from the virus? but not at the 95% efficacy that trials showed they would get with two doses given three weeks apart. >> i think one of the keys in this debate is that right now we still haven't done the best job at getting the doses we have right now to the people who need them. >> reporter: in a conversation with governor newsom earlier this week, dr. anthony fauci, who will serve as the biden administration's chief medical adviser, talked about how ramping up vaccinations combined with continuing all of our current safety measures can turn the tide quickly. >> and as we gradually get more and more people vaccinated, we're going to be looking at this thing in the rearview mirror. i can -- you know, i'm very confident that if we do those things right, that will happen. >> reporter: dr. bibbins-domingo told us until 80% of the population is vaccinated, we'll have to continue masking, distancing, and hygiene. she says it will help reduce the surges at hospital especially as two more strains of the virus that are more contagious continue to emerge. in san jose, thom jensen, nbc bay area news. let's check in on icu bed availability around the state. southern california and the san joaquin valley, they're out of standard icu beds. they're at 0%. sacramento area, 11%. the bay area dropping down to 6% available capacity overnight. questi we were at 10% earlier this week. right now only northern california is above that 15% threshold with 33%. as for the stay-at-home orders, the sacramento area shutdown is actually set to end tomorrow. the governor's office said that's not going to happen. they'll likely be extending that. here in the bay area, our stay-at-home order set to expire on january 8th. that likely will also be extended. southern california and the san joaquin valley, they are shut down as well. the pandemic has pushed hospitals to their limits, especially in southern california where some have scrambled to provide oxygen for the critically ill. so the state will be teaming up with the u.s. army corps of engineers to try to fix that. teams will be deployed to six los angeles area hospitals to help upgrade outdated oxygen delivery systems. they are expected to begin assessments as soon as tomorrow. here locally, santa clara county added new restrictions today. the main new rule is that businesses must close indoor break rooms and lunch rooms. employees should only use appliances like the coffeemaker, the fridge, or the microwave. so where can you eat? county leaders now recommend eating in your car if you can. they say break rooms have proven to be one of the most common causes of workplace covid-19 transmission. health care facilities and hospitals are exempt from that rule. santa clara county will have several pop-up testing sites next week for people who think they've been exposed to the virus. take a look at a list of testing sites that will hope. san jose, gilroy, palo alto, cupertino. the sites will open next week, but check the details. some are by appointment only. if you're wondering where you are in the vaccine line, we can help. just point your phone's camera to the qr code in the bottom left of the screen. it will take you right to our page on our website that our web team has been working on. they created this really cool interactive tool. you answer just a few questions, what county you live in, what your job is, and within a minute you'll get a rough estimate of your place in line. again, you can just point your phone camera to the qr code in the bottom left of your screen. new at 5:00, vandals reportedly struck house speaker'''s san francisco home before done. the spray painted messages demands rents be canceled. what appears to be a pig's head sits at the base of the door in a pool of red paint. there's a crossed out reference to $2,000 relief checks. our cameras captured workers covering the graffiti up. pelosi championed increasing the checks to $2,000, and slammed mitch mcconnell for blocking them in the senate. some twitter users understandably confused, wondering why the vandals targeted pelosi. police took a report on the damage at 3:00 in the morning. we reached out to nancy pelosi's office, but there's been no comment so far. for the first time in nearly four years, congress has overridden a veto by president trump. it happened during a rare new year's day session with the senate passing the military spending bill with an 81-13 vote. but as nbc's wendy woolfolk explains, a bill to increase covid relief checks didn't even make it to the floor. >> i would urge all of my colleagues to vote to override the veto. >> reporter: in an unusual new year's day senate session, the upper chamber votes to override president trump's veto of the national defense authorization act. >> having voted in the affirmative, the bill on reconsideration is passed. the objection of the president of the united states to the contrary notwithstanding. >> reporter: the president vetoed the spending bill because it allows military bases honoring confederate figures to be renamed, and it does not reform liability protections for social media companies. >> without objection, so ordered. >> reporter: avoiding potentially 30 hours of debate into the weekend, senators agreed to a final vote. >> bring the bill to the floor. >> reporter: but as expected, they rejected a vote on the house bill that would increase the second round of covid relief payments from $600 to $2,000. >> a huge chunk would essentially be socialism for rich