hi, everyone. i'm kate know. >> i'm savanna sellers in for aaron gilchrist. "nbc news daily" starts right now. >> today, friday, december 9th, 2022, home to america, wnba star brittney griner is out of russia, and back in the u.s. the questions now about the prisoner swap that made it happen. motive for murder? the disbarred south carolina attorney accused of killing his wife and son now faces a judge.

flu warning with cases surging across the country, antiviral medication is getting harder to come by. what to keep in mind if you get sick. and it is all relative. holiday reunions, family reunions have you stressed, we have tips to help. brittney griner's return to the u.s. after being detained in russia for ten months. >> griner's plane landed early this morning and she's being examined for any health issues at a military base in san an tino, texas. >> u.s. officiales say griner is in good spirits and appears to be in good health. we're learning more about the prisoner swap that led to griner's return. some are criticiing the administration for releasing a convicted arms dealer. what do we know about the care that griner is getting right now? >> reporter: so, within the hour the state department was asked about this.

and what they said is in terms of where things stand right now with griner, they said they're trying to respect her privacy, but they said their priority is focussing on griner and her family's well-being. and that can mean a lot of things. you see her getting off the plane, she seems to be walking not just fine, but with a certain pep in her step. you can imagine why. this is her first time walking on u.s. soil since this whole ordeal began just around ten months ago. so, there is a lot at stake here. there is the health aspect of this, this is why she was brought to the brook army medical center. they specialize in this sort of thing. they're doing routine evaluations, not just looking at her physically, but mentally. we saw this before, we had bo bergdahl, he was held captive by taliban allies and brought here after he was released. and then we saw trevor reed earlier this year, same thing. but the difference is they were both put into reintegration programs once they were cleared both physically and mentally. we have to remember that brittney griner is a civilian, so that process may look a

little bit different. this is kind of unique here. but either way they're checking to make sure she is not just physically, but mentally okay. they're doing psychological evaluations. the state department said this is largely a conversation they'll be having with her to make sure she is given the resources she needs as she reintegrates into her life as she knew it before. >> matt, lawmakers are split over the decision to trade griner for specifically this person viktor bout, a russian arms dealer known as the merchant of death. how is the administration defending its decision? >> thank you, savannah. the administration before they went ahead with this trade understood there would be a lot of criticism, specifically about bout. we saw the pentagon spokesman john kirby today on the "today" show field that question. let's take a listen assessment we made this trade, a national security assessment which we normally do. that was done in this case. we believe we're going to be

able to protect and defend national security interests, whether it is from a man like mr. bout, or anybody else, that might threaten it. >> so we're seeing a lot of arguments made simply on practicality as well that basically viktor bout has been in prison for so long that his networks have evaporated. he's not an effective actor the way he was when he was arrested. adding on simply the practicality arguments, one of the main things we're hearing is simply this was the trade on offer this is what was possible. it was trade bout for griner or don't get any american home, and so i think the attitude we're seeing from the administration at this point is we got two americans out this year, one more to go, that would be paul whelan, of course, and the work continues. >> thank you to you both. appreciate it. hospitals across the can country are being forced to get creative as they face the triple threat of the flu, covid-19 and rsv. the good news is cases of rsv are leveling out in some places.

>> but across the country, flu cases are soaring. nbc news correspondent gabe gutierrez has more from boston. >> reporter: hospitals across the country are having to get creative to keep up with this tripledemic. first, finding extra beds for patients. now some are having to mix their own medications to deal with shortages. at boston's mass general for children, healthcare workers are compounding their own albuterol, medication that helps young children with rsv breathe easier. >> it is definitely concerning, the shortage is in the forefront of everybody's mind. it is just a totally different change in work flow for pharmacy and nursing. >> reporter: it takes four and a half hours to mix the ingredients to make just 15 syringes. >> if a patient can't breathe, we can't give them this drug, it is a life or death scenario. >> reporter: across the country, many other medications are running low, amid a tripledemic of respiratory illnesses. the flu, rsv and covid.

