talk to your doctor. ♪♪ be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. right now at 11:00, stepping down from the supreme court. justice breyer officially announcing his retirement. the vow president biden is making on who will feel the seat on the bench. good morning, thanks for joining us for our noon newscast, i'm marcus washington. well, president biden appeared with supreme court justice stephen breyer where breyer announced he will retire. scott mcgrew is joining us now. justice breyer saying he will stay around until the summer. >> reporter: stay around until the summer because that's a

logical break in the court schedule. though he did add the caution in his letter saying that's assuming the senate approves his replacement. he says he'll wait until the new justice is confirmed to retire. there was a quick appearance at the white house with the official announcement. president biden pointing out he had been on the head of the judiciary committee that vetted justice breyer for the supreme court and ushered the nomination to a full senate vote back in 1994. breyer talked about his love for the country and the constitution. >> this is a complicated country. there are more than 330 million people. my mother used to say it's every race, every religion and she would emphasize this, it's every point of view possible. and it's a kind of miracle when you sit there and see all those people in front of you. people that are so different in what they think.

and yet they have decided to help solve their major differences under law. >> reporter: now, justice breyer's wife attended the white house appearance as well, sitting with the first lady. the president will now nominate a new associate justice. that name goes for approval in the senate, where democrats need just 50 votes, thanks to a change in the filibuster rules that was changed by republicans back when it was their turn to choose. the process should go fairly quickly, theoretically anyway. it took less than a month to confirm the most recent nomination, amy coney barrett. remember, these don't have to be contentious votes either. ruth bader ginsburg sailed through the senate, 97-3. chief justice john roberts 78 yes votes. justice kennedy appointed by ronald reagan, unanimous.

scalia and sandra day o'connor, also unanimous. president biden says he'll choose an african american woman to join the high court. she would be the first. now, whoever that is, marcus, because we don't know who that is just yet. >> before you go, i know justice breyer said he's actually going to stick around until his replacement is confirmed. is that unusual? >> reporter: you know, that's an excellent question, marcus. as far as my memory serves, it is really unusual. by confirmed, remember, he means approved by the senate. so not just nominated. past retirements have come before the new justice was confirmed. remember, there's nothing saying the court can't work with fewer than nine justices. the tricky thing to me, just thinking theoretically about waiting until the next justice is approved, is that it sets up potential problems theoretically. what if you change your mind and don't step down, for instance? you can't make breyer leave, so what happens then?

it's an interesting thought experiment. >> all right, scott mcgrew. thank you, scott. developing now, san francisco police say that they're very close to capturing one of the most notorious serial killer. he terrorized san francisco's gay community in the 1970s with bodies found on beaches and the western edge of the city. that announcement comes 48 years to the day after the first victim was found. police say after a new investigation the doodler may have had a sixth victim back in 1975. that victim was assaulted at land's end and found unconscious. he never regained consciousness, dying several weeks later. investigators created a forensic sketch of the suspect developed in 1975. that sketch is on the left side of your screen. a new sketch on the right side of the screen is showing age progression of what investigators believe he may look like as of 2018. police have now doubled the reward for a capture of the doodler to $200,000.

and in just over an hour, u.s. senator alex padilla will urge parents to get their kids vaccinated against covid. nbc bay area's bob redell is joining us from al meeta county. a majority of young children still remain unvaccinated against covid. >> reporter: unfortunately, you are correct. take a look at these numbers. over two-thirds of all kids in california between the ages of 5 and 11 still remain unvaccinated against covid. 28% of those between the ages of 12 and 17. almost 850,000 kids under the age of 18 have contracted covid in california, which represents over 18% of all cases. that's why at 12:30, so in about 90 minutes, u.s. senator alex padilla as well as several hospitals will hold a virtual news conference to encourage

