asian massage parlors. what leaders are saying here at home. president biden has a busy agenda on this st. patrick's day. the key meeting set to happen in a matter of hours as the issues over immigration continue to boil over. >> and expanding vaccine access. the north bay county lowering the minimum age to receive a covid-19 vaccine as there are line jumpers. "today in the bay" continues now. a very good wednesday morning to you. thank you so much for joining us. >> i'm marcus washington. we begin with the latest out of that string of deadly shootings in the atlanta area. all is quiet there this morning. but eight people are dead from the shooting. targeting three massage parlors. authorities say the victims are mostly women of asian dissent. >> this morning one suspect in custody. police so far not confirming a motive with the recent asian attacks and asian-americans in

the bay area, many already on high alert. today in the bay's reporter joins us live in san francisco with the latest on that investigation. how community groups and police are also responding. sierra? >> yes, good morning, marcus and laura. investigators continue to look into those shootings. one of their -- one aspect of the investigation is to determine whether or not these shootings were racially motivated. the shootings coming following a string of racist attacks across the country. now let's take you down to atlanta to what it looks like following those shootings. the first shooting happened about 30 minutes north of the city in cherokee county. the other two shootings played out in atlanta at massage parlors across the street from each other. each shooting had multiple victims. most of them as we mentioned asian women. this morning 21-year-old robert aaron long remains behind bars after being arrested. suspected of killing eight people. in the overnight hours, leaders from the asian communities across the country including right here in the bay area have

responded. oakland police say they are monitoring that situation in georgia. police chief telling us the department stands with the aapi community against these horrific crimes. and in new york city, counter-terrorism officers have been deployed throughout the city as a precaution. we also heard from leaders from some anti-asian hate organizations here in the bay. take a listen. >> i'm really outraged. >> reporter: as the investigation into the situation continues, we're expectsing to learn more about that suspect, that individual behind bars. what we do know right now is that 21-year-old was arrested 120 miles south of the city of atlanta. so with more details are

released, we'll be sure to relay them to you. live in san francisco, sierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> thank you very much, sierra. 5:02. authorities in both sides of the bay are investigating new attacks targeting asian men. one happened monday in san francisco's mission district. police say a man now in custody walked up to a 64-year-old man and slashed had his face with a knife. he then allegedly hopped on bart and punched a 59-year-old asian man in the head several times before getting away again. both victims were badly injured. officers have not identified the race of the first victim. and they're not yet calling the second attack a hate crime. but in oakland, another attack yesterday in this case the victim was a 76-year-old asian man. police say someone walked up to him, punched him in the face and then just walked away. that attacker has also not been found. you can help stop the hate.

nbc bay area and our parent company comcast partners with the bay area based asian pacific fund. we'll provide grants to organizations working to stop attacks against the asian and asian-american community. if you want to donate, we added a link to our website. >> intelligence, immigration, and ireland. this is on the st. patrick's day and all on tap for the white house agenda. today in the bay's tracie potts is breaking down the president's busy day on tap and a big sitdown involving senate democrats and republicans. certainly a lot going on in washington today. >> no question about that, marcus. the big it isdown, lawmakers from both sides trying to figure out what to focus on next on their agenda. it's immigration. now with these 4,000 children being housed by border patrol down at the u.s.-mexico border. the biden administration is trying to figure out what to do. >> reporter: as president biden

prepares for a virtual meeting with ireland's prime minister on this st. patrick's day, his administration faces increasing pressure over the growing number of migrants piling up at the u.s.-mexico border. there have been more than 1,000 new entries in the last week. and 4,000 unaccompanied children now in border patrol custody. >> translator: she cries and is scared. before she wasn't like that. she was very happy. >> reporter: homeland security secretary testifies before senate committee today. he says we're on pace to see the largest influx in 20 years. >> it's getting worse because of president biden's policies. what president trump was doing was working. >> president biden tells abc he's been clear. >> i can say quite clearly, don't come. we're in the process of getting set up. don't leave your town or city or community. >> reporter: today democrat and republican senators neat decide whether to focus on immigration. the minimum wage, or

