we're ready to work shoulder-to-shoulder to defeat covid-19 and rebuild economies that work for everyone. >> now at 5:00, going one on one with a foreign leader. key issues president joe biden is set to discuss hours from now with canadian prime minister, justin trudeau. also on the hill, tough new questions lawmakers are raising following last month's capitol siege. readying the relief. the stimulus checks soon to be sent to millions of californians struggling to make ends meet. plus -- >> you know, there's been a hostile environment for immigrants, and this isn't anything new for the asian american community. >> a new response to the recent string of violent attacks against asian americans. a live report on actions being taken statewide and right here

in the bay area. "today in the bay" continues now. and right 'marcus washingto with, of course, the pandemic. and as you can see from this map, the bay area is still covered in purple. when it comes to covid tiers, purple is the most restrictive tier, but all of that could soon change, because now some counties now have case loads at or below the threshold to move into the less-restrictive red tier. that includes san mateo county. an announcement from the governor's office is expected later today. remember, the red tier status allows things like movie theaters to reopen and indoor dining to resume at limited capacity. well, the pandemic will be among the issues front and center when president biden meets one on one with canadian prime minister jus tyne trudeau. the two will sit down for a virtual chat. this will also be the president's first meeting with the foreign leader.

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington. and tracie, i know foreign policy will also take center stage. >> reporter: exactly. so with prime minister trudeau and president biden today, a number of issues that the two countries have in common. they'll talk trade, they'll talk climate. they're expected, of course, to talk about the response to the covid-19 pandemic. trudeau says he wants to talk about rebuilding and in the united states, that includes rebuilding small businesses. the government says 400,000 of them have gone under the president now, now announcing a two-week window where small businesses with fewer than 20 employees can apply for loans to try to help them survive. >> a lot of these mom and pop businesses got muscled out of the way by bigger companies who jumped in front of the line. >> reporter: president biden pushing his covid relief plans,

which include billions more for small business loans. of course, that includes a lot of other stuff that republicans don't like, and that's why it's still stuck on capitol hill. back to you. >> well, tracie, before you go, what should we expect from today's hearing on last month's capitol siege, as well? >> reporter: yeah. so lawmakers want to talk today with the law enforcement officers who were in charge on that day. three of them have since resigned. the capitol police chief, the former capitol police chief, the former sergeants at arms for the house and the senate and the current d.c. police chief. they want to know why the response was slower than they would have expected and why it took so long to get the building back under control. this is supposed to be the first of several hearings. >> one that we will continue to watch. tracie potts in washington this morning. tracie, thank you. happening in a few hours, the senate confirmation hearing for state attorney general,

javier becerra. he's been nominated to lead the department of health and human services. he'll also be introduced by california's newly appointed u.s. senator, alex padilla, seen here on the right. the two congressional panels will question becerra. if confirmed, he'll be the first latino to lead the agency. help is on the way for californians struggling the most from hardships of the pandemic. state lawmakers have passed a new stimulus bill aimed at helping families and businesses. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us live in san jose with a look at what may be in it for you. good morning, chris. >> good morning, laura. there is help in this california stimulus bill for the lowest earning wage workers. that is about 5.7 million californians. that is, this stimulus bill includes $600 for individuals who make $30,000 a year or less. there's also a $525 child care

and preschool premium credit for children who are enrolled in state programs. there are $25,000 small business grants, four times more than were available in the last round. businesses will also see their license fees waived and there's about $35 million in aid for food banks and also diaper banks. now, the governor says he will sign that bill as soon as he gets it, but you shouldn't expect your money right away, unless you file your taxes, because you have to file your state taxes before you can get that stimulus money. in san jose, kris sanchez, "today in the bay." >> that's an incentive to get it done. thanks so much, kris. 5:05 right now. a $2.5 billion fund will provide $50,000 no-interest loans for businesses that qualify. in the meantime, the zuckerberg initiative is providing a

