hateful flyers left on people's doorsteps in san francisco. news at 5:30 starts right now. good evening, i'm janelle wang. >> and i am jessica aguirre. now, to the escalating crisis in ukraine. the pentagon today put some 8,500 troops on heightened alert. they will deploy if needed to reassure nato allies in the face of an ongoing russian aggression. ukraine is not in nato, so the troops would not go to ukraine. nbc bay area's chris pollone explains. >> reporter: president biden weighing his options as russia appears to be on the brink of invading ukraine. on the table, sending u.s. troops to eastern europe to help strengthen nato allies. defense secretary putting 8,500 soldiers on heightened alert status, ready to deploy. >> we have been consulting with allies and deployments and refining plans for all scenarios. we have always said we would reinforce our allies on the eastern flank. >> reporter: the president spent part of the day speaking with several european allies. >> i had a very, very, very good meeting total unanimity with all the european leaders. >> as they try to anticipate russian president vladimir putin's next move. >> he likes the uncertainty. he likes the ambiguity. >> reporter: russia has 100,000 troops amassed at the ukrainian board. the u.s. has ordered families of u.s. embassy to leave the capital city of kyiv, and suggested a voluntary departure for nonessential workers due to the continued tlaelt threat of russian military action. ukraine called the move premature as people in the capital go act their lives as normal. >> he is great at the gray zone. at the hybrid warfare. >> reporter: russia denies planning to invade its neighbor, and blames the west for stoking tensions. >> let's be clear. there is only one country with 100,000 troops pre-positioned on the border, participating in war games and spreading propaganda and that's russia. >> reporter: congressional republicans want president biden to impose sanctions on russia now to deter an invasion. democrats want him to wait and see. chris pollone, nbc news, washington. >> as we wait and see, house speaker nancy pelosi has requested the white house brief health members on the situation in ukraine. and the senate is expected to get its own briefing, as well. let's bring in our political analyst larry gersten. so nice to see you. tensions are rising so talk about this. why -- rebrief us, why is the u.s. so interested in helping ukraine? >> not everybody in the u.s. is interested in helping ukraine. we held one group isolationists who think we made too many mistakes going abroad, sending our troops there, sending our money there, and getting nothing out of it. afghanistan. the last example. and that was really what president trump was all about. then, you have got the group we are talking about now, the internationalists. the people who are concerned it's not just about ukraine, itself, but ukraine is linked to european nations which are -- and linked to western europe which is linked to britain which is linked to the united states. you know, where do we stop? if -- if the russians go into ukraine, will they go into poland? will they go into romania? those are nato nations. that is the kind of thing where the balance of power internationally could be altered, and that's why people are so interested. >> okay. what about europe? larry, specifically, the nato nations. how invested are they and how much do they care about the situation? >> two answers here, too, janelle. look. on the one hand, you -- you see these folks locked arms, you know, in tandem. we are all for dealing with this thing. we're all against what the russians are doing. but you -- you get through some of the dirt. sift through it all. and what you find is different degrees of opposition, and really at one end, you have the united states and britain and maybe france. at the other end, among the big nations, you have got germany. germany is nation that is very, very dependent. europe itself is dependent on russian oil and natural gas but germany is most dependent and they are expecting a big natural gas pipeline to come there and they are not too anxious to do anything to rock the boat. so -- so underneath that -- that picture of 30 nations standing, you know, in -- in harmony is -- is a region that really is not as united as we think. and then of course, you have got ukraine, itself, which by the way is divided advertise as well because if you look at the eastern part of ukraine, those folks there are very, very pro-russia. russia-backed militia have been there, 15 to 20,000 of them fighting ever since the days of crimea eight years ago, so even ukraine is not united. a lot of disunited folks all around the place here. >> a lot of countries, they are waiting in delicate waters if they get involved. now, what kind of outcome can we expect? right now, larry, a lot of back and forth between the u.s. and russia. what -- what's going to happen next? is it going to be this way for a while? >> one thing's for sure. excuse me. president biden is not president obama on this. obama, remember, when crimea was annexed by russia said oh gosh, it's terrible. you know, naughty, naughty, and did very little about it. democrats might say otherwise but that -- that's the fact. in biden's case, he is being very tough. he is trying to unite as many nations as possible. he is trying to get international opinion against the russians, as well. um, and together, they are hoping that that will be enough to discourage the russians from doing anything substantive. note, i said substantive because, then, the question is what happens if the russians just chip away? they go into the eastern part of ukraine and they -- and they annex it like they did with crimea. what will nations like germany want to do? what will the united states want to do? you get the feeling that the punishment will be different, depending on the crime, so to speak. and for that reason alone, there is a lot of wait and see. we know one thing. the united states is going to put up a fight. the question is what kind of fight? >> well, the u.s. made the latest move putting