morning by 4:30, look at sonoma county. now with that heaviest rainfall expected in the north bay, i want to give you an early look at the rain estimates. look at the area in white, three plus inches of rain. if you live near the north bay, be careful of any river, creek or stream. thanks so. the santa clara county water district is prepping the reservoirs ahead of the rainfall. take a look at the drone video. over lexington reservoir. right now it is at 75% of capacity. water will be released from

stevens creek, vassona and almaden. people downstream need to be on the lookout. jeff is tracking on his social media platform. this is no ordinary speech. making a major announcement about one of our most controversial projects. the high speed rail. the governor putting it on the back burner. sam brock is in sacramento. this is a big deal that has a direct impact here in the bay area. >> reporter: governor newsom spoke for just under 45 minutes starting out by defending california's values. five minutes dedicated to high

speed rail. >> housing is support of services solve homelessness. >> reporter: first date of the state speech covered many of his highest priorities, more affordable housing and demands for cleaner water. >> more than a million californians woke up to unclean water. we are building the nation's only high speed rail system. >> reporter: the current head of state said let's get real. >> there simply isn't a path to get from sacramento to san diego, let alone from san francisco to l.a. >> reporter: i asked many lawmakers what this means for

the project as a whole. >> this is not about there will not be a rail system but let's take it one day at a time. >> he said he is against moving forward with high speed rail except for some of the critical pieces. >> reporter: while confusion still reigns over the state over this multibillion project, the celebration flowed for the first ever female lieutenant governor. and there were actually many remarkable governments, former first lady maria shriver is going to be leading a project. the headlines tonight nonetheless are the high speed rails. reporting live from sacramento. take a look, a closer look

at the california high speed rail project. the main project was supposed to go from san francisco down to the los angeles area. as sam mentioned, governor newsom said the focus is going to be on the central valley line because it is already under construction. take a look at the work happening right now this is between madera and fresno. governor newsom says abandoning this section would waste billions of dollars already spent. all of the high speed rail money is going, tonight at 6:00 we'll break it down. bay area transit agencies were quick to respond to the governor's responses. issuing a statement saying they are excited for the project's

future. noting that they are relying on millions of dollars to help fund upgrades to its systems including a project electrifying the rails. a police chase turned into a water rescue in the south bay. when officers called about a man trespassing on a homeless encampment. the man ran from police and then got stuck on a log in the middle of the creek. he was trapped for more than an hour. he was evaluated by paramedics. there is a compromised deal to avoid another government shutdown. the deadline to get it passed in the house and senate and get it signed by the president is this

friday. including $1.4 billion for border fencing. 55 miles of new fence. the agreement also gives an additional $1.7 billion to home land security. >> i am hoping that he will find the agreement acceptable and he will sign the deal. >> even if he signs the bill, president trump could still take executive action to get money for his border wall. one of the women who accused virginia's lieutenant governor is speaking at stanford. she will not be addressing the assault she claims happened at a 2004emar tonight courage in the age of me too was planned months justin fairfax says his encounter with both women were

consensual. legally, they had the right to do it, but still a lot of backlash for a family in napa about the death of this mountain lion. they said they had to kill it because it kept attacking their sheep. mark matthews is in napa with the details. >> reporter: this is a picture of the mountain lion that was taken one week ago. it was captured by a north bay non-profit conservation group. >> it is my fault, really, it is not the lion's fault. >> reporter: instead of having the usda trapping and killing the mountain lion, she called living with lions. >> it is about coexistence finding ways in this people can

exist with wildlife. >> reporter: four days later, it was shot dead after two attacks on another neighbor's sheep. >> it is a senseless killing. it doesn't make, it doesn't help anybody. >> reporter: this is the property where the mountain lion were shot. the owners of the property are not talking with reporters. you can still see some of the sheep in the yard. those sheep are roaming in the open. patricia believes the solution should be what she did, secure her animals in a pen at night to be protected from predators. >> it is an animal welfare issue. >> reporter: martin suggests a secure enclosure. but animals need to buy into the

idea of coexistence. mark matthews nbc bay area news. new video investigators hope to lead to a pair of armed robbery suspects. last months two men walked into the market and confronted the clerk and demanded money and liquor. dozens of people woke up to their car broken into. 36 cars had their windows smashed over night. police are calling it vandalism and not theft since nothing was taken. hitting at 2:00 a.m. on east o street, m street and third street. if you have information, the

police would like to hear from you. tag, you are it, the high-tech tool that could make police pursuits a thing of the past. is burning man becoming too corporate. the changes they are making this year. storm ranger showing heavy rainfall just offshore. we are tracking this stronger storm and the threat of flooding. co coming up in eight minutes. out t

it )s very real. it looks like a gadget straight out of a batman movie, but it is very real. east bay police department believes it could put an end to high speed chases. jodi hernandez has more from contra costa county. >> reporter: it is called the star chase system. san pablo police. >> it provides us an opportunity to not have to get into high speed pursuits inside of the city. >> reporter: instead when officers believe a suspect will flee, they tag it with a gps device and then slow down as dispatchers watch them. >> they are being tracked. we know where they are and how

fast they are goo and their direction of travel. >> reporter: officers used star chase just last year tracking a car jacking suspect. the chp captured this video from overhead as the suspect ended up ditching his car before getting arrested by police. >> if they believe that the lights and siren is turned off, they will believe no one is pursuing them. they will slow down and dump the vehicle somewhere and we will apprehend them. >> reporter: the number of high speed chases in their city has gone down by 50% since starting using the system. they say the pittsburgh department is also using it. i i i am jodi hernandez.

