The San Diego Blood Bank issued an urgent call for blood donations from donors with Type O blood.

Supplies of Type O-positive and Type O-negative blood are reaching critically low levels. They’re asking those who have never given blood and those who haven’t given blood recently, and have Type O blood, to schedule an appointment to donate blood immediately.

Type O-positive is the most common blood type, and therefore needed by many hospital patients, while Type O-negative is the universal blood type and can be given to any patient, and is often used in emergency rooms when there is no time to determine the blood type of the patient.

“Coming out of the holiday season, we typically see a decrease in donations of all types at this time due to schools being out of session for the holidays and seasonal illnesses like the flu,” said David Wellis, San Diego Blood Bank CEO. “The need for Type O blood has hit a critically low level and we need the community to help us keep a safe supply for hospital patients.”

To be eligible to donate blood you must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 114 pounds and be in general good health. Anyone who is eligible to donate blood can make an appointment at their website or by calling 1-800-4MY-SDBB.

Police are investigating a stabbing at the Fashion Valley mall.

The San Diego Police Department said a woman called to report she was punched in the back by a man in front of Italiano's Restaurant and Bloomingdales just before 3:30 p.m.

She later noticed she was bleeding from her back and medics confirmed she had been stabbed.

Her injuries are considered non-life threatening, SDPD said.

The suspect was last seen fleeing eastbound on Friars Road. He is described as 6 feet tall with a thin build.

No other information was available.

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

U.S Customs and Border Protection announced it will conduct a "large-scale operational readiness exercise" Thursday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry that could result in processing delays.

The operation is scheduled for 1 p.m. and is expected to last around 10 minutes.

CBP advised that the operation would be highly visible to travelers crossing the border at that time.

A readiness exercise was held at the port on Thanksgiving, followed by similar drills at the Otay Mesa and Tecate ports of entry in December.

During the drills, CBP officers and Border Patrol agents, some dressed in riot gear, formed a line across the ports' traffic lanes and temporarily stopped traffic.

Loud bangs were heard and smoke was seen during the drill at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry on Dec. 1.

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 County Water Authority is making local customers aware that lawn rebates are currently 175 percent higher than normal. 

The average rebate on participating lawns is usually $1 per sq. ft. in San Diego County. It is currently at $2.75 per sq. ft.

There is no word on when the rebate will go back down to a buck, but it could happen in the coming weeks. 

Rebates are not just reserved for lawn to turf replacement. In fact, the Water Authority encourages people to have water-efficient shrubs and trees as part of their gardens. 

"We can have beautiful landscapes and, recognizing that water is a precious commodity, we just want to minimize waste," said Carlos Michelon Wednesday, principal water resources specialist at the San Diego County Water Authority. 

The program, established in 2010, has had a steady increase of participants each year. 

The Water Authority said rocks and water-absorbent plants can be used to capture rainfall off rooftops and conserve. 

"If we can build into our gardens a feature that retains that water and we make sure that gets into our ground, that's water that is ultimately available to the plants," Michelon added. 

Residents are also encouraged to use high-efficiency irrigation and healthy living soils to save water. 

Law enforcement will now be able to receive their bachelor’s degrees in as little as 11 months thanks to a new program from National University.

The university announced Wednesday that it will offer an accelerated pathway for those enrolled in a police academy training program to earn their degrees.

"Anyone who's been through a police academy in California can take that credit and wave out up to seven classes at National University for the Bachelor of Criminal Justice," said Chris Graham, Vice Chancellor of the National University System.

The university’s program consists of 10 classes, including nine four-week classes and a two-month capstone.

National University will offer a 25 percent tuition scholarship, up to $16,500, toward any degree program for these servicemembers.

In addition, it will offer a 10 percent discount for dependents of law enforcement officials enrolled in the university.

The announcement was made on Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, where National University held a celebratory event at the San Diego Police Department’s headquarters.

"It's important that an institution recognizes our efforts, in the beginning, going through the academy for about 6 months and rewarding that by crediting us for those classes," said local Officer Thomas Mchurtch.

Mchurtch has served on the force for five years.

National University was founded in 1971. It is a private, non-profit school, offering more than 100 degree programs at various locations throughout the state and online.

Kearny Mesa is home to the school’s San Diego campus.

For more information be sure to visit its website.

