nbc bay area's sergio quintana live there tonight with more. >> reporter: at this hour the fire crewsl putting a whole lot of water on that tower. this is fire that started just before 6:00 this evening. it took crews a couple of hours to knock down the initial flames and then snuff out a lot of the hot spots popping up throughout that tower. the police department cordoned off a large area around it in part because initially there was concern it could collapse. ladder trucks setup in the streets around the six-story affordable housing apartment complex dousing it with water as hot spots flared in several parts of the tower. this is is the fire and response by aerial department that people could see for blocks. >> we could see the smoke from a couple of blocks away, heard all the fire trucks. we just decided to come check it out. >> reporter: first reports of the fire came in just before 5:40 this evening. on social media you can see the towers engulfed. and as fire crews engulfed it with water trucks and fire canons it still took them hours to douse it. groundbreaking for this project

"today in the bay's" sergio quintana has more on another politically charged day in a divided america. >> reporter: in washington, d.c., clashes after thousands turn out to a rally for the president and counterprotesters mobilized to confront them. in one incident someone appears to throw a fire work where people had been dining. it's unclear what led up to the dramatic scene. the confrontation punctuate what had been allowed -- >> usa! >> reporter: but largely peaceful show of support for the president throughout the day. and president trump rewarded those who turned out with a slow drive-by in his motorcade. in video posted to social media you can see the president waving from inside his armored suv before driving on to play golf. some came far and wide. >> to show trump we support him and love him. >> reporter: in sacramento a smaller event but with the same message. they support the president despite his electoral loss and several recent court defeats in his ongoing efforts to fight results. as supporters of the president continue to mobilize, opponents are already pushing preside

sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. >>> there is an interactive feature on vta app. you open your app, zoom in on a location. a check mark will appear. you touch the check mark and then directions on how to get there using vta will show up. americans are turning out in record numbers this election. take a look nationwide. i believe the count is up now 81 million ballots cast but now at 91 million up more than 100% from this time in 2016. you see the breakdown here. 61 of those ballots were mailed in. 39% were cast in person. here in california more than 9.3 million people already have voted. that's up 128% over the last presidential election. remember, this year california did mail ballots to every registered voter. that probably explains why more people have voted by mail than in person. 79% by mail. 21% in person. let's zero in on the bay area now. this map shows the percentage that have already come in per county. sonoma county, san mateo, contra costa and san francisco counties have seen more than 50% returned so far, even higher for marin county where 62% of bal

as "today in the bay's" sergio quintana reports some are from the bay area. >> reporter: after two days of being projected to be president elect, on nbc's "meet the press" two key members of the task force. >> he will launch the coronavirus task force tomorrow. it's going to be led by dr. murphy and dr. kessler. >> reporter: dr. david kessler is a professor at ucsf and former fda commissioner and a former surgeon general of the united states. both have been key medical advisers to biden throughout the pandemic. they'll have a monumental task. the coronavirus is rampaging across the country. >> as a country we're certainly not in a good place with 126,000 cases yesterday approaching a path of 2,000 deaths a day. >> reporter: the task force will have three main goals. coordinate the most cutting edge medical science, having a government experience to get things done as quickly as possible and get the public to buy into their plan especially if the trump white house doesn't cooperate. >> everybody has to get on the same page. if we hear different things from different groups it will confus

sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, sergio. no matter who wins the election, no question the nation is divided so we asked our political analyst larry gurston how the country can get back on a path of unification after such a turbulent election. >> even if biden takes over everything is just peaches and cream beginning day one. there's a lot of work to be done. it's not getting done very easily given the false accusations that are being thrown out left and right. >> now here in california county election officials are hard at work. they're still counting ballots. 12.4 million ballots have been processed and counted, but election officials estimate 4.5 million outstanding ballots still need to be counted. they have 30 days after the election day to complete their extensive tally. >>> a lot to get through so what about the props? 4 of the 12 statewide propositions have yet to be decided. prop 14 is leading tonight. if it holds it would authorize $5 billion in bond money for stem cell research. prop 15 looks like a no at this poin

