There are several City Council meetings this week dealing with the coming El Niño.

David Alvarez said he wants to call a state of emergency in anticipation of the El Nino storms, and on Monday the City Council,  the San Diego City Council will take up a resolution in anticipation of the coming strong storms.

Alvarez told the council at the beginning of the month the city needs to know there are certain channels that need work to prevent flooding and other damages that the storms could bring. Storms earlier in the month gave the city an idea of what to expect this winter.

Alvarez, the Committee of the Environment Chair, wants to act now to prevent flooding.

At last month's meeting, the Committee directed the City Attorney to draft a local state of emergency and to have the Council request the Governor to also declare a state of emergency.

Clogged storm drains, roadways flooding and downed trees are just a few of the things Alvarez wants to be ready for in the coming months.

Each Councilmember has submitted areas of concern within their districts, and the Transportation and Storm Water Department will include areas susceptible to flooding in the department's efforts to perform preventative and possibly emergency maintenance to prevent flooding conditions.

On Tuesday, Heartland Fire will hold a briefing about El Niño at Fire Station 11 in La Mesa, and a community forum is set at the Tijuana Estuary the same day where south bay residents can talk to officials about what to expect.

Sixteen weapons are missing after a break-in at a military armory in Worcester, Massachusetts, the FBI confirms.

A source close to the investigation tells necn that six M4 rifles and 10 pistols were taken.

The FBI said there is no indication that the break-in at the Lincoln Stoddard U.S. Army Reserve Center had any ties to terrorism. The agency is working with state and local police to recover what was taken and to determine how the weapons were stolen.

Additionally, the missing weapons have been listed in the NCIC database.

Authorities say the break-in happened sometime between 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 a.m. Sunday, Worcester City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said in a press release issued Monday. Worcester Police and Fire responded to a call at 8:39 a.m. Sunday from an employee reporting smoke and signs of a break-in.

Augustus said an unidentified male subject is wanted in connection with the theft, and Worcester Police are working with federal and state law enforcement agencies in the investigation. 

Though there is no indication that hte crime is linked to any specific threat, Worcester Police have an additional police presence in several locations around the city as a precaution.

Anyone with information about the incident can send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD, go to worcesterma.gov/police or call 508-799-8651.

The cast of 'Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ helped light the Grinch Christmas Tree in front of the Old Globe Theatre Sunday evening.

The official beginning of the holidays for many San Diegans, it was the tenth annual tree lighting for the play. The actress playing Cindy-Lou Who flipped the switch on the distinctively Dr. Seuss tree. After the tree was lit snow began to fall on the crowd.

Hundreds gathered on what turned out to be a rainy and windy evening in Balboa Park. The tree lighting included a special live performance by the cast dancing and singing Christmas carols and of course the Grinch himself grumbling about holiday cheer.

The Grinch started its run on November 7 and will continue until the day after Christmas.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley declared in a statement Sunday night he will not allow Syrian refugees to enter his state under Washington’s refugee assistance rules following the Paris attacks, NBC News reported.

"I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm's way," he said.

Bentley didn’t indicate how he planned to stop Syrian refugees from entering Alabama. One of the State Department’s refugee processing centers is in Mobile.

His statements come after Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security advisor, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” the attacks wouldn’t change the country’s policy on relocating refugees from war-torn Syria.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder also said his state will stop efforts to accept Syrian refugees.

A Taylor Swift fan who allegedly jumped a fence and rushed on stage during the pop star's concert at Petco Park in August will return to court Monday.

Christian Ewing, 26, appeared in a San Diego court in September, pleading not guilty to two felony charges, a misdemeanor and a municipal code violation.

He will now face a mental competency hearing.

“When asked why he went on stage, he said, ‘I love that girl,’ referring to Ms. Swift,” Deputy District Attorney Jessica Coto said in court in September.

Prosecutors said when a security guard told him he couldn't be in the stage area, Ewing escaped and ran onto the stage. Guards eventually dragged him away.
 

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said the United States has to lead the global fight against ISIS, but can’t and shouldn’t do it alone, NBC News reported.

During a campaign stop on Sunday, she stressed the fight against “radical jihadism” is a top priority.

With former President Bill Clinton at her side, she clarified remarks she made during the second Democratic debate, in which she said “it cannot be an American fight” and that she didn’t think the U.S. had the “bulk of the responsibility.”

Kentucky State Police are investigating after the body of a 7-year-old girl was discovered in a creek 25 minutes after she was reported missing, NBC News reported.

Gabriella Doolin disappeared while watching a peewee football game with her mom at a high school 66 miles north of Nashville, police said.

