A man fatally stabbed at Kings Inn on Hotel Circle South in Mission Valley was identified Tuesday.

Michael Bernard Nichols, 30, from Gary, Indiana died from a stab wound to his upper torso.

According to the Medical Examiner’s autopsy report released Tuesday, the cause of his death was determined to be a homicide.

Nichols’ was found unresponsive on a sidewalk in the 1300 block of Hotel Circle Drive, just south of Interstate 8 around 9:25 a.m. on June 19. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The initial cause of death was not determined at the time of Nichols’ death but officers said it appeared he had suffered trauma to his upper torso.

The San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit is investigating the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (888)540-8477.

The Children's Paradise Early Learning and Infant Center broke ground on Monday in Oceanside.

Children’s Paradise, now with its fourth location on the way in San Diego County, aspires to educate infants to children five years of age to prepare them for kindergarten.

Children’s Paradise hopes to better the children’s future and create “another successful generation and ultimately improve the entire community” by giving the children the tools they need at an early age.

Enrollment in the center comes at little to no cost for families.

The center partners with the Quality Preschool Initiative which is funded by First 5 San Diego, the San Diego County Office of Education, MAAC, Head Start and the Smarty Patch Foundation.

The new Learning Center will be located at 2017 Mission Ave. in Oceanside.

The San Diego Natural History Museum’s “Coast to Cactus in Southern California” was one of the two exhibits awarded as the Overall Award Winner at the Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition.

The event is held by the American Alliance of Museums to award outstanding exhibitions in any type of museum, zoo, aquarium, botanical gardens or any noncommercial institutions with an exhibit offered to the public.

The 8,000 square foot exhibit first opened to the public in early 2015 and is now a permanent addition to the museum.

A statement by the American Alliance of Museums read: “The Excellence in Exhibition chose this exhibition as an ‘Overall Winner’ for the quality of interpretive strategies in rich, playful, evocative and immersive spaces and effective use of bi-lingual labels, particularly inclusive of the local community with a feeling of authenticity.”

The “Coast to Cactus in Southern California” exhibit will be recognized at the American Alliance of Museums’ Annual Meeting and will be featured in Museum magazine as well as the fall issue of Exhibition.

San Diego's downtown isn't exactly bike-friendly. 

But that'll start to change under a bold undertaking that rolled through City Hall on Tuesday.

It's called the Downtown Mobility Plan, and it extends beyond the Financial District to Little Italy, the Gaslamp, East Village and Bankers Hill.

Over the next two to three decades, nearly $63 million will be earmarked for a series of improvements to benefit pedal-pushers and pedestrians alike

As Ocean Beach resident Mia Bolton told NBC 7: “This plan is particularly important for the everyday commuters like me, who would use the bike lanes that are proposed to get to and from work, or who are coming downtown to hang out with friends. Not so much the racing bike riders."

Cyclists face a lot of competition for space on downtown's streets -- competition that all too often yields grudgingy, honking and pulling around riders in a big hurry.

The mobility plan calls for a nine-mile network of “protected” bike lanes, like one already road-tested on 5th Avenue in Bankers Hill, on several major thoroughfares.

Along with safety, there's a "climate action" benefit being touted.

But the plan has upset property owners, businesses, a church and grade school in Little Italy, who fear that the elimination of traffic lanes and parking spaces will cause financial setbacks and inconveniences.

Bike advocates say cities with long-standing similar plans, such as San Francisco and Denver, have done research and found just the opposite.

“People want to come and live in the communities that have these bike lanes,” says Andy Hanshaw, executive director of the San Diego County Bike Coalition. “People want to work in a city and a downtown that has a pedestrian and cycling network in it, so they don't have to own a car. That's going to help business."

The City Council wound up approving the plan on an 8-0 vote.

In addition to the pathway projects for cyclists and pedestrians, there'll be new parking structures and strategies, such as diagonal spaces, to offset whatever's lost to the bike lanes.

The plan’s backers say it’s actually expected to result in a net gain of parking spaces.

Parents in the Encinitas Union School District gathered to protest funding for classes on Tuesday.

The school district is set to vote on the budget for the 2016-17 school year Tuesday evening. But parents want to stop the district from voting on a $500,000 budget to fund a long debated yoga program.