parents to get their kids vaccinated against covid and follow the lead of these parents we spoke with this morning. >> why did you get your children vaccinated? >> because we got them vaccinated against so many other things when they had to go to school. this was approved and we got ourselves vaccinated. that's the only way i think to fight this pandemic. >> i think it's more thinking p yourselfness and i would support it. >> reporter: are your children vaccinated? >> yes. all of us are. we're good. >> reporter: today is also the deadline for health care workers to get their first shot of the covid vaccine. this is under the federal mandate issued by president biden. a number of republican-led states are fighting it in court. so it is taking effect in jurisdictions that didn't challenge or dropped the challenge. those include some of the

biggest states with some of the biggest populations of senior citizens, like california, florida. california has required health care workers to be fully vaxxed since september 30th and must be boosted by next tuesday, february 1st. reporting live in pleasanton, bob redell, nbc bay area news. all new numbers are showing the end result of weeks of unprecedented spread fueled by the highly infectious omicron variant. one in five californians have tested positive for covid-19. according to "the l.a. times" that's more than 8 million infections since the pandemic began. this morning bay area health departments are on alert after two cases of the new subvariant were confirmed in the south bay. kris sanchez is joining us now with more on ba.2. >> through this latest surge we've talked about how the omicron variant is more contagious than the delta variant was. now we know that that subvariant

appears to be more transmissable as well. here's what we know about ba.2. there are 14 cases in california, two cases in santa clara county. they appear to be more contagious but not more serious. a ucsf infections disease specialist says right now it looks like you may catch ba.2 more easily but it's not likely to make you more sick. >> if you've been infected with only conthere are you'll be protected against ba.2. they're so similar. >> today moderna's chief medical officer talked about a booster that the company is developing. early data is promising, he says, showing that the specific booster offers greatest effectiveness against the variant and is now in phase two trials. >> what we see is that there's still protection, but it wanes

by six months so that's important to know. >> reporter: pfizer is also working on an omicron-specific vaccine although existing boosters offer some level of protection. it's not clear at this point if you've had the omicron variant of covid, whether that protects you from catching it again. even as omicron appears to be peaking in california, all the health experts remind us this is not the last variant and may not be the last variant of concern. kris sanchez, nbc bay area news. a booster shot deadline is quickly approaching for first responders in the north bay. those in marin county have to show proof they received a booster by tomorrow. firefighter vaccination rates in the county are between 91 and 100%. in law enforcement, the rates are a little lower, between 84 and 100%. now, the agencies say those who are unvaccinated will continue to wear masks and undergo surveillance testing as well as other protective measures they

have in place. and in berkeley, city health leaders will soon require certain workers to stay up to date with boosters. workers at restaurants, theaters and gyms will have to show proof of vaccination by february 7th. those places will also require full vaccination of people at least 5 years old before they enter the business. you can watch our nbc bay area streaming app. a group of teenagers who helped create bills that allow teenagers to get vaccinated without their parents' permission spoke with raj mathai. download our app for your apple tv, roku and fire stick. mayors joining forces today to announce a new $185 million program. the californians for all youth job corps aims to help underserved youth find employment. san jose mayor, the oakland mayor and san francisco mayor along with mayors of several california cities met together

virtually to launch that new program. the funding is part of governor newsom's $196 billion budget for the fiscal year. new at 11:00, u.p.s. workers just wrapped up protests across the bay area. teamsters union employees in northern california and nevada are demanding more money for its part-time workers. reps say that the company has cut pay for nearly 4,000 of its employees this week, amounting to about $6 an hour. workers in san jose, san francisco, santa rosa, oakland and richmond took part in today's demonstrations. u.p.s. said in part, part-time union employee compensation is contractually agreed upon and includes annual pay increases plus benefits. we recently added incentives to include a reward for dependable attendance that can result in even higher pay per hour than the previous hourly market rate

