from the front lines of the covid pandemic to the front lines of the war zone. we speak to a south bay health care worker about his mission to help refugees. it's a story you'll only see on nbc bay area. also -- >> he cracked this young asian girl on the back of the head. she fell down. >> violently attacked on the streets of san francisco. but tonight police are trying to find the victim, not her attacker. then it's a hit-and-run that happened more than a decade ago. why it's renewing calls for more to be done to keep the streets safe. it has happened again. another apparently unprovoked attack on a member of the asian american and pacific islander community on the streets of san francisco. tonight police say they're still looking for the victim. >> but the man they say attacked her, well, they have him. our cameras were actually there when officers arrested the suspect. that's where nbc bay area's tom

jensen picks up the story. >> reporter: we still don't know what provoked this latest attack. but these attacks against people in the aapi community have gone up dramatically since the start of the pandemic. in 2020 there were nine in san francisco, and last year that number jumped to 60. now another one. and this latest attack was against a young asian woman on a busy north beach street. an nbc bay area reporter was there with his cell phone just as san francisco police detained the suspect at about 1:30 this afternoon. he was taken away on a stretcher. no word from sfpd about why or who he is. but they tell nbc bay area the man was running with a knife and people told officers he's the one who assaulted the woman just a block or so away on columbus. >> he cracked this young asian girl on the back of the head. >> reporter: libby staub has seen videos of the attacks in the past but this is the first time she witnessed one. she wondered at the time if the woman was targeted because she's

asian. after hearing what the man said after hitting her. >> she fell down. he said something like "see how you like it." >> reporter: it was right in the middle of the day, very close to the new location of the city's iconic stinking rose restaurant, and witnesses chased after the suspect until he was finally taken into custody about a block away at the corner of columbus and vallejo. >> i'm very concerned. you know, because i think there's a lot of people who have become disengaged. >> reporter: forrest lu worked as one of chinatown's volunteer safety patrol officers beginning in 2020 after the attacks began escalating. now he's working with aapi business owners trying to bring people back to chinatown and to make sure people remain focused on ending the unprovoked assaults. >> clearly it hasn't. and attacks like this just show that it's still happening. and awareness like what you're doing with this interview is important. >> reporter: one thing that could help police understand exactly what happened is locating the victim of the latest attack. she couldn't be found after the suspect was detained. >> everybody was chasing the

guy. because he was running. so. >> reporter: libby staub said she'd like to know who the victim is and make sure she's okay. and she hopes she realizes the man who attacked her is now in police custody. in san francisco thom jensen, nbc bay area news. >> thom, thank you. a significant change is happening at an iconic san francisco restaurant. after 110 years swan oyster depot is stepping up its security to avoid vandalism. the restaurant's owners say in 2022 alone they've gotten their windows broken five times. so they covered their front windows with a solid steel gate to avoid further vandalism. the owners took matters into their own hands when they say the city failed to act. >> what are you going to do? defend ourselves. that's all we can do. you can't depend on this -- this city. >> our new nbc bay area investigative streaming series "saving san francisco" found burglaries across the city are the highest they've been in

recent history. and smash and grab car break-ins were up 170% last year. from the city to the sierra now, where the snow is on the slopes but not on the roads. no chains needed if you're headed to the mountains tonight. here's a look along i-80 near kingvale. i'll show you what it looked like earlier today. the national weather service says last night some parts of the sierra got nearly two feet of snow. now, in spite of that snow up there and rain down here we're not out of the woods when it comes to our drought. the latest drought monitor shows some improvement in california but not much. california is still in a drought. this as local water districts making changes to encourage all of us to conserve. for east bay mud customers fines for excessive water use around the table. next week the board will weigh several new measures. the proposals range from an across-the-board surcharge for all 1.4 million customers to an extra fee added to the bills of the highest users.

