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Hot Wheels: Here Are the Cars Thieves Like the Most

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Hondas were the most stolen vehicles across the United States last year, with Accords topping the list and Civics coming in second, according to the annual Hot Wheels report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Two full-sized pickup trucks, Fords and Chevrolets, came in third and fourth.

The tally identifies the 10 most stolen vehicles across the country. Honda Accords and Civics were also the most stolen the year before.

The number of thefts has fallen dramatically since the late 1990s, from a high of about 1.7 million to 700,000 today, most of them of older models, said Carol Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the organization. Better security, better policing and better tools for finding stolen vehicles have all contributed to the drop, she said.

Thieves are typically stripping the vehicles to pieces and selling the parts, she said. The demand for parts is likely driving the popularity of particular cars, she said.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau also identified the top 2014 models that were stolen last year. The Ford full-sized pickup headed that list.

The insurance group recommends installing an alarm on your vehicle, some sort of immobilizing device such as a kill switch or fuel cut-off and a tracking device. And of course, lock your car and take your keys.

Here are the 10 most stolen vehicles:


 



Photo Credit: AP
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Arrest in Case of Man Lit on Fire

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A 46-year-old woman angry over alleged infidelity has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting her boyfriend twice and then lighting him on fire, leaving his body to burn in the street over the weekend, police said.

Firefighters were called to 12th Street in Astoria shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday after getting a call about a fire and found the Shawn McWhorter, 43, ablaze. They put out the fire and McWhorter was pronounced dead at the scene.

A fingernail was found on his body.

McWhorter lived in the area, so detectives began to interview people he knew as part of their routine investigation, including his girlfriend, Dawn Mcintosh. Mcintosh told police she hadn't seen him that day, they had been supposed to meet but he stood her up, authorities say she told detectives.

While detectives were talking to Mcintosh, they noticed she was missing a fingernail, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Monday. Mcintosh was taken into custody for additional questioning, and admitted to killing her boyfriend, Boyce said. Boyce said Mcintosh told police she shot McWhorter twice in the torso, then got her son to try to help her move the body into a friend's car.

McWhorter was too heavy for McIntosh and her son, according to investigators, so they allegedly moved the body a bit and then lit it on fire. McIntosh told police she doused her boyfriend in lighter fluid and lit him aflame using a cigarette lighter. Boyce said Mcintosh accused her boyfriend of infidelity and treating her poorly; she also said he owed her money.

Boyce said authorities are looking for the gun Mcintosh allegedly used in the shooting.

Mcintosh's son , 21-year-old Donte Watkins, was arrested for allegedly helping his mother move the body. He was charged with tampering with physical evidence.

Mcintosh's daughter was also present when the body was moved, but she will not face charges because she did not assist in the crime, according to investigators. The friend who owns the car the mother and son allegedly tried to move the body into did not know it was happening, police said.

Information on attorneys for the suspects wasn't immediately available.



Photo Credit: NBC 4 New York

SCOTUS to Act on Kentucky Gay Marriage Fight

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The U.S. Supreme Court this week faces the first religious objection to reach the justices since the decision declaring a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, NBC News reported.

A county clerk in Kentucky is asking for relief from a lower court order directing her to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Her lawyers filed an emergency application directed to Justice Elena Kagan, who handles such requests from that part of the country.

Kim Davis, the clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, "holds an undisputed sincerely held religious belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, only," her lawyers say in their application.

The requirement to issue same-sex marriage licenses "demands that she either fall in line or leave office."



Photo Credit: CQ-Roll Call,Inc.

Driver in San Diego Pursuit Across Freeways Pulls Over

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The driver involved in a pursuit across multiple San Diego freeways has pulled over and is in custody, police said. 

The pursuit started at 12:40 p.m. Monday when police attempted to pull over the driver near Interstate 5 and the State Route 15 merge in Barrio Logan.

The driver sped off, heading northbound on State Route 15 and then got on Interstate 15. He later got on State Route 52, driving westbound. 

On SR-52, the driver, took the Clairemont Mesa Boulevard exit and drove through surface streets. 

The driver pulled over at Osler Street and Genesee Avenue in Linda Vista. He was taken into custody without incident. 

Officers are checking the area for several bags that were thrown from the car during the chase. 

No further information was immediately available. 

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story. 



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Thieves Smash Into Poway Rite Aid

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NBC 7's Elena Gomez reports from the Rite Aid on Poway Road where deputies were investigating the loss of an ATM.

