A powerful fault system that runs from San Diego to Los Angeles could produce a magnitude 7.3 to 7.4 earthquake if the segments rupture, according to an analysis led by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).

The study looks at the Newport-Inglewood fault and the Rose Canyon fault, two systems that had previously been considered separate systems. 

However, this new study concludes the systems are actually one continuous fault system which runs from the San Diego Bay to Seal Beach in Orange County, then on land through the Los Angeles Basin. The study appeared in the most recent issue of the American Geophysical Union's Journal of Geophysical Research. 

“This system is mostly offshore but never more than four miles from the San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles County coast,” said Valerie Sahakian, who lead the study during her doctorate at Scripps. She is now a postdoctoral fellow with the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Even if you have a high 5- or low 6-magnitude earthquake, it can still have a major impact on those regions which are some of the most densely populated in California,” Sahakian explained. 

When conducting research, the team processed seismic surveys from the past and added in high-resolution bathymetric data, gathered offshore by Scripps researchers between 2006 and 2009, in addition to seismic surveys conducted aboard former Scripps research vessels. 

The combination of those techniques allowed researchers to have a clearer definition of how the fault was built, and make estimates about magnitudes with more certainty. 

If the offshore segments erupt, researchers estimated a 7.3 magnitude quake; if the southern onshore segment also ruptures, researchers estimated a magnitude 7.4 quake. 

The two methods used to derive the maximum potential for a rupture of the entire fault found estimates between magnitude 6.7 and magnitude 7.3 to 7.4 quakes, according to the study. 

In 1933, a magnitude 6.4 quake struck the Long Beach area and killed 115 people. Researchers discovered evidence that quakes happened prior to that in the region, though they could not measure a magnitude. 

In the last 11,000 years, there have been three to five ruptures at the north end of the fault system. On the south end, which goes through San Diego, there is evidence a quake happened roughly 400 years ago, but there is little significant activity for the 5,000 years prior. 

“Further study is warranted to improve the current understanding of hazard and potential ground shaking posed to urban coastal areas from Tijuana to Los Angeles from the NIRC fault,” the study concludes.

Swastika signs found inside a University of San Diego (USD) restroom are bringing the issue of Anti-Semitism to campus.

Skylar Ouart, who lives in the dorm where the swastika signs were found, said he finds the symbol offensive and is surprised it happened on campus. 

“I have some friends that are Jewish and they were really offended by it too," he said. "They took it kind of personally. They even emailed our resident administrator."

Many of the students found out about the Swastika incident through an email sent by Dean of Students Donald Goodwin. 

USD Graduate Student Alexis Santana said she received the Dean's email and was disturbed by the news. 

"We got the email about religious tolerance, and you definitely don't want to see that on any campus, especially here. That is very disgusting, honestly," Santana said. 

In a statement, USD said they do not take acts of intolerance lightly, and will continue to share messages of hope, inclusiveness and respect for every human being.

A Jewish professor on campus said he experienced a similar incident after the Nov. 8 election. Doctor Shai Cherry, who teaches courses about the Holocaust on campus, said someone left feces in front of the door to his office. 

The Anti-Defamation League said they were aware of the incidents, but did not have proof the incident involving Cherry was an anti-Semitic threat.

Cherry said he is concerned about similar acts of hatred on campus.

However, since the swastika signs were found nearly two weeks ago, he said, there have not been any more incidents. 

ADL Regional Director Tami Gillies said there has been a normalization of hateful rhetoric in our country. Tuesday, four ADL offices across the country received threats.

Groups on USD’s campus have been holding events this past month giving students the opportunity to express their concerns over acts of intolerance.

The family of Ryan Wilcox, a local teenager who lost his battle to cancer last year, has started a scholarship fund to honor their son's strength. 

Ryan would have turned 19-years-old on March 3—the same day his family launched the campaign to raise money for the Ryan Wilcox Memorial Scholarship.

He died on Sept. 3, 2016.

