investigators say the fire was set on purpose. another exhausting morning for firefighters. this is "today in the bay." good to have you with us on this tuesday morning. i'm kris sanchez. i'm in for laura this week. >> i'm marcus washington. we'll get to sonoma county in a moment. first want to talk about east contra costa county and the extremely busy morning for first responders there. >> bob redell is live in antioch where two homes went up in flames and bob, that was just one call the firefighters had overnight. >> reporter: there have been two separate fires in antioch this morning. i would say the larger of the two is right here. we're on g street where there was a fire to start in the back of this home and from there, that was a wildfire that spread to this home and another home on the other side, causing extensive damage to this home and the other home. the woman who lives here was able to get out on her own. she's still looking for her cat. fingers crossed she says they

might be hiding somewhere. there were four people in the other home that you can't see, they got out as well. everyone's out okay. it's their homes are uninhabitable because of the fire. the fire started around 3:30. there is a right of way in the back of these homes and there's a lot of vegetation there. there was a one acre wildfire that spread to their fence lines and went into the houses. we did ask the fire department if the fire is suspicious in nature because of the time of the day and the fact that there's no lighting out here and it's too early to tell. they have an investigator out here. the pio did say that typically in cases like this, they do discover that it was caused by, quote, human activity, but they're not saying that yet. it's too early to tell. throw up this map on your screen, the other fire took place around 2:00 this morning. that was about a mile and a half away. you can see it's at buchanan and lucena way. here's video from that fire. that fire appears to have

started in a homeless encampment, chairs, mattress on fire and spread up the hill. it was a small wildfire. the fire department was able to put that out as well and again, they don't know the cause if that was somebody in the homeless encampment or another cause. two fires in antioch. this one here did cause extensive damage to two homes but no one has been hurt. reporting live here in antioch, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> that is good news. thank you, bob. take you to sonoma county where investigators are also looking for a person who set fire along a road in the healdsburg area. >> "today in the bay's" cierra johnson here's with more on that investigation. so much dry conditions out there right now. it's really hard to believe that someone would purposely set fires. >> yeah. it is really definitely disturbing. the fire crews were busy this morning. we're learning some new information. state senator mike mcguire told

the chronicle that 15 fires have been started in that area over the several hours monday evening. residents are being told to remain vigilant, keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. this is what crews found when they arrived. cal fire says they'll remain on scene and we're expecting to have more information as day breaks, in the daylight hours. we have received notification that first fire in the healdsburg area started after 9:30 last night. cal fire says crews were able to contain multiple fires of various sizes. at one point the largest measured one to two acres. while cal fire says the fires did not cause damage or lead to any evacuation, state senator mike mcguire sharing those updates almost in real-time offering a warning, tweeting if you live in sonoma county, northern sonoma county, please be vigilant. there have been multiple suspicious fires started over several hours. fire engines, personnel, they were staging in the healdsburg

area to perform quick attack on each of those blazes. look out for suspicious activity. again, no reports of injuries, damages or evacuations. but this is not what residents or crews want to deal with as we've mentioned, it is so dry out there. we've already seen a lot of very active fire. cal fire tells us those fires are under investigation, so as that information continues to become available we will continue to relay it to you. >> thank you. want to bring in meteorologist vianey arana in for kari this morning. when we look at these conditions we have to look at them closely because firefighters depend on it. the wind a big factor. >> the factors that play into this is always going to be the temperature, the wind, of course, and the humidity. currently right now in the 60s, so this is probably one of our coolest parts of our morning. by the afternoon we're going to be in the triple digits, but also the humidity. take a look at the current kps right now. up through portions of the north bay, still doing okay in terms of the overnight recovery.

right now it's okay because the winds are so calm, but they're not going to be so calm. right now, look what happens into the afternoon, 23 miles per hour. definitely don't want to see any fires start up today. it's going to be tough out there. back to you. >> speaking of fires, more on the caldor fire, evacuees in el dorado county are being allowed to return home. good news there. cal fire is calling this the latest series of small victories in their efforts to beat back the flames. firefighters now nearing 50% containment. a large portion of highway 50 has reopened. that fire has burned more than 200,000 acres. happening today, president biden visits new york and new jersey to see the aftermath of hurricane ida in person. more than 60 people were killed by the storm. "today in the bay's" tracie potts is live with a look ahead at what he will see and how the federal government plans to help. good morning, tracie. >> kris, good morning.

