here. it's a busy thursday evening with a lot of big stories here. the city of oakland racing toward a fiscal cliff while mayor tau remains embroiled in controversy. we dig deep into how the city got to this point. also, we continue to get you ready for the presidential debate that is just 30 minutes away. our political analyst is here to talk about what each candidate can actually gain and lose tonight. and good news for some in the south bay, how a professional fireworks show could be beneficial for a variety of reasons. the news at 530 starts right now. thanks for joining us. i'm audrey asistio and i'm raj mathai. this is a critical time for the city of oakland. while mayor sheng thao continues to navigate through her own political crisis, the city is facing a budget crisis. tomorrow council members are expected to vote on a budget to balance a $177 million deficit. there are a lot of concerns after new budget options were given on tuesday, including one

that calls for $63 million in cuts. nbc bay area's velena jones explains how oakland got to this spot to begin with. just hours from a friday meeting to balance oakland's budget, council members are feeling the pressure. i'm feeling, frankly, terrified at our options in front of us. those emotions come after council members were given new options to balance the nearly $200 million deficit budget tuesday. council member janani ramachandran believes the options should have been presented with the mayor's original budget. are we making irresponsible choices today and kicking the can down the road to whoever is on city council next year? or are we going to start to make hard choices now? one option involves the mayor's original proposed budget, which included additional cuts. if oakland can't finalize its portion of the coliseum, sell by september. the second option leaves out any funds from the coliseum sale. instead, it calls for $63 million in additional cuts that would largely freeze

opd and fire department resources. my firm belief there is absolutely no chance that the sale is finalized and goes through, and most importantly, that the money hits the city coffers in time to be utilized in this budget. so how did the city end up in this deficit? former oakland city administrator dan lindheim and now uc berkeley public policy professor, says it comes back to a $55 million loss and real estate transfer tax. the bad thing about it is in good years, it brings in a lot of revenue, and in bad years it collapses. so prudence says, do not build it into your budget. it's a similar problem lindheim experienced during his time with the city. take it out of the mix of general fund spending, or at least put a cap on the amount of the real estate transfer tax that can be used for non one time spending. council member noel gallo, who's been on the city council for 11 years, blames city leadership for the

budget blunder he says includes uncollected taxes and missed funding. we're poorly managed. all of us are. you know, the management of our financial conditions is really not at the level that it should be. we've known about the crisis before, but yet we allow it to get to this point. as the council looks to make cuts. gil believes cutting public safety that accounts for around 65% of the general fund budget isn't an option, and i don't want to go bankrupt. but for me, public safety is still the number one issue. the council will meet friday to potentially vote on the budget. conversations could be extended into early next week in oakland. velena jones, nbc bay area news paulina, thank you and we will continue to follow the turmoil that's going on in oakland on our social media platforms from the city facing a fiscal cliff to the latest on an investigation. our other big

story tonight. this is likely to be a revealing night in america. what's going to happen with president biden and former president trump? the first debate of this election year. and there's a lot to watch for. it's happening in atlanta. in fact, we're going to take a live look. now. the debate hosted by cnn, cnn's jake tapper and dana bash are the moderators. that's the cnn headquarters there in atlanta. nbc's lester holt and savannah guthrie are leading our coverage on the nbc side now. both candidates arrived today in atlanta. the president there, you see on the left side of your screen and former president trump getting off his jet. and both have taken a different approach to prep for tonight's debate. president biden working with his inner circle at camp david in maryland while mr. trump took to the campaign trail . this historic debate is the first ever to be held this early in the election cycle. it's also between two of the oldest candidates to ever run for president president biden, 81 years old. mr. trump is 78. and

to curb any political chaos on that debate stage, the 90 minute debate includes microphones that get muted after you're allotted time to speak. let's bring in our political analyst, larry gerston. how nervous, perhaps. how concerned is the biden camp at this hour? i think both camps are concerned. they both have a lot to win or lose. biden has to show himself to be very presidential. he has to be vibrant. he has to show that he's on his game. trump has to show that he can control himself and stay with them, with the messages that he has to give without going all over the place. so this is it. you know, this debate is so important. 25% of the nation doesn't like either one of them. yeah, that's a big number. one of them. they detest each other. it's the first time that we've seen the president and former president debate each other. and look at this figure right here. are you going to watch this? after all we've said, 73% said yes. let me tell you what that 73% means. there are 160 million voters,

