strangers. they were friends. they were perhaps quasi family members themselves. not that there was a familia relationship but that knew each other and relied on mr. ramirez for care of their child leading up to this. surveillance video shows the other suspect walking away from brandon's grandmother's home holding an infant carrier with w what appears to be a child inside. >> mr. portillo, as with mr. ramirez, plea of not guilty. >> ramirez and portillo are accused of plotting and unsuccessfully attempting to kidnap baby brandon three other times before the actual kidnapping april 25th. they pled not guilty to those charges as well. the two suspects are scheduled to return to court for their preliminary hearing june 13th. in san jose, mary anne favro,

nbc bay area news. some sad news involving a former san francisco first lady, gifa muskoni has passed away. she did remain active in san francisco long after her husband was assassinated along with harvey in office. governor newsome confirmed the news while releasing a statement that reads those who knew her will remember her as a loving mother who dotted on her children while remaining a fixture of civic life after the passing of her beloved husband george. voterrings around the bay area and up and down california are casting their ballots in this primary election. in san jose, a race going on. cindy chavez and raul pareles casting their ballots. they are running to replace san jose mayor sam lacardo who is now turned out. and a big contest in san francisco, campaign workers for district attorney chasa budine

made a last minute push to help him keep his job before the polls close tonight. voters cast their ballots in hotly contested races. nbc bay area's jodi hernandez takes us behind the scenes in contra costa county to show us what's being done to be sure your ballot is safe and counted. >> it's the exercise of democracy. this is the right to vote. >> contra costa county is doing all it can to make sure people have confidence their vote will be counted. we found voters still skeptical of voter fraud, like this man, who is not confident with the current process. >> now we stick it in a metal box. they can open it up and take the ones they like and discard them. that's not secure. >> we saw for ourselves how ballots are handled. >> we have a complex process of checks and balances in place.

>> if you're dropping off your ballot at a drop box, the county says rest assured it's safe. >> they are 500-pounds. it would take a tank to knock them off their post. >> before they're open the envelopes are run through a scanner that captures an image of the signature. each verified by a set of eyes. >> it's brought up on the computer screen, and they compare side by side what was on the envelope to was what's in our file. it's run through the scanner a second time. removed from the envelope before being boxed up and taken into the tabulation room. if the machine can't determine how the voted intended to vote, teams of two must review it and agree on how the vote was cast. the entire process monitored by surveillance cameras. con ray kosta county wants the process to be entirely transparent, that's why they have an observation deck. any member of the public can

come up here and watch the process for themselves. >> while ballots are being processed all day, the first results won't be reported by the county's server until the polls close at 8:00 p.m. in contra costa county, nbc bay area news. he beat the recall. he's expected to lead the primary. now nearly 30 people hope to challenge governor newsome for his office. two of the highest polling candidates are independent michael shellemburger and brian dahl. he's been critical of newsome's handling of the pandemic, housing costs, and homelessness. he spoke out against abortion and blamed criminal justice reform measures for the uptick in crime. polls close at 8:00 tonight. you have a few hours to cast your ballot. we have you covered with our decision 2022 election guide. scan that qr code on your screen now. and it will take you to our

decision 2022 home page. that's when we break down the hot races in your county and the candidates running for each seat. if you don't have your phone right now, don't worry, we'll show you this qr code once again in a few minutes. all right, let's talk covid cases and hospitalizations were on the rise but now it appears that the bay area plateaued. check out this line graph of the last three months in april. cases started out low but then they started to climb. last month we started seeing more cases and the beginning of the surge. but then take a look at the end of the line graph where cases start to dip. right now our positivity rate for the state just under 9%. and we could soon have a new option for a covid vaccine. some believe this one could be a key to reaching people who have been hesitant to get the other shots. nbc's mely melina jones explains why this vaccine is different. and what doctors are saying about the benefits and risks involved. any time you increase immunity in a population, it's better for all of us.

