A proposal asking for changes that would create more transparency and oversight for the City of San Diego’s police review board moved forward Wednesday.

The City of San Diego’s Charter Review Committee will now consider the proposal that would make changes to the City of San Diego’s Citizens Review Board on Police Practices. The Board was approved by voters in 1988 to help relieve tensions in the city after the shooting death of a police officer by a young black man in southeast San Diego.

"Women Occupy San Diego" submitted the proposal to the San Diego City Council Rules Committee in January. Some of the proposed changes include having independent investigators for the Review Board, more diverse citizen board members and opening all of the Board meetings to the public. To help with the diversity of the board, the proposal would allow city council members to appoint board member from their districts. Since some of the proposed changes could alter the City Charter, a vote of the public may be necessary.

While the proposal continues to be considered by council, the Review Board is also working on possible changes it can make. Council has asked the Review Board to keep them updated on the progress of those changes.

An NBC 7 Investigates story revealed two former board members, Lucy Pearson and Benetta Buell-Wilson, said they think the board has a “fixed” and ineffective review process. According to the women, the process subverts the board's intent, something that’s detrimental not just for citizens but for SDPD officers as well.

Buell-Wilson and Pearson claim a lack of transparency and secret decision-making stifles dissent between members and the city. Both women said CRB members who are "pro-police" get the more serious cases, depriving the complaining citizens of a fair hearing.

Click here to see the complete investigation.

Women Occupy San Diego members said the NBC 7 Investigates story inspired them to "include independent legal counsel” for the Board.

Three people died in Wisconsin after a powerful storm reached the northern Midwest Thursday, NBC News reported.

A van spun out of control on an icy interstate northeast of Milwaukee Thursday morning. The vehicle slid across the median into oncoming traffic, colliding into an 18-wheeler. The van's driver and a passenger were killed.

Another driver, a 23-year-old man, died Thursday afternoon in the same county in a two-car crash. The other driver, a 71-year-old woman, suffered minor injuries.

Three Michigan counties were hit by snow, ice and wind, knocking out power to hundreds of homes, according to The Associated Press. In Colorado, transportation officials helped nearly 200 people who were stuck on on interstate.

Clusters of storms were expected in Alabama and in the Florida panhandle, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Dave Houtz.  

 While the Chargers had been expected to unveil their new downtown stadium plan on Thursday, that went by the boards for some further tweaking – and a potential "Plan B".

The team had "self-imposed" a Thursday deadline to formally confirm what's already been leaked by insiders.

But NBC 7’s Derek Togerson also has learned that the Bolts are leaning toward staying for the 2017 season, if that's what it might take to get an East Village stadium approved.

We got a wait-and-see reading on all this from Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

"As we look at the financial aspects of it, as we look at the short-term and the long-term,” he said in an interview, “that's the kind of conversation we have to have with all the stakeholders around the table. San Diegans are good at coming together."

Among the unfinished business at Chargers Park, according to sources, is the completion of "spectacular" new site renderings and video animation to replace visuals that have been displayed by media outlets for a couple of years now.

Meantime, the team knows its East Village game plan and big room-tax increase face the likelihood of pushback from the hotel industry.

There’s opposition, too, from East Village visionaries who say the stadium and convention center complex would crowd out the prospect of establishing a high-tech innovation and employment hub there, anchored by a university's satellite campus.

"It could be UCSD, it could be San Diego State, could be a combination -- could be somebody totally different,” says Wayne Raffesberger, a longtime activist in downtown issues.

“That would spur businesses that want to locate next to them,” Raffesberger told NBC 7. “We can't even imagine what they could be -- that's the future. But those are where the jobs are being created in this country. That's tomorrow's economy."

In the event that the Chargers' proposal is hung up by legal issues or a loss at the ballot box in November, a potential Plan B is to commit to playing the 2017 season here -- and point toward a special election in June of next year, under an NFL option to delay moving to Los Angeles.

