south bay families scrambling. ahead, parents growing frustration after the district's late-night decision. >> using your breath to test for covid? the newly approved device allowing you to do just that with results in just minutes. >> also, a big blow to russia after the warship goes down in the black sea. a live report from washington, d.c. on how this could be a turning point on the war in ukraine. the third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. it is good friday, and a good morning to you. thanks so much for making us a part of your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm ginger conejero saab. we're broadcasting not only to your tv, watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv, and online. >> we'll get you started with the day. first, we've got to start out with the friday forecast for you. >> it's going to be a great friday and sunshine, warmer temperatures, and also there's some rain ahead.

so we don't have to feel too bad about getting that sunshine today. we're going to see temperatures starting out in san jose at 50 degrees and it's a cloudy start, but it will gradually clear out as we head for the upper 60s today. 69 in san jose, 68 in livermore. in the north bay we have some mid-60s, tomorrow we get ready for rain, and we'll see some slightly cooler temperatures but talk about the timeline of the rain and how much you can expect coming up in a few minutes. >> thanks a lot, kari. the crisis in hard-hit mariupol growing more intense overnight. take a look at this. it's new drone footage showing the devastation there, with the war now in its seventh week. the head of the u.n. world food program now says ukrainians there are being starved to death and the problems should worsen for the next weeks for those who are still stuck there. the u.s. department of state says it will only re-establish diplomatic presence in ukraine when it is safe and practical to do so.

meanwhile, two gop lawmakers visited kyiv yesterday, becoming the first u.s. lawmakers to do so since the war broke out. montana senator steven daines and indiana house member victoria spartz say the world needs to see what vladimir putin is doing. meanwhile, new developments in the sinking of a russian flagship in the black sea. ukraine is claiming success. now, russia has a different take but now vows to renew air assaults on kyiv. "today in the bay's" brie jackson is live in washington. what are we learning about that sinking? >> reporter: good morning, yes, u.s. officials say the sinking of this russian warship is really a major setback, not just for strategic reasons, but also for symbolic reasons, delivering a blow to russia's pride. one of russia's premier warships

under water in the black sea this morning. ukrainians claim their cruise missiles inflicted heavy damage, causing the ships to sink. >> we cannot confirm the ukrainian reports that it was hit by a missile, but we are also not in a position to refute that. >> reporter: russia put the blame on ammunition detonating on board. no matter the cause, military experts say it is another setback for russian forces. u.s. officials warn russian president vladimir putin may consider using nuclear weapons. >> we've watched for that very intently. it's one of our most important responsibilities at cia. >> reporter: ukraine is bracing for a major offensive in the east. president zelenskyy blasting european countries who continue to rely on russian oil, helping to fund russia's war, saying -- we don't understand how you can make money out of blood. putin claims europe has no

alternative and warns phasing out gas imports would have a negative impact on western economies. as fierce battles continue, president biden says he's not ruling out sending u.s. officials to ukraine. >> will you send senior officials to ukraine? >> we're making that decision now. >> reporter: as we await a decision on that, $800 million in military aid is now on its way. officials say that russian warship had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles and was used for air defenses and is another setback for russia's forces. >> that is quite the development. thanks a lot, brie. 6:04 this morning. many frustrated parents in san jose this morning say that they are frustrated because they learned their neighborhood elementary school will be turned into an early learning center for only pre-k and kindergartners. "today in the bay's" sharon

katsuda is live for us with the board's controversial vote. >> reporter: good morning. yes, it was a long night but the board made this decision after many parents complained that they just moved to this school after another school closure. about 200 students at cesar chavez school in the alum rock school district will have to move to a different school next year. >> they're basically taking out the first through fifth graders. all we're trying to do is just keep our schools open in our community. >> the environment really matters for these children. they may not have the language, but their brains are ready to learn. children are born ready to learn. >> reporter: board members voted to transform cesar chavez elementary into an education center for kids preschool through kindergarten. the district says it's part of meeting california's universal pre-k initiative to help jump-start kids' learning before age 5, a year of school to bridge preschool and

kindergarten. many parents said they moved to cesar chavez after learning their former school had to close. some parents expressed support for the early learning efforts at the school district, but so sympathized with those who have to find new schools in the fall. reporting live in san jose, sharon katsuda, "today in the bay." >> thank you. bay area asian american leaders are talking about a new fusion of cash to help fight anti-asian hate. california is getting ready to distribute $14 million in grants to dozens of groups, including about 20 right here in the bay area. all of it focused on combatting the surge and attacks during the pandemic against asian americans and pacific islanders. san francisco assembly member is one leading the charge. he explains the way the money will be used. >> one of the most vulnerable populations are our seniors. you have organizations like self-help for the elderly do a senior escort.