another tesla on autopilot. the man tried to regain control but it wouldn't allow him. here is reaction from other tesla drivers. >> i have experienced it once. it is freaky when it takes over. and you can let it auto function. >> drivers still need to pay attention. tesla also says the driver can override the pilot. it has been a chilly week for students at an oakland school. the problem began last thursday at brookfield elementary when heating had to be shut off when a gas leak was discovered. the school can't make any hot

food so the students are getting sack lunches. they hope to have the heating up and running. a battle that some say a racist name. deciding if the dixie school center will change the name. the word dixie and if that is offensive. the dixie school district covers northern san rafael. it has turned into a playground for millions and vips. now the organizers of burning man are doing soul searching. high rollers have created an uncomfortable trend. burning man's atmosphere is supposed to be inclusive and not exclusive. long time burners say they are

troubli troubled by the many social influencers to launch new product. more low income tickets will be offered this year to encourage more hands on creative participants. >> a lot going on. >> it looks like a lot of fun. our weather, looks scarey. >> some heavy pockets just offshore. you can see all of this cloud coverage out here. that stream of sub tropical moisture. from our storm system thatoned . let's get to the most important thing and that is our flash flood watch in effect. 11:00 p.m. tonight through 8:00 a.m. thursday. f more most of us, we will see

areas, ponding of the roadways. you just have to watch it closely. you know how fast that water can rise. i especially want you to watch along the russian river, napa river, guadalupe river. we could see more evacuations near that reservoir. still up to date. and of course our forecasts are always up todry, no big deal today. a few showers up inth bay. but heavier pockets of rainfall we are scanning offshore and will be moving in. by 10:30, i don't see big flooding issues, moderate rain developing. it is by tomorrow morning when things really start to become active. 5:00 in the morning, beginning

to get going down here in san jose. check this out, through 8:30, wide spread coverage rain with those heavy pockets. likely continues into about 3:00 p.m. with this storm tomorrow. in about a 12-hour window, we could see rainfall totals anywhere from .75 of an inch. not really any kind of changes in the forecast. it is all about the higher elevations. north bay mountains, santa cruz mountains. our higher elevations will steal a lot of the moisture. so not going to be as much left for the lower elevations. i think we are going to get three to 1 inch here. you are not going to be close to these jackpot totals for the high elevations. now the one river we are

expecting to reach flood stage is the russian river. watch out. 7:00 a.m. on friday. parker resort, creek side resort, riverside park. winds a problem. power outages. quarter inch on friday and breaking it up this weekend, there it is, nice sun shoshine monday and tuesday. you can see it stays cool for the next seven-days. sierra snow looking at one to four feet wednesday through friday. varying snow levels that could bring flooding to the sierras as well as heavy snow. >> thank you, jeff. >> still to come, a withdrawal. the brazen way thieves made off with an atm at an east bay gas

station.

well not only did they take the cash, they took the whole atm, the search continues for thieves who ripped off an atm off the wall. it happened at the mobil gas station in berkeley. a scheme to sell fake ride sharing is widening. allowing people to bypass ride sharing background checks and behind the wheel.

why most police departments aren't do anything about it. >> we rented two ride share accounts. we never drove, but one of the accounts racked up more than 200 rides across the bay area. account sharing can be difficult for passengers to detect. but airport police are cracking down. at los angeles international where an officer confronts a driver. it turns out not all police agencies are focused on the rules. a response from local law enforcement might help explain why this scheme continues. we will show you the action a major ride hailing company is taking and response to what we discovered. >> liz, we will see you then.

one year into the state's green rush, the cannabis industry is working to change pot's image. it is all about marketing. many of the dispensaries are hoping to make it be seen as a normal consumer product. one shop in san francisco is allowing its customers to smoke and get a coffee. >> is it a coffee shop vibe? or a bar vibe? >> i see it as a coffee shop vibe. people talking about the person next to them while consuming a joint together. you can watch the full series on our nbcbayarea.com. we posted an interactive walk through tour. grammy award winner takes her talents to ellen. we will show you when we come back.

♪ [baby crib musical mobile] millions are still exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke. and some of them can't do anything about it.

but you can. protect your family. visit tobaccofreeca.com.

hood, and then left in street. the plea and tonight at 6:00, hit by a car, rolled onto the hood and left in the street. the plea and the reward of catching a hit and run driver in san jose. the exclusive story and more tonight at 6:00. at 5:00, sundays she was on

the grammys and today she was on ellen. h.e.r. performed on ellen. she has a voice. on sunday she won the grammy for best r and b album. and her name is gabby wilson. h.e.r. is short for having everything revealed. >> i like that acronym. she is a superstar at 21-years old. >> big future ahead. tomorrow three quarters to one and a half inches on average. wind gusts 20 to 50. i will have it all for you. >> lester holt joins us next with nightly news.

tonight, that major winter blast now pummelling cities from coast to coast. highway pileups. headaches at the airport, at homes without power. snow, ice, and freezing rain, and it's not over yet. the world's most notorious drug lord, guilty on all counts. >> this conviction is a victory for every family who has lost a loved one to the black hole of addiction. >> el chapo, infamous for his dramatic prison escapes. where he's headed now. new intrigue as democrats and republicans reach a deal over the border. the president hinting tonight at a new strategy to get the money he wants. a shocking discovery. children rescued, found locked in a cage. police calling it one of the worst cases involving kids they've ever seen. a phone scammer's