As the flu outbreak grows nationwide, pediatricians are seeing patient volumes increase dramatically.

And Loyola University pediatrician Bridget Boyd says it’s not just one child per visit.

"I’m seeing either one child or two children in the family, and the parents are also sick with flu like symptoms. ... I’m seeing entire families," said Boyd.

Boyd on Thursday said there’s a safe way to battle the flu virus, and the first "no no" on the list is providing cough and cold medicines for kids under the age of four years.

• Illinois Flu Patients Admitted to ICU

For children between the ages of four and six years, over the counter cough and cold medicine should only be administered under a physicians supervision, she said.

The assistant professor of pediatrics explained that even for children older than six, parents should be careful to read labels because age is only part of the equation; many of the dosage recommendations are based on weight.

So what’s the danger if young children get these over the counter cough and cold meds?

"The reason we don’t recommend them is that accidental overdose is especially common with over the counter cough and cold medications," she said. "The side effects can even include an rapid or irregular heart beat and even convulsions."

As a parent herself, Boyd said she understands a caretaker's caring concern.

"The most frustrating thing is you want to give them something to make them feel better," she said.

• Flu Spike: How to Stop It

Aside from medicine, Boyd reminded that there are other remedies:

For babies under the age of one year, nasal passages can be cleared using a nasal spray and bulb syringe. It's especially helpful if done before the child eats.

A humidifier by the bed also helps, and for kids three months or older, Boyd suggested a chest rub like the one Vicks makes.

Once a child is older than one, they can get honey, a natural cough suppressant.

For all ages, however, parents need to keep an eye out for dehydration.

Sometimes, she said kids won’t drink because their throats are so sore. Parents can try giving the child a Popsicle or painkiller before they drink something so it’s less uncomfortable.

However, Dr. Boyd said the most important measure is one parents have likely heard: get a flu shot.

For babies under the age of six months, who can’t get the vaccine, protection comes from having all the adults and other kids around them vaccinated.

In this outbreak, she said the youngest and the oldest are most at risk because of how sick they can get.

For the first time, scientists and emergency planners are examining whether a super quake could affect both Northern and Southern California, rendering the entire state helpless in the aftermath of the "Big One."

Seismologists have warned Southern California that a major quake on the lower San Andreas Fault, the so-called Big One is inevitable. But that the population centers of both Southern and Northern California could be affected simultaneously by one quake on the San Andreas Fault has only recently been recognized as a possibility.

The study by Professor Nadia Lapusta at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Japanese collaborator Hiroyuki Noda focused on explaining the behavior of two devastating quakes in Asia: the 1999 magnitude 7.6 temblor in Taiwan, and the 2011 magnitude 9.0 quake off the eastern coast of Japan.

Special Section: Earthquake Info, Maps and Resources

In both cases, the quake spread across so-called "creeping" fault segments long thought to be incapable of transmitting quakes, according to Caltech Staff Seismologist Kate Hutton, a Lapusta colleague.

"The general idea until this paper was that they would stop a quake," Hutton said.

It was believed the slow, creeping movement prevents stress from building up and keeps such a segment stable, Hutton added.

Lapusta and Noda developed a computer model to explain how under certain conditions "a rupture could just kind of barge right through," Hutton said. "Now the question is how this would apply to California."

Such a creeping zone has been identified in a stretch of the San Andreas Fault in central California, just north of seismically active Parkfield.

The Great San Francisco quake of 1906 occurred on the San Andreas north of the creeping zone. The 1857 Fort Tejon quake occurred to the south. No known quake has ever spanned across that creeping zone.

Whether the model developed by Lapusta and Noda could apply there would depend on local geological variables not yet completely understood, Hutton said.

Responsible for statewide emergency planning and disaster preparedness, California's Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) is reviewing the new study, according to spokesman Greg Renick. The agency already has in place a plan for responding to a catastrophic quake in Southern California, and another plan for the San Francisco Bay Area.

Cal EMA anticipates that a catastrophic quake affecting a major population center, much less two, will require response assistance from outside California, and has established procedures in place. Beyond that, Cal-EMA now intends to review the newly published research to see if it exposes any gaps in the current response plans that could be corrected before they’re needed, Renick said.

