right now at 5:00, the drought is rapidly worsening across the state. california's reservoirs going bone dry. the bay area a tinderbox for flames. another bay area county is preparing to ban water restrictions. not giving up the fight. >> double down on our efforts to vaccinate millions of more americans across july and august. >> the white house says the war against covid is not over as concerns rise against the delta variant spreading. the warnings out and how you can stay safe. a display of gratitude in a special way. one oakland firefighter got to spend the fourth of july thousands of miles away from home. this is "today in the bay." >> good morning. i'm cierra johnson in for laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we begin this morning with live team coverage on the drought stricken bay area as another county prepares to restrict

residents' water usage in a few hours. >> our team coverage continues with meteorologist kari hall to give us that bigger picture perspective. good morning. >> good morning. the bigger picture shows that it's not just california. this is all across the west. we're suffering in this mega drought with these dark shades of red showing the exceptional drought, the highest level of drought across the region and right here in the bay area. our reservoir levels continue to drop and we've seen them now below 25% of the historical average for capacity and so we are going to continue to see these conditions continue as we head deeper into these dry summer months, especially with some heat cranking up and headed our way. i'll show you those temperatures coming up in a few minutes. want to bring in kris sanchez. >> she's live in santa clara where there are already drought restrictions under way and more to come from another county. >> reporter: right. we know the state water board is

gathering to discuss how best to protect the drinking water supply which is part of the supply that is dwindling. at this point communities have kind of been doing it piecemeal putting in their own restrictions. this will be a broad look at put in place back in april limiting people to watering once a week if they have sprinklers, twice a week for folks who have drip irrigations at their home. the board wants to discourage people from planting any new landscaping. the last 18 months have been the driest on record for the marin water district. the city of heels burg went strict only allowing hand watering. san jose water customers are to limit their watering to 15 minutes twice a week. santa clara valley water district is asking for a 15% cutback, east bay is asking for a 10% cutback. contra costa county asking people to avoid watering between 9:00 in the morning and 5:00 in the evening. the state water board is meeting at 10:00 this morning to talk

about that strategy, to protect the drinking water and to talk about the impact of the drought on the economy. in santa clara, a live look at the white house. this morning, the u.s.ing catch agai pple vaccinated this summer. "today in the bay's" tracie potts live from d.c. with more. tracie? >> marcus, good morning. so they're going grassroots starting that campaign to get people in black barbershops across the country interested in getting the vaccine, partnering with those owners. they have dr. fauci on tiktok trying to get young people, because the numbers are lagging among young adults, to get interested in the vaccine. trying to get millions more people vaccinated this summer. >> reporter: the push is on. >> we're going to double down on

our efforts to vaccinate millions of more americans across july and august.raon mis for the fourth of july. we're at 67%. four states are below 40%. with record delay travel and more people getting out, experts are concerned. >> being vaccinated on this day in july of 2012 is fundamentally more risky than if you were unvaccinated at this point last year. >> covid-19 has not been banquished. we all know powerful variants have emerged like the delta variant. but the best defense against these variants is to get vaccinated. >> reporter: as the delta variant spreads some cities like los angeles and st. louis are advising people to wear masks again inside. >> but this honor system hasn't been working well. >> reporter: the government's

top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci knows more than 99% of covid deaths are happening in people who have not been vaccinated. tracie potts, nbc news. hayward city leaders are getting ready to reopen city hall. starting today the building will be open part-time monday through thursday in person services will be available between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on those days. members of the public as well as city workers will be required to wear a mask while inside as well as practice social distancing, regardless if they're vaccinated or not. that building closed last march due to the pandemic. this morning, the search is on for a team of high-end shop lifters. this is cell phone video taken outside the neiman marcus in san francisco. look at this. now police say just before 6:00 last night, multiple people grabbing shelves of merchandise running out of that store and then all hopping into different getaway cars. want to give you another look at what happened. these are pictures from inside the neiman marcus after it all

happened. this is the aftermath. shattered glass and empty shelves, dangling security chains. so far, no arrests have been made. an oakland firefighter and paramedic is reflecting about his trip to the white house. gustavo gonzalez spent a day at the white house with the president and first lady being honored for his work as a first responders during the pandemic. gonzales a first generation mexican american born and raised in san jose, a member of the national association of hispanic firefighters, chatting with the president of the united states. >> it was a brief conversation. we were able to thank him and the first lady for their continuous support of firefighters all around the country. >> gonzales and other frontline workers honored for more than helping the sick and the injured. >> we' our community when not working. we're mentors and role models to the youth in oakland.

