because of the rise in covid cases in sonoma county russian riverbrewing company is delaying the release scheduled for february 4th. past years have drawn massive crowds as people wait in line for hours. the beer will be released at the end of march. parents bracing for another teacher sickout. >> in this case it's not just teachers. the new twist being floated by students concerned about the health risks. >> we're focused on the things in front of us. >> vice president kamala harris reflecting this morning on her first year as vice president. in an exclusive interview, she looks forward opening up about

the challenge in boosting voter rights everywhere. and we have new numbers on how california is doing, breaking down where bay area residents are exceeding expectations when it comes to water conservation. good morning. i'm kris sanchez in for marcus this morning. don't forget when you are on the go we are broadcasting not only to tv. you can take us with you on amazon, roku, apple tv. vianey arana is here as well. she's got a look at our forecast. right now 47 degrees, a little chilly. >> at least no 30s in san jose right now, but we are seeing some cloud cover. that's going to linger for the first half of our morning.

if you live in concord, napa, you will see some fog. temperatures mostly in the 50s in the bay area today. i want to get to your traffic because we do have a major sig alert on the bay bridge. westbound 80 heading into the city there is an earlier crash blocking lanes three, four and five. so cars are working to sort of try to get around it. chp are on scene. we're looking at delays to 56 minutes. >> that's a rough start for the morning. families in oakland are bracing for a new teacher sickout that could cancel some classes. students are now also planning their own walkout. oakland schools not the only schools dealing with covid concerns.

we understand marin county is also making some changes. >> reporter: that's right. we were here just last week talking about how the guidelines seemed a bit stricter than other districts. now it seems like they're loosening up. the changes allow an unvaccinated person with a positive covid test within 30 days not to quarantine unless the person is symptomatic and tests positive again. also, a fully vaccinated but unboosted person who was exposed to covid may still attend school if they are asymptomatic and test negative. schools will also stop sending notifications to parents for general virus exposures, but will continue to do so when it comes to closures from close contacts like sports teammates or people in the same carpool. 625 new cases were reported on january 4th. since then the daily average has dropped to about 300 cases.

in the east bay teachers and students are making a stand to let the school district know they don't feel enough is being done to protect them from the variant. at least a dozen schools in oakland were forced to close last friday after more than 500 teachers called out sick. close to 1,000 students threatening to cut class tuesday unless the district moves to online instruction and provides masks. >> they've been stretched beyond their core competency which is education. so really i think the federal government needs to do more. >> reporter: in response to the sickout, the oakland unified school district released a statement saying in part, quote, being unable to come to school does a disservice to our students and their families. everyone on our campuses is

masked, schools have excellent ventilation and air purification and most people, especially in the secondary schools, have vaccinated. they have announced a wellness day for teachers tomorrow and extended covid leave. when classes resume it will be remote at least through february 14th. the school is asking students to update their vaccination status and provide booster shot information by the end of january. stanford is back in session virtually but it's no longer providing individual dorm and classroom close contact notifications. they still post a university wide daily building exposure list. a new bay area study on the omicron variant is giving health leaders promising new

information. cal researchers looked at 70,000 kaiser patients with confirmed covid cases. patients with the omicron variant were about half as likely to be hospitalized. >> we do see substantial transmission of the severe delta variant and many hospitalizations and deaths caused by that. however, an important note with omicron in particular is that it is very infectious, in fact, more infectious than delta. even if it is less likely for each person who gets infected to cause very severe outcomes, the fact that there are so many omicron infections going on remains of considerable concern. >> among the patients who were hospitalized, the stays were shorter and there were lower chances of icu visits or deaths. >> president biden is hoping to

persuade moderate democrat holdouts in the senate to get on board. this is all coming as vice president kamala harris is making a major push on the "today" show this morning. >> reporter: that's right. good morning, laura. first, president biden is going to be meeting with senate democrats a little bit later today. he is trying to get through to two moderate holdouts threatening to derail this all-out push for voting rights legislation at the federal level. those two kyrsten sinema of arizona. they remain opposed to changing longstanding senate rules to pass these two voting rights bills with just 50 votes instead of 60. that would be a move to overcome united republican opposition to this move. the president is looking to change those two senators' mindsets following a speech in atlanta this week, a pivotal city during the civil rights

