it's still cold. but it is still winter. >> well, yeah, we say it's meteorological spring on the first day of march, and basically that means from this point forward temperatures on average start to warm up. we do have a cold start as we're seeing the shadings in purple included in a freeze warning until 8:00 this morning. it may be frosty before you get ready to head out this morning. allow extra time to get that frost off of the windshield. as far as where we're starting, we have mid-30s. it's been very close in some areas or even slightly dipping below freezing briefly, but we are going to see more cold mornings ahead. as we take a live look outside in san francisco, as the sun rises, it is 41 degrees. i think the wind has been a little too high to keep those temperatures from really dipping to freezing all around the bay area. still wind at 12 miles per hour there and we will be in for sunshine today as we head for the low 50s. we'll talk about more sunshine

in the forecast coming up. mike has a couple of concerns. >> you're talking about the winds, i think that's why they turn on the fans, to prevent frost. as far as the breezes, we're looking at san jose, a little more slowing for 101 and also sticking around by san jose airport. i know it's subtle, but i saw some slowing on north 87 as well. that may mean bigger volume today. we'll watch carefully for timing. there is a crash i've been monitoring on north 680 toward stone ridge. that's on the shoulder opposite your commute. west 580 at the dublin interchange, a new crash reported. no major build just yet. the metering lights are on at the bay bridge. typical pattern through this part of the east bay. >> thanks, mike. teachers in oakland have survived a budget cut, at least for now. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell joins us from the newsroom this morning. last night the board voted on two crucial proposals.

>> correct. good morning to you. and both of those proposals failed to pass. now, if they had passed the proposals would have resulted in teacher layoffs, closed positions and the mergers of at least ten schools starting in the oakland unified school district. mike hutchinson argued they were needed because of less enrollment and there's less money that could be coming in as covid funds are expiring and the money the district has, he argues, needs to be spent on retaining teachers. this morning director hutchinson emailed, i am very disappointed the board did not approve the budget adjustment package. this puts ousd in a difficult situation in terms of re-prioritizing our budget for '23, '24. the district 1 director, sam davis, who abstained from voting

on one budget proposal, said they are not in a fiscal crisis but the district has to reduce spending to give the remaining teachers and staff raises. they report the district has until march 15th to give notice for any potential layoffs. the board meets again a week from today. >> thanks so much, bob. 6:03 right now. happening today, supporters plan to join family members in san francisco to protest an expected decision from d.a. brook jenkins to officially drop manslaughter charges against a former police officer. last month jenkins announced charges would be dropped at a hearing scheduled for today. she asked state prosecutors to handle the case instead. in 2017, the officer shot and killed a carjacking suspected, o neil, during a police chase. jenkins called the charges politically motivated and part of a policy tied to former d.a. boudin. also today, a preliminary hearing for a man accused in a grizzly death of his

ex-girlfriend in san carlos. jose raphael is accused of using a samurai sword to killed 27-year-old karina castro. she died outside of her home last september with her child nearby, her children, rather. last month the judge ruled him competent to stand trial. he'll be held in redwood city without bail. we have you developments confirmed in greece after a deadly crash. a train station manager is now in custody. nbc is still trying to confirm if two others are being detained for questioning. the crash involved a passenger train colliding head-on with a freight train. it all happened in a small town about 100 miles north of athens. we have a live look at the scene this morning where there are concerns some victims may be still trapped in the wreckage. some train cars actually caught fire in the aftermath. at least 36 deaths are now

confirmed, with dozens of others injured. 6:06. continuing our coverage of the mounting tensions between the u.s. and china, more than three years after the start of the covid pandemic, the head of the fbi is revealing new details about the investigation into the origin of the virus. "today in the bay's" brie jackson is live in washington this morning with new revelations in this exclusive interview. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, laura. well, the fbi is the latest agency to conclude that covid-19 probably originated from a lab incident in wuhan, china. the statements come from the agency's director, chris wray, now accusing the chinese government of interfering with the fbi's ongoing investigation. in an exclusive interview with nbc news, he says that the fbi is opening a new china related counterintelligence investigation on average every 12 hours, with more than 2,000 cases currently under way.

