a coordinated protest blocks traffic for hours during the morning commute. the local highlights hit with major backup and far ranging impacts. good afternoon. i am audrey asistio.

welcome to nbc bay area news at 4:30. ian cole is looking into the protests for us and what punishment the protesters might face. we are tracking other stories on this monday including a san jose fire captain now on leave, what he allegedly asked a underage girl to do. also shutting down, the feds are closing the women's prison in dublin. the problem that led to it, and what happens to the prisoners now. is at the cyber truck or the ev market not being as hot? scott budman is looking into the layoffs for tesla. let's go ahead and begin with those protesters blocking traffic in three different spots across the bay area today. so this is part of a nationwide effort on tax day to protest u.s. tax dollars going towards israel and the war in gaza. protesters completely halted traffic on the golden gate bridge as well is in oakland,

northbound 880 and south bound 880 at the south street on- ramp. it started at 6:00 this morning. south bound 880 was the last to be cleared after 1:00 this afternoon. around 300 people locked the highway, five people were arrested after the hundreds of protesters refused to leave there. chp officers were eventually able to back them off the freeway and down the seventh street on-ramp. on northbound 880, officers had to clear the 55 gallon drums filled with cement that protesters had chained themselves to. officers had to use jackhammers and other tools to break up all of that cement and rebar inside. seven people were arrested here in the chp were able to open all lanes at 1:15 after those drums were removed. on the golden gate bridge, protesters drove onto the bridge, blocking traffic and chaining themselves to each other and their cars. 26 people were arrested there.

this is the first spot to be cleared just before 12:30 this afternoon. this was an effort to halt economic activity across the region. >> we don't think anyone in the bay area is being a red affected in a safety way? >> safety? no. economically? yes. >> we cannot go back. it's not that easy. >> you guys are stuck. >> basically. >> everyone being late for work this morning. nobody on the 880. it's crazy right now. >> today's protests frustrated thousands of bay area commuters. questions now, will these protesters face jail time? should more be done to prevent this from happening again. ian cole joins us after talking us, even with one protester who was arrested for similar things in the past. what are the attorneys saying? >> they are saying while this

issue is highly charged and complex, they say these protests become a public safety issue at some point. specifically some argue that if fire trucks and ambulances can't get through or are delayed there can be lives at stake. two lawyers we spoke with believed district attorneys could be coming down harder and prosecuting these cases to prevent something like this from happening again. the first amendment will certainly be used as a defense, but also argues these protests have a massive impact on those who are not are not involved in issues. she says she will be watching the das in san francisco and alameda counties where the protesters were arrested to see if they are treated differently in court. she added if california really wants to stop these they may need new laws similar to other states. >> they have laws that make it a felony to impeded traffic, even if it's for protest. but if you impede i think more than six cars in sums dates, california doesn't have a lot

like that. >> you also spoke with the protest before? >> 78 people were arrested and charged but they all avoided jail time by agreeing to the courts diversion program. they each have to complete five hours of community service. it was all worth it to get president biden's attention and believes these protests will keep happening. >> do you anticipate doing something like this again? >> i believe so. i think, you know, i and others like me are willing to do what it's going to take. >> there is also a state assembly bill. we'll talk about that at 5:30. >> thank you. >> not just in the bay area, gaza protest were organized across the country today on tax day. this was the scene outside chicago's o'hare airport,

protesters blocked one of the entrances there and as you see here, dots of traffic. many people had to get out of their cars, walk through traffic with their luggage to make their flights there. in connecticut, 10 people were arrested outside in aerospace manufacturing plant. at dozens were blocking the entrance to the pratt and whitney factory this morning, demanding the company stop fighting aircraft to israel.the goal is to lay production, police say they arrested those who obstructed traffic. speak up now to a store you will only see on nbc bay area, a san jose fire captain is under arrest accused of trying to get an underage girl to send illicit pictures. the firefighter lives near sacramento but our local community is varies very concerned about. this let's bring in damian trujillo. you have the court documents today, what are you learning? >> audrey we were working with the investigative unit here at nbc bay area to get those

