evacuations underway after the world's largest power plant for batteries goes up in flames. the growing concerns over air quality and the intense firefight underway. plus, looming closures for san jose schools. the action a group of parents are taking in a matter of hours as they fight to keep those schools open. also, a new threat emerging in southern california's fire zone. the landslide caught on camera as some evacuation orders are lifted for the first time since the flames broke out last week. this is today in the bay. good friday morning to you. 6:00 right now. thanks for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. and i'm marcus washington. let's get a look at that friday forecast for you.

meteorologist kari hall has been tracking what we can expect out there. kari. it's friday. yes, we're going to have some nice weather, but it does start out very chilly, and we're even seeing some frosty conditions. another frost advisory in effect for the inland valleys. and it's going to be a cold start, but another mild day. so we will go from seeing the cold temperatures and some patchy fog to seeing temperatures that are above normal for this afternoon. we are watching that trouble spot around santa rosa and napa, with visibility down to a quarter of a mile. we've seen some fog here in palo alto, but for now it has cleared out. we're in the low 40s and going to see temperatures in the mid 50s for early in the afternoon. we'll talk about the weekend coming up in just a few minutes. all right. sounds good. we'll check back with you. but we are following this breaking news and the fire going on at the world's largest lithium ion battery plant south of the bay area. the big concern here is toxic smoke impacting air quality. the fire started yesterday afternoon at the power plant in moss landing.

that's between santa cruz and monterey. as of last night, firefighters say the fire was contained inside a concrete facility and it wasn't spreading. but the smoke concerns triggered evacuation orders yesterday for about 1500 people who live nearby. others were told to shelter in place at 830 this morning. officials are expected to give us an update on where things stand, and we'll continue to monitor this breaking news, both on air and online. make sure to download our free nbc bay area app to stay connected. well, later this morning in the south bay, parents will put pressure on administrators to not close their child's school. today in the bay's bob redell joining us live from outside of jason dahl elementary school in san jose. and, bob, a lot of people likely know the name of this school because of who it's named after. yeah. good morning to you, marcus. it was over 20 years ago. many of us, myself included. we were out here when the franklin-mckinley school district renamed what used to be hillsdale elentary behind me.

captain jason dahl elementary. the captain attended school here as a child. and of course, he was the pilot on united flight 93 on nine over 11 before that airplane went down in a field in pennsylvania as passengers heroically fought the terrorist hijackers on board. but now, dahl elementary is one of five schools on a list for potential closure in san jose's franklin mckinley school district. the district says the cuts are necessary because it has lost 40% of its student body since 2011. in a statement, it says, quote, no final decision has been made. but if captain jason m dahl elementary is selected for closure, we remain deeply committed to honoring and celebrating the legacy of captain dahl, a hero who will always hold a special place in our community. one mother tells us dahl elementary has been crucial in the development and education of her two foster children, since the school is what's known as a trauma skilled

school. the boys have emotional and trauma prior to me taking care of them, and they have come a long way within the last year. this is the only school that's been named after a hero, right? especially someone who passed away on such an historic day for us. and so to have to close the school would just break our hearts. okay. later this morning at 730, parents plan to rally outside dahl elementary behind me. this is before classes begin to again try to pressure the district to find cuts elsewhere and keep this school open. there's also a change.org petition trying to, again, pressure the school district to keep this open so far. that petition has garnered 357 signatures. reporting live here in south san jose. bob redell today in the bay. it really seems like from what the parents are saying, that's a big staple in the community. so a tough decision there for those board members. all right. thank you so much, bob. 604 right now we are

following breaking news from overseas. the israeli security cabinet approved a cease fire and hostage release deal within the last hour. this comes after the country delayed the decision, blaming hamas for creating a last minute crisis without providing details. the deal will pause fighting in the gaza strip and see dozens of hostages held since the october 2023 attack on israel. the first releases could happen as early as sunday. the deal must now be presented to israel's full cabinet and that will happen later today. back here at home, longtime former san francisco 49ers dana stubblefield is scheduled to appear in court today in a bid to gain his release from prison. in december, a court overturned his conviction in a rape case dating back to 2020. this is when he was sentenced to 15 years to life. judges found prosecutors violated the racial justice act through biases as well as discriminatory actions and statements. stubblefield must now petition the court for his

