happened on or off campus. other parents anxiously waiting for their children. in san jose, damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. a follow-up to a tragic story about a boy killed on his way to school. after a thorough investigation, police say it was a horrific accident. a couple of weeks ago, 13-year-old andre retana died after being hit by a truck after riding his bike to school in mountain view. after looking through video cameras, police determined the boy fell off his bike in front of the construction truck after riding up in front of it in the driver's blind spot. the driver came to a complete stop for a red light and was clear to make a turn when he accidentally hit the boy. retana was on his way to grand middle school when the accident happened. homeowners in san

francisco's bayview hunter's point are celebrating a big legal win. they reached their first settlement in a web of lawsuits related to the cleanup of radioactive materials at the former navy shipyard. without admitting any fault, developers lenar and five point agreed to pay homeowners $6.3 million to end the class action suit they faced. there are still nearly a dozen lawsuits pending against a different company the navy hired to remove radioactive soil from the former shipyard. >> it's a big victory and i think it will have significant repercussions as the rest of the cases, including the rest of this case, move forward through the court system. >> i've always said the bayview and the shipyard is always the suniest part of san francisco. today the sun is shining brighter. >> reporter: two workers involved in the radioactive cleanup pleaded guilty five years ago to falsifying the results from some soil samples. the navy has now hired a new company to test the soil at hunter's point. a small earthquake near

salinas this afternoon. a 3.3 magnitude struck at 3:39 about two miles from san juan batista. so far, no injuries have been reported. a popular restaurant in antioch became an ars sonnist's target. the applebee's location at hillcrest avenue caught fire after somebody through some sort of accelerant through the window. as jodi hernandez reports, the search is on for the fire bug. >> reporter: fire investigators won't say exactly what kind of accelerant the arsonist used, but whatever the suspect threw right through this window ignited a fire inside. doing enough damage to force the restaurant to temporarily close. this antioch family planned to eat lunch at applebee's, only to learn someone set fire to their favorite family restaurant. >> these people are just trying to make money and provide you service. wow. that's really sad, what our world has come to. >> i don't think there's another

place that's comfortable like this place nearby. a little disappointing. >> reporter: fire investigators say somebody deliberately started the blaze early this morning. >> determined that accelerant was used through the window and started the fire in a booth. the fire was contained to the booth in the restaurant. >> reporter: luckily, the eat every's sprinklers immediately kicked in, putting out the flames and keeping the damage to a minimum. investigators say they're hoping to find surveillance video but are confident they'll catch whoever is responsible. >> we're hopeful that within a week we'll be able to track down leads and locate the person responsible. >> reporter: tonight, repairs are under way. a manager says it will likely take a week to reopen. in antioch, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. now to the latest in ukraine. in spite what was russian negotiators have promised the past few days, russian troops are not withdrawing from parts of ukraine. that's the update from nato's secretary-general today. russia has been saying it would pull troops out of the kyiv

area, concentrating the war in eastern ukraine. but nato and western governments say they've seen little evidence that's happening. instead, russian forces have been launching more attacks around kyiv and chernihiv. meantime, today president biden said there are indications russian president vladimir putin is, quote, self-isolating. >> there's a lot of speculation. but he seems to be -- i'm not saying this was a certainty -- he seems to be self-isolating. and there's some indication that he has fired or put under house arrest advisers. >> reporter: declassified u.s. intelligence claims some of putin's senior advisers have not been communicating accurate information about the war in ukraine, leaving him to believe the russian military is doing better than it is. the kremlin rejects that saying the pentagon has no real information about what's happening at the kremlin. cesar chavez day, a state

and local holiday to honor cesar chavez. chavez lived in this home on sharp avenue in east san jose. in fact, that's where he began the farm worker organizing effort that would become part of his legacy. the home sits off of allan rock school district, but due to covid concerns, students there were not able to plan their annual march honoring chavez. while they couldn't march together, some schools did decide to hold their own on-campus marches in chavez's honor. >> he's inspired so many, inspired myself. learning about him in class has inspired me to do better in the future. i'm going to -- i feel like i want to learn about him more. >> now i understood why he protested, what his hunger strikes were about. >> chavez died of natural causes in 1993 in arizona. his efforts led to the creation of a united farm workers union, which to this day is regarded as one of the most important labor and civil rights groups in america. protected for now. tens of thousands of renters in

