A woman has been taken to the hospital following a crash in Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego Police said.
The crash happened at 8:38 p.m. Wednesday at Carmel Mountain Road and Via San Marcos, police said.
It is unclear if the car involved stayed at the scene or not.
No further information was immediately available.
Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story.
Police are looking for the man riding a black Harley-Davidson motorcycle, accused of striking and injuring a pedestrian in Oak Park, just north of State Route 94, San Diego Police (SDPD) said.
The crash happened at 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, police said, and the driver was still on scene when officers arrived.
The pedestrian suffered a broken leg and was taken to the hospital.
Since the crash, the motorcyclist has since left the scene and police are searching for him. He was wearing a black jacket with writing on the back.
Euclide Avenue is being partially shut down for a crime scene investigation.
No further information was immediately available.
Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story.
A woman riding her bicycle died after being hit by a car in Carlsbad Wednesday morning, authorities confirmed.
The deadly accident happened just after 10 a.m. in the 4600 block of Carlsbad Boulevard, between Sequoia Avenue and Tierra Del Oro Street, the Carlsbad Police Department said, shutting down traffic on the busy roadways near the beach.
About 10 minutes after the crash, police said Carlsbad Boulevard was closed in both directions, between Tamarack Avenue and Cannon Road. Motorists were told to use an alternate route.
Police said the 59-year-old bicyclist was riding southbound in the bike lane when, for unknown reasons, she swerved into the number one lane. She was struck by an oncoming Ford Fiesta driven by a 64-year-old woman.
Police said the bicyclist was killed in the crash, while the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with officers.
The investigation is ongoing, but police do not believe the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The victim's name has not yet been released.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Bumble Bee Foods has voluntarily recalled some canned tuna over possible contamination that could lead to life-threatening illness.
The company said “process deviations” at a third-party facility during the sterilization process could result in contamination by spoilage organisms or pathogens.
That possible contamination could lead to life-threatening illness if the tuna is consumed, the company said.
Bumble Bee said the products are being recalled out of an abundance of caution and that there have been no reports of illness associated with the affected tuna.
The three products that fall under the recall are: 5oz Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna in Water, 5oz Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna in Oil, and the 4-pack of 5oz Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna in Water.
The products have one of the following three UPC labels: 8660000020, 8660000021 and 8660000736.
Customers who purchased the recalled products are advised to throw them away.
Bumble Bee has created a page for the recall on its website.
A missing puppy that fell off a fishing boat nearly five weeks ago in the waters off Southern California was recently found by the U.S. Navy, and will be reunited with her family Wednesday in San Diego.
U.S. Navy officials say Luna – a one-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd – was presumed to be lost at sea after falling overboard near Naval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente Island (SCI) in Southern California on Feb. 10.
That day, Luna's owner, Nick Hayworth, called officials at SCI from his fishing boat to report that he and his crew were bringing in traps from a fishing vessel when Luna vanished. Hayworth said one minute the pup was there and the next she was gone.
Hayworth and his crew were about two miles off the coast of San Clemente, and he told Naval officials he thought Luna may try to swim to shore.
Navy staff at SCI searched the island for the dog to no avail. Hayworth stayed at sea for two days looking for Luna. And still, no luck.
After about a week of searching for the pup, she was presumed dead, Navy officials said.
Nearly five weeks passed.
Then, a miracle happened.
On Tuesday morning, as Navy staff headed to work at SCI, they spotted Luna sitting next to the road. The pup, as her owner hoped, had somehow managed to make it ashore.
When the pooch saw staffers, she ran right up to them.
"They were shocked," Naval Base Coronado PAO Sandy DeMunnik told NBC 7.
DeMunnik said Luna was examined by a Navy wildlife biologist who found her to be undernourished but otherwise unharmed. The pup was in "good spirits."
The Navy says Luna will be flown to Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado (NASNI) Wednesday afternoon, where she will be turned over to a family friend of her owner. Hayworth is out of town for work, but will return home to San Diego soon to be reunited with his beloved companion.
