El Cajon police are searching for a man who fired rounds into a window of a motel on Main Street.

The incident was first reported at around 9 p.m. at El Cajon Inn and Suites on E. Main Street.

ECPD said the suspect, who was wearing a green mask with a brown blanket over his head, fire at least three shots into the window of the manager's suite at the motel.

The suspect reportedly fled the scene southwest on foot towards Walter Way.

The manager's family members were inside but none were injured, ECPD said.

No other information was available.

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

Jeremy Kappell, who was fired as chief meteorologist at NBC affiliate WHEC in Rochester, said he made what sounded like a racial slur on accident by tripping on his words and never got the chance to publicly apologize before he was let go over the weekend. Kappell has since taken to Facebook to apologize.

Kappell told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday that he was talking too fast during a recent forecast while trying to pronounce Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s name. "This is the way it looked out in Martin Luther c--- King Jr. Park," he had said on air Friday. Kappell said he had "mashed together incorrectly" the words "king" and "junior."

Kappell was fired after outrage grew online, including from Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren. Kappell also has supporters, including NBC's Al Roker and Craig Melvin who both said it seemed Kappell had flubbed.

"For him to be called a racist — it just makes me very sad. I was sickened. We teach our children the message of loving others,” Kappell's wife, Lisa, told "Today."

Similar on-air slip-ups — involving the same word — have also happened with two other local weathermen and a former ESPN host, "Today" reported. 

In a tweet Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump again threatened to cut off funding to California from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, citing concerns over forest management.

"Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest [sic] fires that, with proper Forrest Management [sic], would never happen. Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money," the president tweeted.

It wasn't immediately clear if he had signed an order to FEMA. NBC has reached out to FEMA and the White House for comment.

Soon after the president's tweet, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., tweeted, "Californians endured the deadliest wildfire in our state's history last year. We should work together to mitigate these fires by combating climate change, not play politics by threatening to withhold money from survivors of a deadly natural disaster."

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who Tuesday laid out plans for new wildfire safety initiatives, also responded in two tweets:

"Mr. President -- Just yesterday, @OregonGovBrown, @GovInslee, and I sent a letter asking the federal government to work with us in taking on these unprecedented wildfires. We have been put in office by the voters to get things done, not to play games with lives."

Followed by:

"Disasters and recovery are no time for politics. I’m already taking action to modernize and manage our forests and emergency responses. The people of CA -- folks in Paradise -- should not be victims to partisan bickering."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, also condemned the threat.

".@realDonaldTrump’s threat insults the memory of scores of Americans who perished in wildfires last year & thousands more who lost their homes. @GOPLeader must join me to condemn & call on POTUS to reassure millions in CA that our govt will be there for them in their time of need."

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Francisco, also spoke out on Twitter.

".@POTUS seems to have forgotten, yet again, that The federal government manages 57 percent of the forests in California. The state manages 2 percent. Private owners are responsible for 39 percent. Maybe this colorful map can help! #FactCheckTrump."

Trump previously threatened to take away funding from California in November, days after the deadly wildfire in Butte County broke out.

The November tweets caused backlash from state and local officials, as well as the International Association of Fire Fighters.

The president's assertions have been repeatedly questioned by fire experts.

Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters Association, in November called Trump's earlier statements about forest management "dangerously wrong."

"The president’s assertion that California’s forest management policies are to blame for catastrophic wildfire is dangerously wrong," said Rice, head of the 30,000-member organization. "Wildfires are sparked and spread not only in forested areas but in populated areas and open fields fueled by parched vegetation, high winds, low humidity and geography. Moreover, nearly 60 percent of California forests are under federal management, and another two-thirds under private control. It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California."

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday laid out a plan for new investments related to wildfire safety.

Prosecutors in New Jersey are investigating how a 27-year-old man who walked into a police station, apparently high on drugs, wound up unresponsive while being transported by police to the hospital -- then declared dead two days later. 

Protesters swarmed Paterson City Hall Tuesday night, demanding answers in the death of Jameek Lowery.

"What did those cops do? What are they not telling us?" one protester asked. 

"It's still hurting, I'm just lost. I'm hurt," said his mother. 

Lowery first called 911 at around 2:45 a.m. on Saturday, saying he had taken ecstasy and was paranoid, according to a preliminary investigation by the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office. EMS responded and took him to a local hospital, but Lowery became erratic there and left. 

At around 3:40 a.m., Lowery again called 911, this time from a Wendy's restaurant near Broadway and Memorial Drive, saying people were trying to kill him, the prosecutor's office said. He walked into the Paterson Police headquarters nearby at 111 Broadway, appearing agitated. 

