right now, another sign that cases are dropping. covid restrictions are loosening up in contra costa county. what you won't have to show you the next time you go to a restaurant. the body of a missing woman found in a south bay backyard. who police have in custody and the confession he has given them. a political message on the world stage. the reason one particular skier was selected to light the olympic flame. our special 3:00 newscast starts right now.

thanks for being with us on this friday. >> this is a notable day around the world. the olympic flame has been lit in china marking the beginning of the winter games. >> the olympics come with hesitation politically and with the pandemic. there's a lot of excitement as well. let's take you out to beijing. it's saturday morning, 7:00 a.m. the olympic flame outside the bird's nest stadium. the opening ceremony was held at 3:30 a.m. our time. we have you covered. we will tell you when we will rebroadcast it. our top story, a gruesome discovery. police found the body of a missing woman in a shallow grave in a neighbor's backyard. that neighbor has been arrested. neighbors, as you could imagine, are shaken. we are at the mobile home park where it happened, less than a half mile from the police department.

>> reporter: this is a predominantly immigrant community. you don't need to speak a specific language to express shock. that is what they are feeling here today. the next door neighbor allowed us on the property to see the backyard. a three-foot fence separates the properties. police say the backyard is where they exhumed the body of another lady. >> the lady, yes, good person. she always working at night. >> reporter: the victim worked at this mcdonald's across the street from city hall. on december 29, her sister heard a loud bang coming from the home. >> we open little bit the curtain. we see the light. >> reporter: you saw the guy? they didn't see anything else.

they left a message. days later, police attempted to conduct a welfare check because no one had heard from her in days. nothing was found. not until wednesday when police say the man confessed to the murder and burying the body in his backyard. >> very scary. >> reporter: she never talked to the man because of what she describes as a language barrier. tonight, she is feeling a lot of remorse because she did nothing on the day she heard the loud noise. >> i feel guilty. >> reporter: why? >> because i can't call 911. i don't know how. >> reporter: if she called 911, maybe things would be different today. police are not offering any motive for the crime. a crime that left this neighborhood very shaken. there are new developments regarding the 49ers fan who remains in a medically induced

coma in the l.a. area. the man who punched him has been arrested. the fight happened during last sunday's playoff game at sofi stadium between the 49ers and rams. last night, police arrested this man, 33-year-old brian sufuentes. video showed him getting into an altercation with the 49ers fan daniel luna. the mayor says the video shows that luna started the fight by pushing the other man. this is a picture of danny. he then punched him in the face. he hit his head on the pavement which left him motionless. >> after the interview, he was placed under arrest for 245a, subsection 4, assault by means to produce great bodily injury, a felony. >> luna is a chef and owner of a restaurant in owner.

bringing relief to a lot of waiters and gym employees in the east bay. contra costa county is lifting its vaccine mandate that requires indoor businesses to ask customers for proof of vaccination. you may wonder, why now? as melissa colorado explains, it's because the county reached a major vaccine milestone. >> reporter: this is the new way that buzz greets customers when they step foot inside his restaurant. >> you don't have to show i.d. or your vaccination card anymore as of this morning. >> my goodness. >> thank god. >> reporter: they lifted the health order requiring indoor businesses to check their customers' vaccination status or ask to see recent negative test results. the county says, there's no need for that mandate anymore because 80% of all county residents are now fully vaccinated. it's the load off this waitress'

shoulders. >> i'm getting ready to cry. it's amazing. we have suffered greatly. this is amazing news. >> reporter: in december, health inspectors visited and warned the owners that they would face fines if they continued to ignore the county's vaccine verification order. >> that's been a strain on everything. >> reporter: a county spokesperson clarified the indoor masking order remains in place. >> the majority of us are vaccinated. i believe things are coming down. i think things are looking good. >> reporter: in october, this restaurant had its food permit suspended and was forced to close after the county said employees continued to serve customers indoors without asking for their vaccination card. >> i'm vaccinated. i think everybody has a right to choose. whether they want to be vaccinated themselves or not is their choice. >> reporter: even though more