Viejas Arena has been shaking from the ground up lately. It’s not an earth quake causing the rumbles, but the thunderous cheers, chants and straight up pride of SDSU fans. Can you blame them? For much of the second half of this season, the Aztecs were poised to make an appearance in the NCAA tournament. A few weeks ago, reality set in, and the Aztecs were left out of March Madness. But instead of hanging their heads low, this talented group hunkered down and prepared to enter the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Now they’re headed to play at Madison Square Garden, and that gives us plenty to cheer about. Here are few more things to add to your SDSU poster board before cheering them on in the Big Apple.

Do It for the Seniors

The seniors on this team have undoubtedly set the bar. In the opening round of the NIT, Winston Shepard made school history punching in a triple-double. He finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists in the 79-55 win over IPFW. Shepard has been candid about his disappointment in being left out of the NCAA tournament, but like a true leader, he channeled his energy into showing everyone that the Aztecs are strong no matter what tournament they’re in. After clinching their spot in the final four Wednesday night, Shepard reiterated his excitement in making it to the semi-finals saying, “The first and most important thing was being excited to be in this tournament. Once we got over the initial disappointment of not getting in the tournament, we still knew we were one of the best teams. There are four good teams going to New York, but I like our chances.” I’m looking to Shepard to make some power plays and make the remainder of his collegiate career a memorable one.

Then there’s Skylar Spencer, who secured his 300th block in Wednesday night’s win over the Yellow Jackets. That was another moment in school history.

The Standouts

It’s a story of redemption, especially for the seniors, but the underclassmen have stepped up this year as well. Sophomore guard Trey Kell has been something special to watch all season. Kell has scored in double figures in 22 of his last 24 games and is a consistent force out on the court.

We can’t talk about stand out performances without mentioning Malik Pope. In his sophomore season with SDSU the forward leads the team in rebounding for the seventh time this year and 10th time in his career. I have a feeling once these two hit the hardwood at MSG they’ll be unstoppable.

Fisher at the Helm

For the sake of being completely transparent, Steve Fisher is someone I really admire. I just want to take the man out for a good meal and pick his brain. I’ll save the leisurely talks until after the tournament because Fisher is all business right now. To me it’s obvious he’s proud of his team but he’s also clear in his direction and isn’t shy about what they need to focus on with each opponent. They’re on a high right now but he has great perspective when it comes to facing each round. After Wednesday night’s win, Fisher spoke about the progression of the team saying, “We are playing with a nice confidence on the offensive end. Seeing the ball go in makes you feel good about yourself no matter who you are. When you are doing the right thing and getting the shot you want, you can’t shake your head in disappointment when they don’t go in; you just have to get the next one. We’re playing with a confident feel at both ends of the floor and the ball is going in.”

The Aztecs go into the NIT Final Four as the number two seed. SDSU plays George Washington on Tuesday March 29th for a shot at the finals.

A 10-second, slow-motion video of a teenager from Florida's Hialeah, leaping over a tall fence while wearing a Superman shirt, recently got more than one million views online. The video was so incredible, NBC 6 decided to go find out if it was truly authentic. 

Our search brought us to Champagnat Catholic School in Hialeah. Braithe Ferguson, 17, is the jumper. He plays basketball at Champagnat.

The fence from the video measured out to 5-feet, 11-inches tall. Ferguson said he had just finished basketball practice when his friends offered up a challenge, "They know I can jump, so they dared me to jump over it."

"Everybody doubted him," said Thierry Lafortune, the Champagnat senior who shot the viral video on his phone.

Without any hesitation, Ferguson easily jumped over the fence.

"It was crazy," Lafortune said. And yet, after Ferguson pulled off the high-flying feat, he wasn't surprised at all.

"I know I (could) do it because I jump way higher than that," he said.

But what he didn't know is that the video, after getting posted on Twitter, would quickly go viral, "It was on Bleacher Report, World Star, ESPN."

Ferguson said his record jump is close to 6-feet, 6-inches. He was so confident about his skills, he didn't even flinch when NBC'6 Adam Kuperstein asked him to do it again, on the spot. This time, in front of TV cameras, teachers, coaches and even his principal, he jumped the fence with even more room to spare.