The girl’s body was found in a creek in a wooded areas behind the school at 8:05 p.m. Her mother reported her missing at 7:40 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Kentucky State Police.

Her death is being handled as a homicide, NBC News reported.  

One of the suicide bombers at a packed sports stadium in Paris on Friday entered Europe on a boat with migrants, according to Greek officials, NBC News reported.

The man, who was carrying a Syrian passport, gave his name as Ahmad Almohammad to officials when he landed on the Greek island of Leros in October. French justice minister Christiane Taubira told NBC News the passport was likely not genuine.

Fingerprints taken by Greek authorities match one of the three attackers who blew themselves up outside the stadium during a soccer match on Friday, according to NBC News.

Another of the seven dead attackers was identified as Sami Amimour, 28, a French native known to anti-terror police, was among the attackers at the Bataclan concert hall.

On Monday, French officials said the attacks were masterminded by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian with known terror connections, NBC News reported.
 

The tragedy in Paris is hitting close to home for one Massachusetts father, whose son has been identified as one of hundreds wounded in Friday's devastating and deadly attacks.

Yann Meersseman, of Martha's Vineyard, said one of his son lives in Paris and was shot Friday when seven terrorists carried out a string of coordinated attacks throughout France's capital city, killing 129 and injuring 352.

Thirty-four-year-old Arnaud Meersseman had left the Bataclan music venue, where a California-based rock band was performing, before it came under siege. His father said Arnaud Meersseman works for the production company that set up the concert, where officials have said 89 people were killed.

"Once the concert was on its way, he actually left the concert hall and went to a cafe close by," his father said.

But the cafe, too, was targeted. Arnaud Meersseman was shot when gunmen opened fire there and is now at a Paris hospital, according to his father.

"A bullet basically went through his chest, went in under the right arm, went out the other way and shattered the two ribs, punctured a lung," Yann Meersseman told necn.

He said he realized something was wrong when another son called him Friday with a frantic message.

"Something bad is going on, I know Arnaud is at the concert hall, we've been trying to call him on the cellphone, he's not answering," Yann Meersseman recalled.

It would take hours for family members to find out where Arnaud Meersseman was taken and how bad his condition would be.

"He's still heavily sedated," his father explained.

Arnaud Meersseman is expected to make a full recovery, as no vital organs were hit, according to his father, who will join other family members in Paris later this week.

Students at the University of Connecticut are planning a demonstration after someone scrawled "killed Paris" on the nametag hanging outside a Muslim student's dorm room in Storrs.

Mahmoud Hashem, a junior civil engineering student, said the message was discovered on Saturday, the day after seven terrorists unleashed a series of attacks on Paris, leaving 129 dead and wounding 352 others.

Hashem said he has been overwhelmed with support since people found out about the note. A rally is set for noon on Monday outside the Wilbur Cross Building on campus.

"To find people like who hate discrimination and help other people... it’s a good thing in my opinion," said Hashem.

Hashem said he met on Sunday with the school's dean and other residents of his dorm, Nathan Hale Inn, and he hopes whoever wrote the message will learn to reserve judgment and have the opportunity to continue studying at UConn.

Students are pushing the administration to do more than just talk about racial issues and try to find solutions. They said they want to prevent racism and racial profiling altogether, especially following the massacre in Paris, for which ISIS has claimed responsibility.

"We want to make sure that everybody is feeling safe. They have the love and support that they need," said UConn junior Ahmed Ouda.

Students said they hope the demonstration paves the way for more diversity on campus and tolerance training for students.

"It actually affected a lot of people too, because it’s just wrong to do," said UConn freshman Kylie Sheahan.

UConn president Susan Herbst sent a message to the UConn community on Monday morning, asking students, faculty and staff members to attend the demonstration on Monday.

"The event was organized by our students after a fellow UConn student had a cruel and hurtful message anonymously directed at him because he is Muslim. This has no place at UConn; we are a better university than that – and I believe a better nation than that," Herbst said. "The true character of our university is thoughtful, welcoming, and caring – and has no patience for bigotry." 

Lakers fans were on their feet Sunday night for three American heroes honored for foiling a terrorist attack on a train in Paris in August.

Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, all friends since childhood, made an appearance at Staples Center during Sunday's Laker game against the Detroit Pistons.

The crowd went wild for the three who stopped a suspected terrorist from carrying out an attack on a train headed from Amsterdam to Paris on Aug. 21. Spencer Stone was stabbed while he fought off the man who was armed with an AK-47.

"It was super obvious what he planned to do, so there wasn't a lot of thinking," Stone said. "I just got up and went, and we fought. Alek and Anthony helped me subdue him."

