At the hospital. The accident forced several lanes to shut down while investigators collected evidence. All lanes were reopened around 1 30 this afternoon. As of right now, we dont think that alcohol or drugs is a factor in this traffic collision. Reporter several shopping bags from the suv were strewn on the highway. But investigators wont say if the family had been out early shopping on black friday. The championship officer involved in the crash suffered minor injuries. He was treated and released from the hospital. Arrests this weekend are down so far compared to last year. This is a live look at the san mateo bridge. The chp says 455 drivers were arrested yesterday for driving under the influence on state highways, down from 481 last year. In the bay area, no deadly crashes yesterday or wednesday. Statewide, there were six deadly car crashes yesterday, compared to nine in 2011. People stuck on board a yacht in the San Francisco bay got quite the rescue response this afternoon when they called 911. It happened near the berkeley marina. The boats earning got caught in reverse and started taking on water. None of the eight people on board was hurt. A dog, cat and snake were also rescued. Officials say calm weather played a big role in the smooth rescue. Luckily it was a calm day on the bay. They werent dealing with a difficult chop or anything like that. But yeah, theyre uneasy. They wanted to get off that boat. The boat was towed into the marina for repair. Shoppers were everywhere today, and it started really early, actually late last night. Shoppers at the mall in livermore were undeterred. Ten hours later the lines to get inside were still long. At one store there was a 90minute wait for an Early Bird Special that had already expired. The hangups didnt seem to damper peoples spirits. Who doesnt love black friday . The deal is gone actually. We did an hour just to get here and another 30 minutes to park. Was it worth the hour driving and hour parking . Maybe. But its black friday and thats what you do. Reporter some people were so dedicated to scoring those shopping deals they came stagt from the airport and asked the Management Office to keep an eye on their luggage while they shopped. The streets around union square were packed. But as it turns out, shopping was just one of the main attractions. Reporter its one of the few shopping meccas where the shopping is upstaged by the sideshow. Black friday in San Franciscos union square. Shoppers shared space with protesters and anyone else seeking an audience. A lot of people making me nervous, you know, this is the most people ive performed in front of. This is what its all about. Shop, dont be afraid, america. Shop, spend your money. Come down here and have a good time. Thats what helps us. Thats how you pay it forward. I like feeling the energy of everybody. So its just i like being in the crowd. I like being with people and get excited and i like it. Reporter there were sidewalk performers and of course, fur. Peta is letting shoppers know compassion is the fashion and were encouraging them not to buy fur or leather. Reporter the city even got into the holiday spirit by moving Construction Equipment on stockton street. It not only reopened the street for shoppers, it temporarily repaved it. But despite Department Stores at every turn, you didnt have to be a shopper to enjoy the show. We dont have this in france, the black friday. So its kind of cool to see the american culture. And if the crowds and bags were any evidence, the american shopping culture was in fine form today. The crowds at one store chain, walmart employees staged protests today. Some have walked out over poor conditions, some object to the new black thursday work schedule. Others say they arent safe in the stampedes with the sales. Employees handed out flyers and carried out signs. Local Union Members lent their support. Wages, benefits, those are all the things that a walmart associate needs to feed their family. They cant do that on 8 an hour. A spokesman calls the strike an exaggerated Publicity Campaign aimed at generating headlines to mislead retailers, customers and employees. The company is having its most profitable black friday ever. Black friday is wrapping up. Now its time for Small Business saturday. Many people avoiding the big chain shopping and looking forward to buying local. Jodi hernandez has more on that. Jodi . Reporter im at ford street and berkeley, a street where the majority of stores are Small Business owner operated. Merchant here very much want shoppers to take part. They say the push to buy local is a winwin for everyone. Lets put the money where it counts. Reporter natalie of oaklandish is urging shoppers to kick off the shopping season at a place like this campaigns like plaid friday, in the black, and Small Business saturday are all part of efforts to push shoppers toward mom and pop operations. Whatever name we come up with, its all about shopping. Its an alternative to the big box. Keep your money circulating within your local community. Reporter while much of the Christmas Shopping hype centers around retail chains, helen bullwick says Small Business plays a big role in the Holiday Shopping picture. The strength of the small retailer is in creating and developing unique products that dont require sale prices but are very special and something that people want. Reporter at 4th street and berkeley, we found plenty of people looking for gifts that stand out. The ark toy store is packed with items you may not find elsewhere. But theyre well made and memorable, the kind of specials some are seeking. I dont know if i could find this at a toy store or not. Even if i could, i would rather buy it here, yeah. Reporter christine and her daughter also made it a point to steer clear of the crowded shopping malls, opting to support local business on black friday. I like looking at things where i imagine somebody around here having made