While inside police headquarters, he called 911 yet again. Lowery live streamed to his Facebook page from inside the police station, shouting in an apparent fit of paranoia, "Please don't shoot me. This officer by the wall, I see you, they're trying to kill me. They right there!" 

The video didn't show anyone by the corner that Lowery was focused on -- only a shadow -- and the two officers in the video told him that nobody was there. 

"I'm just paranoid, that's it," Lowery acknowledged, continuing to shout frantically. 

He ranted, at times incoherently, "I see y'all trying to kill me. Why are you trying to kill me? What'd I do, officer? ... I said I need help, I need help, go to the hospital, somebody trying to kill me. Somebody help me."

"Somebody call my mom. The cops trying to kill me, they think I'm a witness, they think I'm f---ing with the FBI. That's what they think."

"Watch out, if I'm dead by the next hour or two, they did it," he shouted in the video. "I didn't touch them at all." 

When the officers assured him an ambulance was on the way, he responded, "Yo, they're gonna kill me in the ambulance." 

The officers maintained their distance while Lowery recorded on his cellphone, and attempted to calm him from afar: "All right, just relax," one told him. When he told them he was dehydrated and needed water, someone is heard telling him, "The hospital has water." 

EMS arrived and an ambulance transported him to the hospital, a ride that took about 5 to 12 minutes, according to police and fire records. Sometime in that ride, he lost consciousness. 

"Per initial reports and information, police used physical force and compliance holds to secure Mr. Lowery in the ambulance," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. 

When Lowery arrived at the hospital, he was unresponsive. Hospital records didn't indicate any acute trauma, but his parents and friends said he ended up bloodied and bruised when they saw him at the hospital. His mother said he had stitches on his mouth and bruises on his neck as if somebody had choked him; he did not have those injuries in the Facebook video. 

He was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of Monday, Jan. 7. The state medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of death for Lowery, the prosecutor's office said. 

Hundreds angered by Lowery's death surrounded City Hall Tuesday night. And councilman Luis Velez joined for an independent investigation. 

Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh said in a statement, "I completely support a full investigation into Saturday evening’s events. In the meantime, I have expressed my condolences to the family of Mr. Lowery, who are suffering during this difficult time." 

San Diego’s aerospace community was established long before Lindbergh took off for Paris, and it’s poised to make more headlines in 2019. Look for news among the makers of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Northrop Grumman Corp. has been quietly continuing development of its Firebird military aircraft, which is capable of unmanned flight. Firebird might emerge as a competitor to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.’s Predator (which GA-ASI builds in Poway). Both are MALE aircraft — that is, medium altitude, long endurance — and Predator is the market leader.

Firebird is “optionally manned.” It has a cockpit for an onboard pilot, or its owners can easily convert it to fly without a pilot on board.

One published report suggests Firebird might be more attractive to foreign markets because of that flexibility. To get Predators to their bases, the U.S. Air Force frequently breaks down the aircraft, separating the wings from the fuselage, and ships the disassembled aircraft on a large cargo transport. Nations without a fleet of transport planes can simply put a pilot in the Firebird’s cockpit and fly it to a base near a global hot spot, where they can convert it for unmanned operation.

Rancho Bernardo is where Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) concentrates work for its unmanned aircraft.

Northrop’s work on the heavy bomber for the Air Force also reputedly involves unmanned systems — but don’t expect too much news. Little emerges because the program is so secret. The B-21 Raider is expected to fly combat missions in the mid-2020s.

The aerospace community is on a hiring push as its baby boomer workforce retires.

The complexion of San Diego aerospace is changing as Collins Aerospace (a unit of United Technologies Corp.) phases out manufacturing at its Chula Vista plant. Still, the iconic South Bay plant will remain the engineering and management hub of its business building engine shrouds (or nacelles). 

A well-known retired sportscaster from Sweden is accused of groping a teenage boy at a park in Broward County.

Coral Springs police said 85-year-old Bo Gunnar Hansson approached a 13-year-old boy at Fern Glen Park on Jan. 3 and tried to assist him on the monkey bars without permission.

Hansson grabbed the victim's legs and continued to touch him up to his leg closer to his "private" parts, prosecutors said. The victim became uncomfortable, so he jumped off the monkey bars, and Hansson followed him to the sit-up benches.

Police said Hansson told the victim to do sit-ups and held onto his feet. When he touched the victim over his pants and groped him, the victim got up and ran away, according to an arrest report.

