the war in gaza. good afternoon. i'm audrey asistio welcome to nbc bay area news at 4:30. we have reporters fanned out across the bay area today. we will be checking in with our pete

serratos live at the oakland port in just a little bit. we're also tracking other stories on this wednesday, including a san jose business broken into more than a 20 times since the pandemic started. the tough decision the owner had to make in order to keep his keep paying his employees and gorgeous weather right now. but that will soon change. meteorologist vianey arana is tracking some rain chances headed for our weekend. she's going to be joining us with what we can expect, but let's go ahead and begin now with that breaking news. it has been a lengthy process, but it appears we finally know who will challenge sam liccardo in the november runoff to replace ana eshoo in the 16th congressional district. a recount shows evan low has come in second place after the final ballots were tallied today. he, you'll remember, was tied with joe simitian after the election. but the addition of challenge ballots broke that tie. so let's go ahead and bring in nbc bay area's ian cull, who's been following this race closely for weeks now. ian, tell

us the latest. yeah. you know, after santa clara county announced its final count yesterday, evan low held a four count lead. but there was still the question of those 16 challenge ballots in san mateo county today, officials there made a ruling that seven previously uncounted votes were admitted. and in the end, the numbers show evan low edged out joe simitian by a total of just five votes. a san mateo county had no change in the initial results of its recount, so this ruling on those 16 ballots was key. low gained one more. simitian did not gain any low posted on social media, saying, we are very excited that my advancement into the general election was reaffirmed and look forward to the next eventful chapter in this race. he also said this election reminds us that every single vote in formal participation matters. the front runner, sam liccardo, also sent us a statement saying in part, despite the efforts of some to stop this recount, we should all celebrate that democracy prevailed. previously uncounted votes were counted. we can now refocus on our work ahead. in all, 182,000 ballots across the

district were recounted. the final part was those 16 envelopes in question that had to be examined by voting officials and the postal service. the person who requested the recount, jonathan padilla, had called for them to be included, but there were problems with the postmark on the envelope, and since they arrived after the deadline, an investigation was done to see if they were scanned by usps in time. bottom line at the state now certifies the results. low will move on to face sam liccardo in the november election. it's been such a process to get to this point. ian, what happens next? yeah. so well first off, i just got off the phone with jonathan padilla, who requested the recount, and he said that he's happy all the votes were counted. he doesn't expect any further challenge or action from him or his attorneys. i also reached out to joe simitian's campaign to see if they will challenge any ballots that were rejected, and they said they don't have an answer to that right now, especially considering this information came in less than two hours ago and the story is developing, though our photographer is going to be talking to evan lo as we speak,

we'll have hear from what he had to say about all this and the results and get his reaction coming up tonight at 530. our own gia vang is also working on this story for the 11 p.m. news. okay, we're surely are busy today in our newsroom and out across the bay area. thank you ian for that update. appreciate it. now to those may day protests across the bay area. you can see a few of the demonstrations we've been following in san francisco, oakland and santa clara university. the tradition celebrates the labor movement, but this year it's taking an antiwar edge. we've seen hundreds of people joining rallies and marches demanding a cease fire in gaza. so let's go ahead and take you live to oakland. now. take a look at that, where another big march is happening right now. you could see there hundreds of people there marching through downtown oakland, led by a pickup truck waving palestinian flags, carrying signs calling for a cease fire. this is actually just one of several demonstrations we've been tracking in oakland earlier for

a larger group rallied outside of the federal building. and another protest is going on right now, this one also in oakland, workers, educators and other community members wanted to shut down the port near the west oakland bart station. and that is where we have our pete serratos live. pete, what's the latest out there? yeah, we were expecting hundreds of these union workers to start here at the west oakland bart station and march to the port of oakland in protest of the war in gaza. but i want to show our viewers the scene right now that no longer at least appears to be the case, because this is now being called a victory rally, with us getting that information in the past hour that the port is canceling work for the day. now, organizers say that this was done in response to the planned protest. so now they are holding this victory rally. now, the point of that of the protest was to show solidarity with their palestinian union workers, who they say have been impacted by the war in gaza. now i spoke

to one of the organizers before this rally began, and they told me that the port could stand to lose millions of dollars by canceling work today. so they are calling it a win. so right now, what you're looking at here at west oakland, bart, they're saying it is a victory rally because the port of oakland is canceling work for the day. in response to that, planned protest was going to take place literally right now. if that didn't happen, still very busy behind you there, pete. i'm wondering what is next. are there other rallies you're tracking? yeah, well, you know, audrey, i think the organizers weren't anticipating this closure. in fact, this victory rally behind me is set to end at 5 p.m. but they also are encouraging folks to support the university encampments that we're seeing around the bay area that are showing solidarity with palestine. all right, pete, thank you for that update out there. we'll see you later on this evening. san francisco's protests kicked off this morning with a rally in the mission before they marched to city hall, a coalition of groups