a lot of those people in the northeast and that's where the president is heading today to bring hope and also to bring money, funding that will open up some resources and people to help with the recovery there. >> reporter: president biden's tour today starts in manville, new jersey. cleanup there was delayed because roads were impassable. at least 51 people died in the northeast as remnants of hurricane ida caused catastrophic flooding. >> water just kept getting higher and higher. >> reporter: boat rescues created a scene that some described as surreal. >> we were watching people getting picked off their roofs with helicopters. it was like something out of a movie. >> reporter: the president visits queens, new york, today the city's hardest hit borough. the nypd released body cam video showing officers diving under water trying unsuccessfully to save a family trapped in their basement. a scene repeated across the north and down south. >> drowning and you're reaching

up and saying "help me" and no one is coming. >> reporter: federal help is on the way. in louisiana the government's working with power companies. hundreds of thousands may be in the dark until the end of the month. >> we don't have any lights. we don't have any, you know, drinkable water. >> reporter: food and gas are in short supply. louisiana's governor expects the death toll to rise. nursing homes were shut down and senior center closed. >> mattresses on floors and they had a couple days of no air condition. >> not one person showed up to come check on us. >> reporter: so far at least 67 people have lost their lives. the president today offering help to those who survived. now turns out this was the second deadliest storm in new jersey's history. the first you super storm sandy nine years ago. back to you. >> and that was really rough too. we know some of these folks might be losing their unemployment benefits at this point too, but they may get

relief from fema for their cleanup, right? >> reporter: right. so the federal emergency management agency is authorized to give people up to $800 reimbursement if they buy a generator, 250 for a chainsaw. these are some of the things that people who are able to are getting to try to survive while the power is out and in some cases while their homes are covered. they're trying to clear some of that debris to see if there's anything they can salvage. >> $800 for something like that goes so fast. thank you, tracie. more than a week completing the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan, there's new push under way to find out who still is in the country. a group of 26 gop senators are calling on president biden's administration to release information on the number of americans, green card holders and special immigrant visa applicants who remain in the country. that's according to politico. their request comes as the

taliban today says that it is in the final stage of forming its new government and says that it is preparing to announce those details shortly. 6:08. police in antioch are investigating a shooting that sent three young people to the hospital. this happened last night. near eagle ridge drive. officers arrive and found three minors with gunshot wounds. all are expected to be okay. san francisco leaders on a big push to ban ghost guns. those are the guns made out of parts that make them untraceable. they can be purchased without background checks. happening today, supervisors will vote on a new ordinance to ban the possession of most guns that do not carry valid serial numbers. turning now to the pandemic, and the highly contagious delta variant is really fueling a number of new infections, kris? >> the data from johns hopkins university finds more than three times the number of new

infections compared to labor day last year. that's not all. hospitalizations are spiking hospitalizations were 158% higher than last year. this comes as health workers that labor day travel and past events could lead to another new surge. data shows air travel over labor day was back to levels two years ago as well as a return of concerts at packed stadiums. ucsf infectious disease specialist dr. peter chin-hong says that as we continue to live with covid the festivities will come at a cost and the long-term future has -- is very uncertain. >> winter is a little more uncertain because of potential waning of immunity and a new variant coming on board. right now the positivity rate in california is about 4.5%, about what it was last labor day and the bay area has

not seen an increase in hospitalizations. >> that is good news there. 6:10 this morning. as we get ready to start this tuesday morning for you, taking a live look out at walnut creek as we get started with the day. people wondering how is it going to look and feel outside today. well meteorologist vianey arana in with a look at what we can expect. >> it's going to be hot, so hot. >> it's going to be. 64 degrees. only 6:00 in the morning. san jose is expected to climb into the upper 80s, low 90s, but we've got triple digits on the map for this afternoon. walnut creek, 63 degrees. now why are we under a microclimate weather alert because there's still a spare the air alert in effect through today. take a look at your daytime highs. the triple digits i was talking about, i wasn't joking. look at that, concord, antioch, livermore, be prepared and keep windows closed and better clearing through the end of the week. >> just off what you said, hot. over here packed.