Good Bye Chargers, Hello Jaguars?

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“Some men worship rank, some worship heroes, some worship power, some worship God, and over these ideals they dispute – but they all worship money.” (Mark Twain)

One of the truly great American writers perfectly summed up the National Football League without ever having known it would exist. The NFL’s quest for cash is seemingly never ending. Money is the reason the Chargers are looking at leaving San Diego for Los Angeles. In a strange twist of fate money may also be the reason America’s Finest City will not be without professional football for long.

Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to root for the San Diego Jaguars? Don’t laugh. It just might happen and if it does it will be because of the almighty dollar. A series of events over the last half-decade or so, including one very recent encounter, has laid the ground work for San Diego to lose one NFL team only to have it replaced by another one from north Florida.

Goodell: $25B by 2027

During a meeting of the NFL owners in 2010 National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell told his member 32 teams his goal was to increase league revenues to $25 billion a year by 2027. He’s stood by that in subsequent meetings. How, exactly, would they be able to meet the ambitious target of tripling revenue is just 17 years? The answer, my dear friends, is TV. Specifically: TV in Los Angeles. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

It comes as no coincidence that in 2010 AEG made its proposal to build Farmers Field in downtown L.A. The facility was supposed to open this August, by the way, until they realized they need someone to play in it. A Los Angeles Times report says AEG would have had to have two teams, one of them owned at least partially by AEG founder Philip Anschutz, to make building the stadium a financially viable endeavor.

Seeing as how the value of a franchise almost instantaneously doubles when it touches down in Los Angeles not many NFL owners are all that willing to sell a team before a move. So that dynamic effectively killed the Farmers Field project … but gave way to a new idea.

No owner wants to sell a team to someone who owns a brand new stadium in L.A., so what if there was an owner with enough financial clout and a sub-par stadium situation who could build his own place in the nation’s second-largest media market? Enter Stan Kroenke.

Battling for Belle of the Ball

According to Forbes the owner of the Rams is the third-wealthiest man in the NFL (behind Seahawks owner Paul Allen and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross) with a net worth of about $6.3 billion. He found a way to get a nearly $2 billion NFL facility built in Inglewood using private funds. Once that gauntlet was thrown down Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos, who feels the Los Angeles market defaulted to him when the Rams and Raiders left Southern California after the 1994 season, felt the need to defend his territory.

Without Kroenke’s financial clout the Spanos family reached out to the Raiders, another team in dire need of a new facility with a history in L.A., to accelerate their idea of putting a new and only slightly less expensive NFL stadium in Carson. Now we have three debutantes trying to be the Belle of the Ball in La La Land, a dynamic that has the National Football League giddy with excitement (even if they have to put on a straight face to hide it). All of that brings us back to television.

The league has TV contracts with NBC, CBS, Fox, ESPN and DirectTV that all run through 2022 and will pay the NFL a combined $6.5 billion to $7 billion annually. How much do you think everyone is going to ante up if Los Angeles and its reported 22 million people are in the mix, especially if they’re starting to become loyal fans of one team?

But the NFL being the NFL, it’s not happy with just adding L.A. Sure Southern California is the linchpin but why stop there when you can double down and fix Florida, too?

A Jaguar Move Helps Miami

Jacksonville has never worked as an NFL city. The Jaguars started off with a great run, reaching the playoffs four of their first five years and even advancing to a pair of AFC Championship games. But over the last 15 years they’ve only had three winning seasons and finished with at least 10 losses eight times. Attendance and, more importantly, interest are down. The Jags routinely have one of the five worst TV ratings of any NFL market. The problem with them is they’re dragging down another team’s ratings, too.

Somewhat surprisingly the Miami Dolphins have been struggling to get a decent TV rating in recent years. One of the reasons is a lack of success in the LeBron James Heat era. But another reason is they’re being blocked by the Jaguars on TV in a place where the Dolphins have a whole lot more fans.

Orlando, FL, has a vibrant and growing Cuban population. With their ties to Miami the vast majority of Cubanos are Dolphins supporters. The problem is they can’t watch Miami games in Orlando. Since that part of the state is closer to Jacksonville the Jaguars are the AFC team on the TV every week which makes the Cuban fans fairly upset. If the NFL could somehow get the Jags out of the Dolphins’ way it would open up even more revenue streams for local TV dollars, which brings us to what is shaping up to be the grand plan.

