well-known football star and controversial figure o.j. simpson has died and we are taking a look at the polarizing life of the bay area native.

good afternoon. i am audrey asistio. talking to nbc bay area at 4:30. we will get to that story in a minute that we are tracking other stories on this thursday, including dangerous mosquitoes spotted in the south bay. the reason they are raising major concerns and how you can protect yourself. japanese company opens a new office and it is bringing in a lot of leaders in artificial intelligence and what it could mean for u.s. relations with japan. good lou -- news for oakland, office spaces can be filled very soon. we are taking a look at the latest surge and demand and what it means for the city. o.j. simpson as most of the world knew him was a controversial figure and did died today at 76 years old of cancer. since it became infamous in june 1994, images of his bronco were broadcast around the world. police had been pursuing him

after the body of his wife nicole brown simpson and her friend were found at her home. the double murder trial that followed became known as the trial of the century. one of the first to be televised from start to finish. before that trial, o.j. simpson had been a sports hero and a football star from the bay area. >> o.j. simpson was a really popular , well-known and well-liked figure for a lot of americans prior to the murder trial. i think that is why the murder trial caught people off guard. >> o.j. simpson got a start in his hometown of san francisco. family and friends remember him as a multitalented athlete at galileo high school, then at san francisco city college. he played in the nfl for 11 seasons, inducted into the pro football hall of fame and later had a successful tv and film career.

while he was acquitted in criminal court, o.j. simpson was ultimately found liable for the death of his wife and her friend in a civil trial. he served prison time in nevada for a separate charge of armed robbery and kidnapping. convicted murderer released from prison early is behind bars again this afternoon. he is accused of a woman who was walking on a trail in concord. he pleaded not guilty today to , assault and robbery charges. investigators say that he randomly attacked a woman who had just gotten off and was walking on a trail monday evening. police say that he pushed her to the ground and stole her purse. the woman fought back and with the help of a good samaritan was able to call police. officers arrested him on a train . will be joining us at 6:00 with her full report. all lanes just reopened on

i-80 in san francisco after a deadly accident. you can see that traffic is moving smoothly. the crash actually happened around 2:30 on southbound 101 and 80 connect. a motorcyclist lost control, hit the side of the bridge, then fell off the ramp onto the connector below where he was hit by a car and pronounced dead shortly after. two lanes were blocked for the investigation, but it is now cleared. a big crash created rush- hour gridlock in san lorenzo at 1:30. the truck crashed with her 238 connects with 880 and this is from our nbc bay area sky ranger. it was loaded with thousands of pounds of your -- frozen chinese food. the driver told chp that he fell asleep while driving and it flipped. they cleaned up the fuel that's built, as well.

we just learned from the chp that all of the lanes are now open to traffic. a mosquito known to transmit deadly diseases has been spotted in the south bay and county officials are issuing a warning. nbc bay area's ian cole joins us after talking with them and scientists. have we seen this before? >> reporter: santa clara county captured and kill a colony of these mosquitoes two years ago and they want to do the same now before they spread across the county. placing traps in east san jose after they found the mosquito. they already cut six of them along the lane near story road. they are different from the normal mosquitoes that we see. one, if they bite someone who has traveled and is infected with yellow fever, then they can transmit those diseases. they are aggressive and fight

during the day. they prefer humans over other animals. >> we have collected six and this is one of them. you can see the dark black legs and white spots. sometimes people are able to see this with her eyes. if you are surrounded by them, then we would love if you would contact us. >> is the county doing anything to stop them from spreading? >> we were able to go with them as they were studying the traps in the east san jose neighborhood. this is where it gets interesting. since they like humans, they use two different types of traps. one uses dry ice to admit, dioxide, which attracts the insects. the other one smells like sweaty socks. the mosquitoes think that they are about to buy a human, but instead get sucked into a trap. also asking people to clear standing water from their properties where mosquitoes like to lay eggs and talking about things like spare tires for tarps or flowerpots.

the people who live near that spot are glad someone is taking care of it. >> it's great. they need to go wherever the problem is. right now, it's right here. >> so far, santa clara is the only county to have these mosquitoes. we will talk about where else they have been found in our full story at 6:00. >> thank you for the preview. new numbers are showing a potentially promising future for businesses and growth in the area as demand for office space hits a new five-year high. real estate firm says that more businesses are leasing places in oakland, alameda and emeryville and tenant demand has increased by nearly 30% since last year. they can see that the rates are high, but hope that the upper trend will continue and others to invest in the area, as well. >> if you walk around oakland, you will see that a lot of the streets are almost empty and

having a rebound in office activity i think will be a significant driver in bringing back the safety in oakland and economic. >> more incentives from landlords and opportunity to expand from us are helping drive the market. japanese company opening a new office in silicon valley and it could mean big things for the world of artificial intelligence. the company is based in tokyo and focuses on creating semi conductors and ai chips. scott budman has been following the story all day. did i pronounce it correctly? >> yes. >> cool. what can they offer each other? >> they want the same goal in tech, to get ahead in artificial intelligence, which is super hot these days. all of the companies based here or there super powerful chips.

they are very good at making these chips. american companies are really good at selling them and giving them to the ai cuss -- companies. ripening -- they will make them in japan and it is an interesting global response to the desire for ai and the chips that are so hot right now. >> since they are opening an office now in silicon valley, will they hire local people? >> i asked the ceo and he said absolutely. the plan is to hire and grow. they will do marketing in silicon valley and build the chips out there. everyone wants to be here because of the relationships with companies like google. they are on the forefront of ai and people really want the chips, so they are looking to american and japanese companies to make those chips and get them to the ai companies, so they can power the machines.