Ferguson is hoping all the attention will help him land a college scholarship, and he doesn't mind what it's for. He'd be happy to play basketball, football or even compete in track-and-field, which would be quite a feat in itself, considered he's never officially participated in the high jump.

Heiress Leona Helmsley left her dog $12 million in her will, which may seem eccentric, but pets are a factor often forgotten in estate planning.

“People don’t think about making arrangements for their pets because they’re not people,” Christina Gustin with UBS financial services told NBC 7.

Gustin said not making plans for your pet can be a big mistake. She explained estate attorneys and financial planners should include family pets when they design wills and trusts.

“A pet trust is a really flexible document that can provide for the care of the pet, you can appoint a guardian for your pet and even set aside funds for the care of your pet,” Gustin said.

But if you're just talking about a family cat or dog, is a trust really worth it?

“I mean somebody’s got to pay for it,” pet owner Jerry Riley said.” Especially if the people you’re thinking about don’t have a lot of money but have a lot of love to give and that’s what’s important.”

Lydia Perez is a Marine Corps reservist and, at the age of 21, has already talked to family members about the care of her two dogs.

“I want them to be taken care of as I take care of them now,” Perez explained.

Usually pet trusts are specific to a specific pet Gustin explained. If your pet passes away or you get a new pet you should update the trust.

“I think the larger the animal and the longer the lifespan, the more complicated the situation, the more planning you should be doing,” she said.

She said an agreement can be informal, an internet document or from an attorney, but the bottom line is to think about your pet’s future when you are unable to be there for them.

“Something happens to you tomorrow, you could be 25 years old, what happens to your animals?” Gustin said.

Have you made plans for your pets? What do you think of the idea of creating a pet trust?
Weigh in on the conversation at Consumer Bob on Facebook.

Police released new photos of the suspect’s car in a hit-and-run that happened in El Cajon March 15.

Sirad Shamsudeen, 12, who is affectionately known as ‘Sparkle’, was walking home from school when she was hit by the suspect in the 500 block of East Chase Avenue.

The driver ran through several red lights to get away from the crash.

El Cajon police are following multiple leads in the investigation and located surveillance cameras in the area with images of the suspect’s car.

The car has been identified as a silver 2013-2014 Honda Accord coupe similar to the examples in the picture.

The suspect’s car likely has damage to the front bumper, grill and hood police said.

Police believe the suspect may have tried to repair the damage or hide the car altogether.

The driver was going north on Avocado Avenue before the crash and was last seen going east on Chase.

Sirad was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries and underwent surgery as a result of the hit-and-run.

She suffered a bruised lung and liver and a fractured pelvis according to her mother Asiyah Shamsudeen.

“I think this incident is unfortunate, that it happened to my daughter – but it could happen to anyone. And to hit a kid and leave like that, I don’t know what type of heart that person has, or what type of morals they have, but I hope if you’re seeing this, you’ll turn yourself in,” Asiyah said.

Sirad is expected to survive but has a long recovery process ahead of her due to her injuries.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the El Cajon Police Department Traffic Division at 619-441-1632, the El Cajon Police Department Communications Center at 619-579-3311, or San Diego Crime Stoppers at 1-888-580-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.

A six-hour lockdown at Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) has been lifted after all personnel and patients sheltered in place Thursday following the report of an armed man at the hospital.

The situation prompted the naval hospital to issue a "code white" alert across the campus as naval officials launched an investigation. Several hours into the lockdown, no suspect or weapon had been found, officials said.

Brian O'Rourke, media relations officer for Navy Region Southwest, told NBC 7 the shelter in place order was issued as a precaution. There was no active shooter situation at the Naval facility.

At 12:20 p.m., Naval Base San Diego officials confirmed that four unspent bullets had been discovered during security sweeps of the medical center. Investigators were still working to determine whether those bullets were connected to the anonymous tipster's phone call. 

The unpsent bullets were all found in Building 1, scattered in different spots in the building. At that point, the lockdown remained in place. By 1:40 p.m., the shelter in place order had been lifted and people were once again allowed to walk freely around the facility.

