covid cases and covid deaths. the changes coming for visitors to the u.s. when it comes to showing proof they're negative. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, zumo and online. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm kris sanchez. marcus washington has the morning off. we are in a microclimate weather alert. we have a lot of wet weather due to arrive in a matter of hours before an even bigger system. >> our team is tracking the incoming storm. "today in the bay's" bob redell is looking at preparations ahead of this week's atmospheric river. first let's check in with meteorologist kari hall, talking about what we can expect. >> this morning we have a round of rain coming in. this is not an atmospheric river. this is just a quick round of showers ahead of a cold front. but it is making the ground saturated ahead of that bigger storm that's going to be coming in. this is what we're dealing with

right now, scattered light showers across much of the north bay. it's been steady for much of marin county, toward napa county and solano county. for parts of the east bay, we're seeing steady rain from oakland to danville to concord, as well as just starting to pick up this brentwood. light showers in the south bay as well as some more rain that's going to be coming in between the next few hours. but of course our attention will turn towards the atmospheric river still out in the pacific, and we will be tracking that set to arrive on thursday into friday. so we'll have more of that timeline and what to expect coming up in a few minutes. the bay area's wettest season in years shows no signs of letting up. in fact, as kari was just telling us, many neighborhoods could once again be inundated because of the latest atmospheric river. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell is live in pleasanton this morning. pg&e will be using a relatively new technology to restore electricity if the power goes off this time, i understand. >> reporter: you are correct.

good morning to you, laura and kris. we are getting some of that cold rain here in pleasanton. it's something that we could be seeing on and off during your morning commute. yes, pg&e is using relatively new technology. we are talking about drones. this is video from this weekend. pg&e used a drone to restore power to homes on bear creek road in the santa cruz mountains. the drone is large enough to fly the new power lines into the air and reconnect them to the grid. they started using drones last spring and paid about $250,000 to lease them. the utility says unlike costly helicopters, which can be grounded during a storm, drones often still operate in the bad weather. later this morning, not far from where those storms were at, caltrans will shut down the white lane of highway 17 at spots between bear creek and summit road to allow workers to clear fallen trees from the previous storms. the lane closures will be between 9:00 and 3:00 today

through friday. we spoke with the division chief of the santa rosa fire department who is encouraging everyone in the bay area to check their own property before this next storm rolls in. >> we really push that message, getting residents out into their yards, taking a look at trees. if they see something leaning, contact an arborist or tree specialist. the last thing you want is a tree to come down to our property or your neighbor's property and potentially hurt somebody, if not worse. >> reporter: and in the east bay, the city of oakland is encouraging residents to adopt a drain in their neighborhood. in other words, make sure the drain by your house is clear of debris. they are formally asking people to sign up. this will help city workers out and about to make sure the water has somewhere to go. reporting live in pleasanton, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you so much. >> and don't forget our nbc bay area app is a very useful tool to have. you can track the incoming rain with our exclusive mobile

doppler radar. we'll send you alerts before the rain starts to fall in your neighborhood. a sad follow-up this morning for a woman reported missing in fairfield. police last month learned of the disappearance of this woman, 53-year-old anu hobson. now they confirm her burned remains were identified from dna after she was found in rural fresno county. her husband, greg, was arrested last month on suspicion of murder. originally both were considered missing, but after authorities located the couple's car and no signs of the wife, they arrested the husband. san jose police are expected to provide new information on a bombing suspect arrested last week. the 36-year-old is accused of bombing two pg&e transformers. police say officers discovered explosives and drug-making equipment inside his home at the time of his arrest. it all happened in the neighborhood near gunderson high school. he faces multiple charges, including child endangerment,

because his children also lived there. we'll bring you the latest from this news conference that is coming up during our midday newscast. if you are on the go, you can watch live online at nbcbayarea.com or on our free nbc news app. we'll also be streaming on roku. developing this morning, u.s. authorities are cranking up the pressure in quickly solving the kidnapping in mexico that left americans dead, two other victims were found alive. >> "today in the bay's" drew petrimoulx is live in washington. drew, the investigation already leading to a new warning for u.s. travelers and spring break is just around the corner. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. good morning, laura and kris. u.s. state department is warning americans not to travel to a certain part of mexico due to organized crime and kidnapping. now, the declaration comes as we learn more about the group of four friends from south carolina who were kidnapped south of the border. investigators say the group crossed from matamoros mexico last friday, shortly after a

gunman fired on the white mini-van they were driving and cameras captured the men loading the victims into the bed of a pickup truck. family members confirmed shaeed woodard and zindell brown did not survive. the state department warns americans should not travel there. this comes right before many schools are starting spring break. now, two other victims, latavia washington mcgee and eric williams, survived the ordeal. williams' brother is speaking to "today's" morgan chesky this morning about when he first learned eric was safe. >> what went through your head first? >> like the first thing was that i was relieved, but he's a tough guy, like you said, and he would pull through and that he would want to live. i know you can't always control that. i knew the desire to live would be there.