three quarters, three fourths of those are 120 million. the most we've ever seen is 80 million. imagine that. we're going to see an absolute blockbuster in terms of the number of people watching tonight. and this is in the middle of summer, summer vacations. this is a weeknight here. it's going to be pretty epic. tv and streaming numbers the race incredibly close. so far in terms of the polling. if you believe in the polling, how much of a difference could should tonight make? it's going to make a great amount of difference for those people who are still on the fence. a quinnipiac poll that just came out showed 16% raj. we talked last week about how 10 to 12% has been the average in these kinds of situations, 16% one out of six voters doesn't know which way he or she will go and will make up his or her mind after this debate tonight. look, in a state like georgia, where 12,000 votes made the difference or or arizona, where 20,000, 16% like that could be a killer. it's a number to watch. so it really

could be moving the needle tonight for both candidates here in either direction. pivotal okay. so if you're on the biden team you're on the trump team. what do you tell your candidates. what do they need to do to win this? or perhaps to just play defense and not lose it? each one is going to go after the other. we know that biden has to talk about trump, that he's not fit for office. what he said about the dictator day one. maybe he might even bring up the trial where he was found guilty. we don't know. but certainly things like that. trump has to talk about biden in terms of not controlling the border, his foreign policy, of course, abortion is going to be a big one on both sides. these are big things, big issues. and the question is how much will they pounce on the other, while at the same time coming forward with their own way of presenting themselves to say, look, i really am the one you've heard about him, but remember, i'm the guy you really want. how much will the politics in this in terms of the moderators do it? cnn is hosting. they have been

critical to trump at many times. is trump's team going to say, you know what? it's because of cnn. if it doesn't go well tonight for him, trump has already said that he's been complaining about cnn. he's been complaining about the style. he's been complaining about the arrangements, all these things while he signed on. so that's kind of questionable in itself. there's no doubt about it that trump has already lowered the bar. right. and now he said, yeah, but he's a really good debater. so i got to watch myself. that's after he was saying he's not worthy of going against him. and biden has been pretty steady about this. but anything can happen. a gaffe, of course, is always magnified much more than you ever expect, making sure that each stay on course for what their advisers have told them is critical. hey, this is one shot with as many as 120 million people watching and so many little moments could be a tick tock moment. an instagram moment, a twitter moment. and that's going to be crucial for both sides. absolutely. okay. thank you larry. this debate starts in less than 30 minutes from now at 6 p.m. it's hosted, we mentioned by cnn you can watch it though, right here on

nbc bay area. audrey raj and larry. people living in east san jose are finally getting their own city. is sponsoring a 4th of july fireworks show with the hopes of preventing many of the illegal shows that can cause fires or injure people. nbc bay area's damian trujillo is at lake cunningham, where the preps will soon get underway. organizers say lake cunningham is an ideal east side spot for this official event, and many here feel it's about time. lake cunningham is quite picturesque, with the east hills in the background, and on 4th of july the area will light up with its first ever official fireworks show. growing up here in east san jose, we always had to go to downtown or almaden lake, so being able to sponsor a show here in east san jose in my backyard for my neighbors and my families. it's something i'm really proud of. councilman domingo candelas had to raise $50,000 in private donations to make it happen. come the fourth, the park will be closed to traffic for safety reasons. so the city is encouraging people

to walk or bike to the event or park in surrounding neighborhoods. you're going to come? yes. i'm going to come. i'm very excited about, this event, 4th of july. why are you excited about, the fireworks? pablito concepcion says that as an immigrant from the philippines, he appreciates the independence day celebrations of democratic countries. maria sanchez is glad the east side is getting its own show so families can get together and celebrate. another reason candelas pushed for the event is the brown hills above the lake and the fire danger. the hope is to deter some of the many illegal fireworks shows in streets and parks. hopefully with a big enough show like we're doing this year, it'll save response times from our firefighters and it'll it'll save communities. you know, endangering selves, trying to celebrate in a healthy way. next year, candelas hopes to make it an all day event with carnaval rides. the councilman says it's what his community deserves on the fourth. damian trujillo, nbc, bay area news.

five stars you might have new leverage the next time you check out a hotel or vacation rental. i'm consumer investigator kris. karma will explore two new laws to help you next five star forecast vianey. i think so, but it's going to depend on where you're headed this weekend. based on the cloud cover in the early morning hours. another cool start in san francisco, but we've got high pressure building. what does that mean as fars the temperatures? w ael

has a pair of reasons to perhaps press pause or pause until july 1st, so just give it a few days here. our consumer investigator chris kamara joins us with some new guest benefits. what do you mean here buddy. hey raj and audrey. yeah. so state legislators just did some significant housekeeping in the state's lodging laws. two new consumer protection laws are going to kick in july. first for

