Fewer people were intoxicated on San Diego roadways this Thanksgiving weekend, however, 58 were still arrested for suspected impaired driving, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The arrests were made between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Sunday during the agency's maximum enforcement period in CHP's jurisdiction area, which includes all freeways and roads in unincorporated areas.

During the enforcement period, all available officers were deployed to catch drunken or drugged impaired drivers as well as speeders and other traffic violators.

Last year, 66 people were arrested for suspected DUI in San Diego County during the same period, a 12 percent decrease.

Statewide, the CHP made 855 arrests for suspected impaired driving over the Thanksgiving holiday, down from 965 last year. Forty-four people were killed statewide on the roads this year -- including two in San Diego County. There was the same number of fatalities on California roads last year.

It took more than 15 years for Mississippi and other Southern states to catch up to the Supreme Court's landmark desegregation decision, Brown v. Board of Education, and many in the school systems found ways around the new system, NBC News reported.

The issue came to light again last week when the Jackson Free-Press reported that Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who faces a special election Tuedsay, attended a school in Brookhaven, Mississippi, that was founded in 1970 to flout the integration order. Its mascot was a confederate general.

Such so-called segregationist academies around the South prevented black students from entering through financial barriers and unstated discriminatory practices.

"The state of Mississippi and other states began offering private school vouchers to support this effort to bypass integration," according to Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation and an expert on American education and segregation.

A fire at a Worcester, Massachusetts, apartment left 13 people spending the Thanksgiving holiday at a hotel, but it could have been much worse if it wasn’t for a group of high schoolers on their way home.

Four junior ROTC members were driving from their high school when they saw smoke at a Hamilton Street apartment building.

The humble high schoolers credit their training with what they did next.

"We're in the ROTC program, and the values that we are taught, that they instill into us, we use those to act upon situations like this," Raesean Goodney said.

The group ran into the burning apartment building, going door to door to save the people inside.

"When we looked back, no one was out ... I didn't see no people, or nothing," Abderrahman Sebbai said. "It was just like, we need to go, like we have to go in there fast."

"I started kicking down the second door, and when I finally kicked it down, the resident finally came to the door and then I led him downstairs," Jordan Parker said.

Flames were focused to the back of the third floor, where, one room away, a woman was asleep with her three children.

"When she woke up, cause we were like shaking the bed, we were yelling at them to get up, get up, get up. She woke up and she was like really confused, she was shocked, she didn't know what was going on," Goodney said.

The group of friends says they called 911 when they first saw the flames. The fire department was there minutes later, but by that time, everyone was already outside.

All 13 people who live there, including the mother of three, made it out alive.

Emanuela Abbascia met with NBC10 Boston in a hotel conference room because she can't go back home with her three sons.

"Losing everything you've worked for has been heartbreaking," she said. "My son's room, I worked so hard to pay for this."

Everything is gone, but Abbascia says she has gained hope with neighbors and strangers donating all they can.

"Instead of being sad and making, you know rolling in pity, in the video you'll see that I kept on saying, 'God I still thank you' cause it could have ended up differently," she said.

Abbascia and her sons are moving out of the hotel on Monday as they start their search for a new home.

Scientists say an impact crater bigger than Washington, D.C. is hiding beneath more than a half-mile of ice in Greenland, NBC News reported. The crater, which would be the first ever discovered under a continental ice sheet, is more than 19 miles wide and 1,000 feet deep.

Researchers believe it formed "after ice began to cover Greenland, so younger than three million years old and possibly as recently as 12,000 years ago," Kurt Kjaer, a professor at the Center for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, said in a statement.

The researchers first spotted evidence of the crater in 2015 when they noticed an unusual feature on a topographical map made from data obtained by NASA aircraft that had surveyed the area with ice-penetrating radar. They spent the next three years confirming the discovery.

Some scientists want more evidence to be convinced the feature is an impact crater from a meteorite.

The San Diego Zoo's beloved giant panda, Gao Gao, appears content to be back in his native China, according to video posted by zoo officials over the weekend. 

