this is our "today in the bay" colleague shawn's cat. he can open doors on his own. he goes in and gives himself a little snack. very talented cat there. 6:00 for you this morning and breaking news extreme drought spreads. brand-new data just in revealing how dry it's getting across the bay area. meteorologist kari hall is tracking the week-to-week changes and the drought's dangerous spread. we are seeing scenes like this nearly every day. crews acting fast to knock down flames last night. >> it's early and everything is terribly dry. it's just going to get worse. >> you heard it there. fearing worse problems will be facing the bay area as we move

to summer. we're tracking all the trouble as the third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. we've been on since 4:30 for you. 6:00 right now. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. right to meteorologist kari hall. she, of course, has more on the breaking drought news. what are we looking at right now? it's concerning to see this. we are looking back at last week. we knew it was bad then as we saw much of the bay area shaded in red which includes an extreme drought and the south county in a severe drought. basically the red has spread into the central valley and we know that the sierra has seen the snow melt happen. it's drained into parts of the central valley, into the delta and back out into the ocean. we don't have a lot of reserves as we see levels dropping as we

now start to enter some of our driest months of the year. we'll talk about our forecast ahead and the concern about wildfires coming up in a few minutes. marcus and laura? >> certainly concerning there. we are a step closer to returning to normalcy. this move is something we haven't seen in a long time so the last remaining businesses will be allowed to open their doors. other businesses also allowed to expand services. >> "today in the bay's" cierra johnson joins us with more on how all this means for you. >> reporter: yes, good morning. we are officially hitting the yellow tier, one of the least restricted in the state's blueprint plan. as you can imagine this last year has been tough for some businesses particularly those restaurants and bars. it's been a roller coaster ride

and now they're reopening with new rules in place including increased capacity as well as not having to serve alcohol. some businesses will be able to open doing just that. yellow tier, the least restrictive tier. bars are at 25%. the capacity increases for indoor gyms, wineries, restaurants and tasting rooms. they're all allowed to open indoors at 50% capacity. for live events that stands at 67% capacity. we could see a domino effect on the other industries seeing an increase in business as well including parking garages, ride share drivers and hotels. this yellow tier can be a boost. we did have a chance to speak with dr. sara cody for santa clara county and she says her

county could be one of the next to enter the yellow tier. they're slowly creeping to the yellow tier with the positivity rate at 2.3%. two people per 100,000 to enter that yellow tier so we'll be keeping an eye down south as san francisco begins to reopen in that less restrictive tier. >> delivering a lot of good news, cierra, thank you. covid cases are dropping further. you can see new u.s. cases are just a fraction of where they were in january. january 9th, to be exact. 254,000 and look where we are now. in the worst of the winter surge, california reported 44,000 new cases just in one day. look where we are now. just over 1,700. now this comes as the cdc is predicting a sharp drop in covid

cases before the july 4th holiday and that prediction comes from several research groups. and a new cdc report shows just how challenging it was to limit the spread of the most prevalent cope individual strain here in california. the california variant is also sometimes referred to as the west coast strain. it's responsible for some of the most bay area cases that we've seen when it comes to death. according to colorado researchers, the new number of cases there are tied to the california variant. it jumped about sevenfold from january to march. an expert says thanks to the vaccine being so widespread the real threat from this variant is now gone. a booster shot for moderna is showing promising results against the variants from south africa and brazil. the company says early data shows that encouraging immune

response and to encourage if you have not gotten your shot yet you can still do so and that journey can be helped out for the race for a vaccine on our website. a great tool to help you out. the attorney for one of two bay area men convicted in the stabbing death of an italian police officer vowing to appeal the verdict. 21-year-old finnegan lee elder and 20-year-old gabriel natale hjorth were led out after courtroom yesterday. they may never set foot on u.s. soil again. they were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for stabbing a police officer during a botched drug deal in rome while on vacation. other courts don't always work like courtrooms here in america. >> here i don't think that the boys would have been convicted

of more than manslaughter or maybe there would have been a plea-bargain. >> when you send your kids abroad they don't take the american system of justice with them. that stops at the border. >> the pair claimed self-defense. their appeal will likely be a slow process. developing right now, san francisco prosecutors later today are expected to lay out the charges against the man accused in a random stabbing attack. the family of one victim, 85-year-old chui fong eng is recovering from emergency surgery. the other woman is recovering as well. the attack hammed on tuesday at a bus stop on market street. officers arrested the suspect identified as patrick thompson a short time later. one woman says she knew something was wrong when she saw thompson walk by her flower stand. >> it looked like an army nephew.