california will not be kicked out of their homes for at least the next three months. state legislature passed a bill today extending eviction protections for anyone who has applied for help. california will pay for rent if they fell behind on payments because of the pandemic. the bill will stop evictions for people who have applied for assistance. however, it won't give renters more time to apply for help. that deadline is midnight tonight. it's not just rents rising. mortgage payments appear to be ticking up as well. go ahead and take a look at this line graph right here. it's put together by the mortgage bankers association. it's pretty much a five-year snapshot that shows where mortgage payments were and where they are now. and you can see the difference. so let's go ahead and start with 2018. you can see the average mortgage payment per month is $1,200 per month. you move to 2020. that is the start of the pandemic. you could see it dips significantly here.

since then you can see it creeping up, all of a sudden skyrockets to where we are now, more than $1,600 the average mortgage payment now at this time. a much-loved piece of japanese american history came to an end today. the longest-running business in san francisco's japan town, the benkyodo mochi shop closed its doors after more than 150 years. robert handa joins us from san francisco's japan town where the owners have decided to retire. >> reporter: it is quiet right now at the benkyodo mochi shop. but at least the end came with much love and fanfare. starting at the crack of dawn, the okimora family pounded and shaped the last batches of fresh rice cakes inside the benkyodo mochi shop in san francisco's japan town, has three generations have done for 115 years. outside, the last long line of customers waited, patiently and

hopefully. >> i tried getting some on tuesday. and i got here probably around 8:30. but that was not early enough. so i came back today at 6:00. >> we know that it's coming to an end. kind of sad. very emotional. but we made the decision, we're sticking with it, just going on after that. >> does it help that you have to still make the mochi today? >> i guess, yeah, actually, yeah. i guess in a way it is -- feels like a regular day. a busy regular day. but back of our minds, it's come to an end. >> reporter: the family will miss generations of customers. >> i saw them, before they got married, then they got married, they had the kids, you know. then the kids are all grown up. so it's really very heartbreaking, you know. >> reporter: and when the doors closed, the family and workers were honored with a community celebration and a big arrigato. >> i want to thank every one of

you for your support through all these years. >> reporter: with that, it was over. a decision to retire after more than a century of hard work. >> it's sort of looking forward to retiring than still working. >> don't be overly modest. anybody here ever going to be able to find mochi as good as this? >> probably not. i doubt it. >> reporter: i doubt it too. and i was honored to get this from the last batch. it's a souvenir that i won't have for very long, but at least, like everyone else, i will savor the memories. in san francisco, robert handa, nbc bay area news. >> robert, bring some back to the station. all the best to them. still ahead, facebook versus tiktok. what "the washington post" uncovered about meta as it tries to compete with the tiktok app. the south bay family has their wheelchair-accessible van stolen overnight. the surprising place officers found the van next.

chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. after the 3.4-magnitude quake south of gilroy, looking out for aftershocks, so far nothing sizable. details on the heat coming our way in ten minutes.

facebook parent company meta is paying one of the nation's biggest republican consulting firms to undercut rival platform tiktok and their methods included fake news. "washington post" reports meta paid the gop group targeted victory to plant stories including the slap the teacher tiktok challenge to local newspapers and tv stations, especially in key congressional districts. and as you can see, several stations aired that story. but in reality, there was no

such challenge on tiktok are but that rumor did start on facebook. meta told "the washington post" that, quote, all platforms including tiktok should face a level of scrutiny consistent with their growing success. a tiktok spokesperson tells us the company is, quote, deeply concerned. we have a po positive ending to share about a heartbreaking theft that this morning in san jose. it started when someone stole a family's wheelchair-accessible van. nbc bay area's scott budman picks up the story from there. >> reporter: here's how the story started. early this morning, a man walked up to the wheelchair-accessible van parked outside the hancock house in san jose. he starts the van and drives away. >> see the guy walk to it, drove it off. pretty bad. >> reporter: that's kerry hancock. her 27-year-old son jeffrey is

