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tv   Today in the Bay  NBC  September 22, 2018 7:00am-8:01am PDT

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san francisco . good saturday morning to you. it is 7:00 on the dot. here's a live look outside in san francisco towards the golden gate bridge covered in fog if you can't tell. thank you so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana has a look at our
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microclimate forecast and we're just a little bit less than 12 hours away from the start of fall. >> that's right. 6:54 pacific time, our time is when we'll officially kick off a new season. its rather exciting. >> it is. it is. its like a new fresh start. >> in fact, san francisco's not ready to let go of that fog from fogust just yet. it doesn't look like we don't have anything back there. you wouldn't be able to tell because of all that fog. 53 degrees in san francisco right now. you can see some of that fog is creeping into san jose as well. wind speeds nice and calm. we are expecting a couple of changes as we head into monday and its going to come into the form of a warmup. i want to show you the 24 hour temperature change and the fog that's really hugging san francisco, half moon bay into hayward. you can see it creeping down into san jose. i'll break down your new season
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temperatures on the way in 15 minutes. >> all right. we'll see you soon. thanks. will it happen and if it does, when? late last night republicans announced they extended a fast approaching deadline for brett kavanaugh's accuser to decide if she will testify. palo alto christine blasey ford has been asking for time and she just got it. there's also happening at this same time backlash against president trump especially against women for calling blasey ford out on twitter. >> reporter: nbc news obtained a furious email from her attorney on the senate judiciary committee's 10:00 p.m. deadline to decide if she'll testify. its sole purpose is to bully her and deprive her of the ability to make life altering decision. ford's sister-in-law speaking earlier with nbc news.
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>> chrissie is actually not taking phone calls. she's really concentrating and focusing on how to keep her and her family safe. >> reporter: it follows the president's tweet about ford's accusation of sexual assault against kavanaugh, saying if the attack on dr. ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local law enforcement by either her or her loving parents. >> i would encourage the president to look at data created by the government that shows all of this evidence. there's a lot of really good people that can help him get the facts. >> reporter: the wyca says only 12% of child sexual assault victims report it. after the president's words, hundreds of thousands took to twitter to explain hashtag why i didn't report a sexual assault. the hashtag going viral. for survivor advocates its also a chance to offer help. >> we believe survivors.
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we are here for you. the wyca is fully committed to helping you in whatever you need. >> reporter: ian cole, nbc bay area news. >> so does he have a chance to clear his reputation. chuck todd says yes. >> let's say he gets in, does he want to always have a cloud over his head. if you're judge kavanaugh here, the best way out of this is to say, please, fbi investigate. >> chuck todd says if kavanaugh calls for the fbi investigation it will show he has nothing to hide. you can watch check on me"meet e press" tomorrow right here at 8:00 p.m. the man accused of being the nor cal rapist is scheduled to be in court on monday. police say waller was breaking into homes and terrorizing women for more than 15 years.
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they say he attacked at least ten women in six northern california counties. he was arrested thursday as he arrived at his job at uc berkeley. >> the suspect is married and has had the same job for the last 25 years. >> all those victims, huge relief, i'm sure that if he is the man that's done it, he's no longer on the streets. >> uc berkeley officials releasing a statement confirming his employment at berkeley's office of environmental health. they say campus police will review any open sexual assault cases on campus to see if he could be connected in any way. a shooting on the bay area freeway forced lanes to shut down for almost three hours. it happened on 980. someone opened fire on a car driving west of 580. the driver was the only person inside. he was hurt by broken glass and was taken to the hospital. the chp believes bullets only
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hit that one car. now to a scary commute over the richmond bridge, this school bus caught fire on westbound 580 just after 2:00 yesterday afternoon. there were 11 students on board. you see there video of them being escorted away by firefighters. no one was hurt. investigators blocked off the westbound lanes of the bridge which created a massive traffic jam. the lanes reopened about two hours later at 4:00 p.m. the catholic diocese of san jose is preparing for what could be a landmark moment in the investigation of church sexual abuse. the bishop announcing he will public lift any priest in the diocese who has a credible report of sexual abuse against them. this morning, bishop patrick mcgrath is inviting people to come forward to talk to him. he will sit down for the first time in a series of listening abuse. he's hoping for transparency in the diocese.