Hayworth's family friend, Conner Lamb, went to pick up Luna on Wednesday afternoon, as Hayworth is out of town, and the reunion was joyous.
Lamb has worked on a fishing boat with Luna often and is ecstatic and amazed she's alive. He scooped her up and embraced the pup as soon as he saw her.
"(It's) just really mind blowing to tell you the truth," he said. "When I got the call this happened, (I) never even though this would be possible."
A man known as the “Bad Grandpa” bandit, a serial robber who has struck 10 banks across Southern California, is suspected in a Costa Mesa heist on Tuesday.
Costa Mesa police said the robbery at the First Bank and Trust in the 3000 block of Harbor Boulevard in Orange County was reported just before 3:30 p.m.
A suspect described as white, in his 50s and wearing green scrubs with black sleeves and a Washington Redskins cap presented a demand note to a teller.
He took off with an undisclosed amount of cash and a witness reported seeing his speed off in a white compact SUV, police said.
FBI agents suspect he is the “Bad Grandpa” bandit, who has been responsible for robberies in San Diego, Riverside and Orange Counties since Feb. 12. He’s nicknamed because he wears an elderly looking disguise, including a wig and glasses, and carries a cane.
He is described as about 50 years old, 6 feet 1 inch tall and between 150 and 180 pounds.
Two San Diego men were shot and injured in an officer-involved shooting in Perris, California.
Desean Stamps, 21, and Jordan Swanson, 20, were injured Wednesday when an officer opened fire while pursuing the men following a robbery.
Stamps and Swanson were with Patrick Shaw, 18, of Moreno Valley as they drove away from a recycling center.
Just minutes before, an employee had called 911 saying three men held him at knifepoint and demanded money.
Perris police spotted the suspects’ vehicle and pursued it just a short distance when the driver, Shaw, stopped the SUV and got out.
That’s when the Perris Police officer opened fire, according to Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies.
Both Swanson and Stamps suffered non-life threatening injuries in the shooting, officials said.
Stamps was treated at the scene by officers but Swanson ran away on foot.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies called in SWAT and searched the nearby neighborhood. After several hours they found Swanson and took him into custody.
All three suspects will be booked on charges of armed robbery and conspiracy, according to deputies.
The officer who opened fire was placed on administrative leave while the incident was investigated.
No officers were injured during the incident.
As the GOP gears up to battle President Barack Obama’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch’s words may come back to haunt him.
"[Obama] could easily name Merrick Garland, who is a fine man," Hatch, a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the website Newsmax before a luncheon hosted by the Federalist Society on Sunday.
"He probably won’t do that because this appointment is about the election,” Newsmax quoted Hatch as saying. "So I’m pretty sure he’ll name someone the [liberal Democratic base] wants."
But on Wednesday, Obama did nominate Garland, the 63-year-old chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, widely seen as a centrist. In his announcement, Obama noted that in 2010, Hatch had urged him to nominate Garland, saying, "He would very well be supported by all sides."
Obama’s choice of Garland to succeed the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court sets up a fight with Senate Republicans, who are determined to block any nomination until next year in the hopes that a Republican will end up in the White House.
The GOP leadership has insisted that the American people must have a say in who the next justice should be. Democrats counter that Republicans should act on the president’s nomination as the Constitution requires them to.
Reactions to Garland’s nomination fell predictably on party lines.
Wednesday morning, Hatch acknowledged that he thought highly of Garland, but went on to say, "I remain convinced that the best way for the Senate to do its job is to conduct the confirmation process after this toxic presidential election season is over."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, said on the Senate floor that he and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, believed the American people deserved a part in what was a momentous decision, whomever they elected as president.
"Either way, our view is this: Give the people a voice in filling this vacancy," he said.
Before the announcement, Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee reaffirmed the GOP position, saying he and his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee had already given their advice and consent.
“We will not have any hearings or votes on President Obama’s pick,” he said.
And Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts tweeted, "The next justice will have an effect on #SCOTUS for decades to come and should not be rushed through during an election year."
Among Democrats, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York called Garland a bipartisan choice.
"If the Republicans can't support him, who can they support?" Schumer asked.
