danger. plus -- >> this is not about freedom or personal choice. it is about protecting yourself and those around you. >> a new strategy to combat covid. we'll break down the president's new vaccination mandate and how it impacts you. and abruptly canceled for tomorrow a juror crosses the trial. good evening. thank you for being with us. you might be able to see it or hear it right outside right about now. rain, thumbed and line in the middle of our drought. this wet weather is welcome. >> we've already seen lightning strikes across the bay area. this line strike captured near the eastern foot hills right there, of mt. hamilton. that was impressive. earlier tonight, some rain. in santa rosa, rain.

>> let's bring in jeff ranieri. the rain and the lightning. it's tricky. >> yeah. the time line on this, we haven't seen any changes over the last eight hours. this could cause more wildfires. the thing that has ramped up over the last 12 hours, the storm system. that is pulling up moisture over the south. over the sierra, 68 lightning strikes tonight. specifically in the bay area we have seen 20 line strikes. now we do have some rainfall with it but it's not much. only trace amounts to about .03 of an inch. the danger is real that one of these lightning strikes could spark a line fire. one of these could get up to 50,000 degrees fahrenheit. so all of that heat from one strike. again, that could spark a first. as we get a look at storm ranger, you can see the two zones are tracking.

one in the north bay. one to the east bay. and there's some recent lighting outside santa rosa moving off to the north and the east. it should bring continued rainfall through 11:22. off to the south, more rain into yountville. and then down here to the east bay, some line strikes to the south of discovery bay, moving off to the north. this is a very active area. in fact, this will likely be the most active zone as we head into the next couple hours. i'll be back in about 15 minutes. >> we want to show you the lightning strike that happened about 8:00. the homeowner tells our photographer that it literally sounded like a bomb had been exploding. >> everybody in the neighborhood, i walked through. the whole tree blew up. my car, my house, everything. >> pg&e did cut power to the

cul-de-sac until some of the debris could be removed. the power pole is very close to that damaged tree. firefighters are on alert hoping to avoid fires in the bay area. cheryl hurd will have that story coming up. our other top story, president biden's new 6-point plan aimed at getting covid under control. he unveiled it late today and it is already facing lawsuits tonight. that's because a big part of the plan requires getting more people vaccinated. vaccinations will be mandated at businesses with more than 100 or more workers. otherwise they will face weekly testing. all federal workers and contractors will have to have their shots. so will health care workers in those settings. here's the 6-point plan. it also focuses on keeping schools open, more testing, requiring masks and making sure those who do get covid have the

medical attention and care they need. there is a mixed reaction to all of this. here's nbc bay area sergio quintana. >> reporter: the first new executive order aimed at federal employees, federal contractors and 17 million health care workers nationwide. >> you want to work the federal government, do business, you must be vaccinated. >> everyone must be vaccinated within 75 days with no option for testing instead of shots. those who don't comply could be punished or fired. his second directive requiring company with more than 100 employees to have their work forces fully vaccinated or be tested at least once a week. >> some of the biggest companies are already requiring this. united airlines, disney, tyson's foods and even fox news. >> president biden's plan provides $2 billion to manufacture 280 million more at-home and rapid covid tests and expand the u.s. government's

free testing program to 10,000 pharmacies across the country. in the bay area, some ceos are already voicing their support for these new mandates. >> if you're buying from mcdonald's, you can have the worker know that they don't have covid. >> there are two groups exempted from these new mandates. anyone with a medical issue that could prevent them from getting the shots or anyone with a religious exemption. large denominations like the catholic church have already stated they will not issue any such exemptions. tonight the chair woman of the republican national committee said they will sue against the mandates claiming they're unconstitutional. but recently courts have been tossing out these challenges, citing a 1905 supreme court ruling basically asserting the government's role in trying to frequent public in a pandemic. nbc bay area news. >> thank you. president biden had a warning for unruly passengers on

planes. the tsa is now doubling its fines for travel here's refuse to wear masks and those fines will be between $500 and 1,000 for your first offense and between $1,000 and $3,000 for your second offense. it includes new help for small businesses by beefing up long term low cost loan programs. i will allow businesses to borrow up to $2 million. small business can hire new workers to buy equipment and inventor to and pay off higher interest debt. the companies will have two years to pay off that loan. the president also wants better protections for kids in the classroom. he wants schools to set up regular testing if and when there is a covid outbreak. the president calling on states to take action. he wants governors to require requirements for all students and staff. the harshest school district in the state isn't-the largest

school district isn't wasting any time. today the l.a. school district adopted a mandate. it will require all kids 12 and older to get vaccinated to attend in-person classes. the plan says they must have their second dose by the end of this october. the district already requires weekly testing for students and employees regardless of their vaccination status. >> with schools reopening we've had a lot of outbreaks and exposure. >> this is not a position for the school board to be taking on the vaccine. it should be a choice for parents to make. >> a lot of back and forth in southern california. more than 5,000 students in l.a. county have tested positive for covid since the start of this school year. so what about bay area school districts? what are we doing here? san francisco unified giving us this statement late tonight. we quote we are strongly

