car inouye looking at ways around the mess. we begin with nbc bay area's stephanie chua stephanie chuang live at the scene. >> i'm here on the silver avenue off-ramp of 101 with a great view. no vehicles, of course. bottom line here is the estimated time of opening, not until at least 1:00 this afternoon. that's at least 1:00. this happened 8:45 in the morning. talking rush hour. what's amazing, no vehicles hit. you look at the mess, where the dump truck is sitting, how it's tip over and the entire pile of debris, look like construction debris, sitting on southbound lanes of 101, all shut down. so it's going to take crews a while. everyone's waiting around because, if you pan up, you can see dump truck sitting there, precariously hanging off in a way so crews can't get to the debris. waiting for crews to upright the truck and then take care of the mess and try to reopen also to the left. you can see that the traffic light was also hit. a different view from chopper. sandwiched between two major city streets here, san bruno and

mike inouye is tracking that backup for us. where do things stand? >> we're looking towards a madge klee appearing slow down. because of a paint spill all the way across westbound 80. this is westbound 80. the paint spill is just past the on ramp. folks are forced off the freeway there. we had the right lanes building slowly and now spilled in across this part of the span. look from our emoryville camera and it is jammed up between treasure island and the westbound direction, these folks if they haven't heard on the radio or right here by the time they get there, unsuspecting. now, as we look at your map, showing the closure right there in san francisco and we're told about two hours so they can clear that paint. so just after 6:00 is when we're looking at that opening. your options, the one to the north richmond san rafael bridge and the san mateo bridge much more likely. we will track the changes and the updates as we get more from san francisco, i'm sorry, the san francisco road crews as well as chp. kari, paint on the road and then later on we'll

mike inouye tracking all of that for us. just one lane open so far. >> four lanes are closed and that means, yeah, everybody is forced over to your, well, to this lane right here. that's the lane over to your right. that's the fremont street off ramp. in that closure just past this camera, that's the harrison street off ramp and that is why that one isn't accessible until they can spill the paint spill off the roadway. we're looking at just after 6:00 when they can reopen lanes. seeing the traffic very slowly here. the build up starts way back on the incline side. this is the jam coming up from about the metering lights all the way up across in towards san francisco. you see over on the san francisco side. decks. getting out of the city is not distracted by the backup and quite a spectacle you're coming over from treasure island. the metering lights not yet on but expect them soon at the toll plaza. look at the map. we have your alternates set up for you. use the richmond san rafael bridge and traffic very light as a result.

mike inouye here.ou're seeing some of that, mike. >> traffic affects the one person's traffic affects the entire bay area. very tightly integrated system here. this is coming off the east shore freeway and coming off of westbound 580 and the maze and they all converge and look at how bad this backup is. also some mist and drizzle on the lens here as well as in steph chuang's shot. this is packed in even for a typical week day. a friday before christmas week. we were looking at what we thought was a very light traffic flow and not because of the metering lights. there is the metering lights and no break from there. solid up across the incline and all the way into san francisco. look at your map. because the alternates are becoming a problem, as well. the paint will block all but one lane and looking at 7:30, 8:00 and that mist and drizzle may cause complications for that cleanup. we'll get an update if there are problems. meanwhile that is one option getting more traffic and now a crash over by the san

my name inouye. i am the chairman of the orange community human relations commission. i'm also the past national president of the japanese american citizens link. i am here today as all of us are, to extend our prayers to the families of those victims that were killed and injured today. also on behalf of the commission i would like to call the good people of orange county to come together and stand united as we face this which we cannot comprehend. i would like to call all of us to look forward and seek justice in the proper way and not seek any kind of justice just on the basis of anybody's ethnicity or religion. i thank you for being here today because this is a sad moment in history in a time that we do need to stand united. >>> first name is farhan khan. >>> can you tell us how old you are and where you live? <>> can you confirm that your brother-in-law [indistinct] >>> i don't know. >>> none of us know that >>> if you don't know >>> we don't know who is that. all we know from what, based on what law enforcement agen