>> gonzales and his fiancee who is getting her masters in education at san jose state hit it off with the first lady who has her doctor rate in education. >> bay area. affecting everyone. all right. let's talk abe the bay area weather right now. meteorologist kari hall has been tracking that for us. kari what are we shaping up for today. >> it's going to be another nice day. all kinds of weather in a short distance across the bay area. cool and foggy near the coast will continue as we take a live look at the golden gate bridge. looks pretty good right now. we're not getting the mist and drizzle and as we take a look at our high temperatures today, going to reach into the upper 70s for santa rosa as well as heading over towards parts of inland east bay. concord 84, 68? santa cruz and 70 in san jose. we'll see changes headed towards the end of the week and we'll talk about that in a few minutes. how is it looking for the commute? >> pretty good. i did get a little more detail on concern about this crash over

here in pleasanton. the rest of the bay green sensors and new incident on a surface street off 101 but we'll check that and let you know if it affects your drive. eastbound 580 not a big way. the lanes away from the dublin interchange are open but on the shoulder actually down off the roadway a crash and reports someone is stuck in their car. there is a crew heading out and no update in the last few minutes regarding the injuries. i'm a little bit concerned about that but so far usually if there's anything big they will let you know right away. we're going to keep good thoughts over there and a nice easy drive here for 84 and the all ta month. mild typical build and no problem in the maze or bay bridge. back to you. >> thanks, mike. coming up for you, a push to go electric. the new incentive the state is expected to roll out to encourage you to ditch your gas powered car. >> good time to go electric because gas prices are going up

again. she's not just a girl anymore. she's a married woman. we'll take you inside blake shelton and gwen stefani's wedding. we're going to show you both, both of her dresses, and as country and pop royalty say "i do."

oroweat small slice. i wonder if this has the same quality ingredients as the original whole grains bread? great question, dad. and it does. it has all the same nutritious deliciousness as the original slice but only a little bit smaller. just like timmy here. my name's lucas. it sure is bobby. right now at 5:11 on this tuesday morning heading back to work and it's going to be the last day of the mild weather we've seen recently. by tomorrow it does start to

heat up and by the end of the week it is going to be sizzling. we'll talk more about that in our microclimate forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> sizzling. over here it's just humming along, southbound 101, san raphael traffic looks smooth. just saw a pick up in the volume. i'll give you an update on the tri-valley. "the new york times" report that a northern california family is the late toast sue tesla over its self-driving ability or inability. the family's 15-year-old son was killed after the car he was riding in was struck from behind by a self-driving tesla. police say he was not wearing his seat belt and he was ejected. the data from the tesla shows it didn't try to slow down before striking the back of the car. there have been a number of deaths attributed to the self-driving feature including one not far from the latest death when an apple engineer's car steered him into a barrier on northbound 101. he complained the autopilot

tried to steer him into that barrier before. the ntsb says a video game was active on his phone at the time of the crash. we'll watch shares of tesla and amazon, the first business day for that company with a new ceo jeff bezos, semi retired. stock markets have been setting record after record. one of the longest winning streaks on the s&p 500 as we get more good news on friday, the last time markets were open we got the june jobs data showing far more americans going back to work than we had expected. another company has been hit by ransomware from we think the same russian crime organization, this time even worse. what because the company kaseya provides i.t. services to other companies. president biden has orderd a u.s. intelligence agencies to investigate, presumably they do that anyway. biden warned russian president putin during their summit cyber attacks from russia would not be tolerated. no indication the russian government is involved, but it's been tolerant of cyber criminals