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we spoke with one victim of clergy abuse who won a multi-million dollars lawsuit. he has a positive reaction to san jose's proactive approach. >> they didn't have to do this. they weren't forced to do it. the fact that they're ien viting people to it is a very positive step by the diocese. >> session is at 10:00 a.m. of our lady of the rosery church in palo alto. the other two sessions are in october in san jose. moving forward now with the $4 billion makeover of a legendary south bay property. the city of cupertino is remodeling the mall. with the application officially approved, the contracting company can now obtain building permits. they say the site will be home to more than 2,000 residential units as well as office and retail space.
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valco is right down the street from apple's brand-new headquarters. it is 7:07. we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." stepping up security in silicon valley. why a tech giant is making changes at its headquarters? plus fighting cancer with fish. the unique idea that could change how doctors treat young patients. you could generate your own energy,
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at home. or to save energy, unplug unused appliances. do your thing, with energy upgrade california. welcome back. here's a look at clouds and fog covering san jose. we are approaching fall. it starts tonight at 6:54 and vianey arana will be along in just a bit to look at a warmup as we head into the first week of fall. months after a shooting at u2 headquarters another bay area tech company plans to step up their security. ebay wants to install a seven foot tall fence, a steel fence around its headquarters on hamilton avenue in san jose.
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this comes after the company reviewed its safety operations. ebay won't say if there have been any credible threats against employees. neighbors have mixed feelings about the proposed project. the city is working to set up community meetings to get their input. the search is still on for a south bay driver who hit and killed a 77-year-old woman and took off. it happened thursday evening on vista park drive near capital expressway. the 77-year-old wife and mother was in a park with her family. she was on her way home crossing at an unmarked intersection when a car hit her and drove away. >> her lifeless body lying on the road, that scene is etched in my brain. i can never get out of it. i have to live with that memory forever. >> this person who just came hit her and then sped away, you know. what kind of community we are living in? >> police describe the suspect's vehicle as a dark blue mini van
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or suv. just shy of 7:12. we have much more ahead. coming up, lining up outside the apple store, the special guest who greeted customers waiting for the new iphone in palo alto. >> i think i'll keep my a little bit longer. look at this gorgeous sunrise. we've got that marine layer hanging on tight but how long are these temperatures going to remain in the 80s before climbing right back up into those summer-like temperatures for the fall. i'll have this answer just after the break. stay with us.
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dr. jason berman is a professor in canada who's studying pediatric cancer treatments. he's injecting cancer cells into zebra fish and testing different drugs on the fish to see which ones work best. zebra fish we're told have a similar genetic make-up to humans so he hopes the information will help figure out which drugs will be most effective in treating pediatric cancer. a four legged prowler seen roaming near the uc berkeley campus and police are sending out a community alert about the mountain lion. it was spotted wednesday evening near the lab. it was roaming near the west fence. mountain lions have been spotted in the past. all right. did you get one? yesterday morning apple released the new iphone and the apple watch. some people waited more than two days in line to be the first to own one. >> three, two, one! [ applause ] >> and we were there at this
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apple store yesterday morning. you can see ceo tim cook personally opened the doors at 8:00 a.m. letting in nearly 100 people. one man we spoke with bought two phones, one for himself and the other for his brother in italy. >> i'm not into the super fancy stuff but its a functional thing. >> reporter: what about the cost? >> its quite expensive. but every five years its reasonable. >> its unclear how many phones and watches were sold yesterday. but in the past there have been longer lines but that was because the new iphones were in short supply. apple has plenty of iphones in stock this time around. a well-known thrift store is reopening after months of construction and we got the first look inside. this is the american cancer society's discovery shop in los gatos. it was forced to close five months ago because of major flooding damage. the cancer society estimates that it lost $118,000 in income.
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yesterday it was back open for business. >> better than ever. its better than we were before the flood, so its a brand-new store. >> its a good place to shop and we're told they have 25% off today so a win-win for anyone shopping and then the money goes back to cancer research. the weather is perfect for weekend festival. look who was at the walnut festival in heather park yesterday evening, our own jessica aguirre. they were handing out ice cream from our nbc bay area treat truck. it runs through the weekend. let's check in with vianey arana with a look at our weekend forecast. perfect weather to enjoy ice cream. it has been hot. >> it has. what's crazy is, believe it or not tomorrow's expected to be the coolest day of this week before we get warmer. >> before we get warmer again. oh, my gosh. >> get ready for that. i do want to show you this beautiful shot of woodside in case you miss it had.