we saw many seniors who were afraid of going to the grocery store, waiting at the bus stop or taking their morning walk. so they've established an escort service in san francisco and they're going to increase that and do that also in san mateo county. so that is one way to go and expand that. >> this is just the first release of roughly $110 million in state money to be divvied up to organizations over the next few years. governor newsom authorized the plan in his budget last year. the fda regulators are giving emergency approval for what promises to be the first device to be able to detect covid in your breath. so the test uses a breathalyzer machine about the size of a piece of luggage. it gives the results in just under three minutes. so the fda says that it was 91% accurate in identifying positive test samples and nearly 100% accurate in identifying negative samples. people who do get a positive result are advised to follow up with a pcr test.

right now the breathalyzer can only be used in doctors offices, hospitals and mobile test sites. a live look at san jose city hall, where leaders are authorizing new help for people behind on their water bills. council members this week approved a new half million dollar program that will provide up to $2,000 for families struggling to pay their water wills. right now the plan is in preliminary stages and it's not clear how many households will qualify for the program or when applications will become available. it's 6:08 this morning. look at this. beautiful shot looking into the city. what a way to wake up. aren't you happy you live in the bay area? >> it's beautiful. best place in the world. >> when it comes to the forecast -- i don't know, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. meteorologist kari hall has a look at the forecast and this gives a little bit of something no matter what you like. >> we've got a little bit of something for everyone. let's take a look from emeryville toward the bay bridge

and toward san francisco, as we await the sun's arrival. we are going to look at how much rain we had yesterday. we had over 3.5 inches of rain at mount tam, and in castro valley in the hills we had 1 inch of rain. san francisco measured 0.25 inch, while concord, barely anything. we are also looking ahead to some more rain that is set to come in tomorrow, but we are dry today. so if you do have outdoor plans, we're looking good. rain comes into the north bay around midnight and we'll all see it early tomorrow morning. but it looks like it does start to clear out of here by tomorrow afternoon. so we'll take a closer look at this forecast. vianey, where can we find some lower priced gas? >> we like to take a look around the bay area and find some locations for a cheaper option. let's take a look in newark. it's going to be on thornton

avenue, gas is at $5.59 a gallon. royal gas on bayshore boulevard will be your cheapest option at $5.37 a gallon. in palo alto, gas is $5.33. that's going to be at the palo alto gas and smog on 835 san antonio road. a little bit of an option if you're living in these areas or you have to commute to parts of the bay area there. let's take a look at how your commute is doing. here's a look at the bay bridge toll plaza, and still no metering lights on. that's good. it's friday light, we've got a moving commute through most of the bridges as well. i know that we have a bit of an update. this is on the crash in the east bay. southbound 880 at winton avenue, the number four lane was blocked. they're working to clear that out and i've noticed a significant improvement in the speed sensors. they were red and yellow, now they're green. and also the sigalert earlier

along westbound 80 at tennessee street has been canceled. there is still a sigalert for parts of westbound 37 at wilson avenue as they work to clear an overnight crash that happened around 1:00 a.m. i'll have another update in just a few minutes. back to you. >> thank you. revolutionizing air travel. this is big news. coming up right here on "today in the bay," we're taking a look at an emissions-free all electric airplane that's nearly ready to take flight. >> and we can finally tell you about a super secret mission to ukraine. we'll tell you all about it when "today in the bay" continues.

