jolene kent, nbc news, san francisco. >> this is -- hold on. >> that made me so hungry.w almost over? >> this is the exact innovation we like, addressing a problem. the meat industry has too much of a strain on the environment. people like me who don't like so much meat but a veggie burger tastes like a hockey puck, amazing. the question is, is it scaleable. san francisco, i love it, it's hip, it's amazing. >> i hear a place in new york has it. you and i come from a place where we think these things aren't necessarily scaleable, but i remember meeting travis from uber years ago thinking this is quaint. i don't really get how it's going to work. uber, ebay, any number of apps you use on your phones, i would say if everybody who thinks that it's that good, if it's that good, maybe it's going to work. >> they all start with an idea. >> fundamentally i'll not really taking advice from you or jolene kent about food. you guys are 98 pounds soaking weight. >> still more vels"velshi & ruh to come. we've been hearing a lot about states and cities increasing minimum wages. did you

jolene kent shows us how it works and what to watch out for. >> reporter: as americans get smarter about robo call fraud and phoney e-mails. their game. instead of phishing e-mails they're sending texts to your phone in an increasingly popular scam called smooshing. you'll actively respond to it and they've got you. >> reporter: the better business bureau reports thousands of dollars lost from just one text. these messages try to grab your attention, alleging your bank account has been compromised like this one claiming to show a suspicious withdraw from an atm. >> they usually include a link or phone number urging you to click or call. if you do, hackers could steal your personal information or infect your phone with malware. >> you as a consumer are looking at the website on a very tiny screen as well as the notification. that makes it harder to notice the cues that we usually use to tell apart a fraudulent site from a real one. >> reporter: there's no foolproof way to block smishing residents. do not the rely, call black or call a verified number. always delete suspicious text and nev

that was jolene kent reporting. we'll be right back after this. video sng >>> it's kind of hard to make out there for a second, but as the camera stead deiesteadies, elephants out in the water. this is the sri lanka navy rescuing two elephants in the sea there. it shows rescue crews pulling the animals from the deeper part of the water and they can take it from there, walking up on the beach after they were swept up in the water. the navy says both animals are now safe. this happened on sunday morning. it already has over 500,000 views on youtube. that is way better than a cat video, right? you can see that anywhere. >> i hear that happens quite often with elephants, they have to go out there and rescue them. wow. >> are they going for a drink? i have no idea. >>> we're hitting a nice patch of air where temperatures are coming back down. >> it will be nice and cool the next few days. san francisco will heat up as we head toward the weekend. 70s there while inland areas will be hitting the upper 90s. enjoy this little break we have now and i think

nbc news reporter jolene kent explains from california. >> reporter: as the sun rises, the harvest is set to begin. >> we have other ranches that we've had for, oh, 90 years. >> reporter: this year his 1,000 acres of balk choi, kale and broccoli are not guaranteed to make it to your dinner table. >> over the last couple of years, we haven't been able to harvest between 15% and 20% of our crop. >> reporter: every week on monday mornings, he worries if he'll receive enough workers to help pick the fields. he's not alone. farmers are struggling to find workers at harvest time. >> this year it really hit hard. on a daily basis it could mean in a harvest crew of 16 people, i may get all 16, i may get 9 or i may get anything in between. you never know how many people are going to show up to work. >> reporter: the labor shortage is so severe that farmers have no choice but to leave these fields unharvested. in fact this crop of bok choi was supposed to be picked a week ago. 68% of u.s. farm workers were born in mexico and almost half of those are not authorized to work in the country. resear

jolene kent, nbc news, los angeles. >>> right now, a group of teenagers from burundi is still missing. they vanished on tuesday. police say two teens from the group were spotted crossing the canadian border. the teams stayed at a residents hall at trinity washington university and left their room keys behind, indicating they planned to leave on their own. now the teens have one year visas so they may not be doing anything illegal by not returning to burundi at this point. the state department issued a new warning against travel to the east african country just last month. it was due to political tension and sporadic violence throughout the country, including frequent gunfire and grenade attacks by armed groups. a leader in the burundiian community in the u.s. thinks the teens may be trying to seek asylum. >> let's hope they're okay. >>> amazon has set its sights on selling you everything from electronics to groceries and wants to use drones to deliver it. >> but the company's latest move could be the most surprising one yet. nbc's jolene kent has the latest. >> reporter: sears, the ic

that's the secret. >> jolene kent, nbc news, san francisco. >> 9:57. is out and it's a good day to go out to maybe national harbor, and go eat outside. we will look at how soon rain will be back in the week ahead. >> reporter: honors for a beloved swim coach 15 years after her fios is not cable. we're a 100% fiber optic network. and with the new fios gigabit connection... you get our fastest... internet ever. with download speeds up to 940 megs - 20 times faster than most people have. switch to fios gigabit connection with tv and phone for $79.99 a month online for the first year. plus hbo for one year and multi-room dvr service for two years, all with a two-year agreement. and switching has never been easier. get out of your contract with up to a $500 credit to help cover your early termination fee. go to fiosgigabit.com >>> 10:00. now on "news4 today," a mother and daughter dead in a bizarre murder isra murder/suicide. what police ar