adjustment. take a look outside. here we go, san francisco this morning where that sun shining, warming up the bay area. but you know what, it's still pretty chilly out there right now. vianey has been tracking the cold temperatures. also, a warmup any time soon, vianey? >> it's going to warm up once we hit the afternoon by a little bit. we did start out in the 30s but now we're going to get the sunshine that will warm us up. look at this live look in san jose. you can see some of that cloud cover right through there. it was not as foggy as what we saw the past couple of days. we've started out in the 30s. now we're in the 50s. so we're starting to get mild in livermore, 57, san jose 57, oakland 55. but eventually once we see all of the clouds clear out, you can see lingering clouds in half moon bay and the sun moves in, we'll warm up into the 60s in san francisco. i'll guide you through the rest of your forecast and the latest drought monitor coming up in

just a bit. well, here we are one week away from the winter olympics and team usa now off to beijing. the big send-off for the athletes this morning. plus the white uber and the items you can start donating. and jay leno taking over hosting duties for kelly clarkson today. he sits down with julie bowen, and a reunion may be in the works. you can see that right here coming up at 3:00 this afternoon.

thanks for sticking around. developing now, crews making progress on the fire burning near big sur. highway 1 is now fully reopened and evacuation orders are lifted for roughly 500 people who were forced to leave their homes last friday. containment is standing at 65%. firefighters say strong winds whipped up embers from a

controlled burn sparking that wildfire. well, in just one week the winter olympics begin and team usa on their way to beijing. u.s. athletes this morning left from los angeles. the team boarded delta airlines flight on the official team usa plane. many olympians and legends are looking to bring home gold, of course. one olympian says being on the plane together really creates more of a united team. >> having that team camaraderie and we're all best friends. i think that's huge for us going to beijing, keeping some really good energy from the season and even just from here, bringing that over to china. >> the olympic figure skating team departed as well. a few have local ties to the bay area. three leading competitors from the bay area and they're looking to be winners there. you have alysa liu, karen chen and vincent zhou.

ahead of the competition, we are telling you the stories of how these athletes on team usa managed to arrive at the world's stage going for gold. you can tune in for our special journey to the winter games coming up at 6:30 saturday night right here on nbc bay area. well, i'll tell you about this, uber and the salvation army are partnering to help those in need. you can donate gently used coats today until saturday. >> it's a great way to keep a coat living and give it to someone else. your old coat has so much warmth to give. push a butt on, donate a coat. >> this is how it's going to work. just open your uber app and use the promo code coat drive sf. then tap send a package, enter a location and your nearest salvation army location from the list below. on the review order screen under the dropoff section, update the

delivery method to meet at door to pick up those coats. anyone in the bay area can take part in this. all coat donations will be sold at the salvation army thrift stores which help fund adult rehabilitation centers across the country. you can find all of this information on our website, nbcbayarea.com. all right, time to get another look outside for us today. shaping up to be a really nice day, but the temperature is something i've been worried b it's going to warm up, though, right? >> it will. i know we've been starting out in the 30s. we've been in the low 30s and we're going to warm up a bit in the afternoon and stay dry. a live look right now in san francisco. we do still have a little bit of cloud cover in through there and also you can see some of that fog right there in san jose, but it's nowhere near as foggy as what we've seen earlier this week. our current temperature even though we're in the 30s, we're now in the 50s. so we are going to bump up a

bit. 57 in san jose, 57 in concord, 53 in san francisco, 55 in santa rosa. what can we expect into the afternoon? well, if you have plans to head outside, the air quality right now is moderate from the north bay down to the santa clara valley. bumping up into the 60s for the north bay and the south bay, but high pressure will keep us dry. we'll see winds from the south start to pick up appeared that's going to continue to keep us in that relatively low humidity through tomorrow. let's take a look at our daytime highs. 65 in san jose, so not much of a temperature change for the south bay and also in through the interior east bay. look at concord 63, pleasanton 64. so go outside and enjoy. this stretch is going to last not just today but also into friday and the start of the weekend. we're not monitoring any rain novato 63, santa rosa 65. we ha

