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 kris sanchez in for laura garcia. we start out with some rain in the forecast, expected to move .

i feel a little guilty being inside, with cierra and bob outside this morning. >> you do need to make sure you're wearing a heavier jacket today. maybe you'll keep that on throughout today as our temperatures struggle to make it up to 60 degrees. we'll see more clouds rolling in and rain developing by late tonight, with some spotty showers that will continue into tomorrow, and will even wrap all of this up with the chance of some thunderstorms and even some hail, and some snow on some of our bay area peaks. we'll talk about all of that in the forecast coming up in a few minutes and of course talk about when to expect that rain. >> kari, thank you. a live look at the white house this morning, where president biden has a lot on his plate this week, including the nearly $2 trillion stimulus bill he hopes to sign into law as soon as tomorrow. that will cover a new $1,400 payment to many struggling americans. >> and more we leaf may soon be

on its way for small businesses in the south bay. we have live team coverage for you this morning. we start with tracie potts in washington. >> hi, kris and marcus. we can tell you that the $1.9 trillion american rescue plan is headed back to the house of representatives today, after the senate approved it over the weekend, but made some changes that they need to take a look at, and not one republican voted for it. let's talk about the changes. they could impact how much money is coming to your wallet. the extra federal unemployment benefit on top of what california pays, was going to be $400 a week. now $300, after some negotiations, and the $1,400 payments that so many families but they phaseut after $75,000, in cut-out after $80,000 per person, so you make over $80,000, you're not going to get that money, and double that for couples, but there is money for

a child tax credit on top of that. that remains, but the billions for schools and state and local governments, republicans, that's still a sore spot for them. >> 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. >> the bill includes billions of dollars for vaccine distribution. the government doing 2.2 million shots on average a day. separate from that, president biden marked the anniversary of bloody sunday yesterday by signing an executive order that makes it easier for americans to vote, trying to expand access, and another order coming today, the white house says, that will focus on gender equality and more opportunities for women.

>> all right, thank you so much, tracie. right now we want to bring in sharon katsuda to continue our team coverage with some of the relief that may be coming to some south bay businesses, sharon. >> reporter: that's right, marcus. many businesses have shut down, in fact, the sign on this door says it had to close due to the pandemic, but for those that are still surviving, there might be some hope. here's why. supervisors plan to hold a news conference today to show support for these businesses by waiving certain permit fees for smaller businesses that have fewer than 50 employees. according to the county, about 2,600 eateries are temporarily shuttered across santa clara county, while an 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. 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, sharon. a live look at the oakland coliseum which over the weekend vaccinated a lot of people, another 15,000 or so. statewide, more than 10 million californians have at least one dose of the vaccine, but even with vaccinations moving forward and the case numbers going down, a stanford infectious disease expert warns that we are not quite out of the woods just yet. >> i agree with my colleague, dr. fauci, that it's really important that until we get at least 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 has not yet landed in the bay area, but the rollout has been bumpy up to this point with questions about

coverage for underrepresented communities. parents and students in san francisco this week are set to hit that one-year mark of classrooms being closed. this comes as the district announced its first breakthrough in reopening those 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, a recall effort and now a push to change how board members are chosen. today women's day and "today in the bay" is celebrating the achievements of women while hoping to also raise awareness about gender equality. our cierra johnson is live in marin, where a trio of young women joining an elite group dedicated to leadership and community, and this is a great story. >> reporter: yes, good morning,

kris and happy international women's day to you. when the boy scouts of america announced in early 2019 that women or young women and girls would be able to join their organization, it was inevitable that some of them would eventually reach the level of eagle scout. eagle scout a very prestigious honor celebrating leadership and commitment to community. we want to introduce to you a few of the women that have joined the ranks of eagle scouts here in marin county. 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: boy scouts of america estimates 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 of troop 1015 had to earn 21 merit badges, as well as 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: you could really hear the passion in each of their voices, talking about their projects which were really, really involved. we were putting up fences to stop erosion on some of the trails in marin, also planting wildflowers and fruits in community gardens, really amazing projects. what the women are most excited about is getting to see the next wave of women that get to become eagle scouts. as i mentioned an honor only held about 6% of folks who join the scouting program. kudos to them and the young women across the nation who are now eagle scouts. congratulations there. live in marin county, cierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> that is such a great thing. our producer was just saying s.a.t., that's how big deal an eagle scout project is. >> big deal. tony and i were talking about we were boy scouts but didn't quite make it to the eagle scouts. all right. >> oh, man.