people, money flowing to households earning well into six figures who did not lose any jobs or income last year. >> reporter: with the current congress set to expire sunday -- >> this is it, the last chance for the 116th congress to pass $2,000 checks and to say to regular americans, help is on the way. >> reporter: the new 117th congress must find another way. wendy woolfolk, nbc news. here in the bay area, some people already have started receiving their stimulus checks. coming up in just about seven minutes, our pete suratos talks to a few of them and learns what they plan to do with that money. your paycheck may be going up a bit starting today as the minimum wage increases. california's minimum wage going up to an even $13 per hour. businesses with more than 25 employees will pay $14 per hour. wages are higher here in the bay area. san jose's minimum wage climbs 20 cents to $15.45 per hour. los altos, palo alto, santa clara going to start the year at $15.65. mountain view and sunnyvale have the area's highest minimum wage, which today goes up to an hourly rate of $16.30. it's been 12 years since oscar grant was killed by a b.a.r.t. police officer at the fruitvale station. but his family says another person involved in his death still needs to be punished. nbc bay area's anoushah rasta shows us how they used today's anniversary of the tragic shooting to put more pressure on the district attorney. >> reporter: it was 12 years ago today that oscar grant died at the hands of a b.a.r.t. police officer and more than a decade later, his family has not given up on trying to get what they say is justice. >> so we are here as a family, as a coalition, and as a community demanding nancy o'malley charge anthony peroni for felony murder. >> reporter: only one former b.a.r.t. police officer was charged in connection with grant's death. grant's family now wants alameda county d.a. nancy o'malley to charge a second former b.a.r.t. police officer as well, anthony peroni. >> tony peroni, with his 250 pounds on oscar's neck, with his hands on oscar's face. you can hear in the video oscar saying "i can't breathe". >> we will hunt him down. >> yes, sir. >> we will find him. we will put him in jail, and we will make sure he doesn't hold another job in this country. >> reporter: latifah simon is on b.a.r.t.'s board of directors. she joined today's press conference and announced the board supports a felony murder charge against peroni. >> on january 14th, the majority of the board and i have authored a resolution. that resolution clearly states that the bay area rapid transit district board of directors believe it is time for nancy o'malley to charge officer peroni with felony murder. >> reporter: we reached out to district attorney o'malley's office for a comment today but have not heard back. she has previously said she's assigned a working group to look over the case, and, quote, the group has been working diligently to conduct a thorough review of the facts and the law. the office has been in close contact with the family to keep everyone informed of our progress. anoushah rasta, nbc bay area news. we were not able to reach former officer peroni today for comment. scary moments at a new year's eve party that winter supposed to be happening in the first place. what sent party guests running. plus the first bay area baby of the new year born in san francisco. we'll tell you his sweet story. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri tracking some rain tonight and two more storms ahead for the first week of 2021. i'll show you what i'm seeing about that long-range forecast coming up in about eight minutes. 20 million. it is a staggering number. the u.s. has now surpassed 20 million confirmed cases of covid-19. that's nearly a quarter of the cases around the world. california accounts for more than 10% of the nation's cases. of course we're nearly 12% of the population. india trails the u.s. with 10 million cases. let's take a closer look at the timeline for reaching 20 million cases. this is according to johns hopkins university. take a look at when we reached 10 million cases, november 8th. about nine months after the pandemic began. but look at this. it took just eight weeks for the next 10 million cases to be confirmed, putting us at 20 million right now. that shows just how fast covid has been spreading this winter season. the pandemic has left millions of people without their jobs and finally many people are getting some much needed help this new year. federal stimulus checks are being distributed this week. nbc bay area's pete suratos reports it's a welcome relief for those out of work and hoping for better days to come. >> it's going to help me good because i'm on unemployment right now. so it's going to give me a little bit of cushion that i didn't have before. >> reporter: mike from modesto is visiting oakland with his family. he says the stimulus check he just received is giving his home in the new year. mike is married with four kids and just went on unemployment in september. >> it's nothing that for the long haul is going to take care of anybody. it's kind of a temporary thing, but at the same time, it is helping out. >> reporter: covid relief checks are going out this week, either by direct deposit or paper checks in the mail. the biggest check for an individual is $600. eligible married couples can receive $1,200 along with up to $600 for each qualifying child. armad from san leandro works in retail and is waiting for