right now at 11:00, opening statements wrap up in the first ever criminal case involving a former sitting u.s. president. revelations about the first witness who took the stand in

gop presidential nominee donald trump's high-profile trial. plus, policing homelessness. the supreme court hears a case which may set a new precedent when it comes to encampments. ahead, we look at the potential local impact in bay area cities already divided over the issue. good morning. thanks for joining us for our midday newscast. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. donald trump sat quietly this morning in a new york courtroom watching as prosecution in his case accused him of hiding hush money payments to a porn star. >> his defense in its response may have broken the rules. scott mcgrew has more on what unfolded in the courtroom. >> reporter: the prosecution and defense presented their opening statements this morning in a shortened court day with the court shutting down at 9:30 hour time this morning, 12:30 in new york, in observance of passover.

there will be a shortened day tomorrow, as well. in the opening statements, the prosecution said it would provide the jury with trump's own voice, recordings of the former president participating in a plan to hide evidence of hush money to stormy daniels who claimed she had a sexual affair with trump. trump acknowledges the payments but denies they had a relationship. the defense in its opening simply said that they were following the advice of attorneys in the hush money plan. now, that's a defense the judge in the case specifically said he would not allow, what they call an advice of counsel defense. the judge had earlier ruled trump can't both claim a client-attorney privilege in hiding some of he has communications with his lawyers while, at the same time, claiming he was just doing what those lawyers told him to do. now, a reminder, it's not illegal to an affair. it is not illegal to pay someone hush money. but trump is accused of hiding the payments through false bookkeeping in order to hide the

whole thing from voters. allegations of false bookkeeping, election violations, that's what got him in trouble. the first witness today, david pecker, was then called to the stand. he is a friend or former friend of the president. the publisher of "the national enquirer" who helped trump bury two stories of an affair. one with a playboy model and the other with stormy daniels. the prosecution appears to be showing the jury how desperate trump was to hide alleged disloyalty to his wife from voters. now, will trump testify in his own defense? he says he will. here's george washington law school's steven salzburg. >> if he takes the stand, he'll be very hard to control, both by any lawyer and certainly by the judge, and it gives him yet another forum to speak to his base. so if he decides that speaking to the base is going to be more important because the odds of

getting conviction are already high, he might take the stand and basically then, if he does, have a further complaint that there isn't justice to be had in new york. >> reporter: and, if he does, well, that opens the opportunity for the prosecution to cross-examine him. the judge said they can use examples of him lying in the past, lying about his real estate agents and more. the trial continues tomorrow. back to you. developing now, the most consequential case on homelessness is awaiting a final decade from the supreme court. the implications extend to cities across the country facing challenging policies around the rights of the unhoused. bay area is live in san francisco. ginger, was there any sense from the oral arguments this morning how this will all play out? >> reporter: well, that, marcus, of course, is the big question

here. local and state governments, advocates for the unhoused all waiting and hoping that a ruling on this case will provide more clarity around the enforcement of laws when it comes to dealing with the rights of the unhoused. but what was interesting this morning was a mention during oral arguments that the supreme court could avoid ruling on the constitutionality of this case. very interesting point in all of this. at the heart of today's arguments is a case from a small city in oregon, johnson versus grants pass, where a district court in oregon sided with the unhoused individuals behind a lawsuit and prohibited the city from enforcing the anti-camping ban in parks at night. if no other shelter was available. that case made it to the ninety ninth circuit and the court probed legal council on whether or not it is cruel and unusual punishment to put someone in jail or give a fine because they

are unhoused. the justices went through hypotheticals. they questioned whether homelessness is a state of being, a status, or a conduct. if so, what is reasonable punishment if there are no other options for shelter? after, at times, intense questioning of the attorneys making their arguments, the case was finally submitted at 9:30 this morning. >> this is an interesting case because some of the most liberal politicians, gavin newsom, london brie, they're looking to the trump-appointees on the supreme court for help on this issue. they've said, "we've been hamstrung by lower court decisions that say we can't remove homeless people from the street." >> reporter: a san francisco-based nonprofit has sued the city of san francisco over its own handling on the unhoused. that same nonprofit, the coalition on homelessness, is marching and rallying in the city this morning. they're marching to keep legal protection against arresting