>> reporter: you can catch the full interview with williams coming up on "today" right at 7:00 after "today in the bay." now, u.s. officials are not saying much about who the suspects are in this attack, but experts say law enforcement agencies will work to figure out who the gunmen were first and then work on figuring out who they were working for. reporting from washington, i'm drew petrimoulx. back to you. >> let's hope they uncover a lot more information. thank you so much. moving you forward on the end of covid travel restrictions. the white house may be poised to lift covid testing requirements for travelers from china. right now anyone coming from china must present a negative test result before being allowed to enter the u.s. u.s. only put that restriction into place earlier this year after china experienced its first real surge in cases from lifting its zero covid policy. sources indicate the white house may lift the requirements as soon as friday. happening today, students and parents in the south bay will protest the recent decision to close their charter school.

summit charter public school leaders voted last week to close north sunnyvale summit denali school at the end of this semester. leaders say the school is losing critical pandemic funding and doesn't have the nearly $5 million to stay open next year. the move means some 650 middle school and high school students will have to find a new school next fall. taking a live look at the golden gate bridge. really soggy out there already. kari, we saw bob redell also getting some rain. it seems a little widespread at this point. >> yeah, it's been all over the bay area. for most of us we've seen the rain for quite a while at this point. it is starting to taper off farther to the north, but santa rosa getting the last little bits of that light rain as it continues to move over toward napa, solano counties, as well as san francisco, down to the south bay. so we're going to see this moving through fairly quickly as we are now seeing some of those raindrops hitting the camera lens in san jose. still not really soaked as of yet because we are going to see the rain linger here a lot

longer compared to the rest of the bay area, all the way up until 9:00 we'll see on and off light showers. the rest of the day we will be clearing out and mostly sunny, but only headed for 57 degrees and 55 in oakland, as well as novato, 53 in san francisco, and concord today reaching 57 degrees. we'll talk about the storm that's coming in tomorrow with a timeline hour-by-hour that's coming up in a few minutes. mike has a look at gas prices. >> they're trending higher. you look at gas buddy's blog and they published that it's the summer blend. that's why we expect gas prices to continue to increase. we'll look at solano county. vallejo has the best price at $4.25 on redwood park. this time it's world gas with the best on monument boulevard, $4.19 a gallon. and $4.09 in santa clara, diamond gas and market. there's a summer blend, and we

know about this. it's a little more expensive to make. that's why costs will increase. as we're looking at the traffic increasing out of the altamont, nothing major. down below 10 miles and creeping and crawling until things widen out after the pass and then everything is fine. watch wet roadways around the bay. the wires have cleared from 101, mild slowing through marin. but the pg&e outage report says about 4,400 people in the marin area are without power. back to you. >> thank you, mike. it's 5:10. america's sweet tooth showing no signs of hole and it has nothing to do with a trip to the dentist. >> next, we're talking mouth-watering candy sales despite inflation and things about candy we apparently hold closest to our hearts. >> and a quick turnaround, data continues to show us that laid off tech workers get jobs

quickly. we'll take a lo ok

good wednesday morning. right now at 5:13, you can see the water being kicked off by cars as they're driving across the san mateo bridge. also light to moderate rain coming down that will last between now and 7:00. and the rest of the day is dry, but we're keeping those chilly temperatures. we're also getting ready for widespread heavy rain in our microclimate forecast. more on that in a few minutes.

