In the midst of an ongoing drought, with the wildfire toll increasing despite the allocation of more firefighting resources, calls for new strategies are getting attention.

"We have put ourselves in danger," said Char Miller, Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College. "And so, some of this is not about nature, it's about us."

Miller calls for more efforts to increase defensible space around homes near wildland, retrofitting of older structures to make them more fire resistant and action by local government to scrutinize and control development into wildland.

"If we're in those landscapes, then we have to accept the risk and we have to defend ourselves," Miller said. "But that's not a discussion that any zoning commission has on any regular basis."

Last week, the Blue Cut Fire grew so quickly from its origin in the Cajon Pass that fire officials said no amount of resources on ground or air could have stopped its charge.

"In all honesty, I don't think anything would have made a difference," said John Chamberlin, Assistant Chief of the San Bernardino County Fire Department. "It was so aggressive there was no way to get ahead of it."

Like many veteran firefighters, Chamberlin blamed the ongoing drought for conditions and fire behavior the likes of which he had not previously encountered.

"Drought is the essential driver of firestorms we've been looking at," Miller said.

In California history, 13 of the 20 largest wildfires by area have occurred in the 16 years of the new millenium, according to CalFire, the California Deptartment of Forestry and Fire Protection. This period has also seen drier than average conditions throughout the western United States.

The cost of fighting major wildfires has accelerated since the most recent drought began in 2012.

Three years ago, the state budgeted $127 million for the emergency fire fund, and ended up spending $242 million, according to data from CalFire. Last fiscal year, the state budgeted $398 million, and spent $547 million, the difference made up by transfers from other areas of the budget, explained CalFire's Daniel Berlant.

For the 2016-17 fiscal year, which began in July, California budgeted $424 million, and has already spent $155 million, Berlant said.

On the national level, a bill developed by the Senate Natural Resources Committee, the "Wildfire Budgeting, Response and Forest Management Act" would attempt to stabilize funding for coping with fires on federal land.

The very model of extinguishing wildfires has come into question by many, including UC Riverside Earth Sciences Professor Richard Minnich. He contends a century of suppressing wildfires has created more dangerous conditions by interfering with the natural process of lightning-sparked fires burning off dry vegetation and naturally thinning forests. As a result, under the theory, during high-risk conditions of wind, heat and low immediate, a fire that starts and cannot be suppressed will have more fuel to burn and be more destructive than it otherwise would have been.

In some cases, firefighters do allow wildland fires to burn and consume fuel. It is more easily done in areas far from where people live. In the area where the Blue Cut fire burned, though relatively rural by Southern California standards, the homes of more than 80,000 were threatened by the fire, incident commanders calculated. 

"We were so engaged with evacuations during the initial operations period that we were not even able to set backfires, we were so focused on saving life," Chamberlin said.

"There's a new normal we have to adjust to," Miller said. "Rather than trying to manage the fires, let's manage the people."

Park View Little League lost to Goodlettsville, Tennessee 4-2 in seven innings in Tuesday's elimination game at the Little League World Series.

Lucas Marrujo hit a clutch 2-run homer for Park View in the bottom of the 5th inning to tie things up after Tennessee scored once in the 2nd and added another on a solo homer in the top of the 5th.

But Tyler Jones smacked the go-ahead solo shot in the top of the 7th inning to help Tennessee pull away. Goodlettsville added an insurance run before closing it out in the bottom half of the frame.

With the loss, the West champs from Chula Vista were knocked out of the double elimination tournament.

The game was originally scheduled for Monday, but was postponed because of rain and games being made up from the weekend.

Many fans that didn't make the trip to Pennsylvania gathered in Otay Ranch Tuesday to cheer on their local team.

Park View bounced back from its opening loss to Iowa with a 5-0 win Saturday against a team from San Antonio, Texas before falling on Tuesday.

Tennessee will face Iowa on Wednesday in another elimination game.

A registered sex offender has been arrested for allegedly taking cell phone video of a 10-year-old girl in a restroom, San Diego County Sheriff's deputies (SDSO) said. 

Robert Becker, 21, is facing attempted lewd and lascivious acts on a minor, annoying or molesting a child with a prior conviction and disorderly lewd contact charges. 

Deputies were first called to a Walmart at 13487 Camino Canada in unincorporated El Cajon on Wednesday. 

The victim, 10, told deputies a man followed her into the women's restroom at the store. 

She told officials the man got into a stall next to her and used his cell phone camera to record her while making lewd comments. 