knife. i told my nephew, something is going to happen. >> matt haney says the suspect has a history of mental issues and should not have been out on the street. california governor recall candidate caitlyn jenner throwing her support. >> all for the wall. i would secure the wall. we can't have a state. we can't have a country without a secure wall. >> she appeared last night on fox news with sean hannity touting the border wall. she also said she would do her best to end california's status as a sanctuary state. but she acknowledged some undocumented immigrants should be allowed to remain in the united states. another replacement candidate john cox made a campaign stop at treasure island yesterday. cox ran through a long list of california's problems, many caused by the pandemic, he says.

opponents say he's still short on solutions or how to pay for them. 6:08 and happening today san jose mayor sam liccardo will introduce what's hoped to be a future city landmark called breeze of innovation. take a look at your screen. this is it. councilmembers this week approved fund-raising for the project envisioned for guadalupe river park near s.a.p. center. the 200-foot-tall structure will consist of 500 steel rods which will move in the wind and illuminate at night. it's expected to cost, get this, $150 million. but if all goes well it will be finished by 2025. staying in san jose, a live look at downtown. beautiful sunrise as we come up throughout the morning. another beautiful day on tap. who knows? meteorologist kari hall is who we turn to. how is it looking for us today? a lot of changes. it will be a windy day. if you're in the closet about to

get dressed, maybe grab a hat. it will be windy and light long sleeves. the temperatures will be cooler today. a look at our microclimates and our highs reaching only into the 50s near the coast. san francisco a high of 62. palo alto reaching 63. the south county down to morgan hill reaching 75. we'll see mid-70s in napa. we do have a couple days after cooldown and then a warm-up. we'll talk about that coming up in a few minutes. mike, whether is the update heading through the tri-valley? this is a jolt for the morning. a big problem going on since 1:30 in the morning when this crash happened. we have video of earlier during the darker hours looking at a big rig crash which is still being cleaned up west 580 just at the dublin interchange. because it's at the dublin interchange, a huge impact on west 580 but also an alternate.

this live map, the exit area. you can exit on 680 and get back on the 580. chp says that's the only way to get past the crash and cleanup now. cal trans doesn't have a crew there yet. they were having trouble getting assistance. we don't have a time lanes will reopen. more traffic heading down highway 84. south 680 as to more slowing through contra costa county. back to you. thank you, mike. you heard the saying sticks and stones, well, they may not break your bones but mean tweets really can do a number on you emotionally. up next twitter says they have some new plans to discourage trolls. but will it work? what the facts are saying about that this morning. plus -- everyone is talking about going back to work. two companies have set dates.

let's take a look at this cute little face. i don't know, though, a $2,000 spending free that this little 4-year-old went on. do you think he looks guilty in that picture? up next we're going to tell you what he spent all that money on. and what his mom is saying about it this morning as well. you're going to wonder what you're going to do if it happened to you. stick around for that. you're watching "today in the bay."

california's choice beauty? pretty boy. or a beast? john cox grew up with nothing; made himself a remarkable success. california's falling off a cliff. high taxes, unaffordable costs! even elon musk left! gavin's mismanagement of california is inexcusable. we need big beastly changes in sacramento. i'll make 'em. recall the beauty. meet the nicest, smartest beast in california. john cox. some days, you just don't have it.

not my uncle, though. he's taking trulicity for his type 2 diabetes and now, he's really on his game. once-weekly trulicity lowers your a1c by helping your body release the insulin it's already making. most people reached an a1c under 7%. plus, trulicity can lower your risk of cardiovascular events. it can also help you lose up to 10 pounds. trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. it's not approved for use in children. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration, and may worsen kidney problems. show your world what's truly inside. ask your doctor about once-weekly trulicity.

