right now, shock and grief. an alameda recruit shot and killed through the bay bridge toll plaza. a live report on what investigators are revealing about the shooting and the search under way for the suspect. plus, surging to alarming levels. concerning new data the cdc is releasing about the new omicron variant. as one bay area school district is dealing with hundreds of teachers calling out sick. a very good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm kris sanchez. first the alameda county sheriff's office is grieving

this morning after one of their recruits was murdered while driving home from the academy. >> so sad. nbc bay area's rob redell joins us in dublin. what have you learned so far about him? >> well, good morning. we spoke with an alameda county sheriff sergeant this morning. they expect to release his name later today. here's what we know. he was 28 years old. he was supposed to graduate from the sheriff's academy class 172 here in february at the regional training center behind me in dublin. a sergeant tells us he was a standout among his peers, motivated, seen as a leader. and this morning his fellow recruits raised the flags to half-staff in his honor and memory. the sheriff's office did cancel classes here at the academy today and offered grief counseling for recruits. within the past hour, a number of those recruits hugged in the parking lot and headed home.

none wanted to talk to us about their friend whose murder left the department in the words of that sergeant heartbroken and disturbed. the young man finished classes here yesterday. was headed back to his home in san francisco when around 4:30 in the afternoon, someone shot him as he was approaching the bay bridge toll plaza on the macarthur maze interchange. last night there was a procession that included his sister and girlfriend. his parents were too grief stricken to attend. to take his body from the hospital to the coroner's office. it was chp who found the young man shot and killed inside his car and what officers initially thought was a solo vehicle accident. i spoke with chp who was investigating, i spoke with them this morning. a sergeant tells me they are still looking for a suspect. here's sergeant j.d. nelson with the alameda county sheriff's office. >> chp is running this investigation, but we have had nothing that would indicate that he was, you know, followed from the academy or anybody even knew he was in the academy.

in his own private car, not in uniform. nothing that suggests that that was part of the murder. >> the shooting yesterday happened near another deadly freeway shooting in november. that killed amani morris of antioch. someone shot into the car she was in. that was near the bay bridge toll plaza as well. her children and fiance in the car witnessed the killing. and you'll recall earlier november, jasper wu, he was a little boy just shy of his 2nd birthday. he was a toddler in the car driving on 880 in oakland, riding as a passenger, when he was hit by a stray bullet. again, academy classes canceled today. tomorrow, to give those fellow recruits time to grieve. the idea is they'll resume those classes on monday. reporting live, bob redell, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, bob. >> so sad there. a man is in custody following an early morning

standoff in san jose. it all started about 1:00 in the morning at the meridian park plaza across the street from bren ham high school. a man was waving a nice and axe at them throwing things. he broke the windows of several nearby businesses and parked cars. he was taken into custody about 5:00 in the morning. he was seen in an ambulance at the scene. officers say he's now undergoing a mental health evaluation at the hospital. he is expected to face vandalism charges. the omicron variant continues to soar to record heights. the cdc now says it accounts for 95% of cases in the u.s. the delta variant, which was dominant up until just a few weeks ago, makes up all of the other cases. the agency also says there was a 98% increase in covid cases over last week with an average of more than 491,000 cases per day. the white house, covid-19 response team held a briefing this morning releasing these new

numbers. >> our rise in cases and the emergence of the more transmissible omcold front variant emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and boosters. >> here's a look at the new covid case rates across the state. california's positiity rate is at an all-time high at 20%. a month ago, we were at 3% and looking back to august during the delta surge, the peak was 7%. however, there is some important perspective to these numbers. if you are fully vaccinated, doctors say the possibility of you needing to be hospitalized is very low. >> a lot of people are sending their kids back to school and they're concerned about the covid trends you're talking about. sky ranger this morning over the fremont area, want to show up a shot here because we want to tell you the fremont unified school district has been passing out these at-home covid tests near the auto mall parkway. but they're now telling people to avoid the area because traffic is so backed up with so many people trying to get in

