California's roads and freeways have gotten so bad, the Legislature will be in special session next week to deal with the situation.

Gov. Brown has urged lawmakers to figure out how to cover billions of dollars’ worth of needed upgrades.

“Now is the time,” Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, (D) San Diego, declared at a downtown Los Angeles news conference Friday, surrounded by two dozen fellow lawmakers and local government officials.

“We have the responsibility to make sure we do our jobs in the Legislature along with the Governor to respond to our constituencies -- the cities, the counties, in every part of the state.”

During an intense three weeks of work in Sacramento starting Monday, State Senate and Assembly members will try to get past partisan divisions involving measures to raise $6 billion a year over the next ten years to upgrade California's eroding streets, bridges and freeways.

They say it'll take a combination of gas and diesel tax hikes, and user fees on electric cars and motorists who rack up the highest mileage.

"We'll tell you how many bridges we're going to get out of distressed conditions,” said State Transportation Secy. Brian Kelly. “We'll tell you how many miles of pavement we're going to fix. We'll tell you how many trade corridors are going to be improved. And we want to be held accountable to that."

Local residents interviewed Friday sounded skeptical about how far the money will go before it's time for another cycle of overhauls.

"It's probably like a Band-Aid,” said Erik Dickens, of Oceanside. “It's not enough -- it's never going to be enough. We'll always be a little bit behind."

Said downtown San Diego resident Dean Cauthey: “I think it'll take an unbelievable amount of money. I don't know where they're going to get it all. Hopefully, the federal government can help us too."

Mark Kersey, chairman of the San Diego City Council's infrastructure committee, told NBC 7 he appreciates Speaker Atkins call for immediate action on seeking funding for state transportation system upgrades.

However, he added, “Any plan adopted in Sacramento must include direct support for local street improvements as well.”
 

A Carlsbad doctor accused of sexually assaulting a patient after a surgery pleaded guilty to nine charges against him.

John McGuire, 44, was charged Friday with six felony counts and three misdemeanors, including sexual battery, sexual penetration by force and sexual exploitation by a physician.

The doctor, who is an ear, nose and throat specialist, is being held on a $3 million bail.

Following a surgical procedure, McGuire was tending to a patient at Temecula Valley Hospital when he committed “three different violations that involved a doctor having sexual contact with a patient,” said Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Jess Walsh.

Walsh did not detail how the allegations were brought against McGuire in July or the evidence sheriff’s officials say they have.

Though McGuire, a graduate of Georgetown Medical School, has a practice at Graybill Medical Group in Escondido, he also worked as a contractor at Temecula Valley. He also recently practiced in Fallbrook.

Graybill Medical Group said the alleged incident happened before McGuire worked for them.

The charges against him involve one alleged victim, but Walsh said there may be more. If you have information to share about McGuire, Walsh asked you call the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

"Anytime we have a physician who's doing things they're not supposed to do with a patient, we take them all very seriously,” he said.

Temecula Valley Hospital sent NBC 7 the following statement:

"The allegations being made were not reported to Temecula Valley Hospital at the time of the alleged incident. However, we intend to cooperate fully with the Sheriff's Department in their investigation of this matter. Dr. McGuire was never an employee of Temecula Valley Hospital. He resigned from the medical staff in June and is no longer treating patients at the hospital."
 

Mother and daughter veterinarians killed instantly in a head-on accident last week are being remembered as kind and compassionate and willing to help anyone.

Diane Defenbaugh, 61, and her daughter Kate, 29, died after the driver of GMC Yukon lost control and drove across State Route 125 on Aug. 13. The pair was on the way to SeaWorld to celebrate Kate’s birthday.

Friends and family held a memorial Friday at St. Patrick’s Church in North Park in their honor.

“We were blessed to have the time that we spent with them, and we're always going to remember them in the best way possible,” said Diane’s brother-in-law Mark Malartsik. “One of the slogans Diane had was, ‘Ride the wave, feel the rush,’ and that's how she kind of embraced life.”

