Babies in Zika-affected pregnancies in the United States are about 20 times more likely to have birth defects compared with the proportion of pregnancies seen in 2013-2014, before Zika was introduced into the Americas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The types of birth defects associated with Zika include brain abnormalities and/or microcephaly, neural tube defects and other early brain malformations, eye defects and other central nervous system problems.

Those defects were seen in about three of every 1,000 births in 2013-2014 in the U.S., but in 2016, the proportion of infants with these same types of birth defects born to women with Zika virus infection during pregnancy rose to about 6 percent, or nearly 60 of every 1,000 completed pregnancies with Zika infections, according to a CDC report. 

These findings demonstrate the importance of having monitoring systems that collect data on birth defects, as well as why pregnant women and their partners should be educated about them, doctors say.

"There's been such a massive improvement in taking care of these birth defects, that, however terrifying it is, it's important for mothers to get their follow-up appointments and their doctors, and make sure they're delivering in a center where people know how to take care of the defects," says Dr. Tala Nasr, a neonatologist the Pediatrix Group at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas.

The CDC researchers analyzed 2013-2014 data from three birth defect surveillance programs in the United States (in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Georgia) to provide the baseline frequency for Zika-related birth defects. To assess the effect of Zika virus infection during pregnancy, the scientists compared that 2013-2014 baseline number with previously published numbers among pregnancies with Zika virus infection from the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry (USZPR) from 2016.

They identified 747 infants and fetuses with one or more of these defects from programs in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Georgia from 2013-2014. Brain abnormalities and/or microcephaly were the most frequent conditions reported.

Data from the USZPR identified 26 infants and fetuses with these same birth defects among the 442 completed pregnancies of women with possible Zika infection from January through September 2016.

Studies have shown that Zika's arrival to Brazil at least doubled the birth defect rate there, even though the mosquito-borne virus only seriously affected small areas, NBC News reported.

The most popular vehicle for Americans making more than $200,000 isn't a luxury car from Porsche, Lexus or Tesla, NBC News reported.

It's actually the Ford F-150 pickup truck, according to a new study by the consumer research firm MaritzCX.

"Whenever we add something, buyers tell us they'd like something even more expensive," said Ford Truck Group Marketing Manager Doug Scott.

More than two million full-size pickup trucks, which includes commercial and heavier-duty trucks, accounted for 12 percent of the record 17.5 million new vehicles sold in the U.S. last year, according to industry sales data.

Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego announced it has agreed to help manage the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units at Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley. 

Under a newly announced management services agreement, Rady Children’s will provide a medical director and a nursing leader to provide administrative services, such as program review and development, to Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District, which owns and operates the hospital.

Oversight of pediatric physicians serving both units will be handled by Rady Children’s Pediatric Medical Director Dr. Ameen Alshareef, who is on the medical staff of both hospitals. Nurse Tammie Miyagawa was selected to provide day-to-day operational leadership.

Rady said in a news release the hospital beds will remain under Pioneers’ license, and Rady Children’s will help implement best practices and protocols allowing patients to remain in the Imperial Valley. Rady Children’s will also help Pioneers achieve NICU certification by California Children’s Services, a state-run program.

“We’re looking forward to providing excellent health-care services to the children of the Imperial Valley,” Dr. Gail Knight, Rady Children’s Hospital’s senior vice president and chief medical officer, said in the release.

The two organizations have a pre-existing clinical partnership allowing Pioneers’ patients to receive care in San Diego, if necessary.

Pioneers Memorial Hospital is a 107-bed acute-care medical center. It is an affiliate of San Diego-based Scripps Health.

Rady Children’s offers an array of health-care services to children in San Diego, southern Orange, southern Riverside and Imperial counties.

Heads up, San Diego: Phoenix is coming for you. No, we’re not talkin’ about Zonie tourists packing up, ditching the triple-digit heat and traveling just a few clicks west to the land of beaches and palm trees (which they should’ve done from the beginning, amirite?) -- we’re talking about Phoenix, the band.

