to get their covid booster shots or else. bob, which workers are under this mandate? >> reporter: well, good morning to you, kris. this booster shot mandate that does go -- the deadline is today, applies to all santa clara county workers who work in high-risk setting, health care workers, medical first responders like emts and firefighters, people who work in skilled nursing facilities and people who work in jails. now, if these employees do not get that booster shot, they'll be reassigned from front line positions, they'll be put somewhere else not in front line positions. the county did set up a waiver process after hospitals protested they would lose too many workers as a result. each hospital or department does have to apply for the exemption from the booster shot. workers themselves can't do that individually. santa clara county fire tells us that 40 of its firefighters do want waivers. here is the chief of the san jose fire department, who we also spoke with. >> we do have individuals who have made the decision to not be vaccinated to this point, and so there are individuals who will have to navigate this new order and make decisions as to what they're going to do. but we do have well over 90% of our workforce already vaccinated. the numbers of personnel who have received their booster -- >> transportation authorities are expected to mandate vaccinations for workers within 60 days. the leader of the largest employer union, i just spoke with him about 30 minutes ago. he anticipates that vta anticipates it would lose 2% to 5% of its employees who would be fired or quit over the mandate. vta says as of last week, 61% of it's 2,100 employees are fully vaxxed, 71% have received one dose. kris? >> thank you very much, bob. you can watch the complete interview with fire chief sapien on our streaming app. download it to our roku, apple tv, amazon fire and you can see the rest of our covid coverage as well. and the clock is ticking on a possible strike by oakland teachers. this is an issue over covid safety and how they are going to come together to come up with some sort of safety plan both sides can live with. teachers have threatened a strike vote, but negotiations continue this morning. the union says more than 100 staff members last week tested positive for covid and the remaining staff is stretched very thin. new developments in washington overnight. the state department now urging americans to russia. brie jackson is live in washington. the situation is getting more intense. >> reporter: good morning, marcus. that's absolutely right, concerns over russia continue to rise. just this morning, senior administration officials say that conversations are under way with nato countries who would receive u.s. military assets. now, this comes after the state department directed the evacuation of embassy families in ukraine, citing concerns that russia is planning military action. >> to de-escalate tensions. >> reporter: strong words from u.s. officials as tensions with russia escalate. the u.s. secretary of state warning if any russian troops enter ukraine -- >> in the event there is a renewed russian incursion, russian forces going into ukraine, there is going to be a swift, a severe and united response. >> reporter: this comes as russian forces amass along ukraine's northern, southern and eastern borders. >> i am gravely concerned that putin will show, once again, aggression in europe and cross the boundary into ukraine in the coming days or weeks. >> reporter: sparking calls from abroad and at home for president biden to act fast and aggressively. >> let's make sure that we are pushing back right now with stiff sanctions, making sure that we are showing putin we do mean business. >> reporter: the biden administration already sending the first shipment of military aid, while weighing options. among them is to move u.s. troops and equipment from other parts of europe into poland, romania, and other countries neighboring ukraine. blinken stressing diplomacy as the preferred path forward. >> in the event there is a renewed russian incursion, russian forces going into ukraine, there is going to be a swift, severe and united response. >> reporter: president biden not ruling out another summit with russian president vladimir putin. the state department also saying that nonessential embassy employees have the option to leave, and warning americans not to travel to ukraine or russia. marcus? >> i think that would be good advice. brie jackson in washington this morning, thank you. happening tomorrow, san jose leaders plan to vote on a controversial new gun control bill. if approved, this would be the first u.s. city to require gun owners to pay a yearly fee and carry liability insurance. the fees would be collected by a nonprofit and distributed to community groups focused on reducing gun violence. if the city approves the ordinance, opponents are vowing swift legal action. new this morning, new emergency siren systems are coming to southern marin. in sausalito, tamalpais valley, strawberry and a portion of tiburon. the systems will replace outdated equipment and provide warnings in the event of earthquakes, tsunamis. inspectors say the installation will take place over the next few months. if your plans take you near the beach today, you're going to have to be on alert. the