new details on that investigation. a devastating scene sunday night after a multi-car crash at harrison and sixth street in san francisco's south of market district. police say it started when a black tesla suv careened into a line of cars waiting at a traffic light. according to the office of the chief medical examiner, 27 year old mikhail romanenko and his dog were killed when that tesla suv crashed into his car. a passenger in his car was also sent to the hospital. today we're learning more about the man killed. he worked at venture capital firm kleiner perkins, where today a colleague tells us they called him misha and shared this statement. misha was a valued team member for his talent, dedication and collaborative spirit. he was not only a talented engineer, but also a wonderful person who will be greatly missed. police did arrest the driver of that tesla suv, 66 year old jia lin zheng, but for now, the district attorney says they're holding off on charges. at this point,

my office is not going to be able to file charges just yet. the da says there are two big reasons for the wait and see approach. according to the da, zheng told investigators he tried stopping, but the brakes in his tesla did not respond. verifying that will take time. that requires a significant vehicle inspection, generally done by the manufacturer of the vehicle. it requires accident reconstruction. we need to figure out how fast he was going. a download of the black box that's in the vehicle. and da jenkins says they're also waiting for toxicology reports to be completed. it's worth noting the initial charges filed against zheng by sfpd did not include any dui charge. san francisco police and california highway patrol are also trying to figure out if the black tesla involved in this crash is the same vehicle that was involved in a multi-vehicle crash coming off of the 280 freeway off ramp just moments before. according to the chp, a black tesla is also the suspect vehicle in a hit and run involving three cars

at the 280 offramp in san francisco. sergio quintana, nbc, bay area news. also tonight, the trump administration calls it common sense. critics call it an all out assault on diversity. the president has ordered all federal employees working in diversity, equity and inclusion roles to be placed on paid leave starting today. this is the beginning of president trump's promise to roll back dei initiatives. here's nbc's marianne favro. president trump continuing a record setting flurry of executive actions with a new series of orders that aim to end all federal diversity, equity and inclusion, or dei programs. president trump's press secretary caroline leavitt, telling nbc news in a statement, quote, president trump campaigned on a merit based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the color of their skin. for decades, the urban league has been working to improve the economic and social conditions of black americans. tonight,

that agency's leaders are calling the president's executive order a step backward. what they really seek to do is erase 70 years of civil rights progress that we've had in this nation. this memo, sent from the u.s. office of personnel management to the heads of all federal departments and agencies, outlines the president's orders. it says by tonight, a letter must be sent to employees in dei roles, informing them that they will be placed on paid administrative leave immediately. and by next friday, federal agencies must submit a written plan outlining how they plan to dismiss employees who are part of dei offices and programs. one question will it impact state universities that accept federal funding? we reached out to the university of california office of the president, which issued this statement saying while there is uncertainty and anxiety among many, uc will continue to

uphold and advocate for policies and programs that reflect our values. other critics of the president's actions fear that eliminating federal dei programs will have a ripple effect on private industry, including big tech. so here with the federal government eliminating dei efforts, we know that tech companies have already been moving in that direction, and we worry that this will give them further permission to do so. marianne favro nbc, bay area news. well, if you're an undocumented immigrant, we have your back. that's the message from political and community leaders in alameda county today. they gathered to say that they're standing united in the goal of protecting undocumented families from president trump's promise of mass deportations. as part of those efforts, state senator jesse aragon announced the state is allocating $50 million through emergency legislation to fund the legal fight against the president's executive orders. there will be a spotlight on california because of who we are and what

we stand for, but it's critical that we not shy away, but that we affirm our progressive values as a state. everyone, whether you are an immigrant, a resident, whether you are documented or not, that you are able to go to school safely, able to seek health care services, safely, able to go about your daily routine without fear. all of this unfolding in the days after mr. trump signed a series of executive orders cracking down on undocumented migrants. among the actions the president is taking in order to remove long standing limitations on where ice agents can make those arrests, which means churches schools will no longer be considered a no go zone for federal agents. oakland school leaders say they intend to remain a sanctuary zone for all of its students. and speaking of our students, the state superintendent of schools pledging to protect students from this immigration reform. in a statement, superintendent tony thurman said in part, quote, in line with federal and state law,

california schools can take actions to ensure that all students have access to school campuses and educational opportunities without fear of deportation. so what happens here when our state and local leaders try to block the president's policies? the feds are looking to prosecute those officials. last night, the department of justice emphasized its efforts to enact president trump's immigration policies. investigative reporter hilda gutierrez is in the newsroom with a closer look at that memo that was sent out. hilda, what does it say? the acting deputy attorney general issued a memo calling for a justice department attorneys to investigate and potentially prosecute state and city officials who refuse to enforce president donald trump's immigration policies. this is particularly concerning here in the bay area and throughout the state of california, where there was a sanctuary law passed eight years ago during president trump's first term. the three page memo underscores the

