At least three people were killed, including two from Illinois, after tornadoes swept across the Midwest Tuesday night.

One man was killed in Ottawa, about an hour and a half south of Chicago, when an uprooted tree came crashing down on workers on the south side of the city, police said.

“There were two men together,” Ottawa Police Department Capt. Dave Gualandri said. “They happened to be outside performing some work task when the storm hit and they apparently weren’t able to seek shelter in a timely fashion.”

Ottawa was one of the cities hit the hardest. Gov. Bruce Rauner plans to visit the city Wednesday as the town begins to rebuild from the devastation and destruction left from the rash of severe storms.

Another man was found dead in Crossville, Illinois, more than four and a half hours south of Ottawa.

A third person died in Perryville, Missouri, officials said.

By Wednesday morning, there were reports of at least six tornado touchdowns in six different Illinois communities. Besides Ottawa, touchdowns were reported in Washburn, Rutland, Naplate, Marseilles and Morris.

The National Weather Service says survey teams will be moving across Illinois Wednesday to catalog damage and determine the exact number of tornadoes that hit the ground. Teams will also look to determine how long tornadoes were on the ground.

Everyone's favorite giraffe is doing just fine as she awaits the birth of her fourth calf at an upstate New York zoo, though the zoo teased the millions who have been watching April's live stream in its latest Facebook update.

"Babies babies everywhere!" the Animal Adventure Park posted Wednesday morning. "Just not yet in the giraffe barn."

The Harpursville zoo, which unveiled April-inspired emojis and t-shirts as the fan base for the 15-year-old long-necked beauty continues to swell, said twin Barbados lambs and a Patagonian Cavy were born early Wednesday.

Meanwhile, veterinarians recorded no significant changes to April's condition overnight, and she spent some time outdoors early Wednesday ahead of anticipated storms.

Over the last week, April has captivated tens of millions of people across the world who have been checking in on her via the live stream. Some 78,000 people were tuned in to the stream by 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Watch it above.

April's pregnancy was catapulted into global headlines last week after YouTube briefly yanked the zoo's live stream following complaints by animal activists that it violated the site's policies concerning "nudity and sexual content." Thousands upon thousands of commenters voiced their frustration on Facebook and YouTube, and the stream was restored within an hour or so. 

The spotted beauty was up early Wednesday, slinking about her hay-laden home and nuzzling her next-door companion. Over the weekend, she treated viewers with a direct gaze into the camera, wiggling her ears as she chewed her breakfast. Once she goes into active labor, zoo officials say the keepers will go in to help her.

Giraffe pregnancies last for 15 months. Labor lasts anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The calf will be about 150 pounds and 6 feet tall at birth and up and walking in about an hour.

The zoo said it will hold an online competition to name the baby giraffe once it's born.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed above 21,000 Wednesday morning, a new record high that comes after President Donald Trump's first speech to Congress, CNBC reported.

The Dow leapt up more than 200 points, trading up about 1 percent. It's been just over a month since the index broke the 20,000-point mark. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up about 0.85 percent soon after the market opened.

Trump's speech was praised for its positive tone but he didn't give many specifics about tax reform and deregulation, two key components of the market's post-election rally.

Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial, told CNBC the speech's tone "has gone a long way for the market" as it "assuaged fears that his agenda was not going to be able to be passed."

The son of a recently deceased global icon, a beloved Australian children's book author, a renowned authority on the Holocaust and a U.S. Olympic fencer. What do they have in common? In recent weeks each has recounted harrowing details of being caught in a customs nightmare when trying to enter the United States.

As those stories and others were grabbing headlines, NYC & Company, the city’s tourism marketing agency, released an ominous forecast directly tied to new immigration enforcement policies.

"Following tourism growth over the last seven years, this new forecast shows a drop in inbound international travel to New York City this year at a loss of 300,000 visitors compared to 2016," the tourism agency said Tuesday in a statement. "This is the first drop in visitation since the start of the recession in 2008." 

