>> the judge overstepped his boundaries as a judicial officer. >> reporter: price, who just took office a few months ago, ran on a reform platform including a push to reduce prison sentences. but tonight many say she's gone too far. >> people want to change within the criminal justice system. change not tearing it down. >> reporter: defense attorney michael cardozo was in the courtroom when motions were rejected to remove them from the triple murder case. while cardoza's own client has benefited in the plea deal in the past he still questions her leadership. >> he kicks victims to the curb and puts those types of criminals back in the community where they came from. i think people ought to start paying attention because by the time you all wake up it will be too late. >> reporter: one retired judge says she would have rejecteded price's plea deal in the triple murder, too, and believes removing a judge from all

criminal cases in the county could have major consequences. >> she has reduced the number of judges in alameda county who can preside over criminal cases at a time when criminal cases are backlogged in the courts. >> reporter: legally price has the ability to block the judge from all criminal cases without question by filing an affidavit at the beginning of every case stating her office doesn't believe he can be impartial. >> i'm very concerned about that. i think that's an inappropriate use of the authority and the power of the d.a.'s office. >> reporter: velena jones, nbc bay area news. another story in alameda county, the d.a. is denying published reports she is reducing charges in the murder of 2-year-old jasper wu. she says the claims are politically driven and not true. >> i assured the parents of jasper wu that the men we

believe are responsible for his death are charged with very serious crimes, and they will be held accountable. we have not made any decisions about what charges to pursue or what not to pursue. we are still reviewing the case. >> 2-year-old jasper wu was shot and killed while riding in his family's car on 880 in 2021 and was caught in the crossfire of a gun battle. police arrested three people in the case. the men could face murder charges with criminal enhancements that would extend prison time for anyone found guilty. there have been reports the d.a. planned to drop those enhancements. price took office in january and ran on a platform of criminal justice reform that included sentence reduction with a stronger emphasis on alternative options. critics have accused the d.a. of ignoring the victims and supporting policies that appear to help criminals. she denied that as well. >> this particular tragedy is

being used by people with a political agenda to divide our diverse community. >> we have been unable to reach the wu family for comment. the d.a. declined our request for an interview to further clarify comments. tonight we are learning police may have the murder weapon in the stabbing death of tech executive bob lee. we've also now reviewed the security camera video that shows lee collapsing outside the port side condominiums where a collection of flowers and cards paying tribute to him continues to grow. this is several yards away from where police believe lee was actually attacked. nbc bay area's sergio quintana has the latest. >> reporter: tonight we're learning police may have the murder weapon in the stabbing death of tech executive bob lee. we've reviewed the security camera video that shows lee collapsing outside the port side condominiums where a collection of flowers and cards paying tribute to him continues to grow this is several yards away from where police believe lee was actually attacked.

according to someone i just talked with off camera who works in this area, he says he saw san francisco police recover a steak knife about this long right inside the caltrans yard here next to those traffic cones. if you take a look here on the sidewalk on main street, there are markings for a trail of blood that begins here and continues all the way up to harrison street. that security camera video shows multiple angles of the street in front of the port side condos. we have not been given permission to air it. one angle shows him collapsing. a second angle shows him trying to talk to someone in a passing vehicle reportedly asking for help, but the car drives away. people who work and live in the neighborhood say the area where lee was likely attacked is pretty dark in the overnight hours. >> it's really pitch dark. you walk down the street, you probably get mugged, you probably get robbed, raped, whatever the. nobody sees anything. >> reporter: would you walk down that street at night? >> no.

>> reporter: this comes at a time there is growing concern about crime in a city. during a committee meeting they voted to give a nearly 20% bump in pay. lieutenant tracy mcrae is the president of the san francisco police officers association. she says the new contract will help republic cruet and retain more people and deal with the department's shortage of about 500 officers. >> now we're too busy trying to run from call to call trying to do everything that people want us to do where just having presence is no longer viable. >> reporter: the new contract will be send to the full board of supervisors. in san francisco, sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. there's a heightened anger and frustration about crime in san francisco. r investigative unit has been crching a lot of numbers in theast 48 hours. im involving homicide, bbery, assault, burglary and theft are happening at roughly the same rates as during the same three-month period last