The brother of a Fallbrook man who was reportedly killed alongside his wife and two young children broke down in court Wednesday testifying against the suspect in the murders.

Mike McStay spent the entire day on the stand talking about his brother Joseph and his accused murderer Chase Merritt.

Merritt is charged with killing Joseph; McStay's wife, Summer; and their 3- and 4-year-old sons. The family's disappearance in 2010 perplexed investigators for years, with no signs of forced entry at their Fallbrook home.

But at first, the family’s disappearance was of little concern to Mike, he told the jury. He thought they may have taken a short trip somewhere.

During this time, Mike said he spoke with Merritt over the phone. He said Merritt was also looking for Joseph.

The defense questioned Mike about specific dates and times he was in contact with Merritt and told the jury there was no evidence linking Merritt to the deaths.

Merritt was staying at Joseph and Summer’s house, looking after their dogs, according to Mike.

After two weeks went by, Mike said he went to sheriff’s investigators, worried about his family.

Investigators quickly discovered the family’s SUV, which had been towed from a parking lot in San Ysidro.

Surveillance footage in the area showed who officials believed to be the McStays walking into Mexico. But Mike said he knew right away that it wasn’t them.

“Summer would never take the boys to Mexico,” Mike said in court. “She was too, she had commented about this, so, my brother and I had surfed there years ago, and this is not as safe as it used to be.”

Three years after the McStays disappearance, their bodies were found more than 100 miles away in a remote area of San Bernardino County, along with a 3-pound sledgehammer and a child's pants and diaper.

Supervising deputy district attorney for San Bernardino County accused Merritt of "desperately [trying] to cover his tracks after the murders.”

Prosecutors also accused Merritt of stealing thousands of dollars from Joseph’s custom fountain business by hacking his electronic bank account.

Merritt pleaded not guilty to the charges.

If convicted, Merritt could face the death penalty.

Put yourself in a dog's shoes: You're on a nice walk with your person and then two big birds come down and try to scoop you up. Sounds like a nightmare, right?

That nightmare turned to reality for Emma when she found herself paw to claw with a Red-tailed Hawk while on an afternoon walk through Park West.

Emma isn’t the smallest of dogs, but she is a bit skittish. And for good reason – her owner David Engquist says she was nearly scooped up by a hawk the day before as well.

On Thursday, the danger started when the hawk swooped in while his accomplice watched nearby.

“It literally got within three feet of me when it happened,” Engquist said. “Like kind of hovering about two feet away just right in my face with the claws out and everything.”

Then the second hawk flew in landed next to him.

“It was just maybe two yards away,” he said. “It sat down and just walked slowly like a few steps before it flew up again.”

Engquist said Emma began barking up a storm once the hawks got close and took refuge between his feet.

Once the birds flew away, David hit record on his phone. The hawks sat in the eucalyptus trees until he and Emma walked away

Engquist says he’ll definitely be keeping his eyes open for hawks and other predators going forward.

A teenager was hospitalized Wednesday night after he was hit by a car while riding an electric scooter without a helmet near Sweetwater Union High School.

The National City Police Department said the 15-year-old was riding along the 600 block of E. 30th Street at around 7:40 p.m. when he was hit.

Police said they aren't sure if the teen was riding in traffic lanes, in a bike lane, or if he was trying to cross the street at the time of the crash.

There are two crosswalks near the site of the crash, according to NCPD.

The teen was taken to UCSD Medical Center with superficial injuries, according to police. Witnesses at the scene told NBC 7 it appeared that the rider suffered injuries to his head. The force of the collision broke the scooter into multiple pieces.

NCPD could not confirm if the teenager was a student at Sweetwater Union High School.

According to police, the rider should have been wearing a helmet because he is under 18.

The driver of the car that hit the teen stayed at the scene.

No other information was available.

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

Police found a car riddled with bullet holes in Clairemont Wednesday after neighbors called 911 to report hearing gunshots.

San Diego police found bullet casings and the damaged car --  but no victims or suspects -- when they arrived at the scene near Caminito Aguilar and Mt. Aguilar Drive at 7 p.m.

Investigators say they believe gunfire was exchanged between two parties. It has not been determined of the shooting was gang or drug related.

No other information was available.

