen. now, closer to home, president biden has agreed to a summit in principle with russian president vladimir putin. now, that's on one condition, that russia does not invade ukraine, something that u.s. intelligence says is already under way. citing credible intelligence, u.s. officials say russia's military has already been given orders to invade ukraine. >> as the president has said, we believe that putin has made his decision, period. >> reporter: this comes amid increased tensions in the region, with more than 1,500

explosions over the weekend. the u.s. alleges russians are trying to create a pretext for war, claims russia denies. >> there is no such plans. >> reporter: ukrainian officials are calling for an immediate cease-fire. >> we have already two people dead, eleven people wounded, and it keeps going as we speak. >> reporter: the u.s. is threatening sanctions if an attack occurs, including disrupting russia's economy and flow of oil. >> the president has all the power he needs to do it. >> reporter: while also warning americans could face consequences, ranging from higher gas prices to cyberattacks. >> it's certainly part of their playbook and we've been engaged for many months now, first of all, in helping ukraine itself bolster its cyber defenses. >> reporter: the administration is leaving the door to diplomacy open. >> i will leave no stone unturned to do that. >> reporter: secretary of state blinken plans to meet with his russian counterpart thursday.

and both meetings with russia largely depend on their actions in the coming days. president biden plans to have a meeting with g7 leaders on thursday to develop the crisis. >> thank you so much. now we want to turn our concerns to those from the bay area. "today in the bay's" cierra johnson is live this morning. edge. >> reporter: good morning, marcus. we had a chance to speak with some locals who do have relatives over there in ukraine and they said they're growing increasingly concerned about what they're seeing and hearing coming out of their native country. more than 6,000 miles away. so take a look at your screen. we did have crews at a support for ukraine rally that was held yesterday near the embarcadero. many were from the ukraine and still have family living there. they say they look on in fear as

tensions continue to rise. they say they worry their loved ones will either need to evacuate or risk their safety if they decide to stay. >> of course they are also concerned a lot, so for them it's a very hard situation, but they are trying to be strong in this situation and we need to defend. >> there has been an uptick in shelling from the rebels toward ukraine and so they're trying to create a sense of panic and crisis, and i think that's the pretext mr. putin will use to send in more russian troops. >> reporter: and that was dr. katherine stoner, the director of the center of democracy development and the rule of law at stanford. she said that was the specific reason, one of the specific reasons the situation continues to escalate there in russia. she says there is the day of fatherland, a russian

nationalist holiday, and she says putin is using it as a way to heighten the russian nationalism and get more support for the invasion. so we will continue to follow the situation. you can imagine the folks we spoke to at that rally yesterday increasingly concerned, so we will continue to relay any new developments coming out of that situation to you both on air and online. we're live in san francisco. cierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> must be so hard for them living here and having family there. thank you. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel will have updates from ukraine on "today." when we're not on air, you can always get the latest information on our website, nbcbayarea.com, and click on the trending bar. happening tomorrow, vallejo leaders will vote on the mask environments still in place there. solano county made the change when california's expired last

week. vallejo has counted nearly a third of all of the covid cases. we've reached out for comment but received no comments. as covid continues to decline, more companies are in the process of calling employees back to the office. with it, experts say there may come some anxiety. for those working from home since the pandemic started, there will likely be serious adjustments. "today's" show vicky nguyen spoke with a psychiatrist who said getting back in the groove at the office can take some time and patience is key. >> what's the difference between concern and actual anxiety. >> worry and concern are fleeting thoughts that a person has that are very concrete about what is my day going to be like, but it doesn't interfere in your day-to-day life. anxiety, on the other hand, can be debilitating. >> the "today" show looking closer at the return to the workplace. it airs this morning at 7:00