movement and now during the voting rights movement. that speech was skipped by several high profile voting rights advocates who are calling for less talk and more action. in an exclusive sitdown with the "today" show, craig melvin asks vice president kamala harris why the administration has not been able to get all 50 senate democrats on board. >> we are not giving up. >> the question was, why -- >> you're acting as though it's over. it's not over. >> so it's going to happen by mondays? >> i'm saying it's not over and we don't give up and we will not give up. >> the house rules committee met last night to begin the process of advancing vote rights legislation. the senate could start debate as soon as today. in that interview airing on the "today" show, vice president harris also speaks about the administration's response to

covid-19. she says there will be those 500 million test that is the federal government ordered and promised would be sent out to the american public directly to your home. she said those at-home tests will be coming soon. >> don't forget you can watch the entire exclusive interview this morning on the "today" show right after "today in the bay." following developing news out of antioch now. police are investigating a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened around 8:30 last night at delta fair boulevard and san jose drive. the victim is said to be a woman in her late 40s. witnesses said the car involved was white but they didn't have a make or model. if you were in the area and know anything, call antioch police. santa clara county residents appear close to hitting water conservation targets after

months of falling short. according to the mercury news, water use fell 20% in november compared to last year. the water district asked county residents to cut water use by 50%. heavy rains may have helped reach those targets. >> you have to remember to turn the sprinklers off. and we did. >> good job. >> you have the drought monitor numbers and they're looking better. >> this is the latest one that gets released every thursday. i want you to focus on the state of california. still in the orange. even though we're improving, we are still considered in a drought. we are completely out of the red

category. three months ago, 87% of the state of california was under an extreme drought. as of last week that number went down to 16%. as of today we are less than 2% in the extreme category. that is a really nice improvement. i do also want to get to the sig alert. along the westbound side of the bay bridge heading into the city, an earlier crash is blocking several lanes. no estimated time on when this will be cleared out. the delays are only getting worse. westbound 80 heading to the bay bridge, 64 minutes. hopefully they get that cleared out soon. >> pack your patience. a new shortage that may

affect the latest item you might have some trouble finding. also working from home is here to stay for a lot of bay area workers. the major impact that is having on the san francisco economy. indeed we have word of another office shutting down. plus, we'll introduce you a woman with a very different second job.

everyone needs health insurance. covered california is making sure more people can get it. new federal funding of $3 billion is available to help more californians get covered. julie and bob are paying $700 less every month.

dee now gets comprehensive coverage with no monthly premium. and the novarros are paying under $100 per month. check coveredca.com to see your new lower price. covered california. this way to health insurance. enrollment ends january 31st.

heading into the city several lanes are blocked. no estimated time on when that will be fully reopen. you definitely want to take some extra time. you can see heavy delays backed up right now, also at the toll plaza. take some extra time. no estimated time on when the lanes will be fully cleared.

wall street stocks capped their third win in a row wednesday despite that discouraging inflation news. >> on a year over year basis inflation is the highest we've seen since 1982, but the rate of inflation is slowing down, which is good news for consumers.

>> we just published our latest episode of sand hill road and our ourerer view with an -- our interview with annie lamont. we'll talk about the very unusual second job he has. >> the person who introduced you and me did not mention this to me. it took a while to google on it. you are such a good investor and you've done so well as an investor that it doesn't pop up immediately. >> our podcast is available wherever you get your podcast. the san francisco business times says not only is the software company auto desk telling workers to stay home,

it's all but abandoning its massive office space in san francisco just eight months after opening it, 107,000 square foot. we were reporting that robin hood was telling people to stay home and stay home forever. as to what auto desk is going to do with their offices, they could certainly sublease it but it's not clear who would want it. >> a new report predicts 15% of the current off site employees will stay remote into 2023 and that will likely hurt business tax revenues as more offices remain empty compared to before the pandemic. revenues are expected to only grow 1% through the next year. trending this morning,

america's hunger for chocolate. always a chocolate lover. chocolate was never hit by the same supply chain problems as other products. because 2020 was such a banner year for cocoa crops, prices remained study. >> let's check the forecast right now. >> i'm so excited. this gets released every thursday. if you look at the drought monitor, not a lot of red on the map. of course we have a ways to go throughout the entire u.s.