encouraging but not mandating vaccines for students who are eligible. that statement goes on to say, all sfusd students -- employees, excuse me, are required to be fully vaccinated, the employees are required to be fully vaccinated unless they have a documented medical or religious exemption. new at 11:00, dual protection. moderna says it is working a single shot that would combine a covid booster and a flu shot. the drug maker had already been working on developing several new vaccines. this new vaccine they're talking about would take the experimental flu shot that is furthest along and in development and combine that with the covid vaccine. yesterday, vaccine developer nova vax announced it has started its own trial for a similar combo covid flu shot. the results are expected in the first half of the year. elizabeth holmes will not be in court tomorrow. covid is impacting her trial after a juror revealed he may have been exposed to the virus. that juror says the potential

weekend someone who tested positive. the juror is vaccinated and not showing any symptoms. test results are he said thatting. the judge decided to cancel tomorrow's session which would have been day two of witness testimony. the testimony will now resume next tuesday. holmes is the disgraced ceo of theranos based in palo alto. she is accused of defrauding patients and investors. a crossing guard is being remembered as a hero tonight. ashley diaz has ties to middle school runs deep. he went to school there and his own child goes to school there now. it is a painful blow to the community. jeanlele reports, friends say changes should be made so no one else gets hurt there. >> if he saw something like that, he wouldn't have questioned it or even thought

about himself. he would have just done what he knew what he had to do. he would have done the right thing. and it's tragic but i'm proud of him. >> reporter: phil is proud of his lifelong friend ashley diaz for saving a child's life in a crosswalk yesterday. but heart broken the 45-year-old crossing guard couldn't get out of the way of the suv that killed him. >> i wish it didn't happen. but it did happen and i'm glad that he was there to save that child. maybe if it wasn't him, maybe that child, it could have turned out a lot worse. >> lafayette police say he is a hero. >> he jumped in front of the kids to save him. he risked his life to protect those kids. >> reporter: a lafayette police officer took over duties today.

a memorial is growing at the crosswalk. he attended stanley middle school as a child. his parents live down the street. friends are sharing memories of him on facebook. >> he was so charismatic, he love to laugh and make people laugh. >> the driver of the suv had just pick up a student at the school and is cooperating with investigators. he said something must be done to keep students and crossing guards there safe. >> it is just a dangerous spot and i don't think that kind of thing should exist right across from a school. >> reporter: jean elle. nbc bay area news. we're learning more about president biden's trip to california next week. on monday he's expected to tour the burn area of the caldor fire near south lake tahoe. he will then head to long beach supporting an event for governor

newsom. he will why he should stay in office. future of the california they want to live in. >> what you are capable of doing is sending a powerful message to reject that division, to reject this kind of politics. >> the labor and civil rights leader was also asking voters to vote no on the recall. governor newsom's closest challenger for the job is conservative radio host larry elder who sat down with farmers in fresno and then police in bakersfield. >> officers retired early because of the bad morale that has been pushed by people like gavin newsom and because young people don't want to join a department that is racist. >> he will campaign at a church in downey. we have an entire page dedicated to the recall election on our website. head to our nbc bay area page and click on recall. up next, a very local

connection to the 9/11 attack. she was the first person to warn about it. the family of the flight attendant. and an update on the state's largest fire that's still growing. and our fire danger remains high with some thunderstorms. mainly the threat of some line that could spark more fires. i'll have the updated time line coming up in about five minutes.

this saturday marks 20 years since the september 11th terror attacks. firefighters and police officers who died that day are hailed as heroes but so are the pilots and flight attendants on those doomed flights. among them, betty, the san francisco native was on board american airlines flight 11. that was the first plane that crashed into the world trade

center and it was betty who alerted authorities that the plane had been hijacked. tonight we're hearing from betty's brother harry who reflects only terrifying day. his sister's bravery and the legacy of his family's loss. here's nbc bay area. >> 9/11 for a lot of people -- >> reporter: nearly 20 years have gone by. while the memories may gradually face, harry's own heart will never forget. >> here we are today on the 20th anniversary. and we don't think of it as an anniversary because it is with us every day. >> reporter: here he is talking ten years ago about his little sister betty, an american airlines stewardess on board the first plane to crash into the world trade center. it was betty who first told authorities we were under attack. >> we can't breathe. >> reporter: her spirit runs through the halls of the chinese

recreation center where she used to play as a little girl growing number san francisco's chinatown. it was renamed in her honor in 2012. >> it is a joy for us to have betty remembered. >> reporter: in a year that has been rocked by hate crimes against asian-americans, he remembers the day when his little sister was working in the family's market and was held at gunpoint. >> they took out a gun and pointed it at her. she said no. and to their frustration, those perm traitors left. >> reporter: he believes his sister would be taking a stand against asian hate today and would be horrified by the rising cases of unruly passengers taking their anger out on flight crews. >> they're not there just to serve pretzels and beverages. they've become the eyes of the sky outside the cockpit. >> reporter: almost 20 years have passed since that fateful day. you might ask yourself. where are we now? this is harry's answer. >> i hope that we can somehow

