robert handa is live with a new timeline on capping this leak. we heard midnight, that was yesterday and now we are at 5:00 p.m. today. what's happening robert? >> reporter: well, it could be any time. they're not pinpointing an exact hour. they're emphasizing this is a complicated repair, one line was severed but it was connected to five other ones. park avenue are closed off completely. even with this wind, we can smell a little bit of gas in the air, just enough from anyone going home. >> at noon today, some of the people evacuated by this gas leak, 24 hours ago began returning, expecting they would be allowed to get back into their homes and businesses. it is still not safe to go home. >> you can smell it. it is so, so strong. the smell of gas is really strong. >> reporter: the owner of hill's flowers on race street closing down for two days is devastating. >> our shop is kind of a small business. we survived through covid and now just another couple of days, i don't know how we can deal with this. it is going to be a big deal for us. >> repor

robert handa has the exclusive interview for us with one of the most notable health officers in the entire country, dr. cody of santa clara county. >> reporter: are the precautions that we've come to accept as standard for what we should do during this time, are they outdated? are we, for example, six feet is the distancing. are those still apropos or are they outdated given new circumstances? >> i think what's important to remember is that this is an airborne virus. it spreads through the air. the delta variant spreads more easily than the previous variants that were circulating. so it's important to remember that layers of prevention are critical. one layer, vaccination, another layer, masking, particularly when indoors and another layer, sort of de-densefying, right? i am no longer indoor dining. i am no longer going to go to a place, even outdoors, where there's a lot of people mushed together. because it changes the probability. so all those layers remain very important in preventing spread. >> what should families who have children who are not old enough yet to get vaccinated, what s

in santa clara, robert handa, nbc bay area news. >>> in other news, the dixie fire continues to rage through the town of greenville. the forest service said it took less than three hours to tear through the town. the town dated back to the gold rush era. they were trying to protect the buildings from the advancing flames. >> it like a war zone out of one of, you know, action movies that you see, apocalyptic movies. >> this fire is moving so fast and so hot, they can't predict where it is going to go. >> the firesies is the largest in california this year and the sixth largest on record in the state. >>> i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri, and there is a chance that we will have the smoke touching us tomorrow. and we will have a full forecast coming. >>> and a family is calling for peace after a 6-year-old girl is murdered in san francisco. >>> and a teacher says that the mortgage deserves a gold medal in dropping the ball, because it saddled him with $3 million in phantom debt. >>> he had duplicate mortgage that he didn't know existed, and so he called us, and we helped to erase a

robert handa joins us to tell us more about this proposed plan and why the county isn't aiming higher robert? >> reporter: well, we're here at the st. james health center, one of many clinics in santa clara county trying to make it easier for people to get vaccinated and to get over their fears about vaccinations so that the public health department is reach its vaccination goals. the pandemic is getting worse here in the bay area, around the country and the world. santa clara county announced its seven-day case rate bounced back from the low 20s to 225 today. well known south bay marketing consultant just became a new case yesterday even though he was vaccinated. >> my girlfriend and i the weekend before went to an indoor live music event. we masked upmost of the time, not all of the time. and that's where i think i got it. >> reporter: county supervisor and local health officials launched a new campaign today aimed at increasing the county's overall vaccination rate to 80%. among other moves, clinics will allow walk-in patients to get shots without an appointment. chavez says the 80

here's nbc bay area's robert handa. >> reporter: well, as you can see, san francisco police make it a point to be a constant presence here in chinatown. but officers can't be everywhere all the time. fortunately for an elderly asian man who was under attack a good samaritan cowboy was around to respond. >> i might smile for you guys. >> reporter: this cheerful 24-year-old darren mark stalkop calls himself a cowboy living in chinatown. the aspiring college student says he rushed out of his apartment yesterday morning after hearing people screaming in fear. >> and i see a very young guy beating up a very old man in the middle of the street and a bunch of people watching. >> reporter: at first darren says the attacker fled but as people tried to help the bloodied victim the man came back. >> before i could even pull out my phone the guy came back around a second time. this time at full sprint with like the craziest look in his eye. i remember screaming at him during the fight while i was bear hugging him. i was yelling at him. i was telling him that the guy, the old man he was attacking

robert handa is speaking with dr. cody. >> reporter: that's right, everyone a year into this battle, it is interesting to hear from dr. cody about this virus one that she says we better get use to. >> i believe we are the most highly vaccinated county in the country. >> dr. sarah cody is quick to point out the good and the bad of santa clara county covid fight while she's proud of the south bay's 80 plus percent vaccination rate. >> it spreads more easily, that's why we are seeing uptick cases. >> reporter: i asked if the normal precautions of masks and social distancing. >> reporter: enough these days? those layers of protection are still important, choosing your circumstances is just as crucial. >> i am no longer in-door dining or go to a place outdoors where a lot of people are mushed together. it changes the probability. all those layers remained very important in preventing spread. >>. >> reporter: i asked dr. cody whether families should be planning trips over the labor day or holidays especially when they have