infrastructure. this as the director of national intelligence releases a new report that russia, not china, interfered to get president trump re-elected. >> russia has these really brazen, high impact, high visibility efforts. meanwhile, in the background, china's playing a much slower, quieter game. >> reporter: the report found that russian president putin personally authorized efforts to undermine public confidence in the election. tracie potts, nbc news. new this morning, a deal to bring students back in the classroom. leaders last night approved a plan to bring the youngest students back one week from tomorrow. march 25th. get the backpacks ready. in the meantime, later today, school superintendent will update the efforts to get more kids back into the classroom. san mateo high school district has a return plan for the end of the movement many younger students in san mateo county

already returned to campus. this county first to 50 as in the new minimum age to be eligible to receive the covid-19 vaccine. county leaders made that announcement yesterday, becoming the first in the bay area to do so. health leaders say they're still counting monthly on the honor system. >> you know, we do the best we k but for the most part, we trust people to be honest and it's on the honor system when people show up that they are not misrepresenting their situation. >> those new age limits apply to anyone who lives or works in the county. although health leaders also admit they're hoping california ramps up the vaccine supplies as promised. if you're looking for information on how and where to get your shot, just go to planyourvaccine.com. >> 5:07. a followup.

oakland leaders approved a unique program that will in some cases use the fire department instead of police department to respond to calls. oakland council member caplan tweeted they approved a new program in east oakland for calls involving mental health issues and other nonviolent crimes. the fire department will dispatch counsellors or other nonpolice staff. that program will be in effect for at least the next year. and new this morning, newly released documents show oakland paid more than $13 million to defend itself against goesha warehouse fire civil lawsuits. east bay times reports that legal fees are on top of that $33 million settlement. the city made with the families of the 36 people who died in the 2016 fire. the city attorney declined to answer how much of the overall cost and payout will have to be covered by taxpayers rather than insurance. taking a live look outside, the beautiful bay bridge this

morning. the to the plaza is there. they're going to be outdoors. they're cracking down on drinking and driving. last year state wi on st. patrick's day, the chp reported seven deaths and 116 injuries due to dui crashes. this year the pandemic is adding to the chp crackdown. and abc agents also making sure that businesses comply with the covid-19 restrictions. guys, maybe just have your beer in your kitchen with your corn beef today or whatever you're going to do celebrate your st. patrick's. everybody is a little irish today. >> let's go to the weather. let's take a look. i went back to check my

ancestry. i'm 5% irish. >> wow. look at you. do a little jig. >> all right. yeah. a little bit of luck today as we're going to have some nice weather. although it's very cold. it looks more like blue compared to green. we get a look at our temperatures right now. and some of us are just degree or two above freezing. so we have the frosty conditions to start out on our tuesday -- now it's wednesday morning. let's make it on through the week. we'll see our temperatures today in spots like antioch reaching up to 60. it will be cloudy and rain comes in tomorrow. mike, what is it looking like right now for the commute? >> it's looking like i might be less than 5% irish. i don't know. we'll check. i haven't done the analysis. we get to the roadway, traffic flows nicely, green, green, green. a little bit through livermore. i circled an issue. there is a disabled truck. sounds like a larger truck.

maybe a big rig northbound around vargas. we're watching for slowing heading from fremont. back to you. >> thanks, mike. a new development in hawaiian vacation that is stirring up the hornets nest of controversy. it involved california lawmakers visiting maui in the heat of the pandemic last fall. so ahead for you at 5:25, what a new report is revealing about who went. the head of fed is going to talk about the kbhe today. wall street takes it so seriously looking at every single word he says. we'll take a look coming up. plus, here or there, we know they can provide a powerful sting. one woman for her way around the hive. we'll bee right back after this break.