good thursday morning. it is 6:14. let's get you ready for work in the east bay as you get ready to head out maybe to the warm springs b.a.r.t. station. we will see temperatures starting out nice and cool with some 50s here, a few clouds but clearing out today and will only make it into the mid to upper 60s. it will be so much cooler but also windy. we'll talk about a weekend warm-up in our forecast coming up. and talking about a tri-valley slowdown. look at the jam 580 has caused the delay. you can only use the connector to 680 and back on the 580. 84 seeing folks divert down to sunol adding to the jam there. and then a tractor-trailer fire on 680 in walnut creek causing more distraction and slowing. a big jam now for 680 just south

of 242. well, good morning. a very happy thursday to you. you may be going to work this morning from a home office or maybe the kitchen table but we are one step closer in the most literal of senses. google says 40% of its employees will work in the office about three days a week. sales force ceo is welcoming back employees to the massive tower downtown. salesforce in the past has said it expects most employees will never return to the actual office so the tweet is a bit confusing. job numbers come tomorrow and a sneak peek by analyzing paychecks processed by adp shows big growth in leisure and hospitality.

president biden says if he leaves the food in his car someone will take it. he's watching his tacos. later spoke about the $28 billion restaurant revitalization fund. >> the bottom line is this, the american rescue plan is working. >> the dow hit another record wednesday. some money coming out of tech. pharmaceuticals lower. talk of opening the patents on coronavirus vaccines to save more lives. marcus and laura, we were talking about this earlier but it's so interesting. an article in "the washington post," those new air tags from apple lets you find your car keys and other easy to lose items but a reporter over at "the post" was experimenting whether you could track a person without his or her knowledge and, yeah, you can, from across the united states. the air tag will beep every few

days to let the person know it's there and some safety mechanisms are built into iphones. but if your target, so to speak, has an android, they would have no way of knowing. some feel this could be used by abusive partners and apple probably needs to make more steps. it should be for car keys not for people. >> remember back in the day for the car keys there was the clapper thing? you could clap? my mom always lost her keys. >> you just turned off my lights in here, thanks, marcus. just kidding. just kidding. now we have alexa to do that. thanks so much. it is 6:18 right now. new details on a data breach for peloton users. according to tech crunch, it allowed hackers to find user details including age, hometown, birthday. the issues were fixed this week but it comes after peloton

voluntarily recalled all of its treadmills following several injuries and the death of one child. you know it's no secret mean tweets plague twitter, but a company trying to crack down on this. the latest attempt is a new feature and it will ask users to review their post if it's offensive. the users were asked to review and most decided not to post the mean tweets. there is hope after all this may just work. >> missed opportunity. we could read our mean tweets right now. >> story time with marcus and laura. look, the next story is one that is interesting. so it is trending this morning. it's a nightmare for one new york parent, but listen to this. this was all after she saw her credit card receipt. laura, take it away. >> listen to this. "the daily mail" reports the mother's 4-year-old son noah purchased $2,600 worth of

spongebob square pants popsicles from amazon. they look good, right? such a giving little boy. he sent 900 to his aunt's house. amazon says it will not take back the sweet treats but the friends started a gofundme page. she just can't pay the bill. she's received over $5,000 in donations. so now he's probably saying, hey, let's take the other $2,500 and buy more, mom. >> noah has to buy his aunt a freezer. she needs that. >> exactly. >> exactly. he's hiding the evidence there. it's 6:20 right now. we want to check in with mike right now. you have some traffic news for us. yes, if you have any frozen goods, they're going to get melted if you don't watch out for this report. let me show you what's going on for the tri-valley, a huge backup for 580 westbound.

you see the jam, the sun is tough to see through the cobweb. only the exit lane gets by this crash and still they're still addressing that. crews have to clean up a fuel spill at the dublin interchange backed up from tassajara and building back to north livermore. folks are using 84 to cut through as they have all morning. that slows you down in to sunol. that's the ripple effect for the tri-valley. one other issue in walnut creek. 680 on the shoulder now adding some slowing there and here is san jose with the slowing not really a factor. again, the travel times pronounced because 242 is really jamming up coming down out of concord. that's a little additional slowing, kari. over to you at the toll plaza cleared as well, though. that's the good news for the bay area, kari. some low clouds. things are cooling off today. yeah. so those clouds are helping to

