A man in south suburban Lansing kept an alligator at his house for over two decades without neighbors knowing, according to authorities.

The 6-foot-long alligator spent most of its 26 years in a cage of the basement of Charles Price’s house, according to Illinois Department of Natural Resources Spokesperson Chris Young.

However, Price "put it out periodically in his back yard. No one knew he had it, no one had ever seen it,” IDNR Sgt. Bill Shannon told The Chicago Tribune Saturday.

The animal was noticed earlier this month by an appliance repairman who had been working in Price's basement, Young said. The worker noticed something moving in a covered container, so he lifted the cover, took photos of the reptile and contacted Lansing Police Department's animal control.

Shannon got word of the alligator and contacted conservation police Officer Roberto Macias and an alligator specialist known as "Bob."

"It was every bit of 200 pounds," Shannon told the Tribune.

Lansing police Chief Dennis Murrin Jr. also told the publication: "In 25 years, I've never had anything like it.”

Three Newtown High School students have been arrested and 20 others could have to do community service after a months-long police investigation into a sexting case in which some the students sold the photos and videos, according to police.

The investigation began in May when police received reports of Newtown High School students sharing sexually explicit photos and video.

At some point, school administrators were somehow made aware and police would spend six months investigating.

"I think the difficult lesson learned to all students is that every key stroke you're putting forward on technology, you own that for a lifetime," Newton public schools' superintendent Joseph Erardi said. 

Police said several boys and girls had created the photos and images of themselves outside of school, but then other students started getting them through Snapchat, Facetime, iMessage, Kik and other text messaging apps.

Several of the students were profiting on them by selling the photos and images, police said.

Three high school students were arrested on obscenity and child pornography charges.

"I think people need to know you shouldn't be sending pictures like that to begin with," Amanda Walsh, a Newtown senior, said. 

Twenty were referred to the juvenile review board, a community based program in which juveniles must do some kind of community service instead of going through the judicial system.

In October, Plainfield High School's varsity football team was barred from a game after some members were caught sharing sexual photos and videos in a group chat, officials said at the time.

One person has died after a wrong-way driver slammed into another vehicle Wednesday night, according to San Diego police.

Just after 9 p.m., the driver started traveling on Miramar Road in the wrong direction.

The car hit another in the area of 6300 Miramar Road. One person was pronounced dead following the crash, but it's unclear which vehicle the victim was in.

No further details have been released.

Thrashing El Nino storms, which stripped a great deal of sand from Coronado shores, have revealed an amazing glimpse into history.

During low tide Saturday, the rusted remains of SS Monte Carlo emerged from the beach, close to Avenida de las Arenas. Joe Ditler, who has been studying the shipwreck for 30 years, was there to snap pictures of the wreckage, which appears from time to time when sand is sparse.

According to Ditler, a vicious storm rocked the Monte Carlo on Dec. 31, 1936, breaking the ship from its moorings three miles from Coronado’s shore.

Two caretakers were rescued from the 300-foot boat, and on New Year's morning, it washed up on South Coronado Beach.

In the Prohibition days, the ship was anchored in international waters to avoid U.S. laws. People searching for gambling, prostitution or bootleg whiskey would take smaller boats out to the “sin ship” for a night of revelry, Ditler told NBC 7. 

Famous actors such as Clark Gable and May West reportedly gave the Monte Carlo their patronage.

“Evangelists throughout San Diego County and Southern California devoted their whole sermons to sin ships, ‘May God let forth His wrath!’” Ditler explained. “When it did break moorings and crashed, they took credit.”

He said there were rumors that at least $100,000 worth of silver dollars was buried with the wreckage when sand washed over the Monte Carlo.

The beached ship, once known as a pleasure palace, now provides pleasure to sightseers lucky enough to catch it at a very low tide.

“I’m going to research it. I’m probably going to try and get a lot of information on it,” said teen Sophie Lee. “Try and look it up and look at pictures and stuff like that.”

If more El Nino storms lash San Diego’s shores, Ditler expects more people may get to see the piece of local maritime history. Since he has lived here, he said he has never seen so much of the wreckage as he did this weekend.

