is closing its iconic union square store. >> this comes as a blow for plans to revitalize union square and it means a piece of san francisco history is going away. >> reporter: the news came as a shock for many locals and some foreigners here at macy's union square. the mayor calls it a business decision made by the retail giant. >> it's been a part of the fabric of san francisco for 77 years. macy's union square is set to close its doors. >> we are disappointed, but we also see it as an opportunity. >> the mayor's decision as part of the announcement the company made this morning that it's closing 150 stores nationwide. she downplayed the role and the rise in retail theft may have played. >> we have seen a significant decline in crime so we know this has nothing to do with that decision. it's really a larger business decision that macy's is made. >> managing director of

strategic resource group, a new york retail consulting firm. he is sure retail crime had a lot to do with macy's decision to abandon iconic union square. he said anything can go in its place from hotels to condos, even another retail giant because it's still coveted real estate. >> union square is up there with paris and montreal as one of the finest for food, fashion and travelers. union square will always come back in some form. >> shoppers were stunned. >> it's terrible. we are visiting from the uk. it's very sad to see san francisco like this. someplace is closing down. >> changing with themes to come with e-commerce. >> macy's will stay open through this year as the

company looks for someone to buy the building at union square it's owned since 1947. >> that's a big loss. details about the future of the south bay beloved waterpark. they just voted 20 minutes ago to keep the raging waters park open. the park revealed it was closing last year under the new plan the city will keep the park open until next year under new operator, california dream and entertainment. it will be open by memorial day weekend. the company is fledging $6 million to approve the park. they need to find a long-term operator for raging waters. living lavishly at the expense of others is the accusation against three men accused of selling opioids including fentanyl in san francisco. the u.s. attorney's office is extraditing the trio to face charges here in the bay area. >> and photos published by the

hundred secretary of national security the three men who were arrested are wearing prison overalls and are flanked by heavily armed members of the police force. they are now in a bay area jail. the u.s. attorney says this represents the u.s. government efforts to crack down on crime in san francisco. >> people will be held accountable if dealing drugs. the days of an open-air drug market with no accountability are over. >> the three men each have already had their first appearance in federal court in seven cisco. they were arrested in three separate communities in and around the city in honduras which is a rural area north of the capital. during the news conference federal authorities shared photos from a ranch where one of them was arrested which included san francisco sports team logos on a branding iron, a window and several articles of clothing. they described this to the

city. >> there selling narcotics to make a profit. they are coming back down to honduras and making lavish mansions and homes in order to create their lifestyle there. >> this marks one of the first efforts by united states agents to coordinate with honduran police. >> according to the dea there were 150 local hundred police officers that were part of the operation to assessed the three men. >> for more are in custody awaiting extradition to the u.s.. two men already expedited were previously in san francisco then released on bond in order to be under electronic monitoring. they still managed to escape. the third was indicted and left the country before he was arrested. they are all back in the city now. >> taken the death penalty off the table for the former student accused of stabbing and killing two people. three day preliminary healing is underway for carlos dominguez. he is accused of serial stabbings. the stabbings left

two people dead and another seriously wounded. this is the first time we are seen dominguez since last month when a judge ruled he is competent to stand trial. he looks vastly different. short hair, clean-shaven. prosecutors say they will not seek death penalty in the case. the attorney's office is not explaining how it came to that decision. >> a deal in place by monday. that is the hope of president biden for an israel hamas cease- fire. biden is remaining optimistic there will be a pause in fighting when hamas fighters attacked israeli. negotiations between israel and hamas are taking place right now . this is what we know so far. president biden said israel agreed to pause fighting during the holy month of ramadan. leaders are hoping for a deal that would get hostages out of gaza as well. he also plans to send more aid to gaza during the cease-fire in exchange hamas wants israel to release palestinian prisoners

and hopes this will be the starting point for a postwar gaza. president biden faces two tests today. white house meeting today president biden congressional leaders from both parties. he wants action on military aid to ukraine and israel. and to prevent a government shutdown. without a funding deal the government will partially shut down friday. both sides seemed determined to not let that happen. >> damage the economy significantly and i think we all agree to that. >> we believe we can get to an agreement and prevent a government shutdown. >> that's how speaker republican mike johnson in michigan today. a separate issue posing a key test for the president. progressives urge democrats to vote uncommitted to protest the president's handling of the israel hamas war. former president trump expected to claim another victory over nikki haley. the future is here.