Hansson is also accused of another incident the next day at a park in Margate, where he allegedly approached two teenage boys and asked them about their workout routines. Hansson also allegedly tried to grab one of the teen's shirts and asked to see his muscles.

"It's concerning that the suspect has been at multiple parks here approaching these juveniles," Coral Springs Police Sgt. Carla Kmiotek said. "He did speak with detectives, admitted to having contact with them but not inappropriate, based on his description of events."

Hansson faces a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor, according to an arrest report. A judge imposed a $100,000 bond, GPS monitor ankle bracelet, ordered no contact with the victim or any minors and to surrender his passport.

Hansson is one of the most famous TV personalities in Sweden, where he was a longtime sports journalist and commentator who covered the Olympics, World Cups and other big sporting events.

"We don't see any prior history, obviously being that he's not from here we're still looking into any potential incidents prior to this," Kmiotek said.

Anyone with information about the suspect should call Coral Springs police at 954-346-1222.

President Donald Trump made his case for a crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border in a speech to the country Tuesday night. But Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly made false statements about immigration, legal and illegal, to bolster a need for a wall — or at least steel slats — and baseless assertions that Mexico will pay for it, recently through the new trade deal.

Here are some claims from Trump’s speech, which he delivered as the federal government remained partly closed over a budget impasse caused by his insistence that he get $5 billion to build along the border. (Click here for NBC News' fact check of the Democratic response.)

CLAIM: There is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border.

FACTS: Border crossings have been falling for years. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported just over 300,000 apprehensions for illegal border crossings in 2017, the lowest in more than 45 years and down from more than 1.6 million in 2000, according to FactCheck.org.

The number rose in 2018 to nearly 400,000. And about 51,00 people were caught at the southwestern border in October and November 2018, more than in earlier months, according to CBP data from the 2019 fiscal year, NBC News reported.

Two-thirds of undocumented immigrants arrived in the United States legally — often by flying in — and then overstayed their visit, according to a report from the Center for Migration Studies. And immigrants who overstay their visas have outnumbered those crossing the southern border illegally every year since 2007, more than 700,000 in 2017, according to NBC News. 

A growing percentage of people coming across the border are migrants from Central America who are seeking asylum. They are being driven by gangs, violence and poverty.

CLAIM: The Southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. Every week 300 of our citizens are killed by heroin alone, 90 percent of which floods across from our Southern border.

FACTS: Trump’s claim that a wall would stop the flow of illegal drugs is discounted by most experts. And most illegal drugs — including the opioids that the Centers for Disease Control says kill 130 people in the U.S. each day — do go through ports of entry, as Trump has claimed in the past and which would not be affected by a wall. A DEA report in 2018 said: "Majority of the flow is through … legal ports of entry." The U.S. Customs and Border Protection told NBC News reporter Jacob Soboroff that, “Drug smugglers feel there are opportunities to mix in” at ports of entry. The vast majority of hard narcotics including fentanyl comes into this country through ports of entry or in the mail from China, Soboroff reported.

CLAIM: "Last month, 20,000 migrant children were illegally brought into the United States, a dramatic increase. These children are used as human pawns by vicious coyotes and ruthless gangs. One in 3 women are sexually assaulted on the dangerous trek up through Mexico."

FACTS: NBC News said that in December, according to data from the White House, about 32,000 “family units” and 5,000 “unaccompanied minors” were caught at the border. It further noted that there had been a surge of children and families apprehended. In October and November 2018, 10,265 unaccompanied migrant children and 48,287 migrants traveling as families were stopped at the border.

As far as sexual assaults against women, Trump's figure comes from Doctors Without Borders. Amnesty International has estimated it is as high as one in 6 women.

CLAIM: Among examples Trump gave of undocumented immigrants committing terrible crimes, he said, "America's heart broke the day after Christmas when a young police officer in California was savagely murdered in cold blood by an illegal alien who just came across the border. The life of an American hero was stolen by someone who had no right to be in our country." 

FACTS: Trump was referring to the December killing of Newman, California, Police Cpl. Ronil Singh, allegedly by Gustavo Perez Arriaga, an immigrant who police say entered the country illegally.

There is no evidence that immigrants commit more crimes; immigration populations have been growing as the rates of crime, and violent crime, have dropped, The Marshall Project reported. Most studies have found no connection between immigrants and crime or have shown that immigrants revitalize neighborhoods.

CLAIM: Democrats asked for a steel wall.

FACTS: The president offered Democrats a steel border fence instead of a concrete wall, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told NBC's "Meet the Press."

