half moon bay is known as a coastal town with a tight-knit community but this week has been torn apart by the mass shooting. dozens of people have added flowers to a memorial near city hall. >> my strongest feelings are with the families. >> reporter: but with grief comes strength and eventually healing. >> thank you for everything that you're doing. >> oh, thank you. >> reporter: donations have been pouring in to a nonprofit, alas. >> we've been working with these farms for a long time. these families have children and grandparents and each one has a story. we have been dealing with these families through the floods, through covid. >> reporter: the alas president says it's especially tough because so many farmworkers were already struggling daily to make ends meet. >> unfortunately, this is happening more and more.

when they are in such need already, it's even more important we step forward and do something. >> reporter: we're told more than 40 families have been displaced by the shooting. people like steve cortez stopped by to give what they can. >> it's a tragedy that's really close to home after all the things that have been happening in the bay area. >> reporter: in san jose the farmworkers caravan spent the day collecting donations of food, clothes and money they delivered to alas this afternoon hoping to do their small part to make this community whole again. >> through tragedy there are great people that come through. we're thankful for the people dropping off donations. >> reporter: all of those donations that are coming in are going out as fast as they can to those who saw some of that today, some people coming by getting some essentials and heading become to wherever they're staying now. alas says the most important

donation is cash so they can go out and buy what they need. >> it's been a difficult time not just here in the bay area but down in southern california as well. vice president kamala harris arriving now down in the l.a. area to talk with survivors and family members for those killed in the monterey park shooting. this is a live picture now of air force 2 touching down. this is the vice president, you see her there. she spoke with local and state officials including california attorney general. she layed flous to remember the victims in the shooting last weekend. someone killed 11 people there at that dance studio. nine others were injured. we spoke of how many mass shootings we've gone through. here is the vice president. >> can they do something? yes. should they do something? yes.

will they do something? that is where we all must speak up and speak to our elected representatives. >> again, vice president kamala harris in monterey park honoring the victims of that shooting which was last weekend. our coverage continues from half moon bay. coming up at 6:00, robert handa joins us after talking with family members of some of the victims here. >> he lost his job, his savings and his home. a san jose man says his life has been ruined because of long wait times at santa clara medical center, the same county hospital our investigative unit reported on last month where doctors say some patients are forced to wait months to be seen putting their health at risk. here is candice nguyen with the patient's point of view. >> reporter: for the first time we are hearing from a valley medical patient who says long wait times aren't just inconvenient but made him

homeless. he is sharing his story because he didn't believe he's the only one whose life has been turned around by these delays. >> i'm an aircraft mechanic. i work in the aerospace industry. i built mig 21s. i've worked on aircraft in every country in the world. i've worked on every type of aircraft you can think of. >> reporter: what does your job mean to you? >> everything. that's me. >> reporter: william says in june pain in his lower abdomen got so bad he started missing work two to three days a week. >> i just couldn't move. it was a throbbing pain, it makes you manic. it won't go away. >> reporter: he suffers from multiple hernias. >> the hardware has to be torqued. >> reporter: this record shows his general surgery referral from his primary doctor. >> he sends me to specialists and weeks go by. when i finally got to this

letter approved for the surgery, i was excited. and then i was told they didn't have a service provider and they haven't had one since april. >> reporter: and then what happened after that? >> call back in october. >> reporter: and when you called back in october? >> we'll call you in two weeks. >> reporter: what happened then? >> they scheduled me an apartment for november 1st but called back and switched to november 15th. >> reporter: during that consultation for hernia surgery he says the doctor told him he needed to lose weight before the procedure. >> that would have been great to know in august or june. >> reporter: he says he tried going to other hospitals but they wouldn't take his insurance. he has a vhp, valley health plan insurance, which is owned and operated by the county. when we reached out to the county and valley medical center about his case, they declined an interview. the hospital said insured patients have many other options

within their network and can seek care outside the system if the wait time is of concern. he says in his case that just isn't true. >> the insurance won't do it. my doctor even said good luck. he got on the phone called doctors and asked them, do you take this insurance? can you take this insurance? is there a way we can get to you take this insurance? no. >> reporter: when you call your insurance, vhp what did they say? >> nothing. >> reporter: he has dropped most of the weight he was told to lose and he's still waiting for the procedure. he was a contractor at his job and in october he says his employer didn't renew him. >> i can't get another job because i had to tell employers i'm injured and can't move 70 pounds. i've lost all my savings. i'm homeless. i'm forced to live with my brother now and his family. the doctor at valley medical center told me she does not approve disability for hernias. >> now doctors at valley medical

center -- >> reporter: he reached out after he saw our earlier reports on valley medical center doctors saying they are burned out and some of their patients, even children, have to wait a dangerously long time for appointments. >> i had a patient waiting months to be seen. >> i literally informs awe. you are talking about me. >> reporter: you felt you were the only one? >> it's horrible. you're alone. >> reporter: valley medical center said like all systems we experience imbalances in supply and demand from time to time and patients may occasionally need to wait longer than they would like for nonurgent care. they say their current median wait time for general surgery is around 40 days. but according to the center for consumer information and insurance oversight, the maximum wait time for a general surgery specialist should be 30 days. how long have you been waiting for your surgery?