we saw the water being pushed around on the san mateo bridge. the camera is getting pushed around a bit. the traffic across the golden gate bridge restored as the crew cleared the northbound side with the cones and the crew itself southbound coming out of the robin williams tunnel. a smooth drive toward san francisco. we'll show you the bigger impact from the rain coming up. good morning. very happy wednesday to you. the number of the day is 6, 6% is the new possible top interest rate after the head of the fed, jay powell, warned a subcommittee the fed would need to be more aggressive in raising rates. the economy is moving too fast. the rate cuts so far not taking the effect they were supposed to. and while he didn't get into specifics, it sounds as if the next rate hike will be a half a percent instead of the expected quarter percent. i know rate hikes are not the

most interesting thing on the news, but honestly they effect everything you deal with. yesterday's testimony was a super big deal. we'll talk more about it as we talk politics coming up in about a half an hour. >> for all of powell's concerns, the economy is not slowing down enough, we do see layoffs around here. this is clif bar, which around the state it will cut about 40 staffers. yesterday we said facebook would likely cut thousands again. there is a lot of data that shows demand for tech workers is still so high, laid off tech workers get new jobs very quickly. this is salesforce's trailblazer event, a job fair in san francisco. for many, it's paying off. >> this is our conference for anyone building on the salesforce platform and wanting to learn new skills. we have 5,000 people here on

site and 20,000 online. we have over 250 technical sessions to learn the salesforce platform, to learn new skills and get a great career in the ecosystem. >> finally, san francisco's sofi, which makes money refinancing people's student loans, is suing to make the government make students start paying their loans again. sofi is suing over lost profits. now, one headline about this calls the lawsuit babbling, pointing out that sofi is basically asking the court to prioritize its own profits over the well-being of americans, which, fine, you can do that. but worse, all of this should be settled in the next few months after the supreme court rules. either people are going to start paying back immediately or they're maybe not going to pay at all. but we'll know within the next 60 days, which is sooner than sofi's lawsuit can even get into the court. so this is a bit of a mystery.

they're reminding everyone, hey, we're the people that profit off of your loans. >> for some people who can't go to college without loans, that's a great service. but to try to prioritize themselves seems a bit much. >> they're a business. >> it's going to be irrelevant in 60 days anyway, one way or the other. >> pay me now and then i'll pay you back. maybe that's it. 5:17 right now. here is something to think about the next time you're munching on wafers or gummy bears. the candy industry appears to be inflation-proof, at least that's what the latest data suggests, as people purchased some $42 billion of candy last year, 10% more than the previous year. the same report looks at candy buying trends. it finds most people not only share and gift candy, but see it as a fun part of life and agree it can make them happy. >> this is not rocket science here. >> our guess is researchers may be a little bias but it's hard

not to see their point. >> i am that lady. i have candy bowls everywhere in my house. we probably contribute to a lot of that. also very sweet news, we have the privilege of honoring a mother, meteorologist and friend. >> that's right, an early happy birthday to our dear meteorologist, kari hall. she's celebrating later this week on friday, but well deserved she's taking some time off. just as this atmospheric river comes to town. kari, you're not just a coworker, you're just a dear treasured friend to us as well. we love you to bits and want to take this moment to celebrate you. >> thank you. i'm sending you all a little gift of more rain. >> aw! >> it's wrapped in a gore-tex bow. >> do you have big plans? >> we're going to take a little vacation. >> she's getting out of the rain. >> we see your instagram posts. you live life well, my friend. >> thank you. you've got to. life is hard. you take those little

opportunities to enjoy it when you can. >> good for you. we're celebrating you today. >> thank you for you guys as well. you guys are such a gift. let's get a look at what's going on with our weather. i got a gift yesterday, too. look at this picture i got from windsor. it's a beautiful rainbow. look at this beautiful creature in the foreground. i love this picture. thank you for sending this in. we are possibly going to get more rainbows over the next few days so send me pictures of whatever weather is happening. tag me at kari hall weather. now we take a look at the forecast in windsor. it's still raining a little bit. it's 40 degrees and it's going to be a cool start as we go into the rest of today. we'll enjoy cool temperatures and sunshine. we just have to get through the next hour or so before the rest of the bay area, the rain is going to linger longer as we track it on stormranger. some scattered showers around

santa rosa, as well as rohnert park. it's changing to snow around mount st. helena. toward the east bay it is really picking up around oakland and alameda, as well as danville. we'll start to see it moving into the delta for some of the commuters. now, this system passing by out ahead of a cold front that's going to be moving through quickly and then we'll have a bit of a break before the atmospheric river arrives. we can see all of those clouds out there. let's talk about what to expect. an aerial flood watch has already been put up for the atmospheric river because we'll not only have the flooding potential, but also landslides and mudslides, as well as high wind gusts and then for the parts of the sierra where we've seen a lot of snow, below 4,000 feet, that may begin to melt. and then above 6,000 feet it's going to be very heavy. once again, this snow

