The U.S. government will pay $4.1 million to avoid a lawsuit against federal agents who forgot about a UC San Diego student left in a holding cell for days without food or water.

Daniel Chong spent five days in a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) holding cell in April 2012.

Taken into custody on a DEA raid, Chong was left in a windowless room without food and water. He was forced to drink his own urine hoping it would help him stay alive.

Chong's attorney, who along with his client threatened a lawsuit against the DEA, announced the $4.1 million settlement Tuesday.

“What happened to Daniel Chong should not happen to any human being,” attorney Gene Iredale said.

Iredale said it was a San Diego Police Department officer by the name of Darin Reis who told Chong on that first day that someone would be right back to get him.

The officer was part of a DEA task force made up of local, state and federal law enforcement.

"It was an accident, a really really bad horrible accident," Chong said Tuesday regarding the officer's alleged mistake.

The UC San Diego student was at a friend’s house in University City celebrating 4/20, a day many marijuana users set aside to smoke, when agents came inside and raided the residence.

Chong was then taken to the DEA office in Kearny Mesa.

“I had to do what I had to do to survive,” Chong told NBC 7 after the incident. “It’s so inconceivable. You keep doubting they would forget you."

When he was eventually found, Chong was incoherent and suffering from kidney failure. He was rushed to the hospital where he spent three days in the ICU.

More than a year later the DEA that put him there is paying the price.

Defense attorney Gretchen Von Helms, who is not representing Chong, previously estimated the settlement could be in the $2-3 million range.

“You break it down into the pain and suffering and how horrible this could have been for the family. They didn't know where he was, all the anguish the family went through and the young man went through,” Von Helms said.

Eventually Chong was discovered and the DEA issued a formal apology.

Since then, Chong has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and is being treated by a doctor who normally treats veterans who have returned from battle.

Iredale said the doctor has "never seen stress or trauma as significant" as Chong's situation.

"He really did sustain a near-death experience,” Iredale said.

No criminal action will be taken against any individual officers, Iredale said Tuesday, but they hope there is at least a rebuke of the officer's alleged actions.

The idea that San Diego Mayor Bob Filner can cure himself of alleged inappropriate sexual behavior with two weeks of intense behavioral therapy is unrealistic, according to one expert in the field.

Special Section: Mayor Under Fire

The mayor plans to enter a behavior counseling clinic Aug. 5 to undergo two weeks of intensive therapy following allegations that he groped women, made crude comments and made unwanted sexual advances.

“The behavior I have engaged in over many years is wrong,” Filner announced Friday without going into specifics. “My failure to respect women and the intimidating contact I engage in at times is inexcusable.”

The mayor’s office has not discussed what disorder Filner suffers from or what type of behavior counseling he will seek.

James A. Reavis, Psy.D., the director of the Treatment Program for Compulsive Sexual Behavior at the Relationship Training Institute in San Diego, works with men who engage in problem or illegal sexual behavior, as well as men who are struggling with compulsive sexual thoughts.

He sees a high-degree of unhealthy narcissism at the root of the behavior described by alleged victims in the Filner scandal.

While admitting he cannot diagnose the mayor without treating him, Reavis said Filner appears to engage in “light humiliation, devaluing these women to make himself feel more valuable.”

Making crude comments and the so-called headlock – both alleged by seven women over the course of one week – is behavior that helped Filner in “furthering his own sense of grandiosity.”

Unfortunately, Reavis said that personality trait is not something that can be treated by what he called “a two-week sleep-away camp.”

If, as Filner has publicly admitted, he’s been engaging in his behavior for years it’s an absurd notion he will be able to resolve the problem in two weeks, he said.

At RTI, counselors see men dealing with similar problems for as many as five years. Often the patients don’t begin the process for months.

“It’s very cynical on the part of his team to suggest that any kind of two-week program is going to do an iota of difference,” he said.

Instead it may be the public humiliation that has the most success.

Public rebuke is the one thing narcissists try to avoid at all costs, according to the psychologist.

“The slap on the hand may have a tremendous affect on him,” Reavis said.

A second expert, San Diego-based addiction & forensic psychiatrist Clark Smith, MD, believes compulsive sexual behaviors are treatable if the patient is willing to change.

“Often these kinds of behavioral disorders, people don’t seek treatment unless they are coerced. The person may say to themselves ‘I’m tired of getting in trouble, tired of having all these problems, then I really want to change,’” Smith said. “Then they will benefit from treatment.”