release and argue to have those charges dismissed. the judge must also rule on questions over legal jurisdiction. turning now to southern california and a new danger emerging in the fire zone, this palisades home now split in half. it actually survived the fires. but then yesterday, a mudslide destroyed the home. officials say that the water leak caused scorching hillsides to give way. and now that home is red tagged. a lot of people are concerned about any future rain which could trigger more of these mudslides. for the first time since the pacific palisades fire sparked last week, evacuations were lifted for some people. fire crews say that evacuees must wait for a week or more. this is before they can return to their homes and those damaged neighborhoods. this is now 27% contained and has burned more than 23,000 acres. as for the eaton fire, it is burning now in altadena. it is 55% contained

and has burned more than 14,000 acres. can you imagine what those people are going through? will the impact from losing a home and disasters like wildfires, mudslides you saw there? they can also affect the mental health of people living even far away from the fire zone. one psychiatric expert says that can often include loved ones with their own mental health conditions. you see, there's a survivor guilt where they feel like, well, my son is down in that area. i'm not there. and now i have a history of depression, and i feel my symptoms are getting worse because i'm not down there. i'm not supporting my family. are they okay? but yeah, it still affects you. you don't have to be in the center of it to actually feel the effects of the natural disaster. if you're struggling emotionally with the wildfires, he strongly suggests that you reach out for help. and he says receiving mental health treatment is far less stigmatized. ever since the onset of the covid pandemic. and you can find resources to help victims of the southern

california wildfires and develop an emergency plan for your family. just go to nbcbayarea.com. once you're there, you're going to see all the things that we posted. we actually are posting those updates on the wildfire and any investigations that are underway. 607 right now, this morning, as we take a live look out in san francisco, you can see a foggy start there. not the case throughout the bay area, but we are seeing it in a lot of places. kari yes, in parts of the north bay, as well as kind of drifting around the east bay here and there. so the fog moving around, reducing visibility in spots. but the south bay is all clear and temperatures are cold, a little bit colder in some spots compared to yesterday. we're at 36 degrees in walnut creek, and san francisco is at 43 degrees. so as we go throughout the day, there will be a very gradual warm up. it won't be as clear as we've seen throughout the week, and temperatures dip slightly with highs only making it into the mid 50s there. and we'll see upper 50s for the east bay. only a few of us make it into the 60s, and we'll see that pretty widespread from san jose down to gilroy, as well as over toward

concord. we'll talk about the weekend coming up in a few minutes, and cynthia has a look at gas prices before you make those weekend plans. yeah, friday before that three day weekend for some people. so let's see where the cheapest gas prices are. thanks to you for reporting them on gasbuddy.com. we'll start with three. 59 in san ramon at freedom gas off of 680, just a few minutes from city center. if you're going to do some shopping hanging around it with 369 in san jose atfollow platinum gas on toll road, over by the chuck e cheese. if you have any children to keep busy this weekend. and finally, up in the north bay at farrah's auto in san anselmo, we'll finish it off with 377 a gallon of regular. if you see a cheaper one, let me know. maybe we can include it in this list. let's go out to the roadways now. something i was keeping an eye on was down here through palo alto redwood city area. this incident first happened on southbound 101 near whipple. that car ended up sideways, apparently in the first lane. but then the second alert came

over that some of the debris from that crash was hopping over to the northbound side. so they've sent crews to investigate that. also, keep an eye on what's going on there through the area. but once you get past it, moving into san carlos or further down into parts of mountain view, you are looking good, laura. all right. thanks. it is 609 right now. good news for some southern california homeowners now facing a long rebuild just ahead at 625, consumer investigator chris chmura explains the renewal offers. one major insurance company is now providing to some customers. and spacex makes another amazing catch of its rocket booster. we'll show you the video. let's go to the futures right now. see what's shaping up for wall street. it looks like it's going to be a very strong day. look at the nasdaq and a popular fast food chain stepping up for san francisco's at-risk youth. the boost it's providing in one underserved neighborhood. keep it right here. you're watching today in the bay.

