very good person and he's very wonderful with his clients. and i don't see him being like that. and he's been nothing but nice, genuine. his family is amazing. he has a daughter and a son, and they're beautiful. cheese coworkers are questioning why it took so long for the girl to come forward. it's ridiculous. after all this time. why is it happening now when something like that happens, it should be brought to somebody's attention right away. police say victims of trauma often don't come forward right away. they say their investigation has uncovered more potential victims who aren't minors. we were able to find through our investigatory means, ways to get ahold of some of clients, some of the clients of this hair salon who came and talked to us and told us their story as to what happened inside of this hair salon. and we're continuing to investigate their accusations against the subject. police are asking anyone who may have been victimized by chu to come

forward. she salon remains open tonight. the other stylists say they will continue to stand by him in concord. jodi hernandez, nbc, bay area news. we have a lot of updates tonight from ucla and the various other campuses regarding these college protests in l.a, specifically, police in riot gear cleared out that pro-palestinian encampment. this comes as president biden speaks out about these protests for the first time. let's take you to westwood on the campus of ucla. some relative calm today after all the chaos in the overnight hours, you see those workers down below cleaning up the trash and the remnants, including the tents, canopies and makeshift barriers. pro palestinian supporters have been demanding their university's call for a cease fire in the war in gaza and to cut all financial ties with israel. what's known? it got pretty intense. this was

about 2 or 3 in the morning. a string of warnings. after a string of warnings, officers finally began tearing down the plywood blockades built by the protesters. some of those protesters fired non-lethal weapons after they say protesters sprayed chemicals. excuse me, some of the police officers after they say protesters sprayed chemicals, law enforcement sources tell nbc news. the chp arrested more than 200 people on campus, many of them students. many of them, though also not affiliated with the university. nationwide. the number of arrests tops 2000 people, this all becoming focused now in the presidential race, with president biden speaking out about these protests today, we are not in authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent . the american people are heard. in fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how americans respond to consequential issues. but but neither are we a lawless country

. whereas civil society and order must prevail. the president also said no. so when asked whether the national guard should intervene on various college campuses, donald trump, the former president, is blasting democrats as a party of chaos and dysfunction, while president biden says this is not a moment for politics and there are no reports of arrests made at our bay area campuses, students are still camping out at stanford peacefully. the camp has been up for about a week now. the university has warned students, though these overnight camps and tents violate university policy. and our nbc bay area sky ranger over san francisco state today where that encampment was built, just a couple of days ago, students at usf also set up an encampment in solidarity with palestine and demand that usf cut ties with israel and there are new questions and concerns about the ongoing protests at uc berkeley. after a confrontation between

competing demonstrators. this happened near sproul plaza, where pro-palestine demonstrators set up an encampment. a small group came to that area with an israeli flag and then someone grabbed it. during this confrontation, police say three people had minor injuries. one of those involved, who asked not to be identified, says there were also a series of anti-semitic comments. you see, police say they are investigating one person. we spoke with near that encampment today says the person who grabbed the israeli flag is not part of their group. all the campers are very, very much understanding of the goals and are very focused on what we're here for. and it's not to engage with agitators or people who are trying to distract us from our goal. those involved say the number of tents have actually grown substantially in the last several days. uc officials have said they continue to monitor the demonstration, but have no plan to involve police unless it's a matter of student safety. we continue our conversation and

this story at 7:00. our political analyst, larry gerston is with us. we'll talk more about president biden's remarks about these protests today and how this could impact his chances to get reelected. well raj, we do have new video tonight of a pretty wild crime in the north bay. that's where police were spotted on camera chasing a stolen ambulance with an emt stuck in the back. take a look at the video was posted on social media. police say the ambulance was stolen by a 36 year old sonoma man. happened in santa rosa as paramedics responded to a call for medical assistance, police say as a paramedic was treating him, he jumped in the ambulance and then just took off. it's we're so thankful that everybody is okay, but it is certainly a scary situation and something that reminds us of the, potential dangers that exist on a daily basis. santa rosa police ultimately did stop that ambulance using spike strips. the man was arrested after surrendering outside of santa