In the video, Gao Gao, who helped lead conservation efforts for the species while living at the San Diego Zoo for 15 years, sits upright and chomps on an oversized carrot, stopping only momentarily as he looks at the camera. 

"We're happy to report this papa bear is in good health and thriving in China," the San Diego Zoo said in a tweet. 

The panda left the San Diego Zoo on Oct. 30 and arrived safely at his new outdoor habitat at the Chinese Center for Research and Conservation for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in Dujiangyan, China in early November.

Gao Gao – a father of five cubs, all born at the San Diego Zoo – had been living at the facility for the past 15 years as part of a long-term loan agreement with the People’s Republic of China.

As one can imagine, transporting a panda to the other side of the world is not a simple undertaking. Zoo officials said Gao Gao traveled accompanied by some members from his animal care team.

Kathy Hawk, senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo, said Gao Gao’s diet was adjusted for the trip and was monitored carefully to ensure his return to his homeland would be “seamless.” Animal care specialists from both the CCRCGP and San Diego Zoo Global were helping Gao Gao get acclimated to his new habitat.

And, back in San Diego, though Gao Gao may be gone, zoo visitors can still marvel at pandas daily. The Panda Canyon exhibit at the San Diego Zoo continues to be home to two giant pandas – Bai-Yun, 27, and her son, Xiao Liwu, 6.

Democrats gained 39 seats in the House of Representatives in this year's midterm elections, NBC News concluded Monday, after Ben McAdams defeated Republican Rep. Mia Love in Utah's Fourth Congressional District.

It was NBC News' final uncalled contest, though the Republican incumbent's lead in California's 21st Congressional District is smaller than 500 votes despite NBC News and other outlets calling the race.

Democrats' gains in the House were propelled by the largest vote margin for one party ever seen in a midterm election year, beating Democrats' previous record from the Watergate era.

Love conceded her race Monday, tearing into President Donald Trump for having "no real relationships, just convenient transactions."

Wildfires have burned across California, hurricanes leveled homes in Florida and the Carolinas, and recovery is uneven across Puerto Rico a year after Hurricane Maria. On #GivingTuesday, thousands of residents remain displaced while others are struggling to rebuild.

#GivingTuesday, set for Nov. 27, is in its seventh year. Created at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, its purpose is to encourage giving. Check a charity’s reputation before you donate. Here’s one place to start: Charity Navigator.

Below are some organizations offering immediate and long-term assistance for communities hit by natural disasters.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

The Camp Fire in Northern California, the state’s deadliest fire, was contained over the weekend after burning for more than two weeks. The fire killed at least 85 people and destroyed most of the community of Paradise. Meanwhile two other fires -- the Woolsey and Hill fires -- burned in Southern California, killing at least three people.

California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund

The fund supports intermediate and longterm recovery, with grants going to residents who lost homes, belongings or jobs with rebuilding and other assistance.

California Fire Foundation

The foundation’s Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency or SAVE program provides short-term financial help to victims of natural disasters in California.

Direct Relief

The organization works with partners in the area, whether health departments or clinics, to get medical resources where they are needed.

Entertainment Industry Foundation

The foundation’s Fire Relief Fund is supporting the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the L.A. Kitchen, which provided food for first responders and people in shelters, and the Humane Society of Ventura County, which has helped with more than 300 animals displaced by the fires.

Humane Society of Ventura County

The animal shelter offered help with animals displaced by the fires

Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation

The foundation provides equipment and other support to firefighters, including brush helmets and now hydration backpacks for every firefighter.

North Valley Animal Disaster Group

The group is caring for animals evacuated because of the Camp Fire.

North Valley Community Foundation

The foundation’s Camp Fire Evacuation Relief Fund is supporting evacuation centers to make sure they have portable toilets and showers, blankets and other needs and is offering grants of up to $25,000 to organizations providing short-term direct services to evacuees.

 Venture County Community Foundation

The foundation created the Hill Fire/Woolsey Fire Sudden and Urgent Needs Effort Fund for those affected by the fire.