"The girl protested and batted away the phone and the man ran from the restroom and ran from the store," said Lt. Dan Brislin with the SDSO Family Protection Detail.

The suspect fled before deputies arrived. However, deputies were able to identify Becker as the suspect through the store's surveillance video. On Monday, detectives with the Sheriff's Family Protection Detail arrested Becker at his home in Alpine. 

In a statement, Walmart said: 

"There is nothing more important than the safety of our customers and associates every time they're in our stores. We've worked closely with local police through their initial investigation, and we'll continue assisting law enforcement as they move toward a conviction in this case."

Deputies believe Becker may have committed similar crimes in San Diego's East County; officials are urging any potential victims to come forward. 

"We found he had entered that restroom the day prior and spent some time in there as well, so we want to make sure there are no other victims out there," said Brislin.

Local residents said the incident horrified them.

"That's nasty, Oh my gosh," said Tina Emanuel. "These are just little girls, you know."

Local Joan Hall said it was good to know the incident occured so she could keep a careful eye out going forward. 

"It's good to know to keep an eye out for that sort of thing," Hall said. "I go in the restroom; I don't have children but I do see children go in by themselves. Gotta keep an eye on them."

Anyone who may have further information on the crime, or who may have been a victim, is asked to call (858) 974-2417. Those who would like to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. You may be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward for information that leads to a felony arrest.

San Diego police are asking for the public's help in finding a man wanted in connection with two violent sexual assaults, one in University City and a second at a Motel 6. 

Jeremiah Williams, 24, is wanted for two recent attacks: the University City sex assault and another assault that happened the day after at a Motel 6, SDPD Capt. Brian Ahearn announced at a press conference Tuesday. 

Williams is described as being 5 foot 11 inches tall and 180 pounds. He has the numbers "210" tattooed on his right wrist and an outline of the State of Texas on his left forearm. He also has wings tattooed on both upper arms. 

Physical evidence from the scene of the first University City sex assault linked Williams as the suspect, Ahearn said. 

The University City sex assault happened on Saturday, Aug. 13 when a woman reported being assaulted at the Venetian Condominiums on Nobel Drive.

The woman had been dropped off outside the complex around 10:30 p.m. and was walking to her apartment when she thought someone was following her.

Before the victim could unlock her door, the man knocked her to the ground and asked her for money at gunpoint. After giving him the money, the woman was dragged into her apartment where police say she was beaten and sexually assaulted.

On Tuesday, Aug. 16, police responded to Sharp Memorial Hospital for a report for a sexual assault. The 23-year-old victim reported being violently sexually assaulted on Sunday, Aug. 14 at  a Motel 6 on Alvarado Canyon Road in Mission Valley.

The victim, 23, had recently met her attacker, later identified as Williams, police said. 

"The suspect, who she had recently met, entered her room choked and sexually assaulted her and then hit her in the head with a hand gun," Ahearn said.

Sex crimes detectives went to the motel Tuesday and collected evidence. 

However, San Diego Police responded to that same crime on Sunday, hours after it happened, Ahearn said. PThe call first came in as a report of a man hitting a woman. 

Witnesses told police Sunday night they heard the victim yell for help, and the suspect fled on foot. The victim drove off in a car before police arrived at the scene. 

Authorities located the suspect in a nearby canyon with a hand gun, Ahearn said. Initial statements given to California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers placed Williams at the scene, and he was cited with a misdemeanor gun charge and released him. 

It was only on Tuesday that police linked Williams as the suspect in the motel sex assault. 

Physical evidence and victim interviews linked Williams to the Motel 6 sex assault and to the University City sex assault, Ahearn said.

The suspect remains at large; he is considered armed and dangerous. He has a criminal background in California and Texas. 

Anyone who sees Williams is asked to call 911. Police believe he is still in the San Diego area. 

A World War II veteran's salute-worthy surprise has touched hearts and received millions of social media views after the stirring tribute was captured on video earlier this month.

The video posted on Facebook shows Chief Selects from the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center visiting the Gardena home of veteran Ernest Thompson, who served on the USS Missouri during World War II, on Aug. 13. The sailors performed "Anchors Aweigh" in front of Thompsons' house as he stood on the porch in salute, and neighbors came out of their homes to watch. 

Each sailor then thanked Thompson and shook his hand.

Thompsons' grandson Jonathan Williams wrote in the post that his grandfather called it one of the best days of his life. Williams, CEO of the Battleship IOWA Museum in San Pedro, visited the USS Missouri with his grandfather in 2000, part of a bond between generations.

