San Diego police are searching for two suspects accused of stabbing two men at a park near Old Town San Diego State Historic Park following an argument over cigarettes.

According to police, the knife attack – now being investigated as an attempted homicide – happened on Mar. 10 outside the Presidio Park Recreation Center located at 2811 Jackson Street.

At around 2:45 p.m., two victims were sitting on a park bench when two unknown men approached them, demanding cigarettes. The victims said they didn’t have any cigarettes.

Soon after that, things turned violent.

Police said the first suspect then allegedly stabbed one of the victims four times.

Meanwhile, the second suspect stole the other victim’s wallet. That victim, a 69-year-old man, was then stabbed once in the abdomen.

Police said the suspects then fled on foot through the Presidio golf course toward Juan Street. They may have possibly ran through Old Town State Historic Park towards the Old Town Trolley station.

On Wednesday, officials said one of the stabbing victims was still hospitalized in critical condition from wounds sustained in the stabbing. That victim has undergone multiple surgeries since the alleged attack.

The names of the victims were not released.

Ten days after the incident, the stabbing suspects remain at large.

Police said the suspects are described as two Hispanic males between 18 and 25 years old. They’re both 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9 with thin builds, short hair and no facial hair.

One suspect was wearing tan pants, a tan shirt and a tan or brown hat during the stabbing. The other was wearing black pants and dark blue of black T-shirt. Neither suspect spoke with a discernible accent, according to investigators.

The attempted homicide case remains under investigation. Witnesses or anyone with information on this case should contact the San Diego Police Department Western Division Detectives at (619) 692-4800 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.
 

Aztecs fans are ready. Let's hope the team is.

Coach Steve Fisher and his San Diego State University men's basketball team are 7-point favorites to beat New Mexico State in the NCAA Tournament Thursday.

The Aztecs got in some practice Wednesday after meeting with the media.

The team goes into the game without a great shooting percentage. There's also the height of the Aggies. SDSU may not get many second chances.

For Coach Fisher, it's also an interesting matchup in that he faces one of his former assistant coaches.  Marvin Menzies was on his first coaching staff at SDSU.

The start of the NCAA Tourney is an exciting time according to Ben Eisenstein, Marketing Director at the SDSU Bookstore.

"Campus is just abuzz, you can really feel it," Eisenstein said adding that sales of Aztecs gear have increased.

Fan favorites are "Top of the Mountain" and "I Believe That We Will Win" T-shirts.

Desmond Castain stopped by the bookstore to buy some gear. He's hoping for the best. 

"I work tonight so I'm going to have to keep up through friends. After that I'll have to catch up on TV," he said.

It's a big game for sophomore Marisol Hogan.

"I'm so pumped for tonight, going to represent my home city," Hogan said. "I really think we can make it far." 

Tip off is slated for just before 7 p.m. There's a watch party at the school's new student union that's open to students or alums looking for a place to watch the game.

A man has been struck by a vehicle while trying to cross Interstate 5, prompting a Sig Alert Thursday afternoon. 

The incident was reported at 1:18 p.m. on the southbound lanes of the freeway near Park Blvd. in the East Village. 

The victim was transported to the hospital, and the California Highway Patrol blocked off 1-4 lanes as its officers investigate. The Sig Alert was canceled about an hour later.

The man's condition has not been released.

A man who claims he fell asleep at the wheel knocked down a power pole in City Heights Thursday morning.

Around 10:30 a.m., a truck ran over an electrical box on the corner of Orange Avenue and 38th Street. The power pole tipped over, dangling wires over houses.

The 46-year-old driver and a young boy were not hurt in the accident.

San Diego Police Sgt. Benjamin McCurry said the man was not under the influence.

“It appears as he may have fallen asleep,” McCurry said. “He then drifted over and ran into a telephone pole.”

The accident knocked out power to five houses. The transformer needs to be replaced, and SDG&E expects power to be restored by 7 p.m. Thursday.
 

Which is correct: Over 10 bananas, or more than 10 bananas? Either is OK now, as far as the Associated Press is concerned.

