A former investigator for the House Benghazi Committee sued the committee's chairman for defamation on Monday, NBC News reported.

Brad Podliska, the former investigator, alleged last month that the Benghazi committee terminated him based on his military obligations and his refusal to advance an agenda targeting Hillary Clinton. Podliska singled out Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy in the new federal court filing, alleging that the chairman defamed him in their public battle.

Gowdy claims that one of the reasons he fired Podliska was for his mishandling of classified information. The statement is a career killer for Podliska, he claimed in the filing, and he wants Gowdy to be prevented from making such statements again in public.  

A 26-year-old man was sentenced to 100 years to life in prison for raping four victims within a one-week period in Brooklyn, including a 15-year-old girl, prosecutors said Monday.

Dexter Bell, of Crown Heights, was convicted Nov. 9 of six counts of predatory sexual assault following a jury trial. According to trial testimony, he primarily used his home neighborhood as his hunting grounds, attacking three women and a teenage girl within the span of a week in April 2013.

In the first attack, on April 4, 2013, Bell followed a 25-year-old woman after she got off an MTA bus near Albany Avenue and Fenimore Street. After trying to talk to her, he grabbed her hand, pulled her into an alley, put his hands around her neck, threatened to kill her and punched her in the face, according to trial testimony. He then raped her.

Four days later, Bell walked up to a 21-year-old woman near Schenectady Avenue and Montgomery Street and said hello, according to trial testimony. The woman recognized Bell from the neighborhood and said she was heading to work. Bell led her into a nearby alley and raped her.

Bell started talking to a 19-year-old woman in Canarsie on April 11, 2013. He eventually led her to a stairwell and grabbed her by the hair when she tried to leave, according to court documents. He raped her.

About 12 hours later, Bell started chatting up a 15-year-old girl walking along the B12 bus route in Crown Heights. The girl had seen Bell in the same area the day before, according to trial testimony. The two went into a building on Midwood Street, where Bell pulled the girl into an elevator and then to a staircase on the sixth floor and raped her, according to trial testimony.

Bell was arrested after an anonymous tipster who saw media reports about the rapes gave police his name and address.

"This serial rapist, who committed four rapes within one week, including one of a 15-year-old girl, is a sadistic and violent sexual predator who is simply not fit to walk the streets ever again," Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement. "That’s why he must spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

An Oceanside man may have accidentally shot himself in the chest, police said. 

The incident happened on the 4100 block of Thomas Street at approximately 6:41 a.m. Monday when a caller told police a neighbor had left his house with a gunshot wound to his chest. 

The man told officers he was removing his gun from his shoulder holster when it accidentally discharged, striking him in the chest. He was taken to Tri City Medical Center and then flown to Scripps Hospital. Oceanside Police did not have information on the severity of the wound. 

The incident is under investigation. 

No further information was immediately available. 

A new toy is making parents want to yank their hair out in frustration. They’ve found that Bunchems can get tangled in kids’ manes, forcing parents to literally pull — or cut — their children’s hair in order to get them out.

The toy, designed by the Canadian company Spin Master, is intended to be used for building. The squishy, colorful, circular pieces have interlocking hooks which makes them stick together for building and for easy clean up. Bunchems even made Target’s top list of toys for 2015.

Those same hooks make them prone to getting stuck in hair, and consumers have taken to the internet to warn others.

The reviews on Amazon are littered with complaints. One user called Bunchems “A Toy Spawned From the Darkest Depths of Hell,” advising parents to “Buy this toy for someone if you hate them or their child.”

Arlene Biran, vice president of marketing for Spin Master, told the Wall Street Journal that the problem of the pieces getting entangled in hair and other materials came up early in testing. Spin Master did not immediately return NBC's request for comment. 

While there are several warnings on the box and in the instruction manual, Biren said the company is “trying to figure out ways to make it more obvious.”