people living on the streets. the rally began at 10:00 at the federal building on mission and 9th streets here in the city. now, a judge in that case has issued an injunction, which means it's now on pause until the supreme court hands down its ruling on the grants pass case. both the city of san francisco and governor gavin newsom want a reversal from the supreme court in this, but we have yet to see whether or not they will get it. a recent law or a law in oregon which was referenced this morning, one of the attorneys and some of the justices conceded this morning that that law actually answers a lot of the issues that were originally brought up in the grants pass case. so, after all this lead-up, marcus, we could maybe get a ruling that doesn't rule on the constitutionality of the eighth amendment when it comes to grants pass. so all this is very interesting, and we won't get the ruling for another couple months. we will be watching. >> we will.

i'm sure it piques the interest of a lot of people in the bay area. ginger, thank you. later this afternoon, lawmakers in sacramento will focus on how to make the roads safer when it comes to automatic vehicles. what protections are they considering, bob? >> reporter: good morning. i just spoke to assembly ting of san francisco who is proposing this bill, ab-1771, a bill that, if enacted into law, to answer your question, will provide better oversight and more accountability for companies that operate the autonomous vehicles as robo taxis, and would also create consequences when those vehicles make mistakes. >> we've seen them driving around, especially in my neighborhood, sunset. we've seen a number of incidents happen where law enforcement couldn't stop the vehicle. the vehicle went into construction zones. there was no way to cite a driverless vehicle. >> reporter: assemblyman ting wants to change it with 1771,

which would allow lawsuit to cite robo taxis for traffic violations, just like human drivers. would require the companies who operate driverless cars to set up a dedicated phone number for first responders to call in case of an incident or emergency. would require the vehicles to be geofenced and prevent them from entering certain areas, like construction zones and road closures. would make them responsive to lights and sirens. would require the companies to submit quarterly reports to the state about miles traveled and number of times the vehicle stopped on a public right of way. it would also require the companies to provide collision reports to the national highway traffic safety administration every five days. >> technology changes and is constantly evolving. what we want to make sure is that we are keeping our roads safe, that first responders know how to access these vehicles or know what to to when they encounter these vehicles. we also want to keep them out of harmful situations. and we want a chance for the

technology to grow and develop. >> reporter: this is a live look at the state capitol in sacramento, where in about 90 minutes, the transportation committee will meet to consider ab-1771. assemblyman ting says the bill must go through committees and the senate before it gets voted on. if approved and signed into law, the new rules would not go into effect until january. reporting live here in the east bay, bob redell, bay area news. >> thanks for the latest, bob. happening now, recently fired google workers who staged a protest inside google offices in sunnyvale plan to air their grievances. here is a live look as a virtual news conference is beginning. it began moments ago. leaders responded quickly in the days after the protest, where some of the workers were fired. a livestream by protesters there showed police making arrests during last tuesday's sit-in, and one of the top executives office. separate protesters were held in new york city as well as seattle.

now, at least 28 people, we do know, workers there, were fired. workers were protesting israel's war in gaza and israel's use of google technology. the company stated such actions on google l worksites will not be tolerated. california's latest high-speed rail project is getting off the ground. here is a live look in las vegas this midday. transportation secretary pete buttigieg is among those participating in the groundbreaking ceremony, which would connect sin city to los angeles. once finished, expect the trip to take about two hours. the white house is providing a chunk of the funding with the total cost expected to reach about $12 billion. service is expected to begin in four years, just in time for the summer olympics in los angeles. all right. much closer to home, take a live look outside by the bay. you can see san francisco on this monday morning. we're coming off a really nice weekend.