The NFL wants to have a team, possibly two, in L.A. ASAP. The Raiders have to go. They’ve had the worst TV ratings in the league for years and are just not interested in staying in Oakland any more. They could go join the Rams in Inglewood or build their place with the Chargers in Carson. So now it’s an issue of who has to stay home: the Rams or the Chargers?

The Logical Play

St. Louis and San Diego are both working feverishly to get stadium proposals to pass muster with the NFL. Remember, it’s the league office that is ultimately calling all the shots here. That’s why San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has been so diligent in meeting all the deadlines set forth by the league. That was made clear to me during the latest owners meetings near Chicago.

“What we have done through this process is be able to tell the NFL we can meet your time frame,” said Christopher Melvin, the hand-picked lead negotiator for Mayor Faulconer. “The whole acceleration of the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) was to meet the NFL’s time frame. That’s a very significant commitment by the elected officials to get that done.”

What if the Mayor’s office is doing all this to appease the NFL to get a stadium built, but not necessarily for the Chargers?

What if they get the feeling, or have even already been told, the Carson project is going to win the Los Angeles derby and the Bolts are bolting? Well then there’s only one logical reason to spend millions of dollars to keep pursuing a new stadium. They think someone else is going to fill it. To figure out whom that would be just do what the NFL always does: follow the money.

The logical play would be to let the Bolts and Raiders go to Carson and leave the Rams in St. Louis where Kroenke’s deep pockets and connections can help build a new facility, and then move the Jaguars to San Diego where Shahid Khan, the 4th-wealthiest owner in the NFL, can do the same to help get a new facility built.

Tony Manolatos from the Citizens Stadium Advisory Group (CSAG) says the proposal on the table is not exclusive to the Chargers and could be presented to any pro football team that’s interested. Khan bought the team in 2012 and has the motivation to get out of Jacksonville because his relationship with the local government there is every bit as stressed as the one between the San Diego city leaders and the Chargers. Khan is trying to get a $500 million development done through his company Iguana Investments, a mixed-use area full of office spaces, restaurants and a new training facility for the team. His proposal is a combination of public and private funds but it’s being held up by political opposition and an EIR (where have I heard that before?).

Goodell’s End Game

If San Diego, Oakland and St. Louis are the three worst stadium situations in the NFL then Jacksonville is just off the podium. The league, by moving the Jags to a new facility in San Diego, would fix all four situations in one bold, sweeping move. Plus the San Diego market is obviously a great place to hold the Super Bowl, the league’s marquis event, and contrary to popular opinion the TV ratings for the Chargers are in the top half of the league, on par with the Eagles and better than classic franchises like the Bears and 49ers.

Here’s the real kicker: Although it is as of yet unconfirmed a source familiar with the CSAG says someone close to the San Diego stadium situation has already had an informal meeting with representation from the Jacksonville Jaguars to discuss interest in a potential move here.

Now, the NFL has been playing its cards extremely close. Aside from a desire to move to L.A. we really don’t know what Goodell’s end game is. However, when you lay all the pieces in a row this scenario makes an awful lot of sense.

Plus the first time Khan tried to buy an NFL team was in 2010 when he put in a bid for the Rams but Kroenke, then just a minority stakeholder, used his option to match the bid and take control of the team. It only seems fair that Shahid gets to go to Southern California instead of Stan.

Search Resumes for Missing Swimmer

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The search resumed Monday morning for a young man last seen swimming along Sunset Cliffs in San Diego.

Brian Wilson, 23, was swimming with friends and family when he was last seen around 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

San Diego Lifeguards had skin divers, scuba divers and a helicopter searching for Wilson until 7 p.m. The search was suspended due to lack of visibility and rough water.

Just before midnight, the U.S. Coast Guard diverted a cutter from routine patrol to search the area.

As of dawn Monday, an MH-60 Jayhawk and a 45-foot boat began searching the area again for any sign of Wilson.

Check back for updates on this developing story. 



Photo Credit: Facebook, NBC 7

Pedestrian Killed at Pacific Beach Intersection

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A pedestrian was hit and killed at a Pacific Beach crosswalk Monday, San Diego Police said. 

At about 5:30 p.m., a man was driving his pickup north on Dawes Street when he made an illegal left hand turn onto west Grand Avenue, according to investigators.

A 72-year-old woman crossing Grand was hit by the pickup and suffered fatal head injuries.

Emergency crews rushed her to the hospital, but she died there.

