right now on nbc bay area. let the games begin. the opening ceremony kicks off in tokyo. >> not everyone thinks the olympics should happen. and a coyote spotted in a san francisco neighborhood. the reason wildlife experts say they are getting so close to people. are you planning a trip to a covid-19 hot spot? one health officer lays out the risks you could be taking when it comes to where you are vacationing. okay. the news at 2:00 p.m. starts now. thanks for joining us.

>> we are on early because the olympic opening ceremony will be re-aired today at 4:30. >> we will get to that excitement in a moment. first, the other news dominating the headlines, the pandemic as people move forward with summer travel perhaps, could you be heading to a covid-19 hot spot. >> some health official leaders are urging people to make sure that the place isn't a place where the cases are rising. >> reporter: health officials say if you are traveling you should understand where the covid hot spots are. for example, las vegas is seeing a spike and isn't recommended if you are not vaccinated. all the casinos are full. >> the entire strip is packed. yeah, restaurants are full. everyone's definitely coming in from all over. >> reporter: she describes the crowded conditions right in her hometown of las vegas. she and her family are traveling to the bay area for a few days to get away from a situation

that's made them very anxious. >> we are noticing a lot of people are not adhering to mask-wearing and so you have a lot of folks who don't wear masks requirements las vegas is one of the country's prime covid hot spots where transmission rates are surging. >> it's really important to remember that as far as covid goes what happens in vegas doesn't stay in vegas. >> reporter: dr. chris says traveling it a covid hot spot can be very risky, especially if you are not vaccinated. in fact, he is urging people who haven't gotten vaccinated to consider a chachk plans. >> if you are not vaccinated i wouldn't recommend traveling to high transmission areas. >> reporter: unfortunately, contra costa county is also among the cdc's high transmission areas right now. she says that means un-vlad

residents need to change their ood behaviors at home, too. >> if you are not vaccinated i would not recommend eating indoors at a restaurant. i would not recommend going to a movie theater. i would not recommend going to an indoor gym if you are not vaccinated. >> reporter: this family returned from a beak in sin city. they a say being among the unmasked was unnerving. >> we were there seven days. now should we, like, self-quarantine at home for a week? like, we have to be more careful because we were exposed. >> reporter: health officials say with the delta variant in the mix now is not the time to let your guard down no matter where you are heading. jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. and california's positivity rate is showing no signs of slowing down. its risen 1.4% in the past week. it's now at 5.2%. on december 31st we were at a peak at 17.1%, a sharp drop as

people got vaccinations and now a sharp spike again. what about hospitalizations? it is holding steady. that is although it's creeping upwards right now. right now there is under 3,000 people hospitalized across california can covid-19. at the height of the surge touring t2200 people were hospi ltd. download our nbc bay area app to stay up to date. seems to change day by day. we have what you need to move forward and keep you in the know. as they say, let the games begin. the tokyo olympics checking off very early this morning with the opening ceremony. >> united states of america! >> usa! usa! >> olympic stadium serving as the stage for today as ceremony. this beginning at 4:00 this morning our time. now, if you were able to get up

url enough to watch that, saw team usa marching into the stadium among other athletes from hundreds of other nations. even as the entire event was carried out with no fans in the stand, of course due to the covid-19 pandemic, japan's emperor and first lady jill biden were among the dignitaries attending the celebration. >> protesters, too. the peaceful demonstrators read signs that said stop the olympics. police officers held back the demonstrators so they wouldn't reach the stadium. there have been many protests leading up to the games as covid cases in japan continue to rise. >> the games were just getting started. already we have some athletes with a leg up. >> let's bring in anthony flores. this is getting exciting. competition is underway. >> that's right. a lot of bay area athletes going for the gold in tokyo. the olympics are officially underway. even with no spectators, there

was a lot of buzz and excitement for the opening ceremony. wnba star sue bird and eddy alvarez led the u.s. in the parade of nations as flag bearers. a lot of athletes, u.s. and from other countries, wanted to get a photo with that guy, kevin durant with katie ledecky and simone biles, naomi osaka lit the olympic cauldron in her home country. >> this is how the party really got started. ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ ♪ happy birthday to you ♪♪ >> he looks happy, right? team usa serenades kevin durant more than 600 u.s. athletes belting out happy birthday before the opening ceremony. here is the funny part. katie's birthday isn't until the end of september. as we showed you last night, former cal bear kara kohler who won bronze, a bronze medal in

the team rowing in london in 2012 is off to a strong start. she won her heat in singles rowing to advance to the quarterfinals on sunday. >> so exciting to findly get the start line and race at the olympics. >> a little surreal, like having to remind myself, wow, i am at the olympic games finally. >> and koehler is one of 90 athletes with ties to the bay area. of course weshlgs be following them all. or trying to throughout these olympics. yeah, a lot from stanford and cal. >> almost 65 or 66 from calais loan. >> wow. >> a lot of athletes from the bay area. well, if you missed the opening ceremony early this morning don't worry, you will have another chance to watch it this afternoon. we will rebroadcast the celebration today at 4:30. you can watch it on nbc bay area and also online at ayarea.com. you can also stream it on peacock and at nbcolympics.com. tomorrow marks three weeks since the east bay runner went