a.m. following "today in the bay." 5:07 in the morning right now, as we take a live look outside. it's san francisco's skyline. it is clear out there and chilly. grab the warmer coat this morning. it's expected to get even colder later this week. kari is tracking it all for us. we're talking freezing in some parts. >> absolutely. and it's been since early january when we've had weather this cold and it's windy out there, too. so keep that in mind. once those winds calm down, we'll have freeze warnings going up for much of the north bay, where you do need to make sure you're protecting those plants and crops, as our temperatures could even dip down into the lower 20s in some of those valleys. as we look at our hour-by-hour forecast for today, we are going to be in the mid-50s as we head toward lunchtime today. it's going to be much cooler than the weather recently, reaching into the upper 50s for oakland, 57 in san jose and only 51 in los gatos for the afternoon. we're going to have more of

these cold days. we'll talk more about that coming up, as well as some rain. mike, you are tracking two crashes on the nimitz. >> i am. technically they're off the nimitz because they went off the roadway and that's why we're not seeing major slowing. one at alverado and one at davis. even out of the altamont pass coming across from the north bay, the antioch bridge, it's all moving very smoothly. highway 37, no slowing just yet. san raphael, a light amount of traffic. today is a holiday for many businesses, and so that will also mean that there are changes on the schedules for a lot of these transit agencies. vta, caltrans and golden gate transit. so keep that in mind. back to you. >> thanks, mike. it is 5:09 right now. these days the fast in fast food may as well refer to the fast rising prices. coming up next on "today in the

bay," the latest industry leader rethinking the value you'll get from its value menu and the signature item being pulled from the value category altogether. >> the markets are closed on this holiday, but president trump has launched his new social network. we'll take a look at it coming up. plus -- ♪ yummy ♪ >> the reason justin bieber is putting his entire tour on pause, for now, and the bay area concert date that may be in jeopardy. >> get that cat off the table.

it is 5:13. let's get a look at your hour-by-hour forecast for today. looking at concord, you're in the low 40s to start. it's going to be chilly and we only make it into the upper 50s for today. big dip in temperatures and we may even be freezing as we watch the chance of rain come in. we'll talk more about that coming up. >> and we're looking at a holiday for some folks. we're see ago lighter volume of traffic. of course, it's only 5:13. we'll see how things shape up coming up. >> good morning. very happy morning. it is presidents' day and former president trump is launching his own social network called truth.

now, it's only available on ios. the website says android is coming soon. and it's not available on the web. users are able to post truths, the app's version of tweets. trump himself cannot tweet, he's been banned from that platform permanently. there have been alternatives, but they've failed to gain serious traction. the other interesting thing is when these twitter alternatives launch, they position themselves as entirely free and open. you won't be censored the way you might be on twitter, except those new platforms have found themselves in situations where they had to remove posts. parler took down tweets from pro-pump lawyer lynn wood who called for the assassination of someone in trump's close circle. now, looking at truth's social policies, if you click on terms of service, you are taken to this, 404. sorry, it looks like this page does not exist.

so there is some room for improvement. no trading on wall street today, though the new york stock exchange is super traditional and marks this as washington's birthday. when congress pass today uniform holiday act of 1968 they never actually changed the name. with no stocks to talk about, how about a pretty picture. look at this. this is from a san francisco peninsula artist. it's not a photograph. it's done with a sheet of film and high voltage electricity. the pictures hang in high powered venture capital firms all over sand hill road. it's kind of a mark of you made it. >> i heard one firm sought you out because they wanted to look like one of the big firms. >> yes, that's actually happened more than once. i got a call from london and we're opening a vc office on sand hill road and everywhere we've gone we've seen your landscapes and your images, would you be willing to do our

office. >> now, sand hill road available on apple podcast and we're ready for google podcast as well. these pictures hang not only in venture capital, but also the rosewood hotel, the village pub in woodside. and once you see his style you begin to see it everywhere. he has that sort of look of sand hill road, which is what first attracted me to do the interview with him. >> that's cool. different perspective. >> your art is the mark of i made it. >> exactly right. >> how cool is that? thanks, scott. who is hungry? >> me. >> burger king, this early? you better get ready. they plan to raise their prices this year. the company said it hopes the hikes offset higher costs from the ongoing supply chain crisis. the whopper is being pulled off of their discount menu. so far there's no timeline on when the price hikes will take effect. my dad called me the other day and told me they're taking the

