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includes poor air quality, hot temperatures, but we're starting out with a cold morning, rob. >> yeah. you know, it's interesting. we've reached the time of year now where some parts of the bay area are waking up in the 40s. we have that around santa rosa this morning, but the more common theme, unfortunately, is a view like this around walnut creek with a bit of a red sunrise occurring around the bay area. you see all the smoke around walnut creek, inland contra costa county on the map this morning. you can see all the areas in red, essentially from the berkeley hills east, through the tri-valley, the creek through sunol and livermore. the worst is around yountville, windsor and calistoga, in the purple, very unhealthy, aqi number over 200. more moderate along the inner coast and bay where a weak sea breeze has brought in clouds this morning. air quality conditions are not expected to change a lot as we head into the afternoon. worst of it will be for the inland north bay, east bay, and santa clara valley with highs

uncomfortably hot, inland mid-to-upper 90s today, tomorrow a stronger sea breeze, which may help out air quality and cool off temperatures. a closer look coming up in about 15 minutes. >> fingers crossed for that, rob. see you then. thanks so much. this morning, president trump is waking up at walter reed medical center as he and the first lady are now two of the more than 7 million americans with coronavirus. we are tracking several new developments this morning, including an announcement from the white house that at 8:00 a.m., the president's doctor will provide an update on the president's health status. the list of members of the president's inner circle testing positive for covid-19 continues to grow. first, we have an update from the commander in chief himself. in case you missed it, the president tweeted at 11:30 last night, tweeting, "going well, i think! thank you to all. love!" this as more positive tests emerge. former trump adviser kellyanne conway says she has covid-19. she was at the white house rose garden event last saturday when

the president nominated judge amy coney barrett to the supreme court. very few people wearing masks there. conway also helped the president prepare for tuesday's debate. conway tweeted last night that her symptoms are mild. she began a quarantine process. and at the bottom there, she tweeted, "as always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic." and the president's campaign manager, bill stepien, also has tested positive. in a note to his staff, stepien says he feels fine and will be managing from home. a live look for you right now at walter reed medical center on the left, where president trump is going to continue to be monitored over the next few days. and you can see supporters of the president rallying out front, hoping for his full recovery. and on the right, the white house, where first lady melania trump is under quarantine. we have this report now from our own raj mathai. >> reporter: the outside of the walter reed medical center, a crowd of supporters waving the american flag and hoping for the best.

earlier in the day, a dramatic scene as president trump boarded marine one for the short flight over to the nation's premier military hospital, a masked president trying to project business as usual. now, before leaving the white house, he tweeted this message -- >> i think i'm doing very well, but we're going to make sure that things work out. >> reporter: an update from the white house physician. he says the president is doing, quote, very well. his medical team has decided to start the president on remdesivir therapy. that's a drug developed by foster city-based gilead sciences. earlier, he was given an experimental treatment from new york drugmaker regeneron. it's meant to boost his body's immune response. as for the first lady, she remains in isolation at the white house. and on the campaign trail, joe biden tested negative and made the decision to drop all negative campaign ads. the democratic challenger

sending his prayers to the president and first lady. >> this is not a matter of politics. it's a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously. >> reporter: the contentious battle for the white house is now in limbo, as the president of the united states is among the 7 million americans who have been infected. >> that was our own imagiraj ma reporting. contact tracing is under way following last saturday's rose garden ceremony for judge amy coney barrett, when president trump nominated barrett to the supreme court. this is video from that event last saturday. by our account now, at least eight people who attended have tested positive. this is a look -- the president, the first lady, north carolina senator thom tillis, utah senator mike lee, notre dame university not wearing a mask, kellyanne conway, and we just learned minutes ago that

wisconsin senator ron johnson has also tested positive. as the positivity rates continue to come out,epou posted. and of course, this is video of the president's senior adviser, hope hicks, whose positive test on thursday night is what ignited all of this news to be released. there has been worldwide reaction to president trump's covid diagnosis, and that, of course, includes here in the bay area. many supporters of the president lined up on this overpass in lafayette yesterday, some not wearing masks, as you see here, showing their solidarity, their support, in hopes that the president makes a full recovery. supporters of joe biden also were there, some saying they hope this is the wake-up call that the country needs, the message that the coronavirus is serious. as we mentioned, president trump is being treated with at

