alice barr reports. >> the government shutdown averted. >> i am glad in the end cooler heads prevailed. the government will stay open. >> on this vote, the yeas of 28 -- >> 19 senate republicans joined all democrats voting yes. >> it's disgraceful. >> despite a push from a handful of gop members to block the bill over federal vaccine mandates. >> the only thing i wanted to shutdown was an immoral unconstitutional mandate. >> it appears likely to pass the senate. >> i am supportive of a mandate for federal government and for all that work on the government payroll. >> the bill is less likely to pass the democrat-controlled house, so for now the mandates are tied up in court. the mandates could force unvaccinated employees out of the workforce at a time when labor shortages are fueling supply chain problems and soaring inflation. a november jobs report due out this morning could shed light on whether workers sidelined by the pandemic are beginning to return to the job. in washington, alice barr, nbc news. >> let's take a look outside. >>> let's check in with mike in just a moment, but ha

in washington, alice barr, nbc news. >>> tightening security. a city safeway responds to escalating cases of theft. the steps that the store is taking and the fears from customers if things don't change. >>> plus, it is the 80th anniversary of the day that will live forever in infamy. veterans around the country are remembering the deadly attack on pearl harbor. why for one man it's a reminder of a remarkable what-if story. you're watching "nbc bay area news." >>> just in, the defense rested in jussie smollett's course case. the former "empire" star is accused of lying to police about a 2019 attack that prosecutors say he orchestrated himself. closing arguments are now scheduled for tomorrow morning. nbc's ron allen reveals the tough questioning for the actor who took the stand in his own defense. >> reporter: jussie smollett taking the stand in his own defense testifying there was no hoax. and pushing back against prosecutors who say he staged a 2019 attack to look like a hate crime to get publicity and then lied to police about it. smollett wh

in washington, alice barr, nbc news. >>> president biden expected to speak at 11:30 this morning. we'll bring you that address live right here on nbc bay area. >>> a live look over san jose this midday. in just about 90 minutes, mayor sam li cardo is expected to make his first ever a kind announcement to outline a proposal that would require city employees to get a booster shot. if approved the rules would also apply to anyone entering san jose-own facilities. if given the green light, it would be the first city in california to issue such a mandate. the city's rules committee is expected to hear that proposal next month. happening right now, city council members in oakland are hearing public comments about an emergency ordinance that would bring back showing proof of vaccination for places like restaurants, libraries and even gyms. nbc bay area's cierra johnson joining us now with that discussion and where that meeting stands right now. cierra? >> good morning. yeah, that meeting has been going on for 90 minutes. i've been listening in and i can tell you it's mainly been public c

alice barr reports from outside the u.s. supreme court. >> reporter: hundreds of supporters from both sides of this deeply contentious issue gathering outside the supreme court today as inside justices hear arguments in the most consiential case on abortion rights. >> there are 24 states poised to ban abortion if this law is upheld by the supreme court. and that would really cause chaos. >> this is an historic moment for the pro-life movement. this is the first time since i was 7 years old that the supreme court has decided to revisit roe. >> reporter: a mississippi law that bans nearly all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. that directly contradicts the current standard established nearly 50 years ago in roe v. wade that stopped states from banning abortions before a fetus can survive outside the womb, around 23 to 24 weeks. mississippi's governor argues there's no justification for the viability standard. >> there is no fundamental right in our united states constitution to an abortion. >> reporter: lawyers for the sol

alice barr, live from washington. thank you. >>> two suspects in custody this morning tied to a recent string of bay area retail thefts. this image was posted of what they say of more than $200,000 in recovered stolen merchandise. those items were discovered after serving a warrant at a vallejo home where they arrested one person, and the merchandise is from victoria secret, nordstrom and target. >>> here we are at the golden gate bridge. hey, you can see there the commute is not too bad this morning. mike will update us on that in just a bit. first, we have to get a look at the forecast. rob mayeda with a look at the forecast. how are we shaping up? >> right now a chilly start. we did see on the golden gate bridge camera, and seeing this around the santa cruz mountains as well. the main event with the next storm system working its way down the coast. the most significant rain should be in the north bay, and light rain showers around the rest of the bay area. 11:00 tonight we begin to see the rain rates picking up in

