velena, why did you want to leave?there are explosions, we always lived in the basement, in the basements... equipped, the neighbors moved out, they used to have a car, we gave us the keys, we lived in this basement, that is, i had sunbeds there, there were electrical appliances there, while there were electricity, when there was no electricity, they cooked in the kitchen, on the street, on a fire in general, they cooked food because there was nowhere to cook, there were queues for food just like for bread, because there was practically no food, well, children need study, need to be treated, a child with a disability, rehabilitation centers, my eldest daughter is going to school, of course all this is not there, many of your neighbors left as well as a lot of them, everyone who had the opportunity left, some to russia, some to europe, with their own cars, some with there was money, financial opportunity, they left in other ways, we didn’t have such a possibility, yes, when they were evacuated en masse in september, the

nbc bay area's velena jones has more from inside the courtroom as joseph emerson was formally charged today. she joins us now live from sfo. velena. >> reporter: well, tonight we know because of those court documents that that security scare turned struggle inside the cockpit lasted about 90 seconds. the big question in all of this has been, what prompted that off-duty pilot that friends describe as friendly, family-oriented, and a rule follower, to try to shut off those engines with more than 80 people on board? and tonight it appears the suspect is admitting to all of it and giving a reason why. today joseph emerson, dressed in blue, made his first appearance in a portland courtroom. he pled not guilty to 167 charges, including 83 counts of attempted murder. according to federal court documents, emerson admits to trying to turn off the plane's engine after telling the pilots he was, quote, not okay. >> well, it's really sad news. i never would imagine. >> reporter: emerson was riding as a passenger in the cockpit's third seat. court documents go on to say the pleasant hill resident

today, we caught up with the pilots ahead of their weekend shows with velena jones. >> reporter: the blue angels are set to take to the sky this week for fleet week after looming questions of a possible government shutdown. the pilots say they are glad to be back this year. as the blue angels prepared to take flight hitting supersonic speeds of up to 700 miles per hour- >> our number one goal first and foremost is safe flight assertions. after that, it is totally aspirational flights. >> reporter: the commander is one of the six fa fighting fighter jet pilot he says flying over the city by the bay holds a special meeting because it is one of the few sites they fly every year. this year, one of the angels is making history. lieutenant commander amanda lee is the first female pilot of the team. >> i hope that she is viewed as every other member of the team. she is here for the same reason she is a qualified naval officer and qualified aviator. i hope she is and is ration to everybody that watches the team >> reporter: for the lieutenant commander this flight is personal. >> i cannot wa

in oakland, velena jones, nbc bay area news. >>> the city of antioch rolls out a grant program today meant to help businesses in high crime areas spruce up their storefronts. but a lot of the merchants say the city is missing the mark. the mayor and city leaders gathered at an antioch restaurant to make the grants. it's good to give $5,000 to $20,000 to improve the store fronts. business owners say what they really need is safer streets around their businesses. >> so we need protection. that's what we need more than money. money, like i said, if people feel safe, money will come. >> the problem is we don't have any support. we have security here. we have cameras. we have tenants that really care. but we can't get police reinforcement. there's not enough of them. >> the mayor says the grants can also be used for safety features like break-resistant windows, and they've acknowledged the city is still struggling with a serious police staffing issue. >>> a child ate a cannabis chew mistaken for a candy at a school halloween party. alameda police say that child got sick and did need medic

nbc bay area's velena jones has more from inside the courtroom and new details on the pilot's bad trip and how it almost led to the last trip for passengers. >> reporter: tonight we know because of court documents that that security scare turned struggle inside the cockpit lasted for around 90 seconds. the big question in all of this has been what prompted the off-duty pilot that friends describe as friendly, family-oriented and a rule follower, to try to shut off those engines with more than 80 people on board. tonight it appears the suspect is admitting to all of it and giving a reason why. today joseph emerson, dressed in blue, made his first appearance in a portland courtroom. the 44-year-old commercial pilot pled not guilty to 167 charges, including 83 counts of attempted murder. according to federal court documents, emerson admits to trying to turn off the plane's engine after telling the pilots he was, quote, not okay. >> well, it's really sad news. i never would imagine. >> reporter: on sunday, emerson was riding as a passenger in the cockpit's third seat from washington to sfo

reporting live in pleasant hill, velena jones, nbc bay area news. >> velena, thank you very much. what a story. "nightly news" is going to have much more on this story coming up at 6:30. tom costello is gathering more details of the incident as well as the charges the pilot is now facing. you can see his full story following our 6:00 p.m. newscast. >>> on budget and ahead of schedule. you don't hear that often. that's how caltrans is describing the rehab of the southbound lanes of highway 87, a stretch of highway between 85 and 285. it was shut down over the weekend so crews could repave and repair the aging roadway. and the fixes are far from over. nbc bay area's damian trujillo shows us what's next. >> reporter: caltrans says they're not done yet. this is a two-year project. they're still going to add another layer of asphalt throughout the entire project. but they say that will not require the complete closure of highway 87. the trek along highway 87 in san jose is a lot smoother than it was a week ago. that's after caltrans crews spent the entire weekend repaving the southboun

nbc bay area's velena jones joins us live in pleasant hill. terrifying. >> reporter: yeah, terry. that pilot lives right here in this quiet neighbor of pleasant hill. tonight neighbors say that they are shocked and that these alleged actions do not fit the personality of the man that they know to be a good husband and father. still tonight, that doesn't change the fact that joseph emerson is now facing 83 counts of attempted murder. terrifying moments in a horizon flight cockpit sunday after an off-duty pilot sitting in an extra seat in the cockpit allegedly tried to shut off the engines mid-flight from everett washington to sfo, forcing two pilots to subdue him. >> we've got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the