advocated for the rights of workers, including immigrants and undocumented workers, among many others. but like we said before, major focus of the protest was showing solidarity with palestinian issues and calling for peace in gaza. we as the working class here in the bay area, stand shoulder to shoulder with the working class in palestine and against the genocide happening there. and later in the afternoon, another march in san francisco started after a rally outside salesforce tower. you can see the view from our nbc bay area sky ranger here . we do know another demonstration was planned for union square this afternoon. a san jose business owner says something has got to give. he has seen 20 break ins over the past four years. the owner of t villa in downtown san jose says that he's struggling to stay open because of the repeated crime. burglars have taken everything from ipads to security cameras, but it's actually the repeated busted windows that are hitting him.

the hardest glass panels here all these four panels just got broken in just in the last nine months, and then i just couldn't afford to pay them because they were so expensive, he says. san jose police did make one arrest, but he hasn't received restitution and says that the burglaries are still happening, with seven in the past year alone, thefts forced him to make a decision, pay his employees or pay thousands to replace those windows. he decided. you see right there just to bore them up with plywood. all right, let's go ahead and turn to our weather now as we take a live look outside this afternoon, just looks glorious out there. beautiful sunshine, blue skies, warm weather. but, yeah, there's a but there's a chance of rain headed our way. yes. so i am here now with meteorologist vianey arana. it never lasts, does it? that's how it's been feeling lately, right? we've had sort of a roller coaster of, like, pleasantries and then a sneak in the rain. we'll get to

that in a second. but you're right, audrey, it's stunning out there. it's about 78 degrees right now. humidity is at about 24. so it's not too bad out there. and let's get a look at your microclimate forecast because this is what it looks like right now in san francisco. it's about 65. but we did see a high this afternoon of 71. so quite warm out there thanks to some high pressure. we've had a warm up of about nine degrees compared to the past 24 hours in palo alto, san jose, about eight, novato about 11 degrees. and this high pressure is also what's helping keep keep us dry and clear. look at this satellite radar imagery showing clear conditions not just over the bay area, but really the entire state of california. we keep this high pressure around, but then we do have an approaching cold front that's going to change things. now, before i get to that, i want to show you your hour by hour forecast heading into tonight and overnight early into thursday morning we're going to see 50. so it's not going to get too cold tonight. we're going to sort of keep these mild temperatures throughout by tomorrow afternoon into your thursday you will notice some upper 70s down through parts of the south bay, but also some 80s

in through the tri valley. look at fairfield 81, brentwood 81, concord 79. meanwhile in san francisco, upper 60s might even see some low 70s again. and another thing you will definitely notice. we're also going to notice the winds kicking up northerly winds, especially heading into tomorrow evening. this is at around 6:00 notice san francisco 26 plus. this stretches down through the south bay as well. so breezy to gusty at times, especially for some of those coastal mountains and higher elevation areas. but we do have the long range. right now it's wednesday, but lining up right now, if you notice this is friday, may 3rd. we do see that system developing. and right now, timing wise, it does look like it's going to impact your saturday plans. and yes, what you're seeing there is sierra snow expected on the map. so make sure to join us once again at 5:00. chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is going to have more details on how much rain and snow we can expect in the upcoming weekend forecast. i send it back to you. all right, vanna, thank you. by the way, after the break, reena will be joining us once again to update us on our reservoir levels as we fight this climate in crisis. also, one of my

dreams was to always become a law enforcement. i told my wife, i'm going to apply. i'm going to . i'm going to see how far i can go. breaking barriers. we introduce you to one east bay officer who overcame his disability and is making his dream come true. but before we head to break, we want to know what trending story would you like to see later on in this newscast? i will pull up right now on my instagram. you still have a little bit more time to vote for one of these stories. you see right here. i used to check receipts weighted sleep products pulled or debt relief for art institute students. we'll tell you

on a story today in regards to the san jose fire department and female firefighters. hi, hilda. hi. yes, we're taking a deeper look into the low number of female firefighters in the department. and we're doing this because we spoke to two women

who used to be san jose firefighters and they tell us that the recent scandals that we've all seen on the news are a reflection of a deeper cultural issue in a stigma that women can do the job. so we'll have more. all right. looking forward to that. what time should we expect? the story 11 p.m. 11 p.m. thank you hilda. appreciate it. starting today, your chances of getting a parking ticket in san francisco just went up. sfmta is cracking down on drivers who block sidewalks or crosswalks. in particular, some parking enforcement workers who write those tickets actually aren't happy about it. they say they already face a lot of aggression on the job, and the tickets are not cheap. blocking a pedestrian crossing or residential parking spot can cost you $80 or more each district will get a designated week long sweep every three months on top of regular enforcement. turning now to our climate and crisis, you heard veena mentioned the chance of rain and snow in our forecast,