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right now, 5:13. as we get a look at our exercise forecast for the morning weather's jogging or going for a bike ride, it will be cold. san jose starts out with temperatures in the upper 30s. and there won't be as much sunshine later today. we'll talk about rain arriving in our forecast. that's coming up in a few minutes. >> and i'm still tracking that rig as you head out to fremont. that's on 680. no major issues. north bay, no major traffic. we're looking at southbound with the headlights and the curves. there may be an issue heading to or across that bridge.

i'm going to clarify and let you know coming up. >> top of the morning. big changes for uber in the uk. uber classifies the drivers as full employees. after a court made them do it. back here the ahome, a federal open market's committee completes its two day interest rate meeting and fed chief jay powell will speak after the conclusion of that meeting. wall street looks for any hint on what the fed will do next. there is a lot of pressure on powell really. he needs to choose his words so very carefully as he talks about the risk of inflation or the chances of an interest rate hike. usually the fed just puts out a written statement. here's a little secret. they usually just crib the last statement they made even that though is poured over with a fine tooth comb. here are portions of two past statements recently. they just copy the old one but make small changes to words like

we'll continue changes to continues. and wall street spends days debating what that means. what are they trying to tell us? this fellow in the blue tie is the chief financial officer at santa clara's intel talking to the senate judiciary committee yesterday about how america is running out of computer chips. the whole world really. honda and toyota say they'll pause car building, no chips. samsung says they're having problems building new phones and might delay releases because no chips. and san francisco's visa says the delay increasing so-called swipe fees, this is the money you charges merchants for processing credit cards or debit card sales. congress has been pressuring credit card processing companies not to hike rates and they're listening. businesses are just trying to get back. and let's not hit them with more fees right now.

you don't pay visa or not until your credit card bill comes. >> yeah. but as a daughter of a former retailer, some of those fees really high. >> very high. >> all right. thank you very much. new this morning, the battle brewing over vaccine passports. some are wondering if it's an opening of a pandora's box. so few nations hit hard by the loss in tourist dollars are saying if a vaccine passport becomes available, they'll accept clear travelers. it would be proof on your phone that you received a vaccine. some argue it raises issues including whether people who received a vaccine should receive special privileges. but an even bigger issue is privacy. >> people really want to have trust that their information stays in their control. >> we think people should have -- should have a voice, their own voice to be able to determine, you know, when and where they want to share this information. >> experts saying the coming

months it may be more than countries weighing the possibilities. may actually extend things like entertainment and sporting events as well. turning this morning to internet buzzing over this unique beekeeper. erica thompson. she is going viral on tiktok for her bee removals. she uses her bare hands. look at that. they scoops the bees to safety without gloves, nor does she wear mask. her videos have more than 60 million views. thompson will be on the today show this morning to explain why her life's mission is more than just eye catching viral videos. you have to watch that full story at 7:00 right after today in the bay. how cool is that? >> she's brave. >> yeah. very brave. mike is like, nope, not me. >> not me. >> all right. they're probably sleeping right now. its cold out there. there are so many blossoms on

trails and neighborhoods now. feels like spring. that is around the corner. >> yeah. we're going walking. yeah, we're going walking. we're doing this number. you know, trying to keep the bees away. because they've been all over, especially the lavendar plants that are really fragrant right now. we're spending more time out there. not this morning. it's going to be cold starting out just a couple of degrees above freezing in some spots in our inland valleys. we're at 37 now in concord. and we're just one degree above freezing in morgan hill as well as napa. so we do have this chilly start to the day once again. it felt warmer because of the sunshine. that is something we won't have today. we're headed to 57 in oakland and clear lake and san francisco will reach 55 degrees. 59 today in palo alto. and it's a little cooler than normal. we also have another storm system headed our way.

so we're already starting to see the clouds reaching in. by 5:00 tomorrow morning, light rain is spreading across the north bay and starting to reach elsewhere across the bay area. we'll see the rain off and on throughout the day tomorrow and then some of those showers will take a break from time to time. it looks like by friday morning, we're starting to see the rain tapering off except for the north bay. during this time, we could see a quarter to half inch of rain. not really a heavy storm moving in. but it does look to bring some decent sierra snow. anywhere from 3 to 12 inches of snow and thent weekend we clear out once again. we could be watching out for some more showers early next week. mike, you've been keeping an eye on the roads. anything popping up?

