>> and i'm kris sanchez, in for laura garcia. we want to take a look at the forecast because it was warm enough to pull the patio furniture out yesterday and walk away. >> yes, absolutely. time to cover it up and get ready for some rain. we are going to see this storm system approaching as we go into this afternoon and this evening with some of the rain not yet moving in, but it will be here later today, as well as tomorrow, and with those showers, we'll also have a chance of some off and on rain, possibly even some thunderstorms, we'll be watching out for that, as we head toward tomorrow as well as wednesday. so we'll talk more about the i am time line coming up. this morning a live look at the white house where president biden starts the plate, that in the nearly $2 trillion stimulus plan. it includes a $1,400 check for

most of the struggles americans. >> and more relief may be on the way for small businesses in the south bay. we have live team coverage but we want to start with "today in the bay's" tracie potts in washington. good morning, tracie. >> hey, kris, marcus, good morning, everyone. the $1.9 trillion american rescue plan is now headed back to the house of representatives for what we believe will be a final vote tomorrow. the senate cleared it over the weekend without one republican vote because they made some changes like dropping the extra federal unemployment benefit from $400 tond $1,400 payments, those are still there but the income requirements changed. so if you make up to $75,000, you get the full payment. between $75,000 and $80,000 you get part of the payment and over $80,000 for individuals it phases out, twice that for couples, but the billions of dollars in this plan for schools

and state and local governments, well that's still a sore spot for republicans. >> we said no matter what happens, we would not stop and power through and get it done, and by god, we did. >> this was a liberal wish list of liberal spending, just basically filled with pork. it didn't need to be this way. >> there's also money in this bill to speed up vaccine distribution. the federal government now saying they're doing 2.2 million shots a day, and separate from all of that, president biden over the weekend on the anniversary of bloody sunday, that violent march down in selma, alabama. he signed an executive order that makes it easier for americans to vote, and today he's signing orders focused on gender equality and opportunities for women. >> all right, we'll be watching that. thank you. "today in the bay's" sharon katsuda picks up our deep

coverage with a look at the relief coming for some of the businesses in the south bay. sharon? >> reporter: marcus, many businesses closed, some are still struggling and the store behind me shows a sign that says it has closed due to the pandemic. those businesses that are still trying to survive, they might see some hope soon. supervisors plan to hold a news conference today to show support for these businesses by waiving certain fees for small businesses that have fewer than 50 employees. according to the county, about 2,600 eateries are material shuttered across santa clara county and additional 1,000 have closed permanently. the action is expected to cost the department of environmental protection at least $1.4 million in lost revenue through june, according to a staff report but supervisors say this is a small price to pay to help struggling businesses and in some ways, could be considered an investment. the board is expected to vote on this issue tomorrow. reporting live in san jose, i'm

sharon katsuda, "today in the bay." >> thank you so much, sharon. so over at the oakland coliseum over the weekend, people were vaccinated in a big way. 15,000 or so more people got a shot. statewide, more than 10 million californians have now gotten at least one dose of the vaccine but even with vaccinations moving forward and case numbers coming down, one stanford infectious disease expert warns people to keep playing it safe. >> i agree with my colleague, dr. fauci, that it's really important that until we get at least 75% more of our population vaccinated, we continue to wear face masks while we're in public and again, avoid crowded indoor environments. >> california's new campaign led by blue shield now has not quite yet landed in the bay area, but the rollout so far has been bumpy with questions about coverage for underrepresented

communities. parents and students in san francisco this week are set to mark one year of closed classrooms. this comes as the district announced friday this is the first breakthrough in reopening schools. thanks to an agreement late friday, some classrooms will reopen april 12th but critics say that it only amounts to a few of the more than 100 schools in the district and provides no time line for older students. district leaders are calling it an important step but the reality is, they're still facing deep criticism and recall effort and now a push to change how board members of chosen. the san francisco bay ferry services is hoping lower fares and more route also bring people back. "the chronicle" reports fares could be cut by 20% and the harbor beirut is closer to resuming with more service on the vallejo and richmond lines and the opening of a new terminal in alameda could cut travel time from oakland to san