velena jones, nbc bay area news. >>> crab poachers calling for an uber? why the criminals are using apps to bring illegal shellfish home. what first responders did to help save her party. >>> i'll have the updated time line and how much we're looking at coming up in a few minutes. >>> right now breaking news out of israel. hamas releasing two american hostages, a mother and a daughter, who are now back in israel. those americans related to nbc veteran mideast correspondent veteran mideast correspondent martin fletcher whoill join us w diabetes can serve up a lot of questions, like, "what is your glucose?" and "can you have more carbs?" before you decide... with the freestyle libre 2 system know your glucose level and where it's headed. no fingersticks needed. manage your diabetes with more confidence. and lower your a1c. the number one doctor prescribed cgm. freestyle libre 2. try it for free at freestylelibre.us >>> new video after a truck you see right there plowed into a high-end furniture store. this happened about an hour ago it hit a person before d

. >> velena jones spoke with homicide investigators and has the latest on this investigation. >> we unzipperedhat we found. >> reporter: the latest crime scene. two other volunteers found a body inside a suitcase. >> normally we see luggage in the lake and sometimes it's full of clothes and gets heavy. we got near the body. looks like it's heavy. >> reporter: he says they spotted the large suitcase about five feet from shore. >> this is the net we used. >> reporter: when they hauled it in, they unzipped it and found what they believed to be an adult man wrapped in what appeared to be a sheet. >> i was surprised there was a body in the luggage. >> reporter: the discovery leaving neighbors shocked and concerned. >> things are going on around lake merritt all the time.

live in oakland, velena jones, nbc bay area news. >>> they are calling it the new cold war, but this time with more intelligent machines. that's part of the warning today from both the fbi and the white house about how technology is being used against us. it's already costing local companies billions of dollars. our business and tech reporter scott budman explains. >> reporter: ai technology is hot and full of promise, but according to security experts gathered today in silicon valley, it can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. >> these technologies are of a level and of an importance both in terms of the opportunity they present and the dangers they present of something like we've never seen. >> at a summit hosted by the fbi and the hoover institute today, experts say the biggest current security threat comes from china. >> there is no greater threat to innovation than the chinese government, and it is a measure of how seriously the five of us in our services take that threat that we have chosen to come together. >> reporter: just today the biden administration issued new restrict

in oakland, velena jones, nbc bay area news. >>> governor newsom signed a new bill that limits how much rent owners can charge for security deposits. more than half of california renters say they can afford the rent, they can't afford because of the security deposit fees. that because landlords can charge three times the monthly rent for deposit. the new limit limits deposits to just one month rent. mom and pop landlords will be exempted from that rule which takes effect july 1st next year. >>> ever want to check out google hq? peeling back the curtain, letting us inside its headquarters. our business tech reporter got a firsthand look at today's opening of google's new visitor center. >> reporter: we have seen this before. the idea of a visitor center. google as the met for the first time on the west coast opening up a retail store and bridging the gap between those of us on the outside and those who want to come to google's campus and even do a little shopping. part of google's newest building is now open to the public. a walk around the tech giant is a real new visitor center starts

in oakland, velena jones, nbc bay area news. >>> you probably heard them before you saw them, yes, i'malking about the blue angels. they were above us in the skies today. it is officially fleet week, and the blue angels have arrived. they made a pass over the city before landing at oakland international this morning. the roar of the f-18 fighter jets, the government shutdown would have cancelled their appearance before their formal shows on friday, saturday and sunday. and from the angels, the paid of ships, we have you covered, all of fleet week's festivities, we posted everything you need to know on the web site, click on the link in the trending bar. brace yourself, not even halloween, the city of san jose s getting ready for the christmas holiday season. construction got underway for an outdoor ice rink for the circle at palm's plaza on market street, located near the san jose museum of art. opening september 17th through mid january. lots of people enjoyed roller skating at the plaza, but under a new operator and by popular demand, organizers decided to bring back the traditional

nbc bay area's velena jones has more from inside the courtroom and new details on the pilot's bad trip it almost led to the last trip for passengers. >> reporter: tonight we know because of court documents that that security scare turned struggle inside the cockpit lasted for around 90 seconds. the big question in all of this has been what prompted the off-duty pilot that friends describe as friendly, family-oriented and a rule follower, to try to shut off those engines with more than 80 people on board. tonight it appears the suspect is admitting to all of it and giving a reason why. today joseph emerson, dressed in blue, made his first appearance in a portland courtroom. the 44-year-old commercial pilot pl

>> in berkeley, velena jones, nbc bay area news. >> still searching, national park officials say recovery efforts continue for a missing swimmer, although they emit is being scaled back. 53-year-old felix lewis -- disappeared while swimming with friends on sunday. those friends say he was attacked by a shark. the park service said the shark wasn't in the area, but the agency has not confirmed. friends say the gentleman was a world-class kite surfers training for the olympics. >> the south bay has now joined the growing list of surprise drop off locations for buffalo -- of undocumented immigrants. those people are being picked up in places like texas and then convince the board buses or planes to unknown places. nbc's spoke with the migrants, as the local agencies are trying to help. robert handa. >> it should be a sanctuary jurisdiction >>. >> a group of 12 migrants, seven adults and five children, were booked on a bus in a paso last week in. after the trip began, they were abandoning a area of the bay. they told us through a translator, they are still baffled about how they got here. >>