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

Americans are having fewer and fewer babies, a new government report finds. In fact, we now aren’t making enough babies to replace ourselves, NBC News reported.

For the population to reproduce itself at current numbers, the “total fertility rate” needs to be 2,100 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age per year, researchers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in their report, released early Thursday.

But the latest data show a current rate of just 1,765.5 per 1,000, or 16 percent below the number needed to keep the population stable without additions through immigration.

The total fertility rate has been declining steadily for seven years, but the numbers for 2017 represent the biggest drop in recent history. The rate for 2016 was 1,820.5; for 2015, 1,843.5; and for 2014, 1,862.5.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly advocated for a steel slat design for his border wall. But Department of Homeland Security testing of a steel slat prototype proved it could be cut through with a saw, according to a government report.

A photo exclusively obtained by NBC News shows the results of the test after experts from the Marine Corps were instructed to attempt to destroy the barriers with common tools.

Testing by DHS in late 2017 showed all eight prototypes, including the steel slats, were vulnerable to breaching, according to an internal February 2018 U.S. Customs and Border Protection report.

Photos of the breaches were not included in a redacted version of the CBP report, which was first obtained in a Freedom of Information Act Request by San Diego public radio station KPBS.

DHS did not respond to NBC News' request for comment. A department spokesperson had told KPBS that the prototypes "were not and cannot be designed to be indestructible."

More hotels are coming to downtown San Diego in 2019, with a total of 2,444 rooms expected to come on line throughout San Diego County.

That far exceeds the 1,387 rooms that were expected to be added to the county’s hotel room inventory through the end of 2018, but experts said the surge in new hotel construction will be easily absorbed with no danger that the region will wind up with an excess.

“I don’t think downtown San Diego is even close to being overbuilt,” said Carl Winston, executive director of the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism at San Diego State University.

Hotels slated to come on line in downtown San Diego in 2019 are the 168-room Guild Hotel at 500 W. Broadway and the 239-room Carte Hotel & Suites at 401 W. Ash St., according to the San Diego Tourism Authority.

They follow the 2018 opening of the 400-room InterContinental San Diego Lane Field South at 901 Bayfront Court and the 126-room Moxy Hotel at 831 Sixth Ave.

“San Diego is expected to grow modestly over the next few years,” Lodging Econometrics — a lodging industry consulting firm — said in a December report.

In addition to downtown, Oceanside, Carlsbad and south and east portions of San Diego are the hot hotel submarkets, according to Lodging Economics.

If all the hotels either under construction or planned come to market, 8,716 rooms will be added to the inventory countywide.

“Keep in mind, many of these projects will not get built if they have not yet received financing,” said Robert Rauch, CEO of RAR Hospitality. “Hence, I believe demand will catch up with supply in a few years, especially if the much-needed convention center expansion gets built by 2023,” Rauch said.

A drive to expand the San Diego Convention Center stalled in 2018 when it was ruled — mistakenly — that the measure failed to get enough voter signatures to put it on the November ballot. It is now set to go on the 2020 ballot.

As many Californians are struggling to understand the REAL ID rules amid the government shutdown, the California Department of Motor Vehicles said Wednesday that an extension has been granted.

Even though the Department of Homeland Security website may not reflect the extension date of Apr. 1, 2019, the extension was confirmed with the California DMV. The shutdown is making the notification process slower, hence the reason users won't see it on the website.

Starting Oct. 1, 2020, every state will require residents to have REAL IDs for air travel or for entering federal buildings. The security changes came after 9/11, in order to make it harder for terrorists to travel domestically inside the U.S.

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The DMV had issued 2.3 million REAL IDs in California before receiving a notice that something had gone wrong. The California DMV only required one document proving residency, while the federal government said two would be required. 

The millions of REAL IDs were still deemed valid, however, but going forward, all California residents must show two forms of residency to obtain a REAL ID starting April 2019.  

Until April 2019, Californians flying out of the state will be able to use their driver's license or California ID, according to the DHS website. 

TSA lists acceptable forms of ID as driver's licenses or other state photo identity cards, U.S. passports, U.S. passport cards, and more.

So what will you need to travel?

DHS says you will only need your driver's license or state ID. But if you'd like to be extra cautious, you can bring your driver's license and another form of federal ID, like a passport. This is only if you do not have a REAL ID. 

