The family of a San Diego boy with muscular dystrophy is calling on American Airlines to change the way it handles equipment after they say his wheelchair was destroyed on a cross-country flight.

Eleven-year-old Skyler Evans was on board a flight from Dallas and checked his power wheelchair. When he and his family landed in San Diego on Tuesday night, they said it was broken.

“It’s my way of getting around, keeping up with people, going to school,” Skyler said. “And they just destroyed it."

In response, an American Airlines spokesman apologized for the ordeal, but noted the airline wasn’t sure whether the wheelchair was damaged by airline staff or during the TSA screening.

It wasn’t clear how the wheelchair was damaged.

The spokesman, Ross Feinstein, said the airline has offered to provide a loaner wheelchair while Skyler’s chair undergoes repairs.

He said the airline plans to cover the costs of the repairs and deliver the wheelchair to Skyler.

Still, Skyler is upset the wheelchair was damaged in the first place.

“We need it, but if it’s broken, we can’t use it,” he said.

UK authorities searching for two people in the attempted abduction of a serviceman at a Royal Air Force base in England said they were unable to rule out terrorism as a motive.

Two men, one of whom had a knife, approached the serviceman while he was jogging near the RAF Marham air base in Norfolk, NBC News reported. The serviceman, who was off-duty and not in uniform, was uninjured. 

Norfolk Detective Superintendent Paul Durham said the motivation for the attack is unclear and that authorities are "currently unable to discount terrorism," according to the Associated Press.

Thousands of costumed superheroes will fly into San Diego this weekend for Comic-Con and the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said security around the high-profile event will be tighter than ever.

With more than 100,000 attendees expected at the multi-day pop culture expo at the San Diego Convention Center, large crowds will gather all over downtown.

This brings major concerns over security, especially in light of recent attacks all over the world, including Orlando, Florida and Nice, France.

On Wednesday – Comic-Con’s preview day – SDPD officers were already setting up security around the convention center, carrying out their plan to keep everyone safe.

The SDPD said the public will see a larger presence of uniformed officer out in full force around Comic-Con this weekend. Cameras and plainclothes officers will also be placed strategically around the event.

Police said a major concern is the realistic-looking weapons used as props by the many costumed Comic-Con attendees. To avoid confusion, the SDPD said officers plan to tag those props and place wristbands on attendees who have been properly checked and cleared.

Still, the SDPD is asking all superheroes at the event to do their part. SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman said that anyone who sees any kind of suspicious activity around Comic-Con should immediately contact authorities.

“Public safety is a shared responsibility. Please make sure you’re also vigilant,” Zimmerman said.

“Be aware of your surroundings and if something just seems out of the ordinary – out of place – please, no matter how insignificant you think it might be, don’t say, ‘Oh, it’s nothing.’ If you think it was something then please don’t hesitate to say something,” the chief added.

Comic-Con’s preview day kicks off at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The convention continues through Sunday. NBC 7 will bring you coverage of the event in our special online Comic-Con section here.

A man on the run from San Diego Police ran onto Interstate 805 in the Kearny Mesa area Thursday and attempted to stop cars during the morning commute, police said.

A San Diego Police Officer tried to talk with the man at 7:05 a.m. near Mesa College Drive and Kearny Villa Road, police said.

The man ran from the officer and into traffic traveling southbound on I-805.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

A New York man held an 81-year-old Navy veteran captive for four years, starving and beating him, in order to steal his pension checks for drugs, authorities say. 

Perry Coniglio, 43, was arrested in Orange County Wednesday on multiple charges, including unlawful imprisonment, endangerment of an incompetent person, grand larceny and criminal possession of a weapon. 

Highland Falls police said Coniglio, a motel handyman, held former U.S. Navy veteran David McClellan captive for four years at the U.S. Academy Motel, near West Point. 

Police said they had gotten complaints for years that Coniglio, who was posing as the victim's caretaker, was verbally abusing the elderly man. But when video surfaced that it turned more physical, they raided the motel Tuesday night. 

"That of course elevated our concern for the well-being of the victim yesterday, so last night we moved in and took Coniglio into custody," said Highlands Police Det. Joseph Cornetta. 

McClellan was taken to the hospital and is in the care of adult protective services.

Coniglio allegedly cashed the victim's pension checks and cleared out his bank accounts over the years.

Attorney information for Coniglio wasn't immediately available. 

More than 100,000 comic book fanatics and cosplay enthusiasts will descend on the San Diego Convention Center Thursday to kick off the first day of San Diego Comic-Con 2016.

The first day of the annual pop culture expo will include an inside look into Disney's upcoming movie, "Moana," a spotlight on DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee, a 25-year industry veteran and a chance to watch the premier of Oliver Stone's new political thriller.

Here are a few of Thursday's must-attend events:

Becoming Nerdstrong
10:00am - 11:00am, Pacific 24, North Tower, Marriott Marquis & Marina
This panel will talk about how to mix fandom culture and passions into a fitness journey. The talk will feature Andrew Deutsch (Nerdstrong Gym founder), David Nett (Nerdstrong Gym partner), Christy Black (Nerdstrong Gym partner), Andrew Seely (Nerdstrong Gym partner), and Blair Herter (Nerdstrong Gym partner, Attack of the Show).

The 4th Annual Musical Anatomy of a Superhero
11:00am - 12:00pm, Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
Music has always been important to setting the cinematic mode, and this panel will give a behind-the-scenes look at the music of some of today's biggest superhero movies. Participating composers include Henry Jackman (Captain America: Civil War, Kick Ass 2), Tom "Junkie XL" Holkenborg (Deadpool, Batman v Superman), John Ottman (X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Blake Neely (Supergirl, The Flash).

Snowden
11:45am - 12:45pm, Hall H
Acclaimed filmaker Oliver Stone will premier his newest film, "Snowden." The biographical political thriller follows Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked information from the National Security Agency in 2013. Don't miss an opportunity to talk with Stone and actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Zachary Quinto.