silicon valley candidate is using ai in his campaign not to fool voters. he's using it to reach voters and even talk with them via a chat bot. our business reporter scott budman spoke to the candidate and the bots. you tried it out. >> this season we hear and see a lot of chat bots and political ads. we get a lot of robocalls. one local campaign putting ai to work in a way we haven't really seen before and it wants to chat with you. it starts like any number of campaign ads but then this one morphs into something different because it was created with ai. >> these are technologies we are comfortable with. we understand they cut both ways. we can use it to tell a story. >> the story peter dixon wants to tell comes from the campaigns palo alto headquarters. a former techie himself, he's

using ai to save time and money while gaining wider outreach. >> we were able to do it for thousands of dollars what would have cost tens of thousands of dollars and months a year, two years ago. we were able to do it in 72 hours. >> hey there. i hope you're doing well. >> these created with ai can hold a conversation, answering your questions about the candidates views. it's created by a company teaching each bot about the campaign. >> we use that information to train a dedicated ai model that is custom to that campaign and also to that type of call. >> they do not allow their technology to be recorded so i couldn't tell you what but i did carry on a phone conversation with a bought about nixon's campaign and it

answered my questions as to where the candidate stands on specific issues that are concerning to me and the community even admitting it wasn't sure about certain issues when i asked about something. it felt like a very modern silicon valley way. a little impersonal and did say he wants to reach as many people as possible. instead of just leaving a message actually conversing with a bought. it's actually a bought. >> there are some that sound like a real candidate. >> that was the problem with the president biden one. this one is not going to be fake. it's saying i'm calling about this campaign. do you have any questions and you can have a dialogue. i must say it felt ready on. there were not long pauses. what i was most impressed with was when i asked about something and she had knitted i

don't know where the candidate stands on that. >> like talking to siri or alexa. thanks. the secret service agent who crashed the president suv did not have to take every teen safety course after that accident. that's one of the details revealed in records obtained by nbc news. there's these photographs showing the damage. this accident happened in 2022 while harris was being driven in d.c. the service was criticized at the time for misreporting the accident saying it was a mechanical failure before finally revealing the driver had struck a divider. a new report shows the suv briefly went airborne from the impact. secret service says the agent didn't have to take a safety course because the accident happened while she was trying to stay in the motorcade formation. toyota is recalling some vehicles. this time it is the tacoma trucks. they are recalling 280,000 of the pickup trucks. it is part of the rear axle can

loosen overtime and fall off. this can impact the breaking of the truck. the recall only covers certain trucks from 2022 to 2023. you can get more information on our website. click on the training box at nbc bay area.com. helping kids by investing in childcare. the promising signs the san francisco city leaders are seeing and what they are pointing to as reason for the change. architecture students put their knowledge to use. what they designed and built like helping a shelter for families expressing homelessness. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. a lot of sunshine today but we have that new storm lining up. after 10 to 14 inches this month of santa cruz mountains over five inches this month in san jose.

i launched our campaign at this union hall. let's go win this thing! then we hit the road and never stopped. you shared with me your frustration at working harder to barely get by and afford a place to live. your fears for our democracy and freedoms

and your dreams for yourself, your family, and the future. it is not too late to realize those dreams. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message because together we can still get big things done. san francisco's mayor says investments are paying off her parents.

there's several milestones that occurred over the past five years. they say the number of kids getting childcare doubled to 12,000 in that waitlist for early childcare has been cut by 70%. they say wages for early educators are up. much of this progress is made possible by funds created that was passed in 2018. >> today is really about taking a moment to reflect on how far we have come, how much work we have done together to get us to this point and to make sure that we continue to push the envelope and be an example for the rest of the state and nation. >> supporters say it was a big step forward but there is still work to be done. the city merged two departments to a new department of early childcare so they could streamline those. a class where you learn something is good. a class where you get real- world experience is even better. >> it makes life better for

others. garvin thomas joined us now with how it all fits together. >> inside the monta vista atrium community school and san francisco's mission district is a unique shelter. it's where students of san francisco unified in their families who have no other place to go home. because it's in a working school the entire shelter beds and all must be set up at 10:00 each night and taken down at 7:00 each morning. it is a logistical challenge, but thanks to one group of students it is now easier for the staff and more comfortable for the residence. >> we had to move fast on the design. >> good designers spend a lot of time thinking about the product they are creating. >> the draft. >> great designers think even more about the people who will use it. it's true that makes this group of students at the academy of art university pretty darn great.

drew hart is one of them. >> that's my passion. anything to do with community and giving back to people that look like me or may not have the same benefits or things i have. >> to find the people drew and his classmates are helping head over to the mission district. outside of school hours in the one of vista school gym and auditorium a shelter for homeless students and their families is set up. and taken down every single day and night. with little room to store the mattresses and partitions and even less time in which to do it what the architecture students saw was a problem they could help solve. >> the goal and solution would be to ease the transition and organize the space better. >> the first thing we saw they need was they were sleeping on the floor. >> that's why his classmates spent the past year designing a

bed tailored to the shelter resident needs. >> collapsible, portable, comfortable with space for personal belongings and able to be set up and put away in a matter of seconds. the class went down to the workshop and crafted more than 60 beds to accommodate the two dozen families living in the shelter. >> everyone was happy with the bed. they thought it was perfect. the students say the key lesson they learned in all of this is not just one of good construction. it was one of meaningful connections. they couldn't have made the right product if they hadn't started by taking the time to know who it would benefit once they did that you can say the rest just fell into place. >> the beds were something we felt gave these people who don't have a lot a piece of something that was theirs. just a layer of comfort. making them feel they are at