year. homicides, robberies and assaults are up slightly while burglaries and thefts have come down. we checked with the fbi to look at ten years worth of crime data and learned san francisco suffers between 5,000 to 7,000 violent crimes each year. in 2020 the last full year of available data, the number of violent crimes dropped below 5,000. bigad shaban will join me with a look at stats and trends. a much loved barbecue spot in berkeley suddenly closed its doors after more than 50 years in business. nbc bay area's christie smith spoke with the co-owner of kc's barbecue today, and she has what's behind the move and what's next. >> i started coming down -- >> reporter: michael conditioning stopped by kc's barbecue looking forward to the tasty lunch he's gotten many times before. >> the meat is more tender. >> reporter: he found a locked

door instead. kc's barbecue has closed up shop after 55 years in business. >> 55, that's a long time passing it down. >> about two weeks ago we made a decision to close. >> reporter: kristen davis is a third generation co-owner of kc's and said they had to consider their well-being, and says keeping the restaurant going lately has had its challenges. >> with the state of the economy right now, the increase in supplies and the decrease in people actually shopping and coming out had a big effect on us. >> reporter: they tried to make changes but couldn't overcome the post pandemic and economic challenges. >> i'm a limb sad to see that we had to make a decision to close something that is all that i've known my whole life, all that my dad has known his whole life. honestly, it's a relief. brick and mortar is a monster. and for some -- for a lot of

small businesses people are trying to find funding. people are trying to have -- to hold on to and retain employees. >> reporter: her family has run the barbecue spot since 1968 starting with her grandfather and then her father patrick davis. she became part owner in 2017 when a fire damaged the restaurant and they moved. more recently they appeared on the show restaurant impossible that helps businesses trying to bounce back. >> it was great for a while and we were very hopeful that we would continue to survive all that was covid and small business. >> reporter: davis says this may not be the end. she believes when one door closes, another one opens. >> if we could get a food truck, that would be great. if we could get our sauce and seasoning in stores, that would be great. i know in the very near future we're going to have pop-ups. >> reporter: christie smith, nbc bay area news.

a camp clearout in san jose. the city is forcing long time rv dwellers to move along as they prepare to build what could be the largest dog park in the south bay. some say today's efforts to clear this encampment highlight the ongoing problem of homelessness. for months now we've been talking about this. the city has been trying to clear out the park to make room for a planned development. today was the deadline for those unhoused and rv dwellers to clear out. >> a lot of people are getting their vehicles taken because they can't do anything with them, and the city and the county just want everything out of their way, so if people can't do anything with it, i already have my van impounded. >> can we stop this or slow it down until we find out another place for them to go? >> the city tells us it will help anyone who has trouble moving their vehicles and will continue to partner with the county and other agencies to find alternative housing and other options. regardless officials say that

dog park construction will begin within a week and should be completed by this summer. more help is on the way. fema is headed to assess the damage in pajaro. staff members will be working with the community there and others impacted by flooding to help with the cleanup and recovery. this comes after president biden on monday signed a major disaster declaration giving the green light for federal assistance in the area. raj, it's no secret all of this rain we've been seeing has made a dramatic impact on our reservoirs. powerful storms dumped record amounts of rain and snow across california, replenishing them. 12 of california's reservoirs are now filled above the historical averages and that includes lake oroville. these photos were shared by the ap.

back in 2021, about two years ago, water level fell so low, some boats had to dock on dry, cracked land. such a difference. water levels seemingly going from a stream to a lake this is another view from lake oroville's enterprise bridge back in 2021 and this is fulsome lake which controls water flows. back in 2021 cars were able to drive right up to the middle of the lake. you see all that land is covered by water. the state hasn't officially declared it over but some of the state's water restrictions have been lifted. let's bring in meteorologist rob mayeda. we've been talking about this time and time again. water being released from the oroville dam. >> it's a remarkable change just looking at the data going back a

year, oroville has gone up 110 feet. they've been doing -- the spillway has been put into use. these incredible levels, keep in mind the snow melt hasn't even started yet. and that's a key driver for places, trinity reservoir, which is about 50% of its average, the snow melt which drives the reservoir levels to come up. once that snow melt gets under way, temperatures too cold to get it going. we will see more extreme examples through the spring. >> looking good so far. >> you're looking at shasta, trinity the one lagging reservoir behind.