justice department's role in enforcing president trump's immigration agenda. doj officials are directed to prioritize identifying and prosecuting undocumented immigrants, along with any local officials who stand in the way of immigration authorities. civil rights advocacy groups see this as an apparent attack on the dozens of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across the country. the federal government cannot just sweep in and take all the power of local and state governments. aclu of northern california executive director abdi soltani says the federal government cannot prosecute someone for following a state law that limits cooperation between law enforcement and immigration agencies. california has passed necessary laws that limit the way that our schools, our police, our sheriffs interact with immigration enforcement. those limits are constitutional, they're lawful, and they're within the power of our

california public officials to implement. the memo also orders the fbi, dea, atf, the u.s. marshals and the bureau of prisons to review their files for noncitizens living illegally in the united states. the aclu filed more than 400 lawsuits against president trump's first administration and says it is better prepared this time around to tackle his policies. and so we will hold therump administration accountable when they violate people's rights. but we won't do that just by going to court. we're also going to do that by strengthening california's laws and protections for our rights under state law. state attorney general rob bonta today called the doj memo a scare tactic to intimidate sanctuary cities, and said his office is prepared to take legal action if the trump administration follows through on these threats. i'm investigative reporter hilda gutierrez, nbc bay area news. we investigate. all right. thank

you very much, hilda. the family of a woman pushed and killed at a bart station last year are now taking that agency to court. the family of corazon dandan filed a lawsuit against bart after her death at the powell street station in july of 2024. investigators say that a man pushed the 74 year old in front of a train. her surviving nephew and six siblings are accused of failing to address safety issues for years. they claim that suspect was known to bart police, but was still able to fare jump to get on that platform. i can't express the amount of hurt that my family has gone through through this loss. we are filing this complaint to make sure it doesn't happen again to anybody else. families seeking damages for dundon's death. we reached out to bart this morning for comment are still waiting to hear back. san jose police say they've now busted up a crime ring that may be responsible for nearly 70 burglaries across the south bay. nearly all of them targeting asian american

families. today, sjpd sharing photos. you see him here. some of the stolen valuables they've recovered. about 700 items were stolen from about 70 homes, worth a total of about a million bucks. police say homeowners willingness to share information was key to cracking this case. investigators from across the south bay worked together to connect dozens of burglaries over the past seven months and arrest three men. one victim says deeply relieved to get their stolen items back, but also says the trauma lingers. even today, i don't feel safe. we went out to dinner last friday for the first time. the whole time i was checking my camera. motion detected. who is there? the three suspects seen here have been charged with a total of 72 felony counts. the da's office is still considering adding hate crime enhancements because most of the burglaries involved asian american families. a mom in southern california is now ordered to pay millions of dollars for running a retail theft ring. michelle

mack began a five year sentence for the scheme earlier this month. she'll also have to pay $3 million in restitution to ulta, sephora and other retailers. part of it will be paid from the sale of her mansion in san diego county, which sold for more than $2 million. mack and her husband both pleaded guilty to recruiting women to steal makeup and other goods across california, including the bay area. all right, let's show you this. here we go again. fire another one. this is castaic fire. the latest wildfire sparked in southern california today being fueled again by the return of those dangerous santa ana winds. we're tracking the latest on this new fire. hopefully, i can make it. i'm not positive i can. it's a steep climb to recovery for so many businesses destroyed in those fires. and for those that survived, the struggles are just as deep. and i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. i'll have a look at some updated rain

chances this weekend, and i'll get you the latest on the fire conditions in southern california. i'll see you back here with my forecast in just a few minutes. trending on our website. sonoma state university cutting its entire athletic program, eliminating several majors as well. you can read about the financial cuts behind the sweeping move. check it out at nbcbayarea.com. click on sonoma state in that trending bar. we'll

strong santa ana winds, fueling a new wildfire down in southern california. it's called the hughes fire. it's forced a temporary closure on interstate five. this is north of l.a, near the grapevine. in fact, i-5 just reopened in the last 30 minutes. let's take a live look now at the castaic area. it's about ten miles from magic mountain theme park near santa clarita. and you can see the glaze, the just the blaze there and the glow of the