Then 18-years-old, Ryan's battle with cancer made headlines when his classmates posted a plea on Facebook to get the attention of his favorite superheros from the "Captain America" films. 

Ryan received a surprise visit from Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Patrow, who portray, in order, Captain America, Iron Man and Pepper Potts. 

NBC 7 spoke with Ryan's mother on Tuesday, who spoke of the day students at Grossmont High School rallied in honor of her son in May, 2016.

During that rally, students dressed up in Captain America garb and held a banner that read: "#RyanStrong".

"Being in that gym that day, surrounding by all of that love, it was powerful," said Amy Wilcox.

Wilcox said the scholarship will target students who exemplifies Ryan's fighting spirit.

"It'll be a student that exemplifies that same spirit, that has to overcome maybe a challenge in their life and how they deal with that challenge, and just to never give up," Wilcox told NBC 7.

She added that Ryan's death has been hard for the family but she is proud of her son.

"He never ever complained. He never let anything bring him down, he was always positive," she said. "He taught us so much about the strength of the human spirit and how powerful love can be."

The family has set up an online fundraiser to raise up to $19,000 for the scholarship. The Grossmont Education Foundation will then award $1,000 scholarships in Ryan's name to two students every year.

Next year's race for governor has just been joined by a local man.

Not San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who's still not taking the bait for such a run.

The candidate is John Cox, a multimillionaire attorney, CPA and financial adviser who's gotten into state politics after running as a Republican for U.S. Senate and other offices in Illinois.

He's only the second Republican who's stepped forward in the 2018 California governor's race.

In his announcement, video-recorded by a professional crew at home in Rancho Santa Fe for statewide distribution, Cox took aim at the state's sales tax, pension debt and many other issues he thinks make California unfriendly to business.

He accuses California lawmakers of catering to special interests that reward them with generous campaign contributions.

"The California we have is in trouble, and we need to do something about it,” Cox told NBC 7 in an interview Tuesday.

His solution is a so-called "low-cost New Hampshire-style neighborhood legislature" to foster more grass-roots politics.

Cox believes that would take fundraising "completely out of the equation."

Even so, facing current realities, Cox is putting up a million dollars of his own money for the campaign, and has raised another million.

“Wouldn't it be nice,” he asked rhetorically “if we had campaigns that were run door-to-door, where candidates actually had to discuss issues, and could actually build up a consensus on what we ought to be doing?"

Six people have now declared for the race – four of them Democrats, led in the polls by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The other announced Republican gubernatorial candidate so far is 84-year-old Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier, who carved out an acting career after earning NFL Pro Bowl status playing for the Los Angeles Rams.

California voters won't cast ballots for a new governor for another 15 months.

But Cox doesn’t seem leery of campaign fatigue, already having spoken to what he estimates as dozens of audiences.

"The system has to change to something that our founders intended,” he said. “Where we actually had reasonable discussions about police and then we can build an agreement that we can go forward with."

Some 700,000 Californians are currently being exposed to contaminated water at home or at school, according to the latest data from California’s Water Resources Control Board.

NBC 7 discovered more than 3,000 of those residents are living in the San Diego region, often in poorer, rural communities located within areas of Potrero, Pauma Valley and Borrego Springs.

Because the state data doesn’t account for the nearly 2 million Californians still relying on private wells or factor in contamination from Chromium-6, experts said the number of people with toxic water is likely even higher.

Escondido resident Juana Gonzalez said her kids’ “bath time” has become strictly business since her family moved into their Oakvale Park mobile home community about two years ago.

“When I shower my kids, I use to give them hot baths, but not anymore,” Gonzalez said. “Now we just wash, rinse and get out.”

The water that comes out of her Oakvale Park home is contaminated. Levels of uranium in the water are more than five times the limit the Environmental Protection Agency says is safe to drink.

Bathing with water that contains uranium is not a health concern, but Gonzalez said it still makes her uneasy. The water has also shown high levels of other radioactive material, according to the state.

