An event that has grown into a legacy for a North County teenager who was abducted and murdered three years ago now has a new partnership in the Girl Scouts of San Diego.

Poway teenager Chelsea King was a Girl Scout and her mother, Kelly, was her troop leader.

That was long before the 17-year-old blossomed into the teenager who would grow to love music and cross-country running and dream about college.

On February 25, 2010, Chelsea went on a training run after school on the trails at Lake Hodges not far from her home. Five days later her body was found, the victim of a gruesome murder that grabbed the attention of residents all over San Diego County and the nation.

Her family, Brent and Kelly King and their son Tyler, have turned their focus on legislation to protect other children by advocating for Chelsea’s Law. When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law in February 2011, the law, in part, enacted a one-strike, life without parole sentencing option for the most dangerous sexual offenders.

The Chelsea’s Light Foundation is working to create similar laws in every state in the nation funded in part by an annual 5K run held in honor of the slain teenager.

The 4th Annual Finish Chelsea's Run 5K will be held March 1, 2014. Money raised by the run is also used for scholarships.

“This past year we awarded out over $75,000 to San Diego kids to go to college,” said Brent King.

Now, the Kings hope to expand the event with the help of the Girl Scouts of San Diego.

“With our relationship, we’re able to hopefully take this to the next level and protect even more kids,” Brent King said.

“Very early on, Girl Scouts is where Chelsea found her voice,” Kelly King told NBC 7 Monday. “It’s such a perfect way to bring together two organizations that are all about helping kids find their voice and seeing how they can make this world a better place.”

To register and for more information go to the foundation’s website.

Early registration is through Sept. 22. Participants will receive $10 off adult registrations and a special commemorative bandana for children.
 

A fire near Mt. Diablo, about 35 miles east of Oakland, has grown past 800 acres and is 10 percent contained, according to Cal Fire. The fire is still growing.

A strike team of engines from San Ramon Valley Fire and the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded for structure protection.

The response includes: 25 engines, 4 air tankers, 2 helicopters, 6 crews, 4 bulldozers, per CalFire.

About 50-75 structures are threatened by the fire.

Homes on Curry Canyon Road and Oak Hill Lane are under mandatory evacuation. Some homeowners were on top of their roofs spraying them down.

Homeowners have been asked to head to the Clayton Community Library at 6125 Clayton Road for shelter. Volunteers are there and have food and water for anyone who needs it.

Clayton resident Andy Cuellar said he was concerned about what could happen.
 
"There's 60 acres of open land behind my house, 40 acres of open land on the other side of my house and if a spot fire hits either one of those two properties, then I'm kind of sandwiched in between," Cuellar said. "That's the fate of most of us who live out here."

Those with disabilities who are not able to leave their homes on their own should call 911 immediately, according to the Contra Costa Sheriff's Department.

CalFire said it expects the fire to continue to grow for two reasons--weather conditions and firing operations, which are fires CalFire is setting in an attempt to steer the fire into terrain that isn't as steep.

Throughout the day, a massive plume of smoke could be seen from all over the Bay Area, including by people driving across the Bay Bridge. The fire started at about 1 p.m. Sunday.

One person was killed Sunday night after an Amtrak train plowed into a vehicle that veered off Interstate 5 and onto train tracks in the North County near San Onofre.

Officials say the fatal collision happened just after 9 p.m. and involved a sedan that was driving on southbound I-5 at speeds in excess of 100 mph.

CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt said witnesses reported the vehicle weaving in and out of traffic. As the driver attempted to switch lanes at the same time as another vehicle, he veered off the roadway and down an embankment.

Bettencourt said the vehicle wound up on the train tracks below.

Seconds thereafter, an Amtrak train traveling southbound on the tracks plowed into the vehicle, killing the driver of the car instantly.

Bettencourt said no one else was injured in the crash, including passengers aboard the Amtrak train.

The train came to a halt about half a mile from the site of the crash, and was delayed following the collision. Officials shut down the tracks and began their investigation, gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses aboard the train.

Officials said other Amtrak trains traveling into San Diego would be delayed Sunday night due to the deadly accident.

The name of the victim has not yet been released. Check back for updates.

Four people and a dog were displaced after part of a duplex caught on fire in Oceanside Saturday evening.