cool us off but not bringing us any rain. that's the reason we've seen our drought conditions worsen. we're going to be talking more about this coming up at 6:30 and some of the impacts that could have on you as well as what we could see across the country as well. let me know your water conservation tips on facebook and twitter. i'm at kari hall weather and on instagram. let's get to our forecast today because it will be cooler. if you're going out to the ballpark checking out the a's we'll see this early afternoon game. make sure you're wearing something that will keep you warm. a high of 67. 75 in livermore. santa rosa in the low 70s. we head back up as we go into the weekend. if you're making mother's day plans outside, it's warm in the valleys. windy and highs reaching into

the upper 60s. as we head over to vianey arana, she gives us some great tips for the bright and sunny days. >> that's right. summer is approaching, more people out and about. rain or shine. one of the most essential parts of keeping your skin safe and protected is sunscreen. did you know that ingredients in most of our favorite brands are really hurting our marine life. preventing algae from growing which means more food for marine life and the fact a lot of coral is endangered. it sits on top of your skin, reflecting the sun's rays instead of soaking into your skin like chemical ones do. not only better for marine life but for your health because they don't soak into your skin and you're still keeping it safe

from those uv rays. follow me and check out nbcbayarea.com/climatehacks. a good hack there. up next new details on the much anticipated "friends" reunion. >> was there stuff that came up that you-all forgot about? >> oh, god, i have the worst memory. everything came up that i forgot about. >> coming up next a trip down memory lane. it's 6:24.

no one told her life was going to be this way. court in cox is opening up to ellen on the highly anticipated "friends" reunion. she says it wasn't without its share of emotions. >> it's an unscripted reunion but we got to be on stage 24 for the first time, all of us, in, like, i forgot how many years. 15 years? 17 years? >> cox is giving some insight into what it was like filming the now iconic found scene for the opening credits. you can catch all of that and more at "ellen" at 4:00 this afternoon here on nbc bay area. >> fun fact afternoon. coming up next this morning bay area city leading the state

and the nation in vaccinations so did your town make the list? we'll talk about it in a live report up next. [ sfx: ding ding ding ] [sfx: bing bing bing ] [sfx: bloop bloop bloop ] [ sfx: bing bloop ding ding bloop bing ] the day can wait.

enter the golden state, with real california dairy.

right now at 6:30, the map shows it all red across the american southwest and here at home. this morning more proof the extreme drought is spreading through the bay area. the new data kari is tracking this morning.

and then there's this. new video in from just moments ago showing another contra costa county vegetation fire this time more than ten acres burned at the marina in antioch just hours after another fire last night in discovery bay. the latest on the fire danger and the impact on you as "today in the bay" continues right now. and now more breaking news. word of a fire burning boats on bethel island. east contra costa county fire tweeting out four to five boats are now on fire right now. good morning, everyone. what a busy thursday morning. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. we'll continue to track that breaking news from bethel island. first to meteorologist kari hall with more on the changing drought conditions we're experiencing. the red just continues to grow, kari. >> yes, this is also breaking as we look at the comparison to

last week as that extreme drought, the red here comes down to san jose. the update a few minutes ago now expands that drought all the way county toward the central valley and includes much of the sierra as well. we'll talk about the impact coming up in the forecast. developing right now we have new video to show you this morning. this is a crime scene in the south bay. one person is dead and another is expected to survive. this is blocks away from cinco de mayo celebrations in downtown. >> it's a little family around here. i never think it would happen for cinco de mayo. >> police are not saying much including the details on the suspect and motive.

we're following up on a shooting near sfo that may be connected to a failed carjacking. it happened monday night outside the grand hyatt close to the international terminal. a woman was shot in the legs. she is okay but at least two other victims reported an attempted carjacking by similar looking men in the same area. one bay area county set to jump into the yellow tier and the push to get more people vaccinated continues with a new clinic set to open today in the east bay. >> "today in the bay's" pete suratos live outside of that clinic. pete, i know some parts of alameda county showing a high percentage of people getting vaccinated. >> reporter: that's right. good morning to you, marcus. we're seeing at least one zip code here in alameda county with a high percentage of folks vaccinated with at least one dose. the hope is this will continue

later today. they're going to administer that johnson & johnson one-shot vaccine. i want to show a map of the top ten vaccinated areas or zip codes so far in the bay area. these are for percentages of residents receiving at least one dose. this is the latest data and it's in santa clara county and nearly 99% of the residents receiving the first dose here in alameda county with at least one zip code and that's 94707. a majority of the top ten vaccinated zip code list with residents getting at least the first dose. this is all happening as the oakland mass vaccination site is closing may 23rd. requests for that first dose has drastically increased. the good news is more than 70% of residents in alameda county

