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3 Killed, 2 Wounded in Pomona Shootings

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Police were seeking gunmen in four shootings that left three men dead and two wounded in six hours in Pomona this weekend, police said.

The shootings happened within 5-square miles of each other.

"I couldn't hug my son for the last time," said Sandra Skinner, the mother of one of the victims as friends and family gathered at a makeshift memorial. "Whoever did this, they need to stand up and be a man."

Gunfire was first reported at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday when Jose Cerda, 45, of Pomona, was fatally shot riding his bike on Lexington Avenue, said Sgt. Steve Congalton of the Pomona Police Department.

Pomona Shootings Map

Two hours later and about a mile away, Isais Garcia Lopez, 24, of Ontario and an unnamed 18-year-old man from Pomona were walking in an ally when they were shot, officials said.

Lopez was shot multiple times, Congalton said. The other victim was also struck but was able to run away to a nearby courtyard where he was located by police.

His condition is unknown, Congalton said.

The third shooting occurred about 2 a.m. when gunshots broke out near the area of Canterbury Avenue and Oxford Plaza. Two cars were struck by bullets, and a 29-year-old Pomona man suffered a leg wound in the attack, authorities said.

Shots were again fired about 50 minutes later when Angel Bravo, 29, of Pomona was standing outside his car parked near a store on Benedict Way when another vehicle pulled up next to him and opened fire. Bravo was shot multiple times and died, Congalton said.

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Photo Credit: Michelle Valles/NBCLA.com

Silver Fire Containment Expected Monday

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Firefighters battling the 20,000-acre Silver Fire have lifted most evacuation orders and had the blaze 90 percent contained Sunday night, estimating full containment Monday.

The 30-square-mile blaze in Riverside County has injured 11 firefighters - including one Sunday - and one civilian. The civilian suffered severe burn injuries, authorities said. Some 48 structures were destroyed, including 26 homes, one commercial building and 21 outbuildings.

Eight other buildings were damaged, including two homes and six outbuildings.

Photos: Viewer Images | More Fire Images | Send Us Your Fire Photos

Most evacuation orders were lifted by Sunday morning, though some campgrounds and an RV Park remained closed. Evacuation centers for residents and their animals closed Sunday afternoon.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

The Silver Fire broke out on Wednesday off a highway south of Banning, 90 miles east of Los Angeles.

Two other smaller fires, meanwhile, continued to burn in Southern California.

The Sharp Fire in the mountain community of Wrightwood scorched 163 acres and was 75 percent contained. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries and evacuations were ordered for some areas.

A fire that scorched about 100 acres in Santa Clarita near Bee Canyon, close to where the Powerhouse Fire burned earlier this summer, was 70 percent contained Sunday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

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$11M Jackpot Lottery Ticket Sold in San Diego

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One San Diego resident just hit the lottery jackpot and is now $11 million richer – and they may not even know it.

California Lottery officials say a jackpot-winning SuperLotto Plus ticket was sold in San Diego’s Golden Hill neighborhood. The lucky ticket matched all six numbers in the latest SuperLotto Plus drawing – 44, 46, 7, 5, 14 and Mega number 27 – to win the ticket-holder an $11 million jackpot prize.

The winning ticket was purchased at Golden Hill Liquor located at 2795 B Street sometime between Wednesday and Saturday night.

Lotto officials say Golden Hill Liquor will now receive a bonus of $55,000 for selling the winning ticket.

On Sunday, Alla Abbo, owner of the liquor store, told NBC 7 he was thrilled by the news.

Abbo said it’s the first time his store has ever sold a winning lottery ticket.

“We’ve been here almost 30 years in this place, and a lot of people know us really well. We are really happy for everyone in this place, and everyone in this area,” said Abbo. “I am so excited.”

California Lottery officials have already decorated Abbo’s store in winning colors, which he’s very proud of.

As of Sunday at 6 p.m., the winner had not yet come forward.

The local jackpot winner has 180 days from the date of the SuperLotto Plus drawing to claim the prize. Officials say the cash option amount for this win is approximately $6.3 million.
 



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

Riders Recall Encounter with Hannah, DiMaggio

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A group of horseback riders who spotted Hannah Anderson and James DiMaggio in Idaho backcountry shared their story of their encounter with the pair. NBC 7's Artie Ojeda reports from Idaho.

