A part of the Opa-locka Executive Airport was evacuated on Thursday after depleted uranium was detected inside a 55-gallon drum and a wooden pallet.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the Department of Environmental Protection were on scene at the airport _ located at 14201 NW 42nd Avenue _ trying to find a contractor to correctly dispose of the Uranium 238.

Someone had dismantled an old airplane and used the containers to dispose of the parts, said Mara Burger, DEP spokeswoman. The plane dates to the when uranium was used on the outside of aircraft for navigational purposes, she said.

The plane had been chopped up and the aluminum parts with uranium on them were put into the drums, Burger said.

One container is half full and the other is three-quarters full.

Burger said there will be an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Authorities were tipped off to the situation from anonymous caller to the state watch office run by the Department of Emergency Management.

The airport is a reliever airport to the Miami International Airport, which offers aircraft maintenance and repair services. It is also the base of the U.S. Coast Guard air and sea rescue station.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue evacuated a 150-foot perimeter to assess the hazard, spokesman Arnold Piedrahita tweeted.

The aircraft was slated for demolition, but had not yet been sent off.

Authorities said there were no injuries.

Stay with NBC6.com and NBC 6 South Florida for updates.

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More than a dozen people tried to sneak into the U.S. through a storm drain Thursday officials said.

At least fourteen people trying to enter the U.S. illegally were taken into custody by agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The group was caught coming out of a storm drain around 3 a.m. Thursday at Border Village Road and Virginia Avenue in San Ysidro, south of San Diego and just north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Two people were taken to Scripps Hospital in Chula Vista with minor injuries, according to emergency crews with San Diego Fire-Rescue.
 

Touching someone at work is one of the worst types of sexual harassment, according to one San Diego attorney and it may be considered sexual battery in certain situations.

Three women have now come forward accusing San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of inappropriate behavior.

One of the women has filed a lawsuit against Filner and the City of San Diego alleging sexual harassment.

"I saw him place his hands where they did not belong on numerous women,” Mayor Filner’s former communication director Irene McCormack Jackson said Monday when she announced she had filed her lawsuit.

“I was placed in the ‘Filner Headlock’ and moved around as a rag doll while he whispered sexual comments in my ear," she said.

McCormack Jackson described her time working with Mayor Filner as “the worst time in my working life.”

In a matter of days, two other San Diegans stepped forward with similar stories of unwanted advances.

Laura Fink, a political consultant, said Filner grabbed her backside at a 2005 fundraising dinner she was working at after a colleague said she had “worked her ass off” for the Congressman.

Morgan Rose said Filner attempted to kiss her four separate times during a 2009 meeting. Rose said the then-Congressman tried to move her face towards his to kiss her on the mouth.

When asked about the new allegations at a public event Thursday, Filner would not respond. When asked why he wouldn’t speak, he said he wanted due process to take place.

To give you a bit more perspective on what might come next NBC 7 along with its media partner voiceofsandiego.org looked into what sexual harassment is, under the law and how it's different from sexual battery.

Legally, sexual harassment can include sexual advances, solicitations, sexual requests, physical contact of a sexual nature that's "unwelcome and pervasive or severe."

Attorney Kerry Armstrong has represented many sexual harassment victims and explains it like this:

"Basically sexual harassment can take the form in a lot of different ways. It can be obviously physical,” Armstrong said. “Sexual harassment generally is known as more of a verbal type thing where you’re saying lewd or crude things to an employee or someone who works for you."

The law also says there must be a business or professional relationship and an inability by the plaintiff to easily terminate the relationship

Armstrong said an employee has the right not to be hit on every day.

“Basically that law says that if you’re in a workplace, you have the right to do your job, to not to be harassed by a co-worker or especially a boss and if you are harassed and it makes you lose productivity at work or possibly even quit, then obviously your damages would be much higher in a certain situation," he explains.

Sexual harassment can sometimes include criminal violations. The laws can overlap.

A person can be convicted of sexual battery under the law if the person:

Acts with the intent to cause a harmful or offensive contact with an intimate part of another, and a sexually offense contact with that person directly or indirectly results.

Acts with the intent to cause a harmful or offensive contact with another by use of his or her intimate part, and a sexually offense contact with that person directly or indirectly results.