Smith said he cannot discuss Mayor Filner’s diagnosis since he hasn’t examined him but said the behaviors alleged in the scandal describe someone who may put people down or put people in their place to feel more powerful.

When a patient is in their 70s, Smith said dementia could also be a cause of sudden changes in behavior.

“One of the things that happens with dementia, you lose your social inhibitions,” he explained.

A person with dementia may begin inappropriate sexual touching or just making inappropriate comments, according to Smith.

Another possibility would be Frotteurism which is a paraphilia or sexual impulse disorder that involves inappropriate sexual touching of a stranger.

Most people with the disorder are male. Frotteurism is defined as gaining sexual gratification from rubbing a person in a public place where the victim cannot easily get away.

If this were to be the case, a two-week stay in an inpatient treatment center is not usually sufficient, Smith said.

Two of the state's top lawmakers want their money, and they're suing to get it.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Gov. Pat Quinn, alleging the veto power he used earlier this month to suspend lawmakers' pay was unconstitutional.

"Just as the Illinois Constitution of 1970 protects the right of each judge to receive a salary and not have their salary reduced during their term of office, the Constitution also requires that each legislator receive a salary and prohibits 'changes' in the salaries of legislators during their terms of office," the pair said in a lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Cook County Court.

• Read the Lawsuit | Read Statement from Cullerton, Madigan

The lawsuit also names Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka as a defendant. She said paychecks to tens of thousands of state employees were ready but couldn't be sent until Quinn signed off on them.

She expressed hope last week that the matter would be resolved "expeditiously" and said government shouldn't be run through threats and blackmail.

• Topinka Says She Can't Pay Illinois Lawmakers

Quinn said his move to suspend pay -- even his own -- was a consequence for lawmakers' failure to address the state's $97 billion pension shortfall.

He said Madigan and Cullerton's lawsuit was "just plain wrong," and took issue with the fact that the lawmakers, who have different ideas on how to solve the pension problem, could come together to sue him.

"If legislators had put forth the same effort to draw up a pension reform agreement that they did in crafting this lawsuit, pension reform could have been done by now," he said in a written statement.

• July 10: Quinn Suspends Illinois Lawmakers' Pay
  

But Madigan and Cullerton say Quinn's veto action "threatens the independence of each branch of government."

"By eliminating General Assembly members' salaries, the Governor has chosen to disregard separation of power and its necessity if our government is to work properly and efficiently," they said.

State funds are paying for the lawsuit, a move that's permissable under state law, Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said via email.

"It's filed in their official capacities so state funds are allowed," she said. "Legal fees/bills are capped for that reason."

Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, who earlier in the day made official his campaign to challenge Quinn, called the governor's action a "side show" that is "doing nothing to end the pension crisis that is hurting our school kids and stands in the way of creating jobs." He added that Quinn's action is "likely unconstitutional."

Lawmakers are paid once per month. The next paychecks were scheduled to go out on Aug. 1. The yearly base pay for lawmakers is $67,836. Stipends range between $10,000 and $27,000.

To solve the pension problem, Madigan has endorsed a plan that would unilaterally impose pension changes on retired state workers, including increasing the retirement age. Cullerton's Senate supports a union-backed plan that would give retirees options over pension benefits. Many argue it would not save the state as much money as the plan Madigan supports. However, advocates for the Senate plan argue it is more likely to survive an expected legal challenge, since negotiated retirement benefits are currently protected by the state constitution.

A 29-year-old Chicago woman turned to social media after she said her boyfriend showed up at her Lincoln Park apartment unannounced late Monday, sexually assaulted her, and took away her phone.

The woman, whose identity will be kept confidential because of the nature of the alleged crime, said she grabbed her laptop and sent a message into the ether. The alleged victim said she didn't know if people would respond or even read the tweet and Facebook post she sent after the assault she said happened in her condo in the 2700 block of Hampden Court.

"Someone call 911," read the post, which provided her address. "Do not reply, just call PLEASE."

The woman said her boyfriend looked through messages and files on her phone and computer. She said she was able to get out the message using her laptop while her attacker was searching the cell phone in the bedroom.

People quickly responded from all over the world, including someone in Israel. One of her Facebook contacts got in touch with Chicago police, who had officers at her front door within 15 minutes.

"I don't know how many people saw it [or] how many people called, but apparently there were quite a number," the alleged victim said Tuesday.