Here is a look at some of the high-profile cases in recent weeks that have the travel industry worried.

Early February: While returning from Montego Bay, Jamaica, Muhammad Ali Jr. and Ali's first wife, Khalilah Camacho-Ali, were detained by immigration officers at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. 

He asked me 'What is your religion?' And I was like why would you ever ask me what my religion is, does it matter," Ali Jr. told MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection denied Ali was stopped because of his religion.

Feb. 6: Australian children’s-book author Mem Fox was detained following a flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles. Fox, on her way to a paid speaking engagement in Milwaukee to deliver a speech about the importance of diversity, said she ran afoul of immigration officials when she revealed she was receiving a fee for her appearance. 

Fox said she left humiliated by the experience. In an opinion written piece for the Guardian, the author said the incident fundamentally changed the way she felt about the United States.

"In that moment I loathed America. I loathed the entire country," she wrote. "And it was my 117th visit to the country so I know that most people are very generous and warm-hearted. They have been wonderful to me over the years. I got over that hatred within a day or two. But this is not the way to win friends, to do this to someone who is Australian when we have supported them in every damn war. It’s absolutely outrageous." 

When asked for comment about Fox’s account of her ordeal, Jaime Ruiz, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection at LAX, cited privacy concerns and told NBC he could not speak directly about her incident. The spokesman instead offered a blanket statement reading in part, "Our dual mission is to facilitate travel in the United States while we secure our borders, our people and our visitors from those that would do us harm like terrorists and terrorist weapons, criminals, and contraband."

Feb. 9: In an interview with Popsugar.com, U.S. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first woman to wear a hijab while competing for the United States in the Olympics, revealed she was detained by customs at an airport.

"I personally was held at customs for two hours just a few weeks ago. I don't know why. I can't tell you why it happened to me, but I know that I'm Muslim. I have an Arabic name. And even though I represent Team USA and I have that Olympic hardware, it doesn't change how you look and how people perceive you," Muhammad said.

"Unfortunately, I know that people talk about this having a lot to do with these seven countries in particular, but I think the net is cast a little bit wider than we know. And I'm included in that as a Muslim woman who wears a hijab," she said.

Feb. 22: French historian Henry Rousso, a pre-eminent scholar on the Holocaust, was detained for more than 10 hours by federal border agents in Houston. Rousso was told he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the United States before lawyers intervened on his behalf. 

Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment on his case.

In January, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), released a statement following Trump's now stalled travel ban to nationals of seven countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen) that warned the action could hurt travel to the U.S.

“Global challenges demand global solutions and the security challenges that we face today should not prompt us to build new walls; on the contrary, isolationism and blind discriminatory actions will not lead to increased security but rather to growing tensions and threats”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

“Besides the direct impact, the image of a country which imposes travel bans in such a hostile way will surely be affected among visitors from all over the world and risk dumping travel demand to the USA” added Mr Rifai.

In an interview by NBC News, Nadejda Popova, a travel project manager for market research firm Euromonitor, also expressed concern about the ultimate impact the customs crackdown will have on travel into the U.S.

"The ambiguity of these very latest developments introduced by President Trump is casting a shadow over the future travel demand to and from the U.S., especially as many trade representatives are concerned that such changes could bring similar types of retaliation from other countries," Popova said. "The new executive order could also impact how the U.S. is perceived as a tourism destination and how open to foreign travelers it will be in the future." 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Calls to Homeland Security were not returned.

Oprah 2020?

The media mogul may consider a run for president now that another TV star has proven that prior government experience isn't necessary for the job.

Oprah Winfrey seemed to suggest that she's shifted her thoughts on a presidential run of her own, with a thinly veiled reference to President Donald Trump, in a video clip published Wednesday of Bloomberg's "The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations." 

"I never considered the question even a possibility," she said, when asked if she ever considered a run.

