at novato high, many unaware of the threats made against two classmates who associateity. >> it is important for students to be comfortable. >> reporter: principal mark brewer tells nbc bay area at about 7:00 tuesday night, a student from another school used homophobic slurs to target and threaten to shoot two of his students. >> they felt unsafe, so it was great they were comfortable coming forward to a teacher and telling them, hey, we probably should look into this because that keeps all of us safe. >> reporter: the teacher and dministrators took the p.d. which began investigating through the night. >> at 5:00 in the morning today we were able to take into custody the juvenile who had made the threats. >> reporter: novato p.d. say me found just a pellet gun at the boy's home. and his parents who were shocked are cooperating. a success story and a reminder of the city of novato and itsto. a 20-year-old program aimed at

ending hate and promoting a culture of inclusiveness. >> we should just accept that everybody for who and what they are and embrace that and be kind and friendly to everyone. >> reporter: that's an important reminder for all of us. and also it is important to point out that these students who came forward may have actually helped save the suspect's life as well. he could have been shot had he shown up here at novato high school with ale but tonight, instead, he is in a juvenile detention center charged with a hate crime and making a criminal threat. we're live in novato, thom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, thom. a paramedic shot and killed five years ago in oakland hills, sources tell us the jury has reached a verdict and the announcement could come at any moment now. this is a retrial for one of the defendants in the deadly shooting of quinn boyar. he was killed during a retrial christian burton, an adult now,

but was a teenager when all this took place. the mistrial was declared in the first trial due to questions about his involvement. two other teens have already been convicted in this case and are currently serving time in prison. >> there are now six days until election day, and there was a scare at the state democratic party headquarters today. sacramento police evacuating the building after a suspicious package arrived in the mail. police now say that package is not and was not dangerous. investigators aren't sure if the package is connected in any way to the 14 explosive devices mailed to somehigh-profile democrats. last week, the suspect in that case is in custody. and as you probably heard, this is a high stakes midterm election. americans are voting early and often. the country is on pace to break a record for mail-in ballots. 25 million people have already voted. that is about 50% more than the. this trend is giving political campaigns a lot of insight. for that bay

area sam brock jns us at city hall in san francisco with some of the details. sam. >> reporter: raj, about 13 million people in this state have received mail-in ballots. about 3 million of those have sent the ballots back, which means we know the age, the party affiliation, and the background of those voters. valuable information ahead of many people coming out to vote in centers like san francisco city hall next tuesday. sign-up sheets and paper ballots fill the hallways of voting centers across california. but this is not your mother's or grandmother's election. according to bipartisan tracker, political data, inc., more than a million californians have already cast ballots as registered democrats in the congressional races or 43%. another 850,000 registered republicans or 33%, have voted for congress. in all, almost half the voters are 65 and up and nearly three quarters are white. >> the people who deal with the mail most regularly, the people

who know where they keep their stamps and are going to be right on top of mailing those ballots back in are the older more conservative voters. >> reporter: but paul mitchell, vice-president of political da a, inc., points out times are changing. with more diverse voters increasingly acting earlier. >> if we start to see an uptick in young people turning out, if we start to see an uptick in latinos, and in democratic voters participating, that would be kind of the early signs of a blue wave. >> reporter: the greatest number of your ballots is out, it's high. a it is a good number for this poiblt in the voting cycle thor >> reporter: in the basement of san francisco city hall, director of says the early action picked up here, too. 16% of eligible voters have already cast a ballot. and he said one factor that is going to drive up voter turnout in general is a lack of an incumbent in the governor's race, the marquee race.

90 to 95% of kflz vote democratic, 90 to 95% of republicans vote for the republican candidate. there are exceptions and it could swing the midterms in the congressional elections. from san francisco, sam brock, nbc bay area news. >> sam, thank you. now, if you haven't cast your ballot already, check out our voters guide. click on the elections tap at the top of your screen. >> new details about a deadly crash that shutdown an east bay freeway for hours. the crash happened at 10:30 on whipple road on the hayward/union city border. the tour bus driver hit two cars, killing the drivers of both vehicles. one driver was a woman from hayward. the other was a man from san leandro. no passesere on the tour bus. all lanes reopened just after 6:00 this earn montgomerie. >> a frighteningne starting. our nbc bay area sky ranger was morning just as service was overhead. police say they found a bleeding profusely from an injury to his hand. they immediately closed the