whopper off. he doesn't eat there and i don't either. breaking news. >> bring the wallet. >> trending this morning, pop superstar justin bieber is delaying his world tour after testing positive for covid. >> that's happened to a lot of people. the singer was just days into his scheduled shows and learned he was infected over the weekend. the tour representative says that bieber is doing okay, despite the diagnosis. a vegas concert planned for yesterday now rescheduled for june. bieber was set to perform at san jose's sap center a week from today on march 2nd, but so far there's no word on the status of when that show will actually be -- actually happen now. >> a lot of broken hearts out there. >> not a yummy situation, kari. >> what happened to the music? i was waiting for it to come back. we need that to get this monday started. we're starting out with a clear sky. it is very windy out there and you're going to feel the chill.

so make sure you're dressed appropriately today because it's going to be much different from the weather we've had recently and over the weekend. our temperatures at lunchtime will still be in the mid-50s and only reaching a couple of degrees up above that as we go toward 3:00, the evening commute starts to cooldown and tonight it's going to be cool once again. take a look at the seven-day forecast at the bottom of the screen, as we start out with temperatures in the 30s tomorrow. we have snow happening over the sierra and cold air is dipping in. now we're at 45 days without rain, but take a look at tomorrow. we may finally be able to put a green date on the calendar with the possibility of some showers coming in. let's go hour-by-hour here with a look at what the radar could look like. this is what we'll power up storm ranger for. we're seeing a lot of colors. there could be snow on mount hamilton, as well as some bay area peaks, spotty, light showers. not all of us will see rain, but there will be a chance that we

could get spotty light sprinkles and we are also looking at better snow. so statewide average right now only at 70% of normal, and as we take a look at our rain we could see a couple of spotty showers. this will be a bigger deal for the sierra where we could see up to a foot of snow at some resorts. great news there. hopefully we will be able to put an end to that. with cold temperatures and moisture, there could be a little bit of hail here and there. then we go back to the dry conditions, but then take a look at those temperatures, only reaching into the mid-50s. mornings will be near freezing for the next several days, and then just gradually getting milder heading into the weekend. as we take a look at san francisco, gusty winds today, maybe reaching 40 miles per hour, and there will be the chance that there could be some off and on showers tomorrow, and then sunshine the rest of the week. mike, you were looking for commuters. >> it's a holiday for a lot of folks so they're probably at home now watching us, or asleep.

but if you're watching us, look at the lighter traffic flow. san martin up into morgan hill, we expect to see early slowing usually. we'll watch closely to make sure we don't have an increase in volume. the santa cruz mountain moving smoothly. silicon valley, no slowing yet and we don't have a problem on the peninsula. the crashes on the east bay are mostly off to the shoulder and i saw lights on south 880 just past the coliseum, it looks like most of the lights are gone from the earlier crash. and contra costa county, normal speed, and no slowing out of vallejo. back to you. >> thanks, mike. coming up next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> three items go missing during the move, but the mover isn't covering the loss. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. >> and as we head to break, i want to share this beautiful video i have for you. this is a hike i went on over

the weekend. this is near muir beach, tennessee cove. it was so beautiful. i was with my friends there, we headed out, 5.5 miles, laura. >> that's a good-looking group. >> i'm feeling it this morning. >> are your legs hurting? >> my legs, buttocks. big old hike there. if you ever get a chance, take that hike yourself. you can find that on facebook, as well as instagram. >> you can sit down during the commercial break. we'll be right back.