rosa hospital. well, there are promising signs that oakland is getting safer. new numbers show crime is declining. opd data shows a 33% drop in overall crime from the same time last year. some of the biggest drops include a 17% decrease in homicides and 50% decrease in burglaries, although robberies are up by 11. city's department of violence prevention credits the drop in crime to the return of the city's cease fire strategy. that program targets gangs and those most likely to commit violent crimes. it also attempts to diffuse issues before they trigger violence. and so if oakland's population is over 400,000, we're talking about less than 1% of the population. that's driving the vast majority of violence in this city. and so with limited resources, both at the police department and in the department of violence prevention focused in on those 350 very high risk individuals is what is

supporting us and gaining those, declines in crime. the city describes the effort as a holistic approach involving the opd, the district attorney's office and community partners. well, he was in the middle of one of the most hotly contested congressional races ever. joe simitian ended up in a tie for second place with evan low, with one of them advancing trying to advance to the november election against sam liccardo. we had followed this throughout the entire way. it triggered a request for a recount that ultimately gave evan low a win by just five votes. and now the santa clara county supervisor is conceding heading back to work. and he spoke exclusively with nbc's robert honda. full, tight go joe submitting is back to official duties as a santa clara county supervisor today, including opening the farmers market in los altos. it's been an interesting couple of months, to say the least. i described it to a friend as spending two months swimming in quicksand, simitian says he's still

disappointed by the narrow loss to assemblyman evan low, because he looked forward to a runoff in november against former san jose mayor sam liccardo, but also says he accepted the recount. he accepts the results and is ready to move forward. today is the first day. now that the results are clear, what i can just go to the office, get the work done and not have that lingering question in the back of my mind. kind of a relief. oh it's you know, it's definitely liberating. let's put it that way. am i sad i am not look, i got a great life, a great wife and a fascinating and important, worthwhile work to do with the county. so life is good. i'm a lucky guy. but, it's liberating to know. okay, the results are in two months of tick, tick. tick, tick tick tick tick tick tick. was, i think, tough for everybody. simitian talked about the moment he learned about the tie. at that point, he was one vote ahead. they said, no, we have one more ballot that has qualified and it's now a dead heat. it's a tie. and you're thinking, can this get any

stranger? and i thought not, but it did. you got a lot of praise and compliments for the way you accepted this, where did that statement kind of come from? well, you know, it came from my heart. that's that's how i feel about things, it, it also comes from the experience i've had, as i say, look, if there's an election, someone's going to win and someone's going to lose, and then, you know, the last 12 elections prior to this one, i've been the winner, simitian says. still, once in a while, he thinks about just how close he came. a lot of athletes say that it hurts worse to lose a close contest than it does to lose in a blowout, what do you think about that? in an election sense ? i think i would say that the greatest challenge is spending two months to get to that result. anything you want to say about, november and the candidates? well. i worry that it will get, contentious, i

worry that it will get too contentious too quickly. simitian isn't making predictions, but points out, as we have all learned by now, anything can happen in los altos. robert honda, nbc, bay area news he is certainly a thoughtful leader for many decades here in the bay area. well, plenty of parties this weekend. now to celebrate cinco de mayo. big crowds are expected in san jose for two separate parades and festivals happening at the same time last year, sapd faced heavy criticism for the decision to close several streets and off ramps with area businesses, saying it dramatically hurt their traffic. this time, organizers say it's going to be different, in part because the festivals are sponsored by the city and because police will be part of the festivities. another key change improved outreach to community leaders and small businesses. we are communicating more than ever, doing, you know, partnering with members of the

community, with the small business owners and, and for the first time, doing a city sponsored, parade and cruising event, councilman ken dallas was among those who criticized san jose police for their plan last year. he says, though there will be road closures again this weekend, but it will be much better in terms of consulting with the community. no need to wait for the weekend in san francisco. look at this. wow happening right now. the first ever first thursday art walk. we're looking live in the tenderloin. look at all the people there. people eating a lot of people walking around. brand new event just got underway, kicked off today with hopes of breathing new life into that neighborhood. we need to be there, right? this is the place to be tonight on a thursday. the goal of this block party is to get thousands of people downtown, specifically on second street between market and howard. several blocks closed off for this massive event. a lot of vendors set up. it's a self-guided walking tour that will be happening every thursday. first thursday night