The fire was reported just before 10 p.m. at a duplex in the 2800 block of Valley Vista Way, according to the Oceanside Fire department.

Arriving firefighters found the garage of one of the duplex's units in flames and the fire was quickly moving to the duplex's common attic, officials said.

Fire crews were able to stop the flames from extending to nearby homes and limit the damage made to part of the second unit.

Neighbor Steve Glover first spotted the fire and called 911. He then ran from one house to another to help people get out including one elderly woman.

"It was kind of pandemonium, just people running everywhere and just you're just at awe, the magnitude of the fire," Glover said.

Glover's son helped by ringing doorbells at nearby duplexes in harm's way.

The fire caused an estimated $300,000 in damage. No injuries were reported.

The Red Cross assisted four people and a dog displaced by the blaze and the exact cause of the fire was being investigated.
 

With the Affordable Care Act set to go into effect on Oct. 1, there is an ongoing debate as to whether the law will keep insurance premium costs down, if employers will continue to offer insurance for their employees, and how the federal law will impact Americans.

Here are a few recent stories taking a look at the issues:

 "Obamacare Isn't Causing Employers to Cut Worker Hours: White House"

• Nine out of 10 jobs created since the ACA became law in March 2010 have been full-time positions, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers. And there's no evidence that employers are cutting back worker hours to less than 30 hours per week. (The Huffington Post)

"Plenty of options under health care law, studies show"

• New government tax credits would allow for the monthly price of some health policies to drop to as little as $100.
• Once the ACA goes into effect, those without health insurance on the job can go to new online insurance markets in their states and shop for a plan. (The Associated Press)

"Boomers may benefit most from Obamacare" 

• An analysis done by reporters at The Wall Street Journal shows that older workers' share of their insurance premiums could fall dramatically, leaving them with less to pay than younger, healthier people with similar incomes.
• The ACA's health insurance exchanges and subsidies are designed to help lower prices for this older crowd – those who are too young to qualify for Medicare, but find it too expensive to buy insurance in the private sector. (MarketWatch: The Wall Street Journal)
   

"Obama's Affordable Care Act Looking a Bit Unaffordable"

• The National Journal has an analysis of new coverage and cost data that reveals premium prices will be higher in the individual exchange than what some pay for employer-sponsored benefits.
• The premiums under the ACA may be lower than predicted, but they may not be competitive with workers are currently paying for employer-sponsored care. (The National Journal) 

A fire dubbed the "Morgan Fire" burning near Mount Diablo State Park in California quadrupled from overnight, charring a total of 3,700 acres by Monday afternoon and forcing evacuations of about 100 homes.

That was more than double the number from early Monday morning, when the blaze had charred 1,500 acres, and four times the size of Sunday's peak – 800 acres – after the brush fire broke out just after 1 p.m. on the eastern side of Mount Diablo.

Despite the increase in size, a cast of local and state firefighters had contained 20 percent of the fire by Monday afternoon, up from 10  percent in morning. And still, only one remote outbuilding had burned, though 100 homes remained threatened.

"The fire has grown significantly," Cal Fire Division Chief Dave Shew told NBC Bay Area. He could not estimate when the fire might be contained. That, he said, might become more clear in the next day or two.

PHOTOS: Mt. Diablo Morgan Fire

As the fire expanded, crews worked furiously to prevent the flames from licking a PG&E transmission line, communications infrastructure on the peak of the mountain and historical buildings nearby.

And because of the amount of smoke billowing from the mountaintop, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued warnings for residents of Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties. Spokesman Tom Flanningan said people who smelled the smoke should shut their windows and stay indoors.

Ash fell from the sky like snowflakes in East Bay cities such as Danville and Dublin.

MORE: Cal Fire Incident Command Details

A total of 705 firefighters were sent to contain the brush fire burning near Morgan Territory Road - hence, the nickname of the fire. One firefighter suffered a minor foot injury.

By Monday morning, the fire had nearly reached the peak of Mount Diablo, a stunning mountain that stands more than 3,800 feet tall. It is a popular spot for hiking among many who live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Aerial footage from NBC Bay Area's chopper showed intense, raging flames and thick, billowing smoke shooting from around the mountain top. Parts of the fire looked like lava oozing from a volcano. Viewers submitted photos of smoke and flames stretching from Sacramento to Redwood City.