wray's assessment comes as the house select committee held a rare evening hearing on capitol hill. that committee is examining the origins of covid-19 and the secrecy over those spy balloons seen over the u.s. over the past several weeks, floating above the u.s. an initial report by the u.s. defense department finds 163 sightings of balloons or balloon-like entities since march of 2021. now some portions of those are old weather balloons, maybe high school science experiments, but an american intelligence leader says they remain on alert. paul martini is a cybersecurity expert and says the u.s. remains vulnerable to a multitude of cyberattacks. >> the types of attacks you're going to see and i think they're going to continue to increase is situations where it causes panic and urgency. it used to be for financial gain, it still is with bitcoin and other payment methods.

but i think that when you have an entire city that's completely out of power, maybe the water systems themselves could also be poisoned, there's chemicals and other things that get put into our water systems to protect us, imagine those things getting turned on to an extent where they could poison a population, what does that mean and what kind of urgency are we going to have when our back is against the wall? >> reporter: this morning on "today," nbc capitol hill correspondent garrett haake reports on how the u.s. is shaping its response to the number of technological, economic and military threats from the chinese communist party. you can watch that full interview with martini on our website, nbcbayarea.com. >> a lot of good info to check out. thank you so much. 6:07 this morning. happening today, the city of oakland kicking off a pothole blitz to repair neighborhood roads after the recent winter

storms. mayor sheng thao saying the oakland department of transportation will address the damage focusing on the entirety of its roadway maintenance effort on potholes and minor repairs. the blitz will continue through may 1st. and let's take a live look out right now at interstate 80 in truckee, and as you can see, both directions still closed. this is from the latest winter storm. highway 50 on the right did open yesterday, but it remains closed in areas where there's avalanche danger. drivers this week have been advised to avoid heading to tahoe due to treacherous conditions. >> many are snowed in, they can't get crews to dig them out. that snow really piling up. >> you know, the central sierra snow lab tweeted out that they've gotten about 110 inches of snow in the past week. this season has been unreal.

we're still seeing some light snow flurries around highway 50, but 80 is clearing out. they have to deal with those avalanches. there is an avalanche warning in effect all the way up and down that area and still a blizzard warning around yosemite that will be in effect until 7:00 and still gusty winds. as we look at the sierra snowpack, on average across the state it's at 186% of normal. this is the largest snowpack for this date since 2017, and we do have more snow on the way as we get more rain. we'll talk more about that coming up in a few minutes. mike has a look at slightly lower gas prices. >> i looked at napa, throughout marin county. the only price our gas buddies are reporting below is lucky service on sir francis drake, $3.99. contra costa county, a few more under $4 for that portion of the bay, but concord super stop, the

lowest, $3.97. in san jose, home of the spartans, spartan gas is the county's best, same, $3.97 there. go spartan gas. south bay holding steady, the slowdown simmered down and it's back to its typical pattern. we are looking at a crash at the dublin interchange. west 580 does slow, there's activity getting onto 680, but it looks like speeds are holding steady. >> back to you. >> thanks, mike. special delivery. your mail will soon be going green. coming up this morning, the new effort by the united states postal service to move to an all electric fleet. >> big changes coming to tiktok. a fast food fight. let's take you to the futures as well. first trading day of march and no hope there. >> plus --

♪ darling you look perfect tonight ♪ >> things not going so perfect these days for singer ed sheeran. the mood change many fans are talking about as he gets set to drop brand new music. you're watching "today in the bay."

good wednesday morning. the time is 6:13, as we get a

look at our east bay forecast. checking out walnut creek, in the upper 30s to start. it's going to be a cold morning. we do make it into the mid-50s but it will be so nice to get some sunshine today. we'll have sunshine in the forecast for a few days. we'll talk more about that and a look at the weekend coming up in a few minutes. flow has evened at the dublin interchange. flow across the bay bridge, pretty good, and moving nicely. backup at the bay bridge toll plaza as you typically find. in the south bay, volume building for 270 northbound underneath the 880 or 17 interchange, depending on which direction. i'll talk about 17 coming up. good morning, help wednesday, first day of march. coming in like a lion but not a bull. markets turned negative for the year yesterday. eli lily says it's setting up a plan where no american will pay more than $35 for insulin.

