county. investigate is now under way to find out what caused all this damage. >> one day after antolin garcia torres was convicted of killing sierra lamar, the attorneys are preparing for the punishment phase. i'll tell you why the prosecutors who got him convicted may want to take the death penalty off the table. you're watching today in the bay. >> and a very good wednesday morning to you. thanks for starting your day with us, or if you're just coming home from work, ending it with us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> that would be a late night. >> does happen for a lot of people. >> no question about it. it is 5:00, and this is normal, by the way, the temperatures we're seeing. >> finally, because it's been up and down all over the place. and as we are getting a look at -- as we get a look at what's happening around the bay area, we are feeling temperatures that are cooler and some mid 70s out there in the tri-valley. 75 degrees there. 73 degrees in the south bay.

and 66 degrees in the east bay. in the north bay, it's going to be up to 70 degrees. we'll see the clouds mixing in as well. as we head over to mike now, heading back down to highway 17. >> that's right, because as we look, a lot of folks starting their day as we talked about, also some folks ending their day and going to head back home from work about now. that's road crews like this one, highway 17. we talked about traffic control, shifted over to each direction on the northbound side overnight. they should be just about picked up and that's likely why we see the slowing right now as they do move those crews. no major delays there. we have no problems here. we just got better. the top number, the travel time from highway 4 to the bay bridge on the east shore freeway. back to you. >> thank you for keeping an eye on that. >> 5:01. developing news out of washington. this was the headline yesterday. fbi director fired. president trump ousting james comey as the fbi investigates

his connection to russia. that's causing an uproar from both sides of the aisle. in the last hour, trump tweeting this, the democrats have said some of the worst things about james comey, including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad. he then tweeted, james comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job bringing back the spirit and prestige of the fbi. all that is a backdrop, tracie potts joining us live from washington, monitoring all of the fallout and developments for us. and where do things stand this morning? >> well, lots of people asking questions about what happens now with the russia investigation. sam, this is a story that went down right there in california. james comey was in southern california when he got the news that he had been suddenly fired. the former fbi director's plane landed in washington early this morning. james comey got a call during a california trip confirming he

had been fired. >> the fbi director had lost the confidence to lead the fbi. >> president trump in a letter said comey's not able to effectively lead the bureau. based on recommendations from the attorney general and his deputy, who said comey was mistaken going public about the clinton e-mail investigation. democrats, many of whom said they also lost faith in comey, are outraged now that he's been fired while investigating russian ties to president trump. >> it's pretty clear what's going on here. donald trump doesn't want anyone coming anyplace close to an active investigation. >> and it is a brazen, craven attempt, in mew view, to stifle the rule of law. >> democrats meet this morning to discuss the next step. >> if an independent special prosecutor is appointed, there still can be some faith that we can get to the bahm of this. if not, everyone will suspect cover-up. >> republicans, too, were

shocked. >> the firing came as a surprise to me. but i wonder if it is not the inevitable conclusion. >> others say they're troubled by the timing in the middle of the russia investigation. now, we are continuing to follow the fallout here in washington, including who's going to be in charge of the fbi. for now, it's andrew mccabe, the deputy director of the fbi. but they want to put someone more permanent in place. democrats, though, already saying they will not approve confirmation for any new director until that special prosecutor is appointed in the russia case. sam. >> thank you very much. breaking overnight, a string of fires in contra costa county. one in walnut creek, the other in lafayette. firefighters are trying to figure out what happened. bob redell joins us live from walnut creek this morning. this is one of three car fires we understand there in recent

days. >> reporter: correct. good morning to you. you can see the most recent one. you're looking at what's left of a sedan parked in the driveway of a home here in walnut creek. it caught fire a little before 12:30 this morning. the fire department was able to put it out before it spread to the house. we did speak this morning with a spokesperson with the contra costa fire protection district. he said it's too early to tell if the fire was intentionally set or related to another car fire that started 15 minutes later in front of another home just over two miles away. that second car was a large white suv parked in the driveway of a house on padre street in lafayette. firefighters again stopped that fire from damaging the home in both instances overnight, an arson investigator has been called out to investigate. it's not clear if these fires are related to another car fire from earlier in the week. now, this video is of a vehicle that burned a few feet away from

a home near holiday highland park in martinez just before 4:00 monday morning. an arson investigator also looked into that incident. not clear if that fire was intentionally set. you have three car fires over the past 72 hours. all taking place in the early morning hours of this week in contry co rra costa county, but department is not sure if they were, a, intentionally set, and b, related. >> thank you, bob. 5:06 right now. new this morning, a warning to watch your surroundings. b.a.r.t. police are reporting there were three separate muggings that happened yesterday. two onboard trains in oakland. the other in hayward, and in each instance, the attackers got away with valuables, but nobody was seriously hurt. in one case, a station agent caught up to the thief and was able to retrieve a stolen iphone before the thief took off. >> authorities are trying to sort out just what started a brawl aboard a southwest airlines jet headed to oakland.

