More than four years after Amir Hekmati was arrested in Iran, Sarah Hekmati was going to see her brother as a free man thanks to a prisoner swap that garnered his release along with three other Americans.

She arrived in Germany — where her brother, journalist Jason Rezaian and pastor Saeed Abedini had been transferred from Iran — early Monday.

The Hekmati reunion was one of several set to play out Monday for the freed prisoners. Rezaian — who left Iran with his wife and mother — was expected to meet with editors from his newspaper, The Washington Post, who had traveled to Germany.

An American released separate to the prisoner swap — Matthew Trevithick — was already home in Boston, according to the Boston Globe.

Iraqi security forces were scrambling Monday to locate several Americans kidnapped in Baghdad over the weekend, NBC News reported.

Ala Al-Sadr, a spokesman for the American Embassy in Baghdad, confirmed Sunday that some U.S. nationals were missing in Baghdad. He did not say when the kidnapping occurred.

Iraqi forces were looking at two main scenarios, according to a senior Iraqi security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The first was that the Americans and their Iraqi interpreter's car was stopped by militants in military uniform in the neighborhood of Dora, he said.

There was also a possibility that the four were taken from an apartment in the same part of town, the security official said.

A Belgian national with direct links to the Paris terror attacks has been arrested in Morocco, state-run media reported Monday.

Maghreb Arab Press said the suspect, of Moroccan descent, was "directly related" to some of the perpetrators of the Paris attacks and had been detained Friday near Mohammedia.

According to The Associated Press, Morocco's Interior Ministry said the suspect had spent time in Syria with ISIS fighters — including the alleged ringleader of the Paris attacks. It did not name the individual other than to give his initials as "J.A."

The Nov. 13 attacks on the French capital killed 130 people.

Old Man Winter has been pretty easy on most of the country so far, but the days of agreeable weather are over in the Midwest, Northern Plains and Northeast — at least for the next few days, NBC News reported.

Fourteen states, from Minnesota stretching all the way into North Carolina, were under wind chill advisories, according to the National Weather Service. More than 50 million people across the country could be forced to deal with the wicked cold during the early part of the week. 

Temperatures will hover below zero across across many parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota on Monday, according to NWS.

Meanwhile, some 70 percent of the country was below freezing at 6 a.m. Monday, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Kathryn Prociv.

All over the country, people are celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of the largest events here San Diego happened early Monday at Balboa Park.

The All People's Celebration honored Dr. King and his legacy by inviting investigative journalist John Carlos Frey to discuss his work exposing injustice in his coverage of the border.

While leaders here say much progress has been made, they say many of the issues Dr. King dealt with in the 1950s and 60s of injustice and inequality, there are still problems today.

“It's important that we continue to work hard to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to celebrate their gifts to participate in the process,” said Rosalind Winstead with the San Diego Alliance.

Along with a keynote and brunch, the even offered an open area where members of the public can come and interact with many of San Diego's social justice organizations. It’s certainly a representation of what Dr. Martin Luther King inspired.
 

One of the people killed in a double homicide Sunday in the Los Angeles area was a man from La Mesa, Los Angeles-area officials said. 

Officers responded to the 7600 block of Oso Avenue in Winnetka Sunday for a report of an assault with a deadly weapon around 4 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department said. The woman called 911 to report that her ex-boyfriend was at the home and armed with a gun, police said.

A man and woman were shot and killed in the incident, police confirmed. 

The male victim was identified Monday morning as 24-year-old Jerrad Cardae Scott, of La Mesa, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office confirmed. His mother told NBC 7 San Diego Scott was a star football player at Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley in 2008 and 2009. 

This was not Scott's first brush with criminal violence. In April 2009, Scott and several friends were attacked at a party in what their attorney called a hate crime. The woman was identified as Emily Ana Fox, 22. 

Police said the man they are seeking in connection with the slayings was the woman's ex-boyfriend. The suspect was identified later Monday as Brian Anthony Gonzales, also known as Brian Hammond.

