news to tell you about wwnba star britney grienser out of russian custody on her way to texas. that news coming down within the last hour. president biden just moments ago wrapping up a news conference. the story developing right now on several fronts. we're going to bring you the latest this morning. >> a live look outside. more rain headed to the bay area. nbc bay area storm ranger tracking its arrival. ahead. kari hall will give us an updated timeline. this is nbc bay area. >> and a good thursday morning to you. thanks for allowing us to be a part of your morning. i'm marking washington. >> i'm laura garcia. let's start with the forecast. we got a break in the rain but it's coming back. >> coming back for the evening commute. for the morning we have time to prepare for the rain coming in but it's cold and we have to

bundle up once again with temperatures in parts of the bay area just a couple degrees above freezing. 35 in livermore and palo alto. we have low visibility. down to about a quarter of a mile for novato, a dense fog advisory in effect for solano county and visibility at zero for morgan hill. really dense fog there. the rain moves into the north bay first at 2:00 to 3:00 this afternoon. spreads across much of the rest of the bay area later on this evening. that will be the first wave of several more in the forecast for the weekend. i'll have more on that and, mike, that fog affecting north bay commuters. >> where you showed the low visibility, folks traveling south with those tail lights over the hill toward lincoln from north san pedro coming toward us, it looks like the overpass stops traffic. it's just an optical illusion. folks are traveling into the fog, head nothing to santa rosa.

37, creeping into vallejo, that's an issue for the north bay. the drive not bad for the east bay. the metering lights on at the bay bridge, typical time. in the south bay, looking athnorth 101, some slowing here. it started back at capitol expressway but easing up here as well as past sjc, but that is an issue for the visibility. back to you. >> now to that breaking news we told you about at the top of the show, the release of wnba star brittney griner in a prisoner exchange with russia. >> president biden in the last few moments wramed up a briefing. he said the exchange took place in the united arab emirates and the u.s. is returning viktor bout, an illegal arms dealer who served 11 years of a 25-year sentence. this marks one of the most high profile prisoner swaps between moscow and washington since the cold war.

griner was arrested in february when cannabis vape cartridges were found in her luggage and later received a nine-year prison sentence. president biden says the u.s. is still working to get the release of another american jailed in russia, paul whelan. >> we'll keep negotiating in good faith for paul's release. i guarantee that. i say that to the family. i guarantee you. and i urge russia to do the same to insure paul's health and humane treatment are maintained until we can bring him home. >> in the meantime, griner is now flying to san antonio where doctors at a medical facility will see her, evaluate her. her partner cherelle now also en route to meet her there. we're monitoring this breaking news on air and online. ahead at 6:30 this morning, scott mcgrew will break down the implications of this big prisoner swap and what we can expect to play out. >> 6:03 right now. the current covid, flu, and rsv

surge not only maxing out some hospitals but now leaving bay area store shelves empty when it comes to finding over-the-counter remedies. >> health leaders also sight vaccine fatigue as a reason for the decline this year. medical experts are calling it the worst flu season inn the last decade? >> the worst in a decade. good morning, marcus. and i just went inside this cvs a few minutes ago and did shopping myself to see what the situation was like. it's the same here as far as remedies go for children, tylenol, motrin, things like that. the shelves are pretty much empty. they are empty. there's a couple for infant medications but otherwise, empty. and that's the way it is not just here but around the nation. millions of people sick with the flu and colds, rsv virus, and covid. all this in the middle of the

covid cases spiking and respiratory viruses overwhelming some hospitals across the country. medical experts advise now is the best time to get your flu vaccine. the number of illnesses and deaths are staggering. >> nationally, we have nearly 9 million cases, over 78,000 people have been hospitalized. over 4500 deaths. some of them are children. we're hearing about 14 children. >> dr. underwood told nbc bay area he's afraid people may be getting vaccine fatigue after getting so many covid shots in the past couple years. he's encouraging people to get their flu shots and keep up to date on the covid boosters. adding to the challenge is the shortage in both over the counter and prescription medications like tamiflu and amoxicillin. j&j says the company is running 24-hour production lines seven days a week to meet the neat. some people opting to get their