least two drugs. one of them is experimental, and it's being tested at stanford. we spoke with one of the doctors involved. here's "today in the bay's" reporter. >> reporter: the experimental drug given to the president is called region con 12. regeneron says it provided a single dose for the president. >> he got the highest dose, which appears, at least in the early studies, to be very effective. >> reporter: dr. yvonne maldonado is a stanford disease epidemiologip deem yoidemiologi the clinical trials. it is a combination of monoclonal antibodies. >> an antibody generated from a vac ian or a monoclone can actually stick to the virus, for example, and prevent it from sticking to the human cell, so the human cell isn't infected. >> reporter: but since it's new, there's not much data about the long-term effectiveness. dr. maldonado and other colleagues with extensive experience treating covid-19 patients, say the president has

several risk factors for serious infection, including his age, his weight, and high cholesterol. >> probably the thing that makes me the most worried, to tell you the truth, is the fact that he's progressing fairly rapidly. >> reporter: dr. peter ching-hong from ucsf points out, just a couple days ago, president trump was asymptomatic. he got sick yesterday, and today he has a fever and is now at a hospital. the president is usually active on twitter. he sent out just one tweet from walter reed, "going well, i think! thank you to all. love!" "nbc bay area news." well, there are new developments coming constantly into our newsroom. we will continue to keep you updated on both president trump's condition and his wife, melania trump, both on air and online, nbcbayarea.com. it is currently the top story on our website. at 7:38, still to come on "today in the bay," the lakers look to take a commanding lead in the nba finals. sports is next. in business you have to be able to shift-pivot-adapt.

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welcome back. for the past five years, the warriors have been in the nba finals. not this time, not even close. it is the lakers and the heat from the bubble in florida. miami star bam adebayo out with an injury, and the heat, no match for the lakers. lakers win big, 124-114. they take a commanding 2-0 series lead. 49ers news. it is official, no jimmy g. again tomorrow. instead, nick mullens will start. however, george kittle will be back in the lineup. the niners take on the eagles on sunday night football right here on nbc bay area. we have live pregame and postgame newscasts from a smokey levi's stadium air quality very closely, as we should see improving conditions to wrap up the weekend. a closer look at that in our forecast when we come back.

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and saturday morning starting off with some patchy low clouds around the inner bay and coast, but unfortunately, widespread smoke once again. that is our top issue and the reason for our microclimate weather alert again to start the weekend. let's show you some of the temperatures we're seeing around the bay area, and at least in terms of chilly temperatures, well, feels like fall this morning. look at that, 48 in santa rosa, 42 napa, 62 closer to san jose, but look at the skies here. sun rises here over downtown san francisco. you see the fog across the inner bay, but also the sort of brown smoke-filter tint there as well as the smoke continues to drop in out of the north bay. and you saw the view there in walnut creek, 59 degrees. red sunrise over the inland portions of contra costa county at 59 degrees and into san jose, there's another red sunrise. look at that, 62 in san jose. where the smoke will be at its worst, areas south of san jose, also the tri-valley, inland east bay, and obviously into the north bay, closer to where the glass fire's burning.

these are all locations that will likely stay at 150 and higher. that's the unhealthy range on b, the bay and coast may see numbers come down a bit as we head towards tomorrow. so let's take a look at the outlook here. this is a smoke model, the hrrr model that incorporates wind speed and direction. so, you'll notice through the day today, there's a lot of red on the map. as we head into late today and into tomorrow morning, we're thinking that the sea breeze is going to pick up. it's going to be reasonable while tomorrow's temperatures cool off. but also notice the trend, we hope, on the air quality, as more of the smoke might get temporarily pushed slightly off to the east. that is something we'll look forward to, we hope, during the day tomorrow. so, morning temperatures through 9:00, 60s and 70s. as early as noon we'll see 90s starting to pop up around the tri-valley, and eventually, down around morgan hill, san martin could see upper 90s today. and look at san francisco, hazy and warm, mid-to-upper 70s and 80s around oakland. let's jump now to your sunday

