right now at six time, names its person of the year. the person coming out on top this morning. plus, a new twist in california's housing crisis. one of the state's biggest companies

for homeowners insurance now adding customers, not cutting them. the new details which could help you make it in the bay. and the rain is here. the coast of the bay area this morning. we're tracking how long these conditions will stickck around. this is today in the bay. and a very good thursday morning to you. i'm scott mcgrew. and i'm kris sanchez. laura and marcus have the morning off. mike is in all wheel drive this morning, watching the roadways very slowly, trying to keep my traction. and kari is telling us how long your commute is going to be impacted. yeah, it's going to be a while because we're seeing the rain. even though it is tapering off, we still have some puddles out there. and the parts of the north bay, the east bay and the peninsula, that's right. now not seeing much in the way of any active rain falling. we had it earlier this morning. even as the system continues to move off towards the south and east. so here's a look at where we are seeing that rain falling in parts of contra costa county. it's still very

soggy on 580, as well as 680 moving through the east bay. and then we are seeing the rain that just moved through san jose now, pushing into the south county. still really heavy rain falling there in morgan hill, but we'll start to see that rain tapering off in the next hour. after that we are seeing a mix of sun and clouds, and throughout the day there will be a chance of showers, kind of some hit or miss rain in the forecast today as well as tomorrow before a bigger storm system arrives going into the day on saturday. so i'll talk more about that. we'll have the timeline coming up. mike, you're right now tracking those slick conditions. yes. so even though, a as you said, kari, the rain has kind of traveled through these areas, we still have the slick roadways. you see the mist kicking up behind the vehicles traveling on the nimitz south through oakland. so good volume of traffic, really manageable. but watch those speeds. it might be lighter traffic through your area coming down. this section of 880 doesn't show any slowing, but manage those speeds because of those conditions still slow down through richmond. eastbound 80 still has a crash activity

around central. westbound may have a new crash after the first one cleared. eastbound counter commute commutes highway four and highway 37 showing your typical slowing watch. walnut creek with a build anywhere south of here. it's just got some slick roads back to you. all right. thank you mike. breaking news this morning. president biden announces he is granting clemency to nearly 1500 americans, which is the most in a single day ever. the administration says that people getting commuted sentences were placed on home confinement for at least one year during the covid 19 pandemic, and now fully reintegrated into their communities. biden is also pardoning 39 people who were convicted of nonviolent crimes. he says this country is a nation of second chances. well, 603 just into our newsroom. time unveiling its 2024 person of the year. as you probably guessed, that title goes to president elect donald trump, who will assume office in 39 days. in conjunction with the announcement, the president elect will ring the opening bell at the new york stock exchange

this morning. this comes after he arrived in new york city last night. other names on the short list included vice president kamala harris, who trump defeated ex ceo elon musk, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and kate middleton well under pressure from president elect trump. fbi director christopher wray is breaking with tradition and resigning before the end of his ten year term. wray announced he will step down at the end of the currentdministration amid criticism from the president elect, who has already named his replacement, kash patel, to lead the department. here's today in the bay's brie jackson from washington, with more. current fbi director christopher wray says he will leave his position when president elect trump takes office for a second term. i've decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in january and then step down. trump tapped trade to lead the fbi in 2017.

since then, their relationship has taken a turn. recently, mr. trump criticized wray for his role in the fbi's investigation into classified documents at trump's florida estate. i can't say i'm thrilled with him. he invaded my home. i'm suing the country over it. he invaded mar-a-lago. and in my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray. wray's resignation comes with three years left on his ten year term, which has some senators concerned. i do worry about a precedent set. we set up an fbi director to have a ten year term, so they're not going to fall under undue political influence. his decision was a wise one. i think president trump had lost confidence in him. the president elect has already chosen kash patel to replace wray. he's been a fierce critic of the federal

agency and is making his case to senators. the senators have been wonderful, and i look forward to earning their trust and confidence with the advice and consent process, and restoring law and order and integrity of the fbi. patel, promising a smooth transition, if confirmed, to lead the fbi in washington brie jackson, nbc news. this morning, we are moving you forward when it comes to protecting your home. the state's second largest insurer says it will now start insuring more property owners. today in the bay's bob redell joins us from outside a farmers insurance office in livermore with more. this is a surprise announcement because farmers insurance stopped writing new policies for renters and condo owners last year, in part because of the enormous losses due to wildfires here in the state of california. you also recall that state farm and allstate, they stopped writing policies altogether anywhere in the state, with thousands of homeowners having to go elsewhere for coverage. so