Its reoccuring reappearance, he said, is ironic, given the beach on which it washed up.

"Coronado is prim and proper, and here's this gambling ship, this sin ship, that crashed on the beach in the 1930s and they can't get rid of it," said Ditler. 

The 3-year-old New Jersey girl found in grave condition alongside her dead mother and brother in their carbon-monoxide filled car while their father was shoveling steps away over the weekend has died, authorities say.

The girl, Saniyah, was initially discovered in very critical condition in her family's car on a Passaic street and was transferred to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, police said. 

She was pronounced dead Wednesday afternoon, officials said. 

Saniyah's mother, 23-year-old Sasha Bonilla, and her 1-year-old brother died in the idling car while taking refuge from the chill while the kids' dad, Felix Bonilla, worked to clear the snow from the blizzard, Passaic Police said.

The vehicle's tailpipe was blocked by snow, and carbon monoxide backed up into the car, police said.

When the father looked up, still shoveling, he found his family unconscious, according to neighbor Isabel Carmona, who said he was hysterical, "crying and jumping." 

Emergency responders arrived on the scene on Sherman Street to find people performing CPR. But the mother and son could not be saved.

The children's paternal grandfather told NBC 4 outside his son's family's home Sunday night his son was in shock. 

"My son, he can't even say nothing, he can't even move, he can't even talk," said Bonilla. 

Carbon monoxide is also thought to be the cause of death for a Brooklyn man found in his snow-covered car Monday. Angel Ginel's family said he had been trying to stay warm in his car when plows came through the street and buried the vehicle in snow, blocking the exhaust pipe. 

Drivers who find themselves trapped in the snow should crack open the window while they keep warm, fire officials say. 

About 80 percent of Super Bowl tickets are sold in the two weeks leading up to the big game. And in the rush to buy, experts say counterfeiters are getting ready to take advantage of excited football fans.

The NFL did not release this year’s ticket artwork until recently, so counterfeiters would not have enough time to copy the exact design. Plus, parts of the tickets are covered up in photos to hide security features, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy.

“The technology in printing some of the counterfeit tickets is amazing,” said Better Business Bureau CEO Steve McFarland, who says his Silicon Valley office is expecting dozens of complaints about “phony tickets, phony brokers – a lot of different situations for the upcoming Super Bowl.”

Counterfeit tickets are an issue at every Super Bowl, but the Department of Homeland Security believes the problem is growing as scam artists get better at copying holograms and codes.

McFarland says there are ways to tell if a ticket is fake: “smeared numbers, smeared barcodes, white out, crossed-out information, inferior materials, inferior paper.”

Sites such as StubHub estimate less than 1 percent of tickets are fake, but when prices are so steep the resale ticket company says they are taking extra precautions.

“The cheapest ticket right now on StubHub is around $4,000 – that’s for upper level seats. There are prices that go up to $20-25,000 for club-level suites,” StubHub spokesman Cameron Papp said, explaining the company’s inspectors check every ticket by hand using black lights and heat lamps.

“Every ticket from a seller has to be sent in to stub hub by next week before the Super Bowl. We have a trust and safety team that goes through every single ticket, and then the buyer picks up their ticket on Super Bowl Sunday. There are no electronic tickets,” he said.

About 90 percent of Super Bowl tickets are not sold through StubHub, which gives customers a guarantee. However, McFarland says there are websites where buyers can research sellers first:

-National Association of Ticket Buyers: www.natb.com
-Better Business Bureau: www.bbb.org

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) also says to make sure you’re buying from a secure website that begins with “https” – “the ‘s’ is for secure,” McFarland said, explaining there are sites that mirror legitimate websites but divert unsuspecting buyers to other sites where they input personal information.

“For counterfeit tickets there’s a potential to lose twice. First, by not getting the valid ticket. Second, you’ve now given up personal information, financial information,” McFarland said.

Then, there’s game day, when schemers can hatch elaborate plans to resell already used tickets, according to the BBB. Scammers take real tickets, drop them down to people outside the stadium, who in turn give them to scalpers to sell.

