were also abandoned on sunset boulevard. check this out. bulldozers at one point had to be brought in to clear the cars from the roadway for fire trucks. some 30,000 people are now under evacuation orders. firefighters, you see that? that's a bad combination right there. that wind, it's because of dry conditions and those powerful santa ana winds which are expected to gain strength overnight. millions of people across california are under a red flag warning right now. the governor is in southern california, one of many leaders warning that the dangerous conditions are still dramatically ahead. we were here not too long ago. the franklin fire a few weeks prior to that. the mountain fire. november. december. now. january. there's no fire season. it's fire year. it's year round. and it's incredibly important that we heed the warnings, the calls that we're not out of the woods

by any stretch of the imagination. we are not out of danger. the national weather service has predicted that the winds are going to pick up and get worse. we're going to have the most significant wind event between 10 p.m. this evening and 5 a.m. tomorrow morning. so, as you heard, this isn't just a natural disaster. it is a full blown weather event. weather is driving this storm, and jeff ranieri is tracking those dangerous conditions. jeff. and what we think is going to happen tonight and through early tomorrow morning is as it begins to cool off up in the mountains, the higher elevations, that colder air is denser and sometimes that can rapidly intensify the wind even more as that cold, dense air just slides right down the mountains. so as we just heard from the officials, we're under this threat here all the way through tomorrow evening in southern california. i wanted to show you this time lapse here, and you can see how rapidly this fire spread this morning. and because of that rapid spread of the fire, those embers were able to

really push through a lot of the valleys here, starting that fire continuously here, making it hard for firefighters to put out. so there's los angeles right there. there's the palisades fire you can see on our satellite loop here how that smoke is pushing well out towards the pacific. wind gusts up to 34 right now. humidity at 19%. so the current fire warning in southern california, if you have friends or family there, continues until 6 p.m. tomorrow, they still could get gusts up to 100. the steady sustained wind 20 to 50 and no big rain chances the next two weeks. and check this out. the rain in southern california. they've only seen 1600 since october the 1st. they should have about 4.68in. so well well below normal. extremely dry. and that's why these fires are spreading so fast back here across the bay area, our lower elevations anywhere from five to about 21mph. mount saint helena, still at 47, mount diablo winds out of

the north here at 50, and overall i see some gusts still tonight that could get up to 45. but we are going to see all of that wind get out of here tomorrow. i've got more looks to that forecast. and what's happening with those rain chances coming up in about 15 minutes. all right. thank you very much, jeff. again, that palisades fire has burned more than 1200 acres just in a matter of hours. it started at 1030 this morning. it is going to be fueled by those santa ana winds overght. up until 10 p.m. tonight. we're going to keep following this throughout the evening. up at 7:00 tonight, my exclusive report from our nbc climate reporter, chase kane. who's there? let's turn now to a headline that has san francisco leaders cheering. new statistics show the city's crime rate is now the lowest it's been in 23 years. two of the most noticeable drops homicides and car burglaries. and all of this comes as the california department of justice is announcing the sfpd has made big strides in implementing reforms. here's nbc bay area's sergio quintana in san francisco, police chief bill scott says san francisco police officers have

plenty to be proud of. based on the crime statistics released today across the board. with violent crime from robberies to shootings to homicides to sexual assaults, they're all down. according to the mayor's office and pd numbers, the crime rate in san francisco is down by double digits in both violent crimes and property crimes when compared to 2023. in fact, the overall drop in crime is so significant, chief scott says you have to go all the way back to 2001, when willie brown was the mayor of san francisco, to see a lower crime rate than 2024 and in a couple key categories like homicide and car burglaries, the drop is even more significant. there were 35 homicides in the city last year. that's more tha a third lower than the homicide rate in 2023, anand it's the lowest murder rae the city has seen since the early 1960s. car burglaries in the city are down by more than half. chief scott credits proactive police work by his officers and the use of new technologies like drones and plate reading, traffic cameras

and a better working relationship with the current district attorney. what's more, california attorney general rob bonta announced today the sfpd has successfully implemented nearly all of the 272 reforms the department agreed to back in 2017. chief scott says that's a big deal. these two things don't have to be mutually exclusive and one doesn't detract from the other. you can have reform and improve your police department and your practices and protocols, and still address the issues that need to be addressed. police chief bill scott is heralding some major achievements for the police department, but they also come on the eve of the inauguration for a brand new mayor. mayor elect daniel lowry spent some of his morning at the central police station in chinatown. he says he hopes to see more progress department wide. i commend sfpd and but we can't stop. we've got to continue to get better. i want sfpd to be