The celebration was preceded by a dark moment of silence before the game to honor those lost during Friday’s terror attacks in Paris.

"You have to be ready at all times because you never know when something life changing, for better or worse, is going to happen," Skarlatos said.

Friday's deadly terror attacks in Paris were not lost on anyone at the game, least of all the three men.

Sadler wore the same Lakers shirt that he wore the day he helped stop the attack.

"It feels very personal because of what we went through," Sadler said. "To see it happen again and the people we've connected with since, our hearts go out to France, and Paris specifically."

Fans also expressed gratitude for the bravery of the three men. 

"For them to do what they did speaks volumes to their character and they're absolutely heroes for what they've done for our country and the world," Henry Wang, Lakers fan at the game, said. 

Skarlatos is competing on "Dancing with the Stars."

Prisoners at Rikers Island punched a correction officer and threw scalding liquid onto his face, days after another inmate attack sparked protests among correction officers, officials said Sunday.

The officer was treated for third-degree burns and released from the hospital after the most recent attack Thursday, and two inmates were arrested, the Department of Correction said Sunday.

Brooklyn Borough President Adams called for the city to take action to protect correction officers, and Department of Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte said in a statement the city would seek the maximum sentence for the two prisoners involved in the latest attack.

"Such attacks against the hardworking men and women who serve in our department will not be tolerated," he said. "We will continue to take every step to ensure the safety and security of staff and inmates.”

Earlier this month, a correction officer at Rikers received more than two dozen stitches following a slashing attack. Correction officers rallied at City Hall to protest new restrictions on punitive segregation for adolescent inmates on Rikers and new use-of-force guidelines.

The Department of Correction said Sunday its staffers have been dealing with an increasingly difficult population, but attacks resulting in serious injuries are down 15 percent compared to last year. The percentage of inmates diagnosed with mental illness was up to 41 percent this fiscal year, over 38 percent the year before, the agency said.

The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq both held moments of silence ahead of the opening bell Monday in honor of the victims of Friday's deadly terror attacks in Paris.

Both exchanges went silent at 9:25 a.m. in honor of the 129 killed and the 352 injured in the series of coordinated attacks in France's capital city Friday night.

European markets observed a minute of silence at 11 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time.

The observance is one of many being held Monday. They come as authorities execute dozens of raids around Europe in search of accomplices in the attacks. French authorities have also named the attacks' alleged mastermind. 

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French police carried out raids at 168 locations across the country and detained nearly two dozen people in the wake of Paris attacks that killed 129 people, according to The Associated Press. 

"We are at war with terrorism," Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the RTL radio . "The terrorists can strike again."

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that 23 people had been arrested — while 104 others remained for questioning — over a 48-hour period. He added that guns, bulletproof vests and even a rocket launcher had been seized.

"This is just the beginning," Cazeneuve said. "The response of France will be total. Those who attack France, we will catch them and we will be unrelenting with them ... Terrorists will never destroy the Republic, because the Republic will destroy them."

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers spoke out against prejudice after hearing an inappropriate comment during a moment of silence held to honor the Paris terror attack victims at Sunday's NFL game.

In an interview with ESPN after the Packers' loss to Detroit, Rodgers said he heard a fan make a prejudiced comment and "was very disappointed with whoever the fan was."

There were several social media accounts of fans in Green Bay saying things like "Death to Muslims" and "Muslims suck," but it is unclear if those were the comments Rodgers heard.

"It’s that kind of prejudicial ideology that I think puts us in the position that we’re in today as a world," Rodgers told ESPN.

The remarks weren't the only disruptors during Sunday's game. One group of fans attempted to start a "Go Pack Go" chant during the moment of silence, prompting another fan to yell for them to "have some respect," NBC Sports reports.

Propaganda videos released by ISIS celebrate the deadly attacks in Paris and threaten to carry out another in Washington, D.C.

In one of the videos, a purported Algerian member of the terror group addresses the United States, saying, "like France we will strike in its center in Washington," according to global security firm and NBC News analyst Flashpoint Intelligence

A senior U.S. official told NBC News that the video had not yet been verified.

"It looks like a typical propaganda video, and it's getting attention now because ISIS has been in the news," the official said.

The hacker group "Anonymous" has apparently responded to the attacks on Paris by declaring war on ISIS in a video posted on YouTube, NBC News reported. 

In the as-yet-unverified video a spokesperson wearing the group's signature Guy Fawkes mask said the group of hackers would use its expertise to wage "war" on the militant group.

"Expect massive cyber attacks. War is declared. Get prepared," the announcer says in French.

