Why this area was vulnerable. Good morning. Thanks for joining us for our midday newscast. Im marcus washington. Im laura garcia. We brought you live breaking coverage of the fire right when it started, about 6 00 this morning. Nbc bay areas Ginger Conejero saab is live in san francisco. We heard from the fire chief who says this could have taken out that entire block at least. Reporter thats right. That fouralarm fire is contained and fortunately there are no injuries. But as you mentioned, the chief telling reporters this morning that this fire, what you can see, whats left of it, could have really severely impacted this entire neighborhood, the hayes valley neighborhood of san francisco. Fortunately, it did not, but this morning, many woke up frightened, ready to evacuate. There are people displaced. Fire and water damage. A mess in traffic because of the fires location. These are the flames that woke up People Living in the valley this morning, that fouralarm fire, believed to have been a residential building under construction on oak and octavia streets in san francisco. The fire started before 6 00 in the morning and immediately grew to a twoalarm fire before extending to four alarms as it spread to five nearby buildings. Those buildings on hickory and oak streets have fire and water damage. Residents have been evacuated. At this time, there are eight people displaced. They will receive aid from City Services and red cross nor cal. Another building across the street has shattered windows. There is broken glass on the sidewalk and that is closed off. Firefighters believe that damage was from the radiant heat of the fire. The fire chief says the damage could have been much worse given the building under construction was completely vulnerable to fire risk. This one particularly so because its open walls, studs, no sheetrock, theres no fire blocking, no sprinklers. Its just wood waiting to go up. And so thats really what happened here. The one level of cement and then five levels of wooded structure like a tower. I even called the building inspectors on them once and they came through and he talked to me. Hes, like, no, its according to plan, everythings good or whatever. But until they finish it enough to have, like, a Sprinkler System in there, i figured thats just unlucky. It could happen so easily. Reporter that man lives across the street. He says hes been concerned about this building because of the risk, that he believed the Building Materials posed. The scaffolding on top of the building still under threat of collapsing, and thats why roads along this area or around this area remain closed as of now. That scaffolding that youre looking at now, that needs to be taken down before octavia, before oak street, either of these streets can be reopened. And depending on how long that can take, traffic can really get backed up. I mean, on a daily morning commute or during rush hour on a daily basis, ok taich ya really gets backed up as it funnels into the freeway. You can imagine later on in the day with these two streets closed people will be looking to be rerouted along other streets in the area, including van ness, and that can really mean a pretty big mess once rush hour comes. Live in san francisco, Ginger Conejero saab, nbc bay area news. You saw the intensity of that fire. Ginger, thank you. A lot of cleanup under way. Lets check in with nbc bay areas mike inouye. Ginger talked about the traffic in that area. The ensuing investigation surrounding this fire as well is going to have an impact. Ginger mentioned the rush hour, but more than the rush hour, its midday traffic, lunch. Everybody is traveling around the city. This is just off of van ness, right off of highway 101. The names and the numbers mush together in this portion of the city. Getting off the bridge, coming down here, this is van ness, and this is octavia here, kind of blends in with all the surface street traffic. Octavia and oak is still the point at which ginger was doing her report. Avoidoctavia. Van ness is an option but it will be more crowded with the traffic shifting because of the closures. Laguna is a good option. Laguna and van ness might be able to take you past that scene. Avoid oak. Hickory is a small street. That will be tied up again as we follow this. On the website, we get updates if tlls activity in the area. We sent out an alert on our free nbc bay area news app. We will keep you updated on the status of this fire, but if you download it now, you will get alerts to your phone. An update on the murder case of bob lee. Day two of a preliminary hearing for that suspect is under way. The medical examiner took the stand today to testify about stab wounds, saying lee was punctured in the left chest, his heart, and his hip. During yesterdays hearing, prosecutors reportedly also showed video of the knife lee was murdered with. In the video, they say the suspect, nina momeni, can be seen spending time with lee half an hour before lees murder. The defense tried to make the case that momeni did not have any malice toward lee, but he was angry at another man. A lead investigator in the case testified that the person