i'm excited to be in class with all my friends, my teachers and all the people in school. >> that's a good attitude, young man. right now at 4:30, heading back to class. students across san francisco getting ready for their first day. there are lingering concerns about whether the district will have enough staff on hand to teach them. >> plus, putting an end to anti-aging violence. a san francisco community demanding answers and how the new district attorney is responding. also heat and lightning. meteorologist kari hall tracking

the chance for light rain for some parts of the bay area. it's a good -- wednesday? >> it is. >> good wednesday morning. thanks for allowing us to be part of your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. a big day on tap in san francisco as more than 50,000 stunds starting the new school year. the big question, will there be enough teachers for all of them? >> earlier this month, the district said it was about 100 staff members short. "today in the bay's" sergio quintana explains. >> backpacks full of school supplies. volunteers sponsored by the pa trar yoe hill house and amazon provided splice for the first day of class. incoming fifth grader juan cruz is looking forward to it. >> i'm excited because i get to

see my friends and teachers. >> at alvarado elementary school, a district story for matthew lowenstein? >> are you excited for school tomorrow? >> probably not. >> for many parents, the worry wasn't about supplies but staffing. >> i know the district is scrambling for teachers. there's been soch issues there trying to fill spots. >> reporter: a couple weeks ago the san francisco unified school district put out an advisory they were short about 100 teachers. a spokesperson says thanks to recruiting and reassigning of essential personnel, they will have every classroom staffed on the first day of school. >> that doesn't mean they filled every vacancy. many of the classrooms are being filled by staff who are normally in leadership and curriculum roles. they are certified teachers who will be temporarily filling in. san francisco isn't alone. districts nationwide have been struggling to find teachers. physical therapist kelly cummins says she's focused on making

sure classes are ready for schools. >> this is my fifth school to check in today. everybody is like, let's see what happens tomorrow and the rest of the week. we'll make it work. >> reporter: the district spokesperson says they're actively recruiting teachers to cover classrooms for the rest of the year. sergio quintana, "today in the bay." california is in the first year of the three-year rollout of transitional kindergarten or pre-k. children turning 5 between september 2nd and february 2nd are eligible for the program, allowing them to start kindergarten activitiesality the age of four. the student-to-teacher ratio of 12-1 is half the current tk ratio. one san jose teacher explains many of these children didn't get the same social interaction during the pandemic. >> so now going into school, this is going to provide those opportunities for them, and in a school site, there's so much support with teachers and other professionals like myself, especially/language pathologists

and school psychologists who will monitor the children and make sure they get the early intervention they need which is really crucial for development. >> universal transitional kindergarten provides a more play-based and don'tal-based curriculum along with literacy, math, social studies and art. members of san francisco's asian community are demanding accountability and swift action in response to recent attacks against elders. "today in the bay's" cheryl hurd explains how the city plans to respond. >> reporter: even though community members put this together very quickly. the turnout was huge. the police chief and the d.a. were here to listen. dozens of people packing this chinatown community center, many of the women coming out of the shadows to tell story of being attacked on san francisco streets. this woman telling the police chief she was recently attacked on a bus. >> every day where i'm living, i

can still see the center being close by, and i have reported this case to the police, but so far there has been no updates and no followups, and every single day my son and i live in fear. >> joyce nakamura says she was pushed into the street. >> i'm an easy target. i'm an asian woman. i think there are stereotypes involved with that. but i stood up against them and challenged them. >> reporter: the community is challenging chief bill scott and district attorney brook jenkins to bring safety back to their streets. through a translator, the d.a. letting people know that help is on the way. >> so one thing that i bring to you is that you are now seen and you are now heard. >> your businesses have been burglarized, jewelry stores, you name it. restaurants, you name it. we've doubled the size of our

burglary unit and may have solved more cases because of that. >> reporter: chief scott announcing monday that an 18-year-old and three juveniles, one as young as 11 years old, were arrested on suspicion of assaulting and robbing an older asian woman last month. another man was arrested and charged in the brutal assault of former san francisco commissioner greg chu. still attacks keep happening. you're looking at surveillance video that's difficult to watch of an unprovoked attack on asian women in the city. >> they don't understand half the things they're saying or all the rhetoric, the theories behind police and crime. they just care if they're safe. >> reporter: the recently appointed d.a. says she's committed to making a change. >> we can do it, set a new tone that we're not going to tolerate these types of acts of violence and we're going to back that up with our actions in the courtroom. >> reporter: cheryl hurd, "today in the bay." 4:36 this morning. going face-to-face with tiktok.

