Manti Te'o is arguably the most controversial NFL Draft pick in history. But, not because of any dispute about his play on the field.
Te'o became a household name because he fell for a bizarre hoax involving a make-believe girl, then failed to tell the truth after he found out about it.
College kids have done a lot worse, and he's apologized in a very public forum. On Saturday, Te'o was asked about his private life that became so public, and how he's dealt with it the last four months.
"I found time for myself," said Te'o. "I found a lot of peace and joy just hanging out with my friends, hanging out with my family. Going back to Hawaii was the best thing to happen to me. Hold strong to your faith and know that everything happens for a reason and there's nothing that God will put in front of you that He won't pull you through. When you have that faith and that strength, knowing that everything will be OK, there's nothing that people can throw at you that you can't handle."
That pretty much sums it up. People like to talk about NFL road trips being difficult environments to conquer. For Manti Te'o, going in to the hostile crowds of Oakland or Philadelphia will seem like a cake walk.
"After the couple of months that I've been through, I'm pretty prepared," said Te'o. "As far as going in to another stadium, you can't worry about that stuff. You're with your family, you're with your brothers out there and that's all that matters."
Te'o (who was at times during the press gathering quiet, respectful, funny and engaging) also talked about football (what a novel concept!) and how another Charger had an impact on his life. That would be Junior Seau.
"Me being a Polynesian Samoan kid, you look up to Junior," said Te'o. "He's a Samoan man who was a trailblazer for kids like me."
The biggest take away for Chargers fans is probably this. Manti Te'o is just a normal, 22-year-old kid who likes to play football, and happens to be very, very good at it.
A witness to a fatal shooting Saturday described a tragic scene in which a knife-wielding woman warned a man that it was Judgment Day before she was shot and killed by a San Diego police officer.
“We thought it was a couple having an argument but apparently it was more than that,” said Omar Orihuela. He was drawn into the dramatic confrontation when he heard a woman yelling outside his Bay Terraces home.
"She was using a lot of religious words, accusing him of things and telling him Judgment Day was here and she had 1,000 souls behind her,” said Orihuela.
“She was very eloquent. She was very, very loud. A lot of people came out,” he said.
Shortly after midnight, San Diego police were called to the 6800 block of Quebec Court where a woman had stabbed her 9-year-old son with a knife and hit her 16-year-old son in the head with a vase.
They were met by a 43-year-old man who said his girlfriend had stabbed him and the children police said.
Lt Jorge Duran with the San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit said the woman was in the parking lot when officers arrived.
“She was armed with a knife. The officer ordered the female to drop the knife several times according to witnesses who heard the officer calling out to her,” Duran said.
The woman raised the knife above her head and charged at the officer witnesses told officials.
That’s when Orihuela said he heard three shots.
"As soon as the police drew his gun I figured it wasn't safe for me to be watching anymore, so I closed my window, and my door, and then I saw the shots, and we saw the shots we just closed the door completely, and kneeled down, and I told my wife: 'Go into the room with the kids'," he said.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Her identification has not been released. The county medical examiner is planning an autopsy on Sunday.
"When the stretcher came her son or relative was yelling: 'Why did you do it mom, why did you do it'," Orihuela said.
The 9-year-old was hospitalized at Rady Children’s Hospital with multiple stab wounds and is expected to survive his injuries according to Duran.
The boyfriend was transported to Mercy Hospital and is expected to survive his injuries as well officials said.
The officer who shot the woman has been placed on administrative duty while the investigation is conducted.
Child Protective Services is trying to figure out why eight children in Dallas were left alone in a home and later dropped off at a fire station.
CPS investigators have located and are talking with the mother of the eight children, aged 3 to 12, who were reportedly left alone Sunday morning at a house in Oak Cliff.
Police said two women who described themselves as acquaintances from church had gone over to the family's house to check on the children and did not find their mother at the house.
Around 7 a.m., the women dropped the children off at the fire station at 745 West Illinois in Dallas.
Dallas Fire-Rescue told NBC 5 that the children were at the station for about 40 minutes before police and Child Protective Services responded. Firefighters fed and entertained the children before they were taken into custody.
The children could not tell investigators how long they had been on their own.
All eight siblings are now in foster care and in good health. The children will remain in foster care temporarily while the investigation continues, according to CPS spokesperson Marissa Gonzales.
