Six more flu-related deaths were reported in San Diego last week, health officials confirmed Thursday, saying influenza activity is widespread across the county.
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) said this brings the season’s total flu-related deaths to 14 in San Diego County this season. Those who died ranged in age from 45 to 96. The HHSA said each person – except for a 45-year-old woman – had underlying medical conditions.
By this same time last year, there were a total of three influenza-related deaths reported in San Diego.
Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer, said for those with underlying health conditions, influenza can be deadly. This is why health officials recommend getting a flu vaccine, as it is considered the best protection against the illness.
Health officials recommend an annual flu shot; after the vaccination, it takes two weeks for immunity to develop, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The vaccination is especially recommended for those at high-risk of experiencing complications with the flu, including people with chronic medical conditions, pregnant women and people age 65 and older.
The HHSA’s latest “Influenza Watch” report, from the week ending on Jan. 14, says 5 percent of all emergency department visits in San Diego were patients experiencing flu-like symptoms.
There were 442 lab-confirmed cases of influenza for the week, down from 474 the week prior.
To date, there have been 1,788 lab-confirmed cases of the flu in San Diego. Last year at this time, there were 603.
Flu season in the U.S. occurs between December and May.
For a list of county public health centers where you can get a flu shot, click here or call 211.
The owner of a popular North County horse ranch facing federal child pornography charges appeared in federal court Thursday for his arraignment.
Christian Clews, 51, was formally charged with possession and distribution of child pornography, according to a U.S. Attorney's office spokeswoman. He pleaded not guilty.
In addition to his plea, Judge Schopler ordered Clews to stay at his home at the ranch between 2 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning every day of the week.
He will be allowed outside his house from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. to take care of his work, so long as no minors are nearby. All independent contractors that train and work at the property are required to be notified that they may not train minors - and minors may not be on the property - before 2 p.m. any day of the week.
Clews appeared in court following a two-year-long Homeland Security investigation that began with images investigators say were found on the ranch owner's mobile phone.
According to the complaint, investigators found numerous child pornography images and video files on multiple electronic devices.
The images showed "sexually explicit conduct" with children under 12 years old, according to the complaint. Some allegedly involved the use of animals.
The complaint indicates Clews admitted to investigators he possessed and distributed child porn after they read him his rights.
Clews Horse Ranch is an established Carmel Valley horse boarding and training facility.
By most accounts, the ranch is often swarming with kids.
The complaint does not indicate whether children who visited the ranch could be seen in any of the confiscated images, but those close to the case tell NBC7 San Diego Police are trying to determine the answer to that very question.
Clews was also an investor representative on the Carmel Valley community planning board. According to the website, his term ended in 2016.
Clews will next appear in federal court on Feb. 24.
A man accused of shooting and killing a mother on the Pala Indian Reservation pleaded not guilty to the crime in court.
Milton Trujillo was charged with murder in the death of Carolyn Cagey, 43. He pleaded not guilty to the crime in court. One of Trujillo's defense attorneys, Peter Liss, told NBC 7 it was too early to give his client's side of the story.
Cagey was found dead on the 2900 block of W. Pala Mission Road on the reservation early Monday, San Diego County Sheriff's deputies said.
The Native American woman suffered signs of trauma to her upper body; deputies later said she had been shot multiple times, deputies said. Her dead was ruled a homicide by Sheriff's officials.
The victim had another son who died four years ago, and the family had also buried a relative recently.
If convicted, Trujillo faces 25 years to life in prison.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Homicide Detail at (858) 974-2321 or after hours at (858) 565-5200. You can also remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 and be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
No other information was immediately available.
A San Carlos mother said she spent over $300 on a gift card for airfare but when her daughter tried to use the card, the money was missing.
In 2015, Bernadine said she decided to give her daughter, Sue, and son-in-law a Southwest gift card as a Christmas present. The gift card was worth $300.
“My son-in-law travels to St. Louis, Missouri often and Sue comes down here,” Bernadine Ernster said. “I thought everything was fine until Sue tried to redeem the points.”
Six months after Bernadine had purchased the card, she said her daughter tried to use the gift card but the transaction wouldn’t go through.
Bernadine said Southwest Airlines told her that the card and points had been cancelled and the money refunded back to her American Express credit card.
Bernadine said there was a problem with that.
“It was no longer any good, it was defunct, I couldn't use it anywhere because it had changed over to Citibank Visa,” Bernadine said.
The card was linked to Costco and Costco had switched card companies from American Express to Citibank Visa. According to Bernadine, the companies told her the money should have transferred automatically to her new card.