The company posted a video to YouTube entitled “How to Remove Bunchems From Your Hair” using conditioner and vegetable oil. But some parents have resorted to scissors instead.

A parent on Twitter wrote, "Thank you #bunchems for costing us $25 for the game and $50 for the haircut, my daughter's tears? priceless." An Instagram user posted a photo of her son with the hashtag impromptu haircut.

Some consumers defend the toy.

“Gum can easily get caught in hair, but that's not what it's meant for. … There is absolutely no reason these should be getting stuck in hair. This is the parents' fault. No doubt about it,” wrote one Amazon reviewer.

The toy, which is recommended for ages 4 and up, was originally inspired by prickly burs which can attach themselves to clothes when walking through the woods.

As the holiday season approaches, Bunchems aren’t the only toy raising eyebrows. A Massachusetts-based group called World Against Toys Causing Harm released their annual list of potentially hazardous toys, including Poo-Dough, a foam dart gun, and Jurassic World Velociraptor Claws.

Not included on the list were “hoverboard” scooters which have now been deemed illegal in New York City.

The Toy Industry Association, a non-profit trade association, previously responded to the WATCH list of toys, saying that WATCH sought to "advance their own agendas and garner headlines with their lists of alleged 'unsafe toys.'"

TIA also issued a statement about the Bunchems backlash:

"Bunchems are fun and engaging activity toys that allow kids to use their imagination to build endless creations. They are intended to be adhered to other Bunchems only. The manufacturer clearly communicates this message on the toy packaging and directions, and includes a caution that the product should be kept away from hair because it could become entangled," they said, "As with any toy, families should read and follow the accompanying instructions and be sure to talk to and/or show children the appropriate ways to play with the toy."

Brussels was still on lockdown Monday for a third straight day after sweeping overnight raids failed to capture fugitive Salah Abdeslam, wanted in connection with the Paris terrorist attacks, NBC News reported.

Belgian officials said five more raids were conducted Monday, hours after residents of Brussels were ordered to shelter in place as police searched nearly 20 properties around the European capital overnight. Federal prosecutor Eric van der Sypt said 21 people in total have been taken into custody since Sunday. 

Abdeslam is considered “dangerous” and is considered an accomplice to the Paris attacks that left 130 dead. Around 1,000 police officers were involved in the manhut, Belgium's Interior Minister Jan Jambon told local radio. When asked how it was possible that the suspect could still be at large, Jamson said "he must have a lot of support on our soil."

From the start, Donald Trump's presidential campaign has taken exaggeration and lies that are part of the campaign trail to a level we haven't seen before in American politics, according to NBC News' First Read team. Early in the primary race, Trump called Mexican immigrants drug traffickers and rapists. 

Most recently, Trump claimed that “thousands and thousands of people were cheering” in Jersey City, New Jersey, when the twin towers came down. The mayor of Jersey City and officials said that did not happen, and there are no news reports of people cheering in the street, The New York Times pointed out. "An Internet rumor about people cheering in the streets, which said it was in Paterson, not Jersey City, has been denied numerous times by city and police officials," according to the Times. When ABC pressed Trump on his statement, he stood his ground. "It did happen. I saw it... It was on television. I saw it," he said. 

Trump also retweeted a graphic falsely claiming that African Americans are responsible for the killing of most blacks and whites in America. But the Washington Post said, that is simply not true. "According to data from the FBI, most whites are killed by whites, as most blacks are killed by blacks. There's an obvious reason for that: Most people are killed by someone they know."

A U.S. Army Apache helicopter crashed in South Korea on Monday, killing two pilots, the U.S. Army in South Korea said in an emailed statement to NBC News.

The pair were the only people aboard the AH-64 Apache that came down 50 miles east of Camp Humphreys, the statement said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash in Wonju. According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, authorities there believe the chopper may have hit high voltage power lines or a "steel tower," perhaps referring to an electricity pylon.

The the pilots' identities were not released.

