watch us whenever you want on your roku or any other streaming platforms. right now at 6:00. dangerous conditions this morning as rain falls across the bay area. it comes just after that partial collapse of the santa cruz wharf. we're tracking the forecast this christmas eve. plus breaking news. american airlines planes are back in the air. this is after the airline grounded all flights nationwide. we have a crew working to get details over at sfo at this moment. this is following the delays that we saw earlier this morning. this is today in the bay. and good morning to you and happy christmas eve. i'm marcus washington and i'm kira klapper filling in for laura garcia. we will get to that breaking news in just a moment. but first we want to begin with all that rain coming into the bay area overnight and this partial collapse of the santa cruz wharf

due to that incredibly large and powerful surf yesterday. this happened in the afternoon and demolished about 150 yards of the farthest end of the pier, sending three workers into the water. lifeguards were able to rescue them. the collapse happened in the middle of a large scale repair effort in the same area of the wharf, because of previous storms. that wharf is now closed indefinitely. you can't see it. you certainly can hear it as the powerful surf. you can hear how those waves were pounding nearby santa cruz harbor, even dislodging some of those boats docked there. now, one boat was even overturned. the heavy surf is also being tied to a drowning death. a sunset sunset state beach. this is where a man became trapped under debris prior to the wharf collapse. our bob redell will have more from santa cruz in our next half hour. here's a live

look outside across the bay area. a new round of rain moved in overnight. it is a really sloppy commute out there and we are once again in a microclimate weather alert. so let's turn to meteorologist kari hall for a first look at the conditions right now. hey, kari. good morning. and we're still tracking those big waves. this is a look at where we are seeing those current wave heights. as those boys come in and reporting that information for santa cruz, we're seeing now 20 foot, 21ft waves. 12 foot waves at the san franciscsco. and for bodega bay, we're seeing about 16 foot waves. and it's still going to be dangerous into today. i do think we've reached the peak or past the peak of those biggest waves, but still until 6:00, we may see some very rough and turbulent conditions and also heavy rain returning to the peninsula. for san mateo county, with widespread rain in the north bay, it's been pretty steady there and then, causing some flooding issues around santa rosa and rohnert park, and then for san francisco. still

coming down. but look at san mateo with the bright yellows that's extending over toward half moon bay, where we are seeing some really intense rainfall for san jose. parts of the south bay. it is also still coming down with some lighter activity. but all of this rush through the bay area early this morning with some gusty winds and that rain continues. but we will see a brief break for tomorrow before the next storm system storm system comes in. we have a great weather resource for you as the storm rolls in the free nbc bay area app, you can just scan the qr code on your screen to download, and you can get access to storm ranger scans and weather alerts. it works whether you are traveling or if you're staying here in the bay area. mike, you want to give the drivers an alert about two key spots. yes, kira talked about the conditions out there. really tough. we see how soupy it is. this is the issue right now for the berkeley curve. the one alert is because of this overturned semi truck. you're down to two lanes past the flares. the activity there cleaning up some sort of spill. no major injuries, but this is a major impact only right here at

the berkeley curve. folks able to get to the bay bridge without much delay. and in fact, it's only backed up to about powell because traffic is so light, that green showing how wet the roadways are around the bay, though. and over on the peninsula side, the second of two issues, the tree blocks west 92 completely. so you're forced off at hillsdale boulevard. you can swoop around eventually, get back onto deanza, or ralston will keep you clear of that and get you back over to 280 that is westbound heading from 101 to 280. the rest of the bay just wet roads. be careful. back to you. all rig, mike, thank you. well, back to that breaking news this morning. flights taking off again for american airlines. this is after the airline lifted the ground sppage on christmas eve today in the bay's thom jensen. live for us over at sfo this morning. tim. tom, how are things going over there? marcus. good morning. you can see the line is building up here at the american counter. this is typical though for christmas eve. this did have the potential to be a catastrophe for folks on this christmas eve, though,

traveling out of sfo and around the country because of this big issue by american and the faa earlier this morning, about 330 our time. it did, however, only last about an hour and a half, was lifted just about 5 a.m. or a little bit before 5 a.m. and the travelers we talked to here earlier were just finding out about it as they came to the american gates, and they were sure relieved to hear that it had been lifted. you didn't even know there was a stoppage. came to get your. yep, i just came regular time relieved to hear the news that this is not going to affect your christmas plans very much. so yes, just trying to get home. as you can see from the departures board here, it looks like all flights are on time. so we're not seeing any immediate effect from this short stoppage, which only lasted about an hour and a half. and we don't know if it's going to affect people, especially as they fly farther east and maybe