Police on Tuesday confirmed they were investigating a sexual assault but declined to offer any other details. The boyfriend was taken into custody but it wasn't clear by the afternoon hours if he'd been released. No charges have been filed.

The woman, who has lived in her apartment for about two months, said she is "overcome with gracefulness [sic]."

"Thank you to everyone who read my message," she said.

She was treated at a local hospital and released.

A San Diego judge has made the names of federal agents involved in the death of an undocumented immigrant public.

In May 2010, the victim Anastasio Hernandez Rojas was subdued with a taser by border patrol agents at the San Ysidro border crossing. Rojas then died of a heart attack.

The government says Hernandez resisted his removal to Mexico.

His family filed a federal lawsuit against the government and 12 customs, border patrol and immigration agents.

The agents' names have remained a secret until now.

NBC 7 San Diego, along with other local media and the American Civil Liberties Union successfully challenged that decision, arguing that the public has a right to know which agents are accused of mistreating Hernandez.

The names released are the following, and their positions range from Border Patrol agents to Customs and Border Protection officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

• Jerry Vales
• Kurt Sauer
• Alan Boutwell
• Ramon DeJesus
• Edward Caliri
• Guillermo Avila
• Ishmael Finn
• Derrick Llewellyn
• Phillip Graciela's
• Andre Piligrino
• Harinzo Narainesingh
• Undercover agent (unnamed)

In just one week, Montgomery County has become ground zero in the political fight over same-sex marriages in Pennsylvania, and a little-known county official has become the catalyst for a battle that is now going to the courts.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is suing D. Bruce Hanes, the county’s Register of Wills, in an effort to stop him from issuing any more marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The suit claims that Hanes is not performing the job he was elected to fulfill.

“Remember, I didn’t start this. This was not an issue with my office until recently, because believe it or not, since I was sworn in as the Register of Wills, not one same-sex couple had come forward and asked for a marriage license,” Hanes said the day before the suit was filed.

• Who is D. Bruce Hanes?

In 2007, Hanes became the first Democrat elected to serve as Register of Wills for the county. In addition to his other duties, which include probating wills and petitions for adoption, Hanes grants marriage licenses. The state, acting through the Pennsylvania Department of Health, took the not-so-common route of filing a Writ of Mandamus, asking the court to stop Hanes. Mandamus is a legal procedure, more often used by citizens, to compel a government employee to perform their job to the letter of the law.

“It’s a method that is used procedurally when there is no case between two parties, no adversarial controversy,” said attorney Irwin W. Aronson whose legal expertise includes Public Policy, labor and legislative law. “This is really a political case, not a legal case, that is going to be teed up, if you will, by politicians in a court room.”

Pennsylvania is the only state in the Northeast without same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Pennsylvania Marriage law was enacted in 1990 and amended in 1996 to define marriage as a civil contract in which a man and a woman take each other as husband and wife. It also says that same-sex marriages, even if entered legally elsewhere, are void in Pennsylvania.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the federal government’s Defense of Marriage Act. The court said that by denying legally wed same-sex couples marital status under federal law, the federal government was usurping the authority of the states to regulate marriage. That ruling has left the legal status of same-sex marriages in Pennsylvania, unclear.

“What we’re dealing with are competing interpretations of what civil rights are. Does the state have, any longer, any remaining rights to litigate this particular question?” Aronson said.

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, the American Civil Liberties Union sued to challenge the Pennsylvania Marriage Law and Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced that she could not ethically defend the state law in court because she didn’t believe in it. Her interpretation of the new legal landscape was that the Commonwealth’s law was “wholly unconstitutional.”

After Kane’s announcement, Hanes began receiving requests for same-sex marriage licenses.

When he made history by granting the first same-sex marriage license in the state on June 23, he said he did it because he wanted to "come down on the right side of history and the law. In the week since, Hanes’ office has granted 34 same-sex marriage licenses and recognized and recorded six same-sex marriages.

Janet Kelley, a spokeswoman for Governor Tom Corbett, said the Department of Health filed the Mandamus petition because it’s responsible for maintaining marriage license records and therefore has the ability to enforce the law.

“Mandamus is the proper legal action to compel a public official’s compliance with an existing law,” Kelley said.

In addition to suing Hanes, the state also blasted Attorney General Kathleen Kane, accusing her of usurping her duties, betraying the Governor and setting dangerous precedent by refusing to defend the state’s marriage statute on constitutional grounds. James D. Schultz, the state’s General Counsel, said Kane’s interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling’s effect on the state law was “simply wrong.”