“Then when you take your ticket to be scanned, of course, it’s going to reject,” McFarland said, explaining this scheme has been executed at nearby AT&T Park.

The space that once housed a popular Uptown San Diego restaurant will find new life this spring when a pasta-centric, California-meets-Italy eatery moves in.

Urban Kitchen Group – the company behind local spots CUCINA urbana and CUCINA enoteca – has announced it will soon open another location – cucina SORELLA, in the Kensington community.

The latest cucina concept will be at the former site of Kensington Grill (4055 Adams Ave.), a well-known neighborhood restaurant once operated by the restaurant group. After Kensington Grill closed, the site housed Fish Public, which closed about a year ago.

For this new food venture, the restaurant group, with restaurateur Tracy Borkrum at the helm, says it will re-conceptualize the 3,500-square-foot space in the heart of the lively neighborhood.

Cucina SORELLA will offer a new spin on the signature CUCINA California-Italian cuisine concept, with the menu boasting a “pasta-forward approach.”

“We’re excited to present guests with some very familiar elements from our original Banker’s Hill location, but reimagined to suit a more neighborhood-focused experience,” said Borkrum.

To that end, cucina SORELLA’s menu will feature hand-crafted pastas, antipasti, polenta boards and plates – small and large, sweet and savory. Several signature dishes currently available at CUCINA urbana and CUCINA enoteca will also be available on the SORELLA menu.

The new eatery also plans to offer a takeout program and interactive classes to patrons in the future. The restaurant group is working out the details and plans to release updates, including an opening date, in the months ahead.
 

More than a dozen San Diego Police patrol cars got life-saving technology Wednesday as part of an ongoing effort to outfit first responders with Automated External Defibrillators.

Fourteen AED's have been placed in patrol cars used by SDPD's Northwestern Division.

Police officers will be trained to use these automatic external defibrillators when they're out on patrol.

San Diego City Councilmember Mark Kersey said they're easy to use and have automated voice instructions.

“Our police officers are often the first ones on the scene of an emergency,” Kersey said. “Having them equipped with this AED, this life-saving technology makes good sense. They can help save lives.”

Funding for the AEDs was authorized by Kersey and Council President Sheri Lightner through their community programs, projects and services funds.

Northwestern Division serves roughly 70,000 people in communities of Black Mountain, Carmel Valley, and Sorrento Valley. Each defibrillator costs roughly $1400.

In March 2015, the patrol cars in the SDPD Northeastern Division received the devices.

After a brief standoff with police at an Escondido apartment complex, officers have arrested a person of interest in a homicide on the same property earlier this week.

At about 4 p.m. Wednesday, Escondido police detectives learned a man wanted for a felony probation violation, 36-year-old Marco Carapia, was at the Daybreak Apartments on East Washington Avenue.

Carapia is also considered a person of interest in the death of a man shot at the same apartments Monday, according to Lt. Ed Varso.

When detectives arrived at the apartments, they tried to call into the unit, but no one responded.

Officials soon decided to bring in their SWAT team, creating a perimeter around the area as a helicopter flew overhead to watch out for Carapia.

The suspect was seen climbing onto the complex's roof and then running back into the apartment, Varso said.

Finally, he called the police dispatch center and said he wanted to turn himself over to officers. Carapia left the building and was arrested without incident.

Varso did not say if there was a possible connection to Carapia and the homicide victim, whose body was found by a driveway at the same apartments around 11 p.m. Monday. The man in his 30s has still not been identified.

According to Varso, Carapia did not live at the apartment complex, but he was visiting friends who lived there. It's unclear if the victim lived at the Daybreak Apartments.

Varso said the investigation is still ongoing, so they are trying to determine if there are other persons of interest in the case.

A San Diego woman has put a call out on social media to help find her sister’s ashes, stolen during a car break-in near the U.S.-Mexico border.

For Alyssa Henderson, the death of her twin sister Monica is still raw.

“She was sassy, loveable,” said Henderson. “Her attitude made people laugh.”

