A structure fire was reported Monday in Mira Mesa.

San Diego Fire-Rescue crews were called to Worthing Avenue just after 6 a.m . 

The man who lives here was inside when the fire started, ran out and tried to put the fire out himself, according to an SDFD Battalion Chief.

The fire was contained to the front living room, SDFD Public Information Officer Lee Swanson said.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

You know baseball season has begun when fans start throwing things at each other.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres opened the 2016 MLB season at Petco Park on Monday afternoon, and it didn't take long for the longtime rivalry to raise its head.

As the Dodgers blew the game open with five runs in the sixth inning, some euphoric fans started chanting "Let's Go Dodgers!" in front of the home-town crowd.

• Emerald Cashews Recalled Over Glass Shards

A "Lets Go #Dodgers " chant breaks out across the stadium. So much for that theory...#LAvsSD #OpeningDay

— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) April 4, 2016

ESPN, who was broadcasting the game live, cut to a pair of fans watching the game on the roof of the historic Western Metal Supply Co. building in left field and the cameras caught a Padres fan throwing peanuts at the happy Dodgers fans who were clapping in excitement.

Check out the video of the incident below.
 

A worker was killed and three others were injured when a 45-ton beam fell during construction on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway in suburban Des Plaines early Tuesday morning.

Workers were on the I-90 construction site at Touhy Avenue around 3 a.m. when the massive beam came crashing down during construction, injuring four people below.

One worker was taken to Lutheran General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was identified by authorities as Vincente Santoyo, 47, of Berwyn.

The steel beam, used to support the bridge, was being moved by two cranes across the roadway at the time when the weight load shifted, causing it to fall, according to Des Plaines police Chief Bull Kushner.

The toppled beam weighs 45 tons of steel and is 187 feet long, Kushner said. Crews were on the job overnight working to remove and replace the beams.

One person was transported to Lutheran General Hospital in critical condition and was soon pronounced dead, police said. Three others were being treated for minor injuries at area hospitals and were reported to be in good condition.

It is still unknown what exactly happened to cause the huge bridge support to collapse.

Touhy between Wolf and Lee Street was closed to traffic after the accident, causing miles of backup for drivers ahead of the morning commute. Authorities gave a "very conservative estimate" of 12 hours for Touhy to reopen.

Two lanes remained closed Tuesday morning on I-90 as the investigation continued. Midday commuters were expected to see a slow I-90 from Schaumburg to O'Hare Airport.

East-west alternatives include Oakton Road, Golf Road and Algonquin Road, which runs diagonally along the tollway.

The Del Mar City Council voted unanimously to approve a temporary moratorium on short-term vacation rentals. 

The vote means current rentals can stay operating, but no new ones can operate. This move will give the city time to figure out what they want to do permanently, as well as collect data and conduct further research. 

At the meeting Monday night, many residents and homeowners came out to express their staunch disapproval of the rentals in their beach side neighborhood. They said the issue was a growing problem in their neighborhood. 

Residents said the short-term renters make too much noise, leave a mess behind and cause traffic and parking problems. 

"How would you feel if someone moved in next door to you, but only stayed for a few days and then left behind a mess?" said one Del Mar homeowner. 

Other San Diego coastal communities have rules limiting rentals for fewer than seven days and they require homeowners to obtain permits and pay annual fees. 

"My hope is that we can look at an incremental approach, focus on what are the negative things that are being caused by short term rentals and try to come up with solutions that will improve those things and minimize the impacts on our neighborhoods," said Terry Sinnott with the Del Mar City Council.

On VRBO.com right now, there are more than 250 rentals available in Del Mar right now. 

"I think as long as the homeowners are making sure their renters are responsible and you can do that with contracts and security deposits and things like that, I think its a fantastic way to get more income on the houses and it certainly works out really well for us as renters," said John Squilante, who has used the website for five years to find a place in Del Mar.

Squilante said he didn't see a downside so long as everyone was respectful. 