"Anonymous from all over the world will hunt you down. You should know that we will find you and we will not let you go. We will launch the biggest operation ever against you," the spokesperson continued, according to translated transcripts of the video.

Intelligence officials told NBC News of a new challenge in preventing terror attacks like those that occurred in Paris on Friday: ISIS may be using phone apps, encryption, and video games in order to keep their communications secret.

The U.S. Army-affiliated Combating Terrorism Center found that Islamic State members use as many as 120 platforms, including messaging apps like Telegram or Whatsapp and video games like Second Life, an online virtual world created in 2003. A PlayStation 4 was found in a location raided after Friday’s attacks.

According to Paul Rosenzweig, a cyber consultant and former deputy assistant in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. officials have been concerned about terrorist groups using these new platforms since they’ve existed.

Their use, said Rosenzweid, is inevitable. “We are going to have to get used to living in a world where both the bad guys and the good guys have unbreachable communications systems,” he said.

A popular San Diego brewery has been sold for approximately $1 billion according to published reports.

Constellation Brands Inc said it will buy Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, Reuters and CNBC reported Monday.

Ballast, whose brands include Sculpin IPA and Grapefruit Sculpin IPA, recently filed for IPO.

Ballast Point has grown to become one of San Diego’s most recognizable brands. It employs 415 people and distributes their products in 26 states, and even to countries like Japan and Australia.

They have four facilities, including two in Miramar, two restaurants and two tasting rooms.

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The craft brew company was founded by home brewers Jack White and Pete A’Hearn in collaboration with Yuseff Cherney, a fellow beer aficionado.

Many fans of the brewery shared their disappointment in the news on the company's Facebook page.

Steve Parsons, Jr. wrote, "An IPO would've been a way to pay back your customers that have supported you all these years with a small stake in the company. Instead you chose to betray your customer base in the name of corporate greed and the almighty $."

"Really bummed that local control will be lost," Jim-Robin Russel wrote to Ballast Point. "Hopefully production will never move and jobs will stay. I'll stay with the brand as long as this happens and quality doesn't drop."

Even so, Ballast Point was quick to reassure them the brand they love will stay true to its vision.

"Our thought is we are joining a team of brands, not getting bought by another brewery...beer will stay the same," the company posted.

Brewing beer is big business in San Diego. At least 115 breweries operate around the county, bringing in more than $1 billion into the local economy and $6.5 billion into the state’s economy.

Eighty-five of the breweries opened in the last five years, and at least another 40 are in the planning stages.

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Constellation is the third-largest producer and marketer of beer for the U.S. market. Their brands include Corona Extra, Corona Light and Pacifico.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Monday the state will not accept any Syrian refugees fleeing war-torn regions in the Middle East and Africa in light of Friday's deadly terror attacks in Paris, though an immigration official counters the governor lacks the legal authority to do so.

"Given the tragic attacks in Paris and the threats we have already seen, Texas cannot participate in any program that will result in Syrian refugees — any one of whom could be connected to terrorism — being resettled in Texas," Abbott said in a letter to President Barack Obama Monday. "Effective today, I am directing the Texas Health & Human Services Commission's Refugee Resettlement Program to not participate in the resettlement of any Syrian refugees in the State of Texas."

Abbott's letter urges the president to reconsider his plan to accept refugees into the United States entirely, citing a lack of background information on those looking for help.

"Neither you nor any federal official can guarantee that Syrian refugees will not be part of any terroristic activity," Abbott warned. "As such, opening our door to them irresponsibly exposes our fellow Americans to unacceptable peril."

Abbott isn't the only governor to close the door on refugees seeking shelter.

According to NBC News, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) promised to "oppose any attempt to relocate Syrian refugees to Alabama" and tweeted "I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm's way. We refuse Syrian refugees."

Earlier Sunday, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) said his state was halting efforts to accept refugees from Syria. Snyder said Michigan is "proud of our rich history of immigration" but that the state's "priority is protecting the safety of our residents," NBC Chicago reported.

Lavinia Limon, head of the U.S Committee for Refugees and Immigration, pointed to the Refugee Act of 1980, saying the governors cannot legally block refugees.

Texas State Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX 12th District) said in a statement Sunday that after learning "at least one of the attackers may have entered Europe as a 'refugee' reinforces my concern about the Administration’s policy to increase Syrian refugees coming into the United States."

"We cannot allow Syrian refugees in the United States in the current dangerous environment. We have provided significant assistance to the refugees and nations in the region to address the crisis, and that should continue to be our response," Granger said.

Gov. Abbott's Letter to President Obama

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