A man flagged down San Diego police near the downtown headquarters early Tuesday morning, telling them his wife’s body was inside his car.

Now, officials say Americus de Orenday, 44, is considered a suspect in the woman's death, which the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office confirms was caused by strangulation.

The medical examiner was called to the scene, at 14th Street and Broadway near the SDPD headquarters, just after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

According to authorities, De Orenday approached two plainsclothes detectives walking toward the police station and told them his wife was dead inside his Ford F-150 pickup truck.

Police described his demeanor as calm as detectives examined the vehicle.

Detectives found a woman’s body on the floor board behind the driver’s seat. Initially, police said there was no apparent trauma to her body, but officers did say they spotted blood on the floor board.

The woman has been identified as 40-year-old Mirella Alas De Orenday.

There was a garden hose attached from the vehicle’s exhaust into the car’s rear window, officials said.

Detective Jorge Duran told NBC 7 San Diego there appeared to be a suicide attempt, but they are not sure who made the attempt and if it resulted in the woman's death.

Homicide investigators said De Orenday was sent to the hospital for several cuts on his arm. He is now in jail on suspicion of murder.

It’s official: A total of 11 candidates have made it on to the ballot in the race to become San Diego’s next mayor.

On Tuesday, the San Diego City Clerk announced the names of the candidates that qualified for the ballot, including high-profile frontrunners Nathan Fletcher, David Alvarez, Mike Aguirre and Kevin Faulconer.

The other names that made the ballot include:

• Tobiah Pettus
• Hud Collins
• Bruce Coons
• Harry Dirks
• Michael Kemmer
• Simon Moghadam
• Lincoln Pickard

This group of 11 candidates was whittled from a list of 19 candidates who submitted paperwork and signatures during Friday’s important deadline.

Official statements filed by the candidates on Friday gave voters a glimpse into where they stand in the mayoral race.

Aguirre, for instance, had an interesting statement with promise to return the city to the people.

Meanwhile, Alvarez listed his big-name endorsements, from local leader Donna Frye to Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, and billed himself as a progressive leader for fair wages.

As for Faulconer, he stated that he’s a consensus builder and began his statement with a quote from former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders.

Finally, Fletcher stressed that he’s a veteran and highlighted his work fighting for veteran’s rights. On Tuesday, Fletcher received an endorsement from State Senators Ben Hueso and Marty Block.

Although the special election isn’t until Nov. 19, a recent poll asking people who they would vote for right now shows Fletcher on top, with 30 percent of the vote. That same poll has Faulconer in second place with 22 percent of votes.

However, political analyst John Dadian says it's still early in the game.

“When the direct mail comes out -- I know everybody hates it in their mailbox, 5 pieces per day -- that's when the poll numbers start shifting. Then we'll really have a good idea of who's standing in the polls.”

In the meantime, leaders of the local Democratic Party will meet Tuesday night to decide whether to endorse a candidate from their party.

Dadian says this particular endorsement is extremely valuable in the mayoral race.

“If anyone gets the Democratic county endorsement, clearly that's a huge advantage because they'll have some resources that the other candidates won't have, for example unlimited member communication. Anyone who's a democrat, they can send communications,” he explained.

A candidate needs 60% of the 71 central committee votes to earn the endorsement.

The Department of Defense has identified the two San Diego-based sailors killed in a helicopter crash.

Lt. Cmdr. Landon L. Jones, 35, of Lompoc and Chief Warrant Officer Jonathon S. Gibson, 32, of Aurora, Ore. died Sunday in the Red Sea. The Navy called off the search for them Monday.

Jones, Gibson and three other aircrew members were inside the MH-60 Knighthawk helicopter as it attempted to land on USS William P. Lawrence, a destroyer based out of San Diego.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. But it’s believed a large wave caused the deck of the ship to pitch up as the helicopter was touching down, and that it slammed into the deck and rolled into the water.

“Sometimes, you can have this rogue wave that comes,” said Captain Bryan Dudley, a Marine Corps helicopter pilot who has landed on ships. “The smaller the ship, the bigger the effect.”

The three other sailors in the helicopter were found alive.

The Knighthawk assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Six, based out of North Island.

USS William P. Lawrence is on standby for potential military action in Syria as part of the Nimitz strike group. The Navy said the helicopter crash was not the result of any hostile activity.

A man is dead after a shooting Tuesday in San Diego's Bay Park neighborhood.

