At least four Americans, a husband and wife from the South and a brother and sister from New York City, are still missing after the Brussels bombings, according to family members desperately awaiting word from them, NBC News reported.

Justin Shults and his wife Stephanie were waving goodbye to Stephanie's mother, Carolyn Moore, at the time of the airport blasts. Moore survived the explosions but the family does not know whether the couple was still in the building at the time of the blasts.

Justin Shults, 30, is originally from Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Stephanie Shults, 29, is from Lexington, Kentucky.

Less is known about siblings Sascha and Alexander Pinczowski, who had just arrived at the Brussels airport and were on the phone with a relative when the explosions went off. The line went dead after the blasts, according to the New York Daily News.

Gerber Products Company is voluntarily recalling two Organic pouch baby food products after identifying a packaging defect that may result in spoilage during transport and handling.

The recall affects Gerber Organic 2nd Foods Pouches, which are available in 3.5 ounce pouches with pears, carrots and peas, and carrots, apples and mangoes.

Gerber said in a press release, published on the Food and Drug Administration's website, that customers may notice the affected pouches are bloated and the product inside may have "an off taste or color."

The company said it is working to retrieve the four affected batches from retailers across the U.S. and online stores.

Here are the products that are being recalled and should not be consumed:

GERBER® Organic 2ND FOODS® Pouches –Pears, Carrots & Peas, 3.5 ounce pouch UPC 15000074319

Best By dates/batch codes

12JUL2016 51945335XX and 13JUL2016 51955335XX

GERBER® Organic 2ND FOODS® Pouches- Carrots, Apples and Mangoes, 3.5 ounce pouch UPC 15000074395

Best By dates/batch codes

13JUL2016 51955335XX and 14JUL2016 51965335XX

Customers who have purchased one of the products may request a replacement coupon by calling the Gerber Parents Resource Center at 1-800-706-0556. The recall does not affect any other Gerber pouches or Gerber products, the company said.

A man was being called a "hero" after taking down a shirtless, unruly passenger on an Expo line in Los Angeles in an act that was caught on camera, and going viral Monday night.

In the video posted to YouTube, which by Thursday morning had received more than two million views, a shirtless man can be seen confronting passengers on the train on Saturday night.

The train was traveling on the La Brea line from the Crenshaw area to the Culver City station around 9 p.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed.

As the 25-year-old shirtless man was badgering other riders, a man, identified as Adrian Kaczmarek, suddenly appears and puts him in a rear-naked chokehold, as seen in the video.

"I was more concerned about my safety and the people on the train safety. I wasn't sure if he had a knife or if he had a gun," said Kaczmarek, who grew up in New York before moving to LA five years ago. 

Kaczmarek dropped the subdued man to the ground, and then placed his foot on the man’s chest.

"I finally saw it escalating to the point where he was getting physical and people are getting pushed around. The whole thing is about to explode. I thought the best thing to do was go over there and subdue him," Kaczmarek said.

A transit officer arrived, but the man continued to struggle so Kaczmarek used the officer's handcuffs to restrain him at the Culver City Station. The shirtless man was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance, authorities said.  

Microsoft is revamping its artificial intelligence chatbot named Tay on Twitter after she tweeted a flood of racist messages on Wednesday.

The computer program, designed to simulate conversation with humans, responded to questions posed by Twitter users by expressing support for white supremacy and genocide. The account also said that the Holocaust was made up. The offending tweets were deleted, but outlets like Business Insider and The Verge kept a record of the snafu.

Microsoft recently unveiled Tay with the goal of engaging and entertaining people online "through causal and playful conversation" according to Microsoft's website for the bot. The company said she is supposed to get smarter the more users chat with her, but within 24 hours of being on Twitter she went awry, according to The Verge.

The chatbot's primary data source is public data that has been anonymized then "modeled, cleaned and filtered by the team developing Tay," according to Microsoft. That team includes improvisational comedians.

Microsoft has said Tay is designed to interact with 18- to 24-year-olds, who are the dominant users of social chat services in the U.S.

The company told TechCrunch in a statement that Tay is "as much a social and cultural experiment" as it is a technical one.

"Unfortunately, within the first 24 hours of coming online, we became aware of a coordinated effort by some users to abuse Tay’s commenting skills to have Tay respond in inappropriate ways," Microsoft said.

Tay has since been taken "offline and we are making adjustments," the company said. 

Former GOP presidential contender Ben Carson offered a lukewarm defense of Donald Trump's many controversies on Thursday, telling the hosts of ABC's "The View" that Trump's bombast is intended for political gain, NBC News reported.

