right now at 11:00, we are tracking the return of rain to the bay area. here's a look at our radar powered by storm ranger. see the storms starting to hit parts of the north bay. taking in the view outside, the clouds are building up and downtown san francisco right now as well. good morning to you. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. just as we were getting dry and put the umbrellas away, pull them back out. meteorologist rob mayeda in for kari. when does the latest storm arrive? >> like the two are almost overlapping. we had some sun earlier. now the clouds are thickening up and starting to see a few more

showers out there west of san francisco. 49 degrees. and our stormranger there, a great perspective looking west of san francisco as those showers start to approach the golden gate bridge there. a few more light rain showers across the north bay as we widen out, you can see the main focus for the storm is still up here on the north coast. rain into mendocino county and northwest sonoma county. this will be dropping south as we head through the evening commute for areas north of the golden gate. pockets of, at times, some pretty intense rain around sonoma county. by 11:00 tonight, you begin to see heavier showers move through the central bay and get into the santa cruz mountains and south bay. another thing will be the wind speeds. you probably noticed outside things turning gusty. winds of 20 to 40 miles an hour. coming up, we'll talk about how much more rain we're expecting from the storm and how much more snow is on the way in our forecast coming up. >> speaking of that snow, that

storm bringing so much of it that it's causing power outages at some of the resorts in tahoe. palisades posted these photos. it says several of those lifts on hold as crews work to restore electricity to them. the resort says it got 2 4 inches of snow last night. that's more than expected. more is expected today. they've gotten more than five feet of snow in the past seven days. and we want to see what the rain looks like in your neighborhood. send us photos and videos of what's outside your window. make sure you tag @nbcbayarea and we may put them on air. changes are coming to the state mask mandate again. it's been reinstated but it appears health leaders are modifying that plan and it no longer applies to counties where vaccinated individuals were already allowed to go maskless. cierra johnson has been following the changes to the mandate and joins us from a gym in mill valley. this is a lot for folks to follow here, cierra.

>> yes, good morning. it's been quite a confusing morning for a lot of folks but also in some of the counties where you can still continue to go maskless if you already have shown that proof of vaccination and were going maskless before today. so take a look at your screen. these are the counties where you're grandfathered in if your county was already allowing for the relaxed restrictions. as it stands now, gyms, offices and churches in san francisco, alameda, contra costa, here in marin as well as sonoma, they can letted as wells at gyms, offices and churchless go maskless but counties which had not already relaxed masking rules, masks are a must in all public spaces. we had a chance to speak with some folks regarding that semiabout-face in regard to the mask mandate. many say it's difficult to simply keep up with the ever-evolving rules. take a listen. >> it is definitely confusing but the way i see it is you just travel with your mask and

whenever, you know, you always ask, to always be polite and do the right thing and make people feel comfortable, so i always travel with a mask and always wear a mask when it is appropriate. >> it's definitely been frustrating because things change from one day to the next. we need masks, don't need masks. we're indoors, outdoors. it's been challenging to really let the member knows what's going on and, you know, help them feel safe and comfortable and do what we're supposed to do. >> reporter: the state has had a couple of recommendations ahead of the holiday season. they urge folks to get tested before attending any holiday celebrations. those traveling to california are urging them to get test forward covid three to five days before their trip. so back out here at the orange theory here in strawberry plaza, we saw some folks, some decided to continue not wearing masks. others, just a precaution, decided to mask up. so it's really, if you were going unmasked in some of those locations you can continue, but

there are still some counties in the bay area where that mask mandate does apply. live in marin county, cierra johnson for nbc bay area news. >> keep it handy depending on where you are. thanks. one school district in the east bay could extend that deadline for when students must be vaccinated. today was going to be the last day for students to get vaccinated ahead of that deadline. nbc bay area's bob redell joining us live outside schools in hercules. bob, why the extension? >> because not enough kids have gotten their shots yet. less than half. so the west contra costa county -- west contra costa unified school district said that all students 12 and up including the students here at hercules middle and high school must be vaxed by january 3rd. but tonight the board will vote on whether to extend that deadline to february 18th. that's to give students more time to get their shots. there are just over 12,000 students who are 12 and up in