right now this is just about ten minutes, 15 minutes maybe max, metering lights have been on, filling up the bay bridge toll plaza has been pretty quick, but really everything looks pretty standard. in fact, maybe a little lighter than standard. highway 4 with the slowing. starting back in pittsburgh. the commute is on and got a little bit of a late start this morning as i think because folks are coming off a holiday weekend. not so bad for the nimitz through san leandro. northbound san jose finally sees speeds back at the limit northbound 101. a little bit of slowing around trimble, a crash that may be sticking out into one lane near the off ramp at trimble. back to you. >> thank you very much. speaking of wheels, wheels up. next on "today in the bay," planning a fall getaway. you can expect a drop in prices. we'll tell you when and when you should book your flight. >> history made as a country adopts bitcoin as legal tender. plus -- ♪♪ >> you know it's an exciting day

for me, right. >> you love -- >> telling her story. also head, a first look at janet jackson's new documentary. stay with us because you know what, i might dance for you. who knows. we'll be right back. you're watching "today in the bay." every single day, we're all getting a little bit better. we're better cooks... better neighbors... hi. i've got this until you get back.

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spare the air alert is in effect and the heat is going to be dominating today. 67 degrees in livermore. in the 90s by lunch. 12:00, already expected to be in the 90-degree mark. your air quality forecast coming up. on the peninsula look at this. we have a nice flow of traffic. looks like the brake lights are bunching up, but it's not. an illusion as folks travel north past willow. what you might see as far as slowdowns coming up. >> good morning. happy tuesday to you. happy tuesday to you. i'll probably forget what day it is some time this week because we skipped monday or i did. so, too, did the stock market. markets still thinking about friday's jobs numbers that came in less than expected. we're still seeing record growth, but it's been tempered by covid fears. we haven't gotten the latest covid numbers over the weekend, but we all know it's been bad. the jobs numbers may get better next month for two reasons. first of all, schools are back in school now, all of them, so this solves a

child care problem for parents. as of yesterday, the federal jobless payment goes away, the extra cash may have kept some people on the sidelines not looking for work. there is a ton of work out there. as of today, bitcoin is legal tender in el salvador along with the u.s. dollar . that's the first country to make a cryptocurrency legal tender. now the national press says most salvadoreans don't want it or how to use it. national press points out el salvador uses funds from education to health care to buy bitcoin. the important thing here, it's a tuesday, is el salvador doesn't add an extra tax on the bitcoin transition. here in america if you buy something in bitcoin you pay capital gains as well as sales tax. for instance, if you bought bitcoin and it got more valuable and use it

to buy the tesla, you would owe the government taxes on the car and the gain you made with the bitcoin. one of the main reasons among many, bitcoin doesn't work very well for transactions here in america. >> this is interesting, too. it's a third world country going full cyber currency. >> a lot of people are looking at each other going, i've never heard of this. >> because they don't want to print money? >> we print their money technically. >> wow. >> okay. we're both mystified. that's what it comes down to. >> thanks, scott. speaking of news, good news. >> let's talk about this. >> looking to travel any time this fall. according to the travel data site hopper, airfare is set to drop for the start of the fall travel season, by 10%. the average domestic round trip flight will cost about $260. for those traveling overseas, hopper estimates that september to november fares will be 15% lower than the fall of 2019.

the average round trip $734. >> listen, before the pandemic, good news, all right, so burning question looming under the golden arches, the fast food company's mascot has been around for 50 years, but a lot of folks wonder, what is he? what is that? what is it supposed to be? the manager of mcdonald's in canada claims grim mace is a taste bud. however, there's no official confirmation from mcdonald's headquarters right now. >> how about that. >> tastebud. look at this. fabulous right there. trending this morning, making baby news. regardedy b and her husband offsets just welcomed their second child. a boy this time. posting this picture of the family on instagram. this is the couple's second child together. the pair gave birth to a daughter culture back in 2018. >> only one gave birth. i'm sorry. >> he was there to encourage her. got a push gift. probably a nice push gift.

>> let me tell you, you earn that push gift. >> trending this morning, my favorite story of the day, janet jackson fans listen up because we have a treat. we are getting a first look at the singer's self-documentary named "janet." take a peek. >> this is my story. told by me. not through someone else's eyes. ♪♪ >> this is the truth. >> all right. this feature will have a two-night documentary premier and said to be released in january some time 2022. the date coincides with the 40th anniversary of the singer's first album. >> how about that. >> marcus, you said the name of the album was what? >> which one? "control". >> the documentary. >> "janet". >> no, miss jackson if you're nasty. >> you're nasty. >> i'm an angel like vianey. >> oh. we'll leave that to janet. i love her.