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now at 612, we are taking a live look outside in walnut creek. it's a clear start here, but temperatures have been so chilly and we are now at 36 degrees. a frost advisory will be in effect until 9:00, and throughout today we will see a mix of sun and clouds and temperatures. you will notice will be lower than

yesterday. so layer up as you're standing in front of the closet trying to figure out what to wear. today we'll talk about the weekend and when we may finally get some rain coming up in a few minutes. and i'm seeing more cars approaching and just passing through palo alto where there was that crash. i told you on southbound 101 at whipple. those cars have cleared it, and now we are looking at traffic just picking up there through the area. we're also looking at the cars through here. the berkeley curve also looking good. no major incidents to report of this morning. well good morning. very happy friday to you. markets broke a three day winning streak but they're closed monday for doctor king's birthday. but you saw the futures this morning. it's going to be a lot of buying on the open. this is bitcoin up more than $2,000 per coin. based on the hope that president trump will create a government bitcoin reserve and spend taxpayer money on cryptocurrency. the government says philip morris xin bao those little nicotine

packets are okay to be sold, saying they help adults quit smoking. there's no tobacco in zyn, but there is nicotine. the fda says it considers them similar to patches or gum, but it is going to restrict the way that zyn is advertised. like a rolling stone, that's bob dylan, who joined tiktok yesterday. fans teasing him. he's rather late to the party could, of course, be related to the biopic that's out in theaters about him. the was an effort in congress last night to postpone the ban on tiktok, which comes in two days. both the current biden administration and the upcoming trump administration have indicated they'll do what they can to keep tiktok legal. it's clear that more time is needed to find an american buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of americans. of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers more time. tiktok's parent company,

bytedance, has not tried to sell itself to an american company. washington seems to be saying, let's give the chinese more time to do the thing they haven't been doing. other news spacex sent its unmanned starship on another test. the starship, unfortunately, came apart above the caribbean you're looking at. oh, that's so cool. oh my goodness, it doesn't look real. wow. this is this is ts is not right. something happened. this is indeed it did. now that is, as we say, the pointy end of the rocket. that didn't go well. but there was success catching the booster, which came back down to earth, safe and sound. take a look. boom! kate. down to three engines. vernon norwood aaa. second time they've done that. they call those arms the chopsticks. it's just miraculous. it's amazing that they can do that. yeah, the math involved. oh, is it just

incredible. and that thing is the size of a building. wow. yeah. amazing to see. all right. thanks, scott. you bet. well, 20 for you this morning, a movie with some serious bite hitting theaters today. it's a fresh new take on a popular horror franchise. check this out. you're scaring me. back off me. that is me. hurry! mommy's coming. wow. okay, so nbc sister company universal is out with this brand new wolf man. it's a reboot, so this one stars christopher abbott. and in reimagining that lead role as the man who's experiencing this highly unusual transformation, he says he actually prepared by just collaborating with some experts about his character's physical attributes. together, we sort of came up with just a ton of ideas that i can just use, you know, and physical movements and ways to sort of

shape your body that that would work with the prosthetics. and so, yeah, it was a different it was obviously a very different approach than for me than other movies and projects that i've done. but i was excited for that. wow. so wolf man also stars julia garner. you saw there, known for her roles in series like the americans, ozark. it's opening in theaters everywhere today, so good luck. we're moving to the bay area forward on the big grant for a san francisco restaurant, helping at risk youth. old school cafe is located in the bay view. not only is popular for soul food, but it employs at risk youth, including some who were previously incarcerated. the cafe's founder formerly worked in law enforcement. she says she started the cafe to reinforce the idea that there are multiple paths in life. it really gives them a chance to make money legally, to see a different world and what's possible. we love to call it the gold in our young people and so

that it really is. hey, this is what you have inside you. this is the opportunities and the possibilities besideses what you've just seen. maybe in the street. the restaurant recently received a $350,000 grant as part of chick fil a's inspiration awards program. she says it will allow the cafe to expand its hours. you can find out more about old school cafe and when you can pop in and maybe visit them at old school cafe.org. and can i just say the food there is good. i've been there before and they also have a program with young kids in school to help them as well. so they do a lot of great things in the community there, but nice to see it, i love it, good food there, supporting. we support them. yes, absolutely. hand in hand. lunch inside or out? outside today, but with a jacket. i mean, i think the sunshine makes it feel better, even though the temperatures are not always the most comfortable. but look at where we're starting today. so we're going to make some big progress from starting out near freezing for a lot of

our inland valleys. we're in the mid 30s right now, 34 in sonoma and 33 in santa rosa. and after these cool temperatures, this is where we're headed for today, 62 degrees in san jose as well as morgan hill. and that's actually still above what's normal for this date. so even though it's coming down from the upper 60s we had yesterday, it's still a little bit warmer than what we typically see with oakland today. up to 59 degrees, a light wind and sunshine, 55 for half moon bay and also 55 for daly city in san francisco. we're going to see a lot of mid to upper 50s for this afternoon and for the north bay. 59 in santa rosa and 57 in novato. so after these 50s, we'll see those highs continue into the next several days. with the lack of rainfall that we'veeen, this stubborn area of high pressure keeping it dry. but it looks like finally it's going to move out of the way by next weekend. and we may see a very cold storm system coming in as we get ready to wrap up the month of january and