operating in its territory. gas prices will probably go up again. opec and its allies ended a meeting without an agreement to raise production levels. the u.s. gets about 18% of its opec member countries and most in the middle east. we get a majority of our patrolium from our ground followed by canada. 47% of imported oil comes from canada. we've talked about this, gas and oil, a price hike in one place will lead to a price hike somewhere else. energy independence, let's make our own oil, et cetera. that's good, and it's more secure way of doing it but doesn't protect you against hikes in prices. >> you know what, people trying to ditch those cars, with gas, electric, there's good news coming out because there is a new thing out i want to tell you about this morning. electric cars, you might soon get a deal to get one. california lawmakers are expected to approve new funding that encourages drivers to go

green. sounds good, right? buyers could see incentives around $2,000 for a new electric vehicle and low-income buyers could get $10,000 for trading in their gas cars and buying an electric vehicle. >> i like the sound of that. look at this. beautiful sight this morning, san francisco, and this is where it's just tough for people struggling to make it in the city. for companies it's also hard. according to numbers by real estate company cushman and wakefield, they published this in the chronicle and office vacancies rose 20% in this year's second quarter, the highest level since 2003 despite a rise in vaccination rates. during the onset of the pandemic it was half that. they predict post-pandemic business recovery in the city will not fully begin until next year. there's good news trending this morning. two big voices in the music industry are officially man and wife. >> no doubt you've seen this on

your social feed. blake and gwen tied the knot. stephanie posted this picture saying simpl you're, you know, gwen stefani you can't get married in wondrous. you need a party of dresses to dance the night away. you know what, this is so gwen stefani as i look at it right now. >> it is. >> vera wang the designer on both. the pair met and fell in love when judges on nbc's "the voice" which recently wrapped up its 20th season right here on nbc bay area. congratulations to them. >> congrats to the couple. >> both turned their chair for one another. >> oh. >> i wonder -- >> is that how they came down the aisle? >> honestly -- >> i choose you. >> i hope not. >> i >> going to give kar dad --

>> marcus you're getting good at that. >> we're looking at the roadways you're ready to get out there and no problems greeting most of us. the issue off the dublin interchange. i'm concerned about east bay 580 toward the area around the dublin interchange because of the crash off the roadway. crews are arriving and there's no slowing at the scene and no update, no major injuries. that's good news. dublin grade, the counter commute moving smoothly. there was slowing and no problem continuing once you get past the crash. again, the commute westbound out of the altamont and 84 shows a little slowing typical of this time. it's a little bit light for tuesday. we'll see this. i have the wrong report but i'll remind folks this note as you go north out of the south bay it gets crowded. about 2:30, 3:00 we see the slowing if everything goes on schedule. how is it going for the weather?

>> yeah. looks pretty good f you're like laura and still have the day off, head out for a hike and enjoy time outside before the temperatures heat up in the north bay. take a look at this forecast starting out this morning in the upper 50s and if you like the cooler weather go out before 9:00 and if you want the warmer weather we'll see our warmest temperatures of the day reaching into the 80s. with our south bay temperatures in the 70s for east san jose, milpitas and san jose. making it into the mid 80s and million. our east bay highs in concord. danville high of 81 degrees and near the coast are going to see the temperatures reaching into the mid 60s with a redwood city. our north bay highs 80 in

sonoma, 94 today in clearlake. okay. here's the overall picture. so we've had this strong area of high pressure over the desert southwest, but it's going to start to nudge its way over towards the bay area. so that's going to cause temperatures to step up and our cool westerly wind you'll see something more of a southerly wind even at times blowing offshore so that's going to heat it up. i think at least for the coastal areas we will stay cool, taking a look at our inland forecast, yes, those are upper 90s. we may have to change that to triple digits as we get a little bit closer. it's going to be hot from thursday through the end of the weekend. at least for san francisco near the coastline we're going to keep cooler weather there. you will be able to go there and cool off because we're looking at low 70s going into the weekend. now turning to our climate in crisis, i want to talk about ways you can reduce your carbon footprint by compost.

scraps account for about a third of your trash, but you can turn the trash into rich soil and the amount of waste that you put out there, you're now not sending that intoch means up to air. compost soil evaporates slower and you could save to 40% less water and so there's no need to add those synthetic fertilizers. you can use your composted soil to help fertilize those plants and you don't have the time or energy or the space to do all of that, well, many of our cities here in the bay area have compost management and it can be done that way. more stories on how you can help our climate in crisis, go to nbcbayarea.com. well next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds.

