The prime suspect in a gruesome murder in Chicago has been identified as a man from San Diego.

Grant Muren, 21, is accused of strangling his new roommate in their suburban Chicago apartment after the two met through a Craigslist ad, prosecutors said.

Muren's last known address was in Carmel Valley. He went to high school at San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas.

Prosecutors allege Muren killed 55-year-old Charles Clarke after the two got into an argument following a sexual encounter just eight hours after Muren moved into Clark’s townhouse in the Chicago suburb of Naperville.

During the argument, Muren struck Clarke on the head with a small table and strangled him, authorities said.

The men met after Clarke, a self-employed computer specialist, posted an ad on Craigslist seeking a roommate and Muren moved in, prosecutors said.

Police responded to a call at Clarke's home Jan. 22, where responding officers smelled natural gas and found a deceased body in the bedroom area, officials said.

Following the murder, prosecutors allege Muren removed his personal belongings from the home, attempted to burn a lease agreement the two had drafted by putting it in the toaster, turned on the gas to the stove and left the oven door open.

Clarke was discovered in the home with contusions to his face and head, and the tips of one of his fingers appeared to have been bitten off, prosecutors said.

“Several days ago, Charles Clarke’s life came to an abrupt and violent end, allegedly at the hands of his new roommate,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Clarke’s family and friends as they try to cope with this senseless tragedy."

Muren was arrested Jan. 23 and charged with first-degree murder and concealing a homicide. His bond was set at $2 million Saturday morning, according to the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.

A neighbor said Clarke, who was in his 50s, lived alone and was a “nice man.” He said Clarke had a girlfriend, who visited occasionally and that Clarke asked him before if he knew someone looking for a place to rent.

The neighbor said he warned Clarke not to put out the ad.

Muren is scheduled to be back in court Feb. 24 in Chicago.

The former San Diego Gas and Electric employee accused of hitting a man with his work truck and leaving him in the street to die has just been arraigned in court.

Hector Hoyt, 55, did not speak to members of the media waiting outside the San Diego County Courthouse in El Cajon Thursday morning.

Hoyt faces a felony hit-and-run charge in connection with the Jan. 6 crash on Jamacha Road that killed 54-year-old pedestrian Robert Fisher.

Prosecutors claim Hoyt was behind the wheel of an SDG&E truck that struck Fisher while he was crossing Jamacha.

Then, Hoyt is accused of leaving the scene with Fisher lying in the middle of the street.

Moments later, a second, separate vehicle accidentally ran Fisher over again.

Hoyt was booked into jail last Wednesday and later released.

He was not working at the time of the incident.

SDG&E said Hoyt is no longer employed there and that it is participating fully with authorities.

Court documents reveal Hoyt was convicted of driving under the influence in 2005 though it's unclear if he was employed by SDG&E then or if he was intoxicated the night he's accused in the hit and run.

The Fisher family's attorney said the victim's mother believes the charge is not strong enough.

Even though there was some estrangement from the family and Fisher had been living a transient lifestyle, his family still held onto hope that things would change in the future according to the victim’s uncle.

Thousands of minions are mourning Thursday at the news that Colonel Meow, an Internet-famous feline who recently landed a spot in the Guinness World Records, is no longer swigging scotch and plotting his world domination.

“Colonel Meow passed away yesterday evening. I will post more about the details when I’ve had a few days to grieve. Thank you so much for your understanding, Minions. Your love and support has meant the world to us both,” his owner wrote on Facebook Thursday.

The Colonel – a rescue cat thought to be between 2 and 3 years old – became an Internet star last year after his owners, Anne Marie Avey and Eric Rosario, began posting photos of him online with his now-famous long hair and eerily human scowl.

Last fall, news that the Colonel’s heart wasn’t “doing the greatest” drew get-well wishes from supporters worldwide. His fans – lovingly called “minions” – raised more than $21,000 to pay for his medical bills (any money left over would be donated to emergency pet care, his owners said).

On Thursday, condolences poured into the Facebook page dedicated to the curmudgeonly cat, which boasts more than 347,000 fans.

“May he dominate the afterlife and submit all there to his will ...” Leela Cosgrove wrote.

A few months before the Colonel became sick, the Guinness World Records revealed some news that could bring a smile even to Colonel Meow’s smug mug.

