five critical conditions. crews

trying to gain the upper hand on multiple wildfires burning at this hour in southern california. the battle is expected to become much more intense with strong winds. we're live on the front lines with more on the devastation being left behind. this is today in the bay. good tuesday morning to you. i'm marcus washington and i'm laura garcia. windy coitions are picking back up on the front lines of those southern california wildfires. the area is bracing for extremely critical fire conditions until tomorrow. the two biggest fires are still the palisades fire in pacific palisades and the eaton fire in altadena. now the newest fire, the auto fire, is burning just north of los angeles in ventura. this is along a riverbed not far from a golf course. cal fire says it has gained control of that fire. and no homes are threatened. but the eaton and palisades fire fights are far from over. the eaton fire, still

burning in altadena, has consumed more than 14,000 acres and is about a third contained. the largest fire in socal is still the palisades fire. it has scorched nearly 24,000 acres and is 14% contained. the fatalities from that fire remain at 24 confirmed deaths. this is due to the palisades and eaton fires. 23 people have been reported missing. more than 12,000 structures have been destroyed since the first fire started a week ago. we have team coverage on the still desperate situation. we'll check in with meteorologist kari hall, who is tracking the conditions for crews on the front lines. first, we want to start with today in the bay's jay gray. he's live for us on the front lines of the palisades fire. and, jay, we do know that those winds are expected to pick back up again this morning. yeah, they are marcus. in fact, we felt them building overnight into the early morning. now they'll likely really start to intensify as the sun comes up here and then reach their peak sometime mid morning. that will last

through midday tomorrow. and already with the change in conditions, we have seen a handful of brush fires here. the nds and worry growing right now across the fire zone. more than 10 million currently under what's described as an extreme and particularly dangerous red flag warning. we urge the public to stayy diligent, to stay read, as the danger has absolutely not passed. forecasters stressing conditions over the next couple of days could bring rapid growth and explosive fire behavior. fanned by wind gusts over 70 miles an hour. frontline crews digging in as the fight again intensifies, teams ready to respond t the surging, shifting winds. engines strike teams task forces across the city to make sure that we have the ability to rapidly respond. while investigators continue to search for answers to what may have sparked the fires, they're identifying cause and origin for each of these separate fires.

there's so many of them there, none have been ruled out of arson. members of a task force led by the atf spotted in topanga state park, an area near the suspected ignition point of the palisades blaze. how and why it happened. important, but right now, preventing things from getting worse is the primary focus here. yeah, and look, those investigators quick to point out that they likely won't have a final determination on where or how these fires started for months, quite possibly a full year of investigating. and again, right now they're more concerned with what could come next here. yeah. long road ahead. but certainly a lot going on right now as you said jay. thank you. well, meteorologist kari hall has been tracking the conditions that firefighters have been facing. also today, those strong winds really expected to make their presence known. absolutely. and we are still under that red flag warning. and the gusty winds are

expected later on in the next few hours. as of now, things have calmed down significantly. so we are seeing wind at about 5 to 10mph, up to 15 to 16mph in the santa monica mountains. and this red flag warning continues at least into tomorrow, into late into the evening, as we are still going to see these dangerous winds and critically low humidity. take a look at the wind forecast for some of those higher elevations and spots, like thousand oaks, where we could see winds at 55mph and then blowing downwind or down offshore as we go into the next several hours into today, so that dry santa ana wind will continue into this afternoon with some very sustained winds, very long duration events, with those winds at 50 to 60mph into the evening and still very strong into early tomorrow morning. so unfortunately it's not in the clear just yet with those high winds continuing throughout the day. back to you.

thanks, kari. later today, governor gavin newsom and state lawmakers will gather for a special session. the main point is how to pay for southern california's recovery from these devastating wildfires. and this is happening as some federal lawmakers say, aid will have strings attached. today in the bay's kris sanchez joins us from the newsroom this morning. and, kris, the special session was initially about dealing with incoming trump administration's policies. right. and those are going to come intolay here. governor newsom and president elect trump, of course, as you know, have a very challenging relationship, to say the least. but now it seems trump may accept the governor's invitation to come to california, to go to l.a. to see that wildfire devastation firsthand. as the fires were erupting last week, trump criticized newsom's handling of the emergency and even called on him to resign. now, u.s. house speaker mike johnson has indicated that the incoming administration would put conditions on any aid coming to california now, while california's special session was refocused to address the l.a.

