Complete the project. And gas prices are surging rapidly here in california. Our mike inouye is going to break down whats driving up those costs while helping you find some cheaper options. This is today in the bay. Mike has the golden ticket. Cheaper gas. Good morning to you on this wednesday. Im marcus washington. And im laura garcia. Well check in with mike with a look at the morning commute. First, Cinthia Pimentel is in for kari bringing the sunshine. And the wind. We have both of those things on the forecast. We are going to start to dry out for the next couple of days and start to see more of that golden thing in the sky. Were starting in san jose, checking in, 47 degrees to start the morning. There will be a few clouds lingering, but nothing like yesterday to dampen the mood. Temperatures and more sunshine at 65 degrees later this afternoon, to enjoy Daylight Saving time. Now, as we talk about the winds, its really going to pick up later tonight and definitely on into thursday. Those mountains and our overpasses could gust anywhere from 50 to 60 miles an hour. Its best to prepare while things are still a little calm. As we prepare for the weekend, we have less of that wind and more of that sunshine. Temperatures in the 70s. Mike is updating the crash in richmond. And not into richmond, its actually out of richmond. This is across the bridge. Thats fine. The other direction, those taillights are heading over toward the eastshore freeway. This crash is eastbound 580, and it is not interfering with traffic off of the bridge. Thats great news for your morning commute, pushing that way. Highway 37 and the bay bridge show that on the map, so does highway 4 through concord out of pittsburg and bay point. Standard build around the rest of the bay and the south bay, things are easing up for 101. New this morning, a momentous occasion for the ohlone people as the tribe wakes up back in control of some of its ancestral land. Kris sanchez is in the newsroom this morning. What is the plan moving forward . Reporter this is a Long Time Coming and were talking about a three block area where there is now a parking lot in west berkeley, which was ancestral land of the ohlone people. Take a look at the map on your screen. This area is on Fourth Street off university avenue. It was once slated as a mixed use housing and commercial development area. This is what it looks like today from google maps, images here, a far cry from what it looked like 5,700 years ago when there was a mound of shells that served as both a ceremonial and burial site. In this land by sacred land film project, you see the area in question in renderings, what it looked like before spanish colonizers took the land and forced the Indigenous People into forced labor. The shellmound was used as Building Material on local roadways. Here is a description from a member of the confederated villages with the importance of getting the land back. This is where people lived and died, laughed and cried, and buried our ancestors in the shell mounds. Ohlone people are still here and we have a vision for this sacred site. Not for the commercial development being proposed, but a green space with flowing water, a Memorial Park where we can rebury our ancestors who were taken away to museums. Reporter berky mayor said in a statement this was a long, long effort, but it was honestly worth it because what were doing today is righting past wrongs and returning stolen land to the people who once lived on it. Now, well talk about the money part, the city contributed 1. 5 million toward the purchase, but the rest of the 27 million was contributed by the Sogorea Te Land trust. This is a land trust led by indigenous women. Interesting. Thank you very much. New overnight, russian president Vladimir Putin says the country is ready for nuclear war if it came to it. His comments made on russian state tv are being seen as a warning to western countries. It comes days ahead of the countrys president ial election. Putin is expected to win another sixyear term in office. Russias president went on to say that he does not mean the world is heading for nuclear war, suggesting president joe bidens experience ensures the potential dangers of such escalation. Putin has repeatedly talked about his readiness to use Nuclear Weapons since the countrys invasion of ukraine in 2022. Now to continuing coverage of the Scott Peterson murder case. New dna evidence may be the key to prove his innocence. Back in 2004, peterson was convicted of murdering his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son. He appeared virtually in a san mateo courtroom yesterday morning. His attorneys with the l. A. Innocence project say that there is evidence that did not make it into the courtroom 20 years ago, so they point to a van with a stained mattress found in modesto the morning after lacis disappearance and they want the mattress tested for dna. Petersons former Attorney Says this could be a gamechanger. If the van is, in fact if the dna is still preserved, if the dna has not degraded, if the dna is Still Available to be tested, that, to me, is game not only game changing, but game over. Now, prosecutors argued against the motions made by petersons attorney saying that theres not new evidence or new issues here. Now, the judge set the next two hearings for april 16th and may 29th. New developments, californias mega highspeed rail project between San Francisco and los angeles is facing another major funding hurdle. Ginger Conejero Saab is live in San Francisco this