abortion-rights hit the supreme court again, the arguments in front of justices and what it means for the bay area and beyond.

good afternoon, i am aubrey, welcome to nbc news at 4:30. ian cole is keeping a close eye on what the supreme court is doing this afternoon, we are tracking other stories including not enough cooks in the kitchen, the staffing shortages at schools all over the bay area . marion fabbro is looking into this problem. he now has a running mate, robert kennedy junior picks his vp, we will tell you about her deep ties to the bay area. there's some rain headed our way, this is a live look at satellite radar. as you see a storm building in the pacific, we are tracking it. she will let us know when the rain will hit the bay area. let's begin with the story that's captivating the nation's attention today. the catastrophic crash in

maryland that has destroyed that entire bridge you see right there. the ship had just taken off from the port of baltimore around 1:28 in the morning eastern time. it slammed into a support column, causing the entire span to collapse into the river below, a construction crew was on that bridge fixing potholes at the moment of impact, two people were pulled from the water, one of them seriously injured. at this hour, search crews are still looking for six missing people but their employer tells nbc that the workers are presumed dead, the bodies have not been recovered, officials are holding out hope that survivors may be found, the disaster is raising questions about the stability of america's bridges, we found out if a catastrophe like this could happen here in the bay area, he will have his full story at 5:00. now to another big, national story, the supreme court taking on abortion rights, the justices once again today weighed into the debate over -- legal abortion in america, they

heard arguments in a case that hauls access to the abortion pill, attorneys for abortion opponents argue the fda did not have a right to expand access, abortion-rights advocates fear what would happen if the court agrees. nbc bay area's ian cole has been digging into the story, i guess let's start with the argument. >> this is all around one of two drugs that have been used in medicated abortions for decades, using about two thirds of all abortions in the u.s. actually according to planned parenthood, the fda says the drug is a safe way to end early pregnancies and eight years ago, the agency expanded access so women can get a prescription without in-person doctors visit, it is accessible at major drug stores and through the mail, although it is banned in 14 states, some activists started mailing it to women in those states. abortion opponents say the fda disregarded important safety issues when it expanded access.

>> regardless of one's views, we should agree that women's health matters, they deserve for the fda to do its job. it is of the federal government to look out for federal health and safety. >> what kind of impact would abandon have here in california? >> for that, i reached out to the ceo of planned parenthood in the state. she says it is not clear what all the impacts would be but that the pill would likely not be available in person or through the mail even though it has been prescribed for decades again. she argues it would open up precedent for other plaintiffs to challenge certain medications or even contraceptives. >> we have been here before, we thought this was settled law and now they are attacking another aspect that could affect states like california who have taken the time to enshrine reproductive freedom. >> nbc legal experts say based on questions from the justices

today during the proceedings, it appears the court is leading towards preserving access to abortion medication, you will hear more about that and the reaction in the next part of our story coming up at 5:30. >> thank you, did you see the smoke? fire crews scramble to put out that large house fire in downtown san jose. an old victorian burned down on fourth street a couple of blocks away from city hall, at one point, they had two power in that area as firefighters try to get it under control. they were able to knock flames down sometime after 1:00 this afternoon, no word yet on how the fire started but we can tell you the house was boarded up and fenced off, it did appear to be vacant. now to decision 2024 and a much talked about third-party candidate for president, robert f. kennedy jr. gathered supporters to officially announce bay area native nicole shanahan as his money rate -- running mate, that took place at the henry j kaiser center

for the arts, shanahan is an attorney and in the newer, also the daughter of a chinese immigrant and the founder of clear access ip which is a tech startup that uses ai to manage intellectual property, she's also the ex-wife of google cofounder sergey brin. kennedy said that he picked the 38-year- old as his running mate because of her experience in tech and advocacy around children's health, environmental concerns. >> if nicole and i can get americans to refuse to vote from fear, we will be in the white house in november. nicole and i are running to help heal the symptoms of an ailing america. to heal are divisions, to heal our economy, to heal our mental health and our spiritual, and our physical health. >> it's about a shift in priorities and about compassion.

chronic disease addition poverty depression, this is where americans are hurting the most, it is time for politicians to listen. >> neither kennedy or shanahan i've ever run for elective office, they are both former democrats turned independence, their goal is to provide a different option. kennedy does face an uphill battle to get on the ballot in enough states to be considered a serious contender in the 2024 race. now to our problem that may be impacting your kids at school, there is a shortage of workers in the kitchen at schools across the bay area and this comes at a time when demand for these workers is at an all-time high but several school districts are struggling to recruit and retain cafeteria staff, are marianne fabbro tracked the story. what are you learning? >> the school district -- from san francisco to san jose are really struggling to get

cafeteria workers. we are not just talking about the fact they need a few positions to fill, at san ramon valley union school district, they have 19 positions currently open, we are seeing lots of openings of districts throughout the bay area, what happens is if any of these current workers call in sick, they are really shorthanded and have to call in employees from other districts to help serve lunches to kids. >> the kids need their food for sure. what exactly is causing this demand in workers, what is happening? >> back in 2022, california was the first state in the nation to offer a universal lunch program so the state is offering free breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of whether their families and calm, that immediately increased demand for lunch and for example at san ramon valley, the number of lunches that they serve has now

more than doubled, because they have more lunches to serve, they need more workers. >> got it, so what are the solutions for this? >> the district has told me that they are competing because there already is a shortage of fast food workers in the community as well, the problem with some of these districts is that there's a lot of bureaucracy to go through, they have to be fingerprinted, they have to have a background check . they have to go through a lot of applications and sometimes it takes a while before they can get hired, the districts are really trying to streamline that entire process by having a one-stop job fair so that people can do that more simply and hopefully they can retain more employees. >> all right, it truly is a process, marianne, thank you so much for that update. i know we see your full story tonight in our evening newscast. >> let's look at the weather, it's another lovely day but i

know we are inspecting changes, we are and the unsettled weather will be making its move starting in the north they live right now, the cameras look great and temperature wise, we are in the 60s and 50s, wind speed is nice and light and i want to show you where that system currently is and where it's headed in the next couple of hours, stretching in through california. most of this is dry, you see that system forming off the pacific. get starting out of northbay first, out e next coup before i take you through timing, the rest of your night tonight into -- you'll be quick to notice that by about 7:00, temperatures dip into the 50s for san francisco. wind speed will kick up tomorrow, look at san jose, beautiful shot of downtown. we are at about 64 degrees and you will notice it's been beautiful today, mostly clear. into the evening 9:00 10:00 hour.

your hour by hour outlook, i took this at 830 tomorrow. it's going to start primarily the northbay for your commute, that's super early morning commute should be fairly dry by about 12:30, lunch hour, into san francisco in parts of palo alto, by the afternoon, we start to see a more widespread effect into south bay. some heavy your pockets into that evening commute. that unsettled weather is not only going to bring rain for your wednesday and thursday. it was -- bring sierra snow, winter storm advisory goes into effect tomorrow. this is a live look so check those travel conditions by tomorrow. good news, if you're going to the giants versus the a's. when speed is a little breezy but the weather will be fantastic as we inch closer to the end of the game. we dip down into those 50s and as you know, anytime your on

the water, you want to wear layers when the coolness settles in. >> don't forget those jackets for sure. thank you. here's a question, can they actually cancel for 20? organizers of the hippie hill event in golden gate park says it is off. it is not happening, the reason behind the cancellation plus rising sea levels continue to threaten the california coast. the new funds aiming to protect the most honorable populations from coastal flooding in the north bay. before we had to break, want to know a trending story you would like to see in this newscast. we have a poll up, little bit more time to vote for the stories are here, cocoa prices hitting all-time high, credit card settlement lowers fees, donald's and mc

san francisco's famed celebration of all things cannabis has gone up in smoke. 420, the annual smokeout at san

francisco golden gate park has been canceled. 420, hippie hill, the group that stages the event with san francisco rec and parks. they cannot afford to staff this event even with recreational weed being real -- legalized, the april 20th gathering has drawn thousands of people to the park to smoke, listen to music, and peru's through a row of vendors. between a city budget cut, the economy, and the state of the cannabis industry you cannot bring enough money to do it right. >> it was pretty difficult to find's partnerships -- partners -- sponsorships, the city is in a budget crunch so we could not supply the level of staffing in overtime needed for cleanup and security. >> this is not a forever thing, organizers say they plan to bring the event back next year.

we will have a reaction from local dispensaries who benefited and people who attended in the past. there is big ai plans this summer. tech analysts believe that apple could unveil a new ai strategy at the worldwide developers conference. late review the latest version of their technology and you might remember last month, apple teased an ai related announcement. it said it would come later this year. this is at the conference for the virtual reality headset vision process virtual conference will run through june 10th through the 14th. after a plan to revitalize downtown danville, it has officially started. we have celebrated the master plan catalyst project this morning. the plan will invest nearly $5 million into creating more back gathering spaces, and th community programs and long- term improvements to life downtown. construction sets a start april

1st and should wrap up late fall, the town is expecting -- not expecting too many closures. turning now to our climate in crisis, setting aside half $1 million to tackle sea level rise. as an increase in frequency and severity is instructive as a result of climate disruption. vianey arana. what makes this so vulnerable? >> living in the coastal bay, coastal communities are at risk, you are signed by water on three sides making it the highest at risk here in the bay area. according to a study done by usgs, california's damage from sea level rise nearly triples once tied storms and erosion are taken into account. by 2100, around 700 acres, 10,000 buildings and roads throughout the county will be exposed to solely -- sea level rise.

519, we go towards a contract with an infrastructure to take a countywide approach. for the most vulnerable, it's a big party. >> many of our committees are built around the waterfront, utilities, homes, commercial areas are at risk, the canal district is a professionally -- potentially big area of concern. >> this would impact so many people who live out there and love the area, it's a beautiful area. what damage will be seen in the long run from sea level rise? >> the things that we are surrounding, we are surrounding properties, think of places like foster city, pacifica, the

san francisco airport purports along the entire state of california stretching down to southern california, we are talking thousands of people and billions of dollars. i did look into this map which i can show you now. we show you this from san francisco, 1860. the plot shows mean sea levels without fluctuations. this is not a positive or negative, something that scientists continue to monitor over the years. you can see the map on your screen, the sea level rise has gone up significantly since then. there's also a rest monitor, a sealevel map that protects the team. we will dive into this. it can really hone in on the spot, it gives you not only potential impacts. they created not only residents but community managers to

mitigate the risk and create resilient communities to prepare for the impacts on sea level rise. we will be announcing ways for the public to be involved and of course we will let you know when we get all details. >> is we are seeing changes now, that's the time you have to prepare. it's about being aware of potential threats, how to mitigate those and become more resilient. >> thanks so much. if you are heading to the beach in north bay, you may run into this squishy site. this is from tomales bay, blue jellyfish type creatures. they live further in the pacific but in the spring warm water and if the wind is too strong, they get thrown ashore.

visitors may come across thousands of them in the spring and summer, while they don't sting, they may irritate your skin. diabetes is something you are either born with or develop as you get older, it's a problem that a lot of people encounter, here we have some health tips. audrey, it's a day to where -- raise awareness of the seriousness and risk of diabetes. the american diabetes association calls it a one day wake up call for americans, data shows that one in three adults have prediabetes and 80% do not know they have it. prediabetes can put people at risk of other serious conditions like type two diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. it can be reversed if it is detected early on, experts say people should make simple changes to their lifestyle. >> just more water than soda for instance, vegetables, fruits, mixing it up. not the same you know, type of draft --

vegetable everyday but a lot of leafy greens. walking more. >> to understand more about the risk of prediabetes, visit doihaveprediabetes.org to take a one minute rest task. all you have to do is join us early, we start at 5:00 a.m. we are on her and you can catch nbc bay area news, we are on 24 seven on roku and other streaming platforms, i am marcus washington, back to you. >> audrey lange is working on the news. we have the coverage of that bridge collapse, it has many of us wondering could you happen right here in the bay area? we have multiple bridges, just how much can our bridges handle? the golden gate bridge, bay bridge. we get answers from experts. it is one of the most special nights of high school. prom, it is not cheap to go. you have two tickets, the dress, that may prevent some girls from going at all. students at a high school are

putting on a property, hundreds of formal dresses to try on and you can take one home for free. it's a story that will make you bay area proud.

it is top trending stories voted by you on her instagram pole, this one was close, every vote counted and we will talk about food, you have been asked would you like fries with that? how about would you like a donut with that, thanks to a partnership, you will soon be able to order krispy kreme donuts at your local mcdonald's , the most popular offerings will be available individually's you can find them one at a time or in boxes of six, later this year with the

goal of every mcdonald's restaurant by the end of 2026. as always, i will post links to the other stories you voted for on instagram and thank you so much for voting. here's a chance to visit the happiest place on earth with all-expenses-paid. it's actually not here, it's actually finland which is ranked the happiest country in the world after seven years in a row. you can hack their happiness. posting a successful five day master class last year and it wants to do it again this year. this will impact four key themes of happiness which are lifestyle health design, and food. thanks for joining us at 10:30, we have the 5:00 newscast next. we will backbe

right now at 5:00, we are learning more about the moments before a collapse of a baltimore bridge, why did the bridge crumble after the cargo ship hit it? could happen to one of our bay area bridges, what the experts are telling us tonight. working to protect firefighters, san francisco's push to get something firefighters where that could cause cancer. joining the race for the white house, robert kennedy junior picking an oakland attorney. what we know about her and the chances of the independent candidate making a real run for the white house. the news at 5:00 starts now, i am jessica gary. >> i'm janelle wang, we begin with that stunning disaster baltimore. a massive bridge collapse. >> 20 minutes ago, we got an update. unfortunately, it's not good. the search for possible survivors has been suspended and that means that six people missing are now presumed dead. i want to show you the video

from last night when it captured the moment of is -- this disaster. the ship lost power and slammed it in the francis caught -- francis scott key bridge. we will show you that video again, you will see the ship slides go dark before the ship strikes a pylon, the force of that ship roughly the size of the empire state building causing that span to buckle right into the water. investigators say all signs point towards being -- a terrible accident. >> the ship did radio about the loss of power and impact to the bridge with prompted bridge officials to stop all traffic. the construction crew was on the bridge fixing potholes when that collision have been. at least two workers will pulled out. one of them seriously hurt, the other six missing have not been found. officials just announced this is now a recovery mission. the search for their