right now -- >> looking good, smelling good, feeling good. >> right now at 11:00, a return to class for thousands of east bay students after omicron surge derailed in-person learning. we're live with a look at the first day back and what school leaders say they're doing to try to make sure that students stay safe. good morning. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. that deep clean is over and now those students and staff are back in school at west contra costa unified school district. >> sharon katsuda is live where high schools once again resumed.

>> that's right. it looks like business as usual. the kids looked a bit groggy, like normal high school students, and they were determined, though, to get to class. the principal says they expect about 75% student attendance and only four staff members were out sick. this comes after the district shut down all campuses yesterday and last friday for a deep clean because of the rise in covid cases and the omicron surge after winter break. >> they're anxious, of course. they, like everybody, want to make sure that the kids are safe, the staff wants to be safe. but there's a real commitment to have school as usual for everybody. >> the superintendent has tips for families. stay home if you are sick, if you test positive, stay home for ten days or until you are clear of any symptoms such as fever. if you have no symptoms but tested positive, you could take a covid test after five days at

home and can return to school by showing a negative test result. those who are unvaccinated or vaccinated with no booster yet and have been in contact with someone who tested positive, you must stay home seven to ten days. you may end the quarantine at seven days with no symptoms and a negative test. also a big change. the cloth masks alone will no longering allowed starting next week. they'll have to wear a surgical mask underneath a cloth mask or they must send students to school wearing kn95 or n95 masks. they'll be provided two of those masks each week throughout the end of the year. many students here were wearing the kn95 or n95. it was required today for staff. now just in this midday, lighthouse community public schools in oakland is extending its virtual learning for

students through friday. 20% of students are unable to be on campus d to a positive test or exposure to the virus. it's also seeing staffing impacted due to the omicron variant. a return to in-person learning is now scheduled for a week from today, next tuesday, january 18th. one school district is vowing to stay open, but says it needs help to do so. in a video posted to youtube, palo alto unified superintendent dr. john austin is pleading for parents to become school volunteers. he says the recent omicron surge has impacted staffing levels and needs necessary roles to be filled by volunteers. >> until the surge passes, we need our community. one palo alto to volunteer like never before. we need help in areas many people don't even know exist. it won't be glamorous. many of the essential jobs that occur every day to support your

kids aren't glamorous. >> palo alto says volunteers must be vaccinated and can get tested for covid at school testing clinics. the district is calling on parents of students to start the volunteer process before extending the opportunity to nonparents. also new at 11:00, several san francisco covid testing sites will remain closed today. the software outage is keeping six sites operated by a technology company color closed. as we reported this morning, they were also shut down yesterday due to a similar problem. the company says that it will contact those who had appointments over the past two days to discuss alternative testing options. this comes as san francisco mayor london breed is now doubling down on testing requirements for public health care workers in the city. in august, the department of public health issued an order that all private health care facilities give its workers covid tests when an employee is symptomatic or is exposed to someone who is covid positive. she is now issuing a mayoral

order and those who do not complete the task could be subject to fines. >> this really isn't about punishment. it's about everyone doing their part. andure to private health care providers need do their part for our members so that our city is not overwhelmed and not able to provide testing in a timely manner. >> mayor breed says the city is averaging about 1400 positive covid tests per day. the city has also given a thousand rapid antigen tests to the san francisco school district along with 150,000 k95 masks. as soon as this weekend, new help may be on the way from the health insurers when it comes to those at-home testing kits. starting this saturday, private health insurers will now be required to cover up to eight home covid-19 tests per month. this is for people on their plans. you'll also be able to either purchase home testing kits for

free under your insurance or submit receipts for the test for reimbursement. later this month, the federal government will also launch a website to begin making 500 million at-home covid-19 tests available via mail. >> if you are having a hard time finding a testing site, we can help. we put together a list of places you can go to get tested. it's divided county by county. we are getting a better perspective of the impact of the omicron variant. what it's having on major airlines. united airlines' ceo says 3,000 of its employees currently have tested positive for coronavirus. he says none of the infections have led to hospitalizations among vaccinated workers. the company is reducing its near-term schedules to ensure that it has adequate staffing as it has been forced to cancel flights amid omicron surge. united is not alone. according to tracking website

