People with guide dogs . We investigate and meet the wnba newest team right here at home, the golden state valkyries. Well explain what it means. Good evening. This is nbc bay area news tonight im raj mathai. A lot happening on this tuesday. We begin with developing news at Uc Berkeley School is out. Finals were last week, and now the protesters there demonstrating against the israelhamas war are packing up and leaving. Our sky ranger was above campus late this afternoon. Take a look down below. The group has been camped out there as weve been reporting there at sproul plaza for more than three weeks. Its part of that nationwide movement. Students are calling for a ceasefire and also demanding schools cut ties or divest from israel. Lets bring in nbcs tom jensen from the uc Berkeley Campus. Tom, i see some of the tents behind you. Still, why end this demonstration . Anne, do the students offer any answers to you . Yeah. Raj, they said right now theyve basically negotiated this movement. Theyre going to move on to merced, to the merced uc merced campus. There are a couple of tents still up there coming down, but this came with what theyre not calling a victory. The negotiator that talked tonight made it a point to say that this is not a victory, but a sign that they can achieve a victory. And that would be a system wide divestment with the Israeli Military and a home without occupation for the Palestinian People. Ultimately, after 22 days here, uc berkeley chancellor carol crist agreed to a number of things, including divestment and institutional changes in support of the Palestinian People and the study of islamophobia and antisemitism, and the study of the struggles between israel and palestine. And the negotiator with the uc berkeley divest coalition, said this is just the beginning. We have revealed the contradictions of what it means to exist in the belly of this beast. And honestly. A few months ago, it would have been surprising to get this document. The fact that i get to say theres more to win. There is still another fight. There is still another campaign. Pain thats within reach is amazing. Okay. Very interesting tom. So now theyre taking the protests to the campus of uc merced. Just to be clear here, you were saying that the cal, the university of berkeley, the uc berkeley chancellor, said that they would agree to divestment, but thats a uc decision, correct. Whats the uks response here . Yes, that theyre shes supporting the chancellor is supporting divestment, at some divestment in israel. They see this as as i said, not as a victory. But they did get a couple of small wins here, they say through the negotiations. And they got, you know, the, this statement from the chancellor where she said that she remains deeply concerned about the death and destruction of Critical Infrastructure in gaza and about the ongoing impact on our university and its community. For those reasons, she said, i personally support the efforts of our government to promote a cease fire, gain the release of hostages and initiate a process for negotiations that would bring the current conflict to a permanent end. Raj. Very interesting, especially coming, as you know, from tom from uc berkeley, one of the most influential university, not only in the country, but in the world. And as we wrap it up, tom, we had a few flashpoints in the last few weeks, but never any violence that i can recall. Were there any arrests in the past three weeks where you are . Not here on the uc Berkeley Campus that we could find. And they say that thats one of the things that the university was touting, that this was peaceful. They didnt call in the police. They made it a point. You know, this campus has been over the years, over the decades, a place where there has been support of civil disobedience. And once again, thats what prevailed here. And it looks like the demonstrators were able to get some small wins. But as i said, not the victory that theyre looking for ultimately. Okay, now its off to uc merced. Tom jensen there on the cal campus for us tonight. Thank you. Tom, were also following a developing situation in oakland. The recall of District Attorney pamela price. When is this recall vote going to happen . The decision is expected to come tonight. A special meeting of the Alameda County board of supervisors is happening as we speak to determine when to hold the recall vote. Essentially two options here a standalone recall or attach the recall question to the existing november general election. The das opponents want a special election asap. They argue that any delay puts Public Safety at risk. Critics of the recall argue the recall is illegal and undemocratic. They accuse the registrar of not following the county charter. Supporters of the District Attorney price say that if a vote is going to happen at all, it should be part of the november general election to avoid any extra costs to taxpayers, we need to give her a chance to mitigate some of these issues. Thats going on in the city. So she did inherit some bad things in the city, and we just want to give her a chance and not waste any more taxpayer money. Those programs, those victims will still be there whether they spend the money or not. So were asking for them to, you know, account for the will of the people that have already stepped in and said they want a special election. Now if the board votes to approve that special election, the registrar is recommending the election be held in september. The registrar is also said, though they recommend the november general election due to cost and staffing concerns. Heres a big issue here. The recall is estimated to cost 15 to 20 million bucks. If its a special election. Some other headlines tonight. History in san francisco. City supervisors officially becoming the first in the nation to ban firefighter uniforms that may cause cancer. The final vote happened this afternoon. The issue is with the jacket and pants that the firefighters