our political analyst, larry gerston, joins us to take a closer look at what we should and should not expect when reviewing political presidential polls. that's coming up in just a half hour at 530. well, the house plans to vote this week on a three month funding bill as the clock ticks toward a government shutdown again. house speaker mike johnson announced a new temporary funding proposal yesterday. however, it goes against former president trump's wishes. the new bill would fund the government through december 20th, and it removes any part of the save act. that's a trump backed election security proposal that would require people to show proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. the house failed last week to pass a six month gop funding plan that had the save act attached. if both sides can't reach a deal, the government will run out of money next friday at midnight. well, as you heard, alice barr just mentioned the middle east is in dire situation. israeli air strikes killed nearly 500 people in lebanon today, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 israel-hezbollah war.

well, joining us now is our political analyst, larry gerston. regardless of politics, politics here, how concerning is this that this is happening to one of our presidential candidates twice now in a couple of months? listen, it's the only the second time it's happened, by the way. gerald ford, their attempts twice on him. but here we've got a very volatile nation. the electorate extremely divided. and you've got these kinds of things happening. all it does is send people into a tizzy about what might be next. it's concerning for both sides here. the recent attempts to assassinate trump with the semiautomatic assault weapons here have brought back calls for the federal assault weapons ban. we had that ban in place, thanks in part to the late senator feinstein, for, what, 1995 to 2005? explain what did that ban do in layman's terms here? this was important, and it happened after a series of these kinds of attacks. and congress actually acted. they banned the manufacture, the transfer and the and the possession of assault weapons. that was the fir

so joining us now is our political analyst larry gerston. larry, we hear a lot about unions, organized labor and the democrats. i'm wondering, is this all just hype or does this ring true? both are true. how's that? look, unions used to have a much bigger role in the democratic party. i mean, really, they were much more important. but the number of workers in unions has gone down, and today, the national average is only 10%. 10% of the workforce is union, but it's 13% in pennsylvania, it's 13% also in michigan. and you say, well, 10%, 13%. remember how close those races were, audrey and you know, that 3% could make the difference. hence you've got these guys today out there in pennsylvania and in michigan, two of the most important blue collar organized labor states. so are you saying the union members are not solidly democratic? or are they? well, look, there are part there's no doubt about it. and both candidates, democrats and republicans, whoever they are, battle for that union vote. there's no question that's important. but but the diff

nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston is here. hi, larry. good morning. great to see you, as always. can you give us an explanation of truly like do these polls show us what to expect? do they show us not you know what not to expect. where should we begin? and there's so many. yeah, right. every day there's another one. and we really have to get our heads together on this, because there's good ones and bad ones where we should begin. look, polls are snapshots in time. that's all they are. they're asking you how you feel about whatever it is. and when the poll comes out that reflects what you said at that time. polls are also have margins of error. and when we say margins of error, that could be 4 or 5% off one way or the other. typical sometimes more. and so when you see that in a poll, they say, well, we're off. we could be off three, 4 or 5%. you got to realize, especially in a close one, that may not be as much as you think. and finally, kira, some polls are better than others simply because of the people they choose to interview. for example, of regul

larry gerston talks about the impact this will have on the election. and a couple of bay area airports are getting millions of dollars. what the money will go toward and the amount each airport will see. the news at 530 starts right now. thanks for joining us on this monday i'm janelle wang. and i'm raj mathai. more turmoil in san mateo county. the sheriff's chief of staff is facing new criticism from the union today. the union says its members began taking a so-called no confidence vote. so what's exactly the problem? and how is the sheriff responding? here's nbc's ian cull. unions representing deputies and sergeants in san mateo county say they're upset over new policies implemented without their input. policies they claim were put in place by the sheriff's chief of staff, victor j. one of them has increased the number of deputies that must be working in the jail. the union says that's led to fewer deputies patrolling the streets. the sergeants that are staffing patrol can't staff their patrol teams because they're losing bodies to the jail. so there

our political analyst larry gerston talks about the impact this will have on the election. couple of bay area airports are getting millions of dollars. what the money will go toward and the amount each airport will see. the news at 530 starts right now. thanks for joining us on this monday i'm janelle wang. and i'm raj mathai. more turmoil in san mateo county. the sheriff's chief of staff is facing new criticism from the union today. the union says its members began taking a so-called no confidence vote. so what's exactly the problem? and how is the sheriff responding? here's nbc's ian cull. unions representing deputies and sergeants in san mateo county say they're upset over new policies implemented without their input. policies they claim were put in place by the sheriff's chief of staff, victor j. one of them has increased the number of deputies that must be working in the jail. the union says that's