U.S. has about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, according to Reuters.
 

The mother of a missing teen is pleading for her daughter’s safe return, just days after her friend’s body was found in the ravine behind the teen’s house.

On Nov. 13, 12-year-old Nelly Espinosa and 14-year-old Ana Hernandez disappeared, families and friends said. The two young girls were friends and lived in the same Grant Hill neighborhood, but Ana’s mother is not sure the girls were together the night they disappeared.

A few days later, on Nov. 18, Hernandez’s beaten body was found at 29th Street and Market around 5:20 p.m., naked and wrapped in a blanket, the girl’s aunt told NBC7 San Diego. The ravine where the body was found was just behind Nelly’s house.

San Diego police on Monday afternoon issued a news release, saying the investigation into the homicide is ongoing. They said investigators determined Hernandez died from a gunshot wound to the torso.

Police did not release any more information on the case, including the missing person situation.

As her frantic search for her daughter continues, Nelly’s mother, Maria Velasco, told NBC 7 San Diego she believes her daughter is alive.

“I want to believe my daughter is alive and is going to come back to me,” she said in Spanish. “I don't want to think that my daughter is dead. I know that she is going to come back.”

Maria said she has been looking for her daughter for more than a week, checking in with all her friends. Her daughter did not have a phone or a boyfriend; she liked to spend time in Memorial Park with her friends.

Disappearing like this is not like her, Maria said.

“But, she is a good girl,” Maria said in Spanish. “I don't know why she left. We never had any discussions or fights or anything. She didn't even leave a note or anything. Nothing that I could say is a reason why she's not here.”

All Maria wants is for her daughter to return home, safe and sound.

“The only thing I want is that my daughter comes back and nothing more,” Maria said in Spanish. “How much I want for my daughter to come back because I need to know where she is. That's everything. My only wish every day all day is that she comes back.”

After a bad batch of synthetic marijuana, also known as 'spice', sickened more than a dozen people in Downtown San Diego, authorities are reporting a rise in the use of the drug, though at times it can be difficult to keep track of. 

The illnesses happened within a nine block radius of each other at approximately 3:20 p.m. PST Sunday near 6th Avenue and C Street downtown when multiple victims reported smoking 'spice', San Diego Police (SDPD) and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) officials said. 

Eleven people were treated and 13 taken to the hospital, at least two of which were in critical condition. 

Some of those affected were convulsing and foaming at the mouth, said SDFD Capt. Joe Amador. 

"We are seeing a rise in this type of drug, 'Spice', but don't have numbers," he said. 

However, Sunday's incident was "extremely unusual," Amador said, as they transported 13 to the hospital from the same area.

Because the emergency calls can come in multiple ways, from someone acting erratic, an overdose, or even mental health issues, police and fire officials say it's tough to keep track of the number of 'spice' incidents. On average, Amador said fire officials likely deal with around 31 calls a day. 

Oceanside Fire 3736 replied to a SDFD tweet Sunday, calling the use of 'spice' and "EPIDEMIC that is somehow still ignored. Everyday fire crews run on 'spice' calls with no end in sight."

Police are investigating whether Sunday's cases are connected, but did warn people who may have bought the drug, which came in a black package with blue dragons on the side. 

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, it's illegal to sell or possess 'spice' on the federal level. Possession has been banned in the state of California.  

"It's a manufactured substance and depending on who manufactured it, it could be of different qualities, different strengths," SDPD Battalion Chief Mike Finnerty said. "It could be that the current batch that these people are accessing is much stronger than what they are used to or it could have some other unknown chemical in it that's not normally in it."

Heather Corey, a woman familiar with the drug, said she would tell others not to do it. 

"I'm going to say one thing. I grew up on drugs. I was diagnosed as a drug addict and I'm going to tell you straight out, straight up, 'spice' will kill you," Corey said. "It makes you have seizures."

She tried the drug in the past, but said it gave her seizures and she almost died.