Vermont’s Sen. Patrick Leahy cited Garland’s experience leading the prosecution of two of the country’s most notorious cases of domestic terrorism, the Oklahoma City bombing and the Unabomber case, in calling him one of the most accomplished judges on the federal bench.
"Chief Judge Garland is undeniably fair-minded and independent, and it is no wonder that he has received praise from across the political spectrum," Leahy said in a statement. "He should be confirmed without controversy."
And Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, called on the Republicans to act.
"[Obama] is doing his job this morning; they should theirs," he said.
Bustling Little Italy stands to lose more than 50 parking spots under a transportation plan in the works for the city of San Diego.
Members of the Little Italy Association of San Diego filled a room to protest Civic San Diego’s downtown mobility plan that aims to install a series of bike lanes, widened sidewalks and shortened street crossings on urban streets.
"To take away any parking in the area is devastating to the community," one business owner said during public comment.
Community members came together Wednesday evening to speak at the Downtown Community Planning Council meeting, voicing their thoughts on the plan aimed at making the entire downtown area more bicycle, pedestrian and public transit friendly.
"As far as parking goes, everyone in Little Italy can testify, we're in a daily episode of Survivor," a resident said.
In a letter to Little Italy residents, Chris Gomez, district manager of the Little Italy Association, said the proposed plan means that 50 parking spaces would be eliminated on State and West Beech Streets.
"We recommended all our North/South streets in Little Italy would be converted to diagonal parking and all our East/West streets would be converted to headed parking," Gomez said.
He said protected bike lanes would be implemented “that are not safe or viable for our community or cyclists.”
Andy Handshaw with Bike Coalition San Diego County supports the Mobility Plan, saying its goal is to accommodate future growth.
"You reduce parking demand when you have a mobility plan like this," he said. "When you give them the option to come by walk, by bike by transit."
Officials said there is still a ways to go until the fate of the plan is determined.
A San Diego mother who was high on drugs when she crashed her car into a telephone pole, killing her 3-year-old daughter, was convicted of multiple charges, including vehicular manslaughter and child abuse, the San Diego County District Attorney's office said.
Brandy Teague, 32, was behind the wheel of her Hyundai Electra in the April 4, 2015 crash that killed her daughter, Carlee Ramirez. The tot was not buckled into her car seat properly before the deadly collision on Broadway in El Cajon, a city in east San Diego County, the medical examiner's office said.
Wednesday, a jury found Teague guilty of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of drugs, three counts of child abuse and possession of methamphetamine, the DA's office said. She could spend 16 years and four months in state prison when sentenced on April 1.
Carlee was sitting in a booster seat in the left rear passenger side of the Hyundai when Teague veered off the road and plowed into the pole. While Carlee’s lap belt was secure, the shoulder belt was behind the back of the seat, according to the report.
Although emergency crews performed CPR on Carlee and rushed her to Rady Children’s Hospital, she died soon after. Her cause of death was blunt force injuries to her head and a neck fracture, the medical examiner said, and her manner of death was categorized as accidental.
During the preliminary hearing, El Cajon Police Officer Jeremy Fisher testified, saying he interviewed the defendant's young son, Brandon, in the minutes after the crash, Brandon told Fisher that his mom had been falling asleep at the wheel before the family arrived at a local fast food restaurant for dinner. The boy said he told his mom that they shouldn't be driving.
Brandon suffered a gash to his left eye, felt sore in his chest and arm, and told Fisher he was having trouble breathing following the crash.
Police in Chula Vista serving an arrest warrant on Montgomery Street ended up in a standoff with a suspect that lasted hours on Thursday.
Officers were serving the warrant at the suspect's mother house in the 100 block of Montgomery Street on Thursday morning, but the suspect refused to exit the residence, triggering the standoff.
The man, 24-year-old Ivan Corola, was wanted on two felony warrants for probation violations.
Officers, who had information that he had two guns inside, negotiated for him to surrender peacefully. They used flash bangs and sirens in their efforts to get him to come out.