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happy friday to you. it is 6:13. let's take a look at our half moon bay forecast today. it's going to be really nice. sunny, a few clouds in the mix. but also kind of cool with temperatures staying in the mid-50s. we'll see some low 70s in parts of our interior valleys as we await the rain. it will be coming in tomorrow. we'll talk more about that coming up. let's get a check of your bridge drive times. a little bit of slowing. if you're going to be traveling westbound 80 to the bay bridge, 11 minutes. no metering lights. we'll take a closer look at the tri-valley coming up. good morning. very good friday to you. and it is good friday and passover and that means the markets are closed today. the rate on a 30-year mortgage

just jumped above 5%. just a couple weeks ago it was 30 years passing over 4%. elon musk spoke about his attempt to take over twitter at a ted talk yesterday in vancouver, this as the twitter board tries to figure out ways to stop him from buying the company outright. musk talked about his desire to keep free speech on twitter, but acknowledged even a twitter he was in charge of would limit hate speech and calls for violence. he also spoke out against the securities and exchange commission, calling the staff at san francisco's s.e.c. those, and then a really bad word, a word you can't say on television, unless you're talking about a quentin tarantino movie, and then somehow that's okay. musk has battled with the s.e.c. for years. this is a community party in marin county to raise money and materials for people in ukraine. some of the kids wrote pen pal

letters. and a san francisco ceo snuck over the border between slovakia and ukraine a short time ago to deliver those letters and supplies. a really short time ago. he asked us to wait to tell everybody until he was back safely across the border, which he is. andy was delivering supplies to his ukrainian-based employees and their families. i spoke to him over webcam just before he made the crossing. >> so going to ukraine first thing in the morning and bringing a bunch of supplies to my team and they've got a busy day meeting with different folks on my team and bringing supplies to the different constituents there. >> are you nervous? >> a little bit nervous. you know, we're right close to the border and we went and saw some of the refugees today and, yeah, it's scary. >> andy runs a company called just answer in san francisco and

was one of the silicon valley leaders who figured out ukraine was a really great place to find smart people in tech. the company says it's been doing its best to help from afar, but andy says it was time for something more, especially for one employee who needed medicine. >> i've got a bunch of big bags here. here's a big filled with a bunch of body armor. i've got another bag with first aid kits, a bunch of these stop the bleed. another suitcase here with insulin supplies. >> as far as the timing on this goes, it's spring break for his kids, so he told the kids, guess where we're going for spring break. he didn't take them across the border, of course, but they got to go to slovakia and all the way up to the border and see some of the refugees as well,

which has to be an amazing experience if you're a young person. >> it is. and what a move from your boss to really have the consideration. >> to show up and say thank you, we know what you're going through, yeah. >> those medical supplies will go a long way. thanks a lot. now, when it comes to improving our climate in crisis, the focus typically centers around reducing fuel burning cars, but how about fuel burning airplanes? now one company is ready to roll out its answer and it's what you might call the world's first ea, now that would be an all electric airplane. the commuter jet will likely take its first test flight this summer. its makers tell nbc's tom costello it has the potential to greatly reduce carbon footprint and save money on jet fuel. the company is based in seattle and they're also working on a plane that could carry 100 passengers.

now, april 22nd is earth day and all next week nbc news and nbc bay area will focus on our climate in crisis, and ways you can help our planet. it's all part of our earth week coverage, which begins on monday. >> count me in on that flight. >> absolutely. major league baseball today celebrates a historic milestone. on this day, 75 years ago, jackie robinson broke baseball's color barrier. >> all major league players, coaches, even umpires will wear uniforms with the number 42, his old jersey number, and this year collectors can get in on this action. so his family auctioning off some prized personal memorabilia. experts are calling it a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a piece of history. >> when you hold something from jackie robinson, to me it's like holding something of an american figure. >> some of those items include a jersey robinson once wore and his own personal baseball bat, a bat that for years hung on the

wall of the robinson home. can you believe that? and you remember the movie, he changed baseball forever. you just give him that honor. >> absolutely. i'm scared to ask how much the memorabilia is going to go for. >> cha-ching. >> well worth it. >> indeed. well, it is 6:20 for you on good friday. >> it is good friday and it's baseball season. we've got some nice weather. we have easter coming up. so a lot going on as we also have a lot going on in weather. let's get you out to door in the east bay. pleasant hill, we're in the upper 40s. we are going to see a lot of sunshine, so grab a jacket, sunglasses. it's going to be a really nice day. we're headed for the mid to upper 60s with livermore reaching 68. also 68 in fairfield. in the north bay we have some mid-60s for santa rosa, novato, and in mountain view we're