>> this is the worst flu season for my family ever. i've had trouble getting liquid, tamiflu as well as capsules. >> reporter: pharmacists say if your flu medicine is sold out, try getting a medication that targets a specific symptom you're feeling instead. >> our shelves and certain times have been completely empty of one product. and then it comes back on and then it is empty of another product. >> reporter: while rsv may be leveling off in some places, the flu is soaring. the cdc saying flu hospitalizations this season are up to 78,000. over the past month, the mass general brigham system has seen flu cases jump by more than 1100%. >> reporter: how busy have the last few weeks been here? >> we have seen an increase in patients coming into the er. >> reporter: only a quarter of adults at 40% of children in the u.s. have received a flu shot this season. juan potter did not. he's been here for more than two

days. >> loss of breath. that's the toughest part. >> reporter: georgia's 5-year-old son jack has a rare genetic disorder and has been sick with a cold, rsv and the flu in the past month. >> it is all at once. there is no break in between. his lungs don't stand a chance. >> reporter: thankfully jack is recovering right now and one other piece of positive news in the fight against the tripledemic is that the fda has just cleared the way for doses of the updated covid vaccines for children under 5. back to you. >> all right, gabe gutierrez, thank you. let me bring in nbc news medical fellow dr. ashley saial. >> this is a severe flu season. flu hit earlier, four to six weeks this year. because of that we're seeing the highest number of people hospitalized for flu in the past ten years according to the cdc. but one thing we're really

watching for is as people are coming off the heels of thanksgiving, getting ready to travel for christmas, are we going to see the numbers continue to rise headed into the holiday travel season? >> yeah. what can people do here? how can they stay ahead of the surge, try to stay healthy? >> i'm going to sound like a broken record but get your flu shot two things about the flu shot i want to point out. one, it is not too late to get it. it takes two weeks to kick in. if you get it this afternoon, you would have protection for that thanksgiving -- for that christmas holiday. and the other thing, with the flu vaccine, even if you had the flu, you want to get the vaccine. the vaccine covers four different strains. and if you had the flu, chances are you're probably only getting sick with one strain. so you get that added protection. >> that's interesting. i would not have thought that if you had it, you also need to get the shot. >> absolutely. >> all right, thank you so much. good to see you. one of the former police officers involved in the death of george floyd has been sentenced again to multiple years behind bars. j. alexander kueng took a plea deal in october to avoid a state criminal trial.

the ex-minneapolis officer is already serving a federal sentence related to the death. let's bring in nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster for the latest on all this. walk us through what we just saw happen in court today and what this means for his time behind bars. >> kueng's time behind bars will not change and it is largely in part due to the federal sentence that you mentioned. he was already serving three years in prison, but today the state court confirmed essentially the plea deal that was reached between kueng and state prosecutors. he's now convicted of second degree manslaughter. he will serve three and a half years and he'll serve that as he's sevening that three-year federal sentence. i know those two numbers are different, but based on state law this will essentially mirror, it will make equal the time that he spends behind bars. kueng is the officer who had his knee on george floyd's back as derek chauvin held his knee to george floyd's neck back in may of 2020. >> and also, shaq, also i want

to ask you about another officer, not kueng or chauvin, another officer who did not plead guilty. what do we expect with his trial? >> yeah, there you're talking about thao, the officer who if you remember that video was interacting with the bystanders who were pleading with officers at the time. he was the one interacting with them the most. he was also found guilty in that federal sentence, in federal prison right now, but he says that he can't plead guilty for the state charges that he's facing. he says it would be lying to the court. so instead we're going to see an unusual move, where there is not going to be a standard trial with the jury and with witnesses coming up and taking the stand. instead, all the evidence will be handed to a judge. they'll be written closing arguments and the judge will make a decision. we'll expect that decision to come within about two and a half months. >> shaq brewster, thank you so much. now, wholesale prices rose more than expected last month. and if you still need to dig the deck the halls you have plenty