>> no, i'm following the trivalley issue. we'll show you the map coming up right here with a smooth drive. right now we do go to the trivalley for the first issue. this is a disabled big rig northbound 680. chp says it is partially sticking out into the slow lane. stay to your left, one lane, as you travel north then you'll be okay. coming into sonoma from 84, you're doing fine. typical pattern over. there the bay bridge toll playsa with the arrow, no slowing there. richmond center bridge, no problem there. some word of something going on. but it's clear. and so is the toll plaza for the bay bridge. easy flow. just starting to pick up a bit. >> all right. here's good news for you. out of the hospital. tiger woods now recovering at his home following that horrific rollover crash. his new message to supporters. but first, all week long we're sharing stories of resilience to look forward at the way that's we may emerge from the pandemic and we're also

looking back at last photos taken before the covid-19 shutdown began. here are a few posted on my facebook page. this picture was taken at a high school in morgan hill. this is on march 7th. this is before schools were sent home for virtual learning. and this picture was posted of him running in a spartan race. how cool is that? all this week we're going to share videos and photos. share them with us on social media and you might see them right here on "today in the bay." 5:22. we'll be right back.

tiger woods came home from the hospital yesterday. he said he is grateful for the support and encouragement he received. last month woods was seriously injured when his suv flipped over while police say he was driving at high speeds in l.a.'s rancho paolo's verdes. new video this morning that aftermath of a deadly explosion in southern california where two people died. it happened yesterday in ontario just outside of los angeles. firefighters say a stockpile of

fireworks exploded. the roof actually completely ripped off. debris scattered everywhere. sadly, a horse in a nearby stable was also injured. these were not simply sparklers and m-80s. >> they're commercial grade. you normally see them at a fireworks show. >> possession or use of fireworks is illegal in that area for people who don't have a permit. >> followup, a new fact finding by poe litke yoe confirms what a few lawmakers are reluctant to admit about attending a four day lobbyist conference in maui. this is during the height of the pandemic. it raised high browse here at home. "politico" obtained documents showing six more lawmakers that refused to answer questions did attend. that's on top of the ten confirmed earlier. most are from southern california. one napa state senator bill dodd

is from the bay area. of they have all attended distancing rules. one man has a fish story no one else ever believed. but also the images he has those to prove it. >> that's right, he reeled in a shark last week. the video was shared about it fishing charter company. they say it took about 40 minutes to reel in that shark. i imagine. great white is one step away from being endangered. he quickly released it back into the water. i'm surprised his line didn't snap. >> i know. huge. >> what an angler there. >> i know. >> coming up next, we'll take a look at the top stories that we're following including but the new pandemic worries in the east bay. and a new discovery leaving connecticut tra costa leaders concerned. oakland considers a new residential push that may help more people make it in the bay.

right now, we're looking into a hate crime. a question that is unanswered this morning. eight people are shot and killed in attacks on asian massage parlors near atlanta. police are saying so far about a motive. >> plus the luck of the irish shining orange, not green, in san mateo county on this st.

patrick's day. there are a lot of people throughout for the first bay county to slide into the orange tier. >> and the debate finally seemingly over when it comes to the ferris wheel stay in golden gate park. no more going in circles on this one. "today in the bay" continues right now. >> good wednesday morning you to. happy st. patrick's day as well. >> we begin with developments in the dead will i violence in the atlanta area. eight people are dead following shootings at three different massage parlors. majority of the victims believed to be women of asian dissent. >> the lone suspect now tied to all three shootings is in police custody. many are asking what would prompt someone to do this. nbc news blayne alexander is in atlanta to tell us what police are saying. >> reporter: good morning to you both. here in atlanta, there are still a number of moving pieces. we're talking about three different shootings, all of which happened in the span of

about an hour. in fact, two of them happened just feet away from each other. so the first happened about 45 minutes north of atlanta. officials there got a call from somebody who fired shots inside. four people were killed there. and about the same time, maybe about 45 minutes to an hour later, police here in atlanta got a call for shots fired at a similar business. they were responding to that, they got calls for shots fired at another business right across the street. so we know that officials have arrested one suspect, the 21-year-old from georgia. he was arrested two hours south of atlanta. listen to what one witness had to say about hearing the shots fired and then listen to an official who believes, of course, all of those three shootings are connected. >> we heard numerous gun shots from across the street. >> really good information about his vehicle. so from what i understand, they were comparing the images of the suspect and his vehicle and tag

