Non-profit organizations and private companies are working to provide financial assistance to roughly 800,000 people who won't receive regularly scheduled paychecks as Congress failed to vote on a resolution to the partial government shutdown during a session Thursday, NBC News reported.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, an agency which handles human resources for the government's civilian workforce, advised thousands of employees who won't be paid during government shutdown to reach out to creditors in order to work out alternative payment schedules.

The OPM released sample letters Thursday on Twitter to show shutdown workers how to ask for help from mortgage companies and landlords.

When Richardson ISD school bus driver Curtis Jenkins surprised every one of his elementary school students with a Christmas gift last week, he never expected the gesture would go viral.

“I think one of the teachers said let me get a picture of you beside the bus with the presents,” said Jenkins.

Lake Highlands Elementary School posted the photos on its Facebook page Saturday, where families celebrated the good deed. NBC 5 covered the story on Sunday.

“I never could imagine the people who have reached out to me to help with my cause,” Jenkins said.

Since the weekend, Jenkins act of generosity has inspired messages of support but also efforts to raise money on his behalf.

“So many accounts has been set up on GoFundMe in my name, with my picture,” said Jenkins. “I never set up anything.”

Jenkins never asked for donations. He says he set aside money from his paycheck to pay for the gifts. He and his wife, Shaneqia, decided not to buy each other gifts for Christmas to pull off the surprise.

In an email, GoFundMe tells NBC 5, “It’s not uncommon for someone to create a GoFundMe after they see a news story because they simply want to help. When a campaign is created to raise money for another individual they don’t personally know, we place the funds on hold and work with them to transfer the funds directly to the beneficiary. In this case, we are working with all campaign organizers and we guarantee all funds raised will go directly to Mr. Jenkins. He can choose to receive the funds or refund donors.”

Jenkins says he didn’t expect people to offer money. Over the last seven years of driving a school bus for Richardson ISD, Jenkins regularly surprises students with school supplies. Last Thanksgiving, his family purchased turkeys for students’ families that needed one.

Jenkins rewards students for good behavior and maintaining a clean bus with “Bus Bucks” that can be used toward school supplies he provides. The children have responsibilities on the bus that include chairperson and safety captain.

“That little time they have with me, it means so much. I’m the first face they see before they get to school in the morning,” said Jenkins.

“I call my bus a community. We love each and everybody in the community,” Jenkins added.

Thursday, Jenkins began work to start a nonprofit foundation he’s calling “Magnify, Caring and Change.” He says he’s filing 501(c)(3) paperwork and any donations should go to Chase bank in his nonprofit’s name.

Jenkins also opened an instagram account to commute with followers on social media: CurtisJenkins2018. 

Jenkins says he hopes to advance his mission to help young students.

“I’m still on that mission from God,” said Jenkins.

Electric cars may move from being a second car to being a primary car in the family, one expert tells Consumer Bob.

The San Diego International Auto Show is in full gear. Among the main attractions at this year’s show is the line of new electric cars set to enter the market.

NBC 7’s Consumer Bob hit the floor and talked to attendees and some experts.

“The electric car movement has arrived,” says Eric Cahill program director for non-profit Plug-In America.

“I say that in two to three years everyone will be joining the party.”

During this year’s auto show, more electric cars were featured than at any auto show here in the past.

Advocates at the Eco-Center exhibit are putting their energy into pushing for more charging stations, and to drive down prices for the electric vehicles.

Some attendees at the show are inching closer to buying their first electric car or hybrid.

“I remember them years ago when they had batteries sticking out everywhere and antennas on 'em, it looked like something from outer space. But now there are some really pretty cars in here, some really nice looking cars,” said attendee Doug McMurray.

The car show runs through Sunday at the San Diego Convention Center.

It was another roller-coaster ride Thursday on Wall Street, impacting millions of Americans whose retirement accounts are invested in the stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 600 points in early trading, but in the closing hours made a big recovery, to end with a 157 point gain.

This caps a very volatile week on Wall Street, in a very challenging year for investors, who have endured wild swings, up and down, in the market.

Scott Kolman, a Wall Street veteran and lecturer in finance at SDSU’s business school, told NBC 7 it’s understandable that investors are worried about the market, and in some cases, selling their holdings in hopes of avoiding bigger losses.

Finance professor and Wall Street veteran Scott Kolman admits it's a tough time to stay cool, about the stock market.

But Kolman cautions against impulse selling.

“My advice to everybody is, stick with their plan,” he said. “The worst investor is a panicker."

Kolman said the market is volatile because the U.S. and world economies are somewhat unstable, and “investors like predictability.”

NBC economic and business correspondent Ali Velshi agreed that investors are nervous, and hedging their bets.

"The market is negative because of uncertainty,” Velshi said. “It’s largely caused (by) things like a trade war, and policies (investors) don't understand."

There's also concern about more hikes in the U.S. interest rate, and President Trump's very public dispute with the Federal Reserve.

"We have a volatile executive branch,” Kolman said. “We have a lot of instability in the executive branch of government."

There's no telling if these stock market swings are the "new normal”, but they certainly defined the market this year.

Market analyst Howard Silverblatt told the New York Times that the value of the S&P 500 has changed more than three percent 15 times this year.

Such big swings did not happen even once in 2017.

Computer generated trading gets some of the blame, but Kolman says computers don't program themselves, humans do.

"Bottom line is, there's a lot of uncertainty in the world, and markets are grappling with the uncertainty," he said.

Kolman also said big sell-offs historically happen every three to five years, so staying the course is the best strategy for long-term success.

"If you're still investing or you’re still saving in your 401K, look at this as, 'I can buy more shares at a lower price,' and stick with your long-term plan," Kolman said.

He also noted that big swings in stock market value are not what counts in the big picture.

Kolman urged investors to focus more on the market's "average return," which has been a very respectable 10 percent per year, since World War II.