get to some of those airports that were in the heat of that stoppage, when there were really a lot more flights coming out of those larger airports back east. right now, though, we're not hearing anything from the faa or american about what caused this technical issue. we only know it did last about an hour and a half and it has been lifted. marcus. yeah, i'm sure a lot of those travelers just want to make sure it's safe and they can get to their destination. all right. tom, thanks. happening today, hundreds of san francisco hotel workers could finally call an end to their three month long strike. today, about 900 union workers will vote on a new contract. later this morning. it will take a two thirds vote to ratify a new deal struck between union and hilton negotiators to end this strike, which is now approaching 100 days. voting will begin at the union's offices on golden gate avenue at 10:00 this morning, and they will go until about 3:00 this afternoon. that means members and the hotels should know whether this strike is over

before christmas day. union leadership talked to us just before this latest agreement was hammered out with hilton. it's a great contract. we're really excited that we've set a new standard here. it's time for this hotel to do the right thing. also, we have reached out to hilton hotels for comments during these almost 100 day long negotiations. they have not responded. deals already were struck between the union, as well as hyatt and marriott hotels. nearly 2000 workers have returned to their jobs. the san francisco branch of the salvation army pushing forward with its christmas delivery despite thieves trying to thwart its good work. those thieves yesterday stole two car batteries from its delivery trucks, parked in a gated lot south of market. now, the group is now trying to get replacements by tomorrow, but leaders say that the batteries will cost up to $800 to replace. it certainly set things back a bit. we've we've got a pretty tight timeline in order to be able to, to serve this many

people. and so we've, you know, we've got great folks, good volunteers, good staff who are able to help, you know, make, make us get across the finish line. but it slowed things down more than anything. it's just disheartening to know that folks would would try and steal from organization that's trying to do so many great things, especially at this time of year. absolutely. well, look, the salvation army says donations are down and the need across the bay area is high this year. they also tell us that more volunteer drivers are needed to deliver thousands of meals to seniors across the city today and tomorrow. if you would like to help, you can sign up on the salvation army's website. still no update yet on the identities nor conditions of five people injured when two chairlifts collided on a high speed lift at tahoe's heavenly ski resort, sending skiers plunging 30f to the ground below. it happened yesterday morning on heavenly's comet express chairlift. photos show the chairs collapsed together. you see them there,

and emergency responders on the ground. witnesses say one chair came loose and slid backward into the one behind it. we spoke on the phone with one woman, who says she had just been on that same lift minutes earlier. as we were getting up in the air, we could see about 15. quite a few emt or all the medics that were there surrounding someone. and my husband did notice the backpack hanging from the chair lift. we were just on that. so thankfully that wasn't us. so. and i said out loud, i'm like, i can't even think about that because that'll make me not want to ski anymore. that chairlift now closed indefinitely. the resort did not issue an update on the victims, but did say in part, quote, the safety of our guests is our top priority and the resort is investigating the incident. well, back here at home, taking a live look out at san jose this morning. christmas in the park, wet ground out there. so that means it's been raining. meteorologist kari

hall, of course, been monoring all of that rain here. snow in the sierra? yes. we're going to see it changing over to snow very soon here. and as we take a look at what to expect, a lot of heavy rain that's been moving through, coming in waves. and it has picked up in intensity where we are seeing the bright yellows in the peninsula with a steady rain elsewhere across the bay area. for now, all of that rain has caused some standing water on the roads, including the interstate, along with some debris, so slow it down this morning. we haven't had too many cars up and out there, and so we have that possibility of spinouts and things like that happening because of how soggy the conditions are. it'slso fairly cool. we're in the mid 50s right now. we won't see the temperatures warming up today. and the worst of that rain is with us for the next few hours, and then it starts to taper off. we may even have some sunshine for the afternoon, with a slight chance of rain continuing into at least the early afternoon. but later on tonight it's clear just in time for santa to get here. but then we are going to

see a mix of sun and clouds tomorrow before the next round of rain comes in early on thursday morning, so i'll be tracking that. we'll get a look at more of the impacts of the next few storm systems and what we're expecting. mike has a look at gas prices if you're hitting the road. yeah, no longer the best in the state, but still the best in alameda county. we'll call out livermore's marathon duo, the lowest at 347. only by a few cents, though. the one in holmes and the one on livermore still help you out there. vallejo has the best for the middle price here. that's in solano county. 359 at national petroleum on springs road. and the bottom price here down in the south bay, the low that's at 363 at great gas on north matilda avenue again in sunnyvale. but you can check gasbuddy to see the price changes no matter where you're going this holiday sean. as we're looking at the roadways, we have the green showing you how wet the conditions are around the bay. watch for slippery conditions. very light traffic. big problem. circled there at the berkeley curve just past i-80, and the transition onto southbound 880 is jammed