national weather service is issuing a sneaker wave warning through 1:00 this afternoon. sneaker waves come with unusual force and can pull people and animals out into the ocean, even if they're just a couple feet high. waters can look calm before the sneaker waves strike. anyone along the coastline is advised to not turn your back on the water. and a live look at highway 50 in the sierra at echo summit. it's certainly not situation critical yet, but with the lack of recent rain, it's bringing snow levels back to near about average for this time of year. the snowpack is now somewhere around 110% of normal. meteorologist kari hall keeping an eye on that. any hope yet for more rain on the horizon? >> yeah, we do see a change in this weather pattern, not for this week, but possibly next week. so here is what's happening. we've seen all of these storm systems lining up out there over the ocean and then moving to the north of us, being blocked by high pressure that's steering the storm track a away from the bay area. it does look like as we go through the week into next week we'll start to see that changing and that could mean that we could open the door for rain to come into the bay area, starting on february 1st. now, once again, it's dry this week, but let's take a look at what some of the models are showing for next week, going toward the end of the week we could see possibly a couple of feet of snow in parts of the sierra, and this is very early. so we're hoping that this pattern will hold as we look ahead in those forecasts. we'll talk about how our water year is doing in a few minutes, and, mike, you are seeing a change at the bay bridge. >> yeah, this is not unexpected. the timing variable over the last few weeks. a look at the bay bridge toll plaza, we don't have a big backup but the activation of the metering lights just past the plaza. folks are not slowing much as you head toward the plaza itself. as you lose lanes, you get toward the metering lights and we have slowing. the map shows you a little bit of slowing at the bottom of the screen for the toll plaza. highway 37 holds steady for the westbound commute. and a little bit through concord. your typical patterns and usual suspect spots there. san jose a little more snowing north 101. we still have the crash at the interchange with 880 and there may be a quick break for the transition as they upright one vehicle there. no major injuries. back to you. >> thanks, mike. kris, it's that time of year again. i know you don't want to hear it, but it is tax season, and as "today in the bay" continues, we're going to tell you what the irs is doing. at 6:25, the tips you need to know to quickly get your refund. >> reporter: yeah, if you used venmo or paypal, you may have an extra tax bill if there's a lot on those accounts. we'll tell you all about it. let's take you to the futures. lots of red to see and we've had a couple of rough days on the stock market. >> plus, a very scary situation in northern california. we'll show you the moment one delivery driver came face-to-face with that guy. what do you do? drop the package, run! we'll show you the warning that might have saved him. we'll be right back. good monday morning. right now at 6:12, as you're heading out, we are dealing with dense fog around santa rosa, but much of the rest of the bay area is clear, but it is very chilly. we'll take a look at temperatures and where we're headed, also an update on our water year. that's coming up in a few minutes. >> and looking at san jose, it looks like all lanes have reopened at the transition 101 at 880. there's still crash activity on the shoulder. not a lot of slowing. we'll also track the backup at the bay bridge as the metering lights are activated. >> good morning, very happy monday to you as well. well, the bills are ready to be paid. today is the first day you can file your income tax. now, a couple of new things this year. number one, if you received money via venmo or paypal for some kind of service, meet 1099-k, the new tax laws have tightened up the rules for those who take venmo or paypal or other third-party payment services. don't worry about this if you just use it to pay friends for gas money or dinner. but if you're a hairdresser or etsy artist or someone who gets paid via venmo, the tax authorities are watching that account and venmo and paypal are turning that information over to the irs. if you've got child tax credit payments throughout the year, you'll probably get less back on your return. theoretically you could owe money, but that's unlikely. just be ready for extra steps. and here is a big one. if you made money off bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, that's no different than making it off stocks or other investments, so you'll owe capital gains if you sold your bitcoin for a profit. these days it's not a risk. bitcoin is worth about half of what it used to be. but a lot of people who are playing around on the robinhood or coin-based app don't necessarily realize there is a tax bill coming due and capital gains taxes are much bigger than standard income tax, particularly if you bought and sold the asset quickly. chris chmura is going to have more advice coming up in about ten minutes and there's some advice as well ahead on the "today" show. >> if you're expecting a refund