>> cell phone video caught the men throwing punches. it happened saturday afternoon on a flight from dallas to oakland. a retired bay area firefighter helped to stop the fight. daniel green said it started when the plane was still taxiing after touchdown. >> the victim did nothing. he was getting ready to diss disemba disembark. the guy who started it, according to the victim, he said this guy just started going crazy on me. >> burbank police arrested one of the people involved in the brawl. southwest is crediting its employees for their quick response. >> continuing coverage now on the sierra lamar murder case. this morning, antolin garcia torres is a convicted killer. this is a story we have been following for five years now, and at last, there's some finality. >> we brought you the news live on air as the verdict was revealed yesterday morning. now comes the sentencing phase, and the death penalty is on the table. >> kris sanchez joining us live

from the courthouse this morning with what comes next. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, sam and laura. lawyers, especially for the district attorney's office, will gather today to start working on what they're going to say to the jury as the jury returns to the courthouse on tuesday to decide what the penalty should be for antolin garcia torres and his killing of sierra lamar and his attempted kidnapping of three other women. we spoke with the lamar family as they were leaving the courthouse yesterday. less than an hour after the guilty verdict came down. sierra lamar's mother marlene did not want to comment yet on whether he should get the death penalty, but we know it is one option. and according to the nbc bay area legal analyst, it's also a powerful bargaining chip that the district attorney's office could cash in in order to find sierra lamar's body. >> mr. garcia torres, show us that you still have some decency left inside of you. give these parents some closure. tell us where sierra lamar is, and we'll take the death penalty

off the table. >> now, that analyst also explained yesterday how the penalty phase is different from the trial. he said that in a trial, it's really all about the crime and the evidence. but in the penalty phase, it will be all about antolin garcia torres the man. coming up at 6:00, we'll show you what the district attorney's office has to say about garcia torres and the death penalty. in san jose, kris sanchez, today in the bay. >> thank you. 5:09 right now. $1,000 to find a man who dumped baby raccoons at a gilroy park. happened sunday at christmas hill park. wildlife emergency services says a man dumped five newborn rucroons from a trap. they found the raccoons and sent them to the spca in monterey. >> good wednesday morning. it is 5:09. as we start out, we're looking at clear skies over san jose, and all dry, but it's also

fairly mild. we're going to feel the temperatures cool, especially along the coastline. looking at the hiking trails in the peninsula in the forecast for today. we start out at 7:00 with some fog and some mist along the coast. it will be 50 degrees, and 52 degrees with some clearing, peeks of sun. highs only in the upper 50s before the inland areas, it will be in the 60s today and even some 70s. we'll talk about that coming up in about four minutes. mike is tracking a big rig in the east bay. >> that's right, and we have lots of big rigs all around the bay, but this one is not moving right now. we'll show you, most of the bay is moving well on the highways. highway 4, eastbound, so whatever commute we have right here, the skyway interchange, a report of a big rig blocking the slow lane. they tried to get to the shoulder and didn't make it. westbound shows a tiny bit of slowing. a few cars heading to 580. an easy flow toward the bay

bridge. no delays for the upper east shore freeway. and the transit shows no delays. >> thank you, mike. coming up, up in flames. a school bus catches fire with dozens of students onboard. the quig thinking that got everyone safely. >> plus, wall street reacts the unrest in washington. we'll look when today in the bay continues.

good wednesday morning. it is 5:14. and just lost my camera shot there. looking over san jose. hey, now we can see that the skies are clear as you get ready to head out. santa clara, the temperature trend will be in the low 70s today. it's going to be so much nicer than yesterday. we'll take a look at even cooler temperatures heading into the weekend coming up in about five minutes. >> kari, just like the foams at home, the camera has to rub its eyes once in a while. no major slowing, not even what we would expect out of the altamont. we'll show you the rest of the commute in a second. >> thank you very much, kari and mike. 5:14 right now. south carolina school bus caught fire this morning with nearly 60 students onboard. look at that. it looks horrible, but no one got hurt. two students in the back told the they saw smoke outside of the bus. school officials say the driver got all of kids out in less than a minute. the cause of the fire is being investigated. >> thank god they reacted quickly there.