5:23 this morning. you don't want this to happen to you. nbc bay area responds to a san francisco man whose sofa vanished during a cross-country move. >> consumer investigator chris chmura's team got together to find out what happened to the couch and his refund. >> gerald paid brooklyn moving to move some furniture from the balboa terrace neighborhood to his son in minneapolis, but he says a sofa, a shelf and picture box did not arrive. gerald called and asked where they were. filed a missing items claim. got denied. then he called us to stop months of fruitless back and forth. we emailed the company. within days it replied and it says, we have been searching for the missing items. we will reopen the claim with the claims processer to provide the value of the items, $249 based on the weight. next, gerald told us he got a

check for $249 in the mail. he said it is clear that our involvement moved this from not going to settle to here's a check. we get lots of moving complaints. the cases we help win are mostly those where savvy dealers document every step. if you have a case that's stuck in transit, maybe we can help. go to nbcbayarea.com, click the responds option from the main menu, or call us 888-966-tips. >> thanks, chris. 5:25 right now. winter games may be over, but happening tonight, the start of a new game. >> it's a new series on nbc bay area. a cat and mouse thriller involving an fbi agent and international arms dealer up to no good. and there's one of the stars right there, who plays the arms dealer. >> she's fighting for ultimately what everybody wants, which is family and peace, and she's

going about it maybe in not the best way. >> "end game" airs at 10:00 and it's part of a new monday lineup that starts with america's got talent extreme coming up at 8:00. next, the top stories we're following, including finding solutions to the bay area housing crisis. >> we need to build for affordable housing where people can stay over time and remain permanently housed. >> we go one-on-one with a local leader to find out what's being done to help those in santa clarita county. also, the new data that is proof one strategy is working. plus -- >> reporter: and another quality of life issue is the speed on our bay area roadways, but a few bay area police departments are going to get help getting eyes on the roadways, even if they

can't have the actual staff. i'll explain that coming up. you're watching "today in the bay." #

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. you would have to be going much faster than 3 or 4 miles over the speed limit. >> right now at 5:30, taking aim at speeding and side shows. one local lawmaker's new push to increase driver safety, the new proposal and where some places may put more eyes on the road. >> plus, pushing back on planned school closures. the action parents in oakland

are taking and one teacher now in the hospital in the wake of his bold one-on-one with housi to help people make it in the bay. this is "today in the bay." good monday morning to you. presidents' day as well. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. >> washington, get it? >> you're not only watching us on tv. you can take us with you if you're heading out on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. >> i like that. it might work. >> i think it will. want to keep things moving. meteorologist kari hall has been looking at the forecast. how is it starting out for us today? >> it's starting out pretty quiet, as you're heading to work it is chilly and our temperatures in oakland in the low 40s. we will not see much of a warm-up here today. we're only headed for the mid-50s, but at least it will be sunny. those winds, though, will still

continue to gust throughout today. here's a look at your lunchtime temperature, fremont at 54, 54 in novato, we're only going to make up to about 57 in oakland and san jose, as well as concord, and san francisco in the mid-50s this afternoon. we may have some freezing temperatures, as well as some rain coming in. we'll talk more about that in the forecast coming up. >> thank you so much. it's 5:31 right now. developing now in oakland, parents and students will use the presidents' day holiday to call for new action. they are angry over plans to close nearly a dozen schools. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell is live for us this morning. this protest comes after the district voted against delaying the closures. >> reporter: you are correct. good morning to you marcus and laura. this protest at 2:00 this afternoon outside parker elementary in east oakland, that is going to be one of seven schools that are slated to be closed. you can see the entire list on your tv screen. the list includes community day school, parker, brookfield, carl

b.munck, grass valley. rise community is scheduled to be merged with new highland academy and sixth through eighth grades will be cut from la escuelita and hillcrest. the board says the closures are needed to deal with a blooming budget deficit. the board voted against delaying school closures. at the end of the school year commune day will close and la escuelita will merge. five more are scheduled for the end of the school year 2023. the closures have ignited a lot of anger in parents and teachers, hence the protests we're going to see later this afternoon. and it also includes two teachers who stopped eating in protest. both said they were ending their hunger strikes on friday. that would be after 18 days. but teacher andre sanchez of west lake middle school waited until yesterday to finish.