wildfires, newsom originally called that trump to that session to so-called trump proof california policies. newsom is proposing about $2.5 billion in emergency response funding, 1 billion of which would come from the state's emergency reserves account and the rest from the climate measure that voters just passed back in november. the federal government would be expected to reimburse some of that. that is the custom. but with the change in administration, that could be in jeopardy. i mean, he's done it to utah. he's done it. michigan native, puerto rico, he did it to california back before i was even governor in 2018, until he found out folks in orange county voted for him. and then he decided to give the money. so he's been at this for years and years and years. so the housing crisis is already intensifying down in la, with fewer rental properties available, some renters are seeing prices that might qualify as price gouging, which, as you know, is illegal under california law. in an

emergency, the state legislature will pick up the funding discussion this morning. according to sources, we could see a vote later this week. laura. all right. we'll continue to follow. thanks for the latest kris. 507 right now, the people of southern california will need relief and assistance for a long time, and one organization has been delivering since last tuesday, t the day the fires fit started. direct relief is a santa barbara based aid organization that's delivering medical supplies, hygiene and personal care items to people in the fire zones from palisades to altadena and the san fernando valley. they're also providing n95 masks to people outside the evacuation evacuation area, who are also feeling the impact of poor air quality. we've spent the last week every single day sinc the fire broke out loading our trucks, driving down, delivering essential medicines and medical supplies to help the folks who have been displaced and are in shelters, as well as the first responders and those

frontline workers who are helping in the shelters and to fight the fires. direct relief is fully funded through private donations. they get no government funds, and they've been recognized for their effectiveness. if you'd like to help, you can donate to their wildfire response fund at direct relief.org. as crews keep working to contain the flames and investigations are launched, our team is continuing to follow all the developmentss when 're not on the air. our website is a great resource for updates updates, just head to nbcbayarea.com. 508 right now and turning to new developments out of washington. the justice department is releasing special counsel jack smith's final report into his investigation into president elect donald trump. that report deals with trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. it also investigates trump's election interference efforts leading up to the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol. in the report, smith said that he believes that the evidence was sufficient to

convict trump if he did not win the 2024 presidential election. mr. trump did win, making it impossible for the prosecution to continue. smith resigned from his position last friday. now to a live look at capitol hill. that's where confirmation hearings start, ahead of the president elect's inauguration on monday. his pick for defense secretary is in the hot seat today. former fox news host pete hegseth will face tough questioning from senators. three sources tell nbc news his fbi background check does not include interviews with his ex-wives. it also does not include an interview with a woman who accused him of sexual assault in a monterey hotel room in 2017. hegseth denies those claims. democrats are gearing up for a fight while republicans are rallying behind the choice. there is already more than enough in the public record to say that peter hegseth is totally unqualified and unprepared. pete is somebody that believes in this country.

confirmation hearing tomorrow will feature mr. trump's picks to lead the state department. senator marco rubio and the justice department. former florida attorney general pam bondi. 510 as we take a live look out in san francisco, nice and clear for you this morning. meteorologist kari hall tracking a cold start to the morning. i think we're going to see this all week. yeah, pretty much every day we are going to have temperatures near or possibly even below freezing. we are under a frost advisory. so this morning, as you're heading out, if temperatures are 37 or below, you may have some frost on some of those elevated surfaces like your windshield. so you may need to allow some extra time to get to work. this morning we're going to talk more about that and a warm up ahead. mike's been tracking where we can find some lower gas prices. kari your temps are low. my price one price is low. it's the best in the state. in fact, listed right here in pleasanton. 319 at gulf food mart garage and gas. that's on first street in pleasanton. it's an outlier though by 40 $0.50. look we have the other prices. quick check of san

francisco. the low there is speedway. 359 on cesar chavez street. and we'll check the south bay santa clara with the low of 369 at diamond gas and market on warburton avenue. you check what prices might be of value over you. gasbuddy.com. let's get it to the roadways. green sensors dominate the maps. we're looking at a smooth drive. we had a crash in north 680 as we went past sheridan. looks like that traffic break cleared and everything should be clear. your commute is fine. getting through the contra costa county. back to you. let hope it stays that way. well, this morning, financial help for the victims of the southern california fires just ahead on today in the bay. the key deadline just extended for those impacted. and a new chinese app, not tiktok, rises to the top of the app charts. plus. so just dance, dance, dance. come on, all those things i shouldn't do. but you dance, dance, dance, dance. justin

timberlake dancing his way to the bay area. we're going to tell you about the big music festival he's headlining and the other musical acts who will also take the stage. let's dance our way into this break as we come on back to the dancing role. t'sle

