>> it depends on who you are and where you live. just saying. breaking now at 6:00, wnba star brittney griner back on u.s. soil. she arrived overnight after that prisoner swap with russia. her journey home and new calls to action to help another american still behind bars in russia. a man connected to a crash that left two little girls without their parents. an update on where the case stands now. this is the calm before the new incoming storm. meteorologist kari hall is tracking that wet weather on tap for us. you can see there storm ranger. scanning the skies for us. a little dark but it's working.

we will take a look at the roads with mike this morning. we're giving the water time to soak in and prepare. tomorrow will be a mess. here is a look at what to expect as it is dry today. rain moves into the north bay starting later tonight. on saturday gusty winds. we're also watching out for the potential of street flooding as those storm drains get clogged and there may be some quick rising creeks and rivers now that the ground is more saturated. we're expecting heavy sierra snow and we can see the storm system as it approaches right now. moving into the north bay once again later tonight here we are

at 4:00 tomorrow morning and we're all seeing the north bay covered while the rain starts to approach san francisco. so we'll talk about the impacts to your saturday plans and, mike, you have a delay for b.a.r.t. >> depending on which direction you're leaving oakland a 10 or 20 minute delay. track maintenance is taking longer. check the b.a.r.t. boards. this will continue to evolve. we know we continue to have that schedule reduction of service offered for caltrain through the 18th. at the rest of the bay folks are driving out of oakland. the backup is forming at the toll plaza. metering lights have been on since 5:40. i saw a lot of gathering over to the san francisco side which is now starting to even out, slowing out of vallejo. west highway 4 shows blips below the speed limit. a lighter build, an easier build. altamont pass, some slowing for vasco road. now you are about 20 minutes,

there you go, from marsh creek down to 580. back to you. >> thank you, mike. breaking news while you were sleeping, brittney griner, you see her there, setting foot on u.s. soil finally. the wnba star arrived just about four hours ago. >> part after prisoner swap months in the making. brie jackson live this morning looking closer at what it took for the white house to get the job done. this is a huge relief for her family. >> reporter: absolutely. good morning. it's been a long journey back from the u.s. to russia for brittney griner and for the biden administration to try get her released. the biden administration says it was a one or none deal swapping brittney griner with a russian arms dealer here in the u.s. being detained while leaving another american behind in russia. wnba star brittney griner landing on u.s. soil this morning after the biden

administration negotiated her release from a russian penal colony. >> she's lost months of her life, experienced needless trauma. >> reporter: it was an exchange for releting viktor bout, a russian arms dealer known as the merchant of death. the deal did not include american businessman paul whelan. >> the only deal we could secure was brittney for mr. bout. that was the only deal available to us. >> reporter: the prisoner swap is drawing praise and sharp criticism. >> we're glad she's coming home for christmas, but we all know paul whelan should be on the plane as well. >> reporter: whelan remains behind bars held on espionage charges which he and u.s. officials strongly deny. >> i don't understand why i'm still sitting here. i am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release. especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. >> reporter: the family called

it a catastrophe for paul. >> i think the government has run through all of its options. i think the challenge for our family is to wait and see what other options the u.s. can drum up. >> reporter: the biden administration says it will never give up on efforts to bring whelan home. >> we will keep having active discussions to see what we can do. >> reporter: the fight for whelan's freedom continues, there's relief griner is free after ten months in russian captivity and can finally reunite with her family. and biden administration officials say griner appeared to be in good spirits when she got off the plane in san antonio today. griner will go home to her family after she undergoes a medical evaluation at that san antonio military base. marcus? >> brie jackson in washington, certainly on the minds and mouths of a lot of people including last night. many people at the star-studded celebration celebrating the biggest basketball star.