francisco by 20 minutes, enough time to get an extra coffee. the terminal expected to open this summer, a hearing on fare rollbacks is planned for next month. and today is international women's day, and "today in the bay" is celebrating the achievements of women, while also hoping to raise awareness about gender equality. our cierra johnson is live in marin where a trio of young women is joining an elite group dedicated to leadership and to community. we love these stories, cierra. >> reporter: yes, we do. good morning, kris. when boy scouts announced they'd allow girls and young women to join their organization, it was inevitable that some of those young women would eventually become eagle scouts. it's a prestigious honor, so we want to introduce you to a few women here in marin county that have now joined the ranks that really emphasize community and leadership. take a listen. for these young women, it wasn't a matter of if but when. >> when we found out that we

were going to be able to, i was so excited. i finally had a chance to really go for something that mattered to me. >> reporter: these three young women are now history maker, joining nearly 1,000 others from across the u.s. to make up the inaugural class of female eagle scouts. >> we decided to do it out of a number of reasons, but mostly out of a wish to the other girls in our community and troops. >> reporter: only 6% involved in scouting will make it to the highest rank. when the organization made headlines in 2019 after announcing the organization would expand their programming and allow girls to join. >> i don't think a lot of people understood the gravity of it i guess. for us, it's been really momentous and really exciting, new option for us to take. >> reporter: and the road to receive this honor was involved. these young women are troop 1015 had to earn 21 merit badges, plan, organize, manage and

complete an extensive community service project, all of which was done in the midst of a global pandemic. as the history makers enter the next phase of their lives with the title they'll hold for the rest of their lives, they will not only remember the experiences but the foundation they laid for young women to come. >> i just think it's something that every youth should be able to participate in, because it's changed my life so much. >> reporter: and it was really an honor to have the chance to speak with those young women. right now they're all in college. they're in different cities throughout the state and right now really just proud that they're able to do something that not a lot of women have done and they're looking forward to seeing that next crop of young women make it to that eagle scout level, so congratulations to not only them but a thousand other young women across the country who made it to the rank of eagle scout. live in marin county, cierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> and some of their projects are just amazing. they just don't seem like a kid project.

they're just like adult projects. it's great. thank you so much, cierra. a live look for you outside at the golden gate bridge. beautiful sight there, clear and cool, as we saw in cierra's live shot there. you can see it's a little windy out there as well. it's not going to stay dry for long. meteorologist kari hall has good news for the bay area, some rain is set to head our way and we've been needing that rain, too, kari. >> yes, you know, over the weekend, during those early saturday morning hours we did get about a quarter inch of rain across the bay area but at this point we have the huge rainfall deficits so it is nice to see that we are going to have some rain, but right now on storm ranger it's all clear. we'll start to see some isolated showers popping up by this afternoon. some hit-or-miss rain continues today and tomorrow and still have the rain chances in the forecast through wednesday. we'll talk more about how much we measure, coming up in a few minutes. mike, it's dry for the morning commute.

any problems popping up? >> no major problems, kari, but there are a couple of issues that did get reported here. let's take a look at the mamz. we're talking about green sensors for the most part. beesy out of the altamont so watch vans or trucks especially if they're empty. wynton avenue off-ramp from 880 southbound, reports of a crash, off to the shoulder with no injuries. the arrow shows you the san mateo bridge and near the high-rise, the tip of the arrow reports of a hazard. i don't know if it's a disabled vehicle or some debris, waiting for chp or the bridge crews update. nothing and no problems so far and a nice drive across the bay bridge as well, a smooth flow of traffic on the approach is the maze and down the east shore freeway. back to you, kris. >> all right, thank you very much, mike. not what we want to hear this morning, stores closing, workers getting laid off. 5:25 on "today in the bay," bay area goodwill locations that are shutting down and how the pandemic factored into that

painful decision. 4 million americans lost their jobs to the pandemic to the point where they never worked again, at least not yet. we'll go deeper into the numbers in business news coming up. plus -- >> the king pays no child support. >> no child support for 30 years and you came back? you's a dummy! >> hollywood's box office bouncing back and online, "coming to america" is a hit, but did you know one famous rapper's real life mansion is featured in that film? i'll give you a hint, unh. details straight ahead for you here on "today in the bay." 5:11.