and you want that we fund quickly, you should file electronically and you should do it as soon as possible. >> reporter: look for that ahead on the "today" show. this week on our podcast sand hill road, we talk to investor nicole quinn at light speed venture partners. nicole invests in consumer tech things like lady gaga's cosmetic company, as well as online shopping apps and other apps. we talk about how all those things, along with tech like tiktok have become their own kind of entertainment. >> i had never thought of cameo and calm and spotify and to some degree netflix, and even doordash, as almost being channels. because they are ways of entertaining ourselves and we spend money on them. >> nobody has ever described it like that, but you are spot on. i think that's a fascinating way to think about it. >> you can hear what nicole has to say about the future of entertainment, plus what it's like to work with lady gaga, on our podcast sand hill road. we release these every week and i love taking a look at how we finance tech through the lens of real people, people who really care about this technology and are genuinely changing the world. >> yeah, you know, because at the end of the day, we are driven as people, right? so you've got to know where it came from. >> exactly, exactly. >> thanks, scott. 6:16 for you this morning. apple quietly pulled its new discount pricing requirement for students and teachers once again, allowing everyone to take advantage. so last week apple startsed asking people to verify their identity through a third-party service, but some educators and administrators complained that they could not verify the status properly. so the step is being eliminated, allowing shoppers in some cases to receive 10% discounts. >> i'm going to wear my university of texas shirt to the apple store today. 6:16th morning. this was tending. we know waiting for your favorite amazon package to arrive really can be unbearable. >> that's nothing compared to what one southern california delivery driver had to face. look at this. >> stop, stop, stop right now. there's a bear right there. that's a bear. back away. go back to your car. that's fine. >> all right, you see the driver raising his arms, making himself appear bigger to the bear. we've heard about that with mountain lions, but it worked with the bear, too. the bear backed away instantly. the delivery driver still completed his job. the ring camera footage posted to youtube last month but it's getting more attention after it was published in newsweek. >> what if the homeowner hadn't been watching the ring, right? he wouldn't have known. >> wow. you just make yourself bigger. the thing about it, we've said that with mountain lions, but what if it was mama bear. >> and there were babies. >> he probably should have gone back to his car. >> i wonder if that delivery was bear spray. >> who knows. >> oh, man, i'm glad we don't see anything like that in our neighborhoods, mike and kari. >> yeah, that driver was unbothered, though, like, okay, i'm still going to make this delivery. i don't know, that was a pretty crazy video. let's get an update on what's happening as we take a look at the fire that's burning near big sur. it's called the colorado fire. we've been posting about it on nbcbayarea.com. unfortunately, neck time we take that drive down highway 1 and looking at bixby bridge, we're going to see a lot of that hillside charred. winds are still breezy in the area and some of that snoek will be drifting into the bay area, creating unhealthy air quality for people who are sensitive to the wildfire smoke. these numbers are a measure of particulate matter and once it gets over 50, it's moderate. once it gets over 100, it's unhealthy for people sensitive to wildfire smoke or people who have asthma or some of those breathing problems that may be affected by that. as we get a look at the hazy start we have this morning in san jose, our temperatures are also very chilly and we've seen our morning starts in some of our inland areas right now in the upper 30s. we're at 41 degrees in san jose and we will see the trend heading up as we go toward late morning into the afternoon. another mild afternoon with our temperatures reaching 64 degrees in san jose. but a little bit cooler in hayward, reaching 60, 60 in oakland and 64 in santa rosa. we're still dry, no change in our pattern this week. but we are going to gradually start to see this high pressure moving away and that means that it will make way for rain to move back into the bay area by early next week. it does look like we could see some positive changes, and despite the fact that we've had such a dry january. we're actually still at a surplus of rainfall. take a look at santa rosa, after 22 inches of rain, we're at a surplus of over 5 inches of rain and seeing pretty big gains, also, once again, for the rest of the bay area from looking at our water year, we're still at 163% of normal for oakland. so we are going to see those numbers continue to go down just a bit, with one more week of dry weather. but we may see it going back up once we get rain in here by the beginning of next week. we're still dry and we're going to enjoy sunshine, with temperatures staying normal for this time of year. mike, tracking any more changes for the commute? >> yeah, we have the