The contaminated water runs into about 100 homes in the area.

“There are really serious health impacts from some of these contaminants,” said Laurel Firestone, Executive Director of the Community Water Center, a non-profit working to ensure communities have access to safe and affordable water. “It can cause cancer (and) in the case of nitrate in very high levels, it can even cause death after a few days of high exposure.”

Her organization said short-term health effects of drinking uranium-contaminated water include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, as well as liver and kidney damage. Long-term exposure can cause cancer, particularly of the bone and liver.

In 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation making California the first state in the nation to legally recognize the human right to clean drinking water. But, for more than a dozen communities located within areas like Potrero, Ramona and Alpine, tainted water runs from the taps and that legislation is a broken promise.

NBC 7 has been covering lead water testing at schools after dangerous levels of lead were discovered at a San Ysidro elementary school. As a result of our coverage, at least twelve area school districts are testing drinking water quality, and lead has been discovered in at least three schools. Water is shut-off to some 18,000 students at four different school districts as further testing is done.

“I think one of the most frustrating things is if this isn’t an emergency, then I don’t know what is,” said Firestone, whose Community Water Center organization works mostly in the Central Valley. “Having toxic water coming out of your tap, not being able to access water in schools, this is really basic.”

Tainted water in wells and public water systems in the San Diego area contain unsafe levels of uranium, fluoride, nitrate and arsenic, according to the state data.

Click here to see San Diego area data.

In addition to those with contaminated water, another 3,511 California households reported having wells that are dry, according to the state data released January 2017.

NBC Bay Area asked state Assemblyman Devon Mathis whether the numbers are acceptable.

“We’re in California, the sixth largest economy in the world, but we still have third world conditions right here at home,” Mathis said. “I think a lot of people forget that.”

The two-term Republican, who served 10 years in the Army National Guard, including two tours in Iraq, grew up in the Porterville area where dry wells have forced many residents to travel to a church parking lot on the edge of town to bathe in portable, public showers.

“That’s really the question for people at home – is this acceptable?” Mathis said. “Here we are in the 21st century in the great state of California, one of the largest economies in the world, and people do not have water running in their homes.”

While the state has made progress in getting clean, safe drinking water to rural residents, Felicia Marcus, chair of California’s Water Resources Control Board, says there’s more to do.

“We won’t have done enough until we get the job done,” Marcus said.

Although more than a million residents are estimated to be affected by contaminated water, it’s not something on the minds of those living in California’s urban centers.

“There’s a bit of out of sight, out of mind when the vast majority of people live along the coast in large urban centers,” Marcus said.

Recently, California’s Legislature gave the State Water Board authority to force the consolidation of small water districts that can’t guarantee safe water on their own.

So far, only one forced consolidation has taken place, although the Board is currently looking at 70 districts as possible candidates for consolidation. Officials say there could be even more after that.

In addition to the problem of small water districts unable to adequately provide safe water, there’s an issue of funding.

The Water Board has also been disbursing millions of dollars in grant money to build treatment centers and other infrastructure across the state.

But the trouble is, after treatment centers and infrastructure projects are built, many small communities don’t have the resources to operate or maintain them. As a result, Marcus said state lawmakers will have to decide if they want to fund those operation and maintenance costs.

“The state’s going to have to make a decision about subsidizing operation and maintenance for some of these small communities because the math just doesn’t add up,” Marcus said. “We’ve got to be thinking about it if our goal is to get clean, safe and affordable drinking water to all Californians.”

None of these efforts can come fast enough for residents living every day contaminated water or no running water at all.

In Oakvale Park, Juana Gonzalez helps some of her less fortunate neighbors by giving them a ride to the nearest place to buy water.

It’s five miles away.

“It would be good if we had clean water all the time, but we don’t so we have to go get it from somewhere,” Gonzalez said.

With the health risks, Gonzalez said she won’t let her neighbors drink the tap water. In fact, she won’t even give it to her dogs.