Missing San Diego Teen Reunites With Father

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San Diego teenager Hannah Anderson – who was recovered by authorities in Idaho backcountry Saturday after six days of a widespread Amber Alert search -- has reunited with her father, her family confirmed on Sunday.

On Saturday, 16-year-old Hannah, of Lakeside, was found with kidnap and murder suspect James Lee DiMaggio, 40 – at a campsite north of Morehead Lake in Idaho backcountry.

Officials said U.S. Marshals flying an airplane above the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness spotted a tent in the area. They then called in an FBI SWAT and Hostage Rescue Team to move in on the campsite.

Agents were able to safely recover Hannah.

DiMaggio – the man authorities believe abducted the teenage girl after killing her mother and brother in the unincorporated community of Boulevard near San Diego on Aug. 4 – was killed at the scene.

TIMELINE: Search for Hannah Anderson

Few details were released by the FBI on how, exactly, DiMaggio was killed. San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said he was shot and killed by an FBI agent at approximately 4:20 p.m. PT. It is unclear if DiMaggio returned fire, as that part of the investigation is ongoing.

After San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore announced that Hannah had been found safe in Idaho, Gore said the teen’s father, Brett Anderson (pictured below), was expected to travel to Idaho to reunite with her.

“[Brett] is elated that we found his daughter alive,” Gore said in Saturday’s press conference.

In a separate press briefing out of Idaho on Saturday following the recovery of Hannah, Valley County acting Public Information Officer Andrea Dearden said the teen appeared to be unharmed and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

On Sunday, Dearden said Hannah’s current location would not be disclosed due to safety and security reasons.


Hannah and DiMaggio were the subjects of an Amber Alert that spanned six states – California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Idaho – with millions on the lookout for a blue Nissan Versa with California license plates driven by DiMaggio.

DiMaggio is suspected of killing Hannah's mother, 44-year-old Christina Anderson, and her 8-year-old brother Ethan Anderson, both of Lakeside. Their bodies were found on DiMaggio's property east of San Diego where a log-style cabin and detached garage burned to the ground on Sunday.

After the fire, Hannah went missing and was believed to be traveling with DiMaggio.

The pair was spotted by a horseback rider in remote, backcountry terrain near Cascade, Idaho, and Morehead Lake on Wednesday.

Once law enforcement honed in on the area, they discovered DiMaggio’s vehicle – the Nissan Versa listed in the Amber Alert – in the very rugged terrain of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, covered in brush.

This led to an extensive search of the backcountry led by more than 200 federal, local and state law enforcement officials.

Finally, on Saturday, Hannah and DiMaggio were found by officials near the site of where the horseback rider had initially spotted the pair on Wednesday.

 

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Photo Credit: Artie Ojeda

Dognappers Caught on Video Stealing Puppies

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Dognappers were caught on video grabbing six puppies out of the back seat of a woman's car last week while she paid a bill at a Southern California animal hospital.

The 6-week-old American bulldog puppies were bred to be service dogs for the disabled. The owner is a hearing-impaired woman.

The theft also puts the dogs' health at risk - the puppies were still too young to be separated from their mother, whose milk they need for nourishment and immunity.

The owner, Ryan Fingerle, said the puppies' mother has been visibly upset.

"She mopes around the house ... looking for puppies," she said.

The video shows a man walking through a parking lot in Highland Park and stopping suddenly as he peers into the car window. He looks around, walks off and returns with a friend.

The man opens the car's unlocked rear door and they ran off with a dog bed and all of the pups on it.

A witness reported seeing the men throw some of the puppies over a fence. That led to the recovery of three of the puppies.

The puppies were worth an estimated $1,000 each.

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CHP: Party Bus Rollover in Portola Valley Kills Passenger

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The California Highway Patrol continued to investigate a fatal party bus crash Monday that killed one passenger in his late 30s Sunday night and caused the temporary shutdown of northbound Interstate 280 near Portola Valley.

The driver of the San Francisco-based party bus - a converted Chevrolet Express 3500 - was initially nowhere to be found, according to CHP Officer Art Montiel.