On Sunday, June 11, 91x’s annual summer X-Fest returns to town and this year’s lineup features the aformentioned Phoenix, Empire of the Sun, Bob Moses, Skip Marley, Missio, the Lemon Twigs, Sir Sly, and Lo Moon -- with more bands to be announced at a later date.

This year's X-Fest will mark the first time Phoenix has stopped in town since their last San Diego performance held on Oct. 10, 2013 at UCSD’s Rimac Arena. The French indie-pop juggernauts (known for hits like "Too Young," "1901" and “Lisztomania”) have hinted at a new album on the way this year (their latest is 2013’s “Bankrupt”), and touring activity would seem to confirm that -- they head up to LA’s Hollywood Bowl on June 15.

Scheduled to be held “On the Green” at Qualcomm Stadium -- which is the practice field in the southwest corner of the stadium -- 91x music director and midday radio host Hilary Chambers explained the choice of venue in a press release.

“It’s a scientific fact that people prefer concerts held on a grass field,” Chambers said. “The massive, well-maintained practice field at the Q gives us plenty of space to create an event for everyone to enjoy.”

The show is open to all ages and pre-sale tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, March 3 for 91x fans with a special code here (pro tip: It’s “Qualcomm”). Otherwise, tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, March 6 at 10 a.m. PST.

For more information, visit 91x.com.

A congressional leader in Mexico climbed the border fence between San Diego and Tijuana and posted the video and images on social media Thursday.

"Human rights, principles and dignity are non-negotiable," said Braulio Guerra, a state representative for Queretaro. Guerra had announced his plan to climb the fence March 1.

The posts to Twitter, written in Spanish, called President Donald Trump’s plan to spend billions to build a wall between the two countries “absurd” and “unnecessary.”

He said it also will harm the relationship between the two countries.

On Jan. 25, President Trump signed an executive order to construct a "great wall."

The plan to build a wall between U.S. and Mexico has outraged some leaders in Mexico. Especially the idea that Mexico will pay for the construction of the wall.

A website to accept bids on building the proposed border wall will be open as of March 6.

Eighty percent of Mexico's exports are to the U.S. The Trump administration also has floated the idea of a border tax on Mexican products.

Construction cost estimates have varied widely. There are currently 354 miles of pedestrian fencing and 300 miles of vehicle barriers.

Republican leaders in Congress have said Trump's wall would cost between $12 billion and $15 billion, while Trump has suggested $12 billion.

It is unconstitutional for Miami-Dade county to hold inmates in jail beyond the time they would otherwise be released at the request of federal immigration authorities, a Florida judge ruled Friday morning.

The ruling by Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch was a rebuke of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giminez's decision to allow county jails to hold immigrants awaiting deportation by federal agents, citing concerns about losing federal money.

Federal agents have up to 48 hours to pick up an undocumented immigrant being held in a county jail.

The county's policy was challenged by 45-year-old James LaCroix, a Haitian national ordered deported after being convicted of felony charges of habitually driving without a valid license.

Hirsch noted that the practice "gives rise to two inequities," forcing the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department to house inmates "in whom neither the state nor the county has any ongoing interest" and resulting in the "continued incarceration" of individuals who haven't been charged with any crime.

Hirsch argued in his decision that the policy violates the 10th Amendment's limits on federal power over states.

The 10th Amendment is "a source of frustration to those who dream of wielding power in unprecedented ways or to unprecedented degrees. But America was not made for those who dream of power," Hirsch wrote. "America was made for those with power to dream."

On Tuesday, Judge Hirsch sentenced LaCroix to the five weeks he'd already served in jail, but he was not released because Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked the county to hold him pursuant to a deportation order.

Attorneys representing LaCroix filed a writ of habeus corpus demanding his release, but he was picked up by immigration agents Wednesday before Hirsch could hear arguments on Thursday.