is the one who murdered the suspect and then voiced anger about it. He allegedly was giving momenis sisters drugs and may have had a romantic relationship with her according to the attorney. All the articles i read prior to me coming on indicated that they believe that my client had malice against bob lee for drugging and sexually assaulting or whatever it was, however you guys put it, his sister. Thats not the case. Thats not the evidence. Several officers testified yesterday including one who found lee after he was stabbed. Well have an update this afternoon. Were tracking a Death Investigation along a small stretch of roadway in oakland. This follows a vegetation fire along westbound 980 near the 17th street offramp. It started about 1 30 this morning. The chp says fire crews saw a man setting the fire. Eventually First Responders located a deceased brnovich tim who investigators say suffered head trauma. No word on if this is the person who set the fire and no word of any arrests or the identify of the victim so far. A live look this morning in san jose. This is where city pleau employees are beginning the process of voting on whether to go on strike. Well, now the citys mayor is speaking out. I want to show you video. This is one of the voting locations. This morning at sjpd Headquarters West mission street. Many City Employees want to bring attention to the citys recruitment problems as well as pay. Employees at city libraries as well as the airport are also a part of this union. Voting will go through friday, and a strike could happen as soon as next week. The city has offered a 5 raise in 2024. San home sales mayor matt mahan sent u statement this morning he probably. It says in part, we are coto negotiating a deal that is fair to everyone our workers and our r who rely on essential services our city provides. But the hard truth is, this mewhere. S to come from if my Council Colleagues wanto go beyond our last,best, and final offer of 5 raise plus increased paid parental leave next year, they will have to identify which core City Services they are willing to cut. It is National Night out, a day marked by citywide block parties to Bring Community members and Police Officers together. In cities like oakland, todays celebration comes at a critical time with crime surging. Last weekends oaklands naacp asked city leaders to declare a state of emergency. In that letter, the group said the problem comes from failed leadership at the city level. The president of oakland Police OfficersAssociation Says understaffing is to blame and leaders need to do more. They are really overstretched and theyre really trying. What we need is astakeholders, the criminal Justice System and the leaders of our city. From a lot of them, all weve heard is silence. Many advocates in oakland are calling for the appointment of a Permanent Police chief. Several other cities across the bay area also taking part in National Night out, including san jose, san francisco, and fremont, just to name a few. Imagine a lot of people will be out this evening. Might want to bring a jacket. Its cooler tonight. It starts out warm during the middle of the day, but as that wind picks up going into the evening, temperatures will drop quickly. Were enjoying sunshine. Were seeing some high clouds overhead. And we can see it is bright and sunny. Make sure you have your sunglasses. Looking at what to expect, well reach into the mid60s for today, a mix of sun and clouds and already at 6 00 the temperature is starting to dip. It will continue throughout the evening. Around the bay area, temperatures will be much cooler than what we see this time of year with brentwood reaching 86 degrees, 79 in san jose, and petaluma a high of 75 degrees. We will see this weather settle in for a few days before it heats up. Ill show you the full microclimate forecast, including a hot weekend. Thats coming up in a few minutes. New at 11 00 for you, police say a teenager crashes a tesla while illegally driving in santa rosa. This happened early this morning at about 4 35 on king street. A 13yearold was driving her parents tesla when she lost control. She hit three parked cars, a pole, and a sign. The driver and the two other kids in that car are okay. Santa rosa police are investigating. New this midday, members of the federal grand jury investigating Election Fraud have reported to the court in washington, d. C. , this morning. This is because a grand jury we dont know what theyre doing right now. But scott mcgrew says theres a lot of speculation theyre ready to wrap up that work. Thats because we do know prosecutors in that case have told former President Trump he is a target of the grand jury investigation. And you dont name your target until the end of the process. There are two logical outcomes. One, the grand jury decides not to indict, no charges. The other option, of course, is the opposite, the grand jury indicts the former president on accusations he actively worked to interfere to try to overthrow the 2020 president ial election. This is the federal case, the one led by special counsel jack smith. Theres a separate state investigation in georgia. The