morning. Ginger, ive covered this story for years and years and years. I would think at this point i would be able to ride on it. Reporter thats what you and many others were hoping for, laura. But were told more money is needed to make progress on this project, and its a lot more money. In fact, 100 billion, and thats not all. California highspeed rail projects ceo brian kelly testified this week at the state Senate Transportation committee about the authoritys updated draft business plan. Kelly told lawmakers he had 28 billion on hand, but that is still several billion short to make progress on the Central Valley segment. He said hes hoping to fill the gap with federal funds to get it to the projected 32 to 35 billion cost. That part of the project is now expected to be fully operational at the earliest 2030. Now, aside from the money to fill the gap in the Central Valley, project leaders still need an additional 100 billion to complete the bullet train from San Francisco to los angeles. Youre seeing a map of the phases of this project. Phase one will connect San Francisco and merced to los angeles and anaheim, phase two will add sacramento to merced and san diego to los angeles. Voters were originally pitched the idea in 2008. The expectation then was that this would be complete by now, but almost 16 years later, theres no definitive end date in sight. Right now the air is being sucked out of the room fundingwise by this one project. How do we get the public on board with something that has this much of a downside to it . I think the only way you get the public is by performing better, and i think the authority is performing better today than it was, and i think it will going forward. Reporter now, the projects ceo hopes there are funding opportunities with the private sector. Guys, this is also something that cant be affected following the november election. In the past, President Biden has given his support to this project, but this is something that we as californians can watch out for and see how that progress continues. Guys, back to you. Completely. If you drive out in the Central Valley, you see segments of it and then nothing. So well see where it goes. Maybe one day well ride it, ginger. Maybe one day. Reporter together. Exactly. Lunch in l. A. Well get there faster driving. Thank you. 6 08 this morning. Lets take a live look outside at downtown san jose and get you caught up on whats happening weatherwise. Cinthia pimentel is in for kari this morning. Whats going on . Were starting off mostly clear in some spots, patchy clouds lingering around. It should break out as we go into lunchtime. Were checking on our planner in San Francisco. Notice the clouds will start going away and more sunshine, temperatures will be in the low 60s. As we start a bit of a warming trend and also a windier trend, later on this afternoon we will have the wind advisory for areas in the north bay, our east bay hills, and along the peninsula going into the Santa Cruz Mountains. Very gusty wind, especially along our coast side and hills. Make sure that youre prepared, making sure things are coming inside, powering up things and devices, as we could possibly see some power and tree issues with all of this. So ill guide you through that in a little bit. Mike is helping you find cheaper gas prices. Behind me are the lowest prices reported for san jose, oakland and San Francisco. This is all through gas buddy by all of you. Weve seen prices jump up since the end of february. The head of petroleum analysis, patrick, told us its mostly due to seasonality, the change to a more expensive summer blend of gasoline at this time of year. Thats nationwide, but california is under stricter standards and our summer blend is even more costly to make. Yeah, it generally is always more costly to produce the type of gasoline that is cleaner, especially in this instance. In addition, adding to the cost is that california has its own standards. It did not follow the epa. It follows carb mandates and california is on a bit of a pet roll island, the only state in the nation requiring special blends. There are different dates that this california specific gasoline has to be utilized as well. He said were on a petrol island. Carb is the California Air resources board, and it supersedes the eps when it comes to emission standards. Carb mandates a cleaner burning gasoline compared to other states and its more expensive to produce for refineries, and gas stations to operate in california. So, of course, its even more expensive for all of us to buy that gas. At least some of the additional costs goes to california trying to help reduce pollution and to fight climate change, because thats what we do. Thats what we all try to do. Thanks, mike. Tax season is in full swing, and theres now just about a month left to file. Ahead, the new tool you can use to save big when it comes to filing those returns. And a lot of records for you. Record stock market, near records for bitcoin, even a record on oil that mike will be interested in. Lets go out to the futures this morning, and see what we have. It looks like a mixed market. Plus, a historic vineyard up for sale in the north bay. Were going to show you the stunning property and the hefty price tag that comes with it. you made a cow actually its a piggy bank. My inspiration to start saving. How about a more solid way to save . Im listening. Well, bmo helps get your savings habit into shape with a cash reward, every month you save. Both cash reward . And theres a cash bonus when you open a