the temperatures are going to continue? >> yes. so we have one more day of well above normal temperatures, and then it does cool off tomorrow. as we're enjoying all of the sunshine, still feels really nice out there, but it has been heating up quickly. along the coastline, we'll see highs up to 60 degrees, some low 70s, even low 80s for the inland area. tomorrow and the middle of the week, it does cool off quite a bit. we'll see more clouds and breezy winds and some slight rain chances later in the week. today, we're up to 81 in san jose. 80 in livermore. we're also seeing up to 80 degree temperatures in concord and fairfield. the north bay will be in the upper 70s. we'll talk about the cooldown and any more changes we'll see through the next several days, coming up in the microclimate forecast. >> thanks, kari. we're celebrating earth day. next, a look where you can take part in events kicking off today and continuing all week. plus, bay area nurses taking on artificial intelligence. hundreds plan to protest in san francisco, hoping to spotlight

patient safety concerns. demands they're making to health care leaders. first, schools not out for summer, but we at nbc bay area and telemundo 48 already working to help families who can't afford back to school basics. we're collecting backpacks and other school supplies. we've made it easy if you want to help. head to nbcbayarea.com/supportingour schools to donate online. or you can check out the list of supplies that we're collecting and drop them off in person this thursday from 2 :00 to 6:00 at town and country village in

just into our newsroom, a dead whale found floating off the coast of alameda county is being towed back to shore. we have new video to show you taken within the last 30 minutes from nbc bay area's sky ranger. the 40-foot long gray whale was first spotted saturday near crown memorial state beach.

officials say it was stuck in mud but then became free, floating with the tide. the marine mammal center says it is working with the coast guard to tow the carcass back to angel island state park so they can determine how it died. this is the first dead whale found in the san francisco bay this year. well, less than an hour from now, a group of nurses plan to line the streets outside of one of san francisco's hospitals working to draw attention to the use of artificial intelligence in health care. >> chris andrews joins us from the newsroom on how this might impact care today. >> reporter: patients may see the nurses outside as they arrive at the hospital, but, otherwise, the protests should not impact care there. the action is happening all in the same day kaiser permanente begins an integrated care experience conference. the nurses' protest is centered on kaiser san francisco, they say because it was an early adopter of artificial intelligence. kaiser is not the only hospital using a.i., and the california

nurses association's position is that it puts patients at risk because it removes some of the hands-on care that patients need. >> no computer, no a.i., it cannot replace a human touch. it cannot tell them to hold your loved one's hand. you cannot teach a computer how to have empathy. >> reporter: kaiser are elised a released a statement, "we believe that a.i. may be able to help our physicians and enhance experience. as an organization dedicated to inclusiveness and health equity, we ensure the results from a.i. tools are correct and unbiased. a.i. does not replace human assessment." a.i. could help doctors and systems manage a tremendous amount of data, but with all of the patient data comes questions over privacy and responsibility. president biden signed an executive order in october to develop a federal framework for developing and using a.i., not

just in health care but beyond, and that is still in the works. the california nurses association tells us their protest is expected to begin at noon. >> thank you very much. let's get the latest when it comes to that forecast this midday. kari has a look at these nice temperatures sticking around. you were mentioning one more warm day, then we'll see a little cool off? >> we are going to see those temperatures coming down. as we take a look at where we are right now, with walnut creek at 77 degrees compared to what we were seeing elsewhere. in oakland, it is 67. and we are seeing temperatures in san francisco in the mid 60s. san jose, 74 right now. we're enjoying the sunshine. nice, warm weather that's headed for the upper 70s and may briefly touch the low 80s as we go into today. this is going to be the last day that we'll see temperatures like this before things change. dublin, you'll see a high of 79.

77 in napa. novato and santa rosa. san francisco, it'll be in the mid 60s. looking at the day tomorrow, we'll be about ten degrees lower compared to today. and it is going to be breezy as we get a few more clouds. we can see the clouds linger a lot longer throughout the morning. mountain view, we're in the upper 60s and about the same in hayward, as well. that's what we'll see continue throughout the rest of the week with temperatures that are definitely more normal for this time of year. so it's been pretty warm, feeling more like late spring. the high pressure that's kept it warm will start to move off towards the south and east. then we'll also see a very active storm pattern starting to develop for the pacific northwest. that's going to keep it cooler and also give us some slight rain chances that we'll see continue from friday and then off and on into next week. but we're not expecting a lot of rain here. most of it to the north of the bay area. but for us, when we see these areas in the light blue, that's about a quarter inch of rain or