a lo at these temperatures and what you'll be stepping out the door to. it's only 33 degrees in

santa rosa, sonoma and napa. we are freezing in livermore right now at 32 degrees. very cold. start with another mild afternoon. we'll get a look at our microclimates coming up. all right. so the camera is holding steady. but those temps showed in san rafael kari 44. might be a little shivering in the car here. southbound if you head down toward lincoln. no problem. drive across the golden gateth bridge. there is some slowing, some brake tapping going on. we'll show you where. coming up. well, good morning and very happy tuesday to you. we get key inflation data today with the producer price index at 5.30. consumer price index. tomorrow jp morgan continues its health care conference in san francisco. today it was analysts from jp morgan whoowngraded the bay area's joby aviation, saying they were less impressed by green ideas in this new era of politics. other ev companies fell, too. now that's electric

vertical takeoff and landing. joby stock really got ahead of itself, up more than 60% in the last three months. incomin president trump rallying, though against green projects at his press conference last week, saying he wouldn't want any windmills built during his administration and that americans should be able to use as much water as they wish. no more low flow mcdonald's, facing a lawsuit over its popular scholarship program that awards tuition to hispanic americans. the same person who brought that lawsuit against harvard over the minority admission plan there is behind this new suit. mcdonald's a few days ago announced it was ending many of its diversity programs. meta says its ceo, mark zuckerberg, has been invited to monday's inauguration. that's notable because donald trump has been very public about his dislike for zuckerberg. zuckerberg did contribute money to the inaugural fund. meta did not say

if he's going to go or not. now, trump's change of mind on tiktok. he now says he does not support a ban can be traced back to his dislike of zuckerberg. he thinks ending tiktok would send too much traffic to facebook. tiktok's ban comes sunday. in the meantime, iphone users have made a different chinese app. read note the number one downloaded app in the app store. it's a lot like tiktok, though it's entirely chinese, it's a bit of a smart aleck move, really. some are calling it read book. like mao tse tung's little red book. they're saying, hey, if you don't want us to use tiktok as it's chinese, we'll just use a different chinese app and try to stop us number one in the app store. yeah. that's interesting what you said. all right. thank you. all right, well, l.a. county wildfire victims are already getting what may be much needed help from state and federal tax agencies. the irs is extending its filing deadline for anyone impacted by the fires. residents will now

have until october 15th to file. that option is available for anyone who lives in or has business in the fema designated disaster areas. also trending for you this morning. music lovers. they are counting down the hours to snap up what will no doubt be one of this year's top tickets. do you have the time to listen to me whine about nothing and everything all at once? okay. the bay area's very own green day among the headliners at this year's bottlerock festival in napa. the event, taking place may 23rd through the 25th today at 10 a.m. general admission passes will go on sale. three day pass will cost you $456. one day passes are $233. as for the lineup, the entire list includes justin timberlake and noah khan headlining, along with acts like cage the elephant, ice cube, and

sublime. not to mention the wine, the craft beer, and all the food. and more than 80 acts will perform. pretty cool. this should be good. have you all checked on tickets? no, no. they go on sale today at 10 a.m. check the. yesterday i checked the website as soon as we got the news release and it already said some days and some times were sold out. i didn't understand how that could be if they went on sale today. interesting. probably those like if you have a certain card maybe. oh, we were talking about that. so check that carefully, folks. okay. better save your pennies. yeah. all right, well, we're starting out this morning. cold temperatures across the bay area. get a look at where we are right now in walnut creek and palo alto. it is 37 degrees. definitely colder than it was yesterday morning. and we're also seeing a calmer wind that will be with us as we go throughout the day. but if you think this is cold. let's check out the rest of the country where we are seeing that plunge of that arctic air. and if you know anybody in minneapolis,

they're starting out the morning at eight degrees below zero and the wind chill is 28 degrees below zero. so if we think this is chilly, well, we're just thankful that we're not seeing some of those temperatures that they're seeing across much of the rest of the country. and we'll have a nice recovery today with highs headed for the mid 60s. for san jose 64, it will be 66 degrees in gilroy today and much of the east bay seeing temperatures in the low to mid 60s for this afternoon, only up to 59 in vallejo and martinez and 62 in oakland. and we're looking at highs in the low 60s for much of the peninsula into san francisco, with some low 60s for today with a lighter wind compared to yesterday. and we're keeping the sunshine in the north bay with a high of 64 degrees. okay. so let's look ahead. if there's any chances of rain in the forecast, it may be quite a while. unfortunately, it just looks dry, dry, dry through