>> one couple's happily ever after gets put on hold when the engagement ring transit. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. oh, yeah. you know we're always on social media. this is a post i put up yesterday of me with some time with little gigi there. oh, yeah. gigi loves kisses. not in my face. look, that was a fun time. look at gigi she's so cute. let me know what brightps up your day with your pet and fun you're having. talk about it on social media, find the post on the facebook page and we can talk about it on facebook, instagram and twitter. i'll see you there. it's 5:21. you're watching "today in the bay."

of the bay area. right now, the lava fire near the california/oregon border about 71% contained. remaining evacuation orders are downgraded to warnings. minimal overnight activity has helped crews on the ground but increased winds predicted today is prompting fears the flames could spread. meanwhile, evacuations are still in place as crews work to put out the tenant fire in clemth national forest. the flames are at 53% containment. today's winds are also causing

reason for concern. two homes are among five buildings destroyed by that fire. and north of redding, the salt fire in shasta trinity national forest is 20% contained. nearby communities still under evacuation warnings. the flames have destroyed 41 buildings including 27 homes. a pandemic proposal turned from joy to dismay for one bay area couple. the engagement ring they sent off for repair never came back. >> chris chmura and his team jumped in to give them an early wedding present. >> valerie in millville got engaged in january and her nearly $3500 ring needed a repair shortly thereafter. she says she brought it to a ups store and watched the store employee pack the ring into a box and send it to san francisco to a jeweler. she insured the shipment and saved the receipt. the box made it to the jeweler. no ring inside.

valerie said she tried filing a claim and ups didn't respond or pay. she contacted us. we reached out to all parties and ups sent her a check for 3,481.30, the value of the ring plus shipping. a rep told us, we sincerely apologize to miss andrews for the situation. unfortunately in this situation, the delays in the claims approval process were on our side. valerie is thrilled. she can now replace her ring. >> so we want to thank you very much for allowing us to continue our celebration with a handful of vaccinated friends and to continue believing in the future. >> if you're looking for help getting your money back head to nbcbayarea.com. click the responds option from the main menu or call us, 888-996-tips. >> thanks, chris. 5:26. sometimes making it means living on the move. >> yeah. the pandemic made many work-from-home, some got creative with where home was, deciding to take their work on the road nearly 11 million

americans are so-called digital nomads. one couple says the rent can work out cheaper. >> it sounds like it's this really extravagant, exotic expensive lifestyle and it's not. most of the places we stay the rent is cheaper than what we paid in denver. >> it's not all beaches and cocktails. there are drawbacks to life as a digital know mad. watch their interview on the "today" show, part of our priced out series. >> i know a couple that did that during the pandemic. >> i know a few people. much more ahead including the top stories we're following including a big step forward today in san francisco. another place where you can go without a mask. this as concerns over the rapidly spreading delta variant continue to soar. falling through the cracks, what numbers are revealing about the thousands still unable to pay their rent despite covid protections in place. you're watching "today in the bay."

right now, things are still pretty quiet in the bay area. we don't know how long that quiet will last. >> right now the covid delta variant running rampant as restrictions ease, we're now seeing a spike in illnesses. the new numbers showing the covid's rapid spread across the state, something almost now completely preventable. problems persisting. illegal fireworks keeping firefighters busy until the

morning. making a break for it. the video as an inmate near tahoe tries to pull off a fourth of july great escape. how he was able to get behind the wheel of a fire truck. this is "today in the bay." good morning. thank you for joining us. i'm cierra johnson in for laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. and first, as concerns grow with the rising number of delta variants, some parts of california are staying steps to slow that spread. pete suratos is live. as we see the rise in the delta variant cases we're seeing restrictions ease at popular locations in the city. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, marcus. face coverings will no longer be required for individuals fully vaccinated heading into city hall in san francisco. as you mentioned it's as the delta variant cases continue to rise in the state of california. as i mentioned this change to the face coverings rule at san

francisco city hall applies to fully vaccinated added protect. as far as the delta variant in california officials say it makes% of new covid cases in a matter of months. but i do want to point out the top health officials point out that vaccinated individuals are mostly protected from the variant. now here's medical contributor dr. ka vitae pa tell expanding on this point. >> if you have more unvaccinated people in your community than vaccinated you are playing the odds that you get exposed to delta variant and any variant thereafter. >> reporter: now the head of the emergency program at the world health organization is actually warning countries to slow down on easing restrictions because of the rise of this variant.