>>:14. new crash tests show how added protection on the side of big rig trucks could save lives. the insurance institute for highway safety tested two systems. first shows what happens when a car going 35 strikes the side of a truck equipped with a fiberglass deflector. the truck in the second has a protection device that bounces off the truck. there are currently no regulations requiring them. >> just in time for mother's day, retailers are warning about what they call the mother of all scams, offering sweet deals in social media that don't exist. the digital coupons pop up offering savings up to 50% at popular stores like kohl's, bed, bath, and beyond, and lowe's. you have to imput information that includes credit card numbers. >> it's identity theft. if you're giving your banking information to a hacker or scammer, you're talking about getting your bank account

cleared out. >> some of the retailers are working with facebook to have the phony coupons removed. >> wall street has been riding high here on the hopes that the trump administration was going to cut taxes and reduce regulations. >> now, scott mcgrew, a lot of doubt about what the white house will be able to get done. >> that's right. we went from the russian issue as a distraction to the russian issue as the center ring in thes. investors will have to take that into account, although there are also corporate earnings. futures show a muted opening. nasdaq hit a new record tuesday. dow may be way down by disney and its underperforming espn sports channel. the fcc claims its website was hit by a denial of service attack right at the same time a lot of people wanted to use the site to register their opposition to changes over net neutrality, and some critics of the fcc say that seems like a suspicious coincidence. they want the fcc to submit

proof it was hacked. the new republican head of the fcc wants to undo many of the protections put in place when the obama administration was in charge. then john olver, host of last week tonight went on another one of his entertaining rants about net neutrality sunday. he encouraged his viewers to fill out forms on the fcc website and that's when it crashed. the fcc doesn't blame him. they say it was hit with an attack at the same time which prevented the fans from accessing the site. critics say that's quite a coincidence. >> yesterday, we told you amazon would come out with a new echo with a screen. amazon show, they call it, will allowia to make video calls among other things. >> how big is it? >> about yea big. what's cool about this, or very smart, you get one for yourself because you're an advanced person, you like the echo, et

cetera. to a video call, you have to get your mom one. >> you can't use it with an ipad like a face time. >> for the time being, you need two. one is in your mom's house. she said your brother ought to have one of these. >> it echoes. >> exactly. very smart. very clever. >> that coffee issing in. >> i'll be here all morning. >> here for a long time. >> could the 2024 olympics be in the city of angels. the international olympic evaluation commission is visiting loss for the next couple days inspecting it for hosting. they're going to give guidance in july on whether l.a. is worthy of hosting the 2024 olympic games. l.a.'s stiffest competition right now comes from the french. >> i remember when it was here when i was a kid. it would be great to have it here. >> that might have made france made. >> because of that accent? >> i know.

i probably made kari mad with that. good morning. >> it's going to be a beautiful day. yesterday, it really started to get warm during the afternoon. well today, we can leave the air conditioners off all day long. here's where we started. 53 degrees in the tri-valley, and the peninsula, 54 degrees as you get a look at the palo alto camera. we have seen some clouds here and there, especially along the coastline. sdaev degrees now in the east bay, looking at the oakland camera and san francisco at 52 degrees. as we go into this afternoon, look at where we're headed, up to 73 in the south bay and peninsula. and the tri-valley up to 75 degrees. so it's going to be a very nice one. a little cool in san francisco with some breezy winds, up to 62 degrees. as we break it down, we will out with some clouds and fog at 8:00 in the morning. and then by noon, we're at 58 degrees. for the afternoon, low 60s there and we'll quickly see the