alice barr, live from washington. thank you. >>> back here in the bay area the police are calling the death of a person outside the tesla factory in fremont a homicide. first responders say they answered calls of a person down in the lot and they could not revive them. at first this was being called a suspicious death, but so far police are not revealing how that person died or who they are. >>> new this morning san francisco's embattled school board members meet today ahead of a deadline to cut more than 100 million off the budget. it comes as san francisco mayor, london breed, considers a new oversight plan. according to "the chronicle," voters would be asked to approve a new agency to monitor the board holding board members accountable to make sure city dollars are spent properly. >>> i want to take you to the sierra this morning. teak a look at this. this is a beautiful sight for a lot of skiers out there. here's a live look at 80 at donner summit. >> snow plows going. >> yeah, if you are headed up to tahoe, you n

our nbc colleague alice barr joins us live from washington d.c. alice, give us a sense of what kind of tributes are taking place in washington. he had so much respect from people on both sides of the aisle. of >> reporter: good morning, that's right bob dole was a rarity at this time of one of those people who can still attract so much respect from both sides of the aisle. he was a long-time dedicated republican as you said, served for many, many years in the senate, representing kansas. he unsuccessfully ran for president, unsuccessfully ran for vice president as well but he's not remembered for having lost those battles. he's remembered for all that he accomplished in his long life, his 98 years at the top of the list despite his political accomplishments is his dedication during world war ii when he was seriously injured and carried those injuries throughout his life. we've heard from president biden calling him a hero within who had an unerring sense of integrity and honor. we heard from bill clinton who defeated bob dole for the presidency du

in washington, alice barr, nbc news. >> we will offer free at-home testing kits today and tomorrow. you can pick one up at the health county offices in el cerrito. and this week three omicron cases were confirmed and each were in unvaccinated. >>> walgreens is allowing four at-home tests per purchase. at cvs, it's six. demand is surging with the omicron variant surging across the nation. >>> nunez is the vice chancellor in the san mateo college district having worked there for two decades. this is a photo from the district's website. the embezelment is tied to an awarding of a solar investment project. that investigation is on going. >>> developing in the elizabeth holmes fraud trial, jurors are taking a break from the deliberations today but will return tomorrow. at one point they asked the judge if they could take their jury instructions home, and the judge said no that all deliberations must happen at the courthouse with more than three months of expert testimony to consider, experts believe it will take a while to get to some decision. >> i would be surprised given all the evide

alice barr live in washington. some of the heat surrounds a custom made app for kids. >> that's right, laura. that idea was put on hold after outrage about the idea of marketing instagram specifically toward children 10-12. senators were none too happy to hear yesterday that while that idea was paused, it's not going away. >> too little too late. >> reporter: a tense first appearance before congress for instagram's ceo, in the hot seat after a whistleblower leaked documents showing the social media platform knows it can be harmful to teens. >> social media can fan those flames and fuel the fire of the mental health crisis that we face among teens. >> reporter: the u.s. surgeon general issuing a rare public health advisory, warning of a youth mental health crisis during the pandemic and calling on social media companies to counter the damage some users report. >> it makes everyone, especially girls, feel bad about themselves. >> reporter: instagram announced new controls for young users including encouraging them to

>> alice barr with the latest in d.c. thank you. >>> we want to take you to the kennedy space center down in florida for a moment where the spacex falcon 9 rocket is set to launch a spacecraft to the international space station. this will be the third launch for spacex in four days. the flight is the 24th mission by spacex conducted under a commercial reply services contract with nasa it's happening right now, watching it live at the kennedy space center cool moment. >>> turning our attention back to the markets they did not takeoff yesterday they got hammered on worries about the omicron variant, tighter economic policy and the collapse of the president's spending plan. but things may look up today folks say a selloff of 1% on monday tends to be followed by a positive performance on tuesday. they use the spy as a proxy. since 1993 it's had 70 dee cl declines on a monday, on tuesday .9% rise let's talk about this and get a longer term view on what the new year may provide with emmy b bowersox thank you for being here i ca

alice barr is in washington, and this is a battle on two fronts, alice. >> that's the way to look at it at this point, marcus. we are seeing this expansion of covid booster access now to the teenage age group, as there's new research showing just how important boosters are to mount a strong defense against the omicron variant. right now it's the surging delta variant that is once again filling hospitals with unvaccinated patients. with covid cases and hospitalizations increasing rapidly. >> another day, another shift with no beds here in colorado. >> 16 and 17-year-olds are now eligible for booster shots, and the white house is earning extra protection for everybody 16 and up. >> get your booster right away. >> that after pfizer released data showing boosters gives more protection. >> i think we see a change in definition to what fully vaccinated means, and it's going to be three doses of the vaccine. >> but there are many americans that still have not had their first two doses, driving the cases to a breaking point. >> i'm tired of it. >> the governors of new york, new hampshire and