Investigators would not comment on what, if any, explanation was provided by the mother for leaving the children. CPS did not reveal if the mother would face charges.
NBC 5's Reginald Hardwick, Catherine Ross, and Kendra Lyn contributed to this report.
The Virginia man who shot a security guard at the Family Research Council headquarters last year while carrying a backpack full of Chick-fil-A sandwiches is now expected to be sentenced in July.
A judge Monday scheduled sentencing for Floyd Corkins II for July 15. There had been expectations the sentencing could come today.
Prosecutors want Corkins to spend 45 years in prison. Corkins pleaded guilty in February to shooting Leo Johnson, who was filling in as a security guard on Aug. 15.
Surveillance video that day shows Johnson wrestling with Corkins right before Johnson was shot in the arm. Johnson managed to get the gun from Corkins, and has been hailed as a hero for preventing others from being hurt.
Corkins pleaded guilty to three charges against him: interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition, assault with intent to kill while armed and committing an act of terrorism while armed.
The terrorism charge is based on a fact Corkins acknowledged in a plea agreement: that he wanted to kill as many people as possible at the Family Research Council because he thought the organization is anti-gay.
According to the plea agreement, Corkins told FBI agents after the shooting that he wanted to smear the 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches that he was carrying on the faces of victims to “make a statement against the people who work in that building... and with their stance against gay rights and Chick-fil-A,” The Associated Press reported.
Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy had spoken out against gay marriage at the time.
Sentencing guidelines recommended a maximum of 10 years on the first count and up to 15 years on the two other counts.
Corkins also acknowledged in his plea agreement that he considered making a bomb, but didn't have the patience to do it.
The New York Jets have released backup quarterback Tim Tebow, NBC 4 New York's Bruce Beck has confirmed.
Tebow's release comes three days after Gang Green drafted former West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, one of this year's top prospects at the position, with the 39th pick overall in the second round of the NFL draft.
The move was expected, given the celebrity backup's unproductive tenure with the Jets, and the fact that Smith's addition bumped the Jets' number of rostered quarterbacks to an untenable six.
Fourth-year quarterback Mark Sanchez, who struggled mightily this past Jets season, is expected to compete with Smith for the starting job in training camp. Veteran quarterback David Garrard, whom the Jets signed to a one-year $1.1 million deal in March, is expected to enter the season third on the depth chart.
Tebow threw the ball just eight times for the Jets during the 2012-13 season, completing six of those passes for 39 yards. He also carried the ball 32 times for 102 yards and no touchdowns.
In a statement confirming the release, head coach Rex Ryan lauded Tebow's work ethic and said the team has "a great deal of respect" for him.
"Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped," Ryan said. "Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this off-season. We wish him the best moving forward."
A brush fire forced the closure of the toll road portion of State Route 125 in Otay Ranch Sunday. CHP closed the north and southbound lanes of the toll road around 6 p.m. when fire burned close to the highway near Birch Road. The fire burned about one acre. No word on how it started.
Eight thousand runners took part in the 32nd annual La Jolla Half Marathon. The run started at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, ending at Scripps Park just above La Jolla Cove. NBC 7's Artie Ojeda reports.
For the first time, families hugged one another across the US-Mexico border. It happened at a place called Friendship Park during the bi-national children's day celebration. NBC 7's Brandi Powell reports.
Authorities in Northern California continued Monday to search for a man they said killed an 8-year-old girl at a house in a small town in Calaveras County near Sacramento.
Valley Springs residents were being warned to lock their doors and report suspicious activity after a door-to-door manhunt did not yield a breakthrough, The Associated Press reported.
On Saturday, police said a 12-year-old boy found an intruder in his home, and when he went to check on his sister, Leila Fowler, he found she had been stabbed. The third-grader was pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy is planned for Monday. The intruder got away.
At a Sunday news conference, investigators took fingerprints and what they believe to be DNA evidence from the Rippon Road crime scene, according to NBC affiliate KCRA.
Several law enforcement agencies are searching the area for a 6-foot-tall man with gray hair, a muscular build, and last seen wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and blue pants. Police said the man is considered armed and dangerous.
Parents at Leila's school are asking for extra patrols at the bus stops, to keep children safe.
A candlelight vigil is scheduled for Tuesday, with the location and time pending.
