with eight hours on the tarmac with working restrooms but no water on the aircraft. the hold-up has been waiting for officers to finish the sweep of the aircraft and other passengers who are trying to get out on outbound flights myself sister and brother-in-law are flying in to visit my brother who lives here in ft. lauderdale. unfortunately, their flight was delayed by about an hour. if it was on schedule, it is possible they could have been arriving when the shooting happen. my guess is they would not have been ending up in terminal two baggage claim where five people were killed and eight more injured. what personally struck me was how enormous the response was by first responders. i was on alligator alley, the main highway that cuts through everglades. i was about 15 miles away from the airport. once we got closer to the airport, i saw a s.w.a.t. team. their truck had jumped the curb and over the grass median. i believe the additional law enforcement speaks to the confusion over whether or not there was a second shooter. it turned out there wasn't but law enforcement was trying to be extremely cautious. keep in mind in ft. lauderdale, this city is only three hours south of orlando, the site of the deadliest mass shooting. the people in haud laude are now having to deal with a tragedy of their own. reporting live, bob riddell. nbc bay area. >> okay. thank you. we hope your sister gets off that flight shortly as well. we see this often in a mass shooting. it cause as domino effect. security is being stepped up at sfo. damian, there are direct flights to and from ft. lauderdale. what are the passengers there saying? >> reporter: there is one direct flight, the daily flight to and from ft. lauderdale at terminal two at sfo. today police officers were visible all over the airport. heavily armed police officers walked the concourse of terminal two. they are on heightened alert because of the shootings in ft. lauderdale. this lady was waiting for her friend to arrive on american flight 345 from ft. lauderdale. >> i was a little nervous when i heard about it. but she's okay. >> that flight departed before the shooting, touching down at 2:00 with some passengers not wanting to talk about the violence. others tell us, they watched it all develop while they were in the air. >> you're watching it on the news on our plane. and we were just so shocked that it happened. >> horrified. we were on virgin airlines in terminal one. it happened in terminal two. we were in the air. >> the lady sitting next to them has a friend in the terminal. she's not sure whether anything happened to her friend. and that one flight here at sfo departed this morning. the passengers at the land in orlando, and then they were shuttled to ft. lauderdale. live at sfo. >> tense for a lot of people around the country. lester holt continues our coverage of the airport shooting. he'll have more insights into the suspected gunman. "nightly news" is about 25 minutes away. we sent out a text alert about this this morning. we'll continue on update our digital platforms through the night. the top story, we're preparing for a very wet weekend. perhaps one of the biggest storms to hit the bay area in more than a year. here's a look outside. you can see the light clouds starting to come in. the rain might be here in a few hours. our chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is leading the coverage. >> the flooding threat looks very elevated as we head throughout the upcoming weekend and you can see how massive this moisture is out here in the pacific. this is what continues to strengthen and will be moving right into northern california. it is known as the atmospheric river or pineapple express. when this thing gets aimed at us, it will be a big fire hose sitting on nor cal unleashing what could be copious amounts of rainfall. ahead of that wave flash flood watch that is in effect for the entire bay area. saturday, 6:00 p.m. until sunday, 9:00 p.m. the water could rise fast especially near creeks, rivers and streams. common sense advice but something easy to remember. if you're in your car, you approach standing water. you want to turn around and not drive through it. something to keep in mind, especially if you live near the rivers. 9:00 p.m. tonight, showers near immediate coastline. then we're starting to see widespread rain saturday at 7:00 a.m. it is all about sunday for this potential atmospheric river, or pineapple express, to be point right at northern california. we are tracking several local rivers that could be near flood stage. russian river, napa river, also the guadalupe river, three of the main areas we're watching. >> okay. thank you. the santa cruz mountains and the bull's-eye of the storm. people there bracing for the onslaught as they prepare for the storms. near lexington with the scramble for safety. >> reporter: the people we talked to say some of these locals will benefit as long as they get through it without too much damage. people who live along this stretch of highway 9 are cleaning up after tons of debris. apparently loosened, came tumbling down today around homes and the slv swim central. >> there's a mud slide that happened there. it reroutes this little creek and then it clogged all the culverts. >> concerned about the big storm? >> i've been here all day i got my mud boots on. yep. >> neighbor elaine saw her property covered with mud. >> the it's kind of nerve-racking. i'm going to get sand bags and make sure my house stays safe. >> a lot of people have the same idea. so many churches united ran out of sand. >> people are preparing for the storm coming up. so it is really good. >> animals are part of preparation as well. today horse owners from covered bridge equestrian evacuated the facility. >> we're taking precaution because of the weather forecast that we're due for a doozy. so we've evacuated all the horses. about 70 plus horses. >> are the horses cooperating? >> not all of them. some don't like being in an enclosed trailer. some are going to pastures or local barns. >> and those horses are gone but the other storm preparations are going on. and we understand from lynn from valley churches united that they will get another 25 tons of sand in time for people to prepare for the storm. nbc bay area news. >> thank you. the preparations continue throughout the bay area. crews cleared out storm drains to prevent street flooding which is a common problem. >> the home is there won't be any flooding in