much in the way of rain for the month of january so this gets released and updated every thursday. we're pretty much still within that severe category, about 66% of the state of california, which is that yellow. remember when we were back in that purple/red color? so we saw appear improvement from the october to december storms but we still need more rain. well, the high pressure has been really dominating in our forecast keeping any chance of rain to our north and our south. it looks like it's going to continue heading into at least the next seven days in the outlook right now. now, we do have a system just offshore heading into friday. that's what's going to kick up some of those winds into friday as well. saturday and sunday, another thing you'll notice is we're going to continue seeing these early morning 30s in the forecast for all the bay area really. except for around the bay you'll still wake up into those 40s

friday and saturday. now i want to get to our climate in crisis which is a very important topic. in just weeks, all eyes will be on the winter olympics, but climate change is threatening the future of winter sports, and athletes are speaking to protect our planet. now, a study led by the waterloo university of canada revealed if green house gas emissions stay high, only one of the former 21 host cities will be a reliable site for the winter olympics by the end of the century. there may not be enough snow on the slopes by mid-century. winter games star gold medalist jessie diggins is one of the many athletes using her platform. >> i'm worried about the future of our sport and i really want my kids and grandkids to be able to ski some day and experience this sport that i love so much. i don't want to be the generation that ruins it for everybody else. >> weather and climate are

especially critical to the survival of outdoor sports in general, especially snow, says the study's author, daniel scott. but if countries cut their emissions in line with the paris agreement targets, eight cities will remain reliable. you can find stories and much more on nbcbayarea.com. check that out or send me a message and i'll send you the link. >> thanks, vianey. coming up, one win away from the super bowl. the 49ers take on the rams. a preview of how both teams are shaping up. and the transit agency is partnering to install solar and battery storage microgrid to its fleet. the new technology will help buses operate in the event of a power outage. the technology is expected to come online in 2023. this is all part transit agency to a fully zero emissions bus

fleet by the year 2036. we'll be right back.

49er fever is getting even more palpable in the bay area ahead of this weekend's nfc championship. you see coit tower was lit up in red and gold and the conservator of flowers and golden gate park is also prepping.

it will stay this way as long as the team keeps winning. we hope it's a while. the next stop for jimmy g. and the crew down in l.a. the 49 ersz have beaten the rams six straight times. the winner of sunday's game goes to the super bowl. right now the team is getting ready to take on the competition they know very well. >> we know these guys as well as possible, playing for a third time. nothing would really surprise us. >> lots on the line. we're going to play as hard as we can, they're going to play as hard as they can and we'll see who makes the most plays and the least mistakes. >> the only question is, is standout trent williams going to be healthy come gameday? you can find out, clear the calendar and make sure you watch on sunday. kickoff is at 3:30. that excitement that's building this weekend we want to see your fan favorites. those pictures in your 49ers gear. post them on facebook and twitter and tag @nbcbayarea and

we'll share those photos all week. vianey, maybe we should put something on and show it. >> exactly. we're going to be seeing lovely weather this weekend, perfect weather for a football game outside. they don't have to get acclimated to the weather because they're staying in california. take a look, temps in the mid-60s for today and we're going to stay consistent for the next several days. we don't have a big change because that high pressure continues to really dominate in our area. now, we do have that friday, saturday early morning. we'll be in the 40s. but expect to wake up to those 30s yet again so you want to bundle up and prepare. today we could see the return of some of that fog heading into friday morning and also early saturday and sunday morning. we do have a little bit of a decrease of temperatures heading into sunday and monday but so far we're going to stay dry with that high pressure and it looks like we get some wind heading into tuesday from the northeast. 15 to 30 plus miles per hour,

but for now things are pretty calm. >> thank you for joining us for our midday newscast. you can also get the latest information any time at nbcbayarea.com. have a great day, enjoy some of the sunshine that we're having, and we'll see you back here tomorrow morning. have a good one.

right now on "california live" -- >> i'm down in front of the olympic plane right here. this is about to fly to the winter olympics. the athletes are here, and we're making sure we send them off to go get the game. we're gearing up for the big game with california wines to celebrate our two california dreams going at it to elevate your california football experience. and looking for that special something for your favorite valentine? millie is here to work her magic. plus the bad boy of beauty will show you how to flip your daytime business look into nighttime funn