up. we have at the top of the screen overturned rig had created a spill there. they've made some progress. we have a couple of lanes getting by that jams you up only from powell to 880 southbound just off the berkeley curve. back to you. all right, mike, thanks. and we just got word s santa left sapporo. japan is now on his way to tokyo. for anyone wondering. all right. 11 past the hour right now. big changes for san francisco's famed fisherman's wharf. but not without some pushback. there is growing opposition to a planned major renovation. and guess what? you said he was heading to japan. he's there in two. one. he's in japan right now. he's there. ho ho ho! from japan this morning, i jumped ahead there. i was so eager. look, cassandra's got a lot to do. all right? keep it right here. we're keeping track of santa all morning long here. we're going to tell you what scientists are saying to help keep track of the progress of old saint nick. okay, so he's now heading to kanazawa. kanazawa, japan. all right, here

we go. take your word. we've got a lot of work to do. and so do we. so stick around. we're going to tell you about a lot more happening, including learning pronunciations. no, i just kanazawa i just i'm not

christmas eve to you. it is 615. we are under a microclimate weather alert due to the sloppy conditions and the big waves

near the coast. a look at san rafael, where you can see that drivers are making it along just fine, despite the steady rain that's coming down, the rain will continue through 10:00 and then we'll get sunshine with a very modest warm up. today we are going to be tracking the cooler weather and the next storm. more coming up in just a few minutes. and a tree continues to block westbound 80 a westbound 92 i'm sorry. all of it. as you're approaching deanza boulevard. so you're forced off at hillsdale. the eastbound side has one lane blocked by branches as well. that's causing more slowing through the san mateo hills. and this overturned rig, they're making good progress, t we still have flares slowing down. west 80 to south 80, just past the berkeley curve. we'll track both of these scenes coming up. good morning. wall street is set for a mixed open after the markets kicked off the holiday shortened week in the green, with stocks getting a late day boost to close higher. led by tech and chip names. the

dow rising for a third straight day,he s&p 500 and the nasdaq posting back to back gains. and today is the traditional start of that so-called santa claus rally, which is the last five trading days of december and the first two of january. now, since 1969, the s&p 500 has posted an average gain of 1.3% during that period. and a reminder that markets do close early today for christmas eve at 1 p.m. eastern. airlines are bracing for their busiest christmas season as millions of passengers take to the skies, with trade group airlines for america expecting a record 54 million people to fly between december 19th and january 6th. now, u.s. airlines are offering 140,000 more seats each day than they did during the holidays last year or orlando, las vegas, cancun, fort lauderdale and honolulu are the most popular destinations. elon musk's ai startup says it's raised $6 billion in the latest round of funding, valuing the company at more than $40

billion. x aiays the money will likely go towards products and infrastructure, such as its grok ai model and a multi-billion dollar supercomputer site in tennessee. x ai is currently training the newest version of grok, which isn't yet available to the public. with your cnbc morning business report, i'm silvana henao. thanks, silvana. well, with san francisco's half billion dollar plan to renovate fisherman's wharf moving forward, members of commercial fishing industry are raising some concerns. supervisors this month approved the preliminary plan. it calls for a $550 million overhaul that would include a new seafood market, food hall and performing arts space. but there are concerns. pier 45 will no longer be able to be suitable for unloading, storing or selling fresh seafood. there are still plenty of hurdles to clear before construction begins, starting with an environmental impact report. joining this morning, santa. we have a live look from norad showing exactly where he

is right now over japan. i believe okinawa, okinawa, i missed that, thank you. so far, santa has delivered more than a half billion gifts with many more to go. is that the latest number? i thought it was more than that at this point. 1,000,163. no, 1,163,000,000 gifts. what he said for the younger viewers out there, you may not know the north american aerospace defense command cente, or norad makes it easy for everyone to track santa on christmas morning. the group has radars and satellites around the globe to help follow jolly old saint nick's every move online and on its app. there also are volunteers standing by until 11:00 tonight, ready to take your calls. they can call in to 1877 hi norad and talk to folks. i'll be one of the people answering the calls and letting people know where santa is. you can go to the website. norad

santa org. you can also download the app from the whichever app store that you use and so on the website. there's games and fun things to do to track santa, as well as plenty of other ways to connect. and norad wants to assure americans, especially on the east coast, who might be worried about those mysterious drones popping up. they say, fear not. santa is a great aviator with many years of experience and should be able to navigate past any potential interruptions. i definitely have to tell my kids about norah. they love doing all sorts of stuff on there. i heard they're able to log lock in on rudolph's nose really well. yeah, yeah, i like that. you can, like, look at it from different perspectives. like they give you full control of, like, seeing what's going on, zooming in and out of the map and all that stuff. instead of a flight simulator, it's a sleigh simulator. and then one thing too, for later tonight, when it gets close to the bay area, you can say, okay, it's getting