known as the greatest police department in the country. chief scott says he's looking forward to helping. the mayor said it best. what? the new mayor, what he would like to see clean and safe streets. and, you know, some of the challenges that we have been able to make some progress on. we want to continue with we want to continue the momentum in san francisco. sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. all right. now to the stunning developments linked to a 2015 vallejo crime that made international headlines. matthew muller was convicted of kidnaping and raping denise huskins. quinn, you remember this story? the details of the case so astonishing that vallejo police department originally deemed the crime a hoax. the case was then chronicled in the netflix series american nightmare. listen to this. after watching that netflix show, the police chief in seaside, which is in monterey county, wrote to mueller, who is serving time in federal prison. the chief says that's when mueller gave him new information that ultimately linked him to home invasions in palo alto, mountain view and

contra costa county. now to find out, two weeks after our kidnaping, he attacked again. and that was two days in captivity of him telling me he was remorseful. that was denise huskins, the victim in the attack in vallejo. today, another twist. the el dorado county district attorney also announced that mueller provided information that may link him to another kidnaping and sexual assault when he was 16 years old. that 1993 case is under investigation. officials aren't exactly saying where that happened, so stay tuned. we got a piece of video into the newsroom today. you just have to see one that is raising concerns about homeless moving onto railroad tracks in their communities. they say the problem is growing and it's endangering everyone involved. here's nbc bay area's ian cull. take a look at this video. it shows a california northern train slowing down and stopping as a conductor paused the trip to push homeless tents out of

the way so the train could move down the tracks. this was shot in vallejo last month. some of the debris ended up caught under the train as well. it's really an epidemic and something needs to be done about it. it's a growing epidemic first chronicled by san jose spotlight, eric cortinas lives in san jose and likes to photograph trains. he took these pictures in the south bay to show what the train workers have to deal with. the government does play a role in this, and they need to start stepping in because this isn't an issue that just impacts the unhoused individuals. this also impacts the union pacific and other railroad crews out there. he and john leipelt met me near monterey and branham in san jose to show us an encampment near the tracks. they're now calling for more homeless abatements to prevent potential collisions. it's getting worse. we see a lot of homeless camps along the railroad tracks. they continue to grow monthly. the unhoused are going to the railroad because they they don't have anywhere else to go. homeless advocates argue there needs to

be housing for the people being displaced before railways or cities cleared their encampments. and i wonder when our citizens and our our government leaders and our agencies are going to wake up and realize that it's not working and we need to do something different. and that should include being humane. union pacific owns much of the railway in the region and said in a statement, homelessness is a challenging issue and a growing social problem that state and local governments across the u.s. are struggling to get their arms around, despite efforts to keep our tracks clear and safe. illegal dumping and camping is happening on union pacific property, creating public safety risks. wee looking for more sweeps, some safety barriers, anything that will keep pedestrians getting hit and killed by the trains. in san jose, ian cull, nbc bay area news. new details tonight in that cybertruck explosion outside the trump hotel in las vegas. police now say that matthew lyles burger

used ai, including chatgpt, to plan that attack. they say the green beret searches through chatgpt indicate he was looking for information on explosive targets, ammunition, travel speeds and whether fireworks were legal in arizona. police say burger shot himself moments before the rented tesla truck he was in exploded. on new year's day, seven people were injured in that explosion. well, tonight, bart police are on the hunt for suspects after someone stabbed a man outside the hayward bart station. it happened before 10 a.m. nbc bay area's velena jones has the latest details on this investigation. velena. after hours of detouring commuters, this hayward station reopened around 1:00 this afternoon. but tonight, the investigation continues into what led to this stabbing. commuters gave way to crime scene tape at the hayward bart station this morning after a man was stabbed and wounded. investigators collected evidence for hours focusing on the

concourse level near the bathroom. sad. real sad. i feel a little uncomfortable. a little uncomfortable, but at the same time, i just got to go through the day just like everybody else. witnesses say the man was stabbed multiple times, but officials expect him to survive. bart police initially detained two people, but ultimately determined they were not involved. tonight, bart commuters say the violence needs to stop. it's a little outrageous. the hours long station closure meant many travelers faced delays and bus bay bridge detours. more than an hour now. it's supposed to be 35 to 40 minutes the most. now more than 1.5 hours now. so you were delayed an hour? yeah. some say information provided by bart during the investigation also caused confusion. the agency announced the station had reopened, then closed it again, frustrating maria cortez, but i checked. i checked 511, so this

