covid has changed all the facts on the ground. >> right now mask mandate looming. what top doctors say. >> plus chinatown lawsuits. hundreds of disability violations. why the district attorney stepping in. two state fires, massive flames from california now spreading in to nevada. we'll take you to the front lines of the fire fight. this is "today in the bay." and a good thursday morning.

we're broadcasting live on television and streaming live. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. first got to start off with that forecast. meteorologist kari hall is here. >> looks pretty good. we've enjoyed some nice weather across the bay area. in the tri-valley looks good. all clear as we start out with temperatures again mostly in the mid-50s here and the slow warm up as we enjoy some sunshine. temperatures headed up to upper 80s. a little bit warmer than yesterday in spots like the tri-valley and inland east bay but still looking at upper 70s and low 80s down to san jose. >> the commute has been quiet. on the chp traffic report there were a couple of areas recovering from overnight crashes down in the south bay. it cleared out just in time. that's good to here. tri-valley drive times moving

along nicely. westbound on 580 about 19 minutes. southbound from 680 about 10 minutes. i'll take a closer look how the rest of the drive times throughout the entire bay area are doing coming up in just a few minutes. >> just when you got used to being maskless now you're being told to put it back on. this is in most bay area counties even if you're fully vaccinated. >> we spoke with a top doctor who said even if you had your shots it's best to mask up indoors. >> reporter: we were told it was the end of masking on jun 15th but now the majority of california's population lives where indoor masking is recommended again. some vaccinated folks aren't pleased. >> yeah. i don't think so. if you're inside definitely not. it's been too long. >> reporter: i spoke with dr. bob wachter one of the nation's top covid experts. he's vaccinated but wearing a

mask again indoors and says you should too. >> because the vaccines still work quite well but the virus i'm likely to be exposed to is this delta virus which is twice as infectious as the original and far more likely i'll be exposed to it today than a month ago. >> reporter: the delta variant is circulating more widely. he doesn't want long term symptoms you can get even after a mild case cognitive individual. lastly, still not enough people are vaccinated nationwide. >> san francisco is essentially 75% vaccinated. two months ago i would have said i think that's maybe high enough to have local herd immunity. that would be high enough to bump down the cases even if people take their masks off. >> reporter: dr. wachter says this surge is must worse. does he think indoor mask mandate is coming back. >> i expect what los angeles did, went back to a mask mandate, i'm guessing the bay

area counties will do the same thing in the next couple of weeks. might not if the cases plateau and start to come down. unless everyone starts wearing a mask without a mandate i can't see any reason why that wouldn't happen. new this morning a new challenge for merchants in san francisco's chinatown. in the past month more than 100 shop owners have been served with a demand letter or lawsuit spelling out alleged violations of the american with disabilities act. now the san francisco district attorney is investigating to see whether those demands are fraudulent. >> all they have been doing is serve take out orders only and based on the claims i don't see any way possible that this person was going into the establishment looking for food. >> if the lawsuit allegations the person entered the business but never entered that's fraud. >> the chamber of commerce is

putting together a $25,000 legal fund to help shop owners respond. we tried to contact attorneys who were sending those legal notices and spoke with one of them on the phone briefly. he wouldn't go into detail on demand letters. happening today, the legacy of a the job will be cemented in the north bay. officer kirk gritz was killed a year ago on the interstate. today's dedication takes place at valley church and will be stream lived on the chp facebook page. search is on to find a driver in a deadly hit-and-run crash in san jose. the driver of a 2015 black x

affinity took off. they believe he was speeding and running a red light. the driver of the other car was killed. pg&e has a new strategy to reduce the risk of deadly fires. it wilbury 10,000 miles of power lines. the goal to reduce the fire risk. and make the system safer. that announcement comes as cal fire investigating pg&e's admission its equipment may have sparked the dixie fire. the price tag for this, $15 to $20 billion. happening now the tamarac fire is burning in two states. that's a chopper dropping water on those flames. the fire burning south of lake tahoe. crews are trying to keep the burn west of route 395. that fire started back on yooul 4th. it exploded over the weekend.

those flames have now burned over 40,000 acres. no containment at this time. >> all that smoke is what we were talking about yesterday how it's moving east. >> my family in kentucky called to see if we were all right. let's get a look at other air quality. the still blowing away from the bay area. you can see how that's moving all the way across the country. and marcus your family may call you as well in memphis. you can see it's lit up there with all the smoke that's traveling near the surface. we the take a look at our temperatures headed toward the mid-80s for us today and some of our warmer spots. still pretty nice as we get that westerly wind. we'll talk more about the weekend in a few minutes. things are still quiet, which is always what i like to see on our traffic maps. now, i did see a little bit of

slowing here in the fremont area but cleared out quickly. i'm assuming it might have been a quick slow stop and go. southbound 101 from van ness, 12 minutes. southbound 101 from sfo to highway 92, six minutes. and to shore line boulevard about 9 minutes. i'll have a look at your bridge drive time in a few minutes. >> it's 4:38 right now. coming up next struggling to make it in the bay. sws familiet making enough to survive and it's not just housing. we're breaking down some of the shocking findings. >> voting on twitter. the new feature on social media and what they are testing and why some won't be able to see it. >> taking a peek at the bay bridge toll plaza. it's 4:38. lot more news ahead.

