huge fire at a recycling plant in redwood city. what is making it so difficult to put it out and the potential health impact. plus oakland's fired police chief launching his new chapter in politics. why he's running for office. at the same time he's suing the city. >> it really is a message to oakland that i'm here and grounded. >> and students getting a leg up at top colleges because of their family ties. the push to end legacy admissions in california. i think if you should be here, you should be able to get here on your merit and not the fact that your parents gave money to the school. good evening, thanks for joining us at 6:00. we begin with breaking news. a fire at a metal recycling plant in redwood city is muching out smoke across the peninsula. and the scrap that's burning is making it tough to put out.

it's happening at the sims metal recycling plant in redwood city, close to the shore of the bay. the smoke drifted as far as sunnyvale. sara donchey is following the latest for us from the newsroom. >> reporter: a lot of people have probably seen the smoke from this especially if you're down. we are learning more about what caused this fire. live right here above the scene, crews have made a lot of progress compared to what it looks like earlier. the flames erupted from a recycling plant. this is a look at the fire at its height. there it is. sent a lot of smoke in the air, which is typical. the fire department says that scrap pile consists of things like water heaters,

even cars and parts of car. and this is some citizen app video a shows the dark smoke billowing into the earth earlier. it's smelling like plastic. this is not what i wanted. it was a 20-foot high pile of scrap metal that caught fire that time. it sent toxic smoke into the neighborhoods nearby and even caused a shelter in place order in the city of richmond. now back to our live pictures now. crews expect to be at the scene for another two hours, shredding the material as fast as possible to get rid of any embers. but for now let's get to chief meteorologist paul heggen checking in on air quality. paul? >> reporter: it is always a concern when we have these types of fires that have kind of been nasty stuff. and let's turn on the wind here and trace from the source of the fire. you can see the wind arrows moving down the bay, so moving

to the south along the bay. you'll see where things will disappear here past the bridge. it's not like the wind will disappear and dies down enough that they will start tracking it. that is where that nasty stuff was moving towards ground level, which is why it wasn't in the immediate vicinity of the fire itself, but further down into the south bay especially around sunnyvale. take a look at the current purple air map, which is looking at the air quality on the minute-by-minute basis. you can see the cluster of yellow dots here around sunnyvale where that wind has been blog the smoke from the fire down the bay then into the south bay. but this looks a lot better than it did an hour ago with a lot of orange and red dots on the map indicating the air quality that was much worse at the time. so things are improving as the crews are getting a handle on the fire. but that smoke is dispersed on the wider spirit of the basis. it doesn't become concentrated even though this area would have deteriorated air quality. and of course, we are looking ahead to the memorial day

forecast as well. >> paul, thank you. oakland starts a fresh chapter with a newly hired police chief. the man fired from that job is making moves to launch his own new chapter in politics. chief leronne armstrong filed paperwork today to run for oakland city council. armstrong was fired last year by mayor sheng thao who said she lost confidence in the chief over how he handled an internal police investigation. an independent arbitrator later cleared armstrong. >> filing a wrongful lawsuit against the city. today he announced his candidacy for the at large council seat held by rebecca kaplan. our katie nielsen spoke to kaplan today about his decision to run for office. >> reporter: former chief armstrong told me he never really had any political aspirations until after he got fired as the city's top cop.

it was actually community members who pushed him towards politics. >> good morning, how are you? >> reporter: the former chief was all smiles as he filed the paperwork to run for the at-large city council seat. >> this is a few one. >> reporter: and armstrong was born and raised in oakland, saying that is why he's so committed to the city. >> and remember i'm just a kid from west oakland. i'm a kid that grew up in subsidized housing. a kid that would be a victim of violence. so you know, everything that i am, i owe to the city of oakland. >> reporter: he spent more than 20 years with the police department and promoted to chief in february of 2021. he was fired in february of 2023 by mayor sheng thao. just a few moments after she took office. >> she made a decision and i felt it was not the right. i

have not been critical about the mayor. i'm here to serve the public. >> and we sang a song called oh happy day. >> reporter: bishop bob jackson has been a long-time supporter of armstrong. even standing with him as armstrong would try to get his job back. bishop bob said he talked to armstrong about making a transition from public service to politics. >> the conversations that we had were centered around what can i do now that i'm fired from the police chief? he has dedicated his life and put his life on the line, now coming back to be a leader. i think that he is the ideal man. >> reporter: political analyst james taylor says armstrong will be tough to beat in the november election due to his widespread name recognition across the city. >> and one shouldn't be surprise that leronne armstrong would look for another outlet in which to do public service. it represents a new challenge for him and he will have less

power in the city, but more impact of city wide issues. >> reporter: taylor says the at-large council seat could be a steppingstone to something bigger. >> i can see leronne armstrong positioning himself now to become mayor of oakland in the the next eight to ten years. it's almost an interview, on-the-job training interview that if he can do the at-large seat well, then he certainly can run the city well. >> reporter: armstrong says one of the main issues he's running on is public safety. >> today is really the beginning of our campaign. it really is, you know, a message to oakland that i'm here and i'm grounded, and i want to be a part of the future of oakland and how we move the city forward. >> reporter: more candidates could still enter the race for the at-large council seat. the deadline to file is august 9. eight candidates have entered the race so far. rebecca kaplan has not said whether she plans to run again. we did reach out to kaplan and