starting saturday, farmer says, by the way, they're the state's second largest insurer says they will start taking applications for new policies, including condo renters, umbrella landlord, vacant and manufactured home, raising their cap from 7000 policies a month to 9500 a month. that's an increase of 2500 new policies each month. farmer says it's adding new customers because the marketplace has improved. the company credits recent changes by the state department of insurance here in the state of california. california's insurance commissioner said in a statement he believes this is a positive step forward. consumer advocates agree. so today's announcement is a little bit of hope on the horizon. and that's what i think a lot of us needed something. some sign that insurers are going to come back to reward all the concessions that have been made to address what they say they need. our own consumer reporter chris chmura says the state is focused on making more policies available,

but with these new offerings, there's no indication if they will become more affordable for consumers here in livermore. bob redell today in the bay. developing now out of southern california, crews are beginning to make some progress in the franklin fire in malibu. the strong winds are starting to die down, but the fire has burned more than 4000 acres since it started on monday, and thousands of people are still under evacuation orders. the fire. only 7% contained. nine structures have been destroyed and at least six others are damaged. meteorologist kari hall is here. you know the winds are dying down. that will help firefighters. the rain as well. yeah. we were hoping for some of the rain that we're getting to make it down to socal, but it's kind of falling apart before it gets there. so that's the unfortunate news. the good thing is that once again, we are seeing the winds calming down. but as we take a look at this system as it approaches, a lot of that rain is kind of falling apart as it bumps up against some of that really dry air. and

we're also seeing some lighter winds this morning as we take a look at our hour by hour forecast into the afternoon, we're still looking at about 20 to 25 mile per hour winds in that area, so that may make it still very erratic for those firefighters trying to get some more containment and the window to try to get a handle on that fire is very small, because we will see another weather system approaching for the weekend, so we'll be watching that. we're also dealing with a very soggy commute this morning. as you're heading out the door in oakland, we will start to see things drying out, at least for a little while, with temperatures in the low to mid 50s. a very cool day, and we're not going to sesee much of a rise in those temperatures as we get more off and on showers into the late morning as well as the afternoon. so i'll be watching all of those changes for you. we'll have another update in a few minutes. mike's been watching where we can fill up for a bit less. yeah. kari, you're talking about how we're helping our water reserves. i'm talking about your tanks. livermore still winning the race with two marathon stations still listing. 319 home street and south livermore avenue. been the

same for about two weeks there. great job. alameda county, we're looking over here toward the north bay. next, we call out sam's club for solano county's low of 352. it's on helen power drive in vacaville, the middle number here. and the bottom numbers for the south bay will point out one of the many spots. at 369 today, it's diamond gas and market on south winchester boulevard in san jose. you can check out gasbuddy.com. check your neighborhood or where you might be headed later this morning. as we look on the roadways, things are calming down as far as the rain goes. you see the green kind of pushing down the blue, indicating puddling and ponding easing up. but watch, there may be still some off ramps with standing water noticing northbound 680. at some point over the last 20 minutes, we had all lanes shut down and then reopened with only one lane blocked. now north 680 at around olympic. so that is your commute through walnut creek and the counter commute on the east shore freeway at central. still a crash off of eastbound 80. back to you. all right, mike, thanks. i the big business of christmas returns to the south bay. we started this. then that

street there did snowflakes. the other street over there did arches. the holiday tradition bringing extra foot traffic to one san jose neighborhood. and a new giant. welcome to the city by the bay. we'll introduce you to the team's newest player. we'll be rightack. b

thursday morning. the time is 613 and we are taking a live

look outside in san jose where the roads are wet but the rain is now tapering off. we will get a brief break between now and 11:00, but we can expect the rain to return around noon and it will be off and on throughout the day. watching the forecast also for the 49ers game. more on that and our weekend forecast coming up. and same conditions over in richmond. the rain hit earlier, damp roadways and the volume really building. now as folks travel out of richmond and over toward the north bay. my concern is traveling through richmond, the east shore freeway, showing some unusual backups because of a crash. all right, let's check business news this thursday morning. nasdaq crossed 20,000 for the first time ever, thanks in part to google, which hit an all time high shortly after that new supercomputer i told you about got into the news. i td you several days ago, the supreme court threw out a case against nvidia, bought by shareholders or brought by shareholders, who said the company hid how dependent it was on purchases