use. Our Investigative Unit found that they contain chemicals known as pfas. Those chemicals are supposed to help the clothing repel Flammable Liquids and resist extreme heat. But research has shown that absorbing those compounds through your skin can be dangerous. The next step in the ban is for the mayor to sign off on it, which shes expected to do. The city would then have two years to phase out the old uniforms and purchase new ones. Without the pfas. Well, some trouble now in san jose, new questions about how san jose handled Homeless People near waterways in recent months. Mayor matt mahan says the city risks being out of compliance with the clean water act because of homeless encampments along creeks and the guadalupe river. The mayor said the city risks daily 60,000 fines until its cleaned up. While the city does face requirements to keep those waterways clean, a san jose spotlight article casts some doubt and how much san jose stands to lose. The bay areas Water Quality control board told san jose spotlight. Theres no basis to the mayors claim, and that theres a 10,000 limit on those fines. Certainly not 60,000 per day. We spoke with the reporter who broke the story. These encampments have been along these creeks for years now. So. So do we know exactly why the city is focusing on this cleanup along them now . The renewed focus now has largely come from what they say is the possibility of being fined. But the local water board tells us that it you know, they rarely you know, seek fines of the maximum 10,000 penalty. This is also an issue that could impact city programs. The mayor says much of san joses 52 million budget deficit is tied to the encampment sweeps, and he has proposed tapping into Affordable Housing funds to help with the cleanup. Well, also tonight, an issue between uber and lyft and people with guide dogs are these Rideshare Companies standing, stranding blind customers. The riders say getting refused because of their dog is not only humiliating, they say its illegal. Dog is not allowing my car. Its a service dog. No, i understand, but you know, i already mentioned in my car this is a clip here recorded by annalisa dileonardo, who is legally blind and uses a guide dog. You see right there, dileonardo tells our Investigative Unit. They try to take a rideshare to work every day, but often get denied. It happens so often. Dileonardo started recording the interactions, refusing to accommodate service dogs is a violation, by the way, of the americans with disabilities act, uber tells us. Discrimination on our platform is unacceptable. Lyft says it requires all drivers to accommodate passengers traveling with service animals, but some riders say many drivers arent following those policies. Theyre not making it a big enough issue. I think theyre theyre trying to be nice to their drivers and give them a second chance. Joins us now. Investigative reporter candice wynn, whos on the story for us. Okay, walk me through this. I order an uber or lyft. The car arrives and many of these drivers see a guide dog if i had one. And then they say, sorry, i got to go. Thats exactly what these customers are saying, that theyre standing there on the curb. They sometimes, you know, what they can see or hear or can see on their phone closely that the car is coming, then drives away. They and they say that apparently many of these drivers, they know the policies or may not know the policies, but theyre just basically not following them. And dileonardo tells me, in her opinion, theyre getting away with it. Okay. What recourse do riders have . So if im stranded, what happens . What happens next . So lyft says that riders can report these issues right away on the app. Uber says the same thing. They have an app, a special place there specifically for these kinds of refusals. Now, de leonardo does this. Ive seen her reports, doesnt know what happens to the driver after the fact. De leonardo says they get a 5 gift card apologizing. But two things they say it doesnt solve the problem, and two feels that this is quite humiliating when you know, right, theyre trying to go to work and back, gets a 5 gift card, and the burden is on them to actually prove to uber and lyft that, hey, did that person really cancel because of my dog or for some other reason . Okay. So i mean, there are these are independent contractors here in essence, right . Uber and lyft drivers. What about do they get fined by uber and lyft . Do they could suspended whats their recourse or whats their punishment. So we reached out to uber and lyft. Uber and lyft said they can deactivate it. They can do it. They can take the driver off. Take the driver off if they know that that driver refused, refused because of the service dog. But then ross, it then becomes about proof. How do we know that that driver actually refused because of the dog . Or because, oh, there was something else, another ride, or the person had to go home and de leon bonta tells me thats why shes recording all these videos. But she says the burden is now on her. Someone who is legally blind, already having a tough time getting to work, and having to prove to these companies that the intention here was, you know, youre stranding me because of my service dog and at the end of the day saying that this problem, has not ended, which is why she spoke with us. A lot of your investigations start small and then kind of grow bigger statewide, nationally. Any word yet if this is getting picked up across the country. So this has been picked up. So uber and lyft were sued seven years ago by the National Federation of the blind. They they took some action still going on. But right now were seeing more coverage across the country calling this out. And people are asking for more change. Okay, im guessing this is going to be an ongoing story. One more note before you go. Candace did some extensive reporting on his separate issue on oaklands 911 response times. She found the oakland. She found oakland had the worst response of any city or county in california. Our investigation led to local and state leaders taking action, including oakland, investing 2. 