clearing -- this rain clearing quickly and then the atmospheric river arriving tomorrow afternoon, continuing off and on through friday, as well as the weekend, with some lingering showers and possibly another storm next week that's just as strong. so in the next seven days we have the potential of seeing anywhere from about 3 to possibly over 7 inches of rainfall for the north bay, santa cruz mountains, those rainfall totals will be much higher. we have rain this morning and then a break, and then pretty much solid rain over the next several days with very few breaks in between. that continues even through next tuesday. so we'll have more details on that. mike, you saw a crash reported on the san mateo bridge. >> right after you showed the current conditions with the wind blowing and the rain across the bridge, we have reports of something on the high-rise. you can see that jammed up for the taillights going across to the peninsula side. reports of a crash into some sort of debris. that may have blown off the back of a vehicle or that may have

been generated by another crash or the crash itself. we have slowing across this span for 92. this is slow on the high-rise, it will probably start to ripple back until they get the lane cleared. only one lane blocked but the crew is not yet able to do that. dumbarton bridge clear but wet. this green highlighting shows how wet it is across the bay and puddling and ponding builds for contra costa county and alameda. it's a smoother drive but we're seeing slower traffic toward the bay bridge toll plaza. south 880, toward the coliseum, there may have been someone tapping the breaks or a fender bender, but it looks like it's moving now. back to you. >> thank you. it is 5:22. changing the game one play at a time. next, we introduce you to a group of female trailblazers that are leaving t

well, spring baseball is about to get a little more interesting for the giants because the team they're facing today in scottsdale -- >> i see you're wearing your giants red. the opponent includes some of america's best known players, not only are regular spring games going on, but this week team usa is there preparing for games in the world baseball classic. the roster includes stars like mike trout, mookie betts and

paul goldschmidt. today the giants face them in an exhibition and you can watch it on nbc bay area sports right at 6:00 tonight. as we continue to honor women's herstory month, we want to shine a light on a group of women making a change in a sport dominated by men. >> leaders of the nfl believe the future includes more women and they're creating opportunities for rising stars to actually get in the room. this year all 32 teams attended the nfl's women's summit. they invited 41 young women to meet the teams and help them turn their love of the game into careers. washington commanders coach jennifer king became the first full-time black female coach in nfl history in 2021. she says the forum helped her land her dream job and respect from her team. >> have you received pushback from men in this world who question, why are you qualified? >> i'm sure i have, but i don't really read the comments. no one that i've worked with has ever questioned anything.

i was just another coach to them and that's all you want to be. >> don't read the comments. just do your job. >> that's good advice. >> coming up on the "today" show, they're celebrating international women's day by sharing stories of incredible women breaking barriers and making history. it's at 7:00 a.m. right after "today in the bay." coming up next, the top stories we're following, including tracking another incoming storm. meteorologist kari hall is timing out the next storm system. we're going to show you the preparations that are under way that you may want to consider. >> and a new scramble to stop the spread of bird flu. the virus is ripping through america's henhouses, and the plan in place to try to slow down that outbreak. >> reporter: teachers in the north bay are demanding action from school board officials following a deadly stabbing

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when a truck hit my car, the insurance company wasn't fair. i didn't know what my case was worth, so i called the barnes firm. i'm rich barnes. it's hard for people to know how much their accident case is worth. let our injury attorneys help you get the best result possible. right now at 5:30, frustrated and fearful. an emotional night in santa rosa with parents and students calling for better protections in the wake of a deadly high school stabbing. the growing controversy over who should handle it. >> the worry is that we would be exporting meat that has virus on it that can spread disease into other countries. >> stopping the spread not of covid, but what many people fear could be the next pandemic. the bird flu outbreak raising health concerns and leaving a

growing economic impact. the clues health experts are looking for. >> let's take a live look outside. we're tracking the arrival of a new storm system that's passing through the bay area. meteorologist kari hall is monitoring the timeline for us. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, xumo, and online. >> good wednesday morning. thanks for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm kris sanchez. marcus washington has the day off. we want to get a look at the forecast to start. meteorologist kari hall is watching what's happening. it's rain now, rain laain tomorrow. >> it's hard to keep it straight. what we're seeing, we've been talking a lot about an atmospheric river coming in. what we're seeing now is not that. this is ahead of that. we are going to see a bigger storm coming in. it is wetting up the ground, and as the next storm comes in it's going to cause more flooding problems, especially with the prolonged rainfall we have in the forecast. as this quickly moves through this morning, the rest of the day will be clearing out and

