wnba expansion team announced its name and logo. today, it's the golden state valkyries. we talked to the team president

about what the name symbolizes and her goals and vision for the team. using traffic cones to claim your parking spot. it's not a new practice, but it sparked a new war in one san francisco neighborhood. our media partner, the san francisco standard, will look at whether the practice is legal or fair and what the city is doing about it. but first, a day after new poll shows trump leading biden in five key states, a new poll out today suggests latino voters may hold the key to president biden's reelection hopes. you're watching, getting answers. i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. even as donald trump sits through a day of testimony from his former fixer, michael cohen, in his hush money trial, he is taking comfort in the new york times siena college poll that came out yesterday. it shows trump leading biden in five out of six battleground states, while biden leads in wisconsin. he's trailing the likely republican nominee in pennsylvania, arizona, michigan, georgia and nevada. the margin

is wide, especially in nevada, where it's 50% for trump and 38% for biden. but there's another poll just out today that gives biden some positive signs and a potential group to focus on for the election. joining us live now is cristian arana, vice president of civic power and policy at the latino community foundation, a nonprofit based in san francisco. hey, cristian, thanks for joining us. >> thanks, kristen. good to see you again. >> well, we have so much to talk about. if yesterday's poll was bad news for biden, yours offers better news for him. now, before we dive into the findings, tell us about the latino community foundation and why you commissioned a poll of latino voters. >> yeah. so the latino community foundation is the nation's largest serving foundation in the country, the reason why we commissioned this poll is because we understand that latinos have an important role to play in this upcoming election, we historically have been a statewide foundation here in california. but for the very

first time, we're asking latino voters about their opinions and their attitudes in places like arizona and nevada. because when you look at those states, latino voters make up a huge block of voters in those states, and they're going to be absolutely consequential in this upcoming presidential election. >> so given the growth in population, do you feel like latino voters could play a pivotal role in deciding this race? >> oh, absolutely. when you look at like the case of arizona, for example, in the 2020 presidential election, president biden won by close to 11,000 votes, in nevada, it was about 33,000 votes, so looking ahead to 2024, every single vote is going to matter, and that's why, i mean, the latino community foundation also recently, poured a, you know, resources into groups in nevada and arizona to make sure that people are informed and that they're engaged and that they're motivated to turn out to vote this november. right. >> okay. let's take a look at some of the poll findings right now. all right, first, which way latino voters in arizona, nevada and california are leaning. so

what do we see here? oh, wait. sorry. yeah, this is the pro-choice candidate one. so i'm going to actually ask that we show the second because i want to direct first at this conversation about biden versus trump in these three key states. tell us about it. >> yeah. so these are rather interesting findings because as you as you open up at the very top, the new york times poll had some kind of mixed, you know, kind of outcomes of what this might election might look like come november. but with our poll, we're showing that president biden still has strong support in the latino community. so he's plus 20 in arizona, plus, 15, in the state of nevada, and then obviously in the state of california, the president has always had strong support, in each of these three states, well, especially in arizona and nevada, you know, about 1 in 4 voters are latino in the state. in states like california, it's about 1 in 3 voters. so if you're looking to try to win a state, especially in the sense of the electoral college, latino voters are where a good, where candidates should be looking to in order to, to,

to win these states. >> how do we reconcile the differences between your poll and the one from the new york times yesterday? do you think there are different issues that drive latino voters, in particular in those states? >> yeah. so i think to your point about, why our poll may be different from what we saw yesterday, you know, for someone like myself who looks at polling data a lot, you know, the first thing that i always look towards is, well, how many latinos do they actually sample? right? when you look at some of these more national polls, some of these polls tend to ask about a hundred or so, our polls, poll quadruple the amount, if not more, so you get a better sample when we conduct polling, especially of this critical voting bloc. i think it's also important to note that latinos speak english. we speak spanish. we're able. we're, you're able to reach us via online, on phone, text messaging. even so, the way polls are conducted are especially important to remove that bias and to give a little bit more nuance to some of these

findings that we're seeing right now. to your other question about the issues, across the board, across all these three states, the cost of living was the number one issue, for latino voters, which, quite frankly, is the same issue that any voter in this election is, is looking at, come november, you know what? >> it's so interesting, right? because it's really a lot of bread and butter issues. right. and latino voters, because of how what's the opposite of monolithic a multi lithic. it's really hard to like guess and pinpoint and say this is how the whole block will vote. right. >> sure. yeah absolutely. i mean we're first generation, second generation, we're old, we're young, some of us are. well off, some of us are not, and so, you know, it's rather interesting in, in american politics that we're able to dissect voting blocks for other groups. but somehow when it comes to latino voters, it almost seems impossible for, for political parties and candidates. and so when you look into our polling data, we do have, what is known as crosstabs, where you can