"If the houses are not being used and the owners are able to derive extra income, I don't see a downside, especially for the community where that extra income is coming in," he said.

Los Angeles-based Convalo Health International Corp., a company providing addiction recovery services, has opened an outpatient behavioral health and addiction recovery center (known as an IOP center) in San Diego.

Located in Hillcrest, the 6,000-square-foot center can accommodate about 60 patients. The center features several client lounges, including a kitchen and several group rooms.

Along with opening the new San Diego facility, Convalo is in the process of securing residential detox and behavioral health facilities that can house up to 18 patients, the company said in a statement.

“The population of the San Diego metropolitan area exceeds 3 million, and San Diego is also a desirable location for those seeking treatment away from home,” the statement reads.

Convalo expects to invest approximately $1 million in the facilities during the launch period, the company said. Each mature pod of facilities is expected to generate $10 million to $15 million in annual revenue.

"We are pleased to be serving the San Diego community," said Stampp Corbin, CEO of Convalo, in a statement. "We are investing heavily in local marketing and awareness to launch our center and expect the behavioral health detox facility accompanying the IOP to be signed on shortly. We anticipate being at optimal capacity within a year in San Diego and will continue to update the market of the significant milestones as we open pods across the United States.

The Taliban faction that claimed responsibility for the deadly attack at an amusement park in Lahore, Pakistan, on Easter Sunday has identified the suicide bomber to NBC News, provided exclusive details of his training and vowed to keep killing more Christians and other religious minorities. 

A spokesman for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said a photograph posted on the group's Facebook page is that of the bomber in the March 27 blast, which killed at least 73 people, most of them Muslims, and injured scores. 

The group identified the bomber as Salahuddin Khorasani. His name is likely an alias, as Khorasani — someone from Khorasan, an ancient name for Afghanistan — is a common nom de guerre for Taliban fighters, according to NBC News. 

The spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said the group's operatives trained in Afghanistan and brought the suicide bomber to blow himself up. He also said the group plans more "devastating" attacks.

A Massachusetts police officer set to serve as the 2016 Boston Pride parade marshal has found his invitation revoked after he allegedly posted "offensive comments" on Facebook, according to the organization.

In a statement, Boston Pride said it rescinded the offer to Anthony Imperioso after finding the comments on his Facebook page. Imperioso, of the Woburn Police Department, was selected to serve as parade marshal through a community-wide vote. This year's parade, which celebrates tolerance and diversity, will take place June 11.

"As an inclusive organization, Boston Pride does not condone any language that is intolerant of racial, ethnic, or religious differences. Additionally, we reject language that promotes violence towards any individuals who are exercising their First Amendment rights," the organization said in a statement on its website Monday.

Boston Pride did not specify which comments led to the withdrawal of Imperioso's offer. The officer's Facebook page could not be found through a public search.

"Boston Pride cannot condone those comments. After a discussion between Mr. Imperioso and Boston Pride, his marshalship has been withdrawn, and Mr. Imperioso will not be a marshal in the 2016 parade," Boston Pride said.

The group apologized for a "lack of vetting" and said it will review its marshal nominating process to ensure the selection is "both fair and robust to all members of the community" in the future.

Imperioso serves as president of the New England Gay Officers Action League, according to the group's website. Neither Imperioso nor New England GOAL had responded to requests for comment at the time of publication. The Woburn Police Department also did not return a request for comment early Tuesday afternoon.

This year's Boston Pride Week runs from June 3-12 and includes a parade, festival, concert and block parties in the city's Back Bay and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods. More information on the festival is available online.

Monday's historic game-winning shot by Villanova's Kris Jenkins in the final seconds of the NCAA National Championship game isn't the only thing people are talking about.

Moments after the University of North Carolina Tar Heels lost to the Wildcats, 77-74, on Jenkins' clutch three-pointer, the internet began buzzing with "Crying Jordan" memes.