"So obviously if you're touching someone at work that’s one of the worst types of sexual harassment,” said Armstrong. “The sexual battery is virtually the same thing. It’s an unwanted touching of an intimate part of your body. The person has some type of sexual intent or sexual arousal or gets that out of it."

Once a victim reports the battery incident to the police, investigators must determine if there's enough proof and decide whether to forward the case to prosecutors.

If convicted of a misdemeanor, the offender could face up to a year in jail per victim.

A felony conviction could mean as many as four years in prison and a $10,000 fine. In some cases, a conviction may also require registering as a sex offender.

It is important to note that Mayor Filner has not been charged with sexual battery.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed they’ve received calls at a special hotline set up for the investigation into the mayor’s scandal but would not reveal the details of those calls.

A four-month-old baby diagnosed with whooping cough may have exposed travelers to the highly-contagious illness at the San Diego International Airport, local health officials confirmed Wednesday.

The baby traveled with a parent from San Diego to Norfolk, Va., this past Friday via Lindbergh Field.

According to the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), the baby boy had been seen by medical staff at Rady Children’s Hospital shortly before traveling and hospital tests later confirmed he had pertussis.

The child was up to date with vaccinations for his age, health officials said.

County officials are now working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to notify people who may have been exposed to the respiratory illness at the San Diego Airport.

To date in 2013, health officials say there have been 114 cases of pertussis reported in San Diego County.

Typically, symptoms of pertussis include a cough and runny nose for up to two weeks, followed by weeks to months of rapid coughing fits that may end with a whooping sound. A mild fever may also develop.

Health officials say infants under one year old are especially vulnerable to whooping cough.

The disease is treatable with antibiotics. The CDC recommends children get the DTaP vaccine series at the ages of 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15 to 18 months, and 4 to 6 years. Preteens and adults should also get a Tdap booster.

Anyone who is not covered by a medical insurance plan can get a vaccine from a County Public Health Center at no cost. For more information about whooping cough and ongoing vaccination clinics, visit this website or call the HHSA Immunization Branch at (866) 358-2966.
 

The Ocean Beach Town Council met Wednesday night to talk about the community’s annual 4th of July Marshmallow Fight, which caused some sticky controversy earlier this month.

After years of fun, some neighbors and business owners say the event has gotten out of hand and needs to stop.

This year, the post-fireworks marshmallow battle left some bystanders injured and left behind 2,372 pounds of trash on local streets and beaches, according to the OB Town Council.

On Wednesday night, OB residents, business owners and police gathered at a packed meeting to listen to the community’s feedback and discuss possibly banning the event in the future.

In previous years, most of the sticky mess generated by the annual event was limited to the beach.

But, as more people continue to participate, the Marshmallow Fight has spilled out onto the streets and sidewalks.

“This street here, even though it’s far away from it, you can’t walk. If you’re wearing flip-flops, your flip-flops will stick to the sidewalk. It’s pretty gross,” former OB resident Natalie Gardner said.

On the other side of the marshmallow debate, OB resident Bridget McGirr says the event is fairly harmless.

“It makes a mess, but it’s one day. We’re so fortunate in this area. We have perfect weather; so many things are wonderful. It’s really sad that people get upset about some stickiness on their feet,” McGirr told NBC 7.
 

On Wednesday afternoon a third victim publicly came forward claiming Mayor Bob Filner sexually harassed her.

Special Section: Mayor Under Fire

Morgan Rose, who works as a psychologist in the San Diego Unified School District, told KPBS that Filner tried to kiss her at a meeting in January 2009.

Rose was working for an organization called America’s Angel Campaign when she met with Filner when he worked as a congressman, she told KPBS. The meeting was to help bring the issue of her organization to a national stage.

After their first meeting, Filner allegedly asked Rose for a private meeting, according to the interview. They met at a Marie Callender’s near his office, where Finer allegedly told Rose he had forwarded information about her campaign to Michelle Obama.

Rose said Filner then attempted to kiss her four separate times throughout the conversation and moved to sit next to her at the restaurant.

“He tried to move my face towards his to kiss me on the mouth,” Rose told KPBS.

She said she asked him to continue the meeting, but Filner allegedly told her he wouldn’t move until they kissed. Rose has since reported the incident to the sheriff’s department hotline.