break down the numbers across states, across income levels, across gender, which i know is really important in this upcoming election. so before we see these big headlines about where support may be, i do encourage people to look deep into how polls are conducted, before we start to make these, these big headlines that may concern some people. yeah. >> no, i think you're making that really clear. right. and plus, it's not just one big bucket. there's so many little buckets. and the issue of abortion, i think also illustrates that. and we can go ahead and show what you're finding was there in the poll on that issue, which a lot of people may be surprised by. christian because i think a lot of republicans maybe are thinking, well, we'll gain voters here connecting catholicism, which a lot of latinos are, right, with anti-choice leanings. but what are you seeing here? >> yeah. so i think this is a big misconception about who latino voters are, yes. we're catholic, but we also hold, other religious points of view that isn't necessarily mean that we're not also pro-choice. right. and i think what the results that you see on the

screen is that there is strong support among the community and supporting candidates that do have pro-choice views. right, in the state of california, we tackled this at the ballot box last year, when you look at nevada and arizona, these are big topics going into this year, right? and there's huge support across the board in all these three states in terms of latinos supporting a candidate that does have pro-choice views, and it's so much more than just, reproductive health. it's also an economic issue. it's a racial justice issue. so in addition to the cost of living and the, the economy and jobs, when latinos are going to the voting booth this november, they're also looking at this issue in terms of, who they turn to, who they are ultimately going to vote for and seeing whether or not their candidate is aligned with their views. >> so given all that you have just told us, i guess, you know, with regard to the biden and trump campaigns and how they might want to go about appealing to latino voters and win those votes and how to better connect,

what would you think? you know, the answer is, well, i mean, honestly, the answer is you got to get out into the community, i always make the point that how can you ask somebody, to vote for someone or something that they never met, i know campaigns are incredibly expensive. ads are expensive, but the real work starts when you actually talk to community and bring forth the issues that that, that are of concern for them, you know, as we approach november, you know, i hope any candidate, let alone the presidency, right? any candidate that wants to win this november, needs to do the active effort of actually talking to community, be in conversation with them, and then figure out how they can best put forth solutions that they think will be beneficial for the community. >> right. and by the way, latino voters certainly are going to be consequential in not just the presidential race, but also congressional races as well, perhaps determining the control of congress, all that, so your foundation has invested in

boosting latino civic engagement through grants. what outreach strategies have been most effective in motivating latino voters to do? and what are you going to be doing for this upcoming election? >> yeah, i mean, that's absolutely right. so yeah, thank you so much for mentioning that. so just this past april, we invested $800,000 into 19 organizations across california, arizona and nevada. what's always been the secret sauce to this is making sure that community has conversation amongst themselves. right. who better than a local nonprofit who has been been there for community, especially during covid times, right. to make the case as to why voter participation is so important. so not only are they doing the door knocking, they're getting out there and having those conversations about why voting in this, in this election is so important. ads will be ads, right? but ads are 30s and they pass by. right? but investing in these community organizations that the latino community foundation has long done has always been beneficial. for the community, but more importantly,

for our democracy as well. >> all right. well, christian arana, vice president of civic power and policy at the latino community foundation, thank you so much for coming on the show today. >> awesome. get out there and vote. >> the warriors new wnba expansion team has a new name think woman warriors. except more mythic and more poetic. we'll be back with an interview with the team president on their new name. the team's impact on the bay area brand new merchandise, and why you might want to

nba team owned by the golden state warriors. the valkyries will start playing next year.

the name was announced today on the first day of the new wnba season. on good morning america. >> release that banner, lily. let's see it. >> yeah. good the valkyries, golden state. valkyries. >> the word valkyries means fierce women warriors in norse mythology. team president jess smith was at gma for the reveal. after that, she spoke with abc seven news anchor stephanie sierra about what inspired the name and why this team is a perfect fit for the bay area. >> the valkyries how did you land on this name? >> yeah, we needed to get it right. it needed to be something that was authentic and that really represented the bay area well. and from day one, we wanted to make sure we were listening to fan input. and the san francisco chronicle actually ran a what would you name the wnba team poll. and there were 200 answers, but there was one answer that had 25% of written in answers, and it was the