A North County man who died and donated his organs to those in need will be honored in the Rose Parade in January. 

Everardo Martinez was a husband and father to Alexander, 9, Arianna, 7, and Anthony, 6. Born in Michoacán, Mexico, he spent 20 years as head chef at Lourdes Mexican Food Restaurant in Escondido. 

Martinez suffered a fatal aneurysm in the spring of 2016. As a registered organ donor, he saved the lives of 3 people when five of his organs were transplanted, including his heart. 

His wife created a floral portrait of him that will be carried down Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena on January 1. 

"Our family is truly honored and were comforted by the organ donation," said Adriana Martinez, wife of Everardo. "That their lives were transformed and just to know how grateful they are for this gift of life,"  

Through the organization Lifesharing, the Donate Life float will feature musical instruments and decorations from Everardo's family.

"My husband was a loving, caring, kind and generous man," added Adriana. "I'm here to advocate becoming an organ donor. It gives families more time with each other, which is so important." 

San Diego typically has about 100 organ donors per year, but there are more than 2,000 people here who need an organ, according to Donate Life.

Latinos are the single largest group on the local waiting list, at 40 percent in San Diego and Imperial Counties, Donate Life added. 

Temperatures creating the wintry weather in San Diego County will dip lower over the next 48 hours. 

Some mountain communities may see freezing temperatures, according to the NBC 7 First Alert Weather forecast.

However, folks living in other areas will also see temperatures drop we head into the weekend. 

"Even for those beach and coastal communities, this weekend will be cold and clear," NBC 7's Dagmar Midcap said. "Even with that maritime influence, still you’ll be on that cooler side."

The forecast calls for temperatures in East County as low as the mid-30s. The same will be true for those living in areas near Escondido and Rancho Bernardo.

Mountains will be sinking down to that upper 20-degree mark, Midcap said. 

At Walter Andersen Nursery in Poway, Senior Manager David Ross said they are in good shape for the cold.

With the exception of a few plants outside the nursery - ficus, some succulents, giant Birds-of-paradise - most will not need extra coverage.

As long as it doesn't freeze, a lot of the nursery's fruit trees will actually love the bit of cold, Ross said.

"The winters have been so mild, we've had poor fruit sets for things like apricots and plums," he said. "Some variety of fruit need a little bit of winter chill."

Crops growing at the Indian Summer Farm in Escondido have been fine, owner Andrew Murphy said. Although, he will be watching the temperatures closely as we head into the weekend.

"Like my eggplants over in the corner there," he said, "We're going to have a freeze come in probably this Saturday and I have a cloth over it right now."

A wind advisory was also issued by the National Weather Service through 4 p.m. Friday with gusty north to northeast winds expected to develop Thursday evening. 

President Donald Trump exposed the faces of members of U.S. Navy SEAL Team 5 during his surprise trip to Iraq, and one expert said it could possibly put them in danger, NBC News reported. 

During his post-Christmas visit to troops in Iraq, his first trip to a combat zone since he was sworn in last year, the president and First Lady Melania Trump entered the dining hall Wednesday at the Al-Asad base west of Baghdad to greet about 100 troops.

U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kyu Lee told Trump he is the chaplain for SEAL Team 5. Lee later said Trump told him, "Hey, in that case, let’s take a picture."

Retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Malcolm Nance is an intelligence consultant for U.S. special operations forces who said by email that the presence of SEAL Team 5 members should not have been revealed.

"The fact is they are a special operations force in a combat zone with a combat role," said Nance, who has also served as a counter-terrorism analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. "The reason their identities are protected is in case of capture."

The Office of the Secretary of Defense said in a statement no rules were violated by the ensuing phoyos and video. 

An Arlington newborn baby boy is breaking records and melting hearts.

Ali James Medlock was born on Dec. 12 at Arlington Memorial Hospital.

At 21.5 inches long, Baby Ali weighed 14 pounds, 13 ounces.

Ali’s parents, Jennifer and Eric Medlock, are both music teachers in the Arlington Independent School District. Jennifer says the hospital told them their son was a record breaker for Arlington Memorial and the biggest baby their doctor delivered in his 30-plus-year career.

Baby Ali had to remain in the NICU for a week due to his size — his blood sugar and platelets were too low — according to his mother. He also experienced rapid breathing.

Fortunately, Baby Ali has improved since his stay in the hospital.

Ali James has a big sister named Annabelle, who weighed 9 pounds, 10 ounces when she was born, according to mom.

One man is suspected in a series of armed robberies and attempted armed robberies and what may help identify him is the orange reflective vest worn during two of the incidents, San Diego police said Thursday.

On Dec. 19, a man wearing a construction helmet, protective glasses, a dark bandana and "Dickie" style pants entered a Game Stop on Murphy Canyon Road. The man, police say, lifted up his shirt and showed the clerk a revolver in his waistband while he demanded money. After receiving cash, the suspect ran off on foot, police said.

Four days later, a similar suspect struck twice - once at a Game Stop on University Avenue and then at a Subway on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. 

At the Game Stop, a clerk recognized the suspect from the earlier robbery on Murphy Canyon Road and told another employee to call security. The man ran off on foot, police said. 

Two hours later, the same suspect lifted up his shirt to a clerk at the Subway and "simulated that he had a gun in his waistband," according to a San Diego Crime Stoppers bulletin. The man received cash from the clerk and ran off on foot. 

San Diego police describe the man as 30 to 35 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 180 to 200 pounds. He had short, dark hair and a goatee.

At the Game Stop incident on Dec. 23, the suspect wore an Anaheim Angels baseball hat along with sunglasses. In the Subway robbery, the suspect wore the orange reflective vest. 

Police consider the suspected robber armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information can call the San Diego police robbery investigation team at (619) 531-2299 or San Diego Crime Stoppers where they may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000. The Crime Stoppers tip line is (888) 580-8477.