RAW VIDEO: Mt. Diablo Brush Fire 

Still, fire officials said the fire's size should not reach the size of the Rim Fire, which had burned more than 250,000 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest near Yosemite since Aug. 17. But to be sure, a total of 500 firefighters were expected to help on the lines Monday, and special crews were being positioned to protect historic buildings in the area.

"This is one of the driest seasons in California history," said Contra Costa Fire Protection District spokesman Dennis Rein, adding that the blaze is growing at rapid speeds because of dry fuels and the steep terrain making access difficult.

Because of the fire's reach, the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office had issued more evacuations:  Trail Ride Road, Russelmann Park Road, East Trail Road, Upper Trail Road and Lower Trail Road, in addition to Curry Canyon Road and Oak Hill Lane, are under mandatory evacuation.

MORE: Fire Near Mt. Diablo Grows Past 800 Acres

Roads were also closed to anyone except residents. Those included portions of Marsh Creek Road, Morgan Territory Road and Deer Valley Road.

The Clayton Community Library at 6125 Clayton Road  was set up as an evacuation center, and the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds was being used as a safe place to take horses, cattle, hogs, sheep and  goats. (For information call 925-673-0659 and 925-757-4400). The Heather Farms Equestrian Center in Walnut Creek was also taking in large animals. (For more information, please visit: www.ecwc.org or call 925-939-2929.)

The shelter didn't have that many people using it on Monday morning, but on Sunday, many nearby residents were concerned that the fire was so close to their homes.

"There's 60 acres of open land behind my house, 40 acres of open land on the other side of my house and if a spot fire hits either one of those two properties, then I'm kind of sandwiched in between," said Andy Cuellar of Clayton, a city of about 11,000. "That's the fate of most of us who live out here."

NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez, Kyle Bonagura, Vince Cestone, Tim Bollinger and Shawn Murphy contributed to this report.

Family and friends prepare to celebrate what would have been Ryan Carter’s 14th birthday they say his memory lives on in a garden named “Labor of Love.”

Ryan was playing with neighborhood friends at a Lakeside mobile home park on Jan. 16, 2012. When a 10-year-old playmate took out a kitchen knife, Ryan stepped in to protect another boy. He was stabbed to death

Lisa and Glenn Carter say their heart and soul, their only child was taken that day.

“I don’t think five or ten minutes goes by that Ryan’s not on my mind,” Lisa said.

And yet, when the day came to dedicate the garden to Ryan with balloons and a ribbon cutting, they could only be thankful to God and to the many people who love and support them.

“I was just thinking that God has blessed us again,” Glenn said.

The special place is called the Labor of Love Community Garden and now, it includes a children’s garden dedicated in Ryan’s memory.

Lisa and Glenn Carter volunteer at the garden where last year 2,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables were grown and donated to the food bank.

“It’s such a healing when you’re out there,” said Lisa Carter. “And then knowing that all this food is going to help others is just amazing.”

Ryan’s parents said the act of growing something and helping others is an affirmation of life.

“There’s something very affirming about planting seeds, whether it’s seeds in the soil or seeds in the spirit and watching them grow and take root,” Lisa said.

They say Ryan would have loved the garden and that even though he’s not here, their son is still doing good.

“Good things are happening because of him,” Lisa said. “And that just means the world to us.”

The Ryan Carter Fund continues to provide scholarships at the Christian school where Ryan was a student. You can donate at Foothills School.org.

As for the boy who, at age 10, stabbed Ryan – he is getting psychological treatment until he’s deemed competent to face the juvenile court system.
 

A woman who allegedly took $40 for oral sex in the Florida Keys and told an undercover deputy she was "best on Stock Island" was arrested by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Dorothy Austin, 45, met the undercover deputy on Friday, who told her he was stressed, the sheriff’s office said.

As a solution, Austin “offered sex as a de-stressor,” a news release from the sheriff's office said.

When the deputy offered $40, Austin said that for “that amount of money would take her time,” the sheriff’s office said.

After she accepted the cash, Austin was arrested and charged with prostitution.

Stock Island has a population of about 4,000 people.
 