quarter million in relief for struggling recounts on the peninsula. the money will help struggling restaurants in palo alto and other nearby cities. a new push at the state capitol and right here in the bay area. this is to spike recent halt in hate crimes against asians. bob redell live for us in dublin. and alameda county leaders are taking this very seriously. they could take action as soon as today. >> reporter: good morning. correct, marcus. later this morning, the alameda county board of supervisors expected to pass a resolution condemning the recent hate crime attacks against the asian american pacific islanders communities. yesterday, the state approved $1.4 million to track the attacks against the asian community. there have been several cases within the last two months in san francisco and in the rest of the bay area, including an unprovoked attack in san francisco that resulted in the death of an 84-year-old thai american man. assembly member phil king of san francisco says this money will

help the state gather data on the attacks, and hopefully lead to a solution to stop them from happening. last week, an asian man was shot several times during an attempted robbery at the store he owns in vallejo. it should be noted, his family is not sure he was targeted because of his ethnicity, but that store owner, as you can see in this facebook video, he is moving on his own again with the help of a walker. it's an amazing comeback after a gunman shot him in the leg at the dollar plus store in vallejo. >> he's getting better, even though he's in a lot of pain, he's still strong. i think it's really great, especially with a lot going on in this world. >> reporter: a gofundme account has reached more than $80,000 to help pay for his rehab and medical expenses. reporting live in dublin, bob redell, "today in the bay". >> and on that note, we are

standing with the asian community. nbc bay area, telemundo 48, and our parent company, comcast have partnered with the bay area fund to provide a solidarity fund. we will provide grants to stop attacks against asians. we've put a link on our website, nbcbayarea.com. parents in san francisco organizing a new zoom protest. this is ahead of today's school board meeting. parents and students have recently been gathering at parks near their schools, still closed to attend distance learning zoom classes. they're asking for the district to start sending kids back to the classroom. angry north bay parents are taking their message to reopen schools directly to the public. take a look at this electronic billboard next to 101 in sonoma county. it says, "missing: all californian students. last seen, march 13th, 2020.

reward, their future. #opensonomacountyschoolsnow." we saw one of the many supporters of this message. >> the campuses should be ready. they've been empty for 11 months. there's money on the table that's completely unused, and there's no excuse not to have a plan at this point. >> the superintendent of the school district says distancing measures are in place and there are hopes to reopen in just a few weeks. but every teacher must be vaccinated first. a new push in berkeley to better help families to make it in the bay. city leaders will debate a new housing plan that may also mean the end of single-family zoning. that proposal would pave the way for developers to build multi-family homes in traditionally single-family home neighborhoods. we're talking about duplexes, even foreplexes. >> how about a live look outside right now. a little fresh air towards san francisco and the beautiful bay

bridge. it is a clear start this morning and more temperatures. more warm weather in store for us today. meteorologist kari hall tracking the temperatures that are expected. it's feeling stringlike out there, my friends. >> yeah, have you noticed everything that's blooming out there? i mean, those cherry blossoms, beautiful. all of those flowers out there, really starting to pop in this warm weather. and then as we are heading out the door this morning, it's all clear. a live look outside in dublin as we check out what's going on 580. temperature wise, we're starting out with 40s. we can see the trend going straight up for today. at noon, it's already 70 degrees today. and we're going to see those highs reaching into the mid-70s bip this afternoon. but this will be the warm day of temperatures like this. we'll talk about the changes ahead. that's coming up in a few minutes. like what changes you seeing right now for the morning commute. >> well, first of all, yes, kari, i have noticed things blooming outside. a little allergies going on. let's take a look out there,

though. that's my own thing. the bay looks great. green sensors, although there may be a new crash on the peninsula, we'll check that out. it just came in, so i've marked it tentatively. circling the crash still going on near the richmond toll plaza eastbound getting off of that bridge from san rafael. and a live shot shows you through san rafael, southbound with these taillights going over the hill towards lincoln, a smooth way all the way down to the golden gate bridge. laura? >> thanks, mike. 5:11 rowan. no longer the richest person in the world. coming up next, the tweet that arguably caused elon musk to lose billions of dollars in just one day. a major cell phone warns, you better upgrade or you could lose service. plus -- >> on the surface, we don't have a lot in common. >> who's the boss? the new podcast featuring former president barack obama and bruce springsteen.

and the wide range of topics they plan to cover. we'll talk about it and much more ahead for you right here on "today in the babay." 5:11.