CLAIM: Senate Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, have voted for border barriers in the past.

FACTS: Schumer and 25 other Senate Democrats did vote for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorized building a fence along about 700 miles of the border between the United States and Mexico. Trump characterized the fencing as "such a little wall, it was such a nothing wall," and during his campaign promised a concrete wall. He has since called it a fence and dismissed comments that he had abandoned a wall.

CLAIM: "The wall will also be paid for, indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico."

FACTS: The revised North American Free Trade Agreement has not been approved by Congress, and would not take effect until 2020 at the earliest. There are no funds earmarked for the border wall, and any revenue raised by tariffs would have to be appropriated by Congress, NBC noted. And Trump campaigned on the promise that Mexico would pay for the wall.

Emilie Mutert contributed.

Elevated surf at San Diego County beaches could bring waves of up to 14 feet during a high surf advisory period set to take effect Wednesday morning.

The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory from 10 a.m. Wednesday to 10 p.m. Thursday as waves from San Diego through the Los Angeles area are expected to average 6 to 12 feet. 

The strong surf will build "as the tail end of a big weather system centered well to our north tries to swing into Southern California," NBC 7 Meteorologist Sheena Parveen said. 

During this period, high surf and strong rip currents could create dangerous conditions for swimmers and cause minor coastal flooding and erosion, according to the NWS.

Surf will peak along San Diego's coastline Wednesday afternoon and gradually subside after Thursday morning, Parveen said. The strongest surf will be at beaches in the southern part of the county.

"What you can expect with this is building surf as we go through about noon, into the afternoon and especially into the evening [Wednesday],” Parveen said in NBC 7's First Alert Forecast.

A small craft advisory will also be in effect Wednesday through 10 p.m. Thursday for boats off San Diego's coast due to hazardous conditions. 

A vineyard that’s been producing wine in the San Pasqual Valley for the past 25 years is uncorking a new project: a tasting room near the beach in Oceanside.

Orfila Vineyards & Winery recently opened its Orfila Oceanside Tasting Room at 221 N. Cleveland St., about 30 miles northwest of the vineyard’s Escondido location.

Open daily at noon, the tasting room is currently pouring 19 of Orfila’s wines, including Ambassador’s Chardonnay, Petite Sirah, Element 119 Pinot Noir, and Sangiovese.

When patrons arrive, are given two tasting options: a standard tasting of six wines or the “Ambassador Tasting,” which features tastings of eight wines, plus a keepsake glass. In addition to the tastings, wines can also be purchased by the glass or bottle.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Executive Chef Luke Morganstern is whipping up small plates that can be ordered at the tasting room counter. The menu includes artisanal cheese and charcuterie boards, crispy Brussel sprouts, “flatbreads” built on tortillas and decadent desserts.

Orfila Oceanside is open from 12 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 12 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. It is closed on Monday. The original Escondido location is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Orfila winemaker and general manager Justin Mund said the Oceanside tasting room is a “big step” for the business.

“We have never had a tasting room in a beach community or in such a large downtown demographic,” he explained.

Orfila Oceanside will host its grand opening party this Saturday (12 p.m. to 9 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m. to 8 p.m.) featuring live raffles, specials, music, light bites and, of course, vino. Mund will host a signing of an Orfila book at the shindig at 4 p.m. both days. The winery has been posting about the celebration on its social media accounts, so check those out for the latest updates.

Orfila Vineyards & Winery is owned Alejandro Orfila. The company produces 20,000 cases of wine each year out of its 70-acre Escondido estate located between Interstate 15 and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The winery is known for its Italian and French varietals and sources its grapes from both its local estate and select vineyards in Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties.

More than 300,000 local military health system patients will see changes to their care starting in 2020 when the National Defense Health Agency (DHA) takes over two San Diego hospitals. 

What used to be three divided health care systems -- Army Medicine, Navy Medicine and Air Force Medicine -- will be combined under the management of the DHA starting on Oct. 1, 2020, with the goal to streamline patient care.

"We’re really trying to drive towards more standardization and a more consistent experience of care for our patients," DHA Director Vice Adm. Raquel Bono said. 

DHA found the three health care systems would make similar decisions that were not interchangeable and create more work for patients.  

"When we looked at it from the patient’s perspective what they see is they have to use a different process to make an appointment at one facility and then use a different process for the same type of care at another facility," Bono explained. 

The new streamlined process under DHA will also make it easier for patients to transfer care to the civilian world or to other parts of the country, the agency said. 

