>> from the area's local news station, you're watching the kron. 4 morning news at 4. >> good morning. thank you for joining us here on the kron. 4 morning news. i'm james fletcher. yes, 04:00am. there's we're taking a live look here to start the hour from our sutro tower camera looking down over san francisco, brilliant view and a bright one, too, because we've got quite a lot moon light out there this morning. let's begin with our weather forecast and say good morning. good job. >> yeah, that full moon, james were very close to it. it is definitely brightening things up. we've got clear skies. the nearly full moon. so as you're driving to work this morning, that might just get your spirits up a little bit. the fact that you're not going to

be running into fog nor a gloomy morning. actually fairly bright out there for still very early on. we are looking at winds still present, but not near as windy as we yesterday. past couple of days have been exceptionally windy. now we're going to start to calm things down, still breezy at times this morning, though, i do want to note that as far as skies go, we've cleared out for the bay area as well as the sierra nevada. that storm system that brought snow to the sierra yesterday as well. accident the region. and now we're just looking at sunshine later on today. 40's and 50's for your current temperatures. we will likely see a couple of 30's popping up further inland. but as of right now, we're definitely hanging out that comfortably cool realm of 40's and 50's. so get your jackets on to start this morning. layered up a little bit by the afternoon. temperatures climb a bit compared to yesterday. we will have some mid to upper 60's on the map and even a couple of low 70's to help you breaking down today's sunshine and some chances of rainfall that we do have ahead of us in this

forecast. all right. we need some rain is you need some clear air and to water our plants. >> let's get a look at your traffic on this wednesday morning. if you're traveling from the east bay into the city this hour, no major delays. a little under 8 minutes to make it to that fremont street exit san mateo bridge heading across towards the peninsula. little under 13 minutes for your drive as you're traveling a lot from 80 to one o one. there out of richmond heading across towards center fell about 8 minutes and looking at 6.80, dublin to fremont. 14 minutes for your drive. james, back to you. >> all right. thank you very much. to is the time in our top story this morning. the masks can come off indoors across the bay area except in santa clara county. while county health departments lift the mandate to fall in line with state guidelines, businesses still have the final say on whether masks will be required in their own personal businesses. crawford's theresa stasi, talk to some store owners who say they're going to be setting their own independent policies.

>> so far things are fine. and i hope that things are going to get better as a small business owner. alex barrett off weathered it through the shutdown. owning this specialty stationary store in larkspur. and now this latest chapter of a return to a semblance of normal, the lifting of a mask mandate amarin. she is striking a similar tune. keeping a smile and taking it all in stride. i feeling is i feel that all do what's right for me, which is i'm going to wear a mask because i'm around the public all the time. >> but all of my customers do whatever they want. you know, it's up to them. as long as i'm protected. we all need to take care of ourselves. >> and it's not just a smaller stores, but the bigger once traveling this new space here at athletic and corte madera owned by gap. a team member says staff will still wear masks. but as the sign says, it is only recommended now for others. ari, i next door a different policy. they will

still require everyone to mask up and that trend continued and other supervisor a costco in novato said no more mask yet. big box target sent me this statement. quote, based on the cdc's latest guidance we require face coverings for our team members and strongly recommend face coverings for gas in areas with substantial or high risk of transmission as defined by the cdc, end quote. the lift of an indoor mask mandate does not apply to those on vaccinated for and public transportation, health care settings, jails care, facilities, schools or childcare settings. plus, cities are also coming up with their own directives. separate from the county. as for shoppers, they seemed conflicted as look forward to working out at the gym. going to have to her mask can can actually breathe on the gym machine. >> i don't plan to change

anything. i feel more comfortable with masks on for myself. and i appreciate when others use it to makes me feel safer to recess. stasio kron. 4 news. >> a federal employees in california have joined a lawsuit against the biden administration's covid-19 vaccine mandate for federal workers claiming it's unconstitutional. in september the biden administration issued the mandate with no option for regular testing unless they get a medical or religious exemption. for now, the mandate is block for federal workers with a number of challenges that are currently working their way through the courts. >> to tell how the individuals and they something that they know that they do not it's an egregious attack on our freedom when a person's employment is targeted. >> in order that they are coerced to undergo any medical that entire picture strikes me as wrong. >> well, as of last month, 98% of federal workers were fully vaccinated. california