have some resemblance of love for each other, hugging and being patriotic, so not happening today. amidst all this divisiveness. >> reporter: in san francisco, nbc bay area news. >> and we invite to you join us tomorrow night for remembering the heroes of flight 93. some of the surviving family members share their story for the first time. tomorrow right here at 10:00 on nbc bay area. another somber anniversary. 11 years ago tonight the deadly pipeline explosion on the peninsula that leveled a neighborhood in san bruno. that blast killed eight people and destroyed 38 home in the crestmore neighborhood. dozens of other homes were damaged. in 2017, pg&e settled a civil

lawsuit paying out $90 million and spending another $32 they also fined pg&e $1.6 ll we have the video from the d fire is gaining ground tonight. this is near the town of old station. flames jumped highway 44 forcing more people to leave their homes. so far fires have burned more than 920,000 acres. at this point the dixie fire is 59% contained. as we mentioned, rain and line in the bay area at this hour could could spark new wildfires. here's nbc bay area's cheryl hurd. >> reporter: a red orange glow in the sky at sunset. clouds menacing overhead. >> i don't want to be too close to line. >> reporter: hiker in the east bay a little worried. >> based on the weather patterns and the different colors i'm

seeing. it seems ominous. >> reporter: we tracked the weather pat owner this app. the red dots show lightning strikes moving toward the bay area. >> we backed up to an open space. >> reporter: that's why the contra costa fire department is bringing in extra resources just in case line strikes and sparks wildfires tonight. >> i'll bet it will include one task force of 16 firefighters, and the task leader and chief officer. we have two water tenders and staffing those. those get water to fires. >> reporter: the concern is big in the bay area. where the hills are dry. and overgrown vegetation is ready to burn. steve hill says they have two bulldozers at the ready. authorities say they don't want a repeat of what happened last year.

>> there was a fire. the line complex fire which your viewers may recall from a year ago that was started as a result of dry line strikes. that's the big concern. >> the red flag warning in effect right now is expected to end tomorrow morning. cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >> thank you. we are talking about the line strikes happening right now. >> it is certainly going to stay active as we head through the next several hours. the red flag fire warning in effect until 11:00 tomorrow morning. some drier and sunnier weather on the way tomorrow afternoon. let's get a look right now. we're seeing it pick up over the next couple hours. this is our system moving closer. it is pulling up this instability from the south and at least 68 line strikes tonight over california. some of those happening in the bay area. at least 20 of them. you can see this activity is

moving from the south to the north. and we're focused on two different areas. one in the north bay and one in the east bay. you can see it is moving to the north. into st. helena at 11:39. even heavy rainfall toward cobb and middletown as well. let's bring it over to the east bay. we've seen this reason be the most active right here toward discovery bay, also bethel island. all of this moving to the north with the potential for some line. it is pretty scattered at the current moment. all it takes is just one lightning strike. let's home we'll be in the clear from that. as we head out here to 2:00 tomorrow morning, we have the instability over the north bay with the chance of thunderstorms

into early tomorrow morning. we'll keep it over the east bay as well. the same thing for about 6:00 in the morning. really, the highest risk is to the north and also to the east of us. and really, anywhere we would get any line strikes, not good here with how much of the state has burned this year. so i do think, here we go. once we head into the late morning hour, into the afternoon, we'll start to see those conditions clearing out. as we started off tomorrow morning, the temperatures will begin in the upper 50s and low 60s. we might need a jacket here at least to start. 62 in the east bay. north bay at 56. the daytime highs, no more 100 temperatures. we'll be comfortable. down to 89 in morgan hill. 77 in palo alto and 60s here in san francisco. my seven-day forecast continues with 60s for daytime highs in sf the next seven days. for the inland valleys, we're

out of the 100s. so the next six hours will be crucial here to continue to watch the line strikes. and then our payoff is freeway. yes! freeway afternoon. >> thanks. up next, basketball technology and kids. how the warriors brought all three together today. but first, honoring local nam heroes. part of our clear the shelters campaign. we call it our paws-itively event. and containment. caldor fire has jumped to 53%. there are concerns about the possibility of the dry line threatening to spark new fires and flaring up existing ones in the south lake tahoe region. we'll be back in a moment.

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okay. happy new year. football season kicked off tonight and a lot of people were on the couch watching. >> we'll be on the couch a lot this season. we've got the 49ers on sunday. then the raiders on monday. and so on and so on. tonight, hello to tampa, florida. those are the super bowl champion buccaneers. tom brady is always a winner here. the buccaneers hosting the cowboys right here on nbc bay area. the second quarter, here's antonio brown. yep, the former raider for a cup of coffee. just like that, they strike. the cowboys look good, too. third quarter, dak prescott to amari cooper and all of a sudden we had a real close game final seconds. it is the game winning field goal. the buccaneers. what a game this was. beat the cowboys 31-29. sunday night football.

the bears and rams right here on nbc bay area. kickoff is at 5:20. football night in america is at 4:00. the giants had the day off. they're at wrigley field tomorrow to face the cubs. the a's at the coliseum, some day baseball today. they're just trying to stay alive. in playoff race. it is close. sean manaea with the hair flowing. the a's win this game 3-1. their now two games out of that final wild card spot. back in a moment.

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