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Rare Black Jellyfish Seen at San Diego Beaches

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San Diego residents have reported sightings of a rare black jellyfish known as sea nettles at local beaches.

The dark purple sea creatures were last seen about a year ago, and have now returned to local waters – sometimes delivering a painful sting to anyone that bothers them. And they’re not small – black jellyfish can grow up to three feet wide, with tentacles spanning 10 feet long.

A group of children at Pacific Beach were stung on Sunday afternoon, and said they witnessed others getting hurt as well.

But the sting isn’t too bad – the kids said it wasn’t painful for long.

“It lasts about 20 minutes,” said Tyler Crabtree.

It’s not certain why the jellyfish come to San Diego’s beaches, but scientists speculate it’s because they’re attracted to waters with low oxygen levels. This year marks the fifth time in a little more than a decade since they’ve been seen.

Earlier this month, black jellyfish were seen at Laguna Beach. People were got stung there said it felt like a bee sting.

Anyone who suffers a sting should wash it out with water, and should avoid rubbing the area so toxins do not spread.


Lifeguards Search for Missing Swimmers

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Lifeguards are searching for two missing swimmers off the coast of Tijuana last seen Monday night.

Around 5 p.m. the U.S. Coast Guard received a report about two teenagers last seen swimming 300 yards south of the border fence.

Imperial Beach and state lifeguards from Silver Strand searched the coastline Monday night, in addition to lifeguards in Mexico.

The searched was called off right before sunset, then resumed Tuesday morning.

The swimmers have yet to be found.

Check back for updates on this story.



Photo Credit: NBCSanDiego

Aspirin May Prevent Colon Cancer in Women

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Aspirin's long list of benefits now include cancer prevention.

Researchers found that women who took low dose aspirin every other day for 18 years ended up with about a 20 percent lower risk of colon cancer, according to a study published this week in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

“This study provides some surprising new information since it wasn’t thought that such a low dose, especially every other day, would have an effect on cancer,” said Nancy Cook, the study’s lead author from Boston’s Brigham, Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Colon and rectal cancers are the third most common types of cancer in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. This year alone, the National Cancer Institute reports 102,480 new patients will be diagnosed with colon cancer and 40,340 will be diagnosed with rectal cancer.

The new study included nearly 40,000 women 45 and older who were part of the Women’s Health Study. The participants were randomly assigned to either take 100 milligrams of aspirin or a placebo every other day. Researchers followed the women for up to 18 years from the start of the study.

Women who took aspirin were more likely to have gastrointestinal bleeding (8.3 percent versus 7.3 percent) and peptic ulcers (7.3 percent verses 6.2 percent).

The researchers pointed out that not all women enrolled in the Women's Health Study were followed up with, and that cases of gastrointestinal bleeding were only self-reported.
 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Pricing Hotels for Comic-Con 2013

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Mari Payton with NBC 7 Investigates compares hotel prices before, during, and after Comic-Con to see just how much prices go up and down.

Car Hits Cyclist in Bay Ho

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One woman was taken to the hospital after an accident Tuesday evening in Bay Ho.

The crash happened around 5:45 p.m. on northbound Interstate 5, just south of State Route 52. According to the California Highway Patrol, a car ran off the freeway, plowed through a fence and hit a bicyclist on Santa Fe Street, parallel to the freeway.

Officials told NBC 7 the patient complained of pain, but her injuries appear to be minor. CHP is investigating what caused the driver to run off the interstate.

Some First Responders Allowed to Drink & Work

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You probably expect that firefighters and paramedics are not allowed to come to work under the influence of alcohol.

But NBC 7 Investigates found that's not always the case: Some first responder contracts allow employees to work with a blood alcohol level (BAC) as high as .04.

Fighting fires is hard and heroic work, especially in fire-prone San Diego County. Some people even consider firefighting America's most dangerous profession.

“What we deal with in the fire department is life or death for many people,” Chula Vista Fire Chief Dave Hanneman said.

It is also a job which Hanneman said no one should do under the influence of alcohol. There is a zero tolerance policy for alcohol and drugs in Chula Vista, the county's second largest fire district.