“When I contacted Citibank Visa, they said too much time had lapsed, they couldn't do anything about it and they didn't know anything about it,” she said.
Bernadine also said she checks her bank statements regularly and the refund never arrived.
“I couldn’t believe why nobody could find this money and my children told me Mom don’t give up,” Bernadine said. “I saw Consumer Bob on TV and I was impressed with how he handles things.”
That’s when she contacted NBC 7 Responds. We contacted all of the companies involved: Southwest, American Express and Citibank. Southwest confirmed they refunded the money. American Express told us the money should have automatically transferred. Citibank got to work and in a few days, a spokesperson told us they had good news.
“I would like to give them that Christmas gift,” Bernadine said.
Citibank told Bernadine they did not know what happened to the money but because they value her as a customer, they would credit her account for the full amount that was missing.
Aztecs head football coach Rocky Long is in it for the “long” run.
On Thursday, the San Diego State University (SDSU) Aztecs Head Coach agreed to a five year contract extension that will keep him as the head coach through the 2021 season.
Long will be entering his seventh season as head coach, and his ninth year overall at San Diego State.
Numbers show that he has had quite an impact on the team’s performance over his time on The Mesa. Long has helped to take the team to a Bowl game each season since he was assigned the position of Head Coach back in 2011.
Of the team's six appearances in Bowl Games, SDSU was victorious three times. That includes this season, where they surpassed Houston with a 34-10 victory, and finished first in the Mountain West Conference with an 11-3 overall record and 6-2 league.
In addition to the successful track record of Bowl Game appearances, Long has helped the Aztecs finish first in the Mountain West two out of his six seasons. They also tied for first in 2012 and 2014.
Under Long's guidance, SDSU now has three Mountain West Football titles. That is the most in the league over a six season span.
In addition, the Aztecs are one of six programs in the country to win at least three conference titles in the last five seasons.
A 61-year old man was taken to the hospital after a fight between him and another family member Thursday morning in Pacific Beach.
The incident occurred around 2 a.m. in the 800 block of Sapphire Street, according to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD).
Officers responded to report of a violent disturbance and found the victim in the backyard of the residence.
He was taken to a local hospital and is not expected to survive, police said.
The 43-year old man involved in the fight was taken into custody and later released pending further investigation.
Police said both men have been identified but they will not be releasing that information at this time.
SDPD Homicide Detectives are investigation the incident.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888)580-8477.
Sometime before he's sworn in Friday, President-elect Donald Trump will sit down with the top military officers who control America's massive military arsenal and get "THE Briefing," the one that provides him with an understanding — and the tools — of how he would wage nuclear war.
According to those who have witnessed it previously, the briefing is both daunting and sobering, NBC News reported.
Trump will take control of more than 4,000 nuclear warheads.
The options for nuclear war, called courses of action, are contained in both the "Presidential Decision Handbook" which is handed off, as well as in other more detailed briefings that Trump will receive after the inauguration.
Students and teachers are now in their third straight week without heat in classrooms at Rancho Bernardo High School (RBHS), causing some students to bring blankets to class.
"It was colder in the classroom than it was outside. Everyone wore their jackets it was freezing" said RBHS senior Trevor Ford.
A district spokeswoman said upon return from winter break, faculty noticed hot water leaking up from the ground in front of the main office and classrooms wouldn't heat up.
Both issues stem from a busted pipe which carries the hot water throughout the building used to heat classrooms.
The issue dragged on much longer than many of the teachers had hoped because the replacement part wasn’t easy to find.
Temperatures in some the classrooms dipped into the 50’s this week.
"I think it's just tough especially first thing in the morning, you come into school and it's a little cold, so getting things moving. I think as the day goes on students move around and teachers and classrooms heat up a little bit, it gets better. But I think first thing in the morning, it's a little chilly," said RBHS Principal David Lemaster.
Parents and students had mixed reaction to the heating problem.
"It doesn't raise any alarms as a parent. I talked to my daughter about it, she says she is aware some of the heaters aren't working,” said parent Paula Waters.
Another parent waiting for her student blew off the complaints.
“We live in San Diego, not the northeast, deal with it," she said.
But some of the school’s teachers are some of the most vocal critics.
Many are fed up with the string of ongoing infrastructure problems which they believe circles back to cheap construction when the school was built in 1991.
Some of the classrooms have leaks during heavy rain because they were constructed with dirt mounds up the side of the buildings and moisture in walls have led to cases of mold.
The district said in one situation, a teacher found moldy books in a cabinet.