right now at 5:14, as we check out our temperature trend for home-schooling, well, you may want to take that laptop out to the back patio. checking out brentwood, we're starting out already in the 60s and heading into the mid-70s later today. we're going to enjoy one day of

some warm weather and then a cooldown. we'll talk about that, as well as another trend i'm noticing in our extremely cold temperatures. we'll talk about that coming up in a few minutes. >> all right, getting trendy with kari over here. we're looking at a smooth drive. i did find more detail about the incident on the peninsula and heading to or from the peninsula, a live look at the san mateo bridge, shows an easy drive for highway 92. we'll check on the rest of your commute, coming up. scott? well, good morning, mike. good morning, everyone. happy tuesday to everyone, as well. boost mobile is warning its millions of customers that they will need to upgrade their phones or lose service. boost is a budget phone provider. many of its customers, not all of them, but many are still using 3g connections. boost was bought recently by dish, which plans to shut down the 3g network. that could affect millions of americans using very old phones. the problem is so big, in fact,

the ceo of dish wonders if there are enough new phones out there to meet the sudden demand telling bloomberg, quote, i don't think we could get a supply of the phones we need. shares in tesla fell hard yesterday after elon musk said he thought bitcoin was valued too high. tesla recently bought more than $1 billion worth of bitcoin, so musk saying that made tesla's holdings less valuable, which pulled down the company's stock. as laura points out, it also makes him not the richest man in the world. in fact, tesla saw its biggest one-day fall in its stock since september and it's down again motors is going public via spacs. i'm not going to get into spacs, but we did a podcast about spacs and their affect on the bay area

on our podcast, sandhill road. and facebook has made a deal with australia. facebook will now allow news agencies and facebook users in australia to share news articles on facebook after cutting them off over the weekend. fed chairman jay powell will start two days of testimony before congress today. busy time for congress. biden's stimulus just passed out of committee. so we could see a house vote on that as soon as this week. and then more stimulus money in the pockets of americans in the next couple of months. marcus and laura? >> all right, thank you very much, scott. well, new this morning, someone will soon be living in a condo fit for a vice president. "wall street journal" reports vice president kamala harris sold her san francisco loft for $799,000. she originally bought it in 2004 for one-bedroom, one and a half-bath loft south of market features a patio and a

fireplace. when she's not residing in washington these days, harris spends most of her time on the west coast in southern california, where she has lived since getting married back in 2014. trending this morning, former president obama and bruce springsteen now have their tone podcast on spotify. >> we're getting a preview of that and what's to come. let's all take a listen. >> what we discovered during these conversations was that we still share a fundamental belief in the american ideal. in the compass and the hard work that lies before us. >> the first two podcasts dropped yesterday. eight episodes will cover everything from fatherhood to marriage to the state of america. >> wow. so i wonder if barack obama just talks and then the boss just sings in the background. >> like, you do your thing, i'll do mine. >> maybe they flip it.

>> that would be cool. >> everybody knows their place, right? including mike inouye. he's got his eyes on the roadways for us this morning. how's it looking out there? >> it's looking pretty good, folks. you can listen to whatever you want. spoken word or music, as you look on the roadways. we'll take a look at the peninsula. we do have an incident over there. we've checked on that. green sensors pretty much all over the bay, resuming towards 101. just north of the woodside exit there. and duo have an incident -- my gosh, what happened to my maps here -- wake up, maps. as we're looking at 101 off the woodside exit there. what we typically call a warming fire is going on off the freeway. it sounds like everything is under control, but they may have to close one lane. an easy drive getting towards the bay bridge. a quick look from our camera over in emeryville. a nice crystal-clear view as well as that drive. i've got that handled. you've got the details on the view. back over to you. >> yeah, we're starting out with

a clear sky this morning. and temperatures have been anywhere from the mid-30s into the far north bay, to the upper 50s as we take a look at hayward right now. and it's 44 in san jose. we're already seeing a wide range in temperatures, but it is going to warm up fast today. if you're in livermore, you're going to head out for a jog today or any outdoor activities, we are going to have a cool morning with some upper 40s. but you can see this trend that goes into the upper 60s at lunchtime, beautiful day for lunch outside after that run, of course. so as we take a look at our highs today, we're reaching up to 74 in livermore, 75 in martinez, oakland reaching 72. one concern i have will be the winds picking up. that will start later this evening. with this being the last warm day, we're about to see a changeover to some slightly cooler temperatures. and that changeover comes along with some gusty winds,