She is the third person to publicly come forward this week, following Irene McCormack Jackson and Laura Fink.

After being accused of sexually harassing employees earlier this month, Filner released a videotaped statement admitting he needs help, but he has yet to respond directly to specific allegations.

Timeline: Bob Filner’s Term as Mayor

San Diego Democratic leaders are holding a meeting Thursday night to discuss recent allegations.

On Wednesday Filner appointed Lee Burdick, a woman, as his new chief of staff. 

Burdick said she supports the mayor's agenda of putting neighborhoods first.

“I am taking on this responsibility fully aware of the allegations and concerns confronting the Mayor and the City at this moment in history," she said in a prepared statement. "After serious introspection, I must step forward to help the City through these challenging times."

The San Diego City Attorney's office said Burdick is in charge of enforcing a rule that Filner does not meet with women alone.

A car accident in Clairemont has left one person dead at the scene, according to officials.

The incident happened around 10:20 a.m. on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard near Pocahontas Avenue.

Police said a 58-year-old man was driving a 1966 VW Bug eastbound on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard when he drifted over and struck a 2001 Honda SUV head-on.

The woman driver of the SUV was transported to a Scripps Memorial Hospital with minor injuries and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said alcohol was not a factor in the collision and their traffic division is investigating.

Sweetwater trustee John McCann was seriously injured in a crash in Chula Vista Wednesday evening, sources confirmed to NBC 7.

According to police, the accident involving two vehicles happened around 5 p.m. in the 600 block of Telegraph Canyon Road. It was initially reported by officials as a head-on crash.

When rescue crews arrived at the scene, they discovered two patients. One of those patients was transported to UCSD Medical Center with major injuries.

Sources later told NBC 7 that the patient taken to UCSD Medical Center was McCann.

As of 10:30 p.m., sources said McCann was unconscious at the hospital, but had woken very briefly and said his name.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. Telegraph Canyon Road was blocked to traffic for several hours Wednesday evening as officials began collecting evidence. The road re-opened by 10:40 p.m.
Police do not suspect alcohol played a factor in the crash.

On Thursday, Chula Vista Police Department Capt. Gary Wedge also confirmed that McCann was taken to UCSD Trauma Center following the crash.

Capt. Wedge said McCann’s vehicle was hit on the left front side, so the accident is not being considered a “head-on” collision.

Capt. Wedge said officers spoke with McCann’s wife Thursday and she told police he is doing much better. He’s not in critical condition, but remains hospitalized.

NBC 7 reached out to Sweetwater Union High School spokesperson Manny Rubio Thursday and he said the district is trying to give the McCann family privacy during this difficult time.

Rubio said McCann’s colleagues are wishing him a speedy recovery, and are keeping his family in their thoughts.

Editor's Note: This article originally stated McCann was involved in a head-on collision, per initial reports from police. Investigators have since clarified that the crash was not considered head-on.

A veteran of the U.S. Navy will serve two years in federal prison for cheating the government out of more than $350,000 in worker’s compensation and unemployment benefits.

Leray Shurn was sentenced Monday on fraud charges for a five-year scheme in which he claimed back and knee injuries kept him from working as a civilian Navy employee while at the same time he ran a landscaping business.

Shurn, 59, was convicted in January on 16 counts of fraud.

In his trial, jurors watched video of Shurn personally landscaping for customers while collecting worker’s comp and unemployment benefits.

The defendant named the company “Leray’s Landscaping” and handed out business cards without revealing the business to the Navy or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Judge Thomas J. Whelan ordered Shurn to pay $357.977 in restitution and a $5,000 fine on top of his prison sentence.

A 21-year-old woman was allegedly tasered in the head and attacked by two suspects in Pacific Beach early Thursday morning, officials said.

The alleged assault happened around 2:30 a.m. near Diamond and Dawes Streets in PB.

The woman, who had separated from her friends, was walking alone in the area when a white sedan carrying four occupants began following her.

Police say two young men got out of the vehicle and allegedly attacked the woman, tasing her in the head. As a struggle ensued, the victim managed to hit the redial button on her cell phone and called her friends.

The woman’s friends heard her screaming on the phone and in the distance. Eventually, the suspects stopped the attack and fled the scene.

