it all comes down to today. after a long election season, americans are heading to the polls to pick the next president of the united states. this is a special election day edition of nbc bay area. it's at 3:00 this afternoon. good evening. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm janelle wang. decision 2016 is here. right now across the bay area and the entire country, voters are casting their ballots. you're looking live at the the election office in san jose where crowds have been steady all day long through this drive-through. now to a live picture from our nbc bay area helicopter at a another drive-through ballot drop off at contra costa county

office in martinez. >> we have live team coverage for you this afternoon. we begin with nbc bay area's raj mathai also in new york and the hillary clinton campaign. raj? >> reporter: jessica and janelle, good evening. we are in midtown manhattan. the first thing you notice when you get here, this building is all glass walls. let me step out of the way. not just glass walls but if you look up high, it's the glass ceiling. symbolic for hillary clinton trying to become the first female president in the history of the united states. all of those people over there, 3,000 media members are awaiting for mrs. clinton's arrival. she's a few blocks away at the peninsula hotel but will make her way over to us at about 11:30 tonight eastern time. that's about 8:30 pacific in the west coast and the bay area.

another thing we noticed here in new york, the nervous energy. the nervous excitement. a lot like the bay area. the streets of new york a little pensive as the election goes into the late hours. on this election night there are long lines. there is plenty of security and there is anxiety. >> we must have a change. >> reporter: much like the bay area here in new york, opinions are passionate. >> i have been reflecting a lot about how there's so many women whose shoulders we've stood on to get us to this point so it's very exciting. >> we went through something similar with brexit and with britain exiting the eu so i know the stress that you guys must be under because obviously it's all up in the air. >> reporter: up in the air and inside these glass walls. about 3,000 media members along with hillary clinton's closest friends and advisers are here waiting for mrs. clinton to take

the podium. among them, one of her strongest bay area supporters, the former ambassador to australia is expected to be part of the clinton administration should she win. >> we're all on pins and needles. we don't know what the verdict is until the american people vote and they decide. we have hours and hours of this. i'm just trying to keep myself occupied. i've been running around all day. >> reporter: hours and hours is very true. so just one of the many bay area people who are big-time hillary clinton supporters that are here in new york. many people are expected, about three or four, expected to be part of hillary clinton's administration should she win. okay. a long night is ahead of us. we'll be continuing to check in with you through this evening. let's send it back to you in the bay area. >> okay. thank you very much, raj. mark matthews is in new york city tonight covering the trump election night gathering. i understand that you are at trump's polling place this morning and a couple women disrobed in protest.

>> reporter: it was a very unusual morning. we are at his election night headquarters right now. earlier today we were over at ps-59. a school just a few blocks from here when this happened. two women tore off their blouses and began shouting for trump to grab his privates and get out of their polls. the pair were corralled by new york city police and arrested not for being topless but for electioneering inside a polling pla place. the mission is protest. three hours later, donald trump walked in to a smattering of boos surrounded by his travel press corps photographers and secret service, he filled out his ballot and then walked toward us to have it scanned. if he said much of anything, most of the cameras including ours only got a wave.

mary haas told me she wouldn't look at him. why not? >> i might throw up. >> reporter: outside as folks stood for 2 1/2 hours to vote, we did find some trump supporters like anita. >> i think that he is what we need for our country. >> reporter: and this woman. >> it's time to have someone in the office who isn't a politician. give them a chance. >> reporter: a few blocks away, donald trump threw a reception for donors inside trump tower. the sidewalk in front of trump tower was closed off with barricades. a dozen police stood at the front door and dump trucks lined the side of fifth avenue nose to tail for added protection. you're looking at a live picture now of "the apprentice" star. she has been working for donald

trump to try to rally support among african-americans. she is the only luminary we have seen so far tonight. we are expecting donald trump some time later this evening. everybody here wishes they knew when. reporting from new york, mark matthews, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, mark. back here in the bay area, disruption at the polls. a fire alarm went off at the santa clara county register of voters in san jose. marianne favro joins us live with more. what set it off? >> reporter: it was burnt toast if you can believe that. voters were definitely disrupted and more than 300 people had to evacuate the building behind me. election day. dozens of people choosing the next president of the united states. one of the worst days to hear this. a fire alarm went off this morning at the santa clara county register of voters office in san jose.

>> this is pretty uncommon. we've never, ever had a fire alarm come on during election day. >> reporter: election staff stop what they were doing and walked out. voters did the same. everyone heading into the parking lot. turns out burnt toast in another office triggered the alarm. 20 minutes later the building was cleared and everyone filed back in. the people were safe, but what about the ballots? >> the last people remaining in the building were actually our staff and we made sure that the ballots were locked up safely before we left. >> reporter: most waited it out to return to finish voting. >> it was a little startling, but i think just making sure you grab your papers and make sure that you don't know where you left off so being kind of disrupted is a little bit annoying, but we got to vote. >> reporter: janelle keys of sun sun sun

sun sun sunnyvale returned to cast her ballot. >> i would stay until sunset in i needed to vote. >> reporter: another alarm went off in san jose and also several voters had to evacuate in another polling place in palo alto. marianne favro, nbc bay area news. >> burnt toast wasn't the only issue at the polls. investigative unit has been taking your calls and e-mails all morning. we are hearing about the election day hiccups we're looking into across the bay area. >> we're continuing to take tips and calls from viewers about your election day problems and want to tell you about an issue at a polling center in east san jose. a few minutes ago we were told santa clara county sent a field inspector to investigate campaigns with flyers too close to the polling po ining booth. an election supervisor accused volunteers of handing out flyers next to the voting booth.

