[ cheers and applause ] >> seth: i wanna thank my guests kirsten dunst, sean casey, ryan dempster. i wanna thank andy hurley,

8g band. thanks for watching, everybody. we love you. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ a hate crime targeting a black family or an unfortunate accident. tonight, arson investigators are trying to determine the cause of this fire that gutted that three story home in san francisco. the home of a family that's been the target of recent racist attacks. investigators are urging the public not to rush to judgment, but many can't help but think that this may have been a hate crime. nbc bay area's terry mcsweeney joins us from alamo square. terry yeah, this is where it happened today. three

story building went up in flames . and right now the cleanup is underway. they're taking out everything that was damaged by the flames. damaged by the water. you see the plywood up over the garage and the windows as well. but this is not a story about a fire. it's whether this fire was another racially motivated attack against terry williams and his family. this is what firefighters saw when they arrived about nine this morning. flames and smoke shooting out the windows. they soon found out two senior citizens were trapped inside. firefighters were confronted with two victims requiring rescuing, one on the third floor and one on the second floor. those two people rescued are the elderly parents of terry williams, who happened to be at city hall when the fire broke out. talking to mayor breed about the racist materials directed at terry over the past few months, those materials, vile words and images so disturbing we can't show them some left on the steps of this house, others sent to terry

through the mail. he's just hoping that what happened today is somehow not connected to those messages of hate. i don't know, i wasn't here, i can't say i don't, i'm just hoping, man, that it wasn't that man. i'm just hoping. i'm just hoping, man. because. right now, i don't know what to expect. i don't know how to think, man. it's like i feel like i let my parents down, man. because i wasn't here. both of williams parents were taken to the hospital, his mother being held overnight. his father's been released. he told his daughter about the terrifying minutes inside that burning house. just that smoke and he was trying to get my mom out, trying to get my mom and he couldn't get her. they had to wait for the fire department, a fire department spokesperson says both are expected to be okay. we could have lost my parents today and i don't know why yet, but i'm hoping that they find out real soon, we're told arson investigators also want to wrap the case up quickly, but more importantly, accurately. see, this takes time. and that time results in facts. and those

facts are what we believe our communities deserve. the williams house, as you see the clean up crews working and they're going to work until dawn, it is red tagged. you can't live there. the good news is it is fully insured. and another piece of good news is the williams family have a lot of family and friends in this area with whom to stay. but the real question is, what is going to be the result of that arson investigation intentionally set or just a house fire? live in san francisco, terry mcsweeney nbc, bay area news. all right, we'll continue to follow it. thank you. terry, just in tonight, the chp has issued an ebony alert for a missing girl in marin county. emerald walker is 12 years old. she was last seen at seven this morning in tiburon, not far from the tiburon police department. police say emerald was wearing a black hoodie, black pants and may have had a black backpack with her. they believe she was on foot. if you see emerald, you are urged to call 911 new at 11 in the right place at the right

time. we're hearing from one of the biologists who ended up finding that missing hiker in the east bay. crews from multiple agencies had launched a large scale search to find that hiker over the weekend, but had no luck. nbc's audrey asistio spoke one on one with that biologist audrey rajan. jess nick hood says he and his colleague are grateful that they were at the right place at the right time. also grateful that sound travels across water. it was a typical day at work for sf public utilities commission biologist nick hood, a colleague of mine and i were out collecting routine water quality monitoring on a boat monday afternoon at the san antonio reservoir near sunol, he says. right when they started collecting water samples, they heard yelling from off in the distance. we made sure the motor is off and quiet for a few minutes, and we heard another yell, and it was clear to my coworker that it was a help.

they traveled toward the yelling about a mile away from their sampling location, and so we turned the motor back off again and we started kind of yelling ourselves like, hey, is anybody out there? and we got a response and then saw alex missing hiker alex stecker and apollo the dog. emergency response crews had been looking for them since saturday. the duo had started an overnight hike friday morning from sunol regional wilderness, but were reported missing the next day after they didn't show up for their designated pickup time in del valle regional park. a number of agencies had been searching for them, but with no luck. kind of seemed like the situation was getting more desperate and it was when they finally found alex in apollo hood says the two were in good shape but thirsty. the last of the food was given to the dog the day before. hood and his colleague got them on their boat, called authorities and brought them back to safety. you guys were pretty far from where alex was. yeah, we were sound

travels across water pretty darn well, and, you know, we just we're in the right place right time. we were lucky, and we're happy. we're happy to be lucky. audrey asistio nbc, bay area news a follow up, san jose police have made an arrest after a girl was sexually assaulted while walking home from school. this happened back on april 9th. the girl was under the 280 overpass at south 11th street. the man police identified him as julian salvador martinez. today, police announced he's been taken into custody after a tip from a community member. he's now facing multiple charges, including sexual assault. what now for all those college protestors, several civil rights organizations are asking stanford to not discipline those students who rallied in support of palestinians. the asian law caucus and council of american islamic relations, or care are among the 35 groups that sent a letter to the university.