valkyries. and so it was on our radar, really, from that moment forward, as a part of contention. and i think the beautiful part about it is valkyries work together, you know, and we're very, very aware of the fact that our fans, our community, you know, and everything we get a chance to represent will have to move as one to find our success. >> what does the name represent for the team and our community? >> this team represents power. it represents community. it represents a relentless pursuit of something better. you know, to me, this brand and this organization really represents leaning into who the bay area is. and this is a place where, you know, we lead the world. and being both progressive and innovative, we make the impossible possible. and i know that this brand is going to be a connector of our community. and a fun one at that. >> this is coming at a really special time as we watch the wnba soar, the 13th team and the first to join the league since 2008. how do you feel about this? >> it's a great responsibility to be honest, but we are a part

of this historic moment in the wnba and in women's sports in total, and we look forward to participating in that. but it's nonstop at this point, right. you're seeing record breaking attendances, viewership expansion, an all happening at the same time. and so for us to be a key part of that with the first expansion since 2008 is a great deal. >> you don't even play for another year and you've got 7500 season ticket deposits. what does this say to you about the bay area's excitement for the team that says two things. >> one, people cannot wait for the wnba to take part in here, but two, there's a great amount of trust in the golden state brand and legacy around the commitment of this ownership group and this office building greatness and doing their best to be the best on and off the court. and fans trust that and we hope now that they've seen we have a name and an identity in the valkyries, and there's so much more to build that they feel even more compelled to keep joining. >> women's basketball is surging in popularity and ticket sales heading into this wnba season

are up 93. what do you make of that? >> to me, that's such a signifier of what's happening. consumers are participating in a way that is driving the market. they're watching, they're attending, they're listening, they're talking about it. they're demanding, you know, broadcast has certain elements to it. they know now the power of their voice collectively. and that's what you're seeing, showing up really does make a difference. and this wnba community is ready for that. women's sports for so long has just been thought of as well. it's the women's version of the men's sports. when the reality of what women's sports is collectively is a mix of sport and purpose and pop culture. and so when we're inviting in consumers, it is different and often they are different fans. yes, there's crossover between the two when it comes to sports, but i do think that, you know, the value set around women's sports will transcend into the whole sports landscape. >> and you're certainly no stranger to bay area sports as leadership roles you've had with the san jose earthquakes as well as the oakland a's. is this region perfect for a wnba team?

>> it is. you know, the bay area leads the world's, you know, in bringing people together around, doing what's right. and so when we can build a product to attract that fandom, which we know is relentless, you know, this this, this fan group demands greatness, right? and it's our job to make sure that that they feel that from us at all times. >> let's talk about the team now. what are your goals in this first season? >> for us, the goals are to build fandom, right? >> that's our responsibility to invite people in to where they feel like they want to represent themselves through the valkyrie's get to know their other fans, and really start looking forward to what 2025 means. our other goal is building a great business, you know, and both of those things should allow us to really attract a great team on the court. we just hired our first general manager in ohama, and her job is to start figuring out what free agency is going to look like, what our expansion draft strategy is going to be. so we'll have some inaugural valkyrie soon enough. >> what are you looking for in players? >> we're looking for good human beings. you know, people that

truly get along with their coworkers fit into cultures are, you know, folks that push people to be better and or better themselves. and then we're looking for someone who's a lead at their craft, and we're not willing to negotiate on either side of that. >> what kind of warriors? valkyries collaborations and crossover events do you anticipate? >> we can't wait to see what progresses from the locker room banter and support. >> i mean the warriors players and coaching staff. steve kerr has been an incredible supporter from day one, and we have one of the ultimate allies in women's basketball. and steph curry, you know him and sabrina having a three point contest last year at the wnba. all star and his continued leadership of how he talks about women's sports works with, you know, wnba athletes, etc. we anticipate a lot of really fun content coming from that. >> as you prepare to launch this next season, what are you most excited about as it kicks off? >> for me, i'm just most excited about bringing people together. this means something so much more than winning. even though we're going to prioritize winning, you know, our success

is really going to set the standard in the bay area for many things. and, you know, also blazed a trail for hopefully others to follow when it comes to strategically building a business that continues the growth in women's sports. and so we're excited to be a small piece of that. >> all right. the fandom is already in action and they're snatching up these t shirts. look at that brand new hot off the presses just released today. golden state valkyries. and you can see the design with the bridge. and look at that. different colors, so yeah, you can pick this up. probably at invited to a valkyries block party at thrive city. that's going to be this saturday, may 18th at 2 p.m. just one of many crossovers with the warriors. so check it out. all right. up next. want to claim a parking spot in one san francisco neighborhood? people are doing it with traffic cones and cone wars are breaking out. is the city crackg down? our media