“When someone comes to work they have to be able to perform at the highest level of their position and the only way to do that is to have a zero tolerance for it,” he said. “We need to assure our patients we are professional and efficient as much as possible.”

But NBC 7 found some local fire departments have language in its union or city employee contracts which allows firefighters to start their shifts with alcohol in their bloodstreams.

The Vista Fire Department has set its maximum allowable blood alcohol level at .02. And it escalates to .04 for City of San Diego firefighters.

Michael McGhee is Director of Labor for San Diego Local 145, the county's largest fire district.

“The fire department management is comfortable with that number, the mayor and the city council have passed and approved these contracts with all the information about the .04,” he said.

John Woodward has been a toxicologist since 1944 and said intoxication levels vary greatly depending on a person's gender, weight, and other factors.

So what does a .04 mean?

“In a normal, average adult male of 150 pounds a ‘.02’ would be equivalent to a 12 ounce glass or bottle of over the counter beer, at ‘.04’ its equivalent to two 12 ounce quantities of beer.” Woodward said. “The average social drinker might feel a little more relaxed, depending on the situation, jovial.”

McGhee with San Diego Local 145 says there are times when an off-duty firefighter is called in for an emergency, like during large wildfires or if someone calls in sick.

He says having that .04 BAC maximum allowable level takes into consideration the residual effect from drinks consumed before duty.

“I think if somebody goes out the night before and is expected to have zero in their system the next morning, is probably not reasonable.”

McGhee said they would send employees home if any alcohol was detected.

“If someone is above the .04 limit, that limit will be identified,” he said. “That person will have a mandatory referral to the employee assistance program and the department looks at what other disciplinary measures might be appropriate.”

McGhee says their policy on drug and alcohol abuse is reviewed every few years and that firefighters are randomly drug tested twice every 18 months.

Chief Hanneman with Chula Vista says if one of his firefighters is called into work unexpectedly, they have the right to say "no" if they've been drinking, no matter the amount.

He's sticking to his district's zero tolerance policy.

“I don't know why they would do that,” he said. “I can’t surmise why they would have that, I just know why ours is the way it is. We don't want them to have any of it on board.”

In the city of San Diego, the majority of the city's paramedics are firefighters, with a paramedic specialty, so they fall under the same contract.

NBC 7 San Diego reached out to the city of San Diego over the past few months, including Mayor Bob Filner's office for a comment. But e-mails and calls from were not returned.



Photo Credit: NBC

Former Marine Found Guilty in Fraud Scheme

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A former Miramar Marine has been found guilty of cheating the Marine Corps out of tens of thousands of dollars in fake travel expenses.

On Tuesday, a jury found Luis Gilbert Menchaca guilty on one count of conspiracy and three counts of false claims, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Menchaca and another former reservist, Manuel Ramos Padilla, were charged in February.

According to a federal indictment, Ramos worked in an administrative office at MCAS Miramar that processed travel claims. Menchaca would write claims for fake lodging expenses that Ramos would approve. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Menchaca submitted $38,000 dollars of false claims in a 10-month period.

Menchaca is scheduled to be sentenced October 4.

Ramos pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme. He will be sentenced August 9.

Church Sign in Response to Zimmerman Acquittal Sparks Controversy

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A church sign sparked controversy in Chicago over the weekend when it posted a controversial message after the George Zimmerman verdict.

“It is safe to kill black people in Amerikkka,” the sign read outside the First Baptist Church of University Park.

The sign, spurred from the weekend verdict, sparked a myriad of reactions from passerbys and churchgoers alike, many of which are not what the author of the statement and pastor of the church expected.

“I understand people are emotionally upset, but inciting anger in people is not going to help,” said Josh Kulas.

Pastor Reginald Williams Jr. said the sign was a message “not intended to divide, but to cause honest reflection in order to make this county a better place for all.”

“I think they could have worded it better,” said Joel Baker.

The church tweaked the sign Tuesday to read as a question rather than a statement. The new message now reads:

“Is it safe to kill blacks in America?”

A statement from Williams Tuesday read:

“It is interesting the amount of energy that people have put into attacking the church and the pastor…We also invite you to utilize those same passions to offer commentary towards solutions, and not divisions.”

Regardless of the change, the pastor said the intent is the same.
But many still disagree with the churches decision.

“The Trayvon Martin case is bad but putting this out there is not going to help,” said Donovan Jones.
 


NYC Musician Loses Eye in Vicious Hammer Attack

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A Brooklyn man has a long road to recovery after a man bludgeoned him with a hammer in an attack so vicious he lost an eye.

Dru Barnes, a musician, was walking home to Fort Greene from a friend's house in Bedford-Stuyvesant last week when he got lost, he said. Police believe the attacker followed him for a block before he struck, hitting Barnes in the eye.

The friend Barnes had just been visiting rushed to his hospital bedside.

"I arrive two hours later at the trauma unit, and there is Dru on a gurney. It was horrific, it was like a horror movie," Gerrit Vooren told NBC 4 New York.

At the hospital bed, Vooren recorded Barnes' recollection of the attack.

"I'm not sure what the motive was," Barnes says in the video, groggy from pain medication.

Police don't know, either. Authorities don't think it was a hate crime or a robbery. They have some surveillance video, witness reports and the hammer, but no identity of the attacker.

"This guy's on the loose, this can happen again. Clearly, he's deranged," said Vooren.

Barnes says he's relying on his Buddhist faith to get him through the multiple surgeries that are ahead.

His friends have set up a Facebook page to help pay for the costs.

More than money though, they want information to help catch the perpetrator and prevent it from happening to someone else.

DirecTV Installer Sexually Abused Girl in NJ Home: DA

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Authorities arrested a satellite television installer Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in a New Jersey home. 

Arcadio "Junior" Nova, 38, was preparing to install DirecTV inside a Paterson home July 3 when he sexually assaulted the child, prosecutors said. He was working as an independent contractor and was not dispatched by the company. 

Nova, who lives in Washington Heights in New York City, was charged with several counts of sexual assault, luring and endangering the welfare of a child. Attorney information wasn't immediately available, and no one answered the door at his listed address.

DirecTV said it was looking into the matter and had no one by that name as an employee or authorized technician. 

UCSD Ranks 20th Best University in World: New Study

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A new study ranks the University of California, San Diego, as the 20th best university in the world, according to the Center for World University Ranking (CWUR) Web site.

“This is a great honor,” UCSD Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla said in a statement from the university.

“What we do at UC San Diego changes the world by spurring economic growth and innovations that have a positive impact on our region and the world,” Khosla went on to say in the statement.

According to its Web site, the CWUR uses seven criteria in its ranking: Publications, influence, citations, patents, faculty, alumni employment and educational awards won.

Several other California universities made the Top 20: Stanford University (#2), University of California, Berkley (#7), California Institute of Technology (#11) and the University of California, Los Angeles (#16.) Harvard University came in first.



Photo Credit: NBCSanDiego

Avoiding Scams at Comic-Con

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It's the hottest ticket in town and plenty of scam artists will be happy to sell you one. But there's a problem, some passes to Comic-Con are fakes.

"There is just an extraordinarily high demand so we see ticket scams on steroids," said San Diego Better Business Bureau President Sheryl Reichert.

Reichert says since tickets generally sell out months before the popular comic convention, scam artists use the moment to sell bogus tickets. Most of the passes are sold online, through sites like eBay and CraigsList.

"The con men are asking for money up front," said Reichert. "Often times you won't get a ticket or you'll get fake tickets so you will show up to the event and won't  be able to get in.

Comic-Con officials stress that they do not use third-party companies to sell their tickets. They also don't allow people to change names on the badges, and official passes are not sent through the mail.

Reichert said there are people who have grown up in San Diego and never been able to get a ticket. She says people don't want their first ticket to be a fake.

Miramar Marine Dies after Port Visit

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A Marine who died while deployed with USS Nimitz has been identified.

Lance Cpl. Benjamin W. Tuttle, 19, of Gentry, Ark. died Saturday, according to a statement from the Department of Defense. The statement said Tuttle was flown from the Persian Gulf, where the Nimitz was stopped for a port visit, to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where he died.

The statement does not describe the nature of his death, saying it is under investigation. 

Tuttle was assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force out of MCAS Miramar, according to the DoD.



Photo Credit: Megan Tevrizian

Man Wrestles Shark With Bare Hands

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What Elliot Sudal thought would be an average day of fishing in Nantucket turned out to be anything but.