new Checking Account to get you started. Wow. Anything you cant do . mugs. Bmo dupixent helps you du more with less asthma. And can help you breathe better in as little as two weeks. Dupixent is an addon treatment for specific types of moderatetosevere asthma thats not for sudden breathing problems. Dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. Get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. Tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. Dont change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. Ask your specialist about dupixent. The time is 6 14. Lets go to the north bay and check in on santa rosa. Were starting our morning chilly, in the 40s, with a few clouds. Then into the afternoon its gorgeous. Take your lunch outside today, at least through the first half of the afternoon, as we top out at 66 degrees. Were going to get some gusty winds ahead for the next couple of days. Ill talk about that coming up. Speeds about the same, mid60s over here through oakland. Watch those speeds, folks. The conditions are great. Well show you whats going on. The headlights heading south to the san mateo bridge, im following flashing lights. Happy wednesday to you. Three figures i want you to look at, s p 500 hit yet another record, even with the hotter than expected inflation data. Bitcoin remains near record highs, and the price of oil this is west texas intermediate. Oil, we know thats getting more expensive. We see it in mikes gas prices and he was explaining some of the other costs that california has. But this is interesting. America is now the top producer of oil in the world, according to the latest figures from the u. S. Energy department. In fact, the u. S. Has produced more oil each year in the last six years than any country ever has. And, yes, that includes the middle east. America produced an average of 12. 9 Million Barrels a day in 2023. Russia, a little more than 10 million. Saudi arabia, a little less than 10 million. Canada and iraq come in fourth and fifth. Roku warning some of its users its been hacked. The bad guys got a hold of Customer Credit card data, about 15,000 affected, according to the south bay company. Best way to tell if youre one of them is try to log into your roku account. The company says bad guys changed passwords and shipping addresses. Apple says it will allow users in europe to download apps to their phones outside the app store. So, for instance, you would be able to download netflix app from netflix directly. Its part of a legal settlement for apple in europe. For years apple has said restricting apps to the app store kept the bad actors out. You dont get viruses on your iphone. A vote in the u. S. House of representatives to demand tiktok make huge changes is expected to move forward today. It has support from both democrats and republicans. Tiktoks Parent Company, bytedance, has Close Association with the chinese government, and american politicians worry bytedance could either spy on american users or feed them video to influence voters. Lawmakers demanding bytedance sell tiktok or make structural changes to separate out the app from the companys influence or the countrys influence, something that tiktok has been working on already. One media analyst points out while facebook and reddit arent chinese, they, too, have to deal with china. A lot of the critiques that lawmakers have against tiktok could be extrapolated to all platforms, data collection, surveillance, the way information and isnt moderated. So i think by choosing tiktok, if tiktok is indeed banned, its going to help a lot of american tech companies, but its not going to solve a lot of the concerns that people have about big tech. I think thats a critical part of the story thats missing in our conversations about tiktok. Its a fair point. If you are dealing with china, if youre trying to sell into china, lets say youre tesla or whatsapp or snapchat, youve got to deal with chinese rules just like they have to deal with ours. And so as we do something to restrict something chinese, we may see the reverse as well. Well talk more about it coming up. A lot of folks probably happy if they forgot to buy their Mega Millions jackpot ticket because it is still up for grabs. This comes after no one matched all six numbers last night. However, there were two tickets that had five matching numbers. Those two winners will get 1 million each. Not too bad. The new grand prize is 792 million. People actually have a chance to win that on friday in the next drawing. The pot has been growing ever since december. Now, it is the sixth largest drawing in history. Something to keep in mind, if you do win the Mega Millions jackpot, imagine sitting on your porch, sipping a glass of wine overlooking your very own vineyard. Yeah, for someone, that is a dream that could be a reality. Weve got footage of a 130 acre vineyard in Sonoma County now up for sale. Petaluma property has 11 bedrooms, 15 full baths, a boat dock and a private airplane hangar so you can come and go freely. It has a price tag of 17 million. Quite nice. If you win the 792, thats not too bad. Exactly. Its all about perspective. Thanks, marcus. Its attainable. Last hour we couldnt afford a 22 burrito, so i dont know what were dreaming about now. Dreaming. Nothing to dream. Its going to be a nice weekend in Sonoma County and wine country as we see more sunshine in the forecast. Today you can expect the skies to clear up a little, mostly sunny and a bit warmer. Look at concord, martinez and santa rosa in the upper 