they're asking stanford's president and provost to drop disciplinary charges against those students who participated in the recent demonstrations, the letter claims. stanford has not provided specific factual allegations against the 13 students in question. the students say they're facing academic probation or suspension. we've reached out to stanford for comment but have not yet heard back. while the status of that proposed chick fil a in walnut creek is still unknown, a contentious city council meeting is still underway right now. public comment just wrapped up about 30 minutes ago. people who live near the proposed chick fil a site in the woodlands neighborhood are speaking out against the eatery, among other complaints. they say the fast food restaurant would create too much traffic in that area. this decision will negatively impact this community and the people who live there for generations. put it on a highway. don't put it at one of the only two entrances to a neighborhood where there are 15 schools within a mile radius. in march,

the city's planning commission approved a conditional use permit to build the chick fil a inside the citrus marketplace shopping center on oak grove road. people who live in that area appealed. not clear where the proposal goes from here. san jose leaders approved an ordinance today cracking down on homeless encampments near schools. this ordinance is going to are going to ban rvs, tents and other dwellings anywhere within 150ft of preschools, elementary and secondary schools and day care centers. this new rule will start as a pilot program near three schools in east san jose. if it works, the council may expand it. citywide enforcement begins in july, and in fremont, people in a certain neighborhood are frustrated because people are living in rvs parked near their homes. they say the generators of those rvs are loud and creating health issues. meanwhile families in those rvs say they're just trying to get by. let's bring in nbc's jocelyn moran johnson, the city council also meeting

tonight to try to talk about this, correct? yeah, exactly. roger that meeting is actually still going on. the city contracted a consultant to complete a final draft for the city's homelessness response plan. it states homelessness in fremont has dropped, but 66% of those who are unhoused in fremont are are living in vehicles. those include rvs where they park is becoming the issue. in the irvington community in fremont, about four rvs are parked near homes and a park at the park, you can see families walking their dogs, as well as kids playing. for the most part, it's fairly clean around the rvs, but residents in the area are growing concerned about them being parked here. i'm a prisoner in my own home despite being hardworking, taxpaying citizens. i pay a great amount of tax, great amount of parcels tax to live here. how is this even justified ? sheila monte lives across the street from the rvs. she says she keeps her windows closed, adding that the generators used by the people living in the rvs are creating health issues for her son, who has asthma. the toxic fumes enter our home and

it has led to him being on nebulizers every night over the last three months. there is no other cause for it other than this. this was the new, you know, piece that has, entered our life right now. is this legal for them to be parked? this is a public street. and so with the public street, unless you change the rules to say that you cannot park there, they can park there. council member theresa cox, who represents this area, is looking to get those rules changed. my priority and representing my district is to see how we can also possibly apply the parking rules so that we can kind of keep the safe because we have children here they go to after school programs, their sports programs. it's a constant park for families. but she also acknowledges that fremont is an extremely expensive place to live in, and affordable housing has not kept up with the need. we spoke with one mother living in one of the rvs with her husband and three kids. she tells us they've been living in

an rv for about eight months. after facing layoffs and an eviction in this neighborhood. they've been here for about six months. they feel safe, she says she and her husband now work, but they're struggling to get by del diario. she says yes, living in an rv, you don't have to pay rent, but the expenses add up with food and clothing for her three kids. we asked her if there was something the city could do for them. she said allow them to stay in a place where they can park their rv safely. and she also told us her goal is to move into a place like an apartment. but it's been difficult to do so. sheila, who is one of the residents concerned about the rvs, also said she empathizes with those living in the rvs, but she wants the city to find a solution. the council member we spoke with says in order to find a solution, they're going to need city, county, state and federal dollars. it's a complex problem. thanks, jocelyn. we are back in 60s just ahead, a bizarre attack at a local baskin-robbins. a child sits down, then bam! a man breaks a window and glass goes