"I witnessed an 82-year-old man become 18 again and a flood of emotions that affected all that were present tremendously," Williams wrote on Facebook.

Battleship Missouri launched in January 1944 and entered the Pacific battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. On Sept. 2, 1945, Allied and Axis power representatives met aboard the ship to sign copies of the Instrument of Surrender, marking the end to World War II.

USS Missouri also was part of the Korean War. The ship now serves as a museum at Pearl Harbor.

The emotional tour of the battleship convinced Williams to help preserve the USS Iowa, which opened to the public in July 2012 as a naval museum at a berth in the Port of Los Angeles. Members of the Chief Selects worked with an IOWA volunteer coordinator to pull off the surprise for his grandfather.

"When they found out that my grandfather was unable to visit the (USS IOWA) lately due to health reasons, they decided to take it to him," Williams wrote.

His original Facebook video had more than 4.5 million views Wednesday morning.

Donald Trump is applauding the prospect of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry mounting a possible primary challenge against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, saying, "Boy, will he do well." 

At a fundraiser in downtown Austin, Trump was standing next to Perry when he was asked about the Texan's chance to unseat his state's junior senator. Cruz, who unsuccessfully fought Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, notably declined to endorse him at last month's GOP national convention and faces re-election in 2018. 

In a recording of the event first posted online by a Democratic group, the Lone Star Project, Trump answers that he's been "hearing a lot about that." 

"I don't know if he wants to do it, but boy, will he do well," Trump says of Perry. "People love him in Texas. And he was one great governor." 

Two fundraiser attendees verified the recording on Wednesday on the condition that their names not be published. The fundraiser occurred Tuesday. 

Trump hasn't been shy about criticizing fellow Republicans — even those up for re-election. He initially declined to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan's re-election bid earlier this summer, then formally threw his support behind it before Ryan crushed a primary challenger in his Wisconsin district. 

Cruz sparked an outcry at the GOP convention in Cleveland last month by refusing to endorse Trump during his prime-time speech — rebuffing calls for Republican Party unity behind its nominee. 

Perry left office last year and was a harsh Trump critic as he briefly ran for the Republican presidential nomination, even calling the billionaire businessman a cancer on conservatism. Perry has since endorsed Trump and become a surrogate who has praised him on national television. 

The former governor has kept a low profile since dropping out of the 2016 presidential race last fall. Recent polls suggest Cruz's popularity in Texas has suffered since his convention speech, and one even indicated that Perry would top Cruz in a hypothetical matchup. 

Those close to Perry say he's laughed off the idea of a Senate run, but Perry hasn't publicly ruled it out. 

While running for president, Cruz originally said he'd endorse whoever the eventual Republican nominee was. He said later he'd changed his mind because Trump insulted his family during the bitter White House campaign. 

Mica Mosbacher, an Austin resident and former finance co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, was a vocal supporter of Cruz's presidential run but is now is backing Trump. 

"I am deeply disappointed in our senator that he did not honor his pledge," Mosbacher said by phone Wednesday, referring to Cruz's reneging support for Trump. "And I, along with a lot of other donors, are very upset." 

Ashli Valadez shows us the clarinet she and her husband bought for their daughter three years ago. It was a Christmas present for their daughter to use in her high school marching band. 

“Normally they are about $500, this one was on sale for $250,” Ashli Valadez said. 

The Valadez’s bought the clarinet at McCrea Music Company in La Mesa and agreed to pay $100 as a down payment and set up an automatic monthly payment plan for the remaining amount. But, Ashli said her husband eventually noticed the monthly payments didn’t stop, even after the clarinet was paid for. 

“He [Ashli’s husband] looked at his account and saw that they had taken a payment out and so we went back and looked and saw that they had been taking payments out and sometimes twice a month. And it was way over the balance of $250,” Ashli said. 

In fact, after reviewing bank statements, Ashli says the music store had taken out around $27 per month for nearly two years after the clarinet was paid off. This led to an overpayment of $613. When Ashli brought it to the music store’s attention, she says the store agreed. 

“They said ‘Yeah, we found the receipt. We have overcharged you and we’ll give you a refund,’” Ashli said. 

Instead of writing a refund check, McCrea’s Music wanted to pay the family back in monthly installments. After a few months, Ashli said the payments stopped. 

Ashli went back to the music store where she says employees promised a full refund within ten days. 

“Then that didn’t happen and I haven’t been able to get a hold of them since,” Ashli said. 