car inouye looking at ways around the mess. we begin with nbc bay

. >>> mike inouye and i'm trying to replace the empty feeling after the wiz live aired. get over the historic para mount theater in oakland, you'll get a sin mattic classic from 1939, the wizard of oz projected on silver screen. tickets are a standard $5 for adults and kids and little dogs too. no dogs allowed there but they continue with their offerings of 24 holidays on 24th street. saturday is not just a holiday but there's hula dancing because it's california and holiday horse drawn hayrides and santa claus. the website claims it's fun for kids and dogs, dogs, be aware, kids, there. we end with the last but not the least of the great giant candles in the giant menorah. a equally giant party for union square as they cap off the final night of the 40th anniversary year there. not far from the skating rink and smack dab in the middle of the shopping district. every shop keep loves the tradition of eight nights of give gifting as well. it's better to give than receive. so guys, walk to you. >> mike. the $600,000 facelift for downtown san jose is complete. we told you abo

mike inouye and kari hall are here. >> we will have more rain heading in to the weekend.ll leftover sprinkles in the north bay and low clouds and fog. the rest of the bay area, the roads are drying out and it's cool heading out the door this morning. it will warm up nicely into the afternoon. highs around 58 degrees in the east bay while the north bay is at 60 degrees and 61 in the south bay. we've had a few issues on the road. so let's check in now with mike. >> kari, they have cleared very quickly because the light volume has allowed them to clear the roadway. we're looking at the berkeley curve. i don't see a crash there on the camera. the commute towards the bay bridge toll plaza, the map will show you the traffic flow is very well the speed sensors just slowing at the plaza itself. this morning's commute, like a friday, typical. the lighter flow of traffic is lighter than your typical friday. no slowing for 680. we'll show the south bay. this is representing the flow. a little build for the morning. >> mike, thank you. >>> tears shed and candles lit to honor those lo

there is almost always a guarantee of an uptick in the number of accidents and, of course, our mike inouye has you covered on the impact of your morning commute. >> steph, thank you so much. >>> our storm coverage will continue in just a few minutes and with more rain on the way, you can get your personalized neighborhood forecast any time just download our nbc bay area app. >>> now to a developing story. four people are confirmed dead after a medical helicopter crashed in the central valley. "today in the bay" bob redell following the latest from our newsroom. bob, we see the medical helicopters going to dangerous scenes, but this was not one of those transports. >> it wasn't. but it was foggy at the time. this medical helicopter, kris, was transporting a critically ill patient from a hospital in fresno to a hospital in bakersfield. normally a ten-minute trip. but it crashed around 7:00 last night in dense fog into a field of orchards near the town of mcfarland. you're looking at a file image of that exact arircraft. not clear what role, if any, that might have played in this crash. all f

will have anotheridate in three minutes and we'll be checking your morning commu, as well, with mike inouye. download our nbc bay area app and click on the weather tab. >>> someone you could never be too prepared for. today people in berkeley will have a chance to best protect their homes and businesses from flooding and other water-related dangers. berkeley city leaders are hosting what is called an el nino workshop. it is happening at the berkeley unified school district starting at 6:30 p.m. >>> a man accused of committing newark's first homicide of the year expectsed in court this afternoon. kim faces a murder charge for strangling and killing his wife. police arrested kim yesterday after they found his wife dead in their home on mclaughlin avenue on monday. officers say that kim was there when they arrived that scene. they also say that there was blood and broken items scattered everywhere, indicating signs of a struggle. >>> at 6:36. aotic scene in brentwood. a 28-year-old man being tazered and arrested. it started about 9:00 last night on oak street. police say three men were smoking

. >> comparable to mike inouye's volume. >> i think we should name it force awakening maybe georgette if it's a girl. >> that's a great idea. >> deejay. >> winner and still champion. >> we're all winners right now because we're getting rain to start off our week, again. >> so great to see this rain, but i know a lot of people are like, it's travel time. you're trying to catch a flight and there's over 2 1/2 hour delay going on at sfo. i know, it causes problems but we really do need it. and it's all a part of this pattern that brings cool and wet weather to the west coast and warmer and dry weather to the east coast. and we're still seeing these systems rolling in. scattered rain. here's a look at the futurecast. more of that as we go through 10:30 this morning for the north bay. we see the yellows and the reds and that indicates a heavy downpour. and there may be gust winds in there, too. san francisco and oakland and also for the delta and then for the farther south. we are going to see that rain moving in during the evening commute. will still see this rain pouring overnight and in

