Students at UCLA have been told to evacuate to Drake Stadium due to a bomb threat Wednesday night.
Residents at several residence halls have been evacuated after a bomb threat was reported at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, according to the college in Westwood.
UCLA officials requested that residents remain indoors unless otherwise instructed and to avoid the area until further notice.
While a video showing a police K-9 latched onto a handcuffed suspect is drawing criticism from many, police say the dog did what it was trained to do.
San Diego police (SDPD) responded to complaints of a man screaming, jumping on cars and acting out violently last Sunday on India and A streets in Downtown San Diego.
According to police, Jeremai Northard allegedly threatened the responding officer, who deployed a K-9 to get him on the ground so the officer could put Northard in handcuffs.
But a video appears to show, even after Northard was handcuffed, the dog did let go of Northard.
"Is he going to rip his arm off? What is going to happen to the guy?" said Angel Nunez, who filmed the arrest.
Nunez told NBC 7, he believes the duration of the dog bite was excessive.
"Why can't you get the dog off? If you can give him the simple command to attack, why can't you give him a command to release?" Nunez said.
Police said the dog was used because Northard refused to get on the ground and threatened an officer.
"The dog did exactly what he was trained to do. It's a bite and hold technique which minimizes the amount of injury that can be inflicted," SDPD Lt. Scott Wahl said.
Police demonstrated the technique used on Northard in which the officer was able to get the dog to release his arm in seven seconds.
It appears from Nunez's video, it took more than 34 seconds after Northard was handcuffed for the K-9 to release him.
In a phone interview, use-of-force expert Edward Obayashi told NBC 7, the lingering bite should be investigated.
"It's ignoring the force or the hold itself may be improperly applied," Obayashi said.
His aunt told NBC 7, Northard was a basketball standout and Hoover High School graduate. But he has lived on the streets since.
"He has a history of mental health issues. He's been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. So yeah, if you're living out in the street, how do we expect one to act?" Sandra Northard said.
San Diego police said K-9s are highly trained and invaluable to the mission of protecting the community.
But some are questioning the practice after this incident.
Northard is being treated for his injuries at Alvarado Hospital
His aunt said he was charged with resisting arrest, vandalism, and theft.
Police did not indicate whether the incident is prompting a use of force internal investigation. At this point, there has been no formal complaint filed against the responding officer.
The survivors of a 1940 roundup of Romanian Jews called are finally being given access to pensions under an agreement negotiated with Germany, NBC News reported.
Around 15,000 people died in the Iasi Pogrom, which was planned by Romanian and German officials.
Survivor George Herscu, 90, was 13 at the time. He escaped death by hiding in a cornfield, but his father didn't survive. He told NBC News that "justice is done" for the "barbaric way" his father died on a transport train.
Germany refused to compensate the Iasi survivors for years in the same way it compensates other survivors. But now the Iasi survivors who meet the criteria will receive pensions of about $400 a month and are eligible for more home car services.
Their 68-acre farm about four miles outside New Hope in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, cost a cool $5.4 million in September 2005. But Antonio and Sandra DiNardo, whose fortune stems from trucking and concrete, weren’t done adding to their estate. Less than a year later, the couple bought an adjacent property with a farmhouse built in 1821, according to county property records.
In December 2008, they bought another couple of adjacent acres for $500,000 to complete a massive property along Lower York Road, which has become the center of a search for four missing young men and garnered national attention with the DiNardos' son named a person of interest in the case.
Dozens of local police and FBI agents scoured the family's farm for two days, using backhoes and other earth-moving equipment in what the county district attorney on Wednesday called the county's biggest search in recent history.
Cosmo DiNardo, 20, the son of Antonio and Sandra, was ordered held on $5 million cash bail for allegedly being in possession of a car belonging to one of the missing men. The new arrest on Wednesday came a day after his family posted $100,000 bond to free the young man after he was initially held on gun charges while District Attorney Matt Weintraub described him as a person of interest in the confounding case.
According to an affidavit obtained by NBC10, DiNardo was accused of possessing a 20-gauge shotgun and ammunition in February despite being barred from owning a firearm due to a history of mental illness that included an involuntary commitment. A district judge dismissed the charge in May, but the district attorney had authorized for it to be refiled on Monday.
Prosecutors said at his arraignment on Wednesday that DiNardo was dangerous, though his lawyers argued that he was being shamed for struggles with mental-health, Philly.com reported.