so last night in san francisco gala celebrating honored "sports illustrated" sports person of the year. we're talking about steph curry. so during griner's detention curry on used his platform to keep her name alive even mentioning her during the warriors championship ring ceremony in october. so last night on the red carpet he and many others expressing the relief that saga is over. >> what she's been through over there, it's a reminder all the other americans that are unlawfully detained abroad. >> so did we mention curry, yeah, last night won sportsman of the year award and the magazine says this was in large part to his stellar performance during the nba finals, his lengthy comeback from injury, and the work he and his wife do to fight food insecurity and literacy. >> he does fantastic for the bay area. happening today the first

court appearance for a man accused in a deadly crash tied to street racing. that crash touched a nerve in part because it left twin little girls without both of their parents. >> "today in the bay's" thom jensen live for us this morning outside the courthouse in redwood city and, thom, this is one of those two suspects now in custody tied to that tragedy. >> reporter: good morning. yes. 23-year-old kyle harrison of redwood city is set to be in court today. he's the one set to be in court charged with second-degree murder this afternoon. the other is a 17-year-old both charged in the deadly november 4 crash that killed grace spiridon and greg ammen of san carlos. prosecutors say the suspects were racing each other through redwood city at speeds near 80 miles an hour when the teenager lost control of his car, killing them and injuring the twin daughters. harrison was arrested about two weeks after the crash and the

teen suspect, whose name has not been released, was found at the scene of the wreck. harrison is in jail with no bail and he is set to enter a plea on that second-degree murder charge this afternoon at the hall of justice here in redwood city. we're live in redwood city, thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> speed kills. thank you very much. 6:08 for you this morning. and sonoma county deputies are still looking for three people tied to an armed robbery that's left one minor in custody. i want to show you some surveillance images that we have. police are issuing these, they say the people they are looking for, these are items they found there. the group stole vape pens and alcohol from a market in north santa rosa in mid-september. deputies also posted more video they say included what they say was untraceable ghost gun. the items were allegedly found after they arrested the minor

they believe tied to the robbery whom they've identified from surveillance images. he now faces charges in juvenile court including possession of a firearm on school grounds. moving it forward on covid vaccine booster shots, the fda is allowing children under the age of 5 to receive the omicron-specific covid booster. this would mean the third shot for most children in that age group. regulators will review the data in january to see if a booster might be necessary. ought to santana row which is looking super festive right now. hopefully they have all those decorations tied down securely. if they don't, they might want to do that today. we're getting a little bit of a break before we get serious stormy weather. especially with the inflatables and things that may blow away, high wind gusts for tomorrow. right now it's foggy. that moisture left on the ground from yesterday's rain is giving us a lot of humidity in the air.

we see visibility in napa down to a quarter of a mile. your commute in brentwood is looking better but is breezy. temperatures in the low 40s now headed for the 50s. a cool day across the bay area. peeks of sunshine. rain is set to arrive early tomorrow morning. if you are stopping at the gas station, mike has a look at places you might want to go out of your way to go to. options. look at the bottom number but stand by. the best in the south bay on south king road in san jose. get you fueled up for $3.94 a gallon. on the peninsula, san bruno gas, $3.99, on san mateo avenue. a little confusing but you'll sort it out. in concord the national, clayton road, the best in the entire county, contra costa county's best, $3.49 reported through gas buddy.

thank you for doing that work. out to the roadways, not a lot of folks going to work right now. easy green sensors throughout the bay. looking at fog clearing from 101 but may be hovering through san martin where there's a bit of slowing but not as much as we often see there monday through thursday. looking at san rafael, an easy drive. all the way to the golden gate bridge, you are at speed. there's fog further north but not a major problem. the crowd is building at the bay bridge plaza. metering lights have been on for half an hour now. getting the most bang for your buck during the holidays. we have tips for your shopping rush to help you stretch your budget especially as you're preparing holiday meals for your family. >> that person likes a lot of potatoes. a look at inflation numbers. they are hotter than expected and a mean manager memo. let's take you out to the futures this morning. that inflation is pushing the stock market down. the dow industrials will lose about 100 points othe open. n

good friday morning. 6:14. yesterday at this time it was very foggy in the tri-valley. as we take a live look in dublin, it's clear. a little bit of fog drifting around here and there. our temperature in the low 40s and we'll start to see temperatures in the mid-50s for today, and it does turn mostly cloudy. the rain holds off until tomorrow morning. we'll get a look at that time line coming up. better driving conditions and lighter traffic because it