With hair as long as 9 inches, the Himalayan-Persian cross-breed landed a spot in the record book as "cat with the longest fur." He will be featured in the Guinness World Records 2014 book, according to the Guinness website.

Another round of layoffs is under way right now at San Diego-based Bridgepoint Education.

This time the for-profit, on-line college operator is eliminating 117 positions.

A statement from Bridgepoint's media relations manager says the firm is downsizing "consistent with the total enrollment of its academic institutions" – citing Ashford University in San Diego and University of the Rockies in Denver.

The once high-flying corporate giant has had recruitment and accreditation problems that created stock market issues.

In the wake of previous layoffs and high-level executive turnover, longtime employees began to see big adjustments in direction.

One who was let go Thursday morning spoke with NBC 7 San Diego on the condition of anonymity.

"You know, when I first started here, it was very much 'Growth, growth, growth! Do what you can to further the company and we'll all share in the rewards,'” he said. “But now the model's different. And the culture's different.”

The just-terminated employee estimated that Bridgepoint’s workforce is now down to about 3,500 from a height of 5,000: "I think with the economy right now in general -- nationally and California – and some of the Health Care items that are going on, I think that might have had an impact as well."

The company is moving out of leased space in an office tower downtown; its corporate logo was still on the building as of Thursday.

The latest job-shedding comes not long after Bridgepoint's compensation committee boosted CEO Andrew Clark's salary 21 percent, to $725,000, and approved other high-level management raises and generous cash-bonus targets.

Is there a takeaway for those just dismissed from what's left of a former multi-state juggernaut?

"I think it pays to be at the top,” said the ex-Bridgepoint worker. “If you're at the top, you get to make the rules. It's the Golden Rule: 'Whoever has the gold makes the rules'.”

A drug and alcohol counselor who allegedly drove two miles through Los Angeles with a dying man on her windshield said in court Wednesday that she doesn’t remember hitting him.

Sherri Lynn Wilkins testified in her murder trial that the man she's accused of killing, 31-year-old Phillip Moreno, seemed to fly onto her car in the 2012 crash in Torrance, but the events were a surreal blur.

"God-Awful" Stench: Snake Hoarder Arrested for Cruelty

"It was a flash, " Wilkins said. "I pretty much felt him landing on my window. To me, it felt like he came from the sky."

Wilkins is charged with one count each of murder, DUI causing injury, driving with a .08 percent or higher blood-alcohol content causing injury and leaving the scene of an accident.

Authorities allege that she drove two miles with Moreno embedded in the windshield of her Mitsubishi Eclipse before another motorist directed her to pull over.

Wilkins, a former addict, wept and said she'd consumed three airplane-size bottles of vodka, a can of Budweiser beer and Clamato before starting to drive. She said she had been "self-medicating" while waiting for knee-replacement surgery.

Moreno was struck so hard that he flipped onto Wilkins’ car and punched a hole through the windshield. Witnesses stopped Wilkins near Crenshaw Boulevard and 182nd Street, police said. Moreno died at a hospital.

WATCH: High School Basketball Player Makes Miracle Shot

Moreno's family said one of the witnesses reached into the vehicle and removed the keys from the ignition. His family described the witnesses as "angels" for attempting to help.

Wilkins said in court that she kept driving because she panicked.

"I was very scared," she said. "I kind of froze."

Counselor Faces DUI, Manslaughter Charges

Wilkins was charged in 2010 with DUI and leaving the scene of a crash that caused damage to either property or a vehicle, according to online court records. The charges were dismissed in 2011, records show.

She has two prior convictions for burglary, according to court records.

Drug Counselor Pleads Not Guilty in Hit-and-Run

The CEO of Twin Town Treatment Center, where Wilkins works, said she cleared a background check and received positive reviews from patients.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office has released the names of two men – a motorcyclist and pedestrian – killed in a crash in unincorporated Rancho Santa Fe earlier this week.

According to the medical examiner, Oceanside resident Hugh Williams, 60, was the motorcyclist killed in the double fatal collision, which happened Sunday just after 7 p.m. on Del Dios Highway near Date Lane.

The pedestrian killed in the crash has been identified by the medical examiner as Alan Hopkins, 31.