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The trial of a South Florida man accused of raping and killing his adoptive mother began on Monday.

Gerard A. Lopes, 23, is charged with premeditated murder in the death of 43-year-old Natalie Belmonte, whose bludgeoned body was found in a marsh near their Pembroke Pines home in July 2011.

Prosecutors claim Lopes, who has pleaded not guilty, sexually assaulted his adoptive mother before killing her. In a hearing held last week, state prosecutors sought approval to introduce DNA evidence they say shows the motive was sexual assault.

An autopsy showed that semen found in Belmonte matched Lopes’ DNA, but Lopes’ attorneys argue it's not relevant because the sexual relationship was consensual.

During that hearing, the state called a DNA expert, Dr. Martin Tracey, to the stand. Tracey testified the level of integrity of the DNA found shows the semen was deposited at the time of the murder.

"We know from other kinds of studies that I'm familiar with and teach at the university, the survival time for semen is about 3 to 5 days,” Tracey said.

• Timeline of Events in Realtor's Disappearance

But during opening statements on Monday, the prosecutor didn't introduce that argument.

Before the trial began, the lead detective in the case told the judge he overheard a jail conversation between Lopes and one of his attorneys, where Lopes allegedly said that he was going to say it was a consensual sexual relationship.

That attorney, Samantha Epstein, testified on Monday that "he asked questions such as, 'So they have to prove that it wasn't consensual?' — which is not at all the same as, 'I am going to say it was consensual.'"

Prosecutor Adriana Alcalde-Padron said he "strangled her, beat her, killed her and threw her away with no panties."

Police said security video from a neighbor’s house shows Belmonte and Lopes, who was 21 at the time of his 2011 arrest, leaving in the same car and stopping at a Walgreens before heading to a party.

The car returns with both individuals around 2:48 a.m. A short time later, Lopes is seen dragging a bag across the driveway and loading bags into the trunk. Belmonte's body would be found three days later near their Pembroke Pines home.

During last week's hearing, prosecutors called Belmonte's sister Michaela Teixeira to the stand and asked point blank about the possibility of a consensual sexual relationship.

"There's absolutely no way she had a consensual sexual relationship with her son,” she said.

Broward Circuit Judge Matthew Destry had ordered two prerequisites. If the state can establish a sexual relationship has serious negative consequences on Lopes, and secondly that the semen was deposited at or near the time of death, he'll admit the evidence. He also warned that if the state presents the argument into opening statements but fails to prove relevance, he'll grant a mistrial.

Belmonte's daughter Brianna said her mother treated Lopes "like a son."

Defense attorney Jose Reyes said, "There is no evidence of ill will."

Lopes' clothing was found in a dumpster with Belmonte's blood on it.

More Stories:

• Burglar Loots San Diego Home, Stops for Cool Drink
• Stuck Snake: Homeowner Finds Snake In His Sink
• PHOTOS: Weird News
  

In a light jacket and baseball cap, Ellis Sacks sat patiently outside the William Way Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in Philadelphia early Monday, hoping to find a new place to call home.

“I pay a lot now for my condo, and I’m ready to downsize,” he said.

The 73-year-old wasn't alone.

A line of more than 100 like-minded seniors stretched down the 1300 block of Spruce Street in the morning hours, waiting to fill out an application to move into a first-of-its kind living community.

The John C. Anderson Apartments, just off of 12th and Spruce Streets in the heart of the Gayborhood, stands to become the region’s first haven for aging LGBT seniors. Currently under construction, the community features 56 one-bedroom units for those 62 years and over who make $33,000 or less a year.

Sacks, who lives solely on Social Security, says he will save more than $1,200 a month should he win a spot in Anderson. But more than the money, he says the move will also help him foster relationships – old and new – within the community.

“It’ll enhance the sense of community,” Sacks said. “A place to hang out that’s not a bar, that’s not sexually charged. It’ll just be a place for friends to be.”

A sentiment that was echoed many times by others standing in line.

“It would be nice to be moving back into the city to be moving into that community of people,” said a 63-year-old man who’s getting ready to retire and asked that his name not be used.

“We would hang out and think, ‘What’s it going to be like when we’re old?’” said lifetime activist Susan Silverman. A New York City resident, she plans to move south should she get a spot in the complex. “This [the LGBT housing] is one of the things we fantasized about.”