here's robert handa. >> reporter: some city employees were supposed to show proof of vaccination by today. many already did it last week either by showing documentation in person or virtually to managers. but more severe covid restrictions for workers and the public are on the way. it's just the start. some facilities had to have proof that they had been vaccinated or submit to a weekly covid test if they did not obtain a medical or religious exemption. workers were a little uncomfortable earlier, not so much now. >> i think it hit people in the face, initially on when this was a requirement. but over time now it's gone over a year now with this requirement and people have kind of accepted it. >> reporter: for some, the concern isn't about themselves. >> very a 6-year-old grandson that's not eligible yet for a vaccination. so the more people that can get vaccinated that i'm around, the more comfortable i feel. the last thing i would want to do would be to bring home, you know, a variant to him. >> reporter: but a squeeze is coming. the second stage of today's mandate for city employees wi

in milpitas, robert handa, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, robert. u.s. troops have started evacuating people from afghanistan again after an eight-hour pause today. it came after qatar where they were taking them for capacity. president biden promised to get all americans who want to come home out of afghanistan. he said so far some 13,000 people have been flown out. today's address comes as the president faces mounting criticism over the chaos around this operation. >> i made the decision. the buck stops with me. there will be plenty of time to criticize and second guess when this operation is over. but now, now i'm focused on getting this job done. >> president biden promised to help evacuate afghan allies and nato allies stuck in that country. now, we are hearing a firsthand account tonight of what it's like to make it out of afghanistan just as the taliban was taking over. samir worked for u.s. forces. he got a visa to leave afghanistan just hours before the government began to collapse. now he's living in martinez were his wife, trying to begin a ne

hello, i'm robert handa, your host for our show on nbc bay area and cozy tv.ica."

i'm robert handa on nbc bay area and coz

robert handa, nbc bay area news. >>> the embattled district attorney is hoping to get ghost guns off the street by going after those who sell them. they are assembled from parts that have no serial numbers. 44% of guns recovered in homicide cases just last year were ghost guns. now the d.a. is suing three sellers who sell gun parts who wants to make the sale of gun parts illegal in california. >> guns are flooding our streets. enough is enough. we must take action. they're harming our communities communities. it's an epidemic disproportionately impacting communities of color. ? >> our investigative unit has done a series of reports on ghost guns. can you watch those stories on nbc bay area.com/investigations. >>> a teenager is in the hospital after a random attack in palo alto. it happened at university and emerson. the 16-year-old was crossing the street when a woman walked up behind her, stabbed her, pulled the girl down to the ground. two nearby people intervened, one tackled the suspect and held her until authorities arrived. the teen is expected to be okay. the two did not know

in san jose, robert handa, nbc bay area news. >> we've posted the full, unedited interview dr. cody on the website. hear the impact on adults and kids. >>> we have a developing story out of eastern contra costa county. a freight train collided with a car at a railroad crossing at east cypress road in oakley just before 1:00 this afternoon. and sadly, a 12 year old boy was killed. nbc bay area's melissa colorado joins us from oakley, new scrutiny over this particular intersection, and it happens to be just a block away from a middle school. >> reporter: just a block away from a middle school. oakley police confirming that we all feared, that 12 year old boy who tragically passed away in this accident was a student at that middle school, delta vista middle school. police officers on scene as well as those crews you see in the neon vests and hard hats. they've been examining those tracks for more than an hour now. police say all crossing signals were operating correctly at the time of the crash. >> i just heard a big crunch, and i looked over, and the car flew off the road, and th

robert handa takes a look. >> reporter: many of the people who showed up first day of high volume testing site say they've been tested before, after being vaccinated didn't feel the need again until the delta variant and that san francisco's case rate has jumped to about 230 cases a day. >> higher risk, back from vacation, took a flight, around people. just want to make sure. >> reporter: some people had more immediate reasons to be concerned. >> have been experiencing some symptoms like sore throat and fal fatigue, just going in to make sure. >> reporter: san francisco public health department says testing is only way to really make sure. testing results expected in 24 to 48 hours. officials are encouraged by the public response to the new site, acknowledge a limit of 500 tests a day does not meet the demand. >> we've been focused on trying to get through september, and then we'll reassess what things look like depending on how, you know, what delta does. >> reporter: nathan is grateful but won't be relieved until the results. >> i have to wait for the results, right? >> reporter: feel b

that is robert handa who emceed the event, and they came to celebrate japanese heritage, and we caught up with one family who said that the event today holds special meaning. >> we have been to japan andleyed in japan, and this is the end of the olympics, and this is a great time to be here. >> you can catch the closing ceremony right here on nbc bay area starting at 5:00 p.m. >>> we told you about the wild animals possibly spreading the virus to humans and now how about humans spreading the virus to pets. that is coming up. >>> and now, what the public transportation is offering to students coming up. >>> it is 79 degrees right now, and who could be seeing some sierra thunderstorms coming up. >>> and we are closing out the olympics at tokyo, and how the women dominated the games, and also, when some schools are opening, and what some parents are going to do about the fight about the mask. that is coming up on "nbc nightly news." places around the world. now alaska mileage plan members can easily earn and redeem miles worldwide. that means up to 1,000 worldwide destinations, and elite