Every fall, Cal EMA's Golden Guardian program creates a disaster scenario for a multi-agency response drill. The scenario this year involves a catastrophic quake in the San Francisco Bay Area. A magnitude 7.8 temblor on the southern section of the San Andreas was drilled in 2008.

Chicago’s million dollar murder mystery shifted to a Daley Center courtroom Friday as a Cook County judge ordered lotto winner Urooj Khan’s body exhumed in hopes of clarifying exactly what caused his death.

Already, Medical Examiner Stephen Cina has certified Khan’s death as a homicide, saying the lotto winner somehow ingested a fatal dose of cyanide. But as they went before Judge Susan Coleman Friday, prosecutors said in a filing it was necessary to exhume Khan’s body, among other reasons, "to rule out any other natural causes" of the Chicago man’s death.

"As Mr. Khan was buried without being embalmed," the motion stated, "it is important that Mr. Khan’s body be exhumed as expeditiously as possible."

In a hearing that lasted fewer than five minutes, Judge Coleman granted the exhumation request.

"We have to have justice served," the victim’s sister, Meraj Khan, said outside the courtroom. "If that’s what it takes to have justice served and to have peace, then that’s what needs to be done."

• Widow Questioned About Cyanide Victim's Last Meal

Khan’s widow, Shabana Ansari, did not attend the hearing. But as siblings and others gathered outside the courtroom, they made clear that they were suspicious of his death which occurred mere weeks after his million dollar lottery windfall.

"We know him. He was a perfectly healthy person,” said Khan’s brother, ImTiaz Khan. "It is impossible that he would die like this."

• Documents Show Battle Over Poisoned Lottery Winner's Estate

As he spoke, ImTiaz waved a notebook which he suggested contained information crucial to the case.

"I have 45 pages written down," he said. "A whole life history. I cannot reveal anything until I know when to do this."

Khan’s sister recalled the morning he died, and a frantic phone call at 4 a.m.

"Just screaming on the phone," she said. "I couldn’t understand what was going on. I couldn’t understand, and the call was from his number."

Family members said they were forced to accept that Khan had died an untimely death and said they were blindsided by the news that his passing had been ruled a homicide. Brother-in-law Mohammed Zaman said he first became aware when Khan’s wife cut off contact.

"At one point she said to me, she could not talk to me because of the attorneys," he said. "I was shocked. I said, 'What attorneys?' And she said, 'Criminal defense attorneys.' I was shocked!”
 

One person was sexually assaulted and another was stabbed in the neck during a hostage situation at a Southern California shopping center that ended early Friday after Los Angeles Police Department SWAT members entered a Nordstrom Rack and escorted at least 14 people from the building.

Gunmen at the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center in Westchester held the hostages in a storage area before the early morning operation, said LAPD spokesman Andy Neiman. The hostages were being interviewed early Friday morning to determine what happened before 11 p.m. Thursday night, when LAPD officers from the Pacific Division received a 911 call from a man who said his girlfriend saw two armed men enter the store.

The store was closed at the time an officer witnessed a man exit the store, then run back inside after he noticed the officer. Authorities said they are investigating whether the assailants might have posed as customers and remained in the store after it closed at 10 p.m.

"That heightened officer's suspicion that something wasn't right," said Neiman.

Officers then saw another man grab a woman and run back inside the store.

"He pulled her back into the store against her will," said Neiman.

At about midnight, officers had surrounded the Nordstrom Rack, which is on the second floor of the Promenade. At about 2 a.m., SWAT members found 13 women and one man -- employees at the store -- in the storage area and restroom.

They were escorted from the building.

The stabbing victim's wound is considered non-life threatening, Neiman said. The victim was treated and released at the scene.

"Tragically, the second victim was a victim of sexual assault," said Neiman.

Officers determined the gunmen were no longer in the store. They were following up on reports of sport utility vehicle seen leaving the area.

Officers and an LAPD mobile command unit were searching a Culver City neighborhood early Friday, but it was not immediately clear whether the search was connected to the hostage situation.

"A white SUV was seen leaving the scene of the crime," said Neiman. "We don't know if that's the same vehicle."

Detectives were looking at surveillance video from the shopping center and interviewing hostages Friday. 

Patrons at a movie theater in the complex told NBC4 they were asked to remain in the theater during the hostage situation.