vaccines when they're here at the pharmacy picking up medications. this pharmacy like many across the bay area offering not only these flu vaccines but also the covid boosters. tom jenson, today in the bay. >> a lot of people need to sign up and get it, as you mentioned. they're tired of them. you don't want to be sick. >> 6:06 right now. police in san francisco so far not saying what led up to a deadly accident in the excelsior neighborhood. this is when a person was struck by a car near a playground. the driver stayed at the scene. >> check out this recent big cat scare. this happened monday near santa rosa. you can see it sitting there watching from outside the patio glass door. the family says this same mountain lion killed two goats in their barn before dragging their dog outside. and that's when one family member fired off a gun to scare it off, saving their dog in the

process. the family says state fish and wildlife responded and a trapper has since euthanized that animal. >> don't expect a fresh dungeness crab feast for your holidays. california fish and wildlife is further delaying the bay area's crab season. this is an effort to protect humpback whales migrating south along the coast. this is the fourth straight year those delays for bay area dungeness crab have affected the season. fish and wildlife agents are reassessing the situation again on december 22nd. >> hope you're keeping that umbrella handy, at least by this evening. this morning it is clear across the bay area as folks make their way out the door in fremont. we'll check the morning commute in a moment, but the changing forecast, that's why you have to keep tabs. kari hall is covering it all. >> we're dealing with dense fog across parts of the bay area. with the rain returning for the afternoon, it's mainly for the evening commute, and then we'll have another round of heavier rain on sad with higher wind gusts that could reach 20 to 50

miles per hour. we'll also be prepared for street flooding issues as the drains get clogged, that's the possibility there along with quickly moving water in creeks and rivers. that water will be rising fairly quickly with heavy rain and we'll also have weekend heavy snow for the sierra. we powered up storm ranger, and the red scan you're seeing there, you have access to it on our nbc bay area app. right now, the rain not yet moving in but it will be moving in later today. mike, stopping at the gas station, you might want to check the windshield wipers and tire pressure. where are prices lower? >> we'll check certain cities this morning. we're looking at sunniville to start. the cheapest reported is at national. that's $4.09. santa clara county has cheeping prices but in the southern part of san jose. san rumome has the safeway that's $3.99. there are prices below $4 scattered around the bay.

in the north bay, the best in santa rosa was $4.19 at the costco on santa rosa avenue. that's with our help of friends reporting on gas buddy. let's check the speed sensors. starting to slow. a heavier backup now forming toward treasure island. it sounds like a vehicle ran out of gas approaching treasure island itself. some slowing but a bridge crew should be able to clear that quickly. there is fog in the north bay. we saw the system change, but still novato does have much more of an issue and less visibility there and the build for the tri-valley looks like it's centering on sunol. >> centering on finding the perfect gift for people this year, and adding that personal touch may be the big secret. coming up next, how one major tech company is stepping up to help you find the perfect gift for that special someone. >> and another major tech company, apple, keeping your secrets even more secret, but not everyone is happy about

that. let's take you out to the futures. anything to be happy about? yeah, that's a little bit of green after days and days of red. you're watching today in the bay.

(b(boy) i ththink this i is going toto . (vo) small bubusinesses l like ths learningng center..... (smb) there's only onene way to fifd out.t. (vo) ...helelp communitities thriv.

that's w why wells f fargo hs donated d roughly $4$420 million dodollars to d diverse l busineness owners.s. (smb) back to o alpha, plalant. (vo) nenew thinkingng, and new w ths ...make ththe future b brighterr all ofof us. happy hoholidays frorom wells f. good thursday morning. as you're getting the kid ready in the north bay, we're checking out orschool day forecast for petaluma. starting out cloudy and very cold, only 40 degrees at drop-off time, and a lot of cloud with rain developing by pick-up time.

make sure the kids have the rain gear for walking out of the classroom. we'll talk more about what's ahead as the rain moves in in a few minutes. >> see a lot of clouds. we see more traffic. north 280 coming toward us with the headlights. you can see us, you can barely see 880 and 17. these low clouds drifting around. the build is a little more significant. >> good morning. happy thursday to you. stocks continue to sink as wall street worries more and more about recession. investors are worried about the fed tamping things down too hard too fast. we'll know more next week. let's talk soup. campbell's soup up 6% yesterday to a 52-week high. soup stock is on a boil. >> the "wall street journal" was the first to report apple is going to extend the encryption of user data to the cloud. right now, your texts are encrypted end to end, but what you back up in the icloud, that's not encrypted the same way. this new plan would mean nobody