O'Rourke said an anonymous call came into NMCSD at 7:30 a.m. reporting an armed man on the fourth floor of Building 1 in the main hospital building. The caller then quickly hung up the phone.

Officials worked for hours to verify the call and determine whether there was a credible threat to the Naval facility or if this incident was a false alarm.

O'Rourke said the Navy takes any and all potential threats seriously. Right away, officials were deployed into the area and the facility was put on lockdown.

“Our investigators have been thoroughly investigating that building since, we have not yet found anything. That investigation continues - floor-by-floor, wing-by-wing,” O'Rourke said around 10:10 a.m.

"Any threat to our people, to our assets, we take very seriously," he added. "We have to; we're going to make sure that our people are safe, that our neighbors are safe."

NMCSD officials advised staff and patients en route to the facility not to head to the hospital until the scene was cleared. People already at the campus would not be allowed to leave until officials gave the green light.

O'Rourke said patients who had appointments scheduled at NMCSD today will have those appointments rescheduled.

"If you need emergency care, there are other hospitals you can go to. Please call 911," he advised. "You can go to one of the clinics on one of our bases or any other hospital."

Aerial footage of the facility around 8:15 a.m. showed guards at the gates turning away vehicles. Officers with the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) were stationed at the entrance to NMCSD on Florida Drive as well. 

Commander Navy Region Southwest Police patrol cars were parked on the campus of the medical center, with several uniformed officers also in place. Some ambulances and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) engines surrounded the complex, too.

At around 8:45 a.m., a pregnant woman at the entrance to the hospital was loaded into an ambulance. SDFD spokesman Lee Swanson said the woman was going into labor but couldn't enter the Naval Medical Center due to the lockdown.

Witnesses said pregnant woman was standing on Park Boulevard, just outside the facility, with many others when she collapsed. Swanson said the woman was transported to Scripps Mercy Hospital. She was rubbing her stomach as the ambulance took her away, trying to breathe through her contractions.

Throughout the lengthy lockdown, NBC 7 spoke with people waiting outside the facility. One man said his wife and child were inside NMCSD, hiding in a closet, waiting for officials to clear their building.

Kara Nietbalski told NBC 7 she drove two hours with her family, including her baby and child, for medical appointments at the center. She was waiting to get in.

"I'm scared for the people. I hope it's a false alarm. At the same time, if it's a false alarm, I'm frustrated because I drove two hours [for my baby's] appointment and now we're waiting," Nierbalski said, rocking her infant.

Just after 10:30 a.m., Naval Base San Diego posted a update to its Twitter page saying investigators were still sweeping buildings at the site:

As of 12:20 p.m., officials were still sweeping Building 1, Building 2 and Building 3.

About an hour-and-a-half later, the facility was all clear and people at the Naval hospital were once again allowed to move around freely. Naval Base San Diego officials said the hospital could begin resuming its normal operations.

The large staff at NMCSD is comprised of more than 6,500 military, civilian, contractor and volunteer personnel. The 272-bed, multispecialty hospital and ambulatory complex is located on 78.4 acres in the southeast corner of Balboa Park, at 34800 Bob Wilson Dr., about 2.5 miles from downtown San Diego.

NMCSD personnel deploy to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Djibouti and aboard the USNS Mercy. The facility is affiliated with 19 civilian nursing schools, training more than 400 students per year in clinical rotations.

The military hospital treats families of military members, too.

More than 250,000 San Diego residents are eligible for care at NMCSD. On an average day, it admits 45 new patients and handles 50 operating room cases, 170 emergency room visits and 4,000 outpatient visits. Eleven primary-care and 10 dental clinics at the site offer care to active duty service personnel and their families.

Almost exactly two months ago -- on Jan. 26 -- a similar situation led to a lockdown at the Naval hospital.

In that instance, NMCSD was placed on lockdown and people inside were ordered to shelter in place after an unidentified Department of Defense employee reported hearing three shots fired in the basement of Building 26. Officials swept the grounds and ultimately found nothing indicating a threat to the Naval hospital. No one was hurt in the Jan. 26 incident.
 

