Many Unanswered Questions at this hour. And breaking this morning, a latenight deadly crash on the richmondsan rafael, a big rig ramming into the toll plaza. Were live with the latest on the potential impact on traffic. This is today in the bay. Busy overnight. 5 00 right now. Thanks for starting your morning with us. Im laura garcia. Im marcus washington. We want to get to our breaking news in contra costa county. A big rig driver dead, after a crash at the richmondsan rafael bridge. Bob redell is live at the toll plaza this morning. This could have a big impact, i would imagine, on the morning commute. Reporter it isnt right now, but it could as we get further into the morning commute. Right now only the left lanes are open. There are seven lanes, four are shut down. Chp just told me they hope to have another lane reopened within the hour. You can see what the issue is. Right now theres a wrecker out here, and theyre trying to remove the big rig. The big rig appears to have been pulling a haul, a gravel haul, thats the white vehicle. Theyre trying to remove that. This is the truck that crashed into the toll plaza last night. They still need to repair the toll booth. That is what caught fire and was destroyed in this crash, unfortunately, with the vehicle. The crash happened around 10 00 last night. It was a solo vehicle crash. Witnesses tell chp the truck was weaving before it hit that toll booth and then the truck caught fire. The driver was taken to the hospital, where he sadly died. Not clear when the other lanes will open. Fortunately, this is in the reverse commute direction, so it might not have too much impact on drivers trying to get to and from work this morning. Reporting live here at the richmondsan rafael bridge, bob redell, today in the bay. Thank you. Mike is keeping track of this because it could have an effect on the morning commute. It will. The toll plaza is i think bob got twisted around, it is in the commute direction, it is the westbound commute direction. Lets take a look at the toll plaza. Bob was on the other side with this truck to his back. Westbound, we do see this build up just as we approach 6 30, we see the backup start to form. Im going to step into the shot. Theyre continuing to clear this. Bob showed you the gravel truck closer to the toll plaza. One, two, three, four lanes blocked. Only three lanes behind me are the ones that remain open for the morning commute. If they open another lane, that still means only half the lanes at this toll plaza are open. As the westbound commute builds just after about 6 30, well see the buildup probably about 6 15, and that will cause folks to back up out of richmond toward the north bay. Again, here is the map that does show the seven lanes. These are blocked right now here, and only three are open. But they are open and its plenty of volume allowed right now. As the volume is light heading over from richmond to the north bay. As it builds up over the course of the morning, there will be exaggerated backup, as well as the fact that people are hearing about this, they may want to avoid that. That might send more folks north to 37 or south to the bay bridge. The bay bridge already has a backup thats expected. Highway 37 shows the first signs of slowing. So well watch to see if that shifts the traffic, that could ripple out to many folks coming off the eastshore freeway. Well continue to follow this to see how much theyre able to open the toll plaza, but it probably wont be the full toll plaza. Well continue to follow that. The rest of your commute very light. Back to you. Thanks, mike. Developing at this hour in the middle east, the barrage of israeli air strikes in gaza continues and theres a new update this morning on the number of casualties. We have a live look in gaza city, where it is now midafternoon. The latest air strikes are set to be focused on several locations, including a hamas weapons depot. Nearly 1,700 people are confirmed dead on both sides, and that includes more than 900 in israel and nearly 800 in gaza. The white house says at least 11 americans are now confirmed dead in israel, and an unknown number of u. S. Citizens remain missing at this hour. New drone video showing the destruction from israeli air strikes across gaza. While israel is vowing to continue the barrage until hamas says no more, hamas issuing a stark new threat, vowing to kill one civilian hostage without warning each time israel targets gaza civilians. The best estimates put the total number of hostages at around 100. U. S. Military forces are now being put in place, this is to assist israel. In washington, house lawmakers are now focused on the election of a new speaker to fast track more funding. Alice barr joins us live from washington. President biden is expected to address the nation in just a matter of hours. Reporter thats right, laura and marcus. A lot of developments to follow both overseas and here in washington. President biden set to address the nation, and really the world, just a little later this morning, after he issued a joint statement of support for israel, along with the leaders of the uk, italy, france and germany. Today in israel, a mounting death toll, a growing hostage crisis, and a military mobilization for a potential allout invasion of the gaza strip, with israels Prime Minister saying air strikes in gaza are just the beginning. To hit hamas. Reporter some americans flying to israel to join the flight. This woman said goodbye to her brother. He wants to be there to support everybody. We want to be there, too, but its terrifying. Reporter the number of americans killed is growing. Among the hundreds dead in the massive terror attack carried out by the Palestinian Militant Group hamas. President biden preparing to address the crisis from a white house lit up in israels blue and white. The administration acknowledging americans may be among the hostages. Were going to do everything we can do to get them home safe with their families. Reporter the president directing hostage recovery experts to help israel and sending the u. S. Navys most advanced Aircraft Carrier to the israeli coast to deter further attacks, even as federal Law Enforcement monitor