The suspect vehicle was stopped by police shortly thereafter on Garnet Avenue.

All four occupants inside the car – two adults and two juveniles -- were taken into custody, police said. They’re accused of robbery and assaulting the woman with a taser.

Residents in the area spoke with NBC 7 Thursday and said they heard screaming, looked outside and saw a bunch of people rushing to help the woman after the assault.

One young woman who lives in the area said she was shaken up by the incident.

The National Transportation Safety Board says a Southwest Airlines plane's nose gear made contact with the ground before the main landing gear did when it touched down at LaGuardia Airport Monday, causing the plane to skid and spark down the runway. 

A spokeswoman for Southwest said the landing described by the NTSB was "not in accordance'' with operating procedures.

The latest updates from the NTSB's investigation into Flight 345's hard landing were consistent with their earlier findings that the landing gear "collapsed rearward and upward into the fuselage, damaging the electronics bay that houses avionics."

The NTSB added Thursday that the flaps were set from 30 to 40 degrees about 56 seconds prior to touchdown. About four seconds prior to touchdown, the plane was at an altitude of about 32 feet, with an airspeed of about 134 knots and a pitch attitude of 2 degrees nose-up.

"As the plane comes down toward the runway, it's supposed to have the nose up about 2 degrees above the horizon and continue descending at that angle so that when it touches the runway, it touches on the main gear," said Tom Bunn, a retired airline pilot. 

At touchdown, the airspeed of the Southwest plane was approximately 133 knots and the aircraft was pitched down about 3 degrees. 

Bunn believes NTSB should be investigating whether a pilot's error is to blame. 

Investigators are continuing to study the more than 27 hours of recorded data from the entire flight from Nashville, Tenn. to New York. A two-hour cockpit voice recording "of excellent quality" illustrating the entire accident landing sequence was also recovered, and investigators said relevant portions will be transcribed in a meeting in Washington, D.C. Friday. 

Sixteen people suffered minor injuries during Flight 345's landing, and passengers had to escape on emergency chutes.

-- Ida Siegal contributed to this report. 

Players on the latest version of the Monopoly board game will no longer have to risk jail time.

In Hasbro's latest version of the game, Monopoly Empire, the jail feature has been eliminated to cater to busy kids who don't have time to waste in the slammer, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Toy makers like Hasbro are looking for ways to create games for busy children who have limited playtime in a trend that the industry is calling "snack toys," The Journal says.

"Parents and children tell us they want a quick in-and-out, frictionless gaming experience," Vice President of Marketing Jonathan Berkowitz told The Journal. "That's the snackable component"

Monopoly Empire, which costs $19.99, allows players to amass big brand names like Coca-Cola and McDonald's and can be finished in as little as 30 minutes.

Hasbro has also reconfigured other classic board games, including Scrabble and Boggle to make them faster to play. Scrabble Flash, the latest version of the popular word game, takes two minutes and 30 seconds to complete.

For those who prefer Monopoly the old fashioned way, the classic version of the game is still available for purchase on Amazon.

At least three top executives of  Public Policy Strategies, a political consulting and public policy firm, resigned today amid controversy over the firm's owner, Tom Shepard, assisting embattled Mayor Bob Filner.

Shepard is a San Diego-based Republican political consultant who was instrumental in getting Filner elected. Many believe he is working to repair the mayor’s image after allegations of sexual harassment have surfaced from a former member of Filner’s senior staff.

Special Section: Mayor Under Fire

In an email to colleagues, the firm's former president Phil Rath wrote:

"This note is to inform you that the time has come for me to move on to new opportunities in my career.  I have left Public Policy Strategies effective immediately.  I am considering my options, but I know that I love this business and enjoy serving my clients.  I'm very excited about my future and will announce my plans shortly." 

Shepard was recently highlighted in a piece by the UT Watchdog for visiting the mayor after hours the day before a former employee of Filner's stepped forward to claim she had been repeatedly sexually harassed by the mayor and that he treated women as  "sexual objects or stupid idiots."

"I resigned to pursue business opportunities that were incompatible with the firm's other clients."

Laing served in the mayor's office under a prior administration as a spokeswoman to Mayor Jerry Sanders.

The firm's vice-president, Kimberly Hale, confirmed via a direct message on Twitter that she had also resigned. 