crash in san jose, a change for the positive, i would say, as we look at our map. the speed sensor does not show any slowing down where the area is. i took a quick peek and traffic looks like it's flowing great. heading north, there was more slowing heading toward 880. the crash, now cleared all lanes. they likely took the tow truck away and there's activity to distract you and much less slowing. there is more traffic coming, you see the slower drive developing in san martin. the rest of the bay, easy drive, east bay a little slow on 84. a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza, no problems. westbound with the taillights, a smooth drive. the metering lights are on. they will slow you just at the beginning of the incline. other than that, a great drive. back to you. >> i like to hear that, great drive. 6:21 this morning. next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> reporter: the irs just started processing tax returns. we want to make sure you don't leave any money on the table. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll show you how next. >> i had a home video i shot the other day and i didn't know if it was worthy or not. >> i would put it on right away. >> oh, honey, are you okay? >> do you recognize those two bobs? as we head to break, we'll share a throwback bob posted on instagram, the one time he interviewed bob saget and showed him his own funny home video to see if he would make the cut. you can catch up with bob on on instagram, twitter and facebook. you're watching "today in the bay." can you see my wall of smiles? when i first started using genesys technology i was kind of embarrased at all the love and attention i got from my customers. people are so moved by how much i understand about them. they start including me in their lives. that's helen and her friends. i arranged a wellness retreat for them. look at those ladies. such wisdom. mmm. but it's really genesys that helps me understand people and what they truly need. i'm just glad i can help. year, here's a win. federal tax forms aren't due until april 18th for most people because of emancipation day in dc. something else that's different this year is letter 6419 which deals with the child tax credit. millions of families with kids got this letter already or will get it soon. hold onto it because you might need it to calculate whether your child tax credit is correct and to figure out whether you're leaving money on the table. it's always important to check your return for accuracy. it's especially important this area. the irs has a backlog of 6 million unprocessed returns from last year. many of them have mistakes. traditionally paper returns have the most mistakes. the good news is, you don't have to file on paper and millions of families don't have to pay a pro to do it for them. you might qualify for the free file program. families with an adjusted income of $73,000 or less, qualify for free consultation and filing. millions of families qualify but don't take advantage, so check it out. >> thanks, chris. it is an all new workweek. meteorologist kari hall is tracking what we can expect. plus -- >> reporter: racist flyers found in one san francisco neighborhood. coming up, what those flyers said and how community leaders are responding. >> and firefighters gaining ground on a winter wildfire along the central coast. where containment stands this morning for that fire threatening homes near big sur. this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. >> it's a city largely of inclusion and it's surprising to hear. >> right now, 6:30, a shocking discovery in one neighborhood where people woke up to find hateful flyers on their doorsteps. >> and remembering the deputy recruit shot and killed on a freeway. we sat down one-on-one with alameda county sheriff ahead of david nguyen's funeral. >> an update on the wildfires threatening homes along the coast in big sur. this is "today in the bay." good monday morning, and thanks for being with us. i'm kris sanchez in for laura. >> i'm marcus washington. of course, we're broadcasting right here on your television, but take us with you if you watch us on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online at nbcbayarea.com. want to take you live this morning, foster city, the sun is starting to come up. beautiful shot there as we get started with your monday morning. as kari said a little earlier, what you can't see is how cold it is out there. she's tracking temperatures for us this morning. >> right, so i wanted to show you some of these temperatures we're feeling as you're getting ready to head out the door. you're probably hearing the heater kicking on a lot more often to try to warm up the house from these temperatures that are outside right now in the mid-30s in dublin, 36 in morgan hill and we're also seeing some of those upper 30s in parts of the north bay. fog also in the north bay with visibility down to about a half of a mile. it's clear for the rest of the bay area to start out. as we go into this afternoon our temperatures headed for the upper 50s for the peninsula and near the coast, but we do see low 60s for our afternoon highs for the inland areas. so we'll talk more about this, the changes ahead in the forecast in just a few minutes, marcus. >> thanks, kari. developing in san