than 48% of eligible residents have received their booster, the county's health officer says, by no means are we back to normal. there are still many more cases of covid-19 in our community now than there were in mid december. we need to continue to take precautions when we go out. >> i had a test two weeks ago. it was negative. but you never know. >> reporter: melissa colorado, nbc bay area news. sonoma county is loosening restrictions. capacity limits were set at 50 people for indoor events and 100 for outdoor events. starting next thursday, those restrictions will be gone. all together, no more capacity limits indoors or outdoors. sonoma county's health officer says cases have been declining. the county is detecting 126 new cases per 100,000 people. that's down from 250 new cases per 100,000. we are trending in the right

direction. but there's a lot of anxiety when it comes to covid. a new survey showed low levels of optimism. a few things to keep in mind. the data was collected in late january when our omicron was peaking. the survey found that 67% of californians believe the worst of the pandemic is behind us. compare that to last may when 86% felt the same way. the poll found that 42% of californians are somewhat or very concerned about getting the virus. last year, that was shared by about 28% of the people. it can be challenging to keep up with the data and health orders by county. we have done the leg work for you. go to nbcbayarea.com and click on the covid faq on the trending bar. the olympics aren't just about the athletes. it's also about politics. the u.s. and european leaders are sitting out a diplomatic

boycott. that's not the case with russia. russian president vladimir putin and china's xi jinping opposed the expansion of nato. they are a counterweight to the u.s. putin attended the opening ceremony. other leaders didn't send officials to the winter olympics to protest china's human rights abuses and treatment of muslim minorities. the lighting of the olympic flame for the first time featured a blunt political message. china promised an unconventional lighting to begin the 2022 winter games. lighting the flame were chinese skiers who shared a torch to represent gender equality and placed it into the center of a large snowflake suspended in the air. one of the skiers identifies as a member of the muslim community.

american figure skater nathan chen, from utah, rocked it. did you see this? his second -- the second highest short program ever in the team event. the u.s. is on track to medal, perhaps gold in this team event. chen delivered a technically flawless performance. it was cool. >> amazing. so much to look forward on the ice, the slopes and the track. >> we are just getting going. some of our favorite moments aren't always during competition. sometimes don't even involve olympians. that's why we like this segment. we bring in garvin thomas. >> when i say not olympians, well, sometimes we get moments from their friends, hometown and family. remember yesterday, we showed you video of the tearful moment

john shuster learned he was going to be the flag bearer. then when he told his wife and children. we have another video to add to that collection. >> my dad was picked to be the flag bearer of the united states. >> what? [ applause ] >> that is john's son telling his third grade classmates about what his father is doing. it's hard during show and tell for anyone to top that for quite some time. this is a selfie posted earlier today. in the stadium for the opening ceremony with a simple message. mama, i made it. nothing gets me tearing up faster than when they talk about sacrifices parents made to get to this level and then thanking them for it.

how is this for a great picture? a tradition. they have cameras in the back of the net at hockey games. we get an angle of goals. the u.s. women's hockey team used the camera for a team photo. a tradition because they did the same thing during the 2018 winter games in pyeongchang. ♪♪ finally, the olympics are just getting started. as you know, the workweek is ending. how about the jamaican bobsled team dancing in the olympic village before they get down to business on the bobsled track later in the games? >> garvin wanted to show that video. >> i love it. >> i'm working the biathlon baby disc. no word if kathy had the baby. i will report back monday. >> i believe you were in the last winter olympics -- not in them but covering them.

>> that's how i tell people. >> in south korea, correct? >> that's right. >> i went to represent nbc bay area. >> we met. i have to accept the fact i'm going to get teary-eyed every time you come here every day. those stories are incredible. >> then i'm doing my job. >> thanks. still ahead, a fire at the tesla factory in fremont. you might see some of the smoke in the east bay. san francisco is helping people make it in the bay. the new boost the city got to combat the housing crisis. we are seeing mid 60s around san jose. how much warmer the weather could get this weekend when mid 70s will be a part of the seven day forecast when we come right back. strong and surprising job up ins. our look at why in feel they are being left behind in the jobs recovery. my revealing conversation with skier makayla shiffrin before

takes the slopes in beijing when we see you on "nightly news." mikaela. he has been so good. the standard that he has set the last several years has been so high. the he can peck tagss off the charts. >> look at that. >> best ever short program. okay, it's go time. team usa on the largest gig-speed network. which means this mega fan never misses a second. it's gig-speed wifi that's “mikaela shiffrin” fast. ok, that's fast! speed's cool, but does yours block threats? yup, even for these upstairs all-nighters rocking wifi speeds faster than a gig. can your internet do that? learn more about gig-speed wifi, or get started with xfinity internet for $19.99 a month for 12 months.