Since LaCroix is already in federal custody, the state judge's ruling will have no effect on his detention pending deportation, according to his attorney Philip Reizenstein.

Still, in ordering county attorneys to respond to the writ by Thursday, Hirsch said his ruling would not be moot because LaCroix raised an "issue capable of repetition."

Miami-Dade County said Friday morning it would appeal the decision with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

"This is a federal issue,"  Giminez said in a statement following the ruling. "Now, the judge does what he does, but I've already spoken to our county attorney and our county attorney does not feel that he has standing so it depends on the ruling and if the ruling goes against what we're doing then we'll appeal it to the court of appeals right away."

The county has received at least 52 requests for so-called ICE holds since the county reversed its years-old policy to not honor them, unless the federal government paid for the additional costs of incarceration.

After President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities that offer protections for immigrants living in the country illegally or decline to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

In his decision, Hirsch said the threat of withholding federal funds from the county was a constitutional bridge too far.

"Coercion achieved by financial starvation is no less effective than coercion achieved at sword's point. The former may take a little longer than the latter; but it may be more painful, too," he wrote.

But Hirsch's decision did not explicitly order Miami-Dade jails to stop honoring requests from federal immigration authorities to hold undocumented immigrants for deportation. For the moment, Friday's ruling creates legal precedent only in Judge Hirch's courtroom. 

Notre Dame senior Xitlaly Estrada got a call after the presidential election from her mother, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the early 90s.

Crying, Irma Estrada told her daughter she couldn’t believe Donald Trump, a man who had used so much anti-Mexico rhetoric on the campaign trail, would soon be the leader of the free world.

Following the announcement that Trump's Vice President Mike Pence will deliver this year's commencement address at Notre Dame, Estrada and her friends believe their big day will be compromised by values that contradict their own.

“A lot of us are concerned for our families’ comfort,” said Estrada, the president of the Latino Student Alliance. 

She and other LSA members, many of them first-generation Americans, worry that their guests will feel unwelcome at a ceremony honoring an administration that has degraded their Hispanic identities. 

“Regardless of who is speaking, this is mine,” Estrada said of her graduation. “But I think it’s a particularly hard moment for my parents.”

In the past, the newly elected commander in chief has often delivered the keynote speech at Notre Dame’s May graduation and received an honorary degree. Four of the last six presidents have made the trip to South Bend, Indiana, during their first year in office.

But after students circulated a petition signed by thousands from the Notre Dame community denouncing the possibility of Trump as speaker, and held several protests, the college sidestepped tradition and asked Indiana's former governor to take the podium.

Notre Dame spokesman Paul Browne declined to comment on whether Trump was invited to the May 21 ceremony or if he'll visit the campus in the future. Browne said he expects Pence will be "warmly welcomed," The Associated Press reported.

"But that doesn't mean we won't receive complaints from people who would have preferred someone else," Browne continued. "We typically do."

As for Pence, "It is fitting that in the 175th year of our founding on Indiana soil that Notre Dame recognize a native son who served our state and now the nation with quiet earnestness, moral conviction and a dedication to the common good characteristic of true statesmen,” university President Rev. John Jenkins said in a statement.

In a groupchat with her peers, Natalie Thomas, president of the Black Student Association, has noticed people complaining that the administration circumvented calls from the student body to not extend an invitation to Trump by bringing Pence instead. For some, Trump and Pence are one and the same because of the views they collectively represent. 

Pat Crane, president of Notre Dame College Republicans, said it's a shame that Trump won’t be on the platform during commencement. But he added that he's honored to play host to the first-in-line, whom he called “a wonderful man, a man of God.”

Crane organized “Pizza with Pence” last year, a small gathering with the then-governor and his Republican base at the university.

“It was a great experience for everyone involved,” Crane said.

He expects the vice president’s address in May to unify the student body and give them hope.

"We’re a Catholic institution speaking to Catholic values,” he said, and he believes everyone at Notre Dame will stand in solidarity with Pence on issues like abortion rights and job security.

