ght on "america's funniest home videos", >> next, what is behind the latest covid surge? cases in california doubling in a matter of weeks. elated warriors fans feeling the sting of defeat. highlights and fan reaction to again they came down to the final seconds. and chris rock's mom reacts to will smith slapping her son. abc 7 news starts right now. >> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. >> just as mask mandates are being lifted, and it appears more signs of pre-pandemic life are returning, california is seeing a troubling trend. good evening and thank you for joining us for this special edition of abc 7 news.

i'm j.r. stone. we begin with a focus on your health. one of the issues we focus on and our commitment to building a better bay area. tonight, a concerning increase in covid cases across california. average daily cases have gone up by more than 50% since the end of march. according to the cdc, most bay area counties are at the high level for covid transmission. the surge comes as two new omicron variants are spreading, now accounting for 93% of cases nationwide. >> with the next variant, this is the problem, this is what we have to focus on prevention. because we do not know what we are going to be dealt with later this year. j.r.: one bit of encouraging news, hospitalizations are still trending down statewide. data released friday shows california currently has 132 patients in the icu with covid compared to over 300 this time a

month ago. starting tomorrow, masks will no longer be required in public commission and board hearing rooms in san francisco city buildings. people who want to continue to wear masks are encouraged to do so. the masking requirement while in city hall and other city buildings was dropped march 18, except for in session meetings. starting tomorrow, that requirement will be relaxed too. masks are still required in certain high-risk facilities, including hospitals. you can stay up-to-date on the latest covid headlines by heading to abc7news.com/ coronavirus. that is where you can also find testing sites and the latest changes to mask mandates. it went down to the wire, but the denver nuggets won and avoided a sweep today, sending the warriors series back to san francisco. larry beil is here with highlights and also reaction.

i think we just assumed at one point we were going to sweep. larry: it was easy to assume that when they went up 3-0, but they just did not have it today. they were down 17, father way back, and then lost in heartbreaking fashion. the warriors could have had at least six days off had they swept. now they have to get ready for game five. steph curry came off the bench for the fourth straight game. he was ice cold early, got hot late. time to game at 119. curry went for 33 points. with 42 seconds left, klay thompson will miss. andrew wiggins, and this is without authority. had that gone down, it might have been the sweep jr was talking about. instead, nicoli o catch, the presumptive m.v.p., goes for 37. ices it with seconds left. the nuggets stay alive 126-121 to force game five at chase on

wednesday. >> we had our chances. really proud of the guys for the effort. they really fall and give themselves a chance. but it started too late. >> you assume as you go through the playoffs it is not just going to be a smooth ride. adversity within the game, adversity if you lose a game, how you bounceback shows what your dna is made up. >> is on us to come back. when you're on the road the goal is to win one. you go back home, take care of business and move forward. larry: as you can see, the warriors did not seem overly concerned. they know they did not play well and they will try and finish off the nuggets wednesday. more coming up in sports. j.r.: warriors fans showing their loyalty. they packed the first ever playoff watch party outside chase arena. cornell barnard gives us a sense of the stress and excitement.

cornell: dubnation was on fire at this playoff watch party on the big screen at thrive city. until the very last second, fans were hoping to clinch the nuggets in round one of the nba playoffs. splash titles were working overtime. >> seven seconds left, i know it is a long shot that we have to keep going. cornell: through it all, this crowd remained cold-blooded. >> let's get it warrior. sweep, suite, suite. cornell: he brought the lucky broom, expecting a series sweep and more. >> it feels like 2015 to me. that is what it feels like. cornell: 2015, the year the warriors won the nba championships for the first time in 40 years. >> it has been a tough season we are looking to go all the way. cornell: some fans thought good luck was on their side. >> cannot tell you something actually? one of the warrior players

named steph curry actually has the same birthday as me. cornell: this was the first ever playoff watch party for the warriors. at capacity. with 2000 fans in the house. >> we need something to cheer for a warriors just give us that. the real fans come out for the playoffs. and we are out here partying, having a good time. cornell: a close game but no sweep today. fans say that is ok. >> if they lose it is ok because we will be back here wednesday. cornell: cornell bernard, abc 7 news. j.r.: stanford nurses in a statement today say they will go on strike tomorrow. they have not said how long the strike would last. the union scheduled a bargaining session for tuesday with hospitals. nurses are seeking wage increases along with bonuses and mental support. 5000 nurses at the stanford hospital and children's hospital

are expected to be on the picket line monday morning. oakland unified school district is threatening to sue its teachers union if educators walk off the job in response to recent school closures. the district sent a letter this weekend to the oakland education association promising legal action with a one day -- if a one-day teacher strike happens this friday. the district is aware of an upcoming vote to authorize a strike for what the oea calls unfair labor practices. teachers and parents groups have expressed concern for several months now about the district plan to close or merge 11 ousd was over the next two years. to developing news in the war in ukraine, an advisor to ukrainian president zelenskyy said that he met tonight with the u.s. secretary of state and defense secretary in kyiv. the u.s. has not -- is not confirming those reports.