from bitcoin miners who used the company's powerful chips to do the complex math needed to discover new bitcoin. here in jersey, two things are pretty universal. we love a great din like this one, and we don't accept problems as they are. that's new jersey congressman josh gottheimer, who's running for state governor there. as you may know, it's pretty standard for new jersey politicians to try to sound like real new jerseyans by loving diners and loving their hometown hero, bruce springsteen. this candidate? no exception. gottheimer published his spotify wrapped top song list on social media. it was all bruce springsteen, except he faked it. a reporter for the star-ledger posted this side by side comparison of gottheimer's post and the real spotify wrapped on the right, pointing out the g's

look different. some of the number styles don't match as well. gottheimer admitted he did mock up a look alike, saying he shares the spotify with his kids, and he did. if he didn't share it, that's how his list would have looked. my mother and i share a spotify account, and so i get a lot of perikomo and then a lot of sort of, you know, u2, styx, 80s music as my mom loves u2 and styx. yeah, i know she's like into metal and her hair rocks. yeah. and all i want to listen to is perry como. the same thing happens with us. so, yeah, we've got a lot of interesting. but we didn't say that. we. yeah. you didn't publish it or claim anything? yes. how embarrassing. all right. this morning, the new man in the giants dugout will officially take center stage. willie adams will hold a news conference at oracle park later this morning. after signing a seven year contract to become the team's new shortstop. excitement is already hitting a fever pitch, with his new jersey

already attracting attention on the giants x page. the contract is worth an estimated $182 million, the team's biggest in history. he will be joined by his new boss, buster posey, as well as manager bob melvin at today's news conference. it is scheduled to begin at 1130 this morning. with less than two weeks to go until christmas, a lot of neighborhoods are looking to cash in willow glen, among them continuing the tradition of getting into the holiday spirit. those are the giant reindeer that adorn glen erie avenue, in a tradition that spans pretty much a city block. it also spans 20 years. local businesses are hoping that the festive atmosphere also brings them a boost as people linger and drop into downtown. just hoping that people feel like willow glen is their home and you don't have to maybe have the willow glen zip code, but you come here. there's so many cool places and little

knickknack shops along the way. some local businesses on willow in willow glen are also promoting holiday menus in order to attempt to draw crowds. we know that a lot of our other neighborhoods and districts around the bay area are doing the same, so make sure you shop local, maybe take your friends out for a bevvy. yeah, there you go. lots of chances for dining, drinking, and then pop up shopping, a lot of small festivals and making all kinds of drinking decisions. wise decisions. yeah. that's true. we went on a champagne walk over the weekend and yes, there was some purchasing of things. that's how they get you there. so did you come in the door? is there like champagne? yes. interesting. okay, so this weekend we may be shopping in the rain because we are going to see some off and on showers in the forecast. and we're going to start to see some more active weather here. you may look out the window and see that it has already rained, but most of it is starting to taper off. as we take a look at storm ranger. that's our mobile doppler radar. parts of the south bay still

getting in on that wave of wet weather. and then looking at the bigger picture, that rain now pushing farther to the south. but we will still have some lingering showers throughout the day, and then we'll quickly turn our attention to the next storm system, right on the heels of this one that's going to be coming in for the weekend. so i know you're thinking, okay, will it be raining for the 49ers game this evening? and it does look like there is a chance. so if you can maybe fold up a poncho and put it in your pocket or something. i know you can't take too many bags in the levi's stadium, but we are going to have a chance of rain into this evening and it's going to be chilly as our temperatures drop down to the low 50s. now we will see the rain kind of hit or miss today. it's not going to be raining the entire afternoon, but there will be the chance of those showers passing by tomorrow. we're looking at more of the same with a chance of rain, but some breaks as well. and then the really heavy rain starts to push through the bay area. this next storm system coming in looks a little bit stronger, and may also pack some

more gusty winds. and then it does start to taper off on sunday. so it's mostly saturday that we're going to see the rain. and even at what we're looking at for today could be another quarter to half inch of rainfall. and then looking at the weekend there's going to be much more. and we will see our rainfall totals anywhere from an inch and a quarter to possibly over three inches for parts of the north bay. and then at the same time, we're going to see our king tides return. that't's the tidal flooding that happens with the gravitational pull of the moon that's going to kick in starting tomorrow and then continuing into monday. and so you might want to allow some extra travel time, especially if you have to do the park and ride from marin county, those usual spots that flood. and then while we get rain, we're going to see the sierra get a decent amount of snow this weekend, about 1 to 2ft. we're already right on target for our statewide sierra snow pack. it is running a little bit low for the central sierra, so we may be making that