When asked if Estrada’s concern for her parents’ comfort wasn't valid, he said, “Right.” Neither Trump nor Pence has claimed the president will deport minority American citizens, Crane said, so as long as attendees are in the country legally, he didn’t understand why they’d have a problem with Pence’s address.

“Whatever they can take out of that speech to bring us together, that’s going to be way more valuable than having some random other person speak at our graduation,” he added.

But Jessica Pedroza, vice-president of the Student Coalition for Immigration Advocacy at Notre Dame, doesn't see the speech as a means to unify her peers.

“I think it’s already dividing the class of 2017,” she said. 

“I would have been disappointed if Trump had been invited,” she added. “I’m equally disappointed that Pence is invited because he doesn’t represent the values of Notre Dame.”

She called the vice president’s upcoming appearance “a slap in the face.”

A lesbian herself, Thomas brought up Pence's anti-LGBTQ track record. She called his policies "offensive" and said “they definitely don’t advocate for equality."

Estrada believes the Trump administration is “anti-Catholic in respect to human dignity,” and specifically targeted Pence as “anti-woman.” She cited his alleged support of conversion therapy for members of the LGBTQ community and his attempt to reject Syrian refugees in Indiana as reasons for why she saw him as unfit to stand in front of the class of 2017. A Pence spokesman has said he does not support conversion therapy.

Over four years at Notre Dame, “I’ve been taught to value human dignity, to value the love of the other, the love of the stranger,” Estrada said. “Having a commencement speaker that is diametrically opposed to everything I am and everything I stand for is very heartbreaking.”

Though Pence is the first vice president to give Notre Dame’s keynote speech, he is not a pioneer in stirring controversy on the campus.

President Barack Obama faced protests in 2009 when he received an honorary degree from the Catholic university despite his pro-choice stance. Joe Biden also faced some pushback when he was awarded the Laetare Medal in 2016, alongside former House Speaker John Boehner.

Crane, with the college Republicans, said that by presenting Biden with the Laetare Medal despite his support of LGBTQ and abortion rights, “that hurts every single person who attends Mass every single week,” including Biden, a practicing Catholic.

But Estrada said that when students protested Biden, “policies were very much at the forefront,” whereas undergraduate reactions to a Trump surrogate at commencement are driven more by personal fears.

“I think that some students on campus feel unsafe because of the rhetoric of the Trump administration, and subsequently Mike Pence,” she explained.

Pedroza agreed that comparing Pence to Democratic leaders like Obama was a false equivalency. Unlike past administrations, “Trump and Pence have run a campaign based on hate and fear against certain communities,” she said. 

“Giving Pence an honorary degree minimizes what it means, to a large body of students, to be a part of the Notre Dame community,” Pedroza added.

Because of the keynote speaker, Thomas said that, among other forms of protest, some members of the graduating class are boycotting commencement. But she will still attend to celebrate her own achievements, if not those of the vice president.

"We’ve earned it after working arduously at Notre Dame for four years,” Thomas said.

A spokesperson for Pence did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A trove of letters discovered in January have provided a glimpse into a story of unrequited love between Jackie Kennedy and a British ambassador in the years after John F. Kennedy's assassination, the "Today" show reported.

Letters belonging to British aristocrat David Ormsby-Gore detailing his relationship with Jackie tell the story of his heartbreak after she rejected his marriage proposal in 1968, five years after JFK's death.

The letters are expected to fetch nearly $190,000 in an upcoming auction of items from his estate by Bonham's of London, whose proceeds will be used by his son to restore the family home.

Nintendo’s newest gaming console – the Nintendo Switch – is officially on the market and on Thursday night, before the clock struck midnight, excited fans lined up in San Diego to get their hands on the gadget.

Husband and wife Eli and Natalie Rascon, of Ocean Beach, were among the gamers who waited in line outside a Best Buy store in Mission Valley, which was set to sell a limited number of the consoles at midnight.