a spokesperson for one of the groups tells us they're looking into the situation, but say they do train their volunteers to obey all campaign laws. >> they've been pretty aggressive. yelling. handing out flyers. big signs. they're just everywhere. sometimes they wait for us to look the other way. >> the inspector sent to the polling location says he just checked the area and says volunteers seem to be obeying all campaign laws right now. we'll continue to monitor the situation and we ask that viewers keep those calls and e-mails coming. >> okay. thank you. the rest of the day our investigative unit will have your back. if you have any problem at all at any polling place, we want to hear about it. call our tip line, 844-nbc-vote and file a complaint on our website, that's nbcbayarea.com. in other news today, just a hoax. that's what it turned out to be after two women claim they found a baby on the sidewalk.

nbc's jodi hernandez just spoke to police about this. >> reporter: the report of an abandoned baby prompted a full-out police and media response but a short time ago the baby's family came forward to the hospital here to explain what really happened. this is where police say two women reported finding a newborn baby this morning wrapped in a cloth and abandoned on the sidewalk. but it turns out that's not what happened at all. >> the abandonment part of the infant was made up. this is because we have several young ladies in our community who are afraid of the repercussions of a newborn into the community and didn't quite know what to do. >> police say a young woman gave birth to a baby girl this morning but wasn't aware she could surrender the baby to the hospital without getting in

trouble. the young mother and her sister came forward with the truth this afternoon and tonight the baby is in the care of child protective services. >> a newborn is a baby girl. she's absolutely adorable. our phone has been ringing for interest adoption. >> reporter: police say the baby's family is now in conversation about the baby's future, but they say they are confident she will end up in a good home. the women could face possible criminal charges for filing a false police report, but police say what's really important is that this becomes a learning opportunity. a woman can safely surrender a newborn baby to a firestation, police station, a hospital, without fear of prosecution. reporting live in oakland, i'm jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. a midnight home invasion robbery in san rafael that

happened less than a mile from dixie elementary school. sheriff's office said three men got into the home through an unlocked door. one carried a gun and the other had a baseball bat. the suspects rounded the family up, stole their cash, electronics and jewelry and then got away. one robber hit the homeowner with the bat but fortunately he was not seriously hurt. monster waves crashing into ocean beach. i'm leave in san francisco. straight ahead, how high the waves here are expected to get and the other beaches also experiencing a high surf advisory right now. i'm meteorologist jeff ranieri. just under five hours until the polls close. weather not going to get in your way if you need to vote. clear skies tonight. 70 at 5:00 p.m. 64 at 7:00 p.m. your microclimate forecast and update on the waves in about eight minutes.

it was approved by san jose last month. in the lawsuit, santa clara says the project would have an adverse environmental affect on traffic and nearby housing. the lawsuit is retaliation for a lawsuit they recently filed against santa clara. officials deny it. >> since this area is key to our region, we felt that it would be negligent on our part not to really closely be looking at it. i don't view it as retaliation. >> we give everyone clear notice of what we were spending to build. all of the surrounding jurisdictions know about it and we build according to our plan. they've had many years to object. >> santa clara maintains it filed the lawsuit as required by the environmental quality act and hopes to reach a conclusion. missing books and san francisco officials want them

back. the library says fines add up to more than $4 million but it really just wants books returned so it's offering an incentive. starting january 3rd, the library system is launching an amnesty period through valentine's day. during those six weeks, all fines will be forgiven as long as the library gets its books back. monster waves arriving in the bay area right now a high surf advisory is in affect for beaches from big surto marin county and in san francisco. we're joined live from ocean beach for a look at those big waves. >> reporter: looks can be deceiving. it is absolutely beautiful out here at ocean beach. the sun is shining. very little fog. if you look behind me, you can see beach goers along the shore. take a look out at the water. you are not going to find any surfers out here. waves in the winter months average around 10 feet. this afternoon they could get as high as 30 feet and with waves

that size, even the most experienced surfer says they're staying out of the water and from the parking lot, people are keeping their distance admiring mother nature's strength from afar because sneaker waves could snatch unsuspected spectators to venture too close to the water and pull them out to sea. >> it's death defying. if you're not a skilled surfer and you're going to throw yourself out there regardless if you even make it out, the currents, rips, undertows, you will die. typically the surfer here know what they're doing. >> i love we have this on the western edge of our city but in the wintertime with the waves are big, it's extra exciting. >> reporter: and of course exciting to look at from a safe distance. the waves are expected to break on the beach here in 16 to 18-second intervals. you're looking at them live right now.