head into february. all of the rain and snow is much needed because we've seen the sierra snowpack really taking a dive. with a couple of weeks in this stretch of dry weather. looking at the northern sierra still doing pretty well, but the southern sierra only at about half of itsormal amount of snow. we need some more coming in there, and our reservoirs could also use a little bit of water, even though they're at about three quarters of capacity in the southern california area, we've seen it dipping down below 50%. so that is very concerning as we go into our holiday weekend. if you have monday off for the martin luther king holiday, as well as the inauguration day, we're going to see highs here in the bay area in the low 60s and more of those low 60s for the inland areas. and san francisco will be in the 50s throughout the weekend. breezy. just keep those jackets on. and now, cynthia, you're seeing a slow drive on the bay bridge. yes we are. there is a crash just around the treasure island exit, so we see the

sensors picking up on that backup, and the metering lights have been turned on to kind of help with that situation for the time being. we go back down into parts of the peninsula just after you pass san carlos southbound 101 at whipple, approaching redwood city, there was a car that got into a crash and ended up sideways in the number one lane. and then some debris apparently flew over into the northbound direction. so we're going to keep an eye on this, see if that really was the case and what happens from there. the issues continue on. bart, this is still going on about a 20 minute delay from the coliseum over to the oakland airport because of some track issues. you can take the ac transit bus service that's in place. back to you. thanks, cynthia. we have much more ahead on today in the bay, including the major state farm reversal. and a reminder nfl playoffs. they're now underway. we know the niners aren't in it this year, but maybe you can cheer on the la rams or philadelphia eagles. kickoff starts at 11:00 this sunday morning right here

on nbc bay area. we'll be right back.

reversing course on dropping their insurance policies. consumer investigator chris moore explains what this means for them and possibly for you.

state farm is doing a 180 with thousands of policies before the fires. it sent notices telling many families it was going to drop their coverage this year. but now state farm is pausing that and will not drop them right now. la county customers will have an option to renew with state farm for another policy term. this surprise development is in some ways not actually a surprise. it's proof that insurance companies decision making changes, sometimes daily. yes, a lot of companies have announced they intend to drop california policyholders, but they're also constantly feeding new data into their risk calculations and adjusting accordingly. sometimes, like today, for the better. so no matter who your insurance company is, if you received a letter before the fires that says they're dropping your policy this year, call them and ask if they're also doing an about face. you know, don't don't don't sit on it and ignore it. reach out to your company if you have questions about the

notice to see if there are any options for you. the squeaky wheel might get the insurance policy. if you have a consumer battle for us to check out, please share your story. scan the qr code on your screen right now to fill out our consumer complaint form online. hope that helps people out. yeah it will. all right. 626 for you this morning. you know, we've got a lot more ahead for you at 630, including the new help for families trying to make it in the bay. it's the assistance parents could soon be getting under a new proposal. and i'm kris sanchez in monterey county, where that fire burning at a lithium ion battery facility continues this morning, hours half a day after it started. i have the latest details and what this means for road closures and air quality and evacuations. you're watching

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now at 630, a toxic fire at the world's largest battery storage facility, located south of the bay area. smoke filling the air, forcing people to leave their homes. we have the overnight developments, including the latest on air quality concerns. plus all new legal troubles for oakland's former mayor. federal criminal charges are apparently on the verge of being announced. seven months after the fbi raided her home, one legal

expert is taking the potential widespread fallout. talking about it all this morning. this is today in the bay. good morning to you on this friday. thanks for allowing us to be a part of your morning. i'm marcus washington, and i'm laura garcia. we do begin with this breaking news. a toxic fire at a monterey county battery storage plant is forcing 1500 people out of their homes. this is a battery storage facility at the vistra power plant in moss landing. the fire is contained, but one county supervisor is already calling it a disaster. today in the bay's kris sanchez is live for us nearby in castroville this morning, with more of the overnight developments for us. and, kris, i know you've been out there for some time. can you smell anything, any of that smoke in the air out there? i cannot, and actually i'm quite surprised by that because this is such a toxic fire. we did bring our n95 masks. we have them down. but i