But, four hours later, a man wandering along the highway was found with injuries. That man, later identified by CHP as 43-year-old Jason Quinonez, is now facing a trio of felony charges,  including DUI and manslaughter.

RAW VIDEO: Aftermath of Fatal Party Bus Rollver in Portola Valley

Officials say Quinonez lost control, hit a tree, and the van rolled 20-feet down an embankment near the Alpine Road exit.

The road was closed until just before 5 a.m.

Officials say the party bus company is based out of San Francisco.

The Santa Clara Coroner has not released the name of the victim.



Photo Credit: NBC Bay Area

Amelia Rose Earhart Not Related to Famous Flyer

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After much hoopla and publicity, the woman who claimed to be a distant relative of American aviator Amelia Earhart revealed Friday the pair is not related.

"After hiring a team of researchers, I learned today that though we share a name and a love of flight, the first Amelia Earhart and I are not from the same family," Amelia Rose Earhart wrote on her Facebook page.

The 30-year-old weather and traffic co-anchor for NBC Denver affiliate KUSA has gained nationwide attention since announcing that she would embark on her own around-the-world flight next summer to honor her "very distant" relative and "namesake."

Earhart and a co-pilot plan to circumvent the globe in June 2014 in a Pilatus PC-12NG, starting in Oakland, Calif.  The 14-stop, 480,000-mile journey will take the pair over Howland Island where the late Earhart and her co-pilot were supposed to land before they vanished over the South Pacific in 1937.

The modern Earhart hopes to become the youngest woman to fly around the world.

"I've been having this conversation my entire life," Earhart said of her famous name on the "Today" show on Aug. 2. "It always comes up. When I think about the best way to honor being a namesake of Amelia, it's all about adventure."

Earhart said on her Facebook post that she has no plans to abandon her planned flight around the world next year and remains committed her cause of helping young girls to "purse their dreams of flight."

Check out the full Facebook post:

A note from my heart... Thank you for reading. Amelia Earhart once said: "You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward." She sure was right.Years ago, I hired a genealogist to look into the link between myself and the first Amelia Earhart, and for the past 10 years, I had the understanding that we shared a distant common ancestry. As many of you may know, I am in the process of recreating her historic flight around the world. As a part of this process, it became clear it was time to determine the EXACT connection between the two of us. After hiring a team of researchers, I learned today that though we share a name and a love of flight, the first Amelia Earhart and I are not from the same family. While the news was a jolt, it DOES NOT change my commitment to the the flight or to the mission of The Fly With Amelia Foundation, which is to enable young girls to pursue their dreams of flight. I am so thankful for all the encouragement and support I have received and I am really looking forward to sharing my recreation of Amelia's flight around the world with all of you. -Amelia

 



Photo Credit: DP

Missouri State Fair Bans Clown Who Wore Obama Mask

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The rodeo clown who wore a Barack Obama mask during a show at the Missouri State Fair has been permanently banned from performing at the event ever again.

The Missouri State Fair apologized for the weekend rodeo stunt mocking Obama that has been slammed by state officials from both parties.

The state fair commission unanimously approved the motion, according to a statement.

Video of the state fair incident aired by NBC affiliate KSHB showed a rodeo clown standing in the middle of the arena wearing an Obama mask, while an announcer rallied the crowd into a frenzy by saying, "We're gonna smoke Obama, man."

A bull was unleashed from the bullpen, but the Obama clown left the arena about 15 minutes later after the bull got too close, according to The Associated Press.

Spectator Perry Beam told KSHB that the crowd "went wild" during the stunt.

Beam said he witnessed another clown running up to the one wearing the Obama mask and played with the lips on the mask.

"Like an effigy, at a Klan rally," Beam told the "Today" show by phone. "There would have been no reason to mess with his lips if he would have been a white president."

Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill called the rodeo antic "shameful" and "unacceptable."

"I condemn the actions disrespectful to POTUS the other night," tweeted Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. "We are better than this."

The Missouri State Fair agreed in a statement to NBC News that the performance was disrespectful. "We strive to be a family friendly event and regret that Saturday's rodeo badly missed that mark."

Lt. Gov. Kinder sent a follow-up tweet calling for Gov. Jay Nixon to take action.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



Photo Credit: AP

Apple Expected to Unveil New iPhone in September

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Apple is expected to release its latest iPhone at an event on Sept. 10, according to the technology blog, AllThingsD.