The money for the program would come out of a general fund.

Approximately 40 to 50 demonstrators gathered outside of the district offices on Rancho Santa Fe Road.

Parents say it’s unfair the district has asked them to help raise money for science, music and physical education but wants to spend district tax dollars for a yoga curriculum.

"The district needs to be focused on the best interest of the kids and focus on, in school hours, on academics and that needs to be first,” said parent Rebecca Thompson.

The yoga curriculum falls under the enrichment teacher program. A three-year grant that originally funded the program recenty expired.

Two years ago, the district was sued over the program.

But in April 2015, an appeals court ruled that teaching yoga does not represent an attempt at illegal religious indoctrination.

On the district’s web site, the board states the program received an 83 percent approval rating among participants and it has proven to be beneficial to students.

The program was implemented but now the question is how to fund it.

The County’s Department of Animal Services has rescued a Rottweiler from the Border Fire and are now looking for his owner.

The approximately eight-year-old mixed breed was found wandering along the side of Highway 94, and taken to their animal care facility in Bonita.

He has burns to all four pads to his feet. His wounds were cleaned, ointments were applied to his paws and then they were bandaged.

“As with any animal rescued during a fire or other disaster, the owner will have 14 days to come forward and claim him. If no owner comes forward, we strive to place all of our animals up for adoption,” Dan DeSousa, Deputy Director for Animal Services said.

They currently have 22 chickens, 2 goats, numerous rabbits, one horse, one cat, and several dogs that were also rescued from the fire at the care facility in Bonita.

The fire has burned more than 7,500 acres and prompted evacuations from the Potrero area since Sunday. 

The owner should call Animal Services at 619-236-2341.

The attorney for a Coronado-based Navy SEAL accused of a homicide in Santa Monica says the Navy officer was attempting to stop the victim from taking pictures of girls.

Theo Andrew Krah, 28, was arrested near his home in San Diego last Monday and charged with the homicide of Kris Anderson.

NBC 7 spoke with Attorney Anthony Salerno on Monday.

Salerno alleges Krah was at the Santa Monica Pier on June 11 and saw Anderson taking pictures of possibly young girls. He says Krah and Anderson got into a struggle but no one was injured or arrested.

“He has not been identified by witnesses as being the person that was even there who allegedly assaulted this person,” Salerno said.

According to Salerno, Krah noticed Anderson taking the pictures and confronted him about them. He demanded to see the pictures but the man did not want to show him.

“I want to know what’s in that phone because I strongly believe that if you’re out as an old guy, taking pictures of underage girls in bathing suits, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out what else that guy might’ve been up to and what he intended to do,” Salerno said.

He alleges that Krah did not get into a fight with Anderson but just held him down until police arrived.

“If you saw someone taking pictures of underage people, you’d hope that someone would have the character and the courage to confront him,” he said.

Salerno claims that it wasn't until about an hour later that Anderson was found suffering from head trauma and a stab wound.

Santa Monica police said they arrested Krah on June 13 for homicide. Krah is being held on a $2 million bail.

Salerno says he trying to get hold of the victim’s camera to show what Anderson was doing before his death.

Krah is due in court July 13.

Jerry Frederick was helping a friend paint his house in Potrero, California, when he first saw the smoke Sunday afternoon. 

"I seen the smoke start up," Frederick said Tuesday from a Red Cross shelter in unincorporated El Cajon. "A couple more hours, and next thing I know, the Sheriff's coming in saying, 'you got to evacuate.'"

Frederick was one of hundreds told to leave their homes as the so-called Border Fire, which started as a two acre blaze at 11 a.m. Sunday, quickly grew hundreds of acres large in the face of record-breaking heat and strong winds. 

A few hours after the blaze first started, it burned 7,500 acres, prompting a mandatory evacuation notice for residents of Potrero. 

At first, Frederick evacuated to Campo, where the first evacuee shelter was set up. A day later, evacuees moved to several different shelters as the fire spread before ending up Tuesday at the Red Cross shelter at Los Coches Creek Middle School. At noon Tuesday, the fire was 5 percent contained. 

Frederick said he still isn't sure if his home went up in flames. In his rush to leave, he did not stop home -- he brought nothing with him.