documents. we understand captain spencer parker worked at fire station to for some time but the allegations are very troubling. he is facing three felony counts all attempted lewd acts on a child. in this case, a 13-year-old, who he thought was a 13-year- old girl. we have heard from the city of san jose captain that he has been fired, no longer working with the city of san jose. it's hard to come up with information because sacramento county is saying this is still an active investigation for them. what are analyst stephen clark thinks happens as this may have been a sting operation conducted by sacramento county and that allegedly involved captain spencer parker. a lot of allegations, troubling news in this case. sacramento county says it will release more information on monday in this case. >> damien i know you've been extremely busy reaching out to

a lot of people today, you've reached out to some people including legal analysts, what are they telling you? >> reporter: it's troubling to them as well. firefighters, these are the folks that we entrust to come into our homes to talk to her children. now these allegations really put a terrible blemish on that badge, on that patch that says fire department. that court order, captain parker was released on a $350,000 bail. we understand through those court documents that he cannot be alone with the child under 18 without another adult in the same room. >> damien, thank you so much. i know we will see your full report later on this evening so thank you . san francisco deputy sheriffs association is asking for help from the national guard. this following a recent surge of inmate attacks against jail workers that prompted the lockdown of two san francisco

county jails. according to the sheriff's office, there has been an increase in assaults on deputies and jail staff since march. they say the national guard will help maintain 50 until low staffing levels can be addressed. speaker the federal women's prison is closing. the bureau says it has been able to address employee misconduct and other concerns. the bureau present announced this closure this morning saying it will transfer all the women housed at the institution to other facilities. since 2021 eight risen employees, including a former warden have been charged with sexually abusing inmates, two have been convicted, 5 others have led guilty. a judge appointed a special master to oversee that prison, she just started last week. inmate advocates say closing that prison feels like punishment. >> people are survivors, they are being transferred to these prisons where they don't know anyone. some of these women have been incarcerated for decades at

dublin and they are going to be uprooted from their community and family that they have established in the prison here at dublin. >> the border prison wouldn't tell us if the transfers have already started, but today the judge ordered that each case must be reviewed by the special master prior to transfer. meanwhile on spinner and media personality paris hilton is supporting a bill that cracks down on abusive use facilities. she was at the capital with lawmakers today. children who are sent to these facilities deal with substance abuse and behavioral issues. under current law, the facilities are not required to share how often they use seclusion rooms and restraints, and how often those methods result in injuries or deaths. hilton claims she was sent to a facility when she was a teen where staff would beat her, force her to take unknown pills, and watch her shower.that's why she is supporting a bill by senator shannon called the accountability in children's

treatment act. the bill aims to prevent abuse by requiring facilities to share how often they use seclusion rooms and restraints. >> it's turned into a multibillion dollar industry, there's hundreds of thousands of children being sent to these places every single year, the hundreds of children are dying in these laces. >> hilton first publicly shared the abuse she shared in her documentary titled this is paris. since then, she's been a prominent advocate for teens who are in such facilities. the job hits keep keep coming for silicon valley. tesla is laying off workers. tech recorder scott budman will be joining us with the new numbers and the impact to the industry. you mentioned earlier, this tax day, if you haven't filed, we got you covered. we have tips for you last minute filers. we want to know, what training story would you like to see later on in this newscast? i have a pull up now on my instagram.