The AP incited fury among copy editors and style sticklers Thursday when it upended its decades-old style rule to let wordsmiths write either "more than" or "over" when assigning numerical values.

But as one journalist in Tacoma, Wash. put it, there could be an "uprising."

The AP Stylebook, the Bible for many journalists, had long warned writers not to use "over" when describing anything that had to do with numbers. (Did you eat 11 bananas? Then you ate more than 10 bananas — not over 10, at least before Thursday.)

"Over," under old AP rules, meant "higher than," such as jumping over a bench. And "more than" had meant "greater than."

AP Style tip: New to the Stylebook: over, as well as more than, is acceptable to indicate greater numerical value. #ACES2014

— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) March 20, 2014

But apparently seeing that people weren't obeying the old rule anyway, the AP announced the shocking switch and said either term was acceptable — much to the chagrin of many journalists who wanted to cling to tradition. Andrew Beaujon from the respected Poynter Institute predicted copy editors would be rocked to their cores.

The jokes and the indignation abounded.

As if more than a million copy editors cried out in torment, and were silenced at once. Or over a million ... http://t.co/zkv6m4cKYN

— Steve Yelvington (@yelvington) March 20, 2014 

AP Style Book update: Over = more than. Copy editors everywhere weeping and gnashing. http://t.co/gLg6ZY1D0H

— Kelly McBride (@kellymcb) March 20, 2014

AP changed its "over/more than" rule. In similar news, my whole journalism editing career is a lie.

— Tony Dobies (@DOBIEST) March 20, 2014

I love watching journalists rage about the @APStylebook change to "over"/"more than." There's going to be an uprising. #ACES2014

— Kate DeWeese (@kateymac) March 20, 2014

Not everyone was stuck in their old ways, though.

Thank you, @APStylebook. By letting go of "more than," you have made headline writing easier for all #copyeditors. #ACES2014 #teamover

— Kristina Vragovic (@kvrag) March 20, 2014

Merriam-Webster lexicographer Peter Sokolowski, who attended the AP session where the decision was made, said via Twitter that there was "overwhelming evidence" that writers were using the two interchangeably, anyway.

"It’s futile to fight the tide," he tweeted, noting that there were audible gasps at the news.
 
He also knew the decision would not be taken lightly. "More than my dead body," he said one copy editor told him.

The old aversion to "over" appears to go back more than a century. According to the "Grammar Girl" website, poet and one-time New York Evening Post editor William Cullen Bryant decided in 1877 that he disapproved of using "over" instead of "more than" before a number.

There's no denying that Warren Buffetts’s offer of $1 billion for a perfect NCAA men’s basketball bracket is a genius marketing stunt for Quicken Loans, even though the odds of someone winning it are 9.2 quintillion-to-1.

The White House used March-Madness hype to tout Obamacare in its own GIF-friendly Affordable Care Act bracket called “The 16 Sweetest Reasons to Get Covered."

Others have also piggy-backed on the pop culture frenzy surrounding the tournament. Here are some of the most ridiculous March Madness-style brackets:

Bodega Cat Bracket

WNYC is holding a tournament of champions for felines whose job is to catch mice in New York City delis. The radio station is asking people to submit pictures via Instagram and Twitter (#bodegacatbracket) of their favorite neighborhood bodega cat along with details about why that cat is best. The station will choose the “Sweet 16” and open up to the public the vote for top cat.

Lent Madness Bracket

A bracket created by Father Tim Schenck of St. John the Evangelist Church in Hingham, Mass., pits 32 saints against each other. The idea is to introduce the holy men and women to Episcopalians in a fun way during the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter, according to Schenck.

"Well, it's the saintly smackdown,” Schenck told NECN. “We put 32 saints in a bracket and we have them go at it.”

The draw will get whittled down to a Saintly 16, a Faithful Four, then one Golden Halo winner.

The Saddest NCAA Pool in America

The bracket is an office pool contest for “all of America’s unemployed” from RiseSmart, a California- based company providing career management solutions. The Associated Press called the bracket the "saddest NCAA pool in America."

"The contest gives unemployed people a well-earned break from their job searches and a chance to win popular prizes," RiseSmart said in a release plugging the marketing stunt. "It also gives participants an opportunity to interact with one another and feel re-engaged in the workforce."