As San Diego Chargers fans wait for an announcement on whether the team will relocate to Los Angeles, the newly-minted Los Angeles Rams received thousands of deposits for a season tickets waiting list. 

The Rams launched the site Monday morning, offering fans a chance to put their names on a waiting list for the tickets. 

Beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, fans could put down a $100 refundable deposit by visiting the team's website -- WelcomeHomeRams.com. The deposit placed fans on a waiting list, allowing them to buy tickets this spring before the general public.

The team reported more than 5,000 deposits in the first five minutes that the site was live. Within about 45 minutes, more than 8,000 had been sold.

Tickets will be sold to account holders in the order in which they signed up on the waiting list. Each account holder can buy up to eight season tickets for the Rams return to Los Angeles after more than two decades in St. Louis.

The team will play in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving into a new stadium in Inglewood at the start of the 2019 season. The move was announced last week after an owners meeting in Houston.

The plan gives the San Diego Chargers a year to decide whether they want to join the Rams in the Los Angeles area. The two teams are expected to begin formal negotiations Monday.

The Rams finished 7-9 under coach Jeff Fisher, third in the NFC West and had a troubled attendance history in St. Louis, where a team that once produced the Super Bowl winning "Greatest Show on Turf" later struggled through a series of losing seasons. The team was consistently at the bottom of the NFL in attendance over the past decade.

Season ticket prices have not been established, according to the team. The average resale price of a Rams ticket this season was near the least expensive in the league, at one point dropping to $64, according to SeatGeek.

The franchise played in Southern California for 49 seasons before owner Georgia Frontiere moved them after the 1994 campaign. Owner Stan Kroenke won the three-team derby to return to the nation's second-largest market earlier this week, enticing NFL owners with his impressive stadium plans and his team's ties to Los Angeles, where thousands of fans stayed true to the Rams during two decades away.

The new stadium, yet to be named, will be at the former site of Hollywood Park racetrack. But Kroenke, a billionaire land developer married to a Walmart heir, is building more than a football stadium with the reported $1.86 billion Inglewood project, which also includes office space, shops, a concert venue and innumerable other enticements.

Kroenke said his new stadium will host Super Bowls and Final Fours, which he has already discussed with the NCAA. The Los Angeles area hasn't hosted the Final Four since 1972, lacking an appropriately huge roofed venue. Inglewood Mayor James Butts said he already has expressed interest to the NFL in hosting the Super Bowl in February 2021.

El Cajon residents were asking for transparency Sunday after a high-speed chase ended with a police officer shooting and killing a woman.

The confrontation occurred just before 1:30 a.m. Saturday at Main St and Walter Way.

El Cajon Police pulled over what they believed to be a stolen car, but the driver sped off going, at times, over 90 miles an hour, officers said.

The chase ended on Pierce Street where police said the driver headed straight for the officer's patrol car. The officer fired his weapon multiple times. Investigators say the officer feared for his safety.

The woman was sitting in the passenger's seat of the vehicle, according to the medical examiner's office. She's been identified only as 25 years old. The Medical Examiner has not released the woman’s name pending notification of family.

El Cajon police told NBC 7 they plan to release more information Monday, which could include a dash camera recording when the shooting happened.

“I think it's important it's released to the public,” El Cajon resident Rick Blaine said. “It's a matter of keeping people true to what they should be doing. Whether you are a civilian or you are not a civilian. It's important to be honest.”

Fellow El Cajon Resident Guillermo Carrillo told NBC 7 it’s important to see what led up to the shooting.

“That's the reason we should be seeing the video,” Carillo explained. “That is what is going to tell us whether it was right or wrong.”

While residents wait to find out if there was dash camera video in this case El Cajon is in the process of beefing up its video recording through body cameras.

In late 2014 the City Council agreed to research on implementing body cameras for the police force.