60s. It wont be too bad in San Francisco and Half Moon Bay with the low 60s. The wind speeds are going to pick up and ill tell you whats happening to cause that. Were seeing the ridge of High Pressure build up and behind me we see more activity, with the low pressure going into the desert southwest. When we have these two things combined, its a little more stubborn to break apart. With the gradients tight together, it causes wind speeds to go up. Hourbyhour, in the north bay, as we go into this afternoon, youre definitely going to start to feel the wind speeds pick up and it might be hard to go to bed with the wind rattling your windows. The dark purple, about 30 to 45 miles an hour and thats just locally. In the bay area ridgetops, we could see the diablo range and Santa Cruz Mountains gusting from about 40 to 60 miles an hour. Bring in things that you dont want to get caught in the wind, the trash can, everything else, and you might also feel your allergies picking up. Then we should see calmer conditions as we go into the weekend. Our temperatures tomorrow, we start to warm up a little bit. Youll definitely feel the sunshine on your skin. 69 in martinez, 71 in hayward, but even warmer still as we take a look at fridays daytime highs. Mid70s, just about anywhere you look, and our beaches also very nice, nearing that 70 degree mark. And, actually, as i take it further, our six to tenday temperature outlook, so into the middle part of next week, you can notice that the west coast is going to be in that well above average category, which means this warm weather is going to continue. So its going to be a nice couple of days in San Francisco. Once we do get past the wind and going into the weekend, st. Patricks day on sunday, the parade is going to be beautiful. Spring begins on tuesday and temperatures will sure feel like it. Mike, youre tracking a hazard on the san mateo bridge. The wind might affect the highrise at the san mateo bridge. Thats okay. We have the service lane blocked because of the hazard, the disabled vehicle. Its not affecting the flow of traffic. I have seen a number of folks shift over to avoid flashing lights. No one is there to clear that but it hasnt caused a major issue as far as Traffic Volume or speeds. Smooth drive down 880, still a build for the east bay. Typical for the nimitz. Dont be surprised friday night at 9 00 through monday morning, closure of southbound 680 for the servicing of those roadways. So these are your alternates, 84 and 580 through dublin. Good to know. Next on today in the bay, nbc bay area responds. Uncle sam is collectively saving families hundreds of millions of dollars on tax prep fees. Im consumer investigator chris chmura. Ill showou how to y business. Its not a ninetofive proposition. Its all day and into the night. Its all the things that keep this world turning. Its the gotos that keep us going. The places we cheer. Trust. Hang out. And check in. They all choose the advanced Network Solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. Powering more businesses than anyone. Powering possibilities. It is 6 25 this morning. If you are about to pay someone to prepare your federal tax return, i want you to listen up because you might have a brand new free option. The irs rolling out a program that lets many people file for free. Consumer investigator chris chmura shows us how. Good morning. The irss new direct file system calculates your tax and files your forms all in one place. Its sort of like tax software, only its free and its directly with the irs. Its newly online at directfile. Irs. Gov. Many families will qualify, even if you take deductions or claim common credits for your kids or other dependents. If you itemize or make money from things like a pension or investments, direct file probably will not do your taxes for free. You can check your eligibility on the irs website. Economic security california in San Francisco told me direct file should save the tip toll family 150. This year around 5 million plus californians are actually eligible to use the direct file tool for free, which will save hundreds of millions of dollars. Again, to check your eligibility, go to directfile. Irs. Gov. If you get stuck, theres a chat feature. Even better news, its not artificial intelligence. The irs says no ai, its chat window connects you with a real live human being. Same for our team. We are 100 human. If you have a Consumer Complaint to share, scan the qr code on screen to fill out our Consumer Complaint form online. Thanks, chris. Weve got a lot more ahead at 6 30, including california cracking down on water use with new rules, but theyre not as strict as first proposed. The changes you can expect and the reason it will take some time before you have to worry about cutting back. The growing problem of organized retail theft. An inside look on how the chp is rgeting those criminatals right now at 6 30, the house is set to vote on a ban for the popular social media app tiktok. Can it actually happen . Scott mcgrew is breaking down the challenges ahead. Fighting back against retail theft. An exclusive look at the way california Highway Patrol is working to target organized crime and prevent stolen items from being sold online. The rain is gone and were warming up. Theres new concerns over wind in the bay area this week. The advisory going into effect later tonight. This is today in the bay. Good wednesday morning to you. 6 30. Halfway through your workweek. Im laura garcia. Im marcus washington. Lets get a look at the forecast before