close, kids, time to go to bed so you can time it out for you and get them to be a mother. so you know that drink your spiked eggnog tonight. great call, great call. all right. and the rain will be out of here by then, too. we've been tracking the rain throughout the bay area this morning. it's really caused a lot of problems. and it has picked up once again, even though we're seeing the widespread steady rain, it is a lot heavier for the peninsula. and now that's starting to reach into the east bay. so let's get a closer look. as we've seen the rain pouring on the dumbarton bridge all the way up to san mateo, extending down to palo alto, and now across the bay, reaching into fremont as well as hayward. so that's where we are seeing the worst of the conditions. when that leading edge of that rain made it to the bay area, it also had some gusty winds, and the rain will continue for a little while longer. before we see this break, you can see the gap in the clouds. it's clearing there, but the next storm system is moving quickly and will be here

on thursday. so here's a look at the timing for the rain in the north bay. we're taking a look at santa rosa. it's now 52 degrees and the heavy rain continues through 7:00. after that it gets lighter. and then the rest of the day we're seeing a mix of sun and clouds with a slight chance of a lingering shower. overall, once again, it is improving as we go throughout the day, and it looks like it's all clear by sunset this evening. tomorrow's also all dry, but then going into thursday, we start to see the scattered showers coming in with heavier rain late thursday night into friday so we could see an additional quarter inch of rainfall. and many of us have already gotten that amount. so in total, we're looking at about a half to possibly three quarters of an inch of rainfall, making plans for the weekend once again. once this storm system comes out, we have another one from thursday to friday that could bring in some heavier sierra snow. and then for the weekend we have a couple of more rounds of rain and some of that upper elevation snow as well. but then next week, the

storm track lifts farther to the north and we will catch a a brek here from all of the wet weather. so here's a look at the 7-day forecast. it does show that we are going to stay cool with highs only in the low 60s and times of rain through sunday. mike, you're still tracking a problem near the bay bridge. yeah, the problem is still there, much less of a backup because traffic is so very light. look at that. barely any slowing now. past the scene. still doing some cleanup. this is westbound 80 at south 880. the transition. here's the berkeley curve getting over toward the bay bridge. that's how light the traffic is. but you saw the water on the lens and it's all over the bay area. use caution. you can go at the speed limit, but maybe you shouldn't because of traction. we do have an issue here. west 92 still blocked at just just past just before deanza between hillsdale and deanza is closed because of a tree down. and that is the issue on the san mateo coast. the rest of the bay just wet back to you. all right, mike, thanks. 623 for you this morning. nbc bay area continues with nbc bay area response. we give gifts all year long.

nonetheless, we have a special message for you. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, nbc bay area responds

♪ honeybaked, how it glistens. ♪ ♪ mac and cheese, so delicious. ♪ ♪ sweet potato souffle. ♪ ♪ ham and turkey, hooray. ♪ ♪ feasting on some honeybaked all day. ♪ every bite is a celebration with the honey baked ham company. of his gifts to viewers in need of consumer help all year long. and this time of year, they like to look back at their annual accomplishments. consumer investigator chris chmura just spent his team's annual message. he has a tradition of making it rhyme and well, it's no

different this time. good morning. twas the night before christmas. and on our small team, we're basically following our normal routine. we're taking calls and emails from viewers like you. because a corporate grinch is making you stew. like renee in the east bay, a rental car business owed her $350, yet nothing in her stocking. despite emails and hollers, she contacted our workshop to lend her a hand. we picked up her case and met her demand. we contacted the company and stated renee's case. the business then apologized with candor and haste. next, they did something to cheer. they gave renee her money totally free and clear. so many of you, like renee, have called us in 2024, but there's room for more. scan the qr code presently on your screen. it will help you jingle. our team in 2025. we'll continue answering your call and we'll keep up the fight. merry christmas to all and to all a good morning. so close. back to

you. so close. all right. chris, thanks. 27 past the hour. up next, top stories we're following today, including that breaking news we brought to you. a ground stop for all american airlines flights lifted this morning. we have an update on the technical issue that caused so much trouble during this busiest time of year. plus, that high surf warning still in effect for our coastline. the santa cruz wharf still shut down after part of the pier was swept into the ocean yesterday.