63 degrees right now. but let's go to the live take, you guys. this is looking at one of her music videos. look at this. >> runway. >> the fog over the golden gate bridge. what a shot right there. now maybe not a great shot if we have tourists coming to visit us and trying to catch a photo of it, but little do they know that's the iconic aspect of the golden gate bridge. just peek through the fog. 63 in walnut creek. the wind speeds are calm now but expected to pick up just a little bit in some parts later this afternoon. inland heat is our story for today. we're not going to get much in the way of cooling fort next several days because of high pressure. triple digits in concord. 90s in san jose. 70s in san francisco. but even oakland check that out, 81 degrees for today. now let's talk about the humidity. the reason i want to talk about this, it showcases how dry it is. not even 7:00 a.m. and livermore less than 40% when it comes to the relative humidity and that

impacts a number of things. now add in the wind factor later this afternoon and that's when things can get really dang are you. around the livermore spot, 24 mile per hour winds with humidity less than 20% and temperatures in the triple digits, we really got to be careful. we're going to monitor that closely but in addition to the wind there is a bonus factor for the wind that helps push out some of the smoke. a spare the air alert in place today. a closer look at the five-day air quality outlook according to the bay area. this is going to clear out better into the weekend and we get cooling too. mike, how are the roads? >> first of all you called out for our friends visiting town, wanting to get a picture. take a screen shot. there's the golden gate bridge with the fog. iconic. also a smooth move in traffic flow. great as the morning commute is a little bit lighter today. started a little bit later. there's highway 37. there's the bay bridge. the metering lights are on and the backup at the toll plaza. highway 4 starts back into

pittsburgh with the slowing and more gradual, longer distance but a lighter flow of traffic. 101 through san jose eased up as far as the slowing. same for 880 through san raphael. -- sorry san leandro. back to you. 6:23 right now. after months of silence, an emotional reaction to bill cosby's release from prison. >> he's a sexually violent predator. >> next on "today in the bay" we hear from the first woman to pursue allegations against bill cosby and what she has to say about his release. plus, reflecting on the life of michael k. williams. a tribute now pouring in for the actor after he was found dead inside his new york city apartment. we'll be right back.

the entertainment world mourning the loss of an actor whose life was suddenly and tragically cut short. michael k. williams shot to stardom playing the character omar little on "the wire." williams died yesterday from a reported overdose in his brooklyn home. his costar wendell pearce one of many paying tribute to him on twitter calling someone who acted with true courage in the face of fear. the woman whose accusations sent bill cosby to prison speaking to the "today" show. >> when you watched him celebrate, how did that feel? >> disgusting. didn't surprise me given the

level of the arrogance, having no remorse during the time he was incarcerated. absolutely zero remorse for what he did to me. >> he has said he will never show remorse, because he, in his words, never did anything wrong. >> he's a sexually violent predator who was let out of jail. >> that is andrea constand and her reaction to the decision this summer by the pennsylvania supreme court overturning cosby's indecent assault conviction. she's out with a new memoir today. coming up, top stories including breaking news which several suspicious fires erupted overnight in wine country, the warnings going out as firefighters race to stop those flames from spreading. i'm bob redell here in contra costa county where two homes have been damaged

extensively overnight by another fire. the investigation into what might have caused this. you're watching "today in the bay."

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breaking at 6:30, overnight flames, homes burning, a wild night for firefighters in east contra costa county and that wasn't the only place keeping firefighters busy while you were sleeping. we are live on the scene as the story unfolds. this is "today in the bay."

and thank you for watching us this morning on air right here on your television, but we're also streaming online at nbcbayarea.com. we want to say good morning to everyone and thank you for making us a part of your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia this week. first to contra costa county and antioch, a busy night for firefighters and a terrifying morning for some homeowners. >> we want to go live to "today in the bay's" bob redell been out there throughout the morning in that neighborhood. this is on high alert. bob, dry conditions and those flames don't mix. >> correct. that was the issue here on g street where behind this home there's an open space with trees and vegetation that caused fire. that was the concern once that started it would spread and it did unfortunately. it burned the house right here in front of you on g street causing extensive damage and then on meadow brook, the street behind it, caused more damage to