of options. >> let's start with inflation, a new report from the government indicates price gains are slowing. but not as much as economists had expected. last month prices at the wholesale level were 7.4% higher than a year ago. that's the smallest 12-month increase since the spring of 2021, but the gain, .3%, from october to november, is bigger than the consensus forecast. that's not good news. also, ftx founder sam bankman-fried says he still doesn't have access to all his data, so there will be a limit on to what he can say, but he has agreed to testify to a house panel next tuesday about the collapse of his crypto exchange. and don't worry about the christmas tree shortage. "the wall street journal" says growers are frustrated by the annual reappearance of media reports that there won't be enough trees to meet demand. an industry group rep says we never have run out of trees and points out that the median price is actually dropped over the

past few years and that price certainly doesn't include new york city, which by the way, some of them stand $250 for a five foot to six foot tree. $250. i walked around and went to the meatpacking one and got one for $125. it is not even six feet. >> i'm going tomorrow to get one. >> my tree is quite large. mine was expensive. but mine is tall. i have high cerealings. >> we live in one of the most expensive cities in the country. thank you very much. coming up, what prosecutors believe drove a south carolina believe drove a south carolina attorney to murder his wife and the e virus thatat causes shiningles is slsleeping... in 99%9% of peoplele over 5. it's lying dodormant, in 99%9% of peoplele over 5. wawaiting... and d could reacactivate. shiningles strikikes as a painfnful, blistetering rashh that c can last fofor weeks. shiningles strikikes as a painfnful, anand it couldld wake at anyny time. shiningles strikikes as a painfnful, think k you're notot atat risk for r shingles??

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a former attorney accused of killing his wife and son is back in front of a judge today. today's pretrial hearing for alex murdaugh comes one day after prosecutors revealed his alleged motive. nbc's sam brock joins me now. sam, the defense team asked the prosecution to lay out the possible motive. walk us through what they said and the ties that it has to his financial plans. >> we're talking about a bill of particulars here, which i'm told is not unusual in criminal cases. filed by the defense. it is code for more information. they want to know the state in this case released somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.2 million documents and 132 gigabytes of information. think about how much space you have on your iphone.

all of it was taken up with information about financial crimes involving alex must dawe murdaugh. they said the financial crimes are intertwines with a double murder of his wife and son paul, who you see right there. tell us how one has to do anything to do with the other. in case you're wondering, they want to know when you look at the totality of those accusations, it happened at exact time when he was about to be uncovered, when there was a wrongful death lawsuit filed against his family for the death of a young woman who was on a boat with his son back in 2019. his finances were about to be

exposed. his firm was coming at him about where money went. they're saying the state, this exact time, his wife and his son are murdered. that is what we believe is the financial -- he was using this as a distraction to take away from his financial problems. >> that's kind of hard to understand. so they're basically saying it was a coincidence? >> absolutely is hard to understand. this is a guy who according to his own associates, people who know him who don't feel fondly toward him, they say it is hard to believe he might murder his wife and son. he seemed to love them. what the state is saying right now that these financial crimes were so deep, they were so unending in terms of ruining the reputation of his family, the scion of a legal family that had been in this area for 100 plus years, for a couple of generations, that he would rather take the life of his son and his wife than have to deal with the spotlight of what he was doing. that's what the state is alleging now. the defense is saying don't ambush us, don't reveal new

information in court you're not presenting right now. they're in recess as we speak. >> i misunderstood. it is connected. it is not a coincidence is what they're saying. >> they're saying it is not coincidental. he was using it as a distraction to take away from his own criminal behavior. >> sam brock, thank you. idaho police say they're getting so many calls about a potential key piece of evidence in the college student murder case, the fbi is now stepping in to help. detectives want to track down a white hyundai elantra. these are stock images provided by police. steve patterson be has the latest from moscow, idaho. >> reporter: we're now nearly one month into this investigation with no murder weapon, no motive, and no suspect in custody. there is, however, police say, a pretty solid lead. they're focused on a white vehicle, a white hyundai elantra, model 2011 to 2013. police have said they have been focused on this for some time. now they're asking the public