the north bay but plenty of people are preparing. it is often a hot spot for flooding. >> lots of people here on high alert. you can see the sand bags are already put down. the biggest concerns is if the water levels here along the creek rise and there's flooding throughout the town. it has happened before and it has caused a great deal of damage. stocking up on sandbags the -- glenda johnson knows the drill. >> make sure i'm safe and my house is safe and my property is safe. >> reporter: living if san anselmo, she can understand what happens when the creek waters rise and then flood like they did in 2005. she lost everything. >> it only happened from the flood warning stage, it was about 40 minutes until it was in our house. >> the rains that hit only once every quarter century are coming this weekend. now they are stuffing sandbags along storm fronts and putting up flood gates in front of business on san anselmo avenue. >> in case the storm. >> reporter: if the storm is that bad, this area notorious for flooding could be on the front line. >> we're pretty much ground zero. it is grounded by markets here, or hills. and we're at the bottom of the bathtub. >> back here live, the town officials are urging residents to grab sand bags before the rain hits and the water levels here potentially rise. also, be sure to listen for any noise sirens or activations in case there's flooding. >> thank you. right now all roads leading into the yosemite valley are closing. just a few minutes ago, park rangers began shutting down the roads as well as the visitors centers. here's why. there are flood concerns for the mer ed river. this was the case in 1996 and 1997 when the river overflowed because of the storms, causing the water to cover the valley floor. no matter where you are, you can access our doppler radar and get a detailed forecast for your community. a clear preference for donald trump. u.s. intelligence officials say that's what motivated hackers in the 2016 election in the u.s. they say russia launched a massive hacking to under99 democratic process and hurt candidate hillary clinton. the heads of the fbi, the cia, and director of national intelligence briefed donald trump on the evidence today at trump tower. before hearing a word, trump told "the new york times" it was a political witch hunt. after the briefing he stated there is no effect on the outcome of the election. democrats say that's not the point. >> the american people have a right to know what a foreign power did to disrupt our election. >> also today, congressman barbara lee of oakland was gavelled into silence when she formally opposed the electoral vote in the house of representatives. vice president joe biden said there would be no debate. we will be in washington, d.c. raj is leading our coverage for the women's march to washington. a san francisco man has been charged tonight for a brutal and frightening attack that began on b.a.r.t. i'll tell you what led police to the suspect. coming up. also, the hot new tech gadgets. we have them. at least scott has them. he is live in las vegas at the world famous ces. i'm jeff ranieri. our storm still on the way this weekend. here's quick look at what to expect. it arrives saturday. two to five inches of rain and rivers will rise. police say a san francisco man forced a woman off a bart train then raped her. it happened as she was on her way home from a holiday party. a brutal sexual attack on b.a.r.t. a man force ad woman off a b.a.r.t. train and then raped her. it happened as she was on her way home from a holiday party. >> reporter: the 27-year-old san francisco man, a transient from the city, was here in court this afternoon where he was formally charged with kidnapping and rape. tonight san leandro police say the crime he is accused of are among the worst they've ever seen. >> safer on the streets, safer on public transit because of the fact that he is in police custody. >> reporter: you're looking at a man that police say committed a brutal crime on b.a.r.t. meini foster forced a woman off the train a week before christmas as she was heading home from a holiday work party. then violently raped her along some nearby train tracks as she tried to fight him off. >> she had consumed alcoholic beverages so he had the upper hand in this case. he took full advantage of it and needs to answer for the crimes he committed a few weeks ago in this town. >> reporter: the police say after the attack, the woman who was covered in mud made her way to a nearby house at 3:00 in the morning. the homeowner opened the door after hearing her dogs bark. and mistook the victim for an intruder. >> before i could really get out there, here she appears. and i'm like -- she scared me half to death. and i said just get out. she called police who helped the victim. late last month, investigators identified foster after the registered sex offender's dna matched samples from the victim. >> this is probably one of the worst crimes that anybody could ever be exposed to. you can only imagine how traumatic it can be. >> reporter: we've learned that foster is no stranger to law enforcement. he has an extensive criminal back ground. in fact, he was convicted of sexual battery in june of last year after massture waiting aboard a muni bus in front of a minor. >> the d.a.'s office recommended that he be outfitted with a gps ankle device but we understand the judge declined to order that. jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. one person in napa has died from the flu virus. it has become widespread in california. we're not seeing any more details about this person because of privacy reasons but they were under the age of 65. this is the third flu-related death in the state since last week including a confirmed death in solano county. they are recommending everyone to get vaccinated. >> we have some fun. the world famous ces in las vegas. what are our favorite things? the smart tooth bus. and we had the head band you wear that helps you grow hair. >> love that. it is a little more santa cruz than silicon valley. scott budman is in las vegas and takes us for a ride. >> reporter: welcome back to the consumer electronics show. we decided to take this story outside because it is about getting around. one way with peace of mind. one with an app. the other, the coolest skate board we've ever seen using bay area technology. here's a way to get around. clean, cool and high-tech. in board technology of santa cruz. working with