motel and they say there may be more people out there. >> when you get a large group, they're conducting their business out of motels, you have to ask yourself, is this really the first time they have done something like this? it's something we want to stay on top of. >> police had to obtain search warrants to look into several of the rooms here. they're doing that right about now. i'm damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. >> thanks. just in to our newsroom tonight from the silicon valley to san joaquin county. that's where larry escobell is headed. the city of tracy has selected him as their new police chief. the 53-year-old has been with sjpd for more than 30 years and san jose's top cop since january of 2013. he will begin his new job in february. before today's announcement, he had indicated he was planning to rekier from san jose police this year. new at 5:00, a warning for people living in san leandro. police say armed robbers seem to be targeting parents returning home after dropping off their

child at school. the latest ronry happened monday on the 1400 block of burkehart avenue, three weeks after an almost identical robbery. robert handa is live from the san leandro/san lorenzo border with more on why police say this could be the beginning of a frightening trend. >> we're arat arroyo high school which is on san leandro and san lorenzo. this is where the children of both robbery victims go to skoom and one of similar factors that have police concerned and asking for the public's help, especially surveillance video. san leandro police say the most recent robbery took place monday morning here on burkehart avenue where a man was robbed by a group of men at gunpoint. it was similar to a robbery here october 8th. investigators say both victim

were 59-year-old asian men who dropped off children at the nearby high school. both cases involved 3 to four suspects described as heavy set african-americans wearing masks. >> one case, they wore doctor surgical masks and in monday's case, they wore black bandannas. >> did they say anything? >> nothing more than get into the house or give me your money or statements similar to that. >> we hear a lot of things happening in this neighborhood, and it's good to have the police. we can help more, and we can find the people who are doing bad things in our neighborhood. >> again, police say they're still investigating whether the victims were specifically targeted for their ethnicity or because they had just dropped off a student at arroyo high. students we talked to say they're now on the alert. >> i'm worried that my family might get robbed. and i'm going to be more careful about walking home or going to my mom's car.

>> now, police say one neighbor's camera did capture the suspects' vehicle, a dark colored nissan rogue, and of course, investigators say they hope more people will come forward with surveillance vid your or information. at 6:00, why police tell us the situations could have turned out much worse. live in san lorenzo, robert han handa, nbc bay area news. >> thank you. >> let's get to weather now. a beautiful fall day across the bay area. take a look outside. this is a live look from our network of hd cameras. not as intense as we expected. in fact, this morning, we had enough rain to make the roads slick, but that's about it. this is in the north bay. the chp did say it responded to several crashes, including this one near santa rosa. moderate injuries in that crash. right now, we have a dry evening commute. let's bring in our chief meteorologist jeff ranieri with our updated forecast. >> it never was expected to be a major storm system hitting the bay area. we did get rainfall from the north bay to the south bay. as we get a look now, the bulk of the storm system is pushing

off to the east. you can see a few lone lightning strikes, but that's about it at this point. how much rainfall did we pick up? let's get a look. top total in petaluma with .7 inch. santa rosa, .07 inch. now, we have another chance of some wet weather now developing on the pacific. we'll have the full timeline on when we can expect this to impact your weekend in about 15 minutes. >> a big weekend for a lot of people. thank you. we'll be tracking this incoming storm this week and next week and throughout the rainy system. you can do it with us on our nbc bay area app. you can see the latest forecasts and the rainfall totals. >> a bizarre shooting in san jose. a bullet hit a 9-year-old boy in the leg while he was sleeping in bed. investigators say it came from a gun fired in the apartment above him. nbc bay area's marianne favro is live at the apartment complex in san jose with what she's learned about the gun and the man who fired it. >> well, janelle, the man that

fired the gun is a felon, and police say he should never have even had a weapon. tonight, he's been arrested on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm. shortly before 6:00 this morning, a bullet hit the leg of a 9-year-old boy as he slept in his bed in this apartment. police say the bullet was fired by the boy's upstairs neighbor. 40-year-old eric smith. investigators say smith was holding a high powered 30 ought 6 hunting rifle similar to this one when it went off. the bullet hit smith's toe and went through the floor, hitting the child as he slept in his bed in the apartment below. >> when we arrived, we found the 9-year-old boy who had been shot in the leg. >> the boy is now hospitalized in santa clara valley medical center. this woman's sister was in smith's apartment when smith's gun went off. >> barbara told me she was at the hospital and eric got -- well, eric's toe got shot.