this district. as of friday, just under 5,000, that's less than half, have uploaded their vax cards. the district tells us another 400 are in the process of getting vaxed. 52 have said no, they won't get the shots. that leaves over 6700 students who are still up in the air. >> would you have gotten the vaccine even if it wasn't a mandate? >> yes. >> why? >> so i can -- keep me safer. >> are all your friends vaccinated at school? >> most of them that can be. i know some who want to get vaccinated but their family won't let them. >> oh, really? >> uh-huh. >> how is that going? >> not sure, but it must be tough. >> everybody has their own opinions. for me, i want my daughter to be vaccinated. other than that, i don't care what other people say. >> reporter: the school district tells us a recent survey indicates 80% of families plan to submit their students' vax cards by january 3rd. the district has been and will continue to host vax clinics on

and off campus. this morning, the district also tells us 86% of employees are vaccinated. those teachers and staff who aren't vaxed by january 3rd and who don't have a medical or religious exemption could have their pay suspended, could be placed on unpaid leave or be fired. again if not completed by january 3rd. that's for teachers and staff. reporting live in hercules, bob redell, nbc bay area news. >> hopefully those students or parents take advantage of the extra time. thanks, bob. new details. jpmorgan chase changing course on the big annual health care conference it planned on holding in person in san francisco next month. this comes after key attendees dropped out because of covid. the conference was schedule tobd held january 10th through the 13th. it will now become a virtual event just like last january. the world health organization is sounding the alarm about the spread of omicron. it says the variant is spreading at a rate not seen with any previous variant. the director general says it's

probably in most countries, even if it hasn't been detected yet. vaccines alone will not protect against it. the w.h.o. is calling for countries to use masks and social distancing to prevent further spread. in the u.s., the cdc is now reporting 35 states with known cases of omicron. the good news, only one person has been hospitalized with the variant and no deaths have been reported. we are keeping track of the latest covid headlines all in one place. head to nbcbayarea.com/coronavirus. just in, law enforcement activity closing down some streets in oakland. nbc bay area's skyranger shot this video of the scene of eighth and center. a car up on the curb there. the fbi says agents were involved in some sort of law enforcement activity. no one was hurt. we're, of course, working to find out more. new at 11:00, police say they busted a prolific robbery crew that targeted elderly asian women in the south bay. they posted the mug shots of six of these suspects.

this was this morning. the crew committed more than 70 robberies and thefts between october of last year and september of 2021. police add that many of the victims were hurt during those robberies. during the arrest, they recovered several guns, including a ghost gun. the suspects could be facing hate crime enhancements. new details. a santa clara county sheriff is facing allegations. the official declaration accuses sheriff laurie smith of willful and corrupt misconduct in office. most of the seven counts are related to a pay to play scandal that's been under investigation for more than two years now. the sheriff and several of her top assistants are accused of granting concealed weapons permits in exchange for campaign contributions. one county accuses smith of not cooperate with the investigation into the injury of an inmate during the transfer. the sheriff is scheduled to answer those allegations january 12th. back in august she got a

unanimous vote of no confidence from county supervisors. our investigative unit has been breaking stories on allegations against the sheriff for years now. you can learn more on our website. nbcbayarea.com. click on the investigations tab. mayor libby schaaf seeking help to tackle the crime problem. she's asking for chp officers to assist in patrolling oakland streets and new license plate reader technology on interstates and highways. she believes readers along on and off ramps may help solve crimes and could have assisted in the recent shooting of young jasper wu. >> this is a way that the state can help coordinate, collaborate and really amplify our law enforcement efforts. schaaf hopes the costs can be covered in the governor's new budget. his plan will be released next month. two suspects are in custody

tied to retail thefts. chp posted this image of what they say is part of more than $200,000 in recovery stolen merchandise. the investigators teaming up with sfpd discovered those items after serving a warrant at a home where they arrested one of the suspects. they also searched two warehouses leading to another arrest of a second suspect. the merchandise is said to be from places including victoria's secret, nordstrom and target. >> president biden arrived in kentucky just a short time ago to survey the tornado damage and meet with first responders and victims' families. >> scott mcgrew, the president is often called upon to sympathize with people during these tough times. >> joe biden particularly good at it because, unfortunately, as you know, he's had tragedy visit his family. losing his first wife and two children. the president will be in kentucky all day. he started with this briefing from local leaders on the ground in mayfield, kentucky, where he toured a neighborhood before moving on to princeton, kentucky

and dawson springs, fort campbell as well. here's the president earlier this week talking about the plan to visit. >> what i worry about most in a serious event like this because i've been involved in responding to a lot of disasters as a senator, as vice president and now as president just this year, is the peace of mind of people being able to actually put their head on a pillow and lie down on a bed. be able to know their kids are going to be okay and so with this narrow path, the devastation is just stunning. and there's nothing left standing basically along the path that goes all the way through. >> we'll have more from the president at 5:00 and 6:00 tonight. the other thing we are watching, marcus and laura, is the fed. as you might expect, the federal reserve just concluded its latest meeting of the open markets committee. these are the people that decide about interest rates. that meeting wrapped up and we learned two things from public