The southbound lanes of the 405 Freeway, leading to Los Angeles International Airport, were temporarily shutdown at the Howard Hughes Parkway off-ramp. By midnight, the lanes had been reopened though the exit appeared to remain cordoned off.

Many American workers will get their first glimpse of how Washington's fiscal cliff fight affected them when they open their paychecks today.

That is because amid all its wrangling last month over tax rates for the wealthy, Congress also let a 2 percent Social Security payroll tax cut expire on all workers subject to it — reverting the payroll tax you pay to 6.2 percent of your paycheck from the 4.2 percent you were paying for the last two years.

Read More: Why Your Payroll Tax Will Rise This Year

With that tax cut no longer reflected on your paycheck, the average American could pay as much as $2,202 more in payroll taxes this year than last year, according to The Wall Street Journal. (That is because the maximum wage subject to the tax is $110,100.)

If you make $50,000 a year, you'll take home $1,000 less annually. If you get paid every two weeks, that means your paycheck will be $38.46 less today than it was two weeks ago.

For more on what to expect, check out a primer on the fiscal cliff's impact.

You can also read the Internal Revenue Service's new guide here and the Tax Policy Center's tax calculator here.

Sandi Jackson, the wife of Jesse Jackson Jr., resigned from the Chicago City Council Friday, citing family responsibilities.

"I am unapologetically a wife and a mother and I cannot deny my commitment to those most important personal responsibilities," she wrote in a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

"To that end, after much consideration and while dealing with very painful family health matters I have met with my family and determined that the constituents of the 7th Ward, as well as you Mr. Mayor, and my colleagues in the City Council deserve a partner who can commit all of their energies to the business of the people."

Her resignation comes a little less than two months after her husband resigned as Illinois' 2nd District Congressman amid a federal probe.

She said her decision to resign, effective Jan. 15, was made with a "heavy heart."

In a statement, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Jackson's "leadership has been greatly appreciated."

"As Sandi takes this time to focus on her family, we give her out deepest thanks and support for her service to our city and the residents of her ward," he said.

In November, her husband resigned as Illinois' 2nd District Congressman after months away from his Congressional duties with a diagnosis of bipolar depression.

Soon after her husband stepped down, rumors swirled that she was interested in running for the Congressional post.

"I will finish my term. I intend to finish my term," she said in December, denying the rumors. "Unless something catastrophic happens -- I could step outside and get hit by a bus today."

Federal authorities had been looking into whether the former congressman used campaign funds to decorate the couple's Washington, D.C. home. The couple briefly put the home on the market.
Additionally, Sandi Jackson had recently been asked by Illinois' State Board of Elections to explain a $69,000 discrepancy between her campaign finance reports and those of her husband.

No charges have been filed against either Jackson.

• 22 Candidates File for Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Vacated Seat

Her predecessor in the 7th Ward, Bill Beavers, said he wasn't shocked by the news.

"Not surprised. She was never there," he said, referring to the D.C. home.

Beavers is now a Cook County Commissioner. He's also feeling the heat of the feds, accused of taking thousands of dollars in campaign dollars for personal use. He's pleaded not guilty and maintains prosecutors are after him only because he refused to wear a wire on fellow Commissioner John Daley.

Emanuel said the process to find a replacement for Jackson, who was elected to the Chicago City Council nearly six years ago, will begin next week. The post will be filled through a mayoral appointment and would be Emanuel's first.

A special primary to replace the former congressman will be held on Feb. 26 with the General Election following on April 9.

A male sea lion found with a single gunshot wound in La Jolla is returning to life under the sea after his successful rehabilitation. 

Buck, a 250-pound sea lion, was spotted on Boomer Beach in La Jolla the afternoon of October 5 with what a rescue team believed was a bite wound above his right eye.

Later, a radiograph of the wound revealed that he was shot at point-blank range by an unknown suspect, according to Booker Crenshaw with SeaWorld.

SeaWorld's veterinarian staff treated Buck and gave him pain medication and antibiotics. Over the course of the next few months, his wound healed, and he gained more than 50 pounds. 

Veterinarians say his eyesight is back to normal too, so they are confident he can survive back in the wild. 

Friday afternoon, the staff at SeaWorld said goodbye to Buck and released him back into the wild at Boarder Field State Park Beach. 

High tide in La Jolla  reached area streets Friday morning.

