right now at 11:00, as covid cases surge, new rush to get schoolchildren tested. live look in the east bay where one district is taking an extra step to keep students protected. >> good morning and thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia p. i'm kris sanchez in for marcus washington. the cdc updated guidelines for pfizer boosters shortening the time in between to five months. now those who received the pfizer covid vaccine can get a booster one month earlier than previously approved. the cdc is also updating guidance for immuno compromised children from the ages of 5 to

11. they can now get a third primary dose in the pfizer vaccine just 28 days after their second shot. >> and happening now, a live look at the white house which is where president biden at this hour is meeting with his white house covid response team. and this comes as the nation grapples with another surge in covid cases and covid-related hospitalizations. the average number of new u.s. covid cases per day is now back above the 1 million mark. >> school districts in the bay area statewide scrambling to try to keep the covid numbers down by using at-home testing kits. and offering new test sites. sharon is live at one of those test sites for us. busy there this morning, sharon? >> reporter: yes, laura. you can really sense the urgency out here. 28,000 students went back to school yesterday here in the west contra costa unified school district. still this morning, after 8:00, during school hours we saw a steady stream of parents

bringing in their children to get tested for covid. the school district has opened up several new test sites this week for students and staff. the district says just last thursday, it received 15,000 at-home test kits that they quickly distributed over new year's weekend on sunday. the idea was for students to do the rapid at-home test to see if they caught covid during winter break and quarantine if so instead of heading back to school yesterday. at sij unified school district, employees were handing out at-home tests. also free pcr testing on site. marin schools will shorten the quarantine time. it will drop the quarantine days from 10 to 5 days for anyone who tests positive for covid or exposed to someone who tests positive. after five days, the person in quarantine will another test. if that is positive, then the person will have to quarantine for five more days. now back out here live, like

many districts statewide, they're going to collect the numbers, the positive cases that come out of test sites like these that are popping up along with checking in with the statewide at-home test kits results and that will give us a better idea of how many people caught covid over winter break. reporting live, i'm sharon katsuda. back to you. >> thanks, sharon. stanford university reporting a new covid outbreak among its students. as of yesterday, 146 students are in quarantine. it comes after 136 students tested positive last week. most of those students tested positive through rapid tests after returning to campus. the school expects the numbers to grow as more students return from break. last month, stanford announced classes would be held virtually for at least the first two weeks of the new quarter. as the covid cases surge, so does demand for covid testing. >> bob redell is showing us the rush all around the bay area. >> a uc berkeley infectious disease expert tells us the labs

are struggling to keep up with the demand for covid tests which means some tests are making too long to come back to be worthwhile. this complicates the return to work and school after a holiday. and the ability to safely get together with family and friends. you can see what i'm talking about. this is video from foster city of a line of people waiting in the rain to be tested. and in pleasant hill, another long line of cars at a drive-through test site. rapid tests may be your best bet. assuming you get your hands on one. they're unfortunately expensive and less reliable than a pcr test. that infectious disease expert tells us a rapid test might be good for right before you head out to wherever it is you're going. even though rapid tests might miss a positive result, it could also mean that you don't have enough virus yet to be infectious. nationwide, the number of children hospitalized with covid-19 is soaring. according to an nbc news analyst, at least nine states on the east coast and in the

midwest have reported record numbers of covid-related pediatric hospitalizations. >> children just are not supposed to die of medical conditions and covid in a very short period of time has become one of the leading medical causes of death for children in this country. so i think it's about time that we stopped downplaying the significance of covid for children and accepted the fact that this is a virus that is not benign for all children. >> reporter: some of those hospitalized children were found to be covid positive through routine testing after they were hospitalized for other unrelated issues. many of them hospitalized specifically because of complications from covid-19. here in san ramon, bob redell, nbc bay area news. let's take a live look outside. ooh, a foggy start in san francisco this morning. looks like a good one to stay indoors. a hot cup of something.