the gun went off and it hit eric's toe and went down, the bullet went downstairs and hit alex's leg. >> she says the couple's teenage daughter was also in the apartment when smith fired the gun. she says eric smith doesn't hunt and she doesn't know why he had the weapon. she says eric lost a toe. police say he will be booked into santa klara county jail on charges of negligent discharge of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a weapon and ammunition. tonight, police are still investigating what smith was doing with the gun. reporting live in san jose, marianne favro, nbc bay area news. >> won't stop the problem, but it might help. a car thief arrested in san francisco accused of breaking into 22 cars. sfpd says it found it tools for breaking into cars and a lot of stolen items in the home of this man, sean gibson. san francisco has experienced a nearly 50% spike in car break-ins in the first half of this year alone. among the items he's accused of

stealing from cars are two handguns. >> owners of the san jose restaurant at the center of the shigella outbreak are facing a third lawsuit. it's still closed. its permit suspended. state health officials count at least 188 victims in six different counties. doctors suspect the shigella bacteria was superintend by a contaminated food handler. diners ate there on october 16th and 17th. >> the news not so good from our local classrooms. test results are declining for california students in math and english. scores for fourth and eighth graders dipped just a bit from two years ago down about 5 to 8 points from the nanchlg alsh. also, black, hispanic, and low income students continue to test significantly lower. >> a follow-up now on the controversial body slam caught on video. the deputy behind it has been fired. the sheriff says the excessive force was not identified and today let go of the resource

officer. ben fields aggressively removed the student from class on monday after she was being disruptive and was asked multiple times to leave by her teacher and school administrator. the sheriff says even though the student was disrespectful, the deputy did not follow proper procedures. the deputy's lawyer issued a statement today saying his actions were lawful and justified. lester holt will have more on the story at 5:30. in fact, lester is in the bay area. >> back at home. he was born in marin county, a former radio reporter here, and tonight, he's anchoring nightly news from san francisco. >> hi, raj and janelle. great seeing you in the newsroom today. we're doing the broadcast from san francisco tonight. here's what we have coming up. we'll tell you all about today's drama involving an army surveillance blimp that caused havoc and damage in pennsylvania. our political team reports from colorado where republican candidates are debating tonight. how will donald trump try to regain the lead? and we take a deeper look at the explosive risk of e-cigarettes and why the faa is banning them

from inside checked luggage in airplanes. those stories and more tonight from san francisco. raj and janelle, we'll send it back to you. >> i don't think lester wants to go back to new york. >> we'll have a lot more with lester later in this newscast. he tells us about the job he turned down in the bay area that changed his life. >> also, a historic church in need of salvation. the critical work that needs to be done before el nino hits the bay area. >> i'm scott budman. a very popular business comes to san jose with the promise of new jobs and as you might imagine, more traffic. we'll have a live report coming up. the president of ireland meets with those who helped the victims of the fatal balcony collapse. live in berkeley, i'll have details coming up in a live report. the president of ireland, in

berkeleda president of ireland in berkeley today to pay tribute to six college students killed in a balcony collapse. the deaths made international headlines. five were irish nationals here on j1 visas. visas frequently used by foreign exchange students. we're in berkeley where the president just met with some of the first responders. kim, an emotional day for ireland's president. >> it certainly was. irish president michael higgins was so moved by the response from so many strangers that he wanted a permanent living bond between his country and this

community. a somber moment as irish president michael higgins and berkeley mayor tom bates planted two trees native to both berkeley and ireland and mlk jr.'s siecivic center park in remembrance of the students who died. the tribute meant to show an ever lasting unity between irland and berkeley. >> all of your shared this tragedy with us. that's the region we're joined today in solidarity and gratitude. for what you have done to help those who have suffered so much as a result. >> president higgins said this visit was important to him so he could meet everyone in person. he shook the hands of close to 50 first responders, thanking each one for helping the six college students who were killed in that balcony collapse in june. five of them were irish nationals. >> it took a lot of us a few months to kind of really put the

pieces together and kind of come to terms with how tragic the event really was. like i said, i have been here 30 years and i have never seen anything of this magnitude. to have the president make a special trip to our side of the pond is something special. it really means a lot to me. >> the donahoe family who lost their daughter ashley in the tragedy was also here today. they didn't talk with the media but met with the irish president in private before the ceremony. reporting live in berkeley, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, kim. >> well, pay for rent or eat dinner? san jose state university was surprised just how many of its student face that dilemma. that's why there are now 15 food cupboards in offices all over campus stocked with nonperishable food. it operates on the honor system so no one is embarrassed. at a new community garden, students who volunteer can take home fresh produce. last fall, supervisors were surprised by the results of the survey.