Malartsik said Diane moved to San Diego from Illinois 37 years ago to become a veterinarian. She worked at VCA Angel Animal Hospital in North Park.

Kate followed in her mother’s footsteps and was a veterinarian at Banfield Pet Hospital in Chula Vista.

Malartsik said Diane Defenbaugh was always caring, always the one who remembered birthdays and anniversaries. He said her parents were both legally blind, and she was a matriarch of sorts for her three siblings.

Malartsik, his wife and three daughters had recently paid a visit to San Diego in July.

“I remember when I was leaving. I gave her a hug and said goodbye. I just said thanks for all you do for my family. That's who she was. She just always took care of everybody,” he said.

The family plans to bury the two in Illinois, near Diane’s parents.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made to Canine Companions for Independence.

San Diego police have charged a fourth suspect with murder in the 2011 shooting death of a man in Swan Canyon.

On Friday, detectives brought the new charge against 24-year-old Lamont Holman, of San Diego, who was already in custody for an unrelated incident.

Police say Holman, 25-year-old Dionte Simpson, 28-year-old Jennifer Whitmer and 25-year-old Callie Beasley are responsible for the death of 28-year-old Cordell King.

On April 17, 2011, King was standing near a sidewalk in the 4600 block of Thorn Street when a vehicle with four people inside stopped beside him.

Gunshots erupted from the car, and King was struck several times in the torso.

Police say the driver started to leave the scene but decided to turn back. One of the suspects then got out of the car, fired more shots at King's body and took off.

SDPD officers found King dead at the scene and have been working his case for four years.

In recent months, SDPD homicide, gang and criminal intelligence detectives received new information that identified the four suspects.

All are now in police custody. If you have any more information about King's death, call the SDPD homicide unit or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

The Dow fell more than 500 points Friday, plunging for a second straight day and hitting a 10 percent decline from its all-time high — the definition of a market correction. 

Investors continue to worry that a stalled Chinese economy could hammer companies and countries around the world.

Apple — which relies heavily on Chinese demand — fell more than six percent. 

"Right now there is a feeling of fear in the marketplace, and all news is interpreted negatively and it's interpreted indiscriminately," Tom Digenan, head of U.S. equities at UBS Global Asset Management, told CNBC.

Thousands of San Diegans will hop on their bicycles Sunday for a ride with one seriously amazing view as part of the 8th annual Bike the Bay event.

Organizers expect around 3,500 bicyclists to take part in the ride that includes the rare chance to safely pedal over the Coronado Bridge, including families, kids and even puppies in baskets.

In all, the flat route along the “Bayshore Bikeway” is 25 miles and takes bicyclists through five neighborhoods: San Diego, Coronado, National City, Imperial Beach and Chula Vista. It begins and ends at Embarcadero Marina Park South near Harbor Drive and Park Boulevard.

The casual pace ride – meant for riders of all levels – includes those breathtaking waterfront views for which San Diego is famous.

The event is hosted by The San Diego County Bike Coalition, a local non-profit that advocates for and protects the rides of all people who ride bicycles and promotes bicycling as a fun, efficient alternative to driving cars. The organization believes San Diego should be the premier bicycling destination nationwide.

Bike to Bay participants can register for the ride on The San Diego County Bike Coalition’s website. Cyclists will be broken down into two groups, with one group starting the ride at 7 a.m. and the second group following at 8 a.m.

Post-ride festivities begin at 9 a.m., including a Bike the Bay party with food trucks, beer gardens and entertainment at Embarcadero Marina Park South.

Organizers say most riders will complete the ride by 11 a.m., leaving lots of time to mix and mingle by the waterfront.
 

The Sweetwater Valley Little League team tied a Little League World Series record for homeruns scored in one inning Friday.

The West Regional Champs from Bonita, California faced the Great Lakes Regional Champs from Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Dante Schmid, 13, was the first to get on the scoreboard with a three-run homer in the second inning.

“Felt amazing just to get that hit,” Schmid said in a post-game interview.