would be able to look at your pictures or read your backup texts, not apple, not law enforcement. no matter what warrant they presented, apple would be able to say honestly, nothing we can do. we don't have the password. apple and law enforcement have been battling back and forth on this since at least 2015, and the san bernadino mass shooting, a husband and wife attacked a city facility, killing 14. the department of justice was unable to read the encrypted texts and tried to force apple to rewrite the phone's software to let them in. >> other news, journalists and other newsroom workers are on strike at "the new york times" for one day. protesting they have not had a contract since march of 2021. about 1100 workers will not be working today. >> the blog the information reports twitter will charge $11 a month to buy a blue check on the app. you'll recall, twitter tried selling blue checks last month and ended up with this disaster.

twitter will charge $7 a month if you buy it on the web. twitter is charging more on the app because apple takes a cut of the profit when you buy it on the app. earlier this month, musk said he was willing to, quote, go to war with the world's most valuable company for its policy of keeping 30% of in-app purchase price. musk reversed himself after a brief meeting at the apple headquarters with tim cook. a lot of apps do this. netflix, for instance, if you try to sign up for netflix on your iphone, it will saw you have to go to netflix.com, do it there. they say we know it's a pain, but it saves them money. so it's a little like you were pointing out, sometimes having to pay more if you use a credit card. >> exactly, depending on the merchant, they can charge you fees. >> i will say what an easy solution this was compared to going to war with the world's most powerful company. >> he has enough on his table

right now. >> a lot of people will be on their phones right now. everyone trying to find that perfect gift for that perfect someone. that's a lot for a lot of people, but you know what, finding that one, that gift that you really want is hard for a lot of people, but online, they are actually helping you. google searches on how to customize that perfect gift has more than doubled over the past decade. and one insider says that it is something businesses big and small are capitalizing on. >> to compete for consumer dollars this holiday season, again, it goes back to the special product offerings, things you can't find other places, personalization is really a huge one. >> stockings, recipe books, monograms robes, towels are just among the top items that people are searching to customize. "today" show's race to deliver series is breaking down how you can add the personal touch to the next gift. that's at 7:00 right after us here on today in the bay.

>> don't just pull out a sharpie. >> you got me customized socks once. >> did you like them? >> i still wear them. trending for you, you know i like socks and food. how about free food for life? which we're guessing would be a trend thing any morning. >> in this case, we're talking about a lifetime supply of mcdonald's. here's how you get it, by owning a coveted mccold card. these exist for the select few and allow for two free meals a week over 50 years. mcdonald's is now giving one card away as part of a holiday promotion plus three more cards the winner can pass on to friends. to enter, you have to buy something from their app. we did the math, it adds up to more than 5,000 meals per card, which maybe puts the term happy meal into perspective for you. i would like to get you something healthier though. >> please don't get me that. i will pass that on.

>> food and socks, come on, marcus. >> you know, as i get older, that food not sitting well with me. just saying. being honest. i do stop from time to time though. all right. what's been setting well with me is this rain we have been getting because we haven't had it in so long. >> it took a while to get here, but now that it's here, it keeps going. >> that's a good thing. >> absolutely. and we'll see it again later on this afternoon into the evening. so here's what you need to do while we do still have a few hours to prepare. make sure that that holiday decor as well as the furniture is ready for some more wet weather as well as gusty winds. want to make sure that once again you're clearing the storm drains and moving those leaves away from the drains that will allow that water to go down. and also check the tire pressure and the windshield wipers and allow extra time, especially for the evening commute. then for the next few days wi have already had to do this, dress in layers because it's been so cold. as we take a look at storm ranger, our mobile doppler

radar, the red scan, you have access to it as well on the nbc bay area app and you get alerts as rain is moving in. once again, it's not here just yet. it will be arriving for the afternoon into the evening but wi can start to see it picked up on the radar. and by the time it makes it to the north bay, it's 2:00 to 3:00 and looks like the initial line will be heavy and starts to break up as it moves to the south bay and the east bay and does clear out for early tomorrow morning. most of friday is dry, but then we see that next round of rain coming in early saturday morning and this is when we will have the heavier rain, the more gusty winds, and the rain will last a lot longer into the day on saturday. i know, it's the weekend. you want to get outside. there won't be many opportunities, especially for saturday. it could become a little more scattered for sunday. so the rain that we're expecting today for some of us won't be that much. maybe a tenth of an inch. it will be higher for the north bay, anywhere from a quarter to