Visit the gate of Cabrillo National Park in San Diego and you'll see the impact of the government shutdown firsthand. 

A barricade of yellow tape and plastic signs warns drivers, bikers, and walkers that the park is closed.

However, hundreds of cars and trucks made their way all the way to the monument’s doorstep Thursday just to be turned around.

“My kids were very excited to see it,” said Nithya Shankar, whose family traveled from Minnesota and specifically put the monument on their to-do list.

The national park includes access to the Old Point Loma Lighthouse which can be seen on the peninsula from San Diego Bay. Other popular points of interest are the tidepool trail and the old military buildings along the edge of Point Loma.

People from Indiana, Vermont, and Germany were at the park’s entrance Thursday and all of them expressed disappointment.

“It’s not nice. I don’t appreciate it. I think they should open it,” said 9-year-old Benjamin Abergel from Washington, D.C.

“Our government doesn’t seem to care about them,” said Marjory Clyne who frequently bikes to the monument’s lighthouse from her Tierrasanta home.

Clyne said she was frustrated seeing the countless cars turned away.

“Only for the lack of responsibility that our elected officials don’t seem to have the rest of us,” she said.

Congress failed to vote on a resolution to the partial government shutdown during a session Thursday, NBC News reported.

Both sides have failed to find a resolution to the impasse over President Donald Trump's demand for a border wall. With no votes scheduled, NBC News reports the shutdown was widely expected to continue into the new year. 

A transformer fire in Queens sent an eerie blue light flooding the nighttime sky over New York City Thursday night as electricity flickered in homes and LaGuardia Airport was plunged into darkness. 

Con Edison says a brief electrical fire involving transformers broke out at the substation on 20th Avenue and 32nd Street in Astoria, causing a transmission dip in the area. 

The fire lit the sky so brightly that it briefly appeared to be daytime in neighborhoods like Astoria and Woodside, residents reported. Smoke arose from the source of the blue light, visible from as far as Manhattan. 

Con Edison is investigating the cause of the transformer fire. Utility spokesman Bob McGee says no one was hurt. 

"It did create a spectacular effect on the sky, and certainly caused a lot of concern," he told News 4, calling it an "abnormal event." 

Though small, the fire had a large impact citywide. LaGuardia Airport went dark, Rikers Island jail is on backup generators, and the 7 subway line was seeing major delays in both directions, according to Con Edison.

NYPD officials on scene said it appeared to simply be equipment malfunction, and there was no sign of any sort of nefarious interference. There was no visible damage inside the Con Edison plant. 

Meanwhile, people flooded the streets in Queens and New Yorkers swarmed social media to try to figure out the source of the mysterious blue-green glow in the sky.  

"I was thinking this is the end of the world, like something's gonna happen," said Tarek Kherifi in Astoria. 

"The electricity went off, that was obvious. But the light in the sky, that was very intense," said Berklis Kanaris. "The combination made me wonder what it was."

One boy told News 4 he thought it was an UFO. 

People in Queens reported the electricity briefly flickering off in their homes, and LaGuardia Airport saw a total blackout at one point. A News 4 staffer picking up his daughter in Terminal A said the lights started to flicker, then turned off completely while the emergency lights stayed on. 

The FAA initially instituted a ground stop at LaGuardia but power had been largely restored by 11 p.m. and the airport was resuming normal operations. Travelers were still asked to check with their carriers for updated flight information.

When firefighters responded to the Con Ed fire, they saw the fire before they got there, radio transmissions on Broadcastify show. 

"There's a high-voltage emergency going on the ConEd plant, heading that way now," one firefighter said. "Can we have a representative from Con Ed meet us out on 20th Avenue? It just seems like whatever it was just shut down. We'll meet them at the main gate." 

"Yeah, whatever was arcing the skyline, it turned off, it seems like," he continued. "Just advise Battalion 49, we have a visible fire in the ConEd plant. We're going to enter off of 31st Street." 

A pilot near JFK Airport also described the stunning scene when the transformer exploded, dispatch recordings from the airport tower show. 

"Eleven o'clock, it looks like a massive fire," he's heard saying in a dispatch with the JFK tower. 

"JetBlue 1186, you see that light out there? You know what that is?" one voice is heard in the tower transmissions. 

"Yes sir, and no, we do not, not at all, sorry," another voice responds. 

"We see colors like that off the clouds."

In another tower transmission, a voice is heard saying, "Delta 1197 Heavy, let me know if you're able to see what that light is out there."

The Delta pilot said, "It's on the ground lighting up the sky."

The tower responded, "You don't know what it is?" 

"Negative," the pilot said. "Blue-green color, does not look like typical flames." 

Gov. Cuomo said state police and the Public Service Commission were ready to support local authorities in the investigation. 

It was the second major incident involving Con Edison in the last six months. In July, a steam pipe explosion spewed asbestos-laden vapor into the air in the Flatiron District, driving hundreds of people from their homes and businesses.

A woman, her sons and a family member were on their way to pick up some last-minute groceries for a Christmas Eve celebration when the vehicle they were traveling in crashed head-on into an oncoming pickup truck. 

Gonzalo Rodriguez, 44, and Christian Diaz, 5, were killed in the collision just two miles from the family's home.

Christian's mother, Nayeli Rojel, and his brother, Bryan, are in the hospital with injuries they suffered in the crash. 

"It's just hard to believe. It is very surreal," said Salvador Rojel, Christian's uncle. "You never think it could happen to you."

Family members were talking about the accident for the first time Thursday and spoke with NBC 7 and our sister station Telemundo 20. 

Nayeli Rojel, 26, was admitted to Palomar Medical Center for head injuries and a broken leg. Bryan, 6, was at Rady Children's Hospital with serious injuries.

"When she woke up she was asking for her kids," Salvador Rojel told NBC 7.

"It's my sister and I hate seeing her in the hospital crying out for her kid and I can't do anything about it, " Rojel said.