defense secretary lode austin and secretary of state antony blinken would be the two highest-ranking u.s. officials to visit ukraine since the war began. >> it is really symbolic. ukraine will not be left alone with this work. j.r.: pressure revealed the goal of its invasion is to take full control of southern ukraine, as well as the eastern donbass region, and to establish a land corridor connecting russia to crimea. starting tomorrow, ukrainians seeking asylum at the southern u.s. border will need a financial sponsor. officials will start turning those evacuees away who do not meet the requirements. the bay area armenian community gathered at san francisco's mount davidson today for a remembrance event. they marked the 107th anniversary of the killing of 1.5 million armenians during

world war i. president biden yesterday became the first u.s. president to officially recognize the massacre under the ottoman empire as genocide. the turkish government has never acknowledged what happened. former san francisco mayor willie brown spoke at the event today. >> it is absolutely clear that of all the atrocities that have happened in this world, none have been more horrible and evil than the armenian genocide. j.r.: brown and other attendees placed flowers at the mount davidson cross. today also marks the 25th anniversary of the armenian community's custodian cross. in the east bay a man was shot when a group of people broke into a marijuana dispensary in oakland. our media partner the bay area news group reports the shooting happened this morning.

he security company notified a man associated with the dispensary that people were breaking into. the shop on lakeshore avenue, the man went to the store and wish on the foot. it is unclear if the group stole anything. no hits, runs, or errors today at oracle park. instead, we are talking ai. insects and frameworks. the event that transformed the ballpark into a science field of dreams. spencer: some clouds tonight but still no rain. i will have the accuweather forecast coming up when abc

meet apartment 2a, 2b and 2c. 2a's monitoring his money with a simple text. like what you see abe? yes! 2b's covered with zero overdraft fees when he overdraws his account by fifty bucks or less. and 2c, well, she's not going to let a lost card get her stressed. am i right? that's right. that's because these neighbors all have chase. alerts that help check. tools that help protect. one bank that puts you in control.

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j.r.: it is not often you get the chance to drive the mars rover, see the bones of a whale, or create a tornado. but tonight, a chance to do all of that and more at oracle park. the giants home field was taken over by more than 100 mind-boggling games, demos, and hands-on experiments. ucsf's discovery date is designed to spark a passion for science. >> these activities are being led by scientists and engineers, people who work in the field. it is this opportunity for them to connect with the bay area public and for the bay area public to connect with them. j.r.: discovery date is part of the bay area science festival's 10 days of stem events, which started thursday and will continue through next saturday. it was the slap felt around the

world, and chris rock's mother has something to say about it. >> when you hurt my child, you hurt me. j.r.: she is talking about the first time her son was slapped on stage at the oscars. and temperatures dipping tonight with the sunset. the workweek will start with a

(music throughout) j.r.: new reaction is coming in about the oscars a slap seen round the world. comedian chris rock has stayed

quiet about getting slapped by will smith, but it seems rock's mom has a few words to say. she was on tv friday in south carolina and said she is still troubled by the incident. >> when will slapped chris, he slapped all of us. but he really slapped me. >> why do you say that? >> because when you hurt my child, you hurt me. j.r.: rose rock went on to say that will smith reacted to his wife giving him the side i. earlier this month the academy announced smith was banned from attending the oscars for 10 years. moving on, joined by spencer christian. i don't have to give you many side eyes because you are right on. no slaps either. spencer: things are looking pretty calm, except for some rough surf that is still with us. we had our beach hazard statement issued this morning. it will expire at 9:00 tonight. the surf is settling down a bit but there is still a risk of sneaker waves and strong rip currents.