>> interesting problem with mcdonald's franchisees. twitter is back after crashing overnight. we contacted twitter about it but twitter no longer has a press department or pr department. elon musk laid them all off. musk has a busy day. not only is twitter broken, he has the tesla investors day as well. this is where he fires up tesla shareholders. sometimes he makes promises that don't return out like 1 million robo taxis by the year 2019. the company is doing well. the most popular car sold in california, the tesla model 3. the most popular truck sold in california, the tesla model y. >> the "wall street journal" reports this morning some mcdonald's franchisees are pushing back against the new corporate ad campaign called famous orders, which lets famous people like cardi b create a new menu item. the journal says some restaurant owners worry the lyrics are not

compatible with their history as a family friendly restaurant. tiktok just announced an hour ago they would warn children under 18 when they had spent more than an hour a day on the app. if kids want to continue past the 60 minutes, they'll have to enter a pass code which can be set of their parents. it's a flexible system. parents can allow less time on weekdays, school days, more time on weekends, that sort of thing. a report will be sent at the end of the month showing how long people were on it. as an adult you can set it as well for yourself. i think some adults would be very shocked. >> exactly. >> some countries, also, they limit, like have laws. >> they have overall arching laws. childrens' screen time is a huge issue. thank goodness i had children before. >> it starts so young, too. >> if you put sesame street on,

that would maybe help because it's learning. >> right. >> screen time and learning. i don't have kids. i'm not one to really talk. 6:16th morning, and the u.s. postal service is taking a new step to go all electric. 9,200 ford electric vans will join the fleet. this is the first of some 66,000 over the next five years. also 14,000 new charging stations are also planned. this will cost $10 billion. now, the u.s. postal service announced its conversion in 2021. last december it promised to increase ev delivery trucks and go all electric for all new purchases starting in the year 2026. happening today, calling all music lovers, presale tickets go on sale for the outside lands music festival. there is only a limited number of what they call eager beaver presale tickets available for this week. you have to dish out $409 for a

three-day general administration ticket. if you want extradited entry, access to flushable toilets and free water, you're looking at $634. vip tickets are $929. the performance lineup will be released at a later date and pre sell tickets go on sale at 10:00. ed sheeran fans can hardly wait. >> posting the preview of his upcoming album and let's just say it's intense. okay, so sheeran posted this video showcasing the lyrics ahead of his upcoming album. it's called subtract. he says it reflects a difficult period in his life, the trauma his wife had during pregnancy

and the death of his best friend. the album comes out on may 5th. everything has to do with some math. >> the names of his albums? >> we didn't have the sound. i was waiting for it. >> i think that was the purpose, to draw you in. >> we were talking about ed sheeran's new album, no music. that was a great tease. >> it's coming. >> cutting down on screen time. >> look how lovely it is right now. bundle up before you head out, but it's a really nice start. >> it doesn't feel nice out there. it just looks nice. if you can, keep the view looking out the window and staying inside for as long as possible. it is nice to see the sun back after several days of rain, now pushing farther to the south. we're seeing clear conditions to our north. a few days of some rainfall, even just yesterday we had about

a half an inch of rain fall across the bay area. it was a little bit higher for the santa cruz mountains, anywhere from 1 to 2 inches of rain and many inland areas about a half inch of rain. right now for the four largest reservoirs across northern california we're at 81% of capacity. we can see how well we're doing for some of the larger ones like lake oroville, 116% of capacity, but notice that trinity lake is lower. we typically see the sierra snow melt helping to fill up that reservoir, which hasn't happened yet. and across the bay area southern california, south bay, i should say, are seeing those reservoirs near or over 100% of capacity. coyote reservoir 55%, lowered for seismic safety, and it should be below 50%. we have a little bit of work to do there. looking at san jose, it is clearing out after all of the clouds and rain. we're in for sunshine.