Michael Jordan, who played at UNC, was at the championship game to support his alma mater. But the team's loss prompted Twitter users to repurpose a photo of him crying.

The photo, from Jordan's emotional acceptance speech during his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, appeared in photos and videos for a comedic take on the UNC loss.

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After 65 years, an 83-year-old veteran was able to check one very important achievement off his bucket list: obtaining a high school diploma.

You see, Jack Griffin Billings attended high school in San Diego from 1949 to 1951. But instead of finishing out his senior year, he joined the Air Force, leaving the school and his classmates behind to start a military career.

But recently, the San Diego native who now lives in Alabama sent Herbert Hoover High School an unusual request.

The email explained how he'd passed a GED Test in the military, but never received a diploma.

“I know this is purely a sentimental request, but I’d appreciate any help from any source,” the emailed plea read.

It took a lot of phone calls and emails to not only verify transcripts and records, but to get the school district to sign off.

"They get lost, maybe they're ruined in a fire or a flood, something of that sorts,” said Jeremy Martin, vice president of the high school. “So the district has a policy that they don't really do this because they'd get inundated with requests for reprints."

But the San Diego Unified School District ultimately got it done.

Last week, Billings' diploma arrived on his front porch in Alabama.

He said receiving it was especially important for his family.

"I grew up in orphans home, all us kids, I was the only one that was ever going to finish high school, because we all grew up in foster homes,” he said. “They never got their high school diploma, I was going to be the first evidently I was."
 

A former SeaWorld San Diego manager is accused of embezzling more than $750,000 in an elaborate eight-year scheme, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Wilfred David Joseph Jobin-Reyes, 47, is accused of setting up a fake merchandise company, "SJ Merchandise," and using his position at SeaWorld to create invoices for items that were never delivered to the park. 

Jobin-Reyes allegedly made an alias, "John Caldwell," to communicate with SeaWorld in order to hide his ties to the company, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said. The money went into accounts he secretly controlled. 

Investigators said Jobin-Reyes used his work computer to create more than 100 fake invoices for objects that were never delivered to SeaWorld San Diego, including "wildlife animal bookmarks," "sea creature rings," "purple shiny ornaments" and "poinsettia in pots." 

Jobin-Reyes allegedly created invoices for amounts under the $10,000 threshold that would require his managers to approve the invoice, Duffy said.

SeaWorld paid Jobin-Reyes more than $750,000 before officials discovered the fraud in early 2015. 

"We are dedicated to protecting our local businesses and institutions from corruption inside and out," said Duffy in a statement. "We will root out and prosecute business insiders who abuse the trust of their employers and the community."

A SeaWorld San Diego spokesperson said the company has been cooperating with federal law enforcement in this case and would not comment further on personnel matters.

Jobin-Reyes was arrested March 12 in Dallas and appeared in court in San Diego on Monday. He is facing fraud charges and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Information on an attorney for Jobin-Reyes was not immediately available.

An 18-year-old student was killed and a 17-year-old student was injured after a model rocket exploded Monday night at an elementary school in Southern California.

Witnesses told NBC4 both victims are high school students from Thousand Oaks and were testing out a rocket project when things went awry.

The man killed was identified by the Ventura County coroner Tuesday as Bernard Moon.

The explosion was reported at 7:35 p.m. at Madrona Elementary, located in the 600 block of Camino Manzanas, according to Capt. Mike Lindberry of the Ventura County Fire Department.

Witnesses said the explosion was so loud, they thought it was a "sonic boom."

"From all accounts, they didn't try to launch their rocket. Something went terribly wrong and the one boy was holding it, and it exploded," said Tammy Coburn, a witness who heard the explosion.

The two students were transported to the hospital, one in critical condition and the other in stable condition, according to Lindberry.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department later confirmed the 18-year-old student had died. 

Authorities did not publicly identify the students involved.

Initially, authorities would only say an adult was killed and a juvenile was injured, but later revealed the students' ages.