The drug, a hallucinogenic, consists of dried plant material sprayed with laboratory-produced cannabinoids and is used as an alternative to smoking marijuana. Synthetic marijuana is popular among teens and young adults and has been linked to altered mental status, increased heart rate and acute kidney injury, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Right off the bat, I quit," she said.  

Matthew Lang has friends who have used the drug and he said from what he's seen, the effects of the drug tend to be the same.

"The indication of substance abuse, they're gettng withdrawn and secretive; not so much secretive, just...sort of wandering around," he said. 

He said he wouldn't want his three daughters around the drug, adding that users tend to "get a little whacky." 

On Sunday, medics and other crews were treating people at 6th Avenue and C Street, 7th Avenue and Broadway and 14th Street and Imperial. 

 Hundreds of sailors arrived home Monday when aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt docked at its new San Diego home at the Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island port.

Sailors and marines deployed eight and a half months ago from Virginia, heading to Syria and Iraq to fight ISIS. While in the Middle East, crews conducted airstrikes on ISIS, destroying enemy targets in an effort to allow natives to reclaim their territory. 

Crews successfully completed 1,800 combat sorties and flew 10,600 combat flight hours over Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Sailors focused on maritime security. The carrier was part of a trio shift involving USS Ronald Reagan and USS George Washington. 

Approximately two thirds of the crew that arrive in San Diego will then fly to Virginia, to take over on USS George Washington.

Monday morning, Jolie Velasquez waited for her high school sweetheart in San Diego. She met her now-husband at Rancho Bernardo High School and they later married and moved to Virginia. 

Now, they're moving back home to San Diego with the ship's change of ports. 

The homecoming is part of a three-way swap of home ports: USS George Washington was moved from Japan to Virginia; USS Ronald Reagan, which was based in San Diego for 11 years, moved to Japan. USS Theodore Roosevelt's former base was in Norfolk, Virginia. 

The 29-year-old vessel, known as “Big Stick”, is three football fields long at just over 1,000 feet.

It is expected to return between 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Watch NBC 7 News at 11 a.m. for a live report of the emotional homecoming. Follow NBC 7's Liz Bryant on Twitter to see updates as the marines and sailors arrive. 

Authorities are still searching for a motive and suspect in the case of a 14-year-old boy left mortally wounded on a sidewalk in San Marcos Friday night as his close friends and family mourn his death. 

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) said the victim – identified as 14-year-old Brandon Gonzalez – was discovered unconscious, lying on a sidewalk in the 3500 block of De Leone Road around 10:50 p.m. when deputies rushed to the area to investigate reports of multiple gunshots heard near the intersection of De Leone and Hollencrest roads.

Gonzalez, suffering from traumatic injuries, took him to a local hospital, where he died. The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office (ME) ruled the teen's cause of death a gunshot wound to his upper torso, and his manner of death ruled a homicide.

Gonzalez’s death is being investigated as a homicide, though further details were not immediately released as authorities continued searching for information. 

Detectives spent 12 hours in the neighborhood Gonzalez was shot, trying to work on any leads. 

Meanwhile, family and friends gathered Sunday to mourn the loss of their friend at a San Marcos house. 

Deputies said the shooting may be gang-related, but the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information should contact the SDSO Homicide Detail at (858) 974-2321 or (858) 565-5200, or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous and could be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in this case. 

San Diego State University (SDSU) students plan to rally against Islamaphobia Monday afternoon after a Muslim student was reportedly battered, pushed and verbally assaulted in a parking lot on campus in a disturbing incident being investigated as a hate crime, the university confirmed.

According to the SDSU Police Department, the crime happened around 1:45 p.m. Thursday in Parking Lot E on the university’s campus. That parking structure is located near Zura Way at East Campus Drive, as seen on this map.

SDSU police detectives said a female student reported that unknown man pushed her and pulled her by her head scarf while making “hate-related comments and threats based on her ethnicity.” The exact comments made toward the students were not immediately released.