headed for 68 degrees and 71 in morgan hill. tomorrow just a little cooler as we start out with some rain. the seven-day forecast is coming up at the bottom of the screen. we do have more rain on the way. but at least for easter sunday it's clearing out and also feeling very comfortable. take a look at our wide view of what's happening across the region. so we still have some light rain and snow coming down in the sierra and then we also see the clouds starting to reach in ahead of the next storm system. it will be arriving in the north bay later tonight. once again, we're dry today. as we go toward 1:00 to 2:00 in the morning, we see the north bay covered with rain. it starts to move quickly into the peninsula, parts of the east bay around sunrise and we're going to start out saturday with some wet weather. notice by 4:00 to 5:00, most of that rain is out of here. so if you have saturday evening plans, maybe going out to dinner or enjoying festivals, it's going to be nice. in the meantime, we're looking at about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch

of rain to the north, a good soaking ahead of more storm systems coming in next week. tuesday we are going to see another round of rain, possibly again on thursday of next week, and maybe some soggy weather on friday and saturday. so once again, it's going to be pretty busy here as we welcome every drop of rain we can get after yesterday's drought update. so take a look at our temperatures. we're in the mid to upper 60s. 70 on sunday, with sunshine, and we start out the week with some pretty comfortable weather. but then the rain returns on tuesday, again on thursday. san francisco will see highs in e weekend.50s into the start of vianey, what's going onut >> we had earlier sigalerts. one of them has cleared out in vallejo. a live look right now in san jose. no major issues in the south bay. overall look right now at the speed sensors, traffic map right now still showing slowing on

southbound 880, but not too bad. from 238 to highway 84, as it works to recover from an earlier crash. meanwhile 238 from 580 to 880, two minutes. nice light friday commute. back to you. >> thank you. next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> if you're not quite ready to file your income tax returns, it's okay. you can get an extension. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. i'll show you how next.

>> if you're not ready to file your 1040 tax return, it's okay. there is no reason to panic. the irs will let you file for an automatic extension. let's look at how. the good news is everyone can file electronically, either using tax software or at irs.gov. just look for the link that says free file. you're basically filling out form 4868. it's really simple. just nine questions. they don't even ask why you're going to miss the deadline. you submit it in minutes and that's it. just make sure you file it before this year's deadline, april 18th. the irs will contact you only if your request is denied. otherwise, filing this form gives you until october 15th to file a return. easy. but getting an extension to file your return is not an extension to pay. the irs says you must estimate your tax liability and should also pay any amount due by april 18th.

so what about state income taxes? well, here in california same rules apply. actually easier. the state says we give you an automatic six-month extension to file your return and no application is required. but same as dc, sacramento wants its money now. you have to pay what you owe by april 18th to avoid penalties and interest. laterday, a decision in oakland as to whether to continue a mask mandate in schools. you're watching "today in the bay."

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uncertainty for some bay area schools. this after governor newsom put covid vaccine requirements on hold. we're live with new details and one bay area district now debating the future of masking rules. >> plus, a new layer of safety for commuters, but at what cost? details on a controversial just approved plan for new cameras and questions being raised about privacy by advocates. this is "today in the bay." good friday morning. i'm ginger conejero saab. laura garcia has the day off today. >> i'm marcus washington. don't forget that we're not only

here on television, but catch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv, and online. >> let's take a live look outside. traffic moving all across the bay area this morning. i know we had a couple sigalerts that vianey was taking a nice look at. we can expect things to continue to get busier as people head out for the holiday weekend. vianey arana is here for mike and we'll have a look at the drive times in just a moment. first let's take a look at the forecast. >> meteorologist kari hall has been tracking what we can expect this easter weekend. >> we are going to be dry today, temperatures warming up, as you're heading out for work in fremont, it's in the upper 40s. it will be clearing out and we're going from 48 degrees to 61 at 1:00. and our tie temperatures reaching into the mid-60s there. san jose will see a high of 69 today and 64 in napa, san francisco up to about 60 degrees. as the sky clears, it's going to be really pleasant.