temperatures dropping off once again at 56 degrees. long sleeves in order all day long. if you're planning to head out to the oakland coliseum, we have an early afternoon game and it will be at 61 degrees. all of that bright sunshine and high temperatures reaching into the mid 60s today. it will be breezy as well in the coliseum. and this will cause the winds to pick up eve more over the next couple days. this storm system that we're seeing on the satellite, the swirl of the clouds, this will start to dip into the bay area over the next couple days. it won't bring any rain except for the north bay. a slight chance of rain, but all of us will feel gusty winds. by 7:00, we start to see some of that rain in the north bay, then it kind of moves off towards the east. the rest of the weekend will be dry, and then we'll be tracking more rain in the forecast for early next week. hoping we can get some of that because it is getting really dry around the bay area. we will have fog this morning in

san francisco. highs in the low 60s today. we stay in the upper 50s to low 60s and breezy for the end of the week. and then for the inland areas, 74 degrees today. upper 60s for both saturday and mother's day. 68 degrees and rain by tuesday. as we head over to mike, you're reporting a fire. you're seeing a report of a fire at the bay bridge. >> just hearing about a fire reported near the bay bridge. it's a semi truck that's reportedly involved there. we'll show you that overall traffic does move very well, but it's the concern right here, although there's no slowing on the censors, eastbound 80 at the bay bridge at the fourth street off ramp. reports of a semi truck and a, quote, fire. it may mean smoking brakes, it may mean steam coming out of the cabin, i don't know what's going on, but we'll track it carefully, and looking at the rest of the commute from the east bay and just a little slowing at the bay toll plaza. getting over there, let's show you the waze system.

an easy drive right now out of pittsburg, where we see slowing for westbound highway 4, but that's really the only slowing until you get to the bay bridge. if you're heading to oakland, 45 minutes if you take most of the routes, and longer if you go highway 4 to the east shore f e freeway. ia make your choice, and waze will help you make the chose as well. check the app, go to your profile, and select nbc bay area wazers as your team. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. coming up next, protecting your children from a risky ride. the alarming statistics that show just how often kids are getting hurt on scooters and what you can do to keep them safe.

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r- 5:25 right now on your wednesday morning. dozens of kids end up at the e.r. every hour. many of them are getting injured riding bikes, scooters, or skateboards. safe kids worldwide says in 20, nearly 50 children an hour went to an emergency room after getting hurt. nearly 40% of parents say they don't always make their kids wear helmets when they're riding. obviously, the helmets would soften the glow for kids who take a fall on hard concrete. >> it's not a matter of if kids are going to fall, it's when they're going to fall. we want to make sure when they do have, they have protective gear on. >> experts say that parents can be good role models here.

86% of moms and dads who wore helmets who had kids who wore them too. >> at 5:25, the investigative unit has learned a currently unregulated pesticide linked to cancer in is 94 public water systems across the state. it's called 123-tcp, and more than a million people could be drinking that contaminated water. earlier this year, you may recall investigative unit revealed other unsafe chemicals in the drinking water of nearly a nl californians. >> it seems outrageous in 2017 people are drinking water with stuff that can kill them. >> i think it's a pretty dirty little secret that a state as prosperous as california has so many water quality problems. >> so how did this toxin get into some of the state's water supply? and why has it been kept secret, in quiet, even from people in the bay area who may be drinking it?

stephen stock digs for answers. that's tonight at 11:00. and if you have a tip for our investigative unit, give us a call, 888-996-tips or send an e-mail to the unit at nbcbayarea.com. >> last night, very emotional in the south bay. >> the fight over new protections for san jose renters and what the city council eventually decided late into the evening. customers were told to save water during the drought, but now, they could be paying for it. the controversial water bill hike that could be costly.

under the glow of a full moon this morning, this is a live look right now outside from our camera in san mateo county. and they say a fool moon can bring out some strange behavior in people. we'll see what happens at work today. good morning. thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> you know, i want to make a show called the commercial break. 5:30 right now. good morning. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. i see a segment coming on. maybe on facebook live. >> maybe not. >> rejected. a lot colder than yesterday? >> yeah, it's going to be cool as you head out this morning. it won't be as warm as yesterday and i'm celebrating because it won't be a day where you have to

run the air conditioner, and it will be much cooler all around the bay area as we start out now at 55 degrees in san jose. it's 56 in napa, and san francisco at 54 degrees. as we go into this afternoon, up to 62 degrees. a nice breeze, too, and we keep the sunshine. in concord, 75, and 73 today in morgan hill. i'll have a look at even cooler temperatures as we coast into the weekend. that's coming up in about seven minutes. mike is now tracking a big rig in san francisco. >> right, we talked about that fire reported for a big rig getting onto the lower deck of the bay bridge out of san francisco on the eastbound 80. it has not been a fire. it was smoking brakes, as i suspected, so they're able to move that off the off ramp. a clear drive now. over toward the lower deck and also the backup at the bay bridge. we'll show you at the toll plaza from the oakland side, the metering lights are on, right on schedule, the backup forms and that nice mini plaza is moving well on the right side. back to you. >> thank you, mike.