NBC 7 Responds went to McCrea Music Company and store owner Gentry McCrea promised to review their records. McCrea said the music store is a family owned business and recent hardships have impacted the bookkeeping. 

A few days later, NBC 7 Responds returned to the music store with Ashli where McCrea issued Ashli a full refund. 

“We came and got a full refund that has been owed to my family for over a year. Thank you NBC 7 Responds,” Ashli said outside of the store.

Tips for monitoring electronic accounts
When it comes to home banking, paper account statements are a thing of the past. Electronic banking is growing more and more popular as consumers would rather have 24-hour-access at their fingertips. 

With electronic banking though, it can be easy to overlook a withdrawal in your account if you’re not always checking your monthly statements. 

The FTC recommends being cautious before you pre-authorize recurring withdrawals to pay companies you’re not familiar with. 

Monitoring your bank account to make sure direct recurring payments take place and are for the right amount is step number one in preventing mistakes with your account, according to the FTC. 

A majority of the major banks offer ‘Account Alerts’ that notify you by text or email when there is any sort of activity involving your accounts, including low balances, withdrawals or large transactions taking place. 

To learn more about how to protect your accounts, click here

Nigel Farage, the former head of the UK Independence Party, will accompany Donald Trump when the Republican presidential candidate continues to court African-American voters Wednesday night in Mississippi, NBC News reported. 

Farage confirmed a Sky News report that he’ll appear at the Trump event in Jackson, Mississippi, where he plans on telling the “story of Brexit.” 

Even though he’ll appear with Trump, he won’t be endorsing the candidate. Farage said in an interview that would be hypocritical, since he condemned President Barack Obama for wading into the Brexit campaign during his visit to London. 

Trump’s spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment about Farage’s appearance.

After a man was struck and killed crossing a street in Hillcrest Tuesday the driver fled the scene. San Diego Police say they've arrested the man who is accused of fleeing the scene of a fatal crash. 

Robert Anthony Dean, 60, was identifed as the driver of the Nissan Cube that hit the victim.

Dean failed to stop when the incident happened at approximately 10:45 p.m. on 5th Avenue near Pennsylvania Avenue.

Witnesses told police the victim was trying to cross the street in front of moving vehicles. The 78-year-old man was struck by the Nissan and died at the scene, police said.

Officers searched for a Nissan with heavy front end damage in the area.

They found a vehicle in the parking lot nearly three miles away at Ohio Street and Monroe Avenue in North Park after a witness gave the license plate number to police.

Dean was taken into custody on suspicion of felony hit and run and misdemeanor DUI.

A registered sex offender accused of following a 10-year-old girl into a Walmart bathroom and taking video of her while in the stall appeared in court Wednesday. 

Robert Becker, 21, is facing attempted lewd and lascivious acts on a minor, annoying or molesting a child with a prior conviction and disorderly lewd contact charges.

He pleaded not guilty, and bail was set at $500,000. 

San Diego County Sheriff's deputies (SDSO) say the incident happened at a Walmart at 13487 Camino Canada in unincorporated El Cajon on Wednesday. 

The victim, 10, told deputies a man followed her into the women's restroom at the store, deputies said. 

She told officials the man got into a stall next to her and used his cell phone camera to record her while making lewd comments. 

"The girl protested and batted away the phone and the man ran from the restroom and ran from the store," said Lt. Dan Brislin with the SDSO Family Protection Detail.

The suspect fled before deputies arrived. However, deputies were able to identify Becker as the suspect through the store's surveillance video. On Monday, detectives with the Sheriff's Family Protection Detail arrested Becker at his home in Alpine. 

In a statement, Walmart said: 

"There is nothing more important than the safety of our customers and associates every time they're in our stores. We've worked closely with local police through their initial investigation, and we'll continue assisting law enforcement as they move toward a conviction in this case."

Deputies believe Becker may have committed similar crimes in San Diego's East County; officials are urging any potential victims to come forward. 

"We found he had entered that restroom the day prior and spent some time in there as well, so we want to make sure there are no other victims out there," said Brislin.

In 2015, Dunkin was arrested in Riverside on felony charges of child pornography and having sex with a minor.

San Bernardino County documents show a mother told authorities that her daughter, who was a minor, received a solicitation for nude photos through Facebook.

The solicitation came from a 16-year-old girl's account, documents show. The girl admitted to having a sexual relationship with Becker and gave him her Facebook password. He then used her account to ask her friends for nude photos.

Police found more than 600 images of child porn at his home.

Becker will return to court for a readiness conference next Wednesday. 