for help, calling anybody with any information to contact their tip line and they say that tip line has been overwhelmed, so much so that they have an overflow of calls now going to the fbi tip line. they welcome those calls, they hope this leads to a break in the case. police say they're doing everything they possibly can, the trail is not going cold as so many in the community fear. the community, it is a somber mix of sadness, fear, especially from college students. still coming back from school. and especially frustration from parents sending their kids to a school where a killer has yet to be caught, where there is little information from police. you say this is part of the investigative work they're so tight lipped. there is also the front of the dna evidence that is being collected as well from the home. something that could take some time. but something that also experts say may lead to a very big break in this case. all of that in concert is happening while the community holding another memorial, holding another event last night

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kari hall has the timeline. >> we are preparing for another storm set to move in later tonight and it will bring in some heavier rain along with high wind gusts that could reach 30 to 50 miles per hour. also heads-up that there could be some flood issues, especially for the streets where we see those clogged drains and also rising creeks and rivers. we're also preparing for heavy snow which may close those roadways. as the rain comes in during the overnight hours, it first starts in the north bay and some heavy rain throughout much of the morning and then it does become more scattered with a potential of some thunderstorms and this risk of those thunderstorms continue through sunday. we'll take a look at our seven-day forecast and talk about when this all moves out coming up in about 30 minutes. >> thanks, kari. we have team coverage with how people are preparing. >> reporter: it's still clear out here in santa rosa, but that is expected to change tonight and throughout the weekend. the concern in areas of this

city are potential for flooding or mud slides from burn scars from fires of recent years. warnings were tweeted about rainfall and that wind advisory that is set to start tonight at midnight and into tomorrow afternoon. we've made our rounds to different hardware stores this morning, one says there have been some customers in and out buying supplies, but the rain this weekend doesn't bother them too much or concern them too much. there are some things you can do to really avoid any sort of trouble with the stormy weather. you can clear your gutters today, secure any outdoor furniture for that bay area wide wind advisory and tie down holiday decorations or take them inside if you can. take a look behind us at some of the decorations that have toppled over from some of the wind and rain we've had from the past couple of days that will not stay on the lawn if the wind decides to pick up over the

weekend. nbc bay area news. >> thank you so much. a live look at alameda county right now where rising covid cases will lead to more masking. yesterday alameda county moved from the cdc's low covid-19 community level to medium. so that means mask mandates will go into effect for homeless and emergency shelters along with heating centers. masks need to be worn in all health care settings. 150 county residents are in the hospital right now being treated for covid-19. here are other stories you need to know about. there is an event that will hopefully curb violence in san francisco, a vigil tonight for alex gabe, but first a man tied to a deadly street race will be in court. a couple died in november leaving their young twin girls without parents. the hearing for kyle harrison is scheduled for 1:30. harrison and a 17-year-old driver were racing through the city at speeds near 80 on november 4th when the

17-year-old crashed into the couple's car, killing them and injuring their 7-year-old twin daughters. the teenager was arrested at the scene. police found harrison about two weeks later and arrested him. mourners will gather to remember alex gabe. hundreds are expected to gather at 7:00 p.m. at oakley's civic center park. gabe's ex-boyfriend killed her and for months her remains could not be located. last month her partial remains were found and identified. seattle police in june shot and killed gabe's ex-boyfriend in their attempt to arrest him. san francisco police will host a gun buyback event. it's happening on saturday on howard street, south of market. it's organized in part by the violence prevention group. no questions asked when you turn in your gun. you'll get cash in return. over the past decade, the city has collected nearly 2500 guns. 49 fans will not be in a

mood to celebrate the homecoming of tom brady. he will play at levi's for his second time ever. he says he plans to have an old neighborhood block party ahead of sunday's game. >> i have a great group of family and friends there who are all supported. growing up in the neighborhood, my still live in the same house i grew up in. just a lucky kid growing up in the bay area. >> this all comes as brady's al matter new dove body wash with microbiome nutrient serum transforms the driest skin in 1 shower.

