look at this blocking of traffic to the international terminal at sfo. protesters made it a tough morning for travelers. good afternoon. welcome to nbc bay area news at

4:30. we've been talking to frustrated flyers at sfo. he will join us with the latest. we are tracking of the stories on this wednesday including a man and woman accused of robbing several banks in the south bay. the note they would leave tellers and how police finally napped with them. the houseboats the band tiktok but will the senate do the same? we are tracking the bill going through congress and how silicon valley is reacting. get ready for some whipping winds. we will join us to talk about a couple shifts in our weather. these next few days. let's go ahead and begin with that protest the cause headaches for travelers at sfo today. you can see here a number of protesters calling for a cease- fire in gaza. block to traffic and security checkpoints at the airports international terminal this morning. they marched in a circle. they chanted outside the terminal while some chained themselves together inside.

spent his day at sfo. it was quite a messy morning for people flying out of that international terminal. so how did they get around all of that? >> reporter: one of the things that was very interesting as this demonstration was going on was not just they were at different parts of the international terminal but they were actually moving around inside the international terminal trying to block as much as they possibly could. let's show you video that was an interesting thing that we noticed. there was protesters who were set up across an escalator coming into the international terminal and passengers coming up the escalator literally had to climb over the protest line. so it was coming to the airport is already kind of an interesting experience for travelers. it was a whole lot more challenging for a lot of them this morning as well. but surprisingly the airport staff was able to kind of move people around to different parts of the airport so they could get passengers to their planes on time.

one of the things that is unique about san francisco international is that there are multiple ways to get to different parts of the airport. and so in fact staff took passengers or diverted passengers to the domestic security lines so they could go through security and then get to their international gates. on the other side of security. passengers were able as we understand they were able to make it to their planes on time. >> that is good to see here. i was just there yesterday as you said. the traveling in that area especially sfo gets interesting. there is a lot of walking and that can make it difficult. you got a chance to speak with trappers today. what are they telling you? >> reporter: it was a very interesting mixed bag for travelers that we talk with. there were some who as you saw were literally climbing over those protest lines. but again because there was some divergence for people to try to get around, there was

some passengers who never even saw any of the protest itself. we talked with a couple people who one woman who was arriving from japan who came into the international terminal and was immediately directed to a different part of the airport. there were passengers to they could not drive into the international terminal because traffic was blocked. they simply drove all the way through to domestic and winter security on that end and did not even see the demonstration itself. as soon as the demonstration itself was over it took nearly 3 hours as soon as it was all dispersed they pretty quickly opened up the international terminal gates here. and traffic continued through as usual. i did check with the airport and with united which is the largest carrier at sfo. according to them no passengers missed their flights because of this demonstration. also there were no flights that were delayed because of the demonstration. so there was some pretty quick reaction from the airport and from the airlines as well.

>> everyone made their flights and no delays. good to hear. i'm sure just a very different warning for a lot of travelers. we will see later on this evening. this isn't the first time protesters have made their voices heard over the war in the middle east. in november demonstrator shut down the bay bridge. to protest the war in gaza. the activist stopped traffic for hours and several organ donations were delayed because of the backup. parts of the misdemeanor charges in san francisco. in january pro palestinians protesters shut down the golden gate bridge. they drove to the middle and got out with signs. chp said the protest took 20 to 30 minutes. and no arrests were made there. last month activist briefly brought cars to a standstill on the central freeway between

debose and octavia in san francisco. in the end no arrests were made there. chp said law enforcement rarely gets advance notice of the actions but it does have a protocol in place to get vehicles moving pretty quickly. also last month doesn't shut down the intersection of montgomery and market streets. the surrounding streets were closed as well. some of the protesters locked themselves to a table during that demonstration. san jose police say it sounds like the basis for a hollywood blockbuster but this was not a movie. today police announced the arrest of an antioch couple who investigators say are responsible for a string of old- fashioned bank robberies all over northern california including the wells fargo in san jose in february. police arrested 37-year-old brandon lopez and 43-year-old samara bush of antioch for 6 robberies or attempted robberies. target banks include locations in san jose milpitas fremont modesto and sacramento. police claim in each case lopez would had a note to a teller which read i need all of the money in both your drawers. be quick no games. these criminals thought they could get away with it.