did check the air quality index. and the air quality is poor because there is very small particulate matter in the air. so we will be masking up when we are not on camera this morning because you can't smell that small particulate matter, but it can definitely get into your lungs. and that is bad for sensitive people. as you can see here behind me, there are still road closures that are in effect in moss landing all the way extending into castro valley, castroville, which is where we are this morning, where we expect to get an update about this fire. we did just get an update from the plant spokesperson itself, and they say that the fire is still burning this morning. now, we know that the vistra power plant is one of the largest lithium ion battery facilities of its kind in the world, because it is lithium ion batteries that are burning. firefighters can't put water on it and instead are letting it burn itself out. fortunately, the plant spokesperson says the fire is contained inside the concrete

walls of just one building at that facility. it started at 3:00 yesterday afternoon, raged for hours. there's no way to sugarcoat it. this is you know, it's just a disaster is what it is. and it's extremely disconcerting. the fire is contained. i think people should be able to realize that. i don't think there's any. we don't believe there's any real threat of it extending outward. now, 1500 people were forced from their homes overnight, and people as far away as santa cruz are being told to stay inside with windows and doors closed. i did check the cal osha database to see if the plant had any citations or any violations. they have not. according to the website, in the last five years, vistra power plant statement reads in part, our top priority is the safety of our community and our personnel, and vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders. soere's what's happening today. at 830 this morning, monterey county

supervisors are going to hold an emergency board meeting this morning to address this disaster. but also at 10:00, we expect to get an update, a broader update, and we hope that fire personnel will give us an update as well. in castroville, kris sanchez today in the bay. all right. thanks for the very latest live from the scene there, chris. let's get a look at what's happening weather wise. meteorologist kari hall is tracking those conditions there this morning. and we can see that there are some wind gusts but very limited. it's very small and we've seen very light wind. most of the wind is blowing away from the more populated areas coming in from the north. so that's the good news. hopefully we do see that also improving through the next several hours. it is really not having an impact on our bay area air quality, and we're starting out all clear in san jose. but it is chilly and temperatures now in the low 40s throughout the day. mostly sunny as we head for the upper 50s, but you will notice in some spots it will be cooler than it was yesterday, with a lot of upper 50s in the forecast across the bay area.

marcus. all right. thanks, kari. well, as soon as today, federal criminal charges may be announced against former oakland mayor sheng thao. that's according to multiple reports, including one in the chronicle, which cites sources saying that she and her boyfriend, andre jones are being indicted as part of the ongoing grand jury corruption probe. now, this all follows last summer's fbi raid to her home. that's when agents also raided the homes and businesses of a powerful east bay family, which owns california waste solutions. oakland's contracted recycler. she has not issued the mayor. the former mayor. that is a comment about this. but in the past, she has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. legal analyst stephen clark believes that there are reasons that this is taking so much time for the other shoe to drop. i think it involves more than just the former mayor, and so it was important that they took the time before you bring a case like this. these are serious allegations, and it's important

that you successfully investigate these cases. right now, all we know for certain is the u.s. attorney's office is making what it calls a significant announcement that is scheduled for this morning at ten. as for the future of oakland's leadership and the next permanent mayor. well, today is the deadline to file to run in the april special election. among the handful of declared candidates, former east bay congresswoman barbara lee and runner up in the 2022 mayoral race, lauren taylor. governor gavin newsom is unveiling his latest budget proposal, and he's working to help those trying to make it in the bay by supplying them with free diapers. newsom is looking to set aside more than $7 million in this year's budget, and a $12.5 million set aside next year to provide a three month supply of diapers to families with newborns, regardless of their income. the goal is to address diaper affordability, which is a cause

near and dear to east bay. assemblywoman liz ortega families continue to talk to me about three major pressures that they were feeling. it was housing, food and diapers. so to finally see that we've made a shift from last year where we were cutting diapers and cutting diaper banks to actually seeing in the budget as a priority from the governor is really exciting. ortega attributes the initiative's inclusion in this year's budget to female lawmakers who have pushed for diaper affordability. the goal of the program is for the state to give out 40 million diapers this year, and double that number to 80 million next year. the initiative would need to survive budget negotiations and be passed by lawmakers in june. 6.37 this morning, as we take a live look down in downtown san jose. beautiful sunrise there for us this morning. always picturesque there. kari. gorgeous. yes. and you can do something that's definitely a