The 23-year-old died on Sept. 24, 2015, from a liver disease she suffered since she was a baby. After she passed, Henderson, her sisters and her mom divided some of Monica’s ashes into a few pendants.

Henderson told NBC 7 she usually hangs her pendant around her neck or on her car’s rearview mirror, which is where it sat Tuesday night when she and her boyfriend drove to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.

They crossed the border on foot to spend the night in Mexico. But when they returned Wednesday morning, they found one of the Toyota Corolla's windows shattered.

A thief had broken in to steal her boyfriend’s Adidas gray and black duffel bag, the keys to his 1988 Ford Ranger and 1997 Malibu, a gift for Henderson’s son and the ashes.

“I cried. I said, ‘My sister's ashes are stolen,’” said Henderson, “and I saw how his reaction was because he was like, 'Oh man, here comes the waterworks.' And I started crying. But it was really... it's just painful. Those are my sister's ashes. She just passed in September."

Henderson has reported the theft to the police, but they have no leads at this point.

“I’m always in my car,” she said. “There was like so many other things they could steal. I don’t know why someone steals my sister’s ashes.”
 

Ammon Bundy asked the remaining occupiers on a federal wildlife in Oregon to leave the property, NBC News reported.

"To those at the refuge, I love you. Let us take this fight from here. Please stand down. Please stand down. Go home and hug your families." Bundy said in a statement read by his lawyer, Mike Arnold, outside court. 

Local and federal authorities arrested Bundy, his brother and six others late Tuesday afternoon — most of them as they were driving to another town to attend a community meeting.  

The FBI and Oregon State Police say they've arrested three more people late on Wednesday night connected to the armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in a remote Oregon area, The Associated Press reported.

A statement said they arrested 45-year-old Duane Leo Ehmer of Irrigon, Oregon, and 34-year-old Dylan Wade Anderson of Provo, Utah, around 3:30 p.m. A few hours later, 43-year-old Jason S. Patrick of Bonaire, Georgia, was arrested.

The FBI said the men turned themselves in to agents at a checkpoint on a road near the refuge.

As with the eight others arrested a day earlier, officials say these men will face one federal felony count of conspiracy to impede officers of the United States from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats

A seventh follower, Robert LaVoy Finicum, was shot and killed under circumstances that haven't been explained.

Two San Diego County teens were left disappointed after being turned away from a "Frozen" Disney on Ice show at Valley View Casino for an unlikely and seemingly bizarre reason: they were too tall to be wearing costumes.

Say what?

The girls said security staff told them they could be confused with the performers.

"Honestly, more than anything, it was just disappointing," Jessica Mcroskey said.

The two friends who attend Francis Parker High School, Mcroskey and Jennifer Wineholt, were decked out in "Frozen" attire for the event last Friday – only to be turned away because they were too tall, they told NBC 7. After the girls showed their IDs, proving they weren’t adults, they were given this reason:

“They came back later and said that 'Yes, you’re under 18, but you’re too tall ... people would actually think that you’re one of the characters,' and I guess there’s an issue with them taking pictures with us or something,” McRoskey said.

The teens said they looked again at the fine print on their tickets: Nowhere did it say on the tickets nor the event's website that costumes weren't allowed.

When reached for comment, a spokesman for Feld Entertainment, the promoter of the event, told NBC 7 the company doesn’t have a policy against costumes. He said there appeared to be a miscommunication with security guards.

The company has offered the girls tickets to a later event.

The two best friends are heading to college on opposite coasts next year.

"We just want to have as much fun together as we can before we leave, and that was a night we'd been looking forward to for awhile," Wineholt said. "It's definitely a night we won't be able to get back."

Community groups in San Diego County are investigating possible connections with a Louisiana man now in custody on allegations of child molestation made decades ago.

U.S. Marshals arrested Frank Selas, 76, Monday at his home on Casa Verde Court in Bonita. Selas was a fugitive, officials said, wanted in connection with accusations made in Louisiana three decades ago.