we'll see trinity reservoir going up. >> it's a drought buster. up next at 6:00, a warning from police after catalytic converter chiefs are caught holding what appears to be an assault-style weapon. depending on where you live, spring break is over or it's just beginning. if you plan to head to tahoe, people have a message about traffic and overcrowding. car payments soaring. just how expensive new car ownership has gotten. plus, 20 years after the death of nbc correspondent david bloom during the invasion of iraq. his widow talks to me about the lives his story m lives his story m ay

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itit's what ththey live toto . trinet s serves smsmall anand medium s sized businines. soso they can n do more of whahat matters.s. bebenefits. papayroll. comompl. trtrinet. peopople matter.. some renters in the mission district in san francisco are celebrating today because a nonprofit bought their building

to keep rent affordable. an out-of-state company bought their building. they have tried to evict tenants twice. the renters fought evictions for over a year until the nonprofit mission was able to buy that building with the help of a city program aim at keeping housing affordable. >> i hope our success is inspiration for other people and is a playbook for how to fight eviction and how to succeed because today we get to stay in our homes. >> sf supervisor rafael mandelman was there. a warning from police, a single group of people stole eight catalytic converters march 21st. police say one of them appears to be holding an ak-47 assault rifle. the department told people not

to get involved if they see this happening. just call police asap. a live look tonight. they are preparing for spring break, lake tahoe, which means a huge influx of tourists. while that's been good for its economy, it's taken a toll on its environment and residents. they're not asking residents to stay away, just rethink the timing of their trips. the tahoe region planning agency says the main issues they're seeing from the influx of tourists are littering, roadside parking and crowding at recreation hot spots. they've already been addressing other issues like with short-term rentals by imposing restrictions and enforcing steep fines for noise, but come this summer their approach will be focused less on fines and fees and more on positive efforts. one of the big items in their strategy is to stop promoting

tahoe during peak times and instead push for people to go during off peak times and midweek. >> and if you go up whether it's midweek, off peak or peak, just be nice and respectful. >> throw your stuff away. >> we learned this stuff in kindergarten. >> rob mayeda back with us. how are we looking? we'll see a little bit of snow up in tahoe. for the weekend it could be close to 60 there which means if it's in the 60s, close to south lake tahoe, we'll see 70s here in your weekend forecast. before we get there, a little bit of rain to deal with. cloudy skies. right now san jose 58 degrees. more clouds across the bay. a few sprinkles out there, too. for your thursday evening drive around the bay area. 57 degrees, san rafael. now starting to see the roadways there reflect just some of the light rainfall that is occurring now including some of that near san francisco, currently 54 degrees. so here you go. storm ranger once again scanning the skies, seeing light rain

across the inner portions of the east bay, marin county and the north bay. approaching the coast. we think the peak of the rain with this particular storm will be staying to the north. all of the rain on the north coast so the farther north you are the better chance to have significant rainfall. areas of yellow and green here about a quarter inch to half an inch. san jose may not get a lot. a few sprinkles or light rain for the morning. the wind will pick up tomorrow. you'll notice it maybe just before sunrise from about 5:00 a.m. to about 8:00 in the morning. wind speeds briefly picking up 25 to 30 miles per hour. staying breezy for the afternoon but overall wind speeds going down a little bit later on in the day. wind and rain for the morning transitioning to decreasing showers during the day. highs, upper 50s to low 60s.

as we go hour by hour, a peek at those rain chances at 7:00 on top of the morning commute and then by 1:30 in the afternoon cloudy and cool with a few sprinkles for opening day for the giants against the royals. upper 50s around san francisco with a few breaks in the clouds showing up later on in the day. so we'll begin to see those changes, drier changes. on into saturday, you see those partly cloudy skies which will lead to a warmer weekend forecast. the few showers leaving saturday morning for the afternoon, upper 60s to low 70s and your sunday forecast right now looking very nice if you like 70s across the valleys. could even see mid to upper 70s south of san jose for sunday. 60s closer to san francisco and so what has changed here is that high pressure will strengthen midway through the weekend. now it looks like it may hang on to keep most of monday dry except for the north bay and cooler changes and blustery changes to the middle of next

week. the timing is working out with the rain for the first half of the day tomorrow. breaks in those showers as we head to the evening. we'll see the warmer temperatures. should get there for sunday, monday, cooler and breezy middle of next week. >> about the perfect easter forecast. >> kids will be so happy. >> we've earned it. >> thanks, rob. up next, after more than a month away from the team, warriors star andrew wiggins is back to work. will he be ready for the final two games of the regular season? we'll hear from steve kerr.