Shots were fired around 2:35 p.m. in the 2200-block of Denver Street. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Police said the suspect ran from the scene.

Soon after, dozens of officers surrounded a home in the 4600-block of Firestone Street in Clairemont. They took one suspect into custody just before 6 p.m.

Back on Denver Street, officials shut down a portion of the road following the shooting. The shooting happened about a block away from Bay Park Elementary School, which briefly went into lockdown.

Homicide detectives are investigating. Officers were seen talking to a woman who appeared to have blood on her leg.

There is no word yet what prompted the shooting.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

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President Barack Obama praised the teenage son of Democratic mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio for his notorious hairstyle at a New York City fundraiser, recalling he had once sported the same look.

Obama spoke to a crowd of about 250 people at the Waldorf-Astoria event Tuesday night to raise money for the Democratic National Committee.

He introduced the elder de Blasio and pointed out the mayoral candidate's son, Dante, saying he has "the same hairdo I had back in 1978."

The crowd laughed and applauded, and the president went on.

"Although I have to confess, my Afro was never that good," Obama said. "It was a little unbalanced."

Dante de Blasio's hair has become an element of his father's campaign, and even has its own hashtag, #GoWithTheFro.

Obama endorsed de Blasio earlier this week.

Agents investigating members of a violent gang in Orange County with ties to the Mexican Mafia uncovered a connection between a mother found dead on Labor Day under a bridge and the suspect in her death.

The information is included in a 30-page indictment in the Operation Smokin' Aces criminal gang sweep executed Tuesday in Orange County. The details provide insight into the death of 28-year-old Nancy Hammour, found face-down Sept. 2 under the Newport Bay Bridge in a waterway that connects to the Balboa Marina.

A coroner's investigation determined Hammour, a mother of two children, died from a gunshot wound. One child was born just months before the slaying.

Jaime Rocha, 40, of Santa Ana, was arrested Sept. 9 and booked on suspicion of murder.

At the time, authorities did not have information regarding a possible connection between the victim and suspect. But the indictment involving more than 100 individuals -- identified by federal investigators as members and associates of the Mexican Mafia -- indicates Hammour distributed drugs for the gang operation.

Hammour sold drugs to an informant in February and was recorded speaking with a dealer, according to the indictment released Tuesday.

The crimes mentioned in the Operation Smokin' Aces indictment include murder, extortion and distribution of narcotics -- methamphetamine, heroine and cocaine. The original investigation focused on a street gang in a Santa Ana neighborhood, but expanded when investigators discovered the link to the Mexican Mafia -- payments from the OC gangs in exchange for freely committing crimes, according to the court documents.

Those who refused to pay were the targets of often violent retribution, and top-ranking gang members were not immune. The indictment indicates that one defendant with a significant role in the gang was on a "hard candy" list -- he was targeted for death.

The target was beaten by other Mexican Mafia members for insulting another gang member and violating leadership rules.

The group has long been suspected of controlling drug distribution from within California jails and prisons and on the street. The indictment identifies several girlfriends or wives of inmates and gang members as messengers and drug smugglers.

Agents seized 22 pounds of methamphetamine, 1 1/2 pounds of heroin, 3 pounds of cocaine and made 67 undercover weapon purchases as part of the investigation.

Rocha is not named in the indictment, but he does have a criminal history and gang ties, according to investigators. He is being held on $1 million bond.

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A bulletproof vest saved the life of a second Metropolitan Police Department officer who was struck by gunfire while responding to last week’s mass shooting at the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard.

Chief Cathy Lanier said the officer took two rounds to the chest. Another officer, identified as Scott Williams, was shot in the legs and treated at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

"In terms of the heroism that was displayed by the officers, we now know that not only was one of our officers shot in the building but another one of our officers actually took two rounds to the chest. It was stopped by his vest,'' Lanier said, adding, "We are extremely lucky that we didn't lose a police officer in there as well.''

Lanier said she hopes Williams will be released from the hospital this week.

The chief did not identify the officer who was shot in the chest or reveal whether he sustained any injuries.

The FBI is continuing to investigate why Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old former Navy reservist and IT contractor with past mental health problems, gunned down 12 workers inside a building on the sprawling Navy Yard grounds. He used a valid badge to gain access to the property and opened fire with a shotgun before being killed by a police officer during a shootout. No motive has been revealed.

Funerals for four of the victims were being held Tuesday.

