and nine crew members onboard. it is not clear if anyone survived. the "today" show is following these developments. they will have more coverage after "today in the bay" coming up at 7:00. and a historic week kicks off today. senate confirmation hearings begin for supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson. she is the first black woman to be nominated to the supreme court. president biden picked her to replace retiring justice stephen breyer. we have a live look in washington, d.c. reporters already staked out outside jackson's home waiting for her to leave for the court to attend the hearings. democrats hope to steer her confirmation through the senate by easter. "today in the bay's" brie jackson joins us live in washington, d.c. with a preview of what to expect over the next few days. and, brie, this is so historic in every sense of the word. >> reporter: absolutely, laura. this is president biden's first pick and it is the first black female to be nominated to the

high court. now, judge ketanji brown jackson has been preparing for this week's hearing for weeks. that includes mock hearings, as well as a walk-through of today's hearing room. judge jackson also met with every senator on the senate judiciary committee. president joe biden's first supreme court nominee, judge ketanji brown jackson, begins an historic week of confirmation hearings today. she's become a familiar face on capitol hill. >> this is her fourth time before the senate judiciary committee. three previous times they came through with flying colors and bipartisan support. >> it's clear that her credentials and the breadth of her experience are impressive. >> reporter: jackson will face tough questions from senators this week, including criticism of her record on the u.s. sentencing commission and republican attacks claiming she's soft on crime. >> i don't want us to attack her as a human. i want us to be having a debate about what her judicial

philosophy is. when you go on the court, if you get lifetime tenure it's because you don't confuse yourself with a super legislator. >> i haven't made a final decision as to how i'm going to vote. >> reporter: ketanji brown jackson could be confirmed without any republican votes. president biden wants bipartisan support. >> for too long, our government, our courts haven't looked like america. i believe it's time that we have a court that reflects the full talent and greatness of our nation. >> reporter: if confirmed, judge jackson would be the first black woman to sit on the high court in it's more than 200 year history. a retired conservative judge who served under the bush admission will introduce judge jackson today, along with her long-time friend who is a law professor. >> brie, before you go as well, supreme court justice clarence thomas was hospitalized over the weekend.

what do you know about him? >> reporter: laura, of course this came as surprising news. we're told that justice clarence thomas was admitted to the hospital on friday for flu-like symptoms. we're told he's been receiving antibiotics and could leave the hospital at any time now. >> all right. thank you very much for the update there. big day ahead in washington. in the meantime, jackson is expected to deliver her opening statement to the senate judiciary committee this afternoon. as soon as that happens, we will carry it live right here on nbc bay area. you can also look for full coverage over the next few days on our website, nbcbayarea.com. to the war in ukraine and a weekend of unrelenting assaults by russian forces. this morning the kremlin says there's no significant progress in peace talks. in other developments, ukraine's parliament says at least eight people died in kyiv following this shelling of a shopping mall and nearby homes over the

weekend. first responders could be seen rushing to the scene to rescue people who were believed stranded under that rubble. and just in, a new curfew will take effect at 8:00 in the evening tonight in kyiv. it is expected to last until 5:00 in the morning wednesday morning. ukraine says eight humanitarian corridors will open today to evacuate those looking to escape the violence. the u.n. now says 3.5 million people have fled since the invasion began. one bay area woman is about to make her way toward the war zone. she was born in poland and has a brother in warsaw. when she first purchased her ticket she had no idea russia was about to invade ukraine. but she know nows ukrainians need all the help they can get. >> i booked way before the war started and actually now i would not delay the trip. i will just go and have a

purpose, because there's so many refugees. >> she's also encouraging everyone in the bay area to support all humanitarian groups now helping those refugees. >> there are ways that you can help ukrainian refugees. on our website we have a list of humanitarian organizations helping those fleeing the violence. head to nbcbayarea.com, click on the link up in our trending bar. activists will rally in san francisco to bring attention back to the fight against aids. "today in the bay's" bob redell is live. a lot of people suffered during the covid pandemic, including people who live with hiv. >> reporter: correct. that's why activists will rally on the steps of city hall later this morning at 11:00 to call on the city to make hiv a priority again. covid had a huge impact on people living with hiv, because of the shelter in place order, which resulted in fewer visits to clinics and a decrease in early treatment and testing.