Rubenstein said it's clear that experience running the government isn't a prerequisite, since Trump was elected without ever serving in office.

"I thought 'Oh, gee, I don't have the experience, I don't know enough.' And now I'm thinking, '...Oh...Oh!'" Winfrey replied, with an intrigued look on her face as the audience applauded.

Days after Trump won the election, filmmaker Michael Moore appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and voiced support for a Winfrey run.

"Democrats would be better off if they ran Oprah or Tom Hanks," he said. "Why don't we run beloved people?"

Winfrey campaigned for Barack Obama in 2008 and supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race.

It has been four years since Aaron Hernandez played in the NFL. The Connecticut native burst onto the scene after the Patriots drafted him, but his dark past quickly bubbled to the surface.

Hernandez was found guilty of murdering semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd and sentenced to life in prison. Now, he returns to court to answer to two more murder charges.

The former tight end is accused of gunning down Safiro Furtado and Daniel de Abreu in 2012.

From his humble beginnings in Bristol to his life imprisonment, take a comprehensive look at the fall of a man even more troubled than he is talented.

This baby’s already a rock star.

The unborn child of Utah couple Makelle and Jareh Ahlin flashed the “rock on” sign during an ultrasound.

“Well it’s official our kids are the coolest even before they enter the world… or they are just really full of themselves,” Makelle wrote on her Facebook page.

As the couple was watching the sonogram, Jareh noticed the hand gesture and asked the sonogram technician to go back.

When Makelle posted the picture to her Facebook page and Instagram account, followers thought it was fake.

“No one believes us,” she told the Belleville News-Democrat. “I can barely run Microsoft Word. I don’t know how to Photoshop.”

But despite the unborn child's clear affinity for rock, both parents say it’s not really their genre.

This is the couple’s third child.

A large tree fell Wednesday near Pomerado and Rancho Bernardo roads, crushing a utility box and blocking traffic.

The incident was reported just after 10 a.m.

Police were on scene to divert traffic.

No injuries were reported.

The area is east of Interstate 15.

Michelle Herrera from Lakeside is a busy mom to six children, ranging in age from 13 to 25 years old; but, when she thinks about her daughter, Veronica, she tears up.

“Grief is very isolating,” she said. “It was the most horrible experience of my life so far.”

Veronica was born at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital on June 26, 1993. Herrera said she was a healthy baby.

“I had this chunky, beautiful, pink baby,” Herrera said.

After Veronica was born, Herrera went back to her job at a telephone company. The babysitter came to take care of the child, like any other work day.

According to the autopsy report, 3-month-old Veronica died at 6:05 p.m. that same day. She was found face down in her crib. Herrera was confused and devastated.

“Babies don't just go to sleep and die, that's not normal,” she said.

The cause of death was never determined but classified as a case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS.

According to local health experts, it's the leading cause of death for infants under the age of one-year-old in the United States. Approximately 3,500 infants die annually in the United States from sleep-related deaths and about 1,500 of those are from SIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In cases like these, experts aren't able to identify the exact cause of death, making tracking even more complex. NBC 7 Investigates found agencies which track SIDS deaths report variations in the total number of deaths attributed to SIDS.

In 2010, the San Diego County Medical Examiner reports there were 19 SIDS deaths in the county in 2010. The California Department of Health said there were 26.  In 2012, the Medical Examiner reports 12 cases while the Department of Health reports 19.

A spokesperson for the San Diego Medical Examiners Officer told NBC 7 investigates the variations are a result of how the cases are being categorized.

“If it's not SIDS, it can be listed as undetermined or SUDI which is unexplained infant death,” Herrera said. “There's different terminology and we are trying to get them all lumped together.”

Herrera, now volunteers her time, supporting other parents who have lost children to SIDS. She also works with the California SIDS Advisory Council, advocating for better tracking of SIDS deaths.

“We have found that the military numbers aren’t getting counted the same way,” she said.

Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the Deputy Public Health Officer for San Diego County, said the number of SIDS-related deaths has dropped substantially since the early 1990s. Credit, he said, goes to the "Back to Sleep" campaign led by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Through it, parents learned to lay their babies on their backs at bedtime and remove loose bedding and toys.

The American Academy of Pediatrics newest recommendation is for infants to sleep in their parents' bedroom for the first six months to a year, but not in the same bed.

Herrera said her daughter’s “crib was not a safe sleep environment. She had all the pretty bumpers, and the beautiful fluffy comforters and pillows.”

For more tips on SIDS prevention, click here.

Eleven people - including a former Corrections Officer at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD) - are facing charges for allegedly smuggling drugs and cell phones into the prison over a two-year period, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's office. 

Anibal Navarro, 38, a former Corrections Officer, the key defendant, and ten individuals - including inmates and their associates on the outside - were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that they conspired to smuggle methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and cell phones into the prison, according to the U.S. Attorney. 

Navarro was arrested by FBI agents and officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations, Office of Internal Affairs, on June 26 as he attempted to smuggle drugs and phones into the prison. 

“Corrections officers play a critical role in protecting the public from some of the most dangerous criminals," Deputy United States Attorney Mark Conover said in a statement. "By placing greed above his duty, former Officer Navarro compromised the security of the public and enabled violent felons to continue committing crimes within the prison walls. We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute every individual involved in these criminal activities.”

Four more of the defendants were arrested Tuesday in Los Angeles. Six more were already in custody in California state prisons. 

The network began when inmate Martin Gomez, who was at RJD in 2014, recruited Navarro to smuggle contraband into the prison, according to the U.S. Attorney. 

Gomez was eventually moved to a different state prison, but he continued to work with defendant Sylvia Gonzales, an associate outside the prison, and others, to coordinate and supervise the operation, according to the indictment. 

Everaldo Santana, Norma Alvarado-Medina and Vanessa Jackson also helped the operation outside the prison, according to the indictment. 

The four working outside of the prisons allegedly provided Navarro with drugs and phones to smuggle inside. 

In return, he was paid between $1,000 and $2,000 each time he smuggled an item inside, according to the indictment. 

Then, RJD inmates Agustin Aceves, Juan Gutierrez, John Price, Jeremy Gaither and Hugo Alvarado allegedly distributed the narcotics and phones to other inmates. 

The phones were used to coordinate criminal activity inside and outside the facility, according to the indictment. 

The operation started April 2014 and lasted for nearly two years. 

The public can report allegations of public corruption to the FBI by using their hotline at (877) NO-BRIBE (662-7423).

A driver died Wednesday in a horrific crash moments after he was spotted speeding, National City Police said.

Neighbors cleaned up the debris left behind from the crash on E. 16th Street.

National City police said the driver of a van hit a parked car and caused a chain reaction with three more cars just after 2 a.m.

An officer saw a driver speeding on East Plaza Boulevard around 2 a.m.and tried to pull over the driver, officials said.

The driver failed to stop and drove onto E. 16th Street. 

The officer lost sight of the car because the driver did not have the headlights on.  Then, the officer saw smoke coming from E. 16th Street

Officers tried to save the driver's life, but were unsuccessful. 

Neighbors said they were heard a loud crash and saw smoke. 

"We were shocked. I was shocked myself. I thought I was dreaming, and I wasn't," said Lucy Alaysa, who lives near the crash site.  "It was a real, real accident."

No one else was injured. 

The driver has not been identified. 

Police closed E. 16th St. from Grove Ave. to Palm Ave. for several hours due to the investigation.

A hula hoop superstar, a man who can squeeze himself into a giant balloon and fire jugglers all have one thing in common: they’re among the quirky street performers taking center stage this weekend at Seaport Village.