DiNiardo's attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., had no comment to reporters as he arrived at court on Thursday morning.
Mark Sturgis, 22, of Pennsburg, Montgomery County, 21-year-old Thomas Meo, of Plumstead Township; Dean Finocchiaro, 19, of Middletown Township and Jimi Tar Patrick, 21, of Newtown Township all vanished last week. Weintraub said the four and DiNardo all apparently knew each other.
"I don't understand the science behind it, but those dogs could smell these poor boys 12-and-a-half-feet below the ground," Weintraub said during a midnight press conference.
How exactly Cosmo DiNardo came to be the focus of the investigation and why his parents’ farm was in law enforcement’s cross hairs remained shrouded in mystery.
What is known is that the young man comes from a family that has built a fortune on real estate in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Bucks counties. His grandfather, also named Cosmo DiNardo, owned several properties, with property records dating back to the 1970s showing a mix of residential and commercial rental properties.
The diverse holdings include a property leased to a behavioral health non-profit on Adams Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia that brings in as much as $32,000 a month, and a multi-unit apartment house on West Avenue in Jenkintown.
The elder Cosmo DiNardo died in 1997 at the age of 55. He lived with his wife on Mayfield Avenue in Elkins Park since 1974. It’s not clear how he got his start — or the initial capital required — to begin buying real estate.
But his next purchase was the house on Wayland Circle in Bensalem where his grandson was twice arrested this week. Antonio and Sandra DiNardo continue to use that suburban home as the base for their real estate and business holdings.
Between 1979 and 1989, Cosmo DiNardo bought three commercial properties and the Jenkintown apartment house.
The first purchase was a strip of storefronts at 1016 Cottman Avenue for $67,500 in 1979, which was sold in 2004 by his son Antonio for $425,000.
The next was 3159 Summerdale Avenue, bought for an unknown amount in 1981.
A third commercial property, bought in 1986 for $95,000, is 10 Shady Lane in Rockledge, Montgomery County. It’s currently rented to a dentist.
As his son came of age, Cosmo and Antonio DiNardo shared one real estate deal before Antonio eventually took over. The elder Cosmo and Antonio DiNardo purchased a Philadelphia house on Longmead Lane for $50,000 in early 1989 and flipped it two years later for $210,000.
In the late 1990s and 2000s, Antonio DiNardo purchased four more properties, two in Philadelphia and two in Bensalem. In 1998, DiNardo bought 4455-65 Castor Avenue for $94,000. It is home to the family concrete business called Metro Ready Mix and Supply.
The other property on Adams Avenue, purchased for $140,000 in 2001, is leased through 2032, according to property records, to a health care non-profit called The Bridge.
One of the Bensalem properties, 3636-3649 Hulmeville Road, which was bought in 2004 for $450,000, is home to the family’s other business, Bella Trucking.
By later that year, the DiNardos began collecting the farmland outside New Hope that would become the scene for the evolving mystery surrounding four missing men and a son who now sits inside Bucks County Jail.
As investigators converged on the family's estate, the DiNardos have remained tight-lipped.
But the family's attorney, Perri Jr. released a statement Wednesday on behalf of Antonio and Sandra DiNardo expressing sympathy for the families of the missing and asserting their cooperation in the investigation.
"As parents, Mr. and Mrs. DiNardo sympathize with the parents and families of the missing young men and they are cooperating in every way possible with the investigation being conducted by law enforcement," the lawyer wrote hours before the discovery of human remains on their property.
At the new Ibn-Rushd-Goethe mosque inside a Protestant church in Berlin, 20 to 30 liberal followers regularly practice what they call "modern Islam," NBC News reported.
Gay and lesbian Muslims are welcome, along with all schools of the religion. Women can participate without covering themselves with a hijab, burqa or niqab, and they can pray side-by-side with men.
Human rights lawyer Seyran Ates founded the mosque as a "place for all those people who do not meet the rules and regulations of conservative Muslims," where the Quran is read in a "critical historic context," she said.
While Ibn-Rushd-Goethe has drawn strong criticism from leaders in Turkey and Egypt as well as death threats to Ates, she said that the mosque — including its several refugee followers — sends a signal in the fight against Islamic terror.
Affordable housing in the San Diego area is a problem that doesn’t seem to be improving, and today, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, along with community and business leaders, will gather to address the issue.