right now at 5:13 on your monday morning, we've been talking about rain, but in spots like concord, you can enjoy the day still out at the park. we'll see a mix of sun and clouds and just leave the jacket on. we'll reach into the upper 50s today and rain later tonight. we'll talk more about those showers in the forecast, coming up. and no overnight crews scheduled for cal trans work at least on the nimitz. let's look at the nimitz. lots of folks probably getting to work right now as we look at the fremont area. i'm assuming they're getting to work because most people don't go for a scenic drive at 5:14. most people. scott? good morning, mike. good morning, everyone. happy monday to you, as well. we had the weekend to look over the big jobs report from friday.

the u.s. economy9,000 jobs in february, but we also learned that more than 40% americans who are not work something been out of the job for as much as 27 weeks, a long time, and it sets new records. as tracie points out, over the weekend the senate passed its version of the stimulus bill. it's up to the house to revote on the senate's version, that should happen tomorrow. there is a clock running long-term unemployment benefits run out on march 14th, that is this coming weekend. president biden is expected to sign the bill the moment it passes on to his desk, that could also be tuesday. there are some differences between the house and the senate bill, to be clear, it's the senate's version that is going to become the law of the land. the senate bill phases out payments of checks based on income and other factors. there we go, lost the system there. a number of americans who will get the full check reduced by

about 12 million people. no minimum wage increase in the senate version. the extra unemployment payment will be 300 a week, the house wanted 400. the government decides whether or not you get a check based on your most recent tax returns so if you had financial trouble in 2020 and you have your tax return ready to go, it would make sense to get it filed now. you're going to get a stimulus check if you're qualified at some point, but it would be smart to make sure the government has the latest and most up to date information about you. kris and marcus? >> all right, thank you, scott. definitely not the year to file an extension for sure. 5:16, and if you've gotten those annoying calls, it is not your imagination, you're probably likely experiencing more of them last month. americans together received more than 4.5 billion robo calls in february, according to the robo call blocking app umail, a 15% increase over january. the most popular scams involve health care and car warranties.

new signs of rebound this morning in hollywood's box office. >> we really need your help. >> i'm going to be real with you. i'm not like the best dragon. >> we might be the only ones that didn't watch "raya and the last dragon" this weekend which debuted at number one, brought in $8.5 million but the u.s. box office had its biggest weekend since the start of the pandemic at 25 million bucks. trending this morning, if you stayed home to watch "coming to america" you might have noticed this big mansion. eddie murphy's character lives in a huge palace but in reality that is actually a house about 20 miles south of atlanta, home to one of the biggest names in rap, rick ross. the 50,000 square foot home spans 109 rooms and sits on 235 acres. it reportedly cost the rapper $1 million a year just to operate it, just to operate it, not even mortgage. >> wow.

uh, rick ross. all right, got to see the inside of his house. it looked beautiful there but different scenery here in the bay area today, kari, you say some rain is coming our way. >> yes, we have rain. marcus, i did guess with your little hint that you gave before the commercial break. hmm, maybe rick ross? >> yeah. >> i don't know. all right, let's get a look at what's going on as we are going to be tracking some rain moving in and some of the showers move in by this afternoon. now we are going to see some of the rain kind of hit or miss and it starts out in the north bay. a look at the time, we're at 2:30 in the afternoon, not all of us are seeing the rain but some of us will start to see some of that wet weather arriving, and then even at later tonight just a slight chance of some showers. our rain chances go up tomorrow and the south bay may not even see that rain until tomorrow morning, but we just see it just once again very hit or miss but in the showers that will be

coming down, there could be the chance that we could see some thunderstorms, maybe even some small hail. we'll see those chances with the breaks in between, and then going into tuesday night into wednesday, it's when that rain becomes a little bit more widespread and tapering off wednesday evening. in total, we could see anywhere from about a quarter to half inch of rain. going to go back to that, because we could see some of our coastal areas reaching over an inch of rain and three-quarters of an inch of rain in parts of the north bay, so that's what's possible for us and it's good to see that but we are going to go back into a stretch of some dry weather from thursday into the weekend, and temperatures will gradually come right back up into the mid to upper 60s, which is about normal for this time of year, but we will have a cool and wet start to our work week. mike, headed out the door this morning it's dry now but the evening commute for some, not so much. >> that's the good look ahead, kari. we'll look at the present right now, as we take a look at both, i guess the same latitude, right?