>> one in three students at san jose state say it's sometimes or often true that they have to choose between food and living expenses. >> organizers say the students who use the food cupboards most tent to be single parents, lgbt parents and those from foster homes. >> if you ask the neighbors. it's going from bad to worse. traffic in south san jose, specifically at a new shopping center. today, a grand opening and many say a grand headache. was the opening of the bass pro shop, a popular shop. let's bring in scott budman, and scott, you're familiar with that part of town. what's the real story there? >> well, a lot of people are excited tonight is the opening of the bass pro shop, so people around here are buzzing about the possibility of new jobs. tonight, they'll get to meet 49er great dwight clark, and yes, it will bring a lot of new cars to an already congested part of san jose. work is still being done. both on the street and at san

jose's newest tourist magnet, bass pro shops. the giant sporting goods store set to open, hire hundreds of employees, and bring tens of thousands of people to the already busy al muden expressway cherry avenue intersection of san jose. >> i think people are concerned about the traffic. >> how come? >> it's pretty bad as it is, especially on the weekends. >> we're going to do everything in our power to mitigate any additional issues relative to the traffic and the congestion in the area. >> the san jose planning commission says it knows a lot of cars will come here and says it laid out specific conditions that had to be met before bass pro could move in. >> widening of the northbound 85 off ramp was done by the project. they're also doing traffic signal improvements. the county also recently did a pretty big operational improvement project for almaden expressway. >> a project aimed at taming what will likely be a rise in

traffic from fans of the great outdoors. so the opening tonight kicks off at around 6:00 just behind me. coming up tonight in the 6:00 news, we'll tell you why san jose expects so many out of town visitors to come shop here. reporting live in san jose, scott budman, nbc bay area news. george lucas is keeping the force in chicago. today, the chicago city council approved the star wars director's plans to build a 300,000 square foot museum. here's what it would look like. the museum would hold an extensive collection of mostly cinematic art. lucas, a modesto native, originally want it to be built in san francisco. the proposal was however rejected by the presidio trust, so he went to chicago instead. it could open in 2019. >> a historic bay area church needs divine intervection or some money. the church needs to renovate before el nino rolls in. the salvation army owned church

was built in 1869. the second oldest presbyterian church here in california. it needs about $85,000 in repairs to fix cracks in the steeple, a leaky roof, and window damage. now, these repairs were supposed to be done a while ago, but had to be halted as the church negotiated with the city of gilroy. >> right now, it's el nino. we would have liked to have done this as soon as possible before the real rains start. so i don't want the building to be more damaged than we have so far. >> a concern for a lot of people prepping for el nino. the salvation army and church provide several community programs including a food pantry, housing assistance and weekly service services. some of the services would have to be canceled or reduced if storms damage the building. let's get a check of the microclimate forecast. some areas got more rain than other. i got a little bit. enough to water my plants. >> we're still rain starved out

there. trace amounts to .07 inch is a big deal. we saw that across the peninsula, and also in the south bay and north bay. east bay is the only area that got left out from getting major accumulations. as we look at the sky cameras, 72 across the south bay. we had a passing shower over the past 45 minutes from our mt. hamilton weather underground camera. winds out of the northwest at 14. still ininstability in the atmosphere. we're done with the best chance of showers in the forecast at this point. back towards san francisco, 60 degrees. also noting some breezier conditions coming in behind the storm system. winds out of the west at 24. gusting into the low 30s. that's something you want to think about tonight if you're traveling over any of the bridges. as we head through tomorrow morning's forecast, no rainfall coming our way, but it will be chilly to start. let's check it out. down in the north bay, 49 degrees for your average. you'll need a light jacket to start. for the east bay, 53, and south bay, 54.

patchy areas of clouds away from the coast. at the coastline, the fog will remain. let's show you the satellite radar picture of this storm system as it kicks off to the east. it came in fast and is leaving very quickly. some isolated thunderstorms right now across the sierra. what is on tap for us next? let's get a look at the forecast. and we'll have this area of high pressure once again building in for tomorrow. that brings us sunny skies and also some breezy conditions especially across the hills. 15 to about 25 miles per hour. temperatures will also heat up 4 to 8 degrees warmer. we stay with the sunshine right through halloween. that's the great news, clear skies for trick-or-treaters at night, and then fast moving changes. once we hit sunday, we have a cold front dropping down. that will bring us the possibility of showers for the entire bay area and about a 10-degree drop in temperatures. saturday, great to be outside. sunday, nice day to relax inside. let's take you to the microclimate forecast as we head throughout thursday. for san francisco, even warming up here into the low 70s.