you still have a few more minutes to vote if you haven't already. vote for one of these, do americans get enough sleep? who beat apple for tophone? p

it is a bombshell announcement from tesla, the silicon valley company plans to cut 10% of its workforce and it's one of dozens of tech companies reporting layoffs recently. live from tesla's tremont factory is scott budman. scott, this is a sizable layoff. >> reporter: it really is audrey. 10% would be about 14,000 employees of tesla, and this is a company that has regularly grown and sold a ton of electric cars, but lately it has stumbled on tough times. a combination of lots of competition from the likes of both american and chinese ev companies, sales figures for

tesla were lower than expected, and the stock price has been taking a hit lately. all of those factors combining for tesla to sort of look inward, make some layoffs, in a moment memo released from elon musk says he's trying to get back to where it was and get back to the next phase. >> i know you got a chance to speak with the tesla investor. what is he telling you? >> reporter: he is telling me that he's upset as well, and not just with the stock price has rewarded investors over the long term very, very handsomely. he's got to order in for a new cyber truck, he has had it in for months and hasn't gotten it and hasn't heard from the company and says he's talked to other investors and tesla owners who are upset about that, they just want the company to move more quickly and they want elon musk to me be more focused on the car company instead of those that are making people upset. >> how many layoffs are react for tech pennies this year? what does the rest of the year

look like? >> reporter: it's hard to say what the rest of the year looks like audrey because tech is doing really well so far. the unemployment rate is low, stock prices are at record highs for some companies, but we are seeing a lot of them laying people off gradually in the name of efficiency. we have now seen more than 70,000 layoffs in tech companies overall so far this year and we are only in month four but we have also seen a lot of hiring. it turns out, tech is really going where the action and money is, that means a lot of ai growth come up but at the same time, sales for areas that are not ai related. tesla is a different animal, it is a tech company and valued at such but it depends on how the cars it sells and so far the numbers this year have been lower than expected. >> scott, thank you so much for

that update, appreciate it. looking at the sales horse headquarters in san francisco the wall free wall street journal reported sales force is in talks to buy a data management company, following the news the shares dropped by about 7% today. both companies have yet to comment on that potential merge. it is tax day and experts call it the perfect opportunity to get your finances in order. expert tips include cancel any unused subscriptions such as a streaming service you don't use. also instead of splurging with your tax refund, save it, or use it to make a dent in your accumulated debt. while experts say changing spending habits can eliminate the many fears people have around their finances. >> i feel like many people are looking at this big purchase from the tax return not realizing the money that they worked for. but if you can do it sensibly, you can start seeing your money

will be working for you instead of you working for your money. >> experts say taking inventory of your finances will allow you to better match her goals in the long run. we are logging like maternal health week and healthcare workers gathered in washington to shine a light on maternal health disparities. black women are three times more likely than white women to die from a pregnancy related cause. experts say several factors including low quality healthcare, sexual racism, and underlying conditions. this also leads to a lack of choice when it comes to where to deliver. >> lack of access to equitable resources such as midwives and doulas, lack of choice in regards to where they want to deliver, whether it is at home birth, hospital birth in the birthing center. and then thinking about the social factors such as housing

and security, food insecurity, you know what i mean? these are all playing a role in how someone is able to show up within their healthcare. >> last week president biden officially proclaimed this black maternal health week and the white house says it is looking to grow and diversify the workforce to better serve and support expecting mothers from underserved communities. i am joined with chief meteorologist jeff. we have a little rain over the weekend, what does it look like? >> we get to monday, a little bit of sunshine, not a bad start to the work week and we will get warmer temperatures as we head through this week. let's get you outside to san jose. if you didn't see a lot of that son, we can show it to you on the sky cam of this afternoon, south bay one of the spots with the most sunshine, right now 60 degrees, we had a few low 70s just a few hours ago and we will be down to some cooler 50s by eight and 9:00. for tomorrow morning i see the

chance, maybe some patchy fog and by the afternoon, some high clouds filter in around one and 2:00 and we will get some more sunshine for the late afternoon tomorrow. all and all i think it will shape up pretty good for us. we will start with temperatures in the 40s and look at how numbers jump. tomorrow we will be at about 51 by 8 a.m. and up to 74 by 3:00. lots of 70s on my map too. 75 in santa rosa, 75 martinez, 77 concord, down to morgan hill, over to palo alto, 74 degrees. i think the only thing that could bother you tomorrow, maybe your allergies, we have pollen in the high categories when it comes to pine, oak, cedar and also sycamore. coming up, we will talk about our rain chance is, by this wednesday we have a storm off store. we will talk about updates coming up at 5:00. >> thanks so much. look who is back.