take a look at your tv screen. according to the san francisco department of public health, hiv testing is down 44% from 2019 in the city. rates of viral suppression down from 75% to 70%. it's worse among homeless people. their rate of viral suppression dropped from 50% in 2019 to 20% last year. >> it's actually more about the attention as well, like for example everyone got deflected at the health department to think about covid, understandably this was a health department that used to be really focused on hiv. we have community and academic and health department partnerships. it's essentially bringing back that attention to hiv and hiv outcomes in practice, in treatment, in retaining people in care, and getting our hiv outcomes better. >> reporter: now, the san francisco department of public health gave us a statement that

reads in part, san francisco's successful covid emergency response drew from lessons learned during our response to the hiv epidemic in the 1980s and we remain deeply committed to those living with hiv or at risk with infection. we are working diligently to reach our goal of zero hiv infections and related deaths in partnership with community-based organizations. hiv funding from federal, state and local general funds has increased in the city in the past five years and hiv screenings have increased in the last year, we are almost reaching pre-pandemic levels. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> good to see it getting back to normal, even with our testing and whatnot. thank you. starting today, masks will be optional outside for oakland unified students. the district had strict masking policies for students, staff and visitors all year, inside and out. students and teachers can choose to take off the masks if they're outside. the district is considering loosening some of the

restrictions indoors after april 15th, but hasn't yet made a decision. this morning we are moving you forward out of the pandemic and the last few weeks have taken some adjustment, because more and more covid restrictions are loosening. however, at the same time some european countries are seeing a surge in cases of the so-called omicron stealth variant. i went one-on-one with ucsf infectious disease specialist, dr. peter chin-hong and we started with how worried we should be at home about the variant. >> i'm curious and i'm definitely open about it and definitely following the trends. but i'm not losing a lot of sleep over it. i think the numbers will go up as more people move, as we travel around the country, as we see each other in person. but it doesn't mean that we don't enjoy the good times when we have them and hunker down when we need to. >> on thursday moderna submitted a request to the fda for the emergency use authorization for a fourth dose of covid-19

vaccine for all adults. pfizer has requested another booster shot for seniors. why the difference in these two strategies and who should be starting to think about getting those fourth shots? >> so the difference in the submission was really to, you know, cover all possibilities. of course, you know, you can get an authorization for a product for a particular age group, but it doesn't mean that necessarily it will be the age group that would probably benefit the most. you know, in the uk, for example, they are giving booster shots to over 75, but booster shots to protect infection by restoring antibody activity only last for about five to six months. so in essence, you would be thinking about getting a booster shot every five to six months in some people, which is not really sustainable. so i think one approach is to wait for a surge, give a booster to some populations, although with two shots or three shots, many people in the population are already protected from

serious disease, hospitalization and death. >> on thursday, the state positivity rate was 1.5%, which is so very low. of course, there still is a risk of infection, right? we should still be careful? >> well, it's very, very different in different parts of the state. right now san francisco is actually doing shockingly well. so the lowest risk from the old cdc designation, which is less than ten cases per 100,000 per week. but if you look at fresno, for example, it's close to 100 cases per 100,000 per week. the risk is coming down everywhere but it's not the same everywhere around the state. >> so we should be careful, especially as we travel into and out of different regions. a lot of folks travel for business, they're starting to see family members again. >> yeah, so you should definitely look at the covid numbers in the region you're going to, not just in california, but around the world and around the country, like you look at the weather report. and it affects how you navigate

the world. >> dr. peter chin-hong, thank you so much for joining us, always giving us -- information is power, right? giving us great information. >> definitely, information the power, kris. thanks for having me on. >> always good to hear from him. let's take a live look outside. that's a nice shot overlooking san jose on this monday morning. hope you're coming off a great weekend. looks clear out there, kari. you've got a look at our forecast today. >> it will be a nice and clear day. first full day of spring. and it looks good, as you're getting ready to step out the door in oakland. let's get a look at our temperatures and how it shapes up for us here today. we'll be in the mid-40s at 6:00 into 7:00, and then we'll see a few clouds for the start of the day. then a lot more sunshine by late morning. we're in the upper 60s for the afternoon, reaching 68 degrees in hayward, 71 in oakland, 73 in novato, and san jose will head up to about 71 degrees, while in livermore 73.