bookings made starting july first. and that's why you might want to pause. let's take a look at them. the first one requires hotels and vacation rentals to do something that we have been calling for. for a long time to disclose all fees up front. that means no more surprise resort amenity, cleaning junk, whatever fees that just jack up the price. now, hotel and vacation rentals can still advertise room rates without tax, but all required fees must be part of the price you see up front. also prices on room service menus must include service fees up front. and there's good reason for hotels to comply. the hotel association warned members that if they don't comply, they face government fines, up to $10,000 per violation. okay, the second new law mirrors airline law and it gives you the option to cancel a hotel or vacation rental booking and get a full refund for the first 24 hours after you book and that is great

news for savvy travelers like raj and audrey, who like to shop around to get the best amenities and best price. but the law has three important restrictions you need to know about your right to cancel risk free within the 24 hour rule here will not apply if you make a last minute booking within three days of check in you book with a meeting planner or a group, or you book with one of those travel discounters that doesn't reveal the hotel's name until after you prepay. but for most reservations, you can change your mind and get a full refund within 24 hours. starting july 1st. hotel hiccups are a common complaint in our inbox. share yours. ring the bell virtually by scanning the qr code on screen right now to fill out our consumer complaint form online. raj always good information. thank you. chris. boeing is being sanctioned by the ntsb for sharing details of a 737 max investigation. it centers around that door plug that flew off during an alaska airlines flight on a 737 max

back in january. the plane landed safely and no one was hurt. the agency says. boeing violated the ntsb's investigative regulations by releasing information to the media. the sanctions will lead to restrictions on boeing's ability to participate in the investigation. moving forward, the ntsb also plans to subpoena boeing for a hearing in august. boeing releasing a statement today, it reads in part, we deeply regret that some of our comments intended to make clear our responsibility in the accident and explain the actions we were taking, overstepped the ntsb's role as the source of investigative information. we apologize to the ntsb and stand ready to answer any questions. all right, a heads up driving across the golden gate bridge will soon be a little more expensive. turning to a live look now at the bridge starting july 1st. that's monday. toll will jump by $0.50 for all drivers. it's all in an effort to remedy a budget deficit of $220 million toll increases are

a part of a plan passed back in march by the golden gate bridge. highway and transportation district agencies already been increasing tolls on the bridge by $0.35 per year since 2019. okay speaking of the bridge, we just saw the live shot of the bridge there. it looks gorgeous. vianey is here to talk about it. this is just some nice classic summer weather and probably our different microclimates as well, right? i like classic. classic is a good word for seasonable as well. this is right around where we're supposed to be. temperature wise, but enjoy it because as we shift into tomorrow, we've got 90s already in the interior, but triple digits will soon be making their arrival in some spots, and you'll definitely want to know about it. but let's set you up nicely for your friday forecast as well as you inch closer to the weekend. right now in san francisco, 63 degrees, we saw a high of about 66. humidity is nice and high 73. we also had some nice winds with the sea breeze from the northwest. that onshore flow. right now we're at about 76 in san jose. hit a high this afternoon of 80 degrees in. the winds are blowing at about

18mph. now as we inch into friday and saturday, just in case you had planned to head to lake tahoe, i want to show you a live camera of just how stunning it is, because it is going to be such a beautiful weekend to head up and enjoy. the temperatures are expected to be in the 70s. there look at that. and then as we inch closer in towards your friday saturday forecast, things will start to change. so humidity right now we're doing okay as far as you know coastline areas this is pretty normal. inland areas are falling already below that 40% mark. and we'll talk about why that humidity is really going to play a role into monday and tuesday next week. now satellite radar, clear skies. however, in the next 24 hours, we're going to see the return of that fog and cloud cover around the coastline . this is around 8 a.m. by about one 130, we're going to see a lot of this clear out, mostly for inland areas. and then you'll notice we'll get some nice sunny skies. but then by 10:00 we'll see the return of that marine layer heading into early saturday morning yet again. now with the wind speeds being about 30 plus, it's okay.

right now we're not too dry, we're not too hot. but as we entered to that friday 4:00 hour, you'll notice the wind speeds will kick up as well. typical sea breeze around this time of year 15 to 35 plus. and then as we inch into saturday morning, we're going to keep that breeze around as well. tomorrow, temperatures are going to be in the 70s and already in the 80s, but a couple 90s as well. we did see some 90s today in areas like concord and livermore. so when do the triple digits make their arrival? that's really going to be the big factor here. notice that orange color that starts to settle in? that is the arrival of high pressure that really starts to build after monday. that's going to bring that dangerous heat stretch. we're talking about a heat wave into the week of the 4th of july, and some of the warmest spots will include livermore. look at monday, we're at about 98. tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, even into next saturday, we're talking triple digit heat that could potentially get even hotter, especially through parts of central california as well. this is going to bring dangerous heat, elevated fire danger. but even around the coastline, when you notice the daytime highs for