line for these tests that they're now saying it's causing a backlog of traffic so you're advised to avoid that area. all right. live look at san francisco now where educators will gather to discuss how the district is handling the latest covid surge in just about an hour from now. the group wants to lay out its plan to keep schools open safely. it also says the district has neglected its role in covid testing. this comes as more than 600 san francisco educators were out of the classroom just yesterday alone creating a major staffing crisis. san francisco unified scrambled to find replacement for more than 400 classrooms. many teachers have tested positive for the omicron variant. others are stuck in the nationwide flight cancellation disruption as they were returning from their holiday break. with a teacher substitute shortage, a substitute teacher shortage, that means there were only 150 subs available leaving 250 classrooms with no instructor. >> many times when schools have

that situation they'll be able to cover in-house, but not with numbers like that. what we did was deployed central office personnel, including myself, out to cover classrooms. >> oakland unified reported 900 students and teachers tested positive monday. they are now eagerly awaiting more covid tests from the state. at a press conference today, the state superintendent of public education tony thurman said weather is partly to blame for the delayed distribution. while more tests are on the way, communities have to keep encouraging vaccination. >> covid testing san important part of the strategy for how we manage omicron and how we manage covid. but it's not the only strategy. we cannot -- we cannot lessen our efforts to continue encouraging folks to get a vaccine and to get a booster. >> while addressing covid concerns, thurman also says his office is working to address other long-term goals, non-covid

related and covid related like hiring 10,000 mental health clinicians, addressing the teacher short ing anshortage, h homeless students and making sure all students are reading by third grade, which is a marker of students' future success. >> as many parents send their kids back into the classroom, they omicron surge is continuing to trigger a lot of concerns. the cdc says the numbers are climbing when it comes to children hospitalized due to the virus. an average of 672 infected children were admitted to hospitals every day last week. this comes as parents hope the decision comes to booster shots for ages 12 to 15. if it could lead to possible more relief. i talked to infectious disease xft ucsf dr. peter chin-hong who has advice for parents hoping to move their children forward into the new school year safely. >> we're seeing an uptick in pediatric hospitalizations. we're not sure exactly why. certainly some of them are

admitted for other reasons. is respiratory virus season after all and kids have a disproportionate amount of hospitalizations during the season. nevertheless, this is an increase. some of them are, by the way, diagnosed with covid and omicron. others have covid as a reason for coming into the hospital. what is true is that most of the people in the hospital just like in adults are unvaccinated. of course, under 5-year-olds, not possible for vaccinations yet so that's certainly part of the problem. but kids do get sick. certainly it's not in the same proportion as adults, but every child's death deserves some attention. >> we've become so concerned when you hear any kind of sniffle. so this is all coming as the fda is recommending boosters for children ages 12 to 15 and kids between 5 and 11 with compromised immune systems. booster shots for kids under 12. the right move you think right

now? >> it's definitely the right move for -- certainly for the immunocompromised kids under 12 at the start. at the end of the day we'll all be thinking about a three-dose series at least. look at the other vaccines, measles, mumps and rubella, hepatitis b, human papilloma virus. vaccines usually come in threes. it's not because three is a convenient number or magic number. it's because the immune system responds best for the long term with three shots. so you give one, two in the beginning. that's the priming. wait a few months and you remind the immune system. when you remind the immune system it seems to last for years in many vaccines. so hoping that as least for serious disease and hospitalization and death, getting a three-dose death, including a booster will help for the long run. >> what would you say the best protocol parents could have. we're seeing so many kids return back to school now after the holidays. what should parents be doing right now? >> so the biggest thing for

parents is that we don't put all of our eggs in one basket necessarily for omicron. yo places. the most important thing is the vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. you know, we know that that intervention really helps protect not just against infection but against serious disease. and again, you don't want your kids to go to the hospital. the second reason is or the second mitigation factor is masking and not just a fun cloth mask, which i love myself and kids love, but you kind of have to upgrade it for omicron to something multiply. kids' heads are smaller so you might want to make sure you tie a double knot to make sure it fits snugly. if it's fogging up the glasses you know it's probably not good. >> if you still have questions around covid, we're hosting a phone bank tomorrow with the santa clara county health

department from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night. the number 408-970-2999. call tomorrow night with those questions. we'll also post that number and information on our website. nbcbayarea.com. now to the live look at the golden gate bridge. not so golden looking. mostly gray this morning, covered in fog. and we know that's been the story all morning long, kari. >> yeah, it has been the story there. but then we head to other parts of the bay area and we have a completely different picture where we're seeing all that sunshine in the south bay. so we're still seeing that fog across the north bay drifting across the golden gate bridge. but other areas are getting in on a lot more sunshine right now. as we take a look at storm ranger, able to track some of the fog we're seeing in the north bay as well as off the coast. and that is where we have also some mist and drizzle. but that's the extent of some of the wet weather that we're seeing right now.