Natalie had been waiting for the doors to open since 2 p.m. Eli, in a show of support for his pregnant wife, joined her in line at around 4 p.m.

He said they were both looking forward to checking out the Nintendo Switch’s bells and whistles.

“It’s definitely a lot more exciting than the last two [Nintendo consoles]. You can actually take it with you, like a mobile console,” Eli explained. “And there’s a lot of really, really good games coming out, so that’s exciting.”

Natalie, an avid fan of Nintendo and “The Legend of Zelda,” said she had big plans for how she would use her Nintendo Switch now that she has a little bit of down time.

“Since I’m on maternity leave, I want to play my Nintendo Switch while I have the time before the baby is born and then after the baby is born,” she told NBC 7.

San Diego resident Steven Katherman also waited in line in Mission Valley, enthusiastic about the dual-use of the gaming system.

“You can play it in a lot of different ways. You can take it with you or you can put it on your TV,” Katherman said. “It pretty looks cool; it looks like a lot of fun.”

Up in Murrieta, in Riverside County, Fallbrook resident Mo Abdelrahman eagerly awaited his turn to go inside a Best Buy store to get his hands on the new gaming gadget. To pass the time, he did his homework and played on his phone.

There were two lines at that location: one for customers who had pre-ordered the product and another for those who had not pre-ordered but hoped to get lucky enough to snag a console.

Abdelrahman was in the latter line -- the line of dreamers.

“Hopefully I can get one,” he told NBC 4 Los Angeles. “I’m in the non-pre-order line because people were way fast on it.”

At 11 p.m., Best Buy employees would distribute tickets to those waiting in line to get in. By the time midnight rolled around, Abdelrahman hoped to be the proud new owner of a Nintendo Switch. He said the waiting – and the wondering – was all worth it.

“I love gaming. And I love ‘Legend of Zelda’ – it’s my favorite game, ever. [The Nintendo Switch] is getting a 10 out of 10, so I’m pretty excited,” he added. “If it’s a 10 out of 10, you gotta get it as soon as possible.”

The Nintendo Switch is unique in that in blends the concept of a home gaming console with a handheld console (think Nintendo meets a modern-day Game Boy). The gadget aims to bridge the gap between devoted gamers who like to play on their home set-ups and casual gamers who prefer playing games on the go, on their mobile devices. To draw even more customers, Nintendo has made classic games like “The Legend of Zelda” and “Mario Bros.” compatible with the Switch.

The gaming system is priced at $299. It comes with the Switch console, a dock – which is where the console rests if you’re playing the system while connected to a television – two Joy-Con controllers (left and right), two Joy-Con wrist strap accessories, a Joy-Con grip accessory, a Nintendo Switch AC Adapter and an HDMI cable.

A gamer can lift the Nintendo Switch from the dock to transition it into portable mode, so it can be taken anywhere. The Joy-Con controllers are detachable, giving gamers more options, including playing with one controller in each hand or using the system with two players. If the controllers are slipped onto the grip accessory, they turn into a more traditional video game controller.

To read more details on the Nintendo Switch and what it does, click here.

The man accused of killing homeless people in a crime spree last summer will be examined by a new doctor as prosecutors and defense attorneys debate his competency to stand trial.

Jon David Guerrero, 39, faces criminal charges in the attacks on five homeless people in San Diego, some of whom were killed with railroad spikes. The brutal killings began on July 3.

Patton State Hospital has deemed Guerrero mentally competent to stand trial.

In a San Diego courtroom Friday, the judge approved a defense request for an additional examination by a forensic psychiatrist.

Angelo de Nardo, 53, was found badly burned near train tracks in Bay Ho. Investigators say they believe the homeless man died before he was set on fire.

On July 4, two homeless men were discovered attacked within an hour of each other in Bay Ho and Ocean Beach in the early hours of morning around 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. They both suffered severe trauma to the upper body.

One 61-year-old victim survived the attack however 41-year-old Shawn Longley died from his injuries.