5 million bucks into its dispatch center. This is all about 911 over the weekend in new york, candace and our team of producers there accepted the hillman prize for broadcast journalism. This is a National Prize awarded each year. These are the journalists who go to city council meetings, who file public records requests, who have local contacts in their phones, who could pull at a local thread and discover its connected to something much larger, and call attention to it and get results. You did get results. First of all, congratulations on the award. What stood out to me though, in your acceptance speech in new york and i was watching you talked about the state of investigative journalism, your speech was bittersweet. Your analysis was bittersweet on something that you do every day. Yeah. I found myself not just reflecting on this 911 reporting, but what its like to be an Investigative Reporter today. And i talked about, you know, sometimes i find myself filing for these public records, going to meetings and find out that im the only reporter there. Or maybe im the only reporter asking questions and, you know, thats the kind of exclusive you dont want, especially if its such a huge story that people need to know about. And so that was bittersweet. But it also made me feel like this is why we do what we do, and its more important than ever that we dont just do one story. I mean, this story was 15, 15 parts and far from done. Oakland still, still dealing with a lot of issues. And just now, after 15 stories in oakland, 911, the city is now turning the corner on answering times and staffing. Sadly, its a lot of budget. Some of our competitors have slashed their their Investigative Units. Sadly, we dont like that. What are the big challenges moving forward . We can talk about todays state, but what about tomorrow and a couple of years down the road . And so its exactly that. Its the challenges are were doing more with less. But you know, i, i want to see my friendly competitors there. I want us more journalists means more stories, more accountability. And i do want to share what keeps me hopeful and encourage the vast majority of my stories, my investigations come from people who call with tips, and actually a lot of people watch our investigations and then trust nbc bay area with their stories and to investigate their issues. And i want people to know that because i want to say thank you. And youre the reason why these investigations, this change is possible. We get a lot of calls and emails. I know you do in your office. Thank you candice. Congratulations again. Up next, the wnba is coming to the bay area. We know we now have a team, the valkyries. We have a name for our new wnba team. Well explain what this means and what the name means. Youre watchin a slow network is no network for business. Thats why more choose comcast business. And now, were introducing ultimate speed for business our fastest plans yet. Were up to 12 times faster than verizon, at t, and tmobile. And existing customers could even get up to triple the speeds. At no additional cost. Its ultimate speed for ultimate business. Dont miss out on our fastest speed plans yet switch to comcast business and get started for 49. 99 a month. Plus, ask how to get up to an 800 prepaid card. Call today the name. But heres the big question what does the name mean . Get ready to cheer on the golden state valkyries. This is where legends take flight. But our story has yet to be written. Okay, well produced video here. The team making the big announcement today. Also rolling out the logo and team colors in this video narrated by bay area musical artist colony. This is the wnba franchise, remember, owned by the warriors. So the new name and new logo splashed across chase center today, where the team will play their home games while they play in san francisco. The valkyries will actually train in oakland. If you look at any of the comment sections on reddit or on our social posts over and over again, youre going to see this better be the valkyries. And theyre right. You know, as we sat with that name and thought through what that means, through the visible representation of these incredible players coming together on the court, through our community, circling around each other and making sure that we were going to be show the world whats possible. All right, so here we go. What exactly is a valkyrie . This goes back to norse mythology, like the 13th century vikings, a valkyrie is a female warrior of sorts who guides the souls of the dead to odins hall in valhalla. Were going deep here. Valkyries are often on horseback or with wings. Theres also an opera connection here. Valkyries are featured in some of wagners operas, the team already selling merch. We stop by the team store in the city today, where theres no shortage of new fans. I found it to be really powerful and im like, yeah, i can rock with that. I got all the stuff, i work in diversity, equity, inclusion. So this is a huge, momentous moment, especially in the sports world for the city i am born and raised in. Theres a lot of excitement here. Joining us now is xena kata, who covers basketball for nbc sports bay area and the athletic. Xena, nice to have you on the program. Full honesty, 100 disclosure here. Did you know what a valkyrie was . 