that was jolene kent reporting. if you're thinking about trying out prime day, here's some tips. first, the big deals coming up are already being advertised on amazon so you get a sense whether it's worth your while. second, just use click and buy. they call that impulse shopping. also compare shop to make sure you're really getting the best price. >>> a special tribute to a surfing legend. >> take a look at surfers paddling out to the ocean to honor surf pioneer jack o'neal. he died last month at the age of 94, and all those people climbing the rocks at pleasure point and dipping into the water. o'neal first arrived in the bay waters in the early '50s. he developed a wet suit that allowed people to stay in the water for a longer period of time and he also developed a global branch. >>> don't forget the wet suit, because it will still be very cool along the coast. we'll have some breezes while the inland areas will be heating up into the 80s and 90s over the next few days. we are just now starting to see a little bit of some sun now as we get a look at half moon bay from our weat

here's nbc's jolene kent. >> reporter: amazon is hiring.he online shopping giant just announced a massive job fair to put 50,000 new workers in permanent jobs in the u.s. to find them, amazon will host its first-ever jobs day next wednesday at 10 locations across the country stretching from kent, washington, to chattanooga, tennessee. it's the company's national effort to speed up its rapidly growing network of warehouses known as fulfillment centers that pick, package, and ship orders to your door. the jobs will include full and part-time positions, all part of amazon's plan to hire 130,000 workers through 2018. the boom in fulfillment center hiring can also mean major economic growth for the small towns where amazon has set up shop. just ask the mayor of tracee, california, robert rickman. >> it's been huge. and in fact, since 2014, we have tt in the last quarter alone, our sales tax revenue has went up 35%. >> reporter: you're making 35% more? >> correct. >> reporter: this man opened a restaurant to satisfy the growing population. >> we'

for today, jolene kent, nbc news, san francisco. >>> we were born into hip hop royalty. >> this family, family first. >> you got to pay the consequence. >> you also don't want to just bring somebody back around that you're not zhuzh sure is a snak not. >> some familiar faces are hitting the small screen. we are talking about the cast of "growing up hip hop." sons and daughters of hip hop royalty are letting viewers along for the ride as they continue to carve their own path. joining us this morning and angela and havevanessa simmons. many people who watch "run's house" heard about pastry. can you tell us a little bit about your individual fashion lines and how those are going. >> i just launched a new line in march called bad butterfly and it's definitely a little bit more mature than pastry was. geared toward empowering women. >> what do you think t l >> well, these are a pair of pants from my collection, and basically, it's just all about making women feel powerful. not like just pretty but powerful. so garments are meant to make women feel powerful. >> and what made you come on boar

jolene kent explains what you should look out for. >> reporter: as americans get smarter about robo callny e-mails, cybercriminals are stepping up their game to get your personal information. instead of phishing e-mails they're sending sms texts to your mobile phone in a scam called smushing. >> you say oh, no and you respond to it and then they've got you. >> the better business bureau says consumers report thousands of dollars lost from one text. these messages try to grab your attention. alleging your bank account has been compromised like this one, claiming to show a suspicious withdrawal from an atm. these messages usually include a link orphone number urging you to click or call. if you do, hackers could steal your personal information or infect your phone with malware. >> you as a consumer are looking at the website on a very tiny screen as well as the notification. that makes it harder to notice the cues we usually use to tell apart a fraudulent site. >> reporter: there's no full way to block these messages, security specialists recommend do not replay or click on the link. alway

jolene kent, new york. >>> we just saw the power of social influencers. we wanted to get some best practices on working with them as a brand. mom influencer deva dell porto what laborious viral videos have amassed more than 100 million views. we recently attended to blog her conference in orlando and we sat down with her to get her top tips on how to get the most out of influencers like her. >> i think a group would hire an influencer because our followers and fans really trust us. there's data that they trust influencers, 92% of consumers trust flurrers like a friend. so if you're recommend ago brand to them, they're going to really listen to you because they are like my friends. i have lots and lots of online friends. and you're talking about something specific. so for you, it's whitmaomen, ri? but for our influencers, it might be cool 18-year-old kids. >> exactly. as a brand, with you need to find the influence hadder that's the right fit for you. for me, if you want a product out for moms, come to me. if you want something for auto a cool 18-year-old,

jolene kent has more. >> reporter: the battle to claim the throne is about to begin. season. for millions of fans, winter is coming this weekend. everyone anticipating the fate of series hero john snow. from los angeles to chicago to miami, watch parties are set for fans to catch one of television's biggest hits. >> i don't know if i could get more excited for sunday. >> we're going to have a whole bunch of people come over and have a great time. >> reporter: "game of thrones" is based on the popular books by george r.r. martin and is won over by fans and critics. >> by every measure, the show is the most powerful show on 25. it has over 24 million viewers which for a paid subscription service is insane. >> reporter: it's the most honored scripted series in emmy history with 38 wins. and it's one of the most expensive shows ever produced at an average cost of $10 million per episode last sea >> "game of thrones" now feels like a movie every week. the length of the episode, the production budget, it's by far the most expensive show on television. >> reporter: but for t