>> he was closer than i was. 6:09 this morning. hey, we're going to take a live look. this is the golden gate bridge, we know it. nice and clear out there this morning, but you know what? meteorologist kari hall says it's not going to stay that way throughout the day. rain heading our way. much needed rain, and kari, how long is that rain going to stick around? >> it's going to be very spotty, and off and on but i'm excited to see something going on here because it's been so dry, and we're starting out with mostly clear morning across much of the bay area, that's a live look outside in dublin, and we'll start to see some clouds moving in today. as far as today, not all of us will see the rain. it's going to be very hit or miss and starting out in parts of the north bay but where we see the showers it may briefly be quite heavy and it's going to be moving from the north bay into parts of the east bay, but we should have a better chance of some rain tomorrow, and that's when we could see a few

isolated thunderstorms as well as some snow on some of our bay area peaks. so we'll talk more about how much to expect, and when we get the most widespread rain, coming up in a few minutes. mike, any problems for the morning commute? >> no problems except for me, wah. we'll look out to the roadways. look at the maps, the deal for me is that i'm trying to chase the slowing. it's showing up and then clearing. the south bay, san jose north 101 the slowing at oakland road appeared and then cleared. the rar row pointing hayward it was slow 238 to 92 for about ten minutes. now it's eased up. the tri-valley is fine and the babup at the toll plaza the only thing that's starting to grow here especially off the 880 overcrossing so we'll prepare for that. back to you. >> all right, thanks, mike. coming up next, back with vengeance. annoying robo calls hitting more americans. the most popular scams you need to look out for. we'll take a closer look at that stimulus bill, and a good way to speed up when you get

that check. let's take you out to the futures as well. looks like there's going to be a mild rise on the dow or that's the bet that the traders are making. plus talk about an unholy wake-up call at mass. you might even say it might be crass, an irish priest going viral, we'll show you why. come on back, after the break, to find out.

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good monday morning. right now at 6:14, we are waiting some much needed rain that will be moving in later this afternoon. we can see the system off the coast but starting to bring us some spotty showers later this afternoon. we'll talk more about the time line coming up in a few minutes. look at the map, the arrow on the right is the toll plaza. we see the slowing into the city, the toll plaza live tells us more of the tale as we see the backup whether on that side than folks feeding off of the maze and 808 overcrossing. it's not so bad but if you're in it, it's not good. good morning, happy monday to you as well. we had the weekend to look over the big jobs report from friday and u.s. economy added 379,000 jobs in february, also learned that more than 40% of americans

not working have been out of a job as much as 27 weeks, that say long time in fact it sets new records. as tracie was pointing out over the weekend the senate passed its version of the stimulus bill, now up to the house to revote on the senate's version that should happen tomorrow. the clock running, long-term unemployment benefits run out march 14th and that's this coming weekend. president biden is expected to sign the bill the moment the house gives it to him, that could be tuesday as well. there's some important differences between the house and senate bills and to be clear it's the senate's version that will become law of the land. the senate bill phases out phases of checks based on income and a much faster rate that will reduce the number of americans who will get the full check by about 12 million. there is no minimum wage increase in the senate version and the extra unemployment payments will be 300 a week, the house had wanted 400. the government decides whether or not you should get a check based on your most recent

tax returns, so if you had financial trouble in 2020, and you have your tax returns ready to go but haven't turned them in yet it would make a lot of sense to get those filed now. you'll get a stimulus check if you're qualified at some point but it would be smarter to make sure the government has the latest information about you and your finances, marcus and kris. >> good advice there. thanks, scott. 6:17. if you've been getting the pesky calls, it's not your imagination. you have gotten more this past month. americans together received more than $4.5 billion robo calls in february, according to the robo call blocking app umail. that's a 15% increase over january and the most popular scams right now involve health care and car warranties. ring, ring. this may not be the holy hymn one irish priest originally picked to start off mass last week. i want to you check this out. >> in the name of the father and

of the son -- ♪♪ and the holy spirit. ♪ >> that's father pat playing w. eventually he's able to mute the music, chuckles and says "a wee bit of rap in the morning wakes you up." he went on, maybe not traditional for a catholic mass but a lot of our churches keep the music pretty lively. >> absolutely. something to get you cranking for the morning. we can crank you up with the forecast, too. it's going to get you moving because the rain's coming. oh, yes, meteorologist kari hall has been tracking that. kari? >> you may be moving faster to get out of those showers that are going to be popping up here and there as we go into the next couple of days. right now, it's all dry but we can see the storm system that