THE CAROLINAS

Hurricane Florence hit North and South Carolina in September, drenching the area and causing serious damage from flooding.

Foundation for the Carolinas

The foundation’s Hurricane Florence Response Fund is directing donations to non-profits in North and South Carolina to provide immediate and long-term help to victims of the storm.

A GoFundMe page for Hurricane Florence relief is being managed by the Direct Impact Fund, a nonprofit.

FLORIDA

Hurricane Michael was the most powerful hurricane to hit the Florida Panhandle, killing 43, and leaving thousands homeless.

Florida Disaster Fund

The Florida Disaster Fund assists the state’s communities to recover from disasters.

A GoFundMe page for Hurricane Michael relief is being managed by the Direct Impact Fund, a nonprofit.

PUERTO RICO

Hurricane Maria killed nearly 3,000 people on Puerto Rico in September 2017 in the deadliest natual disaster in the United States in 100 years. A year later, the island is still rebuilding

Global Giving Foundation

The Disaster Recovery Network at Global Giving emphasizes community-led relief and recovery. FORWARD/ADELANTE Puerto Rico is a fund created by a network of Puerto Rican foundations providing longterm support for local grassroots organizations.

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Three people in a truck being chased by deputies were injured Monday afternoon when the driver crashed into a tractor trailer in Otay Mesa.

San Diego Sheriff’s Department deputies were chasing the truck at around 2:20 p.m. when the driver crashed on Pacific Rim Court and Camino Maquiladora near a shopping center, SDSO Lt. Perkins told NBC 7.

The truck crashed into a tractor trailer, according to Perkins.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Dan Eddy said that three people were extricated from the truck but were unresponsive.

The San Diego Police Department was called in to help close off the street in the area, deputies said.

At this time, it is unclear what caused the pursuit.

No other information was available.

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

U.S. border agents fired tear gas on migrants protesting near the U.S.-Mexico border on Nov. 25. This is the timeline of events that led to the closure of the crossing.

A man pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife Monday after she was found dead on a Jamul hiking trail nearly two years ago.

Winnie Whitby, 49, was charged with first-degree murder as he appeared in court for the first time.

He is being held without bail.

Maryland State Police arrested Winnie on a murder warrant in Goldsboro the day before Halloween, according to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.

He was brought back to San Diego to face charges.

Deputies said evidence gathered during the investigation linked Winnie to his wife’s death.

Melissa was reported missing by her husband on Dec. 30, 2016.

A week later, her body was found on the Skyline Truck Trail, a mile and a half away from the couple’s home.

She died due to trauma sustained to her upper body, the Medical Examiner’s Office said, confirming it was a homicide.

Winnie was set to be arraigned on Nov. 21 but was not produced. It was rescheduled for Monday.

His next court date is set for Dec. 7.

Winnie was acquitted of a double murder charge in Maryland in the 1990s.

An Inglewood neighborhood was evacuated overnight after what appeared to be a bomb was found under a parked car near a school.

A bomb squad safely detonated the device at about 4:30 a.m. Monday in the 700 block of West Beach Avenue near Highland Elementary School.

Investigators responded to the area after a resident reported wires dangling from under the sedan. A bomb sniffing dog "alerted" on the car, police said.

"We don't know who left it, but they parked it right outside of a school," said Inglewood Police Lt. Neal Cochran. 

Later Monday morning, Cochran said there were no live explosives found with the device. The person who placed it under the car apparently tried to make it look like a car bomb, he said.

The chair of the California Democratic Party is temporarily stepping aside during an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Eric Bauman's leave of absence began Monday afternoon. Party spokesman Mike Roth says it will continue through the conclusion of an outside investigation.

A party vice chair has accused Bauman of sexually harassing and assaulting several anonymous accusers during party functions. Daraka Larimore-Hall has not named the alleged victims.

The party's first vice chair Alex Rooker will serve as acting chair.

Bauman says taking a leave is the best way to ensure the investigation's independence and integrity.