Welcome to the Whedonverse
12:00pm - 1:00pm, Room 23ABC
Years after the beloved shows have ended, Joss Whedon's cult favorite television shows, including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel & Faith" and "Serenity," live on as some of the most popular comics published by Dark Horse. The comic book publisher will give an exclusive look at what's to come in the Whedon universe.

The Nerdist Panel with Chris Hardwick
1:00pm - 2:00pm, Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
Join Chris Hardwick of Comedy Central's "@Midnight" and AMC's "Talking Dead" to talk about all things Nerdist. The panel will include Jessica Chobot (Nerdist News), Rachel Heine (editor-in-chief), Dan Casey (The Dan Cave), Alicia Lutes (Fangirling) and Legendary Digital Networks Adam Rymer.

Moana: Art of Story
12:30pm - 1:30pm, Room 6A
Don't miss a behind-the-scenes look at Disney's upcoming animated feature, "Moana." Directors Ron Clements and John Musker, whose prior Disney collaborations include "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," "Hercules," "Treasure Planet" and "The Princess and the Frog," will lead a panel of artists to talk about their newest movie.

Captain America 75th Anniversary
5:00pm - 6:00pm, Room 9
Celebrate 75 years of Captain America fighting for justice with Jim Simon, son of cartoonist and Captain America co-creator Joe Simon, and Allen Bellman, one of the original artists for the Captain America comics.

Queer History in Comics or LGBTQ Geek Year in Review
6:00pm - 7:00pm, Room 28DE
This panel will roundup some of this year's highlights in comics, TV, movies, animation and games and discuss their significance for the LGBTQ community. Panelists will include Diane Anderson-Minshall (The Advocate, Plus), Nick Adams (director of GLAAD's Transgender Media Program), Mike Ciriaco (LA Weekly), Amber Garza (Geeks OUT/Flame Con, Sequential Rights), Chelsea Steiner (AfterEllen, Autostraddle) and Amelia Vaughn (Huffington Post).

Death and the High Cost of Resurrection
6:30pm - 7:30pm, Room 26AB
Bestselling horror/fantasy author Mira Grant and comic creator and former Marvel/IDW editor Andy Schidt will, and others, will discuss the ramifications of a "Comic Book Death," when a character is killed off but the readers expect they will be somehow resurrected. The discussion will be moderated by Adron Buske, co-host of the Nerd for a Living podcast.

The New Comics Journalism: Representation for All
7:00pm - 8:00pm, Room 23ABC
Join Heidi MacDonald (The Beat), Megan Purdy (Women Write About Comics), Emma Houxbois (Comicosity), Brett Schenker (Graphic Policy), and others talk about prominent issues in the comic book industry for the annual state-of-comics-journalism panel. This year topics will include the demand for a more inclusive comic industry, as well as problems related to decreasing comic book funding.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show
8:15pm - 10:45pm, Room 6DE
Get an inside look at the upcoming star-studded remake of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," which will be celebrating it's 40th year of theatrical distribution. Don't miss an opportunity to meet cast members and producers for a first look at the reimagining of the cult classic, which will premier this fall on FOX.

How long should your furniture last? In the case of Della and Joseph Scata, they expected their new recliner to last at least ten years. They even bought an additional insurance plan to make sure it would last that long. 

After two years though, it started coming apart. 

The Scata’s bought a bonded leather chair from Jerome’s Furniture in San Marcos. At the time of the sale, they paid extra for a furniture insurance plan offered through a company named Guardsman. When the leather began to peel, Joseph thought he was covered. 

“The store told me to call the insurance company,” Joseph said. “I called and got a letter back that it [recliner] wasn’t covered. What insurance did I buy, I don’t know!” 

The Scata's asked Guardsman, the insurance provider, to fix it but the company said it was not covered in their furniture insurance policy. The policy states 'cracking and peeling of leather' are excluded from the protection plan. 

Fearing the worst, the Scata’s reached out to NBC 7 Responds to see if there was a resolution. 

Although the recliner was not covered by Guardsman, Jerome’s Furniture issued the Scata’s a full refund of $553.97 and donated $300 of Jerome’s Furniture credit to a non-profit of the couple’s choice. 

The Scata’s chose the Alpha Project out of Vista, a group that focuses on helping the homeless. 

For the full story of the Scata’s watch the video above. 

When you purchase a piece of furniture or appliance that comes with insurance or a warranty plan, always know what’s covered prior to paying extra. 

Do your research and make sure to ask whether or not the furniture or appliance you’re buying already comes with a manufacturer warranty. In some cases, the manufacturer’s warranty may cover the major items you fear might happen to your product. 

The Federal Trade Commission offers these tips and questions to consider when debating whether or not to pay extra for a warranty: 

• How long does the warranty last?
• Who do you contact to get warranty service?
• What will the company do if the product fails?
• What parts and repair problems are covered?
• Does the warranty cover "consequential damages?"
• Are there any conditions or limitations on the warranty? 

To read more about what the Federal Trade Commission says about warranties, click here

Bonded leather furniture has been under the microscope of consumer affairs organizations because the type of leather has both pros and cons associated with it, they say. When shopping for your next piece of furniture, remember to ask whether or not it’s made of bonded or genuine leather. 

Genuine leather is made from entire hides from an animal whereas bonded leather is not. It’s made up of pieces of skins that are combined together to make a leather-like material. In a majority of cases the choice between genuine or bonded leather comes down to price. Bonded leather is usually more affordable than genuine leather. 

The Leather Industries of America trade group has accused some retailers of misleading consumers by not disclosing what makes up bonded leather. The trade group also says most bonded leather comes from China and is subject to few U.S. rules. 

It recommends that if you’re looking at buying a piece of bonded leather furniture, figure out what the percentage of leather vs non-leather substances used to make it. 

According to federal guidelines, bonded leather products must disclose the percentage and often do with a label stamped or attached to the product. There is no minimum amount of leather required but some industry experts say bonded leather should have somewhere between 15-20% genuine leather scraps.

Cell phone video released Wednesday shows the moments before and after a black South Florida caregiver laying on his back with his hands in the air was shot by a North Miami Police officer, as he was trying to calm an autistic patient.