The plan is still in the works.

“I support law enforcement however if there is any kind of controversy at all,” El Cajon resident Nick Singh said. “I feel the truth will be set from that.”

A man trying to do a good deed and intervene in a dispute between a man and woman was stabbed over the weekend, the victim told San Diego police.

He said he saw a male suspect harassing a woman in the parking lot of 7-Eleven at University Avenue and Texas Street.

When the victim tried to push them apart, the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim one time in the chest, the good Samaritan told officers.

The victim was taken to the hospital by a family member.

The suspect, he said, was last seen riding north on a BMX-style bicycle. A description of the woman was not available.

Police say the investigation is ongoing.

Kaiser Permanente and the San Diego Food Bank partnered for the 11th year in a row to honor the values Martin Luther King, Jr. preached by giving to those in need.

More than 75 employees spent Monday Morning cleaning, sorting, bagging, and boxing hundreds of pounds of food for needy families in San Diego.

"This day underscores Kaiser Permanente's long-standing commitment to both diversity and community benefit, while providing a unique opportunity for us to serve those who are food insecure," said Jane Finley, Senior Vice President and Area Manager for Kaiser Permanente in San Diego. "We hope that other San Diego organizations and community members will join us in using the MLK holiday as an opportunity to serve the community."

“Kaiser Permanente is really about what we as an organization [are], and what our staff and physicians can give back as a community,” Dr. Paul Bernstein told NBC 7. “Kaiser Permanente is committed to really doing everything in the community to help those in need and this gives us an opportunity to really do that.”

The staff and physicians also provided health screenings and health education to more than 150 community members earlier this month during an MLK celebration at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park.
 

San Diego surfing icon Larry Gordon was honored by hundreds who gathered in La Jolla for a special paddle out Monday.

Larry Gordon, 76, revolutionized surfing as one of the first to create foam boards. Decades later, many surfers around the world are now riding Gordon-Smith boards.

Gordon was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease 10 years ago. He died New Year's Day at his San Diego home.

A memorial was held Monday at Tourmaline Surf Park. After several speakers and some music,  dozens of people donned wetsuits and paddled out just beyond the waves for the special ceremony.

Gordon and Floyd Smith built the Gordon-Smith brand into a very well respected and recognized name around the world.

Professional skateboard rider Jim Gray rode for the Gordon-Smith team. He said the company’s fiber-flex skateboard developed in the 1960s went on to be a dominating force in the industry.

“They have left an everlasting mark on surfing and skateboarding that can never be taken away,” Gray said.

He said as a man, Gordon left his mark on so many in the surfing and skateboarding community.

“He had a wonderful little smiley smirk,” he said. “There are very few humans on this earth that are a kinder, gentler man than Larry was.” 

San Diego’s coastline was under a high surf warning Monday with waves expected to reach approximately 15 feet.

The day’s highest surf was expected to be along the beaches south of Carlsbad, according to the National Weather Service.

Because large waves can roll in unexpectedly, beachgoers should not stand on jetties or rocks along the surf, lifeguards said.

Powerful rip currents could create dangerous conditions for swimmers. Lifeguards are warning people to stay out of the water unless you are an experienced surfer or swimmer.

The next high tide will be at 5:15 a.m. Tuesday.

The Urban League of San Diego celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and their own civil rights successes by opening their new building in City Heights Monday.

“Being in City Heights you have a number of different cultures and dialects and a number of needs,” Gustavo Bidart, Vice Chairman for the Urban League said. “From employment to self-sufficiency, to housing, we’re here really to be a response to those needs.”

Mayor Kevin Faulconer spoke at the grand opening equating the work the Urban League does to what Dr. Martin Luther King strove for.

“The same way Dr. King says we need to keep moving forward, the San Diego Urban League is helping to move our city forward,” Faulconer said in his speech. “Thanks to the Urban League families are getting back to work, families are growing and prospering.”