It’s estimated that there are at least 1.75 million LGBT seniors living in the United States, according to the U.S. Administration on Aging — a number that’s expected only to grow. However, affordable housing remains a key issue for that segment of the community.

“We owe the pioneers of our community a place to live in dignity within their community. They earned it, they deserve it and that’s what we’re doing,” said Mark Segal of The Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld Fund, the organization that’s spearheading the project.

The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging says several studies have found LGBT seniors face housing discrimination. A 2009 study in Michigan found 30 percent of same-sex couples were treated differently when buying or renting a home, while 33 percent said they would hide their orientation if they moved into a retirement home.

“We’ve had women who haven’t been allowed to bring their partners into the building after 23 years of being together. We have people who live in buildings where the staff pray around them, trying to pray the gay out of them,” Segal said. “We have people who aren’t out to their families and for the first time want to live in their community.”

Financial insecurity and a lack of cheap housing inventory is also more prevalent among the 65 and over LGBT community, according to the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.

“People who came out in 1969… you would have been one-tenth of one percent of America who was out. And those people who were out, in those days, who are now in their 60s and 70s, well, they didn’t get 401ks. If you were out in those days, you couldn’t get a good job, and this building will serve people like that,” Segal says.

The Anderson Apartments will also allow the city’s LGBT organizations to hold events on site in the complex’s community room and offer health services tailored for gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals.

“It’s just terrific that after so many years we can take the housing needs of our seniors seriously and provide them the most beautiful apartments that you can get,” said William Way LGBT Community Center Executive Director Chris Bartlett.

While the Anderson Apartments are tailored for the LGBT community, you don’t have to identify as a member of the community to live there.

Jerry Bradford, a 67-year-old retiree who stood last in Monday morning’s line, said while he’s not a member of the LGBT community, the apartment building’s location and price are too good to pass up.

“I’m looking for better housing at a better rate, and I just wanted to apply,” he said. “Plus, it’s near my mother’s place.”

Applicants will be notified in 60 to 90 days as to whether they're chosen, and move-in will begin in January.

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.

A violent crash damaged several parked cars and created an explosion in San Carlos overnight.

A white Ford F-150 STX pickup truck slammed into several cars parked along Bardonia Street around 12:40 a.m. Monday.

The driver launched the truck atop of another vehicle while driving along the street north of Navajo Road and east of State Route 125.

Residents said the sound of the crash was so loud it sounded more like an explosion.

“I ran out the front of the house and saw this nightmare in front of me,” said Chris who lives near the site of the crash. He asked us not to use his last name.

He said the truck was on fire so he grabbed a hose and tried to put out the flames while telling the truck’s driver to sit down.

“I’m really angry. He could’ve killed people. Could’ve killed himself,” the resident said.

It took two drivers more than two hours to clear the scene and tow away the vehicles.

San Diego police administered a field sobriety test on the driver and then led him away in handcuffs.

A brazen burglar took what he wanted from a San Diego home while people were swimming in the pool outside Sunday, even stopping to enjoy a glass of iced tea, the homeowner said.

Rick Nunez said he arrived at his East County home at around 3 p.m. Sunday to find the cupboards open in the kitchen. At first he didn't think much of it, because his friends were escaping the heat wave with a dip in his backyard pool.

Then he heard something in the back of the house.

“At the same time someone is in our house and jumps through the back window and my friend sees him from the pool and starts chasing him," Nunez said.

The burglar, who Nunez believes entered his Granite Hills Drive home through a garage door that didn't have a deadbolt lock, ran to a black Ford Taurus parked right in front of the house on a sidewalk and drove away, the homeowner said.

"As he was driving down, he had the nerve to wave and poke his face out and wave at my dad," friend Joseph Zizzo said.

San Diego County sheriff's deputies pulled over the driver of the car on N. Ivory Drive about 20 minutes later. 

The suspect, identified by officials as Jere Eugene Bunnell, Jr., was arrested and charged with burglary.

Deputies said they found a large amount of stolen items in the back of the car, including a camera and jewelry.

Nunez, still in disbelief, said he's planning to upgrade his home's security system with video and alarms. The entire incident, including the thief's thirst quenching move, made the family feel violated

"He had a glass of iced tea because the pitcher of tea is on the counter, which my wife says that was not out," Nunez said. "So I think he made himself at home."