if you look at california, less than 2% of the state is under an extreme drought. if you look up here in the index, we completely eliminated the exceptional category with the series of storms. i haven't seen just orange on this map in quite some time. compared to three months ago, it was at 87%. we are seeing beautiful conditions today. once again, much like what we saw yesterday, just a little bit cooler. 47 in san jose right now. i do want to mention the fog because this is causing limited visibility up through santa rosa, novato, napa. you'll notice that early on. we've had high pressure continuing to dominate our forecast. systems to the north will not really impact us, just a little bit cooler today. 57 today in oakland, 59 in san francisco. it is going to be partly sunny. air quality wise because of that

high pressure, we're still seeing moderate air quality from the north bay down through the south bay, but you may also notice your allergies acting up. we are seeing moderate conditions when it comes to pine. mold and grasses are low. mainly dry this week, that high pressure continues to keep us drive for the next several days. not showing any rain through the weekend or into the start of next week. we're going to stick with this dry and mild pattern for the next several days in san francisco, 57 degrees. stay in the 50s through the weekend. we did cool off a little bit today, but we did see gusty winds in the mountain areas. this is the span at the bay bridge, westbound 80, lanes two, three, four and five.

they may have just reopened one of the lanes. there's not many places to go if you're on this bridge. expect heavy delays. the drive times are certainly showing it. you can see the delays with the red on the map. westbound 80 toward the bay bridge, 64 minutes. i also want to show you how the bay bridge toll plaza is looking. this is going to take quite an impact if you're head into the city. no estimates time on when that will be completely cleared out. coming up next, nbc bay area responds. >> she says a company gave her the wrong size window but they can't seem to agree on a clear solution. we learn about covid-19,

the more questions we have. the biggest question now, what's next? what will covid bring in six months, a year? if you're feeling anxious about the future, you're not alone. calhope offers free covid-19 emotional support. call 833-317-4673, or live chat at calhope.org today.

- hi mommy! - hi honey! oh i missed you! you just want to video call the kids. ok. ♪ hush little baby...♪ ♪...don't say a word...♪

but if slow upload speeds turn your goodnight call into an accidental horror movie... can you hear me? shut it down. just remember. you're not a bad mom. you just need better internet. at&t fiber delivers faster upload speeds for more reliable video calls. get at&t fiber, plans starting at $35 a month for a year. limited availability in select areas. call 877.only.att. nbc bay area responds to a south bay woman's home improvement problem. the story of some window pane pain. >> good morning. erica in san jose says she gave a home depot rep this draw right here for a 40 inch by 46 inch garden window. cost more than $2,000. erica says home depot delivered a window that was way too big. the store's return policy says custom items cannot be returned.

erica insisted it was a clerk's error. she challenged home depot to challenge the security footage to see the moment the store took her order. she says the store declined. erica asked us for help. we e-mailed home depot headquarters. no one responded to us, but soon erica said she was pleased and can't say anymore. that's often a sign someone has been asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement in order to get a refund. we have seen an increasing number of them over the years. that's fine, provided you take steps to protect yourself. first, read the contract, ask some questions and don't sign it unless you completely understand what it means for you. if you're having any consumer issue, maybe we can open some doors. go to nbcbayarea.com and click the responds option. or call us 888-996- tips.

next, top stories we're following today include the pandemic leaving one bay area man stuck overseas. >> i feel like it's likely that i may miss the birth of my first child. >> his plea for help as he anxiously awaits to be reunited with his wife before the baby comes. >> reporter: it's a day of action for union nurses and health care workers across the bay area as they protest new rules put in place by the state health department. first, right now on nbcbayarea.com, is your covid testing site legit. one company is getting complaints nationwide. you can watch the full investigation on our home page.

right now at 6:30, nurses rallying statewide this morning, hospitals and clinics overwhelmed with covid cases. their demands they say ensure safety for staff and patients. >> the best mask is a mask you can wear consistently. >> we're getting the best advice from a top bay area doctor from masks to in-class learning. everything you need to know to stay protected against the omicron variant. this is "today in the bay."

we're broadcasting not obviously to your television but watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv, online, everywhere. good morning. thanks so much for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. >> let's get right to the forecast with meteorologist vianey arana in for kari this h the past several days. we're going to continue to see that again today but we have to get through fog and cloudiness first. in concord it's about 43 degrees. it's also going to be a little bit cooler today. low 60s instead of mid to upper 60s like what we saw yesterday. by about 10:00 a.m. we'll be at about 51 degrees in concord. right around your lunch hour, already bumping up into the 60s. the sig alert has now been

cancelled for the westbound lanes at the bay bridge. this is good news. still expect heavy delays through that stretch. we begin this half hour with confirmed covid cases now surpassing 63 million in the u.s. with about one tenth of those cases in california. hospitalizations here are also on the rise at more than 12,000. >> hospital staffs are already stretched so thin. they've been working nonstop since march of 2020. there is a day of action planned among more bay area nurses. what are they demanding?