then we'll zoom out the view so that you can see all of the clouds, those swirls out there in the pacific that will be coming in as we go into the next couple of days. but as we take a look at our day planner for walnut creek, even though it's wet now, the rest of the day is actually looking sunny. so that will be our time to clear those storm drains, get things prepared for high winds, as well as heavy rain over the next few days. mike, we have a problem on the san mateo bridge. >> yeah, the problem is the backup now. on the high-rise there was a big piece of metal and someone hit it, apparently, so a flat tire. that's being cleared. let's look at the slower drive and the mist and water kicking up. the conditions are tough as well. you can't really see the high-rise, but the slower drive is starting to clear toward foster city as they cleared the folk and the 100-pound section of metal being cleared from the roadway. slow across the san mateo or at least delayed. the dumbarton bridge is clear but the green highlighting means

it's wet all over the bay. the north bay, slowing kicks in for highway 4 and 37 respectively. the bay bridge has slowing up the incline and we should see metering lights at the toll plaza, right on a typical wednesday schedule. back to you. >> thank you. new overnight, firefighters are still at the scene of this strip mall fire in the south bay, which started around 3:00 this morning. this is on silver creek road in san jose. investigators say the fire damaged a chiropractic business and surrounding businesses sustained smoke and water damage as well. firefighters are trying to figure out whether or not that fire was set on purpose. that's because they found windows shattered when they arrived. students and parents in the north bay are demanding changes following a deadly stabbing in a high school classroom. "today in the bay's" pete suratos joins us live in santa rosa this morning. we're hearing teachers will hold a rally that happens before tonight's board meeting. they really want immediate

action. >> reporter: that's right. good morning to you. as you mentioned, it's been a week since that deadly stabbing isn't here at montgomery high that took the life of a 16-year-old student. but you have teachers, they're going to hold a rally before the school board meeting that's scheduled to take place tonight. they're calling for a number of changes, specifically they're calling for more counselors throughout the district, mental health support, as well as violence prevention programs. so we'll see more of that is going to be discussed a little more tonight. similar concerns raised last night at a listening session in santa rosa. so you had parents and students also talking about safety concerns, they say has really been an ongoing problem. of course last week's deadly stabbing isn't sparking a bigger discussion, maybe the district should add more counselors or potentially bring in some school resource officers. but here is a little bit of what those parents and students had to say during last night's listening session. >> this should never happen. we shouldn't be here right now. everyone should be at home.

everyone should be at home right now. >> what i check snapchat, instagram, when i see all these things being posted saying, oh, we're on lockdown, there's threats, there's this, there's that, what am i supposed to think? >> i lost my child. my child is not coming back. your children are here and it's sad to see us in the community now doing something to move forward, when we weren't here two weeks ago. so let's go ahead and keep momentum and keep doing something. i love you all and have a good night. >> reporter: a very emotional crowd when it comes to what took place at montgomery high school. i did take a look at the school board meeting agenda. it looks like the teachers union is also scheduled to speak at tonight's school board meeting and of course there's going to be a public comment. the board meeting will take place at santa rosa city hall at 6:00 p.m. live in santa rosa, pete suratos for "today in the bay." >> they're understandably fired up. thank you. the recent discovery of a

noose outside a south bay kaiser medical office is prompting a hate crime investigation. kaiser says it was found in a tree in the parking lot outside the medical offices in gilroy. they are calling this incident painful and triggering. law enforcement and kaiser's own security staff are investigating. kaiser adding it is providing emotional support for staff. they say in a statement, a culture of safety and inclusion is a cornerstone of our values at kaiser permanente and acts of racism have no place in our community. happening today, mixed martial arts star cain velasquez may learn when his case goes to trial. he has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges in connection to a shooting in san jose a year ago. authorities say he shot into a truck targeting a man accused of molesting one of his close relatives. another man was struck and injured. velasquez is currently out on bail. also today, five female inmates accused in a jailhouse beating involving a high profile

