Arizona Democratic congressman Raúl Grijalva believes sexual orientation should be included in the Census to strengthen the LGBTQ community's access to resources and legislation, NBC News reported.

Rep. Grijalva and Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) requested the American Community Survey start asking Americans about their sexual orientation and gender identity to create “urgently needed” statistics for the LGBTQ population. 

"In order to make further progress toward understanding the LGBT population (including its economic, racial, and geographic diversity), we strongly believe the Census Bureau should measure ACS respondents' sexual orientation and gender identity," they said in a letter to Census Director John Thompson. 

Grijalva said other categories like marital status are based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Health care prices vary in different parts of the U.S., according to a new study that digs into the pattern of costs around the country, NBC News reported.

The report from the Health Care Cost Institute finds prices for the same procedures vary even within the same state. 

Some differences make sense: Prices in Alaska are high because medical costs there are 2.6 times the national average. But other differences are hard to explain — a knee surgery in New Jersey costs $24,000, while the same procedure in Oregon can cost $43,000.

Unlike others, this report looked at the price people paid with private health insurance. Most Americans — more than 60 percent — are covered by private health insurance, usually through their employer, while 32 percent have government health insurance.

Home prices in San Diego rose 6.4 percent during the year ending in February, according to a housing market index, as price increases nationwide began to slow.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index on Tuesday reported home prices gained 5.4 percent in the country’s top 20 cities, while the national average grew 5.3 percent.

But home price increases are starting to slow, with 13 of the top 20 cities posting weaker gains than the month before.

“Home prices continue to rise twice as fast as inflation, but the pace is easing off in the most recent numbers,” David Blitzer, index committee chairman at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said.

Portland and Seattle again saw gains of more than 10 percent, with 11.9 percent and 11 percent growth, respectively. Washington, D.C. and Chicago had the slowest growth, with increases of 1.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

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A standing-room only crowd of more than 200 people packed Escondido City Hall to remember Diana Cavender, the Escondido Mounted Posse's most celebrated rider.

Cavender's mother expressed her confusion and sadness over her daughter's sudden death.

“As her mother, this has been devastating," Betty Cavender said. "Diana was very close to me. She was the love of my life. I miss her big heart of love.”

Cavender died Saturday after she was thrown from her horse.

Diana was riding to a staging area after the Lakeside Western Days Parade when her 12-year-old paint quarter horse named King lost his footing on slippery asphalt.

The horse fell on its side throwing Cavender head first onto the road. At the time, Cavender was wearing a cowboy hat as she took part in the parade.

She was rushed to Sharp Memorial Hospital where she died six hours later.

Her husband comforted Diana while they waited for medical help.

Joseph Manrique spoke at the memorial Tuesday. He and Diana had been married for three years.

He choked back tears at times while expressing his great passion for his wife.

“We shared not only religion but profession and horses. I mean she was everything,” Manrique said. 

“When the tragedy happened it was an accident but I can say this with all my heart, she lived and went out with what she loved to do,” Manrique said.

Cavender was a tax preparer and many said seeing Diana was the one thing they liked about tax season.

Those who spoke say she lived the cowboy way - true, honest, a lover of life, her friends, family and horses.

“I am choosing to grieve my friend's life and loss very much over the next week but also enjoy some precious memories that are priceless”, friend Susan Mann said.

It was announced Tuesday, funeral services for Diana are 5 p.m. May 6 at Emanuel Faith Church. Another, memorial service is schedule Wednesday night in Lakeside.        

An experienced horse trainer and member of the Escondido Mounted Posse died Saturday after her horse spooked and fell, knocking her off, a group founder said. 

Escondido Mounted Posse leader Al Pfeltz told NBC 7 in a previous interview that Cavender was one of the best horse trainers in the business.

"Diana was always someone we respected because of her ability to ride and her knowledge of horses, but I think the most important thing was not the horse. It was God and her husband," Pfeltz said.

A Catholic priest has been removed from his positing within an Oklahoma archdiocese after details came to light regarding his sex crime conviction in San Diego.

Father Jose Alexis Davila had been at St. Jude’s Shrine of the West in Southcrest only two months when he was arrested in 2012.