station due to the large amount of blood and the station was closed for three hours while crews cleared the scene. >> new at 5:00, ransacked and ripped apart. an east bay woman snapped this photo of bart cushions on a san francisco train. many say it's just new evidence of what bart riders face every day. nbc bay area's jody hernandez is live in concord with this story. jody. >> reporter: janelle, that woman says every person who pays to ride bart deserves to have a clean, safe and pleasant experience. but she says that's not the kind of commute she had last week. >> i felt violated. i was scared. i was really rattled. i was frightened. i really didn't know what to do. >> reporter: that's how diane wagner described how she felt when she got on a bart train in san francisco last week, only to see this. >> i walked on the train and every single seat was turned over. the bart train was ransacked.

>> reporter: wideener said when she got the attention of the conductor and later an attendant, they acted like it was no big deal. they told her it was a common practice called flipping. but wagner says it's unacceptable. >> she says the drug people come on the bart train. they flip over the seats lt behind. >> at the end of the inconvenient, definitely inconsiderate. not a safety concern so much. >> reporter: bart says it's working hard to make the system cleaner and safer. they are adding police officers and have beefed up cleaning crews. they have even added a way for riders to report biohazards on their phone and get an immediate response. but they say they can't catch everything. >> we are really trying new strategies so that we can intercept problems instead of waiting till the end of the day to find orour: in the east bay, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area ews. top story. few minutes ago, giants legend willie mccovey has died.

the hall of fame first base man passed away about an hour ago. willie mack was a fan favorite with that sweet and gentle smile, and a big swing. he debuted for the giants back in 1959, shortly after the giants moved here from new york. his nickname was "stretch." mccovey was born in mobile, alabama and made an instant impact with the giants. when he hit a home run in his first game. i sat down with willie mccovey just a few months ago for an extensive interview. he was as warm as ever. willie mack was in a wheelchair for many years because of his chronic knee injuries. the kwients just ngiants tweeti passing. we will update you online and air. he died at the age of 80. also some stern words today from a south bay lawmaker to a cell phone company over the practice of throttling. we all learned about what that term meant during the mendocino complex fire when santa clara

county fire crews experienced data slowing that endangered fiting efforts.kags aication ane three executives from verizon told county advisors they made a mistake and acted quickly to fix it. when asked if it will never happen again, verizon vice-president answered, that's the goal. >> i'm going to just be very clear with you. i think it has to be more than a goal. i think if this ever does happen again, all hell is going to break loose, and it should. >> t executive explained that the slow down was human error. in an emergency, first responders aren't supposed to experience slower service, regardless of their data plan. >> more soldi are on theiry to right now. 5,000 deployed this week to join the 800 alreadyre of operation faithful patriot. the president said he could send as many as 15,000 troops to the border. that is because he says the migrant caravan is filled with thugs and gangs, but offered no

evidence. political experts say invoking fear is all part of the president's strategy to keep control of congress. >> they're trying to get up anyway they can. they're trying to get up by train. they're trying to get up by truck and by buses. >> he's brought that up again because it stirs the republican base like no other issue. >> the migrant caravan is still in southern mexico a thousand miles away from the border. if the president does order 15,000 troops, that's more than the number of troops in afghanistan. there are 14,000 soldiers in that war-torn country. 5200 in iraq, and 2000 in syria. immigration expected to be a daily topic as the president kicked off ections. >> "washington post" journalist in turkey. jamal khashoggi was last seen on october 2nd going into the saudi consulate. well, today the chief turkish prosecutor says he was strangled soon after he went inside. this is from surveillance video right before he went inside. his body was then dismembered and disposed of.

saudi investigators have arrested 18 people in connection with this murder. turkey is now working to extradite them. >> get it. get on the whale right now and cut it. >> still ahead, a local fisherman jumps into action. the rea. >> also, it could save your life. the new 911 technology that should get you help faster in one south bay city. >> i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri getting ready to head out for stick around for a few more minutes. i'll have your trick-or-treating forecast across the bay area coming up at 5:19.