>> our customers have slowly over time been reducing their water use. so we really appreciate what our customers are doing and you know, we may need to cinch our belts more this summer. >> contra costa water district began asking customers yesterday to begin using 15% less water than they did in 2020. the district will be also considering a drought surcharge. new at 11:00, a man from the east bay was arrested in boston this week after he made threats to merriam webster. yes, that is the company that makes the dictionary. investigators say he sent repeated messages to the company and others threatening violence against the lgbtq community. the threats were so concerning merriam webster had to close some of its offices for five days. the man is now facing federal charges. he is set to appear in court in massachusetts next week. also new at 11:00, police in walnut creek say they've arrested a man who tried to rob a target with a machete.

officers say he walked into the store, pulled out the machete, tried to rob a cash register, scaring the employees inside. he didn't end up taking any valuables, but he fled the store. officers later found him in a construction area near walnut creek b.a.r.t., where they arrested him. tonight we're learning that a teen that was severely injured in a hit-and-run in san jose 11 years ago has died. shae shaw was only 15 when she became a quadriplegic after she was hit by a car. it happened at the intersection of camden and bascom in 2011. the driver who hit her was never caught. the only clue, a grainy video from a nearby gas station. well, today police announced in light of her death they have reopened shaw's case. shaw's mother says she hopes cases like this never happen again. >> my hope is to really fix it, the intersections better, have more police officers ticketing police that are speeding.

>> with that goal in mind, this week the city launched an intersection camera pilot program. its goal is to help police identify cars involved in crashes or even just traffic violations. a san jose carjacking suspect is dead after an early morning pursuit ended in a crash. it all happened just after 1:00. that's when sheriff's deputies noticed a car that was involved in a carjacking driving near first street and younger avp. there were four people inside it. a chase ensued and the suspect car eventually crashed into another car. the suspect was killed hp his passenger taken to the hospital for minor injuries as was the driver of the other car. turning now to a developing story out of ukraine and the standoff at that steel mill in mariupol. it's ukraine's last stronghold in that region, surrounded by russian forces. today a few more desperate mariupol residents were able to flee that city. meanwhile, russia's military plans to shift troops away from mariupol, unleashing a massive assault on eastern areas outside

of the city. a russian general saying the country hopes to occupy all of ukraine's east and the full length of its southern coast. meanwhile, a south bay e.r. technician returns after a month of volunteering in ukraine. he spoke exclusively with nbc bay area's ian cull about what he saw, his experience and his message. >> an array of anything -- >> reporter: we spoke with clayton boyer at his boulder creek home hours after he flew back from the ukraine border. he's a e.r. technician at good samaritan hospital and when russia invaded ukraine he started applying for volunteer positions to go. >> to help. to make a difference. to try and be something bigger. >> reporter: and he did. boyer spent the last month using his medical skills to help in a polish hospital and a hospice center for children with ukrainian refugees. >> immediately i was assigned to 40 different ukrainian families.

about 165 people. most of them children. to check on their daily medical needs. >> reporter: he said some of the families were scared and didn't trust anyone because of the russian propaganda shared to make them fearful of aid workers. >> they were very reluctant to ask for any help for anything. but they were also very grateful. and as the weeks went on that i was there these families learned to trust me. >> reporter: boyer says he also helped coordinate and deliver supplies to border checkpoints welcoming refugees, where it was evident the world is watching and wanting to help. >> at one point there were 107 big rigs, 18-wheelers that came in to deliver donated goods from around the world. >> what kind of stuff? >> clothing. pet food. baby supplies. medicine. >> reporter: he snapped this picture of the strollers donated for families who left with nothing. the u.n. says that more than 5 million refugees have fled ukraine since the russian

invasion began. boyer plans to go back in july. he hopes others don't forget about the atrocities happening right now and asked people to do their part where they can. >> even a $5 donation, they need it because it's going to be years, maybe decades before ukraine can rebuild. >> reporter: in boulder creek ian cull, nbc bay area news. >> strong message there. we're getting a troubling new look at the impact of covid. new data from the cdc today revealed for ail second year in a row covid was the third leading cause of death. the report also found the overall death rate increased by almost 1% last year compared to 2020. rates were highest among native americans and african american people. only heart disease and cancer killed more people in 2021. speaking of covid, a new mask mandate could be coming to the city of oakland. one council member has proposed an ordinance that would require masks at indoor gatherings of more than 1,000 people. the ordinance would put an end