overall, a cool day, starting out with low 40s and headed for mid-50s. tomorrow morning we'll wake up to low 30s. it's going to be freezing once again for parts of the south bay, as well as the try valley, up to the north bay, where it could be as cold as 30 degrees. we will see a break from the rain between now and friday. but then on saturday the rain is back, as well as those low snow levels, down to about 2,000 feet. we can see the snow starting to push in through parts of the north bay. that's saturday into sunday. we're still looking at some off and on showers into the start of next week. so we're staying in this active weather pattern with additional rainfall on the way that may total another inch. and we know the ground is already saturated, so we could continue to see more impacts here as that rain continues to come down. but we do have a few days of a break here. temperatures in the mid to upper 50s, and then reaching 60 degrees on friday, which is still cooler than normal.

but i think we'll take it because it will be colder this weekend with highs in the low 50s. mike, so far, the commute seems pretty calm. >> it does. i was concerned about this, reports of anything going on around the summit for highway 17. it is on the northbound side. our viewers probably won't encounter that. there may be a distraction, a crash, a car on the shoulder as you're traveling north. heading south past the summit, traffic flowing smoothly. south bay, the first slowing cleared up, the second slowing should kick in in the next 15 minutes or so. there is slowing 880 southbound just past 238. fender bender to the shoulder. coming up next, "today in the bay" bay area responds. >> more people are eligible for federal help cleaning up from winter storms, but you have to apply. i'm

6:25 this morning. those nonstop winter storms are history, but many families are still dealing with damage left behind. >> you can apply for help from fema. chris chmura shows us how, even if you thought you were ineligible. >> uncle sam declared a disaster back in january, then modified the declaration nine times.

often adding additional eligible families who can get up to $41,000 for repairs. if you looked previously and thought the feds left you out, look again. there are two ways to apply for fema assistance. online at disasterassistance.gov. the other is in person at a fema disaster recovery center. fema says if your home had storm related damage and you are uninsured or underinsured, you may be eligible for help from fema to restore your home to a liveable condition. fema assistance only covers basics to make a home habitable, things like toilets, a roof, critical utilities, windows and doors. the application is pretty straightforward. before you start, fema recommends making a list of all your damage and snapping photos of it. after you submit your application, fema says an inspector might visit your home within ten days. text you'll get a notice from fema about your assistance and possibly payment. if you disagree with fema's

determination, you can appeal. act fast, though. fema only gives you 60 days to file an appeal. after that you should get a response within 90 days. >> thanks, chris. next, top stories we're following today, including a break in the rain, but meteorologist kari hall is tracking another round not too far away. and as for weather-related issues -- >> as it gets cold and wet, things want to come inside. >> things like rodents, wildlife, new little friends you don't want. the winter weather has some animals seeking shelter inside bay area homes. what you can do to fight them off. >> reporter: i'm kris sanchez in san francisco with a different kind of problem, an advocacy group is trying to show voters how to put pressure on their local government leaders to shut down open air drug markets. down open air drug markets. 'll tell you what twehe

nothing. nothing. absolutely, nothing. it really is something. as an expedia member, you can save up to 30% when you add a hotel to your flight. so you can have a bit more money, to do even less. because you've got a whole lot of nothing to do and absolutely nowhere to be. paper being crumpled

more paper being crumpled music: “i wish” by skee-lo boom! sound of paper balls landing in bins office workers cheering music stops why do we shoot baskets with paper balls? for the same reason we play scratchers from the california lottery. because a little play can make your day. logo scratches on right now at 6:30, a freeze warning is in effect for much of the bay area. meteorologist kari hall is tracking today's conditions and an outlook for more rain on the horizon. >> the drug prices that we're currently experiencing is different from anything in the past. >> calls to crack down on san francisco's growing drug crisis. advocates banning together to end what they call an open air

drug market and how the mayor is responding. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, amazon fire, and online. 6:30 on your wednesday morning. first day of march. thanks for starting your morning with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. a lot to get to this morning. first we've got to start with meteorologist kari hall because she is covering the freezing cold morning we're seeing across the bay area. >> we have a freeze warning in effect, but even as the sun rises we're not seeing widespread freezing temperatures. i do think the national weather service may reissue this for tomorrow morning. all of those areas in purple are expecting the coldest temperatures. right now we're in the mid-30s. so we are just slightly above freezing for a lot of spots. there still may be frost. so scrape off the windshield before you get going in some areas. as we get a look at petaluma, 32 degrees, but the wind has been a little too breezy to see widespread freezing temperatures. we are in for sunshine today and highs reaching into the mid-50s