Corola surrendered to police at about 2:30 p.m. He told police that he didn't have any weapons inside the house, officials said.
A nearby school, Otay Elementary School,was not placed in lockdown, but students are operating under a rainy day schedule and staying indoors, officials said.
All school traffic was directed to approach from Main Street and leave back toward Main Street.
Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story.
Apple CEO Tim Cook makes his case for why his company doesn't want to help the FBI unlock San Bernardino killer Syed Farook's iPhone in an extended interview with Time magazine, NBC News reported.
Cook reveals the decision to say no when the FBI asked the company to build a new operating system to crack the phone was a "labored decision," and that "lots of people were involved."
In the interview published online Thursday, Cook also fires back at government claims that unless investigators can break locked iPhones and bypass encryption, criminals and terrorists are going to be able to hide from the law — a problem the government refers to as "going dark."
Sen. Lindsey Graham announced he will host a fundraiser for Sen. Ted Cruz in an effort to derail Donald Trump from securing the Republican nomination, NBC News reported.
In an interview with CNN, Graham said Cruz is strategically the best alternative to stop Trump. He said he’s supporting the candidate he believes is the most electable.
"John Kasich, I think, is the most viable general election candidate. I don't see how John gets through the primary," he said.
Graham will host a pro-Israel fundraiser on Monday and will continue to rally support for Cruz.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Thursday pushed back on a New York Times report that said President Barack Obama privately told Democratic donors the party should begin to coalesce behind Hillary Clinton, NBC News reported.
Earnest told reporters that Obama "did not indicate or specify a preference in the race."
The newspaper reported Thursday that Obama told donors Bernie Sanders' campaign is nearing its end and Democrats should begin preparing for Clinton's general election run.
For Sunshine Week, NBC 7 Investigates wanted to know how easy it was to obtain a copy of a Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) from local agencies.
In California, more than 500,000 people are required to file an SEI, also known as a California form 700, because of their position as a public official. The forms are filed as part of the Political Reform Act (PRA), according to the Fair Political Practices Committee (FPPC) based in Sacramento.
The forms are the basic conflict of interest code which say no public official can make or participate in making or influencing a government decision they know or should have known they have a personal or financial interest in. The forms are signed under oath.
According to the law, each agency must determine its own conflict of interest code based on guidance in the PRA and which people qualify to file an SEI.
The forms can be obtained by physically visiting a public official’s offices.
Government agencies are required to provide a copy when asked. Currently, not all forms can be accessed online.
The FPPC said there is a movement toward centralizing access to these forms online through electronic filing.
NBC 7 Investigates visited the offices of four local government officials to see how accessible these documents are.
The first stop was at Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office. Staff at the San Diego Mayor’s Office was friendly and helpful, but did not have the form in their office. Instead, it was located on the second floor of the building with the San Diego City Clerk. Inside the Clerk’s Office there is a computer where citizens can search for the SEI they want and leave with a printed copy in hand.
Click here to view the Mayor’s SEI.
The next stop was the San Diego City Attorney’s Office. NBC 7 Investigates was not able to access the form initially. When asked about the SEI, individuals working at the front desk did not know what it was. A representative for the City Attorney called two days after the office visit with instructions on where to find it online.
Click here to view the City Attorney’s SEI.
NBC 7 Investigates also stopped by the the San Diego Police Department to ask for the form. During the visit, the SEI was not immediately provided but an SDPD representative followed up with a phone call, instructing where to find the document online.
Click here to view the Police Chief’s SEI.
When searching for San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ SEI, NBC 7 Investigates was directed to three different locations before ending up in the Special Operations Department. A deputy district attorney found the form online and sent it over.
In an email, Communications Director for the DA, Steve Walker, said, “providing public records and access to public information is a priority at the District Attorney’s Office through our website, public affairs staff, and timely responses to nearly 100 California Public Records Act requests each year.”
Click here to view Dumanis’ SEI.
Below are notes about NBC 7 Investigates visit to the departments in search of the SEI forms:
This is one of a series of posts from NBC 7 Investigates highlighting the public’s right of access to information. The stories were published to coordinate with Sunshine Week, an annual campaign bringing attention to federal and local access issues. In California, the public is able to request information from government agencies, offices and officials through the California Public Records Act. For more information on how to request information click here.