Police said Dawes Street has a no-left hand turn sign that the driver ignored. It's unclear if he has been cited.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

7 Hours of Sleep Helps Prevent Colds, Study Finds

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If you're loading up on vitamin C and zinc to stave off the sniffles, you should try an earlier bedtime instead. People who regularly sleep six hours or less each night are four times more likely to get a cold than people who sleep just an hour longer, a new study finds.

Short sleep was more important than any other factor in predicting who would get sick after exposure to the cold virus, researchers told NBC News.

"It's almost alarming how strong the effects are," says Aric Prather, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco and lead author of the study, published Monday in the journal Sleep.

Sleep was more important than any other factor, including age, stress or income level, in predicting who would get sick after being exposure to the cold virus, the researchers say.



Photo Credit: Getty Images/Hero Images

Encinitas Mayor to Run for Dave Roberts' Board Seat

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 Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar has announced she will run for embattled Dave Roberts' Board of Supervisors seat representing the 3rd District. 

“I’ve been deeply involved in our community, and as an elected official over the last five years, and recognize the importance the Board of Supervisors plays in our region,” said Gaspar in a statement. “I made the decision to seek the 3rd District seat because I want to play a more active role in the important investments we need to make in our roads, infrastructure, and core county services. My experience in a private sector company and as an elected official has prepared me to work successfully with the group of Supervisors representing diverse districts.”

Gasper has served as president of the San Dieguito Water District Board and was elected to the Encinitas City Council in 2010. In 2014, she became the mayor of Encinitas. She is also the chief financial officer for Gaspar Doctors of Physical Therapy, a practice she runs with her husband. 

In the past, she has also been involved with the Encinitas Rotary as their president and the Encinitas Wastewater Authority Board as a chairwoman. She founded the North County Leadership Council and served on the board. 

Gaspar lives in Encinitas with her husband, Paul, and three children. 

"As a mother of young children, I want to work to make our community safe, healthy, and prosperous for our families,” Gaspar said in a statement. “I believe my experience as a small business owner, who understands the challenges of managing and growing a business; and my experience in local government will allow me to make a positive impact on the region."

In recent months, Roberts has been involved in some controversy. Three former Roberts’ staffers have filed claims against San Diego County claiming he misused county funds. In a separate claim filed against the county, Roberts’ former Chief of Staff Glynnis Vaughan alleges the supervisor’s office attempted to pay for a consultant through nefarious means.



Photo Credit: kristingasparformayor.com/

Convention Center Expansion Better on Bayfront: Study

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Expanding the existing San Diego Convention Center would bring more economic benefit to the city than building a separate facility down the street, according to a new study.

In its report released Aug. 28, Conventions, Sports & Leisure (CSL) weighed two options for a local convention center expansion: a “contiguous” option, which would add new space directly onto the existing waterfront center, and a “campus” option, which would build a new facility several blocks away.

The city of San Diego has been considering both options in an effort to retain events like Comic-Con and attract bigger ones.

CSL, a planning firm that consults on projects like convention centers, said its research shows more benefit would come from the contiguous option than the campus. On Monday, Mayor Kevin Faulconer said he supported that finding.

"The report showed very clearly that our best return on investment is to expand it right where it is, that there's a high demand for folks in the tourism industry that want to come to San Diego,” he said. “We keep great conventions here like Comic-Con, but probably the best thing is those are dollars that we use back for neighborhood services."

Those services, he said, include keeping libraries open for longer hours, paving roads and paying police officer and firefighters.

Faulconer said he will be meeting with stakeholders and city council members to create a financing plan that could go before voters.

"So we have the ability coming up in 2016 to put together a plan that has visitors pay for the expanded convention center and San Diegans get the benefit of that,” the mayor said.

Funds would come from a hike in hotel room taxes, with additional funding from the city and Port District, but the tax raise would have to be approved by two-thirds of San Diego voters.

For its economic impact analysis, CSL surveyed more than 200 current, past and future convention center customers to ask for their input on contiguous versus campus space.

More preferred the contiguous option. Large event planners did not consider two buildings separated by three or more blocks to be a “walkable campus alternative,” according to the report.

One benefit of a campus option, stakeholders said, would be the chance to build it in conjunction with a new Chargers stadium.

But Faulconer’s support of the contiguous expansion “means that the mayor doesn't want to do that,” said the Voice of San Diego’s Scott Lewis. “Finally, that's another nail in that coffin. And so that means that that idea, unless the mayor loses again, is pretty much off the table.”

The contiguous plan is being challenged by a lawsuit from attorney Cory Briggs, who believes adding to the existing convention center would illegally block San Diego’s Bayfront. Lewis said the lawsuit may take at least three years to be resolved.