can airlines lifting its ground stop on all flights this morning after a technical issue? what impact is it having on holiday travel in the bay area? we're tracking delays. it was shaking and cracking a lot. it sounded a lot like thunder, actually, and it was kind of swaying around a little bit. part of the santa cruz wharf partially collapsed into the ocean as dangerous surf continues to slam the coast. we're live with a look at that damage and more rain across the bay area this morning. meteorologist kari hall is forecast. this is today in thee

bay. good morning. thanks so much for joining us on this tuesday. i'm kira klapper. laura garcia has the morning off, and i'm marcus washington. look, we've seen so much rain coming down overnight. this is some video from 880 in san leandro overnight. anyone driving this morning likely going to see conditions like this? yes. and we do want to tell you that the person who took that video did it safely. it was on a car mount. meteorologist kari hall has been busy this morning. it is so sloppy out there. so we just wanted to say that so people know we're being safe. and you want everyone else to be taking it, right? absolutely. i mean, i had tumbleweeds going across the roadway, so it was so windy this morning with those very treacherous conditions. we're also tracking the big waves. and this is a look at the current readings that we're getting from some of the buoys offshore from santa cruz, where we're seeing currently a 21ft wave heights in san francisco. it's about 12ft and 16ft in

bodega bay. and we're still under this coastal flood warning, as well as the high surf warning until 6:00 this evening. and all of those big waves may cause some issues, but then we're getting the rain from this storm system coming down, and it has really picked up for the peninsula. once again, let's get a closer look at where we're seeing the worst of the conditions right now. either 101 to 80, either one. it's going to be really tough to drive this morning and you want to make sure you're allowing some extra time. but we've also seen that heavy rain now extending over toward 880, causing some very heavy downpours and low visibility. marcus and kyra. all right. thanks, kari. well, you know, it's been a deadly and dangerous time on the water. a part of the popular santa cruz wharf collapsed yesterday, sending three construction workers into the ocean. today in the bay's. bob redell joins us live from santa cruz with the very latest. and, bob, last time we saw you, you said you could hear the waves crashing behind you. and we still can. there's a

lot of waves coming in on the beach to the left of me. we are getting a little rain out here. and that surf advisory is kari has been mentioning is still in effect, which is significant because of the wharf which is behind me, still shut down this morning after yesterday morning this happened. this is video of the end of the pier, the long pier here, the wooden pr that extends from the beach all the way out into the ocean. how that section was swept away by the large waves yesterday. and when i'm talking about a section, i'm talking about the restrooms. you can see there was construction equipment that was floating away. and along with that, three construction workers who survived the collapse into the ocean. and according to a witness, they were rescued by the coast guard. and they are doing okay. here's a teenager who witnessed that collapse during yesterday's rough weather. we all ran away. we all ran as fast as we can, like leaving our stuff like running away, just being like are and like scary as hell. and in

nearby capitola village, people are out of their homes down there because of the high surf andd flooding. again, national weather service has issued a coastal flood warning through noon today. high surf warning through 6:00 tonight and sadly, about 18 miles from here. state park rangers say a man was killed. this was yesterday when he was likely swept away by a large wave and then trapped underneath some debris. authorities have not yet identified him. yeah, i know reporting live here in santa cruz, bob redell today in the bay. i know, it's just awful. bob, thanks so much, and we're glad you are staying safe with your photographer out there and keeping track of what's happening with this weather. a great resource for you to have is as that storm rolls in, is our free nbc bay area app. all you have to do is scan the qr code there on the screen. you can download it there. you're going to be able to get access to our storm ranger scans and weather alerts as well. it's really a great resource for you. it's going to work whether you're right here in the bay

area or traveling. it is 635 right now, and we continue to follow. more breaking news this morning. american airlines flights completely stopped across the country for about 90 minutes this morning. but now that ground stoppage has been lifted. american airlines ordered it due to a technical issue. it seems like the impact has so far been minimal at bay area airports. even some travelers we spoke with this morning didn't even know what happened. i bet you're relieved to hear that this is not going to affect you and your family. yes, yes, of course i have, like a toddler and a seven year old, so it'll be really, you know, difficult holiday time if it's delayed and stuff like that. american airlines still has not revealed what that technical issue is. a rare holiday double with christmas and the first day of hanukkah tomorrow. now jews everywhere. tomorrow night will light the first of eight candles on the menorah and bay area.