let's check in with meteorologist kari hall for a look at that forecast. >> yeah, laura, we've seen the showers just off and on throughout the morning and so as we are heading out and about, we are seeing that there is a lot of clouds and also some wet roads in some spots after some early morning showers. but, wow, that's a pretty cool shot we have there at the golden gate bridge. we've also seen some off and on light rain and it's starting to taper off. stormranger showing the activity there once again some very light rain moved through this morning but was very beneficial with some spots getting 0.3 to about a quarter inch of rain. as we widen out the view, still a lot more activity going on. some of the heavier rain targeting the pacific northwest and far northern california as we're just getting the edge of that with some lighter showers moving through. and now we're starting to see some of the breaks in the clouds as we take a live look outside in san jose. we will continue to have a day where we do get some peeks of sunshine but it looks like the rain is going to continue to taper off for us for much of the

afternoon. but we do have some more rain in the forecast and we'll continue to see scattered showers moving in. especially for early tomorrow morning. that chance of rain means you just need to keep the umbrella close by. mainly in the north bay is where we'll see some of those higher rainfall totals and then we'll see some more widespread rain coming back into the bay area on friday. so we're going to talk more about that and also a look ahead to the weekend. that's coming up in a few minutes. kris and laura? >> new this morning, san francisco police investigating a deadly shooting near the waterfront. still not clear when the shooting happened but police say the unidentified man's body was found on brannan street near the investigators have determined the shooting occurred some time yesterday. happening today, san francisco supervisors will take another look at mayor london breed's recent emergency declaration for the tenderloin.

supervisors did approve it last month before christmas break. it calls for more police patrols to fight the tenderloin's growing drug problem. not all board members were present for the vote and some of them, including supervisor has questions about what the plan entails. that meeting will happen at 2:00 this afternoon. >> the sentencing for theranos founder elizabeth holmes is expected to happen some time in the next two months. this after jurors convicted her of defrauding investors in her high-profile silicon valley trial. holmes was found guilty on conspiracy against theranos investors and wire fraud. jurors acquitted her on four other charges, including fraud against patients. they were deadlocked on three of the 11 charges. following the verdict, holmes left the courtroom with family members. again, the sentencing phase will come next. legal analyst michelle hagan says the judge will have a lot to sort out. >> just one count of wire fraud.

in 2020, the average sentence was 21 months. and in this case in particular, because of the amount of money that was defrauded from investors, which was around 1 $44 million, that increases the exposure for ms. holmes significantly. >> holmes will face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. a new shockwave this morning from the great resignation. a record number of americans quit their jobs in november. 4.5 million people. >> such a big number. that left stores, restaurants, offices with a lot of job openings. scott mcgrew says they're having a very tough time filling. >> 10.6 million jobs are out there. bosses cannot fill. this according to the latest data from the labor department. that number is actually smaller than we were expecting. it's been as high as 16 million. now where are all the workers? they're staying at home. some don't want to.

about 7 million americans say they're unemployed but are looking for a job. those people are part of the 4.2% unemployment rate. but there are actually far more unemployed americans out there because the government doesn't count you as unemployed if you are out of work because you want to be. so what gets people to return? many american companies are trying something they were aversed to trying before. they're raising wages. wages and salaries are up more than 4% from this time last year. so far, though, it's not been enough to lure millions back. back to you. >> thanks, scott. coming up, thousands of drivers stranded more than a day in the bitter cold on a major interstate. an update on the ongoing rescue effort and why in some cases, time is becoming critical. it is the end of an era for what was once one of the world's most popular and addictive devices. before apple had its iphone, a lot of folks had blackberrys.

made us feel important. the move happening today that renders the original phone useless.

a live look at sfo. and today is the deadline for all federal workers, including tsa agents to provide proof of vaccination. this comes with the lingering holiday hangover for travelers still trying to make it home. according to flight aware, across the nation, about 1300 flights have been canceled today. that includes 40 sfo flights and a handful in san jose and oakland. experts say only some of the problems have to do with the winter weather. some of it is tied to staffing issues due to covid. new this morning, good news for students who attended delta college in stockton. the school is going to eliminate more than $3.6 million in student loan debt for current and former students. the board of trustees voted to

eliminate that debt by uing funds from federal covid relief funds they got in december. no word on when the debt will be cleared but students don't have to do anything. it's just going to happen. what's happening on the markets this morning after the morning bell. the dow rising to a new record so far. but the nasdaq falls nearly 2% as higher rates divide the market. dow jones industrial average up about 0.33% this morning. new developments. verizon and at&t have agreed to delay the start of 5g services over concerns about interference with systems on board planes. the wireless companies say they'll wait two weeks. it comes after airline regulators raised concerns that the 5g signals could interfere with a critical instrument in a plane's cockpit. companies say once they launch, they are committed to initially fade or decrease the signals around some airports.