Davila pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery for groping a 20-year-old woman and was sentenced to three years of probation.

He was later reinstated at St. Jude’s but left by the end of 2012.

In December 2015, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City welcomed Davila to the fold.

Paul S. Coakley, the Archbishop of Oklahoma City defended Davila's placement said in a previous interview.

"Without excusing or justifying his behavior, I think he can now safely and appropriately return to ministry,” Coakley said. "Some actions such as the sexual abuse of a child are so grievous that the perpetrator must be permanently removed from ministry. This was not one of those actions."

However, on Tuesday, the archdiocese released a statement saying new information about allegations against Davila has come to light, making it necessary to remove him.

Father Davila left the archdiocese on Tuesday.

Archbishop Coakley had said that a job offer was made to Davila after a full investigation, including a background check, probationary period and lengthy interviews with leaders from where Davila has served.

A new study shows the Zika virus was circulating in Haiti in 2014, long before it became obvious that it was spreading in Brazil, NBC News reported. 

The team checked out three mysterious infections in Haiti caused by the Zika virus. Their study raises questions about when and how Zika arrived in the Americas.

"We know that the virus was present in Haiti in December of 2014," said Dr. Glenn Morris, a professor of medicine and the director of the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute. "And, based on molecular studies, it may have been present in Haiti even before that date." 

Earlier this year, international experts used a "genetic clock" to show the Zika virus has changed. And it very closely matches a strain that circulated in French Polynesia in 2013. What's not clear is why it's now being seen to cause disease. Tests show it has mutated, but it's not yet clear if the mutations somehow make it more virulent.

Police in one small Wisconsin city are going to new lengths to prevent bullying: fining parents if their child is caught picking on others.

The new ordinance in Shawano means parents of children acting as “bullies” could be fined hundreds of dollars if they don’t intervene, according to NBC affiliate NBC26 in Green Bay.

Under the ordinance, police work with the Shawano School District to identify bullies and notify parents, who then have 90 days to intervene. If they don’t, and the child continues to bully, the parents could be fined $366. If the child bullies again within one year, they could be fined $681.

Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl told NBC26 the ordinance will help parents know more about what is going on with their kids, noting that many parents don’t know their children are acting as bullies.

The ordinance includes physical and cyber-bullying and includes children under the age of 18.

The Padres offense exploded with 3 homers and 9 runs during Wednesday’s matinee in San Francisco.

Unfortunately that still wasn’t enough to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Giants.

San Francisco led by as many as 8 runs on two different occasions and handed the struggling Padres their 5^th straight loss, 13-9.

Matt Kemp loves facing the Giants. He belted a 2-run home run in the 3^rd to give San Diego a brief 4-3 lead. But it evaporated quickly later that inning.

Andrew Cashner could not make it out of the 3^rd and was pulled after surrendering 6 runs (3 earned), 4 hits and 4 walks after just 2.2 innings. He was saddled with the loss and fell to 1-2.

Wil Myers stretched his hitting streak to a dozen games after going yard in the 8^th inning. His 3-run bomb cut the deficit to 13-8. Myers is now hitting .303 on the year.

Adam Rosales also smashed a solo shot in the 9^th and hustled around the bases to make it 13-9 but the Friars could not get any closer.

San Diego gets a much-needed day off to regroup on Thursday before facing the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Friday. 

The Padres next home game is Monday, May 2^nd against Colorado which will open up a 7-game homestand against the Rockies and Mets.

The popular Ocean Beach restaurant Shades has announced it’s closing at the end of the summer.

Shades Oceanfront Bistro, which sits along the beach at the end of Santa Monica Avenue, announced on its website that its last day will be Sept. 5.

After closing temporarily for a fire, Shades owners said that it received an offer by a prospective owner seeking to take over the eatery.

The restaurant has been in business for 13 years.

“We’re older. We’re tired, and the fire took something out of us,” the Shades’ statement read. “It was all just a little too much, so when we received an offer while we were closed, what we might never have given a second thought to, suddenly became an attractive possibility.”