the water will have more time to build momentum and size before breaking so if you are going to come out here and admire these beautiful waves, look at them from a distance. the surf advisory will be in effect here until 6:00. reporting live from san francisco, i'm elyce kershner. >> the dangerous waves will get even higher at the immediate coastline and temperatures going even warmer at the coast as well. we'll take you right into our microclimate forecast. waves generally 10 to 20 feet for tonight and also into wednesday. stay out of the water. don't turn your back to the water because of those sneaker waves and also rip currents and that will be in place the next 36 hours as we could have these large swells every 16 seconds. now, as far as tonight goes, less than five hours left at the polls. we'll have clear weather all of

the way through the 7:00 hour. temperatures will drop down to 64 degrees by 7:00 p.m. you still might need a light jacket if you're running out late here to cast your vote tonight. as we get into tomorrow's forecast, it will be another day and no matter what your choice is, we'll get through it. for tomorrow's forecast, areas of fog and also low clouds come on back. temperatures in the 50s from the trivalley to the south bay and we'll find 50s for pt east bay and san francisco. for the north bay, coldest spot per normal. 48 degrees as we head into the morning hours. as we get a look at your microclimate forecast for wednesday. numbers go up another two to three degrees. we have now pushed the forecast up into the 80s just for two locations. that includes morgan hill and also gilroy. a little cooler up toward milpitas. south wind off the bay will put you at 74. light winds in the eastbound for wednesday. 77 in antioch. 79 in danville.

over toward oakland, 75 degrees. we mention the rough surf at the beaches. the reason why it's going to be so tempting tomorrow, we'll see high go up to 69 degrees. winds not very gusty out of the northeast at 4 miles per hour. even warming up into daly city to 70 degrees. palo alto, 77. san francisco, 71 along the embarcadero. 72 in the mission. cooler toward outer sunset at 67. 78 in sonoma. 80 in napa. on the extended forecast, we continue with this dry trend all of the way through friday. likely some drizzle developing in san francisco saturday morning. overall the weekend does look dry. next possible chance of accumulating rainfall as we head throughout tuesday of next week. for the interior valleys, we'll see the same chance here of wet weather coming our way. really not until next tuesday temperatures overall getting warmest through thursday's forecast and then it cools off

as we head throughout this upcoming weekend. it was busy out at the polls when i voted today. the weather made it easy. >> we will enjoy it. >> very bipartisan weather. >> everyone loves it. still ahead, saving you from embarrassing e-mails. the new feature that's coming to g-mail's revamped iphone app. san josetate mpus.universy pole

breaking news. we just learned of a reported sexual assault on san jose state campus. a man attacked a woman while using a portable toilet. this happened early yesterday morning. friends stopped the attack but the suspect got away on a bike. if you have any information on this attack, you're asked to call the university police department. we have a crew headed to the scene and will bring you updates on air and online at nbcbayarea.com. in a tradition that goes all of the way back to last year, willie brown hosted an election day lunch in san francisco. everyone wanted to talk with the

former mayor and assembly speaker about what many say has been the craziest presidential election yet. >> it's the most bizarre. i'm sorry that it's ending for those of us that love politics. we just love what's going on. >> the crowd was so big part of the street had to be blocked off. you may have been waiting for this. the undo button on your iphone. it allows g-mail users to retract an embarrassing e-mail. users will have five seconds after sending an e-mail to click on that undo button at the bottom of the screen. the feature is now available on the new g-mail update. we are heading back to new york city for an election update. stay with us. s== in ju hour... wcouldnow ourt

back to decision 2016. in just a few hours we could know who you are next president will be. let's take you out live to new york where both candidates are holding events. >> we begin with mark matthews live at trump headquarters. mark? we apologize for that. we're not hearing mark. let's see if we can head over to raj mathai instead. >> reporter: okay. we are here. we are joining you from midtown manhattan. about 20 blocks south of where mark matthews and donald trump headquarters are. as we begin this night, this is what's happening here. hillary clinton watching the election coverage like so many of us at home in our living rooms except for her it will be at the peninsula hotel and then she'll head over here on 36th street around 11:00 tonight. maybe 11:30. it all depends on what happens. three options. she's going to take that stage that's right behind me.

three options for mrs. clinton tonight. she'll be here and it will be a big party and acceptance speech. option number two, a concession speech or the third option, which i don't think anyone wants, is one of those undecided things where we don't know tonight and it bleeds into tomorrow morning. so we are waiting here as well as her closest friends and supporters. many of the supporters from the bay area. that's the latest from new york city. guys, back to you. >> thank you very much, raj. we'll see you throughout the evening. we hope to see you as well here. full election coverage here on nbc bay area. >> have a good afternoon folks.

tonight, breaking news. decision night. it all comes down to this. >> and america's best days are still ahead of us. if we reach for them together. >> the new adventure is making america great again. we're going to do it. >> on this historic night, who will it be? hillary clinton or donald trump? just moments away from the first polls closing. voters lined up across the nation to make their voices heard. the candidates, after criss-crossing the nation, end up just a mile apart tonight as the results roll in. but will it be a