"As of right now, I don't know of any issues, so as it rains we'll continue to monitor the situation,” Lemaster said.
As for the heating issue, Lemaster added that the replacement part has been ordered and they hope to have heated classrooms by the end of next week.
The quick-moving crook who brazenly stole a bucket of gold flakes worth nearly $1.6 million from an armored truck in Manhattan last fall has been nabbed in his native Ecuador, law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation tell NBC 4 New York.
Authorities had been looking for Julio Nivelo since he was allegedly captured on surveillance video swiping the 86-pound bucket of gold off a truck on West 48th Street in September.
The hunt led police to Nivelo's residence in West New York, New Jersey, to Orlando, to Los Angeles before detectives from the major case squad headed to Ecuador. Nivelo was arrested there Thursday morning by federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations and The National Police of Ecuador.
He was arrested without incident after he sent the NYPD on a months-long search across the globe. It wasn't known when he would be extradited to New York to face charges. Police say they have recovered some of the money.
Nivelo is a convicted felon who is known to the NYPD as Luis Toledo, among other aliases. He's a career thief who's been arrested seven times and deported four times to Ecuador.
Surveillance video from the theft shows a man, allegedly Nivelo, loitering around the truck before one guard goes to make a pickup, and the other guard heads to the front seat to grab his cellphone. Those 20 seconds were long enough for the thief to strike: he goes to grab the 86-pound bucket and makes a run for it, though he clearly has difficulty maneuvering it.
The video shows the thief setting down the heavy bucket, putting it on his shoulder, then taking a breather. He takes another few steps and pauses again. The normally 10-minute walk takes him an hour. He then jumps into a van at 49th Street and Third Avenue.
Your chance to bid on some of the most exclusive Mr. Padre memorabilia available will end soon.
Game-worn jerseys, Hall of Fame and All-Star Game rings, and award trophies given to Tony Gwynn during and after his playing days are all up for auction until 5 p.m. Saturday, January 21 at SCP.auctions.com.
The memorabilia items were donated by Gwynn’s wife, Alicia Gwynn, and the Gwynn family. Portions of proceeds from the auction go toward the Tony and Alicia Gwynn Foundation.
Here are some of the items featured in the Tony Gwynn Collection:
• A game used Louisville Slugger bat Gwynn used from during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Pine tar, cleat, bat rack and ball marks let you know that this bat spent little time in storage.
• The 1999 Roberto Clemente Award trophy, an award given annually to the MLB player “who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”
• Two MLB All-Star Game rings: One from Gwynn’s first-career appearance, the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and the other from his second appearance, the 1985 All-Star Game at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis.
• Gwynn’s 3,000th hit ball- a single up the middle into right-center field in the 1st inning of a game against the Montreal Expos on August 6, 1999.
• The MLB Players Association Lifetime Achievement Award trophy given to Tony Gwynn on January 19, 2008.
• The 1989 National League Batting Championship trophy awarded to Gwynn after he finished the season with batting .336. If you’d like to celebrate his career-best .394 clip from the 1994 season, there’s a beer for that.
• Gwynn’s first-career home run- a solo shot off of Chicago Cubs reliever Bill Campbell in the 6th inning of a game at Wrigley Field on August 22, 1982, Gwynn’s rookie season.
• Two signed, game-worn San Diego Padres home jerseys: A white jersey with blue lettering from the 2000 season, and a white pinstriped jersey from the 2001 season, both with staining and obvious signs of wear.
“It shows a lot of wear, some staining,” said Terry Melia of SCP Auctions. “So you know that Tony was sweating in this, wearing it during the game, and, obviously, transferring some DNA onto this jersey.”
• Gwynn’s 10 karat gold Hall of Fame induction ring. If for some wild reason you wanted to flaunt this piece of jewelry on a digit, it’s a size 10.
• The 1995 National League Silver Slugger Award trophy, one of the seven Gwynn won in his career.
You can register to bid on any of these items online at SCPauctions.com or by calling (949) 831-3700.
More than 60 journalism organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists, have sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, asking for a meeting to discuss press freedoms and the importance of First Amendment rights remaining to be protected.
In the letter, mailed Wednesday, the coalition of journalists explain concerns that were shared with President Obama’s Press Secretary John Earnest back in 2015 and how little was done to address those concerns.
Those concerns include federal officials blocking reporter requests to talk to specific people within federal agencies and officials conveying information “on background” as opposed to releasing information on-the-record or in a more transparent manner, the coalition writes in the letter.