will be approaching and bringing in some cold and wet weather in our forecast. let's at storm ranger once again, it's a dry start to our morning, but it's ready to pick up on the downpours that will be very hit or miss, as we look at our forecast. so make sure you have the storm ranger on the app, as well as the nbc bay area app. you'll be able to get views of what storm ranger is picking up on, because not all of us will see the rain and here we are at 2:00, 3:00 in the afternoon. some of the showers quickly passing by parts of the north bay, and then as we go into tomorrow, there may be a better chance of some of our south bay and tri-valley microclimates getting in on some rain, but it's once again going to be coming in waves, and no widespread really heavy rain here, but also the chance that those little individual downpours that pop up could also bring in some small hail, as well as some snow on some of our bay area peaks. we could see some thunderstorms in the mix here as well as late

tomorrow into the day on wednesday. that's when we will see the chance of the most widespread rain, as those temperatures stay chilly. in all, we're going to see about a half of an inch in parts of the east bay, and a little bit more in parts of the south bay, but it's possible that our coastal areas, hills and mountains get the most of that rain, over an inch possible, so that looks pretty good, but then we could wrap this up with some cold temperatures and by wednesday morning, we could see some snow on some of our bay area peaks from the summit to the mt. hamilton area and over toward parts of the north bay, that's where we occasionally see those snow-capped hills. this is pretty late in the season to see that, but i think we'll welcome it because we go back to warm and dry weather into the weekend with our inland areas headed into the mid-60s. mike, any problems for the morning commute? >> no problems but cause and effect typical. let's look at the live camera at

the bay bridge toll plaza and we're seeing a few more cars build up over here. i know it's lighter than 6:20 but the backup forming and over on the right side or the eastern side of the toll plaza area, we see more red sensors backing up a little more at the toll plaza then over on the san francisco side of the westbound bridge, things are getting lighter, that's the cause and effect. the backup at the toll plaza, meters traffic into san francisco making things lighter across the span and looks like what we're seeing. the arrow shows you around the it. . for the san mateo bridge, i saw a lot of slowing the last couple of minutes. easing up, more slowing down through hayward and in toward union city for southbound nimitz freeway. nothing major. subtle changes there in the east bay, tri-valley holds steady with the cut-through for 84 and towards sunol and the south bay's earlier slowing cleared up for 101. we may see more traffic in the next 20 minutes. back to you. >> thanks, mike. next 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. you know you can always find us on social media. sometimes we talk about the news and sometimes we talk about the news at home, what we're putting up for dinner, i showed you last hour, this time it's mike inouye's turn, take look at what he cooked up on thursday, a green penne with rowman broccoli sauce. sounds delicious. fizzo, it's a green color, italian but might be perfect to serve on st. patrick's. not everybody liked that corned beef and cabbage. tell us what make your family's mouth water. find us on facebook, twitter and instagram.

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. today is international women's day. around the world, there are events planned to honor women's contributions to history and the world. >> the "today" show diving deep into the impact of the pandemic and how it's hitting women who are working from home. many say their lives have just gotten more and 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. watch the fascinating series of interviews that might hit a little close to home. coming up next, a new round of deadly violence in bay area's largest city, how the homicide right there compares to last year. plus two governors both under fire, an update on the push each coast to remove governors newsom and cuomo. you're watching "today in the bay."

right now at 6:30, the rollout ramps up with more people getting their shots. but underserved communities are still ignored. the startling evidence shows the vaccine is not reaching the hardest-hit areas. "today in the bay" continues right now. it is monday. good morning to you. i'm marcus washington. >> and good morning, marcus. good morning to the rest of you, too. i'm kris sanchez, i'm in for laura garcia. this morning everyone talking about the bombshell interview, perhaps you saw it last night. coming up, we recap what was

said by meghan markle and prince harry as they sat down with oprah winfrey, far, far away from the royal family. first we want to talk about the rain coming our way. kari, it was a beautiful weekend, a lot of us probably took out the patio furniture. how hard do we have to scramble to get it covered up again? >> you do have a little bit of time, i think by this afternoon, we could start to see some pop-up showers, but yes, it's time to cover that stuff back up and get ready for some rain, even though we have a dry start, a beautiful view of the sunrise this morning, with a few clouds. we'll continue to see cloud cover increasing today, as the storm system approaches, but as we go into this afternoon, not all of us will see the rain. it's going to be very hit or miss and most likely starting out in parts of the north bay. by tomorrow morning, we could have a better chance at least for the rest of the bay area, so we'll talk more about that and how much you can expect, it's coming up in a few minutes. >> all right, glad to hear it.