>> reporter: good morning. the concern really is the working conditions and the conditions of those they are working with. this is exactly where one of many protests will take place. we saw one of the union leaders just arrive and we do see individuals with signs. this is one of several protests taking place today to draw attention to what some are calling concerning work conditions. according to the explanation on the national united nurses website, the union explains they believe sending nurses and health care workers back to work while infected is dangerous. they continue by saying if we get sick, who will be left to care for the patients. this in reference to an announcement by the california department of public health that hospital staff members that test positive that are symptom free can continue to work as long as they are asymptomatic. the policy is set to remain in

place through february 1st. it's designed to keep health care workers on the job at a time when hospitals are expecting more patients. the decision was driven staffing shortage and how difficult it is to provide essential care. the day of action happening at several hospitals, this being one of the first. it kicks off at 6:30. there will be similar protests in oakland, santa rosa and san jose. with the ongoing surge, cdc officials have stopped short of recommending people upgrade to high filtration masks. for now the advice remains any mask is better than none. i spoke to dr. peter chen hong

about this. what do people need to know when it comes to choosing the best mask? >> well, the same still applies, which is that the best mask is a mask you can wear consistently and for a long period of time. there's a hierarchy of masks. i think on the lowest end is the cloth mask. the next is the surgical mask. it's light and comfortable. i can wear it forever. on top is the n95 mask. there's a kn95 mask as well. those are a little bit easier to wear than an n95. >> you advise those for kids as

well if you can find them and afford them? it's hard for some families. >> yeah. i think many people don't know but you can definitely get n95 masks at a lower cost if you google project n95. it's the clearinghouse for lower cost and noncounterfeit n95 masks that was set up to address this need. >> they're restricting large gatherings, telling people to voluntarily stay at home. do you think other counties should follow this advice as well? >> it's just one strategy to high to hit the pause button. i think there are different ways to get to that. for example, some of the counties are talking about having a booster shot as mandatory for certain gatherings above a certain size.

what you're trying to do is try to get to that plateau as soon as possible. we're not really plateauing yet. it's reasonable, but it's not going to be for very long. >> teachers and students are struggling right now with the increase of covid cases out there. should it be a case where parents keep their kids at home right now or we should go back to distance learning? >> i think it just depends on the family itself. i would say that the science says that still even in the time of omicron, there have been not many documented intraschool transmission. most of the cases come from the community. the school is very, very controlled just like health care is controlled in general with people generally wearing masks.

if you're compromised, that may be different for you as a family. >> we talked about so much more. we posted the full interview online. the mask resource he mentioned is linked there as well. head to nbcbayarea.com. a man from san francisco is stuck in germany and he fears he's going to miss the birth of his first child. raoul has lived in the u.s. for

20 years. he was trying to renew his residency status, but he secured an appointment at the consulate in frankfurt, germany and then the processing for his visa application got delayed. >> i was crying every day and it was very hard because i knew he wouldn't be back with me on the flight. i didn't know how i'm going to manage. >> he has been living and working remotely at hotels in germany waiting for word that his visa had been processed while his wife has been waiting anxiously at home. he reached out to speaker nancy pelosi's office. they tell him they've assigned someone to his case now. the couple hopes he can return before their son is born, but the baby is due in 28 days. let's take a look at a couple major storms. these are pictures of mt.

shasta's transformation after our dry summer. the one on the left was taken in september. the one on the right was taken yesterday. the department of water resources says the sierra now has 130% of its normal snow pack for this time of the year. i know we don't have any rain in sight, no snow in the sierra planned but it would be nice if we got another big juicy storm. >> yes. we can always use the rain. even though we are out of the red extreme category, we're still in severe category. 100% of the state of california is under some form of drought. what an improvement we've seen. san francisco, friday, saturday, sunday temperatures are going to be pretty similar. no rain. it is going to remain dry for the next several days. if you're heading out to napa, temperatures in the 60s. expect to dip down into the 30s. it's going to get really cold at