The video shows part of the Monday encounter that left Charles Kinsey, a caregiver at a nearby group home for mentally disabled adults, hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his leg.

Around 5 p.m. Monday, Kinsey found one of the residents, who is severely autistic, sitting in the middle of the street, holding a toy truck.

The video shows Kinsey, laying on the street and holding his hands in the air, begging the autistic man next to him to be still and lay down. He also tells police officers at the scene that he's unarmed, according to the video, which was shot by a witness and released by Kinsey's attorney.

"Rinaldo please be still, sit down, lay on your stomach Rinaldo," Kinsey says. The man is heard yelling at Kinsey to "shut up."

The video shows two officers standing behind light poles several yards away, their guns drawn. It lasted for 3-4 minutes, then Kinsey was shot in the leg.

"My client asked why did you shoot me? The officer told my client, 'I don't know,' that was his words verbatim," attorney Hilton Napoleon told NBC Miami. "Another officer asked, 'Why did you shoot this guy?' and the shooting officer said he didn't know why he shot him."

The shooting comes amid national outrage over the fatal shootings of two black men earlier this month and heightened tensions following the recent killing of police officers in Dallas, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  

Police said officers responded to the scene after they received a 911 call of an armed man threatening suicide. Officers tried to "negotiate" with the two men and at one point, an officer fired, police said in a statement.

"There is no justification, heightened alert or not, to shoot an unarmed man laying on the ground with his hands in the air who is telling you that no one has a gun and the person here is autistic," Napoleon said.

The second piece of video shows Kinsey in the road after he was hit in the leg with a bullet. His attorney said officers handcuffed him and left him there until paramedics arrived.

Clint Bower told NBC Miami his employee, who's in his 40s "somehow" got shot. 

"The individual who lives here was walking down the street with a toy in his hand, someone called the police saying someone had a weapon, that's all we know," Bower said. "He's an unarmed person who got shot doing his job."

A community group called the Circle of Brotherhood that Kinsey volunteers with said they are alarmed this could happen again.

"We believe a criminal offense has taken place by a police officer, and that the days of double standards are over," said Lyle Muhammad, who is in the group. "This office and department has an opportunity and deserve time to do the right thing by this case."

The identity of the officer is unknown but police said the officer has been placed on administrative leave, per department policy.

Kinsey remains hospitalized but he could be released as soon as Thursday. No officers were injured.

North Miami Police did not respond to requests for more information about the shooting, including whether a weapon was found at the scene.

Bower said neither man carried a gun.

"It wasn't a weapon, it was a toy truck, he likes to hold toys in his hand. If you go in his room he's got toys all on his windowsill," Bower said.

Surveillance cameras are watching and recording what happens in Ocean Beach.

In what's been described as the first of its kind here in San Diego, law enforcement officers have installed a multiple-camera surveillance system that will go live this week.

The cameras will record 24 hours a day through a secured Wi-Fi connection.

The recording will be monitored or reviewed only when a crime is reported, according to city officials.

Security cameras were already in place in several parts of the community including the Western Division Police Substation in the pier parking lot as well as other businesses.

While the video feed is 24 hours a day it will not be monitored. Police say the recordings will help solve crimes, identify suspects and perhaps even act as a deterrent.

Rob Estes told NBC 7 he doesn't like the idea.

"It seems a little bit invasive," Estes said. "I don't have anything to worry about but I really like being what I'd call spied upon."

The program secured funding in September 2015 and was originally scheduled to be implemented before the start of 2016.

As the Republicans met for the third day of their national convention, it was Eric Trump’s turn to take the stage — following appearances by his brother and sister, Donald Trump Jr. and Tiffany Trump. Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, introduced himself to the gathering, and one of Trump’s harshest critics in the bitterly fought primaries, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, got booed. Here are some top moments from Cleveland.

Chaos as Cruz Speaks
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was booed from the floor as he refused to endorse the party's nominee, Donald Trump, telling the convention instead, "If you love our country and love your children as much as I know that you do, stand and speak and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution."

Trump's family sat motionless as Cruz spoke and the audience turned against him.

Cruz, who was bested by Trump during a nasty primary, mentioned his former rival only at the beginning when he congratulated him on winning the nomination.

He focused on what Republicans believe and especially freedom, at first earning cheers.

"We have no king or queen," he said. "We have no dictator. We the people constrain government."

America is exceptional, he said, because it was built on what he called the most beautiful and powerful words in the English language: "I want to be free."

Citizens are furious at a political establishment that cynically breaks its promises and ignores the will of the people, he said.

"We have to do better," he said.

Toward the end of his speech -- as he spoke over the restive audience and at one point said, “I appreciate the enthusiasm of the New York delegation" -- Donald Trump walked into the arena in preparation for his son Eric's appearance.

Meet Mike Pence
A low-key governor to balance the showman at the top of the ticket, Mike Pence accepted the nomination for vice president and told the crowd he had been raised in a small town in southern Indiana "on the front row of the American dream." His political heroes were President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he said.

"Growing up I actually started in politics in the other party, until I heard the voice and the ideals of the 40th president, and I signed on for the Reagan Revolution," he said.

Pence described Trump as a man who never quits, never backs down, a fighter and a winner. The Republican ticket would win, he said, because the American people were tired of watching "a mountain range of debt" build up, tired of being told "this is as good as it gets" and quoting Ronald Reagan, "tired of being told that a 'little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives better for us than we can plan them for ourselves.'"

Clinton, whom he called the "secretary of the status quo," represents a third term of President Barack Obama, he said. She champions Obamacare, which she all but invented, more taxes and more government, he said. Indiana has a $2 billion surplus and nearly 150,000 net new jobs, he said.

And following a theme set by earlier speakers, he acknowledged Trump's sharp edges.

"Donald Trump gets it," he said. "He's the genuine article. He's a doer in a game usually reserved for talkers. And when Donald Trump does his talking, he doesn't tiptoe around the thousand new rules of political correctness. He's his own man, distinctly American."

Acclaim from Another Son
Eric Trump endorsed his father as the one candidate who did not need the job, the one who could not be bought, the one who was running for the right reasons.