Two 12-year-old boys have been reported missing and Chula Vista police are asking for the public’s help in locating them.

Jermayn Navarro and Samuel Saunders were last seen Friday, Sept. 6 at Rancho Del Rey Middle School.

The boys left school around 11 a.m. and did not return to their homes that night.

Now, police believe they may be together and possibly staying with friends who are not aware of their reported “runaway” status.

Saunders is described as 4-foot, 11-inches tall and approximately 75 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He may be wearing a white shirt with blue stripes, white shorts and red Air Jordan shoes.

Today is Saunders 13th birthday according to the police flyer.

Navarro is taller at 5-feet, 4-inches tall and 120 pounds. He’s got black hair and brown eyes and may be wearing a black shirt with white shorts as well as a black and red hat with the word “Levi’s” on it.

Any information may be reported to police at 619-691-5151.
 

An expanded investigation will be launched into how the former mayor of San Diego was able to charge thousands of dollars for a trip to Paris, France on a city-issued credit card even after the request was rejected by the city’s comptroller.

Special Coverage: Mayor Under Fire

The procedure for approving charges on former Mayor Bob Filner’s P-card issued by the City of San Diego was circumvented and he charged $16,462 on the account that had previously carried a $5,000 limit.

Filner, former fiancée Bronwyn Ingram and two city security officers traveled to Villepinte, France in June. 

Because the city-issued credit card had a limit of $5,000, City Comptroller Ken Whitfield was approached to increase the limit. However, he denied the request.

Instead, the charges were approved by a P-card administrator, city employees told the city’s audit committee Monday.

“We need to change that, we need to have additional checks and balances,” said City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, the Audit Committee Chair.

“If approval was requested and approval was denied, how did it go through a different process,” Faulconer asked. “How is that allowed to happen because then there’s a problem on the checks and balances and the procedures.”

In July, Filner’s office revealed that the costs for the mayor’s trip to Paris totaled $31,363.

Nearly one-third of that – the expenses for Filner himself to travel – was paid for by the Organization of Iranian-American Communities. That included airfare that totaled $8,304, lodging that totaled $971 and meals totaling $564. Filner has said he was going to repay the OIAC.

Travel expenses for his security detail were paid by the City of San Diego and amounted to $16,462 in airfare, $3,183 in lodging and $1,599 in meals, according to the figures released by Filner’s office on Jul. 25.

“If the Chief Executive Officer asks you to do something that is not illegal, unethical or immoral, then we’re likely going to be following through with that request,” Assistant Chief Operating Officer Scott Chadwick said adding that there needs to be better internal controls.

Chadwick also said he believes the travel should not have been authorized.

“It does seem like there’s a lot of bureaucratic CYA going on and it’s really, I think, the reason we need to get this audit done,” said City Councilmember Scott Sherman.

The former mayor’s credit cards were canceled in April after it was discovered the mayor’s staff had not turned in receipts for more than four months, Whitfield said.

It was determined that $975 out of the $2,000 on the former mayor’s city card was for personal expenses.

Thousands of dollars were spent on personal items including a blender and personal lunches, Whitfield said.

The city was reimbursed for the personal charges with personal checks from Filner and his top aide Lee Burdick.

He said this was something he had not seen from a mayor before. “If you get to the executive rank in a business, you understand what a business credit card is for,” he said.

The France trip was initially said to be funded by the Organization of Iranian-American Communities (OIAC), believed to be a non-profit organization.

When questioned about the reasoning for the trip, Filner said it was about bringing jobs to San Diego.

Later, Filner’s office said the mayor was invited to speak at the OIAC’s 2013 Annual Conference for Democracy and also traveled to the city of Lille, France, where he was briefed on energy and sustainability programs that he would like to use as a model for San Diego.

City policy states economy class/coach was sought for all legs of the flight but business coach was obtained for the security detail, officials said.

State law says local elected officials may not accept gifts in excess of $440. However, if the trip has a "governmental or legislative" purpose, and it is paid for by a nonprofit, it falls under one of several loopholes.
 

Monday afternoon was busy for San Diego firefighters, as they battled two brush fires in East County.