night and it is going to be foggy in the earl mornings as well. for big sur, temperatures in the since, cloudy today with peeks of sunshine at times. if you're heading to lake tahoe, this is a live look right now. it's about 36 degrees. the weather is going to be real really stunning for the entire weekend. there was a sig alert earlier. all lanes have been reopened. there are still delays. we've seen it go from 62 minutes to 25 minutes. look at the bay bridge toll plaza. this is absolutely backed up. no estimated time when this will

completely clear out, but the sig alert has been cancelled. changing the way we protect our communities. next, we'll talk about a new initiative east bay first responders are unveiling for people who need help as they are experiencing mental health crises. president biden apparently ready to send federal troops to hospitals to help out doctors and nurses. let's take you to new york city and the big board where the stocks are up despite yesterday's bad news on inflation. - hi mommy! - hi honey! oh i missed you! you just want to video call the kids. ok. ♪ hush little baby...♪ ♪...don't say a word...♪

but if slow upload speeds turn your goodnight call into an accidental horror movie... can you hear me? shut it down. just remember. you're not a bad mom. you just need better internet. at&t fiber delivers faster upload speeds for more reliable video calls. get at&t fiber, plans starting at $35 a month for a year. limited availability in select areas. call 877.only.att.

limited availability in select areas. we learn about covid-19, the more questions we have. the biggest question now, what's next? what will covid bring in six months, a year? if you're feeling anxious about the future, you're not alone. calhope offers free covid-19 emotional support. call 833-317-4673, or live chat at calhope.org today.

good morning. it is 6:44. expect fog in the interior valleys. peeks of sunshine prevail by about 11:00 a.m. temps in the low 60s with a nice dry day ahead. the metering lights are on at the bay bridge toll plaza. this is traffic from an earlier crash in the westbound lanes. this is a part of your morning commute you definitely want to take that extra time and head out now. good morning, scott. over to you. president biden was expected to announce today he was sending troops to overwhelmed hospitals to help out. >> we're talking about some of these soldiers.

>> they're dealing with the same challenges all workforces are facing. people are out with covid and they have to stay out for the quarantine period, so they too are short staffed. we've been seeing this with the national guard as well. california and other states have called in citizen soldiers to help out in medical settings, but they too are facing the same challenges. president biden is expected to announce he's ordering 1,000 active duty troops to assist at hard hit hospitals. he's going to make that announcement at 7:30 our time. meantime the senate is working on fast tracking those two right to vote bills a day after president biden gave that speech in atlanta calling for the right to vote the same as civil rights. the president once again claiming he had been arrested as

a young boy protesting for civil rights. fact checkers at the "washington post" can find no evidence of that, but he may have been detained by police. senate majority leader chuck schumer will take advantage of some of the obscure senate rules to get those two bills to the floor so they can be debated. but they still face the risk of a republican filibuster. democrats can change the rules on that filibuster, but they will need yes votes from two recalcitrant democrats, kyrsten sinema and joe manchin. manchin scuttled build back better. the house select committee investigating the january 6th attack says it wants to talk to california congressman kevin mccarthy. they want him to tell the world what he spoke about when he spoke to donald trump the day of the attack. mccarthy says he will not

cooperate. these things usually start with a request and then it goes to a subpoena. as for what else is going on, social media talking about a post from mike lindell, the may pillow guy. he says he has enough evidence of voter fraud to lock away a lot of americans. >> you're talking about evidence. we had enough evidence to put everybody in prison for life, 300 and some million people. we have that all the way back to november and december. >> so lindell says 300 million americans. that would be all of the people who voted for biden and all of the people who voted for trump, plus about 150 million more americans, more than the entire adult population of the united states. we look at what people say and then we fact check it. on twitter you'll find me at

scott mcgrew. happening today, governor newsom will be in the south bay later this morning where he'll talk about some of the state's newest transit projects and efforts to transition to more climate friendly strategies. contra costa county is the latest to add a team of mental health professionals to first responder strategies. behavioral health experts will assist first responders on emergency calls involving mental health crises. this is expected to become a 24-hour service by mid 2023. a new call center is named after miles hall, shot and killed by police in walnut creek during 2019 during what was a mental health emergency. you have to forgive 49er fans of a certain age if they're walking down memory lane all week. >> a lot of folks could spend