The technology giant is also rumored to release a new lower-cost iPhone along with the new model it reportedly plans to release.

There has been speculation about the addition of a fingerprint sensor, in addition to the release of the new iOS 7 operating system. The software update includes a new redesign of the overall look of the iPhone's menu and icons, as well as other smaller updates such as improved notifications and better ways to organize photos, according to AllThingsD.

The software update will reportedly be available for several recent iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices.

Apple is also expected to launch the next version of its Mac OS X, known as Mavericks.
 



Photo Credit: AP

Building Collapses Into Sinkhole Near Disney World

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A massive sinkhole caused a section of a resort villa near Disney World in central Florida to partially collapse early Monday, and another section of the villa was sinking, authorities said.
 
About 30 percent of the three-story structure collapsed around 3 a.m. Monday, Lake County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Tony Cuellar said. The villa at the Summer Bay Resort in Clermont had already been evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Seffner Restaurant Evacuated After Possible Sinkhole
 
The sinkhole comes five months after one elsewhere in Florida killed a man.
 
Monday's sinkhole, which is in the middle of the villa, is about 40 to 50 feet in diameter, Cuellar said. He said authorities think it was getting deeper but couldn't tell early Monday if it was growing outward.

The villa houses 24 units and about 20 people were staying in it at the time, Cuellar said.

Sinkhole Forces Tampa Area Family From Home
 
Authorities were called to the scene, about 10 miles west of Disney World, late Sunday where they found that the building was making popping sounds and windows were breaking.
 
A nearby villa was also evacuated as a precaution, Cuellar said.
 
Witnesses told The Associated Press they could hear a cracking sound as the villa began sinking. A large crack was visible at the building's base.

Video Released of Sinkhole That Killed Man in Seffner
 
Luis Perez, who was staying at a villa near the sinking one, said he was in his room when the lights went off around 11:30 p.m. He said he was on his way to the front desk to report the outage when he saw firefighters and police outside.
 
"I started walking toward where they were at and you could see the building leaning and you could see a big crack at the base of the building," said Perez, 54, of Berona, N.J.

Florida has a long and ongoing problem with sinkholes, which cause millions of dollars in damage in the state annually. On March 1, a sinkhole underneath a house in Seffner, about 60 miles southwest of the Summer Bay Resort, swallowed a man who was in his bed. His body was never recovered.
 
But such fatalities and injuries are rare and most sinkholes are small. Sinkholes can develop quickly or slowly over time.
 
They are caused by Florida's geology - the state sits on limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water, with a layer of clay on top. The clay is thicker in some locations making them even more prone to sinkholes.
 
Other states sit atop limestone in a similar way, but Florida has additional factors like extreme weather, development, aquifer pumping and construction.

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Photo Credit: Lake County Fire Rescue

Man Injured in Solana Beach Crash

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This is video of a car crash in Solana Beach on southbound I-5 just north of Via de la Valle at 10:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11. A man is in the hospital after the car he was driving veered off the freeway, into a guardrail. The driver ended up getting trapped inside his car. He was hauling a small trailer, and when he crashed, the trailer detatched from the car and flew 100 feet into a guardrail. The driver was taken to Scripps La Jolla. CHP was investigating the incident.

Listen: AOL CEO Fires Employee on Conference Call

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In a move that would make Donald Trump proud, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong fired Patch.com's creative director on a conference call Friday with close to 1,000 employees listening in.

Media blogger Jim Romenesko obtained audio of the call (embedded below) in which Armstrong quickly transitions from encouraging Patch employees who “think what’s going on right now (at Patch) is a joke” to quit to an abrupt dismissal of Abel Lenz.

As was common practice, Lenz was taking a picture during the all-hands call to post to the company’s internal blog. That’s when Armstrong lost it.

Armstrong: “Abel, put that camera down right now. Abel, you’re fired. Out.”

Just like that.

An awkward moment of silence followed before he goes on about how AOL is committed to the network of hyper-local news sites The day before, Armstrong announced Patch would cut approximately 300 of its 900 sites nationwide – and the editors who run them -- in a cost-cutting maneuver.