especially into parts of the north bay, late tonight into early tomorrow. those high winds, especially in those upper elevations could peak up to 60 miles per hour. so wind advisories going up for. elsewhere, it will be breezy, as we see high pressure starting to back off a bit. and then some cooler air spilling down from the north. but unfortunately, still no rain in the forecast. even as we go into the weekend. and so as we look at the changes that we do have ahead, mid-70s today. upper 60s tomorrow. so it's still going to be feeling very nice. but then some low. 60s by the end of the week into the weekend. and we continue on with some very cool weather into the start of next week, while san francisco will see some low 60s there for the weekend. now it's time to talk about our climate in crisis. and we've always heard that we are getting some warming temperatures, but let's take a look at another trend in san francisco. and here's what we found.

that, you know, a lot of people don't remember the last time that we had freezing temperatures in san francisco. although you may recall in 1990, we did have a very cold week with below-freezing temperatures in the city. but now as we look at our overall trend from the last 50 years, we don't see as many extremely cold temperatures that we used to. and dating back to the 1800s, early 1990s, there were several records where san francisco dipped below freezing, if you can believe that. overall, a warming trend in those extreme cold temperatures have come up about 6 degrees. so that is huge, as we look back at the history. we know that we are more recently seeing a lot of more of those heat waves in san francisco, reaching 106 degrees. remember that, 2017? labor day weekend? we are seeing more events like that, rather than extreme cold. and we've been watching all of this in our trends.

check out or nbcbayarea.com/climateincrisis page. you can see a lot more stories like this and what you can do to help out our climate in crisis. back to you. >> so much information. thanks, kari. 5:23, next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> there's help paying your family's power bill if you apply. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll show you how to, next. and our team is always on social media. many of us haven't been able to see our families during the pandemic. this guy, that's my dad. and you know what i'm one step closer to seeing him. he received his second covid-19 shot. at 87, he's doing pretty good. now my sisters are getting theirs. tell me who you've missed the most during the pandemic on facebook, twitter, and instagram. i'm logged on right now. i would love to hear from you. it's 5:23. we'll be right back.

liheap, fera, and care. liheap stands for low-income home energy assistance program. the california utility services department says it might be able to help you with a one-time payment of up to $1,000 to cover your electric bill. here's how to apply. call the state.

866-675-6623. next there's fera. that stands for family electric rate assistance. pg&e says it can cut your electric bill 18% if you enroll. here's who qualifies. first, you must have a household of three or more. then, your income must fall below a certain level. you can apply on the pg&e website. the application says it takes just five minutes. finally, there's c.a.r.e.. it stands for california alternate rates for energy program. pg&e says it offers a discount of 20% or more on electric and gas if you qualify. this program works for single people, couples, and families of three or more. your income is a factor. you can apply on the pg&e website. coming up next on "today in the bay," zeroing in on what went wrong. new information about that frightening united flight from denver where a blown engine sent debris raining down. plus, an intensifying

debate. two bay area counties now looking to add pay for grocery store workers risking their health, this is during the pandemic. much more ahead. yo

we like it out here, especially since we had such a nice day today. but if they open up inside, yeah, it's -- yeah. everybody is looking forward to it. >> right now at 5:30, awaiting a green light. bay area businesses on edge this

morning as they wait to get a key update about our covid tiers. the preparations many are already making to get customers coming again. plus, plagued with problems. the help that could soon be on the way for those trying to navigate the state's overwhelmed unemployment system. and unlocking more vaccine. the key decision that could soon lead to tens of millions more covid-19 vaccines being shipped out. "today in the bay" continues right now. good tuesday morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. welcome. new hope this morning for struggling bay area businesses. as soon as tomorrow, some counties may be ready to reopen indoor dining. and gyms may also be on the table to open for indoor work, but this is all hinged on the decision coming later today. >> "today in the bay's" cierra johnson joins us live in millbrae where business owners right now, they're certainly