information and all that with what they have down there. that's how we came to a conclusion he was also a suspect. >> as for the motive in all of this, officials are still investigating. they not yet released a motive in this. they are not labelling this a hate crime. but they're not yet ruling it out either. saying that they are exploring all possibilities. guys, back to you. >> all right. blayne alexander, thank you. >> san mateo county the first in the bay area to re-enter the orange tier. "today in the bay's" chris sanchez is in the area. this is almost to the day of the first shelter order. >> yeah. we were having corn beef and cabbage around our kitchen table this time last year. businesses lost that opportunity to bring customers in. so they had to get creative over the last year to make sure that customers kept coming back. we are in redwood city. this is the irish house. also in downtown san mateo owe

neil's irish pub ordered up corn beef and cabbage. but as you might expect, this location could only serve 38 people inside at a time and there will be security there to enforce it. even in a limited capacity though, p em say they're ready. >> i think it's about time. people are getting vaccinated now and it's opening things up in california in the bay area. it's going to help a lot of businesses get back on track. >> so here's what to expect in the orange tier. in addition to those changes from wineries, breweries, distilleries and bars, nonessential workers can start going back to work. however, remote work is still recommended. there are three more bay area counties with their eyes on that orange tier. santa clara, san francisco, and marin all meet the criteria. now they need the state to wave them through. redwood city, chris sanchez. >> chris, thank you. >> doctors have detected the

first two cases of the more contagious uk covid-19 variant. they're also fearing that it is likely more cases out there. variant not only spreads faster, but recent studies have concluded that it also likely is more deadly. specialists are still warning people to wear the masks and socially distance and get vaccinated. >> developing now, the search for a gunman in a deadly shooting near an elementary school. set to welcome back students for the first time today. it happened about 5. 5:15 last night. deputies did chase car that may be tied to the shooting into oakland's rockridge neighborhood. we know they're looking for suspects who took off on foot. but there is no word on any arrest. >> this is to help people make it in the bay. the east bay times reports that council members have approved a plan at looking to allow four

plex residential structures in what are single family neighborhoods. the argument is the neighborhoods reduce housing supply. a recent cal study found 65% of oakland's residential land falls under that designation. athis the point, there is no commitment to follow-through on that plan but to simply explore the possibility. >> now to a follow up for you. the ferris wheel, golden gate park. it is staying around for a little longer. the supervisors in san francisco approved a four year extension. you may recall it arrived in the park just before the pandemic hit and they had to shut it down. some neighbors complained about the lights and the noise though when it did reopen which led supervisor to propose a one year extension. the full board shot down that idea yesterday. four years to make your reservations. spotted in the bay. the first hump back whale of the year swimming in the san francisco bay. the whale was spotted last week

feeding and now several people have reported seeing the same whale in that area. we confirmed it. experts with the marine mammal center say most hump backs start showing up at the bay starting in april. so a little unusual to see this one early. the center says boaters should now be on alert for whales. get out and about. no doubt. like all of us. >> out and about. but if you're going out, very cool sight. if you go out there today, going to need that jacket. a big strong jacket because it's cold. it's 40 degrees right now. that's cold. >> that is cold, especially by our standards. taking a look at the temperatures around the bay area. some spots are just a degree or two above freezing right now. and so you may even have to scrape frost off of the car before you get going. as we look at our commute through the trivalley, we're starting out all clear here. take a look at these temperatures. and what it will feel like throughout the morning with

upper 30s to start. and then we gradually make it into the mid 50s by lunch time. but it won't be as bright and sunny as yesterday. that's because rain will be in here soon. we'll talk about the time line in a few minutes. mike, how it is looking for the commute elsewhere across the bay area? >> the colors are changing on my speed censor for the better for folks driving in through the trivalley. take a look. i've been tracking this disabled big rig north 680. a little there. goes from orange to yellow behind that 680. i think they just cleared that rig shy of mission or perhaps closer to vargas. our sensors are a little liberal in that area. there is slowing coming into the commute direction. i'll track both of those issues for that trivalley area. overall, the drive very light right now around the bay including at the bay bridge toll plaza. we're taking a live look. we're just now starting to see a little more traffic. no delays through the maze or toll plaza. bob? >> one year after covid-19, mike, and traffic is picking