it gets even warmer tomorrow and we'll talk more about that in a few minutes. as you're heading out the door for the morning commute, a live look at the bay bridge. you can see that smooth flow of traffic heading into the city. we haven't seen any major problems on the roads this morning. everything is looking green in terms of sensors and that means that cars are moving on the road at the rate of the speed limit. so it's looking pretty good as you're heading out on this monday morning. hopefully it stays calm like this. this is what we need, especially as we ease into the workweek. we'll talk more about what's going on, weather and traffic, another update in a few minutes. >> thanks, kari. new job opportunities in the south bay. next on "today in the bay," the u.s. postal service ready to deliver for job seekers. we'll show you where you can apply. >> a soccer star turned instagram star lends his help to kids in ukraine. >> plus, a sneak peek at an all-new music competition coming to nbc. why it's going to take more than

a good voice to win this one. stay with us. you're watching "today in the bay."

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right now at 5:15, as you're heading out the door in the peninsula, as we take a live look outside in palo alto, nice and quiet. temperatures in the mid-40s. we'll have a cool start to the day, sunshine as we go late morning into the afternoon, and warming up to a comfortable upper 60s today. we will see warmer weather in our forecast, and i'm talking

about breaking out shorts and t-shirts, for a little while. we'll talk about that in the forecast coming up. >> well, good morning. very happy monday to you. we're going to open the markets this morning, probably with some losses. but this comes after big gains on the markets last week. the s&p 500, the nasdaq, the dow all had their best week since november of 2020 last week. now, the dow tends to go up because the oil prices go up because it means bigger profit for oil gaps. chips doing well. looking ahead to the futures, there's the loss i was talking about. we're going to watch nike. the shoe maker reports profits. it has exposure in china, a relationship with china is tenuous. we'll see if we'll add sanctions if china helps russia in the war against the people of ukraine. general motors buying a bigger portion of san francisco's cruise automation. it already owns a majority of

the self-driving car company, microsoft and honda also partners. disney is going to close its park in shanghai because of covid and will stay closed until further notice. china takes covid very seriously. at one point locking people in the park, not letting them out without a covid negative test. and soccer star david beckham turning his instagram account over to a pediatrician in ukraine. >> i'm turning over my social media to the head of the regional perinatal center in kharkiv, ukraine. >> so the doctor who only identifies herself as irena shows beckham's office of babies being treated in the basement of buildings. beckham encourages people to donate to unicef to help out. we did that as kids. but it's still going and very important and beckham is

certainly spreading the word. >> that's great to see him use his platform to help. >> he's got a big audience. >> thank you so much. 5:17 right now. if you're looking to move forward in a new career this may get your stamp of approval. the u.s. postal service is hiring 300 delivery carriers at san jose post offices. it's part of its ten-year hiring plan called delivering america. in person and virtual job fares will be held over the coming weeks. the first in-person job fair happens this wednesday at the san jose processing and distribution center on lundy avenue. >> i always thought it would be cool to drive one of those. >> yeah, walk around, you get exercise. >> fresh air. lots of dogs, too. basketball fans have march madness and music lovers have their own version and it debuts tonight here on nbc. >> it's an all new competition called "american song contest".

>> america in general has so much to offer in diversity so i'm one of the facets, i guess. >> that's one of the contestants from oklahoma. maybe you've heard of the euro version contest. it's similar, with one representing each u.s. state and territory. kelly clarkson and snoop dogg host. tonight the first 11 of 56 contestants perform. there's no cover songs. it's all going to be original music. >> i like that. >> "american song contest" premieres at 8:00 p.m., followed by an episode of "end game" and then make sure you stick around to watch nbc bay area news at 11:00. >> first day of spring, kari, and then summer is going to just, wham. >> i know, but it's going to be a quick wham and then we're back to spring. we have a lot going on. let's get a look at the way we're starting our monday morning. yes, first full day of spring and we have warming ahead as the

offshore wind really picks up, especially for the hills today. and we know that when we have a wind blowing off the coast it tends to be really dry and that may dry out the vegetation even more, especially as our temperatures near some mid-week records in the low 80s for the next couple of days. then for the weekend, looking ahead to the possibility of rain on sunday. but today we'll see high temperatures reaching into the upper 60s and low 70s, up to 63 degrees in san mateo, san francisco reaching the mid-60s today. mid-70s for concord and 75 for napa. we'll see a high of 72 in morgan hill. take a look at the seven-day forecast at the bottom of the screen. you can see the spike in temperatures and then it comes back down. we're up in 83 degrees tomorrow in santa rosa. that's definitely going to feel like summer. we talked about the winds picking up. so for today we see those winds come in at about 25 to 30 miles per hour in san francisco. also for parts of the north bay some of our hills, it will be definitely a lot lighter for