“The Court in no way adjudicated the question of whether a state law defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman violates due process or equal protection. To the contrary, Windsor clearly leaves for another day the limits that the U.S. Constitution might impose on the State in their regulation of the marital relationship.”

In a letter responding to Schultz late Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Adrian King defended Kane’s actions, saying, “As you know, Governor Corbett is a steadfast supporter of the Marriage Law. It is reasonable to assume that the Governor seeks to have his position vigorously represented before the court. Given the Attorney General’s fundamental disagreement with the Governor on this issue – in her capacity as his attorney – the Rules of Professional Conduct clearly require her withdrawal.”

“Furthermore, it is not your job to tell the Office of the Attorney General – an independent agency – what its duties and obligations are,” King wrote.

For the case against Hanes, standards for the state will be higher than the burden of proof in a trial, according to Aronson.

“There will be a requirement that there be a demonstration that the harm of not limiting Hanes’ conduct is greater than the harm that would befall the citizens of the Commonwealth if he’s not restrained,” Aronson said.

The Mandamus petition says, “there is no limit to legal and administrative chaos that is likely to flow” from Hanes’ actions. One consequence, the petition predicts, is that same-sex couples who “falsely believe” they are legally married will apply for state benefits or treatment they “erroneously” believe they are entitled to.

Aronson believes the State’s fight against Kane will take a long time and involve an extraordinary investment of time, intellect and money. But the state says no additional help is being brought in to handle the cases.

“Attorneys already on the staff of the Office of General Counsel (including attorneys assigned to the Department of Health) are representing the Commonwealth parties in litigation involving the Pennsylvania Marriage Law,” Kelley said.

“From my perspective, I’m just a little bit shocked that we have the funds to do this, when we don’t have the funds to educate our kids or fix our roads,” Aronson said.

“It’s getting comical, except for the victims,” he said.

State Representative Brian Sims, the first openly gay candidate to be elected to the state legislature, said he did not find today's actions by the state surprising, but rather a part of the process that was expected. Sims, also an attorney, says the fight for same-sex marriages to be recognized in Pennsylvania has its best chance in the courts.

"I'm very fond of reminding people that we have three branches of government," Sims said. "Here in Pennsylvania, two are very hostile."

Tonight at 5, the DelcoTimes.com tackles the same-sex marriage issues with a conversation, streamed live. Editor Phil Heron will be joined by the Delaware County Register of Wills, Hugh Donaghue, who has said he will uphold the state's marriage law and by state Senator Daylin Leach of Haverford. Leach is one of the state's leading gay rights advocates. You can watch that debate in the discussion in the embedded window below: :

Live streaming video by Ustream

Experts are trying to identify a shark caught on video eating a dead dolphin off the Jersey Shore.

Anthony Cortes and his father-in-law David Hermann were flounder fishing Tuesday seven miles off the coast of Atlantic City. Suddenly, the two men spotted a shark eating the carcass of a bottlenose dolphin.

The men estimated the shark to be around 12 to 13 feet in length.

"It was the biggest shark I've ever seen out there," said Hermann. "It was amazing. I think it was a Great White."

"I've never seen a shark that big up close in my life," said Cortes, who recorded the video. "It had to have been a Great White. The shark would grab the bottlenose dolphin, shake it up a little bit in the air, go around, take a circle and come back around to it. He actually came up, looked at our boat, just swam to the back of our boat and then swam right back to the carcass and started eating the carcass again. It was pretty hideous."

Officials with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center are analyzing the video to determine the species of shark.

Those same officials are also investigating a recent spike in dolphin deaths at the Jersey Shore this month.

Since July 9, a total of 17 dead dolphins have washed up on beaches along the Shore. According to officials, four of those deaths were caused by viral pneumonia.

Also on NBC10.com:

Officials Investigate Jersey Shore Dolphin Deaths

No More Poker at Revel

Woman Claims $131M Powerball Jackpot Sold in Philadelphia

An 8-month-old baby girl in a stroller was killed Tuesday when an out-of-control bus driver who police said was on the phone slammed into several cars and two light poles, causing one to fall onto the child.

The mother of the baby was pushing the stroller on the sidewalk along East Boulevard in West New York, N.J., when it was hit.