A man is in custody, accused of stealing information from thousands of bank cards that resulted in a loss of almost $500,000 from Wells Fargo bank.

Federal authorities say his arrest is part of a series of ATM skimming incidents in San Diego County.

Atef Alkhateeb, 42, is accused of inserting digital devices called "skimmers" into Wells Fargo ATM card slots and then using the devices to read and steal information from customers' bank cards.

“Pretty scary,” said Wells Fargo ATM customer Anne Sunzeri. “I depend on them to be accurate and not take my money when it's not authorized.”

Authoritized or not, Homeland security investigators say skimming incidents in San Diego and nationwide have reached "epidemic proportions" and that "customers need to be more vigilant."

Investigators say there have been at least 29 incidents in and around the county from January last year up to March this year...

Federal investigators say Alkhateeb appears to be the man responsible for all of them, resulting in nearly 5,000 compromised cards and a loss of nearly $500,000 from Wells Fargo.

In a statement the company said in part..."Wells Fargo continues working in cooperation with law enforcement on this case. The security of our customers' accounts and information is our priority."

The company thinks there are significantly more losses connected to this activity because it is still receiving unauthorized charge claims from customers.

Some advice for consumers: Use machines in well lit, highly trafficked areas and cover the keypad while entering pin numbers to prevent cameras from capturing that data.

Experts suggest tugging at different parts of the machine to see if anything moves.

And customers should make it a habit to check their bank account statement regularly.

A colorful tribute lined the lawn at Palomar Health Downtown Campus in Escondido Tuesday: more than 330 pinwheels each symbolizing a child abuse survivor.

To mark April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the multi-colored pinwheels were placed on the lawn of Palomar Health Downtown Campus at 555 E. Valley Parkway.

Each pinwheel stands for a child treated over the past year by the facility’s Child Abuse Program at Palomar Health's Forensic Health Services Program.

According to a spokesperson, Palomar Health is involved in both the prevention and investigation of child abuse cases in San Diego County.

In connection with law enforcement agencies in the North County, the Forensic Health Services program is involved interviewing survivors of child abuse. Children are medically assessed through the program, and Palomar Health helps to assist Child Protective Services and investigations in determining the nature and extent of a child’s abuse.

Free parent workshops, developmental and behavioral check-ups and treatment services for young children and their families are provided by the Healthy Development Services program (HDS).

Palomar Health’s Child Abuse program saw its first young victim in 1985. Today, the program supports several hundred children each year in north San Diego County.

The Palomar Health website says the program is one of 54 such programs in California, and one of only two in San Diego County.

For more about services and support offered by Palomar Health, visit this website. To make a donation to the Child Abuse Program, click here.

A newly-released study ranks San Diego/Carlsbad among the most educated cities in America based on several factors, including quality of schools.

ValuePenguin, an online source for information and tools to help consumers make spending decisions, released a study of the Most Educated Cities in America for 2016. Of the 200 most populous cities in the U.S., San Diego ranks the 17th most educated.

According to the study, the cities were ranked based on four categories: attainment, education and poverty, school quality and education and employment.

San Diego/Carlsbad scored an attainment rank of 31 out of 200 cities and 160 out of 200 cities in the education and poverty category. In school quality, San Diego/Carlsbad earned the very respectable No. 4 spot out of 200 cities. In education and employment, San Diego/Carlsbad was ranked 174 out of 200 cities.

For attainment, researchers looked at the percentage of the population 25 and older to reach specific levels of education, such as high school, college and beyond. The percentage of a city’s population to have earned a degree of some kind was also factored into the methodology of the study.

In the category of education and poverty, researchers looked into the percentage of the 25+ population whose poverty status is determined by a specific level of education.

School quality was researched based on ratings of primary and secondary schools in cities, as well as universities. Researchers tapped into the education and employment category by looking at the percentage of the 25 and older population who are employed, according to their specific level of education.