some of our valleys and still pretty breezy into tomorrow morning. we have a lot of rain and some snow for parts of the pacific northwest, while high pressure is steering that. when you have high pressure and low pressure close by, it creates a wind that really begins to pick up. then we look at our weekend rain chances. it looks good for a sunday. let's hope this holds together because next week we could see the storm track heading back to the north. it's dry all throughout the week. if you had a little bit on saturday, that's not enough to help us out with the drought. temperatures reaching into the mid-80s, it will all dry up and be gone in a couple of days. going into the weekend i'm hoping we can get much more in terms of more measurable rain. it's also going to be cooler. but san francisco in the low 70s the next couple of days. as you're heading out for the morning commute, let's get a live look outside in san jose. looks pretty good as we're getting a look at our commute and starting out with some

fairly quiet conditions on the roadways. we're also going to see still some good driving conditions and it's dry. we're also or red for the most part for the morning commute. that means everyone is flowing at a good rate of speed on the roadways. in the tri-valley we are starting to see a little bit of slowdown, more people getting on the roads. 580 is starting to slow down on grant line. also for the east bay, it's looking good. we may see a couple more people joining you as we get closer to 5:30 here. we'll get another look at weather and traffic in a few minutes. it's 5:22. coming up next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> he shells out more than a grand for a high exercycle. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. >> episode 4 of our new streaming series "saving san

francisco" is out now. i'm bigad shaban and we put our questions to mayor breed, including why the tech capital of the universe, a city with a $12 billion budget, is still struggling with homelessness, crime and more than 80 complaints per day about feces on the streets and sidewalks. you can stream on any of our platforms and online at nbcbayarea.com/saving san francisco. when it comes to cybersecurity, the biggest threats don't always strike the biggest targets. so help safeguard your small business

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good morning. smiley ky was frowning about his new nordic track exercise bike. the company's website advertises in-depth personalized workout stats. he said the data started freezing and skipping just three months after he bought the bike. he said nordic track techs reset the bike, did updates and installed a new control board, but nothing worked and he was just, well, spinning his wheels. >> so at that time i was at the end of my rope. i didn't know what else to do. and so i contacted nbc bay area responds. >> here's what we did. we contacted nordic track. a top expert called him to troubleshoot, and together we got to the finish line. they traced the dilemma to a conflict with a heart monitor. nordic track extended his warranty and membership in the interactive ride club. we asked nordic track for a statement but did not receive

one. smiley's $1,500 case is a good reminder about warranties. they can be beneficial. but you might have to register to get all of those benefits. i recently bought a tv that offered a basic three-year warranty, but if i registered up front, the manufacturer extended it to five years at no cost. pretty good deal. renlsterring products is no marathon. many have qr codes right on the box or instructions, so just do it. when warranties don't work out, you can pass the baton to us. go to nbcbayarea.com and click the responds option from the main menu. or call us, 888-996-tips.you. top stories we are following todaythe new funding to help gi more north bay students much-needed wi-fi access. plus -- >> reporter: and coming up, hundreds of workers are on strike at the chevron refinery in richmond. coming up, i'll break down the reason for the strike and if there could be a domino effect

on our gas prices. you're watching "today in the bay."

california gas prices will depend very much on how well chevron is able to continue to staff and operate the refinery. >> right now at 5:30, workers walking off the job at a bay area oil refinery. this as gas prices already sit at record highs. ahead in a live report, will the latest development further affect your bottom line?

>> and a new covid variant is moving through the u.s. after spreading quickly overseas. the concerns about another surge and what the nation's top doctor is saying. >> also overnight, developments in the war on ukraine as more civilians die in heavy shelling. the latest in president biden's visit this week to poland. this is "today in the bay." good monday morning to you. i'm kris sanchez. marcus washington has the day off. >> and i'm laura garcia. don't forget, if you're on the go we broadcast not only to your tv, but you can watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. >> we want to take a look at the forecast. it's the first full day of spring. we got a little taste of it yesterday. >> it was so nice yesterday. it will be warmer today. take a look at pleasant hill. much of the east bay will start out with mid-40s, but it gets a lot more sunny going into the afternoon. comfortable lunch hour, 67 degrees. as we head for the low 70s, it's going to be a gorgeous day with