In light of the incident, students plan to meet at 12:30 p.m. at Hepner Hall on campus and march to the Student Union, where Hanif Mohebi, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) San Diego organization, plans to speak.

“We are calling on the SDSU and greater San Diego community to come out and rally against Islamphobia and bigotry in defense of Muslim students and all oppressed people," the event page reads. "This attack is a direct result of the growing anti-Muslim rhetoric that has become prevalent in the United States and we are calling to end this trend.”

Students are asking for their fellow students to create a more inclusive environment that promotes tolerance and acceptance of all cultures and religion. 

Ahmed Buzeriba, who serves as the Muslim Student Association's (MSA) president on campus, said he felt sad when he first heard about the crime. 

Buzeriba said Muslim students could be considered easy targets, especially if wearing traditional garb, such as a hijab.

“It’s easier for people to tell they are Muslim. For that, I think they have more of a chance to get harassed,” he said.

Hanif Mohebi, with the Council of American Islamic Relations, said the crime was disrespectful.

"It's absolutely disrespect, to say the least, to the religion, to the person's commitment," Mohebi said. 

Following the aggressive encounter, the suspect left the area on foot and was last seen going toward the direction of Parking Structure 6, which is across the street, also on East Campus Drive.

The student was not physically harmed in the incident, investigators confirmed.

According to SDSU detectives, the victim described the suspect as a white man in his 20s. He was approximately 5-foot-11 with a thin build and wore a grey sweater, blue jeans and white shoes. He had dark black hair and either hazel or green eyes. No suspect vehicle was seen.

Friday afternoon, police released a composite sketch of the suspect to help identify and catch him.

Mohebi said he has had contact with the victim in this campus attack and said he offered her CAIR’s assistance as she copes. For now, he said the student wants to avoid attention from the media.

Mohebi said one day prior to this attack, another female Muslim student at SDSU called CAIR with a complaint, indicating others had been acting different toward her since the terrorist attacks in Paris. She asked the organization for advice.

Meanwhile, the SDSU Police Department said detectives are actively investigating the parking structure attack. Lt. Mike O’Deane confirmed the case is being investigated as a hate crime.

Anyone with information should contact detectives at (619) 594-1783 and reference the case number, 15-1669, or provide tips via email to police@mail.sdsu.edu. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous may also call Crime Stoppers at (619) 235-8477.

SDSU said the campus prides itself on having a diverse student body and “community of people from all races, ethnicities, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds.”

“We affirm and reaffirm our commitment to providing a welcoming and supportive environment of opportunity for all students, faculty, staff and community members,” the university said in a media release Friday.

As the holiday season gets underway thousands of Californians will on the roads this Wednesday for Thanksgiving – in fact it’s one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Nearly 20 inches of snow is expected in certain parts of Northern California, which could cause hazardous road conditions for drivers.

A foot and a half of snow is expected to fall on the summits of Shasta County and Lake Tahoe.

Snow is expected to come down and leave visibility on roads to a bare minimum. At slightly lower elevations such as Tioga Pass near Yosemite, and Donner Pass in the Sierras, heavy snow is expected as well.

The snowstorm is predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday – exactly when people will be traveling for Thanksgiving.

Still some San Diegans aren’t too upset to hear about the snow.

"I got stuck in a blizzard last year and…I had to stay in my hotel, but we played in the snow. It was so much fun,” Laurie Line of El Cajon told NBC7. “Plus we really need the rain and the snow. We're scared of the drought."

If you are heading north for the holiday check road reports for closures because several are expected.

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has received thousands of messages from people all over the world following news of the death of Nola, the zoo’s endangered northern white rhino.

Many expressed their sorrow and posted pictures on social media of their visits to see Nola.

“It’s hard not to get emotional about it because for us it’s a loss of a family member and to see that she touched so many people,” said Rick Swartz of San Diego Zoo Global.