night sky down in southern california, about 31,000 people are under evacuation orders. this fire has nearly tripled in size in just the last four hours. look at this just from a couple of hours ago. and then just now, in nightfall, you can see the flames there. more than 9400 acres, almost 10,000 acres. it is 0% contained at this hour. now, all of this unfolding as los angeles county still works to recover from the deadly palisades village and eaton fires. now there's the potential of rain, creating another risk mudslides. floods. crews are now putting extra hours in to clear fallen trees and branches in neighborhoods that didn't go up in flames. you are looking at us from pasadena, adjacent to altadena, where the eaton fire burned. officials say the windstorm that sparked the fire blew up a year's worth of green waste overnight. it just seems never ending here. as the cleanup begins and continues, several businesses that were destroyed in the eaton fire are looking and so are

the ones that survived, many of them now left without power and customers. nbc's alex rozier reports from altadena. everywhere you turn, there's destruction. in altadena. the hardware store burned, state farm insurance burned down, the bike store omari kitchen, the restaurant burned down over there. thankfully, caroline, britain's czarkowski design studio is still standing. i'm shocked it made it. i'm shocked the side of the block made it. but with severe smoke damage, no power, internet or phone. her business remains closed. nothing is working. and then just the heavy smoke smell and you can see there's like a layer of ash on everything. a few doors down, debbie collins is in a similar predicament. i'm just trying to get open. so i feel like at some point there's going to be a massive amount of paperwork. for 34 years, she's been the only employee at miss dragon. print and copy. her shop also survived the fire, but she hasn't been able to reopen. i can't do anything here because i have no power. hopefully i can make it. i'm not positive i can because a

large percentage of my customers are all gone. including almost every church in altadena is gone. the small business administration is offering low interest loans to impacted businesses. they say owners won't have to make any payments for the first year. we have two different types of loans. the first one is for any physical damages they have. we also have the economic injury disaster loan, which is just to help those smaller businesses and nonprofit organizations. if they are suffering economically and they're having a hard time paying their water, electricity, payroll. but back at carr trophy design, caroline is dealing with more than just her damaged design studio. my house burned to the ground. she lost her home in the eaton fire, and her business has not yet reopened. she's leaning on the community for help. i've had a lot of customers reach out via email and text. oh my god, are you okay? as soon as you reopen, we're going to come support you. i pray that's true because we're

really going to need it. they will need that support. that was alex rozier. reporting from los angeles. let's go back to our live look now at the castaic fire. again, this started this morning and it is growing in size. this is near the grapevine and magic mountain. you can see the mountain there just on fire. the blaze and the glow from the flames. this is right off interstate five. there is some good news here. for now, no structures are threatened. but that, of course, could change based on the winds and the fire fight. jeff ranieri is talking about the wind direction and the wind speed down in those areas now, and you could just see how intense it is. i mean, with the darkness that glow, it's intense. yeah, it really is. it's one thing after another down there in southern california. and the wind forecast right now looks like two days of some extremely strong gusts. so as we bring it into that microclimate forecast, we'll put some map perspective on this. and you can see santa clarita right here los angeles well off to the south. and this

fire just to the north here of santa clarita. now it started at lake castaic. and it's really just burning around the perimeter of this. at the current moment, at least 9400 acres. and again, it started this morning. the way the winds are blowing at the current moment, it's pushing it. any kind of smoke thickest smoke off towards the west, just to the north of castaic. fillmore. also santa paula gusts right now up to about 50. gusts tomorrow to 70. red flag fire warnings until 10 p.m. on friday, where all of the mountains around los angeles and surrounding areas 40 to 75mph. so we're going to continue to have live reports on this and give you more updates down here in southern california. back here in the bay area, it was pretty calm, pretty quiet. we had temperatures here that were in the 60s to about 70 right now, 55 in walnut creek down to some chillier 40s later on tonight. and that's really what we're setting ourselves up for as we roll through tomorrow

morning, as more of those cold temperatures. so keep that jacket out. you've had the past couple of mornings. it's going to serve you well tomorrow morning down to 37 here in the tri-valley, 40 for the south bay, also coming in with some upper 30s across the east bay and the north bay. temperatures through tomorrow. we got some 70s in the forecast down here across the south bay. just really nice to get outside and enjoy it. 69 here in san jose, some low 70s. morgan hill and gilroy right back to oakland 68, hayward 67. double 60s over to antioch 64 here in half moon bay and 67 in redwood city, san francisco. some calm winds and 65 in downtown. and for the north bay, 69 in napa, 65 mill valley. now, there will be some colder temperatures by this weekend fromom this quick moving system dpping down from the north, so on and off wind 15 to about 30. we'll see a slight chance of a spotty shower, but saturday's forecast. just trace amounts and then as we head into sunday, here's the good part for southern california. we see