over a half-inch of rain. the heavier rain this weekend in all will total over an inch for a lot of spots. and may be as high as 2 1/2 inches for ukiah and nearly 2 inches of rain for the santa cruz mountains. and while we get rain, there's a lot of heavy snow expected for the sierra. if you're going there this weekend, heads-up that travel is going to be difficult. you may have a window on friday, but you probably want to wait until monday before coming back to the bay area. then there's more rain after that, after the widespread rain for the weekend, we'll see another storm system moving in by next thursday. a very busy weather pattern here. a couple dayoffs a break in between, but a lot of rain icons on here, and we'll see temperatures remaining the same. highs in the upper 50s and mornings starting out in the upper 30s. mike, you were looking at flashing lights on the peninsula. >> you pointed them out to me as you saw the camera network we

share. we're looking at the side of northbound 101. what i believe is one more crew is there after they concluded the majority of the road work from this stretch of santa clara county heading to san mateo county. you see the volume building just a tad bit. nothing dramatic but that will be a factor for the peninsula for the short term. we're looking at service reduction going on through the 18th. that's the first week this schedule change has happened for cal train. they're continuing the electrification of the line, but we have a reduction in service so check the schedule. over here, nothing dramatic for the roadways. a smooth drive and the first burst of travel has cleared through san jose. we have a crash, south 880 through award, so we're tracking more slowing out of san leando. we should see some relieve because i believe the disabled vehicle, the one that ran out of gas on the bay bridge, i think the crew has been able to repair that. >> 6:21 right now.

aa bombshelell royoyal tetell-a. nenext, we'llll talkk about t tt episisode of the netflixix dodocuseries,, harry a and meght dropped overnight.t. afterr the break, what somome calling the biggest revelation. first, christmas continues right here on today in the bay. >> hey, there. it's day five of the 12 days of christmas, and coffee can feel like a basic gift, but if you find a favorite spot, you can make it special. we like nirvana foam when we're downtown because it's global, woman-owned and black-owned so it makes us feel good as we're giving a gift, we're also giving back to a local shop. >> kris sanchez has been sharing gift giving ideas as we get closer to christmas. follow her on instagram,

6:25 for you right now. the first three episodes of the new prince harry and meghan markle docuseries dropped overnight on netflix. >> "today" show's keir simmons is outside buckingham palace as he explains if you're expecting more royal bombshells you may be disappointed. >> hey, marcus and laura. good morning to you. we got up early. not so early here because in london things are later, and we watched all three episodes. so you don't have to. and i gotta say, the headline is there are no big headlines about anything going on behind the walls of buckingham palace there. what you do get is a love story,

a royal love story and heavy criticism of the way the royal system works including the way the palace works with the media, particularly the british media. you do get to hear some new voices. we hear from doria ragland, meghan's mom. we hear archie, they son, for the first time. prince harry, if you like, does not dish the dirt. think about how many stoies he could tell about what has happened in his life behind those walls. you don't really hear that so much. now, of course, there are three more episodes next week. there is a book next month. so there is a long way to go. so far, though, the palace is not commenting, and we don't yet know even whether members of the royal family have watched it. of course, the prince and princess of wales have young children. it came out at 8:00 this morning uk time. they would be likely getting their children ready for school. guys. >> i'm kris sanchez in san jose

where a deadly trend continues on the streets of the city. another person hit and killed while walking on city streets. we'll tell you where that happened and what we can all do to make things a little safer and whathe city is t

breaking right now at 6:30, wnba star brittney griner on her way to texas after being released from a russian prison.

president biden says she's safe after a prisoner swap. that story developing right now on several fronts. our scott mcgrew will join us with the latest. >> another edestrian struck and killed in san jose. a live report on what people who live in that area are saying must happen for an area they call a hot spot for crashes. plus, former twitter workers taking their case to court. we're live in san francisco with the fight pitting elon musk against laid off employees who claim they were wrongfully terminated. this is today in the bay streaming live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv, and online. a very good morning to you. 6:30 right now. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we want to turn to meteorologist kari hall. you have more rain in our forecast and a cold start. >> a very cold start and starting out with dense fog as we prepare for the rain coming in. thesis temperatures are in the