Seven people were detained in raids around Belgium linked to the Brussels terror attacks, officials said Friday, NBC News reported. The raids came as French officials said an operation in the northwest suburbs of Paris thwarted a potential attack. 

Meanwhile, a fifth suspect in the Brussels bombings was named in media reports Friday which described him as "armed and very dangerous." Naim al-Hamed, 28, is a Syrian on a list of suspects circulated to security services in other European countries after Tuesday's attack, Belgian newspaper De Morgen and news site DH reported. NBC News was unable to immediately confirm the reports. 

Al-Hamed is thought to have been involved in the Nov. 13 massacres in Paris.

His name was listed alongside the four other suspects: Mohamed Abrini, Najim Laachraoui and brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, according to the reports. Sources have told NBC News that suspected Paris attacks bomb-maker Laachraoui also died at the airport — but Belgian authorities have not officially commented on that.

Two siblings from New York City who were visiting Brussels died in Tuesday's terror attacks, former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark James Cain confirmed to NBC 4 New York on Friday.

Sascha and Alexander Pinczowski had traveled to Brussels Airport on Tuesday and called relatives to check in around the time the two blasts went off, a Dutch newspaper reported. Relatives told the newspaper that they heard a blast and shattering glass before the line went dead. They said they were unable to reach the siblings since then.

"We received confirmation this morning from Belgian Authorities and the Dutch Embassy of the positive identification of the remains of Alexander and Sascha," Cain said in a statement. "We are grateful to have closure on this tragic situation, and are thankful for the loving support, thoughts and prayers from all."

The Dutch newspaper reported that the siblings both lived in New York and that their father is in the Netherlands.

At least four Americans have been missing since Tuesday's blasts, including a husband and wife from the South.

A gray whale that washed ashore at Torrey Pines Beach Thursday is attracting a lot of attention.

State Park agents managed to move the carcass close to the public parking lot, but salvage crews won't pick it up until Friday morning.

The San Diego Museum of Natural History planned to study the whale before it's carried away, and beachgoers gathered as long as they could stand it to take photographs.

Hikers found their daily exercise far more memorable as well.

“It shocked me when I looked I thought ‘oh my gosh, I have never seen this before,’” Hiker April Russano said.

The one-year-old gray whale found dead on the beach, now waits where Torrey Pines Trail and state beach parking meet for a salvage crew.

“That stuff is coming out of it so that of course is going to stink, so it really smells bad,” visitor Madison Erikson said.

“It's disgustingly interesting because it's sad. I love animals, but it's kind of interesting, “hiker Julianne DeArmas said.

The whale washed ashore around 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning, 200 yards north of flat rock.

While the curious took photos, NOAH performed a necropsy, and Park Peace officers choreographed the assault on your senses – but necessary – removal process.

The young whale is 25 feet long, half the size of an adult gray.

Investigators found propeller marks on the whale, but can't say for sure whether it was a boat motor that killed it.

“It's pretty sad when you see a dead whale like that. You like to see them when they are breathing and in water but they are definitely interesting,” Hiker Shelby Lee said.

The gray whale, once called ‘devilfish’ for the fight they gave those who hunted them, had its last battle for survival. It now serves science, but it won't stop fascinating the curious with cameras.

A salvage crew will pick up the remains Friday morning and bury the whale in a landfill.

Park officers said the Natural History Museum has already asked to recover the bones for study when the time comes.

Augustin Enrique Cruz, also known as "Tinky," the owner of a house hiding a secret, cross-border tunnel found in the Southern Californian desert, has been arrested, authorities announced. 

The 416-yard tunnel starts at a hole in the living room of a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in Calexico, California, 120 miles east of San Diego, and runs across the border and into the kitchen of a restaurant in Mexicali, Mexico, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said at a news conference Wednesday.

The house is the first in California to be built for the sole purpose of hiding the exit to a tunnel used for transporting drugs, Duffy said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations agents took Cruz into custody Thursday in Tucson, Arizona. He has been charged with narcotics trafficking, money laundering and tunnel-related crimes. 