"But what we have to do is recognize we have to work with what we have, not necessarily what we ideally would want," the retired neurosurgeon said, adding that "we the people are largely responsible" because politicians respond when people stand up for what they believe. 

Carson said his endorsement of Trump was going against the establishment which doesn't like “people who are not beholding to them, and people who are not controlling to them coming into Washington D.C.”

The combative interview, in which the show's hosts repeatedly called Trump a "liar," a "racist" and compared him to Hitler, incensed the GOP front-runner, sending him to Twitter to express his disgust. 

A mortuary attendant was arrested Wednesday for allegedly stealing a vehicle that belonged to a deceased man, according to a news release.

Authorities arrested Fernando Moguel, 41, after serving a search warrant in the 6000 block of Coldwater Canyon in North Hollywood, according to a news release form the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators said Moguel responded to the location of a reported deceased man in Lancaster on March 5 and took possession of the man's body. Within 48 hours, the vehicle belonging to the man, and a firearm, were stolen from the residence, according to the news release.

An investigation determined the deceased man's vehicle was transferred to Moguel.

Moguel was booked at the sheriff's Lancaster station for the alleged grand theft of a vehicle and possession of a stolen firearm. The bail amount for Moguel was $35,000.

The alleged theft remains under investigation.

It was unclear if Moguel had an attorney.

An American considers himself "lucky" to have survived back-to-back fatal explosions that ripped through the departures hall at Brussels airport Tuesday.

"There is something called faith or blind luck and I guess we had it today," Paul Doty says.

The 51-year-old lives with his wife Tania Hoffman, 47, about 50 miles outside of Brussels.

On Tuesday, they traveled to the busy airport en route to meet Doty's new grandson in the states.

They were especially looking forward to treating themselves to a cup of coffee at the airport before their departure.

"We live in an area where the nearest Starbucks is 20 kilometers from us so we usually stop at Starbucks before heading to security," he says. "My wife had to use the restroom and of course I'm thinking, 'You couldn't wait a few minutes?'"

It was then, when Hoffmann was in the restroom, the bombs detonated, feet from where the two checked into their flight moments earlier and feet from where the two were headed.

"The first bomb went off, I knew it was a bomb, but it was in my mind quite a distance away," he says. "The explosion was like a boom."

Within seconds, a second explosion.

"This explosion was much more powerful and forced me to take a couple of steps to maintain balance," Doty says.

His first thoughts were with his wife who remained in the restroom during the explosions.

He called out to her several times. She couldn't hear him, she didn't reply.

Hoffmann was surrounded by ceiling tiles and rubble that now covered the floors. She crawled over the debris-scattered floor and met her husband.

Dust made it hard for Doty to see; his eardrum ruptured, he was stumbling.

"I've seen ladies with shards of glass buried in their hands," Doty says. There was blood on the floor and other people were visibly injured, including children.

After the initial panic, he says people worked together to exit the airport calmly and safely.

"Someone" opened up the security screening stations and helped clear the way for travelers to leave, he says. He could see a number of military and police with their guns drawn heading in the direction of the explosions.

"The people that remained were very cooperative and moved to the side and let them through," he says. "Most placed their hands on their heads, if able."

He describes a scene of solidarity between survivors outside the airport's building. Strangers helped each other with heavy luggage, shared phones to call loved ones and handed out water to those who needed it.

"The stars aligned and it certainly could have been us," Doty says.

In all, at least 31 were killed and more than 200 were injured in the blasts at the check-in zone of the Brussels airport and in a third bombing at Belgian capital's subway.

Mall owner Westfield Corp. has acquired two buildings at its Westfield Mission Valley mall from retailer Macy’s Inc., for approximately $16.5 million, according to CoStar Group.

The buildings in the deal were Macy’s current 363,000-square-foot department store property at 1702 Camino Del Rio North, and a smaller nearby 5,500-square-foot retail building that currently houses the restaurant Broken Yolk Café, at 1760 Camino Del Rio North. Macy’s also operates a separate home furnishings store at the same center that was not part of the transaction.

Cincinnati-based Macy’s announced in February that it was examining selling off full or partial stakes in some of its mall-based and other flagship real estate holdings. In Mission Valley and other U.S. locations, Macy’s has remained in place as a tenant under lease agreements with the new owners.

Sydney-based Westfield Corp. owns or holds stakes in six San Diego County retail centers.

Ted Cruz lashed out at Donald Trump Thursday, calling him a “sniveling coward,” and telling the GOP front-runner to leave his wife “the hell alone,” NBC News reported.