but may is also expected to bring warmer temperatures, which will bring a boost for our reservoirs and also concerns over potential flooding. but the impacts extend beyond one storm, right? a study by climate central shows that our changing climate is supercharging the water cycle, bringing heavier precipitation extremes and flood risks across the country. so here to give us more insight is meteorologist vianey arana. so vianey, let's go ahead and start with the reservoir levels. what are they looking like right now? you know, as we head into the melting months when it comes to the snowpack, we do like to check in on those reservoirs. and so far, all of the major reservoirs which provide a large portion of our water supply, are either at or near capacity. so, for perspective, our most recent stretch has included sunshine and pleasant weather. but if we look back at some previous storms, we have seen everything from rain to significant snowfall. as of today, the sierra snowpack is still sitting at about 85% of that statewide average. and as we warm up into may, that snowpack will eventually melt, filling our

reservoirs even higher. and of course, we have to consider the upcoming saturday storm that we've been talking about. that's also going to bring a boost to that snowpack. in addition to that, i mean, just 2023 was a record snowpack year. you've likely heard scientists talking about it. so here it is. let's take a look at some of the higher totals. so notice lake oroville is at about 98. lake shasta is at 96. folsom 87, trinity is at 85. and if you notice statewide the four largest reservoirs, if we take a closer look, is that about 91% of capacity for today. so as of today, we are doing really well. but what officials might start looking into, especially with the upcoming snowpack, is potentially releasing some of that water to ease some of those flood concerns as we inch into those warmer months, because anytime we're seeing this high level of capacity, see any significant storm or snowpack melt can really change the game when it comes to the reservoir pack. so that's something that they definitely monitor closely. they also tend to lower some of that for seismic activity as well in certain reservoirs. so something else that they tend to

look at as well. and what does the long term trend show? well, climate central has been looking into this, audrey. and let me give you a map here that shows the change in precipitation on the heaviest 1% of days. and now this extreme precipitation chance is from 1958 to 2021. so if we take a closer look here, you can see here percentage wise right about 17% for the areas in green that includes the state of california. and again this is anywhere from a range of ten, 20, 30 to 40. notice even parts of the east coast extending down through not just new york, but also even down through miami. we have seen a significant boost in the change in precipitation. the reason being is, as we know, warmer air could create a water vapor that holds more moisture. this then translates to heavier rain, heavier precipitation chances, and of course one extreme to the next. so the trend right now is showing that the change in our climate is definitely boosting some of the intensity in these storms. and if we don't change, you know, the way that things are rolling as far as lowering emissions, the extreme, the extremes are

going to continue from one to the other over the next couple of years. so we're going to pay close attention to that and keep you updated. all right, danny, thank you. you got it. oakland's brand new baseball team is getting the green light from council members to play their debut season at raymond park in west oakland. the ballers are joining the independent pioneer league team. plans to spend about $1.5 million to bring the field up to league standards. ballers co-founder brian carmel says that he hopes to start a new chapter in baseball for the city of oakland, especially their coed team that signed the first woman pitcher in the league. he says they have a short timeline before opening day, but they are ready to move forward. so our vision has always been, you know, it's a 96 game season, so that's 48 home games and, you know, we wanted it to be basically 48 block parties around a baseball game. and i think that's what that's what the vibe is going to be. and also our design principle has just been to embrace the space. you know, we're taking a public park and turning it into

a pro baseball ballpark very quickly. and the first home game is june 4th. so in about a month , it's world maternal mental health day. nonprofit postpartum support international is spotlighting the mental health struggles of mothers through a new campaign, the blue dot project aims to provide resources to women who experience depression and anxiety during and after pregnancy. it encourages participants to wear a blue dot in order to reduce the stigma surrounding postpartum. people don't realize they're going through something that's temporary and treatable, and they think they're just failing. they're wrong about that. they're not failing. they're not sad because they have a baby. they're not angry because they have a baby. they have a baby and they're sad and they're angry and they're irritable because they're having symptoms. the organization cites 1 in 5 mothers suffer from these mental health issues, but only 25% actually get treated. and east