Lanier said she was satisfied with the police department's response to the shooting, especially since the building where it took place - the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command and home to about 3,000 employees - presented a logistical nightmare, encompassing nearly one million square feet of office space and thousands of high-wall cubicles.

"It's an absolute worst-case scenario for law enforcement to confront a gunman in that environment,'' she said.

Department of Defense officials have acknowledged that a lot of red flags were missed in Alexis' background, allowing him to maintain a secret-level security clearance and have access to a secure Navy facility despite a string of behavioral problems and brushes with the law.

A former pro-football player and recently fired ESPN analyst accused of attacking his girlfriend at a Hartford, Conn., hotel appeared in Hartford Superior Court on Tuesday.

Hugh Douglas, 42, of Bryn  Mawr, Pennsylvania, who also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets, was arrested in downtown Hartford on Sunday after police said he aggressively attacked a woman at the Marriot Hotel at Adriaen’s Landing.

Court documents say Douglas “grabbed her by the neck,” picked her up, carried her down the hall toward the room and “slammed her into the walls several times.” The victim told police she blacked out because she could not breathe. 

Douglas claims the victim’s injuries happened during rough sex.

The victim had red marks on both sides of her neck and a bump on the back of her head, according to police.

Douglas was arraigned on Tuesday and was charged with third-degree assault and second-degree strangulation. His next court appearance is October 21.

Douglas was a host of the television show Numbers Never Lie and hired by ESPN in 2011 to work as a football analyst.
 

A die-hard Dodger fan's tweet last week simply saying he was "ready for the playoffs" may have gone unnoticed if it weren't for the photo attached to it.

Jose Romero, who apparently holds no reservations about displaying his Dodger pride, shared a photo of the Dodger Stadium image he got tattooed in detail on the side of his shaved head.

"I got the Dodger tattoo at the beginning of the season, but I tweeted it out because I’m so proud of how well they're doing," Romero told NBC4.

Romero, a dedicated Dodger fan since the Fernando Valenzuela era, said it took seven hours to complete the stadium artwork and about three weeks to heal.

The stadium is sharing prime tattoo real estate with artwork of his two other favorite teams: a diamond-encrusted Lakers championship ring tattoo on the back of his head and a Raiders logo tattoo on the top of his head.

"A lot of people think it hurts when you get a tattoo on the head, but it doesn't," he said. "It kind of feels good."

Romero said he has more than 30 tattoos on his body to go with the stadium tattoo - and his girlfriend doesn't mind.

"She's a Dodger fan, too," he said.

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Some state lawmakers are considering a ban that would prevent Connecticut pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits that come from breeders who have raised them in sub-par conditions. 

Activists argue that pets from "puppy mills" aren't well cared for, and a bipartisan task force met for the first time Wednesday morning to discuss the issue.

The task force will examine the "inhumane treatment of dogs and cats in breeding facilities that sell to Connecticut pet shops," according to State Rep. Brenda Kupchick, co-chair of the task force.

Members plan to hold at least two public hearings. 

Proponents of a ban on "puppy mills" claim they sell sick animals to pet shops around the state, leaving pet owners with hefty veterinary bills.

"What we would like to see is these stores adopt a humane business model where they get their animals from shelters, municipal pounds, rescue organizations and not puppy mills," said Amy Harrell, who is with the organization Connecticut Votes For Animals and is a member of the task force.

The task force includes a representative from the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, but there are no pet store owners on the panel.

The state has 130 pet stores, 18 of which sell puppies and kittens, and the pet industry is against the bill, saying it hurts small business and doesn't really protect animals.

Jennifer DeAngelis, who works at the All Pets Club pet store in Wallingford, attended the hearing.

She says her store has strict standards and does not by animals from breeders who have been cited by the U.S.D.A. for violations.  She says they also follow up with customers to make sure there are no problems.

"Taking puppies out of a pet store and taking the rights away from a consumer to make the choice where they want to get a dog is not the solution," said DeAngelis.  "If you want to take care of the bad breeders, which there are bad breeders that we do not use, that's where you need to clean it up."

According to the Humane Society, federal legislation outlaws the import of puppies from foreign puppy mills, and Virginia, Louisiana, Oregon and Washington limit the number of dogs that can be kept in commercial breeding facilities.

“With the creation of this task force I’m hopeful all pets Connecticut residents include in their families come from humane sources,” Kupchick said in a statement.