California Highway Patrol officials said Hopkins was walking with several friends on Del Dios Highway when he was struck by Williams, who was on his motorcycle.

CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt called the deadly collision a “tragic accident.”

“Unfortunately, at this time in the evening, a motorcyclist doesn’t expect a pedestrian to be standing in the road. There was nothing the motorcyclist could do,” Bettencourt told NBC 7 on Sunday.

Hopkins’ friends, who were not hit in the accident, told officers they had been out on a group nature walk in the Del Dios Highlands Preserve just before the accident.

Following the crash, CHP officials issued a SigAlert in the area, shutting down Del Dios Highway for more than three hours as investigators gathered evidence and cleared the scene.

According to the medical examiner, Williams was driving his motorcycle at approximately 60 mph. Just as he approached Date Lane, Hopkins and another pedestrian ran out into the roadway.

Hopkins’ group of friends told investigators that Hopkins and the other pedestrian had run across the northbound lane and as they got to the center of the road, they looked at southbound traffic. They saw the motorcycle driven by Williams approaching the intersection but thought they could beat it.

The pair darted across the roadway and Hopkins was fatally struck by the motorcycle. The second pedestrian made it across the street unharmed.

The medical examiner said Williams attempted to avoid the pedestrians by swerving to the left but was unable to do so. After he struck Hopkins, Williams’ motorcycle veered off the road and struck a curb, followed by a street sign. He was then ejected from his bike.

Both men sustained multiple critical blunt force and blunt impact injuries in the accident and were pronounced dead at the scene.

A popular program spearheaded by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is making specialty bakers out of the most unlikely candidates: inmates looking to learn skills that will help them make real dough in the future.

The “Baking & Pastry Program” at the East Mesa Re-Entry Facility in south San Diego is designed to teach inmates valuable job skills they can use in the real world.

By acquiring those skills, the program also aims to ensure inmates don’t return to jail once they’re released and take a bite out of the state’s high recidivism rate.

The 6-month culinary program focuses on baking and pastry skills, as well as bread art. Inmates learn to make bread for jail meals and pastries for events involving San Diego County agencies. Participants also learn to knead dough for mass production or smaller-scale businesses like a pizzeria.

From strawberry tarts to specialty cakes and eclaires, the baked masterpieces are enjoyed by many. In fact, the treats were recently served at the State of County address.

For participating inmates, such as Wolfgang Herbin, the job skills attained through the program are priceless.

Herbin, who’s currently doing time for selling drugs, said he hit a rough patch in his life and “chose the wrong path.”

Now, his path has taken a major turn. He said the baking program is helping him make changes that will positively impact his life and future once he’s released from custody.

In fact, Herbin said he already has a job lined up where he'll be able to utilize everything he has learned.

“I have a friend whose sister is the manager of a bakery in La Jolla and they're willing to give me an opportunity to show my skills,” Herbin explained. “I know I can shine there when I get out. And I don't have to resort to what I did before.”

Herbin is among a group of low-risk offenders trying to change their ways by rolling dough into creative pastries, taking sweet, pastel-colored frosting and decorating cakes.

Inmate Larry Monroe said the program has exceeded his expectations. Now, he wants to use his skills to exceed the expectations of his loved ones.

“It’s something I thought I would never do and now, I’ll be able to go home, be with my family and show them something different about me,” said Monroe.

Inmate Leetri Dang hopes his newfound baking skills, plus determination to start fresh, will help him and fellow inmates on the outside.

“[To succeed], they gotta have strong will. Strong will to really want to change, because changing is not easy,” he said.

The Baking & Pastry Program has been around for one year and so far, three dozen inmates have completed it. At the end of the program – and upon passing a national sanitation exam – inmates receive a certificate from Grossmont Adult Education that lists all of their skills and knowledge.

Sheriff’s Inmate Services Division manager Robert Vander Kamp said watching inmates grow through the program is something truly special.

“You’ll see a change in them because they’ve learned something that they’ve never had before – they feel better about themselves,” said Vander Kamp.

The vocational program is not funded by taxpayers. The cost is borne by the prison Food Services Division, which helps feed 5,800 local inmates each day.

The director of the Baking & Pastry Program said the program is really picking up steam and word is getting out among the inmates at the East Mesa Re-Entry Facility.