The Urban League, one of three affiliates in California, (the other two are in San Francisco and Los Angeles) has been serving San Diego for over 50 years.

“San Diego needs great leadership from organizations like the Urban League to make sure that every neighborhood, every family, and every child has the chance to succeed. That’s what the Urban League is all about,” Faulconer added.

With their new facility the league will be able to expand on its services including, housing, women's re-entry for formerly incarcerated, college access programs and employment and training opportunities.

"It’s City Heights,” Ray King, President of the Urban League told NBC 7. “This is a place where the people that we serve, immigrants, low income, newly arrived, disadvantaged, there's so much happening in this community that we think we can contribute to, and we’re very happy to be a part of this community.”

 Two Saudi Arabian nationals pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges stemming from an incident at a shooting range in Poway.

Two men were arrested and a third is wanted for illegally renting firearms and purchasing ammunition at the Poway Weapons and Gear gun range for target practice. Saad Mutlak Alsahli, Muath Ahmed Alraqibah and Abdulrahman Abdullah Alolaymi rented a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol and a Bravo .223 caliber rifle and bought 100 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition and 50 rounds of 9mm ammunition at the range, according to a Southern District of California court complaint.

Federal court documents confirm that on January 13, attorneys for Alolaymi and Alsahli filed a change of plea on behalf of their clients. Federal Judge Marilyn Huff will sentence the two defendants on January 21 in a downtown San Diego courtroom, according to the document. The third defendent, Alraqibah, left the U.S. before authorities could arrest him. There is a warrant out for his arrest, and he remains a fugitive.

The defense attorneys asked that the sentencing go forward without a presentencing report.

In December, the men handed over Saudi Arabian driver’s licenses as identification to rent the firearms and buy the ammunition for target practice, according to the complaint, signed by Matthew Schick, Special Agent for Homeland Security Investigations in the Department of Homeland Security. 

The gun range owner got suspicious when he saw them videotaping parts of their time there and contacted federal authorities. 

Homeland Security launched an investigation and obtained the gun range rental records and receipts, along with closed circuit video of the man shooting at the gun range.

The men are in the county on F-1 non-immigrant student visas. Under that visa, they are not allowed to possess firearms and ammunition without a valid permit. State records show none of the men had any permit for the firearms, the complaint says. 

Neither of the two firearms rented, or the ammunition purchased, are manufactured in California and came from out-of-state. 

Nothing in the complaint obtained by NBC7 links the students to terrorism. Two sources tell NBC 7 San Diego the only alleged crime is the unlawful possession and use of guns and ammunition at the firing range. 

John Kirby, a former federal prosecutor, told NBC7 he does not think the men would have been charged if they were not from the Middle East.

Ignorance of law, Kirby said, is not an excuse; however, he believes the men would not have done what they did in such an open fashion had they known the law. 

In this case, as with others, prosecutors have discretion, Kirby said, and officials could have deported the men instead. 

Alsahli is represented by Michael Pancer and Alolaymi is represented by Andrew Nietor. Michael Wheat is the prosecuting attorney. 

The court record contains no other details about the plea agreement or any possible prison sentences or fines that might be levied against the two defendants in this case.

One man, who was driving with bottles of alcohol in his vehicle, became trapped when an Amtrak train broadsided a black Ford Escape on Monday in Little Italy, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. 

Investigators said it appears the driver of the SUV got impatient while driving down W. Hawthorne Street and tried to beat the railway crossing arms between Kettner Boulevard and Pacific Highway at 1:45 p.m.

However, traffic was stopped in front of him, so he had no choice but to stay on the railroad. Moments later, an Amtrak passenger train hit the driver's side of the vehicle.

The force of the crash pushed the Ford more than 50 yards down the track.

"I was on the scaffolding. I heard the train hit the horn pretty loud and I looked down," said Andrew Rush. "I see him coming and see a black SUV in the middle of the intersection between the two guard rails, you know. He didn't move, and boom, just hit him and dragged him down the tracks."