detainee are due in court. last week authorities say shannon o'connor was beaten in her dorm room at the elm wood correctional facility. she's the south bay mother accused of throwing out of control parties for minors. the attack lasted about 15 seconds. she was treated at a local hospital before being released back to jail and moved into a separate unit. her scheduled court appearance on monday was postponed. the latest bird flu outbreak appears to be reaching a new critical stage, as some fear the virus may be more susceptible to becoming a human pandemic. on one level, the avian flu is already having a major economic impact. in the last year, the u.s. euthanized more than 50 million chickens and egg prices, as you well know, continue to skyrocket. that's why this week, according to "the new york times," the white house is looking into what could be a costly idea, vaccinating all chickens. the other concern with bird flu

is not only about the virus jumping from animals to humans, but also from humans to humans. ucsf infectious disease expert dr. peter chin-hong explains. >> the first is a jump from birds to mammals, and that has occurred with this particular strain. the second is human-to-human transmission, and that is not occurring right now. >> some experts believe that in the short term the potential for human spread is unlikely, although in the long term it could be inevitable. taking a live look at san jose this morning, you can see the sprinkles on the camera this morning, because the rain has arrived. although this is not the big event we're expecting. >> yeah, this is the appetizer, i guess, ahead of that big storm. it's going to be moving through fairly quickly. we're starting to see the rain taper off farther to the north. last little bits of that rain

moving through and snow for some of the upper elevations in the north bay. we're seeing it move through marin county, toward contra costa, alameda counties this morning. we've seen that rain pouring over san francisco and parts of the peninsula. we're also picking up on heavier rain coming from the coastline over the santa cruz mountains. we've also seen a lighter shower moving from the south county as well. this all will be moving through quickly. the rest of the day is dry. then we prep for the incoming atmospheric river that will be coming in for tomorrow afternoon, with waves of rain going throughout the weekend and into next week. so we'll talk about how much rain we're expecting. mike, you're tracking a crash. >> you can barely see the shot. emeryville, the last few minutes with lower visibility. right there at the curve coming toward treasure island, we did see flashing lights. they may have cleared the bridge itself. there's a big backup at the toll plaza suddenly. it occurred and formed over the

last few minutes. we're looking at a build in the east bay. wednesdays do see a heavier volume of traffic. with more rain coming through, visibility being an issue and a bigger commute, this is not a good combination right now across that bay bridge. that's one of your east-to-west connecters. farther south we still have slowing on the san mateo bridge as well. that earlier debris has cleared, so did the flat tire, the vehicle cleared toward foster city. slow across the high-rise because the volume is building as it's trying to clear. dumbarton, if you can choose between the two, choose the dumbarton. it's a better drive over to the peninsula. we're looking ahead because starting last friday and continuing of course now, the express lanes are charging for use over there. san mateo county, the entire stretch is now connected with express lanes so you will get a better drive time, hopefully, but you will have to pay for that using the fas trak flex. the south bay shows typical

slowing, northbound 101 a little heavier than we often see. a look ahead to the south bay, there will be a lane closed for the remainder of the week between 9:00 and 3:00. they're removing some of the fallen tree debris. back to you. 5:41 right now. jumping into action. coming up next on "today in the bay," we share the story of a local woman and the work she's doing to give back to underserved communities impacted by recent storms and covid. her story is right ahead. >> a budget fight shaping up in washington. we're just waiting for both sides to get into the ring. >> plus -- >> good morning. i'm candice nguyen with the nbc bay area investigative unit. are dim bus headlights making dark roads in san mateo county for dangerous for pedestrians? a bus driver involved in a fatal accident says yes and is now coming forward. the transit agency says its buses meet safety standards, but more than a dozen bus operators

tell us some of those headlights need to be changed. watch the full investigation on our website right now on

"the doctor will see you now." but do they really? do they see all that you are? at kaiser permanente all of us work together to care for all that is you. good wednesday morning. as you head out on the peninsula, we're taking a look at palo alto with some light rain that continues through 8:00. the rest of the day sunny. we are preparing for an atmospheric river. more on that in the forecast in a few minutes. flashing lights across the

bay bridge did clear as you approach treasure island in the westbound direction. the metering lights did not clear. look at the wet roads here, the conditions across the san mateo bridge. perhaps a little worse because of the water kicking up. westbound still slow across the high-rise. a disabled vehicle still on the foster city side. we'll talk about the impact on the westbound 92 commute. a quarter to 6:00 right now. president biden continues to worry republicans will try to cut key programs for the poor. >> scott mcgrew, it is going to be a battle of the budgets. >> it will be a battle once we've seen both sides' budgets. good morning. so far we haven't seen either, but the white house says it will release its budget tomorrow. republicans, so far, have not offered one but have said they will not raise taxes, which means they will have to cut somewhere a lot if they want to cut spending the way they promised to.