Anyone who may have further information on the crime, or who may have been a victim, is asked to call (858) 974-2417. Those who would like to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. You may be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward for information that leads to a felony arrest.

A well-known San Diego ramen restaurant is planning to open a seventh location this fall, this time in North Park.

Tajima – the Japanese eatery chain first established on Convoy Street – announced it will open a location at 3015 Adams Ave., near 30th Street, in early October.

The mouthwatering menu will be similar to the Tajima locations in Hillcrest and East Village – with a few new additions. Patrons can expect Japanese fare, sake and Chef Sam Morikizono’s specialty ramen dishes.

This includes the Tajima Ramen – “Tonkotsu” soup kakuni, fried garlic, chives, bean sprouts, green onion, half of a ramen egg pork chashu or chicken chashu, sesame seeds and Japanese seaweed. Also on the menu: Kakuni Buns, juicy pork belly with cucumber and house sauce in a soft bun, topped with minced mixed green & Kaiware.

The 1,500-square-foot North Park space is being designed by BASILE Studio. The company also designed Tajima’s East Village location.

In addition to expanding to North Park, Tajima recently took its ramen concept to Tijuana, opening a 500-square-foot eatery in the Plaza Rio Food Garden. Tajima will also open next month in Long Beach, California, too.

The popular eatery was founded in 2001 on Convoy Street by chef and entrepreneur Sam Morikizono. Besides Hillcrest, East Village and Convoy, Tajima also runs a location on Mercury Street.

The death toll from the magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck central Italy early Wednesday, has reached at least 159, as rescuers raced to pull residents buried beneath debris.

The strong tremor hit at 3:36 a.m. local time near Norcia and was felt more than 100 miles away in Rome. Some 368 people were injured. The army has been called to help search of survivors, using bare hands, heavy equipment and sniffer dogs. Several large aftershocks followed the quake amid dramatic scenes of rescue and cries for help.

An 8-year-old girl was pulled alive from the rubble, according to The Associated Press. Chief firefighter Danilo Dionesei confirmed to the AP that she was alive and taken to hospital, but did not provide details on her condition. 

Stunned locals wandered through rubble in the worst-affected towns of Amatrice and Accumoli, near Perugia. Aerial images from the fire department showed whole streets in Amatrice flattened.

"We came out to the piazza, and it looked like 'Dante's Inferno,'" Agostino Severo, a Rome resident visiting the damaged town of Illica, told The Associated Press. "People crying for help, help."

A sewage leak has forced temporary closure of Glorietta Bay in Coronado.

A pump at a sewer system construction project became overwhelmed at 12 p.m. Tuesday, allowing sewage to back up in two locations.

An estimated 3,725 gallons of raw sewage spilled, according to the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health.

Five hundred and seventy-five gallons of sewage surfaced from beneath a manhole adjacent to the Bluewater Boathouse Seafood Grill on Strand Way near Avenida Del Sol and spilled into Glorietta Bay.

About a half mile south on Strand Way, another 3,000 gallons of sewage flowed out of two manholes adjacent to the Glorietta Bay Boat Launch and entered the bay adjacent to Glorietta Bay Park.

Crews managed to recover about 200 gallons before it entered the water.

Areas within 500 feet of the Bluewater Boathouse Seafood Grill and 1,000 feet of the Glorietta bay Boat Launch have been closed to water contact.

Contamination warning signs have been placed at the boat launch and at the Glorietta Bay Park beach, and will remain until water samples show that the water is no longer contaminated.

Visit the Beach Water Quality website for updates on beach closure information, or call the hotline at (619) 338-2073.

The Boston police officer and FBI agent who shot and killed a man suspected in a terror plot last year have been found justified in using deadly force and no charges will be filed.

Usaamah Rahim, 26, of Boston's Roslindale neighborhood was shot and killed on June 2, 2015 by members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force after allegedly lunging at investigators with a knife when they approached him and about recorded phone conversations.

"The evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rahim was armed with a large, military-style knife and posed the threat of death or serious bodily injury to the task force officers," Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said at a Wednesday afternoon media briefing. "Their use of deadly force was a lawful exercise of self defense and defense of others."

Rahim allegedly plotted with two others to behead conservative blogger Pamela Geller, who organized a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas. They abandoned that plot in favor of one where they attacked police officers.

The FBI said they confronted Rahim because he had bought knives and talked of an imminent attack on "boys in blue."

"There is no question that members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force had probable cause to arrest Mr. Rahim," Conley said. "Knowing what they know and knowing what they now know about his plans for that day, they had the duty to stop him before he could act."