it's 5:31 right now. more than a million east bay water customers may soon pay higher rates to cover system improvement costs. >> we're talking about a possible 19% spike over two years. today in the bay's pete suratos is joining us with details on what has become a controversial proposal. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, sam and laura. yes, thist controversial proposl may have to deal with customers saving too walt water during the drought. here's the details. we're talking about if this proposal passes, we're looking at a 9.25% increase this year and a 9% increase next year. now, the dollar amount for that would amount to just a shade under $5. now, the money that will be used will be used by east bay to improve infrasfruk schr from pipelines to treatment fucysts and in a bit of irony, the money will be used to offset revenue

loss due to people around the east bay conserving water during the drought. in fact, the average household during the drought used 50 gallons less of water per day as opposed to before the drought. customers are notified about the changes as we. another public hearing will take place in june before the board of directors makes their final decision. if they do decide to go forward with this water hike, it would kick in july 1st. pete suratos, today in the bay. >> thank you, pete. >> 5:33. new this morning, a big police presence overnight in a contra costa county neighborhood. police, fire crews and an ambulance were called to a home, but detectives couldn't tell us why they were there. the neighborhood is off san marco boulevard off highway 4. our newsroom has called to investigators to try to find out what happened. high tension at an emotional council meeting in san jose last night. landlords were heard booing when

a fourth person was removed for interrupting council members. at issue here, fast tracking safeguards for renters from no-cause evictions. you remember last month, the council did pass a law requiring a legal reason if landlords want to evict somebody. that ledgislation was originall slated to take place next month, but renlters argue they need it now. >> thank you all for standing up for hundreds of unjustly evicted families in your districts and for over 400,000 tenants here in the city of san jose. >> the only winner of the just-cause evictions are lawyers, housing department, and criminals. >> so renters complained no-cause evictions were spiking ahead of the nurules. on tuesday night, the council approved an emergency ruling which means the rule takes effect now. landlords have to prove one of 12 reasons to evict somebody, including not paying rent and committing a crime. >> today in oakland, taking a stand against violence.

a community meeting tonight will discuss developing a department of violence prevention. right now, happening today, an update here. san francisco police where going to provide neighbors with more information on a deadly shooting of a stabbing suspect by police officers. it happened last week where police shot anded a man at a subway restaurant on market street. employees say the suspect ord a sandwich and refused to pay for it. he then proceeded to stab one of the employees for. the guard who subduded the man told us that the man tried attacking police officers with a knife. today's town hall is taking place at 11:00 in the morning. >> also happening today, the suspect accused of exchanging gunfire with san jose police officers this weekend issed to be arraigned. the 29-year-old, kevin riley, fired at officers on sunday, right off tully road near the east ridge shopping center. officers later arrested him in a nearby mobile home park after a chase. nobody was hurt. >> disturbing allegations

against an east bay doctor. right now, he is accused of sexually assaulting one of his patients. the doctor is a general practitioner at the john muir center. the contra costa county sheriff's department is investigating a claim that he assaulted her on two separate visits. he has worked at other clinics and there could be more victims. >> ed lee is launching an effort to speed up 911 responses. the national standard is to answer 90% of emergency calls within ten seconds. the examiner reports the mayor said san francisco is currently at about 75%. right now, watching out for wildfires. this morning, pg&e is holding a news conference with the santa clara county fire safe council. the two organizations together want to reduce wildfire risks as the fire season starts to

intensify. the council warns that unmanaged weeds and storm debris provide fuel for wildfires, turning thousands of properties in the bay area. >> it's 5:37. as you get ready to head out, let's take a live look outside from dublin as the sun rises, getting busy on this wednesday morning, and the skies will stay mostly clear. as you get up and about to wake the kids up for school, it will be a cool morning. so long sleeves and probably some pants too. you'll need that as you get the kids dressed. at recess, skies will be clearing, even though we will see a few clouds around. and it will be a comfortable and sunny afternoon by 1:00, heading home, it be a beautiful day. into the next several days, our temperatures get a touch cooler. we'll talk about that and the gusty winds. a look at the temperature trend in about three minutes. mike is tracking another big rig in the east bay. >> that's right, because the one in san francisco was not an issue, is not an issue right now. just some smoking brakes. the rest of the commute, just starting to warm up a tad bay in