they are victimizing that only multiple banks but multiple cities. and i know it sounds like a movie. yes these good old-fashioned note passing bank robbery still occur. it is not a movie. >> investigators say a search of the suspect's residence turned up an unregistered loaded lock. a lot of ammunition. but no cash. please say the couple will remain behind bars will go to court after all the other counties involved at their own charges. today could be the beginning of the end for social media giant tiktok. the house passed a bill that could ultimately ban the popular app in the united states. members on both sides of the aisle says they're worried opposes a national security threat because it is owned by a china-based company. the social media giant and its users are not going down without a fight. ian has been digging into the story today. take us three what happened. >> the house overwhelmingly

passed the bill. visit the chinese government could access the extensive data of tick-tock 170 million american users. the bill would force the apse chinese parent company bite dance the sale or face a ban in the u.s. bay area representatives were split on the issue. those opposing the ban said they want a comprehensive bill on all social media not just tiktok. a san jose state professor said the fears of this particular app are warranted. because of the massive amount of information tiktok collects. >> they collect also the contents of your direct messages. they can use that to watch how long -- estimate your income. your location is also gathered. this information is a very valuable information. >> tiktok probably cannot be happy about this. >> they are not being silent and all of this in either of those who use the app. tiktok creators and users were rallying outside the capital today. the company also urged people on its site to contact their

local representative and urge them to vote no. ban supporters say they believe the platform is already trying to influence american politics. but there is also a large group of businesses that use it. i spoke with jennifer lee about this. you may remember her family's vietnamese restaurant in santa rosa was struggling last year. until her post showing her dad waiting for customers went viral. >> without this platform then we probably would have never received the exposure that we needed being such a difficult time. tiktok has been such a valuable tool in resources for a small business like ours to thrive. >> as sales have been up about 90% for them. since then. it is pretty incredible. but the bill passed today now goes to the senate. you will hear more reaction from lawmakers and the social media experts about today's vote at 6:00. san mateo county was the

slow down way mow again. the county tried to challenge the company's robel taxi expansion last month but the states public utilities commission cited with way mow. this week county sent a letter to cpuc asking for a review arguing that the process was flawed. meanwhile way mow is still allowed to run its vehicles in san mateo county. the company has not said when it will start offering rides. he plans to start limited service in los angeles tomorrow. construction is booming. the popular popularity of granite units is soaring thanks to new laws in california. our investigator reporter hilda is to crunching the numbers. she will be joining us after the break to show us how it is making an impact in the bay area. looking for the cheapest gas in your neighborhood. mike is tracking it all for you. plus he also takes a closer look at the reason why you have noticed the prices trickling up at the pump. we want to know what story

you would like to see later on in the newscast. i have a poll on my instagram. still have more time to vote for one of the stories you see right here.

you may know them as and law suites granny units building accessory dwelling units rad use is at an all-time high in california thanks to policy changes in sacramento. our investigative reporter hilda has been looking into how this has all been playing out in the bay area. no doubt let's start with what you specifically found in santa cruz. >> in santa cruz we were able to notice right away 80 new construction rates are very high. a dus are being built at a greater rate a faster rate in santa cruz.

we wants compare this to bay area counties. when we look at bay area counties as we can see in the graph they are below they are. we could see san mateo county and sonoma county that follow. the santa cruz is just building faster and more a dus. >> that is interesting. i know you got a chance to speak with contractors about this. >> contractors are pleased because they said the streamline process is coming from state policy and city policies. is making it way easier for them. they don't have to go through public hearings or neighborhood input. in one of the things i learned is that if they already have pre-approved plans that may be there neighbor gifts to them, they can use those and they are saving a lot of money this way. >> so much easier for them. saving money a lot quicker. you got to speak with the city planner in santa cruz. >> the city is telling us that they have just been on top of this. they've been ahead of the game. and when state guidelines came