Nayeli's mother told Telemundo 20 she had the impossible task of telling her daughter on Wednesday the tragic news that Christian did not survive the crash.

Nayeli was in the front passenger seat. Her uncle, Gonzalo, had offered to drive the family to the grocery store to pick up some last-minute items before family members arrived for Christmas Eve dinner. 

The California Highway Patrol says the family was traveling westbound on State Route 78 in Ramona at approximately 11 a.m. Monday when Rodriguez lost control of the vehicle, crossed over the double yellow lines and collided with a white pickup truck. The driver of the truck survived.

Rodriguez was killed in the collision. Family members don't know what caused him to lose control of the vehicle. Nayeli does not remember much of the crash.

"She feels like it is her fault and it's not really it's been very traumatizing for her,” Rojel said.

Both kids were belted in the back seat of the silver Camry but investigators say they weren't properly secured.

With Nayeli facing a long recovery and Bryan about to undergo a second surgery, the family is struggling to find the spirit of the season and put on a brave face.

"There is going to be other Christmas celebrations. There is going to be holidays where we are going to celebrate together and this can only bring us closer," Rojel said.

The family has posted an online fundraising page to help raise money for medical and funeral costs. 

A 7-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital Thursday after the motorized scooter he was riding was struck by a car in City Heights.

The boy was not wearing a helmet when he rode the scooter into traffic and was struck, according to San Diego police.

The collision happened at approximately 5:30 p.m. on University Avenue near 45th Street.

The driver stayed at the scene, police said.

Officers said the boy was not seriously injured and was expected to survive.

It is against the law to ride a motorized scooter without a valid driver license or without a helmet. Beginning Jan. 1, a helmet will no longer be required for riders over the age of 18.

Going into the midterm elections, few candidates made the warming planet a keystone of their campaigns despite devastating fires and storms that scientists say have been worsened by carbon pollution. Climate change has typically been low on voters’ lists of priorities.

But as a new Congress comes into power in January, that indifference could be changing. Surveys conducted for the midterms found that between 7 and 9 percent of the electorate named climate change or the environment as the top issue facing the country. Typically, the number lags around 2 percent, environmentalists say.

“That’s a green wave,” said Nathaniel Stinnett, the founder of the Environmental Voter Project, a three-year-old organization that is dedicated to getting environmentalists to vote.

Americans continue to voice more concern about health care, immigration, the economy and jobs, and depending on the poll, gun policy or federal taxes and spending. But with a record 113 million people voting in this year’s elections where Democrats retook control of the House, that could mean that up to 9 million named the environment their primary concern.

“That’s an enormously powerful constituency and I think you’re going to see more and more politicians trying to appeal to these environmental voters, especially among those running in the [2020] Democratic presidential primary,” Stinnett said.

The surveys -- one around Election Day called AP VoteCast and two conducted for NPR and PBS NewsHour by the Marist Poll, in October and after the election -- are just one indication that climate change is taking on urgency with voters, particularly young voters. Also pointing to the increased seriousness with which the issue is being treated: differences between millennials and older Americans, demands from newly elected politicians and worry about the damage that climate change is already doing to communities from Miami to Los Angeles.

A confluence of factors is driving the new attention to the devastation threatening the environment. Repeated natural disasters have brought havoc to parts of the United States, from deadly fires in California to destructive hurricanes sweeping over Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and the Carolinas. Warnings about the world’s need to curb the use of fossil fuels come as younger people more convinced of the scientific consensus on climate change become old enough to vote. Going into the New Year, there will be more pressure on Congress to tackle the greenhouse gases that are raising temperatures.

Here’s a breakdown of the polls. AP VoteCast found that more of the electorate, 26 percent, choose health care as the number one issue facing the country than any other issue while 7 percent picked the environment. The Marist Poll in October recorded 7 percent of registered voters choosing climate change as the most important factor in deciding their vote and earlier this month, 9 percent saying that it should be Congress' top priority. Economy and jobs was the most important for the most voters, with 20 percent in October and 17 percent this month.

Stinnett said that how much change was occuring would become clearer as more data becomes available about voters and the midterm elections.

Youth Demand Action on the Environment
Young people are particularly engaged in confronting climate change, a crisis that has gathered momentum throughout their lives and which threatens to leave the Earth a much less hospitable place in the coming years.  

A pre-election survey from Tufts University that focused on young people and politics found that 59 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds support or are an active part of the environmental movement, up from 42 percent in 2016. Numbers were even higher among Democrats, and particularly those who said they were likely to vote, according to the September poll by the university’s CIRCLE, or The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. 

The poll’s director, Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, said political engagement was more common among young people now than two years ago, with triple the number saying they attend marches and demonstrations — up from 5 percent to 15 percent. Part of the change can be traced to the activism of students from Parkland, Florida, which encouraged other young people to be a part of political causes, including the environmental movement, she said.

“It wasn’t drowned out by gun violence, for example, which is a big player this year, but just as many people if not more young people said, ’It’s a really important issue that I’m actively engaged in,’” she said.

The Sunrise Movement is a corps of young people working to make climate change an urgent priority across the country. As they prepared to launch, a core challenge was how to make climate change an urgent priority in the United States. They helped Democrats to take the House and now are determined to keep the issue at the top of lawmakers’ agendas. In November, 150 members of the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats held a sit-in at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office on Capitol Hill to demand action on climate change. They were joined by newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who has been pushing for a Green New Deal to promote green energy and jobs and cut carbon emissions.

"She was elected as part of the movement, she intends to govern as part of the movement," Corbin Trent, a spokesman for Ocasio-Cortez, said at the time. ”She thinks there is no other priority that we should be focused on and supports the Sunrise Movement’s call for Democrats to create a plan to transition the economy to a zero carbon economy so we have that ready to go when we take back the presidency in 2020."