"I have what I have. My clothes on, and that’s it," he said. "Left the paintbrush in the paint cans and hauled out."

He worries his home won't be there when the fire is contained and the evacuation order lifted. 

"It's stressful," Frederick said. "I wanna go home, but I don’t even know if I got a home to go to."

He said he worries about his roommate, Buster, who he believes may have had difficulty getting out of the house. He has yet to hear from him. 

As he drove out and away from Potrero, Frederick described some of what he saw. 

"All I seen is smoke, smoke, and black smoke, and getting worse and worse," he said.

Cal Fire officials said steep terrain, dry vegetation due to the drought, winds, and hot temperatures have made the fire difficult to contain.  

Frederick praised the firefighters working day in and day out to contain the fire.

"I'm amazed with them, working in that heat," Frederick said. "It amazes me that they can even survive. It's not an easy fight."

He said he hopes everyone can go home soon. 

For the latest updates on the fire, click here. 

A man was arrested on Monday evening in Campo, California, after discharging a shotgun when an animal control officer responded to an emu in distress outside his home, sheriff’s officials said.

Sean Michael Shepherd, 31, was taken into custody on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

He was being held on $30,000 bail on Tuesday evening. It wasn't immediately clear if he has an attorney.

Sheriff’s deputies said the bizarre situation surfaced about 6 p.m. Monday in the 28000 block of State Route 94. An animal control officer on patrol spotted an injured emu. As he approached the animal, a man came out of his home and exchanged heated words with the officer, deputies said.

The emu doesn't belong to the suspect, but is his neighbor's animal, officials said.

That’s when the man went inside and returned with a shotgun, firing it into the air, deputies said.

No one was hurt. The emu ran away and disappeared, according to authorities.

The animal’s feathers were apparently burnt. While it wasn't clear what caused the emu's injuries, the incident happened in the area of the Border Fire, which has spanned 7,500 acres near Potrero and caused some injuries to animals.

Hundreds have been forced to evacuate their homes as crews struggle to contain a fast-moving, 7,500-acre wildfire burning east of San Diego near the border. The wildfire is now in its third day. 

More than 1,400 firefighters from across Southern California are fighting the so-called Border Fire, which started Sunday afternoon as a two-acre fire with slow spread. It has since rapidly grown to 7,500 acres in often difficult and hard-to-access terrain in triple digit, record-breaking heat. 

Several hundred residents living in or near Potrero have fled the fire following mandatory evacuation notices. 800 structures are threatened. You can find more information on specific evacuations, and shelters, below. 

Residents in need of emergency assistance evacuation should call 911.

At 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Cal Fire officials said the wildland fire was 5 percent contained and holding at 7,500 acres. 

Cal Fire officials say their goal is to further contain the fire and stop it from moving forward with more air resources. 

Cal Fire officials have issued mandatory evacuation orders for the following areas:

• Community of Potrero
• Homes along Highway 94 between Emory Road and Plaskon Road
• Forest Gate
• Star Ranch
• Cowboy Ranch
• Dog Patch
• Canyon City
• The community of Lake Morena Village, northwest of Campo. Specifically, a two-mile radius around Lake Morena Drive and Oak Drive west of Buckman Springs Road.

Cal Fire said the fire has been moving north and northeast, threatening parts of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, as well as the surrounding communities. The Pacific Coast Trail is closed. 

"Firefighters will continue to construct containment lines day and night to slow the growth of the fire eventually stopping the spread of the fire," the Cal Fire incident report on the fire notes.

The community of Potrero was the first to evacuate Sunday afternoon when officials issued the mandatory order. The community of Potrero has a total population of 693 people in 207 units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2014 American Community Survey.

State Route 94 is closed from State Route 188 to Potrero Valley Road. It is unclear when the road will be open again. 

Mountain Health, the only community clinic in Campo and the Mountain Empire Region, has opened up their community center in Campo for displaced residents. The center is located at 31115 CA-94 in Campo. 

Evacuees are being directed to Los Coches Creek Middle School, where an overnight shelter was set up. The school is located on 9669 Dunbar Lane in El Cajon.

A previous emergency shelter at Campo Elementary School at 1654 Buckman Springs Road has closed.