you walk out the door. Cinthia pimentel has been tracking what we can expect. Not too bad today. You can leave the umbrella at home and maybe bring out short sleeve shirts. Were checking in on novato, 46 degrees right now. A slight dip as the sun comes up, but then more sunshine and temperatures in the low 60s this afternoon. Novato will be included in this wind advisory that goes into effect later tonight and continues through friday morning in the bay area. Ill walk you through the wind speeds. But the weekend looks nice and more sunny, less wind. Mid70s as we get ready for st. Patricks day and spring next week. If youre planning a trip to the sierra, there is a high wind warning up there. So really gusty days over the next couple, but then more sunshine is ahead. Well talk about that in the full microclimate forecast. This is a big one, happening today the u. S. House is set to vote on banning tiktok. Scott mcgrew has been watching this. Scott, the vote is expected to pass easily, despite needing a twothirds vote. Its one of the few things politicians in the house can agree on. They had trouble agreeing on keeping the government open. Now, its twothirds because of the way theyve set the vote up to speed it through. The u. S. Government has been concerned for years that tiktoks Parent Company bytedance is too closely associated with the chinese government, and that tiktok could be used to spy on americans or influence them. Now, theres absolutely no evidence that has ever happened, thats important to point out. The proposed law would require bytedance to sell tiktok or make sufficient structural changes to allay those suspicions about the company or face the ban. It has to pass, obviously, both the house and senate. Senate hasnt even scheduled a vote. Its not clear its going to come up for a vote. Tiktok pushed users to contact lawmakers and ask them to vote no. What do you make of the pushback from young people who are prompted on this app to call their members of congress and push against this ban . They love tiktok. I know that from my own grandkids. Its part of their lifestyle. They dont want to lose it. Weve got to look at the Bigger Picture and that is how does it fit in in terms of our constitution and our National Security. Now, tiktok, which is based in los angeles, has been working on allaying politicians fears, moving data to america, for instance. The ceo of tiktok seen her testifying to Congress Last year. Back in washington this morning to meet with lawmakers. We just heard from senator durban, pointing out there are constitutional questions. This would almost certainly go to the courts. Montana, you may remember, tried to ban tiktok at one point. That ended up getting gummed up in the courts because there are huge constitutional questions. A huge presence online for a lot of people. Small businesses really do use that. It puts the word out, people follow them. And remember your audience. Theres a certain age you get to in which advertisers are no longer interested in you. We call that the facebook generation. Old people use facebook. Young people use tiktok and theyre buying things. Its really changed business, too. Thank you, scott. Well, new at 6 00, as the government looks to ban tiktok, bytedance, which owns tiktok, looking to expand in the bay area. According to the chronicle, the company is in discussions about subleasing three floors at a building on fremont street in San Francisco located near the salesforce tower. Meta previously leased the entire building. A lease has not been signed just yet, but negotiations are said to be advancing. Retail theft is a major problem throughout the bay area, and now the state is trying to tackle that issue. Today in the bays bob redell is joining us live this morning. Were getting an inside look at chp, i know they have been working and going after the people committing those crimes. Reporter correct. Good morning to you, marcus. Our Sister Network cnbc got exclusive access to the california Highway Patrol to show how the Law Enforcement agency is targeting those organized retail theft rings to stop those criminals from stealing the merchandise and selling it back online. Recently the chp busted a lucrative theft ring that chp says was based out of this mansion in san diego count. The ringleader, a woman, is accused of giving a couple of other women across the country a list of stores and merchandise to target, including ulta beauty, whose products the thieves sell at deep discounts on an Amazon Digital storefront called the Online Makeup store. At this mansion, a team from ulta and chp recovered 387,000 in stolen items. Ulta beautys ceo says they are absolutely fed up with this. What do you think in this case as were speaking of in california that amazon could have done to know that these were stolen goods . What i would say more broadly is there is technology available, theres use of advanced analytics and data capabilities to try to understand behaviors that are indicative of reselling stolen goods. Reporter amazon declined an oncamera interview, but a spokesperson said they invest more than 1 billion annually, and employ thousands of people to, quote, fight fraud. Adding it uses sophisticated detection and prevention solutions. The ringleader of this alleged operation in san diego pled not guilty to charges of conspiracy, grand theft and receipt of stolen property. Her husband and seven others were also charged and pled not guilty. Now, the chps organized Retail Theft Crime Task force has also been active here in