Lenz still identifies himself as “Creative Director at AOL Patch.com” on his Twitter profile and responded to a tweet from Romenesko regarding the incident: “I appreciate the interest Jim, but I have nothing to share. Go Patch!”

Several media outlets have reported that while Lenz’s tweet might indicate cooler heads prevailed, that he was indeed let go.

Before taking over as Charirman and CEO of AOL in 2009, Armstrong served as President of Google’s Americas Operations. He co-founded Patch in 2007, which was then acquired by AOL shortly after Armstrong landed at the company.
 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Feds: Sweeping Changes for Low-Level Drug Offenders

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With the U.S. facing massive overcrowding in its prisons, Attorney General Eric Holder took to the podium in San Francisco  Monday morning, calling for major changes to the nation's criminal justice system in what he described as a "Smart On Crime" initiative.

He hopes the move - a marked change from the "war on drugs" attitude of the past four decades - will scale back the use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes, cost the nation less in terms of dollars and correct what he described as an unfair disparity for men of color who are disproportionately imprisoned for low-level drug crimes. The announcement was for federal guidelines and doesn't directly address state drug charges.

His announcement drew only applause from the crowd, though one protester outside told NBC Bay Area she thought that she prefers the status quo and to keep the laws we already have on the books. And one expert at Stanford said that this news merely changes a policy and perhaps a culture.

In remarks to the American Bar Association, Holder said he also favors diverting people convicted of low-level offenses to drug treatment and community service programs and expanding a prison program to allow for release of some elderly, non-violent offenders in what he described as "compassionate release."

His point: Prison should punish and rehabilitate, not warehouse and forget.

"The bottom line is that, while the aggressive enforcement of federal criminal statutes remains necessary, we cannot simply prosecute or incarcerate our way to becoming a safer nation," Holder said in prepared remarks. "To be effective, federal efforts must also focus on prevention and reentry. We must never stop being tough on crime. But we must also be smart and efficient when battling crime and the conditions and the individual choices that breed it."
 
In the most sweeping culture change, the attorney general altered Justice Department policy so that low-level, non-violent drug offenders with no ties to large-scale organizations, gangs or cartels won't be charged with offenses that impose mandatory minimum sentences, that he called "draconian." Specifically, federal prosecutors won't file charges against low-level dealers detailing the quantity of cocaine, meth or other drugs they were caught with. And without that information, judges can't impose the five- or 10-year mandatory minimum prison terms. Until now, that discretion hasn't been allowed.

Mandatory minimum sentences, Holder said, "breed disrespect for the system. When applied indiscriminately, they do not serve public safety. They have had a disabling effect on communities. And they are ultimately counterproductive.''

The Attorney General's Office on Monday sent a memorandum to the country's 94 U.S. Attorneys offices,  telling them that prosecutors will be told that they may not write the specific quantity of drugs when drafting indictments for drug defendants who: did not involve violence, sell a weapon to minors, are not leaders of a criminal organization, have no ties to large-scale gangs, have no significant criminal history.

Holder didn't change the law, according to Robert Weisberg, co-founder of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, because that would take an act of Congress. What he did do is tell his prosecutors to leave out details in certain drug cases in order to give judges more discretion is handing out lower sentences. This will likely change the culture of the federal prosecutor's office.

“There’s no question that [Holder] would like that mandatory minimum legislation rewritten to be more flexible and nimble, whereby the statutory criteria would really say, ‘the mandatory minimum applies for someone who is the organizational chief of the enterprise, or who is engaged in violent conduct.’ " Weisberg said. "Unless or until Congress does this, Holder simply wants U.S. attorneys, in some cases, not to allege the facts, which would be necessary to trigger the mandatory minimum.”

What remains unclear is how is how each of the U.S. Attorneys offices around the country will implement changes, given the authority of prosecutors to exercise discretion in how they handle their criminal cases. And how drug charges will be treated by county prosecutors also wasn't immediately addressed.

“A lot of the things he was talking about are things that have been going on in San Francisco for the last few years, so I’m pleased to see that,” San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said. “It’s going to be a matter of seeing what it looks like.”

If there were any critics in the predominantly liberal San Francisco Bay Area crowd, it was hard to tell: Holder only drew applause for his remarks inside the room. Outside, there were a handful of protesters arguing to keep the sentecning policy as it was.
 