really comfortable temperatures. highs reaching into the mid to upper 70s for santa rosa, livermore up to 73 degrees, and 72 in morgan hill. los gatos will see a high of 72 as well. we'll talk about the warming trend and what to expect coming up in a few minutes. >> sounds good. developing right now, hundreds of workers at the chevron refinery in richmond walked off the job at midnight and this could not come at a worse time with gas prices surging to record levels. >> "today in the bay's" cierra johnson joins us live at a chevron station on the other side of the richmond-san rafael bridge to explain why workers are so unhappy. >> reporter: good morning. yeah, well that strike officially began at midnight there at the richmond refinery for the chevron company. our cameras were there as those workers walked off the job and began gathering at their picket line. so take a look at that video.

you can see folks getting ready to begin that strike. around 500 workers in all joined the strike. the issue at hand, they say they are dealing with inflation and are asking for a 5% increase in wages, and for their safety issues to be addressed. so could the strike impact drivers here in california? well, experts say the plant produces a large portion of the state's gas, with union reps also explaining this refinery in particular produces gasoline, jet fuel, lube oil, propane and diesel and handles on average about 215,000 to 200,000 barrels of oil a day. take a listen to one uc professor break down the potential domino impact of this strike. >> if we were to lose all of the output from that refinery, which is over 10% of the state's refined product production, that would be a huge hit and it will be taking place at a time when the market is already very tight

in california. >> reporter: and the professor mentions the tight market. today's average gas price in california $5.85 per gallon of unleaded. this according to aaa. so what does chevron say about the workers going on strike? the company says the union's demands exceed what they believe is reasonable and they argue they already came to an agreement with union leaders. in a statement, chevron writes, quote, they are fully prepared to continue normal operations to safely and reliably provide products that consumers need. so we had a chance to speak with those union members. they say they will continue to picket as they wait for an agreement. we will also continue to keep a close eye on any domino impact this could have for our gas prices here in the state of california. we're live in mill valley, cierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> thank you so much. as we talk about gas prices, we'll take a live look at this shell station on fremont's mission boulevard. gas prices continue to soar and

you can see it is more than $6 for a gallon of regular unleaded. aaa says drivers in san mateo are seeing the highest gas prices in the bay area with an average of nearly $6 per gallon. san francisco close behind. things are a little less expensive in solano county, where the average is $5.78 a gallon. to overnight developments in ukraine. new video to show you what used to be a shopping mall and homes in the capital of kyiv. all of it destroyed by russian shelling yesterday. the city's mayor says the powerful blast pulverized vehicles. it left a crater several meters wide. ukraine's parliament says at least eight people are confirmed to have died. there are believed to be more casualties. any glimmer of peace agreement is once again fading. this morning the kremlin says there's no significant progress in peace talks. russia says there's still a long way to go before there can be any kind of meeting between

vladimir putin and ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. ukraine has rejected russia's demand to surrender mariupol. up to 300,000 people are still trapped there. president biden is expected to make his first trip to europe since the start of the war. the white house says he will travel to poland on friday. a silicon valley ceo is back in the bay area after helping his coworkers escape the war zone. he is the ceo of a company based in sunnyvale. he spent the last two weeks helping ukrainian coworkers find safety in poland, many leaving everything behind. he knows a thing or two about being a refugee, as he fled iran. >> in my case i had to pay smugglers to take me through the border without any papers or documents and i lived in pakistan for two years until i was admitted to the u.s. as a refugee. >> he says some employees had to contend with a four-day train

trip in frigid temperatures just in order to get out. when they arrived in poland, he greeted them with groceries and rented 11 apartments to house them. 5:36 right now. this morning health experts are warning of a possible covid spike here in the u.s. due to the new ba.2 variant. the new variant has already caused a spike in cases in china and parts of europe. white house chief medical adviser dr. anthony fauci says ba.2 is about 50% to 60% more transmissible than omicron but doesn't appear to be more severe. currently the variant accounts for about 25% to 30% of all new cases. if you want to learn more about this new emerging variant, head over to nbcbayarea.com. we talked to an expert about what it could all mean for the bay area. new this morning, marin county is reported by receiving federal assistance to help bridge the digital divide. the ij reports they are getting