the mission at 71. financial district, 72. for the peninsula, 78, palo alto, even sun back towards coastline, 68 in pacifica, up to the south bay, 77, and sunny in cupertino. for the north bay, east bay, and also for the tri-valley, beautiful day up into wine country. 80 expected in napa. for the east bay, 76 in oakland and then 81 degrees in walnut creek. this weekend, once again, temperatures in the low 80s as we head throughout saturday on that halloween forecast, then we'll drop by 10 degrees on sunday's forecast. that will put us from 82 on saturday in the south bay down to 73, and also from 79 to 71 across the east bay. with that smaller storm system we had this morning, you may be wondering about el nino. everything is still on track. we may at this point trend dry right through november. that's a classic el nino pattern. then wetter weather expected to arrive as we head throughout january. >> looking forward to it. okay, thanks, jeff. just ahead, if you're on facebook, you have probably seen it. the annoying alert mark

zuckerberg is promising to do away with. >> and it made headlines earlier this week around the world. the health alert linking processed meats to cancer. now, california might have a response. your serving of bacon ... may

soon come with a warning label.

==vo== california is your serving of bacon may soon come with a warning label. california is considering adding processed meats to its cancer alert list. this is after the world health organization on monday classified sausage, ham, and other processed meats as carcinogens. in accordance with prop 65 which passed in 1986, the products should carry warning labels. the attorney general's office must now decide if that step is necessary. >> getting packages from amazon will soon be a lot easier for cal students. a new amazon center is set to open in the recently finished martin luther king jr. student union building. the center will include lockers that can be used as delivery locations for amazon packages, as well as a technology bar filled with amazon products. amazon expects the center to be up and running before the start of the spring semester in january. millions of people apparently are demanding it. now, he's doing it. facebook boss mark zuckerberg said he'll put a stop to the annoying game invitations on

facebook. it was one of the many requests that came up at a q & a in new del i hae india. he said if shutting down game invites is what facebook users want, he'll make it his top priority. >> you have seen the bring, now we're getting the story behind it. the warriors got their rings at oracle arena. the main design is the logo, but there are not so obvious details. the ring's 240 stones stands for the 240 regular season and playoff wins under the current ownership. and there are four stones you can't see. they're only visible under black light and signify the four championships in warriors franchise history. >> more than six carats on that thing. >> that is gorgeous. they deserve it. >> guess who is in town. lester holt is here with his nightly news team, and he's sharing with us the bay area job offer that changed his life. stay with us. [female announcer] during mattress price wars at sleep train,

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don't miss mattress price wars at sleep train. newscast ... lester holt has well, we mentioned earlier in the newscast, lester holt has come back home. >> he's from northern kofl kofl. if it was up to him, i think he would do nightly news every night from here. >> holt was born in marin county. said he loved the days figgi fishing with his dad. his parent live in sacramento where he went to high school. his first paid reporting job was

in san francisco in the 1980s. >> old school picture there. the 56-year-old spent some time with us in studio today, and held court in the newsroom. very gracious, speaking to our entire newsroom. lester also told us about the bay area job he reluctantly turned down. >> well, you have a connection to nbc bay area and kntv. you could have been my co-anchor. >> i have told raj this story. i almost put him out of work. i was this close to signing a deal to be the main anchor at this television station back in 2000. when it was transitioning to an nbc station. and then msnbc at the last minute said we want you to come and do an oaudition with us. i barely made it to the airport and they called and made an offer. i said, let me do it. >> i thank you for taking the job at msnbc. >> what could have been. >> i think janelle still wants lester. >> i love watching lester at 5:30, but i love working with

you every night. >> the rest is history. lester has his nightly news back to number one in the ratings. >> he's next live from san francisco. high drama. tonight a million dollar runaway blimp, breaking lose and flying out of control and captivating the country for hours. tonight the fighter jets scrambling giving chase across several states. what in the world happened. a police officer fired. a swift fallout from the violent body slam caught on camera. out of a job, but will he face charged. fight night fireworks. carson surging, trump on the ropes and tonight, is it make or break for jeb bush. as the gop candidates collide in a critical debate. and sudden explosion. an e-cigarette blows up in a man's face and leaving him in a coma on life support. tonight the hidden danger his family wants everyone to know. "nightly news" begins right now.