the bay area, facebook's new and improved features meant to narrow the divide. good news for e car owners. the new tax credit that may save you summon any and how to check out to see if you qualify. out to see if you qualify. stay with us. californians have a choice between two initiatives on sports betting. prop 27 generates hundreds of millions every year to permanently fund getting people off the streets a prop 26? not a dime to solve homelessness prop 27 has strong protections to prevent minors from betting.

prop 26? no protections for minors. prop 27 helps every tribe, including disadvantaged tribes. prop 26? nothing for disadvantaged tribes vote yes on 27. any questions, chris? all good, thanks maura! there you go, one new inhaler! nice did you get my refill too? maybe healthier is auto refills and delivery made easy. you're a lifesaver. have a nice day. mornings are our time, and i couldn't let stiff joints slow me down. so i started taking osteo bi-flex every day because it has joint shield... ...clinically shown to improve joint comfort within 7 days. osteo bi-flex - available at your local retailer and club.

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the day. partly cloudy. at pickup time we're at 84 degrees. it will be a bit lower as far as temperatures, but still feeling just as hot as yesterday. we'll talk about the return of monsoon moisture and what that means for our forecast coming up. looking at 580 drive-through dublin out of livermore. a lot more lights than a half hour ago. big changes. a crash but things have cleared from the roadway. crash means one thing and the traffic flow means something different. not a crash this morning, at least hopefully not. i'm bertha coombs from cnbc. wall street looking to open lower. we've got soft data out of the uk. stocks were mostly higher yesterday. dow and s&p 500 rising on the back of better-than-expected earnings from walmart and home depot. the dow, in fact, e tending its

winning streak to five days which is the longest stretch we've seen since may. we'll be getting a report on retail sales on a national level. big anticipation on the minutes from the last fed meeting last month. and we're getting earnings this morning from big retailers. target's earnings came in disappointing. that's causing a bit of a problem for the futures. lowe's and tj maxx also will be in focus. meta is rolling out new features for facebook and instra gam as it continues to try to compete with tiktok. instagram users can now post videos to facebook with the tap of a button. you can also create reels using instagram stories you've already shared. it is to help people create reels with little additional friction. meta says this may let creators grow their audience on the apps and monetize content on both

platforms which is where they want to keep them. meantime, the u.s. government is moving ahead with plans for new tax credits for people who buy electric vehicles. as far as the rollout of the new inflation reduction act, several websites are now up and running to help determine which vehicles qualify for the credits of up to $7,500. at least 21 models are eligible including the ford f-150 lightning, mustang mach e and bmw 3 series plug-in. i know what you're thinking, what about tesla? tesla vehicles have already used up their tax credits. it's for the other guys this time. >> there are a lot of them out there, especially in the bay area. >> thanks, bertha. new concerns in the fight against covid. still ahead on "today in the bay," two new variants gaining a lot more traction. local doctors explain how concerned we should be.

first, our back-to-school coverage continues this morning with our morning announcement from bay area school superintendent. as we start the school year, definitely see that safety is still a top priority. we have our masking policy in place. we're asking all students to wear masks. it's strongly recommended. we are following the state guidance. we're encouraging families to test their students before the start of the school year. it isn't required but we'll have tests available at the district office, as well as we put out communication with information about how to access testing before the start of the school year. go to the website to find out how to access testing before the school year begins. >> last week was the start of the school year for a lot of students. you can view all the superintendent messages on our website. go to nbcbayarea.com. go to nbcbayarea.com. it's 4:43 isorning.th m