we are going to see rain coming in for tomorrow as temperatures come down a few degrees. most of the rain will be happening during the morning so we'll take a closer look at the timeline and talk about some events going on around the bay area and some places you may be headed for your weekend. more on that coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you. students in california will not be required to roll up their sleeves this year to get a covid vaccine. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell is live in pleasanton. the state is now delaying a vaccine mandate for students, is that right? >> reporter: you are correct. good morning, ginger and marcus. you might recall last fall governor newsom announced that california would become the first state in the country to require covid vaccines for kids in schools. yesterday the governor delayed that mandate until next summer, so we're talking about 2023 at the very least. the governor says the state is waiting for the fda to get full approval for the vaccine for kids in 7th through 12th grades.

currently it's fully approved for kids 16 years of age and up and there's only an emergency use authorization in place for kids ages 5-15. today we'll learn whether or not students in oakland still need to mask up in class. the oakland unified school district tells me they will be putting out an announcement later today about the indoor mask mandate. despite california lifting the mandate for schools, they're the largest school district that still requires masks indoors for all elementary, middle school and high schools students. there's a decision later today. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you. new this morning b.a.r.t. leaders are green lighting a new plan to install license plate readers at parking lots system-wide. this will expand a pilot program in place at the mcarthur b.a.r.t. station. the cost, nearly $2.5 million. the decision comes following years of concerns raised by privacy advocates, but supporters say it will increase

rider safety and prevent car burglaries. b.a.r.t. stopped using the readers back in 2016 over concerns that information would be shared with outside agencies like i.c.e. no word yet on the timeline for expansion. new details emerging this morning on the capture of the suspected new york city subway shooter. nbc's jessie kirsch tells us that one social media post was a big help to investigators. >> reporter: coming up, my broadcast exclusive interview with the teenager who says his photos helped the nypd close in on frank james on wednesday. he posted on twitter images of who he believed to be the suspect from the subway shooting rampage and police saw those images and used that to close in on frank james in the new york city's east village neighborhood in manhattan. we're also learning more from mr. james' attorneys revealing in court that he suffers from leg cramps, and also asking that

he receive a psychiatric evaluation. james has not yet entered a plea, but if he is convicted, he could face up to life in prison. we'll have more details from that broadcast exclusive interview and the investigation coming up on "today." >> thank you. we will continue to follow the latest developments on this shooting on air and online. you can go to nbcbayarea.com, click on the link in the trending bar and you can get updates 24/7. testimony resumes this morning in the criminal fraud trial for former theranos executive sunny balwani. on wednesday a former employee testified he was aware balwani worked hand in hand with elizabeth holmes to run the company but he had no idea they were in a personal relationship. balwani faces similar charges to holmes, who is awaiting sentencing after being convicted in january. >> taking a live look at palisades in tahoe, look at that beautiful snow. it might be hard to find easter

eggs there. if you are head to do tahoe for the holiday weekend, plan accordingly. a winter weather advisory remains in effect and the dangerous driving conditions have caused multiple spinouts overnight. chain controls are in effect along highway 80 and 50. our meteorologist kari hall said earlier there may be a window of time for you to head up. >> later this afternoon it's going to be better and then tomorrow heavy snow coming down. for the tahoe area we are going to see waves of rain and snow coming through and at south lake tahoe highs reach into the low 40s tomorrow. we change to snow as temperatures drop into the 20s. sunday it's all clear, a sunny day and also a nice easter day as you're heading back to the bay area. let's talk about the cherry blossom festival happening in san francisco. if you're going to be there early we are going to see temperatures in the mid-50s. still starts to taper off as we go intoup, the temperatures start to drop once again.

on sunday if you're going an easter egg hunt, doing activities outside, we're going to see parts of the east bay starting out with temperatures in the upper 50s on sunday and headed for the upper 60s with sunshine. your beach forecast this weekend, upper 50s today at stinson beach, down to monterey where it's 60 degrees. kind of cool but not too bad. tomorrow we see scattered showers passing by that may be heavy at times and then sunday we're clearing out with highs reaching into the mid-60s. mainly in the 50s for stinson beach and monterey. napa valley this weekend, highs in the mid-60s all weekend long, but tomorrow we will see the rain coming through. if you're going to paso robles, we'll see low 70s today. tomorrow, once again, rain off and on. and then on sunday it clears out and warms up and we'll be almost up to 80 degrees there. we'll take a look at when that rain comes into the bay area and help you time out your local plans coming up in a few