The first fire, named the Lyons Fire, sparked just after 1 p.m. near Jamul. The Lyons Fire quickly grew to 225 acres and has prompted evacuations.

People living east of Lyons Valley Road and Honey Springs Road have been asked to evacuate. An evacuation center has been set up at Jamul Primary School at 14567 Lyons Valley Road. Officials say the evacuations are just precautionary.

Smoke could be seen pouring from the mountains Monday afternoon.

Cal Fire requested additional resources after the fire jumped from five to 30 acres in the matter of an hour. Planes dropped fire retardant on the flames.

"The mid-slope fire really got up and ran on us fairly quickly," Cal Fire Capt. Mike Mohler said.

Meanwhile, another brush fire started around 2 p.m. in Portrero. The fire burned five acres before crews had it surrounded, according to Cal Fire. Officials said one person suffered a minor injury.

View Brush Fires Burning in SD County in a larger map

A 62-year-old white man who was allegedly punched and knocked out last week by a black man who declared he would attack the first white person he came across has died, law enforcement sources said Monday.

The man was one of three people allegedly beaten Wednesday in Union Square by the suspect, LaShawn Marten, 31.

NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.

Police said the suspect punched the 62-year-old man in the face, and then punched a 48-year-old person and an 18-year-old person, both also white. 

The 62-year-old slipped into a coma after the attack, and died Monday. The other victims were treated at hospitals and released.

The suspect "made statements to the effect that ‘I’m going to punch the first white man that I see,'" Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said last week.

The suspect's lawyer information was not immediately available. 

Restaurants all over the country are dealing with a shortage of Maryland crabs.

The stock in the Chesapeake Bay was low this year, which has suppliers looking to other places to keep up with demand.

Angus Phillips, who used to write the fishing and outdoors column for the Washington Post, and Gene Miller normally expect to catch a bushel a day when they go recreational crabbing on a tributary of the Severn River, but this year they're lucky to get enough for lunch.

“Normally when we have a down year we’ll see lots of females, lots of little crabs that aren’t big enough to keep,” Phillips said. “This year we're not seeing anything.”

“The taking of females, I’m sure the commercial guys are going to hate me, but sometimes someone’s gotta say, 'No more females,'” Miller said. “Take a year off. See what happens.”

Commercial crabbers are suffering financially from the shortage. Cantler's Riverside Inn in Annapolis buys from six or more crab suppliers, who tell them it is the worst crab season in 20 years.

“It’s definitely dropped off about 60 to 70 percent from what they were catching last year, without a doubt,” Cantler’s manager Dan Donnelly said. “I mean, that’s pretty dramatic.”

And the demand remains high. Cantler's is serving up tray after tray, seven days a week. Many of the crabs come from out of state.

"Well, we subsidize with Louisiana crabs, and they've been hard to get as well because of demand,” Donnelly said. “Of course, if they’re not here in Maryland, everybody’s going to Louisiana or Texas or Florida.”

The Bethesda Crabhouse, which has been in business since 1961, says it always has a good supply on hand. Manager Yen Lee showed a bushel of Louisiana crabs, which he says are as sweet as local crabs, though some local crab lovers disagree.

“The majority of crabs, even if they’re going to the shore, they’re getting the same stuff we’re getting,” Lee said. “I mean, there are local crabs but they’re very few and they tend to be on the smaller side, so the all-you-can-eat variety."

An expert fisherman, Phillips is puzzled by what caused the shortage.

"It's worse than it’s ever been, and I would like to hear somebody acknowledging it and giving us some idea of what the cause is," Phillips said.

Police are investigating a stabbing at a shopping center in National City.

Officials confirmed a person was stabbed around 7:30 p.m. Monday in the 3100-block of East Plaza Boulevard. Police set up a perimeter when they arrived on-scene.

There is no word yet on any arrests.

Check back for updates on this story.

View 3100 E Plaza Blvd in a larger map

Dozens of people were injured when a car being chased by police collided with an MTA bus in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn Monday evening, authorities say.

When police pulled over a black Camaro and spotted a gun inside the car, the Camaro took off, colliding with the bus near Herkimer Street and Albany Avenue at about 4:45 p.m., according to law enforcement officials.

