here's nbc bay area's cheryl hurd. >> reporter: no shutdown orders for craft and cork located in solano county. it is open for business. >> we've had to reduce our hours from like seven days a week down to four. >> reporter: even with reduced hours the owner says he feels lucky that he can even open at all. >> at this point we're on the verge of closing down for good. you know, we're bleeding money out of our own pockets and bank account at this point. >> reporter: feeling the pain of small business owners like christie. outdoor dining, hair and nail salons are still open there while acknowledging people should be staying at home as much as possible during this surge. the health officer making it clear tonight he will allow those businesses to stay open as long as possible. in a statement tonight he questioned the science behind the shutdown saying, in fact, i think these greater restrictions are likely to drive more activity indoors, a much riskier endeavor. solano county's health officer releasing a similar statement last week. he says there is no proof that outdoor dining, hair and n

in lafayette, cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >> well, still ahead the clock is ticking. to a covid relief deal. what it could mean for you. plus they could be next in line. what kind of a difference would that make in your school district? the debate over getting teachers vaccinated and kids back in the classroom. >>> i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri tracking the dropping temperatures. we'll show you where it drops near the freezing mark coming up in about 6 minutes. >>> a live look at the nation's capitol while congressional leaders are scrambling to finalalize the covid-19 deal as that deadline looms. lawmakers say they're close but running short on time. the pandemic funding and rescue package must pass before federal funding lapses at 12:01 saturday. the $900 billion relief package is expected to include a new round of stimulus checks and about $600 for those who qualify. extended unemployment benefits of about 3man a week and more money for small businesses. tomorrow morning that's when vice president mike pence will roll-up his sleeve. pence and his wife are se

nbc bay area's cheryl hurd has a closer look why health leaders say the numbers are surging. >> reporter: if you wondered what a city on lock down looks like, this is it. as we drove through downtown campbell outdoor dining tents are empty, hair and nail salons closed. all of this comes as santa clara county sees a significant surge in cases of covid-19. dr. sarah cody painted a dire picture. for the board of supervisors today she says it's worrisome and the surge is not slowing down. >> while these recent cases some not even populated on our dashboard likely reflect the surge from thanksgiving we anticipated, but the contribution of that surge is still not even reflected in the numbers that you see. >> reporter: a surge in case and a surge in hospitalizations. regional medical center of san jose is at capacity but still accepting patients through its emergency room. there are close to 70 covid-19 patients here. >> we are using some of our overflow areas such as our post-acute care unit for our operating room. we're using some of those beds since we've reduced most of our elective cases.

cheryl hurd, thank you. reporting for in pleasanton. what about traveling now for this holiday season? the governor says don't do it. either postpone or cancel those nonessential trips. there is a statewide travel restriction. >> we know that part of what has happened in california is that a number of people who have travelled outside of our state, visited our state come not beknownst to them able to transmit covid to others. >> there's dr. galley who added while nonessential travel is discouraged there will be no enforcement of this travel restriction. the state is hoping everyone just does the right thing. >>> well, we're seeing a lot of this. converting spaces and setting up outside facilities. these tents going up at the kaiser facility in walnut creek outside in the front parking lot. the hospital told us they will provide additional treatment space if needed. since this pandemic began santa clara county has been really the be bellwether for the entire region. a number of hospitals in the county have less than 10% icu capacity. the

cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >> well, cracking the code. tonight a message from the zodiac killer. has it been solved? we'll tell you what was deciphered after more than 50 years. >>> and the change restaurant owners in san francisco are asking the city to make asap as they struggle to make ends meet. >>> i'm tracking the rain moving through right now on storm ranger. i'll show you when the next round of rain gets here for the weekend so you can plan around it. i'll be back in about 6 minutes. >>> another blow to president trump though it's unlikely to phase him. the supreme court rejected the texas effort to overturn election results in joe biden's battleground state. tonight the president responding on twitter the supreme court really let us down, no wisdom, no courage. his supporters saw the lawsuit as their best hope and maybe their last hope to derail biden's victory before the electoral college confirms the election result next monday. >>> well, here's a fascinating and eerie development. new insights into the notorious local serial k

in walnut creek, cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >>> two days after a judge in san diego county allowed restaurants to offer full-service, a california appeals court blocked it. that means no indoor or outdoor dining. the decision comes as a public health official there reported a record 3,600 new covid-19 cases. the state asked the courts to step in saying the health care system there is just on the brink of collapse. state-wide cases continue to surge. in fact, in the last 24 hours california reported 41,000 new cases bringing the total number of infections in the state to 1.7 million. our positivity rate 11.8%. that's up more than 4% in just the last two weeks. all right, let's take a look at cases across the state. this shows the 14-day average of daily cases. november 17th the state had an average of 7,698 new cases a day. a month later this is where we're at. more than 34,000 cases today reported. you can see the line is still trending upward indicating that will likely continue to rise over the holidays. okay, you may have gotten this alert on your phone today. it is from the gov