>> it is an exciting time for a lot of people out here and business owners. moving forward, what can it mean for the years down the line? is it closer relationships with japan? >> the relations with u.s. and japan have been hot or cold, but right now they are good and friendly. the prime minister of japan is in america right now talking business. even on this level, companies are talking to each other and saying, we are getting along, so let's keep this going, because it can benefit both of us with jobs, money and with the forefront of technology, which right now is ai and everyone is competing with china . that is something that units japan. also, there is a chip shortage and we need companies to build these. japan is saying to work together to be more efficient and get more product out on the market and make more money. >> for sure. are you going to have a full story? >> 5:30.

>> thanks. popular east bay burger joint is closing after nearly 40 years. great american hamburger and pie company is serving its last meals today citing legal problems. the owner is tied to a lawsuit connected to american disabilities act requirements and the legal fees are proving to be too much. branching out in san francisco, this time introducing a new food hall. look inside of the space coming up. searching for ways to reduce emissions. one company is thinking outside the box and the way it is utilizing brick to store clean energy. want to know what trending story you would like to see later on in this newscast and i will put it on my instagram. you can see it right here. instagram blurring images, missing pompeii art found or sailors rescued after making.

businesses in downtown san francisco have been struggling to stay open, but eight months after opening its doors, ikea is expanding a massive two- story food hall that opened this morning right next door to the furniture store on market street and it is called saluhall and operated by ikea's sister company. there are 11 different places to eat and drink. asian, puerto rican food and a lot of plant-based options. they host spaces and bars for people and workers in the neighborhood to gather together. >> if you want a cooking demonstration or if you have a small apartment and you want to host friends, then come to saluhall. if you want to have drinks after work and hang out with friends, come to saluhall. >> offer classes on baking and knife skills. they hope that the food hall will help revitalize and bring

people together in downtown san francisco. after two decades of work, scientists in the bay area are celebrating completion of the world's largest digital camera. it is called the legacy survey of space and time camera or l fst for short. it was both at the national accelerator laboratory and we are getting a chance to see it up close. >> it is about five feet in diameter and the camera is about 10 feet long and weighs 6000 pounds, so it is a very large camera. the resolution of the sensors is 3200 megapixels, so significantly larger than your iphone, which is probably something like 12 to 48 if you have the latest version. it is very specifically built for doing surveys and looking at the night sky. look at all of the night sky

and it will see pretty much everything that we can see, including very dim objects and faint stars and galaxies. >> are equal. the cameras will be sent to a space observatory where it will help unravel mysteries of the universe. imagine if you can store as much energy as a tesla model x with only a break. that is already reality things to an east bay startup, which designed bricks that look like giant legos as a promising way to fight climate change, because if you stuck enough of them, then it allows industrial plants to stop using fossil fuel. here is national climate reporter chase king and the potential of this low-tech claimant solution. >> reporter: what you get when you take a break desmet brick and heated to 1500 degrees? this isn't a joke, but a remarkably simple way that we can eliminate 15% of the world's emissions.

>> you are doing the most important thing you have ever done in your life and i have that sense every day. >> reporter: john o'donnell radiates passion just like his company radiates heat stored from clean energy. >> only some of the time, heavy industry needs heat all the time, so we need to store energy so that we can have clean heat. >> reporter: on a tour -- >> this is 50,000 watts. >> reporter: huge coils that act like the kitchen toaster, but the heat uniquely shaped bricks backed like legos. >> we need to be fast and this is pretty boring. boring is a good way to go big and fast, because there aren't any questions about how much we can make, how fast or how long it will last. >> reporter: switch heavy manufacturing without changing

the way things are made. basically, plugging factories into a different power source. that can eliminate emissions than the entire u.s. produces every year and he is already proving that it works at the fuel plant in california central valley. it is the first commercial heat battery. >> reporter: this is a smaller version and has 50 bricks in it. a full-size battery has 3000. >> reporter: i still want to get something so simple can actually work at a bigger scale. stafford energy researcher. >> this is actually really effective and inexpensive. they cost 1/10 or less than a battery -- and electric battery per unit energy capacity storage. >> reporter: chief bricks and cheap green power makes for an easy sales pitch and is also why bill gates is one of the primary investors. >> when james watt was making

steam engines, he was making pistols and rods and sleeves, but we need some that could change what human beings can do. what we are really doing is building the infrastructure to change how the world makes everything we use. i know that it sounds like a big claim, but it is enormous impact. >> reporter: national climate reporter chris cain. >> thanks. i am at the anchor desk working on the 5:00 news. san jose met has been doing a lot on quality of life issues in the city of san jose. today is no exception. he unveiled a new way for people to report cars that are inoperable. damian trujillo jalal has all of the information about how this will be easier than the current system.