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bottom of the hour now. here are some of the stories making headlines on "nbc news daily." >> former president donald trump has decided not to appeal a court order. that order put an end to the so-called special master who would review documents federal agents collected during their search at mar-a-lago. federal agents took about 11,000 records from mar-a-lago back in august. 100 of them were marked classified. we're learning new details about a previous threat made by the suspected gunman behind last month's gay nightclub shooting in colorado. police say the suspect was arrested last year after allegedly threatening their family with a bomb.

that threat prompted police to evacuate nearly a dozen homes. the case was ultimately dismissed after the suspect's relatives refused to testify. some good news. our friend al roker is back home after a second hospital stay. the "today" show weather anchor was hospitalized last month with blood clots. he was released on thanksgiving day before being rushed back to the hospital because of complications. roker posted on instagram yesterday saying he's grateful to his family and friends and everyone who prayed for his recovery. we love you, al. >> we're all rooting for you. glad you're home. a maimmajor shake-up on cap hill. kyrsten sinema says she's leaving the democratic party and registering as an independent. the senator explained to her decision at a food bank event in mesa, arizona, earlier today. >> i'm willing to work with anyone to get things done. and so i don't think about issues as being democrat or republican. and i don't think arizonan bes

do either. i'm not paying attention to people's lists or how they rank things. i'm focused on how i can deliver results for arizonans. >> the announcement comes three days after democrats gained an outright majority after senator raphael warnock's victory in the georgia senate runoff. garrett haake joins us now. how are senate democrats reacting to sinema's decision? >> reporter: they're reacting cautiously at this point. they're hoping they can take her at their word, that despite the fact that the d behind her name will now be an i, she'll still primarily work with them, particularly when it comes to things like nominations which will be one of the key focuses in the senate going forward. here is chris coons, key senate democrat, talking about the way folks in his party are viewing this decision from earlier this morning. >> what i'm relying on is her quote, which is i'll get up, go back to work and nothing much will change. i want to look forward to senator sinema continuing to be a regular and strong and reliable vote for judicial nominees in this coming

congress. so, frankly, i don't think this will change very much. >> reporter: that's why you're seeing president biden, chuck schumer, put out statements today, praising kyrsten sinema, talking about the things they have gotten done together. they want her to behave like the other two independents who caucus with the democrats already. not like a free radical who they can't either control or even predict in the congress ahead. >> and senator sinema is up for re-election, right in 2024. she hasn't announced if she'll run again. but i do wonder how this move to independent could impact her chances if she does run. >> reporter: a lot of folks think this is why she made this decision. she was almost certainly going to get a primary from a progressive if she ran for re-election as a democrat. now she might be able to freeze the field by essentially saying i'm the independent, if someone runs to my left, you're handing a victory to republicans. the person we have been watching on this is rubin gallego. he put out a statement today

criticizing sinema sayinging she did this for her own political purposes. we'll see what he decides to do going forward. >> interesting. garrett haake, thank you. finally some news at the pump. gas prices are falling fast. the national average is cheaper than this time last year and it could be the beginning of the fall. perry russom joins us from chicago on this. walk us through the numbers and what is behind this drop. >> reporter: let's start with the drop, if we can here. there are three main things we have been looking at in terms of the prices dropping over the last six months. one being a seasonal drop. every time this part of the year -- prices just drop. and number two, the zero covid policy we have been talking about all day really where people in china just haven't been driving. so you have a country that is number three in terms of the world's largest gas user. those cars haven't been driving, so the world supply has just been building. and number three, refineries, more gas is just being produced.