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wednesday. look at this. diamonds in the sky, or on the bay bridge. >> want to wipe the lens a little better. >> i like the diamond effect. >> looking for some biteness out there. you'll find it. it's that sun. >> i think you'll be glowing

today, definitely. >> is that glowing or -- good way to put it. >> it's going to be very humid today, and that humidity also giving us some showers. take a look at what's going on on the radar right now. some people waking up hearing the light rain hitting the roof. it's right around sunnyvale, saratoga, cambria park. it's now falling in evergreen. this is going to be something we'll really watch as we see some of the moisture moving in. we're keeping an eye on it because it may also produce some lightning. so far it's been pretty quiet. we're getting much-needed rain, all of this thanks to the return on monsoon moisture. it will start to shift over to the north baby 3:00 to 4:00 this afternoon and then drier air will return for tomorrow. that will make it feel much nicer, even as the temperatures start dropping. as we go hour-by-hour, spotty

showers possible anywhere in the bay area today. hopefully we don't get lightning strikes because that could increase the fire danger. it's the first day of school for kids in san jose. waking up to wet roads in parts of the city. we'll see upper 60s for the walk to school or the drive. as you pick them up, it's going to be a muggy 86 degrees. once again it's going to feel very humid. headed for 88 degrees, 93 in dublin. the temperatures are slightly lower but it won't feel any cooler because of the high humidity we'll see for today. for tomorrow, mid 80s in napa. also up to about 83 degrees in fremont while we'll see mid 70s for san mateo, san francisco in the upper 60s. on friday, low 70s for san francisco. we're still in the mid 90s and even up to 100 in fairfield. look at brentwood and our ten-day temperatures where we'll still be reaching into the triple digits from today through the next few days for the end of

the weekend. seeing the high temperature reaching 90 degrees, much cooler and gradually heads back up. we take a look at our seven-day forecast for the inland areas, hot and humid for today. then the humidity drops tomorrow. the weekend is looking better, especially on sunday. and then for san francisco, 70 today but still watching out for the chance of fog and also a slight chance of rain. there's a lot going on, mike. you're looking for recovery after a crash. >> kari, i think we're all looking for recovery. there was an earlier crash and car fire reported just before 3:00 this morning. it wasn't until just before this show, 90 minutes later, that they finally cleared all lanes. another crash involving a motorcycle. no major injuries reported. mild slowing because there's still activity on the shoulder, causing a little bit of a spectacle for folks. more importantly, all the folks

backed up there have quickly made their way across stanley, coming down isabelle, through the dublin interchange and making their way into the castro valley without any major backups. niles still has the highway 84 closure. that should clear in the next ten minutes to the south bay. kari talking about light rain and damp roadways. be careful out there. fremont unified as well as san francisco, big school districts there all getting a lot more kids going to school today. watch the school zones. be especially careful. back over to you. okay. we want to talk about two new covid sub variants. they're gaining ground across the globe, both part of the omicron lineage. a lot of people want to know how concerned should we be. >> "today in the bay" spoke with two bay area health experts and we have this report. >> reporter: it might be too soon to call it good news. it looks like covid cases are slightly dropping across the board. you can see it in our case count and the latest wastewater data.

>> it seems cases for the first time in a couple weeks are starting the go down in the united states, but we're pretty much in the plateau phase. >> reporter: this trend could change in the next few weeks. infectius disease expert, dr. luis rubio, says it depends on two sub variants, ba.4.6 and 2a.75 or as some call it, centar russ. >> ba.4.6 is more detected in the united states compared to 2a.75. it's still in low proportion compared to the dominant variant right now which is ba.5 still. >> reporter: as of last week, ba.4.6 is only making up 1.8% of cases in california, and only a few infections due to centaur russ have been reported in l.a. and across the state. what's the concern? experts say it's how fast they're spreading. in fact, dr. dean winslow, a

