next covid vaccines for kids. should it be a requirement to go to school? or a choice? today thousands of parents pulled their kids out of class and protested the california mandate. >> we have a choice. >> we want some long-term studies. >> we are talking about those concerns with one of our covid experts. also, a legendary military leader with strong bay area ties. remembering general colin powell,is impact globally and in the bay area. we are joined by leon panetta.

and schools put on lockdown because of a mountain lion. we were there the moment the big cat was captured. and these two rescued a man from a burning apartment. good evening. >> this is nbc bay area news tonight. our last interview with general colin powell here in our studios and how he defended his actions about the war in iraq. that's in a few minutes, and the bay area sports star caught lying about his vaccine status. that's just ahead, as well. we start tonight with pushback from parents. thousands of them pulled their kids out of class today, out of school, to protest the state's student vaccine mandate. that's not all. take a look. thousands of parents showed up in person at various rallies. their message? my kids, my choice. the biggest rally was in sacramento at the state capitol. you see on the left side of your screen, our nbc chopper was overhead.

we also had rallies in the bay area. on the right side of the screen. among them, santa rosa at the sonoma office of education. a state mandate requires all elementary through high school students get vaccinated for in person learning. this goes into effect once the fda approves the vaccine for all age groups. it's not just public schools. the rule applies for privates as well. >> we want some long-term studies that's years down the road that there is not going to be any negative adverse effect for children. >> it does seem to cross the line to just the mandate aspect with these little children, just doesn't seem to sit right with me. >> we are going to home-school or, if not, worse come to worse, my husband and i have discussed we may need to move out of state where they don't have these mandates. >> all right. so when is this going to happen? the governor expects the school vaccine mandate to apply to all students 7th grade and above to start in the fall of next year.

so fall 2022. so what are the real concerns here for parents? joining us this evening, dr. peter from css. this applies to me. i have a 7th grader in school now. one the biggest reasons we hear from parents, we don't know how the long-term effects of these covid vaccines will be. what is the science showing? >> well, i certainly understand parents' concerns, being a father myself. but i would say that historically in vaccines in kids we usually see very serious effects in the first two months. given the fact that most of the kids in the trials so far ages 5 to 11, and we have had much longer follow-up for adolescents, have done well beyond the first two months. we think it's going to be fine. also, between 5 and 11, the dose is really one-third of the adult dose. and we already see that in the

initial results that there are fewer instances of fever and this compares to the older age group. so for all intents and purposes, a mandate in covid-19 vaccines similar to the mandate in so many other child vaccinations will continue to make not just our schools safer, continue to make our community safer. >> well said. you have a good way to communicate with your patients as well. what about the phrase my kid, my choice? >> when we think about diseases that have public health importance and affect the community, we think about individual benefit, but we also think about the benefit of our neighbors, the benefit of the kid in the seat next to me, the benefit in terms of keeping our kids in school, in person, and all of those attendant advantages. i think that we have to think broader about, you know, that

one to one relationship. >> what exemptions could we see for kids? religious, medical? what do you think? >> right now i think the only sort of exemptions that you might see in the future that would be genuine maybe religious. they are going to accept medical exemptions sometime in california, unlike some of the other childhood vaccinations like measles, where california has become very, very strict about that. i think in the beginning, you know, listening to some of the parents' concerns, they are going to be a little bit more lenient before seeing what the --. so long-term data looks like. >> and a bit off topic, kids 5 through 11, could happen by the end. month. when will we see vaccines go into arms for that age group? >> so the fda already has date, october 26th, to meet. and then we know the drill after that. so then cdc will meet a few days

later. the only difference with the kid vaccines is because it's one-third the dose, they need to have special syringes and it's not like going and digging into the existing stores. so i think that it wouldn't be very long after a week after october 26th, hopefully, right around halloween time. >> thank you so much. and i would be remiss not to say happy birthday. hopefully, you enjoy this evening with your family and friends. thanks for joining us. >> thanks so much, raj. the best birthday ever. >> you got it. our question of the day. what exceptions should be given to the covid-19 vaccine mandate at schools? a lot of responses here. jennifer says, there should be an exemption for medical reasons and a religious exemption, but the religious exemption should only be given if the family is affiliated with an organized religion that has historically been against vaccinations in schools prior to covid. medical and religious are a

must. it should be optional to whomever wants the jab. there should be no exceptions. only if the child has an immune disorder. well, it's not just about vaccines in schools. each day goes by, more businesses are making covid shots mandatory. what happens if you lie about your vaccine status? today a bay area sports star was suspended. sharks forward evander kane suspended for the next 21 games without pay for what the nhl is calling a violation of its covid protocol. earlier this month evander kane was being investigated for submitting a fake covid vaccine card to the sharks. his employer. the nhl does not have a vaccine mandate, but vaccinated players have fewer restrictions and don't have to quarantine when the teams are playing in can that. this suspension for kane will cost him nearly 1.7 million bucks of his $7 million a year salary. evander kane releasing this statement, i would like to apologize to my teammates.