The convention center expansion was approved by the California Coastal Commission in 2013.

Diver Hopes to Reunite Family With Lost Camera

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A San Diego diver is hoping the power of TV and social media can help him find the rightful owner of a camera he found on the ocean floor.

On Aug. 27, Mark Schulze spotted the small digital camera below the waves while diving about a half mile from La Jolla Shores.

When he got back to land, he and his wife discovered the orange Panasonic Lumix camera still worked and held dozens of memories on its SD card.

He recovered about 300 photos that date back to 2011. They show scenes from across Southern California and Yosemite, as do videos of children’s performances and outings.

“And they looked like such a happy, wonderful family. We were saying, ‘Gee, I mean, the camera, even if it was trashed, they’d still want those pictures,’” said Schulze.

So he posted his find on Facebook, hoping enough friends would share it that it would get back to the owner.

But Monday, he decided to cast a wider net by calling NBC 7.

“There's a shot of the sons, and he plays soccer, and it looks like they're all from San Diego,” said Schulze. “So we’re hoping that they'll identify this camera and their pictures obviously, and we’ll be able to get their memories back to them.”

If you know the owner, email NBC 7 by clicking here.
 

UN: Satellite Images Show Syria's Temple of Bel 'Destroyed'

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An ancient temple in Syria's Palmyra has been destroyed, a monitoring group with the United Nations said Monday after an explosion sparked speculation that ISIS had blown up the historic site, NBC News reported.

Witnesses told The Associated Press Monday that ISIS militants, who captured Palmyra in May, significantly damaged the 2,000 year old Temple of Bel by bombing it. And an ISIS operative, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the AP over Skype on Monday that militants had detonated explosives near the temple.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research said that satellite analysis confirmed that the main building at the temple has been demolished.



Photo Credit: AP

Georgia Cop, Homeowner Shot, Dog Killed After Police Respond to Wrong Home

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A metro Atlanta police officer was in critical condition after he, a homeowner and a dog were shot when police responded to a call at the wrong house, authorities said.

Officers responded to a call for a burglary in progress about 7:30 p.m. ET, but they went to the wrong address because the caller gave only a description of a "gray brick house" without a street number, Cedric Alexander, public safety director in DeKalb County, said.

The officer was wounded in the thigh and "lost a lot of blood," Alexander said. The homeowner's condition wasn't reported, but the dog was killed, he added.



Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Ex-UFC Fighter Sentenced to Jail Time

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A former UFC fighter will spend 30 days in jail and three years on probation after he tried to reach his estranged wife’s San Diego high-rise apartment by scaling the outside wall.

On Monday, a judge also ordered Christian Leben, 35, to complete a 52-week domestic violence course.

Leben, who went by “The Crippler” in his MMA career, pleaded guilty earlier this month to felony possession of an assault weapon, misdemeanor vandalism and misdemeanor violation of a temporary restraining order.

He said since the June 8 incident, he has turned his life around with a new job, a new girlfriend and an ESPN radio show.

But he did admit that in June, he tried to scale the wall outside his estranged wife Kaleena’s apartment in the 400-block of 10th Avenue at 4:30 in the morning.

When police arrived, they found a "loaded Ruger SR45 .45 caliber handgun" on Kaleena's bed immediately after the incident, according to a San Diego police report.

Kaleena then wrote in her request for a restraining order, made permanent by a judge, that her building's management alerted her to finding an assault rifle hidden in a maintenance closet a few floors from her apartment.

“[Leben] also brought to the property an AR-15, which is an illegal assault weapon,” said prosecutor Matthew Dix. “So it's a very scary incident for our victim and it's important for us to let people like him know that these kinds of things are going to be punished within our community.”

Dix, who argued for more time in custody, said Leben was wearing T-shirt with the words “Shoot First” when officers arrested him.

The MMA fighter has a history of problems with the law, but his attorney said it won’t happen again, in part, because Leben is no longer a professional fighter.

“When you're in that environment, you're in certain situations,” said defense attorney Michael Earle. “Guys like to think they're tougher than you are, and he ends up in that type of a boat. Where I think that days' passed him by and he's older and more mature. And with age comes wisdom."
 



Photo Credit: NBC7

Yahoo Chief Mayer Says She's Pregnant With Twins

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Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer says she's pregnant with identical twins.

Mayer says on a posting on her blog that she and her husband are expecting the twin girls in December.

"I have some exciting news to share - I'm pregnant!" she says on her Tumblr posting Monday night.