crossing their fingers, cierra. >> reporter: yes, good morning. crossing their fingers and toes. right now i'm in san mateo. it's not just san mateo keeping their fingers crossed, it's also the folks in marin county, hoping that their public health departments are able to reduce their tiers, move them from the purple tier to the red tier, which would mean fewer restrictions. now, leaders in both counties say right now, they're meeting those state metrics that would allow them to move from the purple tier to the less restrictive red tier. that transition in tiers would mean things like movie theaters and indoor dining would be able to resume with limited capacity. an announcement from the governor's office is expected today. and for some diners we've spoken with, it's the development they've been waiting for. take a listen. >> we like it out here, especially since we had such a nice day today. but if they open up inside, yeah, yeah. everybody is looking forward to it. >> reporter: marin county has been telling business owners, get ready. start to prepare, although they cannot guarantee exactly what day they will officially be

allowed to resume indoor dining. so some potentially big news for two counties. san mateo county and marin county here in the bay area. as for the other counties, it's a waiting game at this point. but the second we hear any news about those two counties, we'll let you know both on-air and online. we're live in millbrae in san mateo county, cierra johnson for "today in the bay". >> cierra, thank you. in washington this morning, executives from pfizer and moderna will tell lawmakers that shipments will soon double, if not triple. a total of five executives are scheduled to testify before a subcommittee. later this week, johnson & johnson's one-shot vaccine may receive emergency authorization, also known as eua, which dr. anthony fauci says will help reach one big goal. >> there will not be a lot of doses right on the heels of the eua, but that will accelerate as we get into the months towards

the contractual arrangement of when 100 million doses will be given. >> johnson & johnson says the company could deliver 20 million doses by the end of next month. now to all of the jobs lost by covid-19. the fallout so many are feeling and the problems being felt throughout california's unemployment system. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us live in the south bay this morning to tell us about a law in the works to cut the red tape and get people their money. kris? >> reporter: hi, there, laura. bay area lawmakers trying to get it done. an oakland lawmaker is behind one of those bills that aims to give people who are stuck in that loop more power to find a fix. now, as we've reported and as you might have experienced yourself, the employment development department has been incredibly slow to approve benefits and process the appeals of people denied benefits, even when there's claims to have fraud. now, on top of that, the system was vulnerable to widespread fraud, which victimized the very people who needed that help.

oakland assembly member buffy wicks wants to create a new way for people to get help. >> my bill would establish the office of claim and advocate, with the whole goal of my bill is to provide an additional vehicle of recourse for so many desperate constituents and folks out in our community. >> now, in addition to creating that advocate office, their proposed reform would allow for direct deposit, would make small mistakes by filers not punishable. the bill would also mandate ongoing oversight to prevent fraud before it happens. the system is clearly overwhelmed. the edd has processed five times more claims last year than it did during the year following the recession. in san jose, kris sanchez, "today in the bay." >> thank you very much, kris. happening today, leaders in two bay area counties are scheduled to debate hazard pay for grocery store workers. supervisors in san mateo and santa clara will look to those

passed recently in cities likec hourly pay hikes are applying to workers at large chain stores. san jose is clarifying its numbers on covid vaccine rates for rank and file police officers. the city says somewhere between 60% of officers have received at least one shot, while the numbers may sound low, the city is also confirming it's only counting the number of officers who have informed them that they've received their shots. the union tells us the actual numbers are much higher when you include officers vaccinated from their providers. the city also says nearly 85% of san jose firefighters have now been vaccinated. >> and we want to help you get your shot. we have been telling you about the new website nbc launched called plan your vaccine. go to the site, enter your state, your occupation, and age. there's even a map there that can show you the closest vaccinate site to you. go to planyourvaccine.com. great resource.

happening today, community activists will hold a virtual call to action. this is in the wake of the recent chevron oil spill there in san francisco bay. hundreds of gallons of what they're calling a mix of low-level fuel and flush water spilled on february 9th. authorities do not believe any wildlife was impacted. a news conference comes ahead of tonight's richmond city council meeting, which is also supposed to focus on what caused that spill. new details this morning on the blown engine that rained down parts of a united 777 plane outside of denver over weekend. the chairman of the ntsb now says it appears one of the engine's fan blades may have damaged another. no one on the plane or grown was hurt. the pilot was able to safely land the plane back at the denver airport. boeing has recommended united ground its 777s with that type of engine while the investigation continues. and the hardship goes on for millions still struggling in the deep freeze -- from that deep freeze down in texas.