his check. he says he can use the money after taking time off to limit exposure to the virus. >> i'm just trying to be safe for myself so i had to take off a few days. everyone got bills to pay. hours are getting cut. so i mean anyone can use it right now. >> reporter: a push to increase individual checks from $600 to $2,000 hasn't received enough support in the senate. so this may be the last stimulus check in the foreseeable future. oakland resident ali abdullah is a father of two who is waiting on his stimulus check as well. he's unemployed, and is disappointed the elected leaders couldn't agree on an increase at a time when people are barely making it. >> they need to be on the $2,000 because american people need and a lot of people are on unemployment. >> reporter: now the u.s. treasury department says those stimulus checks will continue to go out through next week. they said if any legislation is passed in the future to increase those funds, the additional funds will be sent out as quickly as possible. in emeryville, pete suratos, nbc bay area news. a rough start to the new year for some people in southern california. three people were injured when a stage collapsed at a new year's eve warehouse party. it happened just north of san diego in miramar. witnesses say there were about 200 people at this party. an upper level stage collapsed onto some of them. san diego firefighters say that balcony was built illegally. there were just too many people on it. >> it seemed like a little sketchy to me. me and my friends kind of backed off, and that's when it collapsed. i ran upstairs to make sure my other friends were okay. >> the three injuries are minor. that party, of course, violated covid health restrictions because all of southern california is under a stay-at-home order the same as we are. here's an unforgettable way to start off the new year. take a dip in the ice cold pacific ocean. many new year's events were canceled this year but not the polar plunge at ocean beach. i believe that's kira klapper jumping in there. a group still gathered to run into that chilly water. >> we really need something different. we need a little bit more excitement, a little bit more happiness because i think, you know, with the pandemic and people being stuck inside, it's really weighing on people. so, you know, this is my way to kind of share a little joy. >> you would think that you'd run in, you'd come out, towel off and get out of there. they didn't. they stayed and they played after jumping into the water. >> you know how you can tell that's not kira klapper is ever since i had my two kids, i wear like a head to toe bathing suit. you can barely even see my eyeballs. >> that's good to know. >> everything is covered now. >> good to know. all right. the pandemic has radically altered so many of our traditions, but unendures unchanged. the arrival of the new year's baby. san francisco's benioff children's hospital celebrated the birth of jack ladee at six minutes past midnight. the maternity staff was clearly craving some good news. look at that. they were ready with balloons and crowns, hoping they'd be put to good use and indeed they were. the parents are thrilled as they should be. that's a framer right there. >> congratulations. >> way to kick off 2021. >> you know, as i was kicking off 2021 at home last night, i switched on the tv, and i saw jeff ranieri in a tuxedo. >> looking great. >> lookin' real sharp, sir. >> you know, i kind of missed it today, i must say. you know, now i'm in the mode everyone else is at home, right? you've got the comfy sweater on and you're maybe dealing with a food hangover or another kind of hangover. you know, we all had those small celebrations within our immediate household to ring in 2021 and wasn't that great. as we head through the first weekf 2021, we are expecting some really excellent weather to help keep our fire danger down. those rain chances return as soon as tonight. let's bring you into that microclimate forecast. you can see on stormranger, our mobile doppler radar, we are dry across the bay area right now. but let me give you a look off towards the north. that's where i am seeing this cold front develop. it's a rather weak cold front. but as that continues to drop down to the south through this evening, we'll start to see those rain chances pick up. you see in my timeline by 10:30 tonight, i do anticipate some rain to begin here over marin, napa, sonoma counties down to about san francisco. nothing really for san jose at 1 10:30. by 3:30 in the morning, you can see how that storm breaks up. that's what we'd have the best chance, early tomorrow morning for the south bay. then as we roll through 7:00, we'll keep the clouds and some isolated spotty chances of some showers. so tomorrow not going to be nearly as sunny as we've been used to for some of our afternoons. you can see that widespread overcast expected across the bay area. so as we roll through tomorrow morning, if you are up early trying to start on a new year's resolution to do a little exercise and you want to get the yoga mat out, you're going to need that jacket even for a light jog. we're in the 40s across the bay area. peninsula 47 and the tri-valley at 44. going to feel refreshing and invigorating out in that chill. not quite as invigorating as that polar plunge we saw earlier in the show, but you're at 44 in the north bay. east bay at 45. daytime highs tomorrow warm up but not by a whole lot. 55 in martinez. oakland 