looking farther to the north we still have a very active weather pattern that will give us a break for now but start to dip back in as we head closer to friday. our temperatures headed for the upper 50s, low 60s today and then rain returns friday. we'll talk more about that in the forecast coming up in a few minutes. new at 11:00, we're learning 13 people were killed in a philadelphia building fire this morning. seven of those victims were children. the row home was converted into apartments. firefighters say there were some working smoke detectors found. at this time, however, the cause of the fire is under investigation. requested on the hill. still to come on nbc bay area news, the prominent figure now being asked to cooperate with the house committee investigating the capitol hill siege. also, up in flames. we'll show you the cause of the state's second largest wildfire on record. plus -- >> paving the way.

san jose could soon become the first in the nation to require booster shots. we'll be right back.

as covid-19 cases increase if you want to attend large events like the ones at the sap center in san jose, you might have to get a covid booster shot. sharon katsuda shows us why employees and fans are possibly facing a new mandate. >> the rules committee today will discuss whether employees should be required to get the vaccine booster. now the proposal was put out just before christmas would also require anyone who visits a large city-owned facility like the sap center, convention center or historic theaters to show proof of a booster or third dose of the vaccine. if the city council passes the proposal, san jose will become the first city in the state and

possibly the country to mandate the booster shot. >> it's important to skate where the puck is going, rather than where the puck is. we recognize from recent pronouncements from the cdc and all that we're seeing in the studies that a booster is going to be essential for all of us to be able to get through this pandemic and keep our businesses open and, obviously, keep people out of the hospital, which is the most important priority. >> as you can see almost all 95% of san jose city employees are fully vaccinated. 92% of police. almost 95% of firefighters. 400 employees are exempt. the mayor tells us that there are less than ten employees who aren't exempt and still refuse to become fully vaccinated. those employees have already been docked a week's pay. the mayor says he expects those ten employees to either fully comply soon to or soon be terminated. sarin katsuda, nbc bay area news. >> developing this morning, security is being stepped up in washington, d.c., ahead of tomorrow's anniversary of the

january 6th insurrection. today on capitol hill, lawmakers are holding a hearing on the ongoing investigation. the capitol police chief testified during it saying in part those who took part should be prosecuted. we're also learning that popular fox news host is being cooperative with the house committee investigating the siege. nbc's senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake has the details. >> reporter: this morning, the january 6th committee is widening its investigation. requesting testimony from one of donald trump's top television allies, fox news anchor sean hannity. >> it was more than a fox host. he was also a confidante, adviser, campaigner for the former president. >> the committee revealing it's in possession of dozens of text messages between hannity and trump's chief of staff mark meadows. the committee claims those texts show hannity had, quote, advanced knowledge regarding president trump's and his legal team's planning for january 6th.

i'm very worried about the next 48 hours, hannity reportedly writing the night of january 5th. then a few days later, texting meadows and gop congressman jim jordan about an apparent conversation with mr. trump. quote, he can't mention the election again. ever. i did not have a good call with him today. hannity did not mention the committee's letter on his program last night but has railed against their previous release of one of his texts saying his private texts and public comments about the attack have been consistent. >> where is the outrage in the media over my private text messages being released again publicly? >> reporter: and overnight the committee chairman telling cnn they hope to soon talk to someone even closer to mr. trump, former vice president mike pence. >> his life was in danger. i would hope that he would do the right thing and come forward and voluntarily talk to the committee. >> it all comes as congress prepares to mark the

insurrection anniversary tomorrow. the head of the u.s. capitol police says there are no major security concerns this week and insists his department has fixed intelligence and operational failures in the run up to the insurrection. >> our equipment, our training, our planning, all has improved since then. >> reporter: the capitol has physically changed, too, with new surveillance systems, stronger doors and custom designed reinforced windows set to be installed this spring. >> that was garrett haake reporting. all this week, nbc news is looking into the state of extremism. you can watch the ongoing coverage coming up on "nbc nightly news" at 6:30 tonight. new details. cal fire investigators say last year's dixie fire started because a rotted tree hit an electrical line owned and operated by pg&e. the fire last july burned just shy of 1 million acres in butte, plymouth, shasta counties and