mayor thao's office and have not heard back yet. in the meantime we reached out to an ethics expert to see if there are any issues or conflicts with armstrong's run for council considering his lawsuit against the city and the mayor. don hyder, executive director of the center for applied ethics armstrong has every right to run. it comes down to how he handle himself if elected. >> the question will be if he gets elected, will he recuse himself from voting or speaking on issues that will concern his own suit. i don't exively it doesn't exclude him in either way. and to see if they are willing to, you know, do what is right for the city. >> reporter: as for the future of the police department, floyd mitchell, the former police chief of lubbock, texas, took

over as oakland's top cop earlier this month. the search took more than a year. also some big news today. the city of oakland is selling its share of the coliseum for $105 million. the city sold its half to the african american sports and entertainment group. mayor sheng thao says the agreement aims to bring new affordable housing and outdoor space to the prime piece of land. the sale comes as the city works to close a budget deficit of $177 million. >> once we finish this off, there is a clause in there that will demand for community engagement and not just that, but strong community benefits. >> and a part of that would be a 25% affordable housing requirement. the oakland a's still own half of the site. and imagine working hard to get into college, only to find out you've been passed over in favor of someone whose parents attended the school or made a big donation. it's a peg 'tis

known as legacy admissions. a bay area lawmaker is pushing to get rid of it. it has passed the state assembly and now heads to the senate. cal state, uc, and community college campuses do not consider donors or alumnis in decisions. but the assemblyman phillip phil tang do. and they had ties to donors or alumnis. kevin wilk with the push on leveling the playing field and the potential consequences. >> reporter: christian is a stanford senior and a first generation college student. a legacy admission was never possible for students like him. >> as someone who doesn't have anyone in my family who went to college, doesn't really feel fair. especially since what? they just got rid of

affirmative action. and it has been removed. >> reporter: assembly bill 1780 is a response to the u.s. supreme court's ruling last summer, which bans race considerations in the college admissions process. it aims to end legacy admission practices at california colleges and universities. it could lead to financial penalties for schools continuing to do so. >> i think the irony was legacy admissions is legacy admissions, they will help the families who absolutely need the least amount of help in this country. and they're at the top 1%. they earn over $600,000 a year. right now, it is absolutely odd we're trying to have a policy that will help them. >> reporter: this study last year by opportunity insights, based at harvard university showed ivy plus colleges like stanford are more than twice as likely to admit a student from

a high income family. compared to low or middle income families with comparable test scores. isaiah is a stanford senior who believes admissions, they should be based on more. and he is concerned about the potential financial consequences of the bill. >> the reality of the situation is okay, people who donate and people who want it, you know, they will give these assets to schools like these. they want their kids to come here. and to be honest with you, i'm a low income student. so my funding, like my scholarship will come from those donors. >> two-thirds of the endowment of the university is used for financial aid. and any concern on this end. >> i don't believe that the bill is structured to have an impact on financial aid. and if you're asking whether it is okay for people to buy their way into stanford. i don't know that and i would think that is okay and i don't think that it is stanford.

>> and when i was a freshman that a lot of people were here and that they would get money in and that you had to overcome greater obstacles. >> reporter: christian is in full support of assembly bill 1780. >> i'm in support of them because i think you could get here on your merit and not the fact your parents gave money to the school. >> reporter: with his graduation in a matter of weeks, he says it is not even about him at this point. but about equity for those still trying to make it here. at public universities and colleges. they ban them at both public with private institutions. like california, new york proposed a ban to end legacy admissions at public and private campuses. still ahead, it's a carnival tradition. low riders cruising the streets. we hear from the men who fought to

bring them to the mainstream. >> i think people are aware

we are counting down the two-day event for the diverse culture. it's a vital part of latino culture where they are

alive and well in the park. the two passionate members of the council who are gearing up. >> it was five years ago when they bought this low rider. he imvested thousands of dollars to turn into a masterpiece. >> you have ten switches, but we will move this forward and in the front. i'll knock it to the side over there. come back up, bring it down this way. >> reporter: he was born and raised, saying he will be cruising the streets, showing off his hard work. >> i used to come out here as a little kid. and then it went from having one of those cars

to one of these days where i'm going to be in the parade to now the carnival, i'm in charge of the coordination of the parade and the car show. >> reporter: the fellow member says carnival sf is more than just a celebration, a chance to vindicate and honor the movement. >> i think people are aware now that it is a family oriented sport, you know, culture, low rider culture. with that being said, you know, to fight to where we are today, it started with a lot of people that didn't know about the culture. >> and it is the heart of the culture. >> this is where they hung out where it is a very significant