you can track the rain as it heads to your house, too, through the nbc bay area app. it gives you free access to our storm ranger radar and you can set up weather alerts tailored to your neighborhood, where you're working, where you're headed and if you don't already have the app, you can download it for free in the app store. later this morning, bay area lawmaker also call for an immediate change to california's brand new vaccine distribution plan for the poor. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell is live this morning. bob, a lot of folks are going to be wondering why the change now. >> reporter: good morning kris and marcus. the bay area leaders which include our local state legislators say the vaccine distribution plan is just not fair and equitable to those underserved communities here in the bay area. they believe it will be leaving those communities behind. you'll recall it's just last week this governor newsom announced a new vaccine distribution plan that would allocate 40% available doses of covid-19 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 we're talking about ten zip codes here, meet this new vaccine metric. you got 2% even though the bay area has 20% of the state's population. state senator dave cortezzi of san jose is part of the bay area delegation demanding the state reformulate the vaccine distribution. he writes that 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 that we put on your tv screen breaks down the percentage of vaccine doses administered by race and ethnicity. this is people who have gotten at least one shot. thee of californians who identify as white is quite a bit more than we see in the minority communities, 32% of those who have received the vaccines are white, less than 3% are black, even though according

to the latest census bureau data, blacks represent double of that amount of the population. of those who received doses, 17% for the latino community, even though they represent almost 40% of the state's population. it should be noted that more than 10% of those who received a first shot were identified as unknown, meaning that some of those minorities who received shots might be undercounted. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> bob, we also want to add a record number of americans received vaccinations over the weekend, numbering more than 5 million. here is california's look for you right now. over the first week of march, the number of doses jumped about 8.7 million. this is to 2.3 million people you can see right here. the weekly total is still only about half of the governor's goal of 3 million vaccinations per week. and if you're looking for information on how and where to get your shot, just go to

planyourvaccine.com. put in your state and occupation and that's planyourvaccine.com. a massive and deadly covid outbreak in california's prison system seems to give way to a new stage, that is herd 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-19. it's believed about 8% of the prison population now falls into one of those two categories. happening today, more than four years after the ghost ship derek al mia sentencing will determine whether he goes back to jail or if he will be

monitored electronically at home. almena is currently free on bail the jury was deadlocked whether to convict almena during the trial last year for the 2016 deadly fire. new details this morning on the effort to recall governor gavin newsom. recall leaders say they easily have enough signatures to qualify for a ballot measure. organizers collected close to 2 million signatures and hope to gather double that amount by march 17th. all signatures will have to be verified, and if the measure does qualify, a election would most likely be held this fall. the governor's office not commenting. new york governor andrew cuomo is on defense once again this morning, refusing calls to resign amid a sexual harassment scandal.

just last week, at least three women accused publicly cuomo misbehaved with them. over the weekend, two more women aides came forward, also alleging inappropriate behavior. cuomo has denied harassing women and last week apologized for the way his behavior made them feel. dozens of fellow democrats are calling on him to resign. live to bay area walnut creek there, also the bay bridge and it is a chilly start. i could say that i've chilled inside the house, meteorologist kari hall tracking when the rate is set to arrive and it will be a cold storm. >> yes and we are talking about snow on some of our bay area hills so as we look at the sunrise this morning, it's starting out clear, but we'll start to see clouds rolling in today. if you're worried about the rain, and you're in the tri-valley, it's not going to be until later today and we're looking at our temperature trend

going from the low 40s to the mid-50s. i'd say you need that jacket close by all throughout the afternoon, and we'll start to see the hit-or-miss rain popping up later this afternoon. we'll talk more about that in the forecast coming up. mike, how is it looking for the commute? >> looks like we're having an issue with mike's mic, but we'll get that to you in a bit. kris? >> i thought it was me. good, i'm glad to know i'm not alone. coming up next, what could be an intense day in minnesota. the trial begins for the officer charged in the killing of george floyd. a live report on the security measures ahead of that high-profile president biden this morning will meet with two women that he is going to ask the senate to

promote to four-star general on this international women's day. look, i was really ashamed to say it at the time, and ashamed to have to admit it to harry, especially, because i know how much loss he's suffered. >> bombshell claims in prince harry and meghan markle's sit-down interview with oprah. the couple's revelations now triggering worldwide criticism of the royal family. we'll talk about it when we return. 6:39. four, five, turn, kick. we got chased by these wild coyotes! they were following her because she had beef jerky in her pocket. (laughing) (trumpet playing) someone behind me, come on.

