good evening and thanks for being with us on thursday. >> i'm raj mathai >> i am jessica aguirre. san jose for members the lives lost that happened here from a mass shooting a year ago today. remember the dark day, samuel cassidy killed nine coworkers. people gathered for memorials, private one for the family of those killed and a second memorial open to the public. among those that today ceremony were the first responders. spoke with two officers looking for that gunman not knowing if they would come out alive. damian trujillo. >> reporter: they were here a couple minutes after the 911 call came, today the smell of gunpowder is fresh on their minds. >> we want to thank you for the heroic and difficult work you

did a year ago. >> reporter: district attorney ordered the paramedics, firefighters, deputies, police officers who ran to help one year ago. >> never let heroism be humdrum. among the heroes are san jose police sergeant eddie chance and officer michael richmond, who were put in the middle of it when the violence began and both are speaking publicly about the chaos for the first time. >> officer robertson had a patrol car in front of central supply, we did not know whose it was, grabbed it and went. they drove a block and have to the vta yard and met with other officers and deputies. >> yeah, landed on the corner, i recognize one of their faces, felt very confident. we made eye contact and looked at the crowd, it is time to go. before he gave the signal, sergeant champ knew this might be it for him. the first thing that went through my mind when i got to my car getting the call, this

might be the one the one i might not come back. minute they went to building b, they could hear the gunfire but it is the smell they cannot shake even today, the smell of gunpowder. >> you could smell it getting stronger and stronger descending the staircase. >> reporter: when they reach the target, the shooter had taken his own life. the imagery of the carnage was shocking, even for veteran officers. >> it is horrific, it really is. everything you train for is to go into a chaotic situation and that is what it was but to go in there and see the lethality of it. mental scars for the officers are still there. they went from a briefing to the crime scene within minutes and for them, that was not fast enough. they say not after arriving too late to save nine souls. police i think that is the hardest part to grasp, you know, i had mentioned we got to the upstairs floor and six minutes, we could hear the gunshots going up the stairs.

you try to run and get up there as fast as possible. >> reporter: today's commendation for their valor is a small thank you on behalf of a grateful community. >> how does it feel to be heroes ? >> i don't think of it that way, i did what any other police officer would have done in that situation. >> reporter: damian trujillo with nbc bay area news. >> the family of one of the victims filed a wrongful death suit. he worked as a lineman and left behind a wife and three kids. this evening's vta, santa clara county sheriff's office, universal protection service. security company at vta. the family attorney says the agency knew that gunman was unstable prior to the incident and did nothing. >> we filed this lawsuit to bring attention to this matter. and to do the only thing these families can do which is to seek civil justice and uncover the stones and the evidence to show how this happened, why it happened and what can be done

better. >> the attorney says there is no dollar amount for the lawsuit, up to the jury to decide. several other victims filed their own lawsuits. vta released a statement that reads in part, the tape focusing on the continued healing of our employees and the families of our deceased coworkers. tragically, mourning the loss of dozens of other victims of hate filled massacres that have happened throughout the nation. we will address lawsuit claims at a more appropriate time. the difference with the be take mass shooting compared to all the others, this is an agency that serves the public. for months, vta light rail service was shut down, simply too painful for the employees to go back to work, i sat down with the head of the vta at the time of the shooting. >> it is very much raw and close to myself and many other people. >> talk so much about victims of a crime or murder or other victims around it, you included, what is it like for you?

>> if it happen on the news, does not impact you the same way, it is eye-opening, get into your own heart and how you feel things. you don't get a playbook of this horrible thing occurs, this is what you're supposed to do. >> reporter: has vta recovered? >> i want to be able to say yes and from the services we provide, the answer is yes. but as an organization and as the employees, we are working through. i don't believe the wording phrase, time heals all. time nicks it better but it does not heal everything. >> reporter: one year later, what message do you want to send, do you want to send a message when everyone gets together now? >> let's remember our employees, it is hard for everyone and here we are today, this tragedy in texas. as a society, we have to find a way to make these events stop.