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you can see those nice orange hues, we got that marine layer right now. its deep at about 1,200 feet. i want to show you this beautiful shot over our sutro tower camera. you can just really enjoy that cloud cover and that fog lingering around san francisco. its about 53 degrees right now. wind speeds nice and calm. we are expecting to change, though. we've got a nice onshore flow and that's what cooled us down just a bit. san jose 59 degrees. you can see that fog starting to creepy in to inland areas as well. even into the dublin area. 54 degrees. you can see we've got a little bit of fog out there as well. as we head in toward the afternoon, we are expecting the low clouds to linger and hang around and hang tight. look at the 24 hour temperature change. no major differences just yet in san francisco. 4 degrees cooler. you can see that fog making its way down to sunni vale and into the concord area as well.
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once we see this fog diminish, we'll keep these low clouds lingering and hanging tight for a while. look at the temperature trend into the afternoon. we're actually expected to climb into those 80s by 1:00, 80 degrees and then inching into the mid-80s for san jose by about 3:00 p.m. as we head in towards sunday into monday, we've got a building ridge that's going to change not just our temperatures but also its going to kick up some winds causing some concerns for some fire dangers. overall, your day time highs for today in san jose, 83 degrees in through east san jose, 85, morgan hill 87. we got 73 degrees in oakland. upwards of 15 degrees in through pittsburgh. san mateo 74. san francisco 67 degrees for mission. north bay 86 and down through
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santa rosa 81. i do want to show you your wind speeds right now because they're not a factor. i need you to focus in terms of the wind speeds as we head into tomorrow. that's going to affect not just your air quality but also the increased in fire danger as we head in toward sunday. your air quality now is expected to be moderate in through sunday, but then fall begins at 6:54 p.m. and you're probably thinking we'll cool off h. check out this ridge of high pressure that's going to shift our wind speeds increasing anywhere between 15 upwards of 30 miles per hour for inland areas and our temperatures become extremely dry. no fire watches or red flag warnings as of yet. i'll be keeping a close eye on that once those winds shift into tomorrow night. temperatures increase into the upper 90s for some inland areas as we head in toward the first week of fall. who would have thought, kira? >> thanks. it is 7:20 right now. still ahead on "today in the bay." a familiar face on nbc bay area
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news diagnosed with cancer. what she's now doing to help others also fighting the disease. it'll make you bay area proud. o
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the future of the supreme court. monday - the very latest on the palo alto woman at the mole. a make or break future for
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the supreme court. today in the join us - 4:30 to 7. good morning, it )s welcome back. our next story involves someone you might recognize and someone near and dear to nbc bay area news. stephanie trung was a reporter here until two years ago. a lot has happened in her life since then and she remains very busy. she's helping people diagnosed with cancer. "today in the bay" garvin thomas shows us in this morning's bay area proud. >> there are three things that make her the best person for her next endeavor, she was a journalist, so she's good at sharing stories and information. she has a supportive family, so she's free to focus on her nonprofit idea. and third, well, she's had cancer. >> reporter: tv reporters are often asked to share their favorite story.