up this weekend into early next week as we get every other day. a chance of rain in the forecast and only a break really. on sunday. monday the rain will be back and then anotherreak on tuesday into wednesday. mike, you've seen a couple of unexpected jams in the east bay. yeah, i'm showing the bay bridge. not unexpected here. we know this backup will be here. actually, it's moving better than earlier when there was rain coming across the bay bridge, and i think they turned the metering lights on early and a little slower. looks like we're back to normal. we are looking at the east shore freeway with the build westbound through richmond. but getting into richmond eastbound, we still have two lanes blocked. the middle lanes there as you're making your way over toward westbound 580 and the richmond bridge, there's a crash that's been there for quite some time. no major injuries, but there may be some oil that leaked out there having to take care of that in the middle of the roadway. counter commute. this also counts your commute into walnut creek. coming northbound on 680. we had all lanes blocked for a period of time. there are now some flares and one lane blocked. that's a distraction as you're traveling north into

walnut creek and over toward 24, that will slow you down, but 24 itself moves smoothly away from the walnut creek interchange and into the caldecott. the rest of the bay moving pretty predictably. the build now for the san mateo bridge off the nimitz and the south bay northbound routes are starting to kick in as well. back to you. there's a lot of green on that map. well, a man left behind a life as an executive chef in new york city to bring holiday holiday joy to people across the country. ahead on today in the bay, we'll tell you what he's doing in san francisco, which will make you bay area proud. plus, hey, there it is. day six of the 12 days of christmas snack mix edition, and i give you hummus. you might be thinking, i don't know if i want to be the person to bring something kind of healthy or the veggies to the potluck, but this might change your mind. yeah, i am that person who brings the veggies. you can check out the recipes from my snack mix. and i'm also highlighting all of our agencies that deliver food to people who need a little help all year long. you can find that

on instagram and on facebook. you're watching ok y'all we got ten orders coming in.. big orders! starting a business is never easy, but starting it eight months pregnant.. that's a different story. i couldn't slow down. we were starting a business from t the grounup.

people were showing up left and right. and so did our business needs. the chase ink card made it easy. when you go for something big like this, your kids see that. and they believe they can do the same. earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase with the chase ink business unlimited card from chase for business. make more of what's yours.

of course, in san francisco, my kids always like the tree at pier 39 and ice skating in union square. we have another one that might have just opened its doors on fisherman's wharf. it is a culmination of an artist with a lifelong love of the holidays and the city by the bay. here's garvin thomas with today's bay

area proud. good morning everybody. i wanted to tip you off to the first year of what could become a very sweet san francisco holiday tradition. gingerbread lane is open for the holiday season on fisherman's wharf. the free display with hundreds of homes, thousands of pounds of icing and tens of thousands of pieces of candy is all the work of one man, john leveque. and get this. this is one of four he created this year around the country. john started building gingerbread villages 30 years ago and eventually gave up a career as an executive chef to pursue it full time. he says he fell in love with san francisco when he visited as a kid, and it is a dreamf his to bring one of his creations here and share holiday joy with as many people as possible. you can experience the whole story at nbc bay area.com/bay area proud, as well as hundreds of other stories of people being good to each other in the bay area. i'm proud when i can get one of those little gingerbread houses to stay together up right. next on today

in the bay, we are following your top stories, including the rain that is taking over the bay area. we'll take a look at all that green on our radar this morning, and meteorologist kari hall will break down. who's going to see the most of it? plus, the fbi is releasing a new age progression photo of a two year old girl who disappeared from the bay area eight years ago. you're going to want to see this. we'll tell you about the reward that's attached as well. and a crackdown on parking put on hold in san francisco. it's new rules about blocking people from parking too close to the crosswalk. the reason tickets won't be given out in the new year. stay with us. you're watching today in the bay.

ways are sloppy as the rain is coming down in parts of the bay area. this morning we are tracking how long it's going to stick around. plus, when we get another chance at the wet weather this weekend, we are going to pursue this until we find an answer. new hope in finding arianna fitts. the image the fbi just released to help crack that case of a missing girl missing for eight years and still no verdict. as we head into day six of deliberations in the nima momeni murder trial. are we seeing any movement from the jury? we have an update on

the case as they prepare to recess for the weekend. this is today in the bay. thanks so much for joining us on this thursday morning, i'm kris sanchez. and i'm scott mcgrew. we're in for laura and marcus this morning. we want to start with the rain moving in in the bay area overnight. look, live outside almost every part of the bay area from the north bay to the south bay was hit with rain. meteorologist kari hall is leading our coverage this morning, and it looks like it's kind of shifting off to the east a little bit. yeah, we are seeing the rain starting to move away from the bay area, giving us a break after some early morning widespread rain. it's becoming a lot more spotty now as we take a look at storm ranger. that's our mobile doppler radar. and it's mostly the east bay and parts of the south bay that we are seeing. still some steady rain coming down, but it's not everywhere. we are still seeing the lingering showers, and even if it's not actively raining, the roads are wet because we did see some heavy downpours earlier this morning from morgan hill to