The activists were criticized for targeting Democrats, who support taking on climate change, but they say they know that if they do not push Democrats they will not get the action they need.

“We targeted the Democrats because we believe in them,” said a spokesman for the group, Stephen O’Hanlon. “We don’t think we’re going to get anywhere by calling on Donald Trump to stand up to fossil fuel lobbyists.”

They believe that as young people they have leverage over Democrats because it was young people turning out in record numbers that helped Democrats win the House majority. If Democrats are to win the presidency and the Senate in 2020, they will need young people again to turn out in record numbers, O’Hanlon said.

“So many politicians and especially establishment politicians think about the range of political options as what’s currently politically possible and oftentimes with climate and a lot of other issues too that’s just radically from what we need to give our generation a livable future,” he said. ”And we made the choice when we launched to push for solutions that are actually in line with what we need.”

Generational Divide in GOP
Republicans have been the most resistant to believing that climate change presents a critical danger. A Pew Research Center poll done before the midterms found that 72 percent of registered voters supporting Democrats thought climate change was a “very big” problem compared to only 11 percent of those backing Republicans.

But other Pew surveys found wide differences within the GOP. About a third of Republican millennials say the Earth is warming because of human activity, double the share of Baby Boomers and older, according to a May survey. Forty-five percent of millennials say they are seeing some effects of global climate change in their communities, compared with a third of older Republicans. But they also are in agreement with older party members that policies aimed at reducing climate change effects would make no difference.

Sara Blazevic, a co-founder and managing director of the Sunrise Movement, said the organization was made up of young people angry and frustrated after having watched a lifetime of political inaction, of witnessing hurricanes and other disasters getting worse but the environmental movement stagnating.

“Looking at some of the data a few years back we called this the urgency gap,” she said. “Because there actually are a super majority of Americans who understand that climate change is happening, is real, believe that it’s happening already because they can see with their own eyes and want something to be done about it.”

Other Pew research ranks the public’s policy priorities for the president and Congress. Protecting the environment has risen from 44 percent in January 2010 to 62 percent at the beginning of this year. Dealing with climate change similarly rose from 28 percent to 46 percent.

In December, nearly 200 countries met in Poland for the U.N.’s 24th annual climate change conference and agreed to rules for curbing greenhouse emissions, but delayed a decision on creating a market in carbon credits. The meeting follows a series of reports, among them the National Climate Assessment and one from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warning of irreversible environmental damage absent quick action to rein in carbon emissions.

Environment Gains Prominence in the Midterms
During the midterm elections, ads highlighting global warming began appearing in races across the country, a phenomenon that was new. The League of Conservation Voters through its Victory Fund was among environmental groups that spent heavily to elect “green” candidates, in its case $80 million. Pete Maysmith, its senior vice president of campaigns, said that the more environmental issues were localized, the more voters responded.

“So we’re talking about environmental issues that are directly impacting people’s lives, and doing that in the context of the election,” he said. “It motivates them and it impacts their vote choice.”

In southern New Jersey, the organization matched environmental concerns with what it knew would be the top issue of the elections, health care, then targeted what it viewed as an important bloc of swing voters, suburban women. In a tight race, Democrat Andy Kim, a former national security aide in the Obama administration, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur, who had tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“When you pair the issue of pollution, whether it’s water or air pollution — so you’re talking about healthy drinking water, you’re talking about concerns around asthma and other illnesses, other disease — and then link that into the health care debate, that again is a very powerful motivator,” he said.

The League of Conservation Voters’ Victory Fund and the Environmental Defense Fund Action connected “the health impact of MacArthur’s record of gutting environmental protections and allowing more toxic pollution into our air to his efforts to eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” according to post-election analysis.

In another race in California, the League teamed up with Michael Bloomberg’s Independence USA PAC to defeat 30-year congressman, Dana Rohrabacher. One ad juxtaposed Rohrabacher’s statement that “global warming is a fraud” with black smoke and wildfires in the background. Democrat Harley Rouda, who called out Republican leaders for denying the threat of man-made climate change, ousted Rohrabacher

Maysmith’s colleague, Tiernan Sittenfeld, the senior vice president of government affairs, said of the 62 new members of the House of Representatives, 55 of them have committed to trying to bring about 100 percent clean energy by 2050. She said the organization was looking at opportunities for a “green” infrastructure package from the Democrat-dominated House and oversight as the Trump administration tries to roll back public health and environmental protections.

“It’s especially exciting because there are so many of these new members for whom the environment and addressing the climate crisis is really an enormous priority and central to who they are and in many case part of why they decided to run,” she said.

The AP VoteCast survey replaced exit polling that The Associated Press had participated in with the television networks. It was conducted for the AP and Fox News by the non-partisan research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. The AP VoteCast also found that significant numbers were concerned about the effects of climate: 70 percent of all voters were very or somewhat concerned versus 29 percent who were not too or not at all concerned. Democrats were more worried than Republicans.

This year’s exit polling, which NBC and other networks continued separately, did not ask voters across the country to rate the environment among their top issues, but it did ask voters in Florida about climate change as it had done in 2016 and in both years, 66 percent said climate change was a serious problem.

Over the last decade, the environment has historically ranked low among voters’ priorities. Polling that the Environmental Voter Project did of likely voters in the 2016 presidential election found that only 2 percent listed the environment as their top priority, with another 2 percent setting it as their second highest priority.

'Politicians Go Where the Votes Are'
“This is why it’s so hard to get politicians to lead on climate and lead on environmental issues,” Stinnett said. “Because politicians go where the votes are, that’s what they do. Politicians are in the business of winning elections and if voters don’t deeply care about a set of issues, it’s really hard to get politicians to care about those issues.”

The Environmental Voter Project targets environmentalists who don’t vote or who seldom vote to convince them to change their behavior. It focuses on the 18- to 24-year-olds and to a lesser extent 25- to 29-year-olds who are disproportionately likely to care deeply about environmental issues. Blacks and Hispanics and those who make less than $50,000 a year — and who have a higher chance of being victims of environmental racism — are also in their sights.