is highly inconvenient. cortez, who requires a walker to get around, came to the station twice, only to be turned away both times. i cannot stand more than two minutes and getting up and down in the busses and up and down on the platforms alone is very hurtful. so i come here twice to get to my where i need to go, that i've already postponed and now i can't get there again. bart says police are reviewing the footage, but are not releasing any information on what may have led to the stabbing or a possible suspect. in hayward velena jones nbc bay area news. let's take you out live now to our nation's capital, where late former president jimmy carter is lying in state tonight. coming up, the latest honor for carter and what you need to know about upcoming bay area closures this thursday in observance of a day of mourning. all right. say goodbye to paid fact checking on facebook. the controversial changes at meta, and the debate over why ceo mark zuckerberg is making these moves. these stories, plus your forecast. still ahead. no.

capital. the late president jimmy carter is lying in state tonight after the procession stopped at the u.s. navy memorial to honor the president's late submarine service. the casket arrived at the u.s. capitol by horse drawn carriage. the former president's coffin was carried up the steps and into the rotunda. members of congress, supreme court justices and vice president kamala harris were waiting inside the capitol to pay their respects. carter's body will lie in state through thursday morning, when there will be a service for him at the washington national cathedral. back here at home, post offices and some federal buildings will be closed on thursday to observe the national day of mourning for former president carter. the nike missile site in the marin headlands will also be closed thursday, as will the maritime research center in the san francisco maritime national historic park. the ninth u.s. circuit court of appeals in san

francisco will close. so will all u.s. citizenship and immigration services offices. all naturalization ceremonies and appointments that were originally scheduled for thursday will now be rescheduled. a handful of u.s. stock markets, including the new york stock exchange and the nasdaq, said they will suspend trading on thursday as a tribute to carter. however, most banks are expected to remain open and federal workers will still receive pay for the day. a big shakeup in social media today that some are calling politically motivated. meta, the parent company of instagram and facebook, says it will eliminate its paid third party fact checkers. instead, they will rely on users, just users, to moderate content similar to what's d done on elon musk's x site. the move, announced this morning by meta ceo mark zuckerberg, drew mixed reaction. some are calling it dangerous, with others describing it as forward thinking. meta's announcement will have a devastating impact on young people in particular, who are widely exposed to misinformation

of unmoderated content onl sorts platforms like instagram and facebook. maybe people who normally wouldn't spend time there because they're upset by what they feel is misinformation will now be interested to go because they feel like they have a voice to push back on, that it might lead to a much more robust and complete debate on a lot of issues. the move comes after president elect trump recently accused meta founder mark zuckerberg of censoring conservative voices on facebook and instagram. take you outside, now give you a live look at san jose where expected to get some a little bit of wind, which is what we've been dealing with. let's bring in our chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. but again, nothing. nothing like what we're seeing in southern california with fire raging after those strong winds and low humidity. that's absolutely right. we've seen some max wind gusts early, early this morning around 65mph, mount saint helena. but that's it for most of the lower elevations. it's been 15 to about 30. i have mo looks at those top gusts. also,

what they're experiencing in southern california. so we're going to start you off with tonight. we know so many of you have family and friends down that way. and these are the top gusts when it comes to southern california. many of these gusts weren't just a one time thing. we're talking about several hours in a row with gusts that rival what you're seeing here. one of the top ones, san gabriel mountains, 86mph. malibu, 72, chino hills, 71, porter ranch 70. and that mount saint helena gusts here back in the bay area was our top gusts 64mph coming in at the 5 a.m. hour. so winds right now are starting to at least calm down a little bit for the bay area. but i really think overall, as we head through tomorrow, we are not going to be under the threat of any kind of gusty winds as this system that's been producing the winds continues to exit off towards the south. so we'll be left with high pressure. that's going to bring us more dry weather in the forecast through the next several days. so let's take it

into that wind forecast. and you'll see tonight still some of these dry gusts coming out of the northeast 15 to about 35mph on average. and then watch this by tomorrow morning. there we go. that wind is a lot less. 8 a.m, just five to about 18mph. tomorrow afternoon and evening. even lower. only 5 to 9mph. so a much shorter window on the wind for us down in southern california. they're going to stay with gusty winds all the way through. about 6 p.m. tomorrow evening. as we roll through tomorrow's forecast, we'll start it off with some sunny skies. i think overall it'll be a pretty good commute for you. it's going to be chillier, though, with these mostly clear skies that will leave you at 42. in the tri-valley. south bay at 46, also dipping it down to 49 in san francisco and the east bay right here at 45. temperatures for tomorrow down here across the south bay coming in with 65 in san jose, 63 in livermore, right up to martinez, 64 and looking good in napa and santa rosa with those mid 60s now rain