The impact of Holder's initiative on mandatory minimum sentences could be significant, says Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a non-profit group involved in research and policy reform of the criminal justice system.
 
There are roughly 25,000 drug convictions in federal court each year and 45 percent of those are for lower-level offenses such as street level dealers and couriers and people who deliver drugs, Mauer said.

A disproportionate number of those convictions are for men of color, Holder pointed out, which is simply unfair - another fact that drew loud claps from the audience. African-Americans account for about 30 percent of federal drug convictions each year and Hispanics account for 40 percent,
 
Federal prisons are operating at nearly 40 percent above capacity and hold more than 219,000 inmates - with almost half of them serving time for drug-related crimes and many of them with substance use disorders.  In addition, 9 million to 10 million prisoners go through local jails each year. Holder praised state and local law enforcement officials for already instituting some of the types of changes Holder says must be made at the federal level.

Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., have introduced legislation aimed at giving federal judges more discretion in applying mandatory minimums to certain drug offenders.
 
The attorney general said some issues are best handled at the state or local level and said he has directed federal prosecutors across the country to develop locally tailored guidelines for determining when federal charges should be filed, and when they should not.
 
"By targeting the most serious offenses, prosecuting the most dangerous criminals, directing assistance to crime `hot spots,' and pursuing new ways to promote public safety, deterrence, efficiency and fairness - we can become both smarter and tougher on crime,'' Holder said.
 
The attorney general said 17 states have directed money away from prison construction and toward programs and services such as treatment and supervision that are designed to reduce the problem of repeat offenders.

NBC Bay Area's Cheryl Hurd, Bob Redell and Pete Yost from the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Chula Vista Man Admits to Killing 3 Women

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A Chula Vista man admitted Monday to killing his wife and mother-in-law and attempting to stage their deaths in a traffic collision three years ago.

Thao Richardson, 39, and her 72-year-old mother Phan Lai (pictured below) were found with gunshot wounds outside a car off Highway 67 near Lakeside on June 29, 2010.

Prosecutors alleged Michael Richardson, 60, killed his wife and mother-in-law perhaps when they discovered he had been having sex with his then-17-year-old niece.

Richardson also admitted to a third murder – that of his ex-girlfriend Jovita Collazo. Collazo and her 13-year-old daughter were living with Richardson in National City in 1992. In April of that year, Collaza, 38, was reported missing. Her body has never been found.

Richardson owned a Poway auto body shop at the time of his arrest. He and Thao Richardson had a daughter who was 7 years old at the time of her mother’s death.

Richardson had been convicted of armed robbery in North Carolina about 30 years ago, but escaped prison in 1982. Some time later he was recaptured, finished his North Carolina sentence, and wound up in San Diego on parole.

Richardson admitted to the special circumstance of multiple murders, a prior strike and a serious prior and had his three life terms doubled under California's "three strikes" law.

He was sentenced to six-consecutive life terms in prison without parole.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 News

Hillary Clinton Urges Vigilance on Voting Rights

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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Washington to strive to protect voting rights in a speech Monday afternoon in San Francisco.

In remarks to the American Bar Association, which was honoring her, Clinton warned against the damage she said could be wrought by the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the landmark Voting Rights Act.

"Citizens will be disenfranchised, victimized by the law instead of served by it," Clinton said. "That historical progress for a more perfect union will go backwards instead of forwards."

The ruling struck down the formula for determining which counties and states must get pre-clearance from the federal government before changing their voting rules. "By invalidating pre-clearance, the Supreme Court has shifted the burden back onto citizens alleging discrimination," Clinton said.

The American Bar Association was presenting Clinton with its ABA medal, which is its highest honor. ABA President Laurel Bellows said the group wanted to recognize Clinton for her law career, as well as her work helping to advance the careers of other women lawyers.

Clinton served as the chair of the ABA’s Commission on Women from 1987 to 1991. In her half-hour speech to the group, she encouraged attendees “to stand up against dictatorship, corruption and oppressions.”

"We're at our best when we live our ideals, including our devotion to democracy," Clinton said, urging Congress to pass new legislation and the Justice Department to beef up its enforcement of other components of the Voting Rights Act.