Stinnett estimates that the non-profit has turned more than 100,000 non-voting environmentalists into consistent voters since it started. It began in Massachusetts, in 2017 moved into Georgia, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Pennsylvania and expects to expand further into about 20 states where it has identified large populations of non voting environmentalists. It does not spend money on changing minds, just getting people to the polls.

“Politicians care about winning elections and so they’re going to follow the voters,” Stinnett said. “I think this change will happen very quickly once environmentalists start voting. I just can’t tell you when that number in the electorate will get big enough that it forces change. But it’s getting bigger, it’s definitely getting bigger.”

“This electorate might not force change as quickly as we want it to, but something’s happening, something is absolutely happening and politicians are beginning to pay attention,” Stinnett said.

This year brought wildfires from California to Sweden that were notable not just for their size but proximity to cities and death toll, experts told NBC News.

The so-called Camp Fire in November was California's most destructive on record, killing nearly 90 people. While there were U.S. fewer fires in 2018 compared to the annual average over the last 10 years, a far greater area was destroyed than normal, according to Carrie Bilbao, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center.

She and Omar Baddour, chief of climate data for the World Meteorological Organization, said fires are increasingly cropping up in the traditional off-season, giving firefighters little reprieve.

"Our fire seasons are becoming fire years," Bilbao said.

In 2018 San Diego sports got to celebrate Trevor Hoffman!

And that’s pretty much it.

As depressing as the San Diego sports scene can seem it’s not always doom and gloom and “wait ‘til next year or the year after or of well at least we have craft beer.”

There are good things that happen in San Diego’s sports scene.

Let’s go month-by-month and take a look back at 2018 with a positive spin … meaning we’re leaving out the Kellen Winslow II case, bugs in Padres hat giveaways, and the SDSU basketball program showing up in an FBI investigation due to alleged improper benefits paid to Malik Pope. Not to ignore things that are real stories … I just need a break from the bad.

We’re gonna do this with an “H” theme. For each month we’ll give you the Highlight … the Hoffy Moment … and the Honorable Mention.

JANUARY

Highlight: Jason Day won a marathon at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

J-Day and Alex Noren knocked Ryan Palmer out of a 3-man playoff after one hole to set up one of the most enthralling finishes of the year on the PGA Tour that did not involve Tiger Woods.

Over the next four playoff holes Day and Noren matched each other. They both sank birdie putts on the 18th hole in near total darkness so, after 77 holes, they had to come back on Monday to finish things up where Day won on the first hole of the day. It was the longest playoff in Torrey Pines history and one heck of a thrill for San Diego golf fans.

Hoffy Moment: The “Year of the Closer” started.

Finally, in his third year of eligibility, Trevor Hoffman was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Hoffy is, like Tony Gwynn, a guy who did not grow up in San Diego but made it his home. He’s become a cherished member of the Padres and America’s Finest City and seeing him finally earn the recognition he deserves as one of the best baseball players of all time gave us all something to smile about.

Honorable Mention: January is also the month that the long election battle between Soccer City and SDSU West really got going. I have no idea if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but it definitely was a thing.

FEBRUARY

Highlight: The Birth of Hot Talent Lava.

The Padres reported to Spring Training and shortly thereafter signed 1st baseman Eric Hosmer to the largest contract in franchise history. But even better than that; in the introductory press conference superagent Scott Boras gave us the phrase “Hot Talent Lava.” That might be the single greatest moment of the entire San Diego sports year.

Hoffy Moment: Trevor helps at Spring Training.

Hoffman has always been willing to guide young players, even showing them how to throw his vaunted changeup. This year he helped prospect Reggie Lawson better learn the change and once he got it down Lawson’s young pro career took off. He was an All-Star with Single-A Lake Elsinore and landed on the Padres Top-30 Prospects list, not an insignificant accomplishment given the depth of the system. A lot of elite players don’t take the time to help kids. Hoffman goes out of his way to do so.

Honorable Mention: In the Super Bowl, although he didn’t play due to an injury, former San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey won himself a championship ring as a member of the world champion Philadelphia Eagles.

MARCH

Highlight: College hoops programs make post-season runs.

The Aztecs men’s basketball team got hot late and won the Mountain West Conference Tournament to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament while the Toreros men, despite the tumult and departure of former head coach Lamont Smith, won a few games in the CIT to reach 20 wins and secure the permanent job for Sam Scholl, a move that seems to have paid off with a strong start to the 2018-19 season. Both the U.C. San Diego men’s and women’s programs advanced to the Division II NCAA Tournament, as well.

Hoffy Moment: Opening Day at Petco Park!

The Padres opened the 2018 season against the Brewers and Trevor Hoffman threw out the ceremonial first pitch in front of a sellout crowd at Petco Park. The Brewers ended up sweeping the series but hey, we got to see Hoffy on the mound again!

Also of note, rookie Joey Lucchesi made his Major League debut to start a solid rookie season. Of course, he made that start because Dinelson Lamet needed Tommy John surgery, but it was nice to see one of the prospects play well.

Honorable Mention: San Diego State’s baseball team got off to a nice start and found itself in the Top-25 for the first time since Stephen Strasburg was becoming the #1 overall pick in the draft in 2009. Also Phil Mickelson won the WGC-Mexico Championship, his first PGA Tour win since 2013.

APRIL (This Month Was Boring)

Highlight: A Penny for your Hawks

Aztecs All-American running back Rashaad Penny was not expected to be a first-round pick. The Seahawks didn’t want to risk him not being there for the second round. Penny went to Seattle with the 27th overall selection, the first time an SDSU product went in the 1st round since offensive lineman Kyle Turley was taken 7th overall by the Saints in 1998.