have received that first dose behind me and will begin at 2:00 p.m. pete suratos for "today in the bay." thanks so much, pete. 6:34. canada is the first country to approve the pfizer vaccine for children 12 and older. health officials citing a u.s. clinical trial say research showed it had 100% efficacy in ages 12 to 15. however, younger people may not get the shot for weeks. vaccine supply remains low. "today in the bay" is following the developments of fda approval for the same age group which dr. anthony fauci says should happen within the next several days. >> alameda county public defender woods is taking part in an forum scheduled for tonight called policing and race along with one-time san francisco and current l.a. county district attorney george gascon. the two sure to cover numerous

topics. addressing the death of a man in the hands of police custody. in that case three officers are on leave after an east oakland man lost consciousness and died. he suffered a medical emergency. they are weighing changes to the police department's policies. and a follow-up last summer's tense and sometimes violent situations at protests will now be the focus of a zoom listening session tonight. they want to collect stories from people who were participating in the protest about the actions of law enforcement during the response. the firm provides outside oversight. and san jose leaders have commissioned the firm to conduct that independent evaluation. bay area transit workers at the transbay terminal demanding to see transit leaders spend some of the money received tied to

the pandemic. one south bay city opening new homes to help the homeless just make it in the bay. mountain view and like move unveiling a new interim housing community. take a look. 100 homes will be available for families and individuals trying to transition into permanent housing. the grand opening will be virtual. it starts at 10:00 a.m. the weekend almost here. some cities where covid restrictions are easing. things are getting better. as we've been reporting san francisco in the yellow tier and the big news you can go back inside bars that only serve alcohol. they had to remain closed for a while. the city of los angeles moves into the yellow tier.

las vegas has been given the okay for casinos to move to 100% capacity. wynn resorts and the cosmopolitan will reopen. lastly the big apple. broadway tickets are on sale. the shows are going to resume in mid-september. bringing the lights back on. very, very nice. it's exciting to report on these stories. so that brings us to the weekend forecast. we've had some pretty glorious warmer weather, kari. it's going to be a warm weekend once again. let's take a look at some of our temperatures statewide. some low 80s for tomorrow's forecast. it does warm up even more.

temperatures in palm springs. let's go to some of the places you may be driving to like lake tahoe. it's going to be a windy weekend. we're also going to see some breezy wints along the coast. highs reaching into the mid-70s. for saturday low 70s for sunday. if you're going to ma pa valley, beautiful but warm. 86 on mother's day. a great day to spend mother's day. we'll talk about the forecast for our microclimates coming up. mike, you've been watching the roads. what's the update for the commute? >> i don't have good news but an alert. 580 is still blocked. it sounds dramatic and it is but look at the backup. it's not as big as you might

expect. continuing to build. folks are getting by on the exit and back on toward the dublin grade. this continues to build through the tri-valley and down to sunol as well. that is the ripple effect. a lot of folks might have the option to say they're remote commuting. in walnut creek 242 is a big backup. avoid that stretch. earlier crashes have cleared heading down into walnut creek. the bay bridge toll plaza backed up because the metering lights are back on. back to you. up next, the legal defeat that just became a victory when it comes to the governor's actions to protect californians during the pandemic. a third state makes adjustments to its legal rules surrounding elections.

out to the big board. the dow hitting yet new records up about 86 points. and you'll wan to stick with us all morning because for the first time in a long time live concerts return to the "today" show with one republic. up next the very special people "today's" live concert is dedicated to. but first -- ♪♪ ♪ i've been loving losing sleep dreaming about the things we could be ♪ ♪ baby i've been loving playing hard ♪ california's choice beauty? pretty boy.

or a beast? john cox grew up with nothing; made himself a remarkable success. california's falling off a cliff. high taxes, unaffordable costs! even elon musk left! gavin's mismanagement of california is inexcusable. we need big beastly changes in sacramento. i'll make 'em. recall the beauty. meet the nicest, smartest beast in california. john cox.