numerous celebrations are planned now. in most cases, there will also be heightened security. this is in light of the ongoing war in the middle east. while jewish communities intend to celebrate openly, some security experts say the reality is that houses of worship must still make sure that they make safety a priority. the whole purpose of hanukkah and the history of hanukkah is about the story of the jewish people being willing to assert their spitual and jewish identity, and to not allow anyone to remove the spiritual aspects of judaism. make sure that your institutions are well lit, the access points are closely monitored. andf course, if you're not already doing so, make sure that your institution is practicing lockdown and evacuation drills. the anti-defamation league reports more than 10,000 anti-semitic incidents in the u.s. since the october 7th attack on israel, and the rate since then has doubled what it was compared to the year prior. with the hamas attack back here locally. a live

look outside while highway 50 and the sierra south of lake tahoe in meyers. look at that. driving conditions clear right now. no chain restrictions as well. that is likely to change with that new storm rolling in. tahoe insider kevin cooper with kile pass resorts says all the snowfall before the new year is setting things up for a great season. it's unusual that we get a thanksgiving and then a christmas surprise, so things are really good when it comes down to in those terms, like we've seen people come up, they got their thanksgiving turns in, they got to go home, and now we're going to get a refresh for christmas. coop says christmas day should be immaculate as well. blue skies and fresh powder expected there. meteorologist kari hall, of course, been monitoring all that, so it should be nice for those driving up that way. well, it's starting to turn as of right now. so we had rain going up the summit. now as temperatures drop it's changing

over to snow. and we can see that on the radar and satellite. i do think very soon they may start to issue those chain controls. or you may have some big slowdowns if you're traveling up to the sierra, if you're already going to be there and heading back, maybe over the next few days, you'll be able to catch one of those windows in between the snow. we're going to see about 5 to 10in of snowfall today. and here's a live look at palisades, where we can see the raindrops on the lens. once again, that's going to change over to snow. and look at how cold it's going to be overnight, with a low of 14 degrees. and then a break tomorrow. as we were talking about for christmas day. it's going to be very nice there with temperatures in the upper 30s. and mike, you have two alerts now to give. yeah light traffic but sloppy conditions in many parts of the bay here you see the water on the lens. you see the flares right there. and more flashing lights just arrived. there was an earlier overturned semi truck. no major injuries, but there was some spill going on there. they had to clear up some liquid. and so we still have one lane, possibly two blocked at

any given time. so there's now a build for the traffic volume. more slowing just here at the berkeley curve folks are able to get to the bay bridge without any backup and no slowing there. the issue is getting down westbound 80 and then 880, continuing toward oakland. that's the one spot. look at all the green green sensors, green highlighting and the blue over here on the peninsula getting a little bit wetter where we still have that tree down. happened early this morning. west 92 still blocked between hillsdale and deanza. if you get on at ralston you're okay getting over toward the peninsula. but that is the factor and it will be there for quite some time. it sounds like everything else showing a light volume back to you. thanks, mike. 39 past the hour. bird flu impacting your grocery bill. higher costs are leaving some shoppers shell shocked. coming up on today in the bay. changes in the new year that may fix that. and all i want for christmas is $1 billion. okay, maybe not a billion, but very close. yeah, i said it and it could be yours too. i'm not alone here. the

mega millions jackpot is up for grabs. and we're going to tell you about that christmas eve drawing when we come back. lisa, when you say it could be yours too, you can have it too. you share it or buy my own. we'll talk about it. we'll talk about it. it's negotiable. a long pause. legalitreasons.y

good tuesday morning. we are

under a microclimate weather alert as we take a live look outside in san rafael. such sloppy conditions this moing with the steady rain coming down and the rain will continue as the cold front moves through and temperatures will rise very slowly today as we get more sunshine after 11:00 here in the north bay. i'm tracking the storm for you in the next. more coming up in just a few minutes. well, some of these folks might be heading over to what you just showed kari also sloppy over on the richmond side of the bridge. but look how light the traffic is at 640. almost 644. that's the minimal backup there. the backup here is the berkeley curve keeping folks from the bay bridge as well, just for a bit as folks travel down 880. the overturned rig and the spill still getting cleaned up. we'll talk about the impact on the east bay as it builds. all right, mike and kari, thanks. actor alec baldwin starting 2025 with a clean slate. as far as his criminal legal troubles go. that's because prosecutors have now dropped their final appeal tied to manslaughter charges in

the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer halyna hutchins on the set of the film rust. the judge, you may recall, dismissed the case back in july, on the third day of baldwin's trial after prosecutors failed to turn over key evidence. the film's armorer was convicted of involuntary manslaughter back in march. the victim's family is still pursuing a civil case against baldwin and others. a live look for you this morning at capitol hill. congress now officially on holiday break. but there are still bombshells coming out of washington, starting with the now released findings from the house ethics committee on former florida congressman matt gaetz. now, gaetz and some republican allies argue that the report should remain private since he resigned from congress. but as today in the bay's cis pollone reports, the same allegations ultimately derailed his bid for attorney general. i've been focused on the years long house ethics committee investigation into former republin florida congressman matt gaetz. finally