>> as the bay area levels off in its latest covid surge, there's a new vaccine up for debate that doctors hope could help reduce the next spike. >> what i'm hoping for is that novavax, a more traditional vaccine, anyone who's been hesitant to take the vaccine will be more comfortable taking this one. >> dr. monika gandhi, infectious disease expert at ucsf explains novavax doesn't use mrna or dna that's been a source of concern for some who have avoided vaccination. instead this uses a combination of spike proteins and immune boosting ingredients that fight off coronavirus. she believes the benefits go beyond the initial vaccine. >> when you mix vaccine, we get a broader response. and so i can see this as a booster for older people and vulnerable populations this winter. >> the newest vaccine could be cleared in a matter of days with the food and drug administration advisory committee unanimously voting today to recommend going

forward with approval. similar to vaccines all ready on the market, it comes with some risks, gandhi says young men could see the same type of minor heart inflammation after their second dose. but at a much lower rate. >> if you extend the dosing interval between doses to eight weeks, myocarditis, that mild risk is even lower. >> a vaccine variety, gandhi hopes will convince more to roll up their sleeves. mely melina jones, bay area news. san jose police asking for help with prorobbery cases. a woman caught thieves in the act when she was coming into her driveway. this happened may 31st on summer dale drive. you can see the garage door go up. there's a bunch of people inside loading up a vehicle. police say the same people stole that van from another house two hours earlier. they're asking anyone who saw the vehicle or the thieves to give them a call.

that's them getting away. well, actor matthew mcconaughey made an emotional plea at the white house today. he's calling for responsible gun ownership in the wake of the school shooting in uvalde, texas. mcconaughey says there's now a window of opportunity to put meaningful gun legislation into place. including raising the minimum page for buying semiautomatic rifles and enacting universal background checks, red flag laws, and a waiting period to buy rifles. responsible gun owners are fed up with the second amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals. these regulations are not a step back. they're a step forward for a civil society and -- and the second amendment. >> mcconaughey told the sorries of those who chid died in the elementary school shooting. and he brought green tennis shoes with a heart drawn on the right toe. the shoes were the only item

that could identify one of the 19 young students killed in the shooting massacre. it's been a dangerous week in oakland. two men are dead after separate shootings overnight. the first happened around 11:00. someone shot two people. one man didn't survive. the next homicide, four miles away. another man killed around midnight. so far no one has been arrested for either case. and police haven't said whether they could be connected. disgraced founder elizabeth holmes will not take the stand in the fraud trial of her former boyfriend, sunny. during a hearing today, prosecutors said holmes would not be called as a witness and he will not take the stand either. he's accused like her of defrauding investors and customers with faulty blood testing technology. back in january, a jury found holmes guilty on four fraud related charges. she's said to be sentenced in the fall. gearing up for game three of the nba finals. we'll give you an update on

clay. will he break out of his shooting slump. we'll take you to boston, next. ditch the plastic and go electronic. why bart wants you to stop using clipper cards. i'm chief meteorologist, jeff, get ready for the heat. i'll have details on an excessive heat watch headed our way in eight minutes. i want to show you that election qr code again. scan the qr code on your screen with your phone. it will take you to our decision 2022 home page. that's where we break down the hot races in your county, who the candidates are running for. each seat, remember polls close at 8:00 tonight. we'll have live coverage for you throughout the evening.

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are you emotionally ready? the warriors will take on the celtics in that all important game three of the nba finals and anthony says this is the key one janelle. winning on the road is never easy, especially in the playoffs. let's join anthony flores live in boston with a look at tomorrow's game. game three and four in boston

on friday. hi anthony. >> that's right, hello ladies from boston. i'm inside the arena where you can see behind me the boston entertainment squad is on the court working out. they're waving back to the bay area. they're preparing for game three of the nba finals. you know, rain is in the forecast tomorrow. the warriors are hoping they make it rain inside the garden. today the warriors hold their first post season practice inside the garden. this series is tied at one win a piece. clay thompson is still trying to find his stroke. he's been struggling shooting the rock. so far this post season, he's just ten of 33 from the floor in the finals. but maybe a change of venue will help him regain his shooter's touch. >> the best part is how you respond. come game three. i'll probably just play with great pace and get great shots. when i tend to do that, i tend to have a big night.