minutes. vianey, how is it looking for the commute? >> let's take a look at traffic cameras. this is live in san jose. no crashes to tell you about so far in the south bay. the earlier ones have cleared. the bay bridge toll plaza, the metering lights are on. it is 6:37 and you can see backup delays along that stretch. also a quick look in richmond as well, also starting to get really busy out there. we're going to notice also building traffic and this is going to be in some parts, but i have good news. if you're going to be the heading to the mma fight tonight at 4:00, that will be fun. if you've never been to the sap center around this time, there is typically this little stretch along santa clara street that tends to close off just to make it safer for those attending any events. so you're going to want to leave early to make sure you get there on time. find parking in the downtown san jose area. another stretch you might encounter slowing is western avenue to bear creek road

because of a construction project. at times they're going to be detouring vehicles and this is going to run through may 6th, so this is going to be from western avenue to bear creek road. keep in mind they could close off some of those lanes as they work on that project. east bay drive times, southbound 680 from 580 to vargas road, about 11 minutes. the earlier crash along 880 did clear out nicely. some slowing from sonoma boulevard to lakeville highway, you're looking at about 17 minutes. back to you. >> thank you. 6:39 this morning and the cat is out of the bag. a feline frenzy at the oakland coliseum causing headaches days before the home opener. today's new debate over how to handle the oakland strays. >> also, one flag now flying outside antioch city hall, stirring up new controversy. the reason some residents are so upset and why the city has no plans to take it down.

the white house considers sending somebody very important to ukraine, but who? we'll take a look. you're watching "today in the bay." this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities.

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good friday morning. right now at 6:42 as you're heading out in the south bay, let's check out cupertino. we're in the upper 40s and it's a cloudy start, but we'll see the sun continuing to peek out from behind those clouds for today. as the sky clears, we head for the low 60s here this afternoon.

we are going to see some rain returning to the bay area. we'll talk about that when it gets here coming up. and the traffic building on the bay bridge toll plaza. look at the sunrise. beautiful skies over the bay bridge. we'll have a closer look at drive times coming up. vice president kamala harris returning tomorrow here to her home state in california next monday. we'll be flying into santa barbara county to visit vandenberg space force base which was renamed last year. the vp will meet with the men and women of the space force and u.s. space command and get updates on the work being done to advance u.s. national security. the white house is seriously considering sending a, quote, senior official to ukraine. >> scott mcgrew, who exactly is unclear at this time. >> it could be a senior defense official, it could be somebody else. it seems unlikely it would be biden or harris.

that might be too provacative. but the white house watched as british prime minister boris johnson walked the streets of kyiv with president zelenskyy. this was an incredible bit of video, a moment of courage for them both. reminds one a bit of the we are not afraid walk through paris by nearly every western democratic leader hand in hand, following the attacks on the french newspaper in 2015. the then president of ukraine, poroshenko was there, the obama white house said it later regretted not sending someone. we know two members of congress, a senator from montana and representative from indiana, both republicans, just returned from a visit to ukraine. representative victoria spartz on the right was born in ukraine back when it was the ussr. the russians now say their missile cruiser moskva has sunk. the ukrainians say they hit it with missiles, the russians say it was damaged because of an

accidental fire on board and then sank being towed in a storm. american intelligence says she don't know who is telling the truth, but either way for russia to lose one of its flagships, literally named after the russian capital, now at the bottom of the sea, is a metaphor too powerful to ignore. the director of the cia talking about the russian frustration at a conference yesterday saying, quote, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons by the russians. it's passover, good friday. the second gentlemen, vice-president harris' husband celebrated from the white house with an event featuring a childrens' choir and of course seeder dinner. >> ever since i was a kid i've been inspired by the story of exodus, and i know i'm not alone. >> very happy passover to you

and the holy week as well. happy easter on sunday. we'll be talking about all of that on social media, on twitter you can find me @scott mcgrew. >> thanks, scott. enjoy the holiday weekend. prince harry and meghan markle paid a visit to queen elizabeth in the uk, and as nbc bay area's ann thompson explains, it came at a critical time for the royal family. >> reporter: they are still buzzing about the secret visit harry and meaghan made yesterday. it was the first time the couple had been back since they resigned as working royals and moved to the united states. now, the visit comes at a particularly delicate time for the royal family. queen elizabeth is 95 years old and she has stepped back from some of her official duties. she turns 96 next week. and there's a big question as to whether the visit was timed because of her birthday and then her platinum jubilee, celebrating 70 years on the