Trump retweeted an unflattering photo of Cruz’s wife, Heidi.

"It's not easy to tick me off. I don't get angry often," Cruz told reporters while campaigning in Wisconsin. "But you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that'll do it every time. Donald you are a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone."

The rivalry between the two heated up this week after an anti-Trump super PAC released an ad featuring Melania Trump in a photo shoot from 2000 with the meme caption: "meet Melania Trump. Your next first lady. Or, you could support Ted Cruz on Tuesday."  

Sarah Hammer owns a world record and eight world titles, but for one of America’s most decorated cyclists ever, a single accomplishment remains just beyond the reach of her handlebars: an Olympic gold medal.

Hammer became the first US cyclist to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro earlier this month. Now, she's hoping the third time is a charm at finding the top of the podium.

She competed at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics and the London 2012 Summer Olympics, where she won two silver medals including a heartbreaking second place finish in the Omnium.

“I lost gold by one point, so that was one of those things where you’re like, ‘One point!’, but in reality I couldn’t have done anything else,” said Hammer.

The Temecula native, who previously split time between Southern California and Europe, moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado after the London Games. Hammer spent the last few years winning five more world medals while thinking about Rio.

"The cool thing about sport is you never know what is going to happen, so if I knew what was going to happen next summer, it wouldn’t be as exciting chasing it," said Hammer.

The U.S. Justice Department announced seven Iranian computer experts linked to the government in Tehran were charged with hacking American banks and a dam in New York.

Forty-six major financial institutions, including Bank of America and Capital One, were targeted from 2011 to 2013, stopping hundreds of thousands of customers from accessing their accounts and costing the businesses millions of dollars, the feds charged.

The hackers allegedly also broke into the control system for Bowman Avenue Dam in Rye Brook, about 20 miles north of New York City, the indictment says.

FBI Director James Comey, speaking at a joint press conference Thursday morning with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, said the cyberattacks are proof there "is no place safe in this increasingly smaller world."

FBI Director James Comey says the agency has found no connection between the terrorists responsible for the Brussels attacks and anyone in the United States, according to NBC News.

Comey said the FBI looks for signs of copycat attacks whenever terrorists strike overseas, with agents looking for any kind of connections, including family relationships and communications, with people in the U.S.

"When people see images of innocent men, women, and children being slaughtered around the world, I hope that will reinforce the notion that the Islamic State, so-called, is not engaged in some heroic, romantic battle on the side of good, but instead they'll see it as a bunch of savages occupying a space that's hell on earth right now."  

 San Diego hikers heading to one of San Diego’s most popular outdoor destinations will now have more parking spaces. 

On a busy day, more than 300 hikers at a time will fill the trails at Iron Mountain in Poway. The parking lot, however, only fits 100 cars.

"It's a terrific thing because we have so many people coming to visit our backyard here and we needed a place for them to be able to park that was accessible and safe," Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said. 

Because the trail for the hike is off State Route 64, a busy highway, it can often be dangerous getting to the trail head, said Vaus.

“And they park along 67 and in some cases they would be running across the street, not going down to the light with their kids; we want to make it more safe,” Vaus said.

Wednesday, the City of Poway officially opened additional parking lots to increase access and improve safety at the Iron Mountain trail and the Lake Poway Recreational Park.

The current project adds 20 spaces of parking to the Iron Mountain's parking lot and 61 more spaces around Lake Poway Recreational Park. Vaus said the expansion will be able to accommodate the nearly 300 visitors they see hiking every weekend. The slots are expected to increase visitor access and safety. 

Vaus said that is one of many projects the City of Poway and the County is looking at to help visitors enjoy the natural environment in the area.

“Poway is known for having over 55 miles of trails as it is,” Vaus said. “We're working with County Supervisor Diane Jacob to be able to connect our trails and our open space all the way out of Ramona.”

The funding for new parking was made possible through city funds and the County of San Diego Neighborhood Reinvestment Program.

Anti-Trump groups are ramping up their efforts to stop the GOP front-runner’s candidacy as Wisconsin gears up for its primary race, NBC News reports.

Two conservative anti-Trump groups have announced plans to engage in the state. Club for Growth has invested $8 million worth of television ads, while Our Principles PAC has plans, but hasn’t announced anything specific.

Conservative radio host Erick Erickson said there’s a feeling Cruz could stop Trump from winning a majority of the delegates. If Cruz does not perform well in Wisconsin, Erickson said, discussions about a third party option could be revived quickly.

With a majority of states having voted, each opportunity becomes more important for the anti-Trump movement.  