"What we’re accomplishing is a standardization of the appointment process, a standardization of how people get their specialty referrals and then also it’ll allow us to aggregate some of our business processes and get a little more efficient."

While not in San Diego yet, the agency said they will soon implement MHS Genesis, an electronic medical record that is more secure and more effectively communicates information between offices. MHS Genesis is also the same system the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses, creating an easier transition for patients from DHA and VA. 

between naval base san diego and all of our other local bases, there are about 300- thousand active duty, retired military and family members who receive care through the military health system.

Bono said the changes are part of congress' direction to reform and streamline care for active duty servicemembers and veterans.

"They shouldn't see any change except for something that's better for them."

DHA was established in 2013 at the recommendation of a Department of Defense task force and serves about 9.5 million people across the country and 300,000 in San Diego. 

The Happiest Place on Earth is about to get "hoppier': next week, San Diego's Ballast Point Brewing Co. will debut its highly-anticipated craft brewpub in the heart of Downtown Disney.

One year ago, Ballast Point and Disneyland Resort announced plans to open the brewery and restaurant in the Downtown Disney District. The project was one of several new venues joining a lineup of ambitious upgrades to Downtown Disney. It's also Downtown Disney’s first-ever on-site brewery, and Ballast Point’s first location in Orange County, California.

On Wednesday, craft beer-meets-Disneyland Resort fans finally got the news they'd been waiting for: Ballast Point Brewing Co. confirmed the restaurant, located at 1540 S. Disneyland Dr., would open its doors on Jan. 16.

The 4,000-square-foot restaurant features a glass-enclosed bar and dining room, as well as a 3,000-square-foot patio with cabana-style seating.

At the bar, patrons will find more than 50 styles of beer across 100 tap lines, including Ballast Point fan favorites such as Sculpin IPA, Grapefruit Sculpin and Fathom IPA. The restaurant is also pouring limited-edition brews exclusive to the Downtown Disney location. Behind the scenes, the brewpub houses a 3-barrel brewing system.

In the kitchen, the chefs are whipping up Southern California-inspired dishes including salads, flatbreads, sandwiches and burgers. Ballast Point said the brewpub also aims to be family-friendly, given that it’s in Disney territory. The kids menu includes Crispy Chicken Tenders, a Corn Tortilla Quesadilla and Grilled Cheese. To check out the full menu, click here.

The Downtown Disney District restaurant will be open seven days a week from 10 .am. to midnight.

In a press release, Ben Dollard, president of Ballast Point, said the company is looking forward to tapping into the scene at Disneyland and Anaheim, California, and introducing new guests to the brew brand.

Patrick Finnegan, vice president of Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney said Ballast Point will be a fresh addition to the dining landscape in the district.

“Ballast Point is the perfect Southern California brand to bring its unique blend of great beer, good food and a family-friendly atmosphere,” Finnegan said in a press release.

Ballast Point Brewing Co. currently operates several tasting rooms in San Diego: its Miramar headquarters, as well as locations in Little Italy, Scripps Ranch, and Linda Vista. The company also has facilities in Temecula and Long Beach, California.

In May 2016, the company announced it was expanding to Virginia, investing $47.8 million in establishing its brewing operation on the East Coast. Today, the company runs a tasting room and restaurant in Daleville, Virginia.

In summer 2017, the company announced plans to expand to Chicago’s Fulton Market area. That location is now up and running.

In March 2017, the Colorado-based Brewers Association named Ballast Point Brewing Co. among the 50 overall largest production breweries in the United States. The company ranked No. 13 in the nation, with Stone Brewing Co. on its tail at No. 17, and San Diego’s Green Flash Brewing Co. at No. 47.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had been overseeing Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation, plans to step down within the next month, according to administration officials familiar with his thinking.

A source close to Rosenstein said he intends to stay on until Mueller submits a report to the Justice Department on the Russian meddling investigation, NBC News reported. The source said that would mean Rosenstein would remain until early March.

Several legal sources have said they expect the Mueller team to submit its report by mid-to-late February, although they said that timeline could change based on unforeseen investigative developments.

San Diego politician and California State Assemblymember Todd Gloria is throwing his hat into the ring to become the city’s next mayor.

On Wednesday, Gloria officially announced he would be running for the office of Mayor of San Diego in 2020, adding, “It’s time for a mayor who works for all of us.”

The Democrat announced his candidacy via a video posted on social media. In the clip, Gloria starts by detailing his roots and deep ties to San Diego.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t really see people like me in political office or reflected in government,” Gloria said in his video. “Then again, we’ve never elected a mayor who is the son of a maid and a gardener.