these 8,500 troops on high alert. is that a big enough threat to cause russia to back down? >> if we only knew. it seems to be the next move in this chess game. 8,500 troops in countries surrounding ukraine, and close to russia with a hint being, hey, if you don't like this, and you -- you misbehave, we will send more along your border. that's one thing putin doesn't want. so this -- this game, if you will, bad terminology, is becoming high stakes, very quickly. and, janelle, we haven't seen the end of it yet. much more is yet to come. >> okay. and you will keep us posted, dr. larry, thanks so much for your time. well, another person shoved onto the tracks of the new york city subway. someone pushed a 62-year-old man on the train in lower manhattan. the attacker escaped, the victim survived the fall but was hospitalized with a cut on his leg. this comes less than two weeks since the death of michelle goe. goe grew up in the bay area, b before beginning her career in finance in new york. a man pushed her in front of a train killing her. that suspect, marshal simon, is back due in court next month after a psych evaluation. new york pd says subway attacks jumped 28% last year. and they are promising more patrols to beef up security. some disturbing flyers found in san francisco targeting jews. the country's largest muslim civil rights group is speaking out about this. yesterday, people in pacific heights neighborhood found flyers that spread lies about the jewish people, and the pandemic. one jewish couple shared pictures of the flyers with us. said it stands with the jewish community. they are urging investigators to crack down on hate crimes and conspiracy theories that target the jewish people. well, we are seeing more and more encouraging signs the omicron surge may have peaked. nationally, cases down 10% compared to a week ago. in new york, there has been a 66% drop in two weeks. despite good news in the northeast and midwest, california is still a little behind. across the state, the number of patients in the state's icu is up well over 60%. however, dr. fauci is optimistic we have made it through the roughest part. >> it is starting to turn around and i believe you are going to see that going in that direction over the next couple of weeks. >> dr. fauci once again implored everyone to get vaccinated and boosted as your best defense against omicron. a state senator is trying to make california's vaccine mandate for school children even tougher than it already is. last october, governor newsom made california the first and only state to have a covid vaccine mandate for kids in school. as of now, parents and kids can be exempt from getting it as well as the flu and hpv vaccines on the basis of personal belief. however, they cannot for measles, mumps, rubella, or other diseases. state senator richard pan from sack ra men co-counselty is introducing a bill that would add the covid vaccine to that mandatory list. it's unknown if governor newsom will support that legislation. google in the hot seat over privacy. three states and the district of columbia are suing the internet-search giant. they allege google invades their privacy by making it nearly impossible for them to stop their location from being tracked. the lawsuit also claims google has misled users by allowing them to believe they can control the information the company collects about them. a google spokesperson calls the claims inaccurate. he tells nbc, quote, we will vigorously defend ourselves and set the record straight. okay. talk about a wild ride on the stock market. it's being called one of the best market comebacks in a really long time. earlier today, the dow plummeted more than 1,000 points. it was the seventh-straight down day. but then, it rallied and pulled in the green up nearly a hundred points. the biggest comeback since march of 2020. up next, he hurled a drink and went on an expletive-laden rant at a smoothie store. now, he is paying the price with his job. the new details we are learning about this now-viral video. the irs just started processing tax returns. we want to make sure you don't leave any money on the table. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we will show you how, up next. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. we have fog coming back tomorrow from the north bay down to the south bay. we will take a look at those chilly temperatures, even some wind coming our way. that's in about eight minutes. a connecticut man has been fired from his job after being shown in a tiktok video yelling and throwing a drink at a smoothie store. >> i want to speak to the [ bleep ] person who made this drink. >> james lost his job yesterday as a financial adviser for merrill lynch after this video surfaced. it shows him enraged because his son was hospitalized after having a drink from the store. the 17-year-old boy went into shock because of a nut allergy. he demanded to know who made the dmink, and then refused to leave when workers told them they didn't dual hi know. he eventually threw a drink, and used a derogatory term before workers called police. >> sorry for the whole incident with your son. and what did happen but it doesn't give you any room to say that to my best friend, to my co-workers, to me. >> he was arrested on saturday after turning himself in. he had worked for merrill link since 1995. >> the supreme court will once again look into whether universities may consider race of applicants when trying to build diverse student bodies. two cases being heard, one against harvard, the other against the university of north carolina. arguing that their admissions process discriminates against asian-american students. it allows colleges to use the students' race to determine who is admitted. now, last month, the biden administration urged the supreme court to reject the challenge to harvard's policy. arguments will take place in the fall. >> former alaska governor and potential vp candidate sarah palin tested positive again for covid. comes as her civil trial against "the new york times" was supposed to get underway today. a federal judge