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for stephanie trung one from 2013 always comes to mind. >> now she has fewer than two months to find a bone marrow match. >> reporter: about a social media campaign to help a young woman with cancer. it was the kind of story stephanie loved to tell. >> i wanted to do the story that really highlighted people, their struggles, how resilient they are. >> reporter: still reporting that story in no way prepared stephanie to live it, which is exactly what she had to do three years later when she was diagnosed with the exact same cancer. >> a lot of times i think reporters, we talk about -- oh, man, you know, that hits close to home. but this was just tran scended that obviously. >> reporter: like so many newly diagnosed cancer patients, she was both flooded with information, yet left wondering what to do. that is until a family friend and doctor david wynn came over and walked through in plain
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english what life would likely look like for the next hours, weeks and months. >> thank goodness for david. because if we hadn't have him, we would not have known where to go, what do people deal with? >> reporter: steph understood, though, that few patients have a david. >> medical bills and finance. >> reporter: she sent out to give them one. on the rare days between chemotherapy treatments when she felt well enough, stephanie started mapping out with post its on a wall what would turn into one david. >> that's more quality of life stuff. >> reporter: a website that through actual cancer patient stories gives people practical information about what life will be like. the drugs, the wigs, the waiting. >> what david is supposed to give you a sense of calm and control in a time of complete overwhelm. that's how i describe what david
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gave to us at that time. >> reporter: as for stephanie's health, she is in remission right now. as for the website, she's hoping to expand it to as many different types of cancer as possible to reach as many patients as possible. garvin thomas, nbc bay area. we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up the alleged victims of the nor ccal rapist are celebrating his arrest. we speak with a local woman recalling that terrifying moment when she was victimized almost 30 years ago. why taxpayers could end up footing the bill for the troubled luxury sky scraper?
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. good morning. it is saturday, september 22nd. here's a live look outside
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toward the golden gate bridge from the marina in san francisco. fog this morning. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana has a look at our microclimate forecast. 6:54 tonight it becomes fall officially, right? >> that's that equinox and its going to shift people's moods in terms of those trying to hold on to summer. it might be okay for you. right now the current temperatures in the 50s right now. 55 degrees in san francisco. 56 in hayward. as you make your way out the door in san jose, 59 degrees. we do have that marine layer hugging the coastline and its deepening right now at about 1,200 feet and its creeping its way to the inland areas. it made its way to the south bay and the concord area as well. your temperatures, not seeing a huge change from the last 24 hours. it'll be more noticeable as we welcome an incoming ridge. we've got a nice onshore flow. if you're heading out for an early morning run, now's the
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time to do so, because even though we're expected to be cooler than what we're expecting next week, its still going to warmup quite nicely in antioch. i'll break down your fall-like temperatures or not, you have to stick around, coming up in the next few minutes. >> stay tuned for that. i feel like there's never a good september/october in the bay area without like a random 90 degree blast. we'll see you soon, thanks. late last night republicans announced they extended the fast approaching deadline for supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh's accuser to decide if she will indeed testify. palo alto's christine blasey ford has been asking for extra time before she commits to a senate hearing and she just got it. at the same time there is backlash against president trump for calling her out on twitter. "today in the bay's" ian cole breaks it all down. >> reporter: nbc news obtains a furious email from ford's
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attorney on the senate judiciary committee's 10:00 p.m. deadline. its sole purpose is to bully dr. ford and deprive her of the ability to make a consideration decision that has life altering implications for her and her family. ford's sister-in-law speaking earlier with nbc news. >> chrissie is actually not taking phone calls. she's really concentrating and focusing on how to keep her and her family safe. >> reporter: it follows the president's tweet about ford's accusation of sexual assault against kavanaugh, saying if the attack on dr. ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local law enforcement by either her or her loving parents. >> i would encourage the president to look at data created by the government that shows all of this evidence. there's a lot of really good people that can help him get the facts. >> reporter: the wyca ceo says only 12% of child sexual assault
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victims report it. after the president's words, hundreds of thousands took to twitter to explain hashtag, why i didn't report a sexual assault. the hashtag going viral. for survivor advocates its also a chance to offer help. >> we believe survivors. we are here for you. the wyca is fully committed to helping you in whatever you need. >> reporter: ian cole, nbc bay area news. the man accused of being the nor cal rapist is scheduled to be in court on monday. roy charles waller was arrested after dna evidence led police to him. he was terrorizing women between 1991 and 2006. he attacked ten women in six northern california counties. he was arrested thursday as he arrived at his job at uc berkeley. >> the suspect is married and had the same job for the last 25
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years. >> all those victims, huge relief, i'm sure that if he is the man that's done it, he's no longer on the streets. >> uc berkeley officials releasing a statement confirming his employment at berkeley's office of environmental health. they also say campus police will now review any open sexual assault cases to see if he could be connected in any way. >> for waller's alleged victim, this arrest is something they worried might never happen. jodi hernandez spoke to the woman who survived the 1991 sonoma county attack. she said she's been waiting for this for 27 years. >> i feel relief, i feel anger, i feel shock. >> reporter: she describes how she's feeling after learning the man police say is responsible for raping her has finally been caught. >> there is literally not a day that's gone by that i haven't thought about this.