In June, the town of Branford was considering an ordinance to ban the sale of dogs from puppy mills and the Humane Society was working with the animal shelter commission to implement the ban.

Lawmakers hope to craft a bill by early next year.

A New York woman on a mission to make 300 sandwiches in exchange for an engagement ring is more than half way through her goal and her critics have not been kind.

Stephanie Smith on Tuesday detailed the inspiration behind the challenge in a piece in the New York Post where she is a senior reporter for Page Six.

Smith's boyfriend Eric kept asking her to make him sandwiches, a gesture that he sees as a sign of love. He told her that homemade sandwiches are extra special because "you can't get a sandwich with love from the deli."

When she finally acquiesced last summer, she made a sandwich so glorious that he promised her an engagement ring in return --- if she made 300 more. So she got to work.

Smith bought a DSLR and started a blog to document her sandwich-making journey. 300sandwiches.com includes recipes and photos of the sandwiches she made, details about her relationship with Eric and her travels.

Smith's culinary feat, however, is not without controversy. Gawker writer Caity Weaver is stoking the flames with an op-ed on the piece.

"The story is like something out of a fairytale, one of those weird old German ones you can't read to kids, where an peasant girl's stepmother forces her to make 300 sandwiches for the Devil, and then a series of horrible things happen to the girl, and at the end of the story she freezes to death," Weaver wrote.

New York Magazine's Maureen O'Connor jumped in the fray with her own snarky response.

"Now, before you get all upset about a modern woman living the punch line of a sexist joke, remember that Stephanie still has 124 sandwiches to go. She could still be radicalized, somewhere around sandwich 172. And then when she gets to sandwich 297, she reveals that she has been poisoning him, slowly and steadily, all this time," O'Connor wrote. 

Even Smith has pointed out that her friends were not supportive of her idea. She explained how one friend called her a Stepford Wife, while another friend reminded her that it's not 1950.

There is at least one person who loves the idea and that's her boyfriend Eric, who Smith said offered some advice to other women who want to make their man happy.

“You women read all these magazines to get advice on how to keep a man, and it’s so easy,” he said. “We’re not complex. Just do something nice for us. Like make a sandwich.” 

The San Diego Chargers addressed the death of former strong safety Paul Oliver Wednesday, saying the 29-year-old free agent “had a lifetime in front of him.”

Oliver’s death was confirmed by the Bolts, who released the following statement:

“Everyone in the Chargers family is sad today after hearing the news about Paul. He was part of our family for five years. At just 29 years old, he still had a lifetime in front of him. Right now all of our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this most difficult time.”

The Chargers first drafted Oliver in 2007 when the team used a fourth-round pick in the supplemental draft to nab the strong safety.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound University of Georgia alum made his debut with the Bolts in 2008.

Throughout the next four seasons, Oliver – known on the field as No. 27 -- played 57 games with San Diego.

During the span of his career with San Diego, the team says Oliver recorded 144 tackles, four interceptions, 11 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one sack.

His best season was in 2010, when he made eight starts and recorded 62 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and broke up three passes, according to the Chargers.

Though the team has not released details of Oliver’s death, several media outlets are reporting that the former Charger died of an apparent suicide.
 

John McAfee believes only one man can save the Internet.

That man is John McAfee.

The mercurial founder of anti-virus software, whose high-profile escape from Belize made international headlines in late 2012 and earlier this year, is now plotting a return to Silicon Valley and the computer industry he left decades ago, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

McAfee, 67, wants to launch a new cybersecurity company that will make the Internet "impossible to hack, impossible to penetrate," he told the newspaper.

VIDEO: Raj Mathai's One-on-One Interview with John McAfee

McAfee's escapades earlier this year were the stuff of novels: after a neighbor of his, another American expatriate, was found dead in Belize, McAfee eluded police by wearing disguises, faking a heart attack, and burying himself in the sand -- all of which was meticulously recorded on his blog and reported in the media.

McAfee founded the anti-virus software company that still bears his name in 1989 before selling it and moving to Colorado in 1994.

He's scheduled to speak Saturday at the first-ever C2SV "music festival and tech conference" at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, the newspaper reported.

A lot is brewing for McAfee: two movies, a book, a 90-minute TV documentary and comic books, the newspaper reported.

Police in Belize "still want" to interview him, too, the newspaper reported.

However, security is a "conservative" field and it's unclear how the hard-living, colorful individual will do in such a tepid environment.