is friday. looking at oakland, the nimitz picking up the volume with a nice smooth drive. the ride, there are delays out of the oakland area. we'll talk about that and what's going on on the b.a.r.t. tracks. a very good friday to you. the ftc says it will sue to block microsoft's takeover of video game company activision. we need to talk about inflation. we have the producer price index before the big fed meeting. the ppi showing more inflation on the producer level than expected. that could push the fed to hike rates three-quarters of a percent again. the fifth time in a row. earlier this month investors were thinking it might be less. head of the fed jay powell hinted it might be less. the s.e.c. warning companies to start telling regulators and investors if they're exposed to cryptocurrency. crypto has been a mess. a lot of us had doubts from the

start and the ftc is telling companies if you got involved in cryptocurrency and are in trouble, let investors know. crypto king turned pauper sam bankman-fried tweeted he would accept the invitation to testify before the house and the senate next week. he's actually testified before in happier times to the house financial services committee where some members of congress long before the collapse of f it tx were warning not to overregulate. >> congress should not be dumb enough to raise a red flag around this technology revolution. we should embrace it. we should understand it, and we should be international leaders in this space. >> of course ftx was a red flag factory. a fed-up manager at a kansas city area olive garden was fired after she wrote a memo outlining the proper ways to call off

work. she was apparently angry she was so badly understaffed. we are no longer tolerating any excuse for calling off. if you're sick, you need to come prove it to us. if your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us. darden restaurants, which owns olive garden said, quote, the manager's message was not aligned with company values, and that manager has been dismissed. we were talking earlier. you can understand, you don't agree with her, but understand the frustration of someone who has to report to corporate but doesn't have anybody show up to work and that the idea may be to pay people more. you asked me to look up the numbers. they make $193 million a quarter in profit, so about $64 million a month. so there is some room there, not much. there is some room there to pay people more and we've seen restaurants doing that in other places paying people more to at least stick around. >> and if you're a diner in a restaurant and they're understaffed, try to be patient with them. >> waiting tables as a kid, as a

young college kid, is one of the most valuable experiences i've ever had as far as patience. it's just not their fault. >> i would imagine health inspectors would not like you to bring a dead dog to work. i'm just saying. >> that is an important lesson. by the way, don't bring a dead dog to work. good catch. good catch. >> just saying. >> lost my appetite for bread sticks and endless salad. let's talk about the shopping. in case, yeah, the supermarket shopping there, we will talk about food, kris. hold on. on "today" you can expect a breakdown of how to stretch your budget to avoid doing some things. avoid buying things you just don't eat. >> understand what you're buying and 40% of all of our foods are wasted. a lot of that is in our homes. make sure what you're buying

you're going to consume. that's probably the easiest way to save money. >> i try to do that because it's just me and i try to buy the smallest box of eggs. if you're still trying to find the perfect present. the "today" show's race to deliver series, they're airing great gift ideas all weeklong. that will come up at 7:00 after us here on "today in the bay." i still have some gifts i need to buy. >> i haven't even started except for the 12 days of christmas. >> you've given us great ideas. comedian gabriel iglesias -- >> you can call him fluffy. >> put together a grand celebration for an important member of his family. >> he threw a lavish quinceanera.

♪♪ >> the over-the-top party, she looks -- [ laughter ] more than 300 guests and a dozen dogs attended live with entertainment and lots of food. custom made dresses and the carriage you see. iglesias said the cost for the party was around $100,000. >> what? >> $100,000. he was inspired by a recent person throwing his dog a quinceanera. >> 15 years old. you go. look at that. >> a quinceanera are the young,

beautiful little ladies. >> i thought it was just a part, the little girl's dog. it was for the dog. >> i don't remember him having a family. >> seven for one dog year. how much is a human dollar? >> we do our own chores, marcus, you have to get up on your ladder. >> we are due for the rain. i was thinking about putting up the little inflatable but i will wait on that. >> it will end up at the north pole. we are seeing rain totals looking back at the past 24 hours where we've had half an inch of rain in kentfield and half an inch in santa rosa.

other areas barely measured anything. the next storm that will bring us high winds. region wide it starts at midnight, goes through 3:00 tomorrow afternoon. we could see some tree damage as well as power impacts, first starting in the north bay, here we are at 3:00 in the morning seeing the rain moving into santa rosa and pushing its way into san francisco as well as the east bay and finally arriving in the south "today in the bay" 9:00 to 10:00. there will be some breaks in between but there will be more rain on the way, so not a lot of a chance to dry out here and there will be off and on showers through sunday's forecast and then tapering off on monday. during this time we're looking at some heavy rainfall here that could cause some flooding as well as some street concerns, some street flooding as we could get close to 3 inches of rain in the santa cruz mountains. most of us getting about 1 to 2 inches of rain.