A witness was told by train employees that the train was going about 40 miles per hour.

Rush said in the crash's aftermath, he raced to help.

"He was passed out when we got here," said Rush. "He was sitting up; it smelled like alcohol. Thought he'd been drinking. We saw a 12-pack in the bottom of the floor opened up.

Sheriff's investigators confirmed bottles of alcohol were found inside the SUV.

According to Rush, the train's hitch barely missed the driver's abdomen, and his damaged door pushed him up against the center console so he could not escape.

Emergency crews had to cut off the top of the SUV to reach the man inside. They rescued the patient by 2:27 p.m. and took him to the hospital for unknown injuries.

Whether the man was intoxicated is still under investigation.

Traffic was stopped along Hawthorne, and the northbound COASTER C651 has been canceled. Passengers were advised to take a trolley north.

The National Guard sent dozens of additional members into Flint, Michigan, on Monday to help address the impoverished city's water crisis, as Gov. Rick Snyder came under widening criticism — from residents and presidential candidates — for his handling of a massive exposure to lead, NBC News reported.

The 70 new guardsmen more than doubled the number already in Flint to hand out bottled water, filters and testing kits in the city's worst-hit neighborhoods. The first wave of troops arrived over the weekend, while President Obama declared a state of emergency and ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to join the effort.

The contamination is linked to Flint's decision to save money by taking tap water from the Flint River. Soon after the April 2014 switch, some of the city's 100,000 residents began complaining about the taste, smell and appearance of the water. Tests later showed the river water lacked proper treatment, causing lead to leach from old pipes.

Brady Emberger was with friends on Sunday, riding his bike through a Sycamore Canyon Preserve trail like he’s done a dozen times before.

This time, however, there was trouble.

Emberger and his friends were detained, ticketed and had their bikes confiscated because they unknowingly rode onto federal land; specifically, Marine base property in Miramar.

Emberger said armed officers detained people in the group and slapped each of them with a $500 citation.

“We’re kind of confused because the trails that we came into in Sycamore Canyon – they had no signs saying you’re entering government property where we came in,” he said.

Then, authorities escorted them off the land and confiscated their bikes, leaving them to hike a couple of miles to the nearest roadway, where some friends could pick them up, Emberger said.

It turns out this hasn’t been the first time this has happened.

The San Diego Mountain Biking Association issued a warning on Saturday, saying authorities had begun enforcing trespassing.

The warning said 15 mountain bikers had recently had their bikes confiscated. In actuality, military officials said they confiscated more than 45 bikes this weekend.

“Make sure you stay clear of this area, so you don’t have to go through what we went through yesterday,” Emberger said.

Meanwhile, Emberger is among a number of mountain bikers who must appear in court and pay the fine to get his bike back.

In a statement Monday evening, MCAS Miramar stated: "MCAS Miramar has diligently worked in alerting the community of off-limits areas and have posted signs and warnings across the government property to further increase awareness. Similarly, Military Police Officers patrol the area regularly."

A Miramar spokesman went on to state that officials confiscated 45 bikes and three motorcycles over the weekend, which will be returned once the defendants' cases are resolved.

"It is imperative that anyone who bikes on the eastern border of the base understand that this is part of an active military training area," the statement says. "We have and will continue to work with community organizations, such as the San Diego Mountain Biking Association, to help educate and deter people from coming onto the base illegally."

Bill Dwyre, a former sports editor and columnist for the Los Angeles Times, wrote this special report exclusively for NBC 7.

Jason Day is misnamed. There is nothing about him that suggests he is merely a 24-hour wonder.
Monday, he came to media day for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. That’s traditional. The previous year’s winner comes back to kick off the media coverage of the tournament and his title defense.