temperatures. and notice how the 90s are starting to go away. so, that's also what we're seeing on the air quality forecast. a slightlybreeze, should drop down our temperatures, which should be in the 80s through the day around san jose. and at kickoff time, the nfl on nbc bay area, there you go, temperatures in the upper 70s. areas of smoke technically in the forecast, but as you saw on that animation, we're hopeful that we'll see numbers well below 150. again, the threshold would be an aqi of 200. doesn't look like we'll quite see that as the air quality starts to improve late in the weekend. so, now, here's the most exciting part of the forecast. as we go through the end of next week, two weather models suggesting both that we'll get some rain around the bay area. so, what's going to develop offshore is a weather system that could tap into tropical moisture from marie, which is a hurricane now. it will weaken. but the moisture from it could get drawn into the storm as it approaches friday into saturday. that could hopefully bring not only the cooler temperatures,

but some real rainfall across some of the wildfires burning across the state. that would be a welcomed sight. if the storm goes too far to the north, we might see more wind, but right now all systems go for those rain chances late in the week. so you notice how our temperatures start to cool down through that seven-day forecast? but we'll all be very excited to see the chances of rain, hopefully, making a comeback by this time next weekend. kyra, back to you. >> sounds like a dream come true, rob. thanks for that. 7:37. still ahead on "today in the bay," putting voting by mail to the test. our investigative team has been testing the usps for more than two months. you don't want to miss what we found, coming up.

all weekend long we will be staying on top of breaking news. the president and first lady testing positive for coronavirus. >> and the developments into monday that will start your workweek, plus live reports from the north bay as the wildfires continue to burn, monday morning.

the war of words over mail-in ballots shows no sign of letting up. our investigative unit has been testing the system for two months now ahead of what is expected to be a record number of people voting by mail because of the covid crisis. here's what senior investigator stephen stock found during round two of his test of the postal service. >> reporter: we upped our game in september, sending out four times more letters than we did in august to get a better sample. >> we rely on our mail for important mail. >> reporter: in the last few months, washington, d.c., resident joyce harris, like many others we've heard from, has noticed more delays in her mail service. >> we get our medicines through the mail. >> reporter: for harris, any delay, even a day or two, can

become a health emergency. >> i've read all the medications, and i have had to call express scripts and say, wait a minute, what's going on with my meds? >> reporter: so, for the second month in a row, we teamed with nbc lx and nbc stations nationwide to mail out letters within our cities, within our states, and across the country to test how efficient the u.s. postal service is and whether usps meets its own performance standards. this time, to get a bigger sample size, on september 11th, our team mailed out 426 letters, 133 of them in the bay area alone, from post offices in san jose, san francisco, and san leandro, sent all over the bay area, as well as to areas around l.a. and san diego and ten other different cities around the country. most of the local letters arrived within three business days. f them did not. days, another nine to arrive. one letter sent from san jose to orange county still has not been

delivered. overall, the nationwide delivery rates from august and september were similar -- 88% of all letters were delivered within one to three business days, below the usps standard goal of 96.5%, but the failures are not likely to impact mail-in ballots, because within one week, 98.1% of our letters reached their destination. as for that last 2%, we found isolated breakdowns in multiple locations. >> my biggest concern is that these changes from the postal service really undermine the core aspects of local government. >> reporter: jill habig is founder and president of the public rights project, a national non-profit based in oakland. they recently filed briefs in three different federal courts, attempting to stop policy changes at the postal service that they say have resulted in these delays. >> that includes election administration this fall, but it also includes things like