we'll see if this affects any changes moving forward. reporting live, pete suratos, for "today in the bay." >> all right. thank you. santa clara county is reducing the county's covid-19 death toll by over 20%. according to "the chronicle" this comes after officials concluded that some people died maim of other causes and had been listed as disease victims they were able to investigate the deaths because of declining rates and hospitalizations. a russian plane with 28 crashes into the sea and officials say there are no survivors. the plane crashed off of russia's far eastern peninsula. as you can see on the map the twin engine turboprop plane lost contact with air traffic control before it crashed. an investigation into the crash right now is ongoing. illegal fireworks still going off well after fourth of july celebrations and that's

keeping fire crews pretty busy. last night it was a much better situation compared with the fourth of july. authorities say some people are still not getting the message. this is video from last night in contra costa county. a continuation from sunday when crews across the bay area, you see the video, were stretched thin, some as the incidents caused damage. >> we didn't lose any homes but there was damage done to homes either because of grass fires like this one burning into the home or fireworks landing on roofs and gutters. >> contra costa county fire officials say despite the number of calls they got sunday night, the crackdown on illegal fireworks did help a little. structure fires were down 40% compared to the same time last year. california leaders are hoping to help struggling people make it in the bay area and across the state. governor gavin newsom and state lawmakers extended the eviction moratorium to keep people in their homes but a report says shoes thousands have fallen

through the safety net. cal matters says to march 2021 more than 7600 households have been locked out of their households because of not paying rent. there were many more evictions in the central valley and los angeles compared to the bay area. while some find it hard to make it in the bay others spent a record amount of money in april to buy a home in san francisco. in april, a home sold on billionaire's row for a record $43 million. you heard me right. the second biggest deal was a home that sold just under $25 million. the third was a pacific heights home that sold for $19 million. switching gears now to south florida where the search and rescue efforts are ongoing after the unstable remnants of a condo tower that collapsed was brought down. here's a live look at the scene in surfside. the death toll stands at 28. so far 117 people remain unaccounted for. the search for survivors resumed after the demolition of part of

that building was still standing sunday night. >> crews imploded it due to safety concerns for workers on the ground as tropical storm elsa heads their way. >> you still h passing showers and thunderstorms. and also some heavy rainfall which could aggravate some of the flooding that's already going ob out there as well. >> so far about 4.8 million pounds of concrete have been removed from that pile. back here at home, talk about a wild ride in sierra. new video showing you an inmate firefighter trying to escape on independence day. police say the prisoner was part of a crew fighting vegetation fire in the sierra nevada foothills. they say the inmate stole a cal fire engine before crashing into a nearby ditch. he crashed into a ditch making a run for it.

one neighbor says that he heard and saw it all unfold and knew he had to act quickly. >> first it's like evacuate the house and then i call the family and say there's a convict on the loose. lock your doors. strange indeed. the inmate tried to car jack a second vehicle but was unable to start it. authorities caught up with him and he was taken to the hospital after getting hurt in the chase. he is expected to survive. several police and fire agencies are now investigating. >> can you imagine seeing a fire truck take off like that? >> the fire is that way, sir. >> thanks for coming to help. >> wow. >> glad they caught him. >> they were fighting that fire there, dry conditions sounds like it's going to remain pretty dry here in the bay area. there was a little drizzle there in san francisco that seems to have tapered off a little bit. >> yeah. it's good to see that drizzle too because we know that's going to help keep us cool. some of that marine layer and the fog that we see near the

coast stretching inland as some clouds we're seeing right now over dublin. if you're getting ready to head out for work we're starting out with a cloudy sky, temperatures in the mid 50s and it's going to be another nice day with the sky slowly clearing by late morning into early afternoon. we're looking at temperatures reaching into the 60s and 70s. take a look at these highs reaching 79 in martinez, livermore, 83 degrees and 64 in san francisco. so we'll talk about a heat up in our forecast in a few minutes. mike, what's going on with the commute? >> light drive, gentle build and as usual coming out of the altamont pass for the biggest volume here. slowing for 580 in towards livermore. over here north of there, the highlighted yellow means there may be breezy conditions. just a note there from our tie in with the weather system. the crash is in byron community, vasco road. i mention that because it's a among intersection. folks getting out of the area towards 580. surface street traffic kicking in. there may be a second crash on