>> i can support kelton fin inouye in seat 13. x i'm not in agreement with that, but we can take a vote. >> i thought we were continuing that and i was support ing mr. rhoades. >> why don't we continue 13 and 14, since they are linked? >> i was thinking about that continuing 13, 14, and 20. >> okay. >> again, if you wrote down what i thought, i think outside of those seats i think we might have agreement on the appointments. >> so what you are proposing is stout for 9, pearson for 10. aldrich for 11. payan for 12. continuing 13 and 14. >> ballesteros 15, fugate for 16, mcelroy 17, thomas 18, continue 10, ozim for 22 -- >> that is it. >> did you get that, mr. clerk? >> i did >> i would like to make that a motion. >> i think it's a reasonable accommodation, understanding that this is also -- there are so many really good and qualified people that i could create a task force of 40 people, but that with not be very functional. so i'm willing to support that motion. >> okay. so can we take that without objection, colleagues? >> yes. >>

one, a sad day, because it was just a few years ago today that our friend senator dan inouye died, one of of my closest friends, and a former president pro tempore, a senior member of this body. but it is also a good day that a year ago we saw the release of alan gross from a cuban prison where he spent five years. during that time he lost more than 150 pounds, he lost five teeth, his mother died, his mother-in-law died, a brother-in-law died, and he missed his daughter's wedding, all the time being held in this small prison. -- in cuba. i worked for years to help obtain alan gross' release and the return of the remaining members of the so-called cuban five, which are more than 15 years in u.s. prisons. scott gilbert, alan gross' lawyer, did an outstanding job. he traveled countless times to cuba to advocate on alan's behalf and u.s. officials. my foreign policy staff tim reeseer went you o down severals to boost alan gross' morale, visiting him in prison and bringing him messages. but my larger purpose, along with senator flake, was to finally put the cold war behind us to start looki

and the late senator inouye of hawaii wrote in 2009, and i quote, "congress should affirm the original construction of nlra by expressly including indian tribes in the definition of an employer." this bill presents congress with an opportunity to reaffirm the constitutional status, the sovereignty that tribes are entitled to under the supreme law of our land, and therefore, mr. president, i move -- i'm sorry. i request unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 220, s. 248, and that the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. brown: mr. president, i reserve the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you. i will briefly explain the reasons that i am reserving the right to object. i, first of all, thank you, senator moran. i want to say as a fellow member of the banking committee, while i disagree with him on this issue, i have -- we have found many things to work with together o

we're going to send it over now to mike inouye. how's it looking out there?here on the san mateo bridge. the traffic flow is great westbound toward the peninsula side. look at that, very easy drive. a crash late in the morning 880 just north of 238 slows a bit off the castro valley. that's it. slower drive west 80 continues but we expect that in the morning and it's not bad. the metering lights are still on. and still slippery conditions so be careful even though the traffic flow is light out there, keep those speeds under control because you today to ease onto and off of those brakes, guys. back to you. >> you make even traffic look good, mike. thanks. >>> and i'll have another local news update for you in a half hour. hope to see you then. come on in pop pop. happy birthday. i just had a heart attack... and now i have a choice. for her. for them. and him. a choice to take brilinta. a prescription for people who've been hospitalized for a heart attack. i take brilinta with a baby aspirin ...no more than 100 mg. as it affects how well it works. it's such an i

if you're on your way to the movie theater right now, let's check in with mike inouye. >> it looks like on. we have a better flow of traffic between san mateo and the dumbarton bridge off the nimitz freeway and 280 moves better as well. sam, back to you. >> that's going to do it for us right now. we'll be back in 25 minutes with more updates. we send you back to the "today" show. ♪ today, today, today, today is christmas ♪ >>> we are back now. it's 8:30 on a thursday morning. it's the 17th day of december, 2015. kind of a dark morning here on the plaza. rain expected. but we're brightening things up with a couple of broadway stars. we have matthew broderick and annaleigh ashford from the play "sylvia," collecting toys for us this morning. they're the elves of the day. we're going to chat with them in a couple of minutes. >> looking forward to that. >>> plus, we have a rare christmas miracle. that's right, i'll be baking. don't worry. siri pinter is here and she knows what she's doing. we're making cookies, and we have the cutest helpers. our babies. >> that's cute. >>> also ahead, if yo