The bus driver, identified by the sheriff's office as 48-year-old Idowu Daramola of Thornwood, N.Y., was arrested on charges of reckless driving, using a cell phone while operating a vehicle and death by auto. He was set to be arraigned Wednesday, but the appearance was postponed until Thursday.

"We don't know if he was texting or talking," said Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari. "This is what distracted him, we feel. And he lost control of the bus." 

The sheriff's office said there are two open warrants in Hudson for Daramola's arrest, both for picking up or dropping off passengers outside of official bus stops in North Bergen.

Daramola also has numerous other violations on his driving record from over the past two years, according to the sheriff's office. In August 2011, he was ticketed for speeding in Weekhaawken; in September 2011, he went through a stop sign, and in June 2012, he was caught on camera going through a red light. It wasn't immediately clear where in Hudson County the last two violations occurred. 

On the phone Wednesday, company owner Magdy Abdallah told NBC 4 New York he was never aware of any open warrants for Daramola, who had been employed there two years and had a valid drivers license when he was hired. 

"I feel very sorry for the child. I feel really bad," said Abdallah. "I couldn't sleep. I don't know how the accident happened."

"I wish I could see the family to say I'm sorry." 

Witnesses described chaos after the crash.

"Traffic stopped, people running to the bus," said Johanner Romero.

Police officer Michael Stetson gave CPR to the injured child, Angela Paredes, but it was too late.

"He tried so hard, so hard to save this little baby's life," said an onlooker.

Stetson told NBC 4 New York it was difficult to lose the little girl after trying to save her.

"It is hard, but it is part of the job," he said. "Things we have to deal with. It's what we are here for."

Attorney information for Daramola wasn't immediately available. He's being held at the Hudson County Jail on $250,000 cash bail. 

A Fullerton firefighter was among those arrested on suspicion of participating in the Huntington Beach riot over the weekend, authorities said Tuesday.

Michael John Lytle, 30, of Anaheim was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest., Fullerton city officials said. He has been placed on administrative leave.

"With firefighters, it’s especially tough because we hold ourselves to such a high standard," Fullerton Fire Chief Wolfgang Knabe told NBC4.

Also on Tuesday, Chase Scott Christman, 19, of Simi Valley, pleaded not guilty to vandalism and other charges. A Superior Court judge ordered him not to return to Huntington Beach.

Authorities were focusing on a man who was photographed smashing a bike shop display window with a stop sign Sunday as a violent crowd stormed the community after a surfing contest.

Read: Social Media Response to Huntington Beach Violence

Police asked for help identifying the man seen in the image (right) and another in which he appears to be celebrating with arms raised. The photo is one of several used by investigators as they attempt to identify individuals involved in Sunday's violence along Main Street.

Video of the vandalism at the Easyrider bike shop also was captured on video. The video shows a man smashing the display window before employees begin wrestling with member of the crowd for an expensive bicycle.

That video was taken by Margo Hamman, an 18-year-old photography student from Huntington Beach, who rushed to the scene to capture footage of the riot. She said her boyfriend, Ben, was trying to defend the store when a rioter sucker-punched him.

One bicycle was stolen, another was saved when Ben and other members of the crowd stepped in to help employees defend the store.

The shattered window was replaced Tuesday morning.

Social media, including the Huntington Beach police Facebook page, has played a prominent role in the investigation. After posting the image on its Facebook page, the department received several responses from people claiming to know the subject's identity.

The photo and call for help were issued as the Orange County District Attorney announced the arraignment of another person accused in the disturbance. Chase Scott Christman, 19, of Simi Valley is charged with one felony count of vandalism, one misdemeanor count of inciting a riot, and one misdemeanor count of refusal to disperse.

Arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

The violence began after the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing, which includes surfing, skateboarding and BMX biking events. Several witnesses told NBC4 the disturbance started with a fistfight in downtown Huntington Beach. City vehicles, newspaper racks, street signs, portable toilets and other items were damaged in the wave of violence on and near Main Street.

Call police at 714-375-5066 or email hbpdfiles@gmail.com with information.

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• Fund Created for Family of Girl, 11, Killed in Crash
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Boca Raton police ordered to the ground at gunpoint five people wearing military-style garb and carrying what looked like weapons, but it turned out they were actors taking action videos of themselves as superheroes and terrorists.

On Saturday night, two Boca Raton officers were approached by a "very concerned citizens," who told them about the five people on the top floor of a parking garage who were seen putting on body armor and taking guns from the trunk of a car at Mizner Park, Police Chief Dan Alexander said on his blog.

