thanks for joining us, i'm janelle wang. >> i'm jessica aguirre. the olympics have not even started, but positive covid cases are already causing problems in tokyo. an alternate member of the u.s. women's gymnastic team is the latest to test positive, ending her olympic dreams. that is not our alternate who grew up in milpitas. with the opening ceremony quickly approaching, we have the latest from tokyo. >> reporter: the opening ceremony is still four days out, but already team usa is dealing with an olympic loss. kara eker, an alternate, testing positive for covid. she and another replacement athlete now separated from the rest of the team. >> also disappointed. i feel bad for her, she's trained most of her life for this. >> reporter: in a written statement, usa gymnastics say they moved to separate lodging

facilities and training facilities as originally planned and will continue preparation for the games. the entire delegation remains vigilant and maintain strict protocols. at least two others didn't make the trip, putting an end to their olympic dreams. despite rigorous testing and strict guidelines, officials acknowledge the virus is an unwelcome participant in these games. >> the mingles and crossing of population is incredibly limited. incredibly limited. >> reporter: limitations that will include empty seats. no fans will be allowed inside the venues as the competition begins. jay gray, nbc news. >> now our raj mathai is also in

tokyo and has been tweeting about the news. you can follow him on twitter. and later this week, watch our specials from the bay area to tokyo. thursday 4:00 and 7:00. more places to travel. any canadian citizen can fly into the u.s., but for 16 months, canada has barred americans and others from crossing its borders. starting in three weeks, americans can go to canada, but only if they're fully vaccinated. they won't have to quarantine when they get there. as for the rest of the world, the rest of the travelers can open in september. the trend of the rise of the virus is causing concerns. the stock market took a hit among fears a pandemic rebound

could slow the economy. president biden says economic economy hinges on getting covid under control. he's urging holdouts to get vaccinated. the u.s. vaccination rate has dropped by more than 35% over the past week. >> virtually all hospitalizations and deaths are occurring among unvaccinated americans. these tragedies are avoidable. >> the highly-contagious delta variant is driving the rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. los angeles county is requiring masks indoors, it's mandatory. but most bay area counties it's still a recommendation. the american academy of pediatrics are recommending that all wear masks in school whether vaccinated or not. and there are cases of break-through cases among the vaccinated. and five texas democrats recently traveled to washington

together. we now know what triggered it, the catastro catastrophic f explosion last month. it was triggered by the bomb squad. the chief said the technicians miscalculated the weight of the homemade fireworks when they detonated them. five bomb squad members have been removed from duties and they promised to hold people accountable. you may not recognize the name, but it will be the first of the names on the september recall ballot. he's an attorney, former "hustler" magazine editor. we don't know where governor newsom's name will be, but somewhere near the top. they drew names. the governor's initial was drawn

sixth. it is a long list. let's bring in larry gerston to talk about this. 41 candidates on the list. the first is, do you want to recall gavin newsom. how impactful is it to have 41 people who a lot of them don't have any name recognition? >> you know, the newsom folks would like us to focus on those 41 which they consider to be a band of nobodies. the key question is the first question. do you want to recall the governor? that's it. if you recall the governor, he's out. if you don't, the second list doesn't really matter at all. so yes, it's a smaller list than 2003, no, there isn't an arnold schwarzenegger. but i would submit to you, whatever they are, they tonight matter unless newsom is recalled. if he is recalled, then the people who recall him really aren't going to think that much

about it and just pick somebody. that's the situation we have. it really is a referendum on gavin newsom more than anything else. >> eight weeks away is when we cast the vote. the delta variant is going to impact it one way or the other. some might be upset with newsom for us having a resurge of the virus. another group may be afraid that the state is going to shut down again with the masking probability coming back. so how much on thin ice is newsom here with the delta variant in. >> boy, i'll tell you something, there seems to be a bit of a direct relationship. when you go back to january, public support of newsom was at its lowest. as spring led to summer, public appreciation of newsom went up because the pandemic was going down. now we've seen in the last couple weeks, a 500% increase in los angeles county where one out of four citizens, california

lists, a 347% increase over the last month since the governor opened the state. these are not nice numbers for the governor. he want it is to stay low so he'll look better with the public. there's a direct relationship between what happens with the pandemic and concerns about newsom's future. >> what's more dangerous to newsom, that we have an uptick in cases or the state gets shut down, that we could end up where we were six, seven, eight months ago? >> it could be both. we could have an explosion of cases, and he could be forced to shut down the state. i'm not sure that the two are at opposite ends of the spectrum. i think they will go together. the problem is, you say look, this thing is going up everywhere, but in only one state do we have an election, do we have basically a referendum on the job the governor is