at least the next week. so let's check in on temperatures where palo alto will be mild the next couple of days, but it will be cooler for the weekend into early next week, with highs here in the upper 50s. and once again all clear heading into the holiday into the weekend long holiday weekend. for aa l of people, it will be in the upper 50s and morning temperatures in the upper 30s. so we are having to layer up because of the big contrast from the way we start the day to the afternoon, and we'll see highs in the low 60s in san francisco throughout the weekend and then dropping back to the mid 50s next week. mike, you're starting with that drive through the east bay. yes. so we'll of course start with the check with the build up here at the bay bridge toll plaza, not the build up, the build in the volume. there's not a build up just yet, but we should see those metering lights turned on in the next 20 minutes. where then we'll slowly start to see those lanes fill and then boom, we'll fill in that toll plaza that will be over the next half hour. right now, a smooth, easy

drive. we check the span and a nice easy flow into the city from our camera in emeryville, looking toward the city without any problems. there's a little slowdown, but it's starting to recover as you're coming down through san pablo area. there was construction overnight and then just past the construction zone at mcbride. there was a crash that might have assisted some more slowing. there's that build for highway 37 and a little bit coming down in toward pinole. so we'll watch that portion of i 80, the rest of the bay showing green sensors back to you. hey, mike, there was presale on bottle rock. i checked for you. sorry, vip, it's already on. yeah, he only goes good. not. i know it's high end. 522 for you right now. next here on today in the bay nbc bay area responds. generous people have given more than $100 million to la fire victims. but how can you be sure your donation is actually helping someone in need? i'm consumer inveigatorst

this is the early shift. before the world awakes. golden 1 credit union knows how the sacrifices you make here, let you spend time here. this is where your heart is. is is your home. it's what you've always wanted. and now it's yours. golden 1 home loans and lines of credit help you grow into the life you're creating, so you can spend more time focused on what matters most. golden 1 home loans. life is a journey best grown together.

cognizable charities are collecting cash contributions for la fire victims, and at the same time, many individuals are also appealing for donations online. consumer investigator chris chmura wants to help you protect your good intentions and good money from going to bad guys. we're going to start with a warning from the better business bureau that scammers will inevitably tug at your heartstrings. unfortunately, it's something that we see very common when it comes to natural disasters or any sort of community. impactful event. one

of the most common places we see individual appeals is gofundme. the fundraising site says people have already donated more than $100 million to la fire victim fundraisers. gofundme says it's verifying that those fundraisers are legitimate. we are getting eyes on these fundraisers and working directly with organizers to confirm their connection to the person or family or business that they're raising funds for. gofundme put verified fundraisers in a hub of sorts. let me show you how to get to it. start on the home page. at the very top. there's a special la fire section. next click find fundraisers. then you'll see the appeals that gofundme has verified. if you find one that seems suspicious, scroll toward the bott and click report fundraiser. doing that will put it on gofundme's radar. you can also alert us snap the qr code on screen right now to fill out our consumer complaint form

online. a controversial underground water tunnel planned for the central valley. the multi-million dollar vote scheduled for later this

out one step at a time how we're going to handle it. right now, at 530, new concerns about the fire emergency and the threat in

los angeles, though, santa ana winds, which spread these fires so rapidly and destructively are ramping u we're on the front lines. with the criminal investigation now underway. plus a multi-million dollar push by governor gavin newsom in the bay area. the major water project he's proposing is up for a critical vote today. this is today in the bay. good tuesday morning to yoyou. thanks for starting your day with us. it's 530 right now. i'm laura garcia. and i'm marcusashington. now, those southern california wildfires. they sadly have killed at least 24 people sweeping through 40,000 acres. those conditions are only expected to intensify as windy conditions pick back up. want to give you a live look this morning at these intense battlegrounds going on at this hour? that includes the auto fire now burning north of los angeles. it has burned 54 acres, and crews say they've gained the upper hand on the fire. the two largest fires and deadliest are

the palisades and eaton fires. the eaton fire has scored scorched more than 14,000 acres. crews are making some progress, with a third of it contained. the palisades fire has burned nearly 23,000 acres. it is 14% contained. now that fire has caused multiple homes to go up in flames. this is new video from the pacific coast highway. you can see a multitude of houses reduced to rubble there. more than 12,300 structures have burned since the fire began just one week ago. so sad to see there. as you drive along the pch, it really is. you know, at this hour. investigators. they're also working to zero in on the causes of those fires. arson investigators, in fact, have been out at the site of what is believed to be the start of the pacific palisades fire, and that is where we find brittany hope from our sister station in los angeles. the early focus is if this deadly fire that's destroyed thousands of homes was human caused, but