the bay area. Just earlier this month, they, along with Alameda Police department, they recovered 75,000 worth of stolen merchandise, an operation that stemmed from a grand theft at an Old Navy Store in alameda. Reporting live in the east bay, bob redell, today in the bay. Its just shocking how organized they were. Hey, caught up to them. Thanks so much. A troubling confrontation in marin county amid the holy month ramadan. Police are saying it was not a hate crime. A man was assaulted at the Islamic Center of north marin monday night. One of the members saw a visitor carrying a bag containing a gun. When the mosque member tried to grab the bag, the visitor punched him, pepper sprayed him and ran away. San rafael police say 38yearold David Margolish confessed to the crime, calling it a misunderstanding. There were no threats. He didnt brandish the firearm. There really wasnt any evidence that this was premeditated or a targeted attack. For us, we have that tension here in our community already. When that incident occurred, we were very scared. Fortunately, no one ras really seriously harmed. Police say the suspect has a prior felony conviction and he was booked into jail on a quarter Million Dollars bond. California is relaxing its new Water Conservation rules. The state is trying to cut urban water use even though california is not in a drought. The old rules say more than 160 agencies would have had to cut water use 20 or more by the year 2035. Now just 46 agencies will have to cut water use by that much. Many bay area water agencies will not be required to make future cuts through 2035 and will face cuts of less than 5 by 2040. The state Water Resources control board will finalize those rules in july. Lets take a live look outside. San Francisco Bay from our emeryville camera. Very nice start to our wednesday morning. Cinthia pimentel is in for kari today. So the rain out of sight right now. Out of sight, giving us a gorgeous look of the dazzling lights over San Francisco, and down here in san jose were starting to see the sun break through the horizon. Still dark out there toward the Golden Gate Bridge with more cars on the road. Were in for dryer weather over the next couple of days. Our temperatures today headed for the mid to upper 60s in santa rosa, 68, as well as martinez, concord, and we start to get into some mid60s for Mountain View and down into morgan hill well see 64 degrees. As we go into tomorrow, youre definitely going to start to feel the warmup. Ditch the umbrellas and see more sunshine as we go on and see more 70s on the board. With the sunshine, were also going to see the wind speeds pick up. Ill guide you through what we have in the wind advisory, the possible impacts and the extended forecast with more sunshine in it. Mike is tracking a buildup in the east bay. Expect a buildup at the bay bridge, but i just wanted to show you all lanes are at capacity, hov a big advantage. Were now at capacity for the bridge from richmond toward san rafael. The larger vehicles can use that, but so can regular Passenger Vehicles on the right side there. Were looking at a smooth drive and smo surprises for these patterns. Walnut creek interchange sees more volume right about now. This evening i want to give you a note about chase center. There is an activity there, but its the convert experience by ye and it starts at 9 00 p. M. Thats very late as far as im concerned. Its a musical experience, so keep that in mind. At about the time that starts, we also have the closure of the posy tube, so thats starting the overnight Maintenance Work from alameda into toward oakland itself, and that will be cleared up by the next days commute, tomorrow mornings commute. You can use the bridges to the south as an option the entire time. We do have slowing south 680 toward sunol. There may be an incident. I dont have a lot of detail. I see the slowing sensors and we also have this disabled vehicle, which now has someone helping out, some more flashing lights on the right shoulder. Out of lanes, but a distraction as the commute builds. Look at all the brake lights. Back to you. Thanks, mike. 6 41 right now. A rematch most americans did not want. President joe biden is set to face off with former President Donald Trump this november. Up next, scott returns with a look at checks and balances. Here is a question this morning. Would you pay 22 for a burrito . Well, the next story coming up this morning is going viral here on nbc bay area. Were going to tell you about the local restaurant getting some pushback for doubling its price for those burritos and the good wednesday morning. The time is 6 44. Checking in on Half Moon Bay, as we plan for lunchtime, well see less cloud cover and more sunshine. Not only today, but for the next couple of days. Well talk about that and the wind impacts coming up. It looks a lot slower, but i think thats good news. Im watching the highrise westbound, the san mateo bridge. It looks slow here, but that may mean a smoother drive in a few minutes. Well track it. It is almost official, the president ial race will be between joe biden and donald trump again. Scott mcgrew, a race Many Americans say they just dont want. They just dont want a repeat. Polls show a majority of americans, neither is their first choice. We didnt want a rerun of the 2020 elections with two men that are just four years older than they were then. But with yesterdays state primary votes, biden and trump won the number of delegates they need to put them over the top and win their partys nomination. Now, we