part of winter. go ice skating. and we still have this last weekend for downtown ice in san jose. but the temperatures have been very warm throughout the week. it will be a little bit cooler today, and we go from 60 degrees at 4:00 to seeing those temperatures dipping quickly later on this evening, but you can enjoy some time out there in downtown san jose as well as napa, walking around through the lighted art festival that begins tomorrow. this is a nighttime event, so you want to make sure that you're layered up as we go from upper 40s at 7:00 to low 40s at 9:00 and all clear, and for the warririors gam tomorrow at chase center, we start out with some low 50s, a breezy wind in san francisco, but all clear if you're going to be enjoying time or out and about around the city, or going out to the sea. lions 35th anniversary on sunday at pier 39. it's going to be in the low 50s there. if your weekend plans take you to the sierra, it's going to be very chilly there with highs in the low 40s. our overnight lows dip to the teens and we could see

some rain and snow showers on sunday. cynthia, you have an update on the bart service this weekend? yes. mike was telling everybody leading up to this weekend that there were going to be some disruptions on bart for the walnut creek and concord stations. this is no more. it's been postponed. i don't know until when bart didn't write that on their website. so we're back to normal weekend service here between walnut creek and concord, and throughout the rest of the routes for mlk monday, they will be running their saturday schedule. golden gate transit smart train are also regular. there's the weekend schedule on the sf bay ferry. marcus and laura, thanks so much, cynthia. 638 right now. helping dogs in need. ahead for you here on today in the bay. we are live inside a bay area shelter helping animals impacted by the southern california wildfires, the way you can help them find new homes. and in washington, president biden says goodbye as commander in chief. out to the big board this morning, you saw the futures promising quite the day. the nasdaq doing just asell. back w

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641. let's check out brentwood and what to expect. today we will be in the mid 40s at 9:00 and going into the afternoon, heading briefly into the low 60s before it cools down quickly right around sunset and into tonight. we'll see more days like this staying dry, but a quick warm up into the afternoon. we'll talk about when

we may see a change in this pattern coming up in a few minutes, and we go over to the richmond-san rafael bridge toll plaza. traffic is backing up there as people try to make it over on into marin c county, ony backing up to richmond parkway so it could be worse. just hang on. we're looking at about a 13 minute ride into marin county, the bay bridge, also back up with the metering lights have been turned on. president biden said goodbye to u.s. troops, reminding them to follow their oath. oath to protect and defend the constitution. scott mcgrew. good morning. and so long as those orders are legal, according to the uniform code of military justice, that's part of the oath as well. biden spoke before officers and enlisted in arlington, virginia, thanked them for their service. the president was presented with the army's distinguished public service medal. he said serving as commander in chief was the greatest honor in the world. president biden issued around

2500 new pardons and commutations for nonviolent drug offenders this morning, meaning he has now pardoned more people than any president in history. he said the clemency will go to people who are serving longer sentences compared to what they would have been sentenced today. brand new into our newsroom. the bideninistration has published a list of the next 15 drugs that are subject to medicare price negotiation. it includes ozempic, wegovy, and rybelsus. they all can treat diabetes, are all useful in weight loss as well. they will be added to the list of ten drugs announced in august of 2023. those ten saw their prices fall significantly after the government got the right to negotiate prices before the bipartisan inflation reduction act. medicare essentially had to pay whatever the drug makers told it to. the government was prohibited by law from negotiating. china says it will send its vice president to trump's inauguration on monday.

trump had invited china's president xi xi jinping, most notably nancy pelosi. michelle obama say they're not coming. tech magnates like elon musk, jeff bezos are going to attend. in fact, musk is scheduled to speak at a sunday night rally. as we've discussed, tech billionaires have sidled up to trump, musk and bezos and mark zuckerberg with a huge pivot tim cook, google's sundar pichai they'll all be at the front row of the inauguration. in his last interview with nbc as president, president biden once again warned of an american oligarchy. if the decision is made that the multi-billionaires, the super, super wealthy, the wealthiest people in the world begin to control all the apparatuses from the media to the economy, then

who do i get to fight back for me? who do i get to? i mean, look, i think everybody deserves this a shot now, not a guarantee, just a shot. all right. on a lighter note, vice president harris signed the inside of her desk drawer. a tradition that goes back to then vice president lyndon johnson. joe biden's signature is in there, of course, as well. nbc will have full coverage of donald trump's inauguration on monday. we'll have it on air. we'll have it online. we'll have it on our app. coverage starts at 7:00. our time. the peaceful transfer of power takes place as donald trump becomes president at noon eastern time. marcus. all right. thanks, scott. well, thousands more evacuation orders are being lifted for people down in southern california and those fire zones. it comes as authorities now confirm 27 deaths from last week's wildfires. firefighters also

