On August 21, 2017, the sun's shadow will sweep across North America as millions revel in a rare total solar eclipse, NBC News reported.

It's the first one to grace the continental United States since 1979 and the first to run from sea to shining sea since 1918.

The roughly 75-mile strip of darkness will race from southwest Oregon to South Carolina at about 1,700 mph, bringing a sudden drop in temperature drop and the sight of the sun's seldom-seen corona.

The corona could hold the key to understanding space weather that can threaten astronauts in the International Space Station and power grids on Earth, so a group of scientists is heading to Salem, Oregon, in August to train their equipment on the brief solar event.

As Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch enters his first day of questioning in the Senate, whether he's confirmed depends upon the support of several Democratic senators who are embroiled in partisan fighting over the politics of the high court, NBC News reported.

Democrats' concerns and hard feelings after Republicans blocked Barack Obama's nominee to the open seat could lead to an explosive fight on the Senate floor. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., one of Gorsuch's most outspoken critics, has said that the nominee must prove that he would truly act independently from the president.

If Republicans can't get 60 votes to confirm him, they may enact the so-called "nuclear option," a procedural move that would blow up Senate rules to pass President Donald Trump's nominee.

NBC News took a look at the major factors at play.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said that President Donald Trump was "being a gentleman" when he was photographed holding her hand during May's January visit to the White House, NBC News reported.

"We were about to walk down a ramp, and he said [the step down the ramp] might be a bit awkward," May told Vogue.

The hand-holding was panned as awkward by the British press.

A former U.K. cabinet minister described optics suggesting May was being led along by the U.S. president as "disastrous."

One of Christianity's holiest sites has been restored to its former glory, and just in time for Easter, NBC News reported.

After a yearlong restoration, the Jerusalem tomb that Christians believe is where Jesus was buried and resurrected is finally free of a cage-like structure that's propped up the walls for 70 years.

The Holy Edicule, inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is also free of years of accumulated soot after work by the team that restored the Acropolis in Athens.

"Now you can see the colors, the texture of the stone, you can see the letters of inscriptions, the frescos, the different styles of mural paintings," restorer Antonia Moropoulou. "So here is a monument that was worshipped through the centuries and will be worshiped forever."

Cameras rolled as two pranksters rode their horses through a Walmart in southwest Houston, Texas, over the weekend. One of the riders said they were just trying to make people smile. "I wasn't trying to hurt nobody," Woody Fields said. Walmart called the stunt reckless. KPRC's Jennifer Bauer reports.

Whoops — Sen. Lindsey Graham killed off U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Tuesday morning.

"Justice Alito passed away in February," the South Carolina senator said as he questioned President Donald Trump's nominee for the vacancy on the high court, Judge Neil Gorsuch.

Graham's comment came as he addressed the controversial decision by Senate Republicans not to consider former President Barack Obama's pick for the court, Judge Merrick Garland. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell argued in March 2016 that the American people should have a voice in the process.

There had already been three primaries by then, Graham said.

"The campaign season in my view was afoot," he said.

There was only one problem: Alito of course is very much alive.

Graham meant Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on Feb. 13 last year. 

He soon realized his error and said he had to correct the record. "Bad news, bad mistake," he said.

For Gorsuch's part, the second day of his hearing went more smoothly, as he declined to comment on difficult topics Democrats pressed him on, including Trump's campaign promise to ban all Muslims from entering the United States.

And he declined to respond to a question about the Judiciary Committee's handling of Garland's nomination.

"I can't get involved in politics and there's judicial canons that prevent me from doing that," Gorsuch said. "I think it would be imprudent."

In a lighter exchange with Gorsuch, Graham praised Trump's choice. He said he had been worried about whom the "Celebrity Apprentice" reality star would pick. 

"Maybe someone on TV," Graham joked.

A Poway woman, accused of hoarding dozens of Yorkshire terrier and Yorkie-mix dogs inside her home pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Christine Calvert, 62, was charged with 10 felony counts, including animal abuse and neglect, and one count of resisting an officer.

Calvert, along with 73-year-old Matt Vattimo, was arrested in February for hoarding more than 169 Yorkies inside the couple's home in Poway.

All of the dogs were suffering from a variety of health conditions, according to officials. They were placed in the care of the San Diego Humane Society. 

More than 1,500 adoption applications were submitted for the Yorkies, prompting the organization to close the adoption process earlier than planned.

If convicted, Calvert faces up to nine years in prison.

Her next court appearance will be on April 13.

San Diego police say crime went down January through February this year in many areas.

According to a newly-released report focusing on crime across the City of San Diego, robbery went down 5.7 percent, rape went down 1.1 percent, aggravated assault went down 4.5 percent, burglary went down 8.2 percent and larceny went down 10.5 percent.

Arson is also down 51.9 percent, from 54 cases in 2016, to 26 cases in 2017.

However, auto thefts are up 6.2 percent and the murder rate did not change, said SDPD Lt. Scott Wahl.

Wahl attributes a lot of the positive improvement to the great relationship between the community and law enforcement. There are a variety of factors at play, but the way people work together is a big part of it, said Wahl.

As for auto thefts, he encourages the use of anti-theft devices. Club and kill switches are extremely successful at deterring people from trying to steal your car, said Wahl.

The average thief wants to get in and get out, so they will go to another car instead.

The mayor and police chief in Hartford are condemning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who they said posed as police officers to try to detain an undocumented woman earlier this month.

Mayor Luke Bronin and Chief James Rovella said ICE agents attempted to lure a an undocumented woman to the city's public safety complex building on March 12 so they could detain her.

Bronin said two ICE agents arrived in the lobby with "no visible indication of their affiliation with ICE." The agents were wearing clothing that said "POLICE" on it, appearing to try to "create the impression that they were, in fact, local police."

"When FBI shows up, their apparel says FBI, when DEA shows up, it says DEA," Bronin said in a statement. "In this case, you have ICE agents that say police and there is no visible identification." 

Bronin said that if immigration officials had a "very good reason" to detain the woman they should work with city's police department, which would be willing to partner with them to keep the community safe.

However, Chief Rovella noted, it is misleading when ICE agents identify themselves as police and can damage the relationship that local officers have with the community.

“To protect our community, our police and other public safety officers need to foster a relationship of trust with all of our residents,” Bronin added. “Our police officers have worked hard to build that trust, and for ICE agents to present themselves as local police will undermine the hard work our department has done.”

The woman did not show up to meet the immigration officials and it is not clear what happened to her.

Immigration officials have employed similar tactics in California, The Los Angeles Times reported. In an exchanges captured on video and released by ICE, an immigration official in Los Angeles is seen knocking on a door and identifying himself as a police officer conducting an investigation.

In another incident, according to The Times, an undocumented father was detained near his daughter's school in Highland Park minutes after dropping her off. Cell phone video of Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez's arrest by ICE agents wearing jackets that said "POLICE" was widely-shared on social media and prompted city leaders to pen a letter to the directors of the immigration services urging "in the strongest possible terms that ICE immediately cease this practice in our city."

The letter, cosigned by Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Atty. Mike Feuer and City Council President Herb Wesson, mirrored concerns raised by Rovelle and Bronin. The officials said the practice undermines decades of work by the Los Angeles Police Department to build trust within the city’s large immigrant community so that those in the country illegally can report crimes and offer information to police without fear of deportation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice defended the agency's approach in a statement to the Times, saying ICE agents can, "as a standard practice … initially identify themselves as 'police' during an encounter because it is the universally recognized term for law enforcement and our personnel routinely interact with individuals from around the world."

A spokesman for Connecticut Immigrant Rights Alliance said the group feared actions like this after President Donald Trump, whose administration has vowed to crack down on immigration, took office.

In a statement Monday, CIRA accused ICE of employing “deceptive tactics for a long time, ripping families apart at front door steps, or while paying for traffic tickets at courthouses, or anyplace anyone would otherwise consider a safe environment.”

“But impersonating a police officer in order to detain and deport an undocumented immigrant is a new low, even for ICE. These attacks on our communities sow distrust, confusion and chaos. These are terror tactics, plain and simple,” CIRA said.

The organization is calling for the state to strengthening the Connecticut Trust Act, which they said would provide some protections for undocumented residents. 

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have not responded to requests for NBC Connecticut's request for comment.

Donald Trump's business, The Trump Organization, is in violation of New York City law, NBC News reported.

Trump Tower at 725 Fifth Avenue, where President Trump and first lady Melania live and where his two eldest sons work in offices, is not registered this year with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development, a spokeswoman for the department confirmed on Tuesday.

Property owners of certain residential buildings are required by law to register annually by Sept. 1, but Trump Tower’s registration expired in 2016 and The Trump Organization never renewed it.

Failing to register can result in a fine of up to $500, and revokes some of the rights usually enjoyed by property owners. Calls and messages to a spokeswoman for The Trump Organization were not immediately returned to NBC News.

A San Diego-based U.S. Marine was robbed of personalized military uniforms worth thousands of dollars while passing through Memphis, Tennessee, including one he was going to wear for a special ceremony.

Officer Roy Hundley was headed to Quantico, Virginia, after leaving San Diego. On the night of March 16, he stopped in Memphis at Central Barbecue on Summer Avenue. As he ate, his military uniforms were stolen from his truck which was parked outside the restaurant.

"All of my uniforms were stolen. All of my service uniforms with all the jewelry -- the ranking with the little gold bars, the eagle globe and anchor, which is our symbol that we have that signifies the Marine Corps," said Hundley.

He said the thieves broke through the side of his truck and took off with his Springfield X-P-40 handgun, his knife, laptop, radio and the expensive uniforms. The one he was going to wear Monday for a special ceremony was worth $600.

"I had to work over the last year of my life acquiring all these new uniforms that I need so I can wear the uniforms I need as a freshly commissioned officer to go to training," said Hundley.

Hundley filed a police report and asked whoever took all his military uniforms to please give them back, no questions asked.

His family has since posted a GoFundMe page which received more than double of its requested donation goal of $4,000.

"Thank you so very much for all of your generosity! The support is beyond what we ever imagined," said his family, in a statement.

"Since the goal has been reached there is no need to continue to donate. We are not looking to profit in any way from our misfortune! We will pay it forward as much as possible," said his wife, Amanda Hundley, in a post.

The family says they will donate whatever funds are left after replacing the uniforms to military-affiliated charities and for travel expenses for the extended amount of time Hundley is in the VA, according to the GoFundMe page.

A fight between two La Mesa roommates turned violent when one pulled out a gun and fired at the other, prompting a standoff, authorities said. 

The incident began at 10:46 p.m. Monday near Blackton and Massachusetts when La Mesa police and San Diego County Sheriff's deputies first responded to reports of shots fired. 

The two roommates were in a verbal argument when one fired in the direction of the other roommate, Sergeant Higgins said. 

Five roommates were in the home at the time; they managed to escape and call police soon after. 

When authorities arrived, they found the suspected shooter still inside the home. He was believed to have multiple guns inside. 

Initially, the man was uncooperative. However, he came out after 45 minutes. The standoff ended at 1:38 a.m. 

The man, who has not been identified, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. 

When authorities went inside, they found five rounds fired from an assault riffle. Police say the man shot randomly inside the home. 

No one was injured. 

No other information was available.

The License Plate Reader expansion project, which will cost over $1 million in its first year, was approved by the Carlsbad City Council last week.

It will add cameras to 14 intersections in Carlsbad.

In a presentation to the city council, a Carlsbad police captain said four patrol cars were equipped with license plate readers in 2011 and two remain in use.

You can watch the meeting here

Under the new program, the city will install the cameras on top of six patrol cars and on stationary traffic lights at 14 locations throughout Carlsbad.

The cameras look at license plates and check the information against a law-enforcement database.

It will be looking for hits about stolen vehicles, missing people and other police related cases.

According to Carlsbad police, the data collected will be deleted after one year unless it's needed for a criminal investigation.

Privacy rights advocates are concerned.

They say clear cut laws are needed, to show when the information can be used.

“If you put it at the entrances and exits to the city people are being tracked and if you had those in every city then that means you are being tracked wherever you go in the United States which I don't think is very American,” said Kellen Russoniello, with ACLU San Diego.

At the council meeting, Carlsbad Police Captain Mickey Williams said, “We understand the importance of striking the right balance between safety and privacy. It's an ongoing conversation we are having with the community, especially as technology becomes more advanced."

The use of stationary license plate readers, like those in Carlsbad, isn't common.

More typically they are attached to patrol cars.

NBC 7 Investigates found Agencies in San Diego County have been using those types of License Plate Readers to track a vehicle's location and movements on public roads and in parking lots since 2009. An NBC7 Investigates report last year, found the San Diego County Sheriff's Department had scanned more than 8 million license plates since March 2014.

Read full investigation here.

For a list of locations, click here.

Based on hotel rates, food and attractions, San Diego has been named among the top 10 travel destinations in the United States, according to a popular trip-planning website.

TripAdvisor released its list Tuesday of the Top 10 Travelers’ Choice Destinations in the U.S. and America’s Finest City came in at No. 8.

TripAdvisor compiled the list based on several factors: average nightly rates of hotels (based on prices for March 1 through Aug. 31, 2017); average roundtrip airfare rates (based on prices for March 1 through Aug. 31, 2017); least expensive month to visit based on the aforementioned factors; quantity and quality of TripAdvisor reviews for a city’s hotels, restaurants and attractions gathered over a 12-month period; traveler booking interest on TripAdvisor.

TripAdvisor says the average bookable hotel rate is $248 per night, while average airfare to San Diego is $406 per person. The least expensive month to visit San Diego is April, per the list.

The list says the top-rated tour in San Diego bookable via TripAdvisor is the Electric Bike Tour of La Jolla and Mount Soledad, which costs $99 per person.

"Laid-back California culture," the boardwalk, surfing communities, Mexican food and the Gaslamp Quarter are also listed as some of San Diego’s draws for visitors.

San Diego joins these other top-notch U.S. travel spots on the list:

1) New York City, New York
2) Maui, Hawaii
3) Island of Hawaii, Hawaii
4) Oahu, Hawaii
5) Las Vegas, Nevada
6) Orlando, Florida
7) Chicago, Illinois
9) San Francisco, California
10) Key West, Florida

The website also released a list of the top 25 travel destinations around the world. Bali, Indonesia, topped that list.

A 19-month-old toddler pulled from a pond in Mission Bay Park has died, the Medical Examiner's office confirmed. 

The young boy, identified as Farhan Salehi, was rescued from the bottom of a pond and hospitalized on March 12. The area is described as just south of the Paradise Point Resort & Spa, according to the Mission Bay Park website.

Lifeguards performed CPR on the toddler until medics arrived at Model Yacht Pond just after 6 p.m. that Sunday. He was taken to the hospital, where he died on March 15. 

The ME's office said the cause of death was drowning. His death was ruled an accident. 

The investigation into what happened is ongoing, Hernandez said.

A new 911 dispatch system may have caused confusion on that Sunday when a toddler needed rescue near Mission Bay Park, according to Sgt. Ed Harris, leader of the lifeguards union and former candidate for San Diego mayor.

Harris said a 911 call came in and firefighters were initially dispatched. One minute later, he said, another 911 call came and lifeguards were dispatched. Lifeguards arrived within two minutes, before firefighters according to Harris.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Brian Fennessy has said in the past the new system was put in partly to combat the high volume of unanswered 911 calls.

Authorities have said they are not sure arriving two minutes earlier would have changed anything in this particular case. 

A 10-month-old baby born with four legs and two spines is recovering well after undergoing a complex and risky medical procedure in Chicago, doctors say.

Young Dominique came to Chicago from the Ivory Coast in West Africa with an extremely rare parasitic conjoined twin.

Doctors say the bottom half of her not-fully-developed twins’ body was protruding from the infant’s neck and back.

“It’s very rare because it was attached at the back of her spine,” said Dr. John Ruge, a pediatric neurosurgeon. “It was as if the twin from the waist down had been attached to the back of Dominique’s neck and there was a pelvis and bladder and functional legs that moved and feet coming out the back of Dominique’s neck. This was very dangerous for Dominique.”

Ruge said the parasitic twin caused Dominique’s heart and lungs to do the work for two bodies and could have ultimately paralyzed her.

The child was brought to Chicago in February with the help of an organization called Children’s Medical Missions West and has been living with a host family while doctors at Advocate Children’s Hospital meticulously studied her case.

“It’s really hard to even put a number on how rare it is,” said Dr. Robert Kellogg.

Despite her condition, her host family said the child had a bubbly personality and was a “very happy baby” when she arrived in the U.S.

“If you can say love at first sight I think that’s true for us,” said Nancy Swabb, who has been caring for Dominique since her arrival.

The Swabbs said the decision to take in the child was made quickly, with Dominique arriving at their home about a week after they learned of her case.

“I saw a picture of Dominique with her extra limbs and one concern that we had before we met her was what can she wear?” Swabb said.

The family later learned Dominique had difficulties balancing and sitting up because of the added weight from the extra limbs.

After weeks of planning, on March 8, Dominique underwent a six-hour surgery that involved five surgeons and 50 clinicians.

“The surgery went very well,” said Kellogg. “There were no complications. We expect her to make a full recovery and live an essentially normal life from here on.”

Dominique continues to recover at her host family’s Edgebrook home. Doctors say once the recovery process is complete, the infant can return home to her family in Africa.

“She is about 2 pounds lighter and she sits up and she’s raising her hands and she reaches for things and she’s doing really well,” Swabb said.

Doctors said Dominique is now “essentially a normal baby” and are confident she can go on to live a healthy life.

“I think it is very unique but it was a unique child that brought us together,” Kellogg said.

A man suspected of driving under the influence was arrested Monday after he stole a medical transport van parked in front of a hospital in Hillcrest, taking off with two elderly patients still inside.

San Diego Police Department (SDPD) Sgt. Jordan Wells said the van – an American Medical Response (AMR) shuttle – was transporting three elderly patients. Just before 6:20 p.m., the driver of the van stopped at Scripps Mercy Hospital on 5th Avenue to drop off one of the patients.

While escorting the patient into the hospital, the driver left the van’s engine running.

Police said that’s when suspect Saeed Salmeron-Cervantes, 31, hopped into the driver’s seat of the van and took off. As the driver came back outside, he saw the suspect speeding away in the stolen van.

The driver called 911.

Using GPS, officers were able to locate the stolen van at 4th Avenue and Walnut Street, where Salmeron-Cervantes was trying to drop off the other two elderly patients.

Salmeron-Cervantes was arrested; the patients were not hurt, police said.

Salmeron-Cervantes was booked into jail on charges of stealing a vehicle, kidnapping and DUI. The investigation is ongoing; anyone with information on this case can call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Breast implants can cause a rare form of cancer that may have killed at least nine people, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday, NBC News reported.

The cancer is called anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) and the FDA is checking into more than 350 reports linking it with both silicone and saline breast implants.

ALCL, which is a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, can take about 10 years to develop on average after the implant first goes in and usually stays in the area right around the implant, World Health Organization researchers reported last year in the journal Blood. But it can break out and spread.

"All of the information to date suggests that women with breast implants have a very low but increased risk of developing ALCL compared to women who do not have breast implants," the FDA said in a statement.

President Donald Trump campaigned on the promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and replace it with "something terrific." Now, House Republicans are in danger of losing a vote on their health care bill, the American Health Care Act — a defeat that would cause setbacks for the party and for the president.

According to a tally by NBC News, as of Tuesday afternoon at least 25 Republicans have said they will vote against or are leaning toward voting against the bill. Voting is expected to occur Thursday.

Republican leadership has been busy trying to secure the 216 votes needed to pass the bill, which means they can lose the support of only 21 Republicans. After traveling to Capitol Hill Tuesday morning in an attempt to close the deal, Trump has invited about nine moderate, undecided Republicans to the White House Tuesday afternoon in another attempt at persuasion.

The first storm of the spring season is expected to roll into San Diego County late Tuesday night, bringing with it heavier rain and a chance of thunderstorms Wednesday.

NBC 7 meteorologist Jodi Kodesh said showers will begin to form over the county at around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. Tuesday. More light rain will roll in overnight.

This, she said, will lead to scattered showers Wednesday morning. By 11 a.m. Wednesday, Kodesh forecasts more intense rain, which is expected to last into the evening hours, with a chance of thunderstorms.

“Overnight Wednesday into Thursday, we still have a chance of showers,” Jodesh added. “We should dry out by Thursday afternoon.”

Kodesh said Friday will be dry, but cool. Another chance of rain returns Saturday.

Some San Diego residents were preparing for the storm Tuesday morning by conserving water. A few locals told NBC 7 they planned to turn off their sprinklers and collect the rainfall in buckets to later reuse the water.

NBC 7’s exclusive mobile radar truck, StormRanger 7, will be tracking the storm in San Diego Tuesday night and Wednesday. The one-of-a-kind vehicle has a live, high-powered radar that enables StormRanger 7 to track storms wherever they are with a higher degree of accuracy and more details than ever before.