There is now a waiting list to get into the program. To learn more, visit the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Facebook page.

In light of a highly-publicized Navy bribery scandal involving a Singapore businessman known as “Fat Leonard,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa is now pressing the Navy for documents and further information.

On Thursday, Issa sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus demanding documents and a briefing on the steps taken to address the “string of contracting scandals that have engulfed the U.S. Navy.”

In the letter, Issa says he’s concerned that the internal reviews into the widespread Navy bribery scandal “will not go far enough.”

Read Issa’s letter in its entirety here.

Thus, Issa requests the Navy provide several new details and documents, including copies of all contracts between the Navy and Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd. dating back to Jan. 1, 2009.

Issa also wants a list of the Navy’s total expenditures on “husbanding” contracts used to provide fuel and fresh food to Navy ships in port for the last five years.

Additionally, Issa’s letter requests a briefing from the Navy to Committee staff detailing the steps the Navy has taken since April 2011 to battle contracting fraud, including any recommendations made by a special panel appointed to address this topic in April 2011.

At the forefront of the letter, Issa cites the recent Navy bribery scandal involving Leonard Francis, 49, the man more commonly known as Fat Leonard. A Singapore-based defense contractor and CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., Francis is accused of bribing U.S. Navy officials with prostitutes and lavish gifts.

Francis is accused of using those bribes to receive classified information from Navy officers and enlisted personnel in order to gain bidding advances.

One of the people Francis allegedly bribed is Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) supervisory special agent John Beliveau II, who pleaded guilty in the bribery scheme last month in federal court in San Diego.

On Nov. 21, 2013, Francis appeared in federal court in San Diego and entered a not guilty plea in one of three cases filed against him. Days later, a judge denied bail for Francis, who faces life in prison if convicted in the Navy bribery scandal.

Other high-ranking Navy officials allegedly involved in the scandal include Navy Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz and Navy Commander Jose Luis Sanchez. The criminal probe has also implicated two Navy admirals, Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless and Vice Admiral Ted Branch, also investigated for “illegal and improper relations” with Francis.

Last month, Navy Secretary Mabus warned of more disclosures and said the Navy has not seen the end of the widespread, multimillion dollar bribery and contracting scandal that has implicated so many.

Mabus wouldn’t disclose how much money is involved in the widening probe but said the Navy would continue to aggressively go after any naval officers or contractors who may be involved.

With the 2014 Winter Olympics beginning in just one week, hundreds gathered in Sochi, Russia, on Jan. 30 to celebrate the official opening of the Mountain Olympic Village.

Dignitaries, volunteers and members of the media – including NBC 7 reporter Steven Luke – were invited to celebrate the official opening of the Mountain Olympic Village located on the northern slope of the Aibga Mountain Range.

The special residential compound in the mountain cluster area is one of three “villages” in Sochi where athletes will live during the games. It’s the biggest of the three villages, and will accommodate nearly 3,000 athletes and delegation members.

The athletes calling this particular village home include those competing in ski, bobsled, luge, ski jumping, Nordic combined and snowboarding events. The village will boast food, entertainment, games and activities highlighting Russian culture for its residents.

Olympian Svetlana Zhurova, who won a gold medal for Russia in speed skating in 2006, has been named mayor of the Mountain Olympic Village.

As an Olympian herself, Zhurova told NBC 7 that she knows how important it is to keep athletes comfortable while they are training and competing in the Olympics.

"The Olympic athletes have to be first, and I see athletes first here,” she said. “It's very important for us, for comfort, and to spend a good time here because they are training, they have tough competition. [They] have to rest.”

The other two villages in Sochi include the Usadba Coastal Olympic Village in the coastal cluster, home to 2,000 athletes and delegates, and the Sloboda Endurance Village, which will accommodate 1,000 residents. Those villages also officially opened on Jan. 30.

Random fun fact: each village has its own Olympic mascot.

The Mountain Village mascot is a Leopard, the Coastal Village mascot is a polar bear and the Endurance Village mascot is a hare.

After the Winter Olympics, the Mountain Village will be turned into a hotel or ski resort.

Police in Frisco say a woman has been arrested and charged with killing her 10-year-old son.

Officers found the boy's body in the tub at his home, wrapped in cloth up to his neck. Police said there were also several plastic bags found around the boy, but did not elaborate.