investigators say they're not ruling anything out. if this was some kind of accident or if there's power equipment that failed and sparked those flames. but first, let's start with what we do know for sure at this point. news chopper four spotted investigators working along school of rock trail in the pacific palisades yesterday. this areis being looked at as the possible place where the palisades fire ignited. it's a really popular area for hikers and a spot where people do camp even though they shouldn't. multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation say they are looking into if fireworks could have been involved. this trail is within the topanga state park and is just above homes. those homes are in the highlands at the end of this street called via las palmas. federal and local crews infiltrated the neighborhood monday and closed it off behind crime scene tape, even though it still remains a mandatory evacuation zone. now, this neighborhood is no stranger to fires. in fact, on new year's morning, six days before the

palisades fire erupted, i covered this fire behind the same homes along viola palmas. luckily, weather conditions were in firefighters favor and they were able to do critical water drops, saving these homes. the fire grew to around nine acres. you know, as of this morning, investigators not officially linking that new year's day blaze to the palisades fire, but certainly it is being noted in that investigation that is still in its very early stages. and again, nothing being ruled out at this point. the u.s. attorney saying that he's looking into possible arson for all of the fires that have erupted across l.a. over the past week. and it's important to note these investigations can take a really long time. looking back to maui, that horrible fire in lahaina, it took about a year for that investigation. and at the end of it, they found that downed power lines were the cause. so it could be a really long road ahead here in the palisades reporting in the pacific palisades. brittany, hope back to you. thank you. brittany. well, meteorologist kari hall,

of course, tracking those winds. and as crews go to the front lines. kari. i mean, we're talking about a critical fire here. it's been so hard. and seeing that the wind events that we've had have lasted so long. and then even when they do get a break, we know that there's more high winds on the horizon and still no rain in the forecast. as we take a look at our wind this morning, it is, for the most part, pretty calm in the hills and the mountains. it's been gusty up to about 23mph. and the fire weather outlook for today, this coming out from the storm prediction center showing the extreme fire danger that will be in those hills just north of la and continuing into tomorrow as well. here's a look at the wind forecast. we are expecting the gusts to pick up once again by late morning. 4555, even 65 mile per hour winds as we go into late morning into the early afternoon, and still some high winds and some of those hills as we go into today with extremely low

humidity, making it really tough for that fire fight. back to you. well, nearly 800 california prison inmates are now helping with that fire fight. but the decades long practice raising a new round of questions among inmate rights groups. that's because they argue it puts them in danger and the pay is a pittance. inmates receive about $10 a day. supporters, meantime, argue the voluntary fire camp program is enriching and the work can provide a uniqu training opportunity. last fall, voters rejected a ballot measure to ban involuntary labor in prisons and jails. the swift return of a popular light display, providing a symbol of hope for the people of altadena. the 35 foot altadena star first went up in 1928. in the foothills. it's usually lit up during the holidays. while the star survived the recent fire without power, residents say they had to kind of macgyver it. a power source using solar panels and batteries, but they wanted to get it done. fire

victims who'veost their homes say it's providing them wh a small sense of community. our team and sister station in los angeles, working together to get you up to the minute details when we're not on the air. our website is a great resource for you. we post updates around the clock. just head to nbcbayarea.com. you can also download our app for free. well, back here in the bay area, leaders in a cash strapped north bay school district will hold a second in its series of town halls to discuss planned closures.. santa rosa city schol leaders. they are weighing plans to close at least four schools to offset a $20 million deficit over the next two years. no final decisions have been made, but the plan calls for one high school, one middle school and three elementary schools to close. the town hall is planned for six tonight at piner high school. similar meetings are scheduled for each of the district's five high schools. also today, the case involving a suspected drunk driver accused in a hit and run in oakland once again is slated to appear before

a judge. the tragedy played out in august. that's when 17 year old madina carrillo lopez was killed and her mother seriously injured after being strk in a crosswalk on international near 72nd avenue. surveillance cameras captured their last moment authorities say the suspect, augusto mathias, drove off only to get into another crash nearby, where deputies arrested him. mathias faces multiple charges, including vehicular manslaughter, dui and driving without a license. a pretrial hearing is scheduled for 830 this morning in a few hours. a vote impacting the future of governor gavin newsom's controversial underground water tunnel in the central valley is set to happen today in the bay's. bob redell joins us live from t altamont in livermore this morning. so, bob, that tunnel needs help from several local water agencies before they can build it. you are correct. good morning to you, marcus. a dozen local water agencies, including zone seven here in livermore, have already