30s and low 40s, but as low as 34 right now in palo alto. 38 in sonoma and 39 right now in concord. visibility down to about a tenth of a mile or less in parts of the north bay, as well as the morgan hill area. we have seen some very low visibility dense fog rolling around in the tri-valley as well. foggy morning and we phauer up our storm ranger to get ready for the rain set to arrive for the evening commute. i'll go hour by hour with our timeline and talk about what's going on this weekend. that's coming up in a few minutes. >> all right. we'll check back with you, kari. 6:31. let's get back to the release of brittney griner. she's out of russia, on her way right now to the united states. >> scott mcgrew is joining us now. scott, the president just spoke about this a short time ago and talked about what has to be the highest profile u.s. exchange, prisoner exchange in decades. >> could very well be. she's headed to a medical facility in texas, griner is. freed in exchange for a russian

armed dealer we had in our custody. here's the president about 45 minutes ago. >> she is safe. she is on a plane. she's on her way home. after months of being unjustly detained in russia, held under intolerable circumstances. brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along. >> griner, as you know, caught in a russian airport admitting to carrying cannabis oil into the country. griner had been sentences to years in a russian penal colony. not released is an american businessman, paul whelan. the russians say whelan is a spy. the american government says no he isn't. andrea mitchell reports the russians are willing to give whelan back if we release a russian spy, but our government says we don't have a spy to exchange. griner's wife speaking alongside the president said she was relieved to hear brittney, who she calls bg, had been released, but everyone was well aware paul had been left behind. >> bg and i will remain

committed to the work of getting every american home, including paul, whose family is in our hearts today as we celebrate bg being home. we do understand there are still people out here who are enduring what i endured the last nine months of missing tremendously their loved ones. >> we will, of course, monitor griner's progress, who we understand is in the united arab emirates free of russian air space this morning on her way to texas, and we'll have more on our midday news. >> and we sent you that push alert when that story first broke a little after 5:00 this morning. make sure you download our free nbc bay area app so you can get all those updates and alerts sent straight to your phone. >> 6:33 right now. developing this morning, police in san jose investigating another deadly accident involving a pedestrian. >> that latest incident happened near the little orchard street near the plant shopping center. kris sanchez live for us outside the san jose police headquarters, and pedestrian

safety already front and center in san jose and those leaders are just dealing with that day after day now. >> yeah, it's something for all of us to think about really because this has been the deadliest year for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists in the city of san jose in a very long time. this year is breaking records. and the person who died while they were walking on city streets last night was hit by a driver who stopped and is cooperating with police. neighbors in the area gathered in their memory. there's a mobile home park in the area, a shopping center, a cemetery, and a lot of people coming and going from that home first shelter down the street. the people in the area say they have seen this before, and they want action now. >> several people have been killed. i have been to the city. i talked to the city several times. many times about putting a cross walk in here. it's very dark. there's homeless people.

the last time somebody was killed i actually put giant cardboard signs that said how many more people will die. >> san jose hit a record number of traffic deaths on city streets this year, and last night's victim was the 31st pedestrian, but eight bicyclists and eight motorcyclists also died in crashes this year, along with 14 drivers and passengers. we're talking city streets here, not freeways. in 2021, 60% of deadly crashes happened when it was dark, and a third of crashes people were hit while walking outside a cross walk. and nearly a quarter of crashes, speed was a factor. according to the city's vision zero task force, they are aiming to reduce traffic deaths through enforcement, roadway engineering, and community outreach. i did talk with someone from the city's transportation department, and they say that speed trend is really tricky because people started driving faster during the pandemic when the streets were wide open, and

now that people are returning to work and to school, there are more people on the roadways, that trend hasn't changed and people are still driving too fast and distracted. make sure you know where you're going, you're aware of your surroundings and watch your speed. kris sanchez, today in the bay. >> you have to be extra careful out there. >> exactly. thank you. >> happening today, recently terminated twitter employees take their first step in their legal battle against the social media giant. >> a san francisco judge will hear grievances from employees who say their rights were violated. this is when they were laid off without proper notice. ginger is live for us in san francisco this morning. and ginger, this is just one of the many headlines surrounding twitter this morning. >> that's right, marcus and laura. first on that lawsuit, former twitter employees have filed a class action lawsuit in federal