and an update on the blackberry phones that so many people used to have. the company says its classic models will stop working starting today. >> you might remember blackberry dominated the cell phone market and then that little thing called the iphone came along and changed everything. and kerry sanders takes a closer look at the end of an era for a phone that defined a generation. >> before apple, there was blackberry. >> blackberry. >> reporter: from presidents and politicians to celebrities and ceos, the phones with the signature keyboard quickly became a status symbol at the office and beyond. but now decades later, those phones are shutting down. blackberry discontinuing service for its classic models starting today saying they will no longer reliably function. >> all good things come to an end. >> reporter: at its peak in

2012, the company reported having 80 million active users. >> the blackberry used to be one of the most popular phones in the world. easy to understand and use. it also had those keyboards that were really clicky and tactile. >> reporter: people everywhere were keyed to their phones. >> or messaging friends through the popular bbm platform easy and addicting. blackberrys became crackberrys for many. but eventually that once revolutionary keyboard became obsolete. they all have these keyboards that are there whether you need them or not to be there. what we're going to do is get rid of all these buttons and just make a giant screen. >> reporter: with the rise of the touch screen -- apple's iphone and other devices took over. and while blackberry tried to adapt with its 90 screen and new operating systems, the company came up short.

>> the new blackberry z10 built to keep you moving. >> reporter: and even some of the most famous longtime users had to move on. >> we are now a security software company. 60% of our revenue comes from cybersecurity. >> reporter: the company now focused on providing security services to governments and businesses around the world. >> as it officially pulls the plug on its own phones and finally says good-bye to a classic. >> wow. >> kerry sanders reporting. amid days of snowfall in northern california, tens of thousands of people are still without power. in eldorado county, you're seeing what's happening in georgetown east of auburn. pg&e has been working to restore it ever since. some are relying on propane tanks. customers may not have power until next week. downed trees and unplowed roadways are really slowing down crew efforts to get into those impacted areas to make those

repairs. developing right now in virginia, a long and dangerous, nearly 24 hours for some drivers on interstate 95 near fredericksburg about 30 miles outside of washington, d.c. these people have been trapped in their cars since yesterday afternoon after multiple trucks crashed in a blinding snowstorm. teams all day have been trying to rescue drivers, some of whom have been stuck for over 20 hours. some cars said to be running out of gas. more than a foot of snow has fallen since yesterday. which is why, even when i travel to tahoe, you always have blankets, snacks and water. >> you have to. you have to. you don't want to be stuck out there like that. >> you never know. kari, the roadway appears that might be clear by this weekend for folks if they are driving, but still be prepared. >> well, yeah, we're going to have all of this weather happening during the week and by the time the weekend gets here, we'll catch on break. but we're just seeing a couple of weak storm systems passing by

bringing in more clouds. off and on light rain for us and starting to dry up in walnut creek. let's talk about how much rain we issue because mount tam had over 4 inches of rain and this is just in the last 24 hours. we had over two inches of rain at scott creek and the santa cruz mountains and in napa, we had about 3/4 inch of rain. san francisco, a bill less than half of an unch and less than half of an inch in walnut creek but other spots barely saw anything. we're looking at a wide range and where we measured rain and have just seen a lot of clouds. and storm ranger showing a little bit of green over alameda county but for the most part a chance to dry out. just a couple of spotty light sprinkles here and there. overall this weather system targeting areas to the north of us and as we've gone through the past couple of days, that's really been the case. so a lot of that moisture is just rolling to the north but we'll also see another storm system to the west of there that's going to kick all of this