"today in the bay's" cheryl hurd is tracking what's happening next. >> this issue is not going to die. >> reporter: it was eight hours of back and forth during a virtual meeting of independent panelists. once the debate was over the endorsement came to grant emergency approval of pfizer's covid-19 vaccine. >> our plan is to take their recommendations into account for our decision making and make a decision shortly thereafter. >> reporter: 17 members of the independent panel voting in favor of the authorization. four people against with one person abstaining from the closely watched vote. >> this is a godsend. >> reporter: ucsf professor of epidemiology dr. rutherford thinks some people voted against authorization because there wasn't enough data to support giving the vaccine to 16 and 17-year-olds. however, under the plan teens that young would be eligible. >> my impression it's really about the lower age and i'm a pediatrician. i can tell you drugs work the same in 18-year-olds as in 16 and 17-year-olds. >> reporter: vaccinations could happen as early as monday but between now and th

we can't let the bad guys win. >> reporter: in san jose, cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >>> well, new at 11:00, san francisco supervisors approved a resolution condemning the naming of the city's public hospital for facebook's ceo. in 2015 mark zuckerberg and his wife gave $75 million toward a new trauma center at the hospital. but health care workers have objected to the name. they say they're risking their lives during the pandemic while facebook has contributed to the spread of disinformation. tonight's vote by supervisors condemning the name is not law and does not require the hospital to change anything. hospital foundation said it is proud of zuckerberg's name being affiliated with that hospital. >>> well, an unexpected change of plans. today most people anticipated that contra costa county supervisors would approve a dramatic increase in fines for businesses violating the stay at home order. instead after a ought all of angry testimony and admission one of the supervisors have been getting threats, supervisors voted the proposal down. nbc bay area's pete suratos has more. >> so

nbc bay area's cheryl hurd explains why doctors say don't let your guard down and simply stay home. >>> san francisco is just one of many cities deciding to cancel its new year's eve fireworks display. this move is in line with californ california's health and human services secretary dr. mark galley's urgent message to stay home. >> we know a number of people are going to be newly exposed over the weekend, that the urge of many californians to gather and do so in ways that really aren't covid safe are going to lead to some transmission. >> reporter: dr. galley is pushing virtual celebrations to help stop the surge. >> the sort of concept of a surge upon a surge or exposure upon exposure is real. >> reporter: this idea comes as the u.s. is dealing with an increase of infections in recent weeks. doctors are blaming thanksgiving travel and people spreading the virus without even knowing it. now doctors are worried that people who got infected with covid during christmas celebrations could wind up spreading it to people at new year's eve parties. >> the big concern is that people who may

nbc bay area's cheryl hurd with a look at how fast that could happen. >> reporter: the rush is on at ucsf. the fda is very close to making a decision on the pfizer vaccine. >> we know the fda is going to meet on december 10th, the third day and it's said always after that decision is made that people will be able to get vaccines. >> reporter: the drug and injection sites will be ready to go. ucsf and zuckerberg san francisco general hospitals tonight are getting ready to rollout the first phase of distribution. at the governor's news conference today gavin newsom says 327,000 doses of the pfizer vaccine is on the way to california. >> these are challenging vaccines because these are the ultralow temperature stored vaccines. these vaccines also require a second dose, which we anticipate in three weeks. >> reporter: he anticipates an approval for the moderna vaccine to follow right behind pfizer. a cdc advisory committee will meet tomorrow to decide who will get the shots first. >> the process is not straightforward because you have to think of who's the front line of the front line be

nbc bay area's cheryl hurd talked to a business owner in danville who's worried about the future, and this is a common concern. >> reporter: has three restaurants and about to open a fourth in livermore soon, he's confident he will survive the orldered shutdown with the help of a supportive danville community. he's more worried about his 100 plus employees. >> and these people, they need to work. they need to pay the rent. they have a family, they need to buy the grocery. >> reporter: at a news conference today governor gavin newsom updated the numbers related to covid-19 cases, deaths and the available icu beds throughout the state of california. newsom stopped short of making it final, but made it clear what's probably about to happen. >> it's likely those stay at home orders will be extended. but, again, based upon the data -- >> reporter: there are two regions the orders are set to be extended in california. that's san joaquin valley and southern california. those two areas have an icu bed capacity of zero. so the numbers here in the bay area aren't as clear. the number of icu bed