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happy monday. right now at 6:41, pretty cool looking shot of the sun rising over mt. diablo as we get a live look at walnut creek. rain coming in later today, tracking it on the radar with a time line that's coming up in a few minutes. and a quick look at the build for the bay bridge toll plaza. all lanes filled in over the last ten minutes but the span itself moves smoothly and so does the maze. we'll show you a bigger view coming up. police in san jose investigating a violent weekend, last night they say that a man was shot and killed near the corner of carnelian and sante drives at about 6:00 p.m. followed a shooting saturday night that killed a man in east san jose. no word on an arrest in either cases. this marks nine homicides in san jose this year. last year it didn't happen until april. and developing for you this

morning, jury selection begins in the matter of moments 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 this morning outside of the courthouse with a closer look at what to expect as high-profile case gets under way. jay? >> good morning, marcus, you're absolutely right. it sparked that call for change across the country and the call continues this morning and has through the weekend. george floyd died, his neck under the knee of derek chauvin, a former minneapolis police officer and jury selection begins. he's one of four police officers charged in floyd's death. we've seen crowds this morning, starting before the sun came up

and growing as we move into the morning hours here. through the weekend, we saw thousands of people in the downtown area, peaceful protests, peaceful memorials remembering george floyd, something that's going to continue, they say, as the nation's attention now turns back to what happened here last summer. jury selection is going to be a process that could take three weeks or so, and really crucial for both sides in this case. >> the goal should be there's a process of jurors that's representative of different political viewpoints, different races, different genders, and then that promotes a confidence. so i think taking jury selection seriously in this case is critical for the entire country. >> reporter: security also critical here on the ground in minneapolis and we've seen

buildings boarded up, we've got a fence and razor wire around the courthouse here, and you've got law enforcement from at least 12 agencies that plan to be on the ground through the duration until a verdict in this case. marcus? >> busy morning. jay gray in minneapolis, jay, thank you. you can be a part of 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. it is international women's day, and today president biden will appear with the military's two most powerful women. >> women he's promoting to four-star generals, big news here, scott. >> it is and certainly something we've been tracking for quite some time. today the president is going to make a statement both literally and figurative lay peering alongside two of his top generals.

army lieutenant general laura richardson and jacqueline ovis. biden approved hair promotion but the senate must also vote yes. that has not yet happened. donald trump's former defense secretary mark esper says he and the pentagon 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. it reduces the number of americans getting a full sized check, extra unemployment benefits are smaller but the notable thing the senate bill is miss something a federal minimum wage increase. arizona democrat kristen sinema dramatically putting an end to the wage increase with an enthusiastic thumbs down, reminding many of another time another arizona senator, john mccain, did the same thing to protect owe obamacare. 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. >> they will vote on tuesday. and then president biden could sign the law as soon as the same day. the checks could go out in a couple 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. other news, we're 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 entirely sure why. 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. we'll be watching that and watching what president bide. does today, talking about it on twitter. you can find me there, i am @scottmcgrew. prince haar require and meghan markle didn't hold anything back in their big 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 would be when he was born. >> 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 >> 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 suicidal thoughts but there were some bright and positive moments during the interview as well. couple revealed the baby they're expecting is a girl and due in the summertime. >> congratulations to them on that. trending 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 young actor or actress.

>> i hope i'll be in another movie or two. is this a dream? i hope it's not a dream. i think i won it. >> he made me cry that hard, too. the little golden globe winner how great the little actor is responding the way the grownups feel inside, he couldn't help but show it. >> i'm sure well deserved there. 6:50 for you this morning. you know what? we're deserving the rain because we haven't had a lot of it this year. meteorologist kari hall tells us the good news we're going to get today. >> yes, so finally at least some scattered showers. it's not a widespread heavy rain but we have storm ranger powered up and ready to track the hit or

miss downpours. through the time line we'll see a chance of showers later this afternoon in the north bay, and it may not be until tomorrow morning when areas south of san francisco start to see some of thing about this system initially is that the rain will be very scattered, and where we get the scattered showers, there will be possibly some brief heavy downpours, some small hail, maybe some rumbles of thunder and we could see that continue in the forecast into tuesday night, and then into wednesday as well. this is going to be a slower moving system than what we had over the weekend, and also looks to bring us some beneficial rainfall totals anywhere from a quarter to half inch of rain and then we could see this wrapping up with some cold temperatures and some snow on some of our bay area peaks from the santa cruz summit to around mt. hamilton, and parts of the north bay, we could see snow on hills above 3,000 feet. this is going to be a cold storm