wheelchair-bound due to muscular dystrophy and that van is critical to getting him around. >> yeah, jeffrey's in a power wheelchair. that's how we get him anywhere. i mean, all his doctor appointments. if we want to have lunch or dinner. i mean, you don't just put him in a regular car. >> reporter: late this afternoon, after the police had been contacted -- >> came out, took a report, took the video. >> reporter: relief. the van was found. officers say they found it among other stolen vehicles, damaged but still usable. the hancock family calls it a good ending to what started as a very bad day. in san jose, scott budman, "nbc bay area news." 2-year-old boy from ukraine is in new york city getting ready for cancer treatment after doctors removed a brain tumor. marc had the surgery in ukraine just as the war began but the fighting got so intense, the family had to hide in their basement so they weren't able to go to the boy's chemo or

radiation appointments. that's when elena, 13-year-old cancer survivor from new york, stepped in. >> i know cancer. it's hard enough to deal with. i experienced it myself. but i experienced it with the comfort of my family, in that hospital, with lots of experienced doctors. i can't imagine having to deal with it in the basement of your own home. >> elena and her family flew marc and his family to new york, got them a safe place to stay, and set up with a team of doctors, and they are hopeful that marc will be able to start treatment soon. the covid vaccine for kids has been found to be less effective against omicron than delta. that's according to a new study in the new england journal of medicine. still, it did protect against severe illness from both variants. researchers found that vaccinations of 5 to 11-year-olds reduced hospitalizations by more than two-thirds during the omicron surge. they also found it reduced hospitalizations in kids 12 to 18. today is international

transgender day of visibility. it's a day dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done for the community. today several lgbtq organizations put together an event in san francisco to bring members of the trans community together. organizers say today's event is a celebration that should be happening every day. >> you are not alone. and today and every day, we see you, we uplift you, we stand with you. those folks who are not trans and watching this, i would like to tell you to check in on a trans person. with what is transpires in this country, san francisco and the san francisco bay area as a whole needs to stand as a classic example of trans affirmation and trans inclusion and safe spaces for trans people. here is a look at the white house where the biden administration invited oakland resident and "jeopardy!" champ

amy schneid tore visit today as the biden administration rolled out a series of measures in transgender americans. >> i'm really honored to be here and really grateful that this is being celebrated and the trans people are being celebrated in a place like this. >> schneider met with the second gentleman and discussed the importance of transgender visibility and equality. betty reid sosskin, the national park service's oldest active ranger, ride after a decade and a half of service. she celebrated her 100th birthday in september last year. she spent her last day providing an interpretive program and visiting the rosie the visitor world war ii memorial. soskin founded reid's records in berkeley with her former husband. it was the first black-owned record store in the bay area. she was active in the civil rights movement and later worked for state assembly members deanna r. ner and lonny hancock. after attending a presentation on development of the rosie the

riveter historic park, she began her career as a park ranger in 2000. soskin's interpretive programs illuminated the histories of african americans and other people of color. the park will celebrate betty's retirement on saturday, april 16th, in richmond. >> she has done so many wonderful things over the years. i'm so happy for her. >> i know. >> that's a well-deserved retirement. >> and proof that the great outdoors is good for you, right? >> oh, yes. >> she's looking good, looking strong. >> she's going to really enjoy the outdoors next week. >> right, with the retirement, it's heating up. everyone's going, i'm sort of excited about this. definitely a big, stark change from where we started the week off when we did have 50s and rainfall. felt like winter out there are as we take a look outside today, by all accounts it was comfortable. you can see in concord right now a little bit of haze off towards the distance. 69 degrees.

as we head through tonight, we'll keep mostly clear skies and temps dropping into the 50s. that's going to set us up with an awesome morning for tomorrow. mostly sunny skies here throughout a lot of the bay area. temperatures in the 40s. 44 in the peninsula. south bay at 45. but you will want to watch out for some isolated areas with patchy fog. i don't think visibility is going to be too bad. you may encounter some through the east bay and as you're traveling into san francisco, maybe heading into work with 47 degrees. daytime highs tomorrow also looking really comfortable on your friday forecast. i don't think any of this is going to get in your way from enjoying this beautiful day. temperatures going up 3 to 5 degrees. 75 in morgan hill. cupertino 73. east bay, we have 76 in concord. 75 danville. closer to the water, a little cooler with that bay breeze, 69 in hayward. peninsula 67 in san mateo. up to san francisco, 65 in the mission. 64 downtown. and right through the north bay, 74 in ukiah.