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>> reporter: she was just 21 when he alleged entered her park konldo through unlocked door and attacked her as she slept on the couch. >> i was stunned because i was fast asleep and there was a gun at my head. >> reporter: her masked attacker took her upstairs, hog tied and duct taped her and put a pillowcase over her head as he first rummaged through her house before sexually assaulting her for three hours. >> it was terrifying. >> reporter: he finally left handing her a butter knife. >> he told me to listen to three songs, cut yourself loose and you won't actually know if i've left. >> reporter: the woman has a finally has a face and name to her ordeal. and she's no longer afraid. >> i am looking forward to standing in a courtroom with him, though. i am not afraid to do that. >> reporter: in sonoma county,
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jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. now to a twist in the millennium tower saga. our unit has uncovered a key ruling a judge has decided who could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in claims over faulty construction. "today in the bay's" has the details. >> reporter: its the transbay joint powers authority which is funded by taxpayer dollars that will have to pay for millennium tower legal bills over the allegedly faulty construction that may be to blame for the tower tilting 18 inches. the court ruling was actually based on a deal struck ten years ago, an agreement between millennium tower and transbay builders all because transbay needed access to the tower to get the job done and for that access, they agreed to pay millennium tower for any damage they might cause. a spokesperson for millennium tower said in a statement, we are pleased with the court's order holding the tjpa responsible for its legal
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obligations to the millennial tower and to defend its developer from claims arising from their actions. >> our investigative unit did reach out to transbay several times. we did not hear back. the legal fees could run into the millions. that's the minimum that the transbay authority would have to pay but the maximum would be footing the bill for the entire sinking building which could cost $500 million. that decision will come later. investigative reporter first uncovered the problems at the tower to watch his reports, go to our website, nbcbayarea.com, and click on the investigative unit tab. those long lines are causing brand-new problems for the dmv. governor jerry brown ordered a state department of finance to audit the dmv. the audit will look at customer service and technology. this comes in the wake of another computer outage at offices across the state on
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thursday. the dmv director says she welcomes the audit as the agency works to reduce their wait times. just shy of 7:37. still ahead, the a's with another exciting night at the coliseum. we'll show you the ending to last night's thriller against the twins. the a )s are inching
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welcome back. another magical night at the coliseum. the a's are inching closer to clinching a playoff spot. 27,000 fans packed in last night and boy did they get their money's worth. the a's and the minnesota twins, this game went into the 10th inning that's when chris davis crushes his second home run of the game. this a walk-off homer to win it. the crowd was chanting m.v.p. davis leads the major with 45 home runs. the a's beat the twins 7-6. they can clinch the wild card spot as early as tomorrow.
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and boy, its a much different vibe for the giants. its been a rough season. last night in st. louis you could watch the game right here on nbc bay area. could this be it for bruce bow chie. he could be moved to the front office. the giants offense blue this game late. the cardinals win 5-3. 7:40. we have much more ahead on "today in the bay." coming up a story you don't want to miss. the car, the license plate, even the picture matches up, but that might not be your rideshare driver. we investigate the new scam that's allowing phony drivers to pick up passengers. >> yikes. you always got to be careful. we've got fog rolling through. current temperatures right now in the 50s all the way from san francisco down through the south bay, but we've got a warmup on the way and yes, its the last couple of hours of summer. i'll break it all down for you coming up.
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it is 7:42 and this is what
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it looks like on top of our tower camera. look at that nice marine layer. we've got a nice area of cloud cover. we've got that fog and its going to remain patchy in through the afternoon. i want to show you what areas are seeing some of that fog h. we got the fog hugging the coastline all the way from san jose into half moon bay but its not just the coast. if you're driving anywhere near hayward down through sunni valley and right now the temperatures in the 50s are nice and comfortable. 59 degrees. we've got very calm wind speeds even in through the dublin area. wind speeds not a factor. 54 degrees but that temperature trend is trending towards the 80s and believe it or not, we had a bit of a cooling trend that kicked off yesterday thanks to a nice onshore flow and that's going to keep our temperatures into the mid-80s. san jose 83 degrees.