click, call, or visit a store today. care coalition, it's so good to see you all! alright! let's brainstorm. any ideas for new members? i'd like to nominate alaska airlines. this neck pillow i'm dating says great things! a caring airline?! wait, those exist?! it says here they were the first airline to switch from plastic bottles to boxed water. they also hire a lot of people from caring professions. i'm seeing former teachers and nurses. it's settled! alaska airlines is officially in the running!

round of applause! a direct rebuttal of his old running made. mike pence says former president trump is wrong when it comes to overturning the 2020 election results. it came in a speech to the federalist society in florida. pence said he didn't have the right to overturn the election. this isn't first time pence has publically disagreed with trump about january 6. it is the most forceful. >> i heard this week that president trump said i had the right to overturn the election. president trump is wrong. i had no right to overturn the election. the presidency belongs to the american people and the american people alone. >> the speech by pennsylvania comes as the republican national committee censured two gop

lawmakers for participating on the committee to investigate the violent january 6 insurrection at the capitol. despite this omicron surge, u.s. employers stepped up hiring in january. they hired a half a million people nationwide. that's more than economists projected. the labor department says the jobs are mostly in leisure and hospitality. the unemployment rate was flat at 4%. we are following breaking news. a fire at the tesla factory in fremont. sky ranger was over the scene within the past hour. you can see all that smoke. packing materials, mostly cardboard, were burning. no reports of anyone being hurt at this point. no word on what exactly started that fire. a proud day. but it comes with a heavy heart. the newest class of sheriff's cadets earned their badges. it was bittersweet following the death of david nguen. he was shot and killed while

driving on 580 last month. the sheriff says he is proud of his class for the care they have shown to the family. >> touching to see how they got together. make us all very proud to watch you respect others, your fallen brother. >> no arrests have been made. there's a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest. they want to keep schools open in oakland. they are making sure voices are hard at city hall. here is a look at the walkout that students, teachers and families took part in on tuesday. they are getting to the for another protest within the hour. this time, they are walking from oakland city hall to the school district office. protesters are upset that the district is considering closing and merging more than a dozen schools over the next two years. that's a move to help balance the district's budget. critics believe the closures

will unfairly impact african american students. some council members sent a letter to the governor asking for state help to prevent the school closures. it could be a struggle to make it in the bay. san francisco got a big boost to fight its housing crisis. the city secured $200 million from president biden's american rescue plan. all that is for affordable housing. the plan is to build more than 400 units of affordable housing across san francisco, including treasure island. construction is expected to begin in the coming months. let's take you now to a live look from santana row in san jose. you see a good number of people out there. there's our tent. nbc bay area, they are getting ready to kick off a lunar new year celebration. that's a night of dancing, other performances to celebrate the year of the tiger. mike will be mcing the event. it starts at 4:00 and will stream live from our website.

go to nbcbayarea.com to watch it. >> there's a party? we should be there. >> i know. good news and bad news when it comes to california's drought. look at the monitor report. most of the state is out of the worst conditions. that's good news. many are still considered under a severe or moderate drought. we had a dry january. we know that. nearly a whole month without measurable rain. it has been nearly four weeks of dry weather. we need to do some sort of rain dance. >> any luck, rob? mid month to late month we may see changes. we look at the drought monitor. a month or two ago, everything behind me was in red and dark red. we made progress in december and beginning of january. now everything hit the brakes. four weeks of dry weather. through next week, it does look like we have high potential of five weeks of dry weather.