that would be day 20 to end his hunger strike. as you can see on social media he posted this picture of himself in a hospital bed a caption that includes thanks for your love and support, the torch is in your hands. all power to the people. reporting live, bob redell for "today in the bay." >> thank you. the bay area's largest city may still be part of a pilot program aiming to get drivers to pump their brakes in the name of safety. kris sanchez joins us live this morning. they're going to be watching our speed. >> reporter: they sure are, but not if you're speeding a little bit, if it's an accident and you get distracted for a minute. this is really for the most egregious speeders and this is a push to put speed safety cameras along those stretches of roadway known for speed in san jose, san francisco, and in oakland. and here's the reason why. sadly, just two months into this year, 16 people have died in deadly crashes in the city of san jose, two in san francisco,

five people have died in deadly crashes in oakland. assembly bill 2336 would put cameras in areas known for excessive speed and for activities like side shows. the cameras would capture images of license plates, not drivers, for citations, kind of the way that parking tickets work now. when new york city implemented a similar plan, there was a 63% drop in speeding in school zones. assembly members authored this bill. >> this is not meant to be punitive. it's not meant to generate revenue. it's meant to slow down cars in areas that are already dangerous and these cameras can only be used in high-injury networks or in places that have particularly vulnerable populations like around schools. >> reporter: so under this proposal, depending on driver's income, and any revenue would

fund traffic and safety improvements in the same area where the fines are collected. once the ticket is paid, all license plate images have to be deleted within 60 days. they're trying to address the privacy issue on this one. the bill will get its first hearing as early as next month, and if it passes in san jose, san francisco, it will become part of a five-year pilot program to try to decrease speed. kris sanchez, "today in the bay." >> thank you, kris. you can watch kris' full interview with the southern california lawmaker about keeping our streets safe. download our nbc bay area app for your roku or other streaming device and you can find it in the must-see playlist. 5:35, and here on "today in the bay" we continue to talk about the struggles many face trying to make it in the bay. when it comes to the homeless crisis, large encampments are one aspect of shining the light on the magnitude of the issue. there are some improvements happening in santa clarita county. according to newly released

data, 6,000 people have been housed since january 2020 and there's also a decline in the number of people seeking help. the numbers represent the only recent data available on homelessness in the county, which has been delayed when it comes to the federally mandated homeless census being taken. now the census is set to take place this week. i spoke with the chief operating officer of destination home and we talked about the county's upcoming goals. >> we've got poverty, very high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, but during the pandemic all those things that make every one of us just a couple paychecks away from being on the streets kind of hit home. so people really struggled. there was a lot of challenges and a lot of hard times. >> i know we've noticed a growing number of encampments across santa clarita county. i personally live in santa clarita county and it seems i'm seeing more encampments around the city and county.

however, there is a new report out showing the number of people becoming homeless in the county has dropped 33% since january of 2020. talk to me about how that is and how did you come up with that number? >> i think one of the remarkable things about the system that we work on and how we focus on addressing homelessness is we know that there are nearly 10,000 people on our streets on any given night in santa clarita county, but we also know there are people becoming homeless all the time because of the financial emergency, that lost job, that trip to the hospital that you just didn't have the insurance to pay for. one of the major focuses for our community homelessness has been preventing families from losing their homes. >> what are the services now to get people permanent housing? >> yeah, i mean, over that same period since 2020, we've hired

6,000 people, which is an incredible number. were they able to get people off the streets, get rental vouchers into their hands, place them in apartments throughout our community, and provide them with the services they need to remain stable over time. and it's really worked. but we know there just isn't enough affordable housing in santa clarita county, or anywhere in the bay, for that matter. so we worked really hard since 2016, when santa clarita county voters approved measure a, which is a $950 million affordable housing bond to build more housing, and we've funded over 4,000 units since that time. we've opened hundreds of units over the past few years and hundreds more are on the way. >> we know this problem didn't get created overnight so it's going to take a lot longer to clean it up. ray, thank you. it's 5:38. take a look at this. snow, fresh snow falling in the sierra. that's highway 89 at west river.