The third inning scoring drive began with Antonio Andrade and then Nate Nankil sent one over the wall. Then, Nick Maldonaldo scored a Grand Slam.

That was followed by a homer from Levi Mendez and a homer from Walker Lannom.

Lannom had some interesting thoughts on the team's explosive offense.

“When they give you a fat cookie and they put it right there, all you’re going to do it hit it over,” he said after the game.

When Kentucky got a chance to score again, it was 14-0 in the 4th inning. They answered with a homerun of their own from Carson Kelley.

The final score was 14-2.

Defensively, Schmid also struck out seven of the first nine batters he faced from the mound. He'll be elligible to pitch again Tuesday.

Fans in Bonita were thrilled to watch the boys on national television. Dozens of people wore their new West gear at La Finca De Adobe.

John Fleming, father of player Preston Fleming said the team was a bit disappointed in the rain delay Thursday. However, the extra day gave the team the time to relax and take it all in, he said.

A trustee of the San Ysidro School District has resigned, officials confirmed Friday.

Jose F. Barajas has decided to step down for personal reasons, according to Board President Antonio Martinez.

Martinez said the board will discuss next steps at its meeting August 27.

"We are committed to making decisions that are based on the best interests of our students,” Martinez said.

Earlier this year two San Ysidro School District administrators were placed on paid leave after a review found the district was not meeting requirements on how they spend federal funds.

New El Nino predictions are showing a stronger system than previously predicted.

Ocean temperature patterns are showing a good chance for El Nino but it seemed that way last year, too, said Dan Rudnick from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

“It kind of fizzled out,” Rudnick said. “But locally, it was quite strong and we had very warm temperatures. Some of the warmest we’ve ever seen.”

According to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, a combination of things like air and ocean temperatures, the lack of rainfall and the odd summer rainfall are part of what they study to determine an El Nino year.

Their latest report adds the weather patterns for July and they say it shows a greater chance of an El Nino. But, if it is an El Nino this winter, that doesn’t mean we’ll see the rainfall like we experienced in 1997 and 1998.

New research released Thursday suggests sea surface temperatures along the Pacific coast are running 2 to 5 degrees above normal.

El Nino years have produced a range of 4 to 22 inches in San Diego. However, only strong El Nino conditions will bring above normal precipitation for southern California.

With the state missing 1.5 to 2.5 seasons of precipitation, our region would would need 24 to 45 inches to be “normal” by this time next year, researchers say.
 

A Maryland man was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting a fellow U.S. Marine while the woman slept.

Pedro Javier Orellana, 24, was serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and based at Camp Pendleton north of San Diego at the time of the attack.

It took jurors just one day of deliberation to convict Orellana.

He admitted to investigators he didn’t really know the woman and had only seen her in passing a few times.

However, on Nov. 2, 2014, Orellana took advantage of the active-duty Marine who was “too drunk to know what was going on” as he explained to Navy investigators.

He entered the Marine’s apartment without knocking, found her in a bedroom where she was sleeping and sexually assaulted her.

Orellana told NCIS investigators had received training through USMC regarding sexual assault prevention.

Orellana, who is no longer a U.S. Marine, will be sentenced in November on one count of sexual abuse of an incapacitated victim.
 

San Diego County's District Attorney said Friday she will fight the release of surveillance video showing the fatal shooting of a mentally ill man in the Midway District.

San Diego Police Officer Neal Browder shot Fridoon Nehad in an alley, in April. SDPD officials say Browder, a 27-year veteran of the SDPD, failed to turn on his body camera issued by the department.

KECO, a nearby business, had a surveillance camera that recorded the shooting. An employee who viewed the video described it as "shocking." The police department refuses to release that video.

In response, five local media outlets this week asked a federal judge to make the video public.

But DA Bonnie Dumanis, whose office is reviewing the shooting, said a release of that video could lead to a "rush to judgment" against the police officer and compromise the DA's investigation. Dumanis gave her statement to the San Diego Union Tribune in response to a story the paper published Friday about media efforts to release the video.