for any domestic threats in the u. S. For americans living in israel, scenes of horror playing out. This woman says members of her family are missing, after texting her that terrorists were inside their home. Its hard to close your eyes at night. Reporter u. S. Officials promising not to look away from the devastation striking one of this countrys closest allies. Amid urgent calls for more aid, house members are returning to washington, and republicans are scrambling to pick a new speaker. Theres going to be a Candidate Forum today among House Republicans as they try to pick the nominee. This has to happen, a permanent longterm speaker in position, so that money can flow to israel as needed. A lot to keep up with there. Thanks, alice. Stay with us for the latest on air and online at nbcbayarea. Com. Weve got an entire section dedicated to the conflict. Just click on the link. It is up in the trending bar. 5 08. A car plows through the chinese consulate in San Francisco, ending with Police Shooting and killing the driver. Now, authorities so far are providing few details about what happened. This is video showing the moment that car crashed through the doors of the consulate. It happened about 3 00 yesterday afternoon on geary near laguna street. You see it sent people scrambling. Police do say officers arrived to the scene in a matter of minutes. Officers entered, made contact with the suspect, and an officerinvolved shooting occurred. So far, police are not saying what led to that shooting, and the number of agencies involved, including the state department, are now involved in that investigation. Now, in a statement, the chinese consulate says our embassy severely condemns this violent attack and reserves the right to pursue responsibilities related to the incident. California regulators hope to impose a 45 million fine on pg e for the largest single wildfire in state history. It is a story our nbc bay area Investigative Unit has been closely following. Investigators say a tree toppled onto a power line in 2021 and that sparked the dixie fire. Flames destroyed nearly 1 million acres, including more than 1,300 structures. The proposed penalty includes 40 million for pg e to digitize its records, tracking power lines inspections, and any tree problems. The remaining money includes compensation for native american tribes impacted by the fire. While pg e accepts the findings of the investigation, it claims theres no evidence it knowingly disregarded a risk related to how that fire started. State regulators will vote on the proposed penalties next month. 5 10 right now. Taking a live look out in downtown san jose, a clear start to the morning. Cinthia pimentel in for kari with a look at that forecast. Woke up this morning, stepped out, and, yeah, i was met with a little bit of rain. Were still hanging onto those fall vibes. Good morning. Some drizzle out toward San Francisco. If youre heading over the golden gate bridge, do be careful with the changes on the roadways there. Were going to keep those spotty rain chances for one more day, im going to say mainly the north bay, but they could trickle into San Francisco later today. Overall keeping the same temperatures similar to yesterday, some 60s and low 70s. Ill walk you through the timeline of the rain and what they have ahead in the sevenday forecast. For now, mike is helping everyone get around with a look at cheaper gas prices. Were seeing lower prices. I think we might be shifting from the summer blend, the less expensive blend. That may change with things being what they are around the world. Were starting with a low in livermore. We picked the second best price because yesterday holds the same. So 4. 78 at springtown gas. San jose, 4. 99 at gulf, and san rafael, 5. 24 at north gate drive. On the roadways, for the most part, your commute is very calm. One key spot looks fine on the sensors. This is the deadly crash that continues at the Richmond Bridge toll plaza, heading over to san rafael. Some more debris has been cleared. Four lanes are blocked right now. The right three lanes are open. There may be a quick traffic break as they did move one of those equipment haulers from where all the lights are on the left side to, i believe, the parking lot on the right. There goes another tow truck. Theyre clearing some lanes. At most, there will probably be another lane open over the next hour. Well continue to track it. Coming up, it may not be the most important question ever, but how often should you wash your jeans . Oh, yeah this morning, an iconic moment in pop culture can now come home with you. The new way the city of brotherly love is immortalizing this iconic movie scene. I. At 5 15, lets get a check of the temperatures in gilroy, if youre heading out the door for school or work, bring a jacket. Were starting off pretty chilly, in the 50s and 60s. We do have another chance of rain thats going to push through the region. Ill tell you where the best chances are in the full microclimate forecast. It looks like we have a break going on for westbound 580, the bridge from richmond to san rafael. Whats going on is i believe theyre taking this trailer and trying to lift it so it can get onto this flatbed. To do that, theyve had to stop all westbound lanes, which there are three of them stopped right now. Were going to continue to follow this. Ill let you know if we get an update on timing. Well continue to follow this critical commute. Good morning. Very happy tuesday to you. Markets may have a rare up day, after one of the fed governors hinted they might not raise Interest Rates at their next meeting. Amazon starts its prime days today. Sales for millions of people who subscribe to amazon prime. Our own vicky nguyen will tell us all about it coming up on the today show at 7 00. Amazon adding a new deal every five minutes. But vicky says theres fine print you need to know about. Sam bankmanfrieds exgirlfriend is scheduled to testify as a witness for the prosecution today. She ran alameda research, a Sister Company to ftx. She pled guilty to federal charges. His former best friend may testify against him as well. Theres more and more concern as we watch whats happening in israel and