flightaware, nearly 15,000 flights have been canceled this week alone. >> today is the day san jose moves forward with a booster mandate that would impact city workers and anyone looking to attend an event at a city-owned property. nbc bay area's kris sanchez reports from outside the sap center with more on what it could all look like. >> anyone attending a sharks game or concert at sap center or any other city-owned venue would have to prove that they had gotten their booster, according to this mandate. this would also apply to people who are employed by the city so anyone who collects a paycheck from the city has to prove that they are also boosted if they are eligible. the full city council will consider the measure that already passed committee. here's the mayor explaining the reason for it. >> it's important to be skating where the puck is going rather than where the puck is. we recognize from recent pronouncements, 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 hospitals which is the most important priority. >> let's take a look at the big picture. in santa clara, 82.4% of all people are fully vaccinated. about 60% of people 16 and up are now boosted. and the worker vaccination rate within city workers in san jose is up to 92% in some departments. that includes the fire department. the vote is expected to happen this afternoon and could make san jose the first city to have a booster mandate. in san jose, kris sanchez, nbc bay area news. president biden is in georgia where he is going to be delivering a speech calling for new protections for voting rights. >> but to do that, they'll have to change the rules in the senate first. >> what they are proposing is doing away with the filibuster and that is a big deal. though limited to this one situation over voting rights. remember, the senate requires 60

yes votes just to get a bill to the floor. so democrats can win any 50/50 vote they choose to, including votes rights, but under these current rules, they can't get the bill to the floor unless the republicans let them. video from a short time ago as the president left the white house on his way to atlanta. president biden will visit the church where dr. martin luther king preached and visit has memorial as well. and then make that major speech saying it's time to create federal laws that protect americans' legal voting rights at a time when republican statehouses are creating laws to restrict voting. now according to an excerpt of the speech we got ahead of the event, president biden will say, quote, will we choose democracy over autocracy, light over shadow, justice over injustice? i know where i stand. now, there are two voting bills the democrats are proposing.

between those two, they would reinforce some of the aspects of the voting rights act of the '60s, protect mail-in voting and allow people to register to vote on election day, among a lot of other things. to be clear, these voting rights would only extend to legal u.s. voters. there's no evidence they would encourage cheating, and we can say that because many of the provisions already exist in state law, and there's been no evidence of widespread voter fraud when they were in effect. >> so, scott, i also understand that one of the provisions would make election day a national holiday. but not everyone is on board with that. >> yeah, the concern there among some people is, if you make that tuesday a holiday, then you have a weekend and a tuesday off and people are going to take that monday in the middle and leave town, which means, perhaps, fewer voters going to the polls than more. >> although nowadays we've all been learning to mail them in. >> right.

>> we have. >> thanks, scott. amid the omicron surge, we are all likely experiencing a little covid fatigue. i sat down with a local health expert who is breaking down specific things you can do as a parent to help your kids cope with anxiety and worry amid the pandemic that we're all in. plus, 2022 off to a rough start. and it may be a rough one for your bank account as well. we'll tell you the reason your irs refund might hit a snag. and jimmy fallon sitting down with kelly clarkson today. between "snl" and his current late night gig, he's worked at 30 rock for 25 years. "snl" alum dan aykroyd helped to make a surprising discovery in the very building. find out what it is when you tune in to "kelly clarkson" at 3:00 this afternoon. we'll be right back.