throne, which will come in june. harry and meaghan were on their way to the invictus games, the international sporting competition that harry founded for wounded military servicemen and vets. there is no word on whether harry and meaghan will make a return visit. i'm ann thompson at windsor castle. now back to you. 6:47 right now. antioch no longer waiting for pride month to fly the pride flag. the city council made an unprecedented decision to raise the flag now and for the rest of the year. the mayor says that move comes after reports of recent homophobic attitudes being expressed in antioch. the city council voted this week to fly what's called the progressive flag for the remainder of the year, including the brown and black stripes that represent people of color. not everyone happy with that decision. some feel that antioch should only fly the flag during pride month. >> i think it needs to be representative of everybody in the community and if we fly one

flag for nine months now or eight months that are left, it just doesn't leave us to do anything for anybody else. >> it is an historic move. i think it could be a model for many cities and raising the flag for the rest of the year. that's such a huge step and a huge symbol. >> members of the lgbtq community say the city is sending a message that they have a place in antioch to be celebrated year-round. mountain view police are asking for help in solving a hate crime. over the weekend someone landlized a utility room at landels elementary school, spray painting hateful symbols and graffiti. so far investigators are coming up empty on potentially helpful video footage. take a live look at the oakland coliseum, and what to do about some uninvited guests will be the focus of an authority meeting happening later today. earlier this week authorities said the stadium is being overrun with stray cats and kittens, and it's being

compounded by two years of pandemic. animal control teams have been called in to try to relocate or hopefully adopt the cats out. but next monday the a's play their home opener and other topics today will include the end of stadium covid protocols and an update on the sewage system. did they pay for their tickets? >> big cash there. >> i would rather see cats than rats. >> oh, i'm with you on that one. i guess the big question is, what's the weather going to look like for the home opener? >> we've got easter coming up and a lot of changes even before we get to that home opener. take a look at this beautiful shot as we start out this good friday with sunshine in san francisco. this is what we'll see throughout much of today. let's take a look back at the past 24 hours, and how much rain we measured. if you can believe it, mount tam had over 3.5 inches of rain.

mount saint helena had about 1.5. castro valley had 1 inch of rain. san francisco got almost 0.25 of an inch. many of us saw just a little bit more than a trace. so it wasn't a lot at all. and we're clearinge warms. even 71 degrees in morgan hill. the seven-day forecast is coming up at the bottom of the screen as we get ready for rain coming in tomorrow and high temperatures come down a few degrees, mostly reaching into the low to mid-60s. on sunday it's going to be sunny, comfortable, and a few spots reaching into the low 70s. mostly mid to upper 60s around the bay area. here's a look at the wide view of the satellite radar. still light snow coming down in the sierra. the road conditions continue to improve, and we can see the clouds starting to reach in from the west. but we are, once again, all dry today. by about midnight we start to see that rain coming into the

north bay. but we are mostly going to see that rain for the rest of the bay area coming in around sunrise, and continuing to spread through as we go into tomorrow morning. if you do have some saturday outdoor plans, that rain will be clearing out and by 4:00 to 5:00 we should pretty much see dry conditions and drying out across the bay area. once again, on sunday we are looking at some nicer weather. as far as how much rain we could get, this one looks like it could be higher than what we just had, even up to about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of rain for santa rosa, as well as the santa cruz mountains. and there's more rain coming our way next week. on tuesday we see another storm system passing by, thursday into friday more scattered showers, and then maybe a little bit more behind that. this active weather pattern continues as we get late season rain and sierra snow. take a look at our seven-day inland temperatures and what we're expecting over the next few days. for the rain tomorrow, we see highs in the mid-60s.