president biden says his budget will only raise taxes on those making $400,000 a year or more. that will be enough money, he claims, to protect medicare. in an op-ed published in this morning's "new york times," mr. biden writes, quote, when medicare was passed, the wealthiest 1% of americans didn't have more than five times the wealth of the bottom 50% combined, and it only makes sense now that some adjustments be made to reflect that reality today. now, there's a lot going on in washington. you've got the budget fight, you've got the fight over the debt ceiling, economists worry if we don't raise the debt ceiling, the u.s. could plunge into immediate recession. and then, of course, you have jay powell and interest rates. he's trying to lead the u.s. economy, if not into recession, into a slowdown. yesterday the head of the fed testifying before the senate, said the fed's effort to slow the economy through interest rates was not working so far and

that more interest rate hikes are coming. >> although inflation has been moderating in recent months, the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go and is likely to be bumpy. as i mentioned, the latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated. >> the republican house select committee on the pandemic has its first meeting today at about 7:00 a.m. our time. the committee's job is to better understand the pandemic and america's response to it. democrats had a similar committee when they were in power, though this one has members like georgia's marjorie taylor greene, who once compared the mask mandate to the holocaust, house leader kevin mccarthy welcomed the latest member of the house, jennifer mcclellan. mcclellan is the first black

woman to represent virginia in history. she took the oath on a family bible which contained a toll tax receipt paid by her father inside. we're talking about the budgets on social media. on twitter you can follow me at scott mcgrew. >> thank you. march is women's herstory month. >> the pandemic we learned what essential workers were, doctors, law enforcement, just to name a few. one bay area woman felt there was one group of essential workers being forgotten. this is her story. >> we're going to be making these pacts like you see here. >> when darlene sees a need, she jumps into action. she started what she calls the farmworker caravan during the height of the pandemic. >> you know, originally when the pandemic started, everybody was

talking about essential workers and nobody was talking about the farmworkers. and everybody was sitting at home eating and they didn't think about where their food was coming from. the farmworkers never stopped working. they work every single day all the time for all of us to be eating. >> that simple thought led to bags and bags of essential supplies being drinchen in her own caravan directly to the fields to farmworkers. >> we would bring like toilet paper and diapers and beans and rice and essential things. >> as their needs grew, so did her supply, with donations continuing to pour in, this time simple luxuries bagged with care. specifically for the female farmworkers. >> as we know, as women, we're the last one to do something for ourselves. we will always spend money on children or family members and they never buy anything a little special for themselves. we wanted to give them something special. >> with the recent storms and massive flooding, work has

halted for many farmworkers, making the need all that more essential. >> translator: right now there's no work due to the amount of rain we've been getting, which is what we need. but at the same time, it's caused disasters like floodings. obviously while there's rain, there's no work. lots of families of farmworkers only work by season. >> so the season of giving is year-round with the farmworker caravan. now reaching out across the bay area with every little need. >> really nice to see the amazing work she's doing. and all the people that are contributing so that this caravan can continue. >> i think a lot of people didn't realize how forgotten these folks were, that they're living kind of in the shadows and now that they know, they can't not help. >> and the work of a farmworker touches everyone, everyone's house. >> yeah, and the generations that follow. >> it's true. not a good day to be outside, that's for sure.

it's just going to get worse. >> that's what they've been talking about, all the rain, the flooding on some of the farmlands, and we're going to see, unfortunately, more rainfall. let's talk about how much rain we've measured with our update. san jose has measured over 28 inches of rainfall with surpluses of over 2 inches of rainfall. oakland has measured 24 inches. that is 10 inches above what's normal. we've had above normal rainfall with the highest surpluses for parts of the east bay, as well as san francisco and livermore. now, we are also going to head into a very wet period, even with all of this rainfall that we've measured for the year. our reservoirs are running near 100% of capacity for most of them and the coyote reservoir, lowered for seismic safety, is still above what they want it to be at this point. the showers moving through this morning will be quick moving, in and out before the afternoon. then we have an aerial flood watch that will go up starting tomorrow as we're anticipating