See her complete statement below:

An editorial (“Video of shooting must be released,” Aug. 20) calling for the release of a video of a fatal police shooting in the Midway District is understandable. Anytime an officer fires his or her weapon, the public has a right to know if any laws were broken.

Law enforcement in San Diego County works to be as transparent as possible, especially at a time when police officers are under more scrutiny than ever.

The problem is that releasing video during an ongoing investigation that is just one piece of evidence, without important context, can create an incomplete and often incorrect narrative. This video is one part of the story, yes, but it’s not the whole story.

The district attorney’s review of this shooting is ongoing. In any case reviewed by our office, should criminal charges eventually be filed, the release of the video could lead to a rush to judgment, taint a potential jury pool and ultimately jeopardize a defendant’s due process rights.

The media is calling for the video to be released so it can be evaluated by the public. Using that logic, why not release all of the evidence related to this incident and let the public decide if any laws were broken, instead of having a potential trial?
Because that’s not how we do it in this country.

People are entitled to a fair trial and the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law – not the court of public opinion. We don’t try our cases in the media and we don’t take a public poll to decide whether to file charges. We base our decisions on facts, evidence and the law.

Are there some cops out there who make bad choices? Yes.

Should those who break the law be held accountable? Of course.

This is not a case of law enforcement circling the wagons. It’s an example of upholding ethical and legal duties to pursue truth, justice and protection of the innocent through the professional prosecution of those who violate the law.

The law is clear when it comes to what should be released to the public.

The California Public Records Act recognizes the need to protect records compiled during an investigation, including video evidence, to protect the integrity of the investigative process.
There is also an ethical duty not to release this kind of evidence.

Under California State Bar ethics rules, if the video was released by law enforcement or the DA’s office and the officer was ultimately charged with a crime, we could be accused of prosecutorial misconduct because of improper pretrial publicity.

Jurisdictions bowing to public or media pressure to release video evidence set a dangerous precedent.

There’s no doubt that a proliferation of video evidence – whether it be from body-worn cameras, personal cell phones, municipal closed circuit, or private surveillance – continues to increase as technology advances.

However, the media and the public need to understand that while technology may have changed, the United States Constitution has not.

Bonnie Dumanis
San Diego County District Attorney

The family of Fridoon Rawshan Nehad has filed a $20 million claim. After that claim was rejected, Nehad's parents filed a lawsuit in federal court. According to the City of San Diego's response to a legal complaint, Nehad was holding a pen that the officer mistook for a knife before firing his weapon.

North and South Korean officials were set to meet on Saturday, the South said, raising hopes for an end to the standoff that put both sides on the brink of outright war, NBC News and Reuters reported.

The meeting — scheduled for half-an-hour after North Korea's ultimatum demanding that the South halt its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border or face military action — will be held in Panmunjom village, a neutral zone on their tense border. Kim Kyu Hyun, deputy director of national security for South Korea's presidential office, made the announcement of the meeting on South Korean television.

South Korea's national security adviser and unification minister will meet with Hwang Pyong-so, the top military aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and an senior official who handles inter-Korean affairs at 6 p.m. Seoul time (5.00 a.m. ET), South Korean officials said.

Actress Ellen Page engaged in an extensive, six-minute back-and-forth with Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz at the Iowa State Fair on Friday over the potential impact of religious freedom legislation on the LGBT community.

The actress addressed Cruz as he stood behind a grill with a pork chop in hand, a tradition for presidential candidates at the fair.

Page pushed back against what she said is an interpretation of religious liberty that other generations used to defend discrimination.

"In the past during the segregation era or when women were trying to get the right to vote, religious liberty was often used to defend and justify that discrimination," Page said.

Cruz responded: "If you look at the history of defeating slavery, if you look at the history of defeating Jim Crow, it was leaders of the church that played critical roles," Cruz said. "Reverend Martin Luther King stood up against — you know, you read the letter from the Birmingham jail, where he calls upon the conscience of Christians to stand up."