in they tried to get ahead in the early 2000's they started streamlining this process for residents. this is really helped. obviously rules and regulations continued to change. one of the things they see is that many of these a dus are being built for family -- is cheaper more affordable housing options for them. or they are being rented as furnished units for other people. >> this is the answer a lot of people have been waiting for. santa cruz had been waiting for this moment and are taking advantage of it. >> we have a full report at 5:30. thank you for that preview. take a look at this 10 people without a place to live after this fire sparked at an apartment complex in san francisco last night. this is on post street in lower nobhill. firefighters worked to rescue several people. paramedics took an adult and child to the hospital. they are expected to be okay. a total of 10 people were displaced. no word on what started that

fire. have you noticed gas prices ticking up lately? they've gone up about one full quarter in the past month. here is today in the bay with the reason why. >> reporter: folks here are today's best prices for selected cities. the selected cities around the bay. oakland here has the highest price. it beat south san francisco for that role by a penny. because we tracked the base best practices every day on our morning show today in the bay. we've seen prices jumping up quite a bit since the end of february. i got a chance to ask gasbuddy's had a petroleum analysis why the prices are so dynamic right now. >> a lot of what we've seen the last couple weeks has really been related to the seasonality. california northern california especially switch to summer gasoline ahead of much of the rest of the nation. but the increases should not start tapering off essentially all of what we've seen is due to seasonality. not necessarily fluctuations in

oil prices. but really rising gasoline demand as temperatures warm up. to switch over to those linens a full fuel perks. as patrick explained this is mostly due to seasonality. the changing of the seasons not due to fluctuations in oil praxis. he notes these cleaner burning carbon mandated blends he talks about they are important during warmer weather. driving weather. california is under stricter standards for emissions making our summer blend more costly to make. >> it generally is always more costly to produce the type of gasoline that is cleaner especially in this instance. in addition adding to the cost is that california has its own standards. it does not follow the epa. it follows carbon mandates. so california is on a bit of a petro island. the only state in the nation requiring the special blends. there are different dates during the time of year that this california specific gas line has to be utilized as well.

>> so petro island that is us. carb the california air resources board it supersedes the epa. when it comes to these standards. so our blend is more expensive to produce. it is also more expensive for refineries and gas stations to operate and be in california. it is more expensive for us to buy. just about everything as you know is more expensive in california. but we hope that also contributes to the reducing of emissions. reducing the impact on climate change. for more stories like this one join me and the rest of the today in the bay team starting at 5:00 a.m. on they are. you can watch nbc bay area news whenever you want. we are on other streaming platforms. another thing that is rising which i don't mind are the temperatures. they are.

thank goodness. as we get ready to welcome spring next week it is landing at an appropriate time. we are going to see an increase in the wind speeds which could be problematic. let's enjoy the clear conditions. this live shot of downtown san jose. those wind speeds will get very gusty at times. there is a wind advisory you have to know about. currently we have 60s on the map. vacaville is 67. livermore 65. i want to show you for comparison where we were at 24 hours ago as the high pressure begins to build. this is where we will notice the boost in temperatures. napa 10 degrees warmer already compared to the past 24 hours. and here is the reason why. satellite and radar showcasing clear conditions over the bay area. we have high pressure build again. that will help keep us dry. also sunny but it is also going to kick up the offshore winds heading into really overnight. we've seen gusty winds in the mount diablo area. you noticed it. expect to see this really ramp up. this goes into effect starting at 5:00. in just a little under 10 minutes. this stays in effect through 11:00 a.m.

friday. winds from the north and northeast 25 to 35 miles per hour. but the coast in the hills could get wind gusts up to 60. to give you an idea look at this. if you notice on the contours the reds and purples we see the gusty is winds. we taken this through 1:30 tomorrow. napa 36+. this will start to santa cruz mountains. please tonight make sure to secure any items that might flight away overnight. another area to look out for if you will be traveling to lake tahoe. you don't have to worry about the snow. there is a high wind warning. 50 to 60+. that will be in place through friday morning. but tomorrow something to look ahead 69 and 71. wait until you see friday. 70s upper 70s in some spots. we have a lot to look forward to. join us at 5:00. janel is working on the 5:00 news for us. welcome back. a historic move in berkeley the city today returned ancestral land back to the lonely try.