--

The California Democratic Party has launched an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by party chair Eric Bauman.

Bauman says he takes any allegation seriously and that an outside investigator is looking into the accusations against him.

The allegations have been brought forward by a party vice-chair on behalf of anonymous accusers. Daraka Larimore-Hall alleges Bauman sexually harassed and in some cases sexually assaulted people during party functions. The Sacramento Bee reports Larimore-Hall spoke to two alleged victims and a witness.

Larimore-Hall has called for Bauman's removal as party chair.

Bauman said in a Saturday statement he looks forward to putting the allegations behind him and the party.

Bauman was elected chair in 2017 after a contentious battle over the party's direction.

NBC and Telemundo are hosting a day-long telethon on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, to help provide relief to thousands of families devastated by recent California wildfires. 

Proceeds from the California Wildfire Relief Telethon will go towards the American Red Cross, which provides relief to disaster victims in the form of emergency shelter and supplies as well as long-term support. 

To make a donation, call us on Tuesday when the phone lines open or make a contribution online here. All donations are tax deductible. 

Sunday’s five-hour border closure turned out to have a significant impact on South Bay businesses.

The shutdown came during Black Friday weekend, typically recognized as the busiest shopping weekend of the year.

According to Jason Wells, executive director of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce, there was an estimated one-day loss of $5.3 million for the more than 700 businesses that are members of the chamber.

He said 75 percent of the businesses closed the entire day, and that included stores at the Las Americas Outlets of San Ysidro.

“It was a disaster for us. It was just a very important day lost,” said Rahil Iqbal, who with his family owns three discount clothing stores on San Ysidro Boulevard, just north of the border.

He estimates about a $20,000 to $25,000 in profit loss among his three stores.

Iqbal says 90 percent of his customers come from Tijuana and he’s concerned with what will happen in the days ahead.

“What’s going to happen ahead? Because it's just not the one-day loss. It's the whole potential season being lost because of the situation. And it doesn't look like, to us, like it's going to get better any time soon. That's the problem,” Iqbal said.

According to the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce, local businesses generate an estimated $650 million annually, and more than a third of that is generated between Black Friday weekend and January 6.

“The volume of people you get crossing and buying in this whole area in general, like the outlets, or us, its' going to be a big, big, a huge setback for pretty much everybody here,” Iqbal said

Dozens gathered at the Transgender Law Center in City Heights Monday to demand justice for a migrant who died while in U.S. custody. 

Roxsana Hernandez, 33, was a transgender immigrant from Honduras who came to the U.S. to seek asylum. 

The HIV-positive woman came to the U.S.-Mexico border near San Ysidro and was transferred to New Mexico where she died in May. 

Attorneys said Hernandez was handcuffed, tortured and denied basic medical care and water. 

The Transgender Law Center ordered an independent autopsy. They added that Hernandez died from dehydration. 

"Roxsana was shackled for a long time and very tightly, enough to cause deep bruising on her wrists," said Lynly Egyes, director of litigation for the Transgender Law Center. "She had deep bruising injuries consistent with physical abuse with a baton." 

The Transgender Law Center announced Monday a wrongful death lawsuit against the State of New Mexico. Egyes added that Hernandez's death could have been prevented. 

Jerome Jones, an LGBTQ activist at the law center Monday, said Hernandez's story deeply affected him. 

"The government doesn't look at us like human beings, they see these different labels," said Jones. "Treat us as human beings first. Roxsana was a human being, a sister to all of us." 

In early November, about 76 people from the LGBTQ community arrived in Tijuana ahead of a large migrant caravan in buses that were paid for by an anonymous organization. They said they were discriminated against by people in the caravan.

"To come here at the border and then face the military, to lose your life trying to escape to a better life is not a fair payment," added Jones. "That's a actually horrible punishment." 

Police in Coronado are investigating the death of a man found on Silver Strand Boulevard Monday.

A Coronado Police Department captain said pedestrians noticed something strange in the bushes and discovered it was the body of a man.

The discovery was made at around 3:30 p.m., the captain said.