>> i watched him practice today. his shot looks great. the one thing he never lacks, confidence. he says tomorrow, he's coming out shooting. live in boston, anthony flores, nbc bay area. back to you in the studio. spheek thank >> another supply chain issue. this time clipper cars bart is encouraging people to use clipper cards because plastic is in short supply these days because of the global supply chain issues we're seeing.. >> it's a combination of things. one is the supply of the particular kind of plastic that the card manufacture uses. and the other is computer chips. there is actually inside your plastic clipper card a computer chip. and we're getting squeezed on both of those ends.

with the warriors finals and pride month celebrations happening the agencies are waving the 3-dollar new card fee if you get the mobile version. crews are watching for flare ups from the brush fire that broke out around 10:00 near dominican university. it's under control. firefighters did evacuate some neighbors. but they're back home. a man from the university says it was really frightening. >> we practice all the time. we're really organized about it. but there's nothing like seeing it and smelling it and realizing how fragile we are. they take as good of care of it as we can. a fire is a fire. and it could have been terrible. firefighters are trying to figure out what caused it. fighting fire with fire, you may have noticed smoke sneer the san andreas lake this morning. light smoke could be seen from other parts of san mateo

county. the fire burned five acres and will reduce the threat of wildfires. >> this is our first prescribed burn of the spring season. that's important to get crews out here training and practicing. it's also water storage for the city of san francisco. the burn will also make it easier for inspectors to access the dam. if you look up before dawn over the next couple weeks, you'll see a rare sight. five planets visible in the early morning hours throughout june. the planets are mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, and saturn. and they'll appear in sequential order from the sun. the last time the alignment was visible was 2004. and the next one isn't expected until 2040. spoors breaking news about a fire on the peninsula. this is not a prescribed burn. fire crews are working quickly to put out two grass fires burning in brisbane. this is west of tunnel avenue.

it's burning dangerously close to the cal train tracks. so cal train has stopped service. that's big commuter news. expect delays if you're taking the train down the peninsula. crews there still don't know how the fires started. let's bring in chief meteorologist, jeff, you're watching all of this. on the way here i saw some little fires along the ridge as well. dry conditions and really the weather is dry outside right now too. >> it is. and even though parts of san francisco and the north bay did see a half to one inch this past weekend, that really only slows the fire threat for about 48 to 72 hours. we're really going to see things catapult up here in terms of that fire danger. and also the dryness as we head towards the end of the week. we're going to talk more about an excessive heat watch here in a bit. but let's get a look at what's happening right now. we got some sunshine out there. high clouds filtering in from the system offshore.

no rainfall for us. near the california, oregon border we'll get some showers here as we head into the overnight hours. the only thing this will do for us is bring in clouds and fog as we start off tomorrow morning, here you see at 7:00, we have that high cloud cover through the day tomorrow, we get some sun breaking in. but also some areas of fog near the coastline. so over all tomorrow, it's still shaping up for us pretty good. as we get you started on your wednesday morning forecast, i know, all right almost wednesday. kind of moving a little bit quick this week. that's never a bad thing. 55 here in the south bay tri- valley at 56. in san francisco, 55. north bay at 57. daytime highs not adjusting a lot tomorrow. we have one more day to just kind of enjoy it outside before things get up comfortable. down in the south bay, 80 san jose. 86 to the east bay, oakland, 71. over the east bay hills, you're warmer at 82 in danville. and 87 in antioch. the peninsula, we have a cold 60 at half-moon bay. and then to redwood city.