raj joining us now is our political analyst, larry gerston. larry, my first question for you is why do we actually still rely on those polls? and are they even helpful? you're not the only one asking that question, audrey. everybody asks that question, yet we all read them. we all read them. always. look they tell us something. they tell us something about how people are feeling about each candidate. for example. they also tell us about issues. what issues are hot? what issues are cold? which candidates do well or worse? you heard raj talking about that. just a couple of minutes ago. so they do things for us. they help us understand. they help the candidates understand what's going on too. but we pay sometimes too much attention. and you always have to remember the margin of error, right? margin of error is critical for sure. so, larry, you know, raj just showed us the battleground states. we always talk about, you know, arizona north carolina. but but how about the other states. don't those states matter as well? first of all, let's remember

nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston joins us. hi, larry, as always, great to see you. explain this approach? i can, and you know what's interesting by the way, just following up what you said, kara, 70% of republicans today believe that the election was stolen, 70%. okay. we're talking about, you know, a pretty alienated group of people. now, not all of these guys are trying to interrupt the election. the 2024 election. but there is a small number of republicans who think if they can control who votes ahead of time, it won't really matter when the election results come out because they'll win. that's different than the last time when so many tried to disrupt the outcome by counting the votes, and they're at it. so if they're trying to essentially stop harris supporters from voting, how are they doing that and where are they doing that? pretty much. and you always look to the battleground states, the battleground states, those seven states that are so important because really all the other decisions have been made in most states. one sided, one way or the other. and in

i spoke yesterday with nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston.coming tuesday, former president donald trump and vice president kamala harris will square off in their first and perhaps only presidential debate in the wake of the earlier debate that seemed to seal the fate of president biden's reelection bid. this debate looms large. nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston is here. hi, larry, as always, great to see you. who do you think needs this debate more? harris or trump? first of all, can you believe it's finally here? we've been talking about it for months and by golly, it's around the corner. i tell you something, kyra. they both need this debate, and i'll tell you why. first of all, trump needs to sag to shore up his sagging position. you know, look at all the polls. and what you see is they've reversed. harris has come out strong. she hasn't stopped. and his polls show him. show him sagging. harris has to continue the first shot. they really had was that the democratic convention? that's fine. 29 million people. but this debate is g

nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston is here with his thoughts. hi larry.o see you this morning. now that we know this likely will be the only debate between harris and trump, how important was it in retrospect? good morning. kira. it was very important. we had about 70 million people watching that debate that was much larger than the 51 million that watched the earlier debate between president biden and former president trump. 70 million. the only time, as you said. and so really, this was the opportunity the best opportunity yet for a debate. the vice president to go ahead and make her point for vice president harris to say, here's who i am, here's what i'm about. please consider me as your candidate. and of course, we saw a rather, well, rousing event. i guess that's one way we could have put it. you know, of course, as with anything, it depends where you look. but many post-debate polls had harris winning the debate. for one, the reuters ipsos poll says harris was at 47% to trump's 42%. how do you think that worked out? well, right now that's the first

nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston also considers silicon valley reliably blue, but with pockets of republican support that didn't exist before this election. liberal silicon valley. yeah, you see some people shaking the trees differently than we've seen in the past, but we're seeing that a lot. we're seeing that a lot in the country that that's what's one of the things that makes this election. so difficult to predict. the movements that are going back and forth in ways that we haven't seen in the past between various groups. in san jose, emma goss, nbc, bay area news. a major san francisco commuter train will return to service this weekend after a five year hiatus. the l taraval muni metro line runs underground from the embarcadero through the twin peaks tunnel and then surfaces on taraval street and ends at the san francisco zoo. the train has been out of service since 2019, as the city worked to repair the line. crews replaced two miles of track. the overhead wires that powered this train and made several improvements to the street. city leaders say the project was the first

political analyst larry gerston says how the public viewed the debate could be a key to how trump's future fundraising goes, especially as he points out harris seems to be getting a boost from the early polls. does it represent a turning point and thereby make it more difficult for trump to raise funds, or will people that he's going to still consider him in the game? it's really a pivotal moment. we all looked at that debate as potentially pivotal, and judging from the way it went, it looks like it's even more than that. as we watch the polls roll out over the next couple of days. donald trump will not be staying in the bay area long. he has a rally scheduled friday evening in las vegas and another one the next day in arizona. in palo alto, robert honda, nbc, bay area news. okay. thank you robert. meanwhile, vice president harris is on the campaign trail in north carolina. she held rallies in charlotte and greensboro today. harris campaign says it is her ninth trip to the state this year. the vice president told the crowd that no matter what mr. trump says, she still wants to have another

our political analyst, larry gerston, is here to discuss why their vote will be so important.s november. the news at 530 starts right now. thanks for joining us. i'm audrey asistio and i'm raj mathai. it's one of the homes of the largest concentrations of illegal marijuana. grow homes in the entire state. that's what investigators are saying tonight about antioch. the california department of cannabis control raided more than 60 homes there that have been converted into weed cultivation sites. nbc bay area's jodi hernandez is tracking the story. this looks like a normal, middle class suburban neighborhood, but investigators say until recently, three houses on this very block were operating as illegal marijuana grows in disguise. this is what officers