approved to fund the planning and design of this 45 mile long underground tunnel that would connect with the existing above ground aqueduct that you see on 580 when you're driving into to tracy behind the on the altamont behind me. later this morning, a 13th agency will vote during 11 a.m. board meeting. we're talking about the santa clara vall water district. they'll decide whether or not to contribute $9.7 million towards the planning and design of this massive infrastructure project that would cost an estimated $20 billion to complete. now, the idea is to build a concrete tunnel that is 36ft in diameter. as you can see on this map, would take fresh water from the sacramento river north of us and divert it underground to large water pumps already located in tracy. again, just over the altamont behind me. and then from there, they would divert it to other parts of the state and the roughly 27 million people who rely on this water that comes from the delta. for years, former governor jerry brown, he

pushed for two tunnels. governor newsom changed it to one. the state says the tunnel is badly needed to capture more water during t big rains, and to protect our water supply from major earthquakes. the current delivery system relies on levees that could crumble in a big shaker and allow salt water to intrude. environmental groups and counties along the delta. they oppose the water tunnel. they argue that the diversion of fresh water would make the delta water saltier, lead to more algae blooms, and hurt the fish who live in it. reporting live here in livermore, bob redell today in the bay a lot to follow there, bob. all right. thank you for that. let's take a live look outside as we track your tuesday forecast. clear out there overlooking downtown san jose. but you know what? it's cold as well. kari has got a look at our forecast. it's cold this morning, and we have a lot more cold mornings ahead. so we're settling into this pattern with a calmer wind and sunshine. and during the overnight hours when it's all clear, temperatures will drop very quickly. and

we're starting out with a frost advisory in effect this morning that will continue until 9:00. for all those areas shaded in blue. that's where we are seeing those lows now, dipping down near or even below freezing. we're at 32 in danville, as well as 32 in sonoma, santa rosa, 33 degrees. as we get a look at what to expect today, a nice little warm up late morning into the afternoon. and mike, you're seeing some changes now in the east bay. yeah, the registration on the chp site does not yet indicate metering lights are on. but you see the backup forming and we see the slowdown on the bridge. conditions are ripe for that to be the case over there out of oakland. we have a smoother drive down the upper east shore freeway, slower for highway 37 and now for highway four. this crash at walnut creek looks like things calmed down. maybe everything's out of lanes. the interchange itself is fine. so 24 through the caldecott over here in the city. and note tonight there's a doubleheader, basketball games, a girls game at five, boys at seven doubleheader between some high school teams, the bruce mahoney basketball doubleheader going

on. that may mean folks get out after 9:00 after 930. that may be an issue if they're trying to use the subway here between embarcadero and west portal. those subways, remember, closed early at 930, and you'll have the busses in place as a fix it week. they're working on those tunnels over here. highway 84, getting daytime work after nine. clearing by two. back to you. thanks, mike. 541 right now, the clock is ticking for tiktok here in the u.s. this comes as a lot of kids are showing signs of addiction to social media. we did find that over a quarter of these young teenagers or young adolescents reported elements of addictions. next here on today in the bay, we're going to show you what a new report out of ucsf is revealing and what a pediatrician says can be done about it. two special counsel reports have been issued, and we can read them, especially the one into trump's election. interference will go over all of it coming up. plus, cheetos is bringing back a new flavor just in time for the super bowl. but

is it a cheese yes or a cheese no. we're going to tell you about the highly anticipated return by many snk fans. we'llac

44. we're getting a look at what to expect in gilroy today. we are near or going to be even below freezing for the next hour or so, and then going into the rest of the day, a gradual warm up as we head for the low 60s again this afternoon. and it's

staying nice and sunny with a light wind. we will see more weather like this. we'll check it out coming up in a few minutes. and over here at the bay bridge toll plaza, just as we were showing you talking about how metering lights should be turned on, they activated them. at the same time, the backup will build here. i see slowing in san jose will monitor that coming up. thanks so much kerry and mike. it is 5:45 right now. the department of justice releasing the special counsel's report about donald trump's attempts to interfere in the 2020 election. scott mcgrew is here this morning. and scott jack smith's says that he would have been able to get a guilty verdict for sure. yeah, and it was only that donald trump ran for office and won. that stopped him. now that's the special counsel's opinion. but he backs up that claim with more than 130 pages of evidence and testimony. the case against trump will not go forward. there was a separate investigation by smith into trump taking classified documents out of the white house. that report will not be