"I get asked all the time, ‘What are you?’ I’m a lot of things: Latino; Native American; Filipino; Gay. But most of all, I’m a third generation San Diegan," he continued.

If elected, Gloria would become San Diego’s first openly LGBT mayor in the city’s history.

The politician released this statement ahead of a briefing scheduled with reporters for Wednesday afternoon:

“It’s clear that San Diego needs strong, experienced, and progressive leadership in the Mayor’s Office – leadership that has the courage to take our city beyond business as usual and solve the long-standing problems that have faced our city. That’s why I’m running for Mayor. San Diego may be America’s Finest City, but we should strive to be more than just fine. We should dare to be great.”

Gloria grew up in Clairemont and graduated from James Madison High School. He studied at the University of San Diego where he earned bachelor’s degrees in history and political science. After college, he worked for the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency.

Gloria’s political career began in 2008 when he was elected to the San Diego City Council, representing the Third District. During his tenure, he focused on affordable housing and restoring city services.

In 2013 and 2014, Gloria served as San Diego City Council President and as Interim Mayor following the resignation of embattled Mayor Bob Filner and Filner’s sexual misconduct scandal.

In 2016, Gloria was elected to the California State Assembly to represent the 78th Assembly District, including the City of San Diego. According to his campaign announcement, in his assemblymember role, Gloria has succeeded “in passing and earning the Governor’s signature on almost 30 pieces of state legislation relating to issues of housing affordability, combatting climate change, and gun safety.”

Gloria will officially kick off his mayoral campaign with a rally on Jan. 18 at the Laborers Local 89 Union Hall on Home Avenue. His campaign includes plans to address issues facing San Diego like housing affordability, access to public transportation, jobs, and homelessness.

The primary election is on March 3, 2020. The candidate elected as San Diego mayor will take over the position from predecessor Kevin Faulconer, who is not eligible to run for the office again.

According to public filings from the City of San Diego obtained by NBC 7, at least two other potential candidates are likely to run against Todd Gloria: San Diego City Council member Barbara Bry, who has already filed her documents, and Congressman Scott Peters, who has filed exploratory committee to possibly run for the office.

Additional candidates could still emerge; Gloria and Bry are just the first to file their papers. Bry's video announcing her plan to run for mayor can be seen below or here.

The remains of a local Navy sailor killed during World War II have been accounted for, more than 76 years after his death.

Navy Chief Pharmacist’s Mate James T. Cheshire of San Diego was identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) on Sept. 10, 2018, the organization announced Wednesday.

Cheshire was assigned to the USS Oklahoma battleship during the Pearl Harbor attacks on Dec. 7, 1941.

His ship was docked at Ford Island, a small island in the center Pearl Harbor.

During the attacks, the USS Oklahoma was hit by multiple torpedoes, causing the battleship to capsize, DPAA said.

This resulted in the deaths of 429 servicemembers, including Cheshire, according to the agency.

It took until June 1944 for the sailors’ remains to be recovered. After this time, they were buried in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

Three years later, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) then transferred these remains to the Schofield Barracks on Honolulu to be identified.

Here, the staff was only able to identify 35 men from the USS Oklahoma wreckage, DPAA said.

The remaining unidentified fallen servicemembers were then buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl. The cemetery is also located on Honolulu.

In October 1949, a military board classified these unidentified sailors as non-recoverable, including Cheshire, according to DPAA.

More than 65 years later, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work ordered for the unknown sailors associated with the USS Oklahoma to be analyzed again.

This long process began on June 15, 2015, DPAA said. DNA, as well as anthropologic analysis and circumstantial evidence were used to try and identify these servicemembers.

More than 1,000 days went by before DPAA confirmed Cheshire’s remains had been accounted for in Sept. of last year.

Cheshire, who was listed on the Walls of Missing at the Punchbowl where he was laid to rest for so many years, now has a rosette next to his name to signal his remains have been found.

Roughly 16 million Americans served in World War II. Of those servicemembers, about 400,000 died and more than 72,000 are still unaccounted for, DPAA said.

A man became caught in the jetty in Ocean Beach after attempting to rescue his dog from the rough waters Wednesday afternoon.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department got a call at 1:49 p.m. about a needed water rescue near Abbott Street and West Point Loma Boulevard.

SDFD was able to retrieve the man caught in the jetty and began performing CPR life-saving measures, the agency said.

Officials at the scene said the man’s dog was okay.

The man was then transported to UCSD Hillcrest. He was “struggling” for a while, said Sgt. Stirk with the San Diego Police Department.