it's right off of interstate 80 on your way to tahoe. travel conditions may be difficult at some higher elevations. the hope is that higher elevations may receive a foot and a half of snow. so welcome. so cold, too. even in the bay area. >> it is cold. and this is one of those weather systems we call an inside slider, so a lot of the precipitation stays east of us and we're seeing that snow coming down. meanwhile, we step out the door and it's all clear. but we are feeling those winds. we're looking at snow that will continue as we start out our monday morning, and we're going to see the chance that we could see a little bit of precipitation by tomorrow. but we're looking at sunshine today. in napa our temperatures starting out at 40 degrees, and look at those high temperatures. it's only going to reach into the upper 50s, so it's going to be much cooler. those gusty winds. and then we'll see if we can squeeze a couple of raindrops

out of the system tomorrow. mike, you have some possible delays for today? >> we do. potential delays for folks riding transit, because just because you have to get to where you're going doesn't mean that everybody is going there. transit agencies have some folks who are taking the day off, it's a holiday schedule or saturday schedule or modified schedule. these are all different words for fewer trains, fewer stops, fewer buses around all of these agencies. so if you take transit, check your agency's website for the l. how light is the traffic on the roador vallejo where we typically see the first fit of slowing. altamont pass, no slowing out of there. and coming through livermore, west 580, normal speed through the interchange. everything is fine. light traffic. be careful, you can go the speed limit. >> don't go over it. >> thanks, mike.

5:40, renewed student loan relief. next on "today in the bay," the new push to extend the pause on student loan payments and what's being done to get the attention of white house leaders. >> plus, support pouring in for queen elizabeth following her covid diagnosis. the latest on her recovery this morning. >> no one shines brighter than steph curry. after the break, we've got details on his amazing performance at the nba all-star game and the first of its kind award he won after. stay with us. you're watching "today in the bay."

you. it is 5:43. we're starting out cold temperatures, and near the coast today we have some upper 40s, sunshine, but those winds will stay gusty today. and temperatures will only make it into the low 50s today. we're going to have a big cooldown that continues throughout much of the week. we'll talk about that coming up in a few minutes. >> there was traffic flowing smoothly past flashing lights, and a crash on the shoulder, folks kind of ignored it because it was off of the main roadway. everything is clear from the flashing lights. that's the good news. we'll show you how clear your drive is or isn't coming up. >> thank you very much. it is 5:44. happening today in georgia, closing arguments in the federal hate crimes trial for the three men who shot and killed ahmed arbery. jurors heard from seven witnesses who testified about racial slurs used by the

defendants, gregory and travis mcmichael, and their friend, william bryant. they also say racist text messages and social media posts were seen. the defendants were sentenced to life in prison last fall. this morning, there's no update from buckingham palace on queen elizabeth, who tested positive for covid. so far we know her symptoms are relatively mild to the point where she's hoping to continue light duties. the queen is vaccinated and boosted, but as one expert remind us, everyone is worried about her age. >> obviously everybody will be hoping that within five or six days the queen will test negative, as so many with this milder form of coronavirus have been doing over the last few months. her age is a concern. she's 95 years old. >> now, on "today" they will have more coverage from london. that's coming up at 7:00 a.m. immediately following us right here on "today in the bay." the white house says president biden is willing to talk with president putin.

>> that comes with conditions. >> it does. putin and biden have already met over video conference to talk about ukraine several times, so it's not clear what a new meeting would produce. on the other hand, you do want to give your enemy an off ramp if you can. the meeting brokered by french president macron, who talked with putin 1:00 a.m. last night moscow time. the kremlin says active talks continue. 1:00 a.m. time is worth noting. world leaders don't generally call each other at 1:00 in the morning. this is a commercial satellite and it seems to show russian troovs moving out of garrison. this is february 20th, yesterday, tire tracks, no trucks. nbc has not independently verified these photographs. we're waiting on pentagon response as to what they mean. american secretary of state blinken is set to meet with