byron highway and we'll track that in brentwood. nothing major. this just off the east shore freeway and no major crashes and no slowing towards the bay bridge. back to you. >> thanks, mike. coming up, bracing for impact. tropical storm elsa inching closer to the florida coast. the preparations under way this morning on the ground ahead of that storm. we're taking you into the storm's path live. >> it's much quieter in washington. yesterday was a holiday. giving us a chance to look at some presidential tweets. ♪ born in the usa ♪ ♪ i was born in the usa ♪ >> well the boss's daughter is going for gold like her dad. she may have been born in the usa but bruce springsteen's daughter is hoping to pull off a win for team usa. the sport where she's set to take the stage in tokyo.

up here, success depends on the choices you make. but i know i've got this. and when it comes to controlling his type 2 diabetes, my dad's got this, too. with the right choices, you have it in you to control your a1c and once-weekly trulicity may help. most people taking trulicity reached an a1c under 7%. and it starts lowering blood sugar from the first dose, by helping your body release the insulin it's already making. 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. oroweat small slice. i wonder if this has the same quality ingredients as the original whole grains bread? great question, dad. and it does. it has all the same nutritious deliciousness as the original slice but only a little bit smaller. just like timmy here. my name's lucas. it sure is bobby.

let's get a live look outside at the golden gate bridge starting out with some fog and a little bit of drizzle here and there. but at least the visibility is clear so if you're coming from novato expect temperatures in the upper 50s and cloudy skies, clearing by late morning. a look at all of our microclimates in a few minutes. over here the berkeley curve slowing a little bit as folks make their way with the taillights over to the right heading towards the bay bridge you'll smee slowing on the incline. we'll check out the bay bridge

toll plaza coming up. president biden has been trying to mend fences with republicans but at the white house some of the fences are disappearing entirely. >> scott mcgrew, actual fences coming down. >> remember when we could say literally and the fences are coming down. you can get closer to the white house. the temporary fences have come down, first time in a long time the people have been able to get this close to the white house. now security is still the same. the second row of fences have been put up and the secret service installed a taller fence around the white house. washington pretty much closed down monday. the first family held a barbecue and we showed you pictures of san jose firefighters at the white house earlier. and the president pushed for more vaccinations. >> thanks to our heroic vaccine efforts, we've gained the upper hand and we can live our lives and our kids can go back to

school, our economy is roaring back. don't get me wrong, covid-19 has not been banquished. we all know powerful variants have an merged like the delta variant. the best defense against these variants is to get vaccinated. >> not much going on we have time to mention the tweet from the white house who sent it out over the weekend. a lot of people rolled their eyes at it. the price of your holiday cookout went down 16 cents, which is not a lot. and the white house cherry picked the foods it measured to get that number. that was the white house account. biden has his own presidential account as well. that account doesn't make news the way that trump did because it's pretty tame, but we do monitoring it and fact check it. this one sent out july 2nd is accurate but misleading. more jobs were gained under biden than trump in the first five months. that's true.

though five months is a strange benchmark to begin with. it's very much apples and oranges. the economy continued to climb as president trump took over from president obama. it was on a winning streak. the economy continued those pandemic, somewhat come under control and, of course, you're going to have bigger gains. biden's critics send out misleading tweets of their own. it says the unemployment went up in the latest jobs report for african-americans and women. the unemployment rate went up. there were job gains in the report, not losses. but as more people say they're willing to come back to work the unemployment rate, which measures people looking for a job, went up. wall street and economists point to that as good news. take a look at my tweets and see what you think. find me on twitter @scott mcgrew. >> thank you. happening today, a man