francisco, neighbors this morning wondering who is behind a batch of hateful flyers left on people's doorsteps in pacific heights. now, those pamphlets are loaded with anti-semitic rhetoric. cierra johnson live with some of the stunned reaction from neighbors. >> reporter: good morning, marcus. some of the folks we had a chance to speak with said they're very surprised that those type of flyers were found in their pacific height neighborhood, a neighbor hood they say is typically very inclusive. the flyers were found on sunday circulated between scott and broderick street. a jewish couple found the flyers and contacts nbc bay area but did not want to talk on camera. the flyers wrote every single aspect of the covid agenda is jewish and listed names of people in the cdc, as well as pharmaceutical companies as being members of the jewish community involved with that agenda. while many neighbors say they're disturbed by what they've found, the regional leader of the antidefamation league, organization say they use props like this to try to justify physical terror. >> there is a link between spreading the lies, trying to intimidate and it can inspire violence and terroristic activities. >> reporter: and this morning we're also hearing reaction to the racist fliers from some local community leaders. san francisco supervisor catherine stefani said in a written statement, let be very clear, this type of anti-semitic hatred has no place in our city and i've been in touch with sfpd. our communities have been terrified by the rise in hate crimes and we do everything we can to stand against it wherever it occurs. now, we have had a chance to reach out to san francisco police department, and as of sunday evening they have not received any reports of racist flyers. we'll continue to check in with them. we're live, cierra johns for "today in the bay." >> thank you. the story doesn't stop there. authorities in florida are also investigating similar flyers found there over the weekend. the mayor of miami beach tweeted someone left plastic bags like these outside of hundreds of homes, but in this case filled with small pebbles. police there increasing patrols and investigating the source. happening today, the al media county sheriff's department recruit who was killed in a freeway shooting earlier this month will be laid to rest. the funeral service for 28-year-old david nguyen is set for 10:00 this morning at cornerstone fellowship church in livermore. nguyen was just a month away from becoming a sheriff's deputy when he was shot and killed while driving near the bay bridge toll plaza. no arrests announced, i spoke with sheriff gregory ho remembered. how is the team holding up? >> it's remarkable the work they're doing at the academy. he's a member of the 172nd academy and that class has taken special steps in order to remember him and make sure he's on their minds each and every day. there's a flower arrangement set up in the main hallway, they've decorated their academy sign with a saying that he was famous for, saying, yeah, baby. so every day and almost everything they do, david is remembered. >> he wasn't a deputy yet, but he clearly made an impression as a recruit. his phrase, yeah, baby, you were saying, obviously very enthusiastic. what else can you tell us about him? >> well, he was just the type of law enforcement recruit that any agency would be pleased to have. he has military experience, he's a member of the california national guard, he was a member with them since 2012. he had responded to a number of emergencies, to assist communities. he's been up to the wildfires. he's been to several disturbances. he has an outstanding reputation with his recruit members. the thing that's very touching to us is the work he did with his mom and dad. they're from vietnam and he was the oldest son of the family, and he took care of them every day. >> the investigation as far as we know is ongoing, but can you tell us if there are any leads? >> so we work closely with the california highway patrol, the lead agency in this investigation. and they've been working every day to come to a positive resolution. they have a number of leads they continue to work and we hope to have a favorable outcome and arrest the individual, hopefully, sooner than later. >> for the public, if they have any information -- i know you've been asking for weeks, the chp has been asking for weeks, if somebody now, three weeks later, remembers something or they find video, what is the best way to share that? >> absolutely. we certainly hope the public can assist us in this investigation. california highway patrol is accepting any type of information that you might have, and it's being run out of the oakland chp office. >> sheriff ahern, thank you so much for joining us. we hope that all of the services for recruit david nguyen go smoothly. and the sheriff says that david nguyen will be dep tiesed in february. you can watch the complete interview on our nbc bay area streaming app. download it, you can take it on roku, apple tv, amazon fire. 6:37 and new numbers from the world health organization on the global spread of the omicron variant. in the nine weeks since it was first identified, more than 80 million omicron cases have been reported worldwide. that's more than the number of covid cases reported in all of 