russian foreign minister lavrov sometime this week. that's one of the conditions the white house has set on talks between the two countries. they have to go well, they have to be productive before they're kicked upstairs to president biden. if they go poorly, here is blinken on "meet the press." >> it feels like your meeting with sergey lavrov this week, if it happens, it means no war, if it doesn't happen it means war has begun. is that the fair way to look at that meeting? >> that's a pretty good summary, chuck. yes, look, we're doing everything we can and it's my responsibility to do everything i can to try diplomatically to prevent a war, and so i will leave no stone unturned to do that. >> a short time ago the american government warned the united nations it had intelligence the russians had created a list of ukrainians it wanted its troops to capture or kill once they had invaded, and the u.s. says russian troops have been given the plan to invade. the one bit of timing that may or may not matter. it's been speculated president

putin would not invade ukraine during the olympics because that would distract the world from the beijing olympics, in which putin's ally, chinese president xi wanted to showcase china's might to the world. as you know, the olympics ended yesterday. we're watching everything, tweeting about all kinds of things on twitter. you'll find me @scott mcgrew. >> thank you very much. new pressure ramping up for the white house as the clock is ticking down for millions of americans with student loan debt. in december the white house put federal student loan payments on hold thanks to the c.a.r.e.s. act. payments were supposed to resume this month and it's been extended to may 1st. democrats are calling for the pause to remain in place through the midterm elections. the average student loan debt amounts to about $35,000. workers and shoppers at san jose's valley fair mall are angry about the new parking fee. dozens protested yesterday.

for shoppers, the first two hours of parking are free, but then it's $1 per hour, maxing out at $10 per day. the mall says too many people were using the garage for commute to go work or going to the airport. and now workers have to pay $40 for parking a month. >> making us pay to work, i feel like they just contrived a lazy plan and tried to lump us together with the customers because they didn't want to come up with a system to make it fair for us. >> in a statement, valley fair said that it supports the workers' right to voice their opinions, but the mall remained, quote, committed to our controlled parking plan. 5:49 this morning, and trending, a legendry performance by the one and only. >> did you catch steph curry on fire in the nba all-star game? if not, you missed one for the ages. >> from the golden state warriors, stephen curry. >> he was feeling the love.

fans in cleveland maybe were razzing him a bit during the intros. by the end, steph won the fans over with some incredible three-pointers. in all, he made an all-star record 16 threes, finished with 50 points. his game won the -- or his team won the game 163-160, and he won the first-ever kobe bryant mvp award, which was amazing. >> well deserved. let's get a look at that forecast for you today. meteorologist kari hall has been monitoring what we can expect. a cold start to the morning, kari. >> i don't think this forecast is too much of a slam dunk, but we are going to see big drops in temperatures over the next few days, and gusty winds. we're also watching out for a chance of showers tomorrow and maybe even a few spots getting in on some hail. this week we'll have freezing mornings, so we're back to digging out the heavier coats for the start of the day. take a look at our temperatures for this afternoon.

we're only reaching into the mid to upper 50s and then dipping down again tonight. many spots in the north bay and the valleys will be near freezing, and even colder for the next few mornings. by tomorrow night into friday morning, each morning we'll have temperatures dipping possibly to about 28 degrees. maybe as low as the lower 20s for some of our inland north bay valleys. and you want to make sure you're doing all you can to protect those plants that have bloomed so nicely in all of this warm weather. then as we take a look across the region, you can see a couple of lightning strikes, snow happening in parts of the sierra. this is a fairly potent system. on the back side hour-by-hour, will be spotty showers, and then notice that for some of our lower elevations in the north bay as well as in the east bay, we could see some snow on some of our hills and mountains. and then as we go into wednesday, that all starts to move out. we're only left with a few

hundredths of an inch of rain. this is a bigger deal for the sierra where there could be over a foot of snow in some spots. our temperatures are very chilly right now. this won't last. look at gilroy. our ten-day forecast shows temperatures in the low 50s. freezing mornings are a concern by the end of the week. then we head upward and we are going to see the trend continue possibly through next week. we're getting a taste of winter for a little while. our valley temperatures in the 50s and morning temperatures near freezing. there will be, once again, a chance of some spotty rain tomorrow and we'll be tracking that with storm ranger, so you want to make sure you check in. mike, you're getting a feel for today's commute. >> it feels light. let's look at the bay bridge span itself. moving very smoothly. look at all the spacing between these cars. the bay bridge toll plaza did just start to see a few more cars coming through. we have people going to work, and that means jobs and