running. volunteers not giving up on the seven. now, a bizarre case that left authorities and those searching really frustrated and baffled. but there are some tips to investigate. melissa corrado joins us live from perez enton with more on this. are. >> reporter: marcus, they are three miles away from pleasant on region park. volunteers have made it over here. they have posted this missing flyers with his picture, his last known location and most importantly a number to call if they have any tips. speaking of tips, volunteers received a tip recently that a woman had reported seeing a distressed looking runner running underneath this bridge in this area. so volunteers spent the day looking into this tip, combing this trail, knocking on doors, checking to see if anyone has any home security cameras that may have captured any sign of

philip krajicek. he disappeared july 10th after going for a run in pleasanton on a sore change shot day. his car was found at park with his wallet, cellphone and t-shirt inside. security consultant michael lehninger, who is not taking part in the case, says he thinks it's time for investigators to shift focus away from the park and on krajicek's digital t investigate his work computer, home computer, cellphone, they need to be forensically examined. work, co-workers need to be spoken to. >> we don't have any information about where he went when left his car. >> reporter: now, a friend of

philip krajicek who went running with him on the day before he disappeared answered some questions online that a lot of volunteers had, and basically said is a portion of where he was at mentally, he was happy, was content with work, was a busy family man who was juggling work life with family life, his wife recently had a daughter, so he was juggling, having two kids and also juggling his workload, but the friend says he thinks the likely culprit as a heatstroke. again more questions than answers as we approach the two-week mark since philip was last seen. that's the latest in pleasanton, melissa colorado, nbc bay area news. it is dangerous even for firefighters. a crew escaped a wall of flames while battling the tamarack truckee meadows filmed themselves driving through a fast movingpo fire, the flames burned onid of the road and they made it to

safety. so far the tamarack fire has burned more than 58,000 acres. it's 4% contained. and more families must leave their homes near the dixie fire. if you don't follow the evacuation orders, firefighters might be able to rescue -- they might not be able to rescue you. the dixie fire has burned 143,000 acres so far. it's also destroyed at least eight homes. 1,500 more threatened right now. that fire is 18% contained but the fight is tough for firefighters. this is because large part of that fire burning in an area that is hard to reach. i'm chief meteorologist jeff rainierry. we have fog rolling right into san francisco, but that won't be able to save everybody from heat this weekend. i will show you where it gets close to 100 and some monsoonal moisture we are tracking in about seven minutes. and it's not just tokyo

celebrating the opening ceremony. a live look at japan town in san francisco where festivities are kicking off. we will take you there live and see what's about to happen. too close for comfort. the reason some wildlife experts say that coyotes are just getting so close to humans right now. deadly crash early this

morning in the area oftoli road and la ra fwoen any avenue near las legos golf course. the woman was walking east outside of the crosswalk and that's when a red suv hit her. the driver took off. san jose police say this is the 12th pedestrian killed this year. new help now for working famgs. governor gavin newsom hosting a huge zoom call to celebrate. many of those people on that call they have worked for years, even decades, urging state to make a bigger commitment to

childcare and early childhood education. the governor signing that build today as online supporters watched and applauded. >> to all of you that are assembled, it is my honor to make this official here in our state. that's for all of you. thank you for your extraordinary work. congratulations. it's wonderful to be with you here today. >> that new bill increases pay for childhood providers, expands childcare openings and creates universal transitional kindergarten. today is not just opening ceremony for the olympics in tokyo. >> yeah, it's also opening ceremony opening day for san francisco's japan town where members of the community started gathering about a half hour ago to celebrate the start of the games halfway around the world. sharon is hosting our live-streaming of this event. she is joining us now live from freedom plaza. this is japan town. i see the people behind you there. looks like the excitement has

already begun. having a good time out there? >> reporter: it is so much fun and such an honor being here. i grew up here in america, japanese-american, this is all about our culture, and we are so proud to be a part of this. i want to show you you over here people are learning about the culture. there is a term called -- and that means being wasteful. don't be wasteful. that's the message here. so they are showing how you can reuse cloth and other items and they are decorating the kimono that you see underneath the tent that they will display later on at the japanese community cultural center. they are also making olympic torches here that you can take home. so there are so many fun activities. if you are watching this right now, live stream or on our newscast, try to head on down because these activities are going on to 5:00 and we are all celebrating the olympic opening ceremony day. i need to tell you, this is the kendo. i want to talk to you, the

cherry blossom festival queen, come on over here, please. it's going to be hard to beat that. but you are so beautiful. i have to show you. i need to ask you what did you think of the opening ceremony this morning? >> it was beautiful to watch. this is long awaited. it was a great demonstration of everyone coming together and just kind ever exploring the beauty of japan. i am excited. >> reporter: thank you so much. you arable gorgeous. she was so patient with us. look at you. thank you so much for joining us. and i know the pride that you are feeling right now. she is showing her whole kimono. also the flag and that fan that you can get for free here. >> this is all a collaborative event where you can learn all about the japanese culture. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> reporter: back to you in the studio. >> that's beautiful. thanks. i love the japanese culture. >> yes. >> what a great celebration. >> thanks. there is a stark difference between the way olympic events look here and how they look overseas.