lawmakers want to crack down on covid-19 vaccine misinformation. state lawmakers introduced bills targeting doctors and social media sites proper u.s. capitol bureau reporter ashley zavala explains. >> california lawmakers tuesday rolled out 2 new bills to fight covid-19 vaccine misinformation. disinformation is undermining our ability to. >> now we stop this pandemic but likely saved lives. the first is assembly bill, 2098, which empowers the california medical board to discipline doctors who peddled this information. >> the bill allows the board to classify the behavior as unprofessional conduct after a covid-19 information the responsibility and threatens to >> further public trust in the medical profession and puts all patients as doctors in support of the legislation say there is a very small number of well coordinated, well-funded active group of physicians spreading blatantly false information about the virus and its vaccine. this

isn't a call for a policing up free speech. >> this is a call for protecting the public against dangerous misinformation. >> which patients are paring back to us in our emergency departments every day. the next bill takes aim at social media sites. senate bill 10, 18 would require websites to be more transparent about how their algorithms push information to its users. bottom line here is stopping live in a world where facebook and google know we know nothing about that. >> the bill would also require sites to share data showing how misinformation spreads congress is considering similar legislation. we also need to act as a state. >> ideally that we would have a national solution to this. however, we cannot wait the bills add to the bulk of legislation introduced this year by a group of democrats working to strengthen the state's vaccine loss for workers and children. >> the bills will likely be heard sometime this spring in sacramento. ashley zavala kron. 4 news. >> well, the fda has delayed a key meeting on covid vaccines

for children under 5 and independent panel was supposed to meet yesterday, but its members said they need a little more time to look at data from some of the clinical trials conducted by pfizer that trial look at the number of doses that would ultimately be recommended for kids under 5 at this point. we don't know when the panel is expected to meet again, but we'll update you as soon as we find out new information on that front. meanwhile, in the south bay, in an effort to support children who have lost a parent or caregiver to covid-19 santa clara county wants to step in and help county officials approved a referral program to create better access to case management, grief, counseling, child care, behavioral health and academic supports for children in schools throughout the county. the referral also rphopes to help with childcare and help the child care industry recover. it's being reported that as of yesterday, roughly one out of every 400, 50 children in the u.s. has lost a parent or caregiver to covid. uc berkeley says it

will fight a court order that requires the school to freeze enrollment and this comes as the university is preparing to send out acceptance letters to thousands of students. university has now asked the california state supreme court to ban the lower court ruling which mandated a freeze to a little more than 43,000 students. well, the freeze will remain in place until a court hears the merits of the lawsuit filed by a neighborhood group. the challenge the university for not doing the proper environmental study on the impacts of the university expansion project. well, the university calls the move unprecedented. >> if it stands. uc berkeley will need to say no to more than 3,000 students. it planned to say yes to. it's a tragic outcome for kids who have worked so hard. to get into uc berkeley. >> it's unclear when the state supreme court will give a ruling on the matter. uc berkeley slated to start sending out acceptance letters beginning in march just a couple weeks from now. health workers in 24 states are now

required to have received their first dose of the covid vaccine. this is unless, of received an exemption. the mandate took effect last month and that includes areas that didn't challenge the requirement in court. some medical workers who don't want to get a shot are claiming that the vaccine violates their religious beliefs in some facilities, workers and managers have successfully used this excuse to avoid getting vaccinated. another big story this morning, san francisco residents recalled 3 members of the city school board after parents criticize them for putting progressive politics over the needs of children during the pandemic. voters overwhelmingly approved the recall of allison collins, gabriela lopez and fogo the parents of students launched the recall effort in last well at last year, out of frustration over the slow reopening of district schools. while the board focused instead on renaming more than 40 school sites, mayor london breed endorsed the recall and

said in a statement, quote, our kids have suffered tremendously during this pandemic, dealing with serious learning lawson, significant mental health challenges. it's time we refocus our efforts on the basics of providing quality education for all students, end quote. now, mayor london breed is set to now point board replacements to serve until another election, which is actually coming up this november. there were other matters on the special election ballot in san francisco as well. supervisor matt haney is the front runner as the new assembly member for the city's 17th district. haney is in the lead with a little more than 37% of the vote. david campus is in second place with 35% of the vote. the 2 other candidates didn't get a majority of the votes. so now the race will likely go to a runoff between haney and cam post. more mail and provisional ballots have yet to be counted. so will have an final count for you once those are tally. we'll take a break at 4.11 coming up on the kron. 4 morning news. another violent attack on an asian american woman and local

groups are using it as an opportunity to teach others. >> how to stay safe. meanwhile, russia is sending troops away from the ukrainian border, but the u.s. warns the threat a looming attack still persists. we'll be right back.