told the courtroom about test results and postponed the trial. palin is suing "the new york times" for an editorial she says damaged her reputation back in 2017. the paper suggested her political action committee ads encouraged the 2011 attacks on congresswoman gabby giffords. "new york times" also reported today that palin dined indoors on saturday night at a restaurant on manhattan's upper east side. palin has said in the past that she would not get vaccinated. she has had covid once before back in march. well, tax time is here. beginning today, the irs will start processing federal income tax returns. >> before you file, consumer investigator chris chmura is here to break down what's new for 2022. so, get your smartphone camera ready. he has a qr code that might save you lots of time and money. >> reporter: if you dread april 15th each year, here is a win. federal tax forms aren't due until april 18th for most people because of emancipation day in d.c. the two exceptions are maine and massachusetts. their forms are due on the 19th because of state holidays. something else that's different this year is letter 6419, which deals with the child tax credit. millions of families with kids got this letter already, or will get it soon. hold on to it because you might need it oh calculate whether your child tax credit is correct and figure out whether you are leaving money on the table. here is another letter to hook out for, 6475. it is a bit of a holdover from last year but it is an important one. it talks about the third stimulus payment. if you didn't get a stimulus payment or got a reduced one, the letter will show you how you might be able to tack it onto your tax return and possibly boost your refund. look for the recovery rebate credit. it could mean thousands of dollars. if you made charitable contributions in cash in 2021, you don't necessarily need to itemize your deductions to get a tax benefit. married couples can deduct $600. everybody else can deduct $300 with no other itemized deductions necessary. if you need help, you can call the irs. 800-829-1040. 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. average wait is 13 minutes, though expect that to get longer the closer to april you have to call. if you have toll call, try wednesday, thursday, or friday. it is always important to check your return for accuracy, it's especially important this year. the irs has a backlog of 6 million unprocessed returns from last year. many of them have mistakes. traditionally, people who filed paper returns are most likely to make mistakes. the good news is you don't have to file on paper. and millions of families don't have to pay a pro to do it for them. you might qualify for the irs's free-file program. this year, families with an adjusted gross income of $73,000 or less qualify for free tax preparation and free electronic filing. each year, millions of families qualify but don't take advantage. so, check it out. >> thanks, chris, love your tips. okay. let us ago to tahoe. picture perfect today. this is video from one of our viewers. skiers enjoying north star. the sun expected to be out there this week. but that could also make the slopes a little bit icy. so, be a little bit careful when you are zipping down those slopes. >> wow. >> jealous. >> i'd like to be there. >> for sure. >> just grateful the wind died down here. >> yeah. oh, that was -- that was really bald there, friday and also into saturday morning. i know a lot of people spent part of the weekend kind of cleaning up from that. we have more wind. so let's go ahead and get to it. real quick shot here of san francisco. as that sun sets tonight, looking beautiful. and our weather pattern as we roll through tomorrow, pretty complex. lot of different things on the weather map here but we are going to set it straight for you. we have high pressure. this is what you can blame for the dry weather. it is sending every single bit of rainfall off to the north. and because it's creating some very calm conditions at the lower atmosphere tomorrow morning, we are going to see some areas of fog develop and some chilly temperatures going down into the 30s. and at the same time tomorrow, we have got this smaller system dropping down the back side of that high pressure. it is similar to what happened last week but the wind is not expected to be as strong. so let's take to the wind first. and tomorrow morning, look. i think for the commute, we are okay here. lot of the lower elevations, only 5 to about 15 miles per hour but look up tolgt north bay. you can see this color here. that's winds of 20 to about 40 miles per hour developing in the north bay mountains tomorrow morning. we will see that expand a little bit more by tomorrow afternoon. it is about 20, 25 here through the east bay. and also, right there over the santa cruz mountains. so some wind for tomorrow afternoon but it does look to start calming down tomorrow night. also, into wednesday. so, just be aware of that and also your allergies. look at this. cedar, ash, alder, and elm. so even with a little breeze tomorrow, you are going to feel it with that. so certainly, check the symptoms of course with omicron still happening to make sure you are doing the right thing there. as we head through tomorrow morning, it is going to start off chilly. look at these temperatures. 36 in the tri-valley. 41 in the peninsula. south bay right here at 40. and we are dropping it down to 38 for the east bay. low 40s, san francisco. north bay at 37. daytime highs tomorrow we are going to stay pretty similar to where we have been right here through the south bay. lots of mid-60s. other to the east bay, i have 61 vallejo. 64 in pleasanton. 62 palo alto. san francisco, 53 in the marina. 57 downtown. and across the north bay, 68 in ukiah. 