>> alice barr in washington this morning. alice, thank you. >>> there are new limits atcvs and walgreens testing kits. demand is surging with the omicron variant spreading across the nation, and they could be out of stock so call ahead. >>> you can pick a free at-home testing kit at the county health services in contra costa and el cerrito. the symptoms in each case were considered to be mild. >>> in other news, a college leader accused of embezelment is set to be arraigned today. having worked at the district for two decades. embezelment is tied to an awarding of a school solar contract. nunez is now on leave and that investigation is on going. >>> developing in elizabeth holmes trial, jurors are taking a break from the deliberations but will return tomorrow. yesterday at one point they asked the judge if they could take the jury instructions home, but the judge said no reminding them all deliberations must happen at the courthouse. after more than three months of testimony and all they have to consider, experts believe it w

alice barr joins us from d.c. the with the latest there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. research shows the new antiviral pill from pfizer appears to offer strong protection against the omicron variant, which has now been found in 50 states. >> trying to put this up. >> reporter: this morning families are coming together for christmas with thoughts of omicron hanging over many celebrations the white house says small gatherings can go ahead. >> we're encouraging people to be boosted, tested and practice those strategies before they get together. >> reporter: but large parties with unknown vaccination status are a no. >> we urge you to stay away from situations that could put you at risk. >> reporter: as hospitals face a crushing wave of patients topping 200,000 two days in a row. nearly 1,400 people dying. with the unvaccinated paying the toll. >> it feels like no one is listening. i'm begging you to please get vaccinated. >> reporter: but there is hope as the fda clears the way for the nation's first covid antiviral treatment pill it should be available in days those supp

today in the bay's alice barr is live in washington for us. this all comes as we have seen the new job numbers out moments ago. >> yeah, and the job numbers are much lower than expected. employers only added 210,000 jobs to the economy, and that's less than half of what the economy had predicted, and the unemployment did drop more than expected but certainly a mixed bag. president biden expected to focus on the lower unemployment rate than on the lower than expected number of jobs added and he will focus on the last-minute threat on the vaccine mandates. >> good news for federal workers this morning. their paychecks are secure with a government shutdown averted. >> i am glad in the end cooler heads prevailed. the government will stay open. >> on this vote, the yays are 69 -- >> congress passed a stop gap measure. >> it's disgraceful. >> despite a push from a handful of gop members to block the bill over an opposition to the vaccine mandates. >> the only thing i want to shutdown is congress funding enforcement of an immoral, unconstitutional va

alice barr is live on capitol hill with the overnight developments. alice? >> laura, mark meadows is tacking on to a privilege claim that former president trump himself made, but meadows' decision not to answer questions about the day of the criminal capitol attack, it could lead him with a criminal prosecution. overnight the house voting to hold a second ally of then chief of staff mark meadows in contempt of congress. it referred meadows to the justice department for possible prosecution. >> mr. meadows has left us no choice. the select committee is investigating an attack on our democracy and it's essential witnesses cooperate. >> meadows refused to appear for a deposition, reversing course after first saying he would cooperate and handing over unclassified documents. >> i tried to share nonprivileged information, but truly the executive privilege that donald trump claimed is his to waive, not mine to waive. >> text messages were released. >> one of the president's sons texted mr. meadows, quote, he's got to condemn this [ bleep ] asap. >> and fox news ha

alice barr has the latest. >> good morning, laura. research shows the new anti-viral pill from pfizer is highly effective against severe illness, though it won't be widely available until production has a chance to ramp up. it does appear to work against the omicron variant, which has now been found in all 50 states. this morning, families are coming together for christmas with thoughts of omicron hanging over many celebrations. white house covid advisors say small gatherings with protections can go ahead. >> we're really encouraging people to be vaccinated, boosted and practice all of those prevention strategies before they gather. >> but large parties with unknown vaccination status are a no. >> we urge you to stay away a from situations that could put you at higher risk. >> hospitals face a crushing wave of cases with new cases topping 200,000 two days in a row. >> it just feels like no one is listening. i'm begging you to please get vaccinated. >> but there is new hope as the fda clears the way for the nation's first covid anti-vi