seniors getting their prescription drugs on time, pension checks going out on time. >> and there's always going to be the anomaly that gets stuck in a tray somewhere, and -- >> reporter: dave lewis is president of snailworks, a company that uses bar codes to track 10 to 20 million pieces of mail every day. snailworks has seen a slowdown of a half day to a full day in delivery service with more serious localized backlogs in some cities like new york. even so, he says he's not concerned about widespread or significant issues affecting mail-in ballots. >> i think a very, very high percentage of the ballots that are mailed within a reasonable time frame, and even some that are mailed outside of a reasonable time frame, will be delivered. >> reporter: and while a failure rate of between 1% and 2% does not seem that serious, consider this -- if just 1% of the mail-in ballots don't make it, that could mean 500,000 votes don't get counted nationwide. >> now, the american public needs to know, we are prepared and committed to deliver

election mail. >> reporter: louis dejoy, who became postmaster general in may, implemented changes that critics say have resulted in these delays. >> we will maintain the processes that we have always in the past, which is if we see a ballot, we want to get it through the system and get it delivered quickly. >> reporter: in an interview in conjunction with the economic club in d.c., dejoy defended the changes, saying they were meant to save taxpayer money. >> it was a good plan. we could have had a better execution. we're recovering from that right now. >> reporter: but a u.s. senate democratic minority report released this month also found significant delays in deliveries following dejoy's changes, this time for mail-in prescription drugs. the report found average delivery times increased by up to 32% in some locations. >> i've never seen where you've had the issue with mail like this. >> reporter: joyce harris, for one, won't be trusting the post office with her vote thyme around. >> definitely, if i'm going to vote in person, i'm definitely going to vote early.

>> reporter: here in california, registered voters will be sent a mail-in ballot by october 5th. you can then fill out that ballot, drop it back into the mail, or take it to an elections drop box or even hand deliver it to an elections supervisor's office. experts warn, because there are so many mail-in ballots expected this year, it could take weeks or even months before a winner is declared. i'm stephen stock, "nbc bay area news." >> if you have a tip or a story for our investigative unit, give us a call at 888-996-tips, or visit our website, nbcbayarea.com/investigations. and at 7:55, we're back with more news after the break. this election, all californians will be able to vote safely from home. every active, registered voter will receive a vote-by-mail ballot with a unique barcode. you can track it using where's my ballot? and you'll receive automatic notifications by text, email or voice call to let you know the status of your ballot once you mail it, drop it off at your polling place

or at a drop box. vote by mail ballots. simple, safe, secure. counted. learn more at vote.ca.gov taking california for a ride. companies like uber, lyft, doordash. breaking state employment laws for years. now these multi-billion-dollar companies wrote deceptive prop 22 to buy themselves a new law. to deny drivers the rights they deserve. no sick leave. no workers' comp. no unemployment benefits. vote no on the deceptive uber, lyft, doordash prop 22. one ride california doesn't want to take.

welcome back. a new indicator on how badly the pandemic has affected restaurants and other businesses in california -- sales tax revenue plunged nearly in half from april to june in san francisco.

the 43% drop was the biggest across the state. stores, restaurants, and hotels saw the biggest losses. most of that, of course, due to the drop in tourism. and before we go, time now for our "clear the shelters" segment, featuring our friends from pets in need. meet hazel! look at that face! she is a 1-year-old terrier mix. she is small but mighty. she has a big personality, spunky energy, and loves to play with toys and make friends. she loves long walks, playing fetch, and also, the good news is, she's versatile. she slows down and loves to snuggle on the couch. the best of both worlds. to find out more about hazel, go to petsinneed.org or give them a call. and thanks to you so much for making rob and me a part of your morning. at 8:00 a.m., we are expecting to have a special nbc news special report from president trump's doctor, giving an update on his condition as he is

hospitalized with covid-19. and we will have more local news for you tonight at 5:00, 6:00, and 11:00, where rob will be back with your forecast, and we'll be here all day on n nbcbayarea.c nbcbayarea.com. see you tomorrow. . symbol you know you're

watching television that's educational and informational the more you know on nbc. dylan: hey there, i'm dylan dreyer, and this is "earth odyssey." on today's episode, we explore the lush tropical landscape of vietnam. [monkeys howling] dylan: we'll meet a very vocal group of gibbons and find out what makes them sing. plus, we'll venture into the jungles to see a recently discovered group of langurs long thought extinct, and later, we'll get a glimpse of one of the rarest and most colorful primates in the entire world. [music]