gaining more ground on the largest fires out there. the palisades fire is now 27% contained. the eden fire is 55% contained. now, together, those fires have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroying more than 12,000 structures. and those devastating wildfires, they have also brought out the best of humanity, as many people have stepped up to help out in any way they can. and that also includes workers and volunteers over at the east bay spca. in fact, the shelter recently traveled to southern california to help assist in the rescue efforts and help free up some space by bringing back dogs from the shelters that were overwhelmed by the fires. joining us this morning to talk to us about everything going on there is julie henderson. she's vice president of philanthropy, east bay spca. and is that lightning you have with you still? it is. good morning. thank you so much for having us. so that's just one of the dogs that's available for adoption. how many did you bring over? so

we had two transport staff drive down on sunday morning. and in that day, bring back ten dogs from l.a. county. so those dogs are all available for adoption this weekend, as well as 12 more dogs and one cat who are being flown up in partnership with greater good charities to hayward airspace later this afternoon. you know, the thing about it all is so many people want to help out in any way they can. if they have room for another pet in their home, or thinking of getting one now would really be a good time because you all have a free dog adoption event happening right now. yeah, so we had a very generous donor step up and sponsor all adoptions for dogs this entire week. it lasts through sunday, end of day at both our oakland and dublin shelters. so if you're interested, look on our website and our staff would be more than happy to help you find a new family member. that is fantastic to hear. okay, good. and so one more trip. possibly. i mean, do you have room in the shelter right now? right now we're

pretty full. but one of the reasons that we want to do this adoption weekend is so we can make space not only for the people in l.a. county who are obviously suffering through this great tragedy with all these displaced animals and people, but also here locally in california, there's many animals in the shelter, and we're going to continue to do everything we can to help get these guys into good homes. all right, julie, thank you so much for what you're doing and all the volunteers and people helping out there. now, if you would like to help, or maybe you're thinking of adding a new member to the family, please visit the east bay spca.org. and you know what? speaking of big and special days, today is a big special day right here for our today in the bay crew. today we are celebrating laura's 25th anniversary here at nbc bay area. in those years, 25 years you have done in the morning. oh, yeah. that you have. but style, grace, compaion, everything you bring to the table every single day. and we want to take a look back at some of that. great. we love to do

stories on local guys who've done good. and we have a couple of them in studio today, seven players from the great team in 2009, 2010 team that they made the sweet 16. then to celebrate her team go get it is my team. the brooms are out. let's sweep them. comcast sportsnet bay area's amy gutierrez joins us in the giants dugout with more. it's like the one at target stores nationwide, causing more people to invest in cyber insurance. being a mom is tough, but it makes me better at what i do. now, with the construction on the second lane closed, that's going to make people shift over to the right, which is good. we do a lot of community events, and i have to say this is one of my favorites, where we get to help clear the shelters. i should let him do this. his arms. oh, wow. look at it. look back at all the hairstyles to. but the skin is glowing, girl for 25 years. keep that camera zoomed out. right also. oh, look at that. isn't that beautiful? look at you

guys. congratulations. well, thank you for just allowing me to come into your homes every morning. the community has been so amazing, so supportive. luckily, i found a career that i absolutely love and the team here at nbc bay area. the management is just amazing. so i'm so, so thankful to be able to say i, you know, when i first started here in 2000, i couldn't imagine that i'd be where i am now. but i'm truly delighted to be your morning anchor bay area celebration of anniversary. this is not a goodbye any way but celebration. you're here monday. you're like, wait a minute. what? sometimes people see that. they're like, no, no, she ain't going nowhere. it's not a sentence that parole from. yes. thank you, thank you. congratulations. i really appreciate it. absolutely. and for your anniversary, a nice forecast for you i love it and a weekend too. and you're already dressed for the cold weather. yes. we need to layer up today because we have a frost advisory in effect. but we are going to make it a nice and sunny day once again and warmer than normal temperatures later on