The 11th annual Spring Busker Festival returns to San Diego’s waterfront landmark on Saturday and Sunday, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., a free, outdoor community fest showcasing the weird and mesmerizing talents of buskers, or street performers, from around the nation.

This year’s lineup of professional performers – nine of them in total – is certainly diverse and daring.

It includes Hilla Hula, a hula hoop extraordinaire who sometimes performs her act in Mission Beach and near San Diego Comic-Con International. Hillia can spin anything – from a single hula hoop to many at once.

Then there’s Skip Banks, a San Diego man known to audiences as “The Balloon Man.” In his bit, Banks somehow manages to squeeze himself into a giant balloon.

Other acts include Circus Mafia, a local troupe that performs a variety of sideshow acts, from contortion to juggling, and Fantastic Patrick’s routine, which includes sword and fire juggling, plate spinning and other balancing acts.

The Strength Project, a group that hails from Huntington Beach, California, will produce an act that combines breakdancing, acrobatics and team stunts. The Sara Kunz Circus – all the way from Germany – will include a hula hoop show with all of the bells and whistles including a grand finale featuring a 10-foot “coconut tree” unicycle.

Bringing the laughs will be Extreme Rahim, a San Diego comedian, magician and ventriloquist, as well as stand-up comic and juggler, Sam Malcolm, of Colorado.

Alex Clark, a busker from Los Angeles known for his impressive juggling skills, will return to the Busker Festival to defend his title as the two-time winner of the festival’s “People’s Choice Award.” All of the street performers will showcase their routines throughout the day with hopes of winning over audiences and being named the best of the buskers.

Seaport Village general manager Terry Hall said this unique event is suited for spectators of all ages. The event is free but buskers will be accepting tips, as this is what they do for a living.

When night falls on Saturday, Seaport Village will host an after-hours, 18+ version of the fest – Buskers After Dark, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. This portion of the event includes a DJ spinning tunes, food and drink specials, as well as fire acts, adult humor and high-energy performances.

Parking for the Spring Busker Festival is available in the regular Seaport Villageparking lots, where guests pay $5 for the first three hours with validation from a Seaport Village business and $3 every 30 minutes thereafter.

During the fest, there will also be extra parking available at the nearby Hilton Hotel Bayfront on Park Boulevard. The all-day parking rate there is $10 per car. A free shuttle servie will run during the festival, taking visitors back and forth from the hotel parking lot to Seaport Village. Shuttles will run every 15 minutes from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Seaport Village is also easily accessible via trolley or bus. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System's Green Line includes a stop at Seaport Village and the UC San Diego Blue Line and Orange Line have stops nearby (American Plaza and Santa Fe Depot, respectively).

Let the bursts of yellow and orange petals come forth: the famous Flower Fields in Carlsbad are now officially open for the 2017 spring season, boasting blooms in all their gorgeous glory.

The annual opening of The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch marks the unofficial start of springtime in San Diego County. This year, the field of blooms will be open from March 1 through May 14, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

As always, patrons will enjoy nearly 50 acres of breathtaking, colorful displays of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers, which are in bloom for six to eight weeks. The burst of color is synonymous with Carlsbad this time of year. The famous fields also include roses, orchids, sweet pea blossoms, petunias and poinsettias.

There's also an entire field of red, white and blue petunias on a 300-foot by 170-foot hillside. The flowers were strategically planted to resemble an American flag.

Daily tickets to the Flower Fields are $14 for adults, $13 for seniors and $7 for children, ages three to 10. Kids age two and under get in free. Season passes are also available, ranging in price from $16 to $30.

In addition to a stroll through the fields, visitors can enjoy other family-friendly activities at the site including antique tractor wagon rides, a sweet pea blossoms maze, mining for gemstones and gardening demos – some including water-wise farming tips. The site is also home to a nursery and gift shop. For a list of activities this season, click here.

The fields will also host various special events weekly, including live musical performances, arts and crafts shows, Kids' Day on April 2 and a Mother's Day celebration on closing day, May 14.