back up on the roads. how close the commute is coming to being back to prepandemic. >> sounds like they did it again. russia once again accused of interfering with the election. this time in 2020. >> signatures must be turned in by today. this is for a ballot measure to recall governor newsom. it's likely organizers have the numbers. what the governors is saying to critics this morning. struggling to manage my type 2 diabetes was knocking me out of my zone, but lowering my a1c with once-weekly ozempic® helped me get back in it. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic® ♪ my zone? lowering my a1c and losing some weight. now, back to the show.

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good wednesday morning. 5:41. home schooling today and heading out in the backyard in antioch. expect the temperatures very chilly to start. it won't be as bright and sunny. more clouds move in today. we're still headed up to about 60 degrees. we'll talk about when that rain gets here coming up in a few minutes. >> and the traffic just starting to get here. and the issue is cruise are also getting to that disabled big rig over there in fremont on 680. on the peninsula, 101 moves smoothly. headlights into san mateo. there is a number of spots with road work through san mateo county. just slow for the cones. move over a lane. you have space. happening today, the deadline for organizers to hand over the signatures in their effort to recall governor newsom is today. the group says they have enough valid suggests to qualify the measure for a special election. this week governor newsom is addressing the issue head on.

yesterday he said that he's ready for a fight despite the distractions. >> reality is looks like it's going on the ballot. so we're ready to go. and my tone is only this. it's one of intense focus and energy. we'll fight it and defeat it. >> the governor argue ms. recall supporters are from fringe conservative groups even from out of the state. about 1.5 million signatures are needed. counties have until april 29th to verify. >> and if enough signatures are verified, a recall election will take place in october or november. voters are deciding newsom's replacement. right now three contenders throwing their hat into that ring. the latest is former sacramento area congressman doug osi. also former san diego mayor kevin faulkner. and businessman john cox who newsom soundly defeated in the 2018 governor's race. remember gavin newsom's dinner at the french laundry last november made so many

headlines? it's apparently prompting him to expand his subsequent ban on political consultants trying to lobby him. there was a memo obtained indicating all unpaid lobbyists along with those unpaid will be banned from lobbying him and his administration. the dinner was a birthday party for his close friend who is a lobbyist. also he caught heat mostly because the dinner flew in the face of distancing rules that we were all under. >> how about this follow up? dianne feinstein is not going anywhere any time soon. that is her response to rumors swirling about an early retirement. this week with an interview, gavin newsom was asked if he would replace feinstein with a black woman if she retired. well, he said that he would. the reports that feinstein shot down the resume yours. she is the oldest sitting senator and won her sixth term in 2018. president biden offered his

strongest words yet about new york state governor andrew cuomo. >> biden says cuomo should step down if allegations against him are found to be true. >> president bide instel asking if cuomo is given a chance until that investigation is over. but, yeah, in an interview with abc last night, president biden said he thought governor cuomo should leave office if the investigation finds credible evidence he harassed female staffers. biden speculated cuomo could face criminal prosecution over the issue. president biden who you will remember was a senator for decades also said he supported changes to the senate's filibuster rules. it only takes a majority of senators to pass a law. but it takes 60% of them to agree to have the vote in the first place. you can stop all progress altogether just by standing up and speaking forever. that's how it used to be. but lately congress just said threatening to speak for a long time is good enough. you don't actually have to get up there and read the phone book. president biden is saying last

night maybe we should go back to that. you have to do some work to do the filibuster. other democrats say let's get rid of it altogether. here is mitch mcconnell's reaction. >> let me say this very clearly. for all 99 of my colleagues. nobody serving in this chamber can even begin -- can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched earth senate would look like. >> no reaction so far as u.s. intelligence once again said russia, once again, interfered with the election this time in 2020. working closely with donald trump p's supporters to smear joe biden and help donald trump. the american intelligence community said the same in 2016. something trump never wanted to accept. in fact, telling a reporter at a press conference in helsinki, standing rite next to putin, that he believed putin's denials