The former PTA president and Cub Scout leader is contesting he is the man wanted in Louisiana on a decades-outstanding warrant for sexually abusing children during a free camping retreat. Selas pleaded not guilty to a fugitive charge Wednesday in court and a judge set bail at $10 million.

"This is a shock to everybody, that these allegations have even been made," said Selas' defense attorney Marc Carlos. "It's from 1979, some 35 years ago, so it’s a shock to them."

At the identity hearing, officials will take Selas' fingerprints to determine whether he is the same man named in the warrant. 

"The investigation of child abuse was a lot different in 1979 than it is now," said Marc Carlos, Selas' defense attorney. "There's a lot more suggestibility in children's interviews. Police departments and investigating agencies have changed the way they deal with sex cases and children since 1979."

He will appear next in court on Feb. 11. 

Investigators say Selas spent the last three decades on the run, living in San Diego and volunteering with community organizations including the Cub Scouts and the American Red Cross.

The leader of Pack 8-88 in Bonita told NBC 7 he was very surprised by what he saw on the news. Selas had helped set up the chapter in 2013 and then retired right after, the leader said.

The Boys Scouts of America sent an email to NBC 7 stating that Selas had been removed from the scouting program for non-compliance with our youth protection policies and procedures. The BSA also said the recent allegations appear to be unrelated to scouting.

According to an online blog, Selas was involved in parent teacher groups in the Bonita area, he was a swim and CPR instructor for the American Red Cross and also organized camp style programs for children.

Selas is a former member of the Bonita Optimist Club, according to president Tim Jeffries.

He hasn’t been very active in the club for perhaps a decade and is now no longer involved with the club, Jeffries said.

Even so, members are upset about the allegations.

"I was certainly shocked,” Jeffries said. “Especially since serving the youth community is our primary mission. It's really disturbing."

The Chula Vista Elementary School District informed NBC 7 that there does not appear to be a direct connection between their schools and Selas.

“The individual's access to area youth raises a number of 'red flags.' It is very much a concern to us," according to the district’s statement.

In the late 1970s, Selas hosted the "Mr. Wonder" show on KNOE-TV in north Louisiana. In 1979, the sheriff's office received complaints from parents who accused Selas of abusing their children during a camping trip near Valentine Lake at Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana.

The three-day retreat was promoted by Selas through Ouachita Parish, associated with his TV personality. He promoted the trips for children ages 5-11, according to a flier provided by the sheriff's office.

Louisiana law enforcement officials obtained a warrant for Selas' arrest in relation to two counts of obscene behavior with a juvenile. When officials went to his home, his wife told them her husband had fled in the family car. In the coming days, officials would find Selas' car in Dallas. Selas, then 39, allegedly fled the country and flew from Dallas to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before investigators could arrest him.

When Salas returned to the U.S., investigators say he changed his last name and Social Security number.

NBC 7 Investigates is looking into connections between Selas and community groups in our region. If you have information, please contact our hotline at (619) 578-0393 or email NBC7Investigates@nbcuni.com.

The Super Bowl 50 statue at San Francisco City Hall has been vandalized — again.

It now reads "Sup Bro 50," according to a photo posted by Twitter user @shanand. The first time around, the statue saw its solar panels ripped off.

Hoodline reports that the statue in Alamo Square also had its lettering altered to read "Superb Owl 50."

Super Bowl statues can now be spotted all across San Francisco — including Crissy Field, Twin Peaks, the Palace of Fine Arts and Fisherman's Wharf — as well as San Jose airport — which just opened a swanky new $82 million executive airport, where the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers will park their planes.

Sup Bro. #SB50 pic.twitter.com/ao8ImxugZ1

• Senator's Stolen Family SUV Recovered as Suspects Bail

— shanan (@shanand) January 28, 2016

Training props in the form of pressure cookers and screws caused a ruckus Thursday when FedEx workers in France discovered them en route to the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia.

The devices, found at the company's warehouse near Charles de Gaulle airport, were intended to train the Tunisian military in counter-IED tactics, according to a U.S. Defense Department official.

The workers immediately alerted managers and were told there was no danger from the shipment, without explaining further and leaving workers "nervous and abandoned," CGT Union spokesman Frederic Petit told NBC News. 