looking at the san mateo bridge 92, no further updates regarding any debris or disabled vehicle and no slowing on the san mateo bridge westbound is the direction we're watching near the high-rise. at wynton the crash is on the northbound side near the wynton on-ramp, but also still clear so that's the good news. net result still green sensors and around the rest of the bay, disabled vehicle reported somewhere around seventh or 808, but we'll let you know if it's a problem for the approach to the toll plaza itself, nice easy drive there and a quick look at the effect after the toll plaza, a clear span, the incline all the way into san francisco, clear view, clear drive. back to you. >> thanks, mike. next here on "today in the bay," "nbc bay area responds." >> a store offers a $1,000 exchange but the shopper requests our help anyway. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. plus you know you can always find us on social media. i spent a lot of time in the

kitchen when i'm not out in the field reporting. i made this dish, but there was a big debate, is it mexican style stuffed peppers or chile rejetos that are a little bit naked? they loved it. i love to share my recipes. tell me what you're making for dinner tonight.

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good morning. diane says she bought a cabinet set from a store in fairfield and paid $1,127 for it. three weeks later she noticed this, discoloration. you can see the yellow right there and obviously right there on the side of the cabinet. diane asked the store to fix it. a tech visited her home and said the cabinets needed to be replaced. when they did the swap, diane says the new cabinets were damaged. she refused delivery and requested a refund. the store manager refused. so diana asked us for a hand. our team asked the store to take a second look. three days later the store told us it would give diane a full refund of $1,127.08. we asked a spokesperson for a statement but didn't get a response. five stars for diane. she kept very good records and snapped lots of photos. she also inspected the replacement shipment. those steps made it very easy to make her case very convincing,

and that's why we recommend them to everyone. call us any time, 888-996-tips or go to nbcbayarea.com then click the "responds" option from the main menu. >> thanks, chris. did you hear about this, goodwill closing eight stores across the bay area. the nonprofit says the pandemic is to blame. those stores are in oakland, livermore, dublin, albany, berkeley, vallejo, oakley and dixon. about 60 people will be laid off. the nonprofit says those workers will receive just one week of pay, a month of health benefits and career help. today is international women's day, around the world, there are events planned to honor women's contributions to history and the world. >> meanwhile the "today" show is impact the pandemic has had he working women. how many say their lives have only gotten more stressful. >> when the pandemic hit, things changed. it felt like i was juggling a

bunch of glass balls and if any of them fell to the ground even for a moment, they'd shatter. >> it's been a rough road, caring for my husband and my dad, and also home schooling my two kids. >> make sure to tune in during the 8:00 a.m. hour of the "today" show. women who traditionally work outside of the home, who work within the home with children, trying to juggle all of the distance learning, plus holding down the household and getting to work, i'll tell you what, i think we're probably dyeing our hair a little bit more often, marcus. >> really? coming up, top stories we're following for you today, including california making new progress on rolling out the covid vaccine. the growing number of shots distributed, and who is next in line. plus returning to court, perhaps for the last time, the sentencing expected today for a

ghost ship warehouse master tenant derick almena and why his time behind bars may be behind him. a live look inside downtown san jose, nice and clear out there but meteorologist kari hall has been telling us that rain heading to the bay area, much needed rain, we'll tell you when that's expected, when you're going to need the umbrella and how to plan for the week ahead. much more ahead for you right here on "today in the bay." it is 6:27. see you back here on the other side of the break.

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now at 5:30, a major push to get the vaccine to the poorest neighborhoods in california. bay area health says the underserved communities are still being ignored. the startling numbers that show the vaccine is not getting to the hardest-hit areas. and governor gavin newsom is now facing mounting pressure as the group behind a recall push makes a major announcement. they say they've reached a goal and soon voters may get to decide for themselves. a live look across the bay area. it's clear for now but our storm ranger tracking incoming rain. meteorologist kari hall is timing out when you'll need the umbrella and just for how long. "today in the bay" continues now. good monday morning to you. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm kris sanchez, in for laura garcia today, and this morning, everyone is still talking about that whomshell interview. coming up, more on the shocking allegations and revelations made