over the u.s. intelligence community's reports. now the report says iran tried to help joe biden, seeing him as the more favorable candidate. it also says china thought bint about interfering but didn't. russia and china tried to influence voters in, no case did a country hack or manipulate the actual voting process. you may recall that is almost exactly what former homeland security chris krebs told all of us right after the 2020 election. they tried to influence but didn't mess with the voting machines. this is counter to what trump was saying. they suggest that krebs be taken out and shot. trump fired krebs instead. we're watching everything on twitter. the first lady is traveling to day, pushing the stimulus plan. we'll be talking about that. you'll find me there. >> sounds good. thanks so much, scott.

taking a live look at the san francisco skyline. the salesforce tower is closer to having a new company nearby. we're talking about a new building. it could change the skyline. supervisors yesterday approved what is called the parcel f project. it's on howard street. it will be 806 foot tall tower which you can see from the renderings here, will probably have a pretty major presence. the approval comes despite salesforce recently pulling out of a lease agreement for office space in that high-rise. >> we tun our coming back from covid-19 series. one year later, the bay area shut down due to the pandemic. traffic is starting to rev up again on the roadways. today in the bay is live for us near interstate 580 in livermore. workers are fortunate enough to keep their jobs. they have spent a lot of time in traffic. could that change?

>> yeah. good morning. at the peak of the shutdown, drivers here in the bay area saw the amount of time they spent on the commute cut by half. by 51% to be exact. this is according to the global traffic scorecard. we know that since then, since things started to reopen, the commute has gotten worse, not back to what was before covid-19 but approaching that. according to the bay area's metropolitan transportation commission, traffic is now averaging about 80% to 85% of the prepandemic levels. the ntc can tell in part by looking at the number of bridge crossings, last week around 1.6 million drivers passed through the tolls of the seven bay area bridges. this excludes the golden gate. you compare that to a year ago, it was close to 1.9 million drivers. now you might recall in february of last year about a month before the shutdown we introduce you to a super commuter who drives every morning from his

home in soledad to campbell where he works as a hairstylist. prepandemic, that 90 minute drive took him 2 hours and 15 minutes. this is cell phone video he shot for us on friday. you can see there is hardly any traffic. he can now do that same drive from soledad to campbell in just 90 minutes. a 45-minute reduction in his commute. but fuhrman tells us it is not worth it. he hardly worked last year because hair salons were shut down. now he is just working two to three days a week. he is struggling he is leaning heavily on his faith in god to get by. >> yeah. you have to pray to keep me healthy and many i family and keep us in our house. you know? because i am struggling a little bit here. keeping -- trying to keep my house. i was able to take care of that. but i pray a lot to everybody to stay healthy. the world, you know?

>> reporter: fuhrman tells us surprisingly traffic is heavy the last three friday nights on the drive back home to soledad. stop and go starting it on bailey avenue on 101 south. he believes that's a sign that california is opening back up. more people are heading out of town for those weekends. reporting live here in livermore, "today in the bay." so let's turn our coverage over to mike now. bob just mentioned a lot of the data you use every day with people on the roads. >> absolutely right. we have. bob knows the bridge traffic. we follow that with mtc. and then the company bob cited, they provide a lot of the data that speed data and the incident data that we have on our maps behind us. that is one of our partners as we look at the map. we're showing slow traffic. we just still follow that disabled big rig. but there is that commute in from 580 as bob is mentioning.