bay chp officer is breaking barriers and showing he is more than his disability. elias romero is hearing impaired. he is deaf in his right ear. he wears an implant. romero told his wife that his dream was to become an officer, and after passing a special hearing test, he knew his dream was going to come true. he says his fellow cadets have been welcoming us during his journey. the cadets around me know that i have this disability and they have a positive view of it. they realize that they're like, okay, he's deaf, but he's here and he's thriving. he's prospering. romero has been on the job for six months now, and he works at the contra costa county office at the anchor desk with our janelle wang working on the 5:00 news. hi, janelle. hi, audrey. unfortunately, disappointment for some high school swimmers in the east bay. they've learned they won't be able to compete in the swimming and diving

championships this week. and it's not because they didn't qualify. a computer issue may be to blame and mortgage interest rates remain about 7. so some homebuyers are looking at another option to help them buy the adjustable rate mortgage. it could give you a better deal now, but you could be in a pinch later. our business and tech reporter scott budman lays out this option. all that and more coming up at five. all right. we'll see you then. janelle. thanks so much. still to come top trending story as voted by you on my instagram poll. also, here's a question for you. would you like to smell like kfc? this is actually your chance. now the new perfume for from the fast food restaurant. we'll tell you all about it in two minutes. diabetes can serve up a lot of questions. like what is your glucose

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the artificial intelligence at checkout knew i technology can verify the receipts of exiting customers at 120 stores in the

us, with employees no longer checking carts at these locations, the retailer says it is seeing exit times decrease. sam's club plans to have the technology in all of its stores by the end of the year. as always, i'll be posting links to the other stories you voted for on my instagram. thanks so much for voting. all right, if you ever smelled the 11 herbs and spices at kfc and maybe thought, you know, i'd wear that. well, we've actually got some news for you. kfc is releasing a new perfume. it's said to have a woody, smokey scent to it. perfume mimics kfc's ultimate barbecue burger, a fried chicken sandwich topped with barbecue sauce. yep, you smell just like that. if you buy the bottle costs 14 bucks. kfc says all proceeds will go to its charity foundation. well, the song is over for twin brothers from the peninsula who came up just short of a major accomplishment. they were just eliminated on nbc's the voice. but as far as we're

concerned, they're still very much winners. was the sunset over the castle on the hill so beautiful. jeremy and justin garcia performed for the last time monday night, singing you heard their castle on the hill. they lost in the playoff round and we caught up with them. fresh off of their reign as members of team reba, they say their brotherly bond helped during that competition. when we really just try to communicate what was best for the both of us and what our strengths were, to kind of fit in with, with the song that we were singing, and we really wanted to highlight both of we could do, for each performance as for the future, jeremy says he has received a full ride to uc berkeley, where he plans to focus on production. congrats to him. justin is looking at colleges in southern california, and they're also working on new music and you can keep up with them at justin and jeremy garcia on instagram. and also, you could watch the voice

on monday and tuesday nights right here on nbc bay area at 8:00. you can also watch nbc bay areaews whenever you want. we're streaming our newscast all the time on roku and other streaming platforms as well. there you can watch live newscasts, breaking updates, and of course, more of our content. thank you so much for joining us. at 430, janelle and garvin are working on the 5:00 newscast next. a lot happening today, and we are back in just two mi

rights have taken center stage. also, a contract to county high school's swim team is in danger of missing an important event. the mistake that could cost the team a shot at the championship. and is it worth the risk that potentially dangerous move some buyers are willing to make in an effort to make it in the bay?

the news at five starts right now. thank you so much for joining us. i'm garvin thomas and i'm janelle wang, labor unions and activists marched across the bay area to celebrate international workers day, better known as may day, and while it's not unusual for may day protests to show solidarity with other movements today, the focus was squarely on the war in gaza. palestinian flags were a common sight at the protest. our news crew visited, like the march early this morning from san francisco's mission district to city hall in oakland. students at oakland tech walked out waving palestinian flags on campus as they joined the national movement. and in just the past hour, we saw this huge march through downtown oakland, one of several demonstrations going on in that city marching for worker's rights and led to an end of the war in gaza. protesters who were planning a rally at the port of oakland this afternoon. they're actually claiming victory, saying they report proactively shut down

ahead of their planned demonstration. there back over to san francisco. we're going to begin our coverage there tonight. nbc bay area sérgio quintana is live at city hall, where the protest ended earlier this afternoon. sadio yeah. when the demonstrators got here to san francisco city hall, there were a few speakers who did voice concerns over budget cuts at the city that could affect workers. and some people who spoke about concerns for immigrant workers rights. but from the start of the demonstration today, which was in the mission district, the overriding message was support for palestinians in gaza. niello viva palestina looking into the crowd gathered at mission in 24th street in san francisco, palestinian flags are the most visible part of this event on this international workers day, marchers in paris protested issues about the city hosting the olympic games, and people in manila marched for better wages and job security amidst rising prices. but here in san