some republican lawmakers say they want to tray to save drivers money at the gas pump by cutting back on california's 50 cent gas tax, but economists are raising questions about that idea. that story's coming up. the news at 6:00 starts rights now. good evening. thanks for being with us on this monday. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica. he was found dead in his home. how he dies is still unclear. david trujillo joins us from san jose state. >> reporter: he was not only a solid police officer, he was a standout football player here on this spartan field. his coaches and teammates say this is a big loss. >> there goes packard! >> reporter: he scored the winning touchdown in the big swrup set win over arkansas between years ago.

dajon packer was a champion on the football field and off it. >> he had this big smile. one of the most well liked guys on our team. really special young man. he was in such a great place in his life. >> reporter: the place was protecting others as a member of san jose's finest. he was finishing his first year as a cop, but tragedy struck over the weekend. police announcing 24-year-old dajon was found unresponsive inside his home. he was offduty. >> we have a lot of officers right now that are grieving. the loss of this young officer. he was very well liked. >> reporter: the coroner has not released the cause of death, but foul play has been ruled out. the loss that has devastated his new team and the team that saw him walk on from city college become a star running back. >> everyone here is really, really hurting. dajon was this incredible young man. he had so much, just, light to

share with the world. >> reporter: his head coach says he's not surprised dajon chose to become a police officer after leaving the grid iron, knowing he was always about service to others. >> i loved dajon packer, and we all did, and everyone here is going to miss him so much. he was special in every way. >> reporter: on the spartan campus, damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. it happened again, a smash and grab in broad dalt, the brazen robbery caught on surveillance video. take a look. you can see a group of nine people enter a store, knock over an employee who appeared to open the door to let them in. they used hammers and other tools to smash the cam ares and steal thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. it happened around 11:30 this morning in the east ridge mall. the store manager tells us this is the third robbery or attempted robbery in recent months. >> this is all our savings, and

that's our living. we are helpless. we don't know what to do. that's pretty traumatic. >> anyone with information is urged to call sjpd. a big day in schools across the state. masks now optional inside classrooms. that includes nearly every school district in the bay area. as nbc bay area found out, not every kid is ready to ditch the face coverings just yet. >> reporter: this is the first day that masks are optional at san jose unified school. here most students chose to take that option and stay masked up. teachers and school officials say they didn't know what to expect today with masks no longer mandated, but strongly recommend at schools. >> students are happy to be here like always, and interestingly enough, many of them are still wearing their masks. >> jennifer maddox, a spokesperson for san jose unified says they estimate almost 90% of students chose to

stay masked up today. >> i think that we've kind of shifted into a phase where instead of it being the community all doing something, we're now in a phase where you can do things to protect yourself. >> reporter: the option is not available for all san jose students. allen rock school district has decided to keep their mask mandate until the end of the school year. and parents we spoke to don't seem to mind. >> i would love them to wear it as much as they can. >> i think here we understand the implications and just want to make sure everyone was safe. >> reporter: allen roth was particularly hard hit by the pandemic and many say they would rather not risk another wave. >> i think until our community sees the rate lower that in the school it's a good practice. >> reporter: allen roth isn't alone. the frankly mckinney school district and oakland unified say

they'll wait at least a few weeks before lifting their mask mandates. call it a disgrace, congressional leaders demanded change after touring the federal prison in dublin. several of the prison's guards and a former warden face multiple allegations of sexually abuing inmates. jackie spear said she visited the women's prison to investigate and said she was prevented from speaking with inmates. today she toured to speak with staff and inmates. >> it is understood the microscope now because of our two visits. for the first time there are surprisingly cameras that are now being installed in many of the places where there are blind spots and where many of these sexual assaults occurred. >> the vice president of the prison guard union also joined today's tour. he said he believes the facility

has a great staff but had a, quote, few bad eggs that disgraced the ohs. well, your next cal tran ride is likely to be more crowded. riders are facing trimmed down services as crews make track repair after last week's crash. you remember this train clashed into a construction vehicle thursday. 13 people were hurt trying to get out of the train. over the weekend, the wreckage was cleared but now crews are working on the track. cal tran says there won't be any changes to midday or evening weekend service, but it's running fewer cars. traffic backed up on both direction on i-80 after a propane truck overturned. this is near apple gate road. chp said the truck crashed and it's now leaking propane. lines backed up from the shutdown. the driver of the truck was

seriously hurt. they're evacuating people near those neighborhoods. drivers urged to avoid the area until crews can vent the gas in the truck. could we eliminate the gas tax to bring down our sky high tax prices? today republican lawmakers called on the state to repeal the 50 cent gas tax. many economists say cutting the tax could do more harm than good. >> reporter: drivers say high gas prices are already starting to affect them. some say they starting to drive less. others say they can't driveless, so they're cutting back elsewhere. this university student saw the cost of his weekly commute skyrocket. >> now i'm spending about $200 a week, and as a full-time student it kind of suggestion because i got to cut some corners. >> reporter: among other cuts he doesn't go out on weekends anymore. in the first few day after russia invaded careen, we heard many drivers say they'd be willing to pay at the pump if it meant punishing russia.