The rhino died on Sunday morning; a bacterial infection and age-related health issues forced zoo staffers to euthanize here.

Her death leaves only three northern white rhinos in the world.
Those rhinos live in Kenya and cannot breed.

Scientists have the cells from 12 northern white rhinos frozen and are using the southern white rhinos as surrogate mothers in hopes to halt the ultimate extinction.

“We’re either going to make a difference and prevent the extinction of a species or with what we learn we can apply to the other species that are unfortunately heading down the same path,” Swartz said.

This project will likely not yield results for five to 10 years.

Mindy Lewis was with her family when she filled her Lexus SUV with gas on Monday. But she wasn't at a gas station; she was at Balboa Park. Mindy used a new phone app named Purple, which sends drivers to your car with 30 gallons of regular or premium gas.

"I have two kids and let me tell you they get restless in the car those 10 or 15 minutes it takes to fill up my gas tank," said Lewis.

The gas costs $2.99 a gallon for premium, which is the average price in San Diego. The man who delivered the fuel arrived in less than an hour and filled her tank in about 10 minutes.

"It's not just for emergencies," said Purple co-founder Bruno Uzzan. "It's really for anyone who needs gas."

Uzzan started Purple in Los Angeles earlier this year.  This month they started delivering to San Diego.

He said most of their deliveries are to people's homes and many are at night. The company does not charge an extra fee for deliveries up to three hours; deliveries under one hour are charged a dollar. So is using the new gas app?

"I would say 50-50 between women and men," said Uzzan. "We see some luxury cars, some non-luxury, so it's for everybody."

Purple drivers arrive with the fuel in five-gallon portable tanks. Customers are limited to under 30 gallons to meet safety regulations, and they must order at least 10 or 15 gallons of regular or premium gas.

Customers sign up, order and pay through the phone app, which works for both Apple and Android phones.

Mindy said she's sold on the idea.

"If their price is competitive, I would do it in a heartbeat," she said.

For the Thanksgiving holiday some City operations will be closed and others delayed.

All City Administrative Offices, City recreation centers, City pools and libraries will be closed on Thursday as well as all public buildings at Balboa Park. Tecolote Nature Center will be closed as well as the City’s ‘refuse/recyclables’ container sales office on Miramar Place will be closed for the holiday.

There will be a one-day delay in trash, yard waste, and curbside recyclables collection for customers served by the City of San Diego beginning Thursday. For example, Thursday’s collection will happen on Friday and Friday’s on Saturday.

The City's Miramar Landfill has normal hours on Thanksgiving.

Golf courses and starter booths will open at normal hours on Thursday, but Balboa Park and Torrey Pines are closing at 3 p.m., with Mission Bay closing at 5 p.m. Holiday rates apply.

Chollas Lake will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center are open normal hours. City Skate parks will also be open.

Police and Fire stations are operating normally.

Parking meters, yellow zones within the City won’t be enforced for the holiday. Red, white and blue zones are enforced every day.

Even with El Nino in the forecast, San Diego won't be pitching a huge tent to provide shelter for downtown’s homeless this winter.

That's because the plan now is to continue moving more people into year-round housing. There's been quite a head start.

After years of hassling over money and locations for temporary winter shelters, the buck is stopping at Father Joe's Villages.

"We're not working with people just for a night, just for a season,” said Deacon Jim Vargas, Father Joe’s CEO. “We're moving them into permanent housing and off the streets permanently and changing their lives. And that's what it's all about."

The East Village landmark is a virtual haven: 350 beds and so-called wraparound services aimed at getting the displaced population treated, rehabilitated and ready for employment and long-term housing options.

When the worst of winter hits, the place will offer 250 extra beds, meals and outsourced arrangements for more.

But hundreds of others who remain unhoused — maybe thousands — still might wind up out in the cold.

While those who've managed to get into the system are grateful, they want the public to know how much is yet to be done, and that it’s worth paying for.