a second home. you have two homes that burned overnight because of this vegetation fire that started in their backyards. it started around 3:30 this morning. we asked the fire department hey, the fact that it happened overnight and there was no lightening did that make this fire suspicious and right now we don't know. they are investigating. they did note that when you have fires like this typically in the past human activity is to blame. they're not saying that for this but pointing out that is what happened. you had the four people who lived in the house on meadowbrook, the street behind, they got out okay and then you had the woman in front of us, someone knocked on her front door and she was able to get out okay and no one was hurt. >> it was really scary. and my cats are inside. so they said that they think they saw them running towards the garage and i'm hoping they're okay. >> reporter: this is a map to

give you a sense of where the other fire was earlier this morning that you mentioned, a second fire, around 2:00 this morning at the intersection of buchanan and lucena way, about a mile and a half from our location and video of what that fire looked like. it appears it might have started in a homeless encampment, chairs, a mattress on fire and from there raced up a hill. the fire department was able to get that put out. again that happened about an hour and a half prior to this fire. we did ask the fire department is there any indication that these two fires might be connected considering they're a mile and a half away and an hour and a half distance time between the two and too early to tell and no indication and no connection and they're still investigating the house fire to see if there's anything suspicious about it. too early to tell. reporting live in antioch, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> certainly concerning with what firefighter are dealing with. speaking of firefighters, doing a lot of work, sonoma

county where the search for the person behind multiple suspicious fires that broke out around healdsburg. take a look at the video this morning. those flames they could be seen along at least one roadway last night. look at that. most of that brush along downed trees burned and we are also learning that state senator mike maguire who represents healdsburg told the chronicle that 15 fires were set in that area over several hours. >> why would people do that? let's go to meteorologist vianey arana. the fire fight could be tough if somebody chooses to do that. >> the winds are calm so that definitely helps. also these are probably the coolest temperatures that we're going to see all day because for this afternoon, once the winds start picking up and we start to notice a drop in the humidity, i mean even right now, if you look at livermore compared to the rest of the bay area further into the interior valley you can see a big difference. the hot interior valleys are going to be of concern when it

comes to elevated speeds. between 2:00 and 5:00, breezy into the afternoon. i'll monitor that and be back with an update on the air quality concern in a few minutes. >> thank you. developing this morning, conditions took a bad turn for firefighters on the front lines of the dixie fire. firefighters talked about a tough battle to save homes in dixie valley and last night a series of power outages in plumas county that were tied to the fire. the flames have burned 500,000 acres in five counties and the fire burning nearly two months now. containment is at 58%. all evacuation orders lifted in placer county where the bridge fire is burning in auburn. firefighters stopped the fire's progress and the containment is now at 15%. the fire burned more than 400 acres since sunday. we should mention that auburn's state park remains closed. happening now, apple

offering a helping hand to people living in a homeless encampment cleared from the company's property. this is an area on component near san jose international airport. the tech giant purchased the land and offering everyone there nine months of temporary housing and one year of case management support. apple released a statement reading in part, as the challenges for representers -- renters and potential homeowners continue to increase, we've accelerated our support to have already deployed over $1 billion in new projects since the start of 2020. we want to take you live to los angeles, which is now dealing with a new, growing covid outbreak. at least 167 cases of the mu variant have been detected in l.a. county. this is a variant that was first identified in south america in january. the new cases were discovered over two months in mid-june with most of the infections found in july. santa clara county is tracking the mu variant and there are 27

cases in santa clara county. the variant has been detected in all but one state and said to be fast spreading, however there is still more research in the works. in the north bay, starting today, all sonoma county workers will have to show proof of vaccination or undergo weekly testing. the new mandate applies to all 4,400 county employees. a similar mandate for first responders was delayed until september 24th. happening today, governor newsom will be back in the bay area for his vote no recall campaign. election day one week away and governor newsom spent the holiday weekend rallying with workers in southern california. so leading replacement candidate republican larry elder made his rounds urging a yes on the recall and a vote for him. voters have mailed in ballots and most are from democrats. the republicans will turn out.

