Judge Brett Kavanaugh testified before a Senate committee Thursday to answer an allegation that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford during a high school party 36 years ago. Here are key moments from his testimony.

Governor Jerry Brown last week signed a bill that will allow any city in San Diego County to move forward with a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) plan.

SANDAG is working to implement this new kind of transportation system plan, allowed under SB 1151.

NEV’s are vehicles that travel 25 mph or slower, weigh 3000 pounds or less, and are zero-emissions vehicles.

"People often confuse these with a golf cart, but they're really quite a bit more substantial than a golf cart," said SANDAG Operations Director Ray Traynor. "In fact, the federal government has recognized this new vehicle type about 15 years ago."

This ride concept is not brand new to San Diego County. Some residents already own and use them in cities such as Coronado and Carlsbad. Downtown San Diego also offers a service using a NEV.

But now the state can put the plans into action.

"There's a new mode of transportation that's been on the verge of entering the marketplace for some time," said Traynor. "But the lack of legislation and the authority for cities to take advantage of this new mode has sort of hindered its implementation."

This is now changing with the implementation of SB 1151. SANDAG sponsored the legislation carried out by Senator Pat Bates, receiving support from organizations such as the Center for Sustainable Energy, the Electric Vehicle Association of San Diego and the Sierra Club.

"It becomes an opportunity for communities to think about how they can improve connectivity for the elderly and for those that may have challenges getting to and from appointments," said Traynor.

SANDAG will begin developing neighborhood plans for cities that are growing and want to add specified roadways for NEVs. For instance, Otay Ranch is constructing a network of roadways for these vehicles.

"Now cities can decide if they want to build a separate network of roadways or integrate with current roads," said Traynor. "This provides greater local connectivity to give people more transportation choices."

Currently, The Free Ride "FRED" offers just that -- a free ride anywhere across downtown San Diego during set hours. The service uses about 20 neighborhood electric vehicles and is working to reduce emissions downtown.

"TFR offers a number of benefits," said Co-founder of The Free Ride, Alexander Esposito. "Complimentary rides to people who might not want to walk or would otherwise take a car, reduction in GHG (greenhouse gases), reduced traffic by preventing people from driving and parking for short-distance trips, reduced congestion by promoting alternate forms of mass transit."

Esposito said they are working with Civic San Diego and advertising partners. You can currently hail a ride by downloading their app here.

The Free Ride operates Monday – Thursday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

In addition to talking and texting, it's illegal to use your phone for GPS while driving unless it's mounted to your cars dashboard or center console. 

Those under the age of 18 can never talk and drive, even if hands-free. Still, many drivers break this law every day. 

NBC 7 Investigates wanted to know how many cell phone tickets were being given and exactly where drivers were being cited. 

Data obtained from the San Diego Police Department shows from the years 2016 to 2017, the city of San Diego saw an 80 percent increase in all types of distracted driving citations. 

That includes a 345 percent increase for tickets given to motorists who were texting while driving. 

One possible reason for the jump could be the passage of a state law last year, prohibiting drivers from holding a phone while driving, even if they are using GPS. 

If you're driving and using your phone in Cortez Hill, near downtown, your chance of getting a ticket is even higher. In the last 4 years, the San Diego Police Department has given out the most distracted driving tickets, 637 total, on the 1300 block of 10th Avenue, according to police data.

The area with the next highest number of tickets issued is the 2700 block of Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, with a total of 288 citations. 

To see other areas in the city that saw the highest number of tickets handed out for distracted driving, look below or click here. 

San Diego Police says there is a reason for the high number of tickets in these areas. Officers believe car accidents in these communities are most often caused by distracted driving. 

In response, San Diego police say they set up officers on those specific blocks to catch people talking, texting, or touching their phones. 

Drivers who get these tickets are often annoyed. Clairemont resident Suzanne Bradley said she was in her car, waiting at a red light when she reached for her phone to change the music. 

“And right before I started driving I looked up and I saw there was a cop,” Bradley said. “As soon as I got on the freeway he turned his lights on and pulled me over.” 