Updates on the fire and emergency shelters can be found here.

Residents looking to cool off near the fire can go to the Campo-Morena Village Library at 31356 Highway 94 in Campo. The library was closed Monday but was open as a cool zone from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Find a complete list of cool zones here.

Four outbuildings have been destroyed in the flames, but no homes have been damaged as of Sunday night.

Three firefighters have been injured in the blaze. One firefighter suffered heat-related injuries while working in triple degree heat, but is expected to be okay. Another firefighter suffered heat-related injuries and another suffered a knee injury.

More than 150 engines and 30 hand crews have been fighting the fire, which moved quickly over the rugged and steep terrain near Potrero, 45 miles east of San Diego, Cal Fire said. 12 water tenders, six helicopters, four air tankers and seven dozers have also been involved in putting out the fire. 

Combined, 1484 personnel are on scene. That includes personnel from San Diego Gas and Electric, San Diego County Fire, Border patrol, Cal Trans, San Diego Sheriff Department, BLM, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Red Cross.

Rising, triple digit temperatures and dry conditions have made the fire tough to fight. 

"Excessive heat which is uncharacteristic for this time of year, steep terrain, extremely dry vegetation due to many years of drought, difficult access and winds have produced extremely erratic fire behavior making it very difficult for firefighters to mitigate this incident," Cal Fire notes in the Border Fire's incident report.

San Diego Sheriff's officials said 48 of their deputies are assisting with security patrols and traffic controls in the evacuated and fire areas. Two ASTREA Bell 205 fire-rescue helicopters are making water drops; each copter has a 375-gallon belly tank. 

Across California, more than 4,700 firefighters are fighting six active wildfires.

Schools in the Mountain Empire Unified School District will be closed Monday and Tuesday, the district announced.

The fire broke out Sunday morning around 11:30 a.m. near Highway 94 and Highway 188, north of Tecate, Mexico, and west of Campo. 

At first, Cal Fire crews reported the fire at 3 to 5 acres with a slow rate of spread, not threatening any structures. The fire jumped Highway 94 in a matter of hours and continued rapidly spreading from there. 

"As we came out of Potrero, there was fire on both sides of the road, so I guess it was a good thing we got out when we did," evacuee Andy Lindsay said at the evacuation location on Sheridan.

Lindsay spent six days in an evacuation center during the Harris Fire in 2007. In 2007, the Harris Fire burned more than 90,000 acres in the same area, killing one person and badly burning another. The fire also destroyed 253 homes. 

"Hopefully we won't be here for five or six days like we were last time," he said.

Sunday night the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire. 

The FMAG also enables local, state and tribal agencies to recover eligible costs.

The National Weather Service said an excessive heat watch will be in effect for parts of San Diego County and Imperial County, including valleys, mountains and deserts, from Sunday morning through next Thursday evening.

Communities that will feel the heat the most include: El Cajon, Santee, La Mesa, Poway, Pine Valley, Julian, Escondido, San Marcos, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear.

If you have photos or videos of the fire, please send them to isee@nbcsandiego.com.

A sailboat containing a father and his three teenage children vanished off the coast of Florida. The Coast Guard searched for them through Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, NBC News reported.

The group was on a 29-foot vessel when it went missing near Englewood, on the Gulf of Mexico side of the state. It was last seen Sunday morning, according to the Coast Guard.

By 5 a.m. ET on Wednesday, authorities said there was still no sign of the family. The missing included boys aged 13 and 15 and their 17-year-old sister.

A relative called the Coast Guard Tuesday to report the man and his children left Sarasota at 7 a.m. Sunday and hadn't returned.

Destyni Tyree graduated from high school after only two years. She has a scholarship to college. She's been a cheerleader. She's been prom queen. And she has a 4.0 grade point average.

The new life the 16-year-old is preparing for at Potomac State University in West Virginia is a long way from where she grew up, at the family homeless shelter at D.C. General.

Tyree went to school during the summer and on weekends to achieve her goal of graduating two years early.

"We not only gave her regular classes, she had online classes and she did Saturday school to make sure that she graduated this year," said Eugenia Young, the principal of Roosevelt S.T.A.Y. High School, an alternative school in Northeast D.C.