to oakland's current requirement that people show proof of vaccine at bars, restaurants, and other businesses. requiring masks for big indoor crowds would be a way of deterring so-called superspreader events. the council is set to vote on this next month. in the meantime, schools in oakland will take the masks off next week. as of monday masks will only be recommended at the school. the district says its covid metrics have stayed relatively low following spring break. now, that isn't necessarily the case statewide where more people are testing positive for covid. the statewide positivity average is now up to 3.1%. but in some bay area counties the number is even higher. take a look at this map. san francisco and marin counties, well, they're at 5%. the positivity rate even higher in solano county. and in napa county nearly 7%. in august 2020 the world health organization recommended that 5% is a concerning threshold. now, it's important to note hospitalizations are not rising like the positivity rate.

fewer than 1,000 californians are currently hospitalized with covid. we're back in 60 seconds. just ahead, is it still in short supply? an important update on the nation's supply of paxlovid. that's that life-saving covid-19 anti-viral treatment. and they're not doing it for the animals. the reason a growing number of people are becoming vegan. and the local restaurants that have thrived during the pandemic because of it. and i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. we've got a little bit of fog right there near the coastline. i'll track that fog through tomorrow's forecast and some warmer temperatures moving in. that's in about eight minutes. oh, and the possibility of some rain when that returns. how to get that in there. i'll see you back here in a few minutes.

on this earth day president biden is calling for a transition to clean and a clean energy economy. that includes mass production of electric vehicles and charging

stations across the u.s. he says the time to act is now. >> we've reached the point that the crisis on the environment has become so obvious with the notable exception of the former president that we really have an opportunity to do things we couldn't have done two, five, ten years ago. >> the president also signed an executive order aimed at reducing the risk of raging wildfires while addressing efforts to reduce global deforestation. let's talk about veganism now. you've likely heard of it. it's a diet that excludes meat, dairy and all other animal products in favor of plant-based foods. >> here in the bay area veganism has been around for decades but as nbc bay area's ginger conejero saab found out reechtly it's caught on even more because people want to help the planet. >> when i say vegan you say wow -- >> reporter: it's been getting mobbed. unlike other restaurants that were forced to shut down or

scale down during the pandemic, this popular vegan soul food restaurant out of oakland began, grew, and thrived just in the past 2 1/2 years. >> i made $1,000 in one night. and i was like, oh. and it was like a few hours. so i was like all right, from then i knew you it was going to work. >> smackaroni, the greens. >> reporter: vegan mob's owner toreiano gordon says he turned vegan after a health scare 12 years ago, but it wasn't easy. he grew up eating soul food, and he missed it. so he set out to make his own vegan soul food that looked, felt, and tasted like the food he grew up eating. along the way he found a bigger purpose. >> not only am i helping change the world by showing my people and black and brown people how to eat better and saving animals, but i'm also helping the environment. i thought hey, that's cool. >> i'm from sacramento. when i'm in the area, i stop right here because this food's hella good. it has a lot of flavor. i'm not really into food that have no flavor and weird consistencies and stuff.

>> are you experiencing kind of more growth or awareness of veganism in certain communities? >> we are seeing a rise in veganism in black and brown communities. we're also seeing a tremendous rise in veganism in the youth. >> reporter: san francisco veg society says vegan mob is just one of the many businesses that have sprouted across the bay area in recent years. more than a fifth of vegan restaurants in san francisco began less than three years ago. and sfvf says the motivation behind it has evolved. their non-profit sprouted out of sf's summer of love in 1968. then the humane treatment of animals was the primary concern. but now so is helping the planet. >> a lot more folks are embracing a vegan lifestyle because of our current climate crisis. i think because the information has been more prevalent thanks