court over their termination from the social media company. they say they were told they would be advised of their employment status via email, but they say they were blocked out of those emails even before that happened. those three employees are former employees are expected to speak more on that before the 1:30 p.m. hearing at the federal courthouse in san francisco. now, just blocks away from that courthouse, at twitter headquarters, there are new pictures that have come to light that have raised some eyebrows. take a look at these photos that show the new sleeping rooms at twitter hq. each room has its own name and reservation status. the cleaning crew assigned to the floor where the rooms have popped up tell nbc bay area they were surprised to see them, also surprised last friday when twitter abruptly terminated a contract with their employer. now, reports of the new accommodations at twitter headquarters have caught the attention of san francisco's department of building inspection, who issued a statement that reads in part, quote, we are reaching out to

building representatives so we can conduct a site inspection as part of our investigation. if we find that suite 900 no longer meets the building code, we'll issue a notice of violation. in response, elon musk has tweeted, quote, so city of san francisco attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl. where are your priorities. he's also tagged san francisco mayor london breed in that. they have not buckled down a date on when they plan on visited twitter hq. we'll keep our eyes out for that further development as well as the lawsuit and appearance in court. we're live in san francisco, today in the bay. >> so much to follow. thanks so much, ginger. >> we want to take a live look at highway 50 in south lake tahoe and a new winter storm expected to make things tough for anyone trying to get away

this weekend. the national weather service is warning travel will be almost impossible, especially saturday with whiteout conditions. >> not a good time to head to the sierra. we're talking the whole range here? >> absolutely. it's going to be the windows to get there and get back are going to be very small. so you may have an opportunity this morning, but the rain will be here as we go into this evening. transitioning into snow as you go up in elevation. as we take a live look, you can see it is clear, but the temperature at zero right now in south lake tahoe, and so we're also seeing those icy spots on the roadways as well. now we do have a winter storm watch that's going up, where there's potential between friday night and monday morning of 2 to 5 feet, and once again, that includes the entire range, as well as wind gusts that may reach 100 miles per hour at the ridge crest. as we take a look at south lake tahoe forecast, our temperatures will be getting a lot colder as the snow comes down on saturday. if you're staying at home,

there's going to be santa con happening in san francisco. that pub crawl going on throughout the day, and it's going to be raining off and on, so a lot of soggy santas in san francisco. then looking at our warriors game forecast on saturday, it's going to be raining once again as you're heading into chase center. that's a good indoor activity to do. if you're out there at levi's stadium on sunday, be prepared with the rain gear. there's also a chance that rain and cold temperatures will continue through the end of the weekend. and mike, you're seeing lower visibility and you need lower speeds. >> exactly. this is not the worst of it, just showing you what's going on in san rafael looking south toward the bridge heading to richmond. southbound 101, low clouds continue here. the bridge getting more traffic coming over into the fog and coming down from santa rosa. from time to time, we have seen slowing for 101. visibility may be tougher than some folks are used to seeing through the area. but a build pretty typical area, we may have a new crash near the

berkeley curve. i'll check on that with chp, but the flow look standards there. a crash cleared here, south 880, but not before it started backing up traffic on northbound 238 coming off the castro valley y, the tri-valley shows a typical pattern. the south bay is seeing low clouds. that's an issue but not playing a factor on the sensors just yet. back to you. >> 6:41 right now. and a big bay area tech company stepping up to help the war-torn ukraine area. next here on today in the bay, the relief in ukraine one san francisco based company is helping to provide for a hard-hit industry people hard-hit industry people everywhere rely on.

♪mumusic playining♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ nonothing brinings the pacak togegether like a t trip to great t wolf lodgege. now openen in northehern californiaia.