businesses will be operating. but holiday for a lot of businesses, so we'll see lighter volume, and a lot of schools. perhaps this week. we don't see slowing for 37 or highway 4. altamont pass, smooth drive at the limit all the way into livermore. so is the south bay, south county and the peninsula. if you can sleep in, go for it. back to you. >> i like the sound of that. thanks, mike. happening now, a new push in concord to help people struggling to make it in the bay. council members will debate a plan to buy the lakes apartments on laguna street near ellis lake park. the city would convert the 102-unit building into affordable housing. discussions take place tomorrow at concord's virtual city council meeting. >> and a tragic accident on a beach in southern california. still ahead on "today in the bay," a police helicopter crashes, leaving one officer dead, another in the hospital. the encouraging new update on his status and where the

investigation stands. plus, at 6:00, monitoring the possible russian invasion of ukraine. we have live team coverage breaking down the latest developments, including what is now overwhelming concern among bay area ukrainians. a lot more news ahead on this monday morning. you're watching "today in the bay."

welcome back. you're watching "today in the bay." developing in southern california, a police officer is dead and another has just been released from the hospital, after a helicopter crashed in newport beach. >> the new huntington beach officers were responding to a disturbance on the beach when their chopper crashed in shallow water. the officer who died has been identified as 44-year-old nicholas villa. it's unclear what caused the crash, but witnesses say it happened fast. >> there's an investigation that's occurring as we speak. they will determine the cause. >> officer villa is survived by his wife and daughter. a memorial is growing around a patrol car parked outside the department headquarters. new this morning, military getting to the bottom of a mystery floating in the skies above the hawaiian island of kauai. last week dozens of people reported seeing some kind of orb

in the sky. the military tells our affiliates an air team checked it out and it turned out to be an unmanned balloon. hope always springs eternal in spring training, but this year it's the hope an agreement can be reached to end the lockout. today owners and players begin daily negotiating sessions, the first week of spring games has already been canceled. a deal must be reached by the end of february for the regular season to start the schedule for march 31st. well, the 2022 winter olympics are now officially in the history books. athletes are now heading home. >> you may have watched the closing ceremony right here on nbc bay area. if you missed it, team usa bobsledder elana meyers taylor carried the flag. she was floated toing the flag-bearer at the opening ceremony but had a positive covid diagnosis. u.s. athletes brought home 25

total medals from beijing. also during the closing ceremony, the olympic flame extinguished, officially marking an end to the games. it's impossible to know exactly who will compete in the 2026 games, but we can start making some guesses. we posted an article with five athletes to look out for in milan. among them, winter olympian alyssa liu. make sure you check that out at nbcbayarea.com. right now at 6:00, escalating tensions. >> i will leave no stone unturned to do that. >> secretary of state antony blinken in a push to end a russian invasion in ukraine. we are live with team coverage as the temperature heats up, with hopes president biden may meet with vladimir putin provided one condition is met. >> plus, one of the bay area's biggest cities still under a mask requirement. they may be ready to lift the mandate. the looming decision and the uncertainty surrounding the

vote. this is "today in the bay." here we go, monday morning. and a good morning to you. thanks so much for making us a part of your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. if you're at the gym, you can also stream "today in the bay" on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. >> let's get you started with meteorologist kari hall, tracking what we can expect weather-wise. how is it starting out? >> cold. it is very chilly out there and it's windy. when you add in the gusty winds and temperatures in the mid-30s, there's a big change under way right now. we're going to see colder weather with us throughout the next several days. we're at 35 right now in dublin and morgan hill, as well as santa rosa, and in san francisco it's in the mid-40s. don't expect a big increase in temperatures today. in napa we're going from upper 30s to the upper 50s. we will see more sunshine, but the gusty winds will make it feel chilly out there. freezing over