>> why are things so different between these two highly developed countries? i flew to tokyo to cover the olympics and i realize my flights revealed a lot. >> that's chase kaine. he looks at why japan and the u.s. are taking different approaches to tackling covid and why japan's vaccination rates are still low. the full story on our nbcbayarea.com. stream lx. >> you can go outside and enjoy the day. where sharon works it looked beautiful. sun shining in japan town. >> 60s, pretty comfortable. >> it was like 50s last week. it is warming up all over the place. >> yeah, nice in san francisco. a window of sunshine today. as we continue through this weekend we will see the fog mixed in and hotter temperatures as well. let's bring you into that microclimate forecast.

out here in walnut creek lots of blue sky and it is warmer. right now 89 degrees and notice as we head through the next couple of hours temperatures will be heating up 94 by 3:00 p.m. and we're holding on to the heat here for quite a bit tonight. even at 6 and 7:00 in the 80s and then the 70s through 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. it's this hot area of high pressure over the desert southwest, now, normally this would be good enough to bring us widespread heat across the bay area, but thankfully, yes, thankfully, we have that fog pattern that will stay at the coastline this weekend and that will keep everybody from getting too hot. that saturday morning forecast we will start off with slightly warmer temperatures here with 60s over the south bay, peninsula at 60, tri-valley 64 and the best chance of fog tomorrow morning over san francisco and 57 degrees. so we start pretty comfortable as we head through tomorrow morning and through the

afternoon. sunshine returns even into san francisco and really there is something for everyone here on this map. you can see at the coastline we will be in the 60s. 67 in san francisco. near the bay 72 oakland, palo alto down to san jose in the 80s. then might get a little bit too uncomfortable for you. this is where that heat is again moving in over concord, 95. brentwood 99. livermore also at 95. i think overall it will be pretty manageable for us. now i want to fast forward things into sunday's forecast because we are tracking some monsoonal moisture. this same area of high pressure that is bringing the heat is also going to increase humidity. you can see this green color here. that's the increased moisture. the higher humidity. with the best chance of thunderstorms we think at this point as we head into sunday and tuesday to the south and the east of the bay area. i can show you this on the rainfall cumulation map. right over the sierra high thunderstorm chance, also just south of fresno as well. we will keep a close eye on it.

this activity can be a little bit rogue. nothing expected for the bay area but we will have our eyes certainly planted on that radar. so in san francisco we will hold with 60s as we move through the next seven-day forecast. really beautiful. the inland valleys 94 tomorrow, 80s sunday, monday, and then we go back up to 90s heading into parts of next week. let's take you out to tokyo and that seven-day forecast. the heat and humidity, tomorrow a heat index of 94, off and on thunderstorm chances. we have been talking about how tough it is on the athletes out there. they have been training and preparing for this for, well not only months, but years. a lot of them are used to the humidity because they have been doing test was that. making interesting for sure. >> we will get muggy, it sounds like? >> yes. >> thanks. coming up, the garlic festival back. what you need to know before you head down to grab some of those

famous garlic treats.

more proof that coyotes may be getting too comfortable with humans. our own nbc bay area sergio cantona had a close encounter this morning at corona heights park. this coyote is comfortable, doing a little yoga. he said he has seen coyotes in this park before but this is the closest he has ever been to one. whoa, high. coyotes are also approaching people at golden gate park. wildlife experts say it's in part because people are feeding them. one coyote there was recently euthanized because it was getting too low to toddlers. et gl more garlic festival is back since the mass shooting there two years ago. like everything else, it will look different because of covid. this year it will be a drive-thru experience at gilroy

y will be handing you those meals while you are still in your car. it includes, get this, sounds good, steak sandwiches, shrimp scampi and garlic fries. can somebody get me a plate? order your meals 96 hours in advance, but if you miss this weekend's window, don't you worry. gourmet alley will be open next weekend. so get to ordering now. we'll be right back.

plenty of local olympians to watch, including maggie steffens from danville. >> we have been covering her since the london olympics in 2012. tonight she faces japan hoping for her third gold medal. she is not forgetting her hometown. >> no matter where i am in the world, danville is such a blessing for me, all of the, of course, experiences i had there, friendships, everything kind of blossomed there and allowed me to go for my dream.

>> watch maggie steffens tonight at 7:30 right here on nbc bay area. a lot of local -- >> so exciting. >> and we will be back with more news at 3:00 p.m. and then it's the opening ceremony. >> so much fun. don't you miss it right here on nbc bay area. go team usa! woo!

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