the san jose sharks organization and all sharks fans for violating the nhl covid protocols. i made a mistake, one i sincerely regret, and take responsibility for. now, united airlines is embracing and enforcing its vaccine mandate. the airline has about 67,000 employees here in the united states. the president united tells me tonight that 99% of his employees are fully vaxed. >> what do united do differently or what did you do to get on this course of 99%? >> one part was communication and transparency. we talked very early on about our desire to do this. i think there was an expectation within our organization when we were able to do it, we would require it. we spent a lot of time educating our employees about the vaccines and we shared a perspective that the one way for us to really beat this pandemic, to get our business back on track and to

create an environment where both our customers and our employees and their families were safe was to get everyone vaccinated. >> he said he talked about the communication with the employees and also dealing with the various labor unions for united. my interview was part of a commonwealth club event that i moderated this afternoon with business leaders and a doctor from kaiser. today the nation lost a trailblazing leader. general colin powell legendary, controversial at times, but ultimately truthful and bold. general powell has deep ties to the bay area. his family announced this morning he died from complications of covid-19. he was fully vaccinated but had a type of blood cancer that made the vaccine less effective. general powell was born in 1937 in harlem much immigrant parents. he started service in the army, in vietnam, eventually becoming a four-star general. he worked under four presidents, breaking barriers each time. he was the first national

security advisor, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and secretary of state. general powell's work outside of politics often brought him here to the bay area. he served as an advisor to the venture firm kleiner perkins on sand hill road. he was on the boards for salesforce, based in san francisco, and for san jose-based bloom energy. in 2012 the general came here to our newsroom. he agreed to a sitdown interview, no topic off the table. i asked him about the u.s. invasion of iraq based on false information that saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction. >> quote here. it was one of my most momentous failures, with the widest ranging impact. how does the secretary of state talk to the u.n. and be misled. >> i don't like the word misled because we didn't think we were being misled. i still don't think we were misled. we had bad information and we had wrong analysis. but it isn't as if i was misled by people who, you know, thought

they were misleading me. >> is it difficult to digestlos 5,000 servicemen and women, and innocent iraqi civilians, to digest your part in history in all of this? >> of course. it's something i have to digest. how about the president? he is the one who made the decision. but the basic problem rests with saddam hussein. he is the one who put us in this position. he is the one who caused the president to believe that we could not leave this regime in power when we think they have weapons of mass destruction and as it turned out they didn't. >> very candid and very firm. now, for those in his inner circle, what will they remember about him most? we talked with former cia director and secretary of defense leon panetta: >> secretary panetta, thank you so much for joining us. a difficult day for so many. tributes coming in all day for colin powell.

what do you remember most about him? >> i think of colin powell as really one of the finest military leaders in the post-world war ii-era. he was totally dedicated to men and women in uniform. he was dedicated to protecting our national security and he was dedicated to our country. in many ways, his passing marks the passing of a generation of american leaders who were committed to the truth, committed to our national security, to our values, and most of all a leader who always placed country ahead of party. >> can you tell us about the personal side of him? >> yeah, no. he really lived the american dream. as the son of immigrants. i'm the son of italian immigrants and i have often said i lived the american dream.

so colin and i used to talk about that, the ability to live the american dream. but more importantly, he and his wife were committed to giving young people, you know, regardless of their backgrounds, giving young people the opportunity to be able to enjoy that american dream, and they did an awful lot in charitable work to try to inspire young people to do what colin powell was able to do with his life. >> he was also someone that, to many, didn't seem political. he did his job. he did what he thought was best for the nation no matter whose feathers may have been ruffled. very difficult to find somebody in that position, someone like that, who served for multiple presidents, democrats and republicans. >> he is not somebody who i would consider, you know, political in any way. he was really a military officer

who was committed to this country. and so oftentimes he ran into problems with politics. he didn't want to run for president, although his name was mentioned prominently for the presidency. but he just did not have the fire in the belly to get involved in politics. he really liked the opportunity to serve this country in a way that he felt he could make the greatest contribution to the united states. >> the nation lost a great human being today. the country is definitely mourning. secretary panetta, we appreciate your time so much. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. >> she also talked about the iraq war and what he thinks colin powell's greatest contributions to the nation were. watch the full interview at nbc bay area and our app.

we loss posted the 2012 interview as well. up next, a mountain lion prowling near two schools in the north bay. pretty jarring to see this. we will show how wildlife officials rescued the cat zmoo and what's next for the giants? we chatted with gabe kapler. you are watching nbc bay area news tonight.