Two days later, San Diego police found 23-year-old Derek Vahidy in Pantoja Park near State and G Streets. Vahidy had been beaten and set on fire, police said. He later died in the hospital.

Guerrero was arrested on July 15 after a fifth man was attacked at 18th and C streets.

In December, Guerrero was also charged in the July 13 attack of an 83-year-old woman.

Guerrero is scheduled to be back in court March 20, the date of his next mental competency hearing. 

Selena Laniel has a habit of making hard work look like fun.

"I love my job. I love going to work every single day," she says.

In her day job, she's a firefighter with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, a profession where she is almost always outnumbered as a woman.

She's used to it, however, because when she's not fighting fires and keeping San Diego safe, she's hanging from walls, and swinging from bars, or anything else she and her friends can think to do to one-up each other.

"I don't even know if we have a name for it. I just call it 'ninjaing,'" she says. "I'm going to go and play and do some ninja stuff."

Laniel is about to appear on NBC's American Ninja Warrior for the fourth time, another role where she is far outnumbered by men. On the show, contestants run, jump, hang and balance through an obstacle course they haven't seen or practiced on ahead of time. She admits, when the show called five years ago, she didn't know anything about it.

"I had no clue.  I had no clue what it was about," she says.

She's been successful in the competition, now coming back for the season nine taping this month, and has appeared on both seasons of the team version of the show.

She says there are a lot of parallels between firefighting and what she does on the show.

"Firefighting is very mental. You have to be able to make split decisions," she says. "The course is kind of that way. When you show up, and you've got the lights in your face, it's really stressful."

Laniel's resume would be impressive if you stopped at firefighter and ninja, but she's also a mother of two. She says other moms sometimes seek her out to tell her how impressed they are by what she's doing.

"If I can be a role model, and help other people out there, then that's awesome," says Laniel.

And her message is not just for women.

"It doesn't matter if you're male, female, whatever you want to be. It doesn't matter," she says. "I think that if you put  your heart and soul into it, anything can happen. And being a girl is not an excuse. It really isn't. You can do whatever you want."

Amy Krouse Rosenthal has a love story many only dream of, but as her story nears a heartbreaking end, she’s hoping to start the first chapter of another book for her beloved husband.

In an op-ed published in the New York Times Friday, Krouse Rosenthal revealed that her battle with ovarian cancer has left her with likely only days to live – and only a few cherished moments left with her husband and children.

“I have been married to the most extraordinary man for 26 years,” she wrote. “I was planning on at least another 26 together.”

Krouse Rosenthal had gone to the emergency room in September 2015 thinking she may have appendicitis, but she walked out with a very different diagnosis.

“So many plans instantly went poof,” she wrote. “No trip with my husband and parents to South Africa. No reason, now, to apply for the Harvard Loeb Fellowship. No dream tour of Asia with my mother. No writers’ residencies at those wonderful schools in India, Vancouver, Jakarta. No wonder the word cancer and cancel look so similar.”

Krouse Rosenthal’s love story with her husband Jason Brian Rosenthal began in 1989, when the couple was set up on a blind date in Chicago.

“By the end of dinner, I knew I wanted to marry him,” she wrote. “Jason? He knew a year later.”

But 26 years, three children and a cancer diagnosis later, Krouse Rosenthal knew her love story with Jason could soon come to an end. Her op-ed was part a tribute to their endless love, and part a plea to whoever might someday fill the void she’ll leave behind.

“I have never been on Tinder, Bumble or eHarmony, but I’m going to create a general profile for Jason right here, based on my experience of coexisting in the same house with him for, like, 9,490 days,” she wrote. “First, the basics: He is 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, with salt-and-pepper hair and hazel eyes.”

She goes on to say that Jason is a “sharp dresser,” “uncannily handy,” a good cook, a music lover, a painter, a traveler and more.