with prices rising daily, some have questions about how long this will last. >> we need the 1% from russian, and i don't know why it's expensive here. >> reporter: speak outside a gas station, republican lawmakers lobbied for a trio of bills that would pause or eliminate california's 50 cent tax cost. >> we can do this. with the surplus we have we can back fill projects in transportation, which is why we have this additional tax for infrastructure. >> reporter: meanwhile economists who study the energy sector warn that cutting the gas tax may not provide any relief and could prevent infrastructure funding if it's suspended indefinitely. >> part of the gas tax reduction will be captured by the producer of gasoline. maybe the gas stations, the refineries. >> reporter: there are other options on the table as well. during his state of the union,

the governor suggested rebate checks sent directly to california drivers. in san francisco, nbc bay area news. >> thank you. the skyrocketing cost of gas is trickling down to ride share customers. lyft is adding a temporary fuel surcharge to help drivers cover the rising cost after gas at the pump. lyft has not said how much it will cost. uber implemented a cost last week. it's 45 cents to 50 cents per trip. it's a growing problem -- accidental overdoses on drugs laced with fentanyl are increasingly common and some bay area activists want to do something about it. they have been stocking clubs and bars even tattoo parlors with fentanyl test strips. the team even launched a website for their nonprofit so you can buy your own. >> in oakland, we have had the

opportunity to spend a little over a year trying to actually tame it a little bit and use the number of accidental overdoses. >> reporter: >> interest and concern is so high the group currently sold out of the test strips. they say people are going to experiment any way and it shouldn't be a life or death decision. lots of bar also stock narcan which can reverse some opioid overdoses. up next, welcome back. how san francisco is celebrating a return to normalcy this week. i'm scott budman. just ahead, how the fight against covid halfway around the world could affect your ability to upgrade your electronics. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. what a day outside. sunny skies, blue sky, lots of 70s. not good you have in for record bus certainly above average. much needed rain chances moving

in, coming up in eight minutes. an as we prepare cocome on in the west, russian forces bombard kyiv as president zelenskyy prepares to address the u.s. congress. and what nfl great tom brady and others are say about his decision to come out of retirement on "nightly news." episode three of our new streaming series "saving san francisco" is out now, and this week we take you 3,000 miles across the country to find out more about a homeless man who's really divided a quiet san francisco community. so, who was he before all this? here's a preview. >> how would you describe that? >> probably the most full of life i've ever seen in an individual before or since. he was the best friend i ever had. he was almost like a big brother to me. >> the two met at freshman at st. anselm college, a private

catholic school in new hampshire. james major in the literature. >> i thought he was going to end up being an actor or a writer. there was nobody i thought would be more successful. >> you can strem the series on any of our platforms or watch online at nbcbayarea.com/saying san francisco.

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it's taken a lot to get to this moment. dreams are on the line. you got this. it all, comes down, to this. [ everyone cheers ] the rise in covid cases in china might be impacting us here. tech gadgets, cars and other items might be even harder to

come by. here's our business tech reporter scott budman. >> reporter: if you're wondering how popular apple devices are here, just ask victor gossett. a true member of the apple faithful the iphone, the apple watch. saw the air pods. >> yeah. >> reporter: you're set up. >> yeah. >> reporter: but if he wants to upgrade any time soon he may run into a supply chain problem. china shutting down its shenzhen facility as the country fights a spike in covid. that facility includes fox conn, which builds everything from iphones to nintendo gaming systems. >> the u.s. economy and the chinese economy are very tightly linked. >> reporter: which is why san jose state business professor robert wood chapman says china's shut downis likely our slowdown. >> given we're in a tight situation globally, shutting

down shenzhen, everyone if it's for just a week, is not a great thing. >> reporter:th manufacturing facilities being put on pause make computer chips, which means everything from cars to computers could soon take even longer to get. some tell us they'll be patient. >> because if you have a new enough device it still work just fine. >> reporter: others like victor expect prices to rise. >> they are most likely using to same raw materials. >> reporter: on the news investors pushed apple stock lower by 2.5%. the company does have to ability to move some of its manufacturing to other chinese facilities, at least for the time being. in los gates, scott budman. the trial begins for sunny balwani, the cofounder of their nose and boyfriend of elizabeth

holmes. prosecutors say they mislead investors opening arguments expected to start tomorrow, but it's pushed to wednesday. balwani's trial come after holmes was convicted on four charges. a mask on, you don't have to take it off to unlock your phone. a new future allows to you leave your mask on. updates include -- features, a siri voice, and a tap to pay feature. netflix is losing viewers and investors. netflix has lost all the stock gains it made during the pandemic. shares are down to about $360 from its all-time high. expert say with everything opening up in term of covid, netflix is reporting fewer