>> reporter: it is frustrating. all of this is frustrating. we have talked about this for years, sandy hook, columbine way back in san bernardino, vta, gilroy, buffalo last week, when the next shooting happens and when it does, do you get angry, sad, frustrated? >> sad because we haven't, you know, some say it is the next event will cause us, we don't need anymore next events, we need to have open honest conversation that is not left or right or anything like that, we can all agree we should stop having people be killed. it may seem like a naove statement, i think we have to change the societal discussion about what is going on. >> recovered the vta shooting extensively and will continue to do so. go to nbcbayarea.com , you can learn about the victims who lost their lives and all of

their stories. here's one that went right. hours after the coming up next opened fire at a texas school we told about killing 21 people, police in the bay area were able to prevent possibly violent situation here. fremont police say 17-year-old student at american high threatened to shoot school employee. student to shoot up unnamed school in the area. lease say the message that included hate speech was shared on social media. someone spotted it and reported it. police searched the home of the student and found evidence and arrested the student. other students say it is scary situation, especially in light of the violence in texas. >> we want to go to school and be like what if this happens today? bomb threat, what if it actually happens? if that were to happen for real -- >> the district told the same unit we contacted the parents of the student involved and counseling would be offered to those impacted. the word chief is out, san

francisco unified is eliminating it from job titles of employees. this comes after native american members of the community expressed concerns over the use of the word. here's christie smith. >> reporter: in our district, lamenting the word chief in people's job title. the superintendent should the comments at this year's board of education meeting and today, san francisco unified school district shared this statement reading in part, while there are many opinions on the matter, our leadership team agrees that given many native american members of our community have expressed concern over the use of the title, we are no longer going to use it. >> i heard about the story this morning. in san francisco, word spread quickly, we have people along the embarcadero their thoughts. >> i don't think there's anything wrong with changing it if it is offending people. >> reporter: the district finalizing with the alternative title will be, they say the move is not diminishing

contributions of district leaders. they still have questions. >> i think it came from french word originally, kind of a gray area. >> reporter: something to focus needs to shift. >> not worried about the name, focus on the education. >> going too far. not the first time in history names have sparked discussion in the city. last year, the school board voted to remove names like washington and lincoln from local schools but later rescinded after community uproar. some people say doing away with the word chief does not seem totally unexpected. >> i am surprised and i'm not, i think of people are offended, there should be considerations. >> reporter: christie smith with nbc bay area news . the trial has been postponed for balwani . accused of defrauding investors and customers from faulty blood testing technology in january, jury found balwani ex- girlfriend and founder elizabeth holmes guilty on four

fraud related charges. she is set to be sentenced in the fall. up next, found in our wastewater, the two new covid variants discovered in santa clara county. what it means for the future of the pandemic. wildlife rescuers dealing with what they call a pelican crisis. what is behind so many sick and injured birds? i will continue claimant coverage and give you the latest on the drought. plus, what the frequency drought has been over the past 20 plus years, you might be surprised by what i will show you, all that coming up in nine minutes. once again, coming to you from uvalde, texas with the latest on the investigation into the school massacre. as you can see behind me, growing memorial, also growing here, questions about the critical minutes between when police arrived at the school

and the moment that actually entered the classroom. we have all the latest from here tonight on "nbc nightly news".