The CFT union filed a complaint Wednesday to investigate what it called "the serious and imminent danger" in which the workers were placed. It said it was in discussions with FedEx over the incident.

Local beer microbrewer Pure Project plans a Jan. 30 opening, as the first tenant to debut at property owner H.G. Fenton Co.’s Brewery Igniter incubator facility in Miramar.

A statement from San Diego-based H.G. Fenton said the building at 9030 Kenamar Drive is the first of two sites in Miramar that that will house early-stage craft breweries. Three others are slated to open soon in North Park, with one planned to debut in Carlsbad later this year.

H.G. Fenton officials said the industrial facility spaces are being established to help startup brewery tenants minimize upfront costs for capital, construction risk and related issues. Each Brewery Igniter location will include brewing equipment and tasting room facilities needed to start a microbrewery.

“Launching a microbrewery is a tough process to manage and finance,” said Bill Hooper, a portfolio manager with H.G. Fenton Co. “From purchasing the brewing system to building the tap room, there’s a lot that has to get done and it takes a long time.”

Hooper said tenants will be given flexible lease terms, and can apply for their state licenses and begin selling product “in months instead of years.”

Pure Project is led by partners Jesse Pine, Agi Pine and Mat Robar, with brewmaster Winslow Sawyer. The company signed a lease for space at the Kenamar Drive property six months ago and will have 12 brews on tap at its Miramar headquarters and tasting room.

Led by President and CEO Mike Neal, Mission Valley-headquartered H.G. Fenton Co. owns and manages more than 4.5 million square feet of office and industrial space and 14 apartment communities. It also manages a development pipeline of land and commercial projects throughout San Diego County.
 

There’s a new political action committee that aims at gaining support of Indian-Americans for Donald Trump, NBC News reported.

The group “Indian-Americans for Trump 2016” was registered with the Federal Election Commission on Jan. 21. Discussions for the group began in December.

A.D. Amar, the group’s president and a business professor at Seton Hall University, told NBC News Trump’s stances on illegal immigration and the economy as key factors for the group’s support. He also said the group iliked the fact that Trump said he would not take money from PACs or other groups.

Amar believes the perceived difference between Trump's style and his management will translate to a change after the election.
 

An American Airlines flight from London to Los Angeles doubled back Wednesday after two passengers and "some" crew members fell ill, according to an airline spokesperson.

American Airlines flight 109 departed Heathrow shortly after midnight local time and returned to the airport around 5 p.m. after a "medical emergency" occurred on board, the airline said.

"Two passengers and some of our flight attendants complained of lightheadedness during the flight," an airline spokesperson said in an email Thursday.

The airline did not specify how many crew members were affected, but The Telegraph in Britain reports five flight attendants felt sick and one collapsed. American Airlines could not confirm a flight attendant fainted.

According to The Telegraph, the crew asked passengers if a doctor was on board.

The captain decided to land in London, and paramedics evaluated the passengers and crew. No one needed further medical attention.

It's not clear what caused them to feel sick. According to The New York Times, similar symptoms have been linked in the past to contaminated cabin air, known as aerotoxic syndrome.

A maintenance team inspected the Boeing 777 and conducted a test flight, according to the airline, which said no issues with the plane were identified.

"Out of an abundance of caution, all of the air filters on the aircraft were replaced," the airline said.

American Airlines apologized to passengers Wednesday.

Ari Mason contributed to this report.

A tractor trailer hauling tons of frozen chicken caught fire Thursday, shutting down Interstate 8 in the East County.

The semi driver was traveling west on I-8 near Second Street around 1 a.m. when he noticed smoke and flames coming from the back of the truck.

The trailer held 40,000 pounds of frozen chicken, according to California Highway Patrol officers.

The driver immediately pulled to the shoulder and called for help.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and jumped on the fire.

CHP officers rerouted several lanes of traffic.

By 5:30 a.m., all lanes of westbound I-8 were reopened.
Crews were able to save some of those boxes of chicken and hauled them away.

No one was injured.