According to a new report from the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS, the area is expected to produce only half of the units needed to accommodate the population growth, by 2020.
The report also found only four of the 18 cities in San Diego county are building enough units to meet affordable housing needs; those cities are Coronado, Lemon Grove, San Marcos, and Vista.
Thursday morning at 9 a.m., Mayor Faulconer will take part in a panel discussion to go over the findings of that report.
It will take place at the offices of Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS on 4845 Ronson Court.
Firefighters have gained the upper hand on a fast-moving 400-acre brush fire that prompted evacuations and closed a highway Tuesday afternoon in San Diego County.
The Jennings Fire is now 90 percent surrounded, Cal Fire officials said Thursday.
The fire sparked along I-8 and produced a massive amount of smoke above the East County.
At least five homes were threatened at one point and I-8 was closed in both directions for hours, causing a headache for commuters.
On Wednesday, two firefighters were transported to a hospital for evaluation. A third was evaluated at the scene. No details were given on their conditions.
Investigators found a piece from a car's exhaust system that they say was responsible for starting the fire where I-8 meets Highway 80.
Are you and your family prepared for a brush fire?
County officials advise residents to download the free emergency smartphone application SDEmergency and follow three key steps.
GET READY: Do your 100-foot defensible space in advance
GET SET: Have an emergency plan. Pack your car when Santa Anas arrive.
GO: When told to leave, leave.
For updated information on the fire, you can also call 211.
Investigators were looking for a man who beat a father with a baton in a fit of road rage Wednesday morning in Orange County.
Daniel Christensen, 36, of Buena Park, was on his morning commute in Stanton when another driver got angry at him for rear-ending his car.
"He stated, you hit my car," Christensen told NBC4. "Whoop! Pulls out the baton...bam, just starts hitting me."
At 7 a.m., the two drivers were traveling southbound on Beach Boulevard between Chapman and Lampson avenues when a BMW 550 cut off Christensen in his blue Honda Element, according to Lt. Lane Lagaret of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Christensen honked and refused to pull over when the other driver told him to, Lagaret said. The driver pulled in front and slammed on his brakes, causing Christensen to rear-end his BMW.
The man then got out of his car and started beating Christensen with a baton, or a pipe-like object, Lagaret said.
"This was all in the middle of Beach Boulevard," said Christensen, who had bumps, bruises and had to get stitches after the attack.
Surveillance cameras show Christensen's Honda pulling into a nearby gas station to get help.
Christensen's injuries ended up being non-life threatening. He could only think about his 6-year-old daughter.
"She's the only reason in my head why I didn't do anything," he said. "I'm not afraid to fight the guy, but what's the point? Violence begets violence. That's all it does. It solves nothing."
Police have only a vague description of the attacker, but they are searching for the black BMW.
"To the public, I say, watch out," Christensen said.
The National City Police Department is investigating a burglary at Price Breakers Indoor Bazaar.
Officers were called out to the store, located on Highland Avenue, Thursday about 5 a.m.
Officers found one of the store's doors had been broken into, and have set a perimeter around the building.
It's unknown if anyone is inside.
No other information was available.
Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.
Parents seeking to take their extremely sick baby to the United States for an experimental treatment stormed out of a British court hearing Thursday, the latest turn in a saga that's garnered worldwide attention, NBC News reported.
Baby Charlie Gard is unable to move his limbs unaided due to a rare genetic condition, and his parents' fundraising and pleas for help have been highlighted by President Donald Trump and Pope Francis.
The hospital treating Charlie decided that the therapy would only cause more suffering, and that he should be taken off life support — a position that courts have so far agreed with. A judge allowed new evidence to be presented in the case Thursday.
But as the couple left the courtroom after two hours, Charlie's father said, "I thought this was supposed to be independent," according to NBC News' U.K. partner, ITV News.
With temperatures in some parts of the country soaring as high as 120 degrees this summer, combating the heat is no easy task. Last year, 94 people suffered from heat related deaths, more than double the number from 2015, according to data from the National Weather Service.
Here are tips from the National Weather Service you can use to help keep cool and stay safe during this summer.
Track the Heat
If you’ve been outside for long enough it can be hard to tell how hot is too hot to be outdoors. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have created a mobile app that calculates the heat risk index of any given location.