while we get a lot of rain, the sierra is getting snow. a big winter storm warning for the whole sierra range and we could see about 2 to 5 feet of snow over the weekend. that going along with 100-mile-per-hour winds, travel will be nearly impossible there as well as the avalanche watch that will be in effect for the tahoe area. travel not recommended and we're looking at the snowfall totals anywhere from 35 to 57 inches of snow. after all of that moves out, we'll have a chance to dry out next week. it may not be until next weekend we see our next chance of rain. our seven-day forecast sees temperatures in the mid-50s. morning temperatures in the low 40s and sunshine returns next week. relax and let the water soakn. i

>> reporter: good morning. we're going to start with telemundo 48's responde. jorge had trouble with a box he paid $300 to ship to mexico. namely, the problem was the box never arrived. it simply vanished. he expected at the very least to get his $300 shipping fee back. that didn't happen until jorge called consumer investigators arland fernandez and got his $300 back. over at nbc bay area responds we recently helped navid who recently moved south from the bay area. he's a socal neighbor now, but we helped him anyway. he was waiting on a $1,741

refund from a canceled international flight. his request went nowhere for weeks. he reached out to us. we reached out to the airline and it processed that $1,741 refund. the federal government recently began cracking down on airlines that drag their feet giving passengers their money back after a canceled flight. can you easily file a federal airline complaint or compliment for that matter. we recently made a how-to video. can you watch it as well as more than 100 other videos on our youtube page, our streaming channels and website. just look for the how-to play list v. a great weekend. >> reporter: we're live in mill valley where you can see there is a break from the rain, but not for too long. up ahead we'll give you some tips on how you can prepare for the rain and wind this upcoming weekend.

right now monitoring the storms to see what the potential is and whether there's any additional efforts that need to take place to alert our residents. right now at 6:30, preparing for this weekend storm. ahead, live team coverage including the steps some residents are taking right now because they're concerned over flooding and slides. breaking news, brittney griner is back on u.s. soil. her plane landed in texas. the family of another american

imprisoned is speaking out. details on the renewed push to bring him home. "today in the bay" continues right now. good morning. laura garcia has the day off. i'm kris sanchez. >> and i'm marcus washington. we are live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. a lot to get to this morning, and we want to start with a rival of a new storm, yes, it may pack more of a punch than the rain we just had here in the bay area. our ginger conejero saab is live for us in the north bay with a look at those preparations under way there. >> but first, we want to get the timing of it from meteorologist kari hall when that rain is set to arrive t. sounds like we have a little bit of time to prepare. we do and we will see mostly sunny skies to start out today. here is what to expect as that rain comes in later tonight. it's going to be first in the north bay and then spreading across the bay area on saturday with heavier rain as well as high wind gust that is could reach 30 to 50 miles an hour, but we're also watching out for the potential of some flood

issues as those storm drains get clogged but also now that the ground is saturated we could have quickly rising creeks and rivers as well as heavy sierra snow that may close the roadways. we do have a little bit of time as the storm is still to the north of us. with how folks in the north bay are expected to prepare, we head over to "today in the bay's" ginger conejero saab with a look at what residents are doing right now, ginger. >> reporter: the rain has stopped. it was a clear drive from san francisco to mill valley which is where we are right now. it's a needed break before it really starts to come down and the wind picks up. we have tips to share, things can you do today to prepare for that storm. here are some things to add to your to-do list. clear your gutters if you haven't done so already.

you can secure any outdoor furniture for that bay area wide wind advisory which actually starts at midnight tonight and until tomorrow afternoon with gusts 30 to 50 miles an hour. you can tie down your outdoor holiday decorations or, if you want, take them inside to avoid any further trouble. now a little bit further north from us people in santa rosa have been preparing ahead of this storm. they are monitoring the storms to see if residents need to be alerted above the city's rincon valley or on the east side of town. what they are bracing for trees and power lines. >> there's a lot of outdoor inflatables and decorations this time of year ahead of the holidays.