of the month, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the tenderloin and lower polk neighborhoods, galleries, performance spaces, other businesses. are staying open. later, they're going to be hosting special openings and other free events as well. again, this party just started 6:00. it's running until ten, and we're going to have a full report from the event tonight at 11. that looks like thousands of people are there actually. and that looks fun. well, up next is the bay area equipped to handle all the new evs that are on the road. there's a lot more work to be done, but today one bay area city is celebrating a major stride and getting more charging stations built and turning the lights back on. the fundraising milestone has been met. it could mean a comeback for those beautiful bay bridge lights. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. what a beautiful day. lots of sunshine, temperatures in the 70s, a few low 80s, but all of that. it's going to be going away this weekend as we are tracking. yes the return of some rainfall by saturday morning, right around 5:00. now

we're going to take it through the full timeline of this. and really what's remarkable about this rainfall is how much we're going to see for this time of the year. rainfall totals will be anywhere from 10 to 25 times our normal daily may

zero project. the initiative utilized the company's hydrogen fuel cell technology. hyundai built 30 hydrogen powered trucks to haul freight containers and vehicles. the goal is to bring zero emission freight transportation to the bay area and the central valley, while at the same time reducing carbon emissions. we're seeing a lot more electric cars around the bay area, but there's not enough ev chargers to power them. that's a problem. sure is. and today, two bay area cities say they're working to fix that. our

business and tech reporter scott budman is here to plug us in. scott. hey, audrey. ev chargers are especially needed in multifamily housing areas like apartments and condos, as well as heavy urban areas that sometimes get left behind. okay ready? catch. with that, santa clara celebrated 100 ev chargers inside city limits, and with electric cars rolling around just about everywhere you look, they're going to need everyone. and it's cutting edge. and we're leading the way. and this silicon valley city says with its new ev trucks, even a new ev police car, it's just getting started. since we own a silicon valley power, our rates are a lot lower than pg and e, so it makes sense to charge your vehicles. here in the city of santa clara, you get a huge discount already aiming to put chargers in parks like this one. very near multifamily housing like this, where chargers can be tough to come by because people

come here as an amenity to play, to charge, to, right near the multifamily homes, it really does help a similar plan is in the works in downtown oakland, where a tech company called flash just got $5.8 million from the california energy commission to put more than 400 electric chargers downtown. the slower level two charging makes a lot of sense for someone that's going to an event and will be there for a few hours, or someone that lives in the area and they're using this garage, for, you know, where they live or workplace, bringing the charge to where the cars already are now, santa clara says it will offer incentives to make charging less expensive for those who live nearby. flash says it will begin construction on the downtown oakland chargers over the next six months. raj. all right, scott, thank you. well, bring the lights back in the famed bay bridge art

installation has been dark since last march. the nonprofit, called illuminate was forced to turn the lights off because it just couldn't afford the upkeep. so it secured $10 million in donations. illuminate says it's closing in now on the final $1 million needed to bring the installation back. once that happens, it'll be around 8 to 10 months before the lights are back on in full effect. it's going to take a live look at the bridge now in san francisco are just so beautiful. i just loved being outdoors today, really taking that in because i know we're expecting the weekend. i was doing the same thing. i got stuck in some traffic, but it was like, you know what? it's no big deal. all good. just gorgeous out there. today. we got one more day of this to go for tomorrow, and then we are going to start to see those changes as early as saturday morning. let me show you those details in your microclimate forecast. and we're going to begin with your friday morning. no rainfall though it will be mostly sunny, down to 54 here through the peninsula. low 50s for the south bay. and we'll

continue with these low to mid 50s through the rest of the bay area. then as we roll through the afternoon we will see numbers tomorrow. cool off a couple degrees, but don't worry about it. we're still in that comfortable range. look at it down here through the south bay 76 in san jose, 77 los gatos. we'll get a couple of low 80s out there towards antioch, brentwood, discovery bay. then you head closer to the bay and we'll see those numbers drop down to 72 in hayward, the peninsula, a little bit breezy here, winds out of the northwest at 12. some gusts, occasional up to 20, most likely at the beaches where we'll be at a cold 59 and half moon bay. palo alto, 75. also a little bit breezy to gusty here in san francisco, and we'll get to a chilly 59 in the marina and 67 in downtown. the coastal areas just can't warm up under this kind of event, because that ocean breeze is still in play up here to the north bay 77, in napa and down towards novato. 78 okay, rain chances back on tap for us on saturday. everything that i'm looking at here shows that storm