“That water is contaminated and we could get diseases. I wouldn’t want that for my children or my family or anybody,” she said.

A man who was found unconscious inside a burning independent living home in San Diego’s Palm City area has died, and his death has been ruled a homicide, San Diego police (SDPD) said. Authorities say the fire was set intentionally. 

Flames and smoke ripped through the single-story house in the 2200 block of Donax Avenue mid morning on Thursday, March 31. 

When officers arrived on scene, they were told one resident, later identified as 63-year-old Joseph Garza, was still inside. 

Firefighters found Garza unconscious inside; he was taken to the UC San Diego Burn Center suffering from smoke inhalation. 

Garza later passed away. The Medical Examiner's office has ruled his death a homicide. The California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated Garza’s death and recorded it as a homicide.

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Police say a woman - identified as 47-year-old Glenda Coronado - was arrested at the home for allegedly intentionally starting the fire. The woman, officers said, admitted she set the small home ablaze.

She has since been charged with one count of arson and three counts of arson with great bodily injury. She has been sent to Patton State Hospital for evaluation. 

The residence is home to several people, all of whom have unspecified medical conditions. 

McBride said two people were inside the home when the fire started. The blaze began in the living room, where there are several beds.

Two San Diego Police Department (SDPD) officers who were the first to arrive at the scene of the fire were also treated for smoke inhalation, officials said.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Several dead leopard sharks washed ashore in Ocean Beach after the rain last week.

An NBC 7 viewer snapped pictures of the sharks at dog beach.

According to Andrew P. Nosal, Ph.D, a Visiting Assistant Researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the deaths may be related to the water quality but he could not say for sure.

Nosal said the area where the sharks were found was located near the mouth of the San Diego River. After the recent rainfall, the water quality could have caused the leopard sharks to die and wash ashore.

He added that this occurs every now and then in several locations across the state.

A man was taken to the hospital after he was stabbed at a motel near Downtown San Diego Tuesday night, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed.

The incident happened around 10:55 p.m. on the 1900 block of Pacific Highway at the Marina Inn & Suites.

Police said the victim's sister reporter he had been stabbed.

He was taken to a local hospital but the extent of injuries is unknown.

No other information was available.

Family and friends say the Chula Vista man killed trying to stop a runaway pickup Monday night died a hero.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as 39-year-old David Sterner.

Strangers are now joining friends and family in recognizing Sterner's selfless act.

Candles and flowers were left at the ditch where the truck came to a halt and Sterner was killed.

Family members said Sterner was a roofer by trade--not wealthy but rich in spirit.

"He would do anything to help friends. He is always there for me,” said Celeste Amorsolo, Sterner's girlfriend of seven years.

She added that such was the case on Monday night. Sterner had been helping close friend Paul Lance with his broken truck.

"They were trying to switch the cars out of the driveway," neighbor Candice Hedrick said.

According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the engine wasn't running but the truck was in neutral when it began to roll down the steep exit of Los Coches Mobile Home Estates.

Sterner couldn't stop it but managed to get his hands on the wheel to steer it.

"He was holding on to that wheel because he didn't want it to go out of control and hit another trailer or perhaps a kid,” Hedrick said.

The truck rolled down the hill and slammed head on into a concrete culvert.

Amorsolo said she arrived later that evening to give Sterner a ride. She saw the crash but did not realize he was in it. 

"I'm really shocked right now. It's hard to accept that he is gone. Everything happened so fast,” Amorsolo told NBC 7.

Sterner was thrown from the truck and slammed into the ditch. Despite efforts to save him, the impact killed him.

"He's such a nice person. I just love him so much, it's hard to accept that he's gone,” Amorsolo said.     

Sterner is survived by his sister Sylvia who lives in Virginia. She told NBC 7 efforts are underway to retrieve his body and bury him in Delaware, where he grew up.

Sylvia is trying to raise enough money for the transport and Sterner’s funeral through an online fundraiser.

National City approved an emergency ordinance Tuesday to block any new permits after an investigation revealed a majority of massage parlors in the city were offering sex acts. 

Three massage parlors are now closed after police found health and safety violations like prostitution and even human trafficking in one.

"We want to put a statement out there that the city of National City is not going to tolerate this type of activity in our city," said Senior Assistant City Attorney, Nicole Pedone. 

The emergency ordinance blocks any new massage parlors from opening up shop for 45 days. After that, new establishments would be required to get a permit from the Chief of Police and go through a background check. 

"These types of businesses, they'll close down and reopen under a different name. Or someone who is working at the business will now become the owner,” said Pedone.

Investigators said the parlors were using websites like backpage.com, soliciting young Asian women in provocative clothing. The massage parlors that are part of the investigation posted on the website just days ago.

Marisa Ugarte, Executive Director with Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition is working with the human trafficking victims from this investigation and said it's now a very questionable time.

"They are scared of many things. Fear of the debt, they have fear of being deported. Human trafficking is instilled on fear," Ugarte said.

This is just a 45 day moratorium, so the City Attorney's office will most likely go back to the City Council next month for an extension until a more permanent solution is reached.

City officials said that they don't want this to deter anyone from opening up a business in National City, as long as it's done legally.

As Republicans roll out their plan to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), thousands of San Diegans who depend on Obamacare are concerned about their coverage.

Even though the bill isn't final just yet, local patients are asking questions about the future of their medical insurance.

"I don't want anything to change," said Veronica Benavidez who is currently on Obamacare. "I'm low income, so without it, I just can't afford medical coverage. Before I had basic coverage, but I wouldn't go to my doctor's appointments because I couldn't pay the high fees."

In San Diego County, more than 385,000 people are enrolled in the ACA.

Heather Lippert is a therapist at La Maestra Health Community Health Center in City Heights. She said patients are asking questions day in and day out about the new plan.

"They are constantly asking 'Am I going to be left without coverage? Am I not going to be able to get my meds all of a sudden?'" Lippert told NBC 7.

On Tuesday, several groups took to the streets to oppose the repeal and replacement of Obamacare.

Anne Clorite was on Obamacare for two years and took part in the rally.

"If it was a good plan, [President Trump] would be standing on top of the capital yelling about it," said Clorite."He's holding back to the last minute, so he can try to push it through. It's not going to work."

But several San Diegans hope it does work. In fact they're counting on it.

Obamacare gives affordable insurance to the once uninsured, but it led to high premiums and out of pocket expenses for millions of people.

Jerry Crowley welcomes the change. He said Obamacare is good in theory, but not in practice.

"What it really boils down to is that they're trying to change--to make it more affordable for everybody and everybody that's covered," said Crowley. "The problem with Obamacare is that it's a wonderful concept. However, the concept and the insurance companies don't see eye to eye. Because the insurance companies have raised their rates."

When it comes to the highly divisive debate over the nations health insurance plans, Crowley said he hopes the focus turns to patients instead of politics.

"Whether you like the president or you don't like the president, he's the president and let's hope that he does well," he added.

China offered a sobering warning Wednesday over a "head-on collision" if North Korea doesn't stop launching banned missiles and the U.S. and South Korea don't stop their join military drills, NBC News reported. 

"The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming toward each other, with neither side willing to give way," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing. "The question is: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision? Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply brakes on both trains."

Wang's cautionary statement comes after North Korea launched four ballistic missiles into the sky on Monday. The next day, on Tuesday, U.S. equipment for a missile defense system arrived in South Korea. 

The North said the nations are headed toward a "nuclear disaster," while China said it would take "necessary measure" to protect itself and that the U.S. and South Korea should be prepared to bear the consequences.

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A man who says he's the son of the North Korean killed by nerve agent in a busy Malaysian airport last month appeared in a video released online Tuesday, NBC News reported.

The South Korean intelligence service confirmed that the video shows Kim Han Sol, 21, a senior government official told NBC News. Kim Han Sol is also the nephew of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

It's the first time Kim has spoken out since the killing of his father in Kuala Lampur on Feb. 13, in what U.S. and South Korean officials have described as an assassination organized by North Korean agents. The North Korean defector aid group that released the video said it is protecting the exiled family. The man's location was not disclosed.

The man in the video shows his passport as proof of his identity, but those details are redacted. "My father has been killed a few days ago. I'm currently with my mother and my sister. We are very grateful to ...," he says, before the audio is cut short.

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Gunmen dressed as doctors killed at least 30 people in an attack on a military hospital near the United States embassy in Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday, NBC News reported.

Some patients took shelter on window ledges amid the fighting, which lasted hours and wounded at least 50 more people. It wasn't immediately clear who was behind the attack.

A Defense Ministry spokesman told NBC News that soldiers, doctors and civilians were among the dead, and that all four gunmen who opened fire at Kabul's Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital were killed as well.

Abdul Qadir, a hospital worker who witnessed the attack, said an attacker in a white coat shot at him and his colleagues.

Wall Street's iconic charging bull just got a new neighbor. 

A bronze statue of a young girl showed up near the bull Tuesday, ahead of the International Women’s Day Wednesday, according to reports. 

The "Fearless Girl" statue is part of an effort to get companies to add more women to their boards. State Street Global Advisors, the world’s third-largest asset manager, placed the statue as part of their campaign, Business Insider reports.

The money manager wants the companies it is spotting to have at least one woman on the board and to close gender gaps.

The bronze girl stands adjacent to the famous Wall Street statue, taking on a defiant pose as she stares down the bull. A plaque below her reads "know the power of women in leadership." 

Lori Heinel, State Street's deputy global chief investment officer, told Business Insider that the image of the girl standing in front of the bull is a creative way to send a powerful message. 

"One of the most iconic images on Wall Street is the raging bull," Heinel told Business Insider. "So the idea of having a female sort of stand against the bull or stand up to the bull just struck us as a very clever."

State Street will be sending out a letter 3,500 companies asking them to act and add more women. It said it will vote against boards if companies fail to carry out the steps to increase the number of women as board members, according to Business Insider. 

Bill and Yasmine Todhunter are still in shock Tuesday days after a Celebrity Cruise ship drifted extremely close to their waterfront home near Port Everglades.

The couple captured the scary moment on their cellphone Friday. Footage shows the Celebrity Equinox towering near their home. The Todhunters say this was a first.

“Never seen anything that close. Yes, I've seen it come close, but never to where the ship has had to stop, put itself into reverse and back out into the channel," Bill Todhunter said.

He said he was bringing out the garbage bin in from the street when he looked up and saw the ship close to the home.

“I came back and my wife was filming it on her phone,” Todhunter said.

They posted the video to Twitter and Facebook.

The couple also reached out to Celebrity Cruises via social media.

Royal Caribbean, which is the parent company of Celebrity Cruises, responded to Bill on Facebook, claiming the ship was in her assigned channel and operated safely.

“I don’t believe that statement at all,” Todhunter said.

NBC 6 News reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment and the company sent us the following statement:

“As Equinox departed on Friday, March 3, she was in her assigned channel at all times under the guidance of specialized local port pilots. The ship operated safely and did not put guests or crew at risk. We can also confirm the ship did not touch bottom.”

The Todhunters said the statement from the company is not enough. They truly believe something went wrong that day and want a better explanation.

"It was obviously dangerous. It will never hit the house because of how the channel was built but what if there was another ship coming in? And, I'm worried about what will happen down the road. Could there be a cracked foundation or sea wall years from now ? That's what I was most concerned about,” Todhunter said.

The pregnant giraffe at an upstate New York zoo peered calmly into the sun-swept pen of her handsome but younger mate Wednesday morning as tens of millions of people across the world checking in on her via live stream over the last few weeks continued to wait for the delivery of her fourth calf.