About 100 federal, state and local law enforcement officials found the tunnel inside the home at 902 E. Third St. Wednesday. A hole in the floor – covered with tile – leads to a shaft, descending underground. The tunnel is the 12th large-scale operational drug smuggling tunnel discovered along the border since 2006, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Southern California. 

“We repeatedly see cartels trying to build these tunnels, they spend years doing it, they spend millions of dollars doing it, to create their own private underworld of secret passageways to move drugs unchecked into this country,” Duffy said. “But for the builders, for the financiers, for the operators of these passageways, there’s no light at the end of these tunnels.”

Authorities seized more than 1,350 pounds of marijuana smuggled through the tunnel, following the lengthy, multi-agency investigation. The drugs were worth more than $6 million in street value. 

Officials claim Cruz traveled back and forth between Arizona and Calexico from November to December 2015, looking for the right property to serve as the exit point for the tunnel. It was not immediately clear if Cruz had an attorney. 

The U.S. Attorney's office alleges Cruz and co-conspirators hired local contractors to build the home. Cruz's boss allegedly instructed the contractor to leave a space in the foundation when pouring concrete for what they said would be a "safe."  

The U.S. Attorney's office also alleges Cruz arranged for the purchase of multiple vehicles that were used to transport marijuana. 

Once construction on the $86,000 house was finished in December, Cruz allegedly rented a "walk-behind saw and concrete blade" from a local El Centro business, Duffy said, presumably to create the tunnel exit. Investigators said they believe the traffickers began using the tunnel on or after Feb. 28, 2016, based on intercepted calls, Duffy said. 

While serving a search warrant at the tunnel home Wednesday, authorities also served two additional search warrants. Officials served a warrant at a so-called "stash house" two miles away, at 1056 Horizon St. The drugs were then taken to a warehouse at 260 Avenida Campillo, Suite A, Duffy said, where they were stored before being moved north.

Four people have been arrested in connection with the tunnel.

A mother and daughter were arrested in Arizona on Tuesday, along with two additional people Wednesday in Calexico. All were charged with drug trafficking, money laundering and tunnel-related charges.

Joel Duarte Medina was arrested in the Horizon Street house in Calexico and Manuel Gallegos Jiminez was arrested inside the tunnel residence. Marcia Manuela Duarte-Medina and her mother, Eva Duarte De Medina, were charged in Arizona with multiple charges, including conspiracy to import drugs. Court documents detail how Eva helped move vehicles loaded with drugs between the tunnel home and the stash location. It was not immediately clear if they had attorneys.

Officials said several years ago, they discovered a secret drug tunnel at the residence next door to the Third Street home, though it was not complete. That residence is now empty.

The recent finding marks the first complete tunnel to be discovered in the area in a decade, as the soil composition makes the land difficult to dig through. The residential neighborhood makes it more difficult to hide smuggling activity, Duffy said. 

More than 75 cross-border tunnels designed to smuggle drugs have been discovered along the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years, mostly in California and Arizona. In California, most tunnels tend to be in the Otay Mesa region, where warehouses hide typical drug smuggling activities. 

Dozens of tunnels designed to smuggle drugs have been found along the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years, mostly in the Otay Mesa region. Some have been equipped with hydraulic lifts and electric rail cars.

Mexico's Sinaloa cartel has long controlled drug trafficking along the border in California's Imperial Valley, which offers easy freeway access to Los Angeles and Phoenix.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

While Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump continues to publicly dismiss talk of a contested convention, he's been quietly assembling a team of seasoned operatives to manage the possible battle, NBC News has learned.

The campaign's strategy is to convert delegates in the crucial 40 days between the end of the primaries and the convention — while girding for a floor fight in Cleveland if necessary. The outreach is already underway.

"We are talking to tons of delegates," said Barry Bennett, a former Ben Carson campaign manager now leading the delegate strategy for Trump.