The two other men - Nicholas Rovinski of Warwick, Rhode Island, and David Wright of Everett, Massachusetts - were indicted on conspiracy and terrorism charges in connection with the alleged plot and are being held without bail. They are scheduled to face trial sometime next year.

Conley said he met with Rahim's family earlier Wednesday to inform them he would not be seeking criminal charges against the officers. He also released his office's 770-page investigative file to the family.

The district attorney also met with members of the local Islamic community on Wednesday, and said he made it clear that Rahim was being investigated "for his actions, not for his faith."

Rahim's family held their own press conference later Wednesday afternoon, saying they still have concerns about the shooting despite the district attorney's report, feeling that more could have been done to de-escalate the situation.

Family spokesman Ronald Sullivan said Rahim "was the subject of an illegal arrest," and cited comments by Congressman Stephen Lynch and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans after the shooting that implied that police were under orders not to let him go.

"This illegal arrest was the first call in a series of events that led to Usaamah's untimely death," he said.

He also connected Rahim's death "to the many tragic police-involved shootings of other African-American men around this country," saying it was not an isolated event.

A newly-restored sign leading drivers into Clairemont was installed in the neighborhood Wednesday – a sign that one councilman says is part of the community’s character.

The gateway sign – which sits in East Clairemont, on the southwest corner of Balboa Avenue and the Interstate 805 entrance ramp – was destroyed more than one year ago by a distracted driver.

With $9,000 allotted for a replacement sign by the City of San Diego Community Projects, Program & Services (CPPS) Funding Program and the help of the Clairemont Town Council, District 6 Councilman Chris Cate said Clairemont’s sign is now as good as new, restored to its fullest potential.

“San Diego is defined by its neighborhoods – whether it’s Hillcrest or Little Italy or Clairemont. These neighborhood signs are a landmark – a trademark, a staple of each individual neighborhood and we wanted to make sure that Clairemont maintained that identity,” Cate told NBC 7.

The councilman said the installation of the new sign should serve as a reminder of the dangers of distracted driving.

“We want people to be safe when they’re driving to and from work; when they’re dropping their kids off at school,” he explained, adding that he hopes the project raises awareness on the issue.

Clairemont has a population of about 81,600 residents and is one of the largest neighborhoods in District 6. Now, Cate said the gateway to the community is once again a spot of which residents can be proud.

A 27-year old San Diego man killed in a crash in Oak Park last week was identified Wednesday. 

Chrisitan Sierra Engstrom was driving on the westbound State Route 94 when he drifted off the road and crashed into a pickup truck that was stopped along the center median.

The crash happened at approximately 8:41 p.m. on Aug. 17 just east of Federal Boulevard in Oak Park.

Engstrom was found not breathing inside his car and declared dead at the scene.

A California Highway Patrol official at the scene said the front two tires of Engstrom's car were almost completely worn away which could have been a factor in the crash.

Doctors said a Brazilian baby with brain damage caused by the Zika virus stayed infected for more than two months after his birth, NBC News reported. 

The baby already had brain damage from the virus, which can infect a growing fetus. But the virus continued to actively infect him after he was born, Danielle Oliveira of the University of Sao Paulo and colleagues wrote in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. 

"When the infant was examined on day 54, he had no obvious illness or evidence of any immunocompromising condition," they wrote. An immune condition might explain a prolonged infection. The baby was developmentally delayed and had cerebral palsy. 

This suggests that newborns may still be at risk from the virus while their brains are growing and developing — another unpleasant surprise about the virus.

A Georgia man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Wednesday for throwing scalding water on a gay couple spying in an apartment, NBC News reported. 

Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Martin Blackwell, 48, guilty of eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault in the February attack on Anthony Gooden and Marquez Tolbert. 

Gooden spent about a month in the hospital — two weeks of that in a medically-induced coma. Both men suffered severe burns that required multiple surgeries and skin grafts. 

According to prosecutors, it was a premeditated attack. Tolbert testified that after pouring the boiling water on them, Blackwell grabbed him as he jumped and screamed, telling him: “Get out of my house with all that gay.”

Three juveniles were taken into custody following a break-in at a La Jolla middle school early Wednesday.

San Diego Police responded to an alarm activated at Muirlands Middle School on Nautilus Street at 1:45 a.m.

Officers say the alleged burglars took some money from the principal’s office while vandalizing the property and setting a small fire.

All three juveniles were taken into custody.

No other information was immediately available.