A very observant Caltrans supervisor helped rescue an injured driver trapped in a wreck 200 feet down a gorge in north San Diego after he noticed skid marks across the freeway leading off the roadway’s edge.
Officials with Caltrans District 11 in San Diego County said Caltrans Maintenance Supervisor Brian “Andy” Villalobos, who works with the Escondido Travel Way Crew, was driving northbound on Interstate 15 north of Gopher Canyon Road on Wednesday afternoon when he noticed something strange on the road – a roadway he knows all too well.
Villalobos spotted what appeared to be fresh skid marks on the freeway. The marks went across the freeway and continued toward the edge of the road.
Villalobos soon realized that when he traveled that roadway the day before, those skid marks were not there. He pulled over to investigate.
When Villalobos walked to the edge of the freeway and looked down into a gorge below, he spotted a mangled car – which was barely visible – about 200 feet down at the bottom of the gorge.
Inside the wreck was a driver – still alive, but trapped and seriously injured.
Villalobos called authorities for help. The driver was rescued from the wreckage.
According to investigators, the driver, for unknown reasons, lost control of his car the night before and crashed off the side of the freeway, unbeknownst to anyone.
Caltrans Maintenance Area Superintendent Michael Moeck praised Villalobos’ quick thinking, which helped save the driver’s life.
“This victim and his vehicle were not visible to anyone from the freeway and I have no doubts that if Andy had not stopped to investigate, the driver would have perished alone in his vehicle and would not have been discovered for weeks or months to come,” said Moeck.
Even through an El Nino winter, most days look like a postcard in the middle of Chula Vista’s Otay Lake.
What looks like leisure to some, is actually just another grueling training session for others.
Rowers from across the U.S. aren’t here for a leisurely ride. They’re working hard to earn a seat on American boats for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Among them, 25-year-old Tyler Nase, a Philadelphia-area native who moved west to Chula Vista’s Olympic Training Center to try and make Team USA.
“We really want to fine tune our skills, that way when we’re in competition, we don’t really have to worry about those things. It’s just sort of second nature” said Nase.
Nase competes in the Men’s Lightweight 4 Event, which unlike traditional rowing, requires athletes to weigh in before competition. The rowers need to average out to 70 kilograms, or right around 153 pounds.
This added requirement is no small foot note, defining the kinds of athletes who can compete in the event since the biggest and strongest men need not apply. Traditional rowers who stand like chiseled statues at 6-foot, 6-inches and 220 pounds of muscle will tip the scales.
Nase and his teammates normally weigh north of 165 pounds, but drop weight like wrestlers in the days before competitions.
“During competition, like the day of the race, I’ll sweat down 2 pounds and after we weigh in, I’ll get to hydrate again to get ready for the next race” said Nase.
This added weight component makes eating a real focus. Lightweight rowers must sacrifice pleasure foods more often than other athletes.
“I’m passing up pizza, not really digging into lasagna, stuff like that” said Nase who knows a thing or two about sacrifice.
The Princeton graduate put his career on hold to pursue his Olympic dream. Rowing requires year-round training with morning and evening sessions, which means no big vacations.
He’ll row 15 miles in the morning, hit the weight room after lunch, and then row an 80-minute afternoon session.
While Nase’s buddies let loose on Friday night, he is often asleep by 9 p.m. needing the rest and recovery.
In some ways, lightweight rowers like Nase embody the true “Olympic Dream.” Since they’re all right around the same size, genetics play a smaller role in success. Natural gifts take a back seat to who wants it the most.
“I found out in high school, it really didn’t matter, there were no naturals, it was just whoever worked hard, stayed consistent, stuff like that” said Nase.
Ironic how an event defined by hard work looks so effortless in motion.
NBC 7 Investigates was denied basic information about the firing of 11 San Diego Police Department officers from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015. Citing the “confidential” status of “personnel information,” SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman declined to name any of the officers or reveal why they were dismissed, even if the officer’s identity was not released.