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notable new, deal reached between chevron refinery workers in richmond and the union, the steel workers on strike more than two months. at issue, higher wages. the agreement will go to vote with results expected by monday. if it passes, the employees will return to work over the next few weeks. new covid subvariants discovered in the south bay, all about wastewater. variants called ba.4 and ba.5. their omicron variants found in wastewater studies. the new strain will count for 1% of what is detected right now and they are being watched very closely because of how quickly other variants have spread in the past. >> the most important thing for people to know in terms of their own behavior his overall levels of covid are very high right now. >> we can be prepared and try

to protect ourselves as much as we can, never be worried never be freaked out or fearful of going into the world because we have the tools to keep everyone away from the hospital right now. >> the strains are feeling cases in south africa and parts of europe. doctors tell us they are not surprised to see the variants here but too soon to know if they are dangerous. urgent call for help tonight, wildlife rescuers flooded with influx of sick and injured pelicans over the past few weeks. wildlife experts trying to pinpoint what is behind it. abbey fernandez. folks at the international bird rescue in fairfield swamped caring for pelicans. it seems the majestic water bird that was once on the brink of extinction has gone through troubling times again. >> there are species i think we all recognize and it is the

coast, their the coast, what you see sitting and enjoying the beach day. >> reporter: this iconic bird battling to stay healthy. wildlife experts say they have seen dozens of brown pelicans pouring in weaken, hungry and searching for food. >> this is a brown pelican crisis happening right here in california. >> reporter: this live word cam shows the full house of pelicans being treated in southern california. more than 200 since mid-may. now malnourished pelicans are being found in the bay area, three more arrived to the bird hospital this afternoon. we watched as this bird, found on a santa cruz beach, got its first exam. >> the rest of them coming in skinny and this one is the same commit dehydrated, emaciated. thankfully, no other major medical issues which is great. >> reporter: what is behind the influx is a mystery, so far, no signs of avian influenza and no clear explanation for why they

are starving. >> these birds are all incredibly hungry despite signs of the ocean showing plenty of food is there. >> reporter: there's no question feeding so many hungry birds is costly. the international bird rescue center says it is spending $2000 a day on fish alone. that is on top of caring for the other species of birds that also need help. they hope people pitch in to help them through the pelican crisis. >> darrell eating and gaining weight, hopefully lots of food and medication, they will progress. >> reporter: jodi hernandez with nbc bay area news. >> the poor birdies. jeff is here as we head into friday. >> doing good, we have nice weather mixed in for part of the weekend, not as hot as we have this week and detail all of that. i want to continue claimant coverage tonight and update you on the drought. the latest information as of today is 11.9% of california

under exceptional drought through central and southern california, the worst level of drought in the deep red color, we have seen that drought increase over the past year due to la nina and climate change. you may be surprised about the frequency of drought over the plus 20 plus years. i want to show this chart, we have 2001 to 2005 drought, 2007 to 2010, then of course the very large drought from 2012 to 2017, and the latest round which started in 2020 and that continues. because of the more frequent drought, we have seen wildfires spread a lot faster and also farther. you can head to nbcbayarea.com and click on the climate section and we have more ways you can help out the environment. looking at the weather forecast back at home, talk about a major sharp turn in weather. we went from 100 degree weather yesterday to 60s and 70s across

a lot of inland valleys. you can see the data, 25 degrees cooler in novato and at concord, fog came strong. i expect fog to continue tomorrow morning, no need for sunglasses on the morning commute pick you can see spotty areas of drizzle, those areas in green, a few breaks of sunshine through the day. generally, those clouds not budging a lot as we go through the friday forecast. that means as we started off, on the chilly side, get the light jacket on with 53 with the tri- valley, south bay starting it off low 50s, over to san francisco, 52 and 55 in the east bay. daytime highs tomorrow not changing a lot, as you see across the bay area, upper 60s too low to mid 70s through the inland valley, 65 in oakland out to half moon bay, chilly 56. rolling through the weekend, talking about more changes coming, from the system to the north.

the best rain chances stay toward washington and oregon. slight chance of showers and the wind kicking at. my seven-day forecast, you will see on saturday, possible showers on saturday, the wind picks up on sunday, 15 to 35 miles an hour, looks dry with sunshine on memorial day. 60s in san francisco. across the inland valley, 70s through sunday and warm back into the 80s next week. thankfully, there are no 100 owing to the next seven-day forecast. peppered between the weekend, we will find good weather to be with family or friends or whatever you got. >> we need it. thank you. up next, it is getting messier. twitter shareholders suing twitter itself and elon musk. we will explain.