right now at 6:44 on your thursday morning, as you're heading out, head up that we have dense fog moving around parts of the bay area, especially the south county. morgan hill, visibility is zero and zero in novato as well as much of the north bay. watching this as well as the incoming rain and we'll time it out hour by hour in a few minutes. >> here's that camera at 280 northbound with the headlights. couldn't see them a short time ago. the clouds are getting a little better as far as visibility in san jose, but she talked about morgan hill, san martin, gilroy, really tough to see. also parts of the tri-valley, we'll show you that build coming up. >> thanks so much. quickly approaching quarter to 7:00. we continue our breaking news

this morning, the white house has negotiated a deal to free brittney griner. >> scott mcgrew with us now. the president just addressed the nation. >> that's right. some good news announcing griner had cleared russian air space, was safe in the uae. griner's wife joining the president at the white house. she was able to speak with her wife on the phone. griner, the wnba basketball star who admitted bringing cannabis oil into russia against russian law. she was freed in exchange for a russian arms dealer we had in captivity. photographs just released by the white house show the happy moment cherelle griner speaking to her wife from the oval office with the president, vice president, and secretary of state at her side. other news, the u.s. supreme court yesterday heard a case that could radically change the very face of democracy. at issue, how much power do state legislatures have to run elections? the state of north carolina says

unlimited power. they point to a clause in the u.s. constitution that reads, the times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof. on first reading this, pretty clear. legislature decides. the question is, what if the legislature decides to hold an election that is unconstitutional. there's no room in the sentence for the courts shall be prescribed by the legislature. for years the idea that only the legislature had power was a fringe idea. you put this into practice, it could totally change our system. you could see a situation where no democrat ever wins in the south and no republican ever wins again in california because the state legislature saw to it. illegal? sure. no one to stop them. the court heard the case yesterday and will rule on it next year. >> finally, president trump's

lawyers who said they twice before turned over all documents to the government said their team was able to find more documents. at least two classified. >> we're watching the griner situation as she progressed to texas where she'll get some medical care. we'll talk about it on social media. on facebook, you can find me at scott mcgrew tv. >> thanks. >> a tech company now based in san francisco is doing its part to support ukraine's effort to beat back in the russian invasion. the founders of grammarly were born in ukraine and they were the business first started and where its offices are now closed. now, the company provides technology to help people and organizations communicate more effectively. now, it's part of an initiative providing ambulances to ukraine. this is to help save lives. one grammarly cofounder says the group has collected more than $200 million to provide 90 new ambulances. many hospitals in ukraine are

operating at limited to no capacity. the initiative united 24, was actually launched by ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. >> it's 6:47 right now. want to get a look at the forecast. had a few dry patches there but now rain is going to ramp up again. >> it's going to ramp up for the evening commute. we have a few hours to prepare. here's what to expect with the rain for the evening commute. it does move through fairly quickly and then we'll have another round coming in on saturday. much heavier rain along with gusty winds, but we're also monitoring for the potential of some isolated flood issues, especially with a lot of the leaves that can clog those storm drains and as that water comes down, it's going to clog and possibly cause street flooding as well as some of those quickly rising creeks and rivers. for this year, a heavy snow expected that may close roads. it looks pretty certain with this kind of storm. as we take a look at storm

ranger, our mobile doppler radar, we parked it on san bruno mountain and it's going to give us the best view of the storm coming in. right now, it's still well to the north of us. we have a little time to prepare, and as we're getting the kids up and out the door for school this morning, in petaluma, parts of the north bay, a cloudy start, but by the time you pick them up, they may need rain gear. maybe send them to school with that as we'll see showers moving in at pickup time. we see much of the north bay covered with rain at 3:00 to 4:00 this afternoon, even moving int san francisco. it will sweep through the bay area later on this evening but become more scattered. then going into saturday, more early morning showers that just really continue to ramp up as we go through late morning and then scattered showers possibly even some thunderstorms for the afternoon. that continues into sunday as well. so this first round of rain brings us about a tenth of an inch of rain for areas from san francisco on southward. a quarter-inch to a half-inch of

rain for the north bay, but the weekend we see a lot more rain, and in total we may get over an inch of rain for the tri-valley, as well as the south bay and the north bay may see up to 2 1/2 inches of rain or more around ukiah. the sierra snow is going to be quite heavy with potential of getting anywhere from 29 inches of snow in tahoe city to 52 in kirkwood and 57 in kingdale. and that's not going to be the end of it. after all of this rain comes through for the weekend, next week we'll be watching more storms coming down the pipeline that could be here by the end of the week. very busy here, and i think we're really accepting it, we'll take it because it's been so dry lately. going into the weekend, yes, i know it's going to rain throughout your weekend plans but we'll be tracking it and have more dry days ahead. mike, you have been watching the impacts of the fog on the roadways. >> finally looking like a clear view at the bay bridge. you can see the skyline in emeryville, but there are low