released because it's still an active investigation into two other people. trump's aides at mar-a-lago. the report, released last night, says the prosecution was certain it would prevail had trump not run for reelection. there's nothing shockingly new in it. trump's attempts to overturn the election were pretty public and obvious sometimes on tv, like encouraging his supporters to march tohe capitol, sometimes caught on tape in the case of him pressuring georgia officials to find thousands of new votes. trump, for his part, reacted on his truth social network, saying jack is a lame brained prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the election, which i won in a landslide. the voters have spoken. the special counsel that looked into hunter biden's misbehavior also released a report about his investigation. david weiss took issue with president joe biden's behavior during the investigation into

his son, taking the president to task for criticizing the prosecution. weiss's report says president biden damaged the justice system's credibility. the case became moot after president biden pardoned his son, something he had said he wasn't going to do. there's progress to report in theearch for a ceasefire in israel. negotiators meeting in doha say they're close. here's the secretary of state with more. the first six weeks, the conflict stops. israel pulls back its forces. a lot of hostages come out. some prisoners are released by israel. we surge humanitarian assistance. and we also use that time to try to finalize an agreement on an enduring ceasefire. we've done a lot of work on that. we haven't waited to get to the ceasefire itself. they are very hopeful on this. president biden made his last foreign policy address monday. he talked about the peace deal as well, which may come before

he leaves office. i have learned in many years of public service to never, never, never, ever give up. and biden also claimed success with america's support of ukraine, saying america had two goals one rally the world and defend ukraine. two keep america out of the war. and he says, we were successful at both. and finally, a reminder the trump's choice for defense secretary pete hegseth starts his senate confirmation process today. nbc has confirmed his background checks did not include either of his ex-wives or the woman who made sexual allegations against him. marcus. all right, scott, thank you. well, back to president biden. he is making good on his promise to cancel more student loan debt. his administration approved relief for more than 150,000 more borrowers. that includes more than 80,000 who were cheated by their schools. it also covers more than 60,000 who have total or permanent

disabilities. they also had those loans forgiven. now, the white house says that the president has forgiven more than 5 million borrowers for debt relief. well, new this morning, we have all probably spent more time on social media than intended, and that's true of our kids as well. now, a ucsf study shows a lot of young teenagers showing signs of true addiction, and two thirds of kids under 13 use social media, disregarding the age limits for platforms. tiktok is the most common social media platform, and of the nearly 11,000 teens surveyed, 23% say they use social media to avoid problems. 17% tried to use less, but they can't. 11% say they use social media so much that it's impacting their schoolwork. one of the researchers says parents need to do more than, say, put the phone down. the american academy of pediatrics recommends having these conversations as a household to try to agree upon,

you know, certain rules like maybe screen free times like before bedtime or during family meals. that you can all kind of agree on. that's doctor nagata, who says the biggest predictor of kids social media use is their parents use. so when you come up with that family plan, make sure to abide by it as well. they are following your lead. you can find tips about coming up. coming up with a media plan for your family on the american academy of pediatrics website. well, today in the south bay, a possible big step in a plan to boost living options for those struggling most to make it in the bay. in june of 2023, san jose first approved a plan for a new site. this is a new safe parking site along coyote creek on berryessa road. it would allow long term parking for 85 rvs on six acres of land. well, today, the council will debate a resolution calling for nearly $3 million in funds. it hopes to open the site

as soon as next month. and it comes as the city re-ups its planned crackdown on unsanctioned, long term parking. well, now to a follow up and a lifeline at last for struggling south bay hospital. santa clara county leaders yesterday finalized a plan to purchase san jose's regional medical center at a cost of $150 million. the hospital and its operator, hca healthcare, have endured drastic cutbacks over the years to try to stay afloat and recently downgraded the hospital's trauma care level. leaders say once this deal closes, trauma care service will be among the first things to be fully restored. it's a very densely populated community, and the downgrading of the level two trauma center at regional medical center. i've said it before would have been a death sentence for the residents of east san jose. the deal is expected to close april 1st. county leaders expect it to be a smooth transition. well, trending this morning a rather cheesy rebirth. 20 years in the making. yes, some cheeto fans may be thinking nothing tops