The fine? More than $400. And it wasn't her first cell phone ticket. 

A few years before, Bradley got another. That time for holding her cell phone, and talking on speakerphone.

“I didn't think I was doing anything wrong,” she said. 

But in the end, Suzanne said getting the ticket served its purpose. “I guess I did learn my lesson.” 

There are a few exceptions to the new cell phone law. You can hold your phone to call 911 and you can turn a mounted GPS on or off, as long as only one tap or swipe is required to do so.

The media storm surrounding the sexual assault allegations by Christine Blasey Ford against Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court nomination process has become a spectacle with 24/7 news coverage. To some survivors of sexual assault and victims of abuse, the hearings and testimony may trigger trauma.

“People who have been sexually traumatized will try to avoid anything that will be a trigger to the trauma. This is something that’s pretty hard to avoid. It’s not like you cannot elect to go to this ‘movie.’ It’s on the internet. It’s on the television. It’s on 24/7,” said John E. Jannes, PhD., associate executive director of NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island.

“This is about a 17-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl 36 years ago and this may stimulate conversations between parents and their adolescents…and that is a good thing. Adolescent girls who are empowered and adolescent boys who are mindful how they behave.”

Sexual assault is a topic that remains taboo, but it's also not uncommon.

Every 98 seconds, another person experiences sexual assault, according to Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization that oversees the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

RAINN spokeswoman Sara McGovern said the National Sexual Assault Hotline saw a 147% increase above normal volume on the day of the Kavanaugh and Ford testimony.

RAINN tweeted the organization also experienced unprecedented wait times for its online chat. 

“We are angry about the things that have happened to us. We’re angry that it happens to other people. We’re angry that, for a long time, we weren’t able to talk about it,” sexual assault survivor Aminatou Sow told The New York Times earlier this week. 

Vow went on to say the way the news media reports about sexual violence can often cause harm.

After 35 years of experience treating victims of sexual trauma, Jannes said Ford’s testimony and courage to come forward may have a positive impact and helps victims.

“Both young men and young women who have had experiences that meet the definition of sexual trauma and who were afraid to report may now be empowered to report it,” said Jannes.

The nation is watching closely following Ford's testimony in which she alleged with “100 percent” certainty that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while in high school. The historic hearing is a rare occurrence, and pre-dated only by Anita Hill’s testimony in 1991 when she accused then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual assault. Ford was described as “credible” by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Both Ford and Kavanaugh were questioned by senators and Rachel Mitchell, a former sex crimes prosecutor from Maricopa County, Arizona.

Ford specifically accused Kavanaugh, a current judge on the United States Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, of sexual violence at a party in the 1980s. Since Ford surfaced her allegation on July 30, three more women have come forward to also allege sexual assault by Kavanaugh.

Some Democrats have called for an FBI investigation into the allegations noting that Kavanaugh’s nomination process should be delayed, while Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) has rebuked the request for an investigation as politically motivated and put his full support behind Kavanaugh. 

#MeToo founder Tarana Burke sat behind Ford during her testimony and tweeted: “These men are wholly uninterested and unmoved by this woman’s words...Dr. Ford has to talk about the worst trauma of her life in front of them. This is the reality of being survivor of sexual assault in this country. #WeBelieveDrFord #WeBelieveSurvivors #metooMVMT”

The #MeToo movement has been at the forefront of the nation’s conscious following allegations of sexual violence by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein last year.

Just this week, entertainer Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for aggravated indecent assault.

“More than 60 women have self-identified as sexual assault victims of Bill Cosby,” wrote sex assault survivor Andrea Constand in a victim impact statement made public ahead of Cosby’s sentencing.

“When the sexual assault happened, I was a young woman brimming with confidence and looking forward to a future bright with possibilities. Now, almost 15 years later, I'm a middle-aged woman who's been stuck in a holding pattern for most of her adult life, unable to heal fully or to move forward.” 

During his emotional and at times tearful testimony, Kavanaugh, who was described as angry, called the events surrounding his nomination a “national disgrace” and a “media circus.”