>> i think people are deciding which of those candidates they want to support and so that's sort of dragging out the process a little bit. i think we'll see a flood of late republican ballots. >> san francisco republicans are recruiting volunteers to monitor polling places on september 14th and ballot counting as mail-in counting is expected to extend past election night. if you have questions about the recall election, we have some answers for you. you can head over to nbcbayarea.com for an entire page dedicated to the recall election. click on newsom recall on the trending bar at the top of the page. we want to take you outside, look out our windows over san jose and san francisco and you can see some of that smoke and haze that will continue to linger once again today. a spare the air alert has been extended. vianey has been keeping her eyes on the air quality. it's rough out there. >> it is. it's really going to depend on where you live or where you're going to be spending your afternoon because you're going to be heading or live in santa

clara valley that's where we're seeing the aqi above the 100 mark. a look at your headlines, spare the air alert as you heard in effect because of that ground-level ozone pollution. this is in addition to the smoke because it's so hot we're seeing a lot of this which is why they decided to go ahead and extend it. by them, i mean the bay area management district. valleys, 90s, triple digits, the heat is expected to last through the middle of the week and that fire danger as well will definitely kick up once the winds kick up this afternoon for dry inland hot valleys. a check of how the roads are doing with mike. >> good morning, vianey. overall, folks not so bad this morning. mild slowing here 880 starts to build in the san leandro through hayward into the city. look at that out of milpitas starting slowing as well. the crash north 101 might be affecting the trimble off ramp. maybe a crew near the area. this motorcycle crash south 17 at redwood estateses.

chp heard from the driver everything is okay, slowing typical out of san martin for north 101. contra costa county through concord here, look at that highway 4 really seeing the traffic. pittsburgh over towards 242. then the bay bridge where at least there's movement. we'll take movement. back to you. >> indeed. we'll take any movement. monica lewinsky back in the spotlight promoting the highly anticipated new series on fx called "impeachment, american crime story." she serves as the coproducer on the series which covers her affair with then president bill clinton. >> the story affects a lot of people, not just you and linda tripp who has recently passed but the clintons. would you want bill clinton to see this series? >> you know, i don't even know how to really answer that. >> yeah. >> this morning monica lewinsky will sit down for a live interview with savannah guthrie on the "today" show and watch that right after "today in the

bay." >> watch if you want. remembering 9/11, next on "today in the bay," as the alleged mastermind heads to court today, we hear from people who lost loved ones in the tragic attack. cracking down on covid on campus. the extreme measures one bay area school is taking to reduce exposure. in washington this morning, the first lady is making a bit of history. we'll tell you all about it. out to the big board where economists are now saying america may not grow as quickly as we thought because of delta. first, nbc bay area and telemundo 48 honoring bay area animal heros for our clear the shelters positively good awards. go to nbcbayarea.com/positively good to learn more. submit your nominee today. we'll be right back.

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good morning. 6:44. temperatures in the upper 60s for inland areas as you head out the door in livermore. 67 degrees, but the story is going to be how quickly we warm up. take a look at this, by 12:00, 1:00, already at 93 degrees. we'll see a full forecast in just a few minutes. >> over here at the san mateo bridge where let's clear up the view a bit. the driving shouldn't be too hard. clear view and drive westbound with the taillights. where things are slowing down coming up. as we approach 20 years since the 9/11 terror attacks the criminal trial inches closer to a beginning.

today the suspected mastermind of the attacks will be back inside of a courtroom. khalid shaikh mohammad will start for a pretrial hearing. this will determine where the case goes from here. the hearings are held at guantanamo bay where he has been detained for the last 15 years. if a trial happens, it could happen as early as next april. mohammad could face the death penalty. meantime ahead of saturday's commemoration a new documentary is out called "the memory box echos of 9/11." it is produced in part by nbc news. the filmmaker gives people who lost friends and loved ones a chance to open up about their loss. one woman whose friend died in the south tower talks to the "today" show about her part in the film. >> it felt really private and safe. it felt like i was alone with my thoughts and it felt good to talk because i wasn't talking to people because it was too hard. >> the documentary is part of nbc news's week-long series