it. Reporter we are back here live on 4th street and berkeley where it is decked out for the holidays. A beautiful scene out here. Merchants are hoping that folk also give them a boost and take part in Small Business saturday. But they want shoppers to keep them in mind all season long. Reporting live in berkeley, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. Still ahead, scott budman has a look at how tech fans faired on this black friday and the gadgets catching their eyes. Also, a look at the rowdy scenes from scores across the nation as shoppers get a little too in the spirit. Also ahead, the important vote in Congress Next week that could have a big impact on businesses here in the silicon valley. And the technology pot growers are increasingly using to avoid detection from police. And good evening. Im jeff ranieri in the weather center. Dropping close to the 40s for some of you in the north bay, with 51 right now in napa. Well have a look at the temperatures and if youre heading out to San Francisco, they had the official free lighting ceremony. Its going to be cold with some wind. Thats coming up. A san jose firefighter is recovering after a ceiling collapsed on him as he was fighting a threealarm fire. It broke out around 8 00 last night. The flames raced through four apartments and damaged two others. A water logged ceiling broke loose and fell on the 16year veteran. He was injured by a piece of large sheetrock, a ceiling that had fallen in when he was in the stairwell. So it had fallen from a considerable height. The firefighter was rushed to a nearby hospital with a concussion and fractured vertebrae. Officials believe the fire was accidental. Memorial services will be held tomorrow for a young man who was shot and killed last week in apattempted carjacking in san jose. 22yearold rory park was killed by two Armed Robbers who went on a crime spree in san jose on november 16. They are accused of murder, robbing four East San Jose businesses, and having a shootout with police that left one officer hurt. Jonathan willbanks is in custody. A Donation Fund has been set up for the victims burial costs. Police are investigating a shooting at a san rafael nightclub that put two men in the hospital. It happened at club 101 on west francisco boulevard. Police say a fight broke out and moved outside. At that time shots rang out. The cause is not known. Both victims were taken to the hospital and treated for gunshot wounds. The city of martinez is cracking down on aggressive panhandlers. A new City Ordinance would ban pan handlers from intimidating people or putting someones safety at risk if they dont give them money and prohibits panhandling within ten feet of intersections on highways and off ramps. Police encourage people to give money to organizations that help the homeless rather than give spare change. Another step back to closing californias budget deficit. The steal of the states first pollution permits brought in much less money than expected. The governor and lawmakers projected three auctions would raise 1 billion. But now analysts project it will only bring the state around 216 million. The governors january budget could reflect the lower projections. Illegal marijuana growers appear to be growing green. Investigators say growers around the country are turning to solar power to remain off the grid and avoid deduction. Police in new mexico said its a growing crime and have busted many illegal marijuana operations that use solar panels. Authorities in california say theyre patrolling the wine country for solar panel thefts. They believe theyre being used to grow pot. In the sierra, this years black friday turned out to be fairly white. Here is a look at conditions on the roads and on the slopes. Reporter these snowmen were hanging out in mud and grass, and the skiers and snowboarders were headed higher up. Its better than waiting in line at a mall somewhere, right . Reporter so far early subpoena storms have dumped fair amounts of snow, but only at the upper elevations, mainly above 7,000 feet. How do you find the conditions today . A little bit icy. So when you fall, it hurts a little bit more. Reporter they normally open the lower runs first, but this year flipped things around. This is the first thanksgiving in ten years that the lift near the summit has been running. Overall, the season is off to a type start, thanks to the snow and the improving economy and pent up demand following a soso season last year. Already for thanksgiving day and going into the weekend, weve seen some great crowds. Reporter still no toptobottom skiing here, so to get back down to the bottom, you have to get on a lift. Still, most didnt seem to mind and say if conditions stay like this, theyll be back. Were going to make it a habl habit now. Reporter homewood resort on the west shore planned to open today but had to push the opening back until december 14. If you are going to hit the slopes, this is a great weekend to do it. Lets get a check of the forecast. Thats right. Dry conditions, so if youre traveling up to see yara, some smooth sailing. Lets get you into todays highs. It was warm out here, near record setting. 71 in santa rosa. 71 in redwood city. Santa cruz popping up to 72. And down here in the south bay, 70 in san jose. About 5 to 8 degrees above our averages for this time of the year. Numbers dropping to the coldest levels up in the north bay. Napa at 51 degrees. 56 in sunnyvale. 