But it was during Kavanaugh’s testimony that strong reactions were seen on social media regarding the definition of sex assault after he stated he never had sex in high school.

“Sexual assault isn’t about sex, it’s about power,” tweeted Nick Murrow, of the Human Rights Campaign southern states.

Sex assault resources are available at the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673. Since it was first created in 1994, the National Sexual Assault Hotline has helped more than two million people, according to its website.

The San Diego International Airport joins the ranks of only ten airports in the U.S. today.

The Airports Council International certified the San Diego airport as Level 3, a rare ranking, in its attempts to decrease its carbon footprint.

"The San Diego Airport initiated what is known as the 'Good Traveler' Program," said Dennis Probst, vice president of development for the San Diego International Airport. "It allows passengers to purchase carbon credits. That is helping fund planting trees and other things that consume carbon." 

The San Diego airport also made strides in reducing carbon emissions by encouraging airlines to switch to plant-based biofuels. 

According to the website Blue Sky Model, on average, a plane produces over 53 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile.

"The largest amount of carbon consumed at an airport is on the aircraft," Probst added. 

In addition, all vehicles on the runway and buses use electric or alternative fuel. The airport terminals also utilize solar energy. 

The airport hopes to become completely carbon neutral by 2022. 

The Port of San Diego was a victim of a ransomware attack, the agency announced Thursday.

The agency is partnering with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the matter, Port CEO Randa Coniglio said in a statement released Thursday.

Hackers breached the Port’s information technology systems on Tuesday and demanded payment in Bitcoin, the agency said, though the amount was not disclosed.

Ransomware works by encrypting a user's data and holding the decryption key until the ransom is paid. Once that happens, a typical recourse is to reformat and restore the system from backups, SDSU cyber warfare and cyber terrorism expert Steven Andrés said.

“When the NotPetya ransomware attacked Maersk shipping company, the company recovered by reformatting and restoring over 4,000 servers and 45,000 desktops from the backups,” he said.

It was unknown how the ransomware got onto the Port’s computer, but Andrés said it could happen a number of ways, such as someone opening an infected email attachment, clicking on a malicious web link, or plugging in a USB thumb drive that’s been infected.

Another way is a direct hack of a computer that's connected to the Internet, ESET senior security researcher Stephen Cobb said.

"So every company is using computers out on the internet, and if there's a bad actor, I can find one of those, guess the password, break into it," he said. "I can then use that as my platform to carry out an attack on the organization."

When the Port began having problems, a team of industry experts from local, state and federal levels was called in to minimize the impact of the breach and to restore the affected systems, Coniglio said.

She said the breach’s effect is only administrative and not operational.

“The Port remains open, public safety operations are ongoing, and ships and boats continue to access the Bay without impacts from the cybersecurity incident,” Coniglio said.

One of the systems compromised included the San Diego Harbor Police Department, but the agency has switched to a backup system, she said.

While only the some of the information technology systems were affected by the breach, the Port shut down other systems in “an abundance of caution,” Coniglio said.

Documents previously posted on the agency’s website have been taken down to scan for any bugs. Park permits, public records requests and business services are also temporarily affected by the breach, the Port said.

The Port has not revealed which systems were compromised in the breach citing security concerns but did say that priority has been placed on restoring public safety-related systems.

The Port was the latest public agency to be hit with ransomware. In March, the city of Atlanta was crippled for several days with ransomware. Hackers demanded $52,000.

It took the city more than a week to restored the system from backups at a cost of more than $2 million.

"Ransomware is an interesting attack in that the criminals are more interested in getting money for giving you the encryption key than looking at the data," Cobb said.

An accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh from an anonymous person from Oceanside is part of a timeline of information and interviews received by the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding allegations of sexual misconduct against the nominee.

The timeline was released by committee chairman Chuck Grassley a day before Kavanaugh and one of his accusers, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, was set to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee over Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her in when they were both in their teens.

According to Grassley’s timeline, Senator Kamala Harris gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee an anonymous letter postmarked Sept. 19 that said "Kavanaugh and others raped the author in the backseat of the car."