"america remembers, 20 years later" containing features on all nbc platforms. the president will travel to all three crash sites this weekend. new york, washington, pennsylvania. in the meantime scott mcgrew, the president still very busy with hurricane ida. >> i get the president's daily schedule every morning and it is busy most days, absolutely chock full today. the president will be in new york and new jersey today touring damage from ida there. horrifying, the hurricane hit the south and new england where we saw the most deaths including people drowning in their own basement apartment. democrats and the president will push for the multitrillion dollar budget plan to expand social services by the biggest margin since the new deal. it's expensive, not every democrat is on board. in the senate they need every democrat. the president back in the white house this morning after returning home from wilmington

over the long weekend. here he's meeting with union members as part of his observance of labor day. in texas, the governor there claims companies are moving out of california to texas because they agree with texas' social policies. which includes severe restriction on abortion. several silicon valley based companies are denying they support anything like that, including tesla's elon musk. musk said in the past that he didn't like california's social policies during covid, announced he would move his headquarters to texas because of california's covid rules but after hearing texas's governor imply on tv that he supported abortion restrictions, musk tweeted out, he would like to stay out of politics but the best kind of government stays out of people's private lives. according to musk. u.s. attorney general merrick garland says the federal government will help protect the rights of women in texas. in a statement, he said we will not tolerate violence against those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health

services, physical obstruction, or property damage in vie having -- violation of federal law. the freedom of access to clinics entrances act says no violence or intimidation against people as they approach a health care facility. the attorney general says if necessary, u.s. marshals and the fbi will be in texas to enforce it. on a lighter note the first lady heads back to work today. she's a teacher and working at virginia community college. same one she worked at when her husband was vice president. she has been working and on zoom, but today is her first day back in the classroom. one of the things we're talking about on twitter is, has there been another first lady who has worked while the president was in office? we can't figure out one. we think maybe be truman but we're not sure. if you happen to know, get on twitter. we'll talk @scottmcgrew. >> the more you know. all right. look the more you know about this, lunch time, for kids in

windsor the press democrat is reporting the district will reduce lunch time from 20 minutes to 14 minutes. that move allows the students to have close contact while eating lunch but under 15 minutes which would require them to quarantine for ten days if one of those students turned up positive with covid-19. masks are still required for children even while they are outdoors. a recent cdc study finds states with the most unvaccinated children also have the highest rates of kids with severe covid cases. those state's hospitalization rates are nearly four times higher compared to the states with the highest vaccination rates. emergency room visits in those states are about 3 1/2 times as high. when people are away the bears will play and the front porch house there. by you now you've probably seen some of the videos bears taking advantage of a lake tahoe and trying to get their paws on any food they can find. we saw one open a garage door,

quite a feat. south lake tahoe police department says they have had more than 70 reports of home and vehicle break-ins since the evacuations began and they're blaming a lot of them on bears. >> wow. to see the one open the garage door, in there. >> but then it wasn't interested. that's an insult. >> i'm looking at this from the bear's point of view, they're scared and hungry. let them break in. invite them in. put away the goods, stuff of value. you know what, i feel like i'm on team bear, even though i saw the bear fight the dog that i would save bing from. san francisco, we've got the fog on one side and then we've got the haze in the interior valleys. livermore 67 degrees right now. wind speeds are calm. current conditions already in the 70s in some areas. upper 60s.

los gatos 74 degrees. it's not 7:00 in the morning. relative humidity right now already extremely dry as well. in livermore, 32%. it's only going to get drier into the afternoon. here's a closer look at your daytime highs. 80s and 90s and yes, triple digits on the map. high pressure will continue to dominate not just for today but also for tomorrow. playing a role in that pollution which is why we're still under a spare the air alert. take a look at the wind gusts this afternoon. they do start to pick up between 2:00 and 5:00. that's going to bring concern because, you know, it's already so dry out there. we haven't seen rain and unfortunately there's no rain in sight right now. we have a storm to bring some cooling but nothing in the way of rain starting in the weekend. hopefully also helping out with some of the air quality around the inland areas. temperatures are going to dip down into more seasonable 80s in the forecast. all right. mike, how are the roads. >> the roads are looking good. little more traffic than i expected at this time given the early commute. this is the richmond to san

raphael bring and the backup forms there. that's the last of our pushes that we see right on schedule or pattern i should say. highway 4, a lot longer slowdown happened earlier but now about the same pattern, pittsburgh towards 242 and concord. there's the build there. look at this, vasco, listen up, if you're traveling from brentwood, discovery bay, byron heading down towards 580 about the county line reports of cardboard boxes and debris in the roadway as you head south towards 580. that will slow you down more as the commute kicked in for that point anyway. no injuries and no lanes blocked but there's debris in the area. north 101 shows more slowing and there you go, north 87 through san jose, the build on for silicon valley. back to you. symbolic and long awaited move in the capital of the confederacy. the statute of robert e lee will come down today. crews will dismantle it in section to be transported piece by piece. the removal started yesterday