Prizes include: iPad Air, Kindle Fire and Apple TV.

Jezebel's Drugs vs. Alcohol

The popular gossip site's bracket pits 32 legal and illegal drugs against 32 types of alcoholic drinks (hard alcohol and "soft stuff" included). In the illegal drugs department, weed received most of the votes, and caffeine was the legal drug favorite.

On the beverage side of the bracket, margaritas were the hard alcohol favorite. Champagne took most of the votes in the "soft stuff" category.

Last year, Jezebel's bracket was the '80s vs. the '90s.

Public Radio Bracket Nastiness

Southern California radio station KPCC's bracket is decidedly less outrageous and more nerdy than the previous brackets, as it's asking listeners to vote for their favorite public radio shows, including NPR's "Wait...Wait Don't Tell Me,"  "Live Wire!", "99% Invisible" and "The Afternoon Shift."

The first round of voting, with 32 of the best shows in public radio, closed Wednesday afternoon. The championship voting begins April 5 before coming to a close on Sunday, April 8. The results of the championship bout will be announced April 9.

Judging by comments on Twitter, the friendly competition has led to an all-out Twitter war.

"It. Is. On." tweeted NPR's "Fresh Air."

"I think our new strategy is to lull @NPRFreshAir to sleep, then stab them where they lay. We may not be able to win a fair fight," said Jesse Thorn of "Bullseye," which is distributed nationally by NPR.

"Snap shall feast on the bones of our vanquished!," tweeted "Snap Judgement."
 

San Ysidro School District Interim Superintendent Gloria Madera abruptly stepped down Wednesday saying the district recently received a "negative certificate," meaning it cannot meet its financial obligations. 

"In hindsight I really have no regrets. I think it was a learning opportunity We really hope negotiations would go better but I gave it my best and that's all you can do," Madera told NBC 7.

According to her contract, she had two options: remain interim superintendent or go back to her other job as Asst. Superintendent of Educational Services, which she chose.

Her resignation will be effective on April 1.

Board member Jean Romero also resigned recently and the board approved a draft timeline of the process to fill that spot.

On May 13, if no action is taken to replace Romero, the county will call an election to fill the seat.

The announcement was made in front of at least a hundred angry teachers and parents who say they have lost all confidence in the school board.

The district's reputation has been tainted by serious budget problems and the indictment of former superintendent Manuel Paul on allegations in connection with a bribery and corruption scandal.

The San Ysidro Education Association President Carole Wallace said she does not trust the board to help find qualified candidates.

"A child doesn't bring his homework in. If he says 'Tomorrow' of course you don't believe it. You have to show me to believe it," Wallace said.

As for who will replace Madera, she suspects there will be another interim Superintendent.

The school board says it'll seek the county's help.

Four search planes and one transport plane from three countries flew to the site where officials recorded images of possible debris in the search for missing jet Malaysian Airlines MH 370.

The search area so far from land, search coordinators have taken the approach of staggering the arrival of the planes.

Among them, planes made by Lockheed Martin which has a large presence here in San Diego and another from the U.S. Navy.

The Navy's P-8 Poseidon airplane is adapted from a Boeing 737 commercial jet and is designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare as well as reconnaissance.

Two Australian P-3 Orions and a New Zealand Orion made eight-hour round trips, allowing them only two hours to search before they had to return. They will resume searching on Friday.

The Orion is made by Lockheed Martin and was once used as a submarine finder but these days is more often used for maritime patrol.

They were used to help in Hurricane Katrina and the BP Horizon oil rig disaster.

Their sensors can detect objects at or below the water's surface.

Australia's Air Force has also sent a C-130 Hercules, a military transport plane built by Lockheed. The purpose of the Hercules is to drop marker buoys in the area.

• Read: Two San Diego-Based Ships Search for Missing Plane

John Young, the manager of the Australia Maritime Safety Authority's emergency response division, said visibility was poor, which would hamper efforts.

AMSA said clouds and rains obscured the view for at least one of its flights Thursday.

San Diego-based destroyer USS Kidd was helping in the search from its location in the Indian Ocean earlier this week.