all around the bay area. a little progress heading toward the end of the week as the dry weather continues. we'll talk about the weekend coming up. mike is tracking a crash. >> we're looking at the nimitz. there is a crash on the nimitz. everything is fine at the coliseum, but farther south off of 238, you see slowing, the slash is blocking the fast lane at a street. we're looking at a smooth drive despite that for the rest of the bay, except for highway 17. i told you about the issue on the northbound side near the summit. turns out there's a car fire after that crash into the center divide. no injuries reported, but significant distraction, northbound side, only one lane open. back to you. advocates in san francisco are trying to take back the streets from what they call a growing drug crisis. >> "today in the bay's" kris sanchez is live this morning

with the push to balance the safety on public streets. it sounds like voters will play a role here. >> reporter: yeah, so this advocacy group really wants to empower voters to pressure their elected leaders to shut down open air drug markets, which they say is the biggest contributor to the drug problem here in the city of san francisco. they will hold an outreach session to empower voters and they say that more funding for police is important, but they also want for addicts and dealers to be treated differently. they say addicts should be guided toward recovery services but dealers should go to jail. >> for us, that looks like prioritizing law enforcement, supporting law enforcement in addressing the dealing that's happening because we do know that cartels are bringing drugs into our city and it is not the same sort of drug dealing that was happening before. and we want our leaders to

prioritize recovery in our cities because the behavior of addiction is causing the loss of more lives in san francisco than covid did. >> reporter: now, we reached out to mayor london breed for comment and got a statement that reads in part t mayor introduced a $17.6 million budget supplemental to help fund police overtime due to the shortage and adding that this work includes more than just police officers. mayor breed is partnering with the district attorney, who is taking a more aggressive stance on public safety, including holding repeat offenders accountable, targeting open air drug markets, and addressing theft. on a related note, the push to shut down drug markets comes one day after the board of supervisors voted yesterday to allow nonprofits to open and operate overdose prevention sites in the city. while the city awaits guidance on whether it can use public money, several nonprofits have offered to provide services.

the gathering is coming up at 6:30 tonight at 2505 mariposa street. >> hard to see such a crisis taking place in such a beautiful city. our investigative unit has been taking a closer look at crime and safety. in our streaming series "saving san francisco" you can watch all six episodes at nbcbayarea.com/slaving san francisco. happening now, west contra costa school leaders are expected to sign off on a new three-year contract for teachers. two weeks ago the union ratified the deal. the district says it includes a 7% raise this year and a slightly higher raise next year. it avoids potential job cuts for at least the first two years of that deal. also happening today, a controversial ultra conservative speaker and filmmaker visits stanford. ahead of his appearance liberal and conservative groups have clashed, including accusations of torn down promotional banners and burned paper fliers.

now, this is all after stanford republicans are promoting the appearance tonight by mat walsh. his visit last fall at cal campus promoted large protests outside of the venue. walsh is on a tour for his recent documentary called "what is a woman". critics charge his message borders on hate speech. stanford young republicans explained why they invited walsh, saying in part, quote, the rush to tear down what it means to be a woman without stopping to think twice about why womanhood was clearly defined for thousands of years is misguided. we especially encourage students who disagree with walsh's views to come to his talk, if only to better understand why everybody is not completely on board with transgender orthodoxy. 6:36 right now. collateral impact from all the recent weather in parts of the bay area, more pests and rodents are seeking shelter inside people's homes. at least that's according to pest control teams who say the

weather is keeping workers extra busy the past few weeks. workers at one east bay company say they've been responding to more infestations ranging from ants and roaches to rats and even raccoons, all in people's living spaces or lurking underneath their homes. >> people calling in, frantic, got rats running around inside the living area. >> they're going in for pet food and they're going through pet doors. >> experts recommend making sure there are no unwanted entries into your home and if it comes to an infestation, try starting with non toxic measures because chemicals will get into storm drains and move into nearby rivers and creeks. the cold weather is sticking around. at least it's beautiful outside. a live look in san jose. the sunrise is looking beautiful. but if you're going out, make sure you pack the coat and scarf because it's cold. >> it is cold. and i think today when the sun is out we'll be able to see all of the snow capping some of our