is afternoon. but these areas shaded in blue are where we are feeling those cold temperatures. and it's another one where we are starting out just above freezing. in some spots, like danville at 33 degrees, and we may dip another degree or two as the sun rises. and we're seeing also those chilly temperatures across the north bay, along with the fog that's been moving around. now we are down to a quarter mile visibility in santa rosa, half mile visibility in napa. and now we're seeing that fog developing around hayward and moving up toward oakland and santa rosa. with the fog, it is 33 degrees, sometimes a fog in some very cold temperatures can also make it icy on some elevated road surfaces. so just watching out for that here, the fog stays with us through about 11:00. so that's going to make it a cooler day as our highs only make it into the low 60s. but once again, this is still above what we typally see for this date in january. so in concord today 60 deges for the high and 59 in hayward, near the

coast, we're in the upper 50s for half moon bay. it's 55 and 58 in redwood city and mid 50s in san francisco. today, while in the north bay we'll be in the mid to upper 50s. looking ahead. still no rain coming our way, but we will see a change in the pattern going toward the end of next week. possibly a cold weather system with some rain and snow. we definitely need it at this point because our sierra snow pack is slipping and we're still doing well in the northern sierra, but our reservoirs are also starting to dip, especially for southern california where we know it's been so dry. here's a look at your long holiday weekend forecast that's going to be nice and sunnyand more sun through the end of next week. cynthia. now you're seeing it slow down in the south bay. yeah, but in the last couple of minutes it has cleared up. the sensors were showing a little bit of a slow right there through the 101 and 880 connector in san jose. but that is good news. we're going to clear that out of the way for our friday light. we go to the

bay bridge. there is some traffic with this crash. eastbound direction near trsure island. so maybe even some onlookers on the other direction. just be careful there and let the crews handle that down into the peninsula. the crash on 101 is in the clearing stages too, by redwood city. back to you. all right. thanks so much. well, happening now. east bay officials are issuing a warning about scammers. thieves have been posing as alameda county court workers asking for personal or financial informion over the phone. alameda county says its workers never call people for that kind of information. if you're unsure, contact the superior court of alameda county directly. and we're back in just minutes with a look at our top stories this morning, including breaking news of a battery plant up in flames, the urgent message to local residents, and the concerns over air quality. but first, here's another edition of our school shoutout series. and it comes from a group of monroe middle school students who actually toured our south bay

studios this week. hi, i'm brooklyn and we are the leadership class from monroe middle school in san jose. good morning, bay area, brooklyn. the rest of the crew is so cool. they're fun to have them really well. thank you guys for coming in and thank you. good morning, bay area. look, don't forget, you too can have your kids and their class right here on today in the bay for that school shout out. all you have to do is email us at school. shout out at

welcome back. we are moving you forward with a look at our top stories here on today in the bay. that massive fire south of the bay area raising some concerns about air quality. it happened south of santa cruz at the world's largest battery storage facility, located at the vistra power plant in moss landing. the big concern is toxic smoke impacting air quality. the fire started yesterday afternoon. firefighters say this morning the fire is contained inside a concrete facility and luckily not spreading smoke. concerns yesterday triggered evacuation orders for about 1500 people who live nearby. others were told to shelter in place at 830 this

morning. monterey county leaders are expected to provide a new update as soon as today. federal criminal charges may be announced against former oakland mayor sheng thao. that's according to reports, including one with the chronicle, which cites sources saying that she and her boyfriend, andre jones are being indicted as part of an ongoing grand jury corruption probe. it follows last summer's fbi raid of her home. she has not issued a new comment, but in the past she has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. right now, all we know for certain is that the u.s. attorney's office will take what it calls a significant announcement this morning at 10:00. another cool start, but a nice finish, probably for friday. yeah, lots of sunshine and a mild afternoon. just get some time out there in the sunshine. it makes it feel better. and we'll see more of these temperatures extending into our holiday weekend as well as next week, while san francisco today we'll see a few more clouds, highs in the upper 50s, and tonight down to the lower 40s. and i think some

people are now passing through the crash that was on 101 through redwood city. we see those lights in both directions through palo alto. it was a slower start for people. mid bay. bay bridge toll plaza metering lights came on later right there as they make it into the city today. well, the today show just moments away. however, for more local news, stay with today in the bay. we stream on roku and other streaming platforms. ahead in our 8 a.m. newscast. new help for those trying to make it in the bay. we're talking live with an east bay realtor about the new mortgage assistance program and how you can apply. a lot going on there, so don't miss it. and you know what? again, we want to say happy anniversary and congratulations for 25 years for laura here with today in the bay. woo. getting up in the middle of the night. good friday morning. a major step forward o a major step toward to peace in the middle east. >> the hostage deal appears to be back on track this morning.