"We are naturally concerned about possible active shooter and/or terrorist incidents, so our officers hotfooted their way to the scene, located on the top floor of a parking garage," he said.

The officers found five men dressed in military-style outfits with guns at the upscale shopping area. One of them had Samurai swords strapped to his back.

"We quickly learned that the “guns” were actually stage props or airsoft type guns," the blog said.

They were shooting action videos of themselves as two superheroes and two terrorists.

The people who had initially complained didn't want to get further involved, but the actors, all in their 20s, were issued trespass warnings.

"Some folks are getting carried away in their quest for the next great social media post. Someone is going to get hurt," the chief said. "Parents should have discussions with their kids about the potential risks associated with these stunts. Adults need to consider the appropriate, time, place and manner in regards to acting out their superhero fantasies."

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• Syringes Wash Up on NJ Beaches
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Social media isn't just for people anymore. Inanimate objects are taking to Twitter too -- and changing the way the people think about appliances.

The account @mytoaster is an actual toaster that has over 2,000 followers and is on one simple mission: send a tweet notifying when it's "toasting" and another tweet when it's "done toasting"

Its founder Hans Scharler launched the account in 2008 and is the co-founder of the brains behind the tweeting object, a device called an ioBridge module.

The toaster has a switch that flips every time the appliance begins and finishes toasting. The switch is linked to an ioBridge module, which connects the toaster to the internet, giving it its tweeting capability, according to TIME magazine.

Scharler has also used the technology in a pool control system and a wireless pet feeder that allows pet owners to refill a doggie bowl from their mobile devices.

The tweeting toaster is part of a larger idea dubbed the "internet of things," or rather a world in which objects communicate with people (and vice versa) to improve the everyday routine.

"Things" can include everything from a tweeting toaster, to a plant in need of water, to a washing machine that alerts when load is finished, as TIME magazine explains. This technology is what some believe the future could look like.

In 2008 the number of "things" connected to the internet exceeded the number of people on earth, according to Cisco, and the growth isn't slowing down. The company predicts there will be 50 billion "things" connected by 2020.

You can keep up with the count on Cisco's real-time Connections Counter that monitors how many people, things, data and processes are on the internet at any given moment.

The era of the "Smart House" may not just be a Disney fantasy anymore.
 

A parolee who allegedly tried to run down a law enforcement officer before fleeing in El Cajon has been captured, according to officials.

The incident happened shortly after 2 p.m. near Vernon Way and Johnson Avenue.

El Cajon police officers were performing a traffic stop when a suspect in a red Mitsubishi coupe panicked officials said.

The suspect then fled, slamming into El Cajon police sergeant's vehicle and attempting to run over a California Highway Patrol officer who was standing outside his vehicle.

The CHP officer fired several rounds at the suspect's vehicle officials said. The suspect then went to 877 Vernon Way and got out of the car.

Thirty-three-year-old Ali Alkafaji, was captured shortly before 6 p.m. As law enforcement officers attempted to take Alkafaji into custody, he was bitten by a K-9 unit. 

His injury was described as minor by El Cajon police.

Alkafaji was initially wanted for burglary. He was booked on assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm on a police officer and a parole violation police said.

One woman at the scene was detained and questioned for information. She was identified as 24-year-old Dasha Elkerton. El Cajon police said Elkerton had two outstanding felony warrants so they booked her into county jail as well.

No law enforcement officers were injured in the incident.

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San Diego Mayor Bob Filner's new Chief of Staff appeared on national television Tuesday to address the allegations of sexual harassment against the mayor and how his office is responding to the scandal.

Special Section: Mayor Under Fire

Lee Burdick appeared on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow show and said Filner was involved in the decision to adjust policy to prevent any one-on-one meetings between women and the mayor.

“We felt it was a reasonable and prudent business practice in light of the allegations that were being leveled against him,” Burdick said.

“We put forth that policy because we felt it protected both the mayor and the citizens of San Diego. Ensuring them city business was being conducted with the highest level of integrity.”

Burdick stood beside Filner at Friday’s announcement that he will begin a two-week behavioral therapy treatment August 5. The mayor has not revealed the disorder for which he is seeking treatment.

After Filner’s statement, Burdick followed him out of the room packed with media and placed a hand on his back in support.

On MSNBC, Burdick said she didn’t feel it was impossible for the mayor to govern the city despite calls for his resignation from city councilmembers, longtime allies, Democratic party leadership at the local and national level and state legislators.