Police had concerns that the man's death wasn't natural and determined his death was suspicious soon after.

San Diego County Sheriff's Department homicide investigators are assisting the Coronado Police Department in the death investigation.

No other information was available.

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

Two men hugged each other in a courtroom Monday. One was a bailiff and the other was a man whose life he helped save.

Community Service Officer Tom Neal has been patrolled Judge Kevin Enright’s courtroom for years, but he does more than just protect and manage the courtroom, jurors, staff, plaintiffs, and defendants.

“I do a lot of observation,” Officer Neal said.

On September 7, he observed jury foreman Dan Deguld, an NBC 7 Story Producer, was limping. He asked Deguld if he was OK, and Deguld told Neal it was “an old injury that he had sustained some time ago.”

“I didn’t think it was anything that serious,” Deguld said. “And like a complete idiot, I actually walked to lunch.”

Deguld walked down two flights of stairs, around the corner, and back up again.

“I should have died on these steps on the way back from lunch,” he said.

Officer Neal immediately said he noticed Deguld looked worse upon his return.

“He looked at me and I knew he was seeing something I wasn’t seeing,” said Deguld, who said the pain had moved from his leg into his chest and his vision had become fuzzy. Deguld convinced the court to recess an hour early so he could go to his doctor, but Officer Neal wasn’t going to let him wait that long.

Just as the bailiff was going to tell Deguld he was calling an ambulance, Deguld asked for one himself.

Neal, a 17-year veteran and trained first responder, relayed all the warning signs and symptoms to the paramedics including the pain in Deguld’s leg, which turned out to be an important detail.

Deguld said the paramedics might have thought he was having a heart attack if the pain was only in his chest.

“It was not a heart attack,” said the jury foreman. “This was called an aortic dissection… I’m told that the aorta has ripped one or two layers and in my case it ripped from the heart down to the knee, the entire length… I should have died a hundred times over before I made it over to the hospital but I didn’t.”

Monday, a much healthier Dan Deguld embraced Officer Neal and thanked him personally. Deguld said he may have considered going home to rest if it wasn’t for Officer Neal’s persistence.

“That’s what saved my life.”

Two-and-a-half months after Sharp doctors repaired his aortic dissection, Deguld returned to work. Welcome back, Dan!

A local non-profit has received hundreds of donations across the country as it asks for supplies to help the migrant caravan.

Border Angels was created by Enrique Morones in 1986. Its mission started as helping migrants living in the canyons in North County and has expanded to providing resources for migrants along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, the group said.

More than 500 donations have come in, said Leticia Guzman who works with the organization. The group sees about 50 boxes a day.

“These donations just show that there is a lot of people who care about the well-being of others,” Guzman said.

Border Angels received supplies from Texas, New York, and Washington.

“We’ve been getting really diverse, I guess, addresses,” Guzman said.

The non-profit is asking for items like hygiene products, diapers, food, and clothes.

Shoes are especially needed, Guzman told NBC 7.

Volunteers take the donated supplies to a shelter in Tijuana run by the non-profit.

Border Angels first started asking for resources on social media in early November.

“Ever since then, it’s been really heartwarming, actually, because we see that there’s a lot of people,” said Guzman.

The drive is important because of how “vulnerable” these individuals are, according to Guzman.

“A lot of them are misinformed about rules of immigration. They don’t know how it works. It’s the first time they’ve been outside their country,” Guzman said.

Additionally, as the migrant caravan stays in overcrowded shelters near the border, many of them only eat once a day, according to Border Angels.

“Sometimes, they’re lucky if they eat two times a day,” Guzman told NBC 7. “It can literally be a matter of life or death.”

To donate, anyone can purchase supplies from the organization’s Target registry. View its website to learn about more ways to help.

“It’s important that we keep supporting the cause and keep recognizing that this is so above us,” Guzman said.

Border Angels has an office in Sherman Heights at the neighborhood’s community center.

The non-profit also does monthly water drops in the desert, hosts events at International Friendship Park, and offers immigration consultations.