humpback whale in monterey bay. get it. get it. before she dies. >> yeah, that man is on the back of a hump back whale in monterey bay. his friend telling him to cut the buoy rope tethered around the animal. sam who is an eel fisherman, jumping into the water with a knife, this is his third try. and suddenly the whale slams the tail against the water. the crew cheers frantically when they see sam raise his arms in victory. the fishermen say they know it

sounds crazy, but the whale seemed to understand they knew it was helping it. more tonight at 6:00. >> there is a call to action in silicon valley. google employees are holding their own company accountable when it comes to sexual harassment. they plan on walking out. nbc bay area's anoushah >> reporter: the walk-out is not meant to antagonize the company, but rather help fix it as a pteam.lic statement to the company tomorrow morning. >> we want to show they have that we care, that we're paying ntion,e have higher expectations we want things to change, we think they need to change. >> reporter: amy is one of many google employees who plan to participate in wake-out tomorrow, demanding more transparency from google when it comes to sexual misconduct

allegations. the walk-out is a response to a new york times article published last week claiming that google protected certain people in the company who were accused of sexual harassment. >> we think there is a layer of transparency that can go on while protecting privacy. >> reporter: in an e-mail to google employees after the times article was published, ceo said the company has fired 48 people in the past two years for sexual misconduct. bueg bkground in human resources and is now san jose state university's associate dean of the business tells us it can be tricky to balance privacy and transparency. >> they have to protect the privacy not just of the victims, but of other people who may be involved. and -- and they have to do it out of respect, not just privacy as well. >> reporter: the walk-out will

reportedly happen tomorrow morning at google's main campus and the google x lab as well as possibly other google facilities across the country. reporting live from mountain view, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, anoushah. using technology to make 911 calls more effective and efficient, the c i make calls. the 911 call center has the ability to pinpoint your location if you call with a new android or iphone. police say four out of five calls they get are from wireless phones. tracking a caller's exact location can sometimes be difficult so this new technology speeds up response time so they know exactly where you are when you call. >> it's when we struggle with figuring out where people are. they don't know where they are. they can't communicate. there is a language barrier, we're getting a translator, that can take time. we need to find them quickly. that's where this technology is really going to come into play. >> sunnyvale is the first city in the south bay to use this technology.

has your doorbell rung yet? ooh, trick-or-treaters already filling the streets this halloween night. this is a very busy spot. take a look. this is at a haunted house on church drive in the cambrian neighborhood. >> that's the line to get in? >> i know. so spooky. this year's theme, a haunted forest. >> wow. >> look at that tree. >> i hope they have a lot of kit kats for trick-or-treaters. >> 101 dalmatian. this is great.e family are this is such a fun night for so many families. jeff ranieri, you are the man of the hour here because this is when everyone is starting to go out. >> bewitching hour. >> do we need a sweater, do we need a jacket, do we need a scarf? >> a regular jacket will do fine. we have mild weather. you don't have to worry about a

heavy jacket messing up your whole theme. as we take you into the microclimate forecast, we have a few ghostly clouds, we'll call it, moving across the bay area, but nothing that is going to stop you from having a great time tonight. so let's get you that specific forecast. if you're heading out trick-or-treating over the next couple of hours, if you're going to be heading out after the show, it's going to be mild. 64. now, remember, parents with the little ones, at sunset does happen at 6:12 so watch out for a lot of traffic that is still going to be out there tonight. and, of course, be safe. we know many of you head into san francisco. so we'll get you a look at that forecast also. just a little bit of those ghostly clouds moving across the sky. nothing in the way of thick fog. larry beil have 60s here all the way through the next couple of hours. eventually for you late goers, we'll get down into the 50s at 11:00 at night. we'll move you into our thursday forecast across the bay area. i do see a few clouds that will be returning, temperatures in

the 50s from the south bay over to the tri-valley. we'll be down to 57 here in the north bay, and just a little bit of patchy fog returning to san francisco for that morning commute. the forecast does have a slight change in it as we head to tomorrow. the slight change is going to be good enough to warm temperatures up by about 3 to 7 grizzly. -- degrees. i see high pressure toward t wi we have had so many questions about rainfall. where is it going? do we have any chance of it? next seven days there is no possibility of it with all that heading well up to alaska. also theific's gng to put us bae 80s in the south bay. bring us1 here in san jose. also right up to 85 in gilroy. plenty of mid-'80s across the east bay. 85 in walnut creek. mild for oakland, 76. pennsylvania 79, redwood city, daly city going up to 73. san francisco some 70s here from the embarcadero down to the