>> back from spring break. we have so much going on, we've been covering the pro- palestinian protesters around the area, tensions are rising in the middle east even higher as the u.s. waits for israel's decision on whether it will retaliate against iran after it launched a barrage of missiles towards israel. president of writing is as we're talking the middle east was in the forefront for washington, d.c. >> the recount is about to begin in the race for the 16th congressional district district for retiring congresswoman nsu. tying for second place, got the exact same number of votes. 30,249, vanishing behind former san jose mayor sam ricardo. a three-way race is set for november uncut unless the recount comes up with different numbers. we will take you behind the scenes coming up at 5:00. >> still to come top trending

stories voted by you on my instagram poll and also brock purdy shows off for the kids. we will show you the camp he hosted.

here it is, top trending story as noted by you on my instagram poll. feeling sleepy? you are not alone. about 57% of americans say they don't get enough sleep. only about 26% responded saying they get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night. over half say they get 6 to 7 hours, and 20 percent say they sleep five hours or less. scientists say the reason people get so little pillow time aren't clear but it may be cultural. modern american life tends to prioritize productivity and the current environment of always on technology doesn't help either. women under 50 years old were less likely to get the sleep they need. that may be tied to childcare

and the pressures of keeping up the home. as always i will be posting links to the other stories we voted for on my instagram. it is win or go home for the warriors taking on the sacramento kings tomorrow night in a single elimination nba play in game. two rivals duking it out to extend their season or watch the rest of it from home. whoever wins will have to be the loser of the lakers and pelicans came to ernest in the playoffs. last year the warriors beat the kings in seven games in the worst round of the playoffs. mr. irrelevant no more. hundreds of kids came out to levi stadium to learn skills from court back brock purdy. >> let's go, go, go! good job. >> are you brock purdy? you're my favorite. >> he says this was a way to get back to bay area fans. this was the third year of youth football camp, more than 600 kids got to play catch.

they had some fun with the 49ers start. purdy is the first 49ers quarterback to host. we are straining our newscast all the time on roku and other streaming platforms. there you can watch live newscasts, breaking updates and more of our content. take you so much for joining us at 4:30. we are back in

right now at 5:00, protesters shut down traffic on 880 and the golden gate ridge for hours cutting off vital freeways in the bay area. demonstrations and what lies ahead for the people behind it. a troubled women's prison in the east bay being shut down. by the inmate advocate they closure isn't the right move. it's time time to start

counting again, the recount for the congressional race that ended in a tie between evan louro and yosemite in. he will give you a behind-the- scenes look. good monday everyone. the news at 5:00 start right now. thank you for joining us. i am janelle wang. >> i am jessica aguirre. protesters hit the streets on this tax day to protest u.s. tax dollars going towards israel and the war in gaza. we want a major headache for commuters in law enforcement as people were stuck in traffic for more than five hours. at the end of the day nearly 40 arrested after completely blocking traffic on the golden gate bridge. both directions of 880 in oakland. on northbound 880, officers had to deal with a lot more than just people. some were chained to a 55 gallon barrels filled with concrete. protests part of a series of what they call economic blockages calling for the end of the war between israel and

hamas. >> beginning our team coverage, we are joined by velena jones. what a day. >> what a day indeed. protesters are calling these demonstrations a success after closing parts of 880 down until the afternoon hours they joined more than 50 other cities across the world in similar demonstrations but tonight drivers have some mixed opinions. some commuters support the efforts, other drivers were left very frustrated. space space if those multiple protests effectively shut down traffic for miles. it started on northbound 880 around 6 a.m. as protesters chained themselves to barrels filled with cement blocking traffic near the exit. it took hours for chp to clear the area and cut through the barrels to chisel the protesters out. >> officers responded to each