a $2 million grant to help students access high-speed internet at home. the grant will help families in the san rafael, blinasstinson and lagunitas districts. 5:37 and we are looking live at san francisco this morning. looks mostly clear. it was an interesting weekend, kari, with all of that rain and stormy weather on saturday, and then sunshine on sunday. >> it was just so beautiful yesterday. and it's actually going to be a little bit warmer today. here's what to expect as our temperatures continue to warm up. we'll get gusty winds, especially for some of our bay area hills. then tomorrow we'll possibly see some 80s for our inland areas as we could near record-high temperatures for tomorrow and wednesday. by the weekend we're looking at a chance of showers as our temperatures today head for the low 70s. we'll see a high of 71 in oakland, as well as mountain view. san mateo reaching the low 60s

and mid-60s for san francisco. half moon bay up to 60 degrees, while santa rosa will see a high of 77. we'll talk about the warmer temperatures in the forecast coming up. let's get you out on the roads this morning with a look at the bay bridge toll plaza, that is flowing pretty smooth. it looks great out there for this hour and we're going to continue to hopefully see a smooth flow of traffic around the bay area. a lot of green sensors, meaning there's no major backups on the roadways. a look at the san mateo and dumbarton bridge, flowing well. and through the tri-valley we're seeing more people getting up and out the door. westbound 580 grant line to 680 is taking you about 24 minutes and it will take about 11 minutes to get to 680. so we're seeing a few more people getting up. but as of now no major problems and we'll take another look at weather and traffic in a few minutes. >> thanks, kari. a dramatic rescue in the east bay. we'll show you how dozens of first responders worked for hours to free a man trapped

underground. coming up on "today in the bay," an update on the victim and why he may be thanking one man in particular for saving him. >> tough questions ahead for the woman who may be the next supreme court justice. we'll have the latest. >> stanford women trying to make college basketball history. the amazing performance that pushed them into the sweet 16. something to celebrate this monday morning. a lot more news ahead. 5:40 right now. oh, wow barbara corcoran! good morning. sorry, but we don't need any business help now. we're gigillionaires. what? we're gigillionaires now. i don't get it we have at&t business fiber with hyper-gig speeds. -but i just... -so thanks, we're doing great. i'm so happy for you! but i'm just here for my order. oh.

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good monday morning. it is 5:42. as you're heading out in the east bay. fremont starts out with temperatures in the mid-40s. we're seeing that for many of our microclimates this morning and we'll see a few clouds to start. but sunshine today and it's going to be much warmer than yesterday. the warming trend continues into the next couple of days. we'll talk about that in the microclimate forecast coming up. thanks, kari. new overnight, a fire ripped through a home in alameda county. firefighters will asking everyone to avoid garcia avenue near east 14th street right now. the fire started about 3:00 this morning. we're working to learn if anyone was hurt and what actually caused that fire. but you can see it was pretty frantic there on the street. president biden's pick for the supreme court goes before the senate judiciary committee this week. >> scott mcgrew, tough questions ahead, but judge ketanji brown

jackson has been through this before. >> really, really recently, in fact. the same committee approved her to be a federal circuit court judge just last year. she was taking the place of merrick garland who became the attorney general. starting today with opening statements and questions over the next few days. expect senators to ask about abortion, they always do, whether she'll recuse herself from an upcoming case involving harvard. she was on the college board of directors there. and her past as a public defender. now, when you hear those questions about her defense of people that were accused of pretty tough crimes, remember, that's what a public defender does as a job. she'll probably be asked about her race. we can say that because she was asked about her race the last time she faced those same senators. this is her confirmation hearing for appellate court last year. >> what role does race play, judge jackson, in the kind of judge that you have been and the

kind of judge you will be? >> i don't think that race plays a role in the kind of judge that i have been and that i would be in the way that you ask that question. race would be the kind of thing that would be inappropriate to inject in my evaluation of a case. >> now, meanwhile, we're watching for news on the health of current supreme court justice clarence thomas. he was hospitalized with flu-like symptoms over the weekend. justice thomas is 73 years old, currently the longest serving justice on the court. president biden will travel to nato headquarters later this week to talk to defense ministers there about the war in ukraine. meantime, russian forces are demanding the surrender of mariupol in the south, and the answer is no. ukraine will not surrender the city. russians are leveling civilian apartment towers and schools, and of course that theatre. >> putin's actions so far have