chances here in january, we should be well into it. it's one of the months where we get some of our highest rain totals. but the way things are playing out right now, next two weeks, this area of high pressure would continue to steer any storms well off to the north. so no big hopes of rainfall right now as we head all the way through january the 17th, maybe even into the 18th and 19th, we may not actually see some substantial storms until the beginning of february. so with that said, i did want to give you a quick cheheck here the reservoirs. we're doing excellent for the east bay mud reservoirs, 82% of capacity. marin water 99. lake sonoma 67. not quite as good down here in the south bay. lexington 43. chesborough 38 and coyote 24. but that's been lowered there for seismic safety. back here in the 7-day forecast weekend right there saturday and sunday. mostly sunny temps here in the low 60s. and we're going to see some very similar temperatures out here across the inland valleys. have it to 65 on

thursday, 63 on saturday and 62 on sunday. coming up at 11:00. we're going to continue to monitor these winds not only here, but of course in southern california. and we're going to give you those live readings down there in la. and then of course also right back here in the bay area. so again, we've got more reports coming up at 7:00 and also 11 p.m. tonight. okay. such a scary situation when we can all relate to. yes. yeah, definitely. jeff, thank you very much. well up next plans to build a new casino in contra costa county. the battle between two indigenous tribes over who really has rights to that

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(ben) fargo, send kaz $145 dollars with zelle. (kaz) smooth. (vo) learn more at wellsfargo.com/getfargo. the golden gate bridge, but new numbers show it is working. over the past two decades, there were 30 suicides on average along the bridge each year, while that number fell to 14 once crews began building the net in 2023. today, the golden gate bridge district says that number fell even further to eight last year. 2024 was the first full year the net was in place, and it does appear to make people think twice. staff interrupted 132 suicide attempts last year, and usually they intervene in about 200. if you or someone you know is in need of help, you can call or text the suicide prevention lifeline by dialing 988. the plan to build a large casino in vallejo is pitting indigenous tribes against each other. scotts valley band of pomo

indians wants to build the casino just off 80 near columbus parkway. now, that project would include two dozen homes for tribal members and a biological preserve. it needs approval from the department of the interior, but other tribes want the project blocked, arguing that the scotts valley band has no historic ties to that particular land. the band disagrees, arguing their people have historically lived on large swaths of northern california from 90 miles plus north, with no ancestral or cultural connection to the land, to come in and build a mega casino on our land. it's truly hurtful. it may be a part of their heritage, and we respect that, but it's also part of ours as well. while the city of vallejo supports the project, governor newsom and other solano county officials have come out against it. up next. is this a prank? a waymo

mishap leaves a man stuck inside the vehicle while it does donuts. the story behind the video just ahead. and here's a look inside the control room at rockefeller center. lester holt preparing for nightly news. one of the top stories, the khanna. the connection at a bakery in chicago. what a regular customer discovered about his birth mother after buying sweets there for years. pete g. writes, "my tween wants a new phone. how do i not break the bank?" we got you, pete. xfinity mobile was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. so you get high speeds for low prices. better than getting low speeds for high prices. right, bruce? -jealous? yeah, look at that. -honestly. someone get a helmet on this guy. xfinity internet customers, ask how to get an unlimited line free for a year, plus a free 5g phone.

going around in circles. okay. why is this happening to me on a monday? i'm in a waymo car. this car is just going in circles. oh my gosh. passenger mike jones recorded this video as he was trapped inside a waymo driverless taxi doing loops in a scottsdale, arizona parking lot. after about five minutes and some help from rider support, john was on his way to the airport and thank goodness he did make his flight. waymo also says johns was not charged for his trip. they say the issue was addressed with a software update. well, next at seven, we're continuing to watch those devastating fires in pacific palisades. plus, will the bombing in las vegas change how ai companies think about crime? we'll have that for you tonight at seven. but up next on nightly news, a new federal

investigation involving a feature on more than 2.5 million tesla cars. lester holt joins us in new york right >> breaking news tonight, the explosive wildfires raging in los angeles as life threatening winds spread danger across southern california. homes are burning in the pacific palisades as officials order mandatory evacuations. thousands racing to get out. vehicles abandoned in the gridlock. firefighters rushing to reach those trapped. santa ana winds burning hundreds of acres and gusts of winds up to 100 miles per hour. plus the deep freeze and new winter storm warnings we are tracking. just breaking in the las vegas cybertruck explosion police are now saying it wa