58. down to san jose, 59. we'll stay with this trend of upper 50s through palo alto and half moon bay with, again, just a slight chance of a spotty shower through tomorrow afternoon. now, the better bet of rainfall is still a few days away. we've been tracking this for the past several days, and we're seeing some changes in that forecast. things are consolidated. the data is becoming a lot more refined and we're getting a much better idea of what's going to happen. by 10:00 p.m. on sunday, that next storm lines up. it looks impressive as you can see out here. all of this rainfall. but what looks to be happening right now is the moisture tap we could get from this, the subtropical moisture tap would be a little less potent. we're going to get rainfall back on monday but maybe not as strong as initially anticipated. so the first storm on monday. then as we roll through next wednesday, that would be the second hit here of some rainfall for the bay area. so totals pretty much in line with what i've been seeing over the past two days. down in the south bay, right around that half inch to three-quarters of an inch. three-quarters of an inch to one inch for the east bay and the peninsula. then for the north bay, right around santa rosa for potentially an inch, maybe a little higher. around guerneville and the higher elevations, that purple color, we are potentially looking at around two inches of rainfall there as well. so on my extended forecast, you can see just some spotty chances this weekend. i think we're going to be fine. if you've got anything to do, it looks good. monday that first storm. wednesday that second storm with those totals, a half inch to two inches with the better bet of those lower totals as we've been talking about down towards south bay. higher totals up towards the north bay. sierra snow also coming in. at least one to two feet for some of the higher elevations here with those storms we expect to move on in. so i think a pretty good start here to 2021. i mentioned i had a food hangover, terry and kira. i'm also eyeing some cheese dip and some breadsticks off to my right here, so that's going to be the snack in between shows here tonight. >> my only snack is a cup of coffee right now because i need it after last night. all right, jeff. we'll leave it at that. >> don't ask, jeff. >> you got it. coming up, put away the cash when you cross bay area bridges. we're going to tell you how you'll have to pay instead. ♪ we are learning more about yesterday's tragic hit-and-run in san francisco. two women were killed when a driver hit them in the city's south of market neighborhood and drove away. police say 45-year-old troy mcallister is being held on a slew of charges. investigators say the parolee was speeding in a stolen car and had just burglarized a business before that crash. he reportedly ran a red light just before hitting the women. we don't know their identities. put your cash away. some big changes to bay area bridges that we've been telling you about for a while. they're here. the new electronic system begins today for all seven of the area state-owned toll bridges. a live look at the bay bridge. electronic tolls are in effect now. started today. same goes for the antioch, carquinez, dumbarton, and san mateo bridges. customers who pay their tolls with fast track or a license plate account will see no difference in their statements. but drivers not enrolled in either program will receive a monthly voi monthly invoice for all crossings. the system is similar to the one being use add the golden gate bridge. two cats are back with their owners tonight after a terrifying ordeal. they were rescued from an apartment nearly demolished by the christmas day bombing in nashville. search and rescue teams went on a special mission to find molly and martin. they found molly snuggled under the covers of her owner's bed. martin was found snacking on some prime rib the owner had left out. they're grateful to have their cats back. coming up, some of the new year's fireworks from around the world. tonight at 6:00, taking on racial profiling and some new rules for drivers. just some of the changes coming to california this new year. we're going to go over the new laws. that story and more in our 6:00 newscast. next on "nightly news," nbc's pete williams explains the one new travel requirement that could affect your next flight. that's coming up in moments. but before we go, the final day of 2020 was a new year's eve like no other. >> fireworks over red square rang in the new year in moscow. despite the light show, the streets around the square were empty. russia still celebrated the new year 11 times for each of its 11 time zones. >> wow. and in thailand, bangkok's fireworks show was slashed to just five minutes as the country endures its worst coronavirus wave yet. >> we're back at 6:00. hope you can join us. "nightly news" is next. begin a new year, growing fears of another covid surge. that highly infectious new strain now found in a third state the worrying images of crowds ringing in 2020, including the president's family, despite health officials' urgent pleas to stay home hospitals overwhelmed. some preparing to decide which patients get lifesaving care. long lines and growing frustration over the slow vaccine rollout. and questions tonight. why one drugstore skipped over seniors, who were supposed to get the vaccine first. the pharmacist under arrest did he destroy

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