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about the devastating impact covid-19 is having on police departments across the country. the 2021 law enforcement officers facility report was just released this morning. that data shows 458 officers died in the line of duty. it also shows that covid-19 continues to be the highest cause of law enforcement deaths nationwide. 301 officers died from covid-19 in 2021. >> recent studies showed the pandemic is exacerbating an already growing children's mental health crisis. according to data from children's hospital association, last year there were more than 47,000 mental health visits to emergency departments as 38 children's hospitals across the country. that is nearly 40% higher than 2020. to help answer some questions parents may have, i spoke with developmental behavioral pediatrician, dr. emily whitgob. they're wearing masks. you're trying to reach that balance of not making them paranoid but also having them sanitize and wash their hands.

i worry about the long-term effects of that on my kids. >> right. and i think children are resilient. we hear this. we know children of resilient and we need to be confident in that because we don't have a lot of choice except we can do everything we can now. again, it goes back to having the ongoing communication, the isolation that children feel will raise anxiety. the change of routine. it's not just the school routine but the caregiver routine is changing. trying to have as much consistency as possible, maybe it's the new routines you're building in to your -- even if it's your quarantine because one of your family members is sick. and with this new variant, i'm seeing that more and more. patients are canceling. they're home. i appreciate they're staying home when they're ill and families, parents can't go to work because they need to stay home with their kids. even within those quarantine bases, to build a routine in

there. >> just talking about what would happen if there comes the anxiety and the worry. so let's talk about how we can help kids deal with that and cope with anxiety and worry. what do we do as parents? >> i think you answer the questions that the children have. so at different age levels, they're going to ask, what happens and want to know what covid is. our society, developmental, behavioral pediatrics was talking about a little girl who thought, well, we have a new -- we have changes in elections. does that mean that covid will be over, too? and one thing all of feelings oonflating it because they're 6 and not understanding how things go together but they're also very wise. so talking with the children and when they ask a question, for example, why did so and so die? because children have family members and loved ones who are not here anymore because of covid. other things, too.

and when they ask, where did they go, only giving the information that they've asked for because we can easily overwhelm kids by giving the information that we might want to know but thinking about what would a 4-year-old want to know, a 6-year-old want to know. and the kids will ask follow-up questions when they want them and stop when they're satisfied. >> good advice there of how to deal with what we're dealing with at hand. thank you so much, doctor. >> thank you. we are less than two weeks into the new year, but the federal government says now is the time to start thinking about tax season. >> the nasty word, taxes. >> maybe you're getting money back. >> let's hope so. the irs is warning there could be a frustrating season ahead with the challenges posed by the pandemic as well as years of budget cuts. nbc's tom costello is going to break down who could see those delays this year in getting those all-important refunds. >> reporter: the april 18th tax filing deadline may be more than three months away, but the treasury department is warning

americans now that the upcoming tax filing season could be frustrating. agency officials say they are facing enormous challenges. among them, the pandemic. >> there's a lot more work for the irs to do with a lot fewer staff members doing it. >> reporter: while the u.s. population has grown over the past half century, irs staffing is now at the same level it was more than 50 years ago with fewer than 15,000 workers available last year to handle more than 240 million calls. to make matters worse, the agency is using outdated technology. and has also seen its budget slashed nearly 20% over the past ten years. the best way to avoid refund delays this year, file early. electronically. and ditch the paper forms. as of last month, the agency still had a backlog of millions of unprocessed returns from the year before. for those who made less than $73,000, the irs offers free

file. and companies like h&r block and turbo tax offer their own software for e-filing, too. >> e-filing with direct depos sit the quickest way to get your refund. >> reporter: the irs says those who file electronically with direct deposit should receive their refund within 21 days. >> it's important to file electronically, to make sure that everything is accurate, and that it's filed electronically so that you can possibly get your refund sooner rather than later. >> that was tom costello reporting. in just a few minutes, congress is expected to pay tribute to bay area native john madden. he coached ten seasons in the nfl leading the oakland raiders to a super bowl victory in 1977. you may remember madden died last month at the age of 85 in atlantaon which is representative eric swalwell's congressional district. at 11:45, swalwell will join other members of congress to