clouds and fog and low visibility to the north. you so the backup, a backup at the toll plaza, it looks like they slowed down the metering lights down. more traffic across this bridge in toward richmond, in toward san rafael where there's fog extended your drive from san rafael. slowing into novato, lower visibility as you travel across from vallejo. the traffic flow lighter as we approach the end of the year. no problem for the walnut creek interchange. we have a big build for south 680. considerable slowing, i think one crew cleared but there will be continued pavement work going on, and also this visibility may be a factor. so this is between the camera and the roadway itself, but the fog and clouds going up and down. be careful. >> a big problem. be careful as you head out the door. >> 6:51. happening now, presales for next year's bottle rock fest go on sale as 10:00 a.m., but certain napa residents have access to the tickets now.

the lineup hasn't been announced but it's pretty good. last year, metallica and pink headlined. >> and a look at the top stories including brittney griner is now on her way back to the united states. and we're following breaking news for you as well as that incredibly high profile prisoner swap. just ahead, the response in the last hour from psident biden.re

welcome back. 6:55 right now. we're moving you forward with a look at the top stories on today in the bay including the breaking news in the release of brittney griner after a prisoner exchange with russia. >> president biden wrapped up a

briefing about an hour ago. that exchange took place in the united arab emirates and the u.s. is returning viktor bout who served 11 years of a 25-year sentence. griner was arrested in february when cannabis vape cartridges were found in her luggage and later received a nine-year prison sentence. president biden highlighting the tough time this ordeal has been for her as well as her loved ones. >> these past few months have been hell for brittney and for cherelle and her entire family. and all her teammates back home. >> and president biden says that the u.s. is still working to get the release of another american jailed in russia, paul whelan. now, as for griner, she is now flying to san antonio. this is where doctors at a government medical facility will see her. her wife is now also flying there to meet her. and the reaction to griner's release pouring in on twitter. that includes former secretary of state hillary clinton, wnba

and nba players along with several members of congress including south bay represent ro khanna. we'll continue to monitor this breaking news on air as well as online and stay tuned for more live coverage for you on the "today" show. >> police in san jose investigating the latest pedestrian death that happened last night around 8:00 p.m. near oak hill cemetery off curtner there. shortly after people were gathered at the scene to grieve. police say the driver stayed on the scene and was cooperating but this marked san jose's 31st deadly accident involving pedestrians this year. the city's highest number on record. >> 6:57 right now. the current covid, flu, and rsv surge not only maxing out some hospitals but now leaving bay area store shelves empty when it comes to over-the-counter remedies. >> tom jenson is live in walnut creek, and tom, flu cases are at a ten-year high right now.

>> that's right, and health officials are advising people that they can do their part by getting their flu vaccines and their covid boosters. they can get them here at the cvs pharmacy like most pharmacies around the bay area, offering both shots. both the flu and covid. cdc and doctors across the nation worry people may be tired of getting so many shots after dealing with covid for more than two years. but since flu season began, there have been 9 million people infected. 78,000 hospitalized, and 4500 deaths. the worst season in a decade so far. another troubling aspect of all of this is a shortage in medicines like children's tylenol and motrin, and prescription medicines like tamiflu and amoxicillin. johnson & johnson is running around the clock production lines right now to try to meet the need for more medications. they're saying they're working on getting that medicine to stores as quickly as possible,

but as soon as -- as far as those children's medications go, the over the counter, like the children's tylenol and motrin, i can tell you the shelves are pretty much empty at this cvs pharmacy like so many around the country right now. in walnut creek, tom jenson, today in the bay. >> if it's not affecting your home, it's affecting someone you know. >> definitely. got to bring those fevers down. have to warm up somewhere, though. >> it's been so cold and we're getting ready for more rain. for most of us, that rain comes in through the evening and we'll see it quickly passing by, by tonight. tomorrow is mostly dry but then heavier, more widespread rain in the weekend forecast that will be wrapping up early next week. and we'll have the latest on all that. >> we have that break right now as far as the rain goes but visibility here in the north bay, that is a factor. san rafael, novato, the road between santa rosa and san rafael itself can get tough to see at times. better to see this, 280 through san jose, but 101 through the south county, very tough to see

through morgan hill and impacts through dublin, sunol. >> take it easy as you're taking the kids to work, to school. all the same. have a great day. be safe out there. we'll see you in h