this. not us, but anyway. but here it is. cheetos they're bringing back. it's cheese flavored pizza. puffy snacks. so there you have it. the brand last made that appearance 20 years ago. it combines flavors including cheese, tomato, oregano, and italian seasoning. and it should be r rolling out just in time for the super bowl. that news is reminding some folks of the announcement by chuck e cheese in 2017 to roll out a cheetos pizza combined with mac and cheese. well, let's just say it ain't that hard. the snack maker posted its own recipe using finely ground cheetos. i don't remember either one of those. neither do i. i thought i would remember if i had heard that too. this is interesting. yeah, maybe it was regional and it wasn't anywhere we lived at that time. perhaps. i just don't think we partake in the cheese. it was in maine. that's why. oh. oh, i've heard of maine lobster, but not of the maine cheetos pizza. it's a thing. all right. kari. that

sounds like something. you. yeah. her face says it all. okay, well, it's time for breakfast this morning. or coffee and not cheetos, right? and it's cold. so you want to make sure that that coffee is nice and hot for you this morning? temperatures are very coldwe're in the upper 30s right now, and it's lower than it was yesterday. but we will see more mornings like this going into the rest of the week now that the wind is calming down, but it looks nice this afternoon. we're back into the upper 50s and low 60s, even mid 60s for the south bay and checking out tomorrow's forecast. it's going to be about the same, maybe even warmer for the south bay, with gilroy close to 70 degrees. it's nice to see these temperatures like this even for this time of year, but it would be nice to get some rain right. so let's check out our water update where we're still at a surplus for santa rosa with the water year since october 1st, we've had 26in of rainfall. then when you look at

oakland, livermore and san jose, we're running a deficit in our rainfall. so we haven't had nearly as much as we had in the north bay with those storm systems that moved through earlier last month, that really dumped a lot of rain north of the golden gate bridge, while the rest of us are either at normal or running in a deficit, and this is the time of year when we usually get a lot of our rainfall. 60% of our annual rain falls between december and february, with january usually getting the most rainfall. unfortunately, we don't see any rain in the forecast for at least the next week, and we know it's already been a while since we've had a significant rainfall and there is no change in this pattern. so as we take a look at our 7-day forecast, lots of sunshine, cool mornings and mild afternoons, and it will be slightly cooler from the weekend into the martin luther king holiday. mike, you're watching traffic bunch up in san jose. yeah, we're starting in san jose, northbound 101. in fact, it was bunching up for about ten minutes. apparently, we missed

that burst of traffic. it's starting to ease up again, and that is typically the pattern. we'll see that first burst of traffic showing that slower drive from 680 up to oakland road. things are smoothing out. it was really bunched up right here, just off the interchange with 280 and 680. so whatever happened, the brake tap looks like it's sorted itself out. and that should ease up for another 45 minutes. start to build again at about 640. we're looking at the tri-valley.reat drive coming out of the altamont pass. major surprises there. more slowing for the upper eastshore freeway and then through richmond. so pretty typical pattern. we're looking at highway 37 and highway four continuing to show the build and more slowing. pleasant hill and walnut creek for south 680. it's subtle, but it's persistent. so we're going to point that out there. the bay bridge toll plaza does have lanes filling in. as we talked about. it started earlier with the activation of the metering lights at 5.40. and now we've had 15 minutes. we have the build on, but it's lighter than your typical tuesday, probably because we have that holiday on monday. so maybe some folks who are lighter on their work transit this week. back to you. all right. thanks, mike. happening now, alameda

unty leaders may approve a term sheet greenlighting the sale of a coliseum property to the african american sports entertainment group. once that happens, the deal would likely be finalized within 30 days. the a's purchase the county shares several years ago, but oakland leaders finalized their deal last year. oakland's budget is now hinging on payments that will only come through once this deal becomes finalized. well, there's much more ahead on today in the bay, including a wildfire emergency in southern california. ahead, the investigation is now unfolding into what caused the damage and destruction, and nbc bay area streams 24/7. you can watch us whenever you like on roku or other streaming platforms. much more news ahead on this tuesday morning. 556 you're

i'm not happy with the way that pg&e handled the wildfires. yeah. yeah. i totally, totally understand. we're adding a ton of sensors.

as soon as something comes in contact with the power line, it'll turn off so that there's not a risk that it's gonna fall to the ground and start a fire. okay. and i want you to be able to feel the improvements. we've been able to reduce wildfire risk from our equipment by over 90%. that's something i want to believe. [skateboard sounds]

right now at 6:00. critical conditions. crews are trying to gain the upper hand on multiple wildfires burning in southern california, but the battle is expected to become much more intense. the changes crews face today as some evacuees get to