Hoffman Moment: Hoffy got to take a tour of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. That was cool.

Honorable Mention: The San Diego Seals named Patrick Merrill as their first head coach and Murrieta native Rickie Fowler finished in 2nd place, one shot back of Patrick Reed at The Masters.

MAY

Highlight: We have a winner!

The Padres figured things out for at least a little while and went 15-13 in the month of May. It was the only month of the entire season in which they had a winning record.

Hoffman Moment: We’re gonna party like it’s 1998!

Trevor Hoffman and the 1998 Padres World Series team were honored at Petco Park so we all got new bobbleheads of Hoffy, Greg Vaughn, Ken Caminiti, and of course Tony Gwynn. Most of the guys from that team made it back for a celebration and it was nice to see the band back together again.

Honorable Mention: The Alliance of American Football officially announced San Diego was getting a new franchise, giving America’s Finest City an outdoor professional football team again.

JUNE

Highlight: S.D. Legion makes strong debut

The Legion played their inaugural season of Major League Rugby and did pretty darn well. In June they made it all the way to the playoff semi-finals before losing to the eventual champion Seattle Seawolves. Legion games were played in front of healthy crowds at Torero Stadium, proving San Diego is capable of supporting all kinds of different sports because of our diversity.

Hoffman Moment: Trevor Hoffman 500th save bobbleheads were handed out at Petco Park! I have no information about this but I would assume it’s the first time in MLB history one guy was the subject of two separate bobblehead giveaways in consecutive months.

Honorable Mention: The Padres selected LHP Ryan Weathers in the first round of the MLB Draft. He was the second straight Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year drafted by the Friars (MacKenzie Gore was their first round pick in 2017).

JULY

Highlight, Hoffman Moment, Honorable Mention: Welcome to Cooperstown.

This was so big that nothing else really matters. Trevor Hoffman was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, only the 3rd Padre to be enshrined in Cooperstown, NY.

AUGUST

Highlight: The Future Arrives at Petco Park

Finally we got to see one of the crown jewels of the vaunted Padres minor league system when, on August 28th, infielder Luis Urias landed in San Diego. In his MLB debut the 21-year-old 2nd baseman made an impossible diving stop to get an out and show off his infield range. In his second start he had three hits and by the end of the month he had his first big league homer.

It’s no coincidence the Padres went 4-0 in August after Urias arrived and with him in the lineup they had an 8-4 record. A hamstring injury cut his season short but he’s one of the early favorites to win the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year award and showed us that the kids on the farm just might be as good as advertised.

Hoffman Moment: There’s a new statue at Petco Park.

The Summer of Trevor continued when the statue of Hoffy was unveiled adjacent to the bullpen at Petco Park. The same folks who did Tony Gwynn’s statue worked on Hoffman’s, capturing him at the peak of his iconic delivery. Along with that came four consecutive days of giveaways, all Trevor-related, so we got some cool stuff to take home.

Honorable Mention: The El Paso Chihuahuas won their PCL division championship to advance to the playoffs again.

SEPTEMBER

Highlight: Proof Deano messed up big.

Each year Forbes releases its list of NFL team valuations. This year showed the Chargers worth had increased only a little but after the move from San Diego to Los Angeles and when the numbers were crunched it shows the Spanos family is going to end up losing money on the move, which is the exact opposite of what they were trying to do when they left their home of 56 years. Any time that ownership group’s ineptitude is on display it’s a win for San Diego.

Hoffman Moment: Where the street has a new name.

A stretch of road outside Petco Park was renamed Trevor Hoffman Way. The fact it intersects with Tony Gwynn Drive makes it even more fantastic.

Honorable Mention: The San Antonio Missions earned a Texas League playoff spot. They won their first round series to make the Finals before losing to the Tulsa Drillers. Also, RHP Chris Paddack was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

OCTOBER

Highlight: Fall stars.

Padres prospects Buddy Reed and Miguel Diaz were named to the illustrious Arizona Fall League's Fall Stars game. Reed ended up being the game's MVP.

Hoffman Moment: Finally, a chance to rest.

After all that happened Trevor needed a chance to just chill for a bit. He got that in October so let’s leave the man alone for a bit.

Honorable Mention: Let’s Go Gulls!

The Gulls returned for another American Hockey League season in front of what are once again the largest crowds in the Western Conference. San Diego is the best non-NHL hockey town in the nation.

NOVEMBER

Highlight: Toreros stay perfect

USD’s football team is the best non-scholarship program in the nation. The Toreros won yet another Pioneer League title to reach the FCS Playoffs for the 5th straight year. They also ran their obscene winning streaks in the PFL to 34 straight at home and 29 in a row overall.

Hoffman Moment: Adding another hat.

Always wanting to help kids and grow the game of baseball, Hoffman was named the National Spokesperson and Brand Ambassador for the Perfect Game organization, the entity that puts on some of the biggest amateur showcase events in the nation. Hoffman was always involved with the Classic at Petco Park but now he’s gone nationwide.

Honorable Mention: SDSU West won at the ballot box so we’re very likely going to have a new stadium for the Aztecs and anyone else to play in sometime between 2021 and 2051.

DECEMBER

Highlight: Seals surface with win.

The San Diego Seals finally played their long-anticipated inaugural game in the National Lacrosse League, on the road against the Colorado Mammoth, and got themselves a win. The reaction on social media was impressive, showing just how big a deal lacrosse has become in San Diego and offering hope that we can have a professional champion in town.

Hoffman Moment: Paving the way.

There are other closers in the Hall of Fame. Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley. But those guys either had starting experience or threw multiple innings to earn saves. Hoffman is really the first pure one-inning closer to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame. It’s no coincidence that the very next year Lee Smith, the man whose saves record Hoffman broke (and who I think should have been in a long time ago), was added by the Today’s Game Committee. Smith will go in with Yankees Legend Mariano Rivera, who will be the first closer elected on the first ballot.