matters into their own hands. our media partner, the san francisco standard, reports on the clone wars breaking out like never before in the excelsior district. a new article details the lengths that residents are going to claim a ced parking spot, and the pushback in response. joining us live now with all the details is the reporter who did the story, garrett leahy. hi, garrett. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me so quickly. >> set the scene for our viewers. help them understand why there's a parking war in the excelsior district in the first place. >> sure. so the excelsior is in the city's southeastern kind of quadrant. and the reason is because parking is really scarce and the reason why parking is scarce, according to neighbors i spoke with, is that a lot of the households will have, you know, multiple, you know, kind of extended family members living inside, you know, nephews, grandparents and a lot of these

folks are all working and have their own cars. and that means the garage isn't big enough. so the cars got to park on the streets. and if everybody's doing this, that means this. the spots are hard to come by. and so if you come back home, you know, a little, a little too late, you may have to park, you know, 4 or 5 blocks away. and people don't want to do that day in and day out. and so they block the curb with a cone. and so the idea is to kind of, you know, looks like it's like a construction work or the city's blocking it, but really it's just to preserve the parking spots. and neighbors said there's sort of like a unspoken agreement about you don't move the cone to park there. otherwise the person who placed it there will get mad at you. so that was kind of interesting phenomenon that i observed down there? >> okay, so i guess this is not new, right? i mean, this has been going on both here and in other big cities in america where parking is scarce, but this has been heating up lately, right? why >> well, you know, i mean, the issue is that it you know,

locals say that when i asked why, you know, folks who admitted to putting the cones out, they said it's because, you know, they can't use or kind of trust local public transit for, for various reasons. i mean, and one of the things that i had heard is that folks, you know, work down at sfo or they work in like hayward. and, you know, muni doesn't take you there necessarily. and people say that doing a bus to the bart and then taking bar and then doing another bus, it just takes too long and doesn't work. if you do an overnight shift. >> so can i just ask you, is this legal? like, is there like a permitting process or is all of this just kind of like under the table, you know, not really legal, but nobody really comes to put a ticket on your window or something. >> right. so there it actually is not legal. i confirm that with the sfmta they regulate, you know, the streets. but one neighbor said that he did have a permit. but the mta said there is no such permit. so what happens is the another

department, the department of public works, is responsible for removing things like illegally placed cones. but you've got to call through and one and file a complaint before someone will actually come out and remove it. and you know, when i asked how many complaints they have for cones specifically, you know how widespread it is. they said they don't track that data. so we don't really know truly how widespread it is. >> okay. but you went out there and reported on this for two days, like how widespread was it based on what you could see, like how many cones were out there? >> right. so i only really looked around the excelsior because there's only there's only one me. but i counted 52 cones across 14 streets when i just kind of did drive by up and down the length of, you know, 9 or 10 blocks on each street. and you could tell if they were either on the curb or placed nearby by. and, you know, based on my experience, i kind of knew why the cones were there. so, yeah, all those were counted up. and i saw in total either placed in the curb or, you know, nearby cars, but close to the curb

along the sidewalk, there were 52 cones across 14 streets in the excelsior. okay. >> so you explained that the etiquette is supposed to be you don't move somebody else's cone right? uh- but is that starting to happen? and are you only supposed to put a cone in front of the curb in front of your own house? or does the etiquette say like, oh, well, you could put it a few doors down or. >> yeah. so, you know, the people who i talked to, who admitted to me that they put the cone out, it was always in front of their own house. okay, you know, it's they didn't say anything about that. you can't put it in front of a curb spot in front of someone else's house. but if you're already, you know, calling dibs on your parking spot, you might as well just do it at the one in front of your house. okay? snag it while it's available. >> all right? i mean, this does mean somebody else's friend who's coming over to visit can't park there. so what comments have you gotten from sfmta or politicians? we have about 20s. >> oh, sure. so, you know, supervisors declined to comment. i'm not totally sure why the mta, you know, affirmed that it's not legal. and dpw mentioned that, you know, people can file a complaint to have the

cone removed, but that they don't track the data. and that's that's pretty much what i've heard from officials. >> all right. so we can probably expect this practice to continue. garrett leahy, thank you so much. if you want to

tonight, breaking news. donald trump's criminal trial. his one-time lawyer and fixer, michael cohen, on the stand. and what he revealed. the defense going at him. also tonight, the horrific bus crash. the bus flipping, at least eight people killed. and the images coming in know, a