professor of medicine at stanford, says the way centaur russ is moving reminds us of how fast delta hit us. >> it certainly dramatically increased its prevalence in india for really undetectable by in the middle of may to now it's making up as many as 40% of cases in india. >> reporter: experts believe there's still a lot to learn about both sub variants. preliminary information shows neither is causing severe disease. >> both of these variants are going to be more transmissible, particularly the centaur russ or 2.75 variant. i'm not too concerned that if individuals are fully immunized and boosted. >> reporter: steph nay mayor yoan for "today in the bay." most college students are savoring the last few days or weeks of summer vacation. two stanford students will be spending it in the war zone. the pair raised $100,000 for critical supplies in ukraine and

they are heading there this week. what they're going to do once they get there, they'll deliver three ambulances to health care workers there. one of the students originally from ukraine, the other is an army veteran, each using their backgrounds and connections to find what was needed and filling that void. >> front line city, roughly 25 to 50 from the front line. population is swelling with people who are injured from combat. mostly they said our medical system is buckling. we need support. >> brave men. their goal is to deliver those vehicles by ukraine's independence day which is august 24th and they'll share their journey on their instagram page. if you want to follow that, you can find it under project independence day. it's 4:53 right now. helping more people make it in the way. coming up next on "today in the bay," the new way one ride share company is helping deliver free food to those most in need. plans falling into place to provide families in need free

dental screenings for children on the peninsula. it involves a partnership with western dental and orthodontics and the health plan of san mateo. it will be offered for children of all ages with the emphasis on kindergartners and first graders. graders. it begins at 8:00

want more from your vitamins? get more with nature's bounty. from the first-ever triple action sleep supplement. to daily digestive support. to more wellness solutions every day. get more with nature's bounty. californians have a choice between two initiatives on sports betting. prop 27 generates hundreds of millions every year to permanently fund getting people off the streets a prop 26? not a dime to solve homelessness prop 27 has strong protections to prevent minors from betting. prop 26? no protections for minors.

prop 27 helps every tribe, including disadvantaged tribes. prop 26? nothing for disadvantaged tribes vote yes on 27. 4:56 this morning. there's a new partnership to help people struggling in the san francisco bay. >> a food bank is teaming up with doordash for a project called project dash. recipients can sign up on the food bank website.

organizers say they're seeing an increase in demand for virtual services with back to school front and center with skyrocketing inflation. >> what we've seen through the pandemic is the need has not gone down in recent months ch of course, people are experiencing the impacts of inflation. we're seeing the need sustained, dedicated to making sure the service is fulfilled. >> we spoke with one of the project dash drivers who says she feels lucky for the opportunity to give back to the community. >> i've done so many now, i've had so many regulars, like i was mentioning earlier, i had one lady who is disabled, and she cannot move. she's waiting every week for her order. >> the partnership has provided san franciscans more than 275,000 deliveries. if you'd like to volunteer and help, go to nbcbayarea.com. >> really nice. some of the elderly people,

their only connection. >> that's really important. 4:57. bay area real estate prices in some cases finally starting to decline. coming up next on "today in the bay," has it dropped enough for bay," has it dropped enough for first-time buyers to take ♪♪

hey dad, i'm almost out. i got you. any questions, chris? all good, thanks maura! there you go, one new inhaler! nice did you get my refill too? maybe [door bell] here you go, sir. you're a lifesaver. have a nice day. healthier is managing all your family's prescriptions in one app. cvs pharmacy. healthier happens together mornings are our time, and i couldn't let stiff joints slow me down. so i started taking osteo bi-flex every day because it has joint shield... ...clinically shown to improve joint comfort within 7 days. osteo bi-flex - available at your local retailer and club. i'm excited to be in class with all my friends, my teachers and all the people in school. >> right now at 5:00, back to

school. students across san francisco will soon be getting ready for their first day of school. will there be enough staff on hand to teach those students? the lingering concern this morning and the possible district work-around. starbucks employees at one bay area location vote to unionize. also, beware of another price hike. our "climate in crisis" impact on local crops and how you'll feel it at the grocery store when you check out. this is "today in the bay." good wednesday morning to you. thank you for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. more heat headed our way? >> more heat and some people waking up to rain this morning. the return on monsoon moisture brings in downpours as you wake up and get ready to head out. we're seeing this mostly in the south bay right around san jose. it comes through,