70 on sunday and we'll have continue the mild and seasonable weather for monday, rain coming in on tuesday and then again on thursday. weekend plans in san francisco, you'll still need a jacket and an umbrella tomorrow. vianey, how are the roads moving? >> it's really busy, especially approaching a lot of our toll plazas. look at richmond. you can see things are definitely a lot slower compared to the 5:00 a.m. hour. however, even though the metering lights are on at the bay bridge toll plaza, it sort of slows down and then picks back up. this is a live look. let's take a look at speed sensors. i have a new crash to tell you about in the south bay. if you're going to be traveling along northbound 101 near the oakland road exit, the right-hand shoulder is blocked and there is activity related to an earlier crash. it's definitely starting to cause some slowing. bridge drive times, westbound 580 toward the richmond bridge is about 15 minutes. i'll send it back to you.

happening now, an affordable housing project breaks ground today in west oakland for those struggling to make it in the bay. the $80 million project will build nearly 80 units at 7th and campbell streets along the once-thriving black corridor known as harlem west. former black panther party leader elaine brown is expected to turn the first dirt at this morning's ceremony. >> next, a quick look at the top stories, including uncertainty for bay area schools after governor newsom put vaccine requirements on hold. we're live with details and one bay area district now debating the future of masking rules. but first -- ♪ hang up the music ♪ ♪ turn down the lights ♪ ♪ i've got a feeling i'm gonna be all right ♪ >> lizzo takeover on "saturday night live" this weekend. the singer will be serving double duty on snl, both as host and musical guest. you can watch "saturday night live" right here on nbc bay area

saturday at 11:30, right after nbc bay area news at 11:00. we're back here on "today in the bay" in just two minutes.

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welcome back. we are moving you forward with a look at the top stories on "today in the bay." >> students in california will not be required to roll up their sleeves this year for a covid vaccine. "today in the bay's" bob redell

is live in pleasanton with details on the new delay. >> all right, we're having some trouble with his microphone. we'll try to check on that in just a bit. >> it is 6:57 right now. fda regulators are giving emergency approval for what promises to be the first device able to detect covid in your breath, so that test uses a breathalyzer machine about the size of a piece of luggage and it gives the results in under three minutes. so the fda says that it was 91% accurate in identifying positive test samples and nearly 100% accurate in identifying those negative samples. people who do test positive, they are advised to follow up with a pcr test. right now the breathalyzer can only be used in doctors offices, hospitals and mobile testing sites. bay area asian american leaders are talking about a new infusion of cash to help fight

anti-asian hate. california is getting ready to distribute $14 million in grants to dozens of groups, including about 20 right here in the bay area. all of it focused on combatting the surge in attacks during the pandemic against asian americans and pacific islanders. one state lawmaker leading the charge says this is the first release of roughly $110 million in state money to be divvied out to organizations over the next few years. governor newsom authorized the plan in his budget last year. >> taking a live look at palisades tahoe, this is ahead of the tahoe weekend for a lot of people that want to get up there for the holiday weekend. you're going to have to plan accordingly. a winter weather advisory remains in effect. but meteorologist kari hall says there is a small window for people to get up this weekend. >> later this afternoon you'll have a small window. take the tire chains because they may still be required. then we'll see more snow happening tomorrow, starting early in the morning.

so as we take a look at our weather here, also very active with temperatures today reaching the upper 60s, mix of sun and clouds, rain coming in for the north bay late tonight. most of us seeing it around sunrise tomorrow morning. then it tapers off tomorrow afternoon. sunday is looking beautiful for all of those outdoor activities. i'm going to take pictures with the kids and the eggs and all that stuff. next week we have more rain in the forecast so i'm excited to see that. >> how is the commute looking? >> i want to give you a final look at drive times. westbound 580 toward the richmond bridge slowing down a little bit because it's getting backed up. it's about 13 minutes right now for that commute. the metering lights are on at the bay bridge toll plaza. so far your tri-valley drive times, westbound 580 from grant line road, which tends to be the busier stretch, you're looking at about 20 minutes. we had a few fender benders and a sigalert, but that has cleared out of the vallejo area.

>> looking great on this friday. that's what's happening "today in the bay." we're back at 7:25 with a live local news update. >> and a live look right here from sausalito. beautiful shot of the golden gate bridge. have a good morning. we'll see you back here in a bit. good morning on the move. good morning. on the move. millions of travelers set to take to the roads and head to the nation's transportation system already stretched to the brink with staffing shortages, cutbacks and new covid concerns. everything you need know before you head out the door. major blow, a critical russian warship sunk in the black sea. ukraine taking credit for destroying the vessel, calling it a significant win. but in the east, russian forces pushing the key city of mariupol to the brink.