doing, and that state is california. governors in other states are watching this very carefully. as how governor newsom manages this, they'll be looking at their future one way or another as well >> this is an issue all across the country, but he is the only one facing a recall. we see cases going up across the board, and other governors may have the ire of people but are not in the position of newsom. >> the irony is, as in so many cases we see across the country, wherever there's an executive branch officeholder, when things go well, the governor, the president gets the credit. when things go poorly, the governor, the president gets the ire. who do i blame? look to the governor. he has a lot of weight on his shoulders right now. not all his doing by any means. i think we can see some kind of

relationship between what happens over the next eight weeks and the outcome for governor newsom as well. >> the count down is on. the path to becoming a teacher just got easier. until now, would-be teachers had to pass four standardized tests to become a teacher. half the teachers struggled to pass them. now they no longer have to take the california basic skills test or subject matter test for teachers. if you're looking to buy a house, good news. more houses are available to buy, but demand is still outweighing supply. in san francisco, for example, inventory is up 3.2% from may and 15% from last year.

the average home is worth with $1.3 million, up 15% from june of 2020. the typical home elsewhere worth $1.4 million, 17% over last june. up next, going for gold. the bay area paralympic athlete looking to sink his shot in tokyo. she overpay add ambulance bill and couldn't get a refund on her own. we have help for her and a tip for you when nbc bay area responds. and we're finally trying to give you free air conditioning inland. it wasn't the case in livermore in the upper 90s. we'll talk more about a cooling trend in your workweek forecast when we come right back.

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and i'm still working. in the kind of work that i do, you are surrounded by people who are all younger than you. i had to get help somewhere along the line to stay competitive. i discovered prevagen. i started taking it and after a period of time, my memory improved. it was a game-changer for me. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. had well, nbc bay area responds to an east bay family whose medical bills were causing them a lot of pain.

>> chris chmura takes the case of a woman who felt ignored for more than a month. >> hundreds of bucks on the line. kim in danville made a mistake on a bill for an ambulance ride. she overpaid pro transport 1 ambulance $650. she called and explained what happened and was told the refund department would review her case. more than a month later, still under r review and still no mon back. we contacted them and shortly $650 appeared in her bank account. kim wrote us, thanks from the bottom of my heart. you can't be choosey when you need an ambulance. we get it. you may end up in one out of network and not covered by health insurance. you can challenge the denial. if you truly had an emergency

that require add ambulance, a clause inside your medical policy might allow for payments to out-of-network ambulance companies. second, if you have to pay the ambulance company out of pocket, try to negotiate. ambulance rates aren't necessarily set in stone. the company might take a smaller amount of money up front and settle your account versus taking monthly payments over a longer period. if you're having trouble with the company, you can call our team, go to nbcbayarea.com and click the responds option from the main menu or call us,888-996-tips. >> i just wanted my money back, and sometimes you're on the phone for hours. i'm not giving in. >> they do give in. >> bye. we're going to go to the

tokyo olympics. opening ceremonies set for this friday. no fans at the events, but you will be able to catch all the action here on nbc bay area. >> we're not just talking about olympics but paralympics. today we introduce you to jorge sanchez. he never gave up on life or his dream of being an elite athlete. >> i want to be a bay area great. i want to be remembered as one of the best pair olympians to play the sport of wheelchair basketball. >> reporter: born go oakland, jorge sanchez grew up mostly in dublin. at 8 years old he was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer in his left femur. he underwent countless surgeries and chemotherapy. he says his family support was incredible. but when it came down to whether

or not to amputate. >> i'm the one that made the decision. they were like, hey, it ease your decision. i wanted no more chemotherapy. i was in a coma for two and a half months after they amputated my leg. i almost bled out. i'm glad i made the decision. look at me going my first paralympics in tokyo. >> reporter: sanchez has traveled the globe playing wheelchair basketball and been on the national team since 2013. >> this has been my dream since i found out about wheelchair basketball. when i found out i could represent the united states in the sport i absolutely love, that was my goal. and it's finally coming true. you always have to believe in yourself. tonight matter if other people don't believe in you. you have to believe in yourself. that's something i've always done, especially after cancer. i almost died. people telling me hey, you can't do this, doesn't phase me.