the south bay and east bay, starting to show a little slowing, and slowing shows up here, eastbound highway four. this big rig blocks your slow lane. so there's a tow truck that may be arriving right now. that may be why we're slowing. no problems toward the bay bridge where the metering lights are on. >> thank you, mike. >> 5:38. coming up, a goodwill in the east bay up in flames over night. a close look at the aftermath and the investigation now under way to find out what happened. plus, the president says america will eventually thank him for firing the fbi director. we'll take a look when today in the bay continues.

it is right now 5:41. grab a hot coffee. it is cool as you get ready to head out the door, taking a look live at san jose with the clear sunrise and the temperature trend for willow glen. it will be at 60 degrees at 9:00, and the lunchtime temperature will be at 68 degrees. as you get ready to head home, low 70s today. it will be nice and cool, also some gusty winds as we go thru the week with a slight chance of rain. more on that coming up at 5:47. >> that was great. we're looking at a nice ride on the transit system as well. vta in the south bay, the b.a.r.t., no delays reported. thank you so much, kari and mike. >> 5:41 right now. happening today in oakland, the

alameda contra costa transit board decides if buses to three schools should be cut. the meeting starts at 6:00 tonight. all new this morning, a pleasant hilled goodwill store caught fire last night. this happened on contra costa boulevard. the video you're looking at comes from the fire protection district which tweeted out video of firefighters at the scene. the fire started behind the building and then spread inside of it. firefighters did get a handle on the flames by about 10:00 last night and the cause of the fire is being investigated. >> another fire last night left five people without a house in walnut creek. this happened at an apartment complex on sierra drive. firefighters first got the call around 8:20. they kept the fire contained to the second floor of the building. you can see it burning there. the flames force two adults and three kids out of their homes. thankfully, nobody was hurt. come of the communities threatened this winter by the

oroville dam crisis are raising their concerns to governor brown. they have sent the governor a letter that lists a series of concerns including a quest of the full review of how the dam is designed and how it should operate in the system. renovations are now being done on the spillway. >> new details to tell you about on the plan to possibly charge visitors to the crook edstretch of lombard street. supervisors don't want to pay for a study to determine if the plan might work. the plan originally called for $250,000 to study the lombard street toll. while moving straight ahead, maybe not. a translt group is pushing for more time to use the carpool lane, but fear it could make traffic worse. according to the marin independent journal, the metropolitan transportation commission wants to expand carpool lane hours on southbound

101 from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 in the morning. right now, they close at 8:30 a.m. opponents are concerned the longer hours might increase traffic and collisions. >> there are new calls in sacramento for uc president janet napolitano to resign in the wake of allegations she meddled in a state audit that uncovered secret funds. they found the central office potentially mishandled $175 million in undisclosed funds. also allegations of lavish spending, and napolitano's staffers are accused of tampering with audit documents sent to each of the ten uc campuses. 5:44 right now. president trump says eventually america will thank him for firing the head of the fbi. >> and scott mcgrew, today is not that day. >> it is not. today is not that day. outrage from the president's critics. serious doubt from his own party. lasted late into the night last night, and it starts anew this morning. the president is in turmoil in a

way he's never been in turmoil before. when word hit that the president had fired the fbi director james comey, pundits and reporters almost instantly brought up nixon and the saturday night massacre. conservatives said they were disappointed and disturbed. democrats and indeed some republicans are now saying a special prosecutor is the only option moving forward. the story almost seems too strange to be real. the white house says it fired comey for his mistreatment of hillary clinton. you remember the e-mails, the e-mails that helped donald trump become president, and inspired all of those chants of "lock her up" at the time. candidate trump praised comey for that announcement less than a month before the election that he was reopening the e-mail investigation. >> what he did, he brought back his reputation. he brought it back. he's got to hang tough because there's a lot of -- a lot of people want him to do the wrong