so they don't do damage on your property or a neighbor's. >> reporter: this santa rosa man is taking those warnings seriously. he's rebuilt his home but keeps a close eye on mud slides and localized flooding in the area. the rain is expected to come down at 2:00 a.m. with heavier pockets throughout the weekend. there are places like hardware stores. they say they're stocked up and ready to accommodate people to come in who are looking to get ahead of this. >> download our free nbc bay area app. that will give you access to our mobile doppler radar. you can keep an eye on the wet weather as it moves into your

area. alerts minutes before the rain actually starts moving into your neighborhood. breaking right now brittney griner is back on american soil after close to 300 days in russia. her plane landed in texas after the prisoner swap orchestrated by the white house. that's her walking across the tarmac. she will be evaluated by doctors. in the wake of brittney griner's release, the family of paul whelan is speaking out. 's businessman and former marine now in prison in russia on a spying conviction. president biden actually mentioned whelan during yesterday's announcement confirming griner's release. whelan's family knew he would not be part of the prisoner swap. >> all of these cases are like trains running on parallel tracks and the solution of one doesn't impact with the solution of the other.

>> they're not sure if griner's release makes whelan's chances any better. happening tonight in oakley mourners will gather to remember alexis gabe, the young victim of domestic violence. hundreds of people are expected to gather for that candlelight memorial at 7:00 p.m. at oakley's civic center park. gabe's ex-boyfriend killed her in his antioch home last january and for months her remains could not be located. last month that changed when her partial remains were identified in amador county. police in june shot and killed gabe's ex-boyfriend in their attempt to arrest him. they say he lunged at them with a knife. happening tomorrow in san francisco an event aimed at reducing gun violence, a gun buyback event on howard street organized in part by the violence prevention group united playaz. people will receive $100, assault weapons will get $200. it is no questions asked.

as mayor london breed said earlier this week over the past decade the city has collected nearly 2,500 guns. >> it is a life saved. the impact that it has can't even hardly be measured. >> tomorrow's gun buyback event starts at 8:00 in the morning. a warning for anyone thinking of heading to tahoe this weekend, you might want to rethink those plans. this is where chains are now required. chains are in effect. meteorologist kari hall has been timing that out for us. >> we need the snow because it's part of our drinking water but you don't want to drive in it. you may have an opportunity next weekend if you can change up the plans. right now there is a winter storm warning that will be going up and this will be in effect throughout the weekend and moving out on monday morning.

now during this time we're looking at snowfall totals at 2 to 5 feet and whiteout conditions. planning on the possibility of road closures but if you do get there and you're out there in the wilderness there may be some avalanches. as we take a look at the forecast for yosemite in the upper 30s. morning temperatures in the teens and that heavy snow will really get going as we go into tomorrow as well as sunday. it's going to be cloudy and cool. santa-con going on throughout the day. it will be rainy and windy and also they're saying it will go on rain or shine. for the warriors game later in the evening gusty winds with

temperatures in the low 50s and we're also going to see some breaks in the rain for the 49ers game but we're headed for the low 50s during the middle of the afternoon and make sure you bring those ponchos. mike, you still need to plan for delays. right now reported by b.a.r.t. out of oakland 10 to 20-minute delays. continuing including the weekend service, remember that, reduction in caltrain because of the electrification project. now around the bay lighter traffic on a friday, of course. we will call out another issue coming up. now we have already getaway traffic that people are thinking about going to sierra. metering lights might turn on

and flow through the area. traveling north into 84 up to bernal so that will mean a reroute. monday night is the next night that will affect you. metering lights at the bay bridge. back to you. >> thanks, mike. soccer fans everywhere ready to see that drama in the world cup. in washington a senator has a change of mind and leaves her party. we'll take you out to the big board. we expected a dip. i expected something bigger as inflation is running hotter than expected. also, some rock 'n' roll items setet to go on displalay after scott't's report you're going to hope it's free and, guess what, it is.

as the rolling stones might say time is not on your side, though.

taking a look at santa rosa in the upper 30s and the fog drifting around. we'll deal with that for a little while longer but it stays cloudy today and temperatures make it into the low to mid-50s. cool but a break from the rain.