Aerial images over Camino Del Oro and Avenida de la Playa in La Jolla showed water on surface streets and near structures at about 7:30 a.m. Friday. 

A coastal flooding advisory was in effect for all coastal areas of San Diego. That, combined with high tide and high surf contributed to the flooding, lifeguards said. 

Lifeguards said the area experienced similar problems yesterday. 

'King Tides' were also expected to come in to La Jolla at 6.9 feet at 8:01 a.m in San Diego, according to the National Weather Service. 

San Diegans walked out the door Friday morning to see an unfamiliar sight -- their own breath.  

"You'll be wearing that jacket all day long," said NBC 7 Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh.  

See what the forecast holds in your neighborhood here.

Mountain areas got hit with Friday's cold snap the hardest, with temperatures reaching below-freezing levels. The Mountain Empire Unified School District in the east county cancelled school Friday due to icy roads. 

Inlands and coastal areas will reach the mid-50s Friday, but the mornings will certainly be chilly and the temperatures will plummet by the evening.

Even coastal temperatures may drop below freezing by the night. 

"Sensitive plants will be lost, so if you have those, bring them inside," Kodesh said, adding that pets should be brought inside as well, if possible. 

The National Weather Service issued a freeze watch for most of Southern California, including San Diego and Imperial Counties. 

Winds made the cold weather a little harsher as well.

At 5:45 p.m., the NWS announced the freeze watch in San Diego had been cancelled, but a frost advisory would remain in effect from midnight through 8 a.m. Sunday.

That means very cold nights with frost and low temperatures for the next several mornings. Some of the coldest coastal areas may see temperatures fall below 28-degrees at one point.

At this time, the NWS expects Saturday to be the coldest night of all, with a hard freeze likely in some areas. The temps in the coldest areas are expected to range from 26 to 32 degrees. Downtown San Diego will see low temps in the mid to upper 30s.

The freezing temperatures have potentially debilitating effects on local crops. In Escondido, Farmer Mike Hillebrecht took time Thursday to prepare the thousands of oranges and avocados on his more than 100 acres of land. 

He used a wind machine to help save his crop from the temperatures expected Friday. The wind machine draws warmer air from above and mixes with the cold air, which he says raises the temperature about five degrees.

And if you've been cold lately, imagine how your plants must feel.

Fausto Palafox with Mission Hills Nursery has some easy tips to help protect your outdoor houseplants from the cold.

Most nurseries and home centers sell protective covering for plants. Its esentially a thin covering to keep your plants toasty. They sell for about 15 dollars. He also says you can use a bed sheet or piece of burlap.

He says do not cover your plants with plastic. It can actually trap in the cold.

He also recommends watering your plants during the day when the sun is out. It will provide a bit of insulation.

Palafox also sells "Cloud Cover" spray, which is a spray-on coating to protect your plants. Its sells for 15 dollars.

And he also recommends sliding your plants under a patio covering or some other shield - like a bench - to protect plants from wind and rain.

If you got a paycheck since the New Year, you may have noticed you're getting a little less than you thought. The reason? A payroll tax cut was not renewed by Congress.

Starting Jan. 1, Social Security Taxes went up to 6.2 percent -- up from 4.2 percent for the last three years.

People making $50,000 dollars a year are getting about $80 less every month.

And for those struggling to make ends meet, it hurts.

CPA Steven Wendroff said people are shocked and upset.

“Especially people who are payday to payday and are counting on a certain amount of take home pay,” he said. “And all of a sudden it's less than they anticipated.”

Wendroff handles payroll checks for about 100 companies and has received dozens of angry calls.

Amid the negotiations about income taxes and the fiscal cliff, he said the government didn't renew the 2 percent payroll tax cut that's been in place for the past three years.

Some people said they don't mind the money going towards Social Security.

“I don't think it's big,” said local resident Benjamin Roy. “I feel like it's going where it needs to go.”

Chula Vista resident William Virchis said it could benefit him.

“Anything to help, because I'm retired. It'd help me,” he said.

But some people at Food 4 Less in Mission Valley and other places in the county said, that 2 percent really hurts.

“We've cut spending. We don't take trips, we don't go on vacation,” said Pacific Beach resident Victoria Gracey. “I don't remember the last time we've been on vacation. Everything's cut.”