so we have a lot more gas in our supply. in terms of what we're looking at here, coverage cost at the pump now, $41 to fill up, compared to back in june, we're looking at the number 663. so on average, you're saving 22 bucks when you fill up now compared to six months ago. >> what trends do analysts say question expect by the end of the year? >> reporter: so good news on trends. we're speaking with gas buddy yesterday. they told us that they're expecting prices to continue to dip below $3 a gallon as a national average. incredible numbers considering we were at, what, $5 six months ago. listen to our conversation with gas buddy yesterday. >> gas prices at the lowest level now in a year. 25 states with gas prices below where they were a year ago. so, after an abysmal year with record high prices and virtually every state, we're finally seeing some significant relief in every state.

>> reporter: patrick was telling us we have not seen a drop like this since the recession of 2008. >> perry, thank you so much for your reporting. one year ago tomorrow, i was in mayfield, kentucky, looking at an awful scene after a deadly tornado tore through there, homes were lost, businesses were destroyed, dozens of people were killed. but one year later, the community is refusing to give up. rebuilding the town piece by piece. msnbc and nightly news anchor jose diaz-balart was in mayfield also in the days following the tornado and he returned this week to see the recovery efforts firsthand. >> reporter: today there is hope in mayfield, kentucky, as it continues to recover and rebuild from last year's tornado that carved a path of death and destruction for nearly 200 miles. at least 88 people died across five states.

a temporary memorial now stands in downtown for the 24 people who died in mayfield in graves county. a year ago, tyler goodman who represents mayfield, joined our live coverage. he joined us again in exactly the same place. >> you can rebuild the buildings. you can rebuild the restaurants, the retail spaces, but you can't replace people. >> reporter: a year ago, we were on the ground in mayfield, hundreds of buildings, homes, places of worship, destroyed in a matter of seconds. driving here on broadway, a year ago, one found just a scene of destruction and devastation. one year later, there is still so much rebuilding to do. >> reporter: but many homes have already been rebuilt. including a brand-new house for this couple and their granddaughter 9-year-old eliia. we first met them last year when she survived by hiding inside their bathroom. >> i was thinking we weren't going to make it.

god had his arms around us. >> reporter: does that tornado still hurt you? >> yes. when it rains or thunder, i get so nervous, so scared, and i, like, i start crying. >> reporter: everything inside their house was sucked up by the tornado. everything but their statue of our lady of guadalupe. it did not move. >> that's a miracle. she was there with us. taking care of us. >> reporter: they built and furnished their home for free. >> i couldn't believe it. i started crying. there is still a lot of good people out there. >> reporter: homes and hope also built jimmy galbreath's new home. >> this is what god will do for you, man. i never seen a town jump in and get it together like they did. >> reporter: amid a long recovery, more reasons for hope.

a restaurant reopens in the middle of mostly empty lots. >> the barn is back. >> we're back. >> reporter: the barn is the first and only restaurant that has reopened in downtown mayfield. the landmark restaurant has been in suzanne flint's family since 1954. the tornado turned it to rubble. >> i knew we were going to rebuild. that was not a question. >> reporter: with the help of the community, the restaurant reopened six months later. >> our customers, they have a place to go. so many for so long don't have anywhere to go. >> reporter: the sounds of a busy restaurant, a sign that mayfield is coming back. because mayfield is strong, a city as resilient as its people. >> certainly. great report there. thank you. now there is a legal battle going on in bethesda, maryland, over a historically black cemetery. people are fighting to preserve the grounds where their ancestors are believed to be buried. here is nbc's tremayne lee.