we'll talk about it returning in the forecast coming up. and the building commute out of the east bay. bay bridge toll plaza. the backup forming at the richmond side of the bridge as well. we'll show you how things are shaping up for your drive coming up. the white house continues to work to get american prisoner paul whelan out of prison. >> the white house says they don't have anybody to trade. that's exactly right. the white house says we don't have a russian spy in custody. the russians want to trade spy for spy. paul whelan in russian custody has been charged with spying for america. the white house says he's not a spy. new video from the russian television system of the prisoner swap that did work out. brittney griner for the so-called merchant of death, arms dealer viktor bout. family cheering as bout got home. we suspect very strongly that bout has friends in the russian

intelligence community, the gru. the brother of captive paul whelan speaks on the "today" show today. the family issued an incredibly generous and heartfelt statement saying they were glad for brittney griner and the white house made that right decision to take the russians up on their offer for a one for one swap. >> she's on the ground. >> stop it. >> yep, she's on the ground. >> great day. >> that's video of brittney griner's wife learning she is free. with the president, vice president and secretary of state yesterday. sinema is calling herself an independent. angus king and bernie sanders as well. for the democrats sinema says she will not caucus with the republicans. sinema is a tough one to figure out. before she became senator she

was very left with the green party, extremely progressive. moved to the right to the democrats in 2004 where she racked up one of the most conservative voting records in the party and now she is presumably moving to the right again. in an op-ed published in "the arizona republic" sinema says she will continue to work to protect same-sex rights. she will probably have a tough time in the next democratic primary which she's now not participating in. she hasn't said if she will run for re-election as an independent. the house passed a new version of the respect for marriage act which codifies the legality of interracial and same-sex marriages just in case the supreme court decides to reverse its previous decision. the bill goes to the president's desk.

>> you explain those answers so well. thank you, scott. things are getting down to the nitty-gritty at the world cup. >> telemundo 48's carlos yustis has been in qatar since the tournament kicked off and has a preview of today's big game which can only start with a look at brazil. >> reporter: hello, kris, marcus. cristiano ronaldo is preparing for their game tomorrow. tonight the quarter finals kick off with two of the favorites. brazil will be facing croatia. brazil has been one of the top favorites to win this tournament. the round of 16, they advanced without any trouble and to me they're the favorites to reach the final. they will face a croatia team that is aging, even though they reach the final four years ago

they don't seem to be as cohesive and brazil should be taking this match. argentina is going to be facing the netherlands. lionel messi's team had some doubts losing to saudi arabia but found their footing. they were able to advance. struggled a little in the round of 16 but made it to this round. in front of them a dutch team very coached that has been able to put a lot of teams in trouble. they haven't had a lot of problems to advance. they faced a u.s. team that seemed to be naive on how they were facing this dutch team and they were able to reach this match. we'll see brazil and argentina, a powerhouse matchup between these two world champions. that will be today and we'll be here to cover everything that

happens from doha. back to you. >> thank you, carlos. tomorrow is your chance to see something big, some iconic pieces. >> jim irsay's collection with a piano once played by both elton john and john lennon, of course at different times, and a microphone used by jim morrison from the doors. they are tailor made for film fans and history buffs. >> we have the original handwritten script to "rocky" straight from sylvester stallone and we acquired it at auction, a number of things like that. american history is another area mr. irsay loves, letters from washington, lincoln, jefferson, a pocket knife gifted that has two blades on it. >> and this is maybe the best part, the collection is free for viewing. it's going to be displayed only tomorrow 7:00 to 10:00 at the

civic auditorium. you do have to register for a ticket ahead of time but, again, free. >> you can take the guitar off and just -- >> no, don't touch it. >> just a little bit. >> you might be asked to leave. >> in handcuffs. >> but it would be great. >> is it asking -- >> some nice bracelets. all right. if you're heading out tomorrow, pack the raincoat and umbrella. we'll have a wet saturday as well as sunday but today we do have a little time to get ready for all that rain headed our way. it is starting out foggy after the rain that moved through yesterday. a lot of moisture still left on the ground condensing to fog we're seeing in the north bay where visibility is down to a quarter of a mile as you are driving around. allow extra time to get to work. it's not as foggy in morgan hill but still you may run into patches as you are on your way to work. rain starts to come in early tomorrow morning, starting in the north bay, and it comes in

with gusty winds and heavy rain that spreads across the bay area going into late morning into the afternoon. round after round of rain into the evening. the rain is not far behind and we'll see the trend through sunday but there may be more breaks through late morning. we're looking at decent rainfall totals. it may be higher for parts of the santa cruz mountains as well as along the coastline in half moon bay. gusty winds and rain could bring down trees. prepare for the potential with that southerly wind that could reach 40 to 50 miles per hour and then it gradually starts to calm down.