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President Barack Obama has spoken to the three Americans who tackled a gunman aboard a train from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday, preventing what could have been a massacre.

Airman First Class Spencer Stone, Oregon National Guard Specialist Alek Skarlatos and college senior Anthony Sadler, all friends from childhood, were traveling on the high-speed train when they heard a gunshot and glass shattering. The three are all California natives: Stone and Skarlatos are from Sacramento, while Sadler is from Rancho Cordova.

"I saw a guy entering the train with an AK-47 and a handgun, and I just looked over to Spencer and said, 'Let's go, go!'" Skarlatos said.

The three, along with a British man, Chris Norman, rushed the alleged attacker, who was identified by a french official as Ayoub El-Khazzani. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Spanish authorities had advised French intelligence about the 26-year-old because he belongs to the "radical Islamist movement."

Two people, including Stone, were seriously injured with non-life-threatening injuries. A third received minor injuries. Officials told NBC News that Stone underwent successful hand operation, and along with the other Americans, will be hosted by French President Francois Hollande for a meeting Monday.

Stone was seen Saturday leaving the hospital in Lille where he was treated.

President Obama called the Americans on Saturday to commend the men for their courage, Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz confirmed.

"The President expressed his gratitude to these three individuals for their heroic actions forestalling an even greater tragedy. The President wished Airman Stone a full and speedy recovery, and expressed how proud all Americans are of their extraordinary bravery," Schultz said.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said in a statement: “I want to thank the brave individuals, including two members of the U.S. military, who stepped forward to prevent an even greater tragedy from taking place aboard that train."

Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email account for conducting State Department business followed both federal rules in place at the time and the practice of some of her predecessors, her lawyer says.

The explanation, from Washington, D.C. lawyer David Kendall, comes in a letter sent late Friday to the State Department's undersecretary for management, obtained by NBC News.

"Secretary Clinton's use of personal e-mail was consistent with the practice of other Secretaries of State and was permissible under State Department policy in place during her tenure," Kendall writes.

Though styled as a letter to the State Department, it amounts to a response to a comment Thursday from a federal judge during a hearing over a lawsuit to obtain government records.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a new list Friday evening of pilot, air traffic and citizen reports of drone encounters with aircraft across the U.S., and San Diego landed on the list with its own fair share of incidents.

The reports on the FAA’s list span from Nov. 13, 2014, to Aug. 20, 2015.

The list shows 17 aircraft-drone encounters reported in San Diego – the most recent reported on July 25. The list shows two more reported earlier in July, and then several throughout the months of February and June of this year. The FAA’s survey also shows 56 close aircraft-drone encounters in Los Angeles.

The FAA said that because reports of the unmanned aircraft have increased dramatically over the past year, the agency “wants to send a clear message that operating drones around airplanes and helicopters is dangerous and illegal.”

Unauthorized operators of drones could face criminal charges, stiff fines and even jail time, the FAA said.

Currently, drones like radio-controlled aircraft are restricted to an altitude of 400-feet, unless otherwise certified by the FAA.

San Diego-based drone manufacturer Terry Tower told NBC 7 the reported aircraft-drone incidents are extremely worrisome, not to mention dangerous.

“That’s – that’s, that’s scary,” Tower said.

The drone manufacturer doesn’t have a stammer – he’s just at a loss for words looking at the FAA list.

He told NBC 7 he was particularly astonished to see one reported encounter over San Diego last February in which a drone was spotted flying within 100 feet of an airplane.

“Neither one of them would have been able to take evasive action,” he said. “This one was saying that it was around 2,000 feet while they were on final. A jet can’t maneuver – pretty much – on final.”

Some of the local drone sightings were observed at more than 2,700 feet.

This, too, is concerning for head technician Anthony Michael Stephens of the San Diego-based drone service and repair business, EZ Drone.

“If a bird can take out an airplane, any of these things with carbon fiber, hardened plastics, metal can definitely take out a turbine,” Stephens told NBC 7.