well, the power back on for a lot of people, but clean drinking water, it's still a huge problem there. lines of cars filled with hungry people in dallas, desperate for help. state lawmakers promising change and solutions for sky-high energy bills. the governor restricting companies from cutting off power if customers cannot pay. >> our hearts go out to the folks in texas right now. in the in the meantime, you're feeling a little guilty almost for getting this unseasonably warm weather that we've been having, kari? >> yeah, we are going to have another day of some really warm temperatures, but this is where we're starting out right now with mid-30s in ukiah. that's the coldest temperature i'm pointing out, because most of us are in the 40s and 50s, as you get ready to head out the door. and it's going to be a nice day for an outdoor hike, taking in this warm weather and seeing all the blooms, as we check out our south bay forecast. some upper 40s this morning, but take a look at the trend for this afternoon. as we reach into the mid-70s, a lot of changes ahead.

we'll talk about that in a few minutes. mike, what's going on right now for the commute? >> well, kari, things are looking pretty standard as far as the pattern goes. there's not a backup at the toll plaza. i'll show that to you in a couple of minutes. but we're looking at the map where we see the slowing just past the toll plaza up the incline. a typical pattern as we see the volumes start to build just a tad bit. remember back in the day when antioch used to be the early slowing. we don't have slowing there, but we have a crash. eastbound at hillcrest, just before the rio vista bridge -- the antioch bridge to rio vista. there's the rest of the bay with mild slowing out of the altamont. no surprises there. a quick look at fremont, to show you on the camera. there is a good volume of traffic, it's just well spaced and moving smoothly in both directions. these headlights going south. back to you, laura. >> thanks so much, mike. 5:39 right now. a state-run covid-19 testing lab now under fire. next on "today in the bay," the major mistakes leaving some leaders sounding the alarm.

and the white house last night remembering the half million americans that we have lost to covid-19. plus, returning to the arena. the limited number of fans getting a chance to watch the warriors play tonight in new york. yes, the big changes being made. but first, we shine the spotlight on one of the most notable actors of the 20th century. whoopi goldberg grew up in new york, but moved to berkeley in the 1970s. while there, she joined an avant gard theater group before her iconic one-woman show moved to broadway. she's only one of few egot winners, taking home an emmy, grammy, oscar, and tony award throughout her career. she's also a human rights activist and advocating for lbgt rights. we salute you, whoopi goldberg.

right now at 5:43, as we take a look at our high temperatures, it's going to be a very warm day. a lot more like spring and just shy of a record for many spots around the bay area. we'll talk about that and a cooldown in our forecast, coming up. >> and a smooth drive around the bay, as well. we talked about how there's a little slowing on the incline of the bay bridge, but coming off

the inbound, no backup. a smooth, easy drive coming out of the maze and off the east shore freeway. i'll show you where there is some slowing, coming up. >> thanks so much, kari and mike. it is 5:43 right now. president biden joining all americans last night in expressing grief over the loss of half a million americans to covid. >> and scott mcgrew, a solemn ceremony at the white house there. >> reporter: yeah, as the president reminded us not to become numb to that number, even as it is so hard to grasp how many people that really is and how much sorrow there is in so many american families. the president and first lady along with the vice president and her husband marked the moment with candles and a moment of silence. and the president, who himself has lost children and a first wife, spoke of americans' grief. >> the day will come when the memory of the loved one you lost will bring a smile to your lips before a tear to your eye.

it will come, i promise you. my prayer for you, though, is that they will come sooner rather than later. and that's when you know you're going to be okay. you're going to be okay. >> a busy day on capitol hill. the stimulus bill is on its way to the house floor. a vote could come later this week. the senate will hold hearings on the attack on the capitol. we'll hear for the first time from the police leadership on why so many officers were left outnumbered, even as they called for help. the most important biden appointee, the nominee for attorney general will continue his hearings before the senate judiciary committee today. for many americans, this is the first time we've actually heard merrick garland speak. and he assured senators, presidents are not supposed to and will not from here on out try to influence what the