when oprah sat down with meghan markle and prince harry. first we start with what's affecting you most today and that will be the weather likely. rain headed our way once again, kari? >> yes, we'll start to see that moving in by this afternoon, with some hit-or-miss showers. the storm we see well off the coast and a lot to go as we go into the next couple of days, as this storm system moves very slowly across the bay area but as of right now, it's a dry start to our monday morning, but then as we go through the time line, we'll start to see these pop-up showers moving through first in the north bay, by this afternoon, and then more of us seeing it later on this evening and into the day tomorrow. so we'll talk more about how much you can expect where you live. it's coming up in the forecast in just a few minutes. mike? you can once again track the rain at home through our nbc bay area app.

kari's best but sometimes you need the app. it gives you access to storm ranger radar and you can set up weather alerts for where you are and going, if you don't already have the app, you can download it for free in the app store. later this morning, our government leaders here in the bay area will call on the state to immediately change its brand new vaccine distribution plan for the poor. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell joins us live this morning, a lot of folks are going to wonder why the change now. >> reporter: good morning, kris and marcus. the local leaders include ourment so of our local state legislators, they say the vaccine distribution plan put out by the state is unfair and not equitable for those in the hardest-hit communities, they believe they are going to be leaving those people behind. the governor announced the state will will allocate 40% of the doses available of the vaccine to 8 million californians who

live in communities ranked lowest in the so-called healthy places index but only 2% of bay area residents across ten zip codes meet this new vaccine metric. that's despite the bay area having 20% of the state's population. david cortezi of san jose is part of the delegation demanding the state reformulate the vaccine distribution. he writes this is "a matter of life and death for our community." he and his colleagues will hold a news conference later this morning at 11:00. this graph on your tv screen breaks down a percentage of vaccine doses administered by race and ethnicity, statewide. this is the people who have gotten at least one shot. you can see the percentage of californians who identify as white and gotten their vaccine. 'quite a bit more than we see in minority communities. it's 32% for whites, less than 3% for blacks, even though according to the latest census bureau data, blacks represent

6.5% of the population so double the number there and 17% for the latino community even though they represent almost 40% of the state's population. it should be noted more than 10% of those who received the first shot were identified as unknown when it comes to race, meaning some minorities who received shots might be undercounted. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you. a record number of americans received vaccinations over the weekend numbering more than 5 million. here is where california stands right now. over the first week of march the number of doses jumped about 8.7 million. this is to 10.3, half of the governor's goal of 3 million vaccinations per week. if you are looking for information an how and where to get that shot, go to planyourvaccine.com and you can put your state, age and occupation in and it will point you to the closest vaccination site near you. that's planyourvaccine.com.

and massive and deadly outbreak in california's prison system is now apparently giving way to a new stage herd imm immunity. "the mercury news" reports cases are down 98% from the peak. experts cite early use of effective vaccines, combined with a lack of reinfections among those who already had covid. it's believed 80. of the inmate population falls into one of those two categories. >> new details on the effort to recall governor gavin newsom nine days from the deadline. recall leaders say they easily have enough signatures to qualify for the ballot measure. and hope to gather double that amount by march 17th. all signatures will have to be verified, and if the measure does qualify, special election would most likely be held this fall. the governor's office not commenting. we are continuing our coverage of a violent weekend in

san jose. investigators say a man was shot and killed around 6:00 last night at the corner of carnelian and santise drive outof 068 and highway 101, a man was shot and killed in east soes spaet night as well and no word of arrests in either case, so we have asked. the latest shooting marks nine homicides for the city of san jose this year. last year, it took until april before the city saw the same level. more than four years after the devastating event, the master tenant in the oakland ghost ship fire case is set to formally be sentenced today. he pleaded guilty to 36 counts of involuntary man slaughter in exchange for a 12-year sentence. today's sentencing will determine whether he goes back to jail or if he will be monitored electronically at home. almena is currently free on bail and legal experts say he probably won't go back to jail, due to time served and good behavior.

the jury was deadlocked whether to convict almena during the trial last year for the 2016 incident. all right, we want to take a live look outside across the bay area, walnut creek, also the bay bridge and boy, it's a chilly start out there, and i'm inside. i have a blanket on. kari is tracking rain, when it's going to arrive and boy, the chill set in first. >> yes, so we're going to have some chilly showers going into the next couple of days. we're starting out with some cloudy skies in some spots but the clouds will continue to roll in, windy as well, but then later tonight, some spotty showers moving in, and that will continue to tomorrow, with the potential of some thunderstorms and hail on some of our bay area microclimates, so as we start out this morning, once again, mostly clear but we'll continue to see clouds move in, as we go into today. we'll talk more about that time line of rain. mike, how is it looking heading to work this morning?