76. san francisco, a mix of 50s and 60s. tomorrow it will be breezy. winds out of the west at 19 miles per hour. through the north bay, 83 at napa. so everything really changing for us especially thursday, friday, and saturday from this area of high pressure we've been talking about. it's just going to linger for three days and that's where we're going to get all of this hot air from. and remarkably at the same time, we're going to be talking about quite a bit of rainfall up toward the pacific northwest that's pushing some unusual rainfall right off to the north of us. but again, we're stuck with the heat. so in advance of this, an excessive heat watch is in effect for friday at this point. it's for the north bay, east bay, and south bay, temperatures ranging from the 90s to 102. humidity 5% to 20%. fire danger increasing. drink plenty of water and also the pets. friday is the top of the heat. we're going to go from this to what still looks like the chance of some showers. some real extreme shifts in

that weather. the timing getting pushed back a bit here. by sunday morning, 5:30. you can see a slight chance of spotty showers through the bay area. the seven-day forecast has a lot happening for us. we're going to get up to a warm 80 in san francisco on friday's forecast. 67 on sunday with a chance of showers. inland valley, temperatures up to 100 on friday. 82 on sunday. and more 80s as we roll through next week. thankfully, right now, we only have one day of 100s. but that's really still all too much with our drought in place y'all. >> for sure, we got to be on the look out, thanks so much, jeff, coming up, a workplace experiment in britain. the new test in shifting the workweek from five days to four. that's next.

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wanna help kids get their homework done? well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers. and sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. through project up, comcast is committing $1 billion dollars so millions more students can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities.

some companies in britain are trying something many of us would like to give a shot. a four-day workweek. it began this week. it's been tested in 70 companies. including thousands of employees. reasearchers at cambridge university, oxford, and boston college will assess how this four-day workweek affects productivity and quality of life. fingers crossed for all of us. a more convenient option for summer travelers. you'll have a direct link between san jose and eugene oregon, southwest airlines added nonstop flights between the two cities. flights depart daily around noon and arrive an hour and a half later. we want to congratulate our investigative team for winning the prestigious peabody award for our series moms of magnolia and no man's land. this is a big deal. these digital series went in depth on housing insecurity in the bay area. moms of magnolia told the story of a group of unhoused moms in oakland who took matters into

their own hands and no man's land showed one man fighting for his child in a broken system. our investigative team members candace wynn and michael bot accepted the awards. >> thank you to the moms who are sparking one of the best social movements. >> these stories of different family dynamics and housing issues matter. >> watch on roku, amazon fire tv or apple tv by downloading the nbc bay area streaming app. we have to congratulate our colleagues. we're so proud of them. it's big deal. people don't realize peabody is equivalent to the pulitzer prize when it comes to writing. it's the same thing. it was made to really showcase excellence and stories that are enlightening in broadcasting. so we're very proud of our investigative team. >> it's journalism's highest honor. congratulations to them. thank you. unique food and wine pairings

only offered at outside land. we'll give you a sneak peek at wh will be served at this year's festival, coming up.

(music throughout) we know the bands performing this summer at outside land. today we know the menu.

the biggest menu ever at the music festival. 90 restaurants. 35 wineries and 30 breweries almost all are local. fan favorites like taste of the bay area. wine and beer lands, and cheese lands, they're all coming back. new additions include the bust down which is pan african soul food. ayesha curry's sweet july will offer bread pudding and rose will be flowing. tickets for the concert are on sale now. and don't forget, you can also watch us live on roku, amazon fire and apple tv. we're joined now with what's coming up next at 5:30. a lot of emotional stories tonight. heart wrenching testimony from the son who lost his mother. it comes as congress struggles to agree on gun safety measures. >> what did you do? you're elected to protect us to protect our way of life. >> also a familiar face as

actor matthew mcconaughey gave an impassioned speech at the white house. the news at 5:30 starts right now. >> matthew mconahahey asked democrats and republicans to speak on a higher level and not be consumed by just getting re-elected. he shared stories of the families of victims from his hometown. his plea comes as a bipartisan group of senators are reportedly close to a deal on gun safety measures. here's more from capitol hill.