He was unconscious, and he was not breathing, according to SDFD.

He was said to be in his 50s or 60s.

No other information was available.

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

The San Diego Board of Supervisors voted to waive fees for residents building accessory units on their property Wednesday to address the county housing shortage.

These accessory dwelling units, known as “granny flats,” are described as attached or detached residential spaces to an existing property that can provide sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation, according to the county.

“This is a critical step in our on-going efforts to address the region’s housing crisis, especially the serious need for affordable housing,” said District 2 Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “This new program is the quickest and easiest way for us to expedite the development of housing.”

The board voted Wednesday to waive all county permit and development impact fees over the next five years with the hopes of bringing thousands of additional granny-flat homes across the county.

The previous cost of a permit for a granny flat was $1,222 plus $0.0411 per square-foot of space, according to the county’s website.

In total, residents planning to build granny flats could save an average of $14,000, according to District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond.

In order to offset the loss of these fees, the county said it would subsidize $11 million for the five-year program.

“We will continue to be creative and challenge the status quo to solve the region’s housing crisis,” said Desmond.

The incentivized units can be used for family members or rented out as a source of income for the homeowner, the Board of Supervisors said.

To learn more about what constitutes a granny flat, go to the county’s website.

The Trump Administration is expanding a longstanding immigration policy that will make it more difficult for undocumented immigrants to become legal residents if they’re likely to need government assistance.

That policy change allows immigration officials to label applicants as a “public charge,” thus denying citizenship if they believe the applicants may be likely to use any form of public assistance such as welfare, food stamps, or federal health care benefits.

In the past, the “public charge” policy would only apply to applicants that have received government assistance. Now, the policy expansion will include those applicants that the government deems “as likely” to receive public subsidies.

The administration has been enforcing the planned policy change without final approval from the Department of Homeland Security, according to two local immigration attorneys.

One San Diego family told NBC 7 Investigates the policy’s enforcement led to them being separated and forced their to live on each side of the border.

“They miss him so much. My husband, he is the head of the house. He was in charge. He worked, made the kids dinner, and took them to their sports practices,” says Ana Sanchez, a San Diego resident whose husband Leo is now living in Tijuana after the immigration denied his application for citizenship.

Leo Sanchez and his wife Ana came to the country illegally more than fifteen years ago. Since arriving, Leo and Ana have had steady jobs and have never applied for any kind of government assistance. Leo has never been arrested or charged with any crime, in the U.S. or in Mexico.

Three years ago, Ana Sanchez became a legal citizen. Last year Leo applied and the couple hired a San Diego attorney to help with the process.

“We had all the necessary documents that they wanted,” says the couple’s attorney, Mari Ancel. “We had everything we checked all the boxes of everything so that he should have just gone in for his interview and been approved.”

Ancel tells NBC 7 that Leo Sanchez had a sponsor, the equivalent to a co-signer for a loan, who put up their own money to ensure that Sanchez would not apply for any government assistance.

Despite all of this, when Leo Sanchez met with immigration officials at the U.S. Consulate in Juarez, Mexico in May 2018, officials there rejected his application under the “public charge” provision.

Ana was forced to fly back to San Diego alone. Leo, on the other hand, traveled to Tijuana in order to stay close to his wife and three children.

Leo is now living in Tijuana and working, saying he earns just enough to survive. That has left Ana forced to support her family on the money she earns cleaning houses.

“I'm struggling right now,” says Ana. “I mean it's very hard. It's hard because you know I had to pay the rent. Sometimes I need to pay some bills. Sometimes I call the company and say I can’t make a payment today.”

Ana refuses to seek any help from the government in fear that by doing so, she will further hamper Leo’s chances at gaining citizenship.

“It’s been very hard. I don’t want to ask for food stamps because I don’t want to become a public charge,” says Ana.

But the family has felt the separation from Leo in other ways as well.

Ana says her 10 year-old son is having problems in school and calls her frequently to make sure immigration authorities have not taken her away, this despite she is a citizen.

“He tells me that he doesn’t want to have to live in a shelter or go to another family,” says Ana.

Attorney Ancel says she has filed a new application and hopes it will be expedited.

“I’ve been doing this for over 30 years,” says Ancel. This is something new. And, unfortunately it’s a policy that I don’t think they will be reversing any time soon.”

Rick Sterger also practices Immigration Law in San Diego. He too has seen a dramatic shift in the U.S.’ approach to legal immigration.

“I don’t like the idea of enticing people to seek a Visa legally and then change the criteria while they are already outside of the country,” says Sterger.