gilroy. still some wet weather coming in, but the system is pushing off towards the south and east. it still will leave us very unsettled throughout the day and the possibility of rain at any point into the afternoon, but we turn our attention also toward the weekend, where we will see a stronger storm system that will be arriving on saturday. so i'll have more on that timeline as well coming up. you can track the storms as they move into your neighborhood and out of your neighborhood. just download the nbc bay area by scanning the qr code on your screen, and that gets you the latest updates from our storm ranger mobile doppler radar and our team of meteorologists, scott kris. thank you kari. the fbi released a new photo of a two year old girl who vanished in san francisco eight years ago. this is an unsolved case that shocked the bay area. today in the bay's ginger conejero saab is live in san francisco. and ginger, the fbi believes that this little girl is still out there and still alive. well,

chris scott, that is the assumption that they have been working under for eight years now. in 2016, then two year old arianna fitts vanished from the city after her mother was found dead at a san francisco park. now, the fbi and local law enforcement want your help, so take a good look. have you seen her? back in 2016, arianna was just two and a half when she disappeared. she would now be 11 years old in this age progression. photo recently released by the fbi. investigators hope this new photo can lead to new clues that can solve this case that now dates back eight years. on april 5th, arianna fitts and her mother, nicole were reported missing from the bay area. a few days later, nicole was found dead and buried in san francisco's mclaren park. arianna has not been seen since. so our goal is to find arianna and recover her and reunite her

with her family. investigators say arianna was in the care and custody of her babysitter and her babysitter's husband at the time of her disappearance. now, coworkers i've spoken to in the past told me nicole worked long hours and she relied on help to care for her daughter. investigators have revealed nicole was lured to meet the babysitter babysitter during the time of her disappearance, although they do not believe arianna was with her mother when she was killed. now, investigators say arianna could be anywhere, even another state. the fbi and sfpd are offering a $250,000 reward that could lead to an arrest and a conviction of any possible suspects. if you have information, you are asked to call sfpd's. tip line. in san francisco, ginger conejero saab. today in the bay. such an interesting picture. we'll put that on nbcbayarea.com in case anybody wants to share it that way. thank you. ginger. 6.34 on

your thursday, we're headed into day six of deliberations in the murder trial of nima momeni. he's accused of killing cash app founder bob lee in san francisco last year. the defense says he killed lee in self-defense after lee attacked him in a drug fueled rage. now the jury has reached what it's called the hardship point. if the verdict isn't reached. today, the judge will have to start figuring out how to schedule deliberations around the holiday weeks. when a jury does reach a decision, we will, of course, break into programing and bring you that verdict. we'll send a breaking news alert on our nbc bay area app and of course, complete coverage. nbcbayaa.com. well, the plan to merge ten oakland campuses into five failed to happen. now, the school board is planning new district wide cuts, which parents, teachers, and students are all opposing. i'm tired of you lying. i'm tired of you lying to us. oakland, unified's projected budget deficit is now at $100 million

going into next year. during a meeting last night, staff analysts said that merging the administrative costs of ten schools into five would have saved up to $3 million annually. with pushback from the community, the board did not vote to merge the schools it approved a budget, balancing instead to find other areas where the district can save. one teacher accusedhe board of balancing the budget on the backs of migrant students and communities of color, while largely leaving wealthier neighborhood schools untouched. you want to touch a school? go to north oakland. we invite you to go somewhere else. hit those schools up. hit the charter school, hit wherever you want. but you cannot keep attacking our community. the board president said that avoiding cuts to those communities is impossible because they make up 80% of the district. the new cuts will go into effect at the beginning of the new school year in the fall. all right. live. look, this morning in san francisco, where there's new developments in parking, drivers in the city now have more time

to follow the new rules without getting a ticket. california's new so-called day lighting law bans drivers from parking within 20ft of a crosswalk. statewide, about a month ago, violators in san francisco started to receive warnings, and that was supposed to be the case until the first of the year. let people get used to it, but they're not used to it. so the mta sfmta tells the sfgate. thell extend it to march 1st. after that, you will get a fine. the law, of course, designed to improve pedestrian visibility at busy intersections. 636 now and get ready for traffic if you are heading home from work in the south bay today, the 49ers are taking on the rams at levi's stadium for thursday night football and kickoff is at 515, which is of course right in the middle of the evening commute. tasman drive in front of levi's stadium, will be closed from 930 this morning until at least three hours after the game. if you're lucky enough to go to the game, get there early or take public transportation. vta will