The letter quotes Thomas Jefferson, stating “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
“Primarily what we are concerned about is the public’s access to information that is guaranteed to them and that they’re allowed to have, but also access to the President himself once he is sworn in and government employees,” said Lynn Walsh, the National President for the Society of Professional Journalists.
Walsh is also the Executive Producer for NBC 7 Investigates here in San Diego.
The letter urges President-elect Trump to affirm a commitment to transparency with a more free flow of information from the White House and federal government to the American public.
To read the letter, click here.
Fire crews are responding to a small, reported fire at UC San Diego's Scripps Institute of Oceanography, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) CaptainJoe Amador said.
The fire was reported between the first and second floors of the building at 8861 Shellback Way at approximately 6:59 p.m., Amador said.
When crews arrived on scene, they could smell smoke, but could not see flames.
Fire crews remain on scene.
No other information was immediately available.
Check back for updates on this breaking news story.
Authorities are searching for a suspect wanted in connection to a coffee shop robbery in Vista over the weekend.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO), the robbery occurred on Jan. 14 around 6:30 p.m. at the Skybound Coffee Dessert Lounge on Melrose Drive.
SDSO said the suspect approached the barista and asked for a cup of water. When she gave him the water, he threatened her with a 10-inch kitchen knife and demanded money from the cash register.
The suspect then fled from the scene, heading northbound in the parking lot.
On Thursday, SDSO released images of the suspect caught on surveillance video.
He is described to be between 25 to 30 years old, around 5-feet, 9-inches tall, and weighing approximately 130 pounds. He was last seen wearing a tan hoodie, gray scarf, a brown shirt and black jacket with brown pants. He had a brown goatee and mustache.
Anyone with information is asked to call SDSO or Crime Stoppers at (888)580-8477.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
One person has died following a single car rollover in Ramona, Cal Fire officials said.
The crash happened shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of Highland Valle Road and Voorhes Lane, Cal Fire Public Information Officer Isaac Sanchez said.
There was only one person inside the car, Sanchez said. Officials do not have additional information on the victim.
No other cars were involved.
No further information was available.
Check back for updates on this breaking news story.
On Saturday, tens of thousands across the country will march in solidarity with the Woman's March on Washington, including thousands in San Diego.
"People who are privileged need to speak up for those who aren't," said volunteer Wendy Wheatcroft.
She and dozens others spent the afternoon making signs in preparation of Saturday's march at the Planned Parenthood in Mission Valley.
“We're part of a huge group of people marching for the protection of women's rights," said march organizer, Sarah Shaftel. “It's a beautiful thing."
The timing is purposeful, too. This march is the day after inauguration of President-elect Trump.
"We're all kind of burned out on politics, but the reality is the reality. And we have a new administration," said Peter Bolland.
He was the lone male at this gathering. Bolland’s day job is college professor. This is his first time participating in a march of any kind.
So,why now?
"We feel like the real America isn't being represented right now," he said.
Shaftel hopes Saturday's action sparks something bigger.
"What I hope comes of this is that people get ignited and start taking action,” she said. “It is not time to sit back and watch and see. We have done that for too long and I think it was a mistake."
These organizers have worked closely with the San Diego Police Department. Both sides expect a peaceful day. The police department will set up a command post and is prepared for changes based on weather this weekend.
A former Marine has been sentenced to two years probation after he pleaded guilty to secretly recording women in a MCAS Miramar restroom, the U.S. Attorney's office said.
Former Marine Kory Nathan Brower previously pleaded guilty to two federal counts of video voyeurism.
On Thursday, he was sentenced to one year probation for each count, to be served consecutively, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
In his guilty plea, Brower admitted to intentionally taking photos of women's unclothed private areas. He used a video recording device in the women's restroom on the base, according to his plea.
He admitted he recorded the women in a place they should expect privacy.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Griffith told the court during the sentencing that no sentence would give the victims what they lost.
In issuing his sentence, Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo said the former Marine had stolen each victim's "sanctity".
He said he hoped the women would be able to recover and move forward.
An investigation into a former San Diego Unified School (SDUSD) board member cost more than $37,000, according to documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates.
Foster resigned from the SDUSD last year after information surfaced she had held a benefit to raise money for her son's college tuition.
The allegations led to a series of other incidents including criminal charges. In the end, Foster plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of accepting illegal gifts as a public official.
The SDUSD's investigation was headed by investigators hired from the firm DLA Piper.
previously, The school board had voted to cap the costs of the investigation at $40,000.
NBC 7 Investigates has been asking for the investigation documents since last year when the investigation began.
You can view the documents here.