Sudal, originally from Burlington, went fishing for bluefish on Sunday. 

He was reeling in his catch when a shark grabbed onto the fish he had hooked and bit it in half, Sudal said.

The shark swallowed the line and Sudal managed to reel it in.

After he pulled it ashore, Sudal paused to snap a picture before throwing the shark back out to sea.

The shark was not hurt, Sudal said.

Sudal attended Central Connecticut State University and later moved to Florida and then Nantucket, where he now resides.

Sudal said he loves to fish and has encountered sharks before.



Photo Credit: Elliot Sudal

Mountain Fire Rages Through 22 Square Miles

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A fire that destroyed at least six homes after blasting through the San Jacinto Mountains continued to rage through 14,200 acres Wednesday morning, keeping the mandatory evacuations in place for nearby communities.

The Mountain Fire broke out Monday afternoon in steep, rugged terrain on private property just off State Highway 243 near the resort town of Idyllwild, over the mountains and west of Palm Springs.

Heavy smoke had spread into the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs area by Wednesday.

At least 2,210 firefighters were battling the blaze along with 98 engines, 15 helicopters, 10 aircrafts, 73 hand crews, 6 water-tenders and 10 bulldozers. The fire -- at 14,200 acres, or about 22 square miles -- remained at 10 percent containment Wednesday morning.

RELATED: Mountain Fire photos | Fierce Fire Season Predicted in SoCal

The firefight had cost $4 million as of Wednesday morning, according to an incident update provided Wednesday morning by the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the San Bernardino National Forest where the Mountain Fire was burning.

Winds blowing from the west had pushed the fire east over the crest of the San Jacinto Mountains and toward an area south of Palm Springs, the update stated. It was burning in the steep, rugged terrain covered in dry chaparral and timber in the southern portion of the San Jacinto Wilderness.

"High winds, dry fuels, and steep inaccessible terrain challenged initial attack engines, crews and aircraft all day long," stated the 6 a.m. Wednesday update.

Crews made progress on the north and south flanks of the fire, which had formed two heads and was backing down the south side of the mountain range.

Winds are expected to weaken as the weather changes in coming hours and days, and that should help crews make more gains, the update stated.

Smoke from the fire could be seen blown some 60 miles to the northeast, across Palm Springs and the Twentynine Palms U.S. Marine Corps training center, a satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed, as seen at left.

In the Bonita Vista area, the fire destroyed six homes, according to a Tuesday report on InciWeb. At Pine Springs Ranch summer camp and retreat, one commercial building, a workshop, garage, and cabin were destroyed. Eleven outbuildings and several cars were also destroyed by the fire.

Resident Lawrence Goda, who lives on unpaved Bonita Vista Road, said neighbors who had been into the burned, still-evacuated area reported his home almost completely destroyed. He said it was a log-cabin-style house he had built nearly 30 years ago -- and it was not insured.

“Everything I worked for all my life is probably up in flames," Goda said.

The scenic area -- the San Bernardino National Forest and adjacent Mount San Jacinto State Park -- is a popular destination for hikers, rock climbers and campers. San Jacinto Peak, the second-highest point in Southern California, is about eight miles north-northeast of where the fire began.

“With the heavy fuels we’ve got and the temperatures we’re experiencing, it’s making it a very aggressive, hot fire right now," Cal Fire spokesman Scott Visyak told NBC4 on Tuesday.

"There’s a disaster area in there. It's devastating. There’s several homes lost, there’s several homes standing. The fire had just gone through there very aggressively," Visyak said.

Mandatory evacuation orders remained in effect Wednesday for the Andreas Canyon Club (south of Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs), Bonita Vista, Pine Springs, and the Zen Mountain Center off of Apple Canyon Road.

Camp Ronald McDonald, a charity-funded camp for children with cancer, were voluntarily evacuated due to health concerns related to air quality, as was Camp Joe Sherman.

"All campers have been safely evacuated and returned to their parents and the camp grounds remain out of any immediate danger," said Camp Ronald McDonald Executive Director Sarah Orth in a statement.