one of lester's most popular story. 10-year-old boy missing to complete 10 acts of kindness and we will share how far along he is and the impressive acts. >> i can't wait. that will be great. thank you. we will see you in a few minutes. still to come, top trending stories voted by you on my instagram poll. if you are not a fan of if you are not a fan of camping with anmaybe you d ( ♪♪ ) you made a cow! actually it's a piggy bank. my inspiration to start saving. how about a more solid way to save? i'm listening. well, bmo helps get your savings habit into shape with a cash reward, every month you save. both: cash reward? and there's a cash bonus when you open a new checking account to get you started.

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top trending stories voted by you on my instagram poll. instagram will start blurring any nude images that are sent to minors. social media company announced today that they will be testing new protection features in direct messages. the tool blur images detects nudity. it will be turned on by default for everyone under 18 years old worldwide and it comes as

instagram and the parent company tried to ease concerns over harmful content on its apps. as always, i will post the links for the other stories. if camping isn't your style, yosemite national park is offering glamping, glamorous camping . bay area company called wild haven started operating in the park and features 30 heavy campus tents, 12 cabins with heat, electricity and some have kitchenettes. it starts at $200 a night. next spring under canvas out of colorado will open its glamping site in yosemite and it typically features private bathrooms, as well as electricity, heat and that is what i'm talking about. bay area band going to soften the blow for fans left high and dry after a grateful dead tribute festival was canceled.

the festival was supposed to take place in ventura next week in southern california, but organizers abruptly canceled citing financial devastation from last year's event. they are telling fans who already purchased tickets that they will not be refunded, because the tickets were labeled nonrefundable. some fans are out of thousands of dollars and calling it fraud, but the bay area and moon alice has played before and are now offering free entry to their bay area shows next week for any fans who purchased tickets. i know that we are heading into festivals. i think coachella is this weekend. >> already? we are not going. >> we are not. it was another sunny day and still 79 degrees in san jose. look at that. the high temperature this afternoon was 81. let's talk about what is ahead. before i get to that, i want to show you how we are seeing

temperatures throughout other parts of the bay area and this is including not only san jose, but looking across the coastline and the bay. we are seeing 70s out there and we expect to see some current temperatures dip down. right now, look at that. 78 for santa rosa. 73 in livermore and 82 degrees. if you look, we have 90 in san martin. it has definitely warmed up and the temperature changed even though it's in the 80s. it is starting to showcase itself and we are 7 degrees cooler and san francisco. here is the reason why. we have high pressure that is helping us stay dry and we will remain dry tomorrow. even though we will see a cooldown, for most of your friday, it will be a pleasant day and slightly cooler. increase in cloud cover and you can see the formation right there. look at the formation of the

next system. it is lining up to be a friday into early saturday event. before i get to that, let's talk about the overnight lows because even though we are seeing breezy wind, you will notice the conditions being mostly clear inland, however the coastline has been a lot slower and we do have cloudy skies and patchy fog. it does look like we can see similar conditions into tomorrow. meanwhile, it is 64 degrees with breezy wind from the west, northwest and overnight lows are in the 50s. be sure to join me at 5:00 with a closer look at the extended outlook and a look at the sierra heading into the weekend. >> we will see you then. thank you for joining us at 4:30. we are back in two minutes.

right now at 5:00, the man at the center of the trial of the century, o.j. simpson . he has died after a battle with cancer. the death of the controversial bay area native. major eyesore for people living in san jose. abandoned cars sitting for months as the city will get rid of them. new technology to get the cars off the streets. hundreds of janitors who clean the bay area's largest office buildings and campuses are rallying a strike. that is ahead of important vote next week. the news at 5:00 starts right now. thank you for being with us. from football hero to murder suspect, the former nfl star who was acquitted with murdering his ex-wife and her friend has died at 76. it was a televised trial that gripped the nation and he leaves behind a complicated legacy.

>> his family says that they were surrounded by his children and grandchildren during the time of transition. his family asks that you respect their wishes for privacy and grace. >> reports circulated that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and in hospice care as he underwent chemotherapy. he denied that he was in hospice and the video he posted did not address whether he had been diagnosed with cancer. >> before the trial that forever changed his reputation, he was a sports hero and football star from right here in the bay area. the news of his death bringing out a lot of mixed emotions. >> nbc bay area spoke with those who knew him before he was famous and infamous. >> driving a white or light colored ford bronco. >> reporter: driving down the freeways of los angeles in june 1984. disturbing images of the double murder scene of nicole brown simpson and her friend in brentwood