bay area partner flix. a hit even for those with the 100,000 car. now it becomes powerful. i have a vehicle that can take me 10 miles at 20 miles an hour. >> it sells today at auto brain.com. it uses a plug in snug tunneled dashboard, connected to your phone to tell you how your young driver is doing. monitoring the car's functions and provided roadside service if needed. >> that board sells for $1,400 on the website. you can buy into the auto brain system. >> that skate board looks pretty cool. >> i couldn't do it. i'm chicken. >> most importantly, the rainfall is still on the way this weekend and we still expect sunday to have the highest flooding threats across the bay area. we'll get that out of the way first. let's take you to the forecast. the main reason why we're getting all of this anticipated rainfall is that atmospheric river or pineapple express, you probably heard both those terms srgs poised to hear us from the north bay toward the south bay. in advance of this, we do have a flash flood watch that has been issued for saturday night at 6:00 p.m. until sunday at 9:00 p.m. that's the zone when we could have the heaviest rainfall. we may have some fast moving waters. stay with us as we'll have full coverage throughout both days. a look at the time line. you can see we have the rainfall developing just offshore at 9:00 p.m. we likely won't see more rain until saturday morning and it could be heavy at times. the temperatures won't be as cold as this tropical air has some warm weather associated with it. 50 in the south bay. you'll need umbrella and please take it slow. 51 for the east bay and 41 expected for the north bay. let's bring it back to the futurecast and we'll push this through weekend. we have the rainfall for saturday morning, as you've been mentioning. we may undergo a little break by 6:00 p.m. on saturday. don't let your guard down. once we hit saturday night, right around 11:00, that's when that atmospheric river, the pineapple express, is poised to point right toward the bay area. all of our heavy rainfall depends on that happening. every single forecast model shows it. from saturday at 11:30, with heavy rainfall continuing into 9:00 a.m. on sunday and likely areas of heavier rain into 5:00 p.m. on sunday. so wet all weekend long but sunday is the heaviest. what about rainfall totals? haven't seen a big change on it. i know there's a lot of colors here. you can look at the keys on the top. for the north bay, a lot of red and purple. same thing for the peninsula in east bay. good for two to four inches. and san jose, two to three inches. but check this out. the zone of white, we could have six to eight inches possible for the higher elevations. thought water will mean the increased flooding threat. guerneville river could reach flood stage sunday night. we're following napa river. that's near flood stage. the gaud ho, the guadalupe rive. sunday on, and off rainfall. temperature in the 50s for san francisco. interior valleys also remains cool. we may not be out of this river flooding threat until thursday or friday of next week. sunday is the worst. >> to see that map with the red and the purple. >> and that thing is waivering. >> thank you. up next, a miserable morning commute. all trains were stopped for more than an hour. it's beautiful. was it a hard place to get to? (laughs) it wasn't too bad. with the chase mobile app, jimmy chin can master depositing his hard earned checks in a snap. easy to use chase technology for whatever you're trying to master. "tilikum" the orca that killed a trainer at seaworld orland in 2010 has died. you may remember him as the main focus of the documentary "blackfish." happening now, the the killer whale has died. and on our home page, award season is here. "the tonight show" host jimmy fallon will host the golden globes awards on sunday. we'll be right back. over 1,000,000 californians have gotten something that's been out of reach for far too long: health insurance. how? they enrolled through covered california. it's the health insurance marketplace where you'll find a range of plans from leading health insurance companies that offer you the best combination of quality, rates, and benefits. and, through covered california, you may get financial help to pay for coverage. to get covered, you've got to get going. open enrollment ends january 31st. visit covereca.com today. -- after a stalled train created a domino effect of delays. ==vo== the problem started, just before 8 this morning, at the west oakland station. that sti a hot of frustrated passengers on b.a.r.t. this morning. this problem started at the west oakland station. it is a major hub. all trains scheduled to pass through there were brought to a grinding halt. nearly two hours before the train was removed and then full service was restored. an apartment building burst into flames in oakland this morning just after 4:00 a.m. it quickly spread to a dozen units. firefighters say a wall heater lit a blanket on fire. two people are recovering from smoke inhalation. with the xfinity tv app, anything with a screen is a tv. stream 130 live channels. plus 40,000 on demand tv shows and movies, all on the go. you can even download from your x1 dvr and watch it offline. only xfinity gives you more to stream to any screen. download the xfinity tv app today. welcome back. you can see rainfall returns on saturday morning and we'll see the heaviest rain as we head into early sunday morning into the afternoon hours. the winds, 20 to 40 miles per hour. that's when the flooding threat would be the highest. the creek could get close to flood stage as well. we'll see you then at 6:00. for now, "nightly news." deadly mass shooting at the airport. gunman opens fire at baggage claim in ft. lauderdale. witnesses describing scenes of sheer horror. a silent killer shooting people in the head as they tried to run and hide. tonight, a storm of questions. why did he do it? the suspect, a passenger with a firearm in his checked bag. new concerns about airport security before the checkpoint. also breaking tonight -- the new report from u.s. intelligence, vladimir putin himself ordered the effort to influence the election. aimed at hurting clinton and helping trump win. what the president-elect is saying after his top-secret briefing. and states of emergency -- millions from coast to coast paralyzed by a massive winter storm. "nightly news" begins right now.

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