honor the nfl legend on the house floor. a public memorial service for madden is scheduled to take place in oakland on february 15th. >> that's really nice to see. of course, we saw his widow this weekend as they did the big announcement at the raiders game. that was cool, too. let's take a live look outside. a little fresh air in dublin this morning. kari has been keeping track of the forecast for us. a nice week. getting a little break from the rain. >> yes, we are. and we'll continue to see this break as we go into the weekend and early next week as well. we don't have to worry too much because it does look like we'll see a change in the parent farther down the line. we're enjoying some sunshine and milder temperatures after a cool start in san francisco and the rest of the bay area. in san jose, it's so nice to see the blue sky and our temperatures right now in the mid-50s. you'll be comfortable with the light long-sleeved shirt on or jacket. and temperatures head for the mid-60s during the middle of the day, reaching our high temperature at 3:00 this afternoon. a few more clouds moving in

tonight. that's going to keep it from getting as cold. take a look at our highs and where we're headed. reaching 66 in east san jose. los gatos, 65 degrees. we'll see more of those temperatures in the low to mid-60s for the east bay, reaching 63 in livermore and pleasanton. oakland reaching 62. 63 in half moon bay. one of those days where the coast is about the same temperature as what we're feeling for the inland areas. in san francisco, we're up to about 62 downtown. for our north bay highs reaching 64 in napa and 62 today in santa rosa. here's what's going on with our overall weather pattern. we continue to see the storms and all of the rain still hitting the pacific northwest with an atmospheric river. we're just getting a few clouds coming down into the bay area, but still, not seeing much in the way of active weather as high pressure sets up right off of our coast. and that's keeping the rain away from the bay area. so that high pressure is not moving and so that's the reason why we'll continue to see sunshine and mild temperatures

slowly as we go into next week. we'll start to see that high pressure moving off towards the east and then we'll start to see the storm track coming a little farther down. but it looks like we'll not so that happen until about the end of the month. we could start to see that atmospheric river headed back our way. near normal temperatures, sunshine and really nice conditions. and we are expecting a slight increase in cloud cover for thursday and friday and that's going to bring down our temperatures a few degrees. but then going into the weekend, we're back to the sunshine and the nice mild weather and then reaching into the low 60s for saturday and sunday. for san francisco, more of the same. basically what we're seeing now, but once again, there could be a few more clouds moving in by the end of the week. not a whole lot going on for the weekend. the update of the drought monitor once again this thursday. we'll see how that goes. but overall, we are still seeing some pretty good conditions here. but we do need a lot more rain. and hopefully we see this pattern changing by the end of the month, laura and marcus.

>> couldn't agree more. thank you, kari. family of a beloved four-legged friend, well, they're finally reunited this midday. we'll tell you how they were separated four months ago. first by fire and then by snow. still ahead, what made that reunion possible? and happening now, planes are flying again after an unusual ground stop was issued to some pilots by the faa for a short period of time last night on the west coast. it only lasted about 15 minutes. it followed a defense command alert of a launch of a north korean missile. it is the second launch in a week and it comes following leader kim jong-un's calls to expand its nuclear weapons program in defiance of international opposition. the launch also comes after a series of weapons tests in 2021. we'll be back, safe, after the break.

this is a great story. a reunion a lot of people thought would never happen. a dog separated from its owner last summer during the wildfire evacuations in tahoe. back home this morning. >> russ ran away from the owner's vehicle in august during the caldor fire. well, last month, a man saw that dog while skiing and posted the pictures online. animal volunteers went looking for the dog, eventually finding him. he was reunited with his family by the tracking microchip. >> i love that.

so important to do. my dog is waiting to go for a walk, kari. looking good? >> yes, you'll have some beautiful weather for that walk outside today. and i hope everyone has a chance to get out there and take in the nice sunshine and mild weather we'll see continue into the weekend. >> sounds good. >> thanks for joining us. we'll see you back here tomorrow morning.

♪♪ right now on "california live," a special place to get a fresh face. >> then, you think terry bradshaw is wild. just wait until you meet his daughter rachel. >> hello. >> plus, california's divorce epidemic. why so many couples are calling it quits in january. and how super joe turns into joe cool under pressure. >> don't ever give up on yourself. you always have a chance. >> all that and a lot more right now on "california live." ♪ california california live california live ♪♪