>> reporter: that tree is one that my mom and dad planted. right there. i was about 9 years old. back then, most families in the surrounding areas were black. descended from newly emancipated african americans who settled here shortly after the civil war. for nearly a century, they prospered. but in the decades to come, most of it would be a race to the name of progress. just not theirs. >> they came in, started stealing the homes and driving them away from their homes. and as they did that, the community got smaller and smaller. >> reporter: today, the farm where matthews grew up is a strip mall. >> hard to believe that this community that you grew up in is now this? >> yes. it is hard. this was home at one time. and now it is everything else

but that. >> reporter: down river road, the 102-year-old macedonia baptist church, wedged between a bank and a high rise, is the last visible remnant of the once thriving black community. marsha coleman is the pastor's wife. >> everyone asks me, what is this little black church doing in the middle of downtown bes they bethesda. >> reporter: now another sacred piece of community's history is in jeopardy. the land where the macedonia african cemetery once stood is up for sale. harvey and marsha believe they area bulldozed and paved over in the 'of '60s is the resting place for as many as 500 ancestors. >> we'll fight every single day to make sure that you are remembered and you are respected 6. >> reporter: they formed the

bethesda africa cemetery coalition and won a court injunction blocking montgomery county, which owns the land, from selling it to an investor. the county planning commission appealed the ruling. >> we say you stand on holy ground. >> reporter: the dispute highlights a growing nationwide movement by descendants and i had historians to find, preserve and black burial grounds, the only remaining proof of lost black communities. >> this struggle is a struggle demanding, not asking, but demanding that our humanity is respected and we are determined to win this struggle. >> that was nbc's tremayne lee with that powerful report. montgomery county told nbc news it is working on getting the facts about the cemetery and will be working to get a, quote, unbiased professional archaeological study of the site. you can listen to more of that story on this week's episode of

his podcast called into america. check it out.

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social worker kelly kitly. good to see you again. getting together with family can be great. i love getting together with my family for the record, but sometimes it can be difficult too. what are your best tips? >> sure, so a lot of different families have different dynamics. and at the christmas table, or if you're gathering for the holiday or hanukkah, it is not a good idea to open up conversations around conflict. we hope that everybody can be on their best behavior, and really go in managing your own expectations. make sure that you are engaging in self-care before you show up so you're the best version of yourself. and also recognizing you are not responsible for other people's feelings or actions. so, make sure that you go in with as positive of a mind frame as you can. >> you sort of touched on this a little bit. expand on maybe things you just

avoid and it is going to help the situation. what should you not do? >> sure, so it is not an opportunity to have a political debate or talk to a cousin that you know has something personal going on and really stir the pot or question somebody be about a job if they're looking for it. i would like to think everybody has their best intentions in mind, but certainly if you are gathering and see somebody in the corner kind of struggling, i do think it is really recommended that you try to help make that person feel more comfortable, in a really and open and honest and friendly way. >> i love the tips. >> yeah. >> keeping it positive. and the self-care thing, like getting a good night's sleep, right, that's important. >> that is a good one. really good one. >> great stuff. >> you can call it another miracle on the hudson. >> a new york pooch escaped his leech and ended up across state

lines. steven romeo has more on his epic swim and rescue. >> reporter: meet bear, a leonburger bernese mountain dog mix. training was put on hold this weekend. >> he took off, ran down the block, somebody else tried to grab him. >> reporter: ellen was walking the pup to get a new harness on saturday when bear slipped out of his loose fitting collar. >> we're thinking the worst. so all weekend we were depressed. my son kept asking where is bear, where is bear. i didn't know what to tell him. >> reporter: bear ended up running about 30 blocks north ending up here in the area of 110th street where someone actually saw him plunge into the hudson and disappear. >> i didn't know the dog could swim. so i ran home, i googled, i called 911, they had patrol boats out looking for him for hours on saturday. they couldn't find him.