mountains and hills. here is what to expect. it is a cold morning, temperatures in the 30s. variable wind at about 10 to 20 miles per hour. there's a lot of sunshine in our forecast for today, as well as the next couple of days. but then ahead the rain comes back for the weekend, as well as more low bay area snow above 2,000 feet. now, we are also seeing that storm system pushing away from us and clear skies farther to the north. as you're stepping out the door, you're noticing that for the commute, looking at richmond's temperatures, in the upper 30s, very chilly and there will be a slow warm-up today. most likely you'll have the coat on all day long as we only make it up to 55 in oakland today, 57 in santa rosa and 53 in los gatos. mike, you are still concerned about the commute toward hayward. >> i am because of the crash blocking just one lane. from what i understand, the speed sensors might be improving, they might have got it to the shoulder.

look at the backup through 238 and now on northbound 238 with the build out of castro valley. more traffic feeding into that area toward a street on the north end of hayward. now, after you pass that, everything is just fine getting down toward the san mateo bridge. toward the bay bridge everything is fine. holding steady for highway 4, 37, down the eastshore freeway and the backup at the toll plaza, pretty standard. it is moving pretty well for a wednesday at 6:39. the rest of the bay shows a smooth drive. we'll look ahead toward the changes on the peninsula. starting friday they will be charging you for this stretch of the express lanes, so make sure you have your fas trak flex. back to you. 6:39 right now. catching a break in chinatown. >> it means a lot, at least somebody is supporting us. >> still ahead, a sigh of relief for hundreds of small business owners in san francisco facing fines because their awnings do not meet city standards.

we'll talk about the help they're now getting. >> if president biden were a football quarterback, he might think he's got some wide open receivers. we'll take a look at that. >> plus -- ♪ who runs the world ♪ ♪ girls ♪ >> you heard it right. as we begin women's herstory month, we here at nbc bay area are honoring women in our lives. stay with us as we honor them all. you're watching "today in the bay." take it away, b.

as you head out on the peninsula, we're checking out palo alto, only 39 degrees. we do still have a breezy wind and we're in for a lot of sunshine today. still jacket weather, but we're looking a little better. we'll get a look at the break, how long that lasts, and when the rain returns in a few minutes. the cars on the right side, look at that truck, a flatbed with all the plastic bags flapping around. fortunately, it's secured in the cargo area, but that is indicating how much wind is going on across the bay. your drive is a breeze on the 92, traveling across the san mateo bridge. we'll talk about the bay bridge coming up. to a follow-up for you, relief for hundreds of small

business owners in san francisco's chinatown facing fines because their awnings don't comply with city standards. so it turns out there are regulations for awnings so firefighters can get their ladders to the second floor of those buildings. now mayor london breed and the board of supervisors are asking for legislation to help almost 200 small businesses reported by an anonymous whistleblower for code violations. this gentleman has operated the gift shop in chinatown for many years on grant and washington street, since 1992. he tells us that he has never heard anything about these awning laws until earlier this month. >> why do you need a permit for an awning? >> i don't know. after 30 years, i don't know. >> a meeting is scheduled for monday at 1:00 in the afternoon at the wong playground in chinatown. city representatives will be there to answer questions for those business owners. 6:44 this morning, and

president biden accusing republicans of planning to cut popular programs. >> scott mcgrew joins us. republicans left him an opening. >> he's taking advantage of it. republicans have not yet come up with a budget. some of them have indeed talked about cutting or modifying programs like affordable care act, social security and medicare. republican leadership said absolutely those ideas are off the table, but biden is running with it saying show me a republican budget. biden says his detailed budget will be out march 9th. >> look, make no mistake, if maga republicans try to take away people's health care by gutting medicaid and the affordable care act, i will stop them. >> now, this is not just a democrat thing. former president trump, has accused his own party,