one person did die in those flames. it also destroyed more than 1,300 buildings. it's the second larmgest wildfire on record. cal fire's findings confirm what our investigative reporter has been reporting previously. you can read and watch more of jackson's reports on our website, nbcbayarea.com. and now we want to take a live look at downtown san jose. a little haze hanging over, but none of the fog we saw in san francisco. kari hall is watching it all. >> it's like some spots in the bay area have sunglasses on while others are basically wearing a hood and you're in the mist and drizzle. we're seeing all kinds of weather and clouds in the east bay as we take a live look outside in walnut creek. as you get ready to head out for lunch in sonoma, expect it to be cloudy and maybe even misting at times. our temperatures are definitely warmer than what we had over the weekend. it's 53 degrees right now. we're headed for the upper 50s. some peeks of sunshine as we go into late morning or late

afternoon, i should say. now as we get a look at the hour-by-hour forecast, the rain comes back on friday so here we are early on friday morning. starting to see those scattered showers around ukiah and santa rosa and then it quickly spreads across much of the rest of the bay area by friday afternoon. but it does clear in time for the weekend. and it's moving through so quickly that we're not expecting a lot of high rainfall measurements out of this. take a look at what this computer model shows. the possibility of getting 0.1 inch of rain or less south of san francisco. then head to the north bay, only about a quarter of an inch of rain. so it's nice to see additional rainfall, but this is not going to be a very strong storm. and for the sierra, we're looking at about two to five inches of snow before the weekend and then we'll see it quickly get cleared out. but nice to see that coating of snow once again. taking a look at the reservoirs across the state. only bat 25% of capacity and that was in the beginning,

october 1st, before all of this heavy rain. and when we think about, how much has all of this rain had an impact? right now with three of our largest reservoirs we're at 32.6% of full capacity. and so even after that record october storm and the record sierra snow, we still haven't made it to capacity yet. but for some of the smaller reservoirs, it's made a much bigger difference. the uvurs es voir and north bay resvoirs at 92.6% of capacity. it's been a big boost for us as we get one last round of rain on friday and then dry weather for the weekend into early next week. make some plans to get outside because it's going to be much nicer than the weather that we had last weekend. kris and laura? >> looking forward to it. if you are feeling lucky, listen up. still ahead, the record amount of cash that's up for grabs in tonight's big powerball drawing.

>> maybe your lucky numbers. plus, ready to move forward. how the niners and raiders are gearing up to try to make the playoffs in the easiest way possible. and happening now, flights are still being canceled as more agents are out with covid. so far, tsa says more than 2,600 of its agents have active covid infections, even though 96% of the staff is vaccinated. according to flight aware, across the nation, more than 1,500 flights are already canceled today because of increased covid cases and bad weather. that includes 66 at sfo, 18 at maneto-san jose and 13 at oakland international. we'll be back right after the break.

nfl playoffs are in reach for the 49ers and raiders. you can watch the raiders take on the chargers on nbc bay area on sunday. >> how does $610 million sound? it's up for grabs in tonight's powerball drawing. >> this is the ninth highest jackpot in powerball history. odds tonight about 1 in 292 million. >> okay, kari, what about that forecast? >> yeah, looks pretty good for us. we'll see a little more rain on friday and then we'll get the sunshine coming back to the bay area for the weekend with highs in the upper 50s. >> looks good. >> thanks for joining us. our next newscast is coming up

at 5:00. >> you can get all the latest information all day long at nbcbayarea.com. we hope you have a great day, and we also hope you get up tomorrow morning with us. we'll be here bright and early, 4:30 to 7:00 a.m. and midday news at 11:00. leaving you with a live look outside. enjoy your day.

right now on "california live," we're taking you on a different kind of tasting tour that is good for you, and there's nothing to wine about. >> then we're about to show you how the world is celebrating 2022. >> i think i like the idea of eating like a pig and it being a good thing. >> and angela is revealing the secrets that will make you say give me the kimchi. >> that is delicious. i am eating for two. i think baby really wants to try all the different goodies. >> and we've got the man who can show you how to inspire higher. in fact, he wrote the