“These people have already received the waiver for entering this country illegally and then subject them to what is a subjective process of the public charge designation is, frankly, problematic.”

Despite the example of Leo Sanchez as well as Sterger’s client, the Department of Homeland Security says the policy has not been formally adopted but is needed in ensuring qualified applicants are allowed to enter.

“Under long-standing federal law, those seeking to immigrate to the United States must show they can support themselves financially,” reads a statement from Department of Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. “The Department takes seriously its responsibility to be transparent in its rulemaking and is welcoming public comment on the proposed rule. This proposed rule will implement a law passed by Congress intended to promote immigrant self-sufficiency and protect finite resources by ensuring that they are not likely to become burdens on American taxpayers.”

Leo Sanchez has since re-filed his application, including his co-sponsor who has agreed to financially support him in case of any financial hardship.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has agreed to deliver a classified briefing to U.S. House lawmakers on Thursday on his recent decision to lift sanctions on companies linked to a Russian oligarch and Vladimir Putin ally, marking the start of an aggressive new focus on Mnuchin by newly empowered House Democrats, according to two top Democratic aides. 

Mnuchin, who served as the Trump campaign's national finance chairman in 2016 before being confirmed to President Donald Trump's cabinet, has largely escaped investigative scrutiny, NBC News reported.

Stashing fentanyl pills in condoms and a woman’s bra, four suspects are accused of smuggling thousands of pills through San Diego ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities confirm.

The office of Adam L. Braverman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, said Tuesday that federal prosecutors had filed drug trafficking charges against four defendants allegedly involved in the fentanyl pill trafficking ring: Dianna Dominguez, of San Diego, and Felix Inzunza-Dominguez, Jr., Norma Macias-Dominguez, and Tanairi Ponce, all three of Tijuana, Mexico.

The four are charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of life in prison or a minimum penalty of 10 years in custody.

The foursome was busted Monday through an undercover operation in which federal agents obtained more than 10,000 fentanyl pills from the group after they crossed the border.

According to a federal complaint, undercover agents had been negotiating with a known drug trafficker in Tijuana back in December, looking to purchase about 4,000 fentanyl pills at a cost of $24,000. The trafficker did not know he was talking with an agent.

After that conversation, the trafficker arranged for Dominguez, Inzunza-Dominguez Jr., Macias-Dominguez and Ponce to smuggle the pills through the San Diego ports of entry. The smugglings were to take place on Jan. 7.

That morning, according to the complaint, Dominguez, Inzunza-Dominguez Jr., and Macias-Dominguez crossed into the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Dominguez drove Inzunza-Dominguez Jr. – who is her father – and Macias-Dominguez to the parking lot of a Walmart where Inzunza-Dominguez planned to meet the undercover agent to deliver the pills.

After parking, Macias-Dominguez walked away from the car. Dominguez texted the undercover agent to say her father was walking over to meet him with the drugs.

Carrying a bag, Inzunza-Dominguez Jr. walked over to the undercover agent and handed him 4,000 fentanyl pills, expecting to receive the $24,000 payment that had been agreed upon.

The complaint said the bag contained two condoms filled with pills, “believed to be the smugglers’ method of concealing the fentanyl as they entered the United States.”

The three suspects were arrested by authorities on suspicion of smuggling the pills.

Prior to this interaction, officials said Macias-Dominguez and Inzunza-Dominguez, Jr., had each delivered 1,000 fentanyl pills to an undercover agent in exchange for $8,000 per drug deal.

After the trio was busted, the complaint said the undercover agent told the trafficker with whom he had been negotiating in Tijuana that he had not received the fentanyl pills as requested in the deal with Inzunza-Dominguez Jr.

The undercover agent said he wanted another 2,000 fentanyl pills delivered to him.

The trafficker recruited Ponce to make that delivery. Ponce placed 2,000 fentanyl pills in her bra, crossed the border and delivered the drugs to the agent, the documents said. Combined, the pills stuffed inside her bra weighed nearly 300 grams.

Ponce was arrested. The complaint said she had a business card in her possession with the undercover agent’s phone number on it.

On Tuesday, all four suspects entered not guilty pleas. They are scheduled to appear in court Friday for a detention hearing.

Braverman’s office said several agencies worked together to crack down on the fentanyl trafficking ring, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

The San Ysidro Port of Entry in south San Diego County is the busiest land border crossing between the U.S. and Mexico. Each day, it is used by 70,000 northbound vehicles and 20,000 northbound pedestrians.