People who know the family told KCRA 3 that Leila was one of seven children, and that her parents were very involved with the community and Little League.
The Calaveras County sheriff and the District Attorney's Office are investigating.
Valley Springs is a town of about 3,500 some 60 miles southeast of Sacramento.
At any given hour, any day of the week thousands of people are crossing the border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry either by foot or by car. So what if you had to pay a few dollars each time you cross into the U.S.?
“Processing the more than 350 million travelers annually provides nearly $150 billion in economic stimulus, yet the fees that support these operations have not been adjusted in many cases for more than a decade,” DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano told a House subcommittee last week.
The DHS has said charging a fee could generate millions of dollars, especially at the crossings near San Diego. Officials hope it could raise more money for border protection and inspection.
For border crossers like Raul Zavala, it would be bad for business.
“We come across the border to shop to buy to give to the economy of the United States," Zavala said. "Sometimes if you come across walking it's 2 or 3 hours."
Unless a fee would ensure faster crossing times at the border those who make the trip often say if anything it would make things more difficult.
“Because it's gonna take you the same time, you're not gonna get any benefit by paying," Gerardo Rico said.
Officials have not suggested a possible range for the fee. If approved, it would be collected at all U.S. border crossings, including those along the Mexico and Canada borders beginning next year.
The idea of charging a fee at border crossings is not a new one. In 1995, the border crossing at Otay Mesa was the first to implement a fee-based system to grant some border crossers faster access into the U.S.
"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay," Collins says in the opening of the piece he co-wrote with Franz Lidz.
He continued: "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."
Collins has played for six NBA teams in 12 seasons, including the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and Memphis Grizzlies. He played for the Washington Wizards this past season. He's now a free agent looking to sign on with a team for next season.
In a statement, NBA Commissioner David Stern talked about how he has known the Collins family for more than a decade and how the organization is supportive of Jason Collins.
"Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career," Stern said. "And we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue."
According to the article, the first relative he came out to was his aunt Teri Jackson, a superior court judge in San Francisco.
Her reaction surprised Collins.
"I've known you were gay for years," she said. From that moment on, Collins said, he was comfortable in his own skin.
Former President Bill Clinton issued a statement after the Collins article was published. He said he has known Collins since he was his daughter Chelsea's classmate and friend at Stanford.
"Jason's announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community," the former president said in the statement.
Chelsea Clinton also wrote a statement on her Facebook page saying she was "very proud" of her friend "for having the strength and courage to become the first openly gay athlete in the NBA."
"His decision marks an important moment for professional sports and for our country," she added. "I echo what my father said in his statement and similarly hope that everyone, particularly Jason's colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned."
U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts, who used to room with Collins at Stanford, said, "For as long as I've known Jason Collins he has been defined by three things: His passion for the sport he loves, his unwavering integrity, and the biggest heart you will ever find.''
Kennedy added: "Without question or hesitation, he gives everything he's got to those of us lucky enough to be in his life. I'm proud to stand with him today and proud to call him a friend."
The pro-gay rights group, Human Rights Campaign, also chimed in, saying Collins has done wonderful things in "becoming a role model for youth."
Collins is certainly not the first gay athlete. But what sets him apart is that other athletes that have come out as gay have either been former players or women. That includes Kwame Harris, a retired San Francisco 49er and Oakland Raider who came out this spring and Brittney Griner, a lesbian pro women's basketball player.
Coming out, especially for major league athletes, has been almost nonexistent. In April, USA Today's headline was "Leagues Prepare for Day When Gay Athlete Comes Out." The National Hockey League took a step this month by announcing a formal partnership with You Can Play, an advocacy group dedicated to ensuring equality and respect for all athletes regardless of sexual orientation.
Other leagues are also taking steps. The NFL's, NBA's and MLB's collective bargaining agreements ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told USA Today the league's rookie symposiums will include sessions on inclusion and tolerance. He also said NFL senior vice president of player engagement met with organizations representing the LGBT community, including You Can Play, as part of ongoing dialogue.
Should an NFL player or players come out, "Our league and team security people would be ready to monitor any kind of public reaction that might not be appropriate, including scrubbing social media" for potential threats, Aiello told USA Today. "We would assist the player in dealing with any adverse public reaction of any type, if there is any. Hopefully there wouldn't be and it would be a non-issue, which it should be."