right now at 6:43, let's take a look at today's high temperatures. a big dip as we get a much bigger cooldown, an ocean breeze across the bay area. antioch, livermore reaches into the mid to upper 70s. we'll talk about changes ahead in our forecast and more on the drought coming up in a few minutes. and more backup as folks continue to pile on the west 580. there you see it crawling except for the far right lanes. that fuel spill still being cleaned up. look at the travel times, big delays. the focus basically from airway to the dublin interchange is at the crawl. folks trying to use 84 down to sunol for the build, trouble for the ripple effect. we'll show you the rest of the commute xhomg up. what's going on at the employment development department? a lot of people there are trying to get the same answers.

everyone knows about the frustration for those relying on the jobless benefits. our l.a. sister station's investigative unit is among many who cannot get them to respond and it seems state lawmakers are being stonewalled. >> we're facing the same problems the general public is facing. not getting returned phone calls. they don't have an answer. leaving messages that are not returned. >> the edd acknowledges losing people due to attrition but will only say they are hiring and streamlining to get staff in place as quickly as possible. >> a california appeals court signing with governor newsom and his action during the pandemic. the three judges unanimously upheld his use of emergency powers during a time of crisis.

the case is being brought on by two state assemblymen who say the governor acted unilaterally. the decision overturned the lower court's ruling which declared newsom's actions unconstitutional. the assemblymen say they plan to appeal. america's top republican says he will try to block whatever joe biden tries to do. >> scott mcgrew this is a familiar threat from senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. it is. he said the same thing about obama when he was majority leader, just stop him no matter what. during the obama era mcconnell tried to interfere with no ideas of his own. affordable health care, for instance. with biden mcconnell is proposing alternatives, for instance in infrastructure spending. >> we've laid out about a $600 billion alternative as opposed to $4 that

deals with things we refer to as infrastructure -- roads, bridges, ports, water ways and the like and broad band. >> the texas house will take up with a bill that combined with a bill in the senate could restrict voting. texas is the third state to take up voting restrictions or reform. corporate america once again stepping in. an open letter to lawmakers signed by companies like microsoft and levi's urges texas to make voting easier not harder. major leagueall pulled its all-star game out of georgia after georgia changed its voting laws. at least three republican senators publicly called for the government to punish private business for taking that stand. i spoke with a conservative political adviser about this idea of parties using the power of regulation to punish free

enterprise. >> we're concerned that conservatives are trying to use the power of government to punish companies that don't toe their line and that's about the worst when you're looking to protect free speech and advance innovation. so we're concerned that conservatives are going down the wrong path. >> in arizona's maricopa county an unofficial recount continues. it's being done by a private company. those in charge of elections have warned the ninjas they don't seem to be following a specific set of rules on how to count. this are also shining uv flashlights on the ballots but it's unclear what they're looking for. one told the cbs affiliate in phoenix they're looking for traces of bamboo in the ballots to determine if they were secretly shipped in from asia. well, we're talking about all kinds of things on twitter. i am interested in your comments. you can find me on twitter. i'm @scottmcgrew.

>> thanks so much, scott. 6:48 right now. today is nurse appreciation day. it kicks off a whole week of honoring frontline workers. events are gaining a lot of steam and lots of hospitals have local posts. >> one woman and what inspired her to take on the role as a nurse. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez with more on that story. kris? >> reporter: hi there, i know that we've all had experience with a nurse we felt touched our lives, maybe we were sick,labor or in the e.r. with a sick loved one or a hurt child. that is the same story for the chief nursing officer at santa clara medical center. she was inspired asld while recovering in the hospital from life threatening burns suffered in an accident.

>> i loved my nurses and wanted to become a nurse after being in the hospital for six months and throughout my whole school years. >> reporter: she now leads a team of nurses who have always been there at people's worst moments but were often the last faces people saw as they died of covid. there are patients nurses never forget and nurses patients never forget. >> this year i got a letter in the mail and i read it from one of my former nurses. she said she had been thinking about me all these years wondering how my life turned out. i told her she inspired me to become a nurse. >> reporter: she hopes that despite the pandemic year and

how hard it was people will be inspired to become nurses. already this country is about a million nurses short of what we need and nurses are retiring at a pretty quick rate. valley medical center and other bay area hospitals are saluting nurses, doing nice things for them, bringing in treats, hosting wellness seminars. the best thing you can do is reach out to a nurse who has made a difference in your life and say thank you. i'll say thank you to the labor and delivery nurse who helped me with my first baby. it was fantastic and she was great. laura, i know you have a lot of experience. >> i lived there for over a month prior to the triplets being born. the whole labor and delivery. the nicu, we took up residency there for half a year. and i know you've had two babies yourself, kari.