also 84, trivalley. no problems here down in towards the area. 101 a little slowing northbound coming up past 880. a typical pattern there as well. getting over towards the bay bridge, we do have a smooth flow of traffic as you head across the span. a little slowing on the san francisco side. the toll plaza itself not showing much of a backup. things starting to build just new. but as bob did say, we're seeing more commute come back. he did note the evening commute in kerry. we have seen that on the sensors. i track that from home. they're getting slower in the afternoon and evening. back to you. >> so maybe people will be heading out earlier. we're starting without some cold temperatures this morning. you do need to blast the heater for a little while to knock that chill out of the air. our temperatures in san jose at about 40 degrees. we'll come down another degree or two around sunrise. we'll get peeks of sunshine for the morning hours. but a lot more clouds moving in

in. but temperatures basically back to where we were yesterday. reaching 60 in concord, 5 san jose and palo alto. san francisco reaching 55 degrees. so we are going to see more clouds rolling in today. still feeling a little bit cooler than normal. we also have the approaching storm system that is still well off the coast. it is going into tomorrow. so going through the time line, let's go hour by hour. we start to see a lot of that rain spreading in with early tomorrow morning. most spots in the north bay seeing brit sunrise. and just kind of off and on throughout tomorrow afternoon. and then slowly moving out early on friday morning. so we will at least have about 24 hours of rain in the forecast before it clears out for the weekend. and during that time, we're looking at mostly about a quarter, close to a half inch of rain for the santa cruz mountains and north bay. as we go through this forecast, expect those temperatures in

napa to start out cool. but look at the trend that we'll see over the next several days going from the mid 50s to 70 degrees by next tuesday. so we do have a lot chafrmgs ahead. and the first day of spring is this saturday. early in the morning. it's going to be nice and sunny for saturday afternoon. and a little bit milder for sunday. but then on monday, we'll be watching out for another chance of rain in the forecast. and temperatures do continue to warm up by next tuesday. san francisco looking at those highs that will be in the mid 50s throughout the weekend. but we will have some wet weather before we get to our day of spring. we'll have more in the forecast coming up in a few minutes. marcus and laura? >> thanks. happening now, sicily's mt. etna erupted for the 14th time in the month earlier this morning sending columns of lava and clouds of ash and rock into the air. the eruption lasted for several hours sending lava flowing down the western side of the mountain.

loud booms could also be heard. they were the loudest since the eruption began on february 16th. there is no danger to people or homes. and we mentioned the st. patrick's day. happy st. patrick's day you to. coming up, we're going to take a look at how ireland is celebrating. then at 6:00 a.m., despite covid-19 restrictions, bay area cities marking the irish holiday as well. we'll telling you how all coming up. you're watching "today in the bay." i'm morgan, and there's more to me than hiv.

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♪ look at that. welcome back to "today in the bay." this is the st. patrick's day celebration in dublin, ireland. 500 drones took to the skies this morning in the light show called "orchestra of light." drones made different shapes and alternated colors to music. due to the pandemic, many st. patrick's day celebrations are virtual. but got news is there is that we can enjoy it that was a well. we got some good news for bay area festival goers. they just announced the return. mark your calendars for this one. it is set for august 6th through the eighth. in fact, tickets are now on sale. here are the headliners. always fun.

lizo, strokes and vampire weekend. festival organizers credit falling case numbers for the festival's return. that is nice to see that normal he is returning. >> yeah. how about this? the aquarium gearing up to welcome back visitors. now that monterey county is in the red tier, the aquarium can open up at 25% capacity. so safety protocols are in place. members first and then the general public in may. a official reopening day is not yet set. new this morning, a power lifter setting a new russian record for pulling a massive military plane. take a look at this. that strong man pulled 35 tons over three feet. during that first attempt, he suffered serious injuries. this is after pulling that plane about one foot. he is tethered to his waist right there. he's excited now. his fourth attempt, he actually

pulled that plane over 3 1/2 feet in 40 seconds. that's a strong waist. okay. so if you can't wait to get on the roller coaster, know that you may be forced to hold back on the screaming and that may be hard to do for many of you thrill seekers out there including myself. theme parks in california can reopen on april 1st provided that the county they are in has reached the red tier. and new state guidance and guidelines recommend that riders not scream or shout on the park attractions. that's hard to do when you go down the steep hills. so the guidelines also recommend that the park space riders out and require masks to be worn. so the lines will be longer. >> right now 6:00. deadly attack on the massage parlors in atlanta's metro area. >> we just heard numerous gun shots coming from across the street. eight people are dead, several vi