"It's time for a president with common sense," he said. "It's time for a president who understands the art of the deal."

He praised his father's business successes. Trump was running for the laborer forced out of a job because of illegal immigrants, the oil and gas worker denied a job because of what he called the radical Environmental Protection Agency, for single mothers and middle-class families, he said.

"It's time for a president who can make America great again, ahead of budget and ahead of schedule too," he said.

Protests Turn Tense
Clashes broke out outside the Quicken Loans Arena when members of the Revolutionary Communist Party set an American flag on fire to protest what they called the crimes of the American empire.

Leading the protesters was Joey Gregory Johnson, whose similar flag-burning at the Republican National Convention in Dallas in 1982 was ruled protected speech by the U.S. Supreme Court. On Wednesday, he was thrown to the ground by several police officers.

Eighteen demonstrators were arrested and two police officers received minor injuries, according to Cleveland officials. As Trump supporters waved American flags, officers on bicycles and horses cleared the streets. Police Chief Calvin Williams was out with his officers and he promised to show up whenever there were problems.

Violent Rhetoric Targets Clinton
A Trump adviser called for Hillary Clinton to be tried for treason and executed by firing squad if convicted for her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

"As far as I'm concerned, the laws of the land on treason could be firing squad if she's found guilty," Republican New Hampshire State Sen. Al Baldasaro told NBC News, standing by comments he had made earlier.

The threat of death was just the latest made against the presumptive Democratic nominee. Earlier in the week, Michael Folk, a Republican in the West Virginia House of Delegates, tweeted "@Hillary Clinton You should be tried for treason, murder, and crimes against the US Constitution …then hung on the mall in Washington, D.C." Folk, who was suspended from his job as a pilot with United Airlines, later said he regretted saying Clinton should be hung but still thought she should be tried.

Tuesday night, during a speech by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the crowd started chanting, "Lock her up."

Trump's spokeswoman Hope Hicks said of Baldasaro's comment: "No, of course Mr. Trump does not feel this way."

Emilie Plesset contributed to this report. 

The Chula Vista Fire Department and the Chula Vista Firefighter’s Foundation (CVFF) are selling special “9/11 Never Forget” T-shirts to remember the 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001, said an official.

All of the proceeds from the T-shirts will go to the CVFF and the California Firefighters Memorial, according to the CVFD.

The T-shirt is Navy blue featuring the phrase “We Remember” on the front design, according to the CVFD. They also include the phrases “Chula Vista Fire Department” and the number “343." The skyline of the twin towers is featured in the center, with an American flag in the backdrop. The words, "We Will Never Forget" are printed on the back of the shirts.

The number 343 describes the total number of firefighters and paramedics who were killed on that tragic day, according to the CVFD.

To look at the T-shirt designs, visit this webpage from the CVFD. The T-shirts cost $20 with a slight extra fee for the sizes of 2XL and 3XL.

According to the CVFD, the shirts are only available on the website. Online orders for the T-shirt will close on August 12, 2016 at 5 p.m.

An official said the T-shirts will be delivered between August 29 and September 3.

The California Firefighter’s memorial is under the non-profit California Fire Foundation. It’s a lasting tribute to the people who gave their lives to save their fellow Californians, according to the CVFD.

This includes two bronze casts called “Holding the Line” and “Fallen Brother.”

The wall is inscribed with the names of over 1,100 firefighters who died while helping others, according to the CA Fire Foundation.

It was, sadly, a false alarm on Wednesday for the lone dog at El Cajon's animal shelter, when a would-be owner returned the pup to the shelter hours later.

The dachshund-chihuahua mix was the only animal left at the shelter after Saturday’s Clear the Shelters event found new homes for hundreds of animals across San Diego County.

Opie, an 8-year-old dog that can’t live with other dogs or children, was left behind. His story captured the hearts of hundreds of NBC 7 viewers on social media.

Shelter staffers said Wednesday that a man from Poway adopted the pup at about 1 p.m.

At 4:30 p.m., shelter staffers told NBC 7 that the prospective owner had brought Opie home and then decided to return him to the shelter later that afternoon.

The man did not give a reason for returning Opie, staffers said.

Since Monday, the shelter fielded dozens of phone calls from people interesting in adopting Opie. But because of the dog’s living limitations, he has yet to find a home.

A man died while skinny-dipping in the ocean off the coast of San Diego, lifeguards confirmed Wednesday.

The 27-year-old man was swimming with four friends off Ocean Beach at approximately 4 a.m., north of the pier and Ocean Beach Park.

Friends say the man went farther out from the jetty than the rest of the group, San Diego Fire-Rescue Lt. Andy Lerum said. When they couldn't find him in the dark water, they called 911.

Lifeguards found the man quickly but he was unconscious with no steady heartbeat, Lerum said.

Emergency personnel performed CPR on the man and rushed him to UCSD where he was pronounced dead hours later.

Lerum said the man may have gotten caught in a rip current and couldn't swim back to shore.

Officials have identified the man only as a Mexicali resident.

With water temperatures currently in the mid-70s, it can be tempting to night swim but lifeguards don't advise swimming at night without lifeguards on duty, Lerum said.

A federal court judge has ruled in favor of the family of Fridoon Nehad, an unarmed man shot to death by a San Diego police officer in the Midway District last year, ordering the city to provide all records on deadly or serious injury officer-involved shootings between 2013 and present.

Nehad's family is suing the City of San Diego over the shooting, claiming the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) has a pattern of poorly investigating cases and covering up officer misconduct. 

The San Diego County District Attorney’s office previously found the shooting was justified and did not to file charges. The Department of Justice cleared the officer of violating any federal criminal civil rights statutes in shooting of Nehad, NBC 7 San Diego learned Wednesday. 

In a letter to SDPD Officer Neal Browder, released exclusively to NBC7, the DOJ says it is closing its investigation after careful consideration of the evidence. 

Federal Judge Nita Stormes ruled earlier this month that the Nehad family will not have to pay the requested $12,000 the City Attorney's office says it would cost to copy all the documents. The requested documents include internal affairs investigations and DVDs containing surveillance video and body camera footage of the shootings.