Neither Rath or Laing could confirm who remained in Shepard's offices on Thursday afternoon. They both declined to confirm whether their decision to leave was tied to Shepard's support of Filner.

"We all love the work that we do and we enjoy our industry and I would expect that we would all stay in that industry," Rath said when asked if the trio was planning to start a new firm. "As to the form or the structure or anything, that’s just not what we’re dealing with today." 

Shepard is the owner and founder of Public Policy Strategies. He has worked mostly as a Republican political consultant but drew heavy criticism from his own party last year after being instrumental in getting Filner elected.

He has been heavily criticized by people in both political parties this past week for remaining a supporter of Filner's, as several women have come forward to describe incidents in which they claim they were sexually harassed by the mayor. He could not be reached for comment.

Reached by phone last week, Shepard told NBC7 he was not prepared to answer any questions about whether or not claims of sexual harassment arose during the campaign.

The massive Mountain Fire that has destroyed homes and is still burning in the San Jacinto Mountains was sparked on private property by failed electrical equipment, authorities revealed Thursday, 10 days after the wildfire erupted.

"The electrical equipment failure occurred on the customer side of the meter," Cal Fire said in a news release. "No further details will be released as this remains an on-going investigation.”

The Mountain Fire was reported in the early afternoon July 15 near the junction of Highway 324 and Highway 74.

In 10 days, the wildfire had scorched 42 square miles in the scenic San Jacinto mountain range. It was 92 percent contained Thursday evening, according to an online incident report from Cal Fire.

Full Coverage: SoCal Wildfires | Mountain Fire Photos

Flames from the Mountain Fire have destroyed 23 structures, including seven homes the first day of the fire.

While it's not known yet whether excess brush, neglected equipment or another factor lead to the fire, officials say there is a clear lesson.

“The biggest lesson for everybody is, a wildfire can strike at any time and that people need to be prepared,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Julie Hutchinson said.

At one point, flames reached over the crest of the mountains and within two miles of the western border of Palm Springs – draping the resort destination in a blanket of ash and smoke.

Thousands of residents were evacuated from several mountain communities, including Mountain Center, Idyllwild, Fern Valley, and Pine Cove.

All evacuation orders and warnings remained lifted Thursday evening as 146 fire personnel continued their days-long battle.

Crews worked in dry, warm conditions Thursday. Moisture is expected to roll into the region Friday and into the weekend.

In light of the most recent allegations of sexual harassment involving embattled Mayor Bob Filner, the San Diego County Democratic Party has decided that they will ask Filner to resign.

For the second time in one week, the San Diego County Democratic Central committee met Thursday evening to discuss the controversy surrounding Filner and take a vote on whether or not to ask the mayor to leave office.

Special Section: Mayor Under Fire

Democrats voted 34 to 6, meaning that the party will now ask Filner to resign.

In the past four days, a total of seven different victims have gone public with accusations of sexual harassment involving Filner. On Thursday alone, four prominent San Diego women came forward with their own accounts, which included sexual advances and comments allegedly made towards them by the mayor.

Last Thursday, the San Diego County Democratic Party held a similar meeting to discuss Filner.
In that first meeting party votes were split right down the middle, 24 to 24, and at that point, the party decided they would not be asking Filner to resign.

However, that all changed Thursday night.

Party representatives said they will now ask Filner to step down and “get the help he needs.”

“Now charges have been filed and the legal process has started. We think it is in the best interest for Mayor Filner to step down,” Democratic Party Chair Francine Busby said.

Following the vote, the San Diego GOP and its executive director Francis Barraza released this statement:

“While we commend San Diego Democrats for finally asking Mayor Filner to resign, had they not looked the other way for decades, for crass political reasons, this entire tragic episode could have been avoided."

By one account, 58 percent of Americans are streaming video on their high-tech devices. Some are using their smart phones, their tablets and computers, but more and more are streaming right to their television sets.

"I would say 90 percent of the time, TV shoppers are looking for smarter capabilities on the TV," said Luis Fernandez with the Sony Store in Fashion Valley.

Sony sells Google TV. It's a small device that comes with a voice activated remote. It sells for $200 and allows you to activate Netflix, YouTube and many other sites on your home television. It also lets you do a Google search on your big screen.