i almost died. i'm not even really supposed to be here. keep pushing, keep persevering. there is nothing in this world you cannot do. >> talk about being strong. join us for three olympic specials "from the bay area to tokyo", thursday 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and friday at 1:00 p.m. you're all geared up and ready to go and in the right mental framework. >> we saw raj's first meal, sushi, ordered to go and delivery. >> there's two words. it's humidity. let's show you the map there, looking out across the west pacific. unlike here with the california current in the bay area, the west pacific is a warm water current that runs up the coast of japan, and the temperatures

here the next three days, look at that, again, a bit more like new orleans or miami. highs near 90 degrees, lows in the 70s. and in the weekend, a chance of thundershowers. right now, this is a typical summer view for san francisco, fog and 59 degrees, but the cooling effects of the fog not felt as far inland. it's being felt in san jose at 78 degrees. earlier today, out towards livermore, we were in the upper 90s. now the sea breeze starting to hold. the moisture moved out a bit more quickly and stayed over the sierra where we're seeing explosive growth on one particular wildfire. this is the dixie fire. these wildfires begin to act like super cell thunderstorms, moist air aloft. and look at all those lightning strikes as the radar is picking

up ash and rain with this. and when you see these pyrocumulonimbus structures, unfortunately, it means pretty explosive growth. now it drove a lot of the growth, the unstable air. we'll see a few more low patches of clouds. temperatures starting off in the upper 50s and highs trending a little cooler. south san jose. you'll see temperatures 70s bay side from oakland to hayward. and peninsula temperatures 78 in redwood city, staying in the 60s in san francisco. you can see the reason why. air quality for now with all these wildfires, it's good that we do have the sea breeze keeping the near-surface smoke

for the most part pretty far away from the bay area. the same is not true for places just to our east. can you see the upper air plume sending smoke from california, oregon and also up through canada across the entire country, out towards the east coast. can you see how the smoke is pumping down from texas to mexico, luckily for us the onshore breezes which will be cooling down our temperatures i think is going to help keep our air quality pretty good as we head through the middle part of the week. cooler change ahead. for san francisco, you're probably thinking, it's been cold with the whole time. it's going to trend just a little cooler. as we drop out of the upper 90s inland back to more seasonal temperatures the next few days. the sea breeze helping us out with the air quality and cool us off. >> more comfortable. thanks, rob. up next, new venture for

colin kaepernick.

. well, the clock is ticking down to a historic spaceflight tomorrow. amazon's jeff bezos is ride into space aboard his blue origin rocket. there will be no pilots. just bezos, his brother and an aviation pioneer and a 18-year-old dutch space tourist. the crew talked to hoda kotb on the "today" show this morning. >> i'm so excited to see what it's like. people who go into space, they come back changed. astronauts always talk about that, whether it's the thin limb of the earth's atmosphere. >> plan is to fly for a few minutes and return safely. the capsule is entirely

automated, unlike richard branson's colin kaepernick is set to release a children's book. kaepernick grew up in turlock and remembered using a yellow crayon to color his family and a brown crayon to color himself. it could be a financial blow to the tokyo games. one of the top sponsors is pulling out of specific ads. toyota says the games are not accepted by the japanese public.

the chief executive officer will not attend the opening ceremony on friday. in the u.s. the ads have begun running and will continue to run throughout the olympic games. a l and there you have it - wireless on the fastest, most reliable network. wow! big deal! we get unlimited for just $30 bucks. i get that too and mine has 5g included. impressive. impressive is saving four hundred bucks a year. four bucks? that's tough to beat. relax people, my wireless is crushing it. okay, that's because you all have xfinity mobile. it's wireless so good, it keeps one upping itself.

emergency planning for kids. we can't predict when an emergency will happen. so that's why it's important to make a plan with your parents. here are a few tips to stay safe. know how to get in touch with your family. write down phone numbers for your parents, siblings and neighbors. pick a place to meet your family if you are not together and can't go home. remind your parents to pack an emergency supply kit. making a plan might feel like homework, but it will help you and your family stay safe during an emergency.

well, another showdown is set in just about an hour.

>> the two rivals will battle for first place. laura britt joins us for that and more. >>over the weekend, 9 cardinals took two out of three from the giants, which means the dodgers sit one game back of the giants in the standings. what do you know, the giants and dodge ers begin a three-game series tonight. you're going to want to catch giants pre and post-game live. and apparently it's a bat of the california teams. the a's get started tonight. oakland is looking to get back on track. it will be ready for the opening

ceremony for the olympics. >> i think we all need to get those shades so we look cool like laura. >> right now at 6:00, more than 48 hours without running water, forcing hundreds of people in the south bay to get creative. >> problem that's causing it and the new problem it's leading to in an exclusive story. >> plus, wearing masks in classrooms. the american academy of pediatrics takes a different stance than the cdc. >> in the schools where most kids are not vaccinated, the delta variant could spread very easily. >> what this means when you send your child back to school next month. >> will they stay or will they go? the deadline approaching for the a's and city of oakland to come

to agreement on the new ballpark. the news at 6:00 starts now. damian trujillo joins us. a lot of concerned reidents over there. >> reporter: they finally got their water at about 4:00, 4:30. this is the source of the water main break at the foxdale apartments. this situation set in yesterday for many of these residents, and it led them to tap into water that they're not supposed to be drinking. the water main at foxdale apartments broke s