The FDNY says 43 people were hurt, including the driver and the passenger of the car, who had to be extricated. They were arrested by police. 

Forty-one passengers on the bus also reported injuries, most of them minor. Twelve people were reported to be in serious condition, and one was critical. 

They were taken to Kings County, Interfaith and other nearby hospitals. 

-- Shimon Prokupecz contributed to this report. 

NASA’s dreaming big dreams again, aiming for a manned asteroid mission in the not-so-distant future. That means big money for California and a boost - of solid rocket booster proportions - to the state’s once-robust aerospace industry.

After a couple of touch-and-go years with the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program and cancellation of the Constellation Program, NASA is back in the game. Its new manned capsule and launch system will have us break free of low Earth orbit and rendezvous with asteroids, even the moons of Mars and the Red Planet itself.

NASA invests almost $3.5 billion a year in California. From heat shields to thundering rockets and parachutes that bring home astronauts safely, it all adds up to critical jobs.
With the shuttles retired, NASA is now focusing on the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and its Space Launch System (the biggest, baddest rocket ever).

On a brisk morning in the Arizona desert’s Yuma Proving Ground, a group of Southern Californians gathered in the pre-dawn hours. They worked alongside a team from NASA’s Johnson Space Center and YPG’s personnel on Orion strapped in the back of a Boeing C-17 transport aircraft.

Light winds blew through the open hatch at the back of the big aircraft and that was good news - a perfect day for this mission that would send Orion plummeting out of the back of the C-17, 25,000 feet above the desert.

This mission would intentionally fail a key stabilizing parachute called a drogue. If something goes wrong, Orion’s crew must stay safe. With one drogue parachute out, that means the capsule will be coming through the atmosphere at a much higher velocity and with less stability when the main parachutes open and that could end up with parachutes entangled, very bad news.

But Airborne Systems, part of HDT Global, factored in all the contingencies as it developed this system for NASA. If something doesn’t deploy, the rest of it better kick in to make up for the failed parachute.

This day would test that.

As the sun rose over the distant mountains, you could hear the sounds of choppers coming in - loaded with personnel to help retrieve the parachutes once Orion launched from the back of the C-17 and descended to the desert floor.

With binoculars pointed skyward someone spotted the aircraft and its 21,000 pounds of precious cargo “Oh there it goes! There it goes!”

Orion shot out of the back of the C-17. If all went perfectly, two drogues would have deployed slowing and stabilizing the capsule’s mad descent. Three pilots would deploy to then pull out the main parachutes.

This mission intentionally failed one of the drogues, yet Orion landed fine, bottom-down on the Arizona desert.

“It performed flawlessly. We were a little bit concerned about how stable it would be,” says Adam Erskine of Airborne Systems.

The nation’s aerospace industry was beyond concerned when the Obama administration cancelled the Constellation Program in 2010. It was supposed to replace the Space Shuttle Program while exploring deep space and jobs were on the line.

“It was tumultuous. At a personal level it was chaotic for folks,” says Stuart McClung with NASA’s Orion Program.

Constellation gone. The shuttles retired. It was more blows to Southern California’s once-dynamic aerospace industry.
From 1990 to 2010, Los Angeles County alone lost almost 94,000 jobs. More than one year after Constellation died, NASA finally announced Orion had “survived.”

That came as incredible news for aerospace.

“It was relief. I had just finished staffing up to support the program and when there was a threat of it going away that would have been a huge impact on our company,” says Airborne Systems’ Kurt Hempe.

Thousands of Southern Californians are working on Orion and SLS and the technology that goes into these systems is key to the aerospace industry as a whole.

“It’s very important,” Hempe said. “Orion is not only important for Orion itself, it’s really paving the way for other commercial space companies as well. The lessons that we learn from the testing that we’re doing on Orion will benefits all those programs.”

It’s NASA technology, already propelling private companies such as "Space X" and bolstering a beleaguered aerospace industry as Southern Californians help America head back to the moon and beyond.

NBC4’s Lucy Noland and photojournalist Joel Cooke traveled to Houston’s Johnson Space Center, met the hard-working employees of Santa Ana, California’s Airborne Systems and headed out to the Yuma Proving Ground in the Arizona desert to capture this next chapter of manned American space flight.

Watch her exclusive report above.

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