She says that she will take some limited time away but work during the pregnancy as she did with her son's birth three years ago.

Mayer says that she's informed Yahoo executives of her pregnancy.

Three years ago, Mayer announced she was pregnant with her son on her social networking accounts just a few hours after Yahoo hired her as its third full-time CEO in less than a year.



Photo Credit: AP

Thai PM: Prime Suspect in Bangkok Shrine Bombing Arrested

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Thailand's prime minister said Tuesday that authorities have arrested a man they believe is the main suspect in a bombing at a shrine in central Bangkok two weeks ago that killed 20 people.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the man is a foreigner and was arrested in eastern Thailand near the Cambodian border. He described him as the main person in the bombing but did not directly say he is suspected of actually planting the bomb.

It was not immediately known if the arrested man is the person who was seen in a security video wearing a yellow T-shirt and leaving a backpack at the shrine shortly before the blast there.



Photo Credit: Reuters

Celebration Set for Sweetwater Valley Little League

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A welcome home celebration for the Sweetwater Valley Little League team following their exciting World Series run is set for Tuesday evening in Bonita.

The event will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Sweetwater Valley Little League complex at 3321 Conduit Road.

The Eastlake and Bonita Vista high school cheer squads will be there to welcome the team, as will the San Diego Padres pod squad. The radio station 93.3 FM will also be on hand to host team-focused activities.

Pizzo’s also will be serving up pizzas and tacos.

The sixth and seventh graders from Bonita and Chula Vista had an impressive run in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The team was knocked out of contention in the semifinal round on Thursday in an extra innings thrill against Texas. They lost 9-7 in eight innings.



Photo Credit: AP

Day Care Workers Force-Fed Tots

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Two day care teachers on Long Island were arrested after investigators say they force-fed, pushed and slammed children onto the floor, according to authorities. 

Kathleen Culver, 33, of Southampton, and Sarah M. Dawber, 23, of Mastic Beach, were arrested Friday after an investigation into allegations of abuse at Side by Side Day Care in Southampton, police said. 

The women, who worked in the infant room at the day care, are accused of roughly handling children ranging in age from 4 months old to 18 months old. 

One 18-month-old child vomited from the alleged force-feeding, police said. No other injuries have been reported. 

A complaint filed with police led to an investigation by Southampton police, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, and Suffolk County Child Protective Services after a complaint was filed with the police department.  

Culver and Dawber were arrested by detectives during a visit to the day care Friday. 

The workers were processed and released on desk appearance tickets for misdemeanor child endangerment, police said. They're expected to appear in court at a later date. 

Messages were left with the day care. Attorney information for Culver and Dawber wasn't immediately available. 

Two mothers went to the day care Monday night to pack up their children's belongings. They said they do not plan to bring their children back to the center. 

"I'm not comfortable leaving my child in a place where something like this goes on," said Sharon Sweeney. "This says to me they're not caring about the quality of people they're hiring to take care of these children, whether or not they're special needs children. I'm not comfortable with what I'm hearing so I decided to come tonight to take my son's wheelchair in case they decide to close up and not tell the parents what's going on."

Sarah Chapman, whose son has been going to the day care for the past two years, said she's recently seen too many red flags, including stories from a former roommate and parent whose autistic son came home and said teachers there would hit him on the buttocks with a stuffed animal.

"Neither of us will be back," she said, adding that her own mother once worked there and left the day care, along with many other "good people who worked there," because of the low pay. 

"This is what you get for that," said Chapman. 



Photo Credit: Southampton Police

USS Ronald Reagan Departs for Japan

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Sailors aboard San Diego-based USS Reagan were on their way to Japan Monday as part of a three-ship swap.

Cathy Williams’ son was deploying with the aircraft carrier.

“I'm a little brokenhearted. He's going to be gone for three years so it's a little hard for me to say goodbye,” Williams said.

USS Reagan is just one of three carriers taking part in this swap.

USS George Washington left Japan destined for Virginia where it will undergo a nuclear power refueling.

Navy officials say nearly two-thirds of the crew from George Washington will return to Japan as members of the Ronald Reagan crew.

USS Reagan won’t return to California until early 2019.

One Navy wife said the long deployment is going to be very difficult, especially with small children.

“I'm feeling emotional,” said Sabrina Whitelow. “I'm sad for me but happy for him. He loves traveling so Japan was something he really wanted.”

USS Theodore Roosevelt is currently in the Middle East and will end its voyage in San Diego, its new home port.

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