>> looks like your time line will be just fine if you leave on time, you'll probably get there on time, as we look at the maps, green sensors. i'm going to zoom toward where we had talked about in oakland, tri-valley has typical slowing here. it was indeed right around seventh street, disabled vehicle, a big rig reported in the middle lane. i've been watching for slowing. none reported and you see at the top of the screen a little slowing up the incline, but no backup at the toll plaza we just saw. a live look at oakland shows the nimitz freeway heading south past seventh and down toward the coliseum, a good amount of traffic for these headlights so we're watching that seventh street area for any other complications. back to you, marcus. >> thanks. a city on edge. still ahead here on "today in the bay," the final preparations ahead of the high-profile case of the officer charged in the death of george floyd's death. a live report from main yap plus on how the outcome to have a major impact on policing across the country. president biden nominating two women to become four-star

generals, marking national women's day. plus -- >> i just didn't want to be alive anymore, and that was a very clear and real and frightening, constant thought. >> a bombshell tell-all interview. where does the royal family go from here? overnight reaction to everything meghan markle and prince harry said about leaving royalty behind.

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it is 5:41 -- krisoutside and se temperatures we're feeling across the bay area. mostly some upper 30s and low 40s, but it's also going to be a day where we keep the jackets on, because we only for the most part reach into the upper 50s. we'll talk about when that rain arrives, coming up in a few minutes. >> we talked about the slowing for the incline and the toll plaza itself is clear, but let's take a look at the incline. more congestion over there. cars are still moving smoothly into san francisco but we'll see the metering lights perhaps kick on over the next half hour, marcus, over to you. >> thanks, mike. developing in just hours, jury selection begins in the murder trial of derek chauvin, the former minneapolis police officer pinned george floyd to the ground with his knee across his neck for more than eight minutes. floyd's death sparked outrage and a movement for racial

equality across the country. "today in the bay's" jay gray is live for us outside of the courthouse with a closer look at what to expect as a high-profile case gets under way. jay? >> reporter: hey there, good morning, marcus. i think what you can expect initially are crowds. we've already seen a handful of people gather and start to march here this morning. over the weekend, large crowds in the downtown area demanding justice as the nation once again turns its attention to what happened here last summer. it's been 287 days since george floyd died. his neck beneath the knee of former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin. he, along with three other officers, are charged in floyd's death. chauvin, the first to face a jury here and that jury selection begins today, an important process, according to experts. >> the goal should be is that there's a process of jurors that's representative of different political viewpoints,

different races, different genders, and that promotes a confidence, so i think taking jury selection seriously in this case is critical for the entire country. >> reporter: yes, and look, security also a critical measure here. you've got razor wire and fencing up around the courthouse. you've got buildings, businesses boarded up in the downtown area, and you've got law enforcement from at least 12 agencies on the ground, and marcus, that includes local and state police, federal agents, the fbi a part of that mix, and then you've also got at least 2,000 soldiers from the national guard. we've seen some already this morning patrolling behind the fencing here, so very serious about security and watching everything that happens here, marcus. >> yes, and jay, before you go, i see the fencing there behind you but also i could hear noise in the background, have a lot of people gathered out there for this hearing?