2020. deaths globally from covid happened once every 12 seconds. more than 5.5 million deaths are blamed on covid since the start of the pandemic. those numbers are thought to be vastly underestimated. social advocates are turning up the heat on governor newsom to release hundreds of young people at juvenile detention facilities. the state reports a high number of juvenile detention cases than at any point in the pandemic. of the 640 people being held in four facilities, nearly one-third have tested positive for the virus. advocates want governor newsom to release them within six months of their parole date or with medical concerns. they argue they released thousands of adult inmates. a hearing is set for march. developing right now, firefighters are starting to get the upper hand on the wildfire burning between carmel and big sur. they're calling this one the colorado fire. it's now 35% contained, 700 acres are burned, and the good news is winds are providing a little bit of relief. highway 1 remains closed with evacuation orders still in effect for about 500 people. right now it's time to get a look at that forecast. of course windy, as you said, over the weekend for a lot of people. but how are we shaping up this week? how is it going to look for us? >> yeah, we're starting to see the winds calming down, especially of concern near the colorado fire in monterey county. the temperature right now, 56 degrees. still breezy with a northwesterly wind and humidity quite low, but we should continue to see better weather conditions there. some of the smoke from those fires drifting into the bay area, creating some unhealthy air quality for people who are sensitive to that smoke, especially in the east bay. we're seeing moderate air quality, so there will be a hazy tint to the sky as our temperatures reach into the low 60s for parts of the east bay. 62 in palo alto. mike, you were saying the traffic is starting to stack up in the east bay. >> yeah, a couple of spots. not unexpected at the bay bridge toll plaza. the toll plaza, the metering lights have been on for about a half hour and we're seeing a backup in the middle lanes. traditional pattern, they'll fill out the other lanes as the volume continues to build. getting over there, a smooth dry. slowing for the richmond toll plaza as well. also highway 4 through pittsburgh and into concord. typical spots through trivalley, as well as we're looking at san jose easing up as the crash cleared at the nimitz. back to you. >> thanks, mike. a surprise ending no one saw coming. ahead this morning on "today in the bay," we're going to tell you about passengers left to find another way home after a caribbean cruise ship avoids docking on u.s. soil. and this has nothing to do with covid. we're going to tell you the details on the seizure threat that left hundreds temporarily stranded. >> reporter: president biden is ratcheting up the pressure on the russians with possible american troop movement. let's take you to new york city and the big board. this shows you the dow. what you can't see is the s&p 500 down about 10% over seven days. that's correction territory. >> and what a weekend for football. the 9ers now just one win away from the super bowl. highlights as the rival rams thrilling win knocks tom brady out and sets up this all-or-nothing game. right now at 6:43, if you're going to be near the coast today, heads up that we have a beach hazard statement in effect where we could see some rip currents and sneaker waves. those dangerous conditions continue through the early afternoon. also watching the forecast for the inland areas. we'll talk more about that coming up next. >> looking forward for today as well as the rest of your commute, we have no delays for the mass transit system, which is the good news. you may be delayed or you may miss your train if you don't remember about this new schedule in effect for capitol corridor starting today. go to capitolcorridor.org to get adjustments for both the morning and evening ride. >> thank you. breaking news while you were sleeping. wiki leaks founder julian assange may be allowed to argue against his extradition to the united states. supreme court judges in the uk allowed him to appeal, although the court may still agree to accept the case. the u.s. has been trying to ex extradite him ever since release of classified documents more than ten years ago. president biden is thinking about sending more american troops to countries near ukraine, and scott mcgrew is joining us. you have the latest on this. >> reporter: yeah, including some new pictures, marcus, sent out by the minister of defense of ukraine. take a look. he says it shows 80 tons of new military weapons just in from the united states, being off-loaded from airplanes. the defense minister included a picture of a dog as well, perhaps trying to lighten up a very tense situation saying the cargo arrived under, quote, dependable protection. meanwhile, a senior adviser tells nbc news president biden is thinking about sending several thousand u.s. troops to nato alliness the baltics and eastern europe, like latvia and estonia. to be clear, we are not going to send to ukraine. belarus is royal to russia. you can see from this map why we're worried about the small countries to the north colored blue and you can see why putin is worried about which side ukraine will ultimately be on. our side under normal circumstances, that's what the ukrainian people largely want, or his side if he invades and takes over the country. the u.s. has ordered families and other pen nell working in the u.s. embassy in kyiv to get out. the russians, meantime, are going to hold naval exercises off the coast of ireland. other news, the committee investigating the january 6th attack on the united states revealed over the weekend it had interviewed former attorney general bill barr about an alleged plan by president trump to use the u.s. military to seize ballot boxes and voting machines. a plan that's been documented and talked about, but was never put into action. the revelation came on sunday morning's "face the nation". >> do you intend to go to the attorney general, bill barr, to ask him about this? how do you follow up on this kind of allegation and the paperwork to back it up? >> well, yes, we do. to be honest with you, we've had conversations with the former attorney general already. >> reporter: now, that is big news. that means the house select committee is farther ahead than we thought. we'll be talking about that on twitter, as well as the situation in ukraine. you can join me on social media. you see it on your screen. on twitter i'm @scott mcgrew. >> on a cruise ship scheduled to dock in miami never arrived and instead is in the bahamas. it's not covid related. passengers onboard the "crystal symphony" were ferried yesterday. the company operating it reportedly owes some $4 million in fuel bills and a judge granted a seizure order. passengers say they felt bad for the crew who was still working to assist them. >> those people had to be devastated because they knew their jobs were ending, and they were, it's a pleasure, can i help you, what would you like, and they never stopped that. i give them big, really big props for that. >> you can watch the full story on the "today" show coming up at 7:00 right after "today in the bay." now, what may have been the most exciting weekend of playoff football ever, the 49er faithful have extra reason to be excited. the 9ers are one game away from the super bowl. they got their huge upset over green bay on saturday. robbie gould's game-ending kick right here beat the packers, sending the 9ers to l.a. to face the rival ramps. george kettle says the team are battle tested. >> this team has been through a lot, we've been through a lot of adversity. we've lost games by making mistakes and we've won games dirty. this is a gritty and salty team and we keep bouncing back. >> a lot of descriptors in there. the rams won a thriller yesterday against tom brady and the buccaneers and the weather wasn't a factor. brady just led the bucs back to a tie in the final minutes and then a long bomb from matt satisfy ford to cooper kupp gave the rams a field goal as time ran out. there it is, brady's season now done. somehow things got more exciting in the night cap. the bills and the chiefs combined for 25 points and three lead changes in the last two minutes. then, in sudden death overtime, the chiefs marched down the field for the game-ending touchdown. the chiefs host the bengals now in the afc championship. the winners of those games face off in super bowl lvi right here on nbc11 bay area. that's coming up on february 13th. >> that should be fun. >> i'm ready to watch something else for a minute. that was exciting. >> i want the 49ers to win it all. we may be winning with the forecast. to find out, we've got to turn to meteorologist kari hall. she has all the answers. is it a winning day? >> it is. and i'm wondering, where is our cheese curds? we had a friendly wager with green bay. i'm guessing they'll be in the mail soon. we're looking pretty good for that shipment and we're seeing no fog at the golden gate bridge. we've seen fog over parts of the north bay. we're at about 2 miles right now visibility in santa rosa. it is improving, because just a little while ago it was down to about a quarter of a mile. we're starting out with cold temperatures and some light patchy fog right now as you're stepping out the door. we have upper 30s, but then take a look at the trend for today. we are 1 degree above freezing right now, so it is a cold start in parts of the north bay, especially. but then take a look at these highs. not a bad afternoon. we're headed for 64 degrees in santa rosa, 60 in hayward and 64 in san jose. los gatos reaching 59 degrees. mild temperatures, but also still staying dry as we look across the region. we are not seeing a whole lot of activity going on. all those storms staying out in the pacific. high pressure that's kept the storm track to the north and our weather dry will gradually start to move out of the way and that's going to open the door for rain to come in for early next week. it does look like finally, after such a dry january, we are looking at a wetter weather pattern for february, and that's, once again, what we need at this point after seeing extremely dry conditions. but in the near term we are looking dry. and, also, no snow for the sierra this week, but take a look at the forecast for next week. we could see potentially a couple of feet of snow, maybe even up to 3 feet, as we go toward the middle of next week. a lot of changes can happen between now and then, but i'm hoping this forecast holds that will bring us some rain and the sierras some snow. our temperatures reach into the 60s for the next few days. by thursday, our warmest day, san francisco will continue to see temperatures near 60 degrees. it's looking nice and sunny throughout the rest of the week. mike, turning your attention to the san mateo bridge? >> i was looking at the live camera and let's just take a look at the live camera. the taillights would be westbound across the span. the high-rise was a concern, but i don't see a problem on this live view. look at the map, the sensors where i've circled in the middle of the screen show westbound is slow across the entire high-rise. things were spreading out and contracting. the bottom of the screen, san jose, 87, 101 showed slowing for ten minutes. starting to ease up already. more traffic at san martin, even slower into morgan hill. as we look at the approach to the bay bridge, a smooth flow of traffic. same thing for the richmond bridge, your typical suspects. back to you. >> thanks, mike. happening now, caltrans starts work today to repair part of highway 9 in santa cruz county. the damage goes back to winter storms five years ago and will include extending a water viaduct. the project covers the area in brook dale between boulder cree. so it's going to be a minute. next, a quick look, including a warning for beachgoers. why you want to keep your eyes peeled if you're going to head down to the coastline. plus -- >> reporter: a deadline for workers in the south bay to get their booster shots. the new rule surrounding exemptions. >> and make sure you join me on facebook live. kris and i are talking about today's headlines, giving you a behind-the-scenes look. as you can see, we are live for you this morning. you can find me at marcus washington, nbc bay area on facebook. we're going to stay live through the end of the show and we're going to come back in about two minutes with more news for you. you're watching "today in the bay." we want to say welcome back and we're moving you forward with a look at the top stories on "today in the bay." starting with breaking news this morning. >> the affirmative action debate might soon make it to america's high court. within the last few minutes the supreme court announced justices will take on two cases some believe pose a direct threat to affirmative action in university admissions. the cases are playing out at harvard and the university of north carolina, the nation's oldest private and public universities. many believe a ruling could decide the very future of affirmative action everywhere. justices will hear arguments in the court's next term. now to a key deadline. this is for some santa clara county workers, as of today they must have their covid booster shots. >> bob redell is tracking which workers this will apply to. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning. yes, this booster shot mandate applies to all santa clara county workers who work in high-risk settings, so these would be health care workers, medical first responders, emts, firefighters, people who work in skilled nursing facilities and jails. now, if those employees do not get boosted, they'll be reassigned away from frontline positions. the county did set up a waiver process after hospitals protested they would lose too many workers as a result of this mandate. each hospital or department has to apply for the exemption from the booster shot. as a group, workers themselves cannot. that's a rule change. here's a live look at light rail, possibly as soon as today, the valley transportation authority is expected to mandate covid vaccinations for workers and they'll have to get shots within 60 days. the leaders of the largest employee union anticipate that the vta would lose 2% to 5% of its employees, who would be fired or quit over the mandate. the vta says as of last week 61% of its 2,100 employees are fully vaxxed, 71% have received one dose. kris, marcus? >> thank you, bob. if your plans today take you near the beach, be on alert. the national weather service issued a sneaker wave warning through 1:00 this afternoon. sneaker waves sneak up along the coast and can pull people and animals into the ocean, even if they're just a few feet high. kari is tracking those until 1:00, right? >> yes, and so you do need to be careful out there. temperature-wise we'll see highs reaching into the low 60s for today. mike? >> filling in all lanes for the richmond bridge and the san mateo bridge, a little slowing across the high-rise. we definitely have more traffic than we have for the last month. >> that's what's happening today in the bay. we'll be back with you at 7:25 with more live, local news. >> thank you for joining us. we'll take a live look. the "today" show is next. good morning show of force. the president considers deploying u.s. troops, warships and aircraft with the ukraine crisis deepening nato countries overnight announcing additional assets to the region and the state department urges americans to leave with russia at the border. is a russian invasion all but inevitable on edge. several major cities in mourning after violent attacks of police officers including an ambush shooting that killed one new york city officer and left another fighting for his life. this morning, th