the next hour talking about the classic playoff battles against the dallas cowboys. this sunday's wildcard game in dallas has the faithful and the team excited. let's hope jimmy g's injured thumb looks good. he says he is taking nothing for granted. the niners game is on sunday in dallas. meantime, the raiders getting ready to play their first post season game in five years. they're playing the cincinnati bengals saturday afternoon. you can watch it here on nbc bay area. kickoff is at 1:30. i am on facebook live right now. you get a little peek behind the scenes. >> that's always fun. vianey, we have that stuff happening on the bay bridge. >> the sig alert was cancelled and all lanes are reopen but now

people have to deal with the backup delays as it works to recover. i'm going to mix this in combination with the weather and traffic all at once. there is traffic because of an earlier crash. that has been cleared out but it's still going to be pretty packed and i am noting delays at the toll plaza. visibility down to about 2 1/2 miles in novato. if you live in the north bay, definitely noticing that fog around the coastline. satellite radar right now, we're not monitoring any rain chances in our forecast but of course that cloud cover that's going to linger for the first half of the morning sticks around. we have a system to our north. that is going to bring us cooler temperatures today. topping out at about 57 degrees for oakland, 59 in san francisco, 62 in palo alto and concord.

it's also going to be mainly dry this week. high pressure continues to dominate. i'm taking this all the way forward through next friday. no rain. it stays mainly to the north of us. but i have good news. even though we still need more rain, the latest drought monitor did reveal the state of california less than 2% under extreme drought. we go from abnormally dry to exceptional. a few weeks ago we got rid of the exceptional category. now it looks like less than 2% of the state of california was under an extreme drought. we have now gone from extreme to severe. something to be mindful of there. we need several storms before we can fully catch up. i want to get to your traffic.

the bay bridge toll plaza westbound lanes were blocked. we've seen a good improvement with all lanes now reopen but still seeing some delays. it was at about 52 minutes. now we're looking westbound 80 toward the bay bridge, 18 minutes. it's still a pretty big mess out at the bay bridge toll plaza. 6:53 right now. city college of san francisco leaders willanage program. a vote is expected to happen at 2:00 following public comment. next, a look at our top stories we're covering today, including nurses rallying for tighter safety measures during the latest covid surge.

way they fear the wrong decisions are being made at the state level. plus -- >> reporter: i'm live in marin county where school guidelines are changing again when it comes to covid. i'll have the latest. and right now you can join me on facebook live for a behind the scenes look at "today in the bay." follow me laura garcia nbc bay area and check out kris sanchez as well.

welcome back. here's a look at our top stories. families in oakland are placing for a new teacher sickout that may leave some classes cancelled. students are now planning their own walkout. >> reporter: here in marin county it seems like those strict guidelines worked and now they're loosening up the guidelines a bit. the changes allow an unvaccinated person with a positive covid within 30 days not to quarantine unless the person is symptomatic and tes

positive again. a fully vaccinated but unboosted person exposed to covid may still attend school if they are asymptomatic and test negative. schools will also stop sending notifications to parents. the county says its daily high was 625 new cases reported on january 4th. since then the daily average as dropped to about 300 cases. in the east bay teachers and students are making a stand to let the oakland unified school district know they don't feel enough is being done to protect them from the variant. at least a dozen schooled were forced to close last friday after 500 teachers called out sick.

the oakland unified school district has said tomorrow they will allow teachers to do a wellness day and they have extended covid leave. a live look at the ucsf cam us, one of several locations where bay area nurses will hold a day of action today. they're demanding safer working conditions. it includes concerns they have about the decision at the state level to allow asymptomatic covid positive workers to continue working. and now the forecast with vianey. >> it's going to be dry today, comfortable temperatures in the upper 50s, low 60s. dry weather remains in our forecast for the next seven days. let's get a quick look at the bay bridge toll plaza. we're seeing a lot of residual delays. the metering lights are definitely on. on the "today" show this

morning craig melvin's exclusive with vice president kamala harris. >> we're back with you at 7:25 with more live local news. good morning. one on one. one on one with frustrations mounting in washington at a virtual standstill, our exclusive interview with vice president kamala harris, taking on republicans and members of her own party in the heated battle over voting rights. >> i don't think anyone should be absolved from the responsibility of preserving and protecting our democracy. >> and responding to the critics of the biden administration's handling of the pandemic and the economy. this morning, the wide-ranging conversation, including what she's saying about the 2024 race covid struggles. hospitals and schools dealing with surging cases and staffing