less, so it's not any big storms we're expecting here. the bigger change will be those temperatures. palo alto, we're going from 73 degrees for a high today to only seeing highs in the low to mid 60s for friday and through the weekend. once again, that's about normal. what we typically see for the end of april. looking at our seven-day forecast, we are going to see a mix of sun and clouds and temperatures in the upper 60s, low 70s. a beautiful weekend ahead as we are, for the most part, staing fairly rain free. san francisco, there will be a slight chance of rain in the forecast on friday as our temperatures head for the low 60s. then it does clear out in time for the weekend once again. as you're making plans throughout the next several days, looking ahead to the weekend, it will be another nice one. and nbc and telemundo are celebrating earth week. the city of san francisco will be hosting its second annual climate week.

nbc's bay area cinthia pimentel has more on what you can expect. >> one of the largest climate gatherings in the world is happening at the city by the bay. thousands are expected to attend nature walks, industry panels, a sustainable fashion show, and other social events. >> reporter: san francisco climate week is organize nieszed by the environment department and the company, climate base, a hiring platform that helps organizations with careers in climate. over the next week, the city will become a place where diverse organizers and attendees can connect, exchange ideas, and bring forth their solutions to our climate in crisis. >> our goals are to hold more events on more climate topics and bring more of these movers and shakers together to advance the solutions we need. >> reporter: san francisco is an environmental leader on the global stage. just last year, 1,500 trees were planted to improve the urban canopy and ecosystem. the city explors nature-based

solutions for the sea level rise. and if you've ridden a muni, it's one of the greenest fleets in the u.s. >> we have 500 businesses, including oracle park and chase center, the marriott marquee and the st. regis, all certified under the clean air program. we're trying to do all we can to support and protect the environment. >> and we want to make sure we are amplifying these opportunities, like the one climate base is putting together, and this is many hands make light work when it comes to climate actions. >> san francisco climate week will be more than an environmental celebration. it'll be a gathering of minds to spark ideas to tackle the most pressing issues of our time. everyone is encouraged to participate, and we have a link to the events and registration. just visit nbcbayarea.com. cinthia pimentel, nbc bay area

news. >> thank you very much. now to a live look in sacramento this midday where law enforcement are holding a press conference involving a sting aimed to crack down on crimes against children. operation spring cleaning resulted in 20 arrests. among them, san jose fire captain spencer parker. he is accused of attempted lewd acts with a 13-year-old girl. court documents accuse captain parker of sending illicit pictures with the attempt to engage in sexual intercourse with the minor. parker is no longer employed with the city. he is out of jail on a $350,000 bond. nbc bay area's damien is listening in on the conference and will have a full report in our evening newscast. happening now, california pays some of the highest electric rates in the country. today, state lawmakers are preparing to vote on a bill that would crack down on how utilities spend customers'

money. now, utilities aren't allowed to use money to pay for things like advertising or lobbylobbying, b activists say they're finding ways around the rules, finding trade groups that tv ads are masqueraing as psas. this would expand the definition and prohibit political advertising and influence, including things like -- we'll have more on nbcbayarea.com. also coming up, take a look at this. all eyes are on berkeley this midday, this mama bird. looks like she's brought a new life into the world. the egg has been cracked there, and i saw some little burd

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i think this is the most exciting news of the day. happening now, a very exciting update from u.c. berkeley on a closely-watched nesting spot. this is live. the eggs recently laid by annie the falcon have hatched, at least two of them. there were four that needed to be hatched. two so far. annie has been living atop the

building for ten years now. she's raised a bundle, 18 chicks and cowancounting. she and archie have four eggs, two hatched 40 minutes apart. she's a good little mama. i saw fur earlier when -- not fur. i'm used to having dogs. feathers, feathers of the little bird underneath there. i know, you know, the two little ones are in there and two eggs are yet to go. really exciting from u.c. berkeley, the falcons. >> she's looking up like, what are you doing? >> exactly. get off me already, laura. fur. you know, a little bird brain there. i was excited. good ne

♪♪ right now on "california live." >> we're celebrating earth day at a beach clean-up event in venice, showing you some simple ways to do a sustainable swap or