warriors star andrew wiggins is back with the team. the question now when will he actually play? head coach steve kerr said wiggins will not play in the warriors final two regular season games. kerr added wiggins is doing well and practicing at full speed but not quite at game speed yet. wiggins left the team more than a month ago to deal with undisclosed family issues. the warriors are battling for playoff position. they're the sixth seed and will play the kings in round one as it stands right now. no football or soccer or taylor swift concert, levi's stadium is hosting golf. golf inside the stadium? yeah. a three-dap event kicked off this morning hosted by upper

deck golf. it's a little scary in there. you can play nine holes, practice chipping and putting. they are partnering withstand up to cancer. proceeds from every ticket sold are donated to stand up to cancer. >> that's pretty cool. sweetgreen has renamed a menu item after chipotle sued for trademark infringement. it launched a chipotle-chicken burrito bowl. chipotle is a jalapeno chili. the company chipotle wasn't buying it. they filed a lawsuit asking a judge to make them drop chipotle from the name. sweetgreen annnced the menu item will be called chicken and chipotle pepper bowl. they moved it down a bit and they did get rid of the word burrito. not clear when the name change

will take place. speaking of burrito, it's national burrito day. is that right? that's a thing? joey chestnut knows how to celebrate. the most famous eater bringing home another win and some cash. a look inside rockefeller center. lester holt is preparing for "nightly news." one of the top stories, car payments across the u.s. are climbing. why some people are now paying $1,000 a month just to drive. "nightly news" is minutes away. when i was his age, we had to be inside to watch live sports. but with xfinity, we get the fastest mobile service and can stream down the street or around the block! hey, can you be leless sister, more car? all right, let's get this over with. swititch to xfininity mobile and geget the bestst price fofor 2 lines s of unlimiti. justst $30 a linine per mon. i should g get paid more for t this. you get t paid when n you wi. from xfifinity. homeme of t the 10g netetwork.

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our cucustomers dodon't do what thehey do for likes s or followewers. their papath isn't for ththe casuallyly curious. and that's's what makekes itit matter ththe most when t they find i it. the e exact thining ththat can chahange the wowo. some s say it's whwhat ththey were boborn to do.... itit's what ththey live toto . trinet s serves smsmall anand medium s sized businines. soso they can n do more of whahat matters.s. bebenefits. papayroll. comompl. trtrinet. peopople matter..

we know this guy. our friend, world champion competitive eater and san jose native joey chestnut is at it again. adding burrito to his resume this is national burrito day? >> get this, chestnut ate 14 burritos in ten minutes at the world burrito eating championship which took place in milwaukee. walked away with a championship belt and $5,000. chestnut is ranked the number one competitive eater by major league eating and holds world records. after the deadly stabbing of bob lee a lot of attention on san francisco. is crime in the city getting worse? our investigative unit digs into the numbers coming up on our 7:00 newscast. >> "nightly news" is next. . tonight the

tonight, the dramatic showdown over guns in tennessee. the state's republican led house voting on removing three democrats from office after they led a protest on the floor demanding stricter gun laws after the nashville school shooting that killed six people the rare punishment used only three times before since the civil war. outside the building the massive protests and what happens now with the ousted democrats' seats also tonight, in a new report in the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan the white house largely blaming the chaos and decisions by former president trump on the actions it says the u.s. should have taken even sooner. the rising tensions in the middle east tonight after the ck biggest barrage of missiles from lebanon in more than 16 years. tracking severe storms on the move tonight in the mid-atlantic on the heels of that deadly tornado outbreak nbc news investigates after our report on toxic air concerns near a louisiana school what the epa is now doing about it