The city claimed releasing such information would cause an “undue burden,” because the search would “yield dozens of investigations, thousands of pages of documents” and that “to review such investigations would require thousands of man hours to copy, sift through, redact etc.”

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said the discovery dispute is not uncommon in large civil lawsuits. 

"The role of the judge is to decide what is the scope of this case," Goldsmith said. "Is this only about what happened in the alley that night? Or is it broader? Our position was the case is about what happened that evening in the alley where (Nehad) was shot." 

Federal Judge Stormes upheld a prior ruling that the discovery request was not unduly burdensome on the city. Stormes ruled the city provided “no persuasive reason” why they did not previously present specific information on the costs of assembling approximately 15,000 pages of documents, 403 compact discs and about 217 DVDs for the 31 officer-involved-shootings since 2013.

Goldsmith said ultimately the cost of providing the discovery will fall to the taxpayers. He estimated the total cost would be upwards of $40,000.  

"The city is a deep pocket," Goldsmith explained. "When there's a discovery demand on the city and it's broad, we have to put people on overtime and it's huge costs all around." 

The judge’s ruling also denied the city’s request to narrow the scope of the request to shootings between April 2013 and April 2015. Nehad’s family contends that, because the police department has not changed any policies since Nehad’s shooting, the discovery is relevant to their case.

The ruling leaves open the possibility that the city’s discovery will include body camera footage of the shooting of Thongsoune Vilasane, shot 22 times by police in Encanto in May 2016.

Police fired 40 rounds at Vilasane, with some of the officers reloading their weapons during the shooting. The officers said Vilasane tried to ram his car into them.

The civil rights case brought by Nehad's family is sealed, meaning all records released to the plaintiffs are under a protective order. They will not likely be released to the general public, unless the order is lifted or they are obtained by other means. 

After being cleared of wrongdoing for shooting Nehad, SDPD officer Neal Browder, a 27-year veteran of the department, accidentally fired his weapon during a February 2016 foot chase and the stray bullet hit a baby’s crib in Oak Park.

No one was injured in the accidental discharge, which prompted a SDPD administrative investigation. 

Speaking to supporters in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump warned women to be “careful what they wished” for if they were supporting Hillary Clinton in her bid to become the first female president, NBC News reported. 

That’s not to say Trump doesn’t want to see a woman commander-in-chief someday. It’s just that he doesn’t want it to be Hillary Clinton. 

Trump told the crowd “they’ll say 'Madame President' — oh, I don't want to hear that. I do want to hear it eventually, 'cause I want to see a woman become President, but it can't be her. She's a disaster. She's a disaster." 

Trump inspired cheers with the phrase “crooked Hillary" at the rally in Scranton, which brought out some of the most enthusiastic supporters in weeks. 

Donald Trump made several false and misleading statements in an hour-long press conference — on Bernie Sanders, Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton’s emails and more.

• The Republican presidential candidate wrongly said that Sen. Bernie Sanders had “lied” in saying Trump supported a minimum wage below $7.25. In fact, Trump told NBC News in May that he didn’t support a federal “floor” and would leave it up to the states. Sanders got it right.
• Trump insisted again that Vladimir Putin called him a “genius,” even though Putin clarified just last month that he called Trump “flamboyant.”
• We found no evidence to corroborate Trump’s claim that Putin “mentioned the N-word one time.” Two experts on Russia told us they had no idea what Trump was talking about.
• Trump claimed with no evidence that Hillary Clinton deleted emails from her private server “after she gets a subpoena” from Congress.
• There’s also no evidence for Trump’s repeated claim that “many people” saw or knew about “bombs lying all over the floor” of the San Bernardino shooters’ home and didn’t report it.
• Trump said Blue Cross Blue Shield in Texas had “announced a 60 percent increase” in health insurance premiums. That’s a proposed increase for 2017 that has yet to be approved by regulators for certain plans purchased by those buying their own insurance.

In the press conference, Trump was right about one top Democrat, Vice President Joe Biden. Trump pointed out that Biden was wrong to say that Trump wanted to “carpet-bomb” in the Middle East to fight the Islamic State. Sen. Ted Cruz said that.

Minimum Wage: Sanders Was Right

Trump claimed that Sanders “lied” in saying that Trump “wants the minimum wage to go below $7.” But Sanders got his facts right. He said Trump “believes that states should actually have the right to lower the minimum wage below $7.25.” And that’s what Trump said.

Today, Trump said the minimum wage should go up to “at least $10,” the first time we could find that he has said that.

First, here’s Trump today at his press conference:

Trump, July 27: The minimum wage has to go up. … At least $10 but it has to go up. But I think that states … I think that states should really call the shots. … But it has to go up. Now, Bernie Sanders lied. Bernie Sanders said in his speech the other day that Donald Trump wants the minimum wage to go below $7. I said, where did he come up with that one?

Trump went on to say, “In fact he was criticized by people that fact check for saying it because I never said it.” We at FactCheck.org did not criticize Sanders on this point. In fact, Trump did say he was in favor of having no federal minimum wage. He was asked by NBC News’ Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” on May 8, “should the federal government set a floor?” And he responded: “No, I’d rather have the states go out and do what they have to do.”

Here’s Sanders Monday night at the Democratic National Convention:

Sanders, July 25: He does not support raising the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, a starvation wage. While Trump believes in huge tax breaks, huge tax breaks for billionaires, he believes that states should actually have the right to lower the minimum wage below $7.25.

It may be difficult to follow Trump’s shifting position on the minimum wage: As Todd noted in that NBC News interview, Trump said in one of the debates that he was against raising it — “I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is,” he said in November — and then months later said he would be “open” to raising it.

He even told Todd in May that he “would like to see an increase of some magnitude,” but added that “I’d rather leave it to the states.” However, there is no doubt that he said in that interview that the federal government should not set a floor, leaving states, as Sanders said, “the right to lower the minimum wage below $7.25.”