>> almost six months, i think. >> reporter: what has this done to your life? >> it's ruined it. >> reporter: i asked valley medical center what they mean when they say these wait times are caused by imbalances in demand. they say it's covid related. a big factor they're seeing more patients on government sponsored health plans. medical enrollment increased the past two years and that 68,000 more enrollees. with the investigative unit, candice nguyen, nbc bay area news. >> candice, thank you. if you have a story give us a call 888-996-tips or visit our website nbcbayarea.com/investigations. the 49ers will fly to philadelphia on friday and on that team flight 49ers defensive end charles omenihu. omenihu is currently under investigation for domestic violence, the nfl releasing a

statement saying it's reviewing the incident between omenihu and his girlfriend and there is no change to his status. he was arrested on monday at his home in santana row. >> we're letting the legal process take care of itself. if healthy, he'll play this week. >> the last 24 hours, 48 hours, we feel very good letting the legal process take care of itself. don't feel we should kick him off the team at this time. >> omenihu is dealing with an oblique injury, that's what the coach meant if he's healthy he is expected to play and will be on the field sunday when they take on the eagles in the nfc championship game. >> reporter: you joined a gym on january 1st with the best of intentions but now it's time to call it quits. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll show you how to cancel a gym membership and protect yourself next. i'm chief meteorologist jeff

ranieri. high pressure is keeping that storm track to the north. i'll have an update on rain chances and how we're doing so far for the rainfall season after all that rain earlier this month. month. m

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when the new year begins there's a long line, people want to sign up for the gym. already many want to quit. >> it's not even february. there might be hoops to jump through, a lot of fine print in the paperwork. consumer investigator chris chmura shows us some savvy ways to cancel that gym membership. here he is. >> reporter: those new year's resolutions to join a gym, lose weight and get fit fade fast. >> by march something like 67% of gym memberships are going unused. >> reporter: julie ramhold at deal news says gyms make it easy to join in person, online, in their app. so what's it like canceling?

>> speaking from experience, it is not fun. >> reporter: consider one national fitness center chain, it lets you easily start a membership online t. lets you easily upgrade a membership online, but if you want to down grade or cancel you have to go in and do it in person or send them a letter. if you go in person, julie has a warning. >> be prepared to have to repeat yourself a lot. because odds are they will throw every tactic at you to try to get to you stay on. >> reporter: stand your ground. >> be polite but firm. >> reporter: when your firm politeness wins, get proof of your cancellation in writing. now if the gym tells you you have to pay a cancellation or breakup fee, how much should be outlined in the contract you signed in the beginning, which you read, right? either way, you can try to negotiate that fee. if you get a new number, get it in writing and then get a

receipt that shows you paid in full. side note, there should be no fee if you just signed up. >> in california you have five days, a five-day cooling off period, where you can quit and don't have any cost consequences. in other states it's three days and other states 15 days. >> reporter: kevin brasler says canceling a gym membership by mail is your best defense. a hassle, yes, but in your best interest. >> send it certified mail. it seems very old-fashioned, but that way you have a record of trying to quit. >> reporter: that $4 for certified mail should protect you in the case of, say, the gym continuing to bill you dues and claiming it had no idea you wanted to cancel. you can get that debt wiped clear. the rock stars of figure skating are in the bay area this week. the current figure skaters and then tara and johnny weir, look,

there they are, in town for the u.s. national championships, and they stopped by our studios to share on who to watch this weekend and how fans react when they see these two out in public. >> you have to watch this guy, a quad axle. i never thought i would ever see someone land it or land it as well as he does. he is going to change the face of men's figure skating. >> the women's side, she has a stunning quality like a hummingbird. she flutters around the ice. so breathless and beautiful. >> what's the response when you go to whole foods or wherever you shop? what's the response when people see you out and about? >> we talk about it all the time, it's our passion, it's our life, everything we've known since i was 3.

still, it's everything. we want people to love it, to have fun, to laugh, to educate them. that's what we're doing it for. >> when i saw them, i did that, too. >> it's so exciting. >> they are so cool. it is happening at the shark tank in san jose through the week. you can watch our live coverage and we will be joined by them again on our 7:00 newscast. we have to break it to jeff, they did the weather forecast. >> they're such great commentators. >> they were great. >> i would say stick to ice skating. >> we were with johnny weir in

torino, italy. >> such a great guy. >> he was having fun with your green screen. he didn't want to stop. >> great job, you two. give me back that green screen. as we head through tonight, also tomorrow, some beautiful weather shaping up for us here in the mix. then some changes this weekend. the beautiful golden gate bridge tonight. maybe you'll see johnny and tara out there tonight. 62 degrees right now and some calm winds. temperatures dropping off in the 50s through 7:00 and 8:00. have that jacket handy. we have seen winds in the mountains tonight. the best chance of any gusts would be in the north bay mountains. we'll start to see any wind starting to calm down especially through tomorrow afternoon. i think tomorrow is going to be shaping up even better for us

than it was today and today was beautiful. 39 here in the tri-valley. 40 in the south bay. a look here over the north bay, 40 degrees. a good start at 46. daytime highs staying very comfortable. that wind calms down. just really incredible compared to how we were just a week and a half ago with all that rain, those cloudy skies for weeks. 66 in san jose and morgan hill. over to the east bay at oakland at 66 as well. 65 in danville. over through the peninsula, 65 here in san mateo. from the marina and the north bay up to, yes, 70 in ukiah.