Researchers sought out recent data from three sources to help them evaluate America’s 200 most populous cities for this study. This included the U.S. Census Bureau’s database of education-related data.

Other places that made the cut of the Most Educated Cities in America include, in order of top five: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California; Boulder, Colorado; San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

For an in-depth breakdown of the full study, click here.

“If you keep repeating your mistakes, then history is destined to repeat itself.”

No we’re not channeling the voice of our high school American history teachers.

But if you look at Tuesday’s lineup card for the Padres, manager Andy Green decided to make a few tweaks after Monday’s 15-0 opening day disaster.

Here’s what the Padres Opening Day Batting Order looked like against the Dodgers:

Jay CF
Norris C
Kemp RF
Myers 1B
Ramirez SS
Solarte 3B
Upton Jr. LF
Spangenberg 2B
Ross SP

That group managed a whopping total of 3 hits.

Outfielder Travis Jankowski added a single in garbage time (aka the 9th inning with the game out of reach).

So after seeing his team get thrwarted by Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers bullpen, Green decided to shuffle four players around but keep the same 8 position players in the field.

Here’s the Padres new game 2 lineup vs the Dodgers and starting left-hander Scott Kazmir:

Jay CF
Spangenberg 2B
Kemp RF
Myers 1B
Norris C
Solarte 3B
Ramirez SS
Upton Jr. LF
Shields SP

So Norris slides from 2nd to 5th, Spangenberg moves up to the 2 spot, and Ramirez and Upton move down a little bit.

You’ve got your power hitters 3-4-5 now with Kemp, Myers and Norris in the heart of the lineup.

Expect Jay to bat leadoff every time he starts.

Green seemed pretty confident in his abilities to set the table throughout spring training.

Hopefully James Shields will get more support as the Padres try to bounce back with their brown uniforms.

 Can you enjoy a major league baseball game on a minor league budget? There are ways to enjoy a Padres game and not break the bank.

1. Buy your tickets in advance. Petco park is selling tickets on a variable price model. That means popular teams and giveaway nights can see prices go up as it gets closer to game time. Saturday games can be sellouts so buy your ticket now rather than wait.
2. Look for discounts. Throughout the season there are promotions that can include cheaper price tickets.  There are senior tickets that knock off $6 on any available tickets prices at $14 dollars and above.
3. Military deals. Military and First Responders get 25 off any game in any seat location.  The Military gets 50 percent off on Sundays with a valid I.D and First Responder get 50 percent off on Friday tickets.
4. Coca-Cola Fun Pack.  For kids who want to eat at the ball park and don't care where they sit, look into the Coke deal that offers $15 tickets that include a ballpark hot dog and small soda.
5. Bring your own food.  Petco Park has a very liberal food policy.  You can save a bundle by bringing your own sandwiches and snacks.  You can bring a sealed drink of a certain size.  You must bring the food in a soft container that can fit under your seat.  Check the Padres website for details.
6. Adjust your seating.  Petco Park is one of the few ballparks that allows you to walk completely around the playing field.  Find a reasonable seat, or even a Park in the Park seat, and then simply walk around and enjoy the few.  You can eat a hot dog up behind home plate even if you have the cheapest ticket in the ballpark.

If a downtown Stadium becomes a reality for the Chargers -- or if they wind up leaving town, what happens to Qualcomm Stadium?

It's a question that the folks who built Petco Park already have an answer to.

We're talking about JMI Incorporated, the leading landowner in East Village -- where the Chargers want a new stadium and convention facility.

If they vacate Qualcomm Stadium, JMI recommends the land going to San Diego State University.

But there’s a world of political, financial and legal obstacles to overcome.

"It's not about thinking about impediments right now,” JMI President John Kratzer told reporters after an on-campus, public briefing session Tuesday morning. “It's really about the vision and the dream. And really encouraging the stakeholders to think about what's possible."