The Shades statement said that the new owner plans to remodel the restaurant and open under a new name at an undetermined date. The new eatery also hopes to retain the same employees.

A San Diego Lyft driver shares how he was sitting inside his car and checking his Facebook feed when he was pistol-whipped in what he thought was a safe area.

The attack happened at 10:10 p.m. Monday night along Camino Del Rio South, a street full of hotels and restaurants hugging Interstate 8 in Mission Valley.

Harry Gillung’s face was battered in the incident.

“I got staples, stitches and glue and they patched me up," he said Tuesday.

Gillung said he got lost in his Facebook feed just before the attack but after what happened next, he'll never lose track of his surroundings and safety again.

By the time investigators collected evidence, he was already getting stitched up at Mercy Hospital.

A day later the local Lyft driver returned to the exact spot of the attack where he'd parked his Silver Prius for a quick rest in a quiet spot between fares.

He sat in the passenger seat to stretch his legs.

He said he, “was actually watching some silly little video about a bear with its head caught in a jar and people trying to free it."

Suddenly Gillung said a large man slammed his hands on the front hood.

Gillung quickly reached to lock the door but instead opened the window which is when a second man reached in and grabbed him.

"The gun was in this hand," Gillung recalled. "They're trying to pull me out of the car, the doors were locked, thank God."

The men demanded cash and made off with $40.

However, they left a critical clue behind – a hand print on the hood of the car.

"I noticed this this morning," Gillung said. “I wonder if [the police] got a print off that?"

San Diego Police are investigating the robbery. No arrests have been made.

Gillung said he hopes others will learn from his experience.

"I just hope the experience, someone else can realize or think about where they are before they lose themselves in a distraction," Gillung said.

The U.S. Secret Service plans to raise the height of the White House security fence by 5 feet and add a new concrete foundation to reduce the risk of fence-jumpers, according to a copy of an agency report obtained by NBC Washington's News4 I-Team.

The agency, along with the National Park Service, said it intends to begin building a “taller, stronger” fence to protect the White House grounds by 2018.

Details of the plan were included in an audio recording of a briefing made by federal officials, which was released to the I-Team Wednesday. The same briefing is expected to be presented May 5 at a meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, which must first approve any changes to White House fencing.

“The current fence simply is not adequate for a modern era. We’ve said that before. It is becoming more and more acutely clear that that is in fact the case,” Secret Service official Tom Dougherty said in the briefing to federal officials.

A proposed plan put forward by attorney Cory Briggs and former city councilwoman Donna Frye to build a new stadium in San Diego could be headed to the November ballot.

100,845 signatures were submitted Wednesday afternoon to the County Registrar of Voters for the Citizens’ Plan Coalition to transform the current Qualcomm Stadium site.

The group includes the League of Women Voters San Diego and the League of Conservation Voters San Diego.

The Citizens’ Plan is not to be confused with the plan put forth by the San Diego Chargers.

Attorney Cory Briggs says the Citizens’ Plan is much bigger than just a stadium in either downtown or Mission Valley and argues it isn’t harmful or incompatible with what the Chargers want.

Their proposed ballot measure focuses on protecting the waterfront, increasing the hotel tax rate and encourages expansion of San Diego State University onto the Qualcomm Stadium Site.

The Chargers, who are now gathering the 67,000 signatures needed to get their plan on the ballot, are hoping for a new stadium in downtown.

But the Citizens’ Plan outlines the Chargers can have a downtown stadium, if the team foots the bill. 

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith says the County Registrar of Voters will screen the signatures submitted for the petition and determine if there are enough to get the plan on the November ballot. The process takes up to 30 days.

A security guard at a medical marijuana dispensary in Mission Valley shot at several suspects attempting to break into the business early Wednesday, officials confirmed.

Investigators with the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said four men broke down a door of The Healing Center on Camino Del Rio South. 

Using a crow bar and bat, the group tried to knock down a second door inside the dispensary when a security guard announced himself to the suspects, police said, and told them he was armed.

Investigators said the suspects continued to try to break down the door. The security guard then fired one shot through the door.

The suspects ran off, hopping into a getaway car. Officers followed the vehicle to the 5800 block of Lindo Paseo, where two of the break-in suspects were arrested.