Not only was the crew on round-the-clock coverage but the ship's engineers reportedly rigged additional lighting to aid in the search.

According to senior watch officer Lt. Cmdr. Melissa J. Szurovy, “Additional lookout watches are being stood by nontraditional watch standers and sailors of their own volition are helping topside in our search for any sign of the aircraft. It is a true testament to the crew’s fortitude to find this airliner."

Guided missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer was scheduled to depart Naval Base San Diego Thursday on an independent deployment to the Western Pacific Ocean.

It will take the ship three weeks to get even close to the search area and there are no immediate plans for the crew to help in any kind of recovery effort.

What apocalypse?

The planet Earth dodged a bullet almost two years ago, scientists have found — a massive, magnetic bullet, that is, in the form of a barrage of solar blasts that could have cooked our technological infrastructure.

On July 23, 2012, a rapid-fire series of those blasts sent an enormous pulse of magnetized plasma through space, and through Earth's orbit, in what turns out to have been a very close call for the planet, according to a study out this week.

If the eruption had come nine days earlier, when the ignition spot on the sun was aimed at Earth, it would have hit our planet, researchers from University of California at Berkeley and their Chinese colleagues found.

If it had, it could have taken out much of our technological infrastructure as we know it, including our electrical grid, our satellites and GPS and more, they found.

Their findings, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, were based on a study of NASA's own data on the magnetic storm collected from its STEREO A spacecraft.

• WATCH video of the storm from STEREO A in the video player above, or here.

Earth is awfully lucky the storm didn't hit nine days earlier, but such catastrophes aren't unprecedented.

The so-called Carrington Event of 1859 knocked out the telegraph system across the United States and made the Northern Lights visible even in tropical latitudes. That magnetic storm was about as strong as the one that could have hit in 2012 — but the 2012 one would have been much worse.

"Had it hit Earth, it probably would have been like the big one in 1859, but the effect today, with our modern technologies, would have been tremendous," said Berkeley research physicist Janet Luhmann.

A study last year found that if a storm like the Carrington Event hit today, it could cause $2.6 trillion worth of damage globally.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Thursday released a report on transnational organized crime organizations and what she called a "serious threat" to a state with the wealth, innovation and location that such groups target.

Harris discussed the report, Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime, at a mid-day news conference. Crimes addressed in the report include drug, weapons and human trafficking, money laundering and tech crimes -- the "three emerging pillars" of transnational criminal groups.

"California is uniquely impacted," Harris said. "We're an attractive target because of our location, our size and because we play a central role in the digital economy."

"We can look at this issue of technology. It's created right here in our back yard. There are people who focus on California and California consumers."

The report comes a week before Harris joins other state attorneys general for meetings with officials in Mexico about what she describes as a "serious threat to California." The officials plan to discuss how they can work together to coordinate prosecutions of transnational crimes and share information.

During Thursday's news conference, Harris said the report points out that transnational crime organizations traffic more guns and drugs in and out of California than any other state. Mexico-based organizations traffic 70 percent of methamphetamine that enters the United States through San Diego, according to the report.

"Sometimes, they'll bring to raw materials to California and set up shop here, then produce it here and sell it all over the country," Harris said, adding that the raw materials are less expensive to obtain in Mexico.

California also remains a top destination for human trafficking, Harris said. In many cases, the criminal organizations are using the same routes for human trafficking as they do for drugs and guns, according to the report.

• Images: Famous Mug Shots

The report offered several recommendations, including a unified task force to combat smuggling operations off California's coast and funding for five additional special operations units in California.

A man has died after shooting himself in the lobby of a Gloucester County hospital emergency room.

The unidentified 26-year-old man walked into the lobby of Inspira Medical Center Woodbury at 509 N. Broad Street in Woodbury, N.J. around 11:40 a.m. on Thursday, pulled out a handgun and fired on himself, a spokesperson for the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said.

Sources tell NBC10 Philadelphia the man planned to commit suicide in front of his girlfriend, who works at the medical center, which was formerly known as Underwood Memorial Hospital.