be running extra trains for you. tune in to nbc sports bay area for 49ers pregame coverage starting at 4:00 tonight and kickoff 515. postgame begins immediately after the game. meteorologist kari hall is here, and we have to know how the weather is going to impact not just the fans, but the game itself. they had a rough couple of games with the weather. yeah, and i think this time it's still going to be a little iffy. we'll be watching stormranger very closely because there will be a chance of rain during the game. and we've seen the wet weather that we had this morning still lingering across the region, giving us some breaks. but i would just tuck that poncho into your pocket just in case, even though it will be partly cloudy and it's also going to be chilly. take a look at these temperatures. starting out with mid 50s and dropping down to the low 50s by the end of the game. if you're going to, let's glow. s.f. you're checking out the holiday projection. it's going to be raining at times, but maybe you get the best spot because there won't be many people out and about. it's also

going to be one where you have to bundle up again this evening, and we're watching the snowfall in the sierra. this is a live look at the camera at palisades tahoe. we're still going to see snow in the forecast throughout the day. there may be some times where it mixes with a little bit of rain as temperatures warm up in the afternoon, but then back down into the low 20s at times. so it's going to be cold. so definitely cold enough to snow there and rainor the bay area, including santa cruz. we will get a brief break from the wet weather tomorrow, but then some heavy rain and gusty winds in our saturday forecast. mike, you were tracking the conditions. looking calmer now in the north bay. yeah. san rafael look at this folks. this is your commute direction. early, before our show started at 5 a.m, we had a lot of rain coming down through many parts of the north bay. pretty calm right now and the roadways still damp, but not really spinouts reported for this portion of your bay. this is reported though, and this will continue the lower manzanita park and ride along 101 that will be closed now through the 17th. not necessarily because of the rain,

although that doesn't help. it's because of those high tides, those king tides that kari has also been talking about. we're looking at a pretty standard build as far as the flow of the traffic, but the east shore freeway continues with one incident. it's an unusually slow eastbound 80, getting away from the bay bridge and heading toward that richmond bridge over to san rafael. this crash still blocks a couple lanes. there's some oil reportedly on the roadway, complicating matters, but no major injuries around the rest of the bay. we noticed the highlighted green showing damp roadways now pushing south and the blue the puddling and ponding has r removed from our roadway conditions. but watch those off ramps. there may still be some standing water. could be slippery conditions. the south bay is now building with 85, 101 and 87 showing more traffic. a crash clearing north 880 at 101 makes things a little easier if you're traveling up the nimitz out of the south bay. back to you. all right. mike, thanks. a controversial political donation from a silicon valley giant. up next, we'll tell you who just donated to president elect donald trump. plus, the bird flu king a toll on zoos in

arizona. how people there think the animals gotot infected. and new actions taken by one bay area zoo amid the surge. plus, thousands of catholics gathering overnight to honor la virgen de guadalupe. we'll take you to the early morning celebrations in the south bay. we'll be right back. ♪ you know i'm a dreamer ♪ ♪ but my heart's of gold ♪ ♪ just one more night ♪ ♪ and i'm coming off this long and winding road ♪ ♪ i'm on my way ♪ ♪ i'm on my way ♪ ♪ home sweet home ♪ there's no place like the road home. receive a $5,500 bonus

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643 president biden set to commute the sentences of nearly 1500 people and pardoned 39 others. the largest number of commutations and clemencies ever, according to the white house. the administration says the americans who will have their sentences shortened were in home confinement, and they were there for at least a y year during the covid 19 pandemic. and the white house says they have now successfully reintegrated into their communities. biden, also pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes. he says this country is a nation of second chances. well, here's something you don't see every day the president elect and time's person of the year ringing the opening bell on the new york stock exchange, donald trump and some of his friends and family with him. the markets mixed this morning after we got a pretty warm inflation report from producer price index data. americans on both sides of the

aisle still trying to digest the news that fbi director christopher wray is stepping down as of january 20th. incoming president trump made it clear he did not want wray, who he appointed during his first term after firing fbi director to continue to be the fbi director. wray had every right to stay on the job, continuing his ten year term, which was designed in part to make that fbi much more independent and clear of presidential politics. instead, wray not only quit, he did it before trump asked him to. trump wants to install kash patel into the position. this will force trump to appoint a temporary leader who's already received senate approval, like the deputy director. that's what the law demands. wray said he stepped aside to keep the fbi out of the political discussion. secretary of state antony blinken testified before a house committee investigating america's withdrawal from afghanistan yesterday. the