>> reporter: yes. yes, i mean, they were here before sunrise, i would say a couple dozen here right now, but that number is expected to grow throughout the day here and especially as the jury selection really begins in earnest here. >> jay gray this morning, jay, thank you. you can join our ongoing conversation about race in america, led by jessica aguirre and me, our 11th episode airs thursday, march 18th at 6:30 p.m., and you can find past episodes on our website right now, just go to nbcbayarea.com/raceinamerica. >> we've had so many good conversations, marcus. all right, so new york governor andrew cuomo is on defense again this morning. he is refusing calls to resign amid a sexual harassment scandal. last week, at least three women accused cuomo publicly of misbehaving with them. over the weekend, two more women aides came forward, also

to allege inappropriate behavior. cuomo has denied harassing women and said he was sorry for how his behavior made them feel. dozens of fellow democrats are calling on him to resign. it is international women's day, and today president biden will appear with the military's most powerful women. >> women he's promoting to four-star generals. scott mcgrew? >> that's right, we've reported on this before, marcus and kris, good morning, but today, the president is going to make a statement both literally and figuratively by appearing alongside two of his top generals, army lieutenant general laura richardson and jacqueline ovis. bide an proved their promotion but the senate must also vote yes. donald trump's former defense secretary mark esper they held back from suggesting the women's promotions until biden was president fearing president trump would not

approve. the senate passed its version of the stimulus bill, meaning the house will vote on that version as soon as tomorrow. the senate bill is slightly weaker, we'll go over the nitty gritty when we talk about business in half an hour but the main thing missing from the senate bill is a federal minimum wage increase. arizona democrat kristin sinema gave an enthusiastic thumbs down, reminding many of another time another arizona senator, john mccain, did the same thing to protect owe abamacare. in truth the gesture is a common way for senators to signal a vote but one way or the other, the idea, sponsored by bernie sanders, is off the table. >> the senator from vermont's amendment number 972 is not agreed to. the point of order is sustained, and the amendment falls. >> vote tuesday, and then president biden could sign the law as soon as the same day. the checks could go out in a matter of days after that.

>> when i was elected, i said we were going to get the government out of the business of battling on twitter, and back in the business of delivering for the american people, making a difference in their lives, giving everyone a chance, a fighting chance. meantime we are keeping an eye on new york. former president donald trump was in new york for the first time since he lost the presidency. we're not sure why he's there. we do know he is the subject of both civil and criminal investigations in new york city and state. now of course, he also has an office and a home inside trump tower in manhattan. so we'll keep an eye on that and everything that's happening on this, the international women's day. you can follow me on twitter, i am @scottmcgrew. >> thank you, scott. so let's take a live look at los angeles, where the number of covid cases hitting new lows once again since that really painful holiday surge, there are about 2.5 million people now vaccinated in l.a. county.

yesterday, l.a. county reported about 1,300 new cases, which is about one-sixth of the peak that we saw during the highest times. 22 additional deaths were also reported yesterday. prince harry and meghan markle really didn't hold back much in their highly-anticipated interview with oprah winfrey. during the wide-ranging interview, the duchess of sussex revealed royal insiders had concerns when she was pregnant with her son archie about how dark his skin might be. >> there is a conversation -- hold it, hold up. >> there's several conversations. there's several conversations about it. >> there's a conversation with you -- >> with harry. >> -- about how dark your baby is going to be. >> potentially and what that would mean or look like. >> ooh. and you're not going to tell me who had the conversation? >> i think that would be very damaging to them. >> okay.

>> markle also said she felt she was a victim of character assassination and that her life as a british royal was so isolating, she admitted there was a point where she "didn't want to be alive anymore." harry said he was terrified by his wife's thoughts but there were some bright and positive moments during the interview as well. the couple revealed baby number two is a girl and that the princess is due in the summertime. more details, the interview this morning sending out shock waves in england and dominating uk headlines, even though it won't air there until tonight. it's also sparking calls in parliament for an investigation into meghan's allegations. the royal family has not issued a public comment. some critics are calling the interview poorly timed because it aired while harry's 99-year-old grandfather, prince philip, is recovering after undergoing a heart procedure. his son, prince charles, is the his three weeks in the hospital.