“Here is the kind of man Jason is: He showed up at our first pregnancy ultrasound with flowers,” she wrote. “This is a man who, because he is always up early, surprises me every Sunday morning by making some kind of oddball smiley face out of items near the coffeepot: a spoon, a mug, a banana. This is a man who emerges from the minimart or gas station and says, ‘Give me your palm.’ And, voilà, a colorful gumball appears. (He knows I love all the flavors but white.)”

It is at this point, Krouse Rosenthal expects women can now “swipe right” on the man she loves, adding that her husband is also “incredibly handsome.”

“I’m going to miss looking at that face of his,” she wrote.

While Krouse Rosenthal notes that she yearns for more time with her “prince” and her children, she may only have a few days left to live – and she’s not wasting them.

“So why I am doing this? I am wrapping this up on Valentine’s Day, and the most genuine, non-vase-oriented gift I can hope for is that the right person reads this, finds Jason, and another love story begins,” she wrote. “I’ll leave this intentional empty space below as a way of giving you two the fresh start you deserve.”

Several empty lines later, she ended her letter by simply writing, "With all my love, Amy."

There were many new, delicious additions to San Diego’s dining scene this week – including must-try Japanese ramen. But we also can’t ignore that our hearts broke when Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles postponed its plans to expand to San Diego. Eater San Diego shares these stories and other top news of the week from our local food and drink scene.

Award-Winning Japanese Ramen Arrives in Kearny Mesa
Menya Ultra, a well-known Japanese ramen concept, has just opened its first shop in the United States, right in Kearny Mesa. Specializing in pork tonkotsu ramen, the eatery's owner and chef has developed a signature type of noodle made with special flour from Japan, and is making noodles daily for the San Diego eatery. The owner has plans to open multiple locations in San Diego before expanding across the country. 

Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles Puts Expansion On Hold
Last year, Eater learned that famed soul food specialists Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles had signed on for a new location in Barrio Logan. Unfortunately, the brand has put its expansion plans on hold to focus on its Los Angeles area eateries, but the company promises to re-explore San Diego later this year.

Cohn Group Opening BO-beau in Hillcrest Alongside Speakeasy Bar & Taco Shop
The Cohn Restaurant Group announced that it is expanding its popular BO-beau concept to Hillcrest, where it will also launch an adjacent taco shop called Libertad and a cocktail speakeasy behind both spaces. All three are scheduled to open next month. 

Luxury Japanese Tea Shop Launches in North Park
Take a peek inside the splendor of this new high-end café on University Avenue. Showcasing the centuries-old Japanese matcha tea, which has become a trendy beverage in the U.S., Holy Matcha is offering traditional Japanese tea ceremonies as well as matcha-infused drinks and pastries.

Popular Brunch Spot Snooze Adding La Jolla Outpost
Denver transplant Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, which operates bustling locations in Hillcrest and Del Mar, will expand to The Shops at La Jolla Village. Scheduled to open this summer, the restaurant will serve the concept's crowd-pleasing menu of brunch favorites.

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Actor Jon Seda talks about working with television producer Dick Wolf more than once in his career.

Illegal drugs valued at more than $1 million were seized from a self-storage unit in Chula Vista Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees said.

Investigators were following a Mercury Sable sedan believed to be involved in cross-border smuggling when the driver stopped at a storage facility on Main Street just before 6:30 p.m.

U.S. Border Patrol agents said they spotted the driver, identified as a 42-year-old man, unloading items from the car into the storage unit.

Agents said they asked the man if they could search the vehicle and storage unit. When the K-9 alerted to possible narcotics, they conducted a search.

Cocaine, marijuana, crystal methamphetamine and brown heroin bundles were found in the unit and the car’s trunk, spare tire and rear quarter panels, according to investigators.

The total estimated street value of the narcotics is $1,114,445, federal officials said.

The driver was booked into San Diego County jail on narcotics charges. Officials did not identify the driver or name the storage facility.

FBI agents have made an arrest in connection with a string of bomb threats targeting Jewish Community Centers across the county including the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla.

Juan Thomas, 31, of St. Louis, Missouri was arrested Friday.