The Chief’s office said it cannot make that information public because it is specifically exempt from release under the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 6254 (c)), and the California Penal Code (Section 832.7).
In other states this information is often publicly available from the officer’s personnel record. But in California, state law and labor contracts between the officers’ union and the cities they work for allow that information to remain secret, even after the officer is fired.
Critics, including former San Diego city councilmember Donna Frye, said the public deserves to know more about why officers are fired.
“I believe that the public interest outweighs the privacy interests (of officers and their departments), especially if some of those behaviors may have involved members of the public,” said Frye, who continues her advocacy for open government as a board member of CalAware, a public interest group that pushes for open government and transparency.
Terry Francke, General Counsel and Executive Director of CalAware, said no other public employees in California are so completely protected by state laws and codes that prohibit the release of information about their job history.
In California the public has access to license revocation information for doctors, lawyers, barbers and building contractors, who are licensed by the state. Francke said personnel information about state and local government employees is also often available, but law enforcement personnel are exempt.
Francke, who advises media outlets, including NBC 7, on how to obtain public records and get access to public meetings, said laws protecting the employment history of California peace officers is a result of the “enormous power in the legislature of (labor) unions generally, and police unions specifically.”
He said the Democratic Party’s majority at the state capitol is “very responsive to union priorities and concerns” and both political parties are “concerned about law enforcement priorities” as voiced by labor unions that represent peace officers.
NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the San Diego Police Officers Association about the personnel exemption in California that allows for law enforcement members records to be withheld from the public. The organization's Communication Coordinator, Jacqueline Rainey, said the police group “does not have a comment at this time.”
The Police Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), a state-wide police officers’ labor group, did not reply to NBC 7 Investigates request for comment.
One Democrat, State Senator Mark Leno, wants to open the door of secrecy on law enforcement discipline. While not directly confronting the current prohibitions on the release of information about terminations, Leno’s bill (SD 1286) would allow the public to learn more about the results of investigations into peace officer misconduct.
Right now, those documents are also generally considered exempt from disclosure. Leno’s bill would also make other law enforcement personnel records -- including complaints against officers -- public record. The American Civil Liberties Union supports Leno’s bill, which is now being considered in committee.
SDPD Chief Zimmerman told NBC 7 Investigates she did not personally oppose the release of information about why the 11 officers were fired, but said state law and exemptions to the CPRA prohibit her from doing so.
The department did release limited statistical information about some of the fired officers. One of them was a 27-year veteran; another served the department for 24 years. A third officer had been with the department just 10 months when he (or she) was fired.
Those statistics also reveal Chief Zimmerman fired five officers in a less than two month span, from May 8th to June 30th, 2015.
This is one of a series of posts from NBC 7 Investigates highlighting the public’s right of access to information. The stories were published to coordinate with Sunshine Week, an annual campaign bringing attention to federal and local access issues. In California, the public is able to request information from government agencies, offices and officials through the California Public Records Act. For more information on how to request information click here.
Marco Rubio told reporters he planned to leave politics for some time after his current term in the Senate is done, although he offered no other specifics on his future, NBC News reported.
"I'm going to finish my term here in Senate, work hard and then be private citizen in January," he said.
Rubio also told reporters he’s ruled out running as vice president for the GOP’s eventual nominee, NBC News reported.
The former presidential candidate and Florida senator told reporters Thursday he wasn’t going to endorse any of the remaining candidates, although he was hopeful Republicans could coalesce around an alternative to GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was “unacceptable” for Donald Trump to suggest there would be rioting if he is not chosen as the Republican nominee, NBC News reported.
"Nobody should say such things in my opinion because to even address or hint to violence is unacceptable," he told reporters on Capitol Hill.
The Republican presidential front-runner said on CNN Wednesday that “you’d have riots” if he does not win the GOP nomination at the convention in July.
For the first time, Ryan — who will be the chairman of the convention in Cleveland — acknowledged there could be an open convention. He already dismissed the possibility of opposing Trump as the party's nominee.