specifically nikki haley and ron desantis of wanting to cut social security and medicare. fbi director christopher wray says his agency suspects covid came from a chinese lab. the energy department was the first saying it had low confidence in the conclusion, the fbi said it had medium confidence. no agency has offered public proof but may have wondered about the consequence that covid could be tracked to a neighborhood in wuhan that also contains a biolab. i think we all wondered that. it was extra strange how much the scientific community discouraged people from speculating about that during the pandemic. the issue came up in the house select committee yesterday. the videos you're seeing on a house hearing on border security, another on funding ukraine. congress was busy. >> and president biden has nominated california julie su to be his next secretary of labor. su served as the state secretary

of labor here. we're always on smead, all of us, in my case on facebook i'm at scott mcgrew tv. >> thank you. 6:46 this morning. and "today in the bay" and nbc bay area kicks off a month-long celebration of women's herstory and it coincides with a special event kicking off in the south bay. they're going to gather later today for the first day of this year's california conference for women. it takes place at santa clara convention center. our own janelle wang will emcee today's keynote address and a virtual event will take place tomorrow. naomi osaka and constance wu are among the many speakers that are scheduled to take part. here at "today in the bay" we are starting the celebration by honoring some of the important women in our lives. >> we're not under any false pretenses. everyone here at "today in the bay" stands on the shoulders of very strong women who have

inspired, shaped and made us the people you see on television every single day. in some cases members of our "today in the bay" team are raising future generations of strong women. these are photos of kari, mike, myself with our daughters, along with marcus' mother there as well, also a very strong woman, mike's wife tracy. we wanted to take a moment at the beginning of this special month to say we salute, honor and love you. >> marcus' mom is very strong if he stood on her shoulders. >> it happened sometimes. i'm just saying. >> i love your mom. she's great. >> since we have you here right now, i see you all. i just want you to know i see you and you do a great job. you make it look easy. i know it's not. >> easy is me coming in without makeup in the morning. >> you're doing a great job. >> it's how tiring it can be. >> i hear you. your weekends, i'm like, oh, i

hear you. but thank you all. and thank you to all the women out there, you do make a huge impact in our lives. so thank you to all of you. >> our house would not operate without tracy. >> our lives wouldn't operate. >> mom day coming up. not until may. we can celebrate all throughout the month. so we are starting out this morning, if you're packing the lunch and getting the kids ready for school, with some cold temperatures. but i wanted to look back at yesterday, how much rain we measured, we had for most of us about a half inch of rainfall, coming on top of monday's rainfall, which was also about a half to three-quarters of an inch of rain. and for the santa cruz mountains we had anywhere from 1 to over the inches of rainfall. let's check in on our reservoirs. our four largest across northern california, on average they're at 80% of total capacity, based

on the historical average. look at lake oroville, 116% of capacity. and everybody quickly looks at trinity lake like, what's going on? it mostly relies on sierra snowpack, which hasn't yet happened, but most likely that will be filling up, too. around the bay area we're seeing reservoirs over capacity in some instances, for the uvas reservoir, very close. they're pretty much full, except for the coyote reservoir, which has been lowered for seismic safety. our temperatures today will reach into the mid-50s. it's still cooler than normal. we're headed for some slightly warmer weather over the next couple of days, but only reaching into the upper 50s and low 60s by the end of the week. we have a couple of days to let the water soak in before more rain comes in. by this weekend we'll see more scattered showers and also notice the blue here, that's

snow coming down to the lower elevations in the north bay and it's also going to be a chilly rain sunday into monday, possibly lingering into tuesday as well. so we do have several more days of rainfall and it looks like during that timeframe we could see another inch or so of rain across the bay area. so the active weather pattern continues. we're just going to enjoy these breaks while we get them. our temperatures today reach the mid-50s and then low 60s for friday. but then it's right back down once that rain comes in this weekend and chilly weather continues into next week. mike, you were calling out a couple of unexpected problems. >> right. on this map everything that you see, the slower drives are all expected. standard for wednesday, this volume of traffic, starting to slow throughout the east bay. this is unexpected, the amount of snowing past san leandro, the crash at a street blocks one lane. once you get past the san mateo bridge, it's all clear.