thing. what he was the right thing. >> now, many worry the real reason comey was fired because comey was leading the investigation into connections between the white house and the kremlin. the person who actually recommended the firing is a relatively unknown brand-new deputy attorney general rod rosen steen, well thought of. he may have very well thought that comey misbehaved. he took that recommendation to his boss, who of course, is the attorney general jeff sessions. you remember sessions recused himself from the russia investigation after it was revealed he was less than accurate under oath about his own contact with russians. so bottom line, a fellow investigating the connections between the president's men and the russians is fired by someone who recused himself because of his own contacts with the russians. as laura mentioned, the president thinks people eventually thank him. tweeting, comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in washington, republic and democrat alike. when things calm down, they'll

be thanking me. the president of the united states then tweeted a link to the drudge report listing director comey's faults. several without sources have told nbc that the president thought his critics would be pleased with monday afternoon firing, not understanding at all how serious the suspicions are that the white house is connected to the russians. and what can only be called the worst possible timing ever, the president is due to meet with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov in the white house today. it is a prescheduled meeting. the optics are obviously terrible, and it's astounding the white house didn't realize it, firing the white house director investigating russia less than 24 hours before the russians come to the white house. comey was also scheduled to testify before tomorrow. he may still. we don't know. >> interesting. >> we will find out. thank you, scott. scott, of course, examining our president's tweets, executive orders and speeches every

morning. he would like to hear from you. you can share your thoughts with scott on twitter. from the zoo of washington to a cuter zoo at the oakland zoo, three new otter pups making their debut this morning. look at their little faces, mike. they were born in early february. they look like little puppies. >> they have those little compressed faces when they're still growing up. the zoo named the male theal, and the females are emnata and tallulah. they're starting to eat fish and meat. they do not put otters on display until they're strong enough swimmer. the three made their debut at 10:00 in the morning. >> what's up with baby animals? they're so cute. like babies. then they grow up. >> they are just babies. >> junior high years are tough. >> not the terrible 2s. >> people go gaga over the otters. they're cute, but i don't quite

understand. >> if you're going to the zoo today, it will be a beautiful day for that. heading to the zoo, a lot of sunshine. temperatures won't be as warm. you won't be sweating it out under all the sunshine and there will be a few clouds in the mix. we'ring that as we get a live look outside at the golden gate bridge and it's nice and quiet, starting out. and as you head out, a breeze, too. you can see the flag waving in that shot. it's 56 degrees in napa. 53 degrees in fairfield and livermore, and 55 degrees now in san jose. heading into this afternoon, look at these high temperatures. in the mid 70s. now we're dropping these temperatures by at least ten degrees for the inland valley. not as warm as yesterday. in morgan hill, 73 degrees. in los gatos, 74. up to 68 in hayward, while antioch will be at 75. for the peninsula, 69 in belmont. san francisco, 62. in the migz district, and 71 in novato. upper 60s in santa rosa. as you have a look outside and

getting ready for the day, bringing it into the closet. we're going to need light long sleeves for the afternoon and also some pants. we're done with shorts as of now. we'll start to see the clouds staying along the coast as we go into this afternoon. for the day tomorrow, there will be a slight chance of rain for the north bay. it looks very light and spotty. i would not cancel any outdoor plans. here we are at 2:30 in the afternoon. we see a little bit of light rain here and there, and then we continue on with dry conditions around the bay area. it will by foggy this morning in spots along the coastline and a high of 62 degrees in san francisco. low 60s for the weekend. it's going to be nice and cool. and also for today, for the inland areas, cooling down as we go into the weekend, as the winds pick up and a chance of showers next tuesday. as we head over to mike, you have a new crash in el cerrito. >> that's right. overall, the bay looks great. a light, easy drive for most spots. the bay bridge toll plaza does

have yourp right on schedule. the unscheduled slowing, a crash out of richmond and into el cerrito. one of the vehicles involved spun out so it's on the shoulder but facing the wrong direction. that will be a distraction. getting out to the waze system, waze reports a good drive around most of the commute. as we take a look, hopefully we can get a look at the waze map. the three colors, those are the three routes. san leandro to san francisco, that's the route we pick right now. the slowest drive is across the san mateo bridge because that's the longest mileage, and the fastest despite the backage at the bay bridge takes you through the bay bridge toll plaza. you make your choice on waze. if you don't have it, get it on your, and on the profile, select your name, and then team with our name, nbc bay area wazers. that's the team to be on. back to you. >> thank you, mike. >> we will show you the way. coming up next on today in the bay, we investigate. >> seeing my baby leaving like that, it could make a mama bear very frustrated. >> thousands of people living in

substandards without toilets, heat, or power. i'm vicky nguyen. up next, we investigate how landlords in one bay area city are getting away with it. >> at 5:52. first happening now, just in to our newsroom, the wife of espn icon chris berman has died in a two-car accident. it happened overnight in woodbury, connecticut. berman was not in the car at the time. >> new numbers show clashes between drug cartels in mexico killed more people than conflict in afghanistan and iraq. many people have no links to narcotics. we're back in two minutes with more news.