The good news is that you can use the two forms of ID even after the 2020 deadline if you have not yet received your REAL ID.

How do I get a REAL ID?

• You will have to make an appointment to visit a DMV office. 
• You have to complete the application online before your visit.
• You need to bring forms of identification, proof of social security, and two paper copies (no digital versions) of proof of residency. You will need two "proofs" of California residency starting April 2019. Find specific information here. 
• Pay the $36 fee.
• You can also use the DMV's digital checklist here. 

The union representing United States Customs and Border Protection officers has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration claiming they're being forced to work without pay.

The suit filed by CBP Officer Albert Vieira on behalf of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) alleges that the government’s failure to pay wages earned between December 22, 2018, and January 5, 2019, is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Vieira says he and other employees in similar positions should be paid what they’re owed.

The suit is seeking payment of the owed wages, an equal amount of liquidated damages, and other appropriate remedies, according to the lawsuit.

Vieira is regularly posted in Oakland but he’s been working at San Diego's border ports in Otay Mesa and San Ysidro since November.

“These folks have really been kicked into the middle of a political fight they didn’t create and they don’t have the authority to resolve,” Tony Reardon, head of the National Treasury Employees Union, told MSNBC Monday.

Reardon represents roughly 150,000 employees, including Customs and Border Protection officers like Vieira, working without pay during the government shutdown.

Reardon spoke about an e-mail he read from one of his members.

Tuesday night President Trump used a primetime Oval Office address to push for funding for a border wall. A day later the president called a meeting with Democrat leaders on the same issue a waste of time after they rejected his demand for $5 billion in funding for the wall.

The debate over funding triggered the partial government shutdown that is now heading towards its third week.

The National Treasury Employees Union and other federal employee unions are holding a rally Thursday in Washington D.C. Their objective is to put pressure on President Trump to end the shutdown and pay their employees.

Vieira declined to comment on the lawsuit.

A historic mission in San Diego – the first-ever of its kind built in California – turns 250 this year, and the landmark’s milestone anniversary will kick off Thursday with a special ceremony.

Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala, founded in 1769, is located at 10818 San Diego Mission Rd. In honor of the landmark’s “jubilee year,” Father Peter M. Escalante has invited the public to a ceremony at the historic site, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Roman Catholic Bishop of San Diego Robert McElroy is set to lead the prayer service, joined by other local faith leaders. A reception will follow the ceremony. Those who would like to attend should send an email to 250Jubilee@MissionSanDiego.org to reserve a seat.

Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala is the first of the 21 great California Missions, and, according to the mission’s website, “the birthplace of Christianity in the west coast of the United States.”

Today, it serves as an active parish church for people of all faiths.

Mass is held daily at the historic site, at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, and at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. On Sundays, ceremonies – many featuring congregational singing – are held on the hour from 7 a.m. to noon, and again at 5:30 p.m. There is a mass in Spanish at 11 a.m. Sundays.

If you’re a history buff, the mission features a visitor’s center rich with information, as well as a gift shop, open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The mission’s 250th anniversary will feature special events planned throughout 2019, including Heritage Weekend in mid-February, the Festival of the Bells in July, Taste of the Mission in September and a “Farewell Toast to Jubilee Year” on Dec. 31. To check out the full list of anniversary events, click here.

The county health department has extended a shoreline closure to include Imperial Beach amid concerns of sewage-contaminated runoff, the agency said.

The water contact closure initially issued on Nov. 29 was expanded on Wednesday to include the shoreline from the U.S.-Mexico border to the north end of Imperial Beach. 

The county Department of Environmental Health said people should avoid going into the water until testing has deemed it is safe for recreational use. Signs will be posted to notify beachgoers of the closures. 

San Diego's first significant storm of the fall season initially prompted the recent water contact closure, though closures are common during the rainy fall and winter months. 

Sewage-contaminated waters can flow into the United States when a diverter, part of an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico,  is shut down during heavy rainfall, according to the DEH. 

Contaminated waters can then flow northwest via the Tijuana River, which crosses the border just west of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, through the Tijuana River Estuary and into the Pacific Ocean south of Imperial Beach.

The constant closures and contaminated flow from Tijuana has long sparked contention between the South Bay community and the International Boundary Water Commission (IBWC), the agency that manages issues that affect both the U.S. and Mexico's waters. 