well, for 14 is the time we got a live look outside this morning of a nearly full moon. great shot here. the moon coit tower in the corner. >> and all that moonlight shining over the bay this morning because there are too many clouds out there either. john, good morning again. nice clear morning, james. also giving us a view down from hour at the golden gate bridge where things are also looking nice and clpar. it is going to be a clear rest of the day to so much like yesterday, an abundance of sunshine. but we're taking out some of the wind and that was a bit of a hassle to get through yesterday. >> today not going to be near as breezy of one. still a bit breezy 15 miles per hour. wind gusts compared to yesterday's in excess of 25 miles per hour. wind gusts still notice the breeze, but not the windiest of days ahead of u.s.. skies will remain clear throughout the day today from the bay to the sierra nevada after yesterday's snow in the sierra. this is a change for them. now, the rest of the week looks to remain the same as this storm system exits and high pressure does build back in a bit to finish out the

forecast. we will be looking at highs at their warmest to start the weekend on friday. after that, though, we'll see our next system diving on into the region. now, this is going to take a similar track as to the low pressure area that just brought snow to the sierra but left us dry to skirting just to our east. it does offer a better opportunity, though, of any sort of light shower to reach the bay area. it's still just a shot of rainfall. if we even do see anything at all. and if we do get rainfall, that's going to be very, very light. but nonetheless, this is the sign of a pattern shift that is at least bringing snow to the sierra and other parts of the west, like the great basin in the central rockies, even though the bay area has really gotten in the mix just yet. now, temperatures today, we'll be mostly in the 60's, although i am talking a couple of 70's on the map. so a little bit more mild out there today than what we saw yesterday that paired with are calmer winds is just going make for a nice or feel to it. san jose at 69 degrees for

your high today. fremont and union city at 68. well, oakland at 69 degrees as well. walnut creek, concord, on over to any out. pittsburgh, toledo up into the north bay, looking at daytime highs, rising back to 70 degrees. so temperatures do feel pretty good today. all in all, some improvements out there from where we were the past couple of days with those chilly conditions thursday and friday, mid 60's to be expected saturday will likely to be the warmest of the weekend and then sunday we begin to cool down that slight chance of showers on monday. i'm putting it on there, but don't count on it because if we even do see rainfall, it's going to be very light. definitely nothing burst this dry trend of weather just yet across the bay reyna. all right. johnson may be able plan around the rain right? >> however, if you leave your house right now, we are getting a close look at your morning commute. so for right now, traffic is really light. that's the good news. 8 minutes as you're heading from

the maze 2, that fremont street exit also see any delays along 5.80, or 80 san mateo bridge heading across towards the peninsula. about a 13 minute commute for you. let's get a look at the richmond. sandra fell bridge. pretty quiet. 7 minutes for your drive at this hour. and checking along 8.80, there and 6.80, dublin to fremont about 13 minutes. no major delays as you're traveling the fremont hayward pleasanton are little more. james, back to you. >> all right. thank you very much. for 18 is the time in more developments now in the abuse accusations against prince andrew. the prince's lawyers have announced that they have reached a settlement and they do expect the case to be withdrawn. we've got nicole berlie with the story. >> virginia can fray filed a lawsuit accusing 61 year-old prince andrew of sexually abusing her. the phrase attorneys say she met the prince when she was quote on call for purposes and quote, went out to other powerful men, but a notorious u.s. financier jeffrey epstein.