charged in that los angeles fireworks explosion is due in federal court. arturo was arrested saturday by special agents with the atf. he's charged with transporting explosives without a license. the dangerous homemade devices were detonated by police leading to a massive explosion you see there that destroyed a specially designed containment vehicle and 17 people were injured. developing now, tropical storm elsa barreling towards the florida coast at this hour. here's a look at the storm's path careening through the keys and up the gulf side of the state, like ft. myers and tampa. clearwater beach is in the center of the potential strike zone. jay gray is there with a closer look at those conditions now and what could be on the way. jay? >> yeah. look, this storm has already battered the caribbean, at least three people have died as a result of this storm and now

it's taking aim on the western side or the gulf side of florida right now. and with that a lot of people that are in the potential santa rosa stacking sandbags or stocking up on storm supplies. >> freshen up the batteries, check, make sure the radio works. make sure that we have extra lights. >> reporter: yeah. all of this coming after what was really a picture perfect weekend here to wrap up the long holiday. a lot of people out on the beach enjoying themselves, a mixed bag right now, a lot of people saying they're going to prepare and others saying they're cutting things short heading to higher ground. the time to do that is going to run out today. >> and jay, i know that we're going to see the storm move through florida fairly quickly but still probably going to really cause some problems throughout the week?

>> yeah. that's the thing, it may only be a tropical storm. a couple models say it could reach hurricane status. either way it's going to get through florida and hug the eastern seaboard, have winds 40 to 45 miles per hour. the flooding rain may be all the way until friday and up to maine, so a lot of people, millions, watching this closely and could be affected. >> yeah. certainly those businesses out there and all those people. jay gray this morning, thank you. it is 5:48 for you this morning. this morning, our countdown to the tokyo olympics is on. and a relative of a rock and roll royalty representing the united states in this summer's games. >> the u.s. equestrian team announced their jumping team for the games and a familiar name appears on the list. 29-year-old jessica springsteen, daughter of bruce springsteen, made the u.s. olympic squad. jessica springsteen trained in riding since she was 4 years old on her famous father's new

jersey farm. some say she was born to ride and don't forget, nbc bay area is your home for the olympics. you can watch the games right here starting on july 23rd. i am so excited. well also trending this morning, how would you like to have a disney princess as your child's baby sitter. >> it happened. one massachusetts mom says that she has the next best thing. and this is going viral. take a look. ♪ wouldn't i love, love to enjoy the chores ♪ >> listen to that voice. i was like oh. i'm captivated by it. that's delaney wilson whose employer filmed her singing "part of your world" for the little mermaid. the mother says the 18-year-old was discouraged from singing due to insecurities over her looks. this video has now been viewed more than 12 million times and you hear why. like all fairytales this was a

happy ending. so what you're looking at, that's video of wilson recently finding out that she has -- was accepted in her dream school, berkeley college of music. oh, yeah. that's a great school. my cousin went there. the feedback from that video has really helped boost her confidence. >> i just got chills. >> i did too. >> that is so cool. >> i stumbled upon her on tiktok actually about a week ago and i was scrolling through and she just seems like the nicest person, lovely person. so i'm so glad that this has led to confidence instead of sometimes stuff on the internet can get -- >> yeah. wow. >> the purity of her voice. >> the girl is unfazed. that's my babysitter. >> rarity for a voice. >> i feel badly for the next babysitter. >> for our forecast, i wish i

could do something compared to that but sunshine, maybe. sunshiny day. >> yes. >> you're going to get a lot of sunshine. it's going to be a beautiful day, but we're not starting out that way. take a look at all the clouds we have over san jose and we are going to have that keeping our temperatures cool with that stretch of that marine layer into the south bay extending towards the east bay. let's see what's going on for the highs this afternoon reaching 76 degrees in milpitas and we'll see a high of 83 in gilroy today. seven-day forecast is coming up at the bottom of your screen and your microclimate is going to heat up. low 70s for redwood city, 60 half moon bay, san francisco in the mid 60s and our north bay temperatures up to 94 in clearlake. high pressure is going to build and start to extend for the inland areas from the desert southwest into the bay area. that's going to shift our wind direction so take a look at a

spot like brentwood. we're going to be heating up after today. enjoy it because it's one of the coolest days we'll see in quite a while. mid 90s tomorrow an then triple digits the rest of the week from thursday on towards the weekend. we're going to see some hot weather coming in once again and, of course with hotter temperatures we have the concern of the fire danger and we're going to see these temperatures stay hot for an extended period of time so that is not good. hopefully you have a better traffic report, mike. >> we're going to mention brentwood as well. mild slowing as you would expect at this time in san jose from north 101. in brentwood and byron, byron community vasco road and brentwood highway 4 and 2, important intersection through the area. those have crashes there, out of the roadway. not a major concern. that note as you're heading through that portion. getting over towards the bay bridge, just starting to build here. slowing up the incline. back to you. >> all right.