subscribers. it also has more competition. moving forward, london breed is urging people to get back downtown. it has been mostly everity since the start of the pandemic, so breed announced a new plan called bloom sf. basically businesses are teaming up to hold a week long series of events to welcome back employees. there's going to be music, entertainment, and of course food. >> because we are back. we are back and now it's time to really appreciate life like never before. >> okay, this all kicks off march 27th and it will run through april 2nd. >> you see that weather out there? >> gorgeous. >> it's like september in the city. >> i was in san francisco for a little bit last week, and it was just so nice to be eating at the restaurants. >> to feel that vie bransy again. >> there were a lot of people out. >> happy monday. >> you guys, too. we've got rain coming in, so it is happy in the weather department.

let's take sbu that microclimate forecast. tonight, the good news, if you have also been suffering from allergies, look at our report -- cedar, oak, and sycamor. we're going to get rain chances moving in. let me get you to the timing on this. through most of tonight, i think we're okay if you have aarons to run. once he hit 11:00 we get light to moderate gurnville, santa rosa. that will push to the south. early commuters around 5:00 in the morning, san francisco, east bay, a little more peninsula, south bay. spotty rain and cloud coverage. you can see here right through the day for tomorrow. it's not the major storm system, but a little bit of something here. trace amounts to .2 inches. you can see the area in this

blue color, which goes with the key to the totals. right around santa rosa, could be high were a quarter inch. we have two additional chances coming our way, but the way things are looking now, the strongest totals could certainly be pushing off towards washington and other. i got to tell you, the signature we're seeing on this, the way the storm systems have been hitting the west doughs and missing us is a classic la nina setup, which diverts to the north and we still have currently doling with la nina. frustrating after all that rainfall we had in october and december. we have to take the cards we're dealt. start off chilly, might need that umbrella. 40s from the south bay to the peninsula and trivalley. san francisco, head back into work, 47 degrees. daytime highs tomorrow, instead of mid to upper 7 0s, we're back down to reality, 67 in

cupertino. liver more. 66 in redwood city. right here through napa, 65. seven-day forecast shows spotty rain right on thursday, and then another possibility on saturday. it will get breezy to windy this weekend as well. even though spring arrives sunday, temperatures will be cold. we're sticking with 60 on saturday. a lilt warmer once we hit sunday's forecast. so not quite pool weather yet, but, you know, we're got some decent weather mixed in there. >> noticing it's still light outside, too. reducing plane noise near sfo, the new technology adopted by sfa.

new video tonight of a fire that rped through a san francisco home. it was in the ingleside heights neighborhood. the video is from citizen app. it shows the flames just

shooting into the air. luckily no one was injured. firefighters say a dog did die. the airport announced it's getting new landing gear. it's called ground base augmentation system, to reduce noise. it will also help aircraft land with greater precision and improve safety. the faa signed off on the update. no word yet on when they'll start to implement the new technology. ready to go out for a concert? pearl jam is coming to town, may 12th and 13th at the oakland arena. they were originally set to play in april of 2020, but rescheduled because of the pandemic. tickets for the original dates will still be honored. something else you might want to do, heading back to the shark tank when you can see the best figure skaters in san jose. a look inside 30 rock. you see lester holt preparing

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♪ agmrenovations.com ♪ [announcer] call now and get $3,000 off! this is always fun, one of the best events in the bay area, the u.s. figure skating championships are coming back. was scheduled to be in san jose last year but was relocated past year because of the pandemic. tickets go on friday, sale, so make sure you get them. tonight at 7:00, is there

anything that could bring down our sky high gas prices? we spoke to an expert at uc berkeley who said to drop the gas tax would not work. a wls spoke to the ukrainian consulate general. civilian attacks in ukraine. russian forces fired at an apartment build gt in the capital city, directly hitting an undefended target, making no -- between civilians and soldiers. richard engle is at the site of that destruction, going to tell us more about what happens next. lester holt joins us from new york right now. tonight russia stepping up its deadly strikes as ukraine's president prepares to address congress missiles landing in the capital, kyiv, a bus exploding near a bystander, another strike hitting an apartment building new drone video shows

the port city of mariupol in ruins. russia broadening its offensive with a deadly attack on nato's doorste miles from the polish border, as the two sides pause talks, ukraine's president set to address congress virtually this week and a moment of live tv, antiwar protester disrupting russia's state media broadcast. the escalating refugee crisis, nearly 3 million people putting a strain on ukraine's neighbors. also tonight, severe storms on the move across the south. we're tracking it. new video on the manhunt for a potential serial killer is the same suspect preying on the homeless in new york and d.c. and the nypd searching for a suspect in a shocking stabbing attack at the famed museum of modern art tom brady is back. why the man many called the greatest of all time is returning 40 days after announcing his retirement dolly's decision