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east san jose 85. even in through the interior valley, check out oakland, 73. if i take it all the way in through the concord area, you can see an increase of about 88 degrees. its just microclimate showcasing the range of temperatures from 60s all the way into upper 80s. mission 67 degrees in through the north bay, 86 for ukiah. i want to talk about the wind speeds. they may not be a factor. we've got a ridge that's building and what's going to happen is, its going to start to kick up those winds and they'll be kicking up from the north/northeast and that will increase the threat of fire danger. as far as your air quality for the today for the north bay, east bay, we're dealing with moderate conditions, but i want to give you a quick fact. as we say farewell to summer 2018, there were 11 spare the air alerts for the summer of 2018 alone. that just gives you an idea of what we experience a lot of that in part due to those active wildfires burning for quite some time.
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if you'll be at the a's game tonight, that game kicks off at 6:05 or first pitch is at 6:05 and there will be fireworks after the game. we'll be dealing with mostly clear conditions but we could have areas of fog creeping in to the evening. that's something we'll be looking out for as we head into the evening hours. if you're out to the game, the forecast for tonight so bring a jacket. sunday is going to be one of the coolest days in the week. that ridge of high pressure is going to kick up those concerns of those fire dangers with winds gusting upwards of 35 miles an hour. tomorrow, as of now, no fire watches or red flag warnings in effect but i will be keeping a close eye on that for you. kira. >> thanks. it is 7:45. still ahead on "today in the bay," rideshare users beware, your lyft or uber driver could still be a phony even if they look like their picture on the app. -- there )s more concern..t
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how safe these com pa welcome as more of us use uber or lyft, there's more concern about how safe these companies are. when you get into a car, how do you really know who's behind the wheel? our investigative unit uncovered an underground market allowing people to rent rideshare accounts and drive you without being vetted. investigative reporter liz wagner shows us the scheme putting passengers at risk.
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>> reporter: any one can rent one of these driver accounts and you as a passenger would never know it. we found brokers hawking them on messenger apps and chat rooms. the scheme is letting people bypass background checks and pick you up. >> i'm supposed to be trusting them to give me a ride and get me to my destination. >> reporter: back in july this young richmond woman took a lyft home from work. she'd done it dozens of times before, but she had no idea this time her driver would turn it into a white knuckle ride. >> he's like, oh, oh, and starts backing up. on a one-way street, like this is an interesting entrance on to the highway. do not do that. he's not like no. i was like no. >> reporter: he then tried to make a u-turn at a red light. >> he just kept edging on, edging on because the light didn't turn green. he turned left to do a u-turn into on coming traffic. >> reporter: she held her breath
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through near misses and wrong turns. when the driver overshot her house, she decided to get out and walk. did you feel like you were in danger? >> yeah definitely. >> reporter: the man shouldn't have been driving her at all. he isn't an authorized lyft driver and didn't even create the account. he rented it. we know because just days earlier we rented the same one. here's how it works. we joined a few online chat rooms where we found dozens of advertisements, 200 bucks here, 180 bucks there to rent uber and lyft driver accounts. you pay the broker who sets it all up but then you link to your bank accounts. the money you make driving is yours to keep. its a work around for people who can't pass background checks or vehicle inspections. we paid 150 buck for access to a lyft account. we never drove but the account history shows cars giving rides to plenty of unsuspecting passengers throughout the bay
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area. the scheme allows renters to swap in their own selfie and passengers would never know the difference. the broker even made an insurance card and vehicle inspection form for us, both fake. we found the name and driver's license number taattached to th account belonged to a real person. have you ever driven for lyft? >> no. >> reporter: he had no idea what we were talking about. >> more confusing than anything else. >> reporter: he doesn't want us to use his name. his identity was stolen and used to create the account. >> there shouldn't be a way for someone with just information to open an account in my name without being able to prove and verify that it is actually me opening that account. >> reporter: but its happened time and time again. we found dozens of complaints filed with the federal trade commission by people claiming