public after a bipartisan vote to release its findings. the committee determining there is substantial evidence that gaetz violated house rules related to prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of congress. committee member glenn ivey, a democrat, voted to release the report. this is something the public should know. they should have a chance to see what this information is. you never know what he might do down the road. the report points to a 2017 encounter gaetz had with a woman who testified she had sex with him when she was seven and had just completed her junior year in high school. the committee also detailed $90,000 in payments to 12 women that investigators concluded was used to pay for sex and illicit drugs. gaetz denies the allegations, admitting instead to womanizing,rinking and smoking in the past, claiming his conduct was embarrassing but not criminal. emphasizing the department of justice chose not to charge him. after a lengthy investigation sunday, gaetz

mused about his future in politics. maybe i'll just run for marco rubio's vacant seat in the united states senate and join some of those folks. i'd like to say that this is the type of thing that would end someone's career. i'm just not so sure i can say that anymore. gaetz resigned from congress when president elect trump picked him to be attorney general. he withdrew from consideration as the fight over releasing the ethics committee report intensified. chris pollone, nbc news, washington. it is 646 right now. if you've experienced sticker shock when buying eggs lately, there could be an explanation. things have been getting so bad. in some cases, stores are rationing egg sales. prices nationally right now are nearly 10% higher than one year ago. the shortage is the result of bird flu, not only here in the bay area, but across the nation. good news is, according to the bay area news group, the department of agriculture does see things improving next year with pricess easing during the first quarter.

but the shortage is likely to linger throughout at least the start of summer. well, 20 for you this morning. the 49ers spreading some holiday cheer yesterday, outside of levi's, they held their annual hope for the holidays drive-thru giveaway. more than 100 families in need were invited. players handed out food, toys and clothing. quarterback brock purdy called it a perfect event for the players and families who need a boost this year. for us players, man, we're able to just show up with our families, wives, friends and have an opportunity to give back and just put a smile on people's face, kid's face, give them some toys, some zenni sunglasses, like you name it. now that event collaboration between the niners, second harvest food bank, u.s. bank, and a group of bay area nonprofits. i love that he gives a shout out to his wife because they just got married this year, so i think it was his first wife. very cute. i did that. yeah. yeah, yeah. well, this is also trending for you this morning. how about this? for an early christmas present? nearly $1 billion. yeah, it

could be yours tonight. well, if you win tonight's christmas eve. mega millions jackpot. it's $970 million. so nearly a billion. did you know only one mega millions jackpot has ever been won on christmas eve? and three months ago, in september was the last time someone matched all six mega millions numbers. i'll be cool with just matching five of them here. be careful, because wherever you go to buy those tickets might close early tonight because it's christmas eve. so that's a good just just thinking. i probably should have probably had to stay open, though, at least past the lottery time. yeah. i mean, give me my ticket. no, no. why don't you all wait till the last minute? hey. yeah, mike's going to go buy odds. yeah, exactly. all right. meteorologist kari hall is here. actually, it's so sloppy outside. if i didn't have to go outside and buy lottery tickets, i would just stay inside. but, you know, some people not only have to work, but they also have those last minute gifts to get today. yeah. so we are dealing with this. take a live look outside in

dublin early this morning. you can see the commuters on the roads, the cars dealing with some very soggy conditions. and then the cars in front of you are kicking up some water. so be mindful that you do need to allow some extra time to get to where you're going. the rain is widespread. we've been tracking it all morning and whe it initially came in, it did come with some gusty winds, so there may be some debris on the roads as well. and then it's now just a very steady, widespread rain that we're seeing in the north bay. we've also had a flood watch that's been issued around the santa rosa area to rohnert park. and then for the peninsula, the rain has picked up in intensity to also cause low visibility around the los altos hills, palo alto, woodside as well, and then moving over across the bay to fremont, where we've seen some very heavy rain picking up. and that's moving closer to sunol as well as dublin. so we're going to see the heavy rain continue as we go into the next few hours. but eventually this will quickly, abruptly come to an end as we go

into late morning and then look at the space in all of the clouds. this is the next storm system that's going to be coming in on thursday, and it brings in the next round of rain. if you're traveling today, here's a look at the national map and what to expect. we are seeing the possibility of some rain as well around saint louis, extending down towards dallas fort worth, and i have seen some airport delays there. so check ahead. and then for the east coast. we have some rain and snow for washington, d.c. to new york city up toward boston. we are seeing the rain and snow showers. and then of course, the storm system that we are seeing affecting pretty much the entire west coast that will be moving off towards the east for tomorrow and moving over toward denver. we are going to see this rain once again for a few more hours, and then clearing out later on today. it's going to be a nice christmas. sunny but cool. and then the next round of rain comes in early on thursday morning with some heavier rain late thursday night, so today we could see another quarter inch of rain. most of us have already