to the internet and various groups it's just really staggering how much of an impact choosing a plant-based diet can have on the environment. >> reporter: sfvf says californians use about 1,500 gallons of water per day per person, a staggering amount considering the drought the state is experiencing. close to half of that total is associated to meat and dairy production and consumption. but how exactly does veganism help the environment? >> nearly a third of all the land on earth is devoted exclusively to animal agriculture. one third. that's a tremendous amount. and that amounts to actually 41% of the land in the united states. and it also has great health benefits for you personally as well. >> reporter: that's why vegans say it's not a trend, veganism is here to stay and grow. reina montenegro, the owner of a vegan filipino restaurant in the bay area, agrees. she turned vegan in 2016 and says her filipino community

initially didn't warm up to the idea. >> so when i first opened i kind of had mixed reviews. you know, the older filipinos, grandma and grandpas would come in and be like what is this? i would get so much, you know, heat from them. >> reporter: but thanks to a younger generation that she says is more aware, veganism is more embraced. >> they're seeing the truth about the slaughterhouses and everything and how it affects the environment and how it's bad for the body. they have all this information now that they're the grandma ane grandpas. >> reporter: you won't run out of vegan restaurant options throughout the bay area. they're popping up everywhere, from san francisco to oakland to san jose. >> i could spread vegan mobs all across the world and help people, and i could help the environment. that was the oal from the beginning, is to introduce the black and brown community to a plant-based lifestyle so they can be healthier. >> reporter: ginger conejero

saab, bay area news. >> that was a great piece. and also i'm a little hungry. >> is vegan mob open until midnight? >> why not? >> maybe a destination for this weekend. >> yeah. we've got good weather saturday, sunday coming our way after that rainfall we had this week. so we're going to go ahead and serve that up for you. also, the other information that i wanted to make sure to get to you, and that's brand new as of this evening. i've updated my long-range outlook, and we're seeing some increasing signs here that we would get some more unusual rainfall here as we head into the first and second week of may. i'm calling for a 60% chance. that happens. it would also bring us some sierra snow. i wanted to start out with this because once that rainfall was over today i had a lot of questions about when could we get more rainfall. good news on that front. let's go ahead and bring it into your saturday morning forecast. and maybe you're going to get up early, check everything off the list so you can have the rest of the weekend to relax. if you're up around 7:00 tomorrow morning we do have some

fog right here at the coastline. also some patchy fog in the north bay, east bay, south bay. slight chance here some of drizzle. and if you're not getting up early it's good weather to sleep in. then as we head through the afternoon we get that sunshine returning, just a little cloud cover through the north bay and east bay, but overall a beautiful day. wear going to start it off with temperatures down here into the 40s. over the peninsula. 46. south bay 48. check this out in the north bay. we're going to be down to 39 degrees for the average. so those heaters may be clicking on for the morning. but definitely won't need the heater as we head through the afternoon. temperatures warming up 10 to 15 degrees from what we've experienced this week. down here in the south bay it's looking good. over to east san jose, 74 degrees. los gatos at 73. goes even a little bit warmer out here to the east bay. 77 antioch. 76 concord. 74 in danville. not quite that warm in oakland but still a good-looking day at 68. through the peninsula 70 in redwood city. san francisco no 70s but it will be nice here in downtown with 64. and let's move it off to wine

country. maybe a little trip up to napa or sonoma. low to mid 70s. let's move it into the seven-day forecast. i do have more continued dry weather the next seven days. we'll go up to 67 here in san francisco on sunday. and then check out the inland valley forecast. yes, i have done it. we have bumped it up to 80 degrees on sunday. yes. >> whoo. >> i can hear a lot of cheers back at home. and even here in the studio. it's going to be very nice. as we head through next week's forecast. then maybe that chance of rain in may. >> don't you wish you had that power? just type it in and that's what happens? >> well -- >> maybe you do. >> all right, jeff, thanks. >> you got it. just ahead, who's going to turn down a junior mint? not many "seinfeld" fans. that's for sure. the high-profile food truck that soon will be rolling into san francisco. happening now, the husband of sherri papini has officially filed for divorce. it comes days after she pleaded guilty to lying about her 2016

kidnapping, which turned out to be a hoax. as you saw on tonight's "dateline," papini vanished from her home. then she suddenly reappeared three weeks later claiming she'd been kidnapped. papini is set to be sentenced in july. we're back in a moment.