flying blind. also close calls near schools. driverless car companies say their vehicles are safe, but some school crossing guards tell us another story. we investigate. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. a warm day today, up to 88, in concord. thankfully not good enough for a record. we would have had to reach 100. we'll talk more about the changing temperatures tomorrow and the bidip

to recognize and avoid people in crosswalks. a member of congress is calling our findings concerning and is now calling for action. senior investigative reporter bigad shaban shows us why. how y'all doing today? school crossing guard theresa dawn has spent the past 11 years keeping children and their families out of harm's way. hi. good afternoon. she thought she'd seen it all. you're welcome. until she noticed some of the cars at her busy san francisco intersection had no driver. i just don't think it's very safe. california remains one of the country's largest testing grounds for self-driving vehicles that offer everything from food delivery to taxi services. but dawn says driverless cars operated by google's sister company waymo, nearly ran into her three

separate times while she was guiding families along the crosswalk. the parent grabbed the child and looked at the car, and there was nobody driving it. so, you know, they just, like, grabbed their chest. it almost hit you. yes. it did not recognize me in the intersection , even though you were standing in it with your stop sign. yes she's not the only one. we spoke to 30 crossing guards stationed at more than 20 schools across san francisco, and nearly one out of every four, roughly 25% told us they experienced some type of close call in the crosswalk with the waymo driverless car, where the vehicle either hit the brakes last minute or the crossing guard rushed out of the way to avoid being hit. i tell kids to stay back, one crossing guard told us, another saying, i've almost been hit half a dozen times. so if the car wasn't able to recognize those people right away, what does that tell you?

that they should have drivers, but not every crossing guard has had a bad experience with robo taxis. one told us they stop better than people. another added i've almost been hit by parents, not driverless cars. those who have had near misses say they occurred within the past year, but none could remember exact dates or times. waymo said without specific details, it can't tell us what its vehicles did or why, and declined our interview request. but in a statement, waymo told us we take public concerns very seriously, adding while we're proud of our safety record, we also recognize the importance of ensuring that other road users feel confident and comfortable around our technology. is there a lack of oversight here? i think what you have is well intentioned and, action, but it's just not comprehensive enough. california congressman kevin mullin says the department of transportation is falling short of its watchdog responsibilities. he wants the agency to force driverless car

companies to reveal how often their vehicles are involved in a near miss. right now, they only have to disclose details on actual collisions. federal transportation officials tell us they have six ongoing safety investigations into driverless car companies, including waymo and cruise. but the agency wouldn't comment on the congressman's request to expand reporting requirements. the national data that's being captured is really limited. what's available now isn't really telling the whole story. that's right. the data is crucial in crafting regulations that compel these companies to focus on these areas of safety concern. while driverless car companies can keep their close calls secret, we still found a paper trail. we obtained complaint records, submitted to the california dmv more than 200 last year. nearly all involved waymo and its competitor gm's cruise about 30% of complaints. detailed safety concerns in

crosswalks. we shouldn't have to be their crash test dummies. i've almost been hit. it didn't slow down at all. we had to hit the car with our hand before it stopped. law enforcement tell us people need to be completely out of the crosswalk before cars are allowed to drive through, and if there's a concrete median, those walking need to have at least cleared that side of the street. but our past reporting has raised concerns about how often driverless cars comply, including when small children are involved. cruise declined our interview request. the company is still working to address safety concerns after pulling its entire fleet of driverless cars off the road last october, amid accusations from california regulators. its vehicles posed a public safety risk. cruz, in a statement said its cars are designed to detect, track and predict the behavior of road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, adding we have a dedicated team that investigates concerns and the

insights gathered help our autonomous vehicles improve. waymo, in its statement, said its tens of thousands of rides every week are significantly reducing injuries and crashes compared to human drivers. you've identified some pretty discernible patterns. we shared our findings with congressman mullin. these are complaints coming from different people, from different parts of the state, sharing some pretty eerily similar safety concerns. does that worry you? it absolutely worries me. those kinds of incidents where people's lives are put at risk. but it's not reportable. now. we need to be looking at those bye bye, teresa. dawn says she's already seen the risks headed straight towards her and the kids. she's trying to protect. do you worry? one of the children that you see could get hurt? yes. my main concern is just making sure that they get to school safely and that they go back home safely with the