justice department does. >> the president has promised that those decisions will only be made by the attorney general and that is what i plan to do. i do not plan to be interfered with by anyone. i expect the justice department will make its own decisions in this regard. >> also today, the very first native american to be nominated for a cabinet position will start her hearings. deb holland has been tapped to run the interior department. she's unapologetic about wanting to stop new drilling and fracking on publicly owned lands. there's a lot happening in the capitol and the white house today. we'll be tweeting about it. you can find me on twitter. i'm @scottmcgrew. >> thank you. civil rights lawyers have filed a new lawsuit to block i.c.e. from using private security guards to detain people in california. the group says the practice is prohibited by california law, but they tell the savings accountby, usually guards from

privately hired companies detain people released from jails. i.c.e. would not comment, calling it ongoing litigation. a troubling report about california's new coronavirus testing laboratory. inspectors found, quote, significant deficiencies at the site located in southern california. a report released yesterday says a fraction of the 1% of the more than 1.5 million tests performed at the lab have had problems. the company that runs the lab says the problems found during the december inspection have now been fixed. california's health department is also investigating whistle-blower allegations of mismanagement and reports of workers sleeping on the job. happening today, good news for vaccinationar in san diego reopening today. the mass vaccination site has been shut down since thursday due to severe weather across the u.s. it was holding up vaccine shipments. even before tonight's game against the warriors, new york

knicks' fans may already think they've won something. that's because for the first time in nearly a year, madison square garden will have fans in the stands. we're talking about 2,000 people. they will attend tonight's game, with distancing in place, of course. typically, it's more than 20,000 people. the warriors lost their tough one -- yeah, this is the last time out -- when charlotte beat them after a last-minute meltdown by draymond green. well, right now, there are no plans for fans to return to california baseball stadiums come opening day, but the "l.a. times" noted that's not stopping dodgers season ticket holders from offering tickets on stub hub. four figures to see the world series champs at their home opener. of course, it comes with a big "if." giants ticket also being offered at lower prices, but with that same big "if." >> yeah, if. well, we're celebrating black history all this month. you've probably seen your social media feeds full of photos and

videos. one mom is going viral for a photo of her baby. >> that's right. sasha bonner has been dressing her daughter, reilly, like famous black women every day this month. and we're talking about kamala harris, dr. shirley ann johnson, and mildred loving. bonner says it's important for black girls to be represented in all fields from science to music and politics. >> i love that one. that was a good one. >> that's nice to see. it's time to get a look at that forecast. we have been talking about this one since yesterday. a nice warm day for us today. >> yeah, even warmer this afternoon. we're starting out with some 40s across much of the bay area, with a live look outside in walnut creek, but look at how we warm up, as we head through 9:00, 10:00. some mid-60s there. and it continues to heat up. so if you're heading out for a

run, it's going to be a cool start in the tri-valley. let's get a look at livermore. we'll be at 48 degrees at 6:00. but then going to 61 degrees at 10:00. all of those outdoor activities are going to be definitely something you'll want to do today, with all of this nice temperatures and the nice weather that we will see. but we're just a few degrees below our record highs, as we look at our forecast for today, and what the record is, many of these spots are just one or two degrees shy of a record high temperature. so we'll see where we go for today. but then as we get ready for some cooler air to come in starting later tonight into the day tomorrow, as we transition, those winds will really start to gust. and those winds coming in from the north, especially in spots like napa and santa rosa, we could see those winds at about 25 to 35 miles per hour, but may even be as high as 60 miles per hour at we look at our upper elevations. so it's going to really cause a lot of concerns when we get

these high, gusty winds, and we haven't had a lot of rain. but at least as of now, we do have some green vegetation, but it will be drying out. we're still not seeing any rain in the forecast, even as we get some cooler air. the rain stays to the north or even off the coast. so we're going to stay in between, with some dry weather. but it will be cooling off after today with our highs in the mid-70s. we have some 60s in the rest of the forecast. mike, what's going on right now for the commute? >> well, we've got a lot of green sensors. you're talking about the green foliage out there. green sensors mean you're at the limit. as we take a look at the big view, that's the case for most of the bay. we'll zoom into the one spot where we have slowing consistently over the last half hour. of course, the altamont pass. no problem on vasco road coming down from the top of the screen. you're under 20 minutes out of brentwood and discovery bay. down near 580. a typical commute for a lot of folks through the bay area. over there, the bay bridge, i've marked that with the arrow. there's a little slowing on the incline, but no delays getting