why o-cedar ? because when i get home, we like to play crocodile on the floor o-cedar easywring

removes over 99% of bacteria, even with just water... ulclean floors o-cedar easywring if there were a button that would help you use less energy, o-cedar. it feels great to feel breathe cleaner air, and even take on climate change... would you press it?

good thursday morning. right now at 4:41 as you're stepping out the door in antioch, low 60s. nice start to the day. get in those outdoor activities early in the day before it heats up. at 11:00 still in the 70s. we'll talk about the weekend coming up in a few minutes. >> no rush when it comes to your commute. a block at your south bay drive times. northbound 101 from highway 85, 18 minutes. northbound from highway 101,

seven minutes to highway 85. good morning. i'm bertha coombs with your headlines from cnbc. wall street is set to open hire after stocks rallied for a second straight day. on monday the world seemed to be falling apart, everybody was worried about the fact we're seeing surging delta cases. all done. turning positive for the week. the dow jumping 286 points. the nasdaq and s&p 500 were up about 1%. again, wiping out all of monday's losses. energy was the top performing sector as oil prices have rebounded. focus today we're waiting on reports on existing home sales and the number of people filing for unemployment. we've heard earnings from at&t this morning, pretty strong. american airlines as well. southwest, intel, snap and twitter on tap later today. twitter meantime is

experimenting with a new feature that let's users vote up or down on reprice to tweets. it's part of the social network's effort to gain more insight on what types of reprice users find relevant in conversations. for now the feature is only being tested on ios devices or apple devices. the number of down votes will not be visible publicly. up votes will show up as likes. meantime target ultrabeauty is unveiling new plans. the concept will start rolling out at more than 100 stores in august and will feature more than 50 brands including clinique and dry bar. initially sites include a dozen stores in california as well as locations in new york and texas. you know, target and some of these drug stores are really challenging department stores now when it comes to the beauty

counters. they have amazing brands that they are selling. >> remember, target was the one that was able to stay open during the pandemic. >> true. >> you know, because they had toilet paper and all the other things you need. >> exactly. target, walgreens, cvs. >> there we go. we can still get our lipstick under our mask. >> keep it popping. >> thanks so much, bertha. coming. for you this morning, a lot for you. kari you're tracking fog? >> all clear in santa rosa. temperatures right now 50 degrees. a little cool. but it's going to be another nice one. we'll talk about slightly warmer temperatures in your weekend forecast coming up. and let's check in on the east bay. westbound 80 highway 4 to bay bridge 13 minutes.

plus the best of the best. a local acquarium ranking the top in the best. i'm morgan, and there's more to me than hiv. more love, more adventure, more community. but with my hiv treatment, there's not more medicines in my pill. i talked to my doctor and switched to fewer medicines with dovato. dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. with just 2 medicines in 1 pill, dovato is as effective as a 3-drug regimen... to help you reach and stay undetectable.

research shows people who take hiv treatment as prescribed and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit hiv through sex. don't take dovato if you're allergic to its ingredients or if you take dofetilide. taking dovato with dofetilide can cause serious or life-threatening side effects. hepatitis b can become harder to treat while on dovato. don't stop dovato without talking to your doctor, as your hepatitis b may worsen or become life-threatening. serious or life-threatening side effects can occur, including allergic reactions, lactic acid buildup, and liver problems. if you have a rash and other symptoms of an allergic reaction, stop dovato and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems, or if you are, may be, or plan to be pregnant. dovato may harm your unborn baby. use effective birth control while on dovato. most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea,

so much goes into who i am. hiv medicine is one part of it. ask your doctor about dovato-i did. ♪♪ . and here we go thursday morning. little friday as we like to call it. live look at fremont. seeing folks on the road getting started with their day. sore we. we're wondering how is the weather today? >> how is the weather today? >> let's talk to the expert.

>> it's looking like it has the past few days. no big changes here. we do still have a wide range of temperatures. so if it was cool and foggy where you were yesterday it will be that way today. if it was hot and sunny expect that. here's a live look outside in san francisco. at least now we can see the city but i think the fog will be rolling back in closer to sunrise and we may not see that view. as we head to the south bay, temperatures are headed back to the upper 70s, low 80s, even mid-80s for gilroy and morgan hill. east bay few low 90s but mostly upper 80s from danville to martinez and livermore. seven day forecast is at the bottom of the screen as we check out our temperatures that will reach to the mid-70s. still and foggy near the coast and san francisco highs are headed for the low to mid-60s up to 96 degrees in ukiahthese tem