The news was a huge relief to many of the families in La Jolla. The center was evacuated on February 21 when a security guard contacted San Diego Police to report a threat.

The facility is one of dozens of Jewish Community Centers in at least 20 states targeted since the beginning of the year.

Prosecutors say Thomas made at least eight threats to targeting Jewish people and centers in the name of an ex-girlfriend. They say his threats began in a campaign to harass and intimidate the former romantic interest after the relationship ended.

The FBI said Thomas may not be the only one behind the more than 100 threats made to JCC's across the country. They say he appears to be a "copycat."

Michael Cohen, Executive Director of the Lawrence Family JCC, said the center is grateful to learn of the arrest and looks forward to closure in the investigation of all threats.

“While these threats are being investigated, we remain vigilant,” Cohen wrote. “Continue to take numerous security measures and are committed to the security and safety of our community above all else.”

Thomas was expected to appear in a Missouri courtroom Friday afternoon.

The effort to find gender-neutral bathrooms around town just became a little bit easier thanks to Yelp.

The San Francisco-based company on Friday announced its new service that allows users to pinpoint whether or not a business houses gender-neutral facilities.

Yelp classifies gender-neutral bathrooms as being "accessible to persons of any gender and are a locking, single-stall bathroom."

The latest addition to Yelp's platform will be put together via public and business input. Yelp plans to ask users to identify locations that have gender-neutral bathrooms, and businesses will be allowed to specify whether or not they offer gender-neutral facilities.

Prior to Friday's announcement, Yelp joined an amicus brief in support of Gavin Grimm, a transgender student in Virginia who was barred from using the boy's restroom as his school. 

"We believe it's important for the business community to speak up in support of equality for all," Yelp wrote in a statement.

Vice President Mike Pence said Friday there's "no comparison whatsoever" between his use of a private email account while governor of Indiana and Hillary Clinton's private server during her time as Secretary of State.

Pence used a private AOL email account to conduct some state business as governor, his spokesman confirmed to NBC News Thursday night.

"There's no comparison whatsoever between Hillary Clinton's practice — a private server, mishandling classified information, destroying emails when they were requested by the Congress and by officials," the vice president told reporters during a surprise stop at an Irish pub in Janesville, Wisconsin.

The saying, “at the right place at the right time” could not have been truer for UC San Diego student Skylar Lane.

It started out as just another work day for Lane, who is a student worker at the County of San Diego Aging and Independent Services. She was preparing for a meeting with a colleague, when all of the sudden, a man fell to the floor right outside of the meeting room. He was suffering from a heart attack.

That’s when Lane sprang into action.

“He was blue from the neck up,” Lane told NBC 7 Friday.

Given Lane’s extensive background in medical training, she knew instantly what she had to do in order to save County Library employee Paul Klatt’s life.

“I had to turn him over and put my fingers in his mouth to make sure there was nothing blocking his airway. Right away I had someone call 911, get the AED, and then just started doing compressions.”

Lane said there’s nothing that can prepare anyone for a moment like this, even while at work.

“It’s a stressful situation — no one knows how they’re going to react,” she explained. “He was gasping for breath. It was more of like, ‘he’s there!’ Being able to stay with him and to keep that momentum going was really motivating.”

Lane urges people, especially in the workplace, to become familiar of where AED defibrillators are located and how to use them.

“The AED is very easy – a lot of people believe it’s more difficult than it is. It’s meant for people who are not trained.”

In light of this incident, the Aging and Independent Services department will go through CPR training for all employees. Lane said she will be recertified for CPR training next week.

“I feel like I needed this as my closure so that all the hard work I did do in previous internships and all the jobs that I had lead up to this,” she shared with NBC 7.

Klatt is currently in recovery. Lane told NBC 7 that she looks forward to meeting him soon.

“I got news that he wants to meet me and I want to meet him. I’m really excited. There’s probably going to be tears. They’re happy tears — I’m glad he’s okay.”