demonstrated, first of all, that the russian military is nowhere near as capable as the world perhaps thought it was, probably not as capable as putin thought it was. and they need to understand that if the brutality here increases, the united states will contemplate and consider every possible range of actions along with our nato allies. >> representative liz cheney there. of course, we're monitoring what's happening in washington on social media. on twitter you'll find me @scott mcgrew. >> thank you. 5:46 right now. it was an emotional vigil last night for a missing east bay woman. alexis gabe of oakley hasn't been seen since late january. last night family and friends gathered in antioch for a lantern release. volunteers are assisting the family in trying to find her, but so far they've come up empty. we have a follow-up this morning. if you missed the story last night, there was a huge response in antioch where a man was

trapped in the underground storm drain for more than three hours. he was trapped about 15 feet underground. eventually teams pulled him out un-injured a little before 10:00 last night. here's the man who first called 911 for help. >> i heard him yelling from the pipe, and then all of a sudden the noise started getting louder and louder. i heard him screaming for help and he asked me to help him. >> wow, good thing he was in the area. >> the victim was taken to the hospital for evaluation, but it's still not clear how he became stuck in the first place. stanford women's basketball team is one step closer to winning back-to-back national championships, with a spot in the sweet 16 at stake. the cardinal hosted kansas last night. the game belonged to senior lexi hall who scored 36 points, leading stanford to a 91-65 win.

the cardinals next play maryland on friday in spokane, washington. >> way to go, cardinals. a new 21st century procedure becoming more and more realistic for people who simply can't get enough of their favorite pet. >> more and more pet owners are cloning their beloved cats and dogs. the whole idea may make you think twice, but cloning animals has been popular for decades in the livestock industry. these days it's becoming more widespread for household animals and one industry insider says it will probably get more popular as the technology becomes more refined. >> horse cloning, who we've been doing for 20 years, the price has dropped almost in half because we've been able to develop techniques that have helped us along the way. >> just remember, next time you're looking in the eyes of your best four-legged friend. you can check out the details on

the "today" show. >> would you clone your pet? my question is, which one? it's on my twitter page. weigh in. >> scout was a good dog, but pip is just my sidekick. >> we always say he's a dog. he's a loveable dog, though. good dog walking weather. >> it's going to be a really nice day as we start out with temperatures in the 40s, and maybe a light jacket for the dog for the start of the day. but we are going to see some nice weather, and as we take a live look outside at the golden gate bridge, everything looks good for a monday morning. take a look at the temperatures. this will make it easier to get out of bed and get going. we know it's going to be so comfortable this afternoon, reaching 71 in dublin, warming up to 77 in santa rosa. it's going to be pretty windy at times as the winds kick up from

the northwest at about 15 to 25 miles per hour, maybe even a few spots to get some higher wind gusts. tomorrow we're headed for the low 80s, reaching 83 in fairfield and santa rosa. oakland tomorrow reaching 78 degrees. 79 in mountain view, and in scots valley reaching up to 78 degrees. let's talk about the winds, because it's a little bit of a light breeze right now, but it's going to turn very gusty for later today, with napa seeing wind gusts at about 30 miles per hour at about 5:00 to 6:00 this evening, staying windy tonight. and with the northerly wind it dries things out even more. so unfortunately, even with the little bit of rain we had over the weekend, we may see more brown hills and vegetation around the bay area. and that's with all of this heavy rain staying well north of us. what's happening is we're seeing the storm track heading up there. we have the low pressure farther to the north. high pressure is also building and that's going to give us the warm weather over the next couple of days. when you have high pressure close to low pressure, that is

what makes the winds blow really fast and we're going to see that for today and tomorrow. it's dry throughout the week, but take a look at sunday, as we see, finally, the high pressure moving out of the way that could open up the door for rain to move in. and we could see some widespread showers in sunday's forecast. and then it does look like the next round of rain after that dries up before it gets here. so we still have these temperatures going up and down all over the place. so we're warm for today and tomorrow. napa could see highs tomorrow afternoon reaching the mid-80s. it's going to feel like summer, but then we are back to some more spring-like weather. it's still going to be a little warmer than normal. sunday, when we watch out for the chance of rain, it will be in the mid-60s and low 70s. our seven-day forecast for all of our inland areas, it looks like we'll see some low 70s today, low 80s tomorrow, and then mid-70s on thursday. by the end of the week it's cooling down just a bit, but then we see more clouds on saturday and those rain chances on sunday. for san francisco, it's also