Young called Tyree an "outstanding student." Tyree took home a number of awards when she graduated, including the Principal's Award for Academics and the Leadership Award.

Tyree said both Young and her mother were supportive of her goal to graduate early, but living in the D.C. General Homeless Shelter was her biggest driving force.

"I don't want to live in a shelter when I get older," she said. "I want to better my life, so that gave me the drive to do what I want to do."

Tyree will still be younger than many of her classmates when she starts college this fall, but she said she has the same jitters so many young people get upon leaving the nest.

She said life at Potomac State will be a "journey," but one she is ready to take on.

"I'm scared, I'm excited, I'm proud of myself, all in one big ball," she said.

Tyree is still saving money to pay for college necessities her scholarship does not cover, including books. She is accepting donations through a GoFundMe page.

A man died after being stabbed during a fight in Oceanside early Wednesday morning, police said.

The victim in his early 20s has not yet been identified.

Police said a fight broke out in the area of Holly and Lemon just after midnight. Responding officers found the man had suffered severe stab wounds.

He was taken to Scripps La Jolla Hospital, where he died, police said.

No arrests have been made and police said they don’t have a suspect description.

The investigation is continuing.

One year ago, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination while promising to not seek re-election.

After failing in his run for the White House, the Florida senator is now reversing his stance and announcing that he will indeed run for a second term. The news was initially reported by the Washington Post and confirmed by NBC News.

Rubio was elected in 2010 as part of the Tea Party movement that put several Republicans into both chambers of Congress.

After dropping out of the running for the GOP nomination, Rubio was approached by Senate leadership in an effort to convince him to reconsider his initial pledge. Republicans who had announced they would run for the office said they would drop out if Rubio did run, including U.S. Rep. David Jolly and Lt. Gov.Carlos Lopez-Cantera.

Several potential opponents on both sides of the aisle came out against Rubio for not keeping his promise to stay out of the race. Businessman and GOP candidate Carlos Beruff said that Rubio is “more worried about keeping the job than doing the job”, while U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Democrat, said Rubio is treating Floridians like "a consolation prize.”

Rubio released a statement admitting that he changed his mind and said he has no problem with potential opponents using it against him, saying "I have never claimed to be perfect." Rubio went on to say that he is running because he feels Washington needs "principled, persuasive leaders" no matter who is elected President.

Recent polls show Rubio easily winning the Republican primary despite his late decision, while being a slight favorite against both Democratic contenders.

"Keeping Florida’s US Senate seat Republican is a top priority for our party and for hardworking Floridians who reject Democrats’ policies of ineffective government that put Washington first. That is why we welcome Senator Rubio’s decision to run for reelection," Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia said in a statement. "From the chambers of the Florida House to the U.S. Senate, Marco Rubio has proven himself as bold leader who is focused on real solutions to the issues facing Floridians across the state and to the nation."

A pedestrian died after being hit by a car, fire officials said.

The person was struck just after 7 a.m. in the area of South Grade Road and Via Viejas in Alpine.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

A body has been found in the area authorities are searching for a Florida man and his three teenage children, who vanished Sunday aboard a sailboat in the Gulf of Mexico, a Coast Guard spokesman said Wednesday.

But Coast Guard Capt. Gregory Case said the body's identity has not been released. He added at a news conference that he was hopeful that three other missing people would still be found as the search continues.

"We're continuing to hit it hard with everything we've got," Case said, adding the family was made aware the body was found.

The body was spotted by a Coast Guard helicopter at 4:30 p.m., Case said, and sent to local authorities to be identified.

Earlier Wednesday, six life jackets, four water bottles and at least one tennis shoe were found. A yellow kayak and a green kayak were also discovered Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Case said an aircraft spotted the field of debris — "a dire finding" — 33 miles off the coast of Sanibel Wednesday morning. A basketball, tarp and propane tank were also found, but the family members and their 29-foot sailboat remain missing.

Case identified the father as 45-year-old Ace Kimberly, who has lived on the boat for about a year with his three children: Roger, 13; Donald, 15; and Rebecca, 17.

The boat, which was anchored in Sarasota, departed Sunday morning for Fort Myers. The cities are about 60 miles apart. The family had planned to meet Kimberly's brother and make repairs to the sailboat, according to the Coast Guard.