For his part, McAfee will stay in his new home in Portland, Oreg., he told the newspaper. Silicon Valley is not weird enough -- and too darn crowded.

The world's biggest twerking party hit New York on Wednesday, as hundreds of avid twerkers danced their way into the record books.

More than 250 people in Herald Square twerked their way to a Guinness World Record of dizzying proportions: Most People Twerking Simultaneously.

Participants bounced and gyrated non-stop for two straight minutes as representatives from Guinness World Records walked around to ensure dancers adhered to the guidelines for “proper form.”

The rules: Use your hips only, and use your hands on your knees or hips for support.

Big Freedia — the self-professed "Queen of Bounce," a New Orleans rap subgenre — hosted the event along with music outlet Fuse.

Freedia attracted some media attention last month after criticizing Miley Cyrus after her VMA performance, saying she has been given undue credit for a dance that has been around for decades.

The dance phenomenon known as twerking gained mainstream attention earlier this year after Cyrus’ video of her dancing in a unicorn onesie went viral.

Twerking originated in New Orleans' bounce music scene back in 1993, with DJ Jubilee’s song "Do the Jubilee All."

The father of a young New Jersey boy who fatally shot his 6-year-old playmate has been indicted on six counts of child endangerment.

An Ocean County grand jury returned the indictment against Anthony Senatore of Toms River on Wednesday.

Authorities say the 33-year-old Senatore had multiple unsecured weapons in his home. They say his 4-year-old son got a .22 caliber rifle and fired a single shot that struck his 6-year-old neighbor, Brandon Holt, in the head, on April 8.

Holt died the next day.

Senatore was arrested several weeks after the shooting, following a lengthy investigation, and was later freed on $100,000 bail.

His lawyer, Robert Ebberup, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday afternoon but has said in the past that his client is a devoted husband and father with strong roots in the community and that he's deeply sorrowed by Holt's death. 

Senatore faces five counts of second-degree child endangerment — one for each of the five unsecured firearms investigators say they found accessible to his own children, ages 12, 8 and 4. He also was charged with a third-degree count of child endangerment for endangering Holt, for keeping the loaded .22 caliber rifle unsecured in a bedroom where his 4-year-old son was able to access and fire the weapon.

Senatore also faces a disorderly person offense for enabling access by minors to a loaded weapon.

Authorities say that besides the rifle used to fire the fatal shot, two 12-gauge shotguns and two other shotguns were all found unsecured, in close proximity to ammunition and accessible to Senatore's children.

Holt's grandmother told NBC 4 New York after the shooting she was angry the family failed to take adequate care to lock up their guns.

The Holt family has since filed a lawsuit against the Senatores. 

Although the shooting occurred in Ocean County, Atlantic County is handling the matter because Senatore has relatives who have worked in law enforcement in Ocean County.

Zac Vawter walks so naturally it takes a moment to realize he's using an artificial leg.

That's because this is the world's first thought-controlled bionic leg, an amazing experiment the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago says "represents a significant milestone in the rapidly-growing field of bionics."

After Vawter lost his limb in a motorcycle accident, the Seattle father of two began using a regular prosthesis, the one he still uses every day. The most basic movements, he said, were unnatural, which makes this new technology such a giant step forward.

“The bionic leg responds quickly and more appropriately," Vawter said, "allowing me to interact with my environment in a way that is similar to how I moved before my amputation. For the first time since my injury, the bionic leg allows me to seamlessly walk up and down stairs and even reposition the prosthetic by thinking about the movement I want to perform."

Dozens of pioneering experts teamed up to make it happen. Dr. Levi Hargrove, lead scientist of this research at RIC’s Center for Bionic Medicine, said he developed a system to use neural signals to safely improve limb control of a bionic leg.

Hargrove said an incredibly smart, tiny computer on the leg listens to the electricity in Vawter's muscles, allowing him to move like everyone else.

“This new bionic leg features incredibly intelligent engineering,” Hargrove said. “It learns and performs activities unprecedented for any leg amputee, including seamless transitions between sitting, walking, ascending and descending stairs and ramps and repositioning the leg while seated.”

Dr. Hargrove said they essentially rewired the nerves Vawter would have used if he still had his real leg, attaching them to a different set of muscles. When he thinks "walk up the stairs," the leg instantly responds.

"This is a huge milestone for me and for all leg amputees,” Vawter said.

Right now this is a first, but there's hope that the bionic technology could be commercially available in three to five years.