alice barr reports outside the courthouse. >> the u.s. supreme court hearing arguments today on a mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, the current standard established 15 years ago in roe v. wade and it stops states from banning abortions when the fetus can survive outside the womb, from 14 to 15 weeks. >> there's no fundamental right in our united states constitution to an abortion. >> lawyers for the clinic in mississippi that performs abortions argue the law violates long held precedents, and analysts note many constitutional rights are not spelled out, like the right to marry. >> the court has held the constitution protects those decisions, and that's the underlying right to an abortion. >> biden believes the mississippi law violates the right to legal abortions. the supreme court could overturn roe v. wade or uphold it or find a way to let the mississippi ban stand by crafting a new law in washington. >> demonstrations will be held at the san francisco federal courthouse and another in palo alto. both

alice barr is live in washington. this is a difficult day in washington? >> yeah, this is a complicated relationship. president biden has diplomatic needs to think about with russia, and also trying to draw a line in the sand to make it clear there will be very real consequences if russia does invade ukraine. >> we affirm the united states' support for the sovereignty -- >> the biden administration is prepared to respond with sanctions. >> that could have a detrimental impact -- >> he wants to keep ukraine from joining the western military alliance, nato, and prevent nato from putting advanced weapon systems into the country. >> what we have to do is beef up for our own security and own troops in the nato region, and provide more defense equipment to ukraine. >> the tensions come amid a separate diplomatic dust up with china after the white house announced a diplomatic boycott of the winter olympics in beijing, and no u.s. officials will attend the games in protest of china's human rights abuses. china calling the boycott an offense and promising necessary

alice barr from washington, thank you. >>> san rafael schools are opening up centers that will help students deal with isolation and stress of the pandemic. they will be located at tara linda and san rafael high and davidson middle school. they will be able to get counseling, help with support groups and crisis intervention. >>> if you are headed for a concert indoors, every one over the age of three must show proof of vaccination or a negative covid test within 72 hours of the event. those new rules in place last night, at the the sap center and chase center and shark tank. new state rules cover indoor events with more than 1,000 people, and fans at last night's game seem to favor that change. >> it's a bit surprising, but if a ten-minute test will give us piece of mind, we are happy to comply with that. >> i have done it before, and normally it hurts but it didn't hurt as much. >> the sharks set up free rapid testing for guests. this is near one of the sap centers' entrances. it's open two hours before the puck drops. >>> a san francisco man that dedicated his life to preventing street vio

today in the bay's alice barr is in washington. this is a balance that president biden has got to take. >> no question, scott. this is an important relationship and a complicated relationship, and there are things we need diplomatically from that country and there are things people say we need to show we are not going to stand for, and it's a separate diplomatic flare-up in china, and the president is under pressure from congress members in both parties to take a tougher stance. with new satellite images giving a clearer pictures of russian troop movements near the ukrainian border, and today president biden is preparing to confront russian president, vladimir putin, on whether he plans to attack the former ally. >> the white house press secretary confirming the biden administration is prepared to respond with sanctions. analysts say president putin has been undeterred in the past. >> what we need to do now is beef up our own troops in the nato region, and provide more defense equipment to ukraine. >> the simmering tensions come am

. >> alice barr is in washington for us. this new variant spreading quickly. >> yeah, much faster than any of the variants we have seen. testing has been difficult to come by this week, as well as more pop-up vaccine clinics, and hospitals expected to be overrun by covid patients. president biden will be addressing a nation that looks discouraging like it did in the early days of the pandemic. with omicron tearing across the country, officially the dominant strain of covid in the u.s., biden is addressing the nation about his administration's response, and it comes after he tested negative following close contact with a staffer that tested positive. the highly contagious omicron variant now accounts for more than 73% of new cases, overtaking the delta strain with startling speed. >> that punch of surge on top of the depleted health care work cases, that's where the mortality goes up. it's going to be the most important thing i am looking for in the president's remarks. >> the first omicron-related death. for the fully vaccin