What to Know About Fans
During times of extreme heat risk, limit the time you spend outside as much as possible. If you can’t get access to air conditioning, fans can help. But try not to point the fan directly at you because the dry air can make you become dehydrated faster, according to the National Weather Service.
Reapply Sunscreen
If you must go outside, stay in the shade and apply sunscreen at least every two hours. Reapply immediately after swimming.
Warmer Water Is Better Than Icy
Make sure to drink plenty of water, even if you aren’t thirsty. Excessive sweating will cause you to lose fluids at a rapid pace. Although ice water may feel refreshing, opt for room temperature fluids. When water is especially cold your body will exert more energy trying to adjust to the temperature.
Watch Out for Seatbelts
The inside of a car can be one of the most deadly places during a heat wave. Before you buckle up, check the metal on the seatbelt to avoid burns. Never leave a child or animal unattended in a vehicle even if you have the window rolled down. To ensure your children don’t accidentally trap themselves inside, keep the doors and trunk locked at all times.
Know The Signs
It can be easy to confuse heat stroke and heat exhaustion, so knowing what to look for is crucial. Heat stroke is more serious and common symptoms include a throbbing headache, no sweating, red, hot, or dry skin, nausea and vomiting. If you or someone around you exhibits any combination of these signs, call 911 immediately.
Check out more hot weather resources here.
Rappelling, CPR and fire prevention skills were a few of the lessons learned by children Thursday at the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s (SDFD) first-ever Junior Firefighter Camp.
One-hundred boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 16 attended the hands-on camp at Liberty Station, learning the ins and outs of what it takes to become a firefighter. The goal of the camp is to inspire young SDFD prospects and move them through the department’s cadet program for those ages 16 to 21.
Campers climbed a 75-foot ladder, used hoses, rappelled down a 3-foot building, learned to tear down doors and learned how to perform rescues – all while in full firefighter gear.
“It’s really fun and exciting,” said one participant, Molly. “You never really know what you’re going to do until we actually do it. And you always get surprised, and it’s so much fun to have your friends around.”
“My dad’s a firefighter,” said Brody, another camper. “I’ve been doing so much to help my dad, and it’s just been super fun.”
The camp, staffed by current SDFD firefighters, lasts five days. Campers were required to pre-register, and the SDFD said the program reached full capacity.
Even if the kids don’t pursue careers as firefighters, the skills learned at this camp will last them a lifetime.
“We’re grabbing their attention, and they’re comprehending what we’re teaching them,” said Danny McNamara, SDFD’s assistant cadet coordinator, who’s been a firefighter for 10 years. “Even with cellphones these days, 10-year-olds, knowing when and how to call 911 at appropriate times and (being) able to help people until first responders arrive is a key part of this week.”
Campers also watched demonstrations from the SDFD’s Metro Arson Strike Team and Bomb Squad.
"This camp gives kids the chance to participate in firefighting activities which may spark their interest in a fire service career," said Chief Brian Fennessy. "It allows us to engage potential firefighters of the future while at the same time giving kids valuable teamwork and leadership skills."
If you're looking for some extra money this summer, we've got just the place for you.
The San Diego County Treasurer says it has more than $555,000 in unclaimed tax refunds.
It's money that's been overpaid on property taxes or county fees.
See the list here.
If you're on the list you have until September 8 to claim your money.
Matt Weintraub was an intern in the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office in the early 1990s, before moving up through the ranks in other offices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Now, as federal law enforcement officials and national media chase a possible quadruple homicide in the bucolic suburbs of Philadelphia, Weintraub is back in Bucks, and he’s a long way from his internship. He has risen all the way to district attorney, and those who know him say he is the right person to handle the high-profile case.
“Matt will not leave any stone unturned. He’s very, very thorough,” said Brian Hessenthaler, the chief operating officer of Bucks County. “He doesn’t back down from a challenge. And he’s got one right now.”
Bucks County prosecutors are leading the investigation into the disappearance of four young men. The FBI and other local police departments are assisting in the investigation.
Police uncovered the remains of one of the young men, 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro, in a “common grave” on a farm Wednesday, authorities said. The other three have yet to be found, Weintraub said, but other remains were found in the same unmarked grave.
“This is a homicide, make no mistake about it. We just don’t know how many homicides,” Weintraub announced at a midnight news conference on Thursday.