Nearly 60,000 people were watching the Animal Adventure Park's YouTube stream before 8 a.m. Wednesday as 15-year-old April stared at a kneeling 5-year-old Oliver, though it wasn't clear if her gaze carried affection or resentment -- or a combination. (Her belly is carrying a 6-foot, 150-pound creature, you understand.) By lunchtime, 100,000 had tuned in. 

Watch the livestream below.

April the now world-famous giraffe has been on edge for days, with agitation brought on by her kicking calf and the cold weather that’s kept her cooped up inside. Her handlers hoped to get her some outside time Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, vets have been monitoring April carefully and say they're pleased with her progression.

"Activity in the belly remains very visible to the eye - even through the web cam!" the zoo posted in its morning Facebook update Wednesday. "Slow and steady - mother nature has everything timed right. Keepers will be in shortly and any change will warrant an update!"

The keepers said there's been a "significant amount of belly movement and tail raising" lately from April and that she did get a bit spooked by the kicking calf over the weekend, but keepers later reported her spirits had improved.

"We completely understand her swings!" the zoo wrote on Facebook. "She is a big girl and getting bigger. Vet report is all positive and happy with progression."

The mom-to-be has grown significantly, visible in comparative photos from a week ago show. Wax caps are still present, though her back left teat appears to be shedding.

A photo posted to the zoo's Facebook page Saturday showed April's rotund belly curving out and downward, a sign that she's nearing the home stretch of her pregnancy, says owner Jordan Patch.

April's pregnancy was catapulted into global headlines late last month 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.

Patch says the natural curiosity surrounding giraffes and their birthing process has been a huge factor in drawing crowds. 

"I think the fact that she's a giraffe and she's a neat species that people are interested in, that's fostered a lot of the attention," he said. "The fact that you're gonna get to witness the miracle of birth from an animal that you really don't get to see give birth — that's neat."

He added that April's pregnancy is not just live entertainment, but a teachable moment and source for education.

Giraffe pregnancies last up to 15 months. Labor lasts anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The calf, which will be the first born at Animal Adventure Park, 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.

San Diego State University President Elliot Hirshman announced Wednesday he will be leaving the university in June.

After six years at the university, Hirshman will be accepting a position as the president of Stevenson University in Maryland, according to the SDSU media team.

His last day at SDSU will be June 30. There will be a search for a replacement.

California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White said Hirshman's impact on SDSU will be felt for generations.

In a prepared news release, White said, "His focus on academic excellence and on life-changing educational opportunities for students from all backgrounds has contributed to SDSU’s emergence as a top public research university."

Check back for updates on this breaking news.

Home furnishings retailer Room & Board plans a late summer 2017 opening for a new 17,000-square-foot store at San Diego’s Westfield UTC mall, according to brokers at NAI Capital and Retail Insite.

Terms of the Minneapolis-based retailer’s lease at the Westfield Corp. property were not disclosed. This will be the first local store and fourth in California for Room & Board, which was started in 1980 and operates 15 stores nationwide with an emphasis on sustainable products and design services.

Construction is currently underway on the University Towne Center store, which is designed by Gensler and is being built by Alain Hirsch Construction Corp. The leasing was arranged by NAI Capital’s Myron Sokolsky and Retail Insite’s Jim Rinehart.

A statement from NAI Capital said the store will have specialized departments designed to let customers experience the use of home furnishings. It will also include a design center with consulting assistance, and an outdoor space complementing the Westfield mall’s new open-air amenities.

According to the retailer, 90 percent of Room & Board’s collection is made from natural materials by American artisans.

The building that will house Room & Board is part of a larger $580 million renovation and expansion underway at Westfield UTC, slated for completion later this year. Room & Board will join other home-furnishings retailers currently operating there, including Restoration Hardware, Crate & Barrel, and San Diego-based Pirch.