for march, and then we go back to some warmer weather, the inl areas in the upper 60s but yes, we will be of course closely watching all of the active weather headed our way. so keep checking in for updates. mike, what's the update now on the morning commute? >> well, the update is that apparently my software has another button that can mute me, so i figured that out. we're looking over toward the maps where with we can speak freely. slowing near the dublin interchange that popped up over the last 15 to 20 minutes. it will stick around. nothing is holding folks up there. the bay bridge toll plaza that slowing at the toll plaza with the red, you see it on the camera, but compared from last time, it's a little bit lighter, so that's better, i guess. back to you. >> all right, thanks, mike. happening now, pope francis on his way back to the vatican, after his three-day tour of iraq. every turn of his trip the pope urged iraqis to embrace

diversity. this was the pontiff's first trip to iraq. next a quick look at our top stories including new claims that california is coming up short in the vaccine rollout, especially in hardest-hit communities. plus, it is international women's day and we are saluting some bay area women, young women making history, how their ground-breaking accomplishment is also helping their community. you're watching "today in the bay."

. welcome back. here is a quick look at our top stories this morning, including a major push to get the covid vaccine to california's hardest-hit communities. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell live with a look at what bay area state lawmakers are calling for. bob? >> reporter: in about four hours, talking to a group of bay area legislators, kris and marcus and call on the state to reformulate its vaccine distribution plan for the poor. they say it is not fair, not equitable for the underserved communities here in the bay area. you recall governor newsom announced the new plan that the state will allocate 40% of available doses of covid-19 vaccine to 8 million californians, these are californians in communities that are ranked lowest in the so-called healthy places index. but only 2% of bay area residents meet this new metric.

they're in ten different zip codes in our area, despite the fact the bay area represents 20% of the state's population, so 2% versus 20% that we actually represent. state senator dave cortezzi of san jose is bart part of the bay area delegation demanding the state reformulate the vaccine distribution writes "this is a matter of life and death for our community." rorng live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> bob, thank you. parents and students in san francisco are set to mark one year of closed classrooms. this comes as the district announced its first breakthrough in reopening schools thanks to an agreement late friday, some classrooms will reopen april 12th. critics say this amounts to a few of more than 100 schools in the district and provides no time line for older students. if you've driven the stretch between walnut creek and lafayette on a monday or on a friday night since august, you probably noticed the trump supporters who have gathered

there on the overpass above highway 24. happening today, lafayette councilmember also request help from the state to clear them out. the concern is that they are a safety hazard. members of the group called contra costa county patriots say that they are exercising their first amendment rights. also to mark international women's day, we are celebrating three special eagle scouts, they're new ones, they're young women in early 2019, the boy scouts announced that young women and girls could join and recently the first group received their honors, including three members of troop 1015 of marin. these young women had to earn 21 merit badges and plan and organize and manage and complete extensive community service projects. >> i don't think a lot of people understood the gravity of it, i guess. for us, it's been really momentous and like a really exciting, new option for us to

take. >> these young women call it an honor to become trailblazers and looking forward to setting examples for other young women. >> congratulations to them. take a look outside with me, golden gate bridge for you this morning. it's clear and the start to the morning across the bay area. it's not clear for much longer. meteorologist kari hall is monitoring the rain headed our way and we need to get ready. >> yes we do, and we're going to see the off and on showers starting late tonight, continuing throughout the day tomorrow, as well as wednesday, and then we go back to some dry weather, but we'll be tracking all of that for you, so make sure you have the nbc bay area app to get alerts as rain approaches your location. how is it looking heading to work this morning, mike? >> looking like this, across from oakland into san francisco, a little bit lighter, the backup is here but no problems and toward the south bay as well, northbound 101 easing up from whatever slowing we had, marcus, so this is by the studio i

guess, you're the only one who knows anything about this shot. >> so true. that does it for us this morning. >> my commute was short from there to here. >> we'll see you back here tomorrow morning. the "today" show is next. good morning. going nuclear. >> i just didn't -- i just didn't want to be alive anymore. >> stunning after stunning allegation in meghan markle's tell-all interview with oprah winfrey. the duchess accusing the palace of flagrant racism, including this alleged conversation about her unborn son.t not naming nam painting a bleak picture of royal life.