Here’s the full exchange from that May 8 NBC News interview:

NBC News’ Chuck Todd: Minimum wage. Minimum wage. At a debate, you know. You remember what you said. You thought you didn’t want to touch it. Now you’re open to it. What changed?

Trump: Let me just tell you, I’ve been traveling the country for many months. Since June 16th. I’m all over. Today I’m in the state of Washington, where the arena right behind me, you probably hear, is packed with thousands and thousands of people. I’m doing that right after I finish you.

I have seen what’s going on. And I don’t know how people make it on $7.25 an hour. Now, with that being said, I would like to see an increase of some magnitude. But I’d rather leave it to the states. Let the states decide. Because don’t forget, the states have to compete with each other. So you may have a governor —

Todd: Right. You want the fed– but should the federal government set a floor, and then you let the states–

Trump: No, I’d rather have the states go out and do what they have to do. And the states compete with each other, not only other countries, but they compete with each other, Chuck. So I like the idea of let the states decide. But I think people should get more. I think they’re out there. They’re working. It is a very low number. You know, with what’s happened to the economy, with what’s happened to the cost. I mean, it’s just– I don’t know how you live on $7.25 an hour. But I would say let the states decide.

Putin Still Didn’t Call Trump a Genius

Trump continues to insist that Vladimir Putin called him a “genius,” even though Russian language experts told us Putin merely called Trump “colorful” or “bright” — depending on the translation — and even after Putin clarified just last month that he never called Trump a genius.

Trump, July 27: I never met Putin, I don’t know who Putin is. He said one nice thing about me. He said I’m a genius.

Trump frequently claims that Putin called him a genius, but as we wrote on June 17, that relies on a faulty translation of the Russian president’s faint praise for Trump during a press scrum in December, after Putin was asked what he thought about the Republican candidate.

According to a translation by Russia Insider, which uploaded the video, Putin responded, “He’s a very colorful person. Talented, without any doubt. But it’s not our affair to determine his worthiness — that’s up to the United States voters. But he is absolutely the leader in the presidential race. He wants to move to a different level of relations, to more solid, deeper relations with Russia. And how can Russia not welcome that — we welcome that. As for his internal political issues and the turn of speech which he uses to raise his popularity, I repeat, it’s not our affair to evaluate them.”

It’s the word “colorful” in the first sentence of that translation that is at issue here. We reached out to several Russian language experts, and there was some disagreement about the precise meaning of Putin’s phrase, with some translating it as “colorful,” others “bold” or “bright.” But they all agreed that Trump was inflating Putin’s rather guarded praise, and that Putin most certainly did not go so far as to call Trump a “genius.”

In a speech in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 17, Putin set the record straight, explaining that he had only described Trump as “flamboyant.” According to Reuters, Putin added, with a smile, “He is, isn’t he? I did not give any other assessment of him.”

Putin Used the N-Word?

We could find no evidence to corroborate Trump’s claim that Putin “mentioned the N-word one time,” in a sign of “a total lack of respect for President Obama.”

Trump: Putin has said things over the last year that are really bad things. OK? He mentioned the N-word one time. I was shocked to hear him mention the N-word. You know what the ‘N’ word is, right? He mentioned it. I was shocked. He has a total lack of respect for President Obama. Number one, he doesn’t like him. And number two, he doesn’t respect him. I think he’s going to respect your president if I’m elected. And I hope he likes me.

We scoured the internet and published reports archived by Lexis-Nexis and could not find where Putin ever used that racial epithet. Neither could the Washington Post or CNN, which wrote, “There are no published reports to back up Trump’s allegation about Putin’s use of the racially derogatory term, however.”

Two experts on Russia told us via email that they had never heard of Putin using that term.

“In Russian, the N-word does not begin with ‘N’ — and Putin’s English is pretty rudimentary,” said Stephen Sestanovich, an expert on Russia and the former Soviet Union at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“I have no idea what [Trump] is talking about,” added Fiona Hill, an expert on Russian affairs and director of the Center on the United States and Europe and a senior fellow in the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution. “Putin doesn’t really speak English. So perhaps Trump is referring to some speech in Russian–but again I have no idea what he is referring to.”

Hill, who co-authored the second edition of “Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin,” added, “If it were something in Russian, then the word ‘negr’ is used widely by Russians who grew up in the Soviet era. It is the literal translation of Negro. When I was a student in the USSR in the late 1980s I heard it many times, used by teachers and students at my institute when talking about Africans and oppressed black Americans, and it was written in textbooks. I have heard it used by Russians of Putin’s generation since, including a couple of Russian officials in conversations. It does sound pretty similar to the “N” word to an English speaker, so it would certainly be shocking out of context.”

We did come across an article posted by the Conservative Tribune, which carried the headline “While Talking ISIS Strategy, Putin Just Dropped The “N” Word… This Could Change EVERYTHING.” But as the article quickly makes clear, the N-word in question there was “nuclear.”

Conservative Tribune: Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out the possibility of deploying nuclear warheads when dealing with the Islamic State group, but he hoped it would never come that.

But the context of Trump’s comment makes clear that that’s not the N-word to which Trump was referring.

Clinton’s Emails

Trump claimed that Hillary Clinton deleted 33,000 emails from the private server she used as secretary of state after she received a congressional subpoena requesting her emails. But there is no evidence to support his claim. In fact, an FBI investigation found no evidence of a cover-up.

Trump: That a person in our government, Katy, would delete or get rid of 33,000 emails. That gives me a big problem. After she gets a subpoena. She gets subpoenaed, and she gets rid of 33,000 emails? That gives me a problem.

Trump, of course, is referring to Clinton’s use of a personal email system for government businesses. As we have written in “A Guide to Clinton’s Emails,” the State Department asked her in the summer of 2014 to turn over any work-related emails that she had in her possession after she had already left the department in February 2013. Her lawyers went through the emails stored on her server, and they identified 30,490 work-related emails and 31,830 private emails.

In December 2014, Clinton gave the State Department the work-related emails, and the others were deleted. But when did she delete them? We don’t know — and neither does Trump.

Clinton received a subpoena from the House Select Committee on Benghazi on March 4, 2015. The committee requested “any and all documents and communications in your possession.” The request came two days after the New York Times broke the story that she had been using a private email account exclusively for government business.