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welcome back. we do have an update tonight on the nation's supply of paxlovid, the life-saving covid-19 anti-viral treatment. the country now has an ample supply. the biden administration announced today that the so-called covid pills no longer need to be rationed. paxlovid was first approved back in december. it reduces covid hospitalizations and deaths by

90% if administered within five days of symptoms. the supply increase is due to the fall in covid cases coupled with the increase in manufacturing. as the governor and state lawmakers head to sacramento to negotiate a budget, oakland's mayor has a request. today libby schaaf joined other local leaders in oakland. they're pleading with the state to create regular flexible funding for cities to address the homeless crisis. she claims without it oakland and other cities face a financial cliff. >> if this funding does not continue after july 1st, 2023, we are likely to see more than 1,000 people sent back onto the streets of oakland. >> mayor schaaf says flex funding has allowed oakland to invest in sites from unused school dorms like clifton house to tiny home villages. a lot of people excited about this one. martial arts master bruce lee's legacy comes alive in san francisco's chinatown this weekend. a new exhibit called "we are bruce lee: under the sky, one

family," opens to the public on sunday at the chinese historical society of america. late this afternoon we were there when lee's daughter shannon lee saw the display for the first time in person. artifacts surrounding the iconic asian american superstar's life and career are on display from movie posters to his writings and his teachings. san francisco has a very big connection to bruce lee. he was born at chinatown's chinese hospital back in 1940. >> that must be cool because i can't imagine there's anybody cooler than bruce lee. still ahead, a giant gets his first hit of the season, and it's a big one. sports is next.

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well, the warriors have the night off. their next game is on sunday. and they lead their series over the denver nuggets three games to zero. >> but meanwhile, both bay area major league baseball teams are back in action tonight. the giants in washington to take on the nationals. this game was over early as the giants scored seven runs in the second inning. the big blow, a three-run home run by outfielder austin slater. it was his first of the season. the giants went on to cruise to a 7-1 victory. there's good news for the giants fans tonight. outfielder lamont wade jr. will be back on the field tomorrow.

he's one of the team's breakout stars from last year. but he suffered a knee injury during spring training. wade, though, is now on the road to recovery. he's set to begin his rehab assignment, a aaa team in sacramento. and if all goes well he'll be back on the main roster soon. >> that's some great news there. meanwhile, the a's start a three-game series with the texas rangers. like the giants. rangers scored early and often, running out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning. they went on to win easily. 8-1. congratulations to them. we're back in a moment. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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. we've got some welcome news for san francisco residents on this earth day. the specialty gardens in golden gate park are now free to anyone with a san francisco address. the conservatory of flowers, the victorian building with its rare plants is now free to residents. so is the japanese tea garden. the extensive botanical gardens were already free to residents. mayor london breed proposed the idea and the board of supervisors approved it last month. a lot of people excited about this. the so-called show about nothing has 'food truck, and it's coming to the bay area.

we're talking about "seinfeld." leers a look at the food truck, which serves up treats featured on the classic sitcom. everything from junior mints to black and white cookies. the truck is making a tour of several u.s. cities starting with new york and los angeles. this weekend it heads to san francisco, the weekend of may 13th. >> thank you so much for joining us this evening. i hope you get out and enjoy the weekend. jeff ranieri's been telling us all along we're going to get some nice weather. i think he put the 80s on sunday. >> 80s on sunday. i'm getting the kiddie pool out. we're going to have so much fun. >> put the heaters away. you're not going to need them this weekend. >> our next newscast is "today in the bay" at 7:00. [ cheers and applause ♪ >> steve: from studio 6b in rockefeller center in the heart of new york city, it's "the tonight show starring jimmy fallon."