trending for you this morning, the show must go on. the 26th annual critic's choice awards went mostly virtual over the weekend just like the golden globes. >> the late chadwick boseman won best actor for his final role in ma rainey's black bottom and emotion from 8-year-old minari star alan kim for his acceptance speech for best young actor for actress. >> i would love to be in other movies. this is a dream. i hope it's not a dream. i think i won it. >> oh! that poor baby couldn't get his words out. that is so sweet. golden globe minuter nomad land picked up four awards, including best picture. how precious is that little guy

those two things contrasting. >> he was the talk of the night for sure. >> that is so cute. oh my goodness. >> the talk of the day is going to be the forecast for you. rain coming our way, meteorologist kari hall has been tracking that for us. when can we expect it to get here, kari? >> very spotty at best, as we go into this afternoon, and later tonight, so looking at this storm system, still well off the coast, you could see the spin, the swirl and the clouds, that is the center of the storm, and you can see what's out ahead of that, as the cold front approaches the bay area. so we're starting out with a few clouds, but for some of us, it is a clear start and will continue to see clouds moving in doppler radar, ready to scan the sky for that rain that will be developing in parts of the bay

area this afternoon. take a look at where we could see the rain at about 3:00, not all of us, but a few of those hit or miss showers moving through parts of the north bay and that's what we'll see into tonight as well. but then for tomorrow, we may have our first chance of the south bay getting some rain during the morning, moving over towards some of our east bay hills, and continuing into tomorrow evening, with some off and on showers, but even a chance of some thunderstorms as we get breaks in the clouds, we could see those temperatures warming up, and that could lead to some thunderstorms and even some snow on some of our bay area hills, going into wednesday. this is going to be a fairly cold storm for the month of march, and in all, we could see the possibility of getting about a half to three-quarters of an inch of rain, up toward the north bay, along the coastline, there could be up to about an inch of rain, and then for the cierra, looking at the possibility of about a foot of snow in a lot of our ski resorts, and then for the bay

area once again, some low elevation snow at about 3,000 to 4,000 feet so that could include the summit in the santa cruz mountains as well as mt. hamilton and farther to the north, with some of our north bay mountains. after that, it's all dry, and we start to warm up for the weekend. it's looking really nice with our inland valleys in the mid to upper 60s. mike, what's going on right now for the morning commute? >> well, kari, i've been watching the oakland area but the disabled big rig not presenting a problem for 880 at seventh. the overall there's a little bit of slowing. the map shows you green sensors. south bay a little tiny bit, you see that over there in san jose north 101 around oakland road, typical there. same thing for the tri-valley, typical slowing for 84 cutting through down towards sunol and out of the altamont, where chp gave a wind advisory, probably gusty there, no big deal. heading toward the bay bridge south of there, the disabled vehicle at seventh but a little slowing at the toll plaza, a quick look shows you the volume and you see over on the left side, marcus, we have folks

hitting those brakes just before they get to the toll plaza and slow up the incline. back to you. >> thanks, mike. happening now, pope francis on his way back to the vatican after his three-day tour in iraq. the pontiff's trip covered five provinces in iraq, including a visit to baghdad, part of a tour supposed to bring hope to the marginalized christian minorities with a message of coexistence, forgiveness and peace. the pope urged the people of iraq to embrace diversity. it was the pontiff's first trip to iraq. we'll be back.

three people are recovering following a dramatic head-on crash connected to a sideshow, late last night on vanden road near one lake. one driver tried to pass another car and struck a car not involved in that side show, a passenger in the suspect's car suffered minor injuries. new this morning, if you live in santa rosa, prepare to pay more for water this summer. "the press-democrat" reported the company is increasing water rates by 2% this july along with the annual rate increases of 3% to 4% starting in 2022. the average water bill wos deal

than $1.4 million in overdue water bills because of the pandemic. investigators this morning are trying to track down some valuable boating equipment meant to teach young people how to navigate the water. that equipment belonged to sea scouts and was being stored at a marina in martinez. the group's executive officer tells us she arrived saturday morning to see storage containers ransacked and close to $10,000 worth of gear and equipment missing. >> they're devastated. all of us feel violated. this is a children's program. to steal from somebody, period, is wrong but for a children's program is even worse. >> the organization now planning to hold a drive-through fund-raiser in may to raise money to replace that equipment. right now at 6:00, a new round of stimulus checks are nearing the final hurdle. the house appears ready to

approve nearly $2 trillion covid relief bill without gop support. what to expect once it's approved and how soon president biden might sign it into law. there's also a new push for relief here at home. the assistance that may be coming soon for some struggling south bay businesses. and -- >> i was so excited. i finally had a chance to really go for something that mattered to me. >> it is international women's day and the young women making history here in the bay area, also benefiting their community at the same time. we have their story, the third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. >> and good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm