After more than seven years in federal custody, the disgraced former San Diego Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham is now a free man.

The Vietnam War fighter ace – a Republican who represented California’s 50th Congressional District at the time -- was released from a halfway house in New Orleans Tuesday morning.

As his bribery scandal was metastasizing, prosecutors confided that even they were astonished at the level of Cunningham's corruption.

In November 2005, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy in a connection with a bribery scheme said to have netted him $2.4 million worth of mansions, cars, boats and travel and other gratuities from defense contractors to whom he helped steer $240 million in government work.

His resignation from Congress came a week later.

“The truth is, I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my office,” Cunningham told reporters in a tearful, downtown news conference on the day his pleas were entered. "I know that I will forfeit my freedom, my reputation, my worldly possessions and most importantly, the trust of my friends and family … in my life I have had great joy and great sorrow. And now I know great shame."

For all the remorse Cunningham expressed in that news conference and in federal court on his day of sentencing in March, 2006, from behind bars he recanted his confessions and claimed he was railroaded.

Prosecutors just shook their heads, saying such denials after the fact aren't uncommon.

"His fall from grace was so dramatic and precipitous,” recalls Asst. U.S. Atty. Phillip Halpern, a member of the prosecution team. “He was one of the most powerful congressmen at the time. And I think that's what really shocked people -- that somebody in that position would demonstrate the avarice that he did."

What was behind the pathological behavior?

"He absolutely had a sense of entitlement, and I think that goes back to his fighter pilot days,” says Dean Calbreath, who shared the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting as part of a Copley News Service and San Diego Union-Tribune team that broke the Cunningham scandal and drove the coverage that followed.

"We had anecdotes,” Calbreath related in an interview Tuesday, “that we didn't even put into our reporting, regarding people who came to him with projects that maybe could've helped the military. And he would ask them 'Well, what could I get out of this'?"

Ultimately, a poisoned legacy -- fair warning to Cunningham’s former colleagues, successors and the lobbyists who seek to influence them.

Says Halpern: "He will always serve as an object lesson for those who are thinking about transgressing and violating the law from positions of power."

Calbreath’s cautionary note: "Periodically you get these major crimes that come out of government and then suddenly everybody pulls back and says 'Hey, we've got to change things.' You know, eventually that pendulum's going to swing back."

Cunningham’s former defense attorney could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

According to published reports, Cunningham has – in letters from prison, most of that time spent in Tucson -- mentioned settling in Arkansas with his mother and brother or in Florida with former service buddies.

Cunningham, now 71, is in line for government pensions stemming from 21 years of service in the Navy and 15 years in Congress.

They supposedly can't be denied except for conviction on charges of perjury, treason or passing secrets to the enemy. But legal experts concede it's possible that prosecutors could challenge them or seek back taxes and penalties.
 

Law enforcement authorities quickly captured a seal spotted near the on-ramp from Mission Bay Drive to southbound Interstate 5 Wednesday.

San Diego police officers helped animal control wardens corner the wayward pinniped and scoop it up in a net just before 7 a.m. Watch video

Sea lions have been a common sight on roads and sidewalks along San Diego’s coast.

Last Wednesday, a pup that waddled right up to the bike path near York Court in Mission Beach was found to be a repeat offender. His tag was evident the sea lion had been rehabilitated before.

In April, one actually hopped into a parked car along Ingraham Street.

Hundreds of pups have stranded along the coastline in Southern California beginning in January.

The epidemic, which caused National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare an "unusual mortality event" earlier this month, has baffled scientists.

Check back for updates to this developing story.
 

A 10-year-old boy has died after being shot while playing with a gun, according to officials.

The incident happened around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday in the 10900 block of Ivy Hill Drive in Miramar Ranch North.

Police told NBC 7 the boy and a 9-year-old girl were playing with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. The gun fired, shooting him in the chest.

Paramedics took the 10-year-old to Rady Children’s Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Police are investigating.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
 

Last week, a Mormon mother of seven from Arizona was released from Mexican jail after being accused of trying to smuggle several pounds of marijuana on a bus. The drugs were taped beneath her seat, Mexican authorities said.

The episode raised the question of whether it's safe for Americans to travel in Mexico.

Could this happen to anyone visiting the drug war-ravaged nation?

Sergio Robleto, the founder of international security research firm Applied Facts, said Mexico is a hot spot and problems like this can be a real possibility.

Between possible legal problems and the threats of kidnapping and other crimes, Americans should research before they travel, Robleto said.

"Find out if in the city they're going to visit if there's been problems, you might want to switch to another part of the country," he said. "How are you dressed? Are you dressed like an American businessman? You've got money, you're a target, that's the way it goes."

He recommended against using public transportation. Americans, even ones who try to blend in, stick out, he said.

Travel experts recommend keeping careful track of your cash and knowing at all times how to reach the nearest U.S. Embassy.

"If we've got bad guys in the United States," Robleto said, "I can assure you there are bad guys in other countries."

San Diego bomb experts were called to Lindbergh Field for a suspicious device.

Someone working with the Airport Authority noticed a bag of potatoes with wires sticking out of it in a car.

The person called the San Diego Fire-Rescue Bomb Squad as a precaution.

Spokesperson Maurice Luque said the airport was not being evacuated and there were no flight delays. The bomb experts believe the device is a standard potato battery but are just checking the scene to be sure.
 

Major League Baseball may suspend as many as 20 professional baseball players for drug use and two members of the San Diego Padres are reportedly among them

ESPN and the U.S. Attorney's office in New York and MLB are investigating a Miami anti-aging clinic called Bio-genesis of America.

Among the 20-some names on the list of players involved in the investigation according to ESPN are Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal and shortstop Everth Cabrera.

Grandal just returned from a 50-game suspension imposed for having tested positive for excessive levels of testosterone.

ESPN has linked him and two other suspended players, Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon, to Biogenesis and its owner, Tony Bosch.

Bosch is reported to be under pressure from prosecutors to provide information about his clients and it appears his attorneys are hoping that his cooperation with the feds and MLB will lessen his consequences in the criminal justice system.

MLB imposes 100-game suspensions for players after a second positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.

On his return to the Padres, reporters tried to get Grandal to address the issues surrounding his suspension.

He did, in a roundabout way.

“You wanna stay healthy throughout the whole year. Injuries,” he said. “I don't want to say injuries have been a part of my career. Just so happens last two years I've got injuries a lot. So yeah, stay healthy."

Padres fans reserved judgment Wednesday but expressed frustration about an MLB drug culture won't seem to disappear.

NBC 7 San Diego has left messages with the Padres' media representatives. So far, no respone.

According to ESPN, other big names in the investigation that have come out include Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez.

Meatless Mondays will begin next fall for San Diego Unified elementary schools.

The school board approved a proposal Tuesday night officially removing meat from cafeteria menus one day a week.

The vote affects all San Diego Unified elementary and K-8 schools.

Trustee Scott Barnett disagreed with the blanket policy, especially for poorer students who depend on well-rounded nutrition at school.

“I cannot support this resolution. We need to do more analysis, more study. How are our kids going to be impacted by this?” he asked.

Barnett was clearly outnumbered on the board and in the room. The decision elicited cheers from an audience full of "Meatless Monday" devotees.

The non-vegetarians in the room were disappointed.

“I think they should still be able to choose meat on each day,” said opponent Heather Kinney.

Instead of meals offering meat, Monday’s menus should focus on plant-based foods instead. Some suggested menu ideas are vegetable lasagna, baked potatoes, grilled vegetable paninis or tofu and vegetable stir fry.

The Meatless Mondays campaign began 10 years ago with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has been adopted at a number of schools nationwide.

The idea behind the campaign is to help Americans cut 15% of their weekly saturated fat intake. Because the primary source of saturated fats are meats and dairy, the Monday Campaign suggests going “meatless” just one day a week to achieve that goal.

The school district says 28-percent of San Diego children are obese or overweight.

Larry Hansen, M.D. a professor at he UCSD School of Medicine told the board he sees the ravages of diseases first-hand.

Hansen said he could only think of 5 reasons to support the campaign, "Heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes and obesity all of which are linked to eating too much meat."

The proposal has stirred up a lot of discussion on the NBC 7 Facebook page.

Share your opinion by following NBC 7 on Facebook.

Chicago hospitals saw more homicides and victims of gun violence this year than car crash victims, an unusual proportion compared to previous years, new data shows.

Over Memorial Day weekend, a historically busy day for accident trauma, Loyola University Medical Center officials say no one was killed in car accidents, but instead six people were killed and at least 17 others were wounded in gun violence.

Last year, Chicago had 516 homicides, the most the city has seen since 2008.

Data released Wednesday by Loyola shows trauma centers are filling up with more victims of gun violence across the city and the trauma is placing an extra burden on hospitals.

“A number of resources are being taken up by people that have gunshot wounds,” said Dr. Tom Esposito, director of the division of trauma and surgical critical care and burn at Loyola University Medical Center. “It puts a greater strain on our ability to care for other patients that are having heart attacks or strokes or asthma attacks.”

Esposito said the hospital staff is prepared to handle injuries of all sorts but that they are spending increasing amounts of time taking care of patients whose wounds could have been prevented.

“All of these things are in fact preventable and controllable,” Esposito said.

Esposito estimated that 80 percent of trauma victims arrive due to blunt trauma, which ranges from falls, car accidents and head injuries. He said the other 20 percent is made up of penetrating injuries like stabbings and gun shots, which he attributes to be mostly from violent incidents.

Loyola is the only Level 1 Trauma Center in Illinois verified by the American College of Surgeons, and Esposito notes the economic impact violent injuries have is growing.

The hospital said the total costs for treating a gunshot victim can exceed $1 million, which includes charges for hospital services, supplies such as drugs, and hospital rooms and procedures.

“We’d like to see no money spent on injury care,” the hospital said in a press release.

“The cost of injury to an individual and their family is heartbreaking but the cost to public health is bank-breaking,” says Esposito, who has cared for trauma patients at Loyola for more than two decades.

The Chicago area, where Esposito is a trauma surgeon, continues to lead the country in gun violence, the hospital said.  

The man police said was behind two bank robberies in Connecticut and two bomb scares on Tuesday referred to himself as the “polite bandit” in hold-up notes, according to court records. 

Police began investigating just before 2:30 p.m., when a hold-up alarm went off at First Niagara Bank, in Hamden, Conn., at 1248 Dixwell Ave. While responding to that call, a man matching the robber’s description was seen walking toward Webster Bank, at 5 Helen Street. 

Police soon learned that that bank too was robbed and identified Robert Raymond, 67, of Hamden, as a suspect and took him into custody.

A bank teller at Webster Bank told police that “an older gentleman” walked up to the counter and handed her a note during the robbery.

“This is what I want you to do,” the note said, according to police, and it referenced a bank robbery.
It went on to say that the robber had a cell phone is in his pocket that controlled a bomb and told the teller not to activate alarms.

“Please give me any money you can,” the note said. It was signed “the polite bandit.”

The clerk handed over about $2,000 in cash and a dye pack. The robber took the bag and said “thank you,” the teller told police.

When police took Raymond into custody outside of Webster Bank, he indicated that there was a bomb in the bag he dropped during the arrest, police said.

Raymond also mentioned another device he planted at the Federal Courthouse on Orange Street in New Haven, according to police.  

The bomb squad detonated the bomb and found a box marked “detonator” and “contains C4.”  Inside was a cell phone, fertilizer and money stolen during a bank robbery, police said.

Raymond later told police that knew he was going to get caught, according to the incident report, and admitted to making a fake bomb in his basement.

He told investigators that his girlfriend duped him out of a large sum of money and he committed the robberies because he was desperate, police said.

During the investigation, police learned that Raymond and his girlfriend might have been staying at the America Best Value Inn in Branford, Conn. Branford Police, State Police and the FBI evacuated the inn, investigated and found no bomb-making materials.

Raymond was charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree larceny and first-degree breach of peace. He was held on $500,000 bond and is due in court on June 18.

 

 
 

A big victory came in federal court today for 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan, a dying girl in need of a lung transplant.

This afternoon, Judge Michael Baylson granted the Murnaghan family's request for a temporary restraining order, telling the Secretary of Health and Human Services to cease application of the "Under 12" rule when it comes to Sarah.

The 10-year-old Newtown Square, Pa. girl has been hospitalized at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia for three months with end-stage cystic fibrosis.

Video shows Sarah celebrating from her hospital bed, waving her hands in the air, after hearing the news about judge's decision.

The temporary restraining order will last for 10 days. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for June 14.

"For us, this means that for the next 10 days, Sarah’s placement in the queue for adult lungs will be based on the severity of her illness, and she will not be penalized for her age," the Murnaghan family said in a statement. "We are experiencing many emotions: relief, happiness, gratitude and, for the first time in months: hope."

Earlier today, Sarah's parents filed the emergency motion, in an effort to prevent Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius from enforcing a policy that prevents children under the age of 12 from getting a lung transplant from an adult donor until after adults in need.

“We will not stand by and let Sarah die and we have filed in federal court for an immediate injunction to do what Secretary Sebelius will not: give Sarah and other children in her position a fair chance at life," said Janet Murnaghan, Sarah's mother.

Yesterday, Secretary Sebelius spoke about Sarah's case before a congressional committee, saying she can't intervene in transplant decisions.

Sebelius says those decisions should be made by medical experts and mentioned there are three other children at Children's Hospital who are just as sick.

The judge said in court today that he would consider a temporary restraining order for any other child in similar circumstances in the same judicial district, who bring their case to court.

Tropical Storm Andrea formed in the east-central Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and was producing heavy rain along Florida's west coast, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

At 11 p.m., the center of the Atlantic season's first named storm was located about 270 miles west-southwest of Tampa and 270 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, the National Hurricane Center said.

It was moving at about 6 mph with maximum sustained winds remaining near 40 mph. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 140 miles.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the west coast of Florida from Boca Grande to Ochlocknee River. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Flagler Beach to Surf City, N.C.

The hurricane center said a turn toward the northeast and an increase in forward speed are expected overnight and Thursday, and the storm was expected to speed up some more Thursday night and Friday.

• Check out the NBC 6 South Florida Interactive Radar

The center of the storm is expected to reach Florida's Big Bend on Thursday evening. It will then move from southeastern Georgia across southeastern South Carolina and eastern North Carolina on Thursday night and Friday.

The storm was not expected to directly impact South Florida, but scattered showers and occasional thunderstorms were possible.

• VIDEO: Remembering Hurricane Andrew

There is a 70 percent chance of rain in South Florida on Thursday, when the high temperature will be 85.

Andrea is expected to deliver between 3 and 6 inches of rain over much of the Florida peninsula, eastern parts of the Florida Panhandle and southeastern Georgia, with up to 8 inches possible in some spots, the National Hurricane Center said.

More South Florida Weather Content:

• Interactive Radar and Maps
• Weather Stories
• Complete Weather Coverage

A 1,300-pound shark caught Tuesday morning off the coast in Los Angeles may end up becoming a world record.

The shark was caught by a sport fisherman as part of the Outdoor Channel's Reality TV show "Jim Shockey's The Professionals".

The man who caught it said it was a two-and-a -half hour battle.

"It made the scariest sound I've ever heard-that things a beast!" says Jason Johnson of Mesquite, Texas.

Not a beast, says David McGuire the director of Shark Stewards, based in Sausalito.

"The females come to Los Angeles to give birth, it takes 15 to 18 years to get big enough to do that and it's three years in between pregnancies."

Maguire says that sharks are at the top of the food chain in the ocean and when their populations decrease, it impacts all the creatures below them.

It may be a sport to some, but to McGuire and Shark Stewards, pictures of the Mako hanging dead on a hook made for an outrageous sight.

"I think it's juvenile - I mean get over it," he said. "Are you going to kill the last lion so you can hang the head on your wall? You think this is an example of manhood? I don't think so. Why don't you go swimming with sharks and see what it's like."

A 17-year-old pedestrian was hit by a car and seriously injured in San Diego’s Lincoln Park area on Wednesday afternoon.

Police say the teenager was struck just after 3 p.m. at South 47th Street and Franklin Avenue.

Investigators say the teen stepped into the street in front of a car that was slowing down and then walked into the path of an SUV in another lane.

The side mirror of the SUV struck the teen, knocking him to the ground, police said.

The teen was transported to Rady Children’s Hospital with serious head trauma.

The 40-year-old driver of the car remained at the scene and cooperated with authorities. The driver was not injured, and police say alcohol did not play a factor in the collision.

The investigation is ongoing. Check back for updates.
 

An unusual high-speed motorcycle chase across two counties and three freeways ended Wednesday afternoon with the driver in the dirt and in custody.

Traveling at speeds up to 90 mph along mostly clear freeways, the motorcyclist drove erratically, gesturing obscenely toward officers and motioning his hands as if to summon them on.

The chase flew along the 210, 134 and 170 freeways as the driver weaved through traffic and narrowly missed other cars.

The driver appeared to flip off the pursuing officers with his middle finger. Earlier in the chase, the driver tossed his gloves in the carpool lane, was seen standing on his motorcycle and punching other cars.

Several times, the motorcyclist lifted his hands from the controls, shaking his arms.

While traveling along the 170 Freeway in the Burbank area, the driver transitioned onto what would become an all-dirt road.

He continued speeding through the barren construction zone before he hit a patch of  dirt that appeared too slow him down. The driver jumped off his motorcycle and slumped into the dirt.

A pair of CHP officers approached him, guns drawn. One the officers kicked the driver in the back to force him to lay face down in the dirt. They then handcuffed him.

California Highway Patrol was tipped off to the chase about 3:30 p.m. Officers from the Inland Empire began the pursuit, CHP Officer Vince Ramirez said.

Ramirez said the driver was wanted on suspicion of reckless driving.

More Southern California Stories:

• Driver in Infamous U-Haul Pursuit Turns Life Around
• 1,300-Pound Shark Caught Off of LA Coast
• Three Bears Enjoy Garbage Day Buffet
• Caught on Camera: Masked Man Holds Up Bank at Gunpoint

A California teen who has overcome a lifetime of hardships received nearly $3 million from nine elite universities bidding to have him as part of their freshman class in the fall.

Lloyd Chen, 17, received full scholarships to Harvard, Yale, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego and UC Davis.

All the schools to which he applied wanted him. He chose Harvard, the Cambridge, Mass., university with a 6 percent acceptance rate and Chen's dream school since he was young.

Chen graduated May 30 with a 4.79 GPA. He was the valedictorian of Laguna Creek High School’s class of 2013.

"It is your choice to have a fulfilling life as it puts the burden on you, but it also gives you the power to do something about it," Chen told his peers during his graduation speech. "So do it."

Chen’s achievements are unique for any teenager, and become even more impressive in the context of his upbringing.

“I never felt like I had hardships until senior year when I reflected on my whole life and tried to figure out my life story,” Chen told NBC-affiliate KCRA.

Chen grew up in dire poverty. His father left Chen’s mother, two sisters and a 1-year-old Lloyd penniless, shortly after his parents emigrated from South Korea to the U.S.

His mother suffers from an autoimmune deficiency that makes her unable to work. For the past couple years, Chen assumed the role of her caretaker after his older sisters moved away to attend college. The family lives in a small apartment paid for, in part, by federal subsidies.

“I’ve never met anyone who’s had so many things going against them, who’s risen above them all,” said Alycia Sato, Chen’s high school counselor.

Chen transferred to Laguna Creek High School during his sophomore year. He was attending a school some 20 miles away because of its intensive baccalaureate program, but the drive was wearing on his mother, who often waited at the school because she was short on gas money to go home.

He transferred to the closer Laguna Creek High School in Elk Grove when the school started its own baccalaureate program.

Sato met with Chen every two weeks and in that time, came to know a boy who seemed very mature for his age. But the 17-year-old only shared the details of his personal story with Sato his senior year, because he was unsure if he should include it in his college applications, Sato said.

“He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him or give him anything based on pity," she said.

Sato said the teen’s most remarkable quality is his humility. He’s top of his class, but will always lend a hand to a peer who is struggling and is quick to credit his family and every educator who has been involved in his life for any success he has achieved.

When Chen received his early acceptance letter to Harvard, he emailed Sato a message: “This is our success.”

After Harvard, Chen plans to earn a masters degree. And he won’t have to pay a dime.

He was awarded the Gates Millennium Scholarship, which promises to pay his tuition, room and board, and book fees through graduate school.

Chen plans to use some of the Gates scholarship funds to cover any costs Harvard won’t, that way he won’t have to get a job when he moves to Cambridge in the fall.

He wants to “figure out why we do what we do,” Sato said. He’s expressed interest in studying economics, psychology and maybe engineering.

In her decade as a counselor, Sato said she’s never met a student like Chen.

“He’s at the top of the heap, definitely,” she said. “I’ve never met anyone who matches him.”

More Southern California Stories:

• Motorcycle Chase Ends in Construction Zone
• 1,300-Pound Shark Caught Off of LA Coast
• Three Bears Enjoy Garbage Day Buffet
• Caught on Camera: Masked Man Holds Up Bank at Gunpoint

Tropical Storm conditions from Andrea were beginning to move onshore to Florida's west coast on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

As of 11 a.m., Andrea had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph as it moved north-northeast at 15 mph about 110 miles west of Tampa and 110 miles south of Apalachicola.

Meanwhile, a tornado watch was extended for South Florida and other parts of the state until 10 p.m.

The National Weather Service said three probable tornadoes touched down in South Florida on Thursday. At 3:20 a.m. a possible tornado damaged powerlines in Belle Glade. At 6:45 a.m. another in the Acreage injured one person and damaged homes and powerlines. The final one at 8:10 in Broward County, northwest of State Road 27, didn't cause any damage.

A team is going to survey the aftermath of the storm in the Acreage, which caused the most damages.

• Hear residents recount the moments during the storms

The weather service said the rain in South Florida, which is at 70 percent chance of rain for the next few days, is a from a rain band extending out from Andrea.

Andrea isn't expected to strengthen before its center reaches the Florida coast later Thursday, the hurricane center said. An increase in forward speed and a turn toward the northeast are expected.

• Hurricane Season: Special Coverage

Andrea will reach the coast of the Florida Big Bend area then move across southeastern Georgia, southeastern South Carolina and eastern North Carolina by Friday, the hurricane center said.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the west coast of Florida from Boca Grande to Indian Pass, Flagler Beach to Cape Charles Light in Virginia, Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds and the lower Chesapeake Bay south of New Point Comfort.

• Download NBC 6 South Florida Weather Apps

Andrea is expected to deliver between 3 and 6 inches of rain over much of the Florida peninsula, eastern parts of the Florida Panhandle and southeastern Georgia, with up to 8 inches possible in some spots.

Andrea, which became the first named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season Wednesday, was not expected to directly impact South Florida, though scattered showers and occasional thunderstorms were possible throughout Thursday.

As the storms track northeast, the weather in South Florida will steadily improve.

More Weather Content:

• Interactive Radar and Maps
• Weather Stories
• Complete Weather Coverage

As rescue crews continue to search underneath the rubble of a collapsed building in downtown Philadelphia that killed six people and injured more than a dozen others, new details are emerging about the contractor and crane operator who were hired to demolish the building.

The 4-story building, located on 2136-2138 Market Street, is owned by the STB Investments Corporation. STB paid $385,894 for the nearly 4,200-square-foot property in 1994. The company Griffin-Campbell Construction was doing demolition work on the property.

While contractor Griffin Campbell, 49, had a valid license, court records also show that he has a criminal record and pleaded guilty to theft and insurance fraud back in 2009. 

Records also show that Campbell filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection back in March and owes thousands in unpaid city business taxes as well as state and federal taxes.

The crane operator who was onsite Wednesday morning before the collapse has a criminal record as well, sources close to the investigation, who did not want to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case, told NBC10’s Nefertiti Jaquez.

The address listed for Campbell's construction company was a North Philadelphia home. When NBC10 asked to speak with Campbell an unidentified woman offered a no comment response.

“He’s got no comment. He’s sorry for everything that happened, but no comment,” she said.

According to the sources, the operator, Sean Benschop, is a convicted felon who reports himself as “self-employed” and is currently being questioned by police about what happened prior to the deadly collapse.

No one has been charged in connection to Wednesday's collapse as the investigation continues.

South Pasadena, Calif., police are looking Wednesday for several young skaters, including one who assaulted a janitor at a middle school during a confrontation between the pair that was documented in a video posted to YouTube.

Parents were advised of the incident in an email from the South Pasadena Unified School District on Wednesday.

The school said custodian Lupe Garcia was hospitalized overnight with a broken nose and fractured cheek bone after the Tuesday assault, which came after he pushed one of the skaters.

“Three teen-age boys, who appeared to be of high school age, were skateboarding on the Oak Street side of the middle school campus,” the email to parents states. “Words were exchanged; a physical altercation occurred.”

One of the skaters posted video on YouTube of the incident, which shows Garcia talking heatedly with a skater who later pushes him into some bushes and then hits him. The video had been made private and then public again repeatedly on Wednesday.

Garcia had been telling the young men not to skate on campus, the district said. The video shows him speaking into a walkie-talkie as at least five skateboarders appear on campus.

"Get out of here, man," Garcia can be heard to say.

With one hand, Garcia then pushes one of the young men, who appears to get confrontational. The person recording video warns Garcia that he's being filmed and states "you pushed him first."

Then Garcia and the skater, clad in a gray and blue shirt, begin to push each other after Garcia chest-bumps him.

"Come on," Garcia said, appearing to initiate the fight.

The young skater pushes Garcia into a row of hedges then onto the concrete ground, where he appears to be punching the custodian off-camera.

The trespassing skaters then run off and the video ends.

"It appears the custodian was the aggressor," South Pasadena police Cpl. Matthew Ronnie told NBC4.

"We haven't had an opportunity to interview the juveniles to get their side of the story," Ronnie said. "We haven't re-interviewed the custodian. It's an ongoing investigation and we want to be fair and impartial."

"We're continuing to investigate, and need to talk to the teenager involved, but what we're seeing on the video is different than initial reports,'' Det. Sgt. Robert Bartl told the Patch.

The school district's email to parents said Garcia was released from the hospital Wednesday.

"Mr. Garcia suffered injuries to his head, face and other parts of the body. He was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital, where he spent the night," and the email stated. "He is in good spirits, hoping to return to work soon."

Additional police officers were placed at the campus of South Pasadena Middle School, where the altercation occurred, according to district spokesman Joel Shapiro.

The district is working with police to find the skaters, Shapiro told NBC4.

School Principal David Kubela said the young men do not seem to be from South Pasadena, a largely affluent city of about 26,000

"We would recognized them. We're a small town," Kubela said.

The district is building a fence around the perimeter of South Pasadena Middle School this summer, the email to parents states.

A 17-year-old high school senior was found shot dead inside her bedroom in East Orange, N.J., and police are looking for her 18-year-old boyfriend, authorities said.

Aquilla Flood was found by a relative just before 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Prosecutors in Essex County said police are searching for Almuqqadin Means, 18, in connection with the killing.

Friends who went to school with Flood told NBC 4 New York the two were dating.

Flood was a student at Campus High School in East Orange, where she was to attend senior prom next week. Finals were canceled at the school after administrators learned of her death.

Friends were stunned by the girl's violent death and said Flood was a popular student with aspirations of attending the Fashion Institute of Technology.

"She was the best person you could ever meet," friend Jadaisha Richardson said at a vigil for Flood Wednesday night. 

"She was a sweet girl. She will truly be missed," said Flood's aunt Naimah Hicks. "My heart is totally broken." 

Families paying $7,000 a week for a summer rental in East Hampton were secretly videotaped on cameras set up by the home's owner throughout the house, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The landlord, Donald Torr, 69, appeared in Suffolk Criminal Court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of unlawful surveillance and endangering the welfare of children.

Torr was arrested last month at his primary home in Florida. His wife and two children watched the court proceedings but offered no comment.

"This defendant secretly videotaped 13 adults, as well as nine children, without their permission and without their knowledge," said Suffolk County prosecutor John Cortes.

According to Cortes, at least seven cameras were hidden in bedrooms and even a shower, capturing much of the activities involving the adults and children renting the home during two separate weeks last August.

Hundreds of hours of video were recorded and have been recovered, prosecutors said. In addition, a router and modem in the home's basement allowed Torr to view the cameras on the internet.

"He was taking their money and invading their privacy at the same time," Cortes said. The prosecutor refused comment when asked about Torr's potential motive.

Torr's lawyer, Bruce Barket, insisted his client had done nothing wrong.

"It was not at all about spying on people," Barket claimed. The cameras, he said, were placed to ensure that the home was not vandalized when it was vacant. When tenants were inside the home, Barket said, the cameras were turned off.

"Torr was not watching individuals while they were in the house," Barket added.

One of the adults renting the home discovered the hidden cameras, prompting a police investigation, prosecutors said. Others may have been victimized, said Cortes, who asked those potential victims to come forward.

One of the families allegedly victimized last August has filed a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit against Torr in federal court. The family has not been named and their lawyer refused comment Wednesday.

A Suffolk judge ordered Torr held on $100,000 bail. According to Barket, his client would make bail by week's end.