cant say theyre the nominees yet because thats done at the conventions later this year. But its now semiofficial. Former special counsel robert hur testified before Congress Tuesday about his controversial decision not to prosecute joe biden for holding on to classified documents after his vice presidency, and the controversial language in that report calling biden a forgetful old man. Here is the white house response to the days testimony. I think the main thing to take away from today is two words for the american people, case closed. We sat for three hours, watched on Live Television on many networks, hours of explanation of why a trumpappointed prosecutor, who spent 15 months investigating the president , came to the obvious conclusion that there is no case here. After all of this time, millions of pages of records that have been reviewed, 150 witnesses have been interviewed. The conclusion was simple, that there is no case here. The case is closed. Its time to move on. The next order of business for the house is banning tiktok. The house will vote today on a bill that would require Chinas Bytedance to sell tiktok or see the app banned in the united states. Not clear thats constitutional. Montana tried to ban tiktok and the law was suspended by the courts. This is just the house voting. Not only is the senate not scheduled to vote, its not clear there will ever be a vote in the senate. Senators looking at the house, busy with tiktok, and asking, can you work on more important things, like saving ukraine with that bill called the supplemental that we passed a long time ago. I want to encourage the speaker again to allow a vote, a vote, let the house speak on the supplemental that we sent over to them several weeks ago. Jake sullivan, the National Security adviser, said yesterday the u. S. Was sending 300 million worth of weapons and help to ukraine, money that the pentagon found when they got a better deal than they were expecting on replacements for weapons that it already sent. The other big challenge for republicans in the house, the majority just got that much more thin, as colorado republican ken buck announced he was leaving Congress Next week. He had already made the decision not to run for another term. Theres going to be a special election in colorado to replace him, but that will take time. In the meantime, republicans will outnumber democrats in the house by 218 to 213. Many conservative republicans dont always vote with their party, meaning speaker johnson is going to need democrats, marcus, to get a lot of his agenda passed super scott, thank you. Well, tonight you have a chance to weigh in on the search for san joses next police chief. The second in the series of Public Forums takes place at 6 00 at the bascom community center. That comes following the announcement that the police chief is moving on to become the chief of investigations for the Santa Clara County d. A. s office. The transition is expected to begin next month. San jose mayor matt mahan will join us live in a few minutes on our 7 00 a. M. Streaming newscast to discuss the search for the new police chief. You can watch it coming up at 7 00 a. M. And watch it on roku and other streaming platforms. March madness starts in about two weeks but the party is getting started, st. Marys Mens Basketball Team won against gonzaga, the championship game of the wcc tournament last night in las vegas. It was a close one, but the gales took charge late in the game, st. Marys winning 6960. Its the First Time Since 2012 theyve won the regular season title and the conference title. This guarantees the gales a spot in the ncaa tournament. We can find out who they play next sunday. Ive got to get the brackets ready. Lets do it. The Michelin Guide is adding ten New California restaurants, and one right in San Francisco. So seven adams recently open in november and features an 87 tasting menu. The guide cites that the restaurant is unfussy californian simplicity, featuring solid techniques and thoughtful flavor combinations that allow quality seasonal ingredients to shine. The other Nine Restaurants are located down in southern california. The presentation looks nice. Speaking of food, and money, 22 for a burrito in San Francisco. It sounds like a lot. It is trending this morning. So the restaurant says the price is just to break even from inflation. La vaca birria is located on 24th street in the mission district. When it opened two years ago the price of the signature burrito was 11. Now the price doubled at 22. The owner of the restaurant says the move is to keep wup the rising price of ingredients. Hes explaining to customers if he didnt increase the prices, he would be out of business. Just everything keeps raising in pricing, one big thing for us is our beef. We use choice beef that was 2. 