all conditio toxic mold, rodents running wild. homes without heat. all conditions we found people living with for months. >> senior investigative reporter vicky nguyen reviewed thousands of housing records in oakland to find out how landlords escape punishment for those problems. good morning. >> good morning, this all comes down to health and safety issues. landlords are supposed to fix these problems in 30 days. but we found on average oakland landlords take months to start repairs if at all. leaving tenants with moldy walls, leaky roofs, even conditions inspectors themselves called deplorable.

this woman lived for a month without a working toilet. she and her 8-year-old son had to use plastic bags. we asked the city's directser of planning and building how landlords can get away with these delays. he said it's a balance between respecting landlords' rights and making sure tenants have safe housing. hear more on oakland's new push to hold bad landlords accountable tonight at 6:00 p.m. or you can watch right now on our website. nbcbayarea.com/weinvestigate. >> vicky, thank you. if you have a tip for our investigative unit, give us a call. you can always send us an e-mail to the unit alt nbcbayarea.com. >> a follow-up for you on the body found in the feather river north of sacramento. investigators say it's a 20-year-old college student who was reported missing at the end of imagine. aly yeoman was seen on march 30 driving wuway from a friend's home. her truck and cell phone were found near a river levee.

ultimately, it was her body found over the weekend less than a mile away from where her truck was found. authorities searched the home where she was last seen but have not said if they found something suspicious. >> at 5:57, some alarming news about a large outbreak of measles. pub health officials in minnesota say there's 50 cases of the disease, and they're blaming vaccine skeptics who discourage parents from vaccinating their kids. measles were eraidicated, but now exploding in minnesota's somali community. many parents refuse to vaccinate because they're afraid of the now debunked link to autism. >> we're talking to so many families who realize that measles is a greater fear and that was a myth, that was misinformation. >> measles can be deadly. victims are at risk of brain damage, permanent hearing loss, and pneumonia. doctors recommend kids get two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, or mmr.

>> the chance of an underground tunnel containing radioactive waste in washington state is raising serious concerns at the site. officials at the nuclear reservation say that no radiation was detected and no workers were injured though they were told to take cover. they made plutonium for nuclear bombs for decades. they show the it's out of control. >> police in the east bay are looking for two who robbed a costco on monday night at the costco in danville just off interstate 680. police say three people went into the store, broke a glass display and stole items from out of it. store employees were able to hold one of the robbers until police could get there. the other two did get away. they arrested 21-year-old who is from oakland. >> at 5:58, new, two east bay cities will soon start repairing roads by using rubber

recycled tires. the rubberized pavement will combine ground up waste tires with traditional paving materials. it's said to lost long, be quieter and more cost effective. >> search and rescue crews will be out for a rescue drill. don't be alarmed, you might see rescue planes, cars, and other equipment at the drill, from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. right next to sfo. >> the oakland unified school district may announce it's going to have a new superintendent. the former intentant left when he was selected to be the chancellor for washington, d.c. the meeting starts at 4:00 tonight at the city council chambers in oakland. >> it's officially bear week. a southern california community has a new neighbor. this bear was seen walking ina

san gabriel valley neighborhood. he was spotted swimming in someone's pool and snacking on fruit and apparently climbing walls. it eventually camped out under a tree as spectators were taking photos. >> looking for food. >> 6:00 right now. breaking overnight, an investigation right now in had east bay after a series of car fires. the similarities between the fires and another incident this week. >> plus, another plane, another fight. a brawl breaking out on a plane heading to the bay area, and it's all caught on camera. look at that. how a retired firefighter stepped in to help. and preparing for sentencing. the next steps for antolin garcia torres and his lawyers as he's getting ready to be sentenced for kidnapping and killing sierra lamar. >> a good wednesday morning to you. thank you for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. about 30 minutes ago, we saw the