>> reporter: after two and a half days, and just when the family had given up hope, this radio call came in. >> the fire boat is needed in the south pier of independence harbor for a dog that is stuck under the pier. >> reporter: bear, spotted by first responders, a half a mile across the river in edgewater, new jersey. >> in the area where we're hearing the barking, there is -- i think you'll be able to access the end of the pier and get eyes underneath. >> i thought somebody was joking with me. there is no way. but he was out there for two and a half days by himself. >> reporter: firefighters posting this photo of bear, cold and wet, but alive. >> i cannot thank the fire department and the police department enough. from my understanding, they were out there for five hours trying to get him out from underneath the pier. >> reporter: the family happy to have bear back home after a long journey. >> he ran a mile and a half and

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>> we'll gradually start to see our clouds moving in today and temperatures reaching into the mid-50s. but the rain holding off until early tomorrow morning. but when it gets here, it's going to be quite heavy at times with gusty winds and it's going to pretty much be off and on throughout the day. there may be a few more breaks on sunday, but our temperatures stay chilly and we'll only see a few peeks of sunshine. this all will be wrapping up in the forecast by early monday morning, but we're only seeing temperatures reaching into the low 50s and we may be near freezing for our inland valleys for several days as we go through next week. but we will have a chance to dry out, but of course the focus is on the heavy rain we'll see this weekend and we'll have more updates right here. >> thanks, kari. wnba star brittney griner is back home. she was on the minds of many people. last night in san francisco a celebration honored sports illustrated sports person of the

year, steph curry. during griner's detention curry often used his platform to keep her name alive, even mentioning her during the warriors championship ring ceremony in october. last night he and many others expressed relief the saga is over. >> for her family, i can't imagine what they've been through, what she's been through personally over there. it's a reminder of all the other americans that are wrongfully detained abroad. >> as for curry's honor, sports illustrated say they chose him as the person of the year because of his stellar performance in the finals, his lengthy comeback from injury and the work he and his wife do to fight food insecurities and promote childhdhood literacy.y. we'l'll be back in o one minuteh momore news.

holiday gift giving is beginning, but our responds team likes to think it gives gifts the whole year in cash, by getting viewers their money back. consumer investigator chris chmura is here with recent cases

to celebrate. >> good morning. we're going to start with telemundo 48, jorge in san jose had trouble with a box. he paid 300 bucks to ship it to mexico. the box never arrived, simply vanished. he expected at the very least to get his $300 shipping fee back. that didn't happen until jorge called investigator arlen fenders and got his $300 back. we recently helped navid who recently moved south from the bay area. he was waiting on the $1,741 refund from a canceled international flight. his request went nowhere for weeks, so 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.

you can easily file a federal airline complaint, or a compliment, for that matter. we recently made a how-to video showing you how. you can watch it, as well as 100 other videos on our youtube page, our streaming channels and website. just look for the how-to playlist. have a great weekend. >> thanks, chris. and of course, again, we are waiting for the big storm to arrive overnight. storm ranger is on top of san bruno mountain scanning the bay area and you can get the radar right on your phone on the nbc bay area app, also at nbcbayarea.com. a live picture of storm ranger. we'll be following the weather as it moves in and we'll have more news at 4:30 this afternoon. my asthma a felt anyththing but normrmal. a a blood testst helped showow my asthmama is d driven by e eosinophils, which nucacala helps r re. a a blood testst helped showow my asthmama nucalala is a oncece-mony add-on injnjection a a blood testst helped showow my asthmama for severere eosinophphilic asthmhma. nucalala is not fofor sun breathing g problems.. alallergic reaeactions canan o. nucalala is not fofor sun breathing g problems.. get hehelp right a away for r swelling o of face, nucalala is not fofor sun breathing g problems..

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today on "access daily," happy friday. it's happy hour. "access daily" starts now. salud. ♪♪ welcome to "access daily," everybody, from universal studios hollywood. i'm kit hoover with mario lopez. happy friday, everybody. so much great tv out there, but i got a new romcom called "something from tiffany's." it looks so cute. roll it. >> is there something you need to tell l me? > i want toto move to n new . > i'm goingng to proposose to