across it or at the toll plaza. smooth traffic flow as well. right back you, marcus. >> thanks, mike. happening now, the wife of mexican drug lord joaquin "el chapo" guzman is in the u.s. and will be in federal court. the 31-year-old was arrested at dulles international airport yesterday, just outside of d.c. the justice department also alleged she helped her husband escape a mexican prison in 2015 and that she also participated in planning of a second prison escape before guzman was extradited to the u.s. in 2017. guzman was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years. it is 5:52. there's much more ahead on "today in the bay," including the east bay city looking to replace single-family homes with higher-volume housing. then at 6:00 a.m., the new push at the state capitol to stop hate crimes against asians. the money behind a new measure and what that money will be used for, when we come back.

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5:55. welcome back to "today in the bay." a desperate search continues in the east bay this morning. a woman and her child are still missing. this is after a violent weekend crime spree. police arrested darren williams saturday night after a chase that ended in richmond. he's accused of killing a man at

discovery bay home and later injuring two first responders in a drive-by shooting in antioch. right now, investigators are looking for williams' 4-year-old son and his mother, kimberly meeks. they were last seen in an audi suv yesterday. antioch mayor issued a plea for help. >> of course, this will be important, as we'll need the public's eyes and ears in showing that they find these individuals in an expeditious manner. >> reporter: the paramedic and firefighter wounded in the crisis are both recovering at home. a new push in berkeley to better help families make it in the bay. city leaders will debate a new housing plan that may also mean the end of single-family zoning. that proposal would pave the way for developers to build multi-family homes in traditionally single-family home neighborhoods. we're talking about duplexes, even four-plexes. san jose leaders right now, they're considering a similar idea. >> san francisco, meantime, with

a new investment to help black-owned businesses survive the pandemic. $2.5 million is part of a larger fund that will provide $50,000 in no-interest loans for businesses that qualify. in the meantime, the initiative is providing $1 million in relief for struggling restaurants on the peninsula. that's according to palo alto online. $250,000 will go towards restaurants in palo alto. a troubling variant of the coronavirus booming in california. ucsf researchers looked at cases in san francisco's mission district and the christmas outbreak at kaiser san jose. they found that cases of the variant first discovered in denmark have spiked the study also found it may be more resistant to current vaccines. but ucsf dr. peter chen hong is urging to stay the course with precautions. >> it's something to, you know, sort of pay attention to, make

sure that we practice, you know, all the interventions that we know about, exclamation point, but not to let our guard down, but not to get panicked about it, either. >> dr. hong says there isn't enough information to determine how well the vaccines will work, but he still believes they will offer some level of protection. a new cdc study of schools that have already reopened shows teachers were the key spreaders of the virus. researchers tracked eight georgia elementary schools open in december and january. they counted nine covid clusters. a teacher was identified as the first patient in four of those clusters. eight of them included at least one case of teacher-to-student transmission. another key finding, the schools were spotty in following social distancing rules. right now at 6:00, fighting hate. top leaders today in the bay area county will take an

official stand against ongoing attacks on asian americans, lawmakers in san francisco also takingn. we have a live report coming up for you. >> and easing restrictions. the news could come as early as this morning that more indoor businesses in san mateo and marin counties could reopen. news hundreds of restaurant owners are certainly working for. and opening today, help is coming for millions of californians hit hard during the pandemic, including $600 payments. who's getting the check, straight ahead, as the third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. to do tuesday morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. weather and traffic coming up in a few minutes, but first, cash is coming for those in need. we have live team coverage. let's begin with kris sanchez in san jose with governor newsom's relief plan that he's signing today. kris? >> reporter: good morning, marcus and laura. that help coming for the folks in california who make the least

amount of money. there's about 5.7 million of them here in the state now, the california's stimulus bill includes $600 for individuals who make $30,000 or less per year. there's also a $525 child care credit, preschool credit for children enrolled in state programs. there are also 25,000 small business grants, four times more than in the last round, and businesses will also see their license fees waived. and then there's $35 million in aid for food banks and diaper banks, and we know that they have been doing their best to help people through the pandemic. now, the governor says that he will sign that bill as soon as he can. however, in order to get that stimulus money, you have to file your california state income taxes and then you will get the money after that. in san jose, kris sanchez, "today in the bay." now let's go to washington and to "today in the bay's" tracie potts.