so just bear that in mind if you're going to be near the coastline. oops. looking live a golden guy -- golden gate we seemingly clear skies. 57 in san francisco right now. half moon bay at 54 degrees. looking down onto the bait you conceive your getting something high clouds developing and there will be more of those overnight. 64 right now in santa rosa. low to mid 70's from fairfield, concord and livermore. looking out over san francisco. areas of fog during the morning commute. sunny and mild warm tomorrow afternoon. ruler weather midweek although the dry pattern will continue along with the cooling. overnight high clouds will pass by and lucy -- and we will see an increase in some interior valleys. otherwise mainly clear overnight in a manly sunny start to the day tomorrow put overnight low temperatures mainly in the mid

to upper 40's and highs tomorrow will range from 60 at the coast the low 70's around the bay shoreline. mainly upper 70's inland of the couple areas my top out at about 82 degrees like fairfield and antioch. seven-day forecast, noticed a sharp cool down and wednesday. even further cooling on thursday. increasing clouds accompanying this during the week. very little chance of any rain. maybe a 10% chance of a sprinkle in the far northern part of our viewing area. starts to warm up again friday. into next weekend we can expect sunny skies and milder weather with temperatures rising back to a more seasonal range for this time of year. >> now, abc 7 sports. larry: warriors had a great opportunity to close out their first-round series but the nuggets came out desperate tonight. and golden state was slobbery -- was sloppy. we are heading for a game five wednesday night at chase center.

nicola joe catch -- second quarter, the denver lead 17. three deep threes and they are feeling a mile high endeavor. steph came off the bench again. the rookie goes for nine points and 11 minutes. fourth quarter, the warriors finally making their push, as steph goes for three, plus the file. curry 33 points in 37 minutes. that will be a meme there/ missed four free throws, which is really strange for him. cornell barnard reported earlier, they were loving it. warriors actually took a brief lead. tied at 121, klay thompson, no. andrew wiggins misses the lay-up, and it bounces out of bounds. setting up this play with under

10 seconds ago, warriors down two. dagge t -- dagger three. no sweep. game five wednesday night back at chase. >> denver played way better. they were the more physical team. we did not deserve to win. we're where we need to be ultimately, up three. but we need to revert back to the team that jumped on them earlier in the series. >> it is difficult to beat a team three times and around, let alone four. they had a lot of energy tonight but hopefully we have a chance to win wednesday. >> there are definitely nerves involved and we could have been anxious at times, including myself with some stupid files. -- fouls. looking for us it's the first of four and we have a great opportunity in a few days. larry: the giants did what the dubs could not do, and that is sweep in washington.

they also have a series with the a's coming up. hot day today in d.c., low 80's. hang in there, sparky. joc pederson i guess likes the heat. 441 feet, longest leadoff homer by a giant in the stat cast era. 5-3 giants in the second. joc jams again. he already has five this year, tied for third in the majors. they pour it on again. late with a six run ninth. two run single. giants sweep 12-3. looks like a long season for the nats. the giants host them next week at oracle. oh, he's throwing away the souvenir. look at mom. she's in shock. what have you done? is that my child? five scoreless, a little help from his friends. still scoreless in the fifth.

doing at all. high, deep, aloha. his first of the year. those were the only runs of the game. the a's bullpen were scoreless. christian betancourt knocks down for the final out. a's victorious 2-0, and they are a game over .500, which is a little surprised because we thought with all the changes and their most popular players being traded away that they would be really struggling, but they are hanging in there. we will have more warriors coverage tonight at 11:00. j.r.: a music festival on the peninsula featured a lot of young and up-and-coming musicians. in fact, they all were. a look at the return of a bell

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j.r.: tonight at 11:00, two doctors, two very different opinions. what is fueling a recent surge of covid cases in the bay area, and what the immediate future could hold. and in east bay neighborhood wakes up to some hate-filled flyers. it is not the first time the flyers have shown up in the bay area. we will have reaction tonight at 11:00. on the peninsula, a community event shut down by the pandemic is once again filling the air with music in belmont.

the celebrate the music festival is back after a 2.5 year hiatus. the festival at twin pines park showcased local bands and performers as well as these visions from local schools -- musicians from local schools. there was also a battle of the bands. all proceeds been a fit music education -- benefit music education. i think we could all use some music after the tough loss today in denver. spencer: maybe playing "taps" on wednesday for the nuggets. that would be my choice.

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♪♪ >> hey, bay area, it's time to share some amazing stories and feel good. we could all use some inspiration right now, and you've come to the right place. this show is all about good food, good people, and good living. on today's show, hold your horses. >> and we sat down and went, "look, there's got to be a better way to do this." >> giant origami art. >> it really creates a sense of joy for all of us to watch people be delighted by our art. >> vintage video games. >> this store is more like an old-school toy store. >> and a bakery filled with love. >> what we love about them so much is how transparent they are about their story. >> but first, from farm workers to winery owners.