monday and tuesday, we're going to bump into the 70s. and in san francisco, the 70s are going to start as early as your saturday forecast. fantastic weather though, for pride. pride starts at about 1030. you'll notice we're going to keep the 70s in the forecast. and then here's your seven day stretch for inland areas. so the heat really starts to build monday into tuesday with that high pressure we're going to see temperatures warm up. but things will dry out . and as that dries out, any sort of wind is going to bring concern for fire danger. as we begin to see that humidity really start to lower. but that heat stretch is going to definitely bring some heat advisories. it's concerning because also just with the fireworks and the and the illegal fireworks that we always see. exactly. thanks, vianey. up next, from berkeley to paris, the cal swim team will once again be well represented at the olympics. we'll take a poolside to sho

has a winning tradition in the pool. i know it's in the water gold, silver and bronze this summer. the golden bears are sending more than two dozen swimmers to the paris olympics. here's nbc's anthony flores with eight ncaa national championships overall and two in the last three years. the men's swim team has built a dynasty in the pool. hoping to add to that legacy. this summer will be two current cal bears when they chase olympic gold in paris, and it's going to be tight. giuliano

wins it, alex's second with a second place finish in the 100 meter freestyle at the olympic trials, jack alexy realized a dream come true by punching his ticket to the paris olympics. it's just awesome and it just, just amazing. his cal teammate keaton jones qualified in the 200 meter backstroke. both are first time olympians. we're trying to fill the shoes of giants and, you know, keep the legacy going to do it at a place like cal to do it with this historic program. it means the world they are two of six team usa swimmers with ties to cal. in total, 16 golden bears men and women will be in the pool representing ten different countries at the olympics. that says a lot about the program. the bears have developed in berkeley. cal men's head coach dave durden, who was the team usa head coach at the tokyo games, will be an assistant coach in paris. he's working with his cal swimmers. that's going to be the nice thing about this trip is not thinking about

26 bodies, but thinking about six athletes that we're trying to advance to the olympic podium included in that group. a couple of golden bear legends, four time olympic gold medalist ryan murphy and four time olympic medalist abbey weitzeil both qualified for their third straight olympic games. i had the same expectations for myself and those were expectations that that i felt like i built within myself throughout the course of the year of training. so. so i feel really confident that that i could go in there and do what i want to do. i'm super honored, i'm super excited. and, i'm i'm ready to go to paris. more than 40 cal bears, from swimming to golf will be going for gold at the summer olympics in paris. in berkeley, anthony flores nbc bay area. that is pretty impressive. well this is your chance to honor willie mays. the giants are hosting a public celebration of his life on july 8th at oracle park. the celebration begins at 4 p.m. admission is free today at the ballpark. the

giants, trying to sweep a four game series against the cubs. we pick up the action bottom of the sixth inning. an infield single here by luis matos. everyone is hustling this ties the game at three three. it stayed tied until the 10th inning. top of the 10th inning. chicago's ian happ with a two run homer. and that's it. cubs win this game 5 to 3. now next up for the giants the dodgers come to town tomorrow for a weekend series. that's going to be a good one. well, there is some sad news ahead of the paris olympics. one of the top u.s. gymnasts has been injured and won't be able to compete in the gymnastics trials this weekend and won't be able to head to france. usa gymnastics announced that skye blakely hurt her right achilles during training yesterday. blakely was a favorite to make the team after finishing second behind simone biles at the world championships. during the tokyo olympics, blakely also was sidelined there after tearing a ligament in her elbow. u.s. olympic gymnastics trials start

tonight, running through sunday in minneapolis. well, from minneapolis, we go to atlanta. up next, we are counting down to the presidential debate right here on nbc bay area. this is a live look now in atlanta, where president biden and former president trump are ready to . and so are we.go i when we're young, we're told anything is possible... ...but only a few of us go out and prove it. witness the greatness of anna hall on a connection worthy of gold: xfinity mobile. only xfinity gives you the most powerful mobile wifi network, with speeds up to a gig in millions of locations. and right now, xfinity internet customers can buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity.

presidential race. the country is watching as president biden

and former president trump about to face off the highly anticipated debate like none other. let's go ahead and take a live look in atlanta. this is outside cnn studios. jake tapper and dana bash are the moderators. this is the first of two debates between the two men, president biden and mr. trump, arriving in atlanta this afternoon. mr. biden has been at camp david in maryland for the last several days, working with the team, preparing and rehearsing for tonight. mr. trump, not much formal preparation. he's been on the campaign trail with his supporters, and tonight will certainly be different from the biden trump match back in 2020. it's the first time a sitting president and an ex-president meet in a debate. it's also between two of the oldest candidates to ever run for president. yeah, it is quite something. a lot of people are tuning in right about now. the 90 minute debate includes muted microphones. after your allotted