this weekend we are not having the closure, they just called this off because of weather, north 680 will remain open this weekend, the following weekend they'll have the closure. the south bay shows a typical build for 101. a good stretch through san jose. 87 as well. unexpectedly slow problem, northbound 17, a car fire right around summit road, jammed up coming from santa cruz toward the south bay. back to you. >> thank you very much. 6:52 right now. happening now, extra food stamp benefits are ending for millions of americans. starting today california and 31 other states end the covid boost from the so-called s.n.a.p. benefits. advocates expect it will put a strain on many families struggling to make ends meet. local food banks are bracing for a spike in demand. while s.n.a.p. users will still receive food stamps, the monthly amount will be significantly less. >> a quick look at the top stories, including breaking news when it comes to the price of

insulin. the drugmaker making a promise to cap out-of-pocket costs. and budget cuts avoided, for now. oakland unified still looking to merge schools and cut dozens of jobs. the reason some argue that it makes economic sense. we're back in under three minutes. >> but first -- >> deployed then denied. veterans tell us after serving their country, they never got the financial benefits they deserved. and they believe it all has to do with the color of their skin. i'm senior investigative reporter bigad shaban, we investigate discrimination inside the va and question top lawmakers in washington about how they plan to fix it. you can watch our full story right now at

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comcast business. powering possibilities. 6:56 this morning. we are moving you forward with a look at the top stories we're following on "today in the bay," including the debate over budget cuts for oakland schools. >> teachers have survived the chopping block for now. the board voted down two proposals calling for teacher layoffs and the mergers of at least ten schools starting next year. the board director argues the cuts are necessary due to declining enrollment, saying,

quote, i am very disappointed that the board did not approve the budget adjustment package. this puts ousd in a difficult situation in terms of re-prioritizing our budget for '23, '24. the district has until the 15th to notify teachers about potential layoffs. happening today, supporters plan to join family members in san francisco to protest an expected decision from d.a. brook jenkins to officially drop manslaughter charges against a former police officer. last month jenkins announced charges would be dropped at a hearing scheduled for today. she also asked state prosecutors to handle the case instead. the 2017 officer shot and killed a carjacking suspect during a police chase. in her letter to state attorney general rob bonta, jenkins called the charges politically motivated and part of a policy tied to former da boudin. advocates will take a new

step in trying to take back the streets from drug dealers. the group sf is calling for the city to crack down on what they say are open air drug markets. they want more money to go to police and stronger prosecution efforts. the group tonight will call for voters to do their part. in a statement, mayor breed's office says the mayor introduced a $27 million supplemental benefit to help fund police over time due to staffing shortages. they add, in part, quote, this work includes more than just police officers. mayor breed is partnering with the district attorney, who is taking a more aggressive stance on public safety, including holding repeat offenders accountable, targeting open air drug markets and addressing theft. we are following breaking news. eli lily is slashing prices of most of his commonly prescribed insulin drugs for diabetes patients. the company will list its lispro injections at $25 per vile effective may 1st.

it's also cutting the costs for humalog and humlin infections later this year. it will cap out of pocket costs for people with private insurance to $35 per month. that comes amidst growing federal pressure to lower prices. last check of the forecast. >> it's nice and sunny but also chilly and we'll head for the mid-50s today. tonight some of our inland valleys will be near freezing. enjoy the sunshine while it lasts because by the weekend our weather is back to where it was yesterday. >> got a way to warm up. there's a car fire reported on north 17. it's still causing a big backup getting over from the summit. >> we'll be back with a local news update in about half an hour. join us at 11:00 as well. >> and stay safe out there, keep warm, and we'll see you back here at midday.

coming up next, the "today" show. good wednesday morn, and it begins with breaking news overnight. a high-speed train collision in greece and a desperate search for survivors that's now under way. it's march 1st this is "today." head on. a fiery crash between a passenger and fright train north of athens. more than 30 people killed, dozens more hurt, some passengers still trapped inside those damaged cars this morning. we'll have the very latest on this developing story. covid cover-up the head of the fbi saying his agency now believes the virus did leak from