24 hours ago . I did, i actually did. Youre smart. Youre a marvel fan. You probably knew it, thinking of Tessa Thompson playing a valkyrie. Thats the only reason i knew it. But i know i understand most people did not, nor if they did know to how spell it. Very, very good. You are a rock star. Okay . You covered. You cover basketball. Youre going to cover the wnba here. What does this mean for the bay area . Obviously were excited. We get a new flashy team here, but but what does this mean in terms for Community Support here . I mean the bay area is Fertile Ground for Womens Basketball. When you look at the support for stanford Womens Basketball and the historic legacy that theyve created here, cal Womens Basketball in the same breath, this has always been within the ethos of the bay to love womens sports, but particularly womens hoops. And so then finally getting a pro team, giving them another opportunity to support one. Its been a while since the Sacramento Monarchs were in play, and so being able to return a team to the bay and also pairing them up with the Golden State Warriors, its perfect timing. Its the perfect pairing in terms of championship , heritage and caliber of play and the way that they want to bring a team in, and setting up a standard and its great for the bay overall. Yeah. I remember back in the Old School Days of the san jose lasers, also associated with joe lacob, what can we expect now . The valkyries wont start. I dont believe until next year. So what happens now in the next, you know, 6 to 10 months. So right now, all all of the front office is doing their job. Theyre looking at games, theyre looking at players. Theyre looking at the College Level because of course that draft wont be until 2025. And there have been no rules set up as to when that what thats going to look like. I know theres been a lot of speculation as to what pick in the draft will the Golden State Warriors get . How will this all work out . The last time there was an expansion draft was in 2008, when the atlanta dream was added to the wnba. And so each time there is an expansion draft, its brand new rules. It can be created with the team and the teams within the league. The commissioner, of course, works with the teams to figure out what they want to do, but it completely can be completely different. And when they bring in the new toronto team the year after, it can be completely different after that. And so right now, the front office is doing their Due Diligence to get their teams in place, making sure that the new gm of the warriors has the opportunity to get her team in place, to start recruiting, to start doing, getting their eyes around the league and of course, around the college game thats going to be really interesting. Final question for you. I know today was the big announcement what happens this weekend if fans want to celebrate and i know theres a celebration at chase center, right. Well, you know, its the bay. So you know they got to do it big. And the warriors are absolutely doing it big for their new sister team, the valkyrie. So theyre bringing in a block party moderated by myself. Oh nice. And the bay is going to be doing it big with their big stars. E40 is going to be in the building, plo is going to be in the building. And of course, the narrator of that video, kehlani, will also be joining. So bay area come down to thrive city at chase center. It should be beautiful weather hopefully, but come out music. Theres going to be gear, theres going to be announcements, theres going to be all sorts of things and a lot of purple. So make sure you get your purple, black and white on as well. Therell be a lot of merch flying off the stands. Im sure thats saturday afternoon, correct. 2 00 saturday or remind me 2 00 saturday. Going to six. Okay, zena, thanks for your time. Well see you down the road. Appreciate it. Of course. Lets take you outside now on this tuesday, a live look now in the east bay hi, im greg. I live in bloomington, illinois. Im not an actor. Im just a regular person. Some people say, why should i take prevagen . I dont have a problem with my memory. Memory loss is, is not something that occurs overnight. I started noticing subtle lapses in memory. I want people to know that prevagen has worked for me. Its helped my memory. Its helped my cognitive qualities. Give it a try. I want it to help you just like it has helped me. Prevagen. At stores everywhere without a prescription. Like microclimates with the fog there in san francisco, sunshine this evening in san jose. Speaking of those low clouds, youll lead to some mist and drizzle for the morning and then back in the sunshine as we head towards the afternoon. If temperatures starting off in the in the 50s for the morning, low clouds inland and then sunshine as we move forward into the lunchtime hour and the afternoon. Widespread temperatures tomorrow with 50s and 60s along the coast into san francisco, 80 in san jose, 80s around the tri valley and you can drive up to the 90s up towards lake county and ukiah again, 50 6070s 80s and some 90s in that forecast for tomorrow. Warmest days of the week, tomorrow on thursday, then some cooler changes with the wind picking up and temperatures dropping down. But a dry weekend ahead around the bay area rush. That looks great. Thank you robbie. Thats going to do it for us here at 7 00 for everyone here at nbc bay area. Thanks for joining us. We hope you enjoy your evening. We hopeo see you t a slow network is no network for business. Thats why more choose comcast business. And now, were introducing ultimate speed for business our fastest plans yet. Were up to 12 times faster than verizon, at t, and tmobile. And existing customers could even get up to triple the speeds. At no additional cost. Its ultimate speed for ultimate business. Dont miss out on our fastest speed plans yet switch to comcast business and get started for 49. 99 a month. Plus, ask how to get up to an 800 prepaid card. Call today its time to get away and cache in, at cache creek casino resort, to rock and to roll. To go all out or. Go all in. With four stars and rising stars, northern californias premier casino resort is the perfect place. To do as much or as little as you want. Make your get away now and cache in at cache creek casino resort. Tonight on access hollywood i didnt see it. Kelly clarkson gets very candid about her weight loss journey. So what changed her mind about taking medication . I was no, im