how would you like to be a kid in school and see this unfold. the moment of that mountain lion was tranquilized in the north bay 100 yards from an elementary school. the big cat is okay and undergoing medical tests tonight. here's what happened. the young female cougar was spotted near two schools this morning. evergreen elementary and lawrence jones middle school were put in lockdown until wildlife rescue crews arrived. tonight the cougar is being monitored at a petaluma rescue center. >> we will be able to see what kind of behavior she is exhibiting. we have two healthy mountain lions here that are in our exhibits, and we know exactly what they should be acting like and what they shouldn't be acting like. >> that big cat is in good hands. experts have been tracking this cat since collaring her in march. she has a known neurological issue but has been surviving well in the wild until now. they say blood tests will help

determine if she can be re-released. some other stories on this monday night. a shocking evening at chase center in san francisco. two people fell or jumped from the upper level inside the arena. this happened at two different times at two different locations during a concert. it all happened during the phish concert last night. the first fall was at about 9:00 p.m. the victim had just been identified, has just been identified as 47-year-old -- a 47-year-old man from new york state. witnesses tell us other fans and emergency workers rushed to help, but could not save him. he died. the second fall happened almost an hour later. that person ended up landing on another fan in the audience below. both are expected to recover. now, we spoke with the concert goer feet away from the fatal fall. >> there was no movement. the fact that they did cpr so quickly was a sign that, like,

it wasn't good. >> medics then began treatment to the male but despite the efforts of the emergency responders, the male was declared deceased at the scene. >> really tough to witness all of this. chase center releasing a statement late today saying we extend our heartfelt condolences to the victims' loved ones. we are working with local authorities to determine exactly what happened. officers say they do not suspect foul play of any type. we are also learning a complaint was filed with san francisco, with the city, about chase center and the railings. that complaint was filed today. we are told people from the department of building inspection will be at chase center tomorrow. another story we're watching the thousands still in the dark after a little rain caused a lot of problems for pg&e and pg&e customers. pg&e says those light showers that we saw in the last 24 24 hours caused outages that left 35,000 customers in the bay area without power last night.

tonight more than 6,000 customers are still waiting to have their power restored. pg&e says crews have been working throughout the day to get the lights back on. last week we saw the heartbreak. today the game plan moving forward. what's it gonna be? what should we expect next season for the giants? the planning starts right now. here is nbc bay area's anthony flores from the ballpark. >> ready to move on from the sting of losing the division series, the leaders say it's still not easy to watch the playoffs after their season ended on a controversial check-swing in game five to the dodgers. >> you're like we could be playing in that game, but i'm, you know, at home watching this game in my sweats. >> at the end of the day i think we were able to think about the great things that happened during the season and appreciate those. >> even though they came up short in game five, the giants still have a lot to be proud of. their 107 wins set a franchise record for regular season

victories. now the question is how do they build off this year's success? they say it's all about pitching. they want to add more quality starters to their rotation. >> 3-2 pitch. >> and another priority, bringing back key veterans like first baseman brandon belt and buster posey. the leadership he provides behind the plate and in the clubhouse. >> the best catcher in baseball this year. having him on the team is a high priority. >> the giants still believe just playing with fans back in the stands helped fuel a rebirth of energy and excitement in the city and throughout the organization. in san francisco, anthony flores, nbc bay area. >> i think a lot of people in the bay area are fans of the atlanta braves. let's take you outside on this beautiful monday night. great look of the city. salesforce tower with the bay bridge in the foreground. jeff ranieri will be busy this

week. a lot happening. we will talk about our forecast which could include rain. stay with us.

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commendation. pretty cool to see this as well. we have a lot of things coming into the bay area this week. >> three different storm systems the next seven days, and the one on saturday night into sunday could even bring us some flooding issues up in the north bay. a closer look, you can see tomorrow night into wednesday morning we will see a system. thursday into friday, a second one. and saturday night into monday, that could be the potential stronger storm. tomorrow we get the best chance of rain by 10:00 p.m. up in the north bay. for the east bay and south bay it heads into early wednesday morning for the rain chances. we will see the highest totals tuesday night into wednesday over the north bay, a half to one inch. in the south bay trace amounts to a tenth nfrp. lesser amounts to the south. my seven-day forecast off and on rain chances the next seven days. cold temperatures in the 60s. the second storm five, a tenth to one inch, a better bet in the

north bay and saturday night into monday 0.75 inch to three inches. the north bay we could have to watch out for flood concerns. raj, a day-by-day situation on that that possible stronger storm. >> clean your gutters, bring in your patio furn include. for everyone here at nbc bay area, have great evening.

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