arriving and at this point starts to get here early. 4 or 5 and six over the north bay. notice those areas in yellow, a few pockets of orange that will be some heavier downpours. with this one gets to the east bay and peninsula by 8:00 in the morning and then down to the south bay. certainly by 11 a.m. we'd likely still have rain continuing by 11 a.m. on saturday up towards the north bay, and then this gets out of here as we head through saturday afternoon and evening rain totals were locked in for about a half inch for all of the bay area. some of the higher elevations could actually get in on about three quarters of an inch. we usually only see about 100th of an inch in may each day, so that's just way out of whack here for us. also, the snow in just one day, 21in kingvale 22, in kirkwood. snow starting around pollock pines. we may actually get some road closures on saturday in the sierra, so watch out for those winter conditions. we dried out on sunday down to 62. and how about it? monday, tuesday and

wednesday never looked better. we got those 70s coming back and the 80s too. apparently on thursday 84. yes. so that's a great point because the next weekend we should be in the 70s and 80s. that's clean at the barbecue grill. yes it's the payback for us. thank you jeff. up next, some changes to the cast of san francisco ballet, swan lake, why a popular guest star is being replaced

it's a beautiful... ...day to fly. wooooo!

four years in prison. today. the conception was anchored off the channel islands when a fire broke out back in 2019. a crew member and 33 sleeping divers, including some from the bay area, were trapped below deck. all of them died. five crew members, including captain jerry belen, survived. the 70 year old was found guilty last november of one count of misconduct or neglect of a ship officer, which is more commonly referred to as seaman's manslaughter. the san francisco ballet's encore run of swan lake now has a different star, natalia osipova won't be playing the lead. as expected, this is her dancing in a recent performance. the highly anticipated international guest star had to withdraw this past week because of an injury. ballet's principal dancer jasmine jamison, stepped in at the very last minute and now it is official she will take over

the lead role. the san francisco has a new director for its office of transgender initiatives. earlier today, mayor london breed appointed san francisco native honey mahogany. mayor breed says mahogany has been a fierce advocate for trans people and the lgbtq community, and has even competed on rupaul's drag race. in her new role, mahogany will work to protect and advance trans rights and lives in san francisco. up next, they put out the call and thousands of musicians answered. and now? now, grammy winning rock band smashing pumpkins has announced the winner in the search for a new guitarist. let's take a look inside 30 rock. this is the control room in new york city. lester holt preparing for nightly news among the top stories. more developing news in hollywood, where britney spears is reportedly safe at home after a fight with her boyfriend at a high profile hotel. we have an update from the entertainer herself. lester joins us in about 3.5 minutes.

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all my rage. i am still just ranting a. so longtime guitarist jeff schroeder left the alternative rock group last year, leaving some very big

shoes to fill. and now the band has announced right there, kiki wong, a 35 year old chinese and korean american, will take his place on tour this summer. billy corgan says he was a fan of wong's before she even submitted her name to the band's casting call. wong gained popularity playing the guitar on tiktok, where she has more than 1 million followers. tonight at 7:00, president biden, breaking his silence after hundreds of people were arrested in these campus protests. how will this impact his reelection campaign? our political analyst is with us also. oakland crime numbers are down, but a well-known city council member isn't celebrating yet. those stories and more coming up on our 7:00 news. up next on nightly news. the nationwide college campus protests are now a new focus in the 2024 presidential campaign. the latest remarks from both candidates. lester holt ans

tonight, the major crackdow tonight, the major crackdowns as the number of arrests on campuses surpasses 2,000, more than 200 of those arrests happening at ucla. police using flash-bangs, firing nonlethal projectiles as they moved in to rip down the pro-palestinian encampment. new body cam from the nypd officers the other night breaching that building at columbia and arresting protesters inside. our report coming up. also tonight, president biden condemning the clashes on campuses, saying violent protest is not protected. his 2024 rival donald trump praising the nypd crackdown, calling it a beautiful thing. the massive fireball on i-95. a fuel tanker colliding with a tractor-trailer and a car in connecticut. no injuries. how long could the interstate be shut down? evacuations ordered in texas. widespread flooding submerging homes, roads, and cars. former president trump back in court, as his criminal trial resumes. the former attorney for stormy daniels on the stand, testifying about hush money payments, as prosecutors asked the