palestine, that if were watching it on twitter, were not seeing the truth. Elon musk has gotten rid of a number of staff who controlled disinformation at the company. Foreign policy magazine calls x a sewer of misinformation. Wired magazine saying x is drowning in misinformation, pointing out posters, particularly with blue checks, theyre posting old footage and even video game footage pretending its the conflict. X pays some users based on the popularity of their posts, not the accuracy, the popularity. Musk yesterday asked users to, quote, please try to stay as close to the truth as possible. San franciscobased stitchfix says its laying off employees in texas. Stitch fix sends subscribers a box of clothes each month based on their tastes. And the ceo of levis was on cnbc asia overnight where he described how to wash your jeans. He says not as often as you like. He says if you get some curry on your jeans, spot clean them. But when its time to wash them, he says, put them on and get in the shower, and use bar soap as if you were washing your legs. Just like the oldfashioned way. I also heard that you could put them in the freezer. So the germs fall off with the ice or something . I dont know. I really dont know. I never tried it. I take that back, i did try it once. You did . I didnt know the difference. Cold legs. Yeah, they say if you put it in the freezer. Maybe it freezes off the germs. But then, do you want them in your freezer . My dirty jeans, no. Thanks, scott. Then you walk away like this. [ laughter ] trending this morning, one of the films most popular characters said, it aint how hard you hit, its how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. The actor behind it is opening a new store, a surefire hit. Sylvester stallone is the new brains behind the new rocky shop in philadelphia, located steps away from the famous statue that pays tribute to the film character. Fans can take home movie replica, including italian stallion boxing robes. Stallone is so personally invested in this, he says that he wants to make sure everything is ready to go. He wanted to talk about the shop, he wanted to talk about the legacy of that statue and the character of rocky, what it means to him as a person, how much he loves our city and how inspired he is by the people who come to visit the statue, and how he was grateful. Stallone says that some of the Sales Revenue will be used to assist philadelphias visitor centers. How did that not exist before . That movie came out so long ago. The rocky statue, at the top of the steps, you can put your feet where he was. Im surprised that you wouldnt have the memorabilia before. Late to the game. Maybe people can catch up and watch the movie today, if you are staying at home. Or many movies. If youre working from home, you should be working from home. A lunchtime break. Were starting off our morning checking in on walnut creek. Good morning to you. Mostly cloudy there, as we do head out the door, make sure to grab a jacket. If youre heading to the north bay, an umbrella wouldnt be a bad idea. Were going to keep the clouds around through the midmorning hours, and we do have another chance of rain as we are seeing the low pressure system around the Pacific Northwest. Most of that moisture will stay near portland, seattle, but we could squeeze some of in the bay area. Dont forget your umbrella. Were going to time this out hourbyhour. I see that impacting possibly the evening commute in the north bay, around the marin county coastline, 101 toward novato and santa rosa. For the rest of us, it will be spotty. Were going to hang on to that fall vibe for you to go out and get your Pumpkin Spice latte. Wednesday, better clearing. Overall, rain chances staying to the north. Were going to see trace amounts for the north bay, most of that activity will stay to the Pacific Northwest, where this is going to help with their drought situation, about 1 to 3 inches of rain expected for today and tomorrow. So if you have any plans to head there for any work conventions or anything that takes you up to the Pacific Northwest, do be careful of those changes. San francisco wrapping it up here, a rain chance possible for today. Breezy for tomorrow, as we see this cold front exit. Mild for thursday, but very brief, as we see more changes heading into the weekend, and of course the weekend, saturday, will bring about the eclipse. Well talk about the chance of seeing it in the bay area throughout the show today. Mike, where are we heading for a check on the roads . We continue to follow this deadly crash at the richmondsan rafael. You notice they still have vehicles in place, but weve restored these three lanes. Chp is allowing traffic once again. They had to reposition this crew. They still will not be opening all lanes this morning. Perhaps another lane or two. This will cause a backup. Just three lanes open and we see slowing already at the toll plaza. We also see the first shift, the first slowing for highway 37. Some folks may shift up there or shift down toward the bay bridge to avoid the backup that will be heavier out of richmond. Just in the last few minutes we have an alert for west 24, another crash that will slow you out of orinda. More later. Back to you. 5 23 this morning. Coming up on today in the bay our Consumer Team breaks down how to look out for fraudsters when filing your taxes ahead of the deadline. Also ahead, developments in the middle east, including the outpouring of support in the bay area and the stories emerging about bravery andoss. About bravery andoss. Youre l w we made it bmo has arrived. Hello . You said it. Hello to more ways to save money, grow your wealth, grow your business. Just what we needed, another big bank. Not so fast. How many banks do you know that reward you for saving every month . Hes got a good point. Did i mention bmo has more feefree atms than the two largest us banks combined . Uh, bmo . Just beemo, actually. Quick question, will all this stuff fit in your car . should i get rid of the mug . Bmo here is how it happens. A bad guy files a phony federal tax return with your Social Security number on it, which they can get way too easily on the dark web. Then you go to