ingles side, but out to the outer sunset 68. north bay coming in with 85 in novato. my extended forecast has things cooling off in san francisco with morning fog returning by friday. we'll stay with0s0s through thi weekend. now, remember that on saturday. set the clocks back saturday night. you get an earlier sunrise here coming in at 6:38 on weather a we hit next tuesday's forecast. seeing that live shot and all those costumes, i feel like i need to go out there and get a costume on. >> we can go as a weather man and news anchor. >> so inventive. >> very creative. we'll be chaperones. thanks, jeff. >> thanks, jeff. up next, more about the life of willie mccovey. and yosemite mystery solved. what we learned about this epic proposal photo seen around the world. i'm dianne feinstein and i approve this message.

"look what she's accomplished... she authored the ban on assault weapons... pushed the desert protection act through congress, and steered billions of federal dollars to california projects such as subway construction and wildfire restoration."

"she... played an important role in fighting off ...trump's efforts to kill the affordable care act." comments about our breaking we continue to get a lot of

calls and social media comments about our breaking news. giants legend mccovey has died. the hall of fame first base man passed away abo ago. he was a long-time atherton resident and was at giants games. i stepped out with willie mccove i for an exclusive interview. he was as warm as ever, and he loved san francisco. >> baseball, i think it means everything. you know, this is a baseball town. they had the san francisco seals before the giants came out here. and they more or less treated us like a major league team, so i hear. so when the giants came out here, you know, it became part of the community. and when you say san francisco giants, everybody knows what you're talking about. they identify with it, so it

means a lot. >> it did mean a lot to willie mccovey. he loved this town, loved the bay area and loved the giants. this is a live look now at at&t park and mccovey cove, named after him, where the giants have lowered the flagds to half staff. we will continue to update the story online and on air. hall of fame baseball player willie mccovey was 80 years old. we're back in a moment. i am a family man. i am a techie dad. i believe the best technology should feel effortless. like magic. at comcast, it's my job to develop, apps and tools that simplify your experience.

my name is mike, i'm in productveme.

california's public schools rank 44th in the nation. 44th. i'm marshall tuck, i'm a public-school parent, and i know we can do better. in the public schools i led, we got more funding into our classrooms, supported our teachers, and we raised graduation rates by 60%. that's why president obama's education secretary endorses me. we've done it before. now, let's do it for every public-school student in california. i'm marshall tuck. i'm running for state superintendent.

willi tonight at 6:00, we're going to have a lot more about the life and legacy of giants legend willie mccovey. he has died at the age of 80. also getting ready for thursday night football, the raiders and 49ers at levi stadium. the steps officers are taking to prevent this, another melee among fans in the stands. those stories and more coming up on our 4:00 newscast. >> it took a couple weeks, but a photographer found a couple he had been searching for. michigan based photographer happened to catch this moment in yosemite. it is a picture of charlie bo asking melissa to marry him. the photographer posted the picture on social media trying to get in touch with the couple. they finally saw the picture on instagram. >> feels like, wow, the world is looking for us. yeah, that was a big surprise. >> soonas soon as i saw my dres had to zoom in a little bit. as soon as i did, oh, my gosh,

that's me. lives in southern california and plan on getting married next april. she already had the ring, by the way, that photo in the yosemite. it was a pop ring or one of those ring pops. >> oh. then she finally got the real one? >> she already had that. have a great night. have a safe halloween. bye, folks. breaking news tonight. six days until the midterms. president trump doubling down on his immigration rhetoric. now threatening to send up to 15,000 troops to the border. but is this a manufactured crisis? a reality check tonight on the caravan of migrants and refugees up to 900 miles away. also tonight, the president goes on the attack against house speaker paul ryan over birthright citizenship. the oprah factor. her surprise announcement. can she help elect this country's first african-american woman governor? and is she reconsidering a

tape in the river hundreds of miles from home. authorities tight-lipped on a chilling case. >>