andrew has denied phrase allegations saying he could not recall ever meeting her today. gov. frase attorney informed a new york judge that an undisclosed settlement had been reached and lawyers on both sides will request a dismissal. court documents read in part, quote, prince andrew acknowledge that epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years and said the prince regrets his association with epstein. meantime, the disgraced prince has been stripped of his honorary military titles. this is the latest in the ongoing trafficking cases tied to 66 year-old jeffrey epstein who died by suicide 2 years ago in a manhattan jail while awaiting trial on child trafficking charges. his longtime companion ghislane maxwell was convicted of related charges last month. >> well, for your money this morning, free tax centers are coming to help assist lower wage workers, foster youth and families in san francisco. mayor london breed in the sf human services agency announced the center's this

week. 2 locations are going to be opened up on march 7th. one will be at the human services department building on otis street in the city's soma neighborhood. the other is going to be opening up in the mission at the workforce development center. both centers will be open from 8 in the morning till 5 in the evening monday through friday. we've got more information on how you can book your appointment on our website. kron 4 dot com well, russia says it's returning more troops and weapons to bases this morning from the ukrainian border, which is good news. but the u.s. is still warning that a threat of an attack still exists. we've got jessi tenure standing by live in dc now with the latest this morning morning. jesse. >> morning to you as well. james. this comes just one day after russia announced the start of a pullback. but the u.s. and its allies are essentially calling his bluff here. >> they remain very much in a threatening position. president biden remains skeptical of russia's claims of a troop pullback along

ukraine's border and invasion remains distinctly possible. president putin denies having any invasion plans. despite the u.s. now estimating about 150,000 russian forces in the region to the citizens of russia. you are not our enemy. and i do not believe you want to bloodied destructive war against ukraine. putin wants to keep ukraine and other former soviet nations out of nato hold weapons deployments near russian borders and roll back forces from eastern europe. the u.s. and its allies continue to reject those demands. but both sides are open to more talks on ways to bolster security in europe. we should give the diplomacy every chance to succeed on capitol hill. senate democratic leader chuck schumer announced a rare bipartisan statement tuesday that supports ukraine and threatens russia with sanctions. leader mcconnell and working on this with the chairs and raiking members of the relevant committees. lawmakers still can't agree on the scope and timing for sanctions and their own legislation. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell called on president biden to hope.

>> administration is not going to wait until after an incursion. to turn the screws and put some real sanctions on the russians. >> and the senators emphasized in their statement that president biden can move forward with sanctions on russia without congressional action. live in washington, i'm jessi tenure. all right. thank you very much. jessie. >> it is 4.22, we'll take a quick break here. but up next on the kron, 4 morning news usa olympic ski team dominating the slopes and the men's hockey team blowing the lead late in the 3rd period will have more on the olympics coming up.

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live like a gigillionaire with at&t fiber, now with speeds up to 5 gigs. limited availability with at&t fiber, now with speeds up to 5 gigs. latest from beijing with team usa taking some tough losses on the ice in beijing as the men's hockey team. >> last the last minute lead to slovakia and the men's and women's curling teams still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs depending on their competitors performance. we've got jayla washington with the latest now from beijing. >> all eyes are on the ice and slopes again during what's arguably been one of the most intense days of competition here in beijing, u.s. men's hockey taking on the block, iia and a nail-biting game up

to one after the second period. then with less than a minute left on the clock, slovakia scored sending the game to overtime and a best of 5 shootout round. slovakia scored ending teen usa chances of advancing to the semifinals. coming up in prime time, though, our women's hockey team will take on canada in the gold-medal game, promising to be an exciting one up in the slopes. alex hall and get her finish top 2 in their freeski slopestyle event marking the best finish for team usa since the 2014 games in sochi and usa. curling took a couple tough losses. the women defeated by japan with a chance to still make the playoffs. the men's curling team is in a similar position losing to italy. they'll need to beat denmark to advance to the semifinals. their fate now dependent on how 9 other teams compete. this is the exact position they were in pyeongchang when they came out on top winning gold. we are so excited to keep following all of the action with just a couple of days left and the 2022 winter olympic games in beijing washington.

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is that i'm back here with a check of the forecast at the half hour. john trail standing by with a quick look at that as weak. >> head outside. good morning, there, james. it's a nice one so far this morning. skies are clear. winds are a little bit calmer. >> and the moon, well, it's almost full and that's helping to brighten things up a little bit. also got a little view quite tower there in the corner. now, skies will remain clear through the day winds. definitely not much of the factors yesterday and for the sierra nevada, no more snowfall today. so those are the changes that we can know as we work our way into this wednesday, current temperatures, although on the cool side are not quite as cold as yesterday was were in the 30's or 40's to 50's across the bay, not in the 30's anywhere across the bay area this morning. so off to a relatively mild start and towards the afternoon conditions out there will be a little warmer than yesterday's. a few low 70's popping up across the bay area, althougst