In a news conference Thursday, Sgt. Brad Merritt, with the Frisco Police Department, said the boy's father, Sumeed Dhawan, called police at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and said he was concerned about the welfare of his wife and child.

Sumeed told police he had just returned home to North Texas after traveling for three weeks and that he was concerned over the time it took his wife to return home and because he had also received an email from his son's school stating he had not been in attendace the last several days.

Sumeed told police that his wife had apparently left the home a couple of hours before he called them and he was growing more and more concerned about their welfare.

Officers arrived at the home and, as they talked with Sumeed, his wife returned home. Police asked Pallavi Dhawan about the location of Arnav and she said she wished to speak with her husband privately — which the officers allowed.

As Pallavi and Sumeed talked, the man grew noticeably upset, police said.  He then called the officers over and directed them toward a locked bathroom door.  

"Officers asked Mrs. Dhawan if the child was in the room, and she nodded her head `yes.' Officers asked her if she killed the child, and Mrs. Dhawan nodded her head `yes,"' said police Sgt. Brad Merritt, at an afternoon news conference.

Police said that Pallavi was arrested Wednesday and is said to be cooperating in the investigation. On Thursday, the boy's mother was charged with 1st degree murder, police said.

She was held in the Frisco City Jail on $50,000 bail, but bonded out of jail just after midnight on Friday. At this time, police have not released a motive.

Attorney: "Not So Fast" on Mother's Confession

Despite statements from the police, Dhawan denied admitting to killing the child, said her attorney, David Finn, of Dallas.

"We categorically deny that she indicated in any way or form that she was responsible for his death," he said.  "Any statement that my client nodded of affirmed that she was responsible for the child's death, not so fast."

Arnav had been "the center of their universe," Finn said of the family. "He was a happy, fun-loving boy."

Pallavi and Sumeet Dhawan are naturalized U.S. citizens, Finn said. Family members described the couple's only child and his mother as being "inseparable," he said.

Finn said there are "a plethora of unanswered questions." For example, he said there were no signs of physical trauma or water in the boy's lungs.

The Collin County medical examiner performed an autopsy on the boy Thursday, though the findings have not yet been released.

The Frisco ISD said Thursday morning that Arnav was in the fifth grade at Isbell Elementary School. The district said additional counselors will be at the school on Thursday and Friday as needed.  A letter about the death has already been released to parents to notify them about the death.

Deadlines have a way of adding to the stress of the tax season. 

The Internal Revenue Service starts processing tax returns on January 31.  The deadline for returns is April 15 but what happens in between can make a big difference to tax filers.

"I always tell clients to start with that deadline and work backwards," said Certified Financial Planner Mary Beth Storjohann.  She says the key to eliminating stress is breaking down the tax filing process and spreading it out.

"It seems a lot stressful if you are breaking it into steps as opposed to, I'm going to file my taxes today," said Storjohann.

That means taking one day to collect receipts, another day to organize them into income and deductions.  She says by breaking up the process, you'll be more complete and more in control.

"It's better to break it down, otherwise you are spending weekends and stress and you'll do a mad dash at the end," said Storjohann.

The fire truck is not to blame -- and neither is San Francisco, the city claims.

San Francisco city officials insist in filings made with federal officials that 16-year old Ye Men Yuan -- one of the three people who died following the Asiana Airlines crash in July -- was already dead when she was run over by two fire trucks in the chaos of the crash scene, according to reports.

"Ample evidence" support those findings, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, a position vehemently objected to by the San Mateo County coroner, who established blunt force trauma from the fire rigs as the cause of death.

Alive or dead, Ye was lying in a pile of fire-retardant foam when the first of two "foam-spraying rigs" ran over her -- after being alerted that she was there.

Ye's family has filed a legal claim against the city that pins the blame for her death on the fire department.

Ye had no foam in her lungs, and no dirt in her lungs either, which would suggest she was not breathing by the time she was struck by the trucks.

The coroner who declared Ye dead by fire truck disputed the city, saying that she had "massive internal hemorrhaging" from her head, which can only happen when the heart is still pumping blood, the newspaper reported.
 

A motorcyclist was killed and his passenger was hospitalized after a driver hit them head-on and then left the scene.