withdrawal, by anybody's standards, didn't go well. blinken reminding lawmakers it was trump and not biden, who withdrawal. even as we work to address the places where we fell short. i firmly believe the president's decision to withdraw from afghanistan was the right one. american troops are no longer fighting and dying in afghanistan. the american people are safer and more secure. it was an adversarial hearing, of course, with democrats defending blinken, republicans trying to pin the blame onn blinken. but there were some moments of bipartisanship, even a bit of love as well. you don't see that very often. i think it's worth watching. here's the republican chairman of the committee and his ranking member. the democra. i'm extremely proud of everything that we've accomplished, most of it on a bipartisan basis. we've been the most productive committee in the 118th congress. and i want to thank mr. meeks, my ranking member. but he's more than that,

and he's more than a colleague. he's my partner and friend. we've worked together on matters of foreign policy, national security. most of the time we agree. and when we don't, we agree to disagree civilly. and that's the way it should be. i appreciate the fact that we've always, even when we disagree, as we will disagree on this hearing, but we've always been able to talk about it, be honest with one another, and that's what's really important. you know, when you have honestynd truth and can talk, you can disagree, but it never becomes personal because of you and the character that you have. and lastly, meta is donating $1 million to the trump inauguration. trump has, of course, constantly made fun of mark zuckerberg using a crude yiddish word to make fun of his name, even threatened to put the facebook founder in jail. kris. all right, interesting times.

thank you scott. so at least five animals are dead after testing positive for bird flu at a wildlife world zoo in arizona. among the five animals include a mountain lion and a cheetah. the zoo believes a wild bird flew into the zoo and spread that virus to six animals there. the zoo is now quarantining animals, heavily sanitizing the enclosures, and performing regular tests on animals to prevent the spread, and 25 workers who were in close contact with those infected animals are now being monitored by their county health department. they have also stopped all interactive animal encounters to keep guests safe. so you might be wondering what's happening here. the san francisco zoo tells us that they are temporarily closing the walk through aviaries as a precautionary measure, because of the risk of bird flu. the zoo says it is not only monitoring its own birds, but it's watching out for any sick wild birds in order to protect the safety of the zoo. it is 648 right now and

mass is now underway this morning in the south bay, as many parishioners are commemorating the anniversary of la virgen de guadalupe in mexico, where she appeared nearly five centuries ago. last night, thousands of people gathered at our lady of guadalupe church in east san jose to celebrate. the event features aztec dancers, live music and a play. the church also held a special mass at midnight, where mariachis sang las mananitas in honor of the virgin mary. church goers say the celebration helps them to feel connected to their culture. it's beautiful, you know, even though we are far away from mexico, i feel like i feel like getting close to our people through these events and sharing the same faith. it's very important for the community. while the church will continue to have mass in english and in spanish until 9:00 tonight. it is 649 trending this morning. the mayor of flavortown is opening the first of ten new

planned bay area restaurants today. celebrity chef longtime bay area resident guy fieri, co-founder of chicken guy restaurants focus on chicken tenders and sauces. a location along american canyon road opens at 11 this morning. not the only thing keeping fieri busy this day. the press democrat reports he plans to continue his tradition of ringing bells for the salvation army. he plans to make an appearance at the entrance of the santa rosa shopping center wednesday to collect donations for the organization this holiday season. that is very nice. and then during fire season, we've seen him out there feeding the first responders. so it's nice when we see people who use their celebrity for good causes. yeah. and his position in government, as in charge of flavortown as well. well, he might look for some backup in american canyon as they open that. all right. you got to eat your greens. you got a lot of green. yeah, a lot of green on the radar this morning. and we are going to see

it clearing out just a little bit more as we go into the next few hours. as we take a look at storm ranger. that's our mobile doppler radar. it was raining so hard earlier this morning, but now most of us are catching a break. there's still some wet weather in and around the bay area, as we're still seeing some lingering showers in marin county. we're also seeing some very spotty showers in san francisco and parts of the peninsula, but it's still raining quite a bit around fremont, union city, and over toward dublin, as well as in parts of the south bay, where we are seeing some light rain over the san jose foothills. but overall, this storm system is tapering off. we still have the upper level low. that's the area of low pressure that's off the coast, that's driving all of this rain into the bay area. well, that's still very close by. so we are still going to have some rain chances in the forecast today, but then we quickly turn our attention to a stronger storm system that's offshore. and that's going to be moving in on saturday. the roads are still wet as you take a live look outside in dublin. that's 580 as people are driving to