with protective fencing on surrounding streets. he served as the commander of the confederate army and the statute stood for 130 years. a look at the top stories including breaking news for you this morning. brush going up in flames, at least in two counties, and in one place leaving two homes badly damages. now another case investigators say the fire was deliberately set. it's another exhausting morning for our firefighters. the mounting covid concerns after a busy holiday weekend. the new data on the recent surge alarming health leaders. we're back in two minutes with much more ahead here on "today in the bay." can you see my wall of smiles? when i first started using genesys technology i was kind of embarrased at all the love and attention i got from my customers. people are so moved by how much i understand about them. they start including me in their lives. that's helen and her friends. i arranged a wellness retreat for them. look at those ladies. such wisdom. mmm.

but it's really genesys that helps me understand people and what they truly need. i'm just glad i can help.

welcome back. before you head out the door we are moving you forward with a look at today's top stories on "today in the bay." >> that includes "today in the bay's" bob redell tracking breaking news in antioch. vegetation fire that burned several home overnight. so, bob, is it a suspicious fire? >> the fire department right now, they don't know. they say that typically in cases like this where you have a vegetation fire that spreads to a home that there is close human activity involved but again, they don't know yet. it's too early to tell. there are two homes that suffered extensive damage. you're looking at one on g street and the other home on the other side on another road. the fire start started between the homes in the right of way around 3:30 this morning, about an acre of wild lands that

caught fire. five people living in the two homes combined. everyone got out okay. one woman in this home here still looking for her cats. she's hoping maybe they're hiding because they're afraid of what happened. put up a map, this is a map of where a second fire was overnight. this was on buchanan about a mile and a half away that started around 2:00 this morning. you can see in the video here, it appears it might have started in a homeless encampment and spread from there into nearby vegetation. the fire department was able to get that out and right now there is no indication that that fire at buchanan at 2:00 this morning about a mile and a half away there's no indication it's connected to these two fires that started here at this home and another home behind me here on g street. reporting live here in antioch, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you, bob. breaking in sonoma county now, reports of at least 15 fires set around the healdsburg area. this is video where flames could be seen along one roadway just

last night that burned brush and trees. the healdsburg state senator there mike maguire tells the chronicle the fires were set in the same area over several hours. more caldor fire evacuees are allowed to return home. the latest in the series of small victories to beat back the flames. firefighters nearing 50% containment and a large portion of highway 50 has reopened. the highly contagious delta covid variant is fueling a record number of new infections. take a look at the numbers on your screen. new johns hopkins university data finds more than three times the number of infections happened this labor day compared to last year. hospitalizations are already spiking 158% over last year and we're not even that far away from the holiday. governor newsom will be back in the bay area for his vote no recall campaign. election day now just one week away, but millions of voters have already sent in their mail-in ballots.

governor newsom spent the holiday weekend campaigning in southern california. leading recall replacement candidate republican larry elder also making the rounds urging a yes on the recall and a vote for him. tomorrow vice president kamala harris is expected to attend a newsom rally here in the bay area. now time to look live for you this morning at fremont as we can see the sun is rising but you can see the haze in the air from all the smoke from the fires we've been dealing with. vianey arana in for kari for a look at that. >> smoke playing a factor, the hot temps playing a role, another spare the air alert today and as we head towards the next seven days for san francisco notice the fog, but it's going to stay pretty hot. mike? >> let's look over here, i wanted to give you a transit update. ace train, say you missed the 6:40 departure the at the origin of train 5 it's okay, train number 7 today. one more in to san jose, one more out of san jose. opens up as a train expands.

vta three lines partially active. that's great. >> that is good news. that is what's happening "today in the bay." we'll be back with you at 7:25 with more live local news. >> a live look at the golden gate bridge of what we can see of it. clouds there just above it. we'll see you back here at 7:25. the "today" show is next. d airp bustling beaches and packed stadiums over the long holiday weekend sparking fears of yet anothe sparking fears of another covid surge. >> the question is by how much >> with daily cases already four times higher than a year ago, health officials worry the worst is yet to come with millions heading back to school and work. and a dangerous new variant that could evade the vaccine's immunity now in almost every state in the u.s