Six days after receiving a subpoena, Clinton held a press conference on March 10, 2015, to answer questions raised by the Times article. At that press conference, she first disclosed that she deleted her personal emails. “I didn’t see any reason to keep them,” she said.

Trump is assuming that the emails were deleted after March 4, when Clinton was subpoenaed, and perhaps before March 10, when she held her press conference. But her campaign told us for a previous article that the emails were deleted before March 4, although it did not provide us with a date.

FBI Director Jim Comey at a July 5 press conference announced the results of the agency’s investigation into whether Clinton or anyone on her staff violated federal law in the handling of classified information on a private server. He criticized Clinton and her staff for being “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information,” but cleared them of any criminal wrongdoing.

In his press conference, Comey said the FBI “discovered several thousand work-related e-mails that were not in the group of 30,000 that were returned by Secretary Clinton” to the State Department. He also said Clinton’s lawyers cleaned her server “in such a way as to preclude complete forensic recovery,” but he also said the FBI “found no evidence that any of the additional work-related emails were intentionally deleted in an effort to conceal them.”

Health Insurance Premiums

Trump said Blue Cross Blue Shield in Texas had “announced a 60 percent increase” in health insurance premiums under Obamacare. To be clear, that’s a proposed increase for 2017 — it has to be approved by regulators — for certain plans purchased by those buying their own insurance.

Trump:In Texas, going through BlueCross/BlueShield they just announced a 60 percent increase. On November 1st, you’re going to have new numbers come out for Obamacare, having to do with increases. President Obama is trying to get it moved to December. Because it is election-defying. It is going to be a massive number, the biggest number ever in our country’s history for health care.

Trump has cherry-picked high rate increases for some plans on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces before. As we wrote in April on this issue, there was wide variation in premium changes for plans that individuals purchase on the marketplaces — ranging from the high increases Trump has touted to double-digit decreases.

In this case, Blue Cross Blue Shield in Texas has requested rate increases of 57 percent and 59 percent. Any increase above 10 percent has to be submitted and approved by government regulators. A 60 percent jump could well be an outlier. The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation analyzed preliminary rates and estimated a 10 percent rise on average for the second-lowest-cost silver plan in 14 major metropolitan areas.

That’s double what KFF found actually happened in those metro areas — a 5 percent increase — for 2016. Experts have said the marketplace premiums initially came in lower than expected, in 2014, and now are being adjusted based on insurers’ actual experience with consumers. The Urban Institute wrote in November 2015 that it could take a few years before premiums stabilize.

Consumers can switch plans, and many do: The Department of Health and Human Services found 43 percent of returning customers chose a different plan for 2016. And 85 percent of customers qualified for tax credits, insulating them from higher rate hikes.

We can’t predict whether the final increases for the 2017 marketplace plans will be “the biggest number ever in our country’s history,” as Trump claims. But we’ll note that increases on the individual market before the ACA was passed topped 10 percent on average.

Those buying plans on the marketplaces totaled nearly 13 million in 2016. In contrast, more than 154 million people get health insurance through their employers. Those premiums rose an average of 4 percent for family plans in 2015, according to the latest employer survey by KFF.

San Bernardino Shooting

Trump repeated his claim that “many people” saw or knew there were “bombs lying all over the floor” of the San Bernardino shooters’ home and didn’t report it. There’s no evidence of that.

Trump: I think that the people in the community know what’s going on. Whether it’s in a mosque or whether it’s in the community and they have to report these people. When you look at San Bernardino, people knew — many people knew what was going on. They had bombs lying all over the floor. … I mean, this isn’t — you walk into somebody’s house, there are bombs lying on the floor — I think there’s a problem there. You got to report it.

Trump made a similar claim in mid-June about Muslims being complicit in the Dec. 2, 2015, shooting in San Bernardino, California. He said that “many people,” including neighbors of the shooters, saw “bombs all over the floor” of the couple’s apartment, but declined to report it because of concerns about racial profiling. As we wrote then, one friend of a neighbor said the neighbor noticed a lot of packages arriving at the house, and that the couple had been doing a lot of work in their garage — and the neighbor didn’t report it due to racial profiling concerns.

During the fifth Republican debate in December, Trump accused the mother of the shooter of having advance knowledge of the attack. The FBI was investigating the matter, but officials have not brought any charges or made any accusation against the mother, whose lawyer says that his client didn’t know what her son was planning.

Trump Right About Biden

Trump said that Biden “lied” when Biden said Trump stated that he wanted to “carpet-bomb” in the Middle East to fight the Islamic State. Biden was incorrect. Sen. Ted Cruz, not Trump, said that the U.S. should use carpet-bombing as a strategy against the terrorist organization known as ISIS.

Trump: Joe Biden lied today. He said that Donald Trump wants to carpet-bomb — he was on television — he said, Donald Trump wants to carpet-bomb the enemy in the Middle East. Now, that was Ted Cruz that said that. That was not Donald Trump.

Here’s what Biden said about Trump during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on July 27 (at 7:10 in the video):

Biden, July 27: And some of the things he says. Like, for example, I know he’s trying to be tough, but he’s gonna go out and carpet-bomb. You want to go out and make friends and influence people in the Middle East? You’re gonna go carpet-bomb innocent people and bad people at the same time and that’s going to help us fight against ISIS and Daesh?

We can’t say whether Biden “lied,” as Trump said. That would mean that Biden knew what he was saying was false. But Biden did get it wrong.

It was Cruz, the Texas senator and former Republican candidate for president, who talked about carpet-bombing ISIS.

“We will have a president who will make clear we will utterly destroy ISIS. We will carpet-bomb them into oblivion. I don’t know if sand can glow in the dark, but we’re going to find out,” Cruz said during a campaign event in Iowa on Dec. 5, 2015.

Carpet-bombing, generally, involves dropping many bombs over an area without a specific target. Such a tactic could result in unintended casualties since some ISIS fighters are embedded among civilian populations. That’s one of the reasons that former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Cruz’s plan would not work.