Wendroff said people may be able to boost the amount that you get every month by changing your income tax withholding with your employer, but it could mean that you'll owe taxes at the end of the year. He recommends talks to a tax professional for advice.

Fresh off of hiring their new general manager Tom Telesco, the San Diego Chargers are now looking for their next head coach.

Former Bears coach Lovie Smith is interviewing with Telesco and the Chargers Friday, according to NFL News. 

Smith spent nine seasons with the Bears, finishing with a 10-6 record last season. He was fired on Black Monday -- the same day the Chargers fired coach Norv Turner.

“Our first order of business is to find a new coach, we’ve already started working on that," Telesco said at a Wednesday press conference. 

Telesco said he has a list of candidates that aligned similarly with that of the Chargers' front office. Telesco said his main qualification for head coach include honest, humble, engaging and an excellent communicator.

Another potential candidate the Bolts are likely waiting on is Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

He's already interviewed in Arizona, but the Chargers are waiting for Denver's playoff run to end before they talk.

McCoy proved he has a great offensive mind, being successful with both Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning at quarterback.
 

San Diego police detectives are searching for a suspect who was caught on surveillance tape robbing a yogurt shop in Hillcrest.

According to SDPD officials, the robbery happened Tuesday at around 9:30 p.m. at the Golden Spoon Yogurt shop located at 1200 University Ave.

An unknown man entered the shop, went behind the counter and confronted employees in the back. He threatened employees with a knife and demanded money, detectives said.

The man was given an undisclosed amount of cash from the safe. He fled the shop on foot and was last seen walking westbound on University Ave.

According to police, the entire robbery was caught on camera. The suspect is described as a white male in his 30s. He’s 6-foot to 6-foot-3 with a thin build and short light brown or dark blond hair.

He was wearing jeans, a dark blue jacket and a green turtleneck shirt, which he pulled up to cover the lower portion of his face during the robbery.

The suspect threatened employees with a small knife, similar to a box cutter.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Robbery Unit at (619) 531-2299 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

The Centers for Disease Control's latest report on this unusually bad flu season shows that the virus'es geographic reach has grown but that the outbreak may have begun to wane.

"The bottom line: It's flu season," said Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during a press conference addressing the report on Friday morning. "Most of the country is seeing or has seen a lot flu and this may continue for a number of weeks."

The report, which covers the week from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5, shows that the outbreak has now spread to 47 states, up from 41 the previous week.

Flu Spike: How to Stop It

"We're continuing to see influenza activity remaining elevated in most of the U.S.," Frieden said. "It may be decreasing in some areas, but that's hard to predict, because particularly when you have data from over the holidays season."

While 24 states are still reporting a high level of flu, that number is down from 29 the previous week. Frieden went on to say the data showing the flu could be waning may have been skewed by the holidays, a time during which doctors may be on vacation or people may be less likely to seek treatment.

Flu Tips for Parents

Since the outbreak began in October, more than 3,700 people have been hospitalized with the flu, and 20 children have died.

This year's vaccine has been 62 percent effective, about what the CDC expected given current conditions, according to Frieden, who warned that even if the flu is ebbing, flu season is far from over.

"Nationally, it's likely that flu will continue for several more weeks," said Frieden. "During the past decade we have seen an average of about 12 consecutive weeks — three months — of ILI (influenza-like illness) being elevated. But as we often say, the only thing predictable about flu is that it's unpredictable. Only time will tell us how long our season will last and how moderate or severe this season will be in the end."

States reporting widespread flu activity:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

States reporting high flu activity:

Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

La Mesa police officers wrote 42 tickets Friday morning to distracted drivers who were either talking on their cell phones or texting while driving.

The operation spanned a six-hour period in the East County community and was part of the “Traffic Safety Enforcement Program” designed to aggressively enforce the state’s “Distracted Driving” laws.

The program aims to raise awareness for safer, distraction-free driving while reducing deaths and injuries on local roadways.

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles website, the base fine for the first texting while driving offense is $20, and $50 for subsequent convictions. With penalty assessments, the DMV says the fine can be more than triple the base fine amount.

The DMV website says driving distractions – including cell phone use – are the leading cause of most vehicle crashes and near-crashes.

According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 80 percent of crashes involve some sort of driver distraction.