political analyst larry gerston says how the public viewed the debate could be a key to how trump's future fundraising goes, especially as he points out harris seems to be getting a boost from the early polls. nobody likes to waste money. and so the question over the weekend really, once the rest of these polls come in, is, is does it represent a turning point and thereby make it more difficult for trump to raise funds or will people that he's going to still consider him in the game? it's really a pivotal moment. donald trump will not be staying in the bay area long. he has a rally scheduled friday evening in las vegas, and another one the next day in arizona. in palo alto, robert honda, nbc, bay area news. well, hoping to build off momentum from the debate, vice president harris is focused on north carolina. and as you just heard from robert, there, former president trump heads west to caught voters in arizona. both teams are still trying to sway undecided voters as questions grow over the impact of unfounded conspiracy theories. the former president floated during the debate. nbc's alice

political analyst larry gerston says trump needs the money he raises here to fund spending in other statesyou can bet that the money he raises here, he's going to take to those swing states as fast as possible. his visit to the bay area, coming at a pivotal time. the question over the weekend really, once the rest of these polls come in, is, is does it represent a turning point and thereby make it more difficult for trump to raise funds? meanwhile, according to the san mateo county republican party, a rally is scheduled at el camino park in palo alto. they're reportedly trying to welcome the former president as he heads to the fundraiser. but while some may be welcoming him in woodside, others not so much. donald trump, you know, i'm expecting a lot of support in this area, but i think there's equally a lot of people who are pro harris and so i'm not surprised that he's in this are, but hopeful that we'll continue to raise money for kamala harris. i'm not a supporter, but hey, it's a free country so he can go where he wants. for amit singh, what he's concerned about is the traffic. he rece

candidates hoping to sway voters in the swing states, we asked nbc bay area political analyst larry gerstone would score this 90 minute battle, and he used a boxing analogy. you had two different kinds of boxers. you had one who was a street fighter out there, and he was throwing everything he could, unusual things, different punches, hoping something's going to stick. and he had a professional boxer who was strategic and landed her punches, not nearly as many as he threw, but landed them much more successfully. this election could hinge on the winner of this debate because as of right now, there are no more debates scheduled in san francisco, terry mcsweeney nbc, bay area news now election day less than two months away. you can stay with us for our latest on air and online all about the election. tonight's debate is the top story on our website, so you can go to nbc bay.com if you want to see more analysis, including the five key takeaways from philadelphia. our other headlines this evening breaking news in southern california. take a look here. alarming images coming out of the angeles na

nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston is going to help us take a deep dive to the key topics aheadresident harris and former president trump just hours away from their first presidential debate with the election now a dead heat. we're live in philadelphia for the high-stakes showdown. >>> plus, change of venue. the closely watched idaho murderers trial moving to a new location. >> this is the most difficult decision i have ever had to make. >> what it means for the defense and the victims' families, coming up. >>> then, touching tribute. nhl star johnny gaudreau's life reveals she is pregnant during the emotional memorial for him and his brother. >> our third baby, a total surprise, but, again, john was beaming and so excited. >> bringing new heartbreak and hope to their families and friends. the details straight ahead. >>> all that, plus apple goes a.i. >> the first iphone designed from the ground-up for apple intelligence. >>> beyoncÉ gets snubbed. ♪ this is ain't texas ♪ >>> and seacrest takes his first spin. >> welcome to "wheel of fortune." >> today, tuesday, september 10th, 2

here's political analyst larry gerston. can bet that the money he raises here, he's going to take to those swing states as fast as possible. the question over the weekend, really, once the rest of these polls come in, is, is does it represent a turning point and thereby make it more difficult for trump to raise funds? donald trump, you know, i'm expecting a lot of support in this area, but i think there's equally a lot of people who are pro harris. and so i'm not surprised that he's in this area, but hopeful that we'll continue to raise money for kamala harris. i'm not a supporter, but hey, it's a free country so he can go where he wants. according to the san mateo county republican party, there's a rally scheduled at el camino park in palo alto later this morning to welcome the former president as he heads to this fundraiser. the president expected to be out later this afternoon for a fundraiser tonight in las vegas. vice president kamala harris, she was on the campaign trail in north carolina last night. you could hear th

let's bring in larry gerston, our nbc bay political analyst, and melinda jackson, a professor of politics at san jose state. thank you for being with us. for the last 24 hours, the harris campaign has been teeing up this concept that they wanted her to appear presidential and in charge and responsible during this debate, and that they were going to do everything they could to get under donald trump's skin. do you think that harris accomplished that this evening? were you asking jessica. larry. okay she sure did. there's no question about that. you know, you use the word sparring a couple of minutes ago, and it was just that. but but you had two different kinds of boxers. you had one who was a street fighter out there, and he was throwing everything he could. unusual things, different punches, hoping something is going to stick. and he had a professional boxer who was strategic and landed her punches. not nearly as many as he threw, but landed them much more successfully. and i think that's the way this thing ends. i mean, you had somebody who was very poised and willing to just work throu