What JMI has been brainstorming is an expansion of San Diego State called "West Campus", where academics, high-level research, and athletics – think of a mid-sized stadium for the Aztecs and professional soccer -- would co-exist along the Trolley line from Mission Valley to Montezuma Mesa.

There'd be faculty and student housing, some commercial development an plenty of open space, public parklands and river restoration.

JMI is backing the Citizens Plan initiative which could pave the way for all this and a Chargers stadium/convention annex downtown.

San Diego voters would have the say, assuming the measure qualifies for the city’s November ballot.

"It's really a no-brainer, it's really a no-brainer,” says Jeff Marston, a backer of the initiative and SDSU alum active in university issues.

“People are concerned about traffic and Mission Valley being totally built out, “Marston told NBC 7 in an interview. “This is the last piece of property you can do something like this with. And as former (state) senator (Steve) Peace pointed out, maybe one of the last places you can do this anywhere in San Diego County."

While San Diego State officials emphasize that they have not endorsed the plan, it was called "an opportunity to advance SDSU" in a statement issued Tuesday by university president Elliott Hirschman.

The concept also calls for UC San Diego to share space there, if it wants to do so.

A 4-year-old girl suffered serious injuries after she was hit by a truck in San Diego's Mission Valley East neighborhood, San Diego Police (SDPD) said. 

The collision happened at 3:40 p.m. Tuesday on the 400 block of Camino Del Rio South, SDPD said. 

A 31-year-old man was driving his Ford F150 westbound on the road when he collided with the girl, who was running southbound across the street from a parked car, police said. 

She suffered a fractured femur and her injuries are considered non-life-threatening. 

Anyone with information related to the above incident(s) is encouraged to call SDPD or call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

No other information was immediately available.

A New Jersey community is trying to figure out how to deal with the wild turkeys they say are terrorizing them. 

Residents in the township of Teaneck met with a representative from the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Tuesday to discuss concerns over the increasingly brazen birds. 

Courtney Lopchinsky says she's a victim of the turkey attacks. She was sitting with two of her three children at their kitchen table in Teaneck in January when a wild turkey crash-landed through a window into her home, she told NBC 4 New York.

It landed on her dining table, its talon prints still visible. 

"It was so loud and so dramatic when the bird came in, glass was flying everywhere, we were covered in glass, the bird was freaking out, the turkey was throwing his wings," she said. "Every time he spread his wings, glass was flying everywhere." 

"I called 911, I said, 'there's a turkey in my house, I need your help!'" she said. 

Her son Jacob said, "I don't think anyone was thinking. My mom managed to just pull whatever she could on me and my sister, and get us out of the house. It was all just a big blank." 

The turkeys have routinely roamed the streets around Lopchinsky's home. A neighbor captured on cellphone video a turkey chasing after her. 

Amy Decheser of New Jersey Fish and Wildlife told residents at Tuesday's meeting they could "humanely harass them, spray them with a hose, bang pots and pans, use a dog on a leash to kind of chase them away." 

Only representatives of the state are allowed to physically touch the birds and one said she captured an aggressive male turkey on Tuesday afternoon, The Record reported.

Meanwhile, Animal Control Officer Vincent Ascolese said he plans to give away 20 air horns for officials to give to the public, the paper also reported.

Teaneck isn't the only New Jersey town fighting off the feathered foes. In February, a postmaster in neighboring Hillsdale called 911 when a carrier was held hostage in a mail truck by turkeys. And an East Brunswick man said a family of wild turkeys tried to crash through the back door of his home the same week.

New Jersey Fish and Wildlife say that so far this year, they've gotten 20 to 30 calls about turkeys alone. They say turkeys are a protected species, so residents are encouraged to humanely harass them, and to never feed them. 

Lopchinsky, meanwhile, says she's still traumatized. 

"I hear it sometimes at night, that loud noise of the turkey breaking through the glass," she said. "It's just one of those things where, when you're in it, at the time, it's so scary." 

"It happens so suddenly, that it's just one of those moments where: Is this the time when life is going to change in a moment?"