nbc bay area's sergio quintana is in san francisco tonight with a look at how different black friday is this year. >> reporter: at union square there was no tree lighting ceremony this year, but it's still a spot where people came to snap pictures and take a break from the shopping. >> still busy but not like it used to be. >> reporter: the holiday lights here at union square still makes for a picture perfect social media post. the ice skating rink is absent and there are no official vendors but the shopping is still serious business. and lots of shoppers spent black friday on the hunt for deals. this was the line of cars leading into the best buy. the electronics retailer changed some things this year in order to avoid crushing lines in stores. it allows curbside pickup and the sales are extended over one weekend instead of just one day. but more options doesn't necessarily mean faster service. >> it's taking close to an hour, 45 minutes just to get one item. if the other item is not ready, then you have to come back for that other item. >> reporter: we heard best buy employees tell

sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. >> anxiety about the election. anxiety about the pandemic. a troubling new number there it is. more than 100,000 new cases of covid-19 confirmed in the united states just today. that sets a single-day record. california still not experiencing the surge that so many other states are seeing, but new cases continue to increase, as do hospitalization rates. the positivity rate is up a fraction over the past couple weeks. currently 3.3%. it was about 2.7%. >>> well, for contra costa county, that uptick means tightening restrictions again. the impact of some indoor activities now has health officials scaling back. as nbc bay area's cheryl hurd shows us, all the back and forth is frustrating for business owners. >> not utilized, obviously. >> reporter: 12 years in business -- >> recurring health orders that change us from one category to the next. >> reporter: is making it hard for danville restaurant owner peter to stay in business during the covid crisis. >> very depressing moment. but i would say the bulk of those really came when we were this th

live for us tonight in san francisco to explain, sergio quintana.ening. >> reporter: this election year there seems to be voter turn out record that are breaking here in the bay area and across the country. there has been questions about election integrity and even concerns about what may happen when the polls close on tuesday night. we were in marin county where election officials have been working for days processing ballo ballots. more than 121,000 ballots have been returned that exceeded ballots that were cast in the march's primaries and they're expecting to have more people turn out in the next couple of days. >> in the march's primary, our turn out was around 116,000. we have received more votes by mail ballots. >> i will not look at social media for the next couple of days. i ask my husband to let me know when the results are in and i will go to bed. >> reporter: as the close of election polls draw closer, the stress is rising for many. they already casted their ballots in san francisco but the worries continue. that's their reoccurring them

sergio quintana was there and he has this report. >> reporter: this has been a street dance party forany came here at this spontaneous release of anger and frustration that has been building for quite some time. >> it has been an extremely long week, and following the results every hour of the day has been excruciating, so we are very excited. >> reporter: the crowd quickly turned its attention to vice president-elect kamala harris and president-elect joe biden as they spoke to the nation from their campaign headquarters in delaware. >> black women -- asians, whites, latina, native american women who throughout our nation's his interest have paved the way tonight? >> reporter: the speeches were broadcast over loudspeakers. the last four years have been difficult and they weren't sure how this election would turn out. >> i'm totally elated, i'm totally relieved. i thought trump was going to win and i feel my faith in humanity is restored. >> reporter: the call for biden and harris has been cathartic. >> a show of hands how many people cried this morning when you heard the news? >> repo

sergio quintana, bay area nbc news. >>> the fire was so big you could see the smoke for miles. this photo from twitter you can see a big cloud of smoke above the rooftops. >>> turning now to the latest to come from the trump administration to throw out millions of votes. it was dismissed in pennsylvania this weekend. a federal judge tossed out the lawsuit to stop the certification of pennsylvania's election results with a scathing 37-page opinion calling the legal argument strange, without merit and speculative. yesterday's ruling is the latest in a string of rejections by judges to the president's mission to overturn election results. a petition filed for another election recount. this after the hand count was completed a couple days ago reaffirming president-elect joe biden did, in fact, win the state by more than 12,000 votes. but president trump's legal team argue that is another recount is needed to ensure every legal vote is counted. they want a recount with signature matching, but critics say signature matching already was a part of the recount and another one simply wil

sergio quintana, bay area news. >> president trump wrapped up with a late night rally. that rally ended an hour ago past midnight florida time. president promised supporters tax cuts, stepped up support for the military and the police, and a record breaking economy. >> we created a record 11.4 million jobs in the last five months alone, another record, record, record, so many records. we have a chance to do something next year even greater than last year. >> tomorrow the president has another busy day of campaigning. he's set to attend five rallies across key battle ground states including north carolina, pennsylvania, michigan, and wisconsin. >> democratic nominee joe biden zeroing in on pennsylvania again today. tonight supporters attended a rainy drive-in rally in philadelphia. pennsylvania considered the tipping point of the election. the crucial swing state has 20 electoral votes which the president narrowly won four years ago. this year those votes could put biden over the top. the former vice president due to spend almost all of the final hours of his campaign in