thanks, mike. happening now, the san francisco unified school district and ucsf are looking forward to the start of the new school year. this afternoon school leaders will hold the first of three virtual health and safety town lalgs. the district is expecting all opportunities to return to in person learning on august 16th. masks will be required when the school starts next year or next school year. school district is facing questions about receiving funds for opening early. still much more ahead on "today in the bay" including dry brush isn't just fueling flames here in california. the shocking new data showing the damage being done to the hawaiian islands. it's one of the largest cities in the golden state however the desert town is having trouble cashing in on its available real estate. how a california city is hoping to lure new businesses.

this unplugged device is protecting our beautiful coastlines and more. put off chores and use less energy from 4 to 9 pm to help keep our state golden.

welcome back. 5:56. you're watching "today in the bay." this is all new drone video giving us an up close look at the damage done and the mudslide in japan. at least four people are dead. at least 24 people still missing. that site is above a resort town 60 miles southwest of tokyo. more than 1,000 japanese rescuers have been combing through the crushed homes and buried roads. the mud slide was touched off by torrential rain more than a

month's worth of rain in just 24 hours. northern california isn't the only place experiencing wildfires so far. out in pacific hawaii they're dealing with an early fire season. two-thirds of hawaii faces nooushl dry conditions this summer. a fire on the island of maui ravaged an area of 10,000 acres. more than 75,000 acres across the island have been lost to wildfires since 2018. the masks are likely coming off soon in england. british prime minister boris johnson announcing fewer covid-19 restrictions. johnson says that the people will no longer be required to wear face masks or social distance in outdoor or indoor public spaces. this will take effect july 19th. the changes come amid rising cases in england made worse by the delta variant. a look for a piece of land in california. well, you're looking for that, listen up. the desert city in california not giving up hope for a bright

future in the cannabis industry. geographically california city is one of the largest cities in the state but sits mostly undeveloped in desert land in the mojave desert 100 miles northeast of l.a. >> thousands bought into the idea after the town was founded in 1965, however very few actually moved or built on that purchased land. as one local businessman explains the city is hoping to cash in on marijuana. >> it's not only an industry, but it's also the right business in the right time and the right people. the city is one in california that has recognized cannabis as an industry that can help a bankrupt city, a city losing money, losing city personnel because of lack of funding. >> it's an industry that i really like having here as opposed to an industry that would cause pollution or, you know, cause a lot of traffic. >> there's going to be over

close to a million square foot of cultivation coming that's being worked on right now. >> you can check out the full story and others like any time on lx.com. new this the vista theater in hollywood might soon be reopening with the new famous owner. director quentin tarantino purchased the single screen movie house. the theater has been closed since the start of the pandemic. once back open the director of "pulp fiction" says the vista will primarily screen new movies. right now at 6:00, the drought is rapidly worsening across the state. california's reservoirs going bone dry. the bay area, a tinderbox for flames and now another county is preparing to expand its water restrictions. we break down what it means for you. >> not giving up the fight. >> double down on our efforts to

vaccinate millions of more americans across july and august. >> the white house says the war against video is not over as concerns rise over the delta variant spreading. live reports and warnings out this morning and how you can stay safe. working to bounce back, all new shocking numbers show the struggle many companies are having trying to make it in silicon valley. the third hour of "today in the bay" continues now. good morning to you on this tuesday. thanks so much for making us a part of your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm cierra johnson. we start with dangerous drought conditions across the state. a live outside at some of our bay area sky cameras showing off the dry brush out there. our team has live coverage on the impact. >> first let's go to meteorologist kari hall looking closer at the dry conditions and what this means to our water supply. kari? >> yeah. this is not just a california