Cyd Zeigler Jr., co-founder of the website Outsports, said Collins' move was a watershed event, one that could encourage other closeted gay athletes to come out of the closet. That's not only because those athletes have a new leader, Zeigler said, but because America has become much more welcoming of homosexuals.
Anticipation of an active American professional team-sport athlete coming out has been building for years, so Collins' announcement won't be as shocking as, say, when retired NFL running back David Kopay in 1975 became the first former team-sport athlete to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.
It took many years for someone else to feel comfortable enough to become the second.
This time, players, fans and the media would embrace Collins, and make it more likely for others to follow him, Zeigler predicted.
"That reaction will empower (other) people to (come out) more quickly," Zeigler said.
Polls show that Americans, including its politicians, are more comfortable with gay marriage, and in other countries, active gay team athletes have already come out of the closet. That includes English rugby player Gareth Thomas, Australian rugby player Ian Roberts and English footballer Justin Fashanu, who ended up committing suicide.
Collins "has come out at an interesting historic time," said Eric Anderson, an American sociologist who studies homosexuality in sport at the University of Winchester in the United Kingdom. "We are riding a wave of acceptability."
Anderson argued that the reaction to Collins' announcement will be noteworthy in that many people, especially those under 30, will just shrug.
"For a decade we thought it was going to be this ginormous big deal, but we've had so many pro-gay professional athletes making pro-gay statements that it's kind of not a big deal anymore," Anderson said. "This is a profound cultural moment, but for the youth, they're going to think, 'Yeah, so what?'"
But Anderson also warned against assuming Collins' coming out would spark a flood of similar announcements.
"Don't underestimate the power of the closet," he said. "It can be a pretty deep place."
NBA basketball player Jason Collins is the first, active openly gay male athlete playing in a major American team sport, and the Stanford graduate told his own tale in the upcoming May issue of Sports Illustrated.
Collins opens his piece: "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay."
He continued: "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."
According to the article, which he co-wrote with Franz Linz,, the first relative he came out to was his aunt Teri Jackson, a superior court judge in San Francisco.
Her reaction surprised Collins.
"I've known you were gay for years," she said in the article. From that moment on, Collins said, he was comfortable in his own skin.
In an interview with NBC Bay Area Monday, Jackson said that she's proud of her nephew, who came out to her a few years ago. She said the news wasn't "earthshaking," because it's not his sexual orientation that "defines him as a man."
Even though pro-sports has had its share of homophobia, the flurry of support for Collins has been overwhelming, from President Obama and former President Bill Clinton, both of whom called him.
He even got kudos from the NBA.
"Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career," NBA Commissioner David Stern said on Monday. "And we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue."
Collins played with the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and Memphis Grizzlies. He played for the Washington Wizards this past season. He's now a free agent looking to sign on with a team for next season.
Clinton issued a statement after the Collins article was published. He said he has known Collins since he was his daughter Chelsea's classmate and friend at Stanford.
"Jason's announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community," the former president said in the statement. "It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities. For so many members of the LGBT community, these simple goals remain elusive. I hope that everyone, particularly Jason's colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned."
U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts who used to room with Collins at Stanford said, "For as long as I've known Jason Collins he has been defined by three things: His passion for the sport he loves, his unwavering integrity, and the biggest heart you will ever find.''
Kennedy added: "Without question or hesitation, he gives everything he's got to those of us lucky enough to be in his life. I'm proud to stand with him today and proud to call him a friend."
The pro-gay rights group, Human Rights Campaign, also chimed in, saying Collins has done wonderful things in "becoming a role model for youth."
"With his brave and honest announcement today, Jason Collins has forever changed the face of sports," HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement on Monday. "No longer will prejudice and fear force gay athletes to remain silent about a fundamental part of their lives... At a moment when millions are reflecting on the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson, Jason Collins is a hero for our own times."
Collins is certainly not the first gay athlete. But what sets him apart is that others who have come out as gay have either been former players, coaches or women. That includes Kwame Harris, a retired San Francisco 49er and Oakland Raider who came out this spring and Brittney Griner, a lesbian pro women's basketball player. The Oakland Warriors head basketball coach has also come out.