some of the best weather here tomorrow. now changes are going to be coming our way. the area of high pressure that is giving us this beautiful weather keeping that storm track off to the north will begin to fade as we roll through this weekend. what we'll be looking at here is the system dropping down from the north. this is a drier storm path moving over the land. they were coming in from the pacific. that's the key to all that moisture right there. again, this is a drier storm path. another cold blast of air. some spotty chances of rain sunday, snow for the sierra. totals on this right now, only trace amounts to about 0.2. nothing big sunday and monday morning. the sigh aeroa will get snow 2

to 4 inches. we're still doing okay because of the record setting rain. over 7 inches in santa rosa. 10.15 in san francisco. to the seven day, a chance of spotty rain and thunderstorms sunday into early monday. temperatures in the 50s and through the inland, 67 tomorrow to 52 on sunday. >> wow. >> carpe diem, seize the day. >> thanks, jeff. up next, after being banned on facebook for the past couple of years, president trump allowed to return to the platform.

former president trump is allowed on media platforms. meta will end the two-year ban and reinstate his account. meta said today, quote, the public should be able to here what politicians are saying so they can make informed choices. trump's account was suspended after the insurrection at the u.s. capitol. trump could be subject to heightened penalties for repeat offenses if his account is found to violate community guidelines again. pope francis is criticizing laws that criminalize homosexuality. the pope called laws against the

community unjust saying god loves all of his children and that being homosexual is not a crime. the pope acknowledged catholic bishops support laws that make it a crime or discriminate against the lgbq community and he, himself, has referred to it as sin. the pope attributed it to cultural backgrounds saying bishops need to welcome lgbtq people into the church. up next, a big day of practice for the 49ers. they are back on the field getting ready for the eagles. if they win sunday they are going t it's official, america. xfinity mobile is the fastest mobile service. and gives you unmatched savings with the best price for two lines of unlimited. only $30 a line per month. that means you could save hundreds a year over t-mobile, at&t and verizon. the fastest mobile service and major savings? can't argue with the facts.

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from santa clara to philly and maybe on to the super bowl in arizona. the niners will have their hands full. >> and the philly fans, they're a little tough. not very friendly to visitors. here is anthony flores from 49ers hq. >> reporter: the 49ers are in the nfc championship for the third time in the past four seasons. that big game experience should come in handy as they hit the road for the first time this postseason to philadelphia with a trip to the super bowl on the line. all-pro linebacker fred warner taking a moment to appreciate the 49ers being back in the conference title game for the second year in a row and just like last season it's on the road where the top-seeded eagles

will have home field advantage. their crowd is loud and rowdy. >> just like the past week, i expect if not more this week them being in their home stadium, home crowd they will be juiced up and ready to go. >> reporter: the 49ers won 12 in a row while the eagles finished with the best record during the regular season. phillies' defense ranked second behind the red and gold. on the other side of the ball jalen hurts is a strong candidate for league mvp. a game changer on the ground and can also make big plays through the air. >> we're expecting this quarterback to run it, to lower his shoulder so we have to treat him like a running back until he gives himself up. >> reporter: the niners say philly is a much better team now than they were back then and this time there's a lot more at stake. the winner moves on to arizona for super bowl lvii.

>> each next step that we take, i'm really confident in this squad. >> reporter: kickoff is sunday at noon. in santa clara, anthony flores, nbc bay area. >> are you going to watch with a big gathering? >> i love watch parties. you cheer together, you get sad together, you drink together. there's a lot of celebrating. it's fun. jessica aguirre joins us with what's up next at 6:00. it was supposed to be a 60-hour protest over fair housing. several housing activists taken into custody in a sit-in at last night's supervisor's meeting. cameras in the courtroom as the half moon bay shooting suspect faces a judge for the first time. what the top prosecutor is saying about the death penalty for the county's deadliest shooting in history. plus -- >> nobody ever expects it. it's always quiet.

it's devastating. >> we continue to learn more about the victims in half moon bay. we talk to the brother, to the family of two brothers shot, one still in the hospital. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thanks for joining us. i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. from shock to action. tributes and donations are pouring in for those victims in half moon bay. we're learning more tonight about who they are and their connection to the alleged shooter. >> the coroner released the names of six of the seven victims. 73-year-old zhishen liu from san francisco, 66-year-old qizhong cheng from half moon bay, 43-year-old yetao bing, 64-year-old aixiang zhang, marciano martinez jimenez and 74-year-old aixiang zhang.