measured that and then looking ahead, we do have a lot more rain on the way for the weekend as the storm pattern stays very active. basicly every other day we're going to see a new storm system coming in, so there's not many breaks in between, but we are going to once again have a dry christmas and hanukkah and then into the weekend, some off and on rain through sunday and then clearing out on monday. mike, you're saying that crews still need help with the cleanup? yeah, but the rain is not helping because this is a spill over here that remains after an overturned rig. this is the berkeley curve notice folks were able to get to the bay bridge without a problem. there's no backup and no issues here. the commute has just built in the last ten minutes, slowing at the berkeley curve again off of west 80 just from powell. so about a quarter mile there, maybe a half mile at most. for your delay. green senss dominate the green roadways. the road weather index says wet conditions blue where there's ponding of puddling. but a tree continues to block west 92 in its entirety, and eastbound one lane is blocked as well. that's between deanza and

hillsdale. and if you're on ralston, you can get over there without any problem. back to you. all right, mike, thanks. happening now. preparations are underway for the annual christmas eve brunch at san francisco's glide memorial church. jobeth and the renowned house of prime rib will provide a prime rib brunch for more than 2000 people. that gets started at 11 a.m. tomorrow's christmas celebration starts at 10 a.m. and includes dinner with ham, turkey and all the fixings. and just ahead, a last look at the stories we're following. crisis averted for some last minute holiday fliers. airports around the nation started this morning with potential backups. not from the weather, but a technical glitch. new details on the issue that led to the brief ground stop. plus, we'll update you on the situation in santa cruz one day after those waves washed away an entire section of

656. for you this morning. want to welcome you back. we are moving you forward this morning with a look at our top stories here on today in the bay. we begin with breaking news this morning. american airlines flights disrupted across the country. that's because earlier this morning, the faa said

american requested a ground stop for all of its flights. here's a live look at sfo, where american airlines operates out of terminal one. that ground stop was issued due to what's being called a vendor related technical issue, but it is now lifted. it lasted about nine. we spoke with several passengers who didn't even know that ground stoppage was in effect. look at that long line. so far we have not seen any delays impacting bay area airports. experts do say though, travelers should expect longer wait times today because of crowds as you see there. well, more rain making its way into the bay area overnight. we've seen so much rain coming down overnight. this is video from 880 in san leandro for anyone driving this morning. likely you could see conditions like this out there. yeah, and the partial collapse of the santa cruz wharf yesterday due to some incredibly powerful surf. the waves yesterday demolished about 150 yards of

the farthest end of the pier, and three workers who were on top of it went into the water. fortunately, lifeguards were able to rescue them. the collapse happened in the middle of a large scale repair effort due tprevious storms. the wharf is now closed indefinitely. meteorologist kari hall has been tracking it all for us, including that powerful surf. yeah, we are still going to see that in effect. high surf warning until 6:00 this evening and waves of rain for the next few hours. but we are dry for christmas and hanukkah tomorrow. and then the next storm system comes in on thursday for san francisco. once again, it's the big waves and the coastal flooding we'll have to monitor. and then the rest of the forecast is very active, with more storms coming in on thursday and then another one moving in saturday into sunday. so we'll be tracking all of that and the impacts for you. happening today a bitter three month strike involving thousands of san francisco hotel workers.

now over. the last holdout ended their strike yesterday. this is after a deal was hammered out with hilton. those workers will vote to ratify their new deal later this morning. it follows other deals made just last week involving hyatt marriott hotels in all half dozen popular hotels in and around union square were go, mike has one last look ate the traffic. people really are out today. just well, it's light traffic flow. the problem is i've been focusing on the two major issues. here's the berkeley curve and there are more folks out there. you're right. it's built up over the last 20 minutes. it looks horrible. it's because of the top of the screen where the arrow is. one lane is blocked. it's cleanup after an earlier overturned semi truck. this is actually not as bad as it could be considering the weather and the place. it's at the berkeley curve again, but that's only about a half mile backup at most there. this is an ongoing problem. this will be an issue all day, or at least for the next few hours. westbound 92 continues to be completely blocked just before you get to

deanza. so between hillsdale and deanza, there's no west. 92 folks are taking surface streets. a tree blocks at the eastbound lanes have been cleared of branches, though. that's the progress in the last few minutes. good to know. and a reminder to you that the today show is just ahead. but we will continue today in the bay on roku and our other streaming platforms in the wake of anti-semitism and overseas conflicts. we'll talk about the way jewish communities are preparing to stay safe during hanukkah. you can watch our 8 a.m. newscast online as well nbcbayarea.com or on our smartphone app. lots of ways to find us. yep, christmas eve, christmas is tomorrow. you guys, for anyone who didn't know an hanukkah good tuesday morning! it is christmas eve. >> millions are heading home for the holidays, and it could be a slow ride. it is december 24th.