"You know, maybe they need to have a slumber party — I'm serious,” said Sandra Campbell, a retired executive-office administrator who’s fallen on hard times and landed at Father Joe’s Villages.

“We won't mind having a slumber party at the stadium one night, either,” Campbell added, with an ironic chuckle, in an interview Monday. “ But that might be a way to connect with the people who are homeless."

Early statistics in the first fiscal year of the new approach, covered by a $1.9 million city allocation, show roughly a doubling in the number of bed-nights and long-term housing transitions.

At the same time, the bottom line for taxpayers was a better-than-50 percent cost reduction compared to the old temporary tents — from $29.10 per “bed night” to $13.78.
 

A San Diego State University professor who sexually harassed at least four female students had a history of similar behavior while teaching at another college in Delaware, according to an arbitration document.

For several months, SDSU administrators refused to discuss Vincent Martin’s case or release any documents related to his discipline.

NBC 7 Investigates obtained the new details, found in a decision letter from his arbitration hearing, through the California Public Records Act. Click here to read the letter.

The newly-released document confirms Martin “resigned his prior post at the University of Delaware after he was accused of sexually harassing a female student” and that he engaged in similar behavior just months later, during his first semester at SDSU in fall 2011.

According to the arbitrator’s decision that upheld Martin’s 30-day suspension at SDSU, Martin also accused a female student of plagiarizing her final exam and invited her to take an “incomplete” which she could satisfy by working as his assistant.

The document details how Martin’s invited that student to out-of-state conferences and “sent her text messages which made her uncomfortable.”

One text suggested the student join him at a hotel in Seattle where “they have awesome in-rooms spa services!:).”

According to the document, Martin also suggested the student wear a “French maid outfit” when she joined him.

“It’s very out-of-line,” said Phillip Kossy, an employment law expert at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savich. “If this were a private employer, and there wasn't some sort of culture of leniency, I would expect the employer to terminate the employee, or some discipline far more serious than a 30-day suspension.”

The document reveals Martin received an “informal warning” for his behavior with that student, and an SDSU vice president advised Martin that his text messages were “inappropriate and his treatment of the plagiarism allegation was a violation of University policy.”

According to the document, Martin “acknowledged that in hindsight he realized he probably should not have sent the “French maid text.”

Less than two years later, Martin was in trouble again for his behavior with two other co-eds.

The document details how one underaged student said Martin sent her more than 200 text messages, many of which suggested they meet for drinks at a bar or his home.

Another student said Martin told her to steal a box of wine from a hotel conference room and made her feel “extremely uncomfortable” when he tried to kiss her twice.

Click here to see more details about the sexual harassment allegations.

Martin has repeatedly declined to speak with NBC 7 Investigates about this story.

His lawyer also said neither he nor Martin have any comment about the allegations, findings or punishment issued by SDSU.

University investigators concluded Martin had sexually harassed both those students and sanctioned him with a 30-day suspension.

One of the victims told NBC 7 Investigates that the punishment was a “joke.”

Martin challenged the suspension, and the university held an arbitration hearing. After testimony from seven witnesses, including Martin and four of his accusers, the arbitrator upheld the suspension, noting that “the totality of evidence of unprofessional conduct here is overwhelming.”
 

You may not want Mike McCoy to be the Chargers head coach. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on that matter, but in the end the final decision for that topic would come from the Spanos family.

You may not agree with some of the decisions McCoy and his coaching staff have made – especially this season and during the team’s current 6-game losing streak.

But you have to admit he is consistent. Win or lose, McCoy refuses to point the finger. It would be easy to blame certain players or injuries or lack of depth. You could say how newly signed free agents have not lived up to expectations and how many high draft picks have failed to contribute consistently to the Bolts the past few years.