Police said the other two suspects got away. They were described as college-age men wearing gray hoodies. It is unknown if the suspects were armed.

No one was injured in the shooting at the dispensary. The suspects were not able to steal anything.

The security guard who opened fire was interviewed by police and told officers he was frazzled by the incident. He said he felt his life was in danger before he pulled that trigger.

Investigators remained at the business for several hours dusting for fingerprints and collecting evidence.

NBC 7 spoke with the co-owner of The Healing Center, Jim Dickinson, who said the shop is more secure than a bank, and is outfitted with surveillance cameras and staffed with armed security guards.

"This would be one of the craziest places to try to break into," said Dickinson. "We have 24-hour armed security guards, we have security systems, we have cameras. Certainly the building is very secure."

Dickinson said the guard did the right thing in the way he handled the break-in.

"This is not the place to try and rob. It's just not," he added.

Dickinson said he planned to have The Healing Center open for customers by midday Wednesday.

A vigil will be held Wednesday night in honor of a woman killed in what investigators describe as a deliberate hit-and-run incident.

Jazmine Leigh Ruiz, 29, died April 20 after she was beaten and struck by a vehicle in the west alley of the 4100 block of Wilson Avenue.

Her family told NBC 7 Ruiz was a mother of five who loved to sing and had a 'beautiful soul.'

The community organization known as DOVE, Dreaming Of Violence-free Everywhere, is calling for residents to gather in the parking lot at 3060 54th Street beginning at 6p.m.

DOVE organizers say the group works to find solutions to end violence in the community.

Meanwhile, San Diego Police Department is looking for the person or persons responsible in Ruiz' death.

Detectives believe the car was used as a weapon to kill the victim after a physical assault.

Witnesses told SDPD officers that a group of suspects – possibly one woman and two men – exited the car and ran away from the scene of the crash. The suspects were last seen sprinting southbound away from the alley.

Police said one man, described as heavyset, may have had blood on his shirt. The female suspect may have also been covered in blood.

Anyone with information can call the homicide unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

A registered sex offender is accused of targeting a 16-year-old girl one day after his GPS monitoring device was removed, Escondido Police confirmed.

Rennard Cawkwell, 46, of Oceanside was on active GPS monitored parole while pretending to be 17 in online chats with the teenage girl, police said.

In late March, the day after his parole was served and his GPS monitor was removed, Cawkwell allegedly showed up at the girl’s home.

Family members and a neighbor intervened and police were called.

Escondido Police Detective Jeff Udvarhelyi , who works with the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce (ICAC), traced Cawkwell to his Oceanside residence where he was arrested Tuesday night.

The Megan’s Law website lists three offenses for Cawkwell including possessing child pornography and attempting to commit lewd acts with a minor.

Several witnesses described a "trail of blood" and a horrific scene inside a Chula Vista condo that resulted in the death of a man in August 2015. 

The testimony was part of a pretrial hearing for Saul Jonathan Orozco who was 19 years old when he was arrested in the stabbing death of his friend Carlos Guitierrez. Orozco has pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder.

Guitierrez, was chased down and stabbed to death on August 4 in the Casa Lago Condominium complex, witnesses told Chula Vista Police.

His attacker followed him, straddled him and stabbed him to death, investigators told NBC 7.

Michael Kennedy was inside his home when he heard two men fighting.

When he looked outside, Kennedy said he saw two men struggling, with their hands on an object. One of the men was bloody, he said.

Kennedy grabbed a bat and followed the men into a nearby condo.

"I saw the defendant on top of the other guy stabbing him multiple times," Kennedy said, using both of his hands in a downward motion to describe what he saw.

The men were fighting over a kitchen knife similar to a 9-inch slicer, Kennedy said.

"I've spent time in Iraq and I've seen blood but nothing like that before," Kennedy said.

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After the attack, when the defendant came out of the condo, almost a dozen neighbors surrounded him, neighbor Nathan Schmid testified, including one man who held a gun.

Schmid also heard a loud commotion and saw two people in a fistfight in the bushes of the complex.

"We followed the trail of blood to see if we could help," Schmid testified.