The letter was signed "Jane Doe, Oceanside, CA" and did not identify a place, date or who the others were, according to the timeline released by Sen. Grassley.

NBC 7 has not been able to verify the timeline described by Sen. Grassley or the alleged accusation. NBC 7 has reached out to Senator Kamala Harris’ office regarding the allegations and has not received a response.

A legal expert told NBC 7 anonymous allegations like this will not be taken seriously by the committee.

"Especially not when you have the kind of people who are going on the record with these other very serious allegations. An anonymous allegation is not going to be factored into the mix," attorney and legal expert Dan Eaton said.

Eaton also said that he expects allegations against Kavanaugh, credible or not, to continue long after the confirmation process.

Kavanaugh appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday to answer questions from a panel of 11 Republicans, all men, and 10 Democrats.

In his prepared testimony, the 53-year-old appellate judge acknowledges drinking in high school with his friends, but says he's never done anything "remotely resembling" what Ford describes.

His testimony was preceded by Ford's, who told the committee she said she was appearing only because she felt it was her "civic duty."

Two other women have brought allegations of misconduct against the nominee.

Deborah Ramirez, told The New Yorker that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her while they were both students at Yale. She has acknowledged consuming alcohol at the time, which clouded some of her memories.

The day before the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to begin, Julie Swetnick, has accused Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, of excessive drinking and inappropriate treatment of women, among other things. The Associated Press hasn't been able to corroborate the claims.

Kavanaugh and Judge have denied the allegations. Kavanaugh said he doesn't know Swetnick and "this never happened."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

San Diego Lifeguards rescued a Green Sea Turtle with a hook caught in its throat Thursday evening at the Ocean Beach Pier.

Lifeguards loaded the 70-pound turtle into a boat and transported it to SeaWorld San Diego, where staff immediately began doing tests.

Hours later a SeaWorld spokesperson said the turtle was in stable condition.

No other information was available.

Imagine if you were way over your household budget -- let’s say around 10 percent over --and you had to make lifestyle cuts sooner rather than later.

That's the situation the Sweetwater Union High School District is finding itself in after a budgetary mistake led to a $4 million deficit at the end of last school year.

And to make matters worse, the district is on track to be $30 million in debt by the end of the 2018-2019 school year.

The County Office of Education said Sweetwater's budget overstated how much money it would actually receive and understated how much money it was budgeted to spend, specifically on salaries and benefits.

District Superintendent Karen Janney said they noticed the shortfall while closing out the financial books for the previous school year.

In a letter from the county office sent Sept. 18, the county asked the district to identify cuts that can bring the budget into balance by Oct. 8.

School is already in session so it’s hard to make cuts. Teaching positions cannot be cut because teachers have to be notified in March about possible layoffs.

“We are confident and already determining solutions to address this financial deficit,” Janney said.

The district said administrators and the union leadership team are collaborating to revise the 2018 budget. The president of the teachers’ union said he didn’t know what was going to happen, but said the teachers are due raises they’ve already received.

The father of a boy who suffered serious injuries when he was hit by a car while riding his bike in Escondido earlier this month says his son is still recovering in the hospital and has multiple surgeries ahead of him.

Fourteen-year-old Josue Carrasco was riding his bike Sept. 7 just minutes from his home on. His father came home and noticed Josue wasn’t there so he gave him a call. Josue said he’d be right home.

The next call his father got was from the police.

“He told me he was coming home in 10 minutes, he was close to home. We waited for him. But when I talked to the police, they told me my son was in an accident,” Ricardo Carrasco said.

The Escondido Police Department said Josue was hit by a sedan near the intersection of El Norte and Centre City Parkway just before 11 p.m. Josue became trapped under the car and had to be rescued by firefighters.

While he laid underneath the car, he suffered serious burns on his face, stomach and back, according to his father.

Josue was life-flighted to Rady Children's Hospital then quickly moved to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest.

He’s already been through a couple surgeries and has more to come.

“In my heart, I started to cry. In that moment, I thought I could have picked him up. I feel guilty,” Ricardo said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family.