for today, jolene kent, nbc news, san francisco. >> so the toys listen even when the kids don't, right, kari? >> i guess we stick to the legos and dumb toys. >> you can develop a stockpile of toys and you just can't get rid of them. they're there with you forever. >> it feels like that sometimes. we'll ask your mom. i bet she still has some of your toys. >> she still has my baseball cards. i'm hoping they'll be worth something someday. kari, this weather is a godsend. >> yes, and i hope we can take advantage of the cooler temperatures because it will be heating up on the weekend. it's 76 degrees right now in the tri-valley with some sunshine. it's 65 degrees in the east bay, and the north bay now at 72 degrees with some sunshine. we're headed into the low to mid-80s today for the south bay but upper 80s for gilroy today. it's going to be very warm. now the 7-day forecast is up at the bottom of the screen. you'll want to check it out as our temperatures heat up, but today we're up to 74 in hayward and oakland. san mateo 60 degrees in ingleside. sonoma 86 degrees. as we look to the tempe

not only could this help you save, as nbc's jolene kent reports, it could lead to the perfect rental too. >> reporter: the race to help you plan the perfect vacation is heating up. big names you know like expedia's home away and priceline's booking.com are trying to take a bite out of blew away the existing competition. now companies that originally dominated hotel bookings are jumping into the home rental business to satisfy the rapidly changing tastes of travelers. vacation home rentals are exploding, growing faster than hotels. rentals shot up 11% last year. airbnb is even attracting celebrity customers. obedien beyonce stayed in this villa. even the kardashians stayed in this new york penthouse that can go for a cool $10,000 a night. while airbnb boasts 3 million listings, booking.com says they now have 7 million and home away offers more than 2 million choices. to fend off the growing competition, airbnb is rolling out new unique traveling experiences targeted at millennials beyond just a roof over their head. >> that's where we are going and end to end travel platform where you

nbc business correspondent jolene kent is at the tesla factory in fremont, california.i, good morning. >> reporter: guys, good morning. this is it. the much-anticipated tesla model 3. we got to take it for a test drive fresh off of the factory lines. it's got a pretty good zip to it, and it's also elon musk's biggest gamble yet. at last, after more than a year of hype and anticipation, the wait is over. tesla's model 3 electric sedan is here. >> let's head over to some cars. the first production cars -- >> reporter: 30 tesla employees got the first vehicles that start at $35,000 for the basic model. they'll drive up to 220 miles after just one charge. the higher end, $44,000 edition, will go up to 310 miles per charge. >> and be about roughly five seconds, zero to 60, 1 140-mile-an-hour top speed. >> reporter: elon musk 11 years ago declared he wanted to build a sports car and used that income to build an affordable car. >> the tesla model 3 has the potential to be as game-changing as the introduction of the iphone. >> reporter: musk wants the price point to appeal to t

fair next week to fill tens of thousands of positions, and here is nbc's business correspondent jolene kent000 new workers are being sought in the u.s. to find them amazon will host its first ever jobs day next wednesday at ten locations across the country. stretching from kent, washington, to chattanooga, tennessee. it's the company's national effort to speed up its rapidly growing network of warehouses, known as fulfillment centers, that pick, package, and ship orders to your door. it's part of the plan to hire 130,000 workers by the end of 2018. it could mean economic growth for the small towns where amazon has set up shop. just ask the mayor of tracy, california, robert rickman. >> since 2014 we have added jobs, and in the last quarter alone our revenue went up 35%. >> you are making 35% more? >> correct. >> 29-year-old kevin gipple saw the dollars flowing in and opened a restaurant to satisfy the growing population. >> we've seen a lot of young early 20s that are just getting started getting their first jobs in distribution and fulfillment, and then a lot of families. >> amazon's hirin

here is jolene kent. >> i promise not to tell anyone. >> reporter: the coolest smart toys are coming> reporter: as more kids' toys are connected to the internet. >> i know annie likes tickle time. >> reporter: concern is growing they can be a risk to your child's safety. it's prompted the fbi to issue a rare public safety announcement to parents this week. stating, the fbi encourages consumers to consider cyber security prior to introducing smart, interactive, internet-connected toys into their homes or trusted environments. the agency points out that the innocent conversations your child may have with a smart toy could reveal a large amount of personal information like their name, school, location, likes and dislikes. endangering their privacy and physical safety. how? smart toys are often fitted with microphones, cameras, data storage, speak recognition and gps capabilities and toys connected to apps sometimes ask for a child's photo, which could be used to garner trust from a child and increase their risk of exploitation. in row cent months, smart toys have come under fire for all