actually, temperatures by middle part of next week could climb into the mid 70s around the bay area. you see some of that right now in the seven day forecast scrolling at the bottom of your screen. 65 in san jose. clear skies, hazy conditions towards the tri-valley. the wind direction still offshore breezes. high pressure around. 61 in san francisco. emoryville, if you have been driving around, you can't miss all that haze. it's trapped around the bay area. 61 degrees. it's high pressure acting like a lid settling down on top of the bay area. like having the ceiling in a room lower down. all the smoke pollution gathers up. without wind, which we did have a lot early in the week, we really saw the air pollution build up. for the weekend, we will see a bit more of the wind picking up in the hills. not nearly as strong as we saw earlier this week. hopefully, it's a little more wind for the weekend. we will see improvement in the air quality and the skies. to be honest, we need rain and stronger wind to get some of the haze away from the bay area.

tomorrow morning, temperatures in the low 40s to mid 40s. overcast skies to start. as early as lunch tomorrow, we see 60s around the santa clara valley. most of the highs around the bay area from oakland to san jose, north bay, should be in the mid 60s. here is your weekend forecast. high clouds moving out. a little breeze for the hills. offshore breezes. look at the time stamp. all the way past next weekend and there's no sign of any rain. high pressure will actually strengthen for next week, which means san francisco, you could be looking at temperatures close to 70 as we head towards the middle part of the week. inland locations, 70s tuesday through friday. a closer view, moving you forward. ten-day outlook for napa. mid to upper 70s possible. the santa clara valley, that's a sign of high pressure building in. you notice, mid 70s in reach for now. long-range model, we could see

changes toward the end of the month. in the meantime, more like spring weather. >> the kids have winter break in a couple weeks. that is spring break. >> seriously. >> it looks that way. coming up, get ready to pay up. when you have to start paying in order to park at valley fair mall. 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. the pandemic robbed san francisco movie fans of a favorite venue. they got no notice that landmark theaters was closing its embarcadero theater. it was a movie house offering an espresso bar and food. no comment from the company. in the south bay, since valley fair mall opened in 1958, parking has been free. not anymore.

beginning next tuesday, here are the new rules. the first two hours are free. you can get your stuff done two hours. >> perfect. >> after two hours, after that it's a dollar an hour. they had too many people parking their cars at the mall and then flying out of san jose airport to dodge the fees. park there, take an uber to the airport.to plans to charge employees for parking. >> sure. bottle service is coming back to southwest airlines this month. southwest paused alcohol sales early in the pandemic, you might remember. then kept it off limits because of the surge in rowdy fliers last year. passengers can buy alcohol again starting on the 16th. beer, wine and liquor are available for flights that are longer than 176 miles. southwest is adding more non-alcoholic drinks, including tonic, apple juice and cocoa.

>> bottle service. >> back at it. the reviews are in. a stunning light show at the opening ceremony. we will show you. everyone celebrates the finish line, but what about the starting line? i went through 12 treatments of chemotherapy. ♪ i am african american and i am surrounded by people who aren't. ♪ until after i became an amputee. we all win when everyone can get to their starting line.

♪ space. the boundary of human achievement. the new frontier. ♪ ♪ eh. ♪ ♪ it's not time to escape. it's time to engage. it's time to plant more trees. hoo! ♪ ♪ time to build more trust. ♪ ♪ time to make more space for all of us. so while the others look to the metaverse and mars, let's stay here and restore ours. yeah, it's time to blaze our trail. 'cause the new frontier? it ain't rocket science. ♪ ♪

it's right here. ♪ ♪ back outside live to beijing. here is a look at the olympic flame. you can see it's tucked into the snowflake. >> rotating snowflake. that's cool. >> beautiful. especially beautiful at night when it's lit up. here is a portion of the opening ceremony at the winter olympics. wow. show opened with a stunning light show with 400 performers holding led lights that represented willows in a celebration of spring. if you missed the live opening ceremony, don't worry. catch the show tonight at 8:00 right here on nbc bay area. >> they do it well. next on "nightly news," from veterans to stars in the making, lester holt breaks down the athletes' to watch.

impressive stuff. lester joins us now in new york. we will see you again at 4:00. tonight -- let the games begin in beijing. the spectacular opening ceremony kicking off the winter olympics. team usa marching in the parade of nation and already off to a great start. nathan chen's amazing performance on the ice. but the games happening under a cloud of controversy. why china's choice for the final torchbearer smarcked backlash. also the fiemt moments on the sideline of the game, russia's vladimir putin and china's xi jinping showing a united front, how they