cheryl hurd, "today in the bay." >>> 4:35 for you that morning, and be ready to quarantine if you plan on traveling outside of the south bay. health leaders there say anyone who has traveled into santa clara county from more than 150 miles away will actually have to quarantine for 14 days. under that rule people in the south bay can travel to places like napa, sacramento, by car without quarantine. if you go to places like lake tahoe or anywhere beyond fresno in the south, signs say that you should do that. they're already posted at san jose airport. most passengers say they done even know they had to quarantine. >> we didn't realize it was actually mandated until we walked down the stairs here. >> what difference does it make 150, 200 or 50? >> health leaders say people could get fined if they violate the travel quarantine. >> here's a grandmother who when push comes to shove you do not want to mess with her. here is why. it happened last friday in san francisco's mission district. video shows a customer becoming upset about her order not being ready. we're told she became verbally ab

cheryl hurd reports. >> they're not answering simple questions why are you doing this and that's what business community is asking and i think that's what the doctor was asking. >> reporter: dr. deboisblanc is being punished for taking a stand for the community and small business, questioning if the outdoor dining is really causing the spread of covid-19. >> i'm happy that medical professionals are asking. i don't know anything -- i'm not a scientist. >> reporter: but dr. deboisblanc is a trauma surgeon and he along with two other doctors wrote a letter to contra costa's health director and the board of supervisors saying they're deeply concerned about the lockdowns and that science is clear that more lockdowns lead to much more noncovid morbidity and mortality as supported by the cdc. magu said it's sad one doctor is getting pushback. >> for some reason, when other people try to voice their opinions that goes against what's being kind of the narrative, no one wants to hear it. >> reporter: john muir hospital executives told his staff that the doctor is being replaced as the director

cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >>> much more ahead on "today in the bay.", 51 years later and the code has been cracked. the words behind the cryptic message sent by the zodiac killer but questions still remain. >>> and we've got a little bit of rain and we're waking up to some fog this morning but it looks like we'll get another round of that. coming up in a few minutes i'll take you through the full forecast for sunday morning. details coming up. stay with us. >>> welcome back. 7:15 on your saturday morning. you can barely make out sfo on this cloudy, rainy morning across the bay area. vianey arana has your full microclimate forecast in just about two minutes, but first, new insights into the infamous zodiac killer who terrorized the bay area more than 50 years ago and still has not been caught. the zodiac killed at least five people in the late '60s and early '70s and one of the coded messages has finally been cracked. here's nbc's stephanie goesing. >> reporter: investigators attribute four encoded messages to the killer. crack the code and they'll catc

. >>> cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >>> dragged through the dirt, but everyone on board is okay. if you can believe that. nerve-wracking video of a hot air balloon ride that did not go as planned. >>> plus, outdoor dining despite the shutdown. the east bay restaurant that kept its patio open and customers lining up to show support. >>> i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri, tracking rain on storm ranger, plus the latest on our rain outlook and what our best chances are ahead, coming up in about seven minutes. jordan knows he shouldn't eat this entire bowl of nachos. but tonight, he's earned that right. because a few hours ago, in the middle of happy hour, he recognized a sign. not from the gods or a bolt of lightning, but from a double-heart, a kissy face, and a fourth ha in "hahaha." that's when jordan knew he was buzzed. so, when it was time to go, he got a ride home instead of driving. be a legend like jordan. recognize your buzzed warning signs and get a ride home. >>> okay. this is pretty incredible. new video tonight of a run away hot air balloon. this is in gilbert, arizona

what happens next with nbc bay area cheryl hurd. >> reporter: it was 8 hours of back and forth during a virtual meeting of independent panelists. once the debate was over the endorsement came to grant individual approval of pfizer's covid-19 vaccine. 17 members of the independent panel voting in favor of the authorization. four people against with one person abstaining from the closely watched vote. >> this is a god send. >> reporter: dr. george rutherford says he thinks some people voted against authorization because there wasn't enough data to support giving the vaccines to 16 and 17-year-olds. however, under the plan approved today teens that young would be eligible. >> my impression is that it's really about this lower age of indication. and i'm a pediatrician. i can tell you drugs work the same in 18-year-olds as they do in 16 and 17-year-olds. >> reporter: vaccinations could happen as early as monday, but between now and then a lot has to happen. the fda has to give an approval. then operation warp speed moves into high gear once the cdc signs off. the early doses expected to go

cheryl hurd joins us. >> reporter: linda wynn was closed for six months during the spring and early summerecause of the pandemic. now she's facing another closure after this weekend. >> and now they shutdown again. we don't know what we can do with our initifinancial. >> reporter: a devastating blow for a business hanging on by a thread. on the list of new restrictions in the multicounty stay at home order the elimination of outdoor dining, closing barbershops and hair and nail salons. gwyneth holiday was expecting it to happen but not this fast. >> that's a pretty big hit for any stylist. >> reporter: business owners and customers saying tonight they want evidence that shows closing down things like outdoor dining, nar and hair salons will actually bend the curve. we talked to one stanford professor who believes she knows why. >> the state is in the position they have to choose what is the least necessary or the least essential, and they feel these types of cosmetic things are not as essential. >> reporter: these businesses may be considered nonessential, but they're important to customer