about 3 to 7 inches of rainfall over the next several days. that could cause land slides. it could produce power outages and tree damage as well. the sierra snowmelt at about 4,000 feet and below could possibly cause more flooding, and then above 6,000 feet we could see some heavy snowfall in those upper elevations. here is what's going on now. we take a look at stormranger and see the light to steady rain moving through. once again, that is passing by quickly with a break this afternoon. here is the atmospheric river that's going to be coming in, set to arrive by tomorrow afternoon. and the rain pretty much just continues in waves as we go through friday, as well as saturday, into the rest of the forecast. so we once again will see about 3 to 7 inches of rainfall throughout the next several days. there is a little bit of a break today, time to prepare, clear those storm drains and get ready, because this will be a

very busy season. mike, you're looking at the delay on 92. >> yeah, i was mistaken. i thought the issue, the disabled vehicle after it hit some metal debris, i thought it had cleared 92 completely. it did not. it's near the foster city boulevard exit, so still maybe causing slowing. we're seeing a slower drive on the 92 westbound drive. starting to look a little better, but as more folks are heading toward the dumbarton, we see slowing on the nimitz. back to you. >> thank you. happening now, nature is unfolding at yellowstone national park. a biologist believed that they saw the first grizzly bear to emerge from hibernation this year in the area yesterday. they didn't hit snooze. yellowstone national park is reminding those who plan to visit to prepare for a potential bear encounter by carrying bear spray, staying alert and hiking or skiing in groups of three or more. interesting to note, the first bear sighting last year also happened on march 7th.

what would you do after you win billions? >> anything i want. >> you're right. maybe home shopping? we'll show you the hollywood hills mansion just purchased by the largest lottery winner in u.s. history. ahead at 6:00 a.m. -- >> i didn't know anything until sunday morning when the fbi came. everything just seemed so surreal to me. >> the two victims who survived the deadly attack and kidnapping in mexico are home. we're live in washington with the push by u.s. authorities to tr

welcome back. trending this morning, remember the jeffersons? one lottery winner is moving on up. check out this mansion in the hollywood hills. the person who just bought it is edwin castro. last week he won the largest lottery prize in u.s. history, $2 billion. he bought the 15,000 square foot mansion that was listed at

25.5 million. his new neighbors include celebrities like ariana grande and dakota johnson. >> that's $5 million a bedroom. >> that's not big enough for your family. >> that's true. that's the reason i need to win the lottery. >> that's why they didn't buy that house. airbnb is teaming up with "ted lasso" to give fans a chance to win the night with the iconic pub, located in richmond in southwest london. in real life it's called the princess head. but it plays the crown and anchor on tv. reservations on open on march 21st for three stays on october 23rd, 24th and 25th. the cost is a mere $13 a night for up to four people. >> we could go, guys. that would be fun. >> it's probably going to get overrun with people trying to get in there. that would be fun. right now at 6:00, the

weather is moving through the bay area and we can expect an even larger storm ahead. >> our last power outage was nine days and so they need to do anything they can to improve their response times. >> we have team coverage on this approaching atmospheric river, including what you need to do now so that you are prepared later. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, xumo and online. thanks for joining us this wednesday morning. i'm kris sanchez. marcus washington has the morning off. >> i'm laura garcia. this morning may be just a small activity of what's to come in a big storm system moving in. kari was calling this the appetizer. we're tracking all the wet weather. "today in the bay's" bob redell is looking at preparations ahead of the looming atmospheric river. first, let's check in with meteorologist kari hall, leading our coverage. this is the appetizer? >> this is just a quick round of rain coming through this morning. the rest of the day is clearing

up. this is ahead of a push of some cooler air that will reinforce what we've been feeling. we're going to see the rain taper off in the north bay in the next couple of hours. it's still a steady downpour for much of the north bay. it is a little heavier and picks up as it moves into the east bay around hayward, oakland, toward danville and just starting to get sprinkles around brentwood. that will continue to fill in around livermore. and then looking at heavier downpours up and down the peninsula. we'll also see some off and on showers for san jose down to the south county as well. once this moves through, we'll prepare for that atmospheric river. it's just a sloppy morning commute we're seeing right now. and the rest of the day is looking sunny. we'll talk about what to expect with the next round of rain, the bigger storms in a few minutes. >> thank you, kari. the bay area's wettest season in years, showing no sign of letting up. by this time friday, a lot of neighborhoods could once