prosecutor there said any action would come in august and its august 1st. So two major criminal cases that could come any time. Theres no reason to think one prosecutor is waiting for the other. The state case is handled by a Fulton County prosecutor in georgia. The federal case is handled by a doj special counsel. So, we wait. The other big question is going to be scheduling. Trump already faces five trials between now and next may. Three civil, two criminal. These two not include the two cases were waiting on, which, if there are indictments, would bring us to seven. Back to you. Thanks, scott. Tension rgs rising even higher between russia and ukraine after a new drone attack in moscow overnight. Were tracking the latest on the rapidly intensifying conflict and what experts say the goal of this latest attack is. Us, can i see your iphone and registration, please . Coming up, details on a fight program being tested by the program being tested by the california d. O. D. 37 hows the chicken . The prprawns are d delicious. Oh, i i have a a shellfish h allergy. One prawn. N. Very goodod. Did i say y chicken wrwrong . Tired of p people not t listeng to whahat you wantnt . Its t truffle seaeason ah thats s okay. Never r enough truruffles. How mumuch are thehey . Itss a lot. Ohoh okay iim good, thth its l like a priciceless piece of a art. Enjojoy. Or when ththey sell yoyou what t they want . . Yeah. The e more we ununderstand y , ththe better w we can helplp. Thatats what u. U. S. Banknk is for. Huge relelief. Yeah. New governme developments sg the war in ukraine. The conflict is shifting to drone attacks in russia. Richard engle is tracking the latest. Reporter president putins war in ukraine is coming home to russia, right to the capital. Another drone this morning slipped through moscows defenses, smashing and exploding into a highrise, housing three government ministries in the business district. There were no reports of casualties from the early hour blast which targeted the very same building attacked by drones on sunday. Russia blames ukraine for the attacks, which are intensifying rapidly in and around moscow. The drones are doing very little damage. Theyre small and light. They seem more akin to psychological operations to expose ordinary russians to the conflict and embarrass president putin. Over the weekend, ukraines president zelelenskyy didnt clm responsibility for the drone attacks but didnt exactly deny them either, saying the war is now shifting to russia, calling the move just. This morning russia retaliate with the its own drone strikes, targeting a student dormitory in the ukrainian city of kharkiv. There were no students in at the time. That was not the case yesterday when russia fired two missiles at an Apartment Building full of civilians in president zelenskyys hometown, killing, officials say, at least six people, including a young girl and her mother. Richard engle reporting. Criminals have broken into tens of thousands of cars over the past year throughout the bay area. But were finding out the number of those car breakins arent random. Thieves are looking for hightech devices, even if theyre out of sight. Were talking about laptop, smartphones, tablets hidden or locked in your trunk. They still can emit a signal. One tech analyst points out criminals, they know how to do it. Just as easy as picking up a smartphone and look for blue 2022 signals, and if they see it, they can triangulate approximately where it is. Weve been trying to take things in with us every night when we go somewhere, but i think thats good to know to be aware, especially here. So this is what experts suggest you do. They say turn off those devices to terminate the signal your Electronic Device is emitting, or better yet, take the device with you when you leave your vehicle. Dmv is testing a new pil program. About 2,000 peoe are using the service and more will try it out in the next few weeks. Several other ste already have digital drivers licenses incluing arizona, colorado, and hawaii. The tsa is working with the dmv on the program. L. A. X. And about two dozen other airports accept mobile drivers licenses. New at 11 00, bed, bath beyond i is back, sortt ofof. So, ovoverstock relaunched th bed, bath beyond website this morning after acquiring the bankrupt retailers brand name along with its famous name. Overstock visitors will now be redirected to bed, bath beyond dotcom. Overstocks ceo says the name change was necessary because customers still view overstock as a liquidator even though the company transformed it into a general retailer back in 2004. Happening tonight, get those telescopes ready because the first of two supermoons makes its debut. Thats when the moons orbit and its closest or within its closest point to the earth. Supermoons arent too unusual and happen a few times a year, but it is rare to have two in a single month. A retired nasa astronomer said it wont happen again until 2037. If you miss tonights supermoon, it does happen again on august 30th. If you miss that one, then you have to wait until 2037. Lets be clear, you dont need a telescope to see the supermoon. Eek. Its going to be