Clinton also decried a new spate of state-level voting restrictions nationwide, enacted in the wake of what she called a "phantom epidemic of voter ID fraud," and warned that much of the damage wrought by the Supreme Court could play out at a very local level.

Clinton's speech came hours after Attorney General Eric Holder delivered remarks to the lawyers group calling for an overhaul to the criminal justice system, particularly an end to mandatory minimum sentences for some drug-related crimes.

Missing from Clinton’s speech was any mention of her decision on whether she intends to run for president in 2016, although she did drop a hint or two that she was testing the waters.
    
Clinton said during the next few months she planned to travel around the United States to deliver speeches on everything from national security to U.S. global responsibility.

"She’s been pretty good about saying that’s a long time away and let me focus on resting and being out of government for awhile," said Corey Cook, a political professor at the University of San Francisco. "At the same time she does seem like she’s laying the groundwork for something."

Bellows said Clinton has been a trailblazer for women’s rights in a long career that’s taken her from law to education to politics.
 
"If I said to you, name the top three women in the world who have contributed to the law, to human rights, to the betterment of society, Hillary would be right up there with those names," said Bellows, who is the fifth woman to lead the powerful organization.

Bellows said didn’t want to speculate on whether Clinton should run for president. But then she paused, and allowed for a crooked smile.  

"I’m a big fan of what she’s accomplished," Bellows said. "And I know she’s going places."



Photo Credit: AP

Shots Fired in Gaslamp Quarter

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Someone opened fire in the Gaslamp Quarter early Monday damaging several storefront windows.

San Diego police were called to 6th Avenue and E Street at 2 a.m. Monday after several reports of shots fired in the area.

By the time officers arrived, the suspect had fled the area.

NBC 7 News found three storefront windows were shattered by bullets in the shooting.

No one was injured. No arrests were made.

 



Photo Credit: NBC 7 News

Man With Autism Saves Grandma From House Fire

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A man with autism is being called an "angel" after leading his 82-year-old grandmother and a would-be rescuer out of a burning Orange County home to safety, according to fire officials.

The blaze was reported about 9 p.m. Sunday in the 31400 block of Paseo Campeon, according to Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Steve Concialdi.

Neighbor Tony Weeda, 53, spotted the fire while driving by and pulled over to pound on the door. When no one answered, he entered and woke up the grandmother, who was sleeping on a couch, Concialdi said.

The pair went upstairs to warn John Kurrasch, 20, when the power went out, leaving the trio in smoke and darkness.

"You couldn't see a thing," Weeda said. "The house had no lights and the whole house was up in smoke."

Weeda wasn't familiar enough with the home to navigate through the darkness. He grabbed onto Kurrasch's shirt and told him to lead them to safety. So he did - through the smoke and past flames.

After Kurrasch led them out, his grandmother referred to him as an "angel" for his heroic act. She told Weeda that they would have died if he hadn't shown up.

"When the chips are down with John, when somebody's sick, he just transforms into an angel," father Dave Kurrasch said of his son, who was diagnosed with autism at age 2.

The fire, which was determined to be an accident, caused about $150,000 worth of damage and was possibly started by an appliance in the garage, Concialdi said. Firefighters put out the fire in 30 minutes.

Though most of blaze was limited to the home's attached garage, the house sustained heavy smoke damage and parts of it burned, Concialdi said. A car in the garage and another in the driveway were destroyed.

And, thanks Weeda and John Kurrasch, no one was hurt.



Photo Credit: Vikki Vargas

MLK Memorial Likely Won't be Changed for Anniversary

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Work to refinish part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial where a disputed inscription was recently removed may not be done until after the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Executive architect Ed Jackson Jr. told The Associated Press on Monday that a disagreement arose over the past 10 days over how to sandblast and refinish the stone where an inscription was recently chiseled away.

The side of the memorial's "Stone of Hope'' has been left unfinished because the main contractor, Worcester Eisenbrandt Inc. of Baltimore, doesn't have insurance to complete the sandblasting with steel pellets, the way it was originally created, Jackson said.

There are color differences now where words were removed, and a slight yellow stain was left on the stone Friday when workers tried an alternate process using walnut shells to blast the stone.