Besides Google TV, there is the Roku, Apple TV and game players like XBox that will connect your TV your home WIFI connection.  Now there is a new device on the market and it is surprisingly cheap.

The Google Chromecast is a small device that plugs into the back of your television set through your HDMI connection. It works like the other devices by connecting your TV set to the internet but it differs by selling for only $35.  Chromecast does not come with a remote control, instead you control your set through your smartphone (Android, IOS, Windows or MAC).

There are no cables but you do need a USB connection to power the device.

Tech expert Mark Burgess says this is another sign that your TV is becoming the family connection, on and off line.

An accused Mexican drug trafficker known as the "Queen of the Pacific" has been sentenced to 70 months in prison in federal court in Miami. 

Attorney Stephen Ralls says Sandra Avila Beltran could be released and returned to Mexico in a month because of time already served. She was sentenced Thursday.

Trip to McDonald's Leaves Hialeah Mother Behind Bars

Avila Beltran was detained in Mexico City on Sept. 28, 2007, and extradited to the U.S. last year. She pleaded guilty in April to being an accessory after the fact in an organization that included Juan Diego Espinosa Ramirez, her boyfriend at the time. Espinosa pleaded guilty in the U.S. in 2009 to cocaine trafficking charges.

Avila Beltran, who could have faced up to 15 years' imprisonment, pleaded guilty under a plea bargain that credited her with time served since 2007.

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Fans of the old Monopoly can rejoice – the game is not getting rid of the classic jail feature, but rather revamping a different part of the game.

The new game, Monopoly Empire, has a different game play where players buy and sell brands instead of real estate, Hasbro senior brand manager Nicole Agnello told the Huffington Post late Thursday.

The game still has jail spaces on the board and the same rules apply for jail as the classic Monopoly game, Agnello said.

"We know there is conflicting information out there, but the jail spaces are not being removed from Monopoly Empire game," Agnello told the Huffington Post.

It was previously reported that the game was doing away with the jail feature because kids were too busy to sit down and enjoy a time consuming board game.
 

Some Chicago gay bars are saying “nyet” to Russian vodka.

In response to Russia’s recent implementation of laws limiting the rights of the LGBT community, some city gay bars are protesting by boycotting Russian vodka and other Russian products.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed laws forbidding same-sex couples from adopting Russian children and banned gay propaganda.

In a Facebook post, Sidetrack, at 3349 N. Halsted, announced Wednesday the bar has removed Stolichnaya Vodka from its shelves.

“Sidetrack cannot support a brand so associated with Russia at a time when Russia is implementing (against strong world criticism) its anti-gay law that bans gay ‘propaganda,’” the post read. “Starting immediately we will not sell Stoli or any other Russian products at Sidetrack.

Inside, the space once occupied by Stoli now sits empty, and that's just how owner Art Johnston wants it to appear.

"We certainly want it to be visible," he said. "When I realized they were actually enforcing these laws... I said we must do something."

Supporters of the movement say their proud Johnston has spoken out.

"I stand by him 100 percent," said Boystown resident Jake Castillo.

And Sidetrack isn’t the only bar to protest Russian goods.

Andersonville’s The Call bar, at 1547 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., announced on Twitter Wednesday they are “proudly serving non-Russian vodkas.”

“Let’s stand together on this,” the tweet read. “No one deserves treatment #GLBT is receiving in #Russia #NyetRussianVodka.”

The CEO of Stolichnaya Vodka released a letter Thursday addressed to the LGBT community.

“Stolichnaya Vodka has always been, and continues to be a fervent supporter and friend to the LGBT community,” Val Mendeleev said in the letter. “We also thank the community for having adopted Stoli as their vodka of preference.”

Mendeleev said despite alleged links between the brand and the Russian government, the “government has no ownership interest or control over the Stoli brand that is privately owned by SPI Group, headquartered in Luxembourg in the heart of Western Europe.”

Mendeleev said Stoli is made from Russian ingredients which are blended and bottled at a facility in Latvia.

“We fully support and endorse your objectives to fight against prejudice in Russia. In the past decade, SPI has been actively advocating in favor of freedom, tolerance and openness in society, standing very passionately on the side of the LGBT community and will continue to support any effective initiative in that direction,” the letter read.