The Carlsbad Flower Fields – located at 5704 Paseo Del Norte – have been around for more than 85 years. Blooms first appeared in the early 1920s when Luther Gage, an early settler to the area, brought Ranunculus seeds and planted them in his fields next to Frank Frazee’s small vegetable farm in South Oceanside.

Since those humble beginnings in Gage’s few flower beds, the fields have sprouted into a huge attraction in San Diego’s North County, serving approximately 125,000 visitors each year. The Flower Fields are located near the Carlsbad Premium Outlets, another popular destination in the area.

To learn more about this spectacular, bloom-centric place, click here. We certainly think it's worth the trip.

San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) leaders voted Tuesday to move forward with a $124 million budget cut.

The board's vote will eliminate 891 positions.

Some of the positions that will be eliminated are currently unfilled, according to SDUSD Public Informations Officers Andrew Sharp.

Those can include resource teachers and speech language pathologists, among others. Sharp did not provide an exact number of unfilled positions.

There are also more than 1,500 teachers who are of retirement age and were offered a retirement package in an effort to save jobs, Sharp told NBC 7.

“We want to emphasize these are not layoffs. Any of these people can choose to retire early,” Sharp said.

He said the district estimates approximately half of the teachers will accept the early retirement package.

“These are valuable roles that we really didn’t want to have to eliminate,” Sharp said. “But had to find more efficient ways to deliver the service.”

Those employees who keep their jobs will have a reduced work year, meaning they will take a pay cut.

But parents and teachers were not happy with the board's decision to cut back.

"Our students should not have to suffer because of district mismanagement of tax dollars. Please do your part to cut away from the classroom and cut at the central office," said teacher Sara Holerud.

SDUSD said they will know how many layoff notices will be sent out starting in early March. They are waiting to see how many teachers will accept the early retirement offers.

The district also added that the cuts would not affect classroom sizes--on average, transitional kindergarten to third grade will have about 24 students per class, while fourth through fifth grade will have 35 students. Higher grades will have no more than 36 students.

“San Diego students are achieving more than ever with some of the highest graduation rates and test scores in the state, so our entire focus has been on protecting the supports for students that are producing these great results,” said Board President Richard Barrera, in a statement. “The package we approved tonight protects these gains, while ensuring the long-term fiscal stability of our district.”

Trustees have agreed to take a 5.4 percent pay cut, which is the equivalent of a fourteen-day work year reduction, as part of the approved budget. The cuts will be effective July 1.

According to the district, trustees are paid $1,500 per month. Compensation will be reduced by $81 per month. The total savings for the district will be $4,860 per year.

Superintendent Marten has agreed to the same 5.4 percent pay cut.

"I’m asking the Board to have them reduce my salary as well," Marten told NBC 7 before the meeting. "So you’re seeing cuts as far away from the classroom as possible."

A carjacking suspect was arrested Wednesday morning after leading police on a pursuit through South Los Angeles streets before a wild spin-out and backward getaway in the beach community of Redondo Beach. 

The man, wanted in a carjacking in the Florence area, was arrested after an hour-long standoff in Redondo Beach. The driver, surrounded by patrol vehicles, surrendered after refusing to get out of the damaged car. 

The chase began when South Gate police pursued the driver of the gray four-door Scion xD westbound across Century Boulevard toward the 405 Freeway at slower speeds. Authorities suspect the driver was involved in a carjacking around 7:40 a.m. Wednesday morning, which took place at 68th Street near Central Avenue in the Florence neighborhood of South Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Century Station.

The driver continued west, driving under the 405 Freeway and north of LAX before heading south in El Segundo, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach.

A man at a crosswalk appeared to throw something at the car as it crossed an intersection, not far from where officers deployed a spike strip that appeared to damage at least one tire. Redondo Beach police attempted several PIT maneuvers, finally spinning the car around at an intersection where the driver narrowly missed an oncoming SUV.