In September, the San Diego Water Board sued the U.S. section of the IBWC, claiming it is violating the Clean Water Act by not monitoring or stopping untreated waste flowing to the ocean.

Several San Diego municipalities have also teamed up to file a federal lawsuit against the agency. 

The IBWC said they have not violated any environmental laws and have actually "reduced the problem's scale" with the construction of a San Diego treatment plant. 

If the ongoing partial government shutdown lasts "months or even years," as President Donald Trump has suggested, the country would face an economic hellscape, experts told NBC News.

That would include 38 million people without food stamps, 2 million losing rental assistance, 800,000 federal employees missing many paychecks, lapsed FDA and EPA inspections and more.

"We'll be in no man's land," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. He said the country would face a "pretty severe recession."

Such a long shutdown is unprecedented, but the current one will become the longest in U.S. history on Saturday, which would be its 22nd day. And talks between Trump and congressional Democrats blew up on Wednesday.

A New Jersey high school wrestler who was forced to cut off his dreadlocks before a match to avoid forfeiting was asked to cover his hair before another match this week — the result of an "unrelenting fixation" on the boy’s hair by wrestling officials, his attorney claims.

Buena Regional High School junior Andrew Johnson, 16, and his team were supposed to compete in a wrestling meet on Wednesday, attorney Dominic Speziali said in a letter sent to the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, which is investigating the December incident.

A day before the meet, a referee contacted Buena’s athletic director and said Johnson would have to wear a covering over his now cut hair if he planned to participate in the meet, Speziali said.

After some back and forth between the Buena school district, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, the New Jersey Wrestling Officials Association and the National Federation of State High School Associations, the meet was “abruptly canceled, without explanation and to the dismay of Andrew, and conceivably his teammates, who, like all wrestlers, must prepare and sacrifice in the lead up to every match,” according to Speziali.

The cancellation came two days after a NJSIAA wrestling official allegedly sent out an email with photos of hairstyles that would require coverings during matches, including a photo of "a young black man with a short twist out (a similar hairstyle to that of Andrew’s after his hair was cut),” Speziali wrote in the letter.

“The motivation behind the NJSIAA’s email reinterpreting the applicable rules isn’t clear, but it does not appear to be based on any known, or even alleged, safety issues that have recently come to the fore,” Speziali wrote.

Speziali claimed the email’s “questionable timing” was an attempt to “garner support” for Alan Maloney, the referee who told Johnson he'd have to cut his hair.

A now-viral video tweeted by a reporter in December showed an official cutting Johnson’s dreadlocks after Maloney, who is white, told Johnson, who is black, that he would have to get a haircut or forfeit the match.

Johnson participated in a tournament on Saturday "without wearing a hair covering and without any referee raising an issue about his hair,” Speziali noted in his letter.

“Andrew, his family, and, I would venture to say, the entire Buena wrestling team all desire to return to how things were before Alan Maloney’s actions set this chaotic atmosphere in motion,” Speziali wrote in his letter.

“Yet it appears, for reasons that the Division can hopefully soon unmask, that certain officials have a desire to unnecessarily escalate and prolong this ordeal due [to] an unrelenting fixation on the hair of a 16-year-old young man that asked for absolutely none of this,” Speziali added.

In a statement released on Wednesday, NJSIAA maintained it “shares the public’s desire for a speedy resolution to this important matter, [but] also is strongly committed to taking as much time as necessary to ensure that all aspects of the situation have been assessed.”

“As we previously noted, the referee in question [Alan Maloney] will not be assigned to matches until this matter has been thoroughly reviewed,” NJSIAA said. “This will help to avoid disruption of events for student athletes.”

News 4 has reached out to NJSIAA for comment on Speziali's letter.

Federal health experts reported Thursday that the U.S. drug overdose rate has soared for middle-aged women between 1999 and 2017, NBC News reported.

It rose a startling 260 percent for women between 30 and 64 years old, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate of drug overdose deaths rose 492 percent for the same group over the same time period.

"Prescription opioids clearly were overutilized for more than a decade," said Dr. Michael Lynch, medical director of the the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's poison center, who was not involved in the study.

Last year, the government reported that overdoses killed more than 70,000 Americans, driven most by opioid drugs like fentanyl.