Under Republican Party rules, a candidate who wins a majority of 1,237 delegates during the primaries clinches the presidential nomination. If no candidate wins that majority, delegates vote on the nominee at an open convention. Bennett said the campaign has planned two distinct phases for winning in an open convention.

An Indiana woman who had been missing since 1974 was found living in a South Texas town under an alias, according to police.

Indiana State Police said Lula Ann Gillespie-Miller, then 28 years old, thought she was too young to be a mother and signed custody of her three children to her parents in 1974. She then left home.

Detective Scott Jarvis took the case in 2014 after being contacted by the Doe Network, an organization that helps law enforcement close cold cases, according to police.

Jarvis requested DNA analysis on an unidentified woman found in Richmond in 1975 — Gillespie-Miller had sent her family a letter from Richmond in 1975. He also obtained a DNA sample from Gillespie-Miller's biological daughter, Tammy Miller, for comparison.

While awaiting the results of the DNA analysis, Jarvis began investigating a woman who lived in Tennessee in the 1980s and then later in Texas. Police said he tracked the woman to a small town in South Texas. The name of the town has not been released.

Police said Jarvis contacted Texas Rangers in the area Thursday and asked them to go to the woman's home. The woman admitted to the Rangers that she was Lula Gillespie-Miller, now 69 years old, living under an alias, which was not released.

Gillespie-Miller told Jarvis he could give her contact information to her daughter. Miller said she hopes to make contact with her mother.

Ted Cruz called a tabloid story of alleged extramarital affairs "utter lies" and blamed Donald Trump's ally Roger Stone for placing the story in the publication, NBC News reported. 

A National Enquirer story claimed Cruz had five affairs. Two of the women mentioned in the reported affairs have denied the claims.

"This National Enquirer story is garbage," Cruz told reporters while campaigning in Wisconsin. "It is complete and utter lies. It is a tabloid smear. And it is a smear that has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen."

In a statement, Trump said he had nothing to do with the story and that he had “no idea whether or not the cover story” was true.

“Cruz's problem with the National Enquirer is his and his alone, and while they were right about O.J. Simpson, John Edwards, and many others, I certainly hope they are not right about Lyin' Ted Cruz,” Trump said.

A Wisconsin professor wants to use the memory of her sister to start a dialogue about mental health and depression.

Eleni Pinnow wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post, “the most alone I have ever felt was standing on my front porch on a chilly February evening.”

A note from her sister Aletha taped to the front door read, “Eleni, if you’re the first one here don’t go in the basement. Just call 911. I don’t want you to see me like this. I love you! Love, Aletha.”

An identical sign was on the back door, Eleni wrote, adding that “even in the midst of consuming depression, Aletha tried to protect me from the full horror of her suicide.”

Eleni wrote that she felt like she “was in a vacuum in the middle of space with everything I knew being pulled away from me.” After police told Eleni plainly, “Aletha is dead,” she wrote that she decided to tell the truth about her sister in an obituary, which has gained national attention. 

"Aletha Meyer Pinnow, 31, of Duluth, formerly of Oswego and Chicago, Ill., died from depression and suicide on Feb. 20, 2016," her obituary in the Duluth New Tribune began.

Aletha was a Northern Illinois University alum and loved working with people with disabilities, especially people on the autism spectrum, Eleni wrote in the obituary. She worked as a special education teacher for over a decade, seeing potential in all her students and “loved them with a ferocity that would make a rabid mother bear quiver.”

“She loved animals, theater, Halloween, Star Wars, cartoons, preparing food for loved ones, and cuddling with aforementioned animals. She did not love France (they know why) and William Shatner (who also presumably knew why). Aletha was fond of making her mom laugh until she literally cried and helping her dad do anything and everything,” Eleni wrote in the obituary.

“Aletha was her family's whole entire world. She enriched the lives of countless colleagues and students. Unfortunately, a battle with depression made her innate glow invisible to her and she could not see how desperately loved and valued she was,” Eleni wrote about her sister.

Eleni said in her Washington Post op-ed her sister’s depression "fed on her desire to keep it secret and hidden from everyone. I could not save my sister. I could not reach my sister through her depression."