61 in downtown. Cupertino 56 and 56 in sunnyvale. Lets go outside live in san jose. We have some haze, but in terms of any major cloud cover or fog, well not have that happen tonight as weve been talking about those, some deadly accidents happening in california. So take it slow with all the commuters. Downtown San Francisco is lit up beautifully tonight. No major fog and a sleigh offshore flow with us. Look at all these cars. This is like a typical rush hour night. Were going to have video coming up from downtown San Francisco coming up later in the show. While we talked about dry conditions, were not going to be hazard free tonight or tomorrow morning. Our biggest concern will be on the interstate 5 corridor from tracy to fresno. This morning, we had visibility of a 10th of a mile or less. As far as weather and travel days, we are on time. This is what we like to see this time of the year, in San Francisco, oakland and san jose and santa mateo. All right, lets brick r bring your into our future cast. You can see for tomorrow morning, no major fog and throughout saturday, one of the sunniest days we have seen in weeks. Clear by 2 00 a. M. And well keep those sunny skies with us throughout the afternoon. St saturday, temperatures here for tomorrow if youre heading out, should be popping up in the low 70s for the interior valleys with sunshine. On your threeday forecast, here are some things you should Pay Attention to. No rainfall yet. Mid and upper 60s by monday. Definitely some cooling. Well hold off on the rainfall until wednesday, thursday and friday of next week, a real active pattern shaping up in the pacific. In fact, tracking two different storms throughout next weeks forecast that could bring us over an inch of rain. More sierra snow, maybe some storms and wind of 15 to 30 miles per hour. Thats coming up in that sevenday forecast. I think im still full from last night. Im feeling sluggish tonight. Thanks, jeff. It has a scenic view and upscale address. This new house in San Francisco is the sweetest in town, literally. Pastry chefs of San Francisco unveiled the newest ginger bread house. Its 22 feet tall with over 7,000 pieces of ginger bread and 1200 pounds of icing. Its so big, it has a village inside. Everyone wants to taste it. They say it smells so good. People enjoy it. Its well worth the work. People do it. Chefs have to keep plenty of backup parts for people who sneak in for a nibble. Still ahead at 6 00, Hewlett Packard on the defensive tonight. And Congress Prepares to vote on a major immigration bill that could impact local tech companies. And a recall for a widely used cholesterol drug. Back in two minutes. Congress may have taken the thanksgiving Holiday Weekend off, but that doesnt mean a break in talks about the impending fiscal cliff. Lobbyists are launching new tv print and radio ads. Lawmakers are struggling to agree on a deficit cutting deal and now are facing added pressure from special interest groups. Danielle lee has more from washington. Reporter congress may need to drown out the noise next week as they look more Common Ground to avoid 500 billion in tax increases. Several unions launched an ad campaign, pressuring lawmakers to protect entitlement programs. For working families, its not about cutting things we rely on most. Reporter advocates for the elderly, weaponsmakers, the oil and gas industry, even charity. Congress has failed to do its job for the past ten years and they are so far continuing to fail to do their job. Reporter rick edleman worries the tug of war could end with no solution. A real possibility, as democrats reject spending cuts and republicans resist tax increases. If youre in congress, you can reduce taxes on january 2 relative to the new rates that prevail starting then. Reporter its a dance analysts doubt lawmakers will risk taking. Since it will affect every voter, i suspect there whether be a deal. Reporter lawmakers will start next week committed to compromise. In washington, danielle lee, nbc news. In Health Matters tonight, news for patients who take medication for high cholesterol. Those two take the generic form of lipitor could check their bottles. Some batches might contain small glass particles. The drug maker is recalling some 10, 20 and 40 milligram doses. There is no recall of the 80 milligram version. If you have a headache, theres an app for that. They came up with a wireless intervention headache diary that records symptoms the moment they happen. The app, youre able to keep it with you all the time and just record. They can come online and learn progressive relaxation techniques, about how to reduce their headache. Reporter researchers say the data helps people learn about and avoid headache triggers. Still to come at 6 00, black friday in full swing with plenty of swinging as shoppers clash. Well show you the video. Plus im scott budman. Big crowds, big discounts and lots of new technology. Well have the black friday mall report coming up. Also ahead, concern over the ceasefire in gaza after a deadly shooting at the border. Well have the latest. And what egypts president did that led to violent protests in cairo. The Holiday Shopping season is officially under way, earlier than ever, with some Stores Opening thanksgiving night. Shoppers were fired up coast to coast and it was a real workout after the big meal, racing down the aisles for black friday deals. Walmart, toys r us and target opened last night at 8 00 p. M. The decision to start black friday deals early sparked controversy. Early signs show that sales are strong. Not everyone feeling the holiday spirit. This is Youtube Video of walmart shoppers in georgia for a prepaid cell phone. Walmart says no one was hurt in the scuffle. The company says black friday 2012 is its best ever. This is the first year walmart started black friday on thanksgiving day and many embloiembloi employees walked off the job. Scott budman braved the mall today and found a lot of happy shoppers. Reporter big crowds. Deep discounts. And hospitals of tech tryouts. West field valley fair had a steady stream of shopper. Happy kids and apparently happy consumers, confident enough to shop. Weve been going around to our retailers just to see how things have been going and theyve been exceeding all expectations. You get the real black friday experience, and i thought it would be cool. Reporter cool for video game fans who had an entire section of their own to play. Apple