NBC 7's Gaby Rodriguez heard from locals with opinions on both sides of the battle.

Christine Blasey Ford has broken a "culture of silence" around other experiences of sexual assault that stemmed from alcohol-fueled parties in the 1980s among classmates that attended private schools in the Washington, D.C., area, NBC News reported.

A dozen women who attended Catholic and private prep schools in the Montgomery County area of Maryland decades ago when Brett Kavanaugh was a student at Georgetown Preparatory School spoke to NBC News this week, seven of them on the record. The women — most of whom signed an open letter saying they believed Ford’s allegation, and all but two of whom did not know her or Kavanaugh personally — shared their memories of kegs, bonfires and unsupervised beach houses where heavy drinking fueled sexually inappropriate comments and behavior and attacks that were never spoken of afterward.

“So many of us thought we were alone,” one graduate of the all-girls School of the Sacred Heart said. “But we weren’t. When we heard Christine’s story, we knew that story. We’d experienced it.”

A former church youth group leader has been arrested following accusations he sexually abused five girls who attended his youth group meetings in Maryland.

A Cecil County grand jury indicted Allen L. Price, 58, Thursday, and he was arrested the next morning at his Quarryville, Pennsylvania, home, Maryland State Police say. Price has been charged with five counts of felony second-degree child abuse, 41 counts of felony second-degree sex offense, three counts of felony third-degree sex offense, 49 counts of fourth-degree sex offense, a misdemeanor, and 11 counts of second-degree assault, also a misdemeanor.

The investigation into Price began last summer when police received information about him.

Police say Price volunteered as a youth group leader at Grace Bible Chapel in Rising Sun, Maryland, from 1987 until 2001. Police say Price assaulted and abused five girls who attended the youth group meetings. The victims were between 11 and 16 years old at the time of the assaults.

Police say their investigation indicates that Price still has ties to Quarryville and Lewes, Delaware, where he has been involved in youth activities.

Anyone who would like to speak to police about Price should call 410-996-7811.

The House Intelligence Committee voted Friday to release dozens of transcripts from interviews related to its year-long investigation into Russian interference, which ended in March/

A total of 53 transcripts are being made public, most but not all of what the committee has. Those thousands of pages include interviews with close associates of then-candidate Donald Trump, including Steve Bannon, Michael Cohen, Hope Hicks, Jared Kushner, Corey Lewandowski, Roger Stone and Donald Trump Jr.

Ranking Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff said interviewees will have the opportunity to review the transcripts to verify accuracy.

Committee Democrats had pushed for all transcripts to be released on several occasions. 

The transcripts will be sent to intelligence officials for declassification, and none will be released until all have been reviewed.

This is a breaking story. Refresh this page for updates. 

Robbery suspects have been arrested following a series of grab-and-go thefts at Apple stores in California that spanned across 19 counties, including many in the Bay Area, officials announced Thursday.

Seven people were arrested in Oakland Tuesday night for alledgedly entering Apple retail stores in hoodies and grabbing products on display before fleeing. The losses totaled more than $1 million, according to the California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. 

The suspects were booked in the Alameda County Jail and another suspect was take into custody in Sonoma County. Nine other arrest warrants were issued to the rest of the suspect and the investigation is ongoing, Becerra said.

"Organized retail thefts cost California business owners millions and expose them to copycat criminals. Ultimately, consumers pay the cost of this merchandise hijacking," said Becerra.

Becerra filed charges for conspiracy to commit grand theft against the individuals in Fresno, Santa Clara, and Alameda Counties.

The thefts occurred in Alameda County, Butte County, Contra Costa County, Fresno County, Kern County, Los Angeles County, Marin County, Monterey County, Orange County, Placer County, Riverside County, Sacramento County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, San Francisco County, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Sonoma County and Ventura County, according to the attorney general.

The latest Apple store theft occurred Tuesday afternoon in Emeryville, according to police. A group of roughly six to eight people swarmed the store and grabbed an unknown amount of Apple products before taking off from the scene.