64 in napa. seven-day forecast, no rain coming our way next seven days. we will have some 50s to low 60s here in sf and through the inland voollies, chilly mornings, lots of 30s here as we head all the way through this week to start. and 60s for afternoon highs. and we get partly cloudy skies for the upcoming weekend. does look like mid-next week, we could with be talking some rain chances. right now, not a bad next couple days coming our way. >> looks good. >> enjoy it for now. thanks so much, jeff. up next, preparing for the big show on the world stage. we are going to give you a sneak peek at the opening ceremony for the winter games. less than two weeks before the olympics begin, a new cluster of covid cases in beijing is prompting authorities to test millions of people for the virus. officials plan on holding a second round of mass testing of the district's residents, which is 2 million people. that's where 40 covid cases have reportedly been detected since january 15th. china, by the way, has a zero tolerance covid policy that mandates lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mass testing whenever a case is discovered. >> well now, to a different type of test in beijing. rehearse lts for the opening ceremony of the winter games took place over the weekend. performers practiced dance routines with participants ranging in ages from 5 to over 70 years old. the man who directed the opening ceremony of the 2008 summer olympics which was also in beijing will sand handle the same duties next week. you can watch it of course right here on nbc bay area. and you can see how covid is impacting training on our nbc bay area streaming app. just click on winter olympics playlist. you can download our app for roku, apple tv, and amazon fire stick. it's free. and we are going to be seeing you at the olympics in beijing. >> yes, for sure. >> very exciting. >> all right. wart warriors bang to winning ways at home but they are doing it in a -- way. laura briggs up next to explain. when you have xfinity, you have entertainment built in. which is kind of nice. ah, what is happening. binge-watching is in the bag, when you find all your apps, all in one place. find live sports faster just by using your voice... sports on now. touchdown irish! [cheering] that was awesome. and, the hits won't quit, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. all that entertainment built in. xfinity. a way better way to watch. hi, i'm steve and i live in austin, texas. i work as a personal assistant to the owner of a large manufacturing firm. i've got anywhere from 10 to 50 projects going at any given time. i absolutely have to be sharp. let me tell ya, i was struggling with my memory. it was going downhill. my friend recommended that i try prevagen and over time, it made a very significant difference in my memory and in my cognitive ability. i started to feel a much better sense of well-being. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. okay. 49er fans have had some time to catch their breath after saturday's wild -- in green bay. >> amazing. >> attention on beating la, again. >> yes, not just the 49ers. the warriors also have a big week ahead. nbc bay area -- bay area's laura britt joins us with more. >> i got a look at what to watch this week, around bay area sports. we will start with the warriors who have been enjoying the fruits of their seven game home stand. they have gone 3-1 over their first four games but this is the crazy thing. the wins have been coming without much help from steph curry, who is in the midst of the worst shooting slump of his career. kind of strange to even say that out loud. but nonetheless, the warriors are still the second-best team in the nba be a 34-13 record. they have got a big game tomorrow against the top five team in the west as mavericks come to town. we will have pre and postgame coverage for you starting at 6:00 p.m. over on nbc sports bay area and same thing for thursday when the timber wolves visit chase center, the game as well as the coverage surrounding the game over on nbc sports bay area. can we all take a moment and just sit for a second in awe of what the 49ers did this weekend? went into lambeau, took down an aaron rodgers' led packers team, punching their ticket to the nfc championship game where they are going to face the rams for the third time this season. it's mind blowing. our 49ers insider matt and i break down all the latest on. you can find 49ers talk wherever you get your podcasts or you can check it out over on the nbc sports bay area youtube channel. janelle, jessica, back to you. >> that really was a spectacular win. thank you, laura. i mean, spectacular. yeah. it really was. >> we are still high off that game. okay. terry, what is coming up next at 6:00? >> right now at 6:00, they want to teach, not enforce health rules. an nbc bay area exclusive, two school superintendents in the south bay calling out public health leaders. >> i can see the stress on everyone really around this tremendous work we have to do. plus, we investigated and now the feds are involved. new developments in over a questionable covid testing site in the bay area. >> your reporting has been eye opening. and poised to become the first nation the big vote coming in san jose to require gun owners to get insurance. reason the mayor says it is crucial, and the pushback he's already getting. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thanks for joining us. i am jessica aguirre. >> and i am terry mcsweeney. they are frustrated and demanding changes. some school superintendents in the south bay say they feel hike they are being asked to act like a public-health office, on top of educating kids. nbc bay area's damian trujillo got an exclusive look at the letters they are sending to the county demanding changes. >> reporter: the letters didn't totally surprise county administrators here they say everyone is frustrated after two years of covid. superintendents say school learning is suffering because of their added covid responsibilities. another day of testing in the santa clara unified school district, not for math or history but for covid. now, the superintendent says her district is at the end of its rope. >> i can see the stress on everyone really around, um, this tremendous work we have to do. >> reporter: a doctor sent this letter to the board of supervisors saying it is tim

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