"It looks unfinished,'' Jackson said. "The artist is furious about leaving his work unfinished.''

Sculptor Lei Yixin, who created the memorial, traveled from China to do the corrective work and plans to return home Aug. 20.

Lei told AP that sandblasting was always a crucial piece of the project, and he did not know how it was left out of the National Park Service's contract.

"All we have done is kind of physical damage to the sculpture because we chiseled the inscription out,'' Lei said through his son, Ke Shi, who interpreted. "The sandblasting is a way to restore the damaged surface to make those damaged surfaces look uniform with the rest of it.''

National Park Service spokeswoman Carol Johnson said officials agree the work must be done, but it may have to be part of a new contract because of government rules.

The project may have to stop for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington on Aug. 28 when commemorative events are expected to draw big crowds. Scaffolding would be taken down around the monument, and work would resume later, she said.

"We are committed to going forward in the way Master Lei wants to go forward,'' Johnson said. "It's just a question of what's the best way and the quickest way to get this done.''

It was not clear how the sandblasting process that was used to create the memorial more than two years ago was left out of the contract.

Jackson said part of the problem was there was never full agreement with the National Park Service on the process outlined by Lei. He said the foundation that built the memorial felt the park service was choosing the wrong contractor to remove the disputed inscription.

The Park Service said the project requirements were not clear.

"We certainly didn't know that this is what was going to be necessary until the process had already started,'' Johnson said. "Otherwise it would have been in the contract.''

The agency is still working to finish the project before Lei leaves for China, Johnson said. It is seeking approval to have the work done by the agency's Historic Preservation Training Center, "under the watchful eye of Master Lei,'' she said.

That could allow the project to be completed before the 50th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream'' speech.

On Monday, the work site was quiet. Scaffolding wrapped by a white material covered both sides of King's statue, including the area where the inscription was removed.

The now-removed inscription was a paraphrase from King's "Drum Major'' speech. It read, "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.''

Critics, including the poet Maya Angelou, argued the quotation was taken out of context when it was paraphrased and shortened. Angelou said it made King sound arrogant.

Marine May Have Died After 'Trust Game,' Sources Say

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A 19-year-old Marine from South Dakota who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head may have been playing a so-called "trust game" Friday evening, sources close to the investigation said.

Lance Cpl. Cody Scott Schoenfelder died Saturday morning after the shooting inside the Marine Barracks in southeast Washington about 6:45 p.m. Friday, the U.S. Marine Corps confirmed Monday.

News4 Washington confirmed that another Marine was present at the time of the shooting. They were on guard duty in one of the guard shacks at the barracks. Schoenfelder may have been attempting to demonstrate how a 9 mm handgun could be prevented from firing even if the trigger was pulled, NBC News reported.

Now, investigators are looking into whether the shooting was part of a trust game, sources told News4.

Several published reports have described trust games in which Marines dare each other to risk dangerous stunts.

“There’s several variations of the trust game that we’ve written about in the past,” Marine Corps Times Senior Editor Dan Lamothe said. “The most common one involves one Marine pointing a pistol at another Marine and asking ‘Do you trust me?’ and then pulling the trigger. It doesn’t seem clear what happened here yet, especially because they are reporting it was self-inflicted.”

There’s not supposed to be a round in the chamber of the weapon. But in 2009, Marine Cpl. Mathew Nelson was sentenced to eight years for killing a fellow Marine during a trust game.

In March 2009, Nelson played the game with two Marines, shooting and killing the second, Lance Cpl. Patrick Malone. That investigation uncovered several incidents of the game in that platoon, though Malone was the only fatality.

At least two other soldiers' deaths have been linked to trust games, according to Trista Talton, who covered the case for the Marine Corps Times. She cited the 1997 death of a lance corporal in Okinawa after other Marines dropped him from the third story of his barracks and the 2007 death of a soldier shot and killed by his best friend, a Kentucky National Guardsman.

Schoenfelder, of Huron, S.D., was a decorated infantry rifleman, having received the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terror Service Medal.   

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and loved ones of Lance Corporal Schoenfelder, as we mourn the loss of one of our Marines,” read a statement from the Marines.

The case is being investigated by D.C. police and Marine Barracks Washington, D.C. as an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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