place. and it was just a dirt lot with a lot of tires on it and they are the ones that kept it clean. >> reporter: they were founded in the early 1980s, harassing latino men. >> it was a long battle as they fought them or whatnot and to be able to do our lifestyle, the culture because they did not allow it and the cops, every weekend, they would throw people in jail. >> reporter: after a successful illegal injunction, the other designated part of the city was solidified to come. it is an important event and the struggles of the low rider movement. >> it is one thing to own the

low rider and to represent on your streets. but there is another aspect to it for their individuals bring the lifestyle to enjoy. we are preserving that. >> you can watch the live coverage starting at 10:00 a.m. streaming on the free cbs news app. it is getting

we are getting closer and closer to the memorial day holiday weekend. we've got some changes in stored to our weather in that time frame. but you're not going to notice too many changes yet tomorrow. a tiny decrease in temperatures just puts us back to what's normal for this time of the year on thursday. but the cooler weather arrives on friday and sticks around on saturday. more cloud cover on friday night into saturday as well, but just an outside chance, a little bit of drizzle along the coast. then the temperatures will bounce back. warming up on sunday and pretty much back to normal temperatures for the holiday itself on monday. let's check out our futurecast and that much to see as we would head to the next 24 hours. clear skies tonight, won't see much fog developing. then a gradual increase in the cloud cover tomorrow night. i think the marine layer's fog will be more evident to begin the day on friday and certainly more cloud cover on friday night

into saturday. no green on futurecast indicating any potential for showers. the bulk of the moisture will miss us to the north. they're trying to clear out the skies inland, already by midday on saturday. that might be a little aggressive, but we could hope that it will breakthrough in that time frame along the coast and around the bay for the first day of the three-day weekend. looking good at the moment with a little haze. temperatures will stand at 81 degrees in santa rosa. and only low 60s for san francisco and across the bay in oakland. all those numbers are close to what you would expect on the late may evening. but only down to what is also normal for this time of the year. mixed with a lot of low 50s, especially in the valleys of the north bay. the cool spots by tomorrow morning. then temperatures are going to bounce back. the dog walking forecast for thursday. a very expectant looking susie who will make eye contact with you until you decide to take

her for a walk. shouldn't have too much trouble convincing the humans to do that tomorrow with the temperatures reaching up to near average into the middle portion of the 70s it in san jose by tomorrow afternoon. plenty of sunshine overhead throughout the day. looks like the temperatures will cool down on friday. anybody wearing a fur coat is probably not going to mind the cooler temperatures in stored. let's take a look at the rest of the map for their forecast highs for tomorrow up into the mid-70s for san jose and los gatos, upper 70s, close to 80 degrees for morgan hill. and likely to get to above 80 degrees for inland parts of the east bay and near antioch and concord. low 70s for fremont and upper 50s at half moon bay where you were today and tomorrow and even cooler weather in stored for friday and saturday. mid to upper 60s for san francisco. low 70s for oakland with temperatures into the neighborhood of what's normal for this time of the year. some of the warmer spots are approaching 80 degrees. not quite as warm as you were today. but still not bad at all

for this time of the year. a look at the wind gusts, which are going to be noticeable by tomorrow afternoon. the computer shuffles the data. but the strongest gusts will be in the 20 to 25 miles an hour range, mainly from midday through the afternoon. but let's take a step up with the wind speeds as we finish the workweek on friday. that'll be the breeziest day with the wind gusts at 30 to 40 miles an hour along the coast. seven-day forecast shows our temperatures bottoming out on saturday and then bouncing back. inland spots back up to around 80 degrees, at least into the upper 70s, staying there on tuesday and wednesday. and the same pattern is evident around the bay, but you're just not going to drop as far with temperatures tomorrow in the low 70s and 60s on saturday with more cloud cover overhead. again that outside chance of a little bit of drizzle right along the coast. we won't put any rain drops on the weather tubes here for your weekend because it is not going to amount to anything more than trace amounts of moisture, even if we do get a little bit of the drizzle along the coast on friday night into early

saturday. jewels? >> paul, thank you. a new airline dedicated to their dogs and hu

memorial day weekend around the corner. the faa is expecting tomorrow will be the busiest day for air travel since 2019. nearly 3.5 million people are projected to fly over the weekend. sfo expects

600,000 passengers between friday and monday. and that is more than 8% over last year and almost back to pre-pandemic levels. san jose is expecting almost 400,000 passengers and oakland international over 130,000. so there is a new airline that's launching tomorrow. it's catering to dogs and their owners, bark air, that will allow them to travel alongside their furry friends, offering treats, ear muffs, drinks of their choice to the customers. right now it only flies between los angeles and new york and in the u.s. for 6,000 a ticket. new routes are in the works. cbs evening news >> what a monster. >> norah: deadly tornado outbreak. >> it just sounded like our whole house was ing to come down. >> norah: tonight, the search and rescue as survivors pick up the pieces after twisters destroy entire neighborhoods in the midwest. >> there's 14 houses that i can count that are no longer there. >> norah: plus, the new tornado