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fanduel and draftkings, two out of state corporations making big promises to californians. what's the real math behind their ballot measure for online sports betting? 90% of profits go to the out of state corporations permanently. only eight and a half cents is left for the homeless. and in virginia, arizona, and other states, fanduel and draftkings use loopholes to pay far less than was promised. sound familiar? it should. it's another bad scheme for california.

each day, we seem to have

more drama. twitter getting sued by its own shareholders. those shareholders also suing elon musk. here's what we know, the lawsuit claims after agreeing to buy twitter, elon musk started criticizing the company to renegotiate a better deal. the suit contends his false statements caused twitter stock to plummet 25%. twitter told us it has no comment and elon musk's attorney has not responded to request either. good news if you need to go to the dmv, 60 for offices across the state open an hour earlier four days a week in june 2nd including 10 in the bay area. the director says the goal is to make things more convenient for customers. extended hours and september 30th. we know a lot of people leaving california for better housing but not just people, would you believe bison? four mother bison and nine little ones loaded onto trucks for journey to montana from the oakland zoo. they were released trading the 13 acre habitat in oakland for

the wide open plains of montana. for years, oakland zoo worked with members of the blackfeet nation and national parks to make bison herds in zoos and on prairies lesson bread and therefore healthier. they are leaving us. >> they are so cute. he designed world-famous home, not just for people but also man's best friend. were you can see frank lloyd wright doghouse in the bay area. lester holt appearing for nightly new, he is anchoring coverage from uvalde, texas. among the stories, the political battle over gun control and what the uvalde congressman believes would make schools safer. lester holt joins us in texas in four minutes. r state contro, only yiu will save taxpayers money. wait, who, me? me? no, not you. yvonne yiu. yvonne yiu. not me. good choice. for 25 years, yiu worked as an executive at top financial firms.

managed hundreds of audits. as mayor, she saved taxpayers over $55 million. finding waste. saving money. because... yiu is for you. yiu is for you. exactly. yvonne yiu. democrat for controller. another crazy day? of course—you're a cio in 2022. but you're ready. because you've got the next generation in global secure networking from comcast business. with fully integrated security solutions all in one place. so you're covered. on-premise and in the cloud. you can run things the way you want —your team, ours or a mix of both. with the nation's largest ip network. from the most innovative company. bring on today with comcast business. powering possibilities.™

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people priced out of living designed by famed architect

frank lloyd wright but what about dogs? >> yes, dog in the in style. jim berger with the dog house designed by frank lloyd wright. jim wrote a letter thanking him to design a place first golden retriever, eddie. the original doghouse got old so they had to throw it out, they both knew it and donated to marin county where it is on display at the civic center. tonight at 7:00, new york yankees make a stand about gun violence and doing it in a way we have not seen before. covid doctor with us after the new variant discovered in santa clara county. coming up on the 7:00 newscast. up next on nightly dues, lester holt in uvalde speaking with the trauma surgeon at the hospital who helped treat the victims. lester holt joins us from uvalde right now. hour of terr robb elementary school and growing questions about the police response new video of parents in anguish outside the school pleading with officers to go in as

the shooting unfolded. police now saying the shooter entered the school unobstructed, that there was no security officer outside despite earlier statements that one engaged the gunman >> was there a school officer on campus? >> no. >> why >> mounting anger tonight. why did police take more than an hour to breach the classroom and stop the bloodshed? 19 children and 2 teachers killed and now tragedy upon tragedy. the husband of one of those teachers died as he prepared for her funeral. also, the nra set to hold a meeting just hours from the site of the shooting in washington a bipartisan group of senators meeting in the hopes of breaking a gridlock on gun legislation. can they cut a deal? also tonight, the massive fire aboard a cruise ship. passengers prepared to abandon ship the monkeypox outbreak growing where new cases have been found in the u.s. and the sudden death of ray liotta,