there. At the same time, theres a meteor shower thats happening, but the supermoon may block the view of some of those more faint meteor streakings across the sky. The good thing is this meteor shower lasts for weeks, and the peak of it is not until august 11th to the 12th where we could see 150 to 200 meteors per hour, and thats without the brightness of the supermoon. So a lot to look up and try to see during the night sky. Weve also had a lot more crowds coming in as we are seeing some cooler temperatures. Today were headed for 79 degrees in san jose, 77 in milpitas, and for the east bay, those high temperatures in the low 80s. We dont normally start out august with low 80s for our warmest spots inland, but it is nice to have this little break from the high heat before we know well have more heat coming our way. Fremont today reaching 78, and in redwood city, expect a high of about 75 degrees and daly city, 62, also 62 for the outer sunset. For the north bay, lit range from low 60s near the coast to mid to upper 70s for much of the north bay to low 90s farther to the north in clear lake and in ukiah. The green shows we have a surge of some midlevel moisture, and were seeing clouds as a result of that throughout the day. And theres also a chance that parts of the upper elevations in the sierra could see some showers and thunderstorms. That looks like that will cut off after today as some drier air surges in. And then as the drier air arrives, were also going to see High Pressure building and hotter temperatures. So take a look at the changes in livermore. Were going from highs in the upper 70s to upper 80s on friday to upper 90s on saturday, and then the temperatures peak on sunday at 102 degrees. Looking at more heat ahead, it will be nice to enjoy the break from those hot temperatures inland and see the highs in the upper 70s through thursday. Friday it heats up. It will be a hot weekend, at least inland. Along the coastline, its going to be cool in san francisco, well be fairly mild. Were going to go from highs in the mid60s, mist and drizzle tomorrow and thursday to more sunshine and highs reaching into the mid70s. So we will see a lot more changes ahead. Were going to talk about ur climate in crisis coming up a little later. Thanks, kari. Happening no the Mega Millions jackpot is getting even bi in the last how were we learned the exact amount. At stake now its up to 1. 1 billion. Drawing happens tonight at 8 00. The jackpot surpassed a billion dollars after no one matched all six numbers drawn on friday night. Tonights drawing will be the 30th since the jackpot was last won back in april. Basically, its hard to win. A very unexpected visitor on the peninsula. A bear comes knocking on the door of home. Up next on nbc bay area, Details Behind the close call. Hi, im totodd. Im a a veteran ofof 23 year. I servrved three o overseas to. I lolove to giveve back toto the commumunity. I i offer whatat i can whwhen i can. I started d noticing my memorory was slipipping. I saw w a prevagenen commercl and d i did someme research h. I i started tataking prevavn ababout three e years ago. I fefeel clearerer in my thoho, my memorory has imprproved and gegenerally jujust morere on point. T. Prprevagen. Atat stores evevee without t a prescripiption. Mattel fresh off their success from barbie is looking to bring the momentum to another product, uno. I love that game. The longtime card game is getting a spinoff and the company is looking for one lucky fan to serve as an adviser in the new games creation. Mattel hiring a cheap uno player to test the new game. Its a mix of uno and connect four. The chief uno player will fly to new york city for four weeks to test the game and teach the game to overs. In total, the chief uno player will make 17,000 throughout that fourweek span. Now, the job listing only calls for 16 hours a week and to apply, create a tiktok and post it by august 10th. Keep you busy. Uno, uno. Here we go, here we go. What is tiktok for then . A ring doorbell caught a bear carefully opening the door to someones house. Check it out. Its in half moon bay. They saw a bear use its paws to open the screen door. Wow. The owner of the home says there was no damage to the door. The bear was so careful it barely left any paw print. Experts h some tips to keep ople safe during the summer. First, avoid attracting bears by leaving bird or p food in your yard. Theres nothing with odor left in yourcar. They say peopled water their lawn at night because sprinkles discourage bears. Leaving the television on when no one is home discourages them from breaking in. The thing is your food is in your house and they want to come in. Right. And they do. A bear story. Goldilocks. At least there in half moon bay, the temperatures will stay cool because the inland inland valleys will be heating up for the weekend. Were going to enjoy the mild weather while it lasts through workweek. Thanks for joining us for our midday newscast. Right now on california live. Want your next cookout to be a knock out. Were transforming youre summer barbecue into the talk of the town. And Jenny Martinez is here sharing a mouth watery recipe