Polls show that Americans, including its politicians, are more comfortable with gay marriage, and in other countries, active gay team athletes have already come out of the closet. That includes English rugby player Gareth Thomas, Australian rugby player Ian Roberts and English footballer Justin Fashanu, who ended up committing suicide.
Until recently, coming out, especially for major league athletes, has been almost nonexistent. But change is afoot.
In April, USA Today's headline was "Leagues Prepare for Day When Gay Athlete Comes Out." The National Hockey League took a step this month by announcing a formal partnership with You Can Play, an advocacy group dedicated to ensuring equality and respect for all athletes regardless of sexual orientation.
Other leagues are also taking steps. The NFL's, NBA's and MLB's collective bargaining agreements ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told USA Today the league's rookie symposiums will include sessions on inclusion and tolerance. He also said NFL senior vice president of player engagement met with organizations representing the LGBT community, including You Can Play, as part of ongoing dialogue.
Former NFL cornerback Wade Davis knows about this issue well. In February, the retired pro-football cornerback came out last summer. He said pro sports has been traditionally perceived as a bulwark of homophobia, but felt that there is an overall widening acceptance of gays that mirror what's going on in the general public.
Cyd Zeigler Jr., co-founder of the website Outsports, said Collins' move was a watershed event, one that could encourage other closeted gay athletes to come out of the closet. That's not only because those athletes have a new leader, Zeigler said, but because America has become much more welcoming of homosexuals.
Anticipation of an active American professional team-sport athlete coming out has been building for years, so Collins' announcement won't be as shocking as, say, when retired NFL running back David Kopay in 1975 became the first former team-sport athlete to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.
It took many years for someone else to feel comfortable enough to become the second.
This time, players, fans and the media would embrace Collins, and make it more likely for others to follow him, Zeigler predicted.
"That reaction will empower (other) people to (come out) more quickly," Zeigler said.
Collins "has come out at an interesting historic time," said Eric Anderson, an American sociologist who studies homosexuality in sport at the University of Winchester in the United Kingdom. "We are riding a wave of acceptability."
Anderson argued that the reaction to Collins' announcement will be noteworthy in that many people, especially those under 30, will just shrug.
"For a decade we thought it was going to be this ginormous big deal, but we've had so many pro-gay professional athletes making pro-gay statements that it's kind of not a big deal anymore," Anderson said. "This is a profound cultural moment, but for the youth, they're going to think, 'Yeah, so what?'"
But Anderson also warned against assuming Collins' coming out would spark a flood of similar announcements.
"Don't underestimate the power of the closet," he said. "It can be a pretty deep place."
NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez contributed to this report.
One World Trade Center will become the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere upon completion (if you count its needle), joining the ranks of the world's highest, including Dubai's Burj Khalifa and Abraj Al Bait Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Click to see more photos of the world's tallest buildings in cities around the globe.
San Diego police are looking for two suspects in an attempted robbery that turned violent.
The incident happened around 11:30 a.m. Monday. Police tell NBC 7 that two men approached the victim near Jackson Drive and Navajo Road. One of the men stabbed him in the stomach.
The victim managed to walk to an auto repair show in the 7100-block of Park Ridge Boulevard and ask for help. Paramedics took him to Sharp Memorial Hospital. Police say his injuries are not life-threatening.
The suspects took off eastbound on Navajo toward State Route 125, according to officials. Police are now looking for a silver, older model Mitsubishi sedan.
A device that appeared to be a hand grenade prompted a partial evacuation and bomb squad response Monday morning at a VA hospital in Los Angeles.
The bomb squad responded to the Veterans Administration West Los Angeles Medical Center. at about 7 a.m. local time after the discovery of the device. A 66-year-old patient brought the item to the emergency room area and claimed to have found a grenade in a bathroom, according to authorities.
Bomb squad investigators determined that the device was "inert."
"It was non-active, but it was made to look like it was active," said Ed Casey, VA police chief. "The subject had placed a copper wire through the thumb break of the grenade."
The man who brought the device to the ER area was detained, and authorities later told NBC4 Southern California that he admitted to bringing the grenade to the hospital. Investigators planned to search the man's home for explosives.
The emergency room area was evacuated. The order, involving about 100 people, was lifted at about 9:20 a.m. local time.
The investigation also led to nearby road closures. Aerial video showed firefighting units and other law enforcement vehicles on the campus, which has its own 72-member police force.