A woman caught lighting fires in the Midway District Thursday may be the same person who set dozens of fires in several San Diego communities, San Diego Fire-Rescue officials confirmed.

Maintenance workers at the Kaiser Permanente clinic on Kenyon and Fordham streets were leaving on break just before 3 a.m. when they noticed a fire in back of the building.

The fire in the bushes along Wing Street produced 4-foot flames, workers said.

After noticing the smell of smoke, they say they found a trash can on fire and smoke coming out from under a parked white pickup truck.

Workers say there was debris in a box and the box was placed under the truck’s gas tank.

When they saw the woman standing nearby, they told her to leave the property.

That’s when, the workers claim, the woman said she started the fire to stay warm.

“We can’t be having this around here. Houses are going to catch on fire, people are going to die, people are going to get hurt. It’s unacceptable.” said witness Jeff Cooter.

San Diego Police Officers arrived just after 3 a.m. and took the woman into custody.

On Monday, March 21, several fires were set within minutes in Hillcrest including one that spread from a trash can to a nearby home.

Close to 30 San Diego Fire-Rescue firefighters were called to fight eight fires including one at Herbert Street and University Avenue where fire did significant damage to a home.

SDFD Detective Chris Everett said the suspect in the Midway fires may be tied to the Hillcrest arson series as well as others. 

No further information was immediately available.

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The civil trial against former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner continued on Thursday, with psychologists testifying about the mental anguish one of the victims suffered over the alleged sexual harassment.

A key witness who was subpoenaed to testify at the trial did not show up Thursday afternoon, and if the situation is not worked out she could be held in contempt, which is a criminal offense officials said. 

The jury was sent home early and is due back Monday morning. Before Monday, however, the court hopes to speak with the witness, Benelia Santos-Hunter. 

NBC 7 talked to Santos-Hunter about her own lawsuit against Filner, her former boss, in February. 

"It was very difficult to speak up, but it was the right thing to do," Santos-Hunter said after the City settled her civil suit for $667,000 last year. 

Filner's former executive assistant, Santos-Hunter said her boss locked her in the office kitchen once and asked her to have sex with him. 

Santos-Hunter has now been ordered to appear in court on Friday to give the judge a good reason as to why she did not show up in court Thursday. 

Filner resigned from office in August 2013 after multiple women accused him of unwelcome sexual advances and inappropriate behavior in a scandal that rocked San Diego city government.

This civil trial – one of two lawsuits against Filner that have yet to be settled – involves city parks employee Stacie McKenzie, who alleges that Filner grabbed her from behind, put her in a headlock and touched her inappropriately in Mission Bay Park in April 2013.

McKenzie, a city parks employee for 32 years, says Filner allegedly rubbed her breast and commented on her appearance while claiming he wanted to be close to her and serve as her mentor.

Psychologist Breffini Barrett testified Thursday that McKenzie suffers from depression and anxiety that was exacerbated by Filner’s alleged harassment.

“She’s able to put on a good face, but struggles with feelings inside,” Barrett said.

The psychologist said McKenzie was “vulnerable to sexual abuse.”

“She works hard to keep bad thoughts out of her head, which is why she's not getting better,” Barrett said.

McKenzie is seeking $500,000 in damages, and is being represented by prominent San Diego-based attorney Dan Gilleon.

For his part, Filner has publicly and vehemently denied all accusations of sexual harassment, including the park incident involving McKenzie.
 

A 15-year-old girl was attacked and stabbed at her home in Vista by a burglar who, just an hour before the attack, walked through her backyard to ask for directions, investigators confirmed.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) released details of the violent home burglary for the first time Thursday. According to investigators, the suspect remains at large.

Deputies said that just before 10 a.m. Monday, an unknown man entered a home without permission near the intersection of E. East Drive and N. Santa Fe Avenue.

Inside was a 15-year-old girl and her brother. The man stabbed the teenager in the hand with some sort of gardening tool, possibly a machete of sorts, and fled the scene.

The attack happened in the garage, investigators said, and the teen's brother heard her screams for help. He then saw his sister bleeding from the wound to her hand. 

Just an hour before the assault, deputies said the suspect entered the girl’s home through the backyard and asked for directions to a local business. The man got directions and left, but returned a short time later and attacked the girl.

The teenage victim was rushed to a local hospital with non-life threatening wounds and will recover, officials said. Her brother was not harmed in the incident.

At this point, investigators believe the attack was random, and that the suspect and victim do not know one another. The motive for the stabbing remains unknown.