degree or two from yesterday. as we take a look what's going on here, we have a large area of high pressure over the desert southwest. as it comes in closer it will cause another surge of monsoonal moisture moving in from parra m for the sierra as well going into the end of the weekend and early next week and also seeing some rain approaching the pacific northwest. i want to show you how our temperatures will bounce up and down for our hot spots like brentwood. 96 for today. then 101 tomorrow. briefly hitting that 100 degree mark but then coming back to lower 90s by the beginning of next week. you can see once again still hot. if that's the weather you had recently expect more of the same. as we look over, averaging our inland temperatures mostly upper 80s, low 90s over the next few days, slightly warmer for the weekend and heading in to san francisco, still more clouds and fog but i think we'll see a little bit less of that fog

going into saturday and sunday, highs in the upper 60s and a little bit more sunshine. how are the roads looking? >> a morning of short and sweet traffic reports. i don't have a lot going on. we'll see how it goes throughout morning. overall you can see the speed sensors are green. no major accidents to report. all fender benders and construction that happened overnight have cleared out. we'll get some spots of construction that's pretty normal. unfortunately at this hour. westbound 80 towards the bay bridge, seven minutes. westbound 92 towards the san mateo bridge, 12 minutes. one in four families is not earning. enough to make it in the bay. those are the findings of a new analysis by united way of california. it says the cost to cover basic necessities for a family of four in the bay area is about $109,000.

it includes housing, food, basics. about 608,000 of 3.5 million families in our region don't make that much. this was even before the pandemic. u.s. census bureau official measure of poverty doesn't take into account how costs change. farm living could give south bay seniors a new way to make it in the bay. we're expected to learn more about this proposal later today. officials say it's an initiative and an innovative concept that blends vegetable production with urban development. farm fresh housing has 300 amounts for low-income seniors and veterans with a small working farm. it would be built on north winchester boulevard. santa clara county, santa clara city council will vote on this

plan next month. no surprise here. the famous monterey bay aquarium is gaining national recognition. travel and leisure magazine named it the top ten best aquariums in the u.s. no surprise. it is the only one in california to make that list. the magazine cited the aquarium's cut forest which is among its many highlights. coming up next on "today in the bay," surf up. for the first time in the olympics surfing will be part of the game. happening now san francisco is taking action combat climate change. supervisors passing an ordinance to speed up cutbacks on greenhouse emissions. it updates the code focusing on six areas. energy, transportation, housing, building, zero waste and roots. it requires the city to have an action plan by the end of the year. san francisco wants toeeouse emr

2030 and eventually reach net zero emissions. 4:52. we'll be right back. the body you are how well you are cared for.de

♪ or how hard we work to find answers, partners, and hope. ♪ we make medicine. ♪ not just for some ♪ but for everyone. ♪

welcome back. 4:55. now turning to our climate in crisis. st. helena looking to cut a deal with napa county on its water use to the ongoing drought. so far the city has used nearly 500 of the 600 acre feed of water and napa county gave them in the last fiscal year. the city manager may request the county reduce st. helena's water bill since it didn't use all the water available due to restriction. another option would be to give st. helena the rest of the water

they didn't use. that new agreement the city will have to pay for all the water including over $280,000 for water they never received. >> olympic surfing competition will take place this weekend. the u.s. team hit the waves for practice. competition will be held here, located 40 miles east of tokyo. team usa will be represented by two men and two women who ride those waves with 38 other competitors from around the world. good luck to them. a surprise visitor showing up at the olympic games. >> covid fans aren't allowed but an asian black bear has been spotted twice inside the olympic softball stadium. they are blasting loud music and using firecrackers to scare the bear way. usa beat canada in that stadium

last night. a no. join us for three olympic special from the 7:00 p.m. and then tomorrow it's the day of the opening ceremony at 1:00 p.m. check out more stories on our local athletes as well and track them through the olympics. that's fun to do at nbcbayarea.com/olympics and "today's" show, savannah guthrie is there. she will be hosting the ceremony in tokyo and fold by a special edition of "today" at 8:00 a.m. action-packed. >> there you go. lots going on. coming up next on "today in the bay," a live report from tokyo. and kari is track weather conditions. >> 50s as you head out the door in palo alto. our temperatures are going to be like yesterday. sunshine reaching into the mid-70s. looking at all our microclimates coming up next. >> it looks like we have a

stalled vehicle on eastbound 80 near the toll plaza. a semi in the number three lane. i'll have a closer look how thi the corner. will student need those masks in the backpack? the president is weighing in on all of that. much more ahead for you on today at the bay.

what if you could push a button and less carbon would be put into the air. if there were a button that would help you use less energy, breathe cleaner air, and even take on climate change... would you press it? right now at 5:00 a covid

curve ball headed in the wrong direction. the virus is on the rise every where, including here at home. one local county being hit the hardest. >> heading back to the classroom with masks. what the president is just saying about that this morning. >> just under 24 hours away from the olympic opening ceremonies. the pandemic still front and center but this came morning new controversy. allegations of racism. this is "today in the bay". you made it to thursday morning. now just making it through your day. thanks so much for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. what can you expect from the temperatures. kari hall has a look at the temperatures. >> let's get out the door and headed to work as we get a look at our temperatures that will start out in the mid-50s and a few clouds as we'll see it clearing out again today going from the