Tuesday's theft comes on the heels of similar crimes that have taken place recently at Apple Stores located in Bay Area cities such as Santa Rosa, Walnut Creek, Corte Madera and Burlingame.

Officers responding to a call about a disturbance in a Sunset Cliffs neighborhood were shot at Friday, prompting a brief SWAT standoff, the San Diego Diego Police Department said.

A neighbor called 911 to report he heard screaming and glass breaking at a home on Devonshire Road, near Hill Drive in the Sunset Cliffs neighborhood, just before 12:30 a.m.

When SDPD arrived to the home in question, a woman ran from the home and told officers someone inside had a gun, though officers did not see the gun themselves, SDPD Officer Steve Bourasa said. 

Shortly after, a single gunshot was heard from inside the home, Bourasa said. 

SDPD Sgt. Michael Tansey initially said the shot was fired towards the responding officers. 

A SWAT team was called to assist officers. Police could be heard calling towards the home for anyone inside to show their hands through the home’s open window.

More than an hour later, two men came out of the home with their hands up and were taken into police custody, Tansey said. 

One of the men was released and the other was arrested on weapons and assault charges. He has not been identified. 

Three weapons were recovered from the scene, Bourasa said. 

There were no injuries reported. 

Police remained on scene through the morning conducting an investigation into the incident.

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

Officials with Escondido High School have addressed a photo that appears to depict students spelling out a racial slur with lettered t-shirts.

A statement released by the school on Thursday said 10 students "made a poor decision to participate in an activity that is not aligned with Escondido High School's culture."

Principal Dr. Adriana Lepe-Ramirez continued in the statement that actions that send messages of "racism and promote divisiveness will not be tolerated," but did not elaborate on the actions allegedly committed by the students.

The Escondido Police Department, in conjunction with the Escondido School District, is reviewing the incident, school officials said.

The school said parents of the students involved were being contacted an disciplinary actions would be taken, though it was not clear what type of disciplinary measures would be implemented.

Read Escondido High School’s full statement below:

Today, during a senior event on the Escondido High School campus, approximately 10 students made a poor decision to participate in an activity that is not aligned with Escondido High School's culture, values or history. Principal Dr. Adriana Lepe-Ramirez expressed her deep sadness with this occurrence and stated, "We are a campus that prides itself on inclusion and embraces diversity. We will not tolerate actions that send messages of racism and promote divisiveness. We will work with students, as well as staff, to ensure a respectful and safe environment is maintained throughout our campus. We all need to understand the power of our words and actions, and we must take responsibility for the decisions we make each and every day. At Escondido High School we will continue to work every day to build a culture of family and unity across our community." 

Escondido High School, along with the district office, has been working alongside the Escondido Police Department and others to conduct a thorough review of this incident. Parents and guardians of the students involved are being contacted by school administrators, and appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken. Teachers, administrators and community members are committed to continuing their efforts to teach and guide students toward making wise, informed choices.

Facebook has discovered a security issue affecting 50 million accounts, which could have let hackers take over the accounts and access users' personal information.

"Since we’ve only just started our investigation, we have yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed. We also don’t know who’s behind these attacks or where they’re based," Facebook vice president of product management Guy Rosen said in a blog post Friday. 

Rosen said the company discovered the issue on Tuesday and notified law enforcement. The attackers exploited a hole in Facebook's code related to the "View As" function, which lets people see what their profiles look like to other users.

A total of 90 million users will have their access tokens reset, the company said, which means they will have to log back in the next time they try to use Facebook. When they log in they will see a message at the top of their news feed explaining what happened.

Shares in Facebook fell sharply on the news. CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the issue in a post on his own page as well.

"While I'm glad we found this, fixed the vulnerability, and secured the accounts that may be at risk, the reality is we need to continue developing new tools to prevent this from happening in the first place," he said. (His post had more than 2,000 user comments within 20 minutes.)

The company did not specify whether users in any particular country were affected. In its most recent quarter, Facebook reported 1.47 billion daily active users worldwide.

The attorney general of North Carolina, Josh Stein, suggested in a Twitter post that his office would investigate the breach.