50 cheaper two years ago. Theres just no other way around it. We want to serve the quality we serve, we have to charge for it as well, otherwise were going to close the doors. Where is the beef . Its in the burrito. He says he wants to thank customers for sticking with him, but its just a reflection of the times that we live in. I think its a pretty large burrito. I could cut that up and eat it with my kids. The price is going up, but its a lot of food, and its something that you wouldnt go every day, but im going to treat myself. I would buy it. I just dont know if i can afford the extra guac. Ive got that, you can give me half of the burrito. See how that worked out . Lets take our burritos outside, shall we . Were checking in on that microclimate forecast for you, as were drying out and warming up, starting today and over the next couple of days ahead for the weekend. We are starting to build that ridge of High Pressure toward the pacific and toward the desert southwest, the low pressure system continues. As these two things battle, it actually drives up the win speeds a little. As far as our hourbyhour forecast for you, were going to clear out and see more sunshine, more of a chance to get outdoors and enjoy the extra daylight hours. Our temperatures today going for 68 in santa rosa and fairfield, 66 in hayward, and 64 in Mountain View. As we get ready for this afternoon and into tomorrow, i want you to Pay Attention to whats going to be happening with the winds. Remember the buildup i was talking about with the High Pressure and low pressure too close together . Thats actually building up the gradient and the winds are going to start picking up, definitely strongest by tomorrow morning. It could be kind of hard to go to sleep later tonight and those dangerous mountain passes as well as downed trees and the possibility of losing some power. The winds wont only be here in the bay area. If you have any plans to head up to tahoe, trying to beat the crowds, its actually going to be really gusty up there, too. Locally anywhere from about 47 to 55 mile an hour wind gusts, and as youre traveling over the passes it could even reach 100 mile an hour winds. So just take note of that and plan accordingly. Back here at home, i wanted to continue to talk about the sunshine as we check on brentwood over the next couple of days. Were starting to build up temperatures into the 70s for this weekend. It looks really nice as we finally start to say goodbye to winter and approach more of those springlike temperatures. San francisco wont be left behind. As we go through the next couple of days, we have the wind, but eventually by friday and into the weekend, st. Patricks day, temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s. That will continue into next week as spring begins on tuesday and our inland valleys, low to mid70s in the forecast. Something that could look better is the san mateo bridge. It is kind of looking well, horrible right now. We saw flashing lights take that one disabled vehicle over the highrise. It looks like theres another incident going on, maybe another slower roller there. West 92 is jammed right now. The sensors barely had a chance to adjust. Use the dumbarton bridge west as an option if you are coming from the south bay. You may want to go to the bay bridge north of there, because traffic is moving smoothly, but the backup does fill the toll plaza. Back to you. Thank you so much. Happening now, four years after the pandemic, new findings indicate the average distance between workers homes and their job sites has tripled. The research led by stanford and the mexico Autonomous Institute of technology. In 2019, the average distance between the two was about ten miles, but as of last year its about 27. Researchers say the increase is in part due to the shift, allowing employees to work from home. Next on today in the bay, were going to look at this mornings top stories. Berkeley giving back land to native american tribe. Were going to tell you the reason the city says this is long overdue. Welcome back. Were moving you forward with a look at the top stories on today in the bay. In just a few hours, the u. S. House is set to vote on banning tiktok. The u. S. Government has been concerned for years that tiktoks Parent Company bytedance is too closely associated with the chinese government, and that tiktok could be used to spy on americans or even influence them. Now, there is no evidence that that has ever happened, the proposed law would require bytedance to sell tiktok or make sufficient structural changes or face a ban. Today Indigenous People are waking up knowing they are once again in control of some of their ancestral lands. The three block area doesnt look like much today, a parking lot along Fourth Street in west berkeley. It was once ohlone land with a shellmound that served as ceremonial and burial grounds. The city of berkeley brokered the deal, contributing 1. 5 million, so a womenled indigenous land trust could buy back the property for 27 million. Californias mega highspeed rail project between San Francisco and los angeles facing some major funding hurdles. This week the projects ceo testified to the state Senate Transportation committee. Leaders say they need an additional 100 billion to complete the segment. They say the project also needs 1 billion for the Central Valley segment. Lets get a quick check of the forecast. A nice day, but this afternoon into tomorrow the wind is going to pick up, around 25 to 50 mile an hour wind gusts, and then calming down and more sunshine in the forecast for the weekend as we get ready for st. Patricks day. Westbound 92, continued issues. It looked like a series of disabled vehicles is causing the slowing west 92 to the peninsula. Use the dumbarton bridge instead of 92. The today show just moments away. Were continuing today in the bay on roku and other streaming platforms. San jose mayor matt mahan is joining us to discuss the search for the citys new police chief, the increasing homicide rate and how hes working to clean up city streets. Join us for our 7 00 a. M. Newscast next at nbcbayarea. Com. Thanks so much for allowing us to be a part of your morning. Good the battle over tiktok coming to a head this morning. The future of t