three block area in the west part of town that used to be a ceremonial and burial site. thousands of years ago. berkeley's mayor said this is the largest urban land give back to eight indigenous people in california history. we will take you to today's ceremony. most of us know better judgment the oldest national park ranger serving until she was 100 years old. she is now 102 and she is retired in the east bay. we are now just learning so much more about her life. something she admits she has kept secret until now. it is now being captured by a filmmaker. watch the story it is so moving it is beautifully told. joel covers the story it is coming up at 5:00. we will see you in a few minutes. still to come top trending stories on my instagram pole. also coming back as conference champs. the big celebration on st. mary's campus ask about team. mary's campus ask about team. march ( ♪♪ )

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playing with dogs can help you relax and concentrate. that's according to a new study from researchers in south korea. many dog owners already do that. the study measured people's brain waves as they performed eight activities with the poodle walking the dog made participants feel more relaxed. rushing her improved concentration. playing with the dog you did both of those effects. feeling less stressed and depressed after all those activities. here it is top trending stories voted by you on my instagram pole. do you feel financially inadequate when you scroll through glorified lifestyles on social media? if so you may have money dysmorphia. that is a thing. a new survey shows a lot of young adults have a distorted view of their finances even if they are doing relatively well.

survey from critic, found 43% of generation z and 41% of millennials say they are experiencing money dysmorphia. yet many of those same people have above average savings. they are also likely to admit to being obsessed with the idea of being rich. i will be posting links of the of the stories you voted for all my instagram. thank you for voting. march madness tips off next week. a party is already getting started. st. mary's gaels returned home this morning fresh off their championship victory over gonzaga. they took on the bulldogs in las vegas. snapped and zach's four-year reign as the conference champs. now they are looking ahead to the dance. that is what every kid dreams about. this is where you want to be. you want to play well. and play for the love of the game. fight for the joy of being in the moment. >> one step one round we are going to start up with practice tomorrow. hopefully it gives us a day off. when we get back in the gym we

will start getting back to work. it's a chip by chip thing. this is the first time since 2012 the st. mary's has won both the regular-season title and the conference tournament. gives the gaels an automatic spot in the ncaa tournament. quick reminder you can access nbc bay area news whenever you want. we are on all the time on roku and other streaming platforms. you can watch live breaking news news conferences and repeats of our newscast. thank you for joining us. thank you for joining us. janel is working on the 5:00

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right now protesters at sfo. pushing for a cease-fire while blocking travelers. we are live at the airport with what happened today. tense moments at a south bait middle and high school. students and teachers told to shelter in place. the tip that triggered police to rush onto campus.

it sounds like the making of a movie. what police are saying about the couple arrested for a series of bank robberies in the south bay and beyond. the news at 5:00 starts now. thank you for joining me. a tense day at sfo as hundreds of protesters calling for a cease-fire in gaza try to disrupt operations for nearly 3 hours at the airport. it made things unpleasant for passengers here at the international terminal getting dropped off in trying to catch their flights. marion is live at sfo with the latest on the demonstration of what is happening now. >> reporter: janel we were here when the protesters left the airport around 11:30 this morning. right now you can see behind

the cars are able to drive right up in front of the international terminal. people can drop off their friends and family here. that was not the case earlier. right now it is business as usual at the airport. but it wasn't this morning. >> reporter: chanting and drumming more than 300 pro- palestine protesters poured into several areas of sfo's international terminal. to call for a cease-fire in gaza. >> we are here today to remind the world of what is happening in gaza. to remind the world that over 35,000 palestinians have been massacred in five months with funding from the u.s. >> reporter: during their civil disobedience a handful of protesters parked cars outside the terminal. in hopes of preventing passengers from driving in. they also blocked two security gates. the disruption forced the airport to find alternate routes for passengers. trying to make their flights. >> rerouting our international customers to alternate locations to get them through the security checkpoint process.

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