about a quarter inch of rainfall. and that will certainly help out on the fire danger right back here in that 7-day forecast weekend can't come soon enough. temperatures will be chillier 50s in san francisco and for the inland valleys, 57 saturday and 59 on sunday. so another night for the extra blankets. it's just been one of those those weeks with that, those cold temps cold at night and the nice and warm during the day. thanks, jeff. well, up next, san francisco, getting ready for one of the biggest celebrations of the year. the list of events announced for the lunar new yea, and the celebriti

the wise man has the power. recognize them? doobie brothers are one of the new inductees to the songwriters hall of fame. the band came out of san jose in the 1970s. lead singer tom johnson lived in naglee park neighborhood from 1969 to 1973. he wrote some of the band's biggest hits while studying at san jose state. songwriters with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction. 20 years after the first commercial release of a song. the 2020 class also includes funk legend george clinton, the beach boys, mike love, rodney jerkins, who wrote some of the r&b greatest hits. induction ceremony, by the way, is set for june 12th in new york city. more awards. think of this as the oscars for the

restaurant world, and the bay areahowed up big. we're talking about the james beard awards. there are 22 semifinalists from the bay area. the annual list broken down into 25 categories, most notably outstanding restaurateur, outstanding chef, and outstanding restaurant, all of which have bay area semifinalists. additionally, nine bay area chefs are in the running for best chef in california. the list is long. outstanding restaurant. among them benu in san francisco, is a semifinalist for king's. also in the city is up for best new restaurant. three categories that are new this year best new bar, professional and cocktail service, and outstanding professional in beverage service. all three of those categories have bay area semifinalists. also worth to mention outstanding bakery, quail and condor in healdsburg is a semifinalist as well as bay area semifinalist for outstanding pastry chef or baker. a lot of bay area love here. the winners will be announced in june. okay, one of the biggest lunar new year celebrations in the world is set

to kick off in san francisco next week. organizers today announced the full lineup for the events for the month long lunar new year celebration. opening ceremony in just one week away. highlight is the annual, of course, new year parade that's happening february 15th, one day before the nba all star game at chase center. sfpd says it's increasing patrols during what's expected to be a very, very busy weekend in the city. we will have this normal staffing, but obviously because of so many events happening in the city, basically we'll be calling every single officer for the most part will be working that day. also announced today the grand marshals for the parade. actress joan chen and dancing with the stars judge kari ann inaba. also, daniel lurie, the new mayor of san francisco, will also be an honorary grand marshal. up next, people are trying to cash in on the tiktok ban. the new ebay listings for phones pete g. writes, "my tween wants a new phone. how do i not break the bank?" we got you, pete.

xfinity mobile was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. so you get high speeds for low prices. better than getting low speeds for high prices. right, bruce? -jealous? yeah, look at that. -honestly. someone get a helmet on this guy. xfinity internet customers, get a free unlimited line for a year when you buy one unlimited line.

i guess what i'm looking for from you is, i mean, i know how the fire affected me, and there's always a constant fear that who's to say something like that won't happen again? that's fair. we committed to underground, 10,000 miles of electric line. you look back at where we were 10 years ago and we are in a completely different place today, and it's because of how we need to care for our communities and our customers. i hope that's true. [joe] that's my commitment. [ambient noise]

with users. then it was back less than 15 hours later. however, if you don't already have it on your phone, you're out of luck for now. it still isn't available on either the app or google app stores, so of course people are turning in to a money making opportunity. cell phones that already have tiktok app installed are now being sold for thousands of dollars online listing on ebay, going up to 50 grand for phones with the coveted app. all right, let's go back out live to that new fire we're covering down in southern california. this is near magic

mountain and the grapevine. in fact, the grapevine was closed for several hours, but it just reopened within the last hour. lester holt is going to join us next. update us from the fire lines. then we again will join you at seven with more updates from la. we'll also be joined by a battalion chief from cal fire. tonight, two tonight, two major stories as we come on the air. the explosive new wildfire forcing evacuations in southern california. and the dangerous deep freeze across the south. first that new inferno in los angeles county rapidly spreading to more than 5,000 acres in just over two hours. the race to escape. more than 30,000 under evacuation orders or warnings. the fast-moving flames threatening homes, buildings, even schools. red flag warnings in effect. our team in the fire zone. also tonight the deadly once-in-a-lifetime winter storm paralyzing the south. in atlanta vehicles