work there, kicking up some of that water on the roadways. and even though it's not actively raining, you may still need the windshield wipers for a while now. and it's going to be partly cloudy through the morning. and we're not done with those rain chances. today at 12 to 1:00, we could see some of f those swers coming back and just some hit or miss activity throughout the day, with some lighter rain moving through. tomorrow we're going to see more of the same. parts of the north bay. could still see some spotty showers and then heavier rainfall moving in early on saturday morning. this could affect your saturday outdoor plans, as it's going to be wet and windy, and we're going to see some waves of rain throughout the day on saturday. sunday is the better d to get outside and make some of those outdoor plans. whether it's shopping, putting up some of the decorations or enjoying the displays, we are going to see some additional rainfall on the way. as far as what we'll see today, about another quarter to half inch of rainfall and then much heavier rain this weekend. in total, we could see about an inch and a quarter for san jose and possibly more like three

inches of rainfall for parts of the north bay. at the same time, we're seeing the higher than normal tides due to the gravitational pull of the moon. we call them the king tides that happen during the winter that's going to affect these areas shaded in green. so it's not only the bay and the coast, but some of those creeks and streams that kind of flow into the bay may be rising as well. during high tide, which will be late morning and gusty winds in the forecast on saturday. sunday is partly cloudy, but still very chilly and more rain in the forecast coming in on monday. mike, you have a crash now in san jose. yeah. as the build starts in the northbound direction, this is really pronounced northbound 880 approaching gish just past 101. there's sjc, the airport for reference. there is still a crash blocking at least one lane, and there may be some fluid on the roadway which demands some cleanup. that's why it's taking a while. northbound 101, meanwhile, feeds into the area and may blend in. so if you typically take gish, you may want to think about jogging over on city streets, because there is that build coming up from 101

to 80, 87 and 85, all pushing in through the south bay. the rest of the bay, pretty typical patterns for the tri-valley and the rest of the east bay. back to you. thank you. mike. happening now. a listeria outbreak connected to ready to eat meat products is growing. the outbreak killed two infants and sickened at least 19 adults in eight states, including here in california. it has been linked to meat sold by yusheng food, the company based in south carolina, and last month it recalled more than 72,000 pounds of products made before october 28th. you might have bought this at ranch 99 market, which has several locations in the bay area. if you have any of these products, you are urged to not only throw them away or take them back to the store, but also sanitize any of t surfaces that those recalled foods may have touched. well, we're back in just a minute with a look at our morning's top stories, including a new twist in california's housing crisis. one of the state's biggest homeowners insurance companies now adding customers, not

cutting them. the new details could help you make it in the

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back. we are moving you forward with a look at the top stories in today in the bay. well, today's the second largest insurer says it will start insuring more property owners starting saturday. farmers insurance will start taking new applications as they say the marketplace is improving. the company stopped writing policies for renters and condo owners last year, in part because of huge losses surrounding wildfires in california. the fbi has released a new photo of a two year old girl who vanished in san francisco eight years ago. arianna fitts and her mother nicole vanished on april 2016. mother's body found days

later in san francisco's mclaren park. this is an age progression photo which shows what arianna might look like today. she would be 11 years old and we are now heading into day six of deliberations in the murder trial of nima momeni. he is accused of killing cashapp founder bob lee in san francisco last year. the jury has reached what it's called, what is called its hardship point. so if the verdict isn't reached today, the judge will have to begin figuring out how to schedule those deliberations around the upcoming holiday weeks. when the jury reaches a decision, we will break into programing to bring you that verdict, and we will also send a breaking news alert on our nbc bay area app, and we'll have complete coverage on nbcbayarea.com. meantime, as you go out for your commute, you're going to find it's wet out there. yes, it is wet. the rain is clearing out, but you want to make sure you do have that app because there will be some spotty showers today. the nbc bay area app will actually give you alerts before rain approaches your location and

pavement will still be damp, but here, the east shore freeway still slow. i just heard chp says tow trucks have arrived eastbound 80 at central. they can finally clear a crash that happened over an hour ago. good news. all right. well, the today show is moments away. however, we have more local news coming up. we will be streaming live on roku, pluto and other platforms, and live at eight will show you the simple ways you can avoid overspending this holiday season. we can help. that's what's happening today in the bay. today's show starts right now. have a fantastic thursday. good thursday morning. we are following breaking news from the middle east. >> an american missing for months, just found alive. it is december the 12th. this is "today." scued. a missouri man found in syria, freed from prison during this week's revolution, and guided to safety. we'll have the ver