He found Giutierrez pleeding profusely from his head, he said. 

"The gentleman said 'I'm bleeding. Please call the cops,'" he testified.

Prosecutors say Orozco attempted to flee from the scene after the incident occurred but was caught by police about a quarter of a mile away.

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The victim and the defendant were friends and were hanging out with others before the incident, one of the friends testified Wednesday.

Carlos Armando Barrios recalled that Orozco was acting so odd, Guitierrez asked him to leave.

"He began throwing rocks from the patio at us," he testified.

"He didn't seem like Saul he was acting different it wasn't the Saul I knew," he added.

Barrios and a friend left Orozco alone with Guitierrez. Later, when he saw police cars at the complex, he testified that he was concerned something may have happened between the two men.

The Casa Lago complex is located near the Otay Lakes Reservoir and the Olympic Training Center in the Eastlake community of Chula Vista.

The dog that killed a 3-day-old Mira Mesa boy has been euthanized at the owner's request, County of San Diego Department of Animal Services said Wednesday. 

"The owners of the dog “Polo” came to the Department of Animal Services this morning and relinquished the dog for euthanasia," said Dan DeSousa, the deputy director of the department, in a statement. "The dog was euthanized at the owner’s request and this closes the Department’s role in this incident."

Polo was with his owners and their newborn, Sebastian Caban, in a bed on April 21 when the baby's mother suddenly coughed, according to an autopsy report.

The dog bit the baby in the head in what the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office has called an accident.

Polo was under quarantine and in the custody of the Department of Animal Services until the family made the decision. 

On Tuesady, the San Diego Humane Society sent a letter to its volunteers confirming that Polo had been adopted by the owners six months ago.

The agency explained that there was no sign of trouble with the 2-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier. 

“There was not a fragment of aggression seen in this dog before tragedy struck,” said Gary Weitzman, DVM, MPH, CAWA, President and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society.

"The first question we asked was whether we had seen any signs of aggression in this dog before adopting him out. That answer is no," Weitzman said.

"His records tell of a happy, social dog who enjoyed going on walks and playing with other dogs," he added.

He added that the agency sends its thoughts to the family of the baby.

"What happened was tragic and I can’t even begin to fathom the pain this family is suffering," Weitzman said.

Shortly after the incident, the couple made two unsuccessful 911 calls, SDPD officials confirmed.

They ended up driving the newborn to Rady Children’s Hospital where medical staff pronounced him dead.

Two cars, possibly street racing, crashed into a Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) bus unloading passengers, closing a busy Chula Vista intersection, Chula Vista police (CVPD) said. 

The crash happened at approximately 3 p.m. at East H Street at Paseo Del Rey, just east of Interstate 805, CVPD said. Three cars and a MTS bus were involved in the collision. 

Witnesses on scene told police two cars may have been street racing when the crash happened.

One of the cars racing may have lost control when it collided with a bus, police said. The second car lost control and hit a third car, police said. 

"These two cars were racing and they tried to stop because the bus was coming out from picking up the people, and when they tried to stop, they couldn’t stop, because they were going fast," said MTS bus passenger Edwin Gutirres.

At least one person was transported from the scene of the crash, officials said. 

"This whole street is pretty busy, they could’ve gotten someone killed--even the people from the bus, or themselves," said Gutirres.

All westbound traffic at the crash site is closed as the investigation continues. 

MTS said the westbound Route 709 is on a detour and missing stops from E H Street and Paseo Del Rey to H Street and Hilltop. 

Both drivers are on scene, speaking with investigators. 

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

India reportedly introduced "laser walls" to "plug the porous riverine and treacherous terrain" at its border with archenemy Pakistan, NBC News reported.

One of the world's most dangerous nuclear flashpoints, the India-Pakistan border is also among the most militarized. Both New Delhi and Islamabad deploy more than half of their 1 million and 600,000-strong armies, respectively, on the border.

According to the state-run Press Trust of India, around 45 laser walls will be installed in Punjab state.

Lasers beamed over rivers and hills will set off an alarm and alert the Indian Border Security Force if someone attempts to pass by, it added.