>> yes, so thank you to all the nurses as well. really much needed at this time especially. so thank you. let's get a look at our drought monitor update. we've seen the expansion of the extreme drought. that's what we've been talking about on social media. and we are now seeing our reservoir levels dropping. what does that mean to you as we look at the impacts of our lives change as these drought conditions worsen. we have a year-round fire season which is not good at all. we have to be prepared for that. the crops need irrigation so that causes food prices to rise here and across the country and the water becomes more expensive for us. those water bills go up, too. and then it hits the sierra economy. the economy across the state. this is the beginning of our dry

season. we do need to conserve water at this point as we take a look at our seven-day forecast, of course no rain headed our way. at least we do have a cooldown for now. those winds will kick up today and we'll see the gusty winds today and tomorrow. warmer air for the weekend. outdoors mother's day plans will be quite warm and sunny. san francisco keeps temperatures in the 60s. mike, you've been watching that big breaking news for the tri-valley. >> still there and still broken. big problems on travel times. we have a huge delay on west 580 into the dublin interchange because all lanes are blocked. you use the interchange for 680 to get over to the area past that and into the dublin grade. after the crash still being addressed by cal tran. folks are using 84 to get down through sunol. registering for that portion of

the tri-valley. north of there problems south into walnut creek. the last of the crashes and i believe that trailer fire cleared from the shoulder as well. we have a big jam for south 242. instead of taking that and cutting the corner, avoid that and take 680 to highway 4. the rest of the bay looks standard. back to you. thanks, mike. the cdc says cruise lines can soon begin trial voyages in u.s. waters, the first step in resuming full operation as soon as july. ships will have to carry some volunteer passengers who will have to wear facemasks and observe social distancing. up next a quick lookality our top stories including a new set of fires keeping crews very busy during the early morning hours. it's concerning. and moving up from orange to yellow. the first bay area county to move into the least restrictive tier, and how it could impact your social life starting today. it's 6:54. you're watching "today in the bay."

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now california phones offers free devices and accessories for your mobile phone. like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. - ( phone ringing ) - get details on this state program visit right now or call during business hours. welcome back. our top stories now, a live look in san francisco at the beautiful skyline. and get ready to toast easing restrictions. >> bars are opening again. to cierra johnson. i'm sure the bars aren't open just yet. >> reporter: good morning. as much as i would like the bars to open this early in the morning they are not.

today is a big day. we're entering the yellow tier. they don't have to serve food with their beverages. they're at 25% capacity. the indoor gyms, wineries and restaurants at 50% and live events at 67% capacity. this yellow tier, the parking garages, ride share, and hotels potentially seeing an increase in business because most will be out because of the new tier we are in. cierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> thanks so much. 6:58 right now. the dry conditions are getting even worse. east contra costa county firefighters had a busy 12 hours. this is new video from overnight.

about ten acres burned. no one was hurt. 10 to 15 acres burned in discovery bay. this morning there's news of four to five small boats burning. a busy time for firefighters and is likely only going to get worse with this drought. kari, any relief? no, in fact, we have to watch out for the high winds again coming through the delta. the winds will get stronger which could fan any flames. and our temperatures at least are cutting down for a couple of days but it does heat up this weekend. what's the update on that breaking news, mike? still jammed for dublin. still four lanes blocked. meanwhile over at the bay bridge we have an easier drive. here is the video.

a video of what's being cleaned up. we'll continue to update you on twitter. that does it for "today in the bay" this morning. >> the "today" show is starting next. a live look at the marina in san francisco. good morning, turning the corner? >> we are not out good morning, turning the corner? >> we are not out of the woods yet but we could be very close. >> u.s. health officials now projecting a sharp decline in covid cases by july if americans keep getting vaccinated. a major push now underway to boost those shots. with officials even going door to door in cities from coast to coast. professional sports teams offering free tickets with every shot. just ahead the new effort being launched to help the country return to normal. history is watching with with