comments. one, the fed will quickly wind down its financial support for the economy ending it in march, followed by rate hikes which could come as soon as march. this is all in an attempt to fight inflation. jay powell, head of the fed in the past have been dismissive about inflation. they're calling that the powell pivot in washington. we'll see that result over the next couple of months. and again, interest rates hikes as soon as march. >> here they come. thank you, scott. coming up. restaurants in the east bay add something extra charge on the bill. the way the surcharge is helping those in need. >> inflation sky high. nbc goes in depth next on what's behind it and when you might finally see some relief.

- hi, i'm steve. - i'm lea. and we live in north pole, alaska. - i'm a retired school counselor.

[lea] i'm a retired art teacher. [steve] we met online about 10 years ago. as i got older, my hearing was not so good so i got hearing aids. my vision was not as good as it used to be, got a change in prescription. but the thing missing was my memory. i saw a prevagen commercial and i thought, "that makes sense." i just didn't have to work so hard to remember things. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. just in, former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin is

formally changing his plea from not guilty to guilty on federal charges of depriving george floyd of his civil rights. chauvin is currently serving a state prison sentence following his conviction for floyd's murder. federal prosecutors told the judge that as part of today's plea agreement, federal charges will be dismissed in a separate incident involving a neck restraint. the agreement includes stipulations chauvin never again serve as a licensed law enforcement officer. thanks to the highest inflation in a generation, prices are soaring. americans are being forced to dig deeper for many everyday items that, you know what, timing couldn't be worse. right now in the middle of the holiday season. nbc news business correspondent jo ling kent tells us what's behind it. >> reporter: just ten days left until christmas, rising costs are hitting americans hard. during the busiest shopping season of the year. new data from the labor department shows one key measure of inflation, wholesale prices, skyrocketing nearly 10% compared

to last year. that's the fastest spike since the government started keeping track in 2010. so what does it mean? your money isn't stretching as far. >> the typical american is now spending a couple hundred dollars more a month than they were a year ago. >> reporter: last month consumer prices rose almost 7%, the highest annual jump in nearly 40 years. gas prices have soared over the last year and grocery essentials from meat to fruits and vegetables are higher, too. for example, now one pound of lean ground beef costs $5.77. up $1.20 from last year. teacher jen kasano says budgeting for her family of four is now more difficult. >> my husband is working two to three jobs. i'm working full time, and it just seems like we're not able to really breathe right now. >> reporter: and she's not alone. 45% of american households say recent rice hikes are causing financial hardship and lower income families are feeling it the most. for many businesses, inflation

means supply costs more and in some cases, they're forced to charge their customers more or lay off workers. more than 70% of small business owners say rising prices have had a significant impact on their business in the past year. all of it causing more stress this holiday season. already slowed down by supply chain constraints and huge consumer demand. >> we're still just trying to keep our heads above water. >> so many people struggling right now. restaurant owners in oakland are cooking up a new movement to help feed the homeless. 21 restaurants now adding a 1% surcharge for a program called dining for justice. community kitchens oakland runs that program which serves thousands of meals every month. organizers are hoping more restaurants join the first of its kind effort. a follow-up, san francisco school leaders are approving massive cuts to avoid possible state takeover. today is their deadline to submit the new budget. board members approving $50

million in cuts to schools. they also approved $40 million in cuts to operations, administration and support service. another $45 million will be saved through new revenue. schools are deal with $125 million budget shortfall. district leaders say the cuts to schools were necessary to avoid the state takeover. new help for those trying to make it in the bay in san francisco with a first of its kind measure to boost benefits for low-income workers. supervisors unanimously approved paid sick leave for home employed workers including cleaners, nannies, gardeners and caretakers. the measure will impact some 10,000 privately employed san francisco workers. it creates a way for them to consolidate paid sick leave where employers pay one hour of wages into a fund for each 30 hours of work. working hard in our weather center, rob mayeda is in for kari this morning. we've seen the rain come and go, make an appearance again.