The crash occurred around 12:40 a.m. at University Avenue and Granada Avenue and closed University between 30th and 28th for hours overnight.

The 32-year-old motorcyclist and his 31-year-old passenger were heading eastbound when a light-colored Cadillac heading the opposite direction turned in front of the motorcycle, San Diego police said.

After the two vehicles collided, the car left the scene and was last seen heading south on Granada.

Both motorcycle riders were taken to Mercy Hospital.

The driver later died at the hospital.

The passenger had scrapes, bruises and complained of chest and leg pain.

The only description officers have of the suspect’s vehicle is a white, 4-door Cadillac with damage on the front driver’s side.
 

There comes a time when most people make the choice to go to work, despite feeling sick.

As the flu season gets worse here in San Diego, just how sick is too sick to go to work?

In a new OfficeTeam survey, seven in 10 or 70-percent of professionals admit they frequently go to work when they're feeling sick.

And apparently their managers are aware.

Sixty-five percent said of managers said ailing employees head into the office at least somewhat frequently.

A workplace expert we talked to at San Diego State University says employees come to work sick for several reasons.

Some jobs don't provide paid sick days.

Even those with sick benefits choose to go in because they don't want to deal with all the work that piles up from a day spent on the couch.

Still, some employees don't want to appear lazy to their bosses.

“The recession and just where the economy is, as it's growing and trying to get back on its feet, people are really afraid that somebody else is going to come along who doesn't mind and can take that hit and come to work sick and say no big deal. I'll take some medicine, no problem,” said Tita Gray, San Diego State University Lecturer, College of Business.

Gray said workers should be proactive and approach supervisors about how they can work from home, if possible.

She also believes managers need to set a culture of understanding that sick days are inevitable.
 

Seven hotels near the New Jersey stadium hosting the Super Bowl received envelopes containing a suspicious white powder, but the letters appeared to be part of a hoax after early tests showed the substance at some locations was cornstarch, NBC 4 New York has learned.

A law enforcement source tells NBC 4 New York that the hotels, none of which are housing the teams playing at MetLife Stadium, received the envelopes Friday.

The substance at five locations was cornstarch, the source said. The others were still being tested, but the FBI in New York said all the letters were deemed "non-hazardous."

That includes several other suspicious envelopes discovered at nearby post offices, and a location in Manhattan.

The message in all the envelopes was similar, the source said.

The FBI in Newark said the Joint Terrorism Task Force and hazmat units responded. No injuries were reported.

The Super Bowl is Sunday.

A man carrying a sharp, pointed metal rod and knife was shot and killed by deputies Thursday after he failed to comply with requests that he put his weapons down and stop attacking cars at a busy intersection in Santa Clarita, authorities said.

The man was partially clothed, only wearing a T-shirt, underwear, and socks, officials said. He was between 25 and 35 years old.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, patrol deputies were flagged down by citizens who reported a man was in the area running in and out of traffic, holding a spear, and waving it at passing cars at 8:20 p.m.

"Witnesses at the scene said the individual was acting as if he was on some type of drug, " LA County Sheriff's Detective Steve Lankford said.

Deputies located the man near Shangri-La Drive and Soledad Canyon Road. According to officials, he was holding a metal rod and acting strangely. 

"Deputies saw that the individual went to a car that was parked at the intersection, tried to break the back window out with the metal object that he had, and at that point the deputies had to use deadly force," Lankford said.

According to officials, the suspect was unscathed by the shooting and continued his behavior.

He then moved toward the deputies with a knife in hand, according to sheriff's department, at which point the deputies opened fire again.

"There was rounds fired and a taser to try to stop the individual. The taser had no effect on the individual," Lankford said.

Witnesses tell NBC4 there were as few as five shots and as many as 15 shots fired.

One witness described her first-hand experience with the suspect to NBC4.

"He looked at me with such anger, rage and charged with the pointy end of the stick towards my window to break it," Priscilla Garcia said. "And as he did the sheriffs rushed him and he turned back to rush at them with the spear and they shot and killed him."

Detectives are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

There was an active police scene at the intersection until at least 5:30 a.m. Friday, nine hours after the incident occurred. The scene has since been cleared and the intersection has reopened.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the Washington Redskins nickname has been "presented in a way that honors Native Americans.''