nbc bay area's sergio quintana is in walnut creek where one gym owner plans on fighting the new rule. >> reporter: for the last several weeks, a night at the gym for walnut week resident maureen kosta has been an escape from the coronavirus pandemic. >> it's been a relief from everything that's hatching. it's good to get to the gym and workout and get a stress relief. >> reporter: but her opportunities to relieve some of that stress will soon be changing. in september here in contra costa county, gyms were allowed to reopen at reduced capacity. but as of tuesday that may all end. gyms are among the businesses that will have to shutdown their indoor operations again this year as county health officials issue another covid-19 order. indoor gym operations, indoor dining and indoor theater concessions will have to stop. it's an effort to reduce the spike in cases in the county. the owner and the general manager of snap fitness say they believe gyms are being treated unfairly so they're looking into fighting the orders. >> basically we are working to find a lawyer to file an injunction so

nbc bay area sergio quintana has more. >> reporter: in washington, d.c. clashes tonight after thousands turned out for a rally for the president and counterprotesters mobilized to confront. them in one incident someone appears to throw a firework where a group of trump supporters had been dining, but it's unclear what led up to it dramatic scene. the confrontations punctuate what had been allowed a chargely peaceful show of support for the president throughout the day. and president trump rewarded those who turned out with a slow drive by in his motorcade. in video posted to social media you can see the president waving from inside his armored suv before continuing onto play golf. some attendees drove from far and wide for this event. in sacramento a smaller event but with the same message. they support the president despite his electoral loss and several recent court defeats in his ongoing effort to fight the results. as supporters of the president continue to mobilize, opponents are already pushing president-elect biden to issue a slew of executive orde

let's get started with sergio quintana live for us in the castro. and we saw people celebrating all day, and we can see well into the night there. >> reporter: yaueah, this celebration had actually been going on on castro street throughout the afternoon and into the evening. but just about a couple hours or so the san francisco police department did move the crowd to this plaza so they could open up traffic. but as you can see the celebration continues. this has been a street dance party for hours. so many came here as a spontaneous release of anger and frustration that has been building for quite some time. >> it has been an extremely long week, and following the results every hour of the day has been excruciating, so we are very excited. >> reporter: the crowd quickly turned its attention to vice president elect kamala harris and president-elect joe biden as they spoke to the nation from their campaign headquarters in delaware. >> black women, asian, white, latina, native-american women who throughout our nation's history have paved the way for th

reporting live in santa clara, i'm sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. >> okay. thanks, sergio. >>> flames coming out of the sidewalk prompted by a gas leak in san francisco. nbc bay area's sky ranger over fulton street right next to alamo square. firefighters say a construction crew punctured the gas line. one person was hurt but is expected to be okay. firefighters ordered evacuations on that block of fulton street between steiner and pierce. this is right by the famous painted lady houses. the fire department is asking people to avoid this area. >>> janelle, our other top story this evening as the numbers continue to rise, local counties might be making some drastic changes. here. this comes as california hits 1 million confirmed covid cases today. >> it's the second state to hit that grim milestone. texas was the first. california the most populous state, also hit a record for the most new cases since august. bay area counties also seeing their numbers rise. >> each day we're hearing a different plan from almost every county. today it's alameda county. here's

nbc bay area's sergio quintana in san francisco with the details. >> reporter: chase is one of the mostte-of-the-art basketball centers in the country. one of the features of the facility is an advanced air filtration system. that could be key for the warriors to eventually get as many as 9,000 fans into games. that's 50% capacity. >> they could arrange for them to be tested beforehand. >> reporter: ucsf emdeemologist dr. james rutherford has been consulting with the warriors for their plan. >> they've been talking about testing everybody before walk in the door. we're not just talking players, coaches and referees. we're talking everybody. >> reporter: some of them will have to be rapid result tests conducted as fans enter the arena but many will be seize done from home and before the game. it does come at a time when coronavirus cases across the country are rising and the city of san francisco is actually tightening restrictions. >> it seems a bit premature to look to open large sports arenas at a time when we are telling mom and pop restaurants that they can't reopen. >> reporter: ch

sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. >> today the governor's covid task force delivered its final report on how the state can help those who are unemployed or underemployed. >> task forces made up of former governors, tech ceos as well as former presidential advisor and bay area philanthropist tom steyer. >> this was a pandemic which was hurting everybody in california, but it was being disproportionately painful for essential workers who tend to be lower income people and people of color. >> among the californians struggling the most restaurant owners dodging and weaving to try and comply with ever changing covid-19 rules. nbc bay area's cheryl hurd takes a look at how business leaders are again scrambling to stay afloat. >> i was trying to figure out a way all the dining downtown could be done around trees. >> and that is the design behind the outdoor structure at monica's restaurant in livermore. >> the two side walls people are concerned about right now are going to be replaced with mesh and then we'll have the one full wall on the back wall. >> one back wall is key, and one of the r

sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. >>> up next here at 11:00, a thanksgiving delivery debacle. bay area company apologizing for missing holiday grocery deliveries. >>> and president trump answering questions for the first time since the election including if he plans on conceding anytime soon. >>> and we're watching gusty winds still ongoing around some of the bay area hills and keeping a very close eye on that long-range rain forecast, how it could impact your seven day forecast and ten day forecast when we come right back. >>> a thanksgiving fiasco. many families who ordered their thanksgiving dinners online ended up with nothing after a local delivery service failed to deliver it. those customers took to twitter and now the ceo of the company is apologizing for the mess up. spoke to frustrated customers who had to act fast to save their thanksgiving meal. >> reporter: this was the grocery delivery order nicky king was expecting on her doorstep yesterday. she paid a little less than $165 to san francisco based company good eggs to deliver thanksgiving essentials including a t

sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. >>> well, a mural with a message in san francisco. activists used chalk and paintbrushes to write the words "count every vote" on montgomery street. that location is near the bank of america building that president trump partially owns. demonstrators are also denouncing a san francisco law firm they say is helping the president with his legal challenge to the election. >>> nancy pelosi is asking fellow democrats to support her bid to be re-elected as house speaker. democrats came into the election favored to expand their majority but instead seven democrats lost their re-election bid. the party still, though, owns the majority. and pelosi says the party of progressives and moderates will need to find common ground. >> if we're talking to our supporters in the labor movement, job. if you're talking about the poorest people, poor people crusade and all that, jobs. >> for now she seds she wants to work on covid relief and keeping the government open. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is not echoing president trump's claims of electi

nbc bay area's sergio quintana is at oakland international tonight. >> reporter: as millions begin planning for the thanksgiving holiday california governor gavin newsom and his counter parts in two other states are hoping to put the brakes on holiday travel. california's joining with oregon and washington to issue a 14-day travel quarantine recommendation for people visiting here or returning home. it's an advisory some travelers are already familiar with. >> it's the same as maryland. >> reporter: alicia and steve just arrived from baltimore for the trip they've taken since the first wave of lockdowns since march. they're here for a wedding, an event they've carefully planned for weeks. they say they're trying to be as careful as possible. the nuptials will be outside. everyone will be wearing masks. they both got covid tested before the flights and plan on having groceries delivered to their airbnb, so they can cook all all their own meals and since they're taking a risk for this event they decided the holidays would be handled differently this year. >> we're not having thanksgiving with

i'm sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. >>> we're following breaking news out of san jose. a san jose p.d. saying officers are at grace baptist church where there's roort reports of a stabbing. we have a crew on the way. we'll have it updated as soon as information becomes available. >>> in southern california, more restrictions are going into place as cases soar. dining of any kind outdoor or indoor, is prohibited in l.a. county. that goes for bars and wineries. restaurants can offer takeout, drive-through and delivery under the new order. >>> look at the scene that played out on the first night of california's new scurfew. dozens of protesters gathering to defy the curfew. they won't enforce the curfew, but if the gatherings get crazy, they will intervene. >>> to the east, more restrictions. nevada's governor had an emergency conference today, outlining the situation in stark terms. cases at annu all-time high. nevada having a positivity rate of 18%. according to johns hopkins, california's current rate is 5.5%. that includes mask mandates fwr everyone inside or out. when