mike inouye is tracking for us. that includes 280. >> 280 is the preferred way.blem there. you can get on the surface streets. the boulevard on other side. as you get south of there, you can take 280 and back to 101. that will add some more mileage. much less of a headache. 101 is closed at the kconnecter. >> we're going to keep you updated on the cleanup process. thank you very much. a cold start to your day, but a modest warm-up under way. we'll have a look at that after the break. anchor/cu i'll have another local news update for you in hal a >>> we're now seeing temperatures in the 40s outside. mostly sunny skies. our numbers overall running a little bit warmer than yesterday. about anywhere from two to seven degrees warmer. we had a lot of clouds. some light rain showers yesterday. most of that activity is going to head off to the north. there's a chance the north bay might see a stray shower, too. for temperatures today, finally seeing 60s on the board. a high near 60. upper 50s around san francisco into the north bay and tri-valley for today. temperatures

. >>> we're going to send it over now to mike inouye with a good look at the traffic, huh? too quiet. the bay bridge is very light here. brighter as the sun comes up. drying out the roads. the santa mateo bridge also light. let's show you the span between those two bridges on the map. no slowing on the maze or north bay. a little damp for the south bay but speeds still just fine. the warriors playing tonight as well as the sharks playing. that's two things to look forward to. but concentrate on that commute because even though traffic's light, you've still got to watch out for everyone around you. back to you. >> all that green looks good, mike. thanks. i'll have another update for you in a half an hour. until then, we'll send you back to the "today" show and hope you stay with us and have a great monday morning. >>> 38:30 now. it's monday morning. 28th of december, 2015. now there's a little bit of a brisk wind. >> it's feeling like winter. good morning, everybody. nice to have you out on our plaza. >> coming up with the cold and the eyes and snow, taking the cold across t

asked general dunford isis was contained and he said they are not, they continue to spread inouye have new do is look at the maps -- and all you have to do is look at the maps. if you look at the strategy of isis expanding their scope and the area they hold, that it's obviously not working, you would question why would we continue down the same road? i think we need to use saying -- do things in addition. we asked dunford and the joint chiefs about the current strategy and whether or not we have one that is comprehensive and effective. his response was that it was not properly resourced. you can read that a number of different ways, i think it says it is on the applicants acted, that it is lacking in some areas. i think there needs to be an overhaul of the current strategy to look at what's happening with the air campaign. there are special operators on the ground, i think that can be very effective, but the u.s. has to leave, especially with coalition partners. only nine partners are actively involved in these efforts. they will not be successful if we don't have the partners involved

>> i can support kelton fin inouye in seat 13. x i'm not in agreement with that, but we can take a vote. >> i thought we were continuing that and i was support ing mr. rhoades. >> why don't we continue 13 and 14, since they are linked? >> i was thinking about that continuing 13, 14, and 20. >> okay. >> again, if you wrote down what i thought, i think outside of those seats i think we might have agreement on the appointments. >> so what you are proposing is stout for 9, pearson for 10. aldrich for 11. payan for 12. continuing 13 and 14. >> ballesteros 15, fugate for 16, mcelroy 17, thomas 18, continue 10, ozim for 22 -- >> that is it. >> did you get that, mr. clerk? >> i did >> i would like to make that a motion. >> i think it's a reasonable accommodation, understanding that this is also -- there are so many really good and qualified people that i could create a task force of 40 people, but that with not be very functional. so i'm willing to support that motion. >> okay. so can we take that without objection, colleagues? >> yes. >>

>> i can support kelton fin inouye in seat 13.x i'm not in agreement with that, but we can take a vote. >> i thought we were continuing that and i was support ing mr. rhoades. >> why don't we continue 13 and 14, since they are linked? >> i was thinking about that continuing 13, 14, and 20. >> okay. >> again, if you wrote down what i thought, i think outside of those seats i think we might have agreement on the appointments. >> so what you are proposing is stout for 9, pearson for 10. aldrich for 11. payan for 12. continuing 13 and 14. >> ballesteros 15, fugate for 16, mcelroy 17, thomas 18, continue 10, ozim for 22 -- >> that is it. >> did you get that, mr. clerk? >> i did >> i would like to make that a motion. >> i think it's a reasonable accommodation, understanding that this is also -- there are so many really good and qualified people that i could create a task force of 40 people, but that with not be very functional. so i'm willing to support that motion. >> okay. so can we take that without objection, colleagues? >> yes. >>