looking pretty nice, but expect some highs in the 70s. a nice little early spring treat as we get a warm-up in the city. now let's move over to the morning commute as we get a look at oakland this morning. sorry, a lot of people up and out the door. we are approaching 6:00 and we've only seen a couple of minor issues. you may have a lowdown heading toward the bay bridge. we're seeing an incident there, as well as the richmond-san rafael bridge. for the south bay we're also seeing it looking pretty good heading from the south county into san jose. but we are going to also see a little bit more of a slowdown as more people get up and out on the roadways. but as far as the bridges, they're flowing well for the san mateo and dumbarton bridges, not seeing any issues there. and a look at our south bay drive times, it's still green, which means cars are flowing at the rate of speed for the speed limit and we are going to see the drive times looking pretty good here, hopefully it continues to look this way for a

monday. we'll talk about weather and traffic coming up again in a few minutes. >> thank you, kari. happening now, concord leaders are debating their first pay raise in four years. if approved, council members would see a 3% salary increase, making the monthly pay about $1,400 a month. they first have to amend an ordinance and that would take effect after the november election. it will be discussed at tomorrow's city council meeting if you want to weigh in. still ahead, a stunt made for hollywood but in no way legal. coming up, some in southern california say the driver went too far. we'll have an update on the reward being offered for the person behind the wheel. another bay area school district is going maskless. we're moving you forward with what parents in the east bay need to know. stay with us. 5:53. you're watching "today in the bay."

welcome back to "today in the bay." 5:56 right now. there's new developments in a weekend helicopter crash that, sadly, killed four marines in norway. >> the victims have now been identified. you see their names here. captain tomkiewicz, reynolds, speedy and moore. that crash happened during a

joint training exercise with nato allies. military officials say the helicopter crashed in extreme conditions. the cause is still under investigation. authorities in southern california offering a reward to track down the driver of a rented tesla who pulled a dangerous stunt over the weekend. take a look at this. someone filmed it and it went viral. lucky it didn't flip. it happened late saturday night. police say the driver then abandoned the car and ran from the scene. the owner of the damaged car believes the person did it for attention on social media. >> with this, it was just no accountability, we're just going to do this, we're not going to talk to any of the neighbors, we're going to damage a bunch of stuff and then just take off. >> it happened on baxter street, considered the steepest hill in los angeles. police are offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. opening statements are set

to begin tomorrow in the second criminal trial tied to the downfall of theranos. former theranos executive sunny balwani is facing the same charges as elizabeth holmes. he's also her former boyfriend. the start of the trial was delayed last week after a potential covid exposure involving a juror, who has since tested negative. basketball fans have march madness, but now music lovers have their own own version and it debuts right here on nbc bay area. >> it's an all new competition called "american song contest". >> america has so much to offer in diversity and i'm just one of the facets. >> she's one of the contestants from oklahoma. maybe you've heard of euro vision contest. it's similar, with one act representing each u.s. state and territory. kelly clarkson and snoop dogg are hosting and tonight the first 11 of 56 contestants will perform. get this, though.

there's no cover songs. they all have to perform original music as well. "american song contest" premieres at 8:00 p.m., followed by an episode of "the endgame", then watch nbc bay area news at 11:00, get some sleep and come back here tomorrow morning. breaking, a passenger jet crashes in china, with more than 100 people on board. we're following the latest on the investigation and we're seeing the first video coming from near the crash site. >> i don't want us to attack her as a human. i want us to be having a debate about what her judicial philosophy is. >> history in the making with senate confirmation hearings set to begin for supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson. we are live with the tough questions she's expected to face and the bipartisan support she's receiving. >> plus, the covid subvariant now starting to spread through the united states.

experts say it's spreading at a faster rate than what we've seen. we'll speak with one bay area health expert about the potential risks even if you're fully vaccinated. this is "today in the bay." good morning, and thanks for joining us on this monday. i'm kris sanchez in for marcus. >> and i'm laura garcia. a reminder, if you have a smart tv we broadcast not only to your television, but you can watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. >> we begin with breaking news out of southern china. emergency crews are still on their way to the spot where the passenger jet crashed into a mountainside. the china eastern airlines went down in the guangxi province. this morning we're getting our first look from the crash scene. that plane had 123 passengers on board, along with nine crew members. it is not clear at this point if anyone survived. the "today" show is following these developments.