travel will be nearly impossible there. then next week we get a chance to dry out and we're only looking at some scattered showers by the end of next week into the week. we do have several days. we'll see off and on showers throughout the weekend, gusty winds. a slight chance of thunderstorms but then temperatures get really cold next week. san francisco, a wet, windy and possibly stormy weekend. it is looking like we will get sunshine next week. it is fairly smooth for the commute. the backup on the richmond side of the bridge out of contra costa county, damp roadways. there's the low clouds, the fog registering in the north bay. those are the biggest factors right now. we have a pretty gentle drive through contra costa county.

there may be a new crash opposite your main commute. the tri-valley with a mild build and the south bay 101 and 87. the note here, look at this, vasco road is moving better than it was about 20 minutes ago. back to you. former first lady michelle obama is headed to the bay area. she has three tour stops for her new book "the light we carry: overcoming uncertain times" at the masonic theater. actor and comedian conan o'brien, tracee ellis ross will moderate. tickets are available but just a few through michelle obama. a suspect in the deadly street racing crash that left a pair of twins without parents facing a judge today. we he an updateav

welcome back. we're moving you forward this morning with a look at those top stories here on "today in the bay" including that breaking news while were you sleeping. >> brittney griner is back on american soil. this video shot shortly after her plane arrived in san antonio, texas, a limb before 3:00 a.m. our time. doctors there are planning to make sure she is healthy. she will be joined by her wife cherelle. it ends a nearly year long saga that ended yesterday with a prisoner swap with russia. and happening today a man accused in a deadly crash tied with street racing will make his first court appearance. a couple died in the crash leaving their twin girls without parents. >> "today in the bay's" thom

jensen live for us in redwood city. this is a plea hearing for just one of the two suspects. >> reporter: good morning, yes. the initial appearance that plea hearing for 23-year-old kyle harrison of redwood city. the other suspect is a teenager, a 17-year-old. both are charged in the deadly november 4th crash that killed grace spiridon and greg ammen. prosecutors say they were racing at speeds near 80 miles an hour when the 17-year-old lost control of his car and crashed into the couple's car killing them and injuring their twin 7-year-old daughters. the teen was arrested at the scene but police found harrison about two weeks later and arrested him. he is in jail with no bail but is scheduled to appear here today on a second-degree murder charge around 1:30 this afternoon. thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> so sad. thank you, thom. moving you forward on covid vaccine booster shots. the fda is allowing children under the age of 5 to receive

the omicron specific covid booster, so that means the third shot for most children. regulators will review the data in january to see if a fourth booster may be necessary. time to get a look at the forecast before we leave this morning. starts out with a lot of fog and clouds and then we see some sunshine today but it's our day to prepare for the high winds and heavy rain that is set to move in early tomorrow morning. this will be raining off and on throughout the week and it looks like we get some pretty decent rainfall totals. we'll be tracking that with updates throughout the day. we do have a b.a.r.t. delay. they lower the speeds to make sure they can brake okay. this morning delays because of track maintenance. that may be a factor. also electrification work continues for the caltrain system. reduced service continues for weekend service as well. that's a bummer but look at this beautiful sky. kari, i know you like the sunrise. >> almost there. >> just a couple more hours.

thanks for joining us on this friday morning. the next news is at 11:00. the "today" show is up next. have a beautiful day and weekend. a live look at this beautiful shot here. good friday morning. she's home. >> wnba star brittney griner arriving back on u.s. soil moments ago. it is december 9. this is "today." >> homecoming. >> do you know where you are heading to? >> no. >> no? you're flying back home. >> brittney griner lands at a u.s. military base overnight after ten agonizing months in russian custody. inside the dramatic prisoner exchange that looked like a scene out of a spy thriller. and the renewed urgency this morning for the one left behind. veteran paul whelan still in a russian prison.