His Chargers went 9-7 in his first two seasons. And while that will not be replicated in year 3 of the McCoy era, one thing you can take away from the current state of the Chargers is this:
McCoy won’t throw his own players or coaches under the bus.

That is to be commended and I respect that. Not every pro athlete or coach operates that way.
Especially in this day and age with social media in 2015 and 24-hour sports networks where one sentence of a soundbite taken out of context can be run 144 times in a news cycle and put up on Twitter or a vine in minutes.

In his daily press conferences, McCoy has a game plan. He’s not going to tell you very much.
Most NFL coaches are this way. They get paid millions of dollars to help their team win games and in this ‘what have you done for me lately’ business, I understand if you want to be very cautious to reveal any information.

So he may speak in sentences at his press conferences, but as any member of the media that regularly covers the Chargers, McCoy doesn’t really say much even though he is technically talking to the media.

You have to put on your Sherlock Holmes hat or your Encyclopedia Brown shoes to translate or unearth what he actually means – by what he doesn’t say or when he actually does mention something out of the ordinary.

It was pretty obvious McCoy was grasping for positive straws Monday.

“Whatever good things we did yesterday, there were too many negatives that overlooked all those things,” admitted McCoy. “The one thing I will say on the positive side of it in the kicking game, Josh’s 52 yarder was huge. One thing we talked to [Lambo] about all week was starting the game with a touchback.”

Really?!?!? The kicker had a good day? In a 33-3 loss? Wow.

“And then Mike [Scifres] had to be the leader in the coverage units this week,” continued McCoy, “and punting the football he had his best game of the year.”

So to recap, the kicker and the punter had great days. Yikes.

But let’s play devil’s advocate. What do you say after your team gets blasted by 30 points? On it’s home field against a division rival – despite extra days to prepare for the Chiefs.

All this after a bye week – where players can clear their heads, get extra rest and have more time to tweak the game plan.

As sportswriter Bill Simmons would say, you need to 'throw the kitchen sink' at an opponent. It’s desperation time. This is when you break out a couple new formations, a half-back toss, a double-reverse, a Stevie Johnson pass on an end-around. Maybe even a fake punt. Pick a gadget play – any gadget play - or three! If it doesn’t work – it’s not different than what happened using the same draw plays and shotgun formations with limited depth and backups thrust into starting roles due to injuries.

The two highlights from Sunday’s humiliating 33-3 loss consisted of LaDainian Tomlinson’s halftime induction ceremony and the moment when his wife LaTorsha sang the national anthem. That was it.

The Chiefs game was definitely an opportunity for a 'kitchen sink game.' Well you could technically say the Bears game, or maybe even the Ravens the week before that were the real kitchen sink games, too.

Right now, most Chargers fans probably just want to throw the kitchen sink at their television.
 

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have signed an agreement to acquire the holding company for San Diego-based Petco Animal Supplies Inc. for $4.6 billion.

A joint statement said Luxembourg-headquartered CVC and the Toronto-based pension plan investment board will buy Petco Holdings from its current group of investors, including the equity firms TPG and Leonard Green & Partners, in a deal expected to close in early 2016, subject to customary closing conditions.

Petco, which recently moved into new headquarters in Rancho Bernardo, operates more than 1,400 Petco retail locations across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, and has a significant e-commerce presence.

“As the North American pet industry continues to grow, Petco is well positioned with a strong brand, differentiated engagement model, and omni-channel strategy,” Petco CEO James Myers said in the statement. “Both CVC and CPPIB have outstanding track records and deep retail experience and resources that will help support our growth initiatives.”

CVC Managing Partner Chris Stadler said Petco is “ideally positioned” to grow and further capitalize on its status as a leading seller of pet supplies and related services. Shane Feeney, managing director with the pension investment board, said the investment “aligns well” with its own strategy to invest in leading retail businesses with strong multi-channel capabilities.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as financial advisors to Petco, with Barclays, Citigroup and Moelis acting as lead financial advisors to CVC and the pension plan investment board.