Honorable Mention: Tatis rakes again.

Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres top prospect and one of the best young players in the game, returned from a thumb injury to play in the Dominican Winter League, where he led all shortstops in home runs during the regular season then hit a couple more in the playoffs for Estrellas Orientales. Not bad for a 19-year-old kid and a very nice note to end 2018 on.

Dogs and cats rescued from the aftermath of last month’s destructive Camp Fire in Butte County will be put up for adoption Friday.

The San Diego County Humane Society Emergency Response Team took in eight dogs and three cats, given to them voluntarily by owners who lost their home to the wildfire and would no longer be able to take care of them, according to the organization.

The team returned with the pets on Dec. 19, following a 10-day mission in Butte County where they provided aid to animals affected by the raging northern California wildfire, the most destructive in state history.

The Camp Fire killed 86 people as it ravaged more than 153,000 acres and destroyed nearly 14,000 homes. 

According to City News Service, some of the Camp Fire rescue pets available for adoption include 11-year old shepherd mix Cinnamon, a bonded pair of 6-year old miniature pinscher mixes named Pikachu and Panchie and a 3-year old cat named Sunshine.

The pets were given a clean bill of health and will be available for adoption on a first come, first served basis starting Friday at the humane society’s Gaines Street location. For more information on how to adopt, visit here.  

A man accused of beating his housemate to death with a frying pan at an independent living facility in El Cajon has pleaded not guilty to one charge of first-degree murder.

City News Service reported Thursday that Brad Payton, 25, entered a not guilty plea in a San Diego-area courtroom for the killing of Matthew McCarthy. Payton is being held at San Diego Central Jail on bail of $2 million. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 7.

On Dec. 20, just before 5 a.m., Payton and McCarthy got into an argument at the independent living facility where they both lived on Naranca Avenue. Witnesses told police that as the conflict escalated, Payton allegedly grabbed a frying pan and struck McCarthy on the face and head.

When officers with the El Cajon Police Department (ECPD) arrived at the home, they discovered McCarthy bleeding in a bedroom, suffering from multiple injuries to his face and head. The victim was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital where he soon died from the injuries suffered in the beating.

Payton remained at the home and was arrested that same morning. Police said Payton and McCarthy lived in separate bedrooms at the group home and knew one another.

Records obtained last week by NBC 7 show the property provides "transitional housing to single and low-income individuals with a physical or mental disability." NBC 7 reached out to the owner of the home, listed as Living Solutions and Services, Inc., but the owner did not comment on the case.

Following the deadly assault, NBC 7 spoke with neighbors who said there had been ongoing disturbances at the property.

"There are people, all around the clock, in and out," one neighbor, who did not want to be identified, told NBC 7. "They come out screaming at each other at two or three in the morning."

That neighbor said the activity surrounding the home is worrisome, especially since there are children in the neighborhood. Naranca Elementary School is located a short distance away.

She said residents from the home have asked her for money and have also knocked on her door asking to borrow random items like a pen.

The neighbor said the deadly frying pan assault elevated her concerns.

"I’m terrified. A frying pan? What if, one day, I answer the wrong thing and they go off on me, or my kid, or my dogs barking?" she added.

Another neighbor who has lived in the area for about a year told NBC 7 she often hears screaming coming from the home and said police frequent the property.

"There’s activity on a weekly basis," the woman, who also did not want to be identified, told NBC 7. "The El Cajon PD are here at least two or three times a week, addressing issues at the house. This does not surprise me -- that something actually took place because it’s a violent household."

The woman said she has seen residents of the living facility throwing items onto the driveway and knocking on neighbors' doors. She believes about six people share the home, but she said she has never seen anyone supervising the facility.

"It lacks residential supervision. You can’t put that many people with mental health issues under the same roof and expect them to behave accordingly," she said. "It doesn’t work."

McCarthy's parents, Karen and Mike McCarthy, spoke with NBC 7 immediately following the assault of their son. The pair watched as officers cordoned the home where their son had been living.

Karen said her son was "developmentally disabled" and had been living at the facility for about four to five months. 

"He doesn't like to follow rules, so this is where he ended up," she added.

The McCarthys live in Pine Valley and said they visited with their son weekly. Karen said her son never had a problem with violence; she also said she was unaware of the recurring disturbances at the living facility mentioned by neighbors.

"That's news to us," she told NBC 7.

Karen said her son liked the location of the group home and never mentioned anything about any issues with his housemates. The parents said their son would talk about minor bickering over typical roommate things, but it was never anything serious.

The McCarthys said, to their knowledge, the living facility is supervised by a "house manager."

"It was my understanding that there was a house manager here but I called this morning – I spoke to him just recently – and he was at work. And, it’s like, ‘Well, how could you be the house manager if you’re at work?’" said Karen. "He said he was here and he heard nothing."

From stunning aerial footage of our coastline to whales playfully swimming in the water, San Diegans connected with our Facebook posts thousands of times this year.

Here are six of our most shared Facebook posts of 2018.

Snow in Julian 

Earlier this year, Julian received a beautiful blanket of snow. NBC 7 Facebook fan Bev sent over this video from her place in Julian, completely covered in snow!

Fog Along the Coronado Bridge at Sunset

This February, our Facebook fans loved this SkyRanger 7 video of fog rolling in under the Coronado bridge at sunset. 

A Beautiful San Diego Day in Torrey Pines

Torrey Pines has long been considered one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in San Diego, and you agreed! 

Orcas Off the Coast of San Diego

Facebook fans loved this incredible video of orcas swimming off the coast of San Diego. Thanks to Domenic Biagini for the drone video.

A Warm San Diego Winter

Sunny San Diego was a sight to see this past winter. Look at this beautiful video of Mission Bay! 

Sunset Cliffs in April

Our Facebook fans loved this video of the beautiful blue water off the coast of Sunset Cliffs.