75 clear lake. sonoma, 73. so we have that enjoyable weather tomorrow. i think we're going to see similar weather like this as we head into saturday's forecast. so next two days it's going to stay pretty much the same from this area of high pressure building in. we're going to undergo a lot of changes the next eight to ten days. i want you to be ready. you're going to just start to get used to this. i don't want you to get caught off guard. once we hit sunday's forecast, we're going to see a very quick change here. this small system is going to move in. it's going to drop temperatures, also bring in wind again on sunday's forecast. this thing's going to get out of here. as we head through next tuesday, wednesday, thursday, this area of high pressure right here, it is going to heat us up and big-time. we'll be close to some record-setting highs. we can show you that trend a lot better here in san jose. so again, saturday, 76. that's good. then there's that cool-down sunday, monday. we'll be back into the 60s in san jose. here we go, back up to 84 wednesday. 90 on thursday. 84 on friday. so i think we'll stay out of

excessive heat warnings but quite a spike moving in. on the seven-day forecast in san francisco, you can see 60s over the next few days. we do have a little bit of wind we talked about, 15 to 35 miles per hour. hold on to your hats sunday. you can see for the inland valleys, 78 saturday. then we get that heat returning for us. so a lot happening the next few days. this is good, we had recent rain, and at least there's not hunts in the forecast. we're trying to push away the fire danger right now. >> not excessive heat, but people walking around in 90 will say, this feels excessive. >> yeah, you got it. >> thank you very much. coming up, it's harder for women to make it in the bay than men. the new study about the gender pay gap next.

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making it in the south bay is easier if you are a man. a new study by zillow finds men in san jose can afford 16 times more home than women can. the new study applies the gender pay gap to real estate. in other words, the average man in san jose can afford just over 3% of the city's homes, while the average woman can afford just a fraction of one percent, a reflection of how expensive hopes are in the bay area since neither can afford many homes here. nationwide, men can afford 57% of housing stock. women can afford nearly 40%. with the idea of making some of those homes more affordable, san francisco's mission bay neighborhood added new housing today. mayor london breed took part in the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the sister lillian murphy community. it's 152 units of affordable housing in the heart of the

mission. the homes range from studio to five-bedroom units. they're for households that are in roughly $75,000 for one person, up to $106,000 for a family of four. >> we know it's very, very expensive to build here. and so having, you know, both private and state financial support to get projects like this done is really extraordinary. >> as the mayor said, public and private funds were used to build the community. still ahead, a journey to the edge of the earth's atmosphere. why this mission was extra special for blue origin.

six more space tourists got to blast out of earth's atmosphere today. >> the fourth crewed spaceflight for jeff bezos' blue origin lifted off today from west texas. ten minutes after liftoff, the capsule floated back down under three parachutes. the mission was called "ns-20" in honor of the 20th flight of the new shepard vehicle. that's the reusable launch vehicle the capsule uses to lift off. garvin, you were telling me if you were invited to take part, you would? >> well, it's interesting. we've had two stories in this newscast which are bucket list items for me.

>> no way. >> one to go into space. the other to live to 100 years old, betty soskin. we covered both bucket list items in the news cast. >> nice. >> i would say no to both. >> no? >> solid no. >> all right, don't forget, you can watch us live on roku, amazon fire, and apple tv. coming up tonight at 5:30, ordering the release of a million barrels of oil a day. the move by president biden in a bid to lower gas prices. putin's war is imposing the cost on america and our allies. and the push by the white house to speed up deliveries of electric cars. plus are gas prices on the downswing in the new numbers on a gallon of unleaded and what it means for your pocketbook. and lockdown in shanghai. the local merchant mariner stuck in china amid a coronavirus surge.

is. >> a local covid expert weighs in. the news at 5:30 starts right now. thanks for joining us. i'm audrey asistio. >> good evening. president biden unveiled new steps today to reduce record high gas prices. he says he is trying to ease the burden on american families. this comes amid new polls showing more americans blame the president than russia's war on ukraine for rising gas prices. nbc bay area ace alice barr is tracking the story from washington. >> reporter: with the war in ukraine and strict sanctions on russia disrupting the global fuel supply president biden today announcing new steps to reduce soaring gas prices here at home while pinning the blame squarely on russian president vladimir putin. >> putin's war is imposing a cost on america and our allies. >> reporter: the president planning to r