investigative unit on bigad. and if you have a story tip for bigad or anyone else in our investigative unit, give us a call 888996 tips or nbcbayarea.com slash investigations. all right. let's turn things over to chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. and i see we have some changes ahead for us. yes. the storm track is going to start to get closer here as we head through tomorrow. so look we still have a nice day moving in from this area. high pressure and sunshine. but because this system is moving closer, temperatures will drop a few degrees. also get back some fog here for the morning. let me show you more details on that. plus colder weekend weather on the way right now in your microclimate weather. and tomorrow morning, 7:00. we do have some fog here near the coastline, primarily around half moon bay and beaches off towards the south. a chance of some patchy fog for the east bay and right on down towards gilroy. we'll see a lot of that clear back, but we still may hold on to a little bit of that fog there near the coast through the afternoon morning temperatures.

we're going to be in the low 50s across the bay area, so i think this is really going to be a good start to get you out the door here for that midweek forecast. finally getting closer to that weekend. got you at 53 here in the peninsula over to the east bay. also low 50s and 52 there in san francisco, 51 in the north bay. as we move through the day with that system getting closer, it's up towards the pacific northwest. overall, it will drop us 4 to 8 degrees. so we're going to stay in this comfortable zone tomorrow. i think overall it's going to be a better day for us 80 here in napa, 79 martinez upper 70 san jose to morgan hill, mid 70s peninsula and right over to san francisco 67. so we're down a few degrees tomorrow. but the real chill. yes, chill. we're saying it here in may is going to get here by saturday with this cold front sweeping in. we're locked in for some spots, getting a 20 degree temperature drop. look at livermore friday 69, saturday 66. only last one day we'll get back up to 80 once we hit memorial day there on

monday in livermore. let's roll it into that 7-day forecast here in san francisco. 50s coming in saturday and sunday and for memorial day, low 60s and for the inland valleys. we'll get down to that 67 on saturday and then back up to 77 on monday. so something for everyone in this 7-day forecast. yeah. just pick a number. yeah exactly. 60 7080. you got it. thanks, jeff. well, up next, searching for answers. the new cancer study being launched by ucsf to better understand rising cancer rates ong asian

attack. watch this video. this happened last month at the baskin-robbins at aborn square off capitol expressway. you see that man there? the man and the child walk in, and then there's another guy outside the window. just smashes the window, punches

right through it, breaks it, shatters the glass, which falls all over the child. police have arrested pam afsari. he's charged with child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. now the mom, i mean, pardon me, the father and the little kid left before the assault was reported. so police would like to figure out who they are. researchers at ucsf are getting more than $12 million to find out what drives cancer in asian americans. the funds are coming from the national care institute. that money will go toward the first long term study of cancer among asian americans. the researchers want to understand why asian american women who never smoked are susceptible to lung cancer. they also want to study the increasing rate of breast cancer and high rates of other types of cancer. asian americans have become the first ethnic group for whom cancers is the leading cause of death. all right. up next, we're going to check in with the a's and the b, as in ballers

we're hanging out with country music star luke combs. we saw it during his concert at levi's stadium. and today, though, kittle and purdy back at work, they were drinking beers with luke. i know a lot of beers are the smashing thing today. the 49ers got to work. they had their first full team practice since the super bowl. worth noting brandon aiyuk was not there. he's still dealing with some contract issues. baseball tonight the giants in pittsburgh, the roberto clemente statue honoring the pirates, legendary pitcher out there in front of the stadium. seventh inning here, matt chapman with the home run. chapman has been red hot ever since, changing his walk up song to kendrick lamar. the giants had a 5 to 2 lead, but then the wheels came off. they blow a four run lead in the bottom of the ninth and lose the game in the bottom of the 10th. nick gonzalez is the hero for the pirates. pittsburgh wins 7 to 6. the giants are three games under 500. all right. at the

coliseum tonight. the a's hosting the rockies. it was bach in the park. you bring your dogs. this used to be a big draw, but not so much with the john fisher effect. we'll call it. great comeback by the a's. bottom of the eighth inning. abraham toro with the go ahead home run. this team is fun to watch. ace snapped their eight game losing streak. they beat colorado 5 to 4. all right. history was made tonight. the debut of our of our new minor league baseball team. the oakland ballers will be one of your favorite niello. yeah, the a's want out of oakland, but the b's are in the season opening watch party. this is the oakland athletic club. a lot of people are just turning their anger of the a's leaving into the love for the ballers. the ballers are an independent minor league team. tonight they beat the range riders up in montana, their first home game is june 4th at raymond park