Stephens said drones are safer equipped with geo-fence technology, which limits a drone’s range.

Some legislators want to require geo-fence installed in all drones by this fall. The software, however, can easily be disabled and is not foolproof.

“A drone doesn't have any sort of collision avoidance. It depends on an operator to know what is ahead of it and in front of it,” Tower explained.

Unmanned aircraft operation requires a safety-conscious operator. These FAA statistics, however, may indicate common sense has not yet caught up with technology.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, lawmakers in Sacramento discussed a proposal to ban drones near emergency situations like wildfires following multiple incidents around California where aircraft had to be grounded during firefighting efforts because drones were spotted in the airspace.

If that law passes, it could mean fines of up to $1,000 and possible jail time for anyone who interferes with first responders. The law would not affect public places where there is no emergency, however.

Earlier this month, a Carlsbad man spent one night in jail for allegedly damaging a drone that he felt was flying too close to a San Diego County beach filled with people. Though initially charged with vandalism, the charges were dropped against the man in just one of the latest battles over when and where drones should be allowed to fly.
 

A connector from Interstate 805 to State Route 54 was closed after a tractor-trailor crashed into a pickup truck, causing a chain reaction collision, officials said. 

A Sig Alert was issued for the area in Chula Vista around 1:30 p.m., California Highway Patrol officials said. All lanes reopened to traffic around 5:30 p.m. 

CHP Sgt. Rick Rodriguez said the driver of the pickup truck suffered serious injuries, including lacerations to his face. His injuries are non-life threatening. Another person hit as a part of the chain reaction and suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries. 

"We’re just happy at this point everyone is alive," Rodriguez said. 

There was no word on what exactly caused the crash, though Rodriguez said their initial investigation showed the truck may have seen slowing traffic and been unable to stop in time. 

A young member of a notorious street gang was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Southern California as tried to illegally enter the country, officials confirmed.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Gustavo Enamorado Mendoza, 21, was stopped by agents early Thursday morning as he illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border about 12 miles west of the Calexico Port of Entry.

Agents took Mendoza to the El Centro Border Patrol station for processing. There, while digging into his background, agents discovered he was a member of the criminal street gang, “Mara Salvatrucha,” commonly known as MS-13.

The suspect, a Honduran national, was taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol officials and will be charged for illegal entry into the U.S., officials said.
 

Some hunters are worried about the outcry over the killing of Cecil, a popular lion in Zimbabwe, that may be hurting the sport's image in the U.S.

"In my opinion, he's doing more harm to public opinion on hunting than any anti-hunter could ever do," said Mark Duda, executive director of the public opinion research firm Responsive Management, referring to the Minnesota dentist who shot Cecil with a crossbow after guides allegedly lured lion out of a national park. "And it's too bad because it hurts … ethical, legal hunters who contribute to conservation and care deeply about wildlife."

Not all hunters think the Cecil controversy had damaged the domestic sport. However, none defended the way the lion at Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park was reportedly killed, according to NBC News.

Chula Vista’s Southwestern College is looking to sell off more than 330 surplus items through a public auction over the next couple of weeks.

The college’s annual surplus auction includes various transport and maintenance vehicles, exercise equipment – from free weights and benches to stationary bikes – computers, printers, office appliances and electronics, including projectors. The auction even includes a chance to bid on a first aid doll, so the merchandise lineup does vary.

All auction items were at one point used by the college, but have since been retired or replaced, organizers said.

The online auction, which can be accessed here, begins closing at exactly 10:37 a.m. on Sept. 1. After it closes on the first item, the auction will then close at a rate of five items per minute through the last item on the list.

The college will host an onsite viewing of the items on Aug. 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Southwestern College warehouse in building 1100 so bidders can inspect the items they are interested in purchasing in person. The campus is located at 900 Otay Lakes Rd.

Bidders who win an auction item can pick up their item at the campus from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on either Sept. 2 or Sept. 3.