Goodell said Friday at his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference that he's been talking to Native American leaders in the past year. But he claimed the vast majority of Americans in general and Native Americans in particular support the franchise keeping the nickname.

• READ: Most Fans' Support Would Not Diminish if Redskins Changed Name

Asked if the term was appropriate to refer to a Native American, Goodell said, "This is the name of a football team.''

In the past few months, the debate surrounding the Redskins name has gained momentum, as demands to change the team name have come from the Oneida Indian Nation, the D.C. Council and various media outlets including The San Francisco Chronicle and The Washington Post.

• WATCH: Talk Around Town: "Redskins"

Ray Halbritter, the leader of the Oneida Nation, has taken the lead in the campaign to change the Redskins' name. Halbritter appealed to the U.N. this month to gain their support in changing the name.

Redskins team owner Daniel Snyder has told USA Today that he "will never change the name of the team." Snyder reiterated his intention to keep the name when he met with Goodell in October.

MORE COVERAGE

• National Congress of American Indians Releases Anti-Redskins Advertisement
• Obama Open to Name Change for Redskins
• Oneida Nation Urges Snyder Sanctions Amid Redskins Controversy

Despite delays due to the 2013 government shutdown, the IRS has officially begun accepting tax returns for the 2014 tax season. Here are some tips on navigating tax season:

Why should I file a tax return?
Because it's the law. If you don’t file your taxes, you risk losing your tax refund. The average taxpayer refund was $2,755 last year, according to the IRS. And if you owe money, you can face serious penalties, and even jailtime, if you fail to pay.

What’s new for 2014?

• Tax Day is March 17 for corporations, and April 15 for individuals and partnerships.
• Taxpayers under age 65 can only claim deductions for medical and dental expenses that exceed 10 percent of their gross income, up from 7.5 percent.
• All legal same-sex marriages are recognized as “married” for federal tax purposes.
• If you work from home, you can use a simplified method of calculating your home office deduction: $5/square foot of home office space, up to 300 square feet. You could also qualify for a tax break.
• Click here for more information on other tax changes for this year.

What is the easiest way to file my taxes?
On the Internet: the IRS offers Free File. E-filing also allows the IRS to process your return more quickly than filing by paper. In 2013, more than 122 million taxpayers filed their individual tax returns using IRS e-file.

What are the benefits of filing my tax returns early?
The sooner you file a tax return, the sooner you get your tax refund. According to the IRS, you can expect your refund within 21 days. But if you wait too long to file, you may run into delays. You can check on the status of your refund using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool. If you e-file your taxes, you can check the status of your refund within 24 hours. If you file by paper, you’ll have to wait four weeks.

What if my taxes are late?
If you know your taxes won’t be finished by Tax Day, then you can request an automatic 4-month extension. However, an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. If you owe the government tax money, then you still have to pay it on time.

Where can I find help?
You can find a tax professional or tax software to help you file your taxes. The IRS also offers a 24-hour, 7-day toll-free number to help answer any questions you have: 1-800-829-1040. For more information, visit irs.gov.

Would you like your local playground to be named after you? Here’s your chance.

This week, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve a plan to sell naming rights for park facilities.

District 3 Supervisor Dave Roberts said the program could bring in as much as $6 million.

Roberts said the revenue will go toward new equipment and enhancements at San Diego County parks, not toward day-to-day maintenance.

“They (Parks and Recreation) were looking at some type of program not only to bring in new revenue to make our parks even greater, but give people that opportunity if they wanted to name something after a loved one or somebody who had passed away or a company,” he said.

Companies and individuals can purchase naming rights anywhere from one year to 20 years.

The names of parks themselves will not be for sale. Rather, people can name amenities within a park, such as playgrounds, trails and gazebos.

Also, there are restrictions on which companies can purchase naming rights.

“We wanted to be clear that our ordinance said you could not have a company that supported tobacco products, you could not support alcohol, you could not support gambling,” Roberts said.

“We want to promote a healthy, active lifestyle.”

Not everyone is on board with the new plan. District 5 Supervisor Bill Horn, who voted against it, released the following statement:

I have a fundamental disagreement with a policy that would name County amenities for outside bidders. It implies the bidder paid for that amenity. These parks are built with taxpayers dollars, and the Board has a process in place for naming them in the public’s interest.