Three days later, deputies are still searching for the stabbing and burglary suspect, the SDSO said. The man is described as a 16 to 18-year-old Hispanic man standing between 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-10, weighing between 160 to 200 pounds.

He wore a grey or black hooded sweatshirt, jeans and possibly a black hat with the San Diego Padres logo on it during the attack. He was last seen fleeing the area on a small, green bicycle.

SDSO Sgt. Jason Scroggins told NBC 7 the attack on the girl was "brazen."

"It's pretty scary at that time of the day, nine or 10 in the morning, families are out, kids are walking to school, to and from, that somebody would come into a residence and attack another female juvenile for no apparent reason is pretty brazen," Scroggins said.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information can call the SDSO at (858) 565-5200 or Crime Stoppers’ anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters may be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in this case.
 

A jury on Thursday convicted a man accused of stabbing two San Diego firefighters of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter, but acquitted him of the more serious attempted murder charges.

The jury also found Ryan Allen Jones guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and another count of battery related to an assault of MTS officers.

Jones showed no emotion as the verdicts were read on Thursday morning.

Jones is accused of attacking unarmed firefighters Ben Vernon and Alex Wallbrett with a hunting knife at a medical aid call at the Park and Market trolley station on June 24 last year.

The jury deliberated for nearly three days after receiving the case by midday Monday.

Much of the trial focused on body camera footage the prosecution says shows Vernon backing away with his hands up and Jones stepping in to stab him repeatedly. 

Last week, Jones testified he was trying to provide information to firefighters about a patient they were assisting when a fire captain pushed him over a bench, causing Jones to hit his head. When Jones got up, he said he was confused and surrounded by MTS officers who pepper-sprayed him as he tried to flee.

Jones said he had cloudy vision and feared he was about to be beaten, possibly shot, when he pulled out his knife and stabbed Vernon, not knowing who he was attacking. 

The defense’s case has also hinged on their assertion that the firefighters were acting outside the scope of their duties when they pursued Jones, and that they should have waited for police. 

Bahr said video evidence shows Jones fled a safe distance away from the firefighters after their captain shoved him. 

The prosecutor played surveillance video several times for the jury of Jones falling over the bench saying it clearly shows he never hit his head. Schott told the jury if they determine the defendant lied about something significant, like hitting his head, they should consider not believing anything else he said.

Last week, the jury heard heartfelt testimony from those two firefighters who were attacked that day in the line of duty. Wallbrett had rushed to Vernon's aid and Jones then stabbed Wallbrett several times before a fire engineer stopped him. Both said it was not being able to protect each other that was the unbearable part of that day.

Jones will be sentenced April 22.

Military wife, mother of two and special education teacher Tracey Martinson received a certificate and a bicycle in recognition of her work with children and in the community from the Amgen Tour of California Thursday. 

Martinson was selected from dozens of submissions from around the county of military spouses active in their community. 

She said she was appreciative of the hard work and dedication of her coworkers at Lindbergh/Schweitzer Elementary School who nominated her for the award.

“It’s extremely important for children – all children – to have an excellent experience in school and feel like they are special and that they can succeed in anything that they do and be cheered on,” Martinson said after receiving her award. “If I can do anything it’s to cheer them on when they do the littlest of things or the biggest of things and do it with a smile on my face and make the kids happy and feel like they are important.”

Martinson is the mother of an eight-year-old with high functioning autism. She said she was ‘touched’ by the positive influence other people had on her son, and was inspired to dedicate herself to helping others in the same way.

“Every day you come to work, you don’t know it, but you’re helping somebody,” she said.

Martinson and her family love to stay active. 

The Amgen Tour of California is an eight-day professional race that finishes in Escondido. 
 

Six four-month-old cheetah cubs born just before Thanksgiving last year are now on exhibit in their new home at the Safari Park.

This is the first time visitors to the park will be able to see the cubs, who have been at an offsite breeding center at the Safari Park since they were born.

Each cub weighs approximately 15 to 20 pounds.

The four female cubs, Darlene, Geisel, L.C., and Mary Jane, and two male cubs, Donald and Copley, live with their mother Addison near the rhinos and giraffes just off the African Tram Safari Route.

The cubs are the second litter for Addison and the biggest for the park to date.

The Safari Park is one of nine breeding facilities as part of the cheetah Breeding Center Coalition, (BCC) whose goal is to create a sustainable cheetah population that will prevent extinction.

It’s estimated that the worldwide population of cheetahs has been reduced from 100,000 in 1900 to just 10,000 left today, with about 10% now living in zoos or wildlife parks.