“I think most rhetoric about carpet-bombing, about making the sand glow, about bombing them to death and so on is frankly just unrealistic,” Gates said in an interview on Fox Business Network in January.

Gates added: “It’s not going to accomplish the military objective — it takes no account of civilian casualties. It’s a simplistic answer to what’s a complex and long term problem.”

For his part, Trump has said multiple times that he would use bombs against ISIS. But he has said that he would specifically target oil fields that ISIS controls in Iraq, Syria and other areas.

On June 17, 2015, a day after he announced that he was running for president, Trump told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that “I would bomb the hell out of them. I’d bomb the fields.”

Nearly a month later, he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper the same thing. “If I win, I would attack those oil sites that are controlled … by ISIS,” Trump said.

In mid-November, the Trump campaign released a radio ad in which Trump says, in a voice-over, “Yes, I will quickly and decisively bomb the hell out of ISIS.” That was after Trump, at a campaign rally in Iowa, on Nov. 12, said this:

Trump, Nov. 12, 2015: ISIS is making a tremendous amount of money because they have certain oil camps, right? They have certain areas of oil that they took away. They have some in Syria, some in Iraq. I would bomb the s— out of them. I would just bomb those suckers. And that’s right, I’d blow up the pipes. I’d blow up the refinery. I’d blow up every single inch. There would be nothing left.

So, Trump has called for specifically targeting ISIS-controlled oil fields. A strategy that some in the military have criticized. But that’s different from carpet-bombing, which is what Biden wrongly said Trump wants to do.

At NBC’s Clear the Shelters event last Saturday, one kitten found a loving home with a little girl who had herself been recently adopted a few years ago.

Nine-year-old Aricelli Meehan adopted the kitten at an animal shelter in Bonita, where she is attending summer camp nearby.

“I just looked into her eyes and she looked into mine. And then I saw her personality and how good she was, and I knew she was the one,” Aricelli told NBC 7 San Diego while rocking a silver tiara and snowflake face paint. The camp was having a special dress up day on Wednesday, which explains why Aricelli was dressed up as Queen Elsa from Frozen.

Aricelli named her new kitten Emerald, who was only ten weeks old when adopted from NBC's Clear the Shelters event last weekend. When you look into Emerald’s bright green eyes, it’s easy to see why Aricelli picked that name.

“She could have been put to sleep. Makes me sad…Happy that I rescued her,” said Aricelli as she snuggled her fuzzy little friend. “Her personality is sweet, kind, funny, playful and of course, adorable.”

Aricelli knows what it’s like to be looking for a loving family. In her early childhood, she was placed in child protective services. She was ultimately placed into the foster care system at the age of six.

That's where she met her future adoptive mother, Missy Meehan.

“She had a whole list of other children and she chose me…Makes me happy,” said Aricelli.

When Meehan was asked how she picked Aricelli, it was clearly for many of the same reasons that Aricelli chose her kitten Emerald.

“They said I think you just need to meet her which took maybe three minutes, right, for us to fall in love with each other and know that we were best matches,” said Meehan.

The little girl and her kitten have a lot in common, and a lot of hope for the future.

“I love this kitten…She’s my beautiful kitten,” said Aricelli.

The trial for a Mexican millionaire facing federal charges in a San Diego campaign finance scandal started Wednesday. 

Jose Susumo Azano Matsura, 48, is accused of funneling $600,000 of dollars into San Diego campaigns.

According to unsealed documents, Azano is one of several accused of hiding the source of campaign donations or concealing a donation altogether in records with the San Diego City Clerk, the Federal Election Commission, or the California Secretary of State.

Azano, referred to as "Mr. Lambo" in the indictment, is accused of making more than $600,000 in illegal contributions to former Mayor Bob Filner, failed mayoral candidate Bonnie Dumanis, and other candidates.

As the trial unfolds, 61 witnesses are expected to testify, including several high-profile witnesses like Sheriff Bill Gore and former councilman and current radio host Carl DeMaio. 

Prosecutors list 20 instances in which campaign finance records were falsified to send money from Azano to three candidates in local elections.

It is illegal for a foreign national to donate to a U.S. political campaign.

His motive, according to court documents, was to develop San Diego's waterfront into a Miami-of-the-West, with condos and a high-end hotel.

Azano has also been charged with illegally possessing a firearm, a black Sig Sauer P225 semi-automatic pistol.

Three other defendants, including Azano's son, are on trial. They are accused of getting the money to where it needed to go. 

Dozens of FBI agents and San Diego police officers on Wednesday morning raided an El Cerrito casino and arrested nine people on racketeering charges.

Officers swarmed the Lucky Lady Casino at El Cajon Boulevard and 55th early Wednesday morning. The FBI’s organized crime squad served a sealed search warrant at the casino as they investigated a group of defendants on illegal gambling and racketeering allegations.

These defendants were arrested: Sanders Bruce Segal, Stanley Samuel Penn, Petter Magnus Karlsson, David Greg Leppo, Pablo Ballestro Frech, Sydney Bruce, Segal, Joseph Edward Spatafore, Minh Triet Dinh Nguyen, James Hang Tear, Ken Pheng Keo, Jason D. Taylor and Jeffrey Alan Burke.

Two of the defendants were arraigned on Wednesday afternoon and the remaining defendants are expected to appear in court on Thursday.

Prosecutors in a news release said the defendants are accused of using the casino as a front for an illegal sports gambling operation.

Segal, believed to be the ringleader, operated “Segal’s Lucky Lady Sports Book,” which connected bookies, sub-bookies and gamblers with sports websites outside the U.S.

The operation aimed to provide customers a place to illegally place bets on sports gambling websites.

The group of defendants assisted Segal is conducting the operation, federal prosecutors said.

Several Lucky Lady employees were shocked when they showed up to work on Wednesday.

“I haven’t seen anything going on,” said poker dealer David Nguyen. “I work 4 to 5 days a week. Everybody is really good. Friendly casino. Regular customers every day. I don’t hear any illegal activity at all.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what would happen to the casino. It was closed during Wednesday’s investigation.