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their identities were used to create rideshare accounts. here in california, the dmv investigates counterfeit driver's license and fraudulent documents. >> this is brand-new to us and we welcome the fact that you're bringing it to us. >> reporter: his office can look into fake accounts but much of the responsibility lies with the companies themselves. >> we really do put the front end of the work to the companies because they're the ones that put the process in place to establish if is this the person we're dealing with. >> reporter: liz has already knowledged cracks in its driver authentication system. he fraudulently represented himself to gain employment as a driver. we wanted to ask lyft what its doing to safeguard against fraud but the company declined our interview request saying only, what's being described is concerning. we have a dedicated team that investigates fraudulent behavior which may result in immediate
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deactivation from the platform. uber pointed to several measures it uses to prevent account measures and detect fraud. just because someone creates an account, it doesn't mean it can be rented successfully. >> oh, man, i'm really going to get in a car accident with this guy. >> reporter: the young richmond passenger says after what happened to her, lyft needs to do a better job cross referencing a driver's license with the person setting up the account. do you feel like the company put your safety at risk? >> definitely. >> reporter: rideshare rentals are nearly impossible to distinguish from real drivers. short of asking to see the person's drivers to check it against the account, there's not a whole lot you can do. the dmv says its so important for the rideshare companies to prevent it. we do have some tips on our website. you can check them out at nbcbayarea.com/investigations. back to you. >> wow, liz wagner for us this morning. if you have a story for our investigative unit, give us a call. 1-888-996-tips. or visit our website,
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nbcbayarea.com/weinvestigate. to some lighter news, a huge surprise for middle school students in san francisco. golden state warrior star kevin durant dropped off a generous gift. he gave them a check for $10,000. the money is from alaska airlines and will go toward a studio where the students can work on robotics projects. wow. we have much more ahead on "today in the bay" coming up. its our clear the shelters segment featuring or friends from pets in need. find out about a deal to adopt kittens like little foot and veeta next.
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welcome back at 7:56. its time for our clear the shelter segment featuring or friends from pets in need. the director is here. they have vita and little foot, teeny-tiny kittens. oh, those are cute.
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no, they're even cuter in real life. they're so little. they're young nine weeks. >> she's probably about nine weeks and he's about 11 or 12 weeks. >> so the orange one is little foot and the more white one is vita. >> that's correct. >> and they're from different litters. they're not related. >> they'll double in size. this first year of so, lots of activity and energy. so perspective adopters should be ready for lots of running around with these cats. >> keeping them busy. we often say its a good idea if you can to adopt two, because sometimes they keep each other company, they keep each other busy. >> yeah. absolutely. >> substraction by addition. and to incentivize people if they're tempted to get a cat or a kitten right now, you're nearing the end of your kitten season when really shelters just
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across the country are inundated with cats and to get people to adopt this next week, you have a really great deal to tell them about. >> yes. yes. so normally our cats and our kittens are $125. for the rest of september, they will be $50. >> wow. >> yeah, and that still includes the vaccinations, mike crow chips, spaying and neutering, everything. >> >> i just learned off camera that you now include a collar, a flea color and that lasts -- >> eight months. >> you guys really do it all. you take care of everything. so for $50 from today until september 30th, people can take advantage of that for a cat or kitten. if you'd like to find out more, go to pets in need.org. thank you so much for coming in. >> thank you. and thanks to you for making us apart of your morning. we'll have more local news tonight at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 and all day on nbcbayarea.com.
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i'll see you back here tomorrow. hope you have a great last day of summer. fall begins tonight at 6:54 p.m. you could save energy by living off the grid. completely. or...
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just set the washing machine to cold. do your thing. with energy upgrade california. announcer: when you see this symbol you know you're watching television that's educational and informational. the more you know on nbc. josh: today, on "the voyager", i ride the rails in mallorca, spain, on a train built more than a century ago. this whole train is, like, the old original materials. angela: yeah, it's original wood. josh: ...explore the countryside of athens and get to the root of greek cuisine... moussaka and lamb and humus and all that stuff, right? akis: no, no, no, we don't eating humus, and moussaka, actually, is not greek. josh: ...and put my stamp on lisbon's most iconic artform. francisco: punch the clay. josh: punch it. i karate chop it. my name is josh garcia. ever since i was a kid, i dreamt about traveling the

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