"We're going to remain strong. We're going to see this investigation to the end and we're going to bring each and every one of these lost boys home to their families, one way or another," he added. "And we will not rest until we do that."
Police arrested 20-year-old Cosmo DiNardo for attempting to sell a car owned by one of the missing men. DiNardo also lives on the property where the remains were found, but he has not been charged in the homicide.
Questions remain: Will Bucks County prosecutors bring homicide charges soon? Will they get a conviction?
Weintraub did not immediately respond for a request for comment. But colleagues who have worked with Weintraub throughout his career are confident he is up to the task. He’s a humble man of conviction with a thorough work ethic, former and current colleagues told NBC. He’s also a seasoned and aggressive prosecutor who was appointed as Bucks County district attorney because of his experience.
After working as an intern in the Bucks office, he went on to work in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and Cape May, New Jersey, until he was essentially summoned back to Bucks County for the district attorney job in 2016 by his predecessor, David Heckler.
When he announced his mid-term retirement, Heckler told NBC he handpicked Weintraub to succeed him “to the extent that I could.” The district attorney appointment had to be approved by county judges, who ultimately saw in Weintraub what Heckler did.
“To me, nature or something picked him,” Heckler told NBC. “I saw most of the senior people in the DA’s office when I was a trial judge. He was just clearly the pick of the litter.”
“He was aggressive,” Heckler said. “He knew what he was in the courtroom for and he got the job done.”
When he took the job, his former colleague Michelle Henry agreed.
“He is a top-notch prosecutor in every sense of the word," Henry told Philly.com at the time.
Weintraub is up for election this fall for the first time in Bucks County. Even with an unpopular president of the same party, Heckler seemed confident Weintraub’s personal and professional credentials will carry him to victory.
But first there’s the possible quadruple homicide to put to bed. Weintraub’s press conferences about the case are now beamed through TV and computer screens nationwide.
“We’re going to start looking seriously at those homicide charges,” Weintraub said at one of those press conferences Wednesday night. “In fact, we already have.”
Senate Republican leaders released a new version of their health care bill on Thursday and they hope to vote on it as soon as next week. Here’s what you need to know about how it would affect your health care:
Premiums and deductibles: Like Obamacare, the Senate bill provides subsidies to buy insurance on the individual market based on a person’s income. But they’re less generous overall and encourage people to buy plans that cover fewer out-of-pocket costs.
Pre-existing conditions: The Senate bill would weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions and push sicker customers toward more expensive plans and healthier customers toward cheaper, less generous plans.
Medicaid: The Senate bill would reduce Medicaid spending dramatically compared to current law.
Artwork, baseball cards, jewelry and even a grandfather clock, are a few of the dozens of stolen items investigators believe are linked to a series of 27 home burglaries in San Diego County.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s office released 149 photos and a video Thursday detailing the haul likely stolen between August 2015 and August 2016, allegedly by suspect Cesar Murillo, 48.
Deputy District Attorney James Koerber, who is prosecuting the case against Murillo, said investigators were tipped off to the items while searching the suspect’s car.
In the car, they discovered information that led them to a storage facility where the items were being kept. Many of the things, Koerber said, were identified as stolen property. Some of the items have not yet been reunited with their rightful owners, so the DA’s office is hoping the video and photos will help victims get their things back.
The photos, posted to the DA’s Facebook page, show some very distinct items including a painting of President George Washington, rings, watches and a wooden statue of a horse.
Officials said anyone who recognizes these objects and believes they were a victim of these burglaries could reach out to the DA’s office to reclaim their belongings at (619) 531-4372.
Murillo is being held at the George Bailey Detention Facility on bail of $1.2 million. He’s scheduled to appear in court on July 31.
The City of San Diego is considering a new way to power homes and businesses and it may save you some money.
The Community Choice Aggregate Plan could help San Diego reach its goal of 100 percent renewable energy.
By purchasing electricity from a source other than San Diego Gas & Electric, the City would have more control over rates, choose greener sources like solar and wind power and possibly lower your electricity bill.
Opponents of the program say the City should not rush into the idea because regulations are still not set.
The San Diego City Council received the results of a year-long feasibility study on Wednesday but council members are not expected to make a decision on the proposal until early 2018.
President Donald Trump defended his son's decision to visit a Russian attorney who claimed to hold discriminating information, calling it "very standard" and claiming that "most people would've taken that meeting." Trump also claims that very little happened during the meeting.