alice barr has the latest from washington. >> a scramble for international travelers beginning today. anybody flying into the u.s. from a foreign country must now show proof of a negative covid test taken no more than 24 hours before takeoff. the timeline so tight it's forcing some travelers to cancel. >> it's just really challenging. so much so that i don't know if we are going to be able to do it. >> it's such a quick turn around. >> public health experts defending the move with the omicron variant detected in 47 countries, including the u.s. >> we need to make sure people are not bringing new cases. >> as the strain spreads across 17 states, scientists are learning more about how contagious is it and how severe the symptoms will be and if it's responding to vaccines. >> it's too early to make any definitive statements about it, and thus far it does not look like there's a great degree of severity to it. >> the delta variant seems to pose the greatest risks with the cases rising across the country. >> we have 100,000 cases across the u.s., and 99.9 are the delta variant. >> the bide

alice barr is live for us in washington. experts are racing to learn more about the vaccine response to the variant. >> and, marcus, that's the reason for the travel restrictions you are seeing. they are trying to buy time for scientists to get ahead of this and figure out what we are dealing with. starting today, any international travelers, this includes americans who are coming from a foreign country into the u.s., they will have to show proof of a negative covid test no more than 24 hours before they take off from the other country to come here. there was not a whole lot of lead time, this was just announced last week, and travelers are saying they don't have enough time to get their results back and there's frustrations out there. health officials are trying to give themselves as much time as possible and part of that is defending against importing cases from other countries. so far the omicron variant has been detected in 40 other countries including the u.s. it has been detected in 17 states here and counting here in

. >> alice barr is in washington. this new variant is spreading, and it's a big alarm. >> yeah, this is more contagious than anything we have seen before than any other covid variants. president biden set to layout new plans today to increase access to testing and vaccinations as well as backing up hospitals that are expected to be overrun with covid patients in the coming weeks. this comes as a time when many companies are returning to work from home policies. president biden later today will be addressing a nation that looks discouragingly like it did in the early days of the pandemic. >> with omicron tearing across the country, now officially the dominant strain of covid in the u.s., president biden is preparing to address the nation about his administration's response. it comes as the white house announced he tested negative following close contact with a staffer who tested positive. the cdc says the highly contagious omicron variant now accounts for more than 73% of new cases, overtaking the delta strain with sta

barr joins us with more. >> reporter: good morning. this came as a surprise to president biden, the progressives on capitol hill senator joe manchin the key lynch pin moderate democrat came out on fox news yesterday and said he is a no, he tried to find a way to support the bill but at the end of the day it was something he couldn't explain to the people of west virginia so he's going to vote no. president biden put out a statement saying this is at odds with everything that senator manchin had been saying to president biden. we know they've had frequent meetings over the past several weeks, they met just this week and the president said in that meeting joe manchin said he was going to come up with a way to come to a yes on this. he's really feeling like -- the president is feeling like this came out of left field and we're hearing from progressives saying that senator manchin has betrayed all the promises he made to negotiate in good faith on this massive legislation. >>> what's next? what's the positioning happening on both sides of

alice barr is live in washington for us. talk to us about that. do we know anything about this upcoming announcement? >> president biden is set to unveil new steps his administration will be taking to help individual communities make it through the wave of cases that is expected as omicron spreads. the white house says it's prepared for rising case levels that are already affecting capitol hill, but now a few fully vaccinated lawmakers testing positive. as climbing covid cases collide with christmas gatherings this week, president biden is preparing to meet with his medical advisers today and address the nation tomorrow about a new phase in the pandemic, one with the delta variant is surging just as the even more contagious omicron strain begins to take hold. >> our hospitals, if things look like they are looking now, in the next week or two are going to be very stressed with people. >> high profile breakthrough infections shows how freely the virus is circulating, three testing positive despite being fully vaccinated and boosted. all three say th

. >> first, alice barr live in washington. what do people need to know? >> reporter: good morning. the president has said that his winter strategy does not include plans for another widespread lockdown. he does have a step by step detailed plan he's planning to layout. the emphasis is really on doubling down on ongoing measures, saying that vaccinations and simple steps like masks and testing will be the key. with the first u.s. case of the omicron variant now recorded in a san francisco patient who recently traveled to south africa, president biden is preparing to lay out a detailed battle plan today to fight off a winter covid-19 surge. >> we'll fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion. >> reporter: senior administration officials say the stranl focuses on more widespread vaccinations including boosters for all adults even as scientists are furiously studying how effective current vaccines will be against omicron variant. >> when you get a high enough immune response, you get a spillover protection. >> reporter: the president also stressing vaccines for