The Pacific Crest Trail was closed from State Highway 74 to Saddle Junction, as were the South Ridge Trail, Carumba Trail, Spitler Peak Trail, Fobes Trail, and Cedar Springs, according to an online fire incident report.

Those with day-use or overnight permits for the wilderness area were advised to call the San Jacinto Ranger Station at 909-382-2921.

Highway 243 had reopened by Wednesday morning.

Fire official urged residents to be alert to fire equipment moving on winding local highways, especially during shift changes at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. They also asked people in the area not to block roadways when trying to view the fire or firefighting work.

Evacuation centers were set up at the following locations:

  • Hemet High School, 41701 E. Stetson Ave, Hemet;
  • Hamilton High School, 57430 Mitchell Road, Anza;
  • and small animals can be brought to the San Jacinto Animal Shelter, 581 S. Grand Ave, San Jacinto.

NBC4 reporters Toni Guinyard and Tony Shin contributed to this report.

More Southern California Stories:

 



Photo Credit: Toni Guinyard

Tarantulas Spotted in North County Community

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San Elijo Hills resident Janet Gidner made a shocking discovery on the steps outside her home.

“A 4-year-old neighbor encouraged me to come see the ‘big spider’ he found,” Gidner said.

That “big spider” turned out to be a tarantula.

“I screamed for my husband,” Gidner said.

Apparently this San Diegan is not alone. She said her neighbors have been seeing tarantulas, too.

“There’s definitely an increase of sightings around here,” she said. 

Rick Ellis with R&D Pest Services said tarantulas are native to San Diego and common in open spaces.

“Every bug population peaks in the summertime, spiders because that’s also their food supply,” Ellis said.

San Diego County has a Web site that lists dangerous spiders in the region, but tarantulas aren’t mentioned. Ellis said there’s a reason for that.

“They’re really quite harmless. They’re big. They’re hairy. They freak people out, but they’re extremely unlikely to bite,” Ellis said.

“If they do bite, it’s a pretty bad bite. But it’s a bite. It’s nothing life-threatening.”

So what should people do if they see a tarantula?

“You can scoop it up in a dust plan and maybe get it back over the fence because that’s probably where it came from,” Ellis said.

No matter what, Ellis said don’t pick them up. Tarantulas have a circle of hair with small, barbed hooks that some people consider worse than a bite, he said.

3 Sought in Chula Vista Robbery

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Chula Vista police searched for three people who used clubs or sticks in a robbery at a custom furniture shop Wednesday.

Officers say three people entered San Diego Urban Timber in the 900-block of Industrial Boulevard around midnight.

One shot was fired in the robbery according to police.

The employee's 2003 white Toyota Tacoma with license plate #7F3725 was stolen officials said.

Officers said an employee left the location to call 911.

Chula Vista police were looking for three suspects described as 17 to 19 years old. One was described as 6’0”, 190-pounds, wearing a black tank top and shorts with a scruffy beard and scruffy hair. The second was shorter, about 5’8” with a slim build wearing plaid and blue jeans. The third was described as 5’9”, 180-pounds wearing a black hoodie, dark pants, a black beanie with possible face jewelry and moustache.

Officials say the third suspect was armed with a gun.
 

3 Injured in Chollas Creek Crash

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Three people were hospitalized after a driver ran a red light in Chollas Creek officials said Wednesday.

According to San Diego police, a driver sped through the intersection at 54th and University late Tuesday night.

The car collided into a vehicle going southbound on 54th, bounced off that car and struck another vehicle.

A child was inside one of the cars involved in the crash but officials said the child is expected to be okay.

Three other people were taken to the hospital. Two of those victims suffered serious injuries officials said.
 

Two Bank Robberies, Same Suspect: FBI

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The FBI and local law enforcement officers are asking for help to identify a man who's believed to have robbed two banks within the past two weeks. The most recent robbery happened Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. bank on Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon. Agents say the man handed the teller a note, claiming he had bomb. The suspect got away with some cash. He's also believed to have robbed the Wells Fargo Bank on Lake Murray Boulevard in La Mesa on July 5.

Images: Series of Pranks on "Cardiff Kook"

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All of the costumes that have adorned the so-called "Cardiff Kook" over the years. All in one place!

Photo Credit: Jerry Mancuso
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