through as we head into friday and then we'll get a chance to clear out. so still unsettled up into that point through friday, where we could see some rain at any point as we go hour by hour. just seeing a couple of splotches of light green here and there. light rain. we'll start out tomorrow morning with north bay showers. but much of the rest of the bay area, may be pretty dry with mostly cloudy sky. a lot of clouds as we head through thursday as well. and then once again that storm system that was out there in the pacific will be moving in and will bring in a quick round of some rain. where we could see additional rainfall totals. it looks like at this point we're looking at maybe half of an inch of rain farther to the north in ukiah, but most of ua quarter inch of rain or less and when i say less for spots like san jose, it may be just a few hundredths of an inch of rain and also about the same in the tri-valley from dublin to livermore. looking at the sierra snowpack, it's been great to talk about all of the snow that's falling but, yes, it's been so much that

it caused a lot of problems and set records. so now our statewide sierra snowpack is at 150% of normal statewide. as far as what we're going to sigh with these couple of storm systems over the next couple of days, just light snow. about two to up to nine inches up around kingville but mostly a few inches of snow. and then taking a look at our west view of the drought and the monitor that we've had improving last week as we get a closer look at the bay area. we no long ver that dark red which is exceptional drought. that is the highest drought category. in fact, right now we have a lot of severe drought and so as we look at the outlook for the rest of the month, it does show that we could continue to see the drought persisting here in the bay area, but maybe farther to the north it may take it out of a drought. that would be really good news. that's if this current weather pattern that we have continues into the rest of the month. we're just going to see some off and on light showers for the week once again.

the weekend is looking good. some of our inland areas will see those temperatures staying in the upper 50s. kris and laura? >> thank you, kari. coming up -- betty white's legacy living on in a lot of ways. the unique new tribute from one -- >> such a character. we'll talk about the new tribute, what it will provide to a place she loves to visit. san mateo county is getting ready to reopen a covid booster shot clinic. this time it will be open to anyone over 12 once those covid boosters for that age group gets a green light. the fda did grant the emergency use authorization to the pfizer vaccine for kids 12 to 15. now the cdc is expected to sign off and then once that happens, the california department of health will sign off. when it's all available, they'll be open tuesday through saturday at the county's event center in

redwood city. however it does open at noon, just not for the 12 and up group just yet. we'll be right back after the break.

welcome back. you're watching nbc bay area news. obviously, we were very excited to spend our first monday of the new year together. it's always fun working with you, laura. you can always follow both of us

on social media. we're on instagram, facebook, twitter. >> you name it. >> tiktok. >> i just don't do the dance. 2022. new year. dancing for you. dance to the warriors fans. the best team in the league may be ready to make a news splash. that's when klay thompson may be playing again. according to sources who told espn, klay is already shooting around with the team. on the court the warriors came up big again last night against miami. jordan poole scored a game-high 32 as the warriors beat the heat. new developments now. a federal judge set a resentencing date for tiger king star maldanodo, also known as joe exotic. an appeals court found the court applied a prison sentence that was too high. joe exotic had been sentenced to 22 years in prison in an attempted murder for hire plot.

that was toward carol baskin, an activist who criticized and sued his business and of other crimes involving animals. both were featured in the netflix series "tiger king." that resentencing will happen january 28th. and trending this morning, even after her death, legendary actress and comedienne betty white is still giving back. >> in 2010, white received her own namesake hot dog from pink's in los angeles. pink's will donate all money raised from the sales of betty white's naked dog to the los angeles zoo and botanical gardens, a place she adored. a naked dog, by the way, is considered bunless. >> really? that's not what the picture says. >> well, yeah. >> i don't know. i thought it said beef and bun. >> i thought it was just beef and bun but have it any way you want it. just remember betty. >> yeah. hi there, kari. >> hey. all right. let's take one last look at the forecast. we'll see some of the scattered showers continuing through the

end of the week. our temperatures feeling much milder in the upper 50s and low 60s. >> thanks for joining us as well. >> next newscast coming up is at 5:00. get the latest at nbcbayarea.com. we'll be back with you here tomorrow.

♪♪ right now on "california live," it's national spaghetti day and we're celebrating with the grand mama of meatballs. >> thin, kim is taking us to a last splash of spectacular lights. >> they're keeping christmas alive with 5 million-plus lights. >> and ross is getting twisted in 2022. >> enjoy some pretzels. ♪ california california live california live ♪♪