Two patrol vehicles appeared to have the car boxed in, but the driver made a getaway in reverse. He eventually turned the car around and sped off, leaving a bumper and other parts of the damaged car scattered in the street. 

The car finally came to a stop in Redondo Beach after another pit maneuver just before 9:40 a.m. The driver surrendered at about 11:20 a.m.

NBC4's Jonathan Lloyd contributed to this report.

Several massive boulders have fallen along State Route 78, closing the highway through San Diego's North County Wednesday.

SR-78 was closed from Bandy Canyon Road to 3 miles east of San Diego at Haverford Road, according to CalTrans.

An 80-year-old pushing a shopping cart on her way back from Home Depot was struck and seriously injured by a driver turning from the parking lot, San Diego police (SDPD) said. 

The collision happened at approximately 12:14 p.m. Wednesday on the 500 block of Saturn Boulevard. 

A 55-year-old driver was driving through the parking lot of Home Depot in San Diego's Egger Highlands neighborhood, police said. The shopping complex is located west of Interstate 5 and north of State Route 75, near the San Diego Bay. 

As the driver turned left from the parking lot onto the main aisle in front of Home Depot, police said, when he struck the shopping cart of an 80-year-old woman leaving the store. 

The woman was knocked to the pavement, where she struck her head on the concrete. 

Medics took the woman to the hospital. 

She suffered a life-threatening injury to her head, police said. 

No drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.

The collision is under investigation. 

Eight more flu-related deaths were reported in San Diego last week, health officials confirmed Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths this season to 57. 

By this same time last year, 25 people had died from the flu in the county, though the average number of flu deaths for this time of year from the previous three seasons is 56. 

“The number of confirmed flu cases went down last week in the county, even though reported deaths went up,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer, in a statement. “Influenza can cause illness at any time of the year, so people should get vaccinated and take other preventive measures.”

The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) said influenza activity has reached a new high this season. People aged 31 to 98 years old have died from the flu, though most have been over the age of 65.

Wooten 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 Feb. 11, says six percent of all emergency department visits in San Diego were patients experiencing flu-like symptoms.

There were 335 lab-confirmed cases of influenza for the week, down from the 408 the week prior.

To date, there have been 4,112 lab-confirmed cases of the flu in San Diego. Last year at this time, there were 3,812.

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 Broadway-bound Jimmy Buffet musical 'Escape to Margaritaville', set to premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse this Spring, has found its principal cast. 

The musical, based off the music of Jimmy Buffet, will kick off La Jolla Playhouse's 2017-2018 season this May. 

Paul Alexander Nolan, seen on Broadway in San Diego-born 'Bright Star', will taken on Tully, a part-time bartender and part-time singer. Nolan's credits include 'Chicago' (Broadway), Once (Broadway), 'Jesus Christ Superstar' (Broadway), 'Doctor Zhivago' (Broadway). 

This will be Nolan's second show at the Playhouse. In 2012, he was cast as Ben Nickel in the world-premiere of 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots', a musical with songs written entirely by The Flaming Lips. 

Starring alongside Nolan will be Broadway veteran Alison Luff as Rachel and Lisa Howard as Tammy. 

Luff most recently appeared in the Broadway revival of 'Les Miserables' as Fantine. She's also appeared in Broadway's 'Matilda', Broadway's 'Ghost the Musical', and the national tour of 'Wicked' as Elphaba. 

Howard was last seen on Broadway in 'It Shoulda Been You', 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert', and '9 to 5 The Musical. She toured the U.S. as a part of the national company of 'Les Miserables'. 

The story will be told with a unique blend of original, new songs in addition to Jimmy Buffet classics. Buffet is known for hits like "Margaritaville", "Come Monday", "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes", "Manana", and more. 

Group tickets are now on sale, and individual tickets will go on sale at a later date; returning subscribers will receive first access to tickets.