"I know only two things for sure: Depression lies. I will tell the truth," Eleni said in the op-ed.

“If the family were to have a big pie in the sky dream, we would ask for a community-wide discussion about mental health and to pull the suffocating demon of depression and suicide into the bright light of day,” Eleni wrote in the obituary. “Please help us break the destructive silence and stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide.”

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
 

Advocacy groups are calling for community unity following the terrorist attacks in Belgium and Turkey earlier this week, according to NBC News.

An open letter, published by Muslim Advocates and Media Matters for America, criticizes anti-Muslim rhetoric from politicians and pundits, calling their comments “inflammatory.”

"After the Brussels attacks, like clockwork, many media figures and politicians immediately cast Muslims globally as the problem and called for increased targeting and surveillance of Muslim communities throughout the U.S.," the letter reads. "Others chose to politicize the tragedy by suggesting an expansion on the use of torture and a ban on all Muslims and refugees from entering the country."

The letter was signed by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, Japanese American Citizens League, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans.
 

A woman in San Diego contracted the Zika virus in what health officials say is California’s first case of the virus spread through sexual transmission.

The unidentified woman was infected with Zika in February after having sex with a man who had just returned from traveling to Colombia, according to the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency.

She was not pregnant and has since recovered from the virus, officials said. Her partner has also recovered.

“This is the first confirmed case in California where Zika virus was transmitted sexually,” said California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith.

Sexual transmission of the Zika virus is more common than previously thought, according to the World Health Organization.

The Zika virus is transmitted mostly through mosquito bites, but a man who has Zika can transmit the virus to his sex partners.

“Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually transmitted infections,” said San Diego County's health officer Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H.

Symptoms may not be apparent in someone who is carrying the Zika virus. If symptoms do develop, they may include fever, rash, joint pain and eye redness.

California has reported 22 travel-associated cases of Zika virus within the last year.

Mosquitoes can carry the Ziki virus similar just as they spread dengue and chikungunya. The insects get infected when they feed on a person who already has the virus. Then, those infected mosquitoes can spread the virus to other people through bites.

No one has contracted the virus through a mosquito bite that occurred in California.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is studying the effects of the Zika virus. Researchers are also developing ways to identify the virus sooner.

Microcephaly is a condition in which a baby's head and brain are smaller than other babies of the same age. The condition has been linked to the Zika virus in Brazil where there has been an outbreak of babies born with microcephaly. U.S. health officials are investigating the possible connection.

Other problems have been detected among fetuses and infants infected with Zika virus before birth, such as defects of the eye, hearing deficits, and impaired growth, according to the CDC.

College students stopped in San Diego Friday to urge voters to "Save the Bag Ban" and vote for a ballot measure that will stop single-use of plastic bags in stores across the state. 

A November 2016 ballot measure will allow California voters to decide whether to keep the nation's first statewide ban on plastic grocery bags.

In September 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed a law banning single-use plastic bags.

In response, the American Progressive Bag Alliance collected enough signatures to get the issue in front of voters as a  veto referendum. 

The group argues that the ban amounts to a cash giveaway to grocers that would lead to a loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs.

A "No" vote would overturn Senate Bill 270.

So college students with the consumer group CALPIRG and environmental groups, including the Surfrider Foundation toured the state over spring break to remind voters to keep the ban in place.

On Friday, the students stopped in Pacific Beach. They’ve registered voters and visited classrooms as part of a public awareness campaign called "Save the Bag Ban."

“These students are here because they believe a piece of plastic that you use for 5 minutes should not pollute your ocean for hundreds of years,” said organizer Gayle Schwartzberg.

More than 147 cities and counties already ban single us plastic bags.

A "Yes" vote on the referendum would stop the use of plastic carryout bags at large grocery stores and pharmacies. Small grocery stores, convenience stores and liquor stores would stop using them the following year.

Plastic bags would be permitted for meat, bread, produce, bulk food and perishable items.

Stores could also charge only $.10 for recyclable and compostable bags.