home in a space they consider home. >> the students identified a number of things that could help the shelter but beds were the ones they wanted done first. they're already working on the new addition like extra storage and books for the children. they hope to get done by the end of the school year. perhaps the best follow-up to all of this would be the students who got this experience in helping others will now graduate and take this into the world. into their jobs and each one saying this experience has taught me how to be a better designer, how to be a better architect. i want to make this my career. >> the craftsmanship. when you look at woodworking that is really hard to make those parts move. >> the same who design and build it so they are talented. >> calm before the storm. couldn't have said it better. we have rainfall still in the

mix for us and what looks to be some extreme snow across the sierra. i have all the details and what we are seeing as of today. let's take it outside right now and show some of that blue sky through san jose that just made it so awesome to be outside. 61 degrees. relatively dry air here with the dew point at 35. i still think we have more sunshine, more blue skies for tomorrow from this area of high pressure. it's going to take a little more off to the east but we are on for some great weather as we had to our forecast. the storm system is beginning to drop down from alaska with that cold air and rainfall. we will get you more updates coming up, but let's go into tomorrow morning's forecast. we will started off pretty easy. mostly sunny skies. lots here throughout most of the bay area. 41 for south bay.

upper 30s, san francisco at 47 and for the east bay right here at 40. temperatures as we go through tomorrow with sunshine will stay in the 60s through much of the area so another gorgeous day to spend outside if you can. just get that lunch break outside will make a difference. 67 here in san jose. out to antioch, 68. peninsula 59 at half moon bay. palo alto coming in at 64. san francisco, 62 in the mission . for the north bay, 61 in mill valley. towards the storm system we are still seeing the same path. it's taking a much different path overall than the other systems we had this season. this one is dropping directly out of the north. a lot of cold air remains wrapped up within that storm. we start to see the rain picking up by thursday afternoon and evening.

we continue with rain chances the way we see it now friday and also into saturday. overall, in that three day period it looks like on and off rain chances. i don't think it will be wall- to-wall rainfall from thursday and saturday. rain totals right now 3/4 to 2 inches. wind gust for lower elevations up to 50 miles per hour will be on and off. overall, the worst impact and biggest headlines will come from the sierra snow that looks like it could stack up to seven feet and maybe higher. let's go into the totals here for the area first. a quarter to a half inch. as we had to friday this is specifically friday's total. quarter to three quarters of an inch and on saturday we add to that. because that rainfall is spread out we should be able to avoid some of the worst impacts here in the bay area. if you go anywhere near the sierra this is where it looks treacherous. when he could be up to hundred

miles an hour. 90 inches. 81 kirkwood. 58 right there in tahoe. we start to dry out on sunday and monday and if you marche our chances on tuesday. coming up at 5:30 we will have more and get you more details on what we are seeing about the storm system. you've heard of surge pricing, now attaining one of your favorite

what do i see in peter dixon?

i see my husband... the father of our girls. i see a public servant. a man who served under secretary clinton in the state department... where he took on the epidemic of violence against women in the congo. i see a fighter, a tenacious problem-solver... who will go to congress and protect abortion rights and our democracy. because he sees a better future for all of us. i'm peter dixon and i approved this message. another push what is a growing crime, providing free catalytic converter etching. students got under the cars to

etch identification numbers on those catalytic converters. they spray-painted the police logo on each device. the program makes the catalytic converter less attractive to thieves because it's marked up. it makes it easier for law enforcement to track them if you still them. livermore pd says catalytic converter theft has dropped since it started this program. the price of your burger at wendy's may start going up or down depending on the restaurant. it will start testing what is called surge pricing. the same pricing system that ride-share companies use. you pay a price that depends on how many people -- that's what wendy's wants to do. the price will change depending on when you go and which location you go to. if it's busier prices may be higher. wendy's said it will start at a location in ohio as early as next year and plans $20 million in digital menu boards at all u.s. locations by the end of

next year. speculation surrounding kensington after prince william abruptly pulled out of an important event. important event. "overflowing with ideas and energy." that's the san francisco chronicle endorsing democrat katie porter for senate over all other options. porter is "easily the most impressive candidate." "known for her grilling of corporate executives." with "deep policy knowledge." katie porter's housing plan has "bipartisan-friendly ideas to bring homebuilding costs down." and the chronicle praises "her ideas to end soft corruption in politics." let's shake up the senate. with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message.

when peter dickson led my platoon into combat in afghanistan, he cared about two things: completing the mission, and making sure his marines came home.

and we all did. pete's always fought for what he believes in, and i know he'll do the same in congress for affordable housing, the rights of women, and the democracy he swore to protect. because helping people who need it has always been pete's mission. and i know he'll get it done. next generation veteran fund is responsible for the content of this ad.

a last-minute cancellation from prince williams. he pulled out of attending a memorial service today for his godfather the late king constantine of greece. his absence was due to a personal matter. this counts as the prince is recovering from abdominal surgery. the palace assured everyone he's doing well. king charles is being treated for cancer. he did not attend memorial either. prince william did not intend constantine's funeral last year. you can watch our newscast 24 seven on other streaming platforms. is what we are working on. a family is shocked and angry that the men convicted of killing a loved one is set to walk free. the turn of events that led to the killer being granted parole after murdering a teenager. of well-known company is cutting hundreds of jobs. how it continues to trend for the video game industry. only on nbc bay ar,