>> half the bay area right now starting to see some of those showers moving right in. but san jose still blue skies. southeast wind at 60 miles per hour. probably the most sun we'll see during the day happening outside right now. as the clouds continue to thicken up. mostly cloudy skies in walnut creek. south wind at 11 miles an hour. and in san francisco, the clouds and some showers there up towards marin county and west of the golden gate bridge at 50 degrees. an update on the snow. also yosemite looking just like a postcard this morning. and it looks like a lot of snow and it is a lot of snow. the snow pack update is now up to 83% of average for this time of the year for the california state average. look at the areas down toward yosemite. 97% of average. just 19% last friday and guess what? we'll be adding another 1 to 2 feet of snow coming in next 24 hours. heading into thursday. kingvale going above two feet of snow.

so far, five to six feet. so here you go. could be up to seven to eight feet of snow this week. around the bay area, not expecting a lot of rain for areas south of san francisco through 8:00 tonight. most in sonoma county. then as you go to bed tonight and wake up tomorrow morning, that's when heavier rain will start to fall around the santa cruz mountains and east bay hills. as you see in the mobile doppler radar, light rain showers off the coast. a few more in the north bay, but the real heavy rain is still up here towards mendocino county. that's the line that's going to drop to the south by about 8:00 tonight. you'll begin to see heavier showers up there north around marin county and then from about 11:00 tonight to 3:00 a.m. in the morning, if you're in the south bay, that's when the wind and rain will pick up. probably will come down hard enough it could wake you up because some of those showers may have small hail at times. it will sound a little different outside. as that line passes through. could see that around 3:00 .m. and by 9:00 a.m., skies clear. the storm is moving through

quicker. the break that comes in after it should hold up through saturday. should get a couple of days of a break in the weather. then by sunday we see rain approaching the north coast and for monday into tuesday, things could get interesting because we're looking at a few days of rain that could be powered up by an atmospheric river connection like we saw earlier this week. keep an eye on that forecast second half of the weekend. as you see today, some wind, rain overnight clearing into thursday. and then just keeps going. at least we get a longer break here friday into saturday. more rain and more sierra snow as we head through the first half of next week. >> we were waiting for these storms. here they are. >> dreaming of a wet christmas? >> a white one in the sierra. coming up, history on the court. steph curry brought to tears after making history in the big apple. highlights and fan reaction straight ahead. and happening now, the number of people moving to california has dropped since the start of the pandemic.

that's according to new data from the california policy lab. entrances to california from other states have dropped 38% since march of last year. there's also a 21% increase of people moving out of the bay area. we'll be right back after the break.

- hi, i'm steve. - i'm lea. and we live in north pole, alaska. - i'm a retired school counselor. [lea] i'm a retired art teacher. [steve] we met online about 10 years ago. as i got older, my hearing was not so good so i got hearing aids. my vision was not as good as it used to be, got a change in prescription. but the thing missing was my memory. i saw a prevagen commercial and i thought, "that makes sense." i just didn't have to work so hard to remember things.

prevagen. healthier brain. better life. ♪♪

all right. look, we are all in the christmas spirit here at nbc bay area. the crew from "today in the bay" got our groove on during the commercial break. let me know what your holidays are filled with. find me on facebook, instagram and twitter. fun times. warriors fans, new number one when it comes to nba threes. >> for the record! it's good! and there it is! stephan curry! >> a moment to scream it. steph curry with the record. it comes in his 12th season in the league but it's also around 500 games faster than the previous number one holder there, ray allen. he was there to congratulate curry along with stars including alicia keys, spike lee. curry emotional afterwards. >> in terms of what it means to

me to pass ray, a guy and reggie and guys i've looked up to coming into the game. so definitely special. >> to be able to pass those you look up to. >> isn't it amazing? >> the warriors celebrated in grand style with a victory over the knicks, 105-96. >> he's not just a star on the court. curry and his wife using the holiday to honor local people and programs making a difference. >> the couple and their eat, learn, play foundation, they started their annual 12 days of christmas with the currys event. on day two they highlighted the need to rebuild middle school programs hit hard by the pandemic. >> yesterday they surprised student athletes at oakland's cross-country championships. they got gear and shoes from under armour and the oakland athletics league that runs the program got a check for $150,000 to help them expand their school sports program. all right. quick check of the forecast. >> more green on the radar. that's a trend we'll see as we

go through the afternoon as heavier rain shows up moving down the coast later this evening in the north bay and overnight around the bay area tonight. >> thanks, rob. >> let's have that umbrella handy for tomorrow morning. for us anyway. all right. we'll see you back here tomorrow morning. have a great one.

right now on "california live," we're jingle belling at our favorite ho, ho, ho-tel. >> then making bacon goodies that will sizzle up your holiday season. >> and vick has secrets for your skin in our 12 days of christmas beauty. >> plus, we've got the gift people are teching about. >> it's all happening right now on "california live." ♪ california california live california live ♪♪