Kimberly told his brother Sunday afternoon "he was experiencing rough seas and thunderstorms and that he was worried and wanted his brother on land to send him some weather reports and that's the last that he heard from him," Case said. "The vessel was not in the best of shape."

That afternoon, Kimberly called his brother to say the boat had been caught in squalls and 6-foot surf. He said he was "attempting to survive with his children" off the coast of Englewood, according to the Coast Guard.

Kimberly and his children have not been seen or heard from since. His brother contacted the Coast Guard on Tuesday to report them missing, Case said, adding that no distress call was placed.

The Coast Guard activated its Maritime Emergency Response Team out of Fort Myers and continues to search the area by land and sea. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Charlotte County Sheriff's Office and Lee County Sheriff's Office are assisting in the search.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family," Case said. "I know this is a super difficult time for them, and we are doing everything we can and throwing everything we have at this search."

Kimberly's brother said the boat had been towing two kayaks and had at least seven life jackets on board, according to Case.

Anyone who enters the Gulf of Mexico is asked to keep a lookout and contact Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg at 727-824-7506 with any information.

Ari Mason contributed to this report.

California faces an active wildfire season in 2016 due to years of drought and what could be a scorching summer.

Use the map above to view information about active and recent wildfires across the state. Click on the "fire" icon to find out more about each wildfire.

Add map layers to view radar, wind conditions and more information.

Wearing a black shirt, camouflage pants, and the worried look of a man whose life is about to change in ways he could never have imagined, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert surrendered Wednesday to the Federal prison in Rochester, Minnesota.

Mandated by court order to show up by 2 p.m., Hastert arrived early, rolling through the prison gate with his wife Jean at 11:43 a.m.

Hastert pushed his own wheelchair as his wife attempted to manage a walker, which she dropped and had to retrieve after accompanying her husband inside the prison gatehouse. After a brief time inside, she returned to her car, and left the prison alone.

Officially the Federal Medical Center of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the facility is generally considered the system's finest hospital/prison, because of its affiliation with the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. Hastert suffers from a variety of disorders, and was ordered here to continue medical treatment while he serves the 15 month sentence imposed two months ago, for hush money schemes relating to sex crimes with high school students in the seventies.

"I'm glad it's over," said Jolene Burdge, sister of one of Hastert's victims, Steven Reinboldt. "The whole situation is very sad but anyone who abuses children needs to be held responsible no matter how long it takes."

Burdge testified against Hastert at sentencing, telling him at one point, "I hope I have been your worst nightmare."

"This is why there should be no statute of limitations (on abuse cases)," she said. "I know Steve is glad I never gave up and that now people know he was telling the truth."

At sentencing, Hastert admitted abusing student athletes during the period when he was wrestling coach at Yorkville High School.

"The other inmates, they're going to shun him," predicted Larry Levine, an ex-con who now works as an inmate consultant from his home base in Los Angeles. "He has that stigma of child molester, of being a politician. Two strikes! Nobody likes politicians, and nobody likes child molesters."

If he is deemed physically able, Hastert will be given a job. His mail will be opened and read before he receives it, and his phone calls will be restricted to a specific list.

And in something of a bitter irony for a man who used to represent the United States around the world, the former Speaker's movements about the prison will be restricted to specific periods of the day.

His bed is to be made by 7:30every morning, and his living space is to be swept and damp mopped daily. 

After disappearing into the correctional center's gate house, reporters observed Hastert wheeling himself through a prison courtyard, the razor wire all-but obscuring a man who was once one of the most powerful people in America.

Americans spend a substantial part of out-of-pocket health care costs on alternative medicine, such as acupuncture, yoga, chiropractic care and natural supplements, even though there is little evidence some of these approaches work, NBC News reported.

Federal researchers reported Wednesday that Americans shelled out more than $30 billion in 2012 alone for some sort of alternative or complementary treatment — an average of $500 per person.

The team at the National Center for Health Statistics says the findings is "an indication that users believe enough in the value of these approaches to pay for them."

Though studies have shown acupuncture can help in many ways, including with pregnancy-related nausea, other popular treatments have little or no science to back them up, including homeopathy, naturopathy, guided imagery, energy healing and traditional healers.