In recent years, Bubba Watson has done it. So has Brandt Snedeker and Scott Stallings. All have been great. Well spoken. Excited to climb Torrey Pines’ mountains again. Still glowing from the memory of the previous year’s conquest, not to mention the fat paycheck that came with reaching the summit.

But with the tournament just around the corner, starting Jan. 28, and with the presence of Day in the room, it was clear that the Farmers might have even a little more magic going for it this time around. That’s because of what Day has become. Also, because of how Day handles what he has become.

We measure superstars in golf by both their scorecard and their X-Factor—personality, charisma, an ability to connect to both welcoming fans and skeptical media.

Day has the X-Factor.

Remember, last year’s Farmers was his season jump start. Winning on the PGA Tour is hard enough. Winning five times, including a major title, is a career. Day did that all last year. His victory at the PGA in August, over a Whistling Straits course on the shores of Lake Michigan in Sheboygan, Wis., that is designed to turn scratch golfers into whimpering jello, was not only remarkable, but a gauntlet throw-down for the PGA, its image and its future.

We could easily be looking at the era of Jordan Speith and nobody else.

Or the era of Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy and nobody else.

But when Day muscled his way onto a share of the top step of golf’s victory stand last year, the sport that has been so long hung up and semi-paralyzed while awaiting a Tigers Woods return that will not happen, suddenly has another Big Three.

Did golf flourish during the Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player Big Three days? Ah, yes.
Will golf now flourish in many of the same ways, maybe more, with Speith, McIlroy and Day, each of whom has sent some time now at No. 1 in the world? Ah, yes.

Life can be as strange as a four-putt from ten feet. Day not only gained the kind of public traction you need by superb performances. He also made news on other fronts.

At the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, a golf course imported to the state of Washington directly from the dark side of the moon, he was in contention much of the way, despite having yet another of his troubling attacks of vertigo. He collapsed on the fairway near the end of Friday’s round and a nation of golf fans gasped. Then he crawled into a trap, somehow got the ball out, somehow finished the round and not only played the next day, but was in the lead going into Sunday. A nation of fans not only gasped, but admired. The golf was a sports page story. Day’s vertigo and recovery was A-1.

Monday, he said his last bout with vertigo had been at last year’s British Open at St. Andrews. He said he didn’t say much about it them, and is hoping for no more recurrences.

“One of the things that triggers it,” he said Monday, “is stress. It’s a good thing I don’t have a job where there is much stress.”

Ah, all this and a sense of humor. Do not think for a moment that that doesn’t play well in the public.

Then there was the LeBron James incident. At a recent NBA game, Day was sitting with his wife, Ellie, at courtside, when James, trying to save a ball headed out of bounds, plowed into Ellie. She was injured, ending up with a concussion. And while Day never made light of it, and knows now that all turned out OK, he also is now able to lighten up on the subject.

“Nothing quite like 6-feet-8-inches and 260 pounds coming at you,” he said, adding that James was very attentive and should receive no blame.

“He was just doing his job,” Day said.

So suddenly, we had the compassionate, story-telling side of Jason Day, as he pointed out the dangers in all sports.

“I hit a 10-year-old boy with a drive here last year,” he said. “The ball went over the adults and hit the shorter boy in the crowd. He was bleeding and crying and I felt terrible. I was shook up. We sent him stuff and I was happy when he was OK.”

Day will not play in this week’s CareerBuilder.Com Open in the Palm Springs Desert. But he will be in the area.

“I kind of make it my base for the West Coast Swing,” he said. “I am at the Vintage Club. I can practice every day. It is usually 75 degrees and no wind. Hard not to like that.”

Hard not to like Jason Day, who, at the moment, is pretty much all news, all the time.
 

A man in Southeast San Diego was Tasered by police officers while naked and possibly on drugs San Diego police confirmed.

The incident happened around 9:35 p.m. Monday evening after officers responded to a domestic violence call in the 4500 block of Home Avenue.

The man is now in custody.

SDPD Southeast Division is investigating.

No further information was immediately available. 

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story.