“I believe in the legal process. And I know, at the end of the day, if the Mayor has done what he is accused of doing, that process will result in the correct remedy,” Burdick said.

While Mayor Filner has not publicly admitted to groping women, touching them inappropriately or making unwanted sexual advances, he said Friday, “My failure to respect women and the intimidating contact I engage in at times is inexcusable.”

Burdick said the mayor is surrounded by sophisticated advisors. She also said it’s her role to step up and make sure the business of San Diego moves forward.
 

On Monday afternoon an 8th alleged victim publicly came forward claiming Mayor Bob Filner sexually harassed her.

Special Section: Mayor Under Fire

Lisa Curtin, director of government and military education at San Diego City College, talked to KPBS about an incident involving Filner when he was congressman.

Filner and Curtin met for a business meeting in 2011 when she claims he made inappropriate comments toward her, and asked if her wedding band was real.

Curtin also said Filner tried to kiss her, and at one point received a “very wet, saliva-filled kiss including feeling his tongue on my cheek.”

She told KPBS that she did not tell authorities, saying she was scared. She has since reported the incident to the sheriff’s hotline.

“Filner made it very clear how powerful he thought he was,” Curtin told KPBS. “He discussed that in the meeting; The kind of authority he had, that he had been pulling strings all over San Diego for many years.”

Filner has been accused of harassing multiple women, and Curtin is the 8th alleged victim to publicly come forward to detail her experience.

The mayor has since apologized for his behavior and said he will be entering intensive behavioral treatment at a two-week program beginning Aug. 5.

Local Democratic leaders have called for Filner to resign, including some of his former allies.

The United States government requested information on 1,319 Twitter accounts in 902 separate requests over a six-month period, according to a transparency report released by Twitter on Wednesday.

The requests were mostly for basic information such as e-mail addresses and IP addresses, Twitter said. Twenty-five countries submitted such requests in the first six months of 2013, but none more than the United States.

The San Francisco-based social media giant fielded 1,157 requests total during the six-month period, 148 more than the final six months of 2012. Once again, the vast majority -- 78 percent -- came from the United States government.

The report does not detail specific numbers related to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requests, despite Twitter’s preference for that data to be included.

“An important conversation has begun about the extent to which companies should be allowed to publish information regarding national security requests,” wrote Jeremy Kessel, Twitter’s legal policy manager, on the company blog. “We have joined forces with industry peers and civil liberty groups to insist that the United States government allow for increased transparency into these secret orders.”

“We believe it’s important to be able to publish numbers of national security requests – including FISA disclosures – separately from non-secret requests. Unfortunately, we are still not able to include such metrics.”

Of the 902 requests in the United States, 67 percent led to at least at least some information being released. Most of those requests came via subpoenas (56%), while search warrants (23%) and court orders (11%) were the other most frequently used legal processes.

When a request is submitted by subpoena, it usually does not require a judge’s sign-off and “usually seeks basic subscriber information, such as the email address associated with an account and IP logs,” Twitter said.

To obtain the disclosure of content such as tweets or direct (private) messages, the requesting agency is required to produce a warrant signed by a judge.

In its terms of service, Twitters states its policy is “to notify users of requests for their information prior to disclosure unless we are prohibited from doing so by statute or court order.” Twenty percent of the requests came "under seal," which prevented Twitter from notifying the effected users about the request.  

In 61 percent of cases, users were not notified despite the request not coming under seal for various reasons, including the request being withdrawn, defective requests and those that came in emergency, time-sensitive situations.

In compliance with its terms of service, Twitter notified 19 percent of the users effected by information requests.

Removal requests, copyright notices and additional information were also included in the report.

Following the United States, Japan (87), the United Kingdom (26), Brazil (22), Italy (22) and France (18) made the most information requests.

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A car accident on northbound Interstate 805 in Mission Valley on Tuesday left a 9-year-old girl dead.

The two-vehicle accident happened around 2:30 p.m. on I-805 just south of Murray Ridge Road.

Three patients were transported to local hospitals and Yuriko Mendoza, 9, died at the scene. Yuriko lived in Santa Ana with her family.

Paramedics took an adult to Sharp Memorial Hospital and two other children to Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego fire-rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said.

He also said emergency responders had to tear off the roof of the car because victims were trapped inside.

Traffic was backed up for nearly two hours while officials cleared the scene.