The man was given treatment and was eventually flown by medical helicopter to the trauma unit at Cooper Medical Center in Camden, N.J. He died at 5:15 p.m., officials said.

A detective with the district attorney's office tells NBC10 Philadelphia there were 10 people in the ER at the time of the shooting and that the suspect did not make a threat towards any person.

Police were able to recover the gun and no evacuations were necessary, contrary to initial reports.

In a statement, hospital officials commended its staff for their reaction to the shooting, saying they regularly conduct drills for such incidents.

A new study suggests parents may want to rethink those little white lies they tell their children.

A UC San Diego experiment finds that children who have been lied to are more likely to lie and cheat themselves.

The study involved 186 children ages 3 to 6, about half of whom were lied to by an experimenter. The adult told them there was a huge bowl of candy in the next room, but then quickly confessed that was a lie to get the children to play the game.

The other half were just asked to play with no mention of candy.

In the game, kids were asked to identify character toys Cookie Monster, Elmo and Winnie the Pooh by their sounds, without seeing them.

So when children heard an “I love cookies” audio clip, they were expected to identify the Cookie Monster. A “tickle me” audio clip played for Elmo, and a “There is a rumbly in my tummy” clip played for Winnie the Pooh.

However, the experimenters then played a deliberately tricky track: Beethoven’s “Fur Elise,” which is not associated with any character toy.

The experimenter would leave the room to supposedly take a phone call when the classical music played, telling the children not to peek at the “toy” making the music.

After 90 seconds, the experimenter would return and explicitly ask the kids to tell the truth if they peeked.

Of the 5 to 7-year-old children who had been lied to at the beginning, 80 percent peeked at the toy, and nearly 90 percent of the peekers later lied about it.

About 60 percent of the children who were not lied to looked at the toy, and about 60 percent of those peekers lied later.

For children under 5 years old, the study found an adult’s lie did not make a difference.

Study leaders Leslie Carver and Chelsea Hays said the reason remains an open research question, but they believe the 5 to 7-year-olds may have been simply imitating the behavior of the adult.

Another hypothesis is that they could be making judgments about the importance of honesty to the individual adult.

In their paper, Carver and Hays note that earlier research shows the majority of parents admit to lying to their children, even as they encourage honesty as an important value.

“The actions of parents suggest that they do not believe that the lies they tell their children will impact the child’s own honesty,” their paper said. “The current study casts doubt on that belief.”

Carver said teachers and others who interact with children may need to re-examine what they say to kids.
 

A fourth man has been sentenced for his role in the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, Jr.

On Thursday, Emilio Samyn Gonzales-Arenazas, 25, was sentenced to 40 years in prison, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.

Agent Rosas was killed on July 23, 2009 in Campo near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Gonzales and four other Mexican nationals plotted to steal night vision goggles from a Border Patrol agent. Rosas was shot eight times in the head, neck and torso, according to the autopsy.

In 2011, Gonzales pleaded guilty to murder of a federal officer committed in perpetration of a robbery and unlawful confinement.

Marcos Rodriguez-Perez, Jose Luis Ramirez-Dorantes and Christian Daniel Castro-Alvarez, who was only 17 at the time of the murder, are currently serving sentences for the crime.

Another man, Jose Juan Chacon-Morales, remains at large. There is a $100,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest.

Rosas, 30, had served with the Border Patrol for three years when he was killed. He was survived by his wife and two children.
 

A large gas leak has forced the evacuation of at least one building in a Mira Mesa shopping center Thursday night. 

A security guard initially reported a hissing sound around 7:40 p.m. at the Mira Mesa Strip Mall in the 10000 block of West View Parkway, right off Interstate 15.

Fire officials said when firefighters arrived, they found a major gas leak. 

One restaurant, O's American Kitchen, has been evacuated. 

An alleyway behind the Ross store was closed while SDG&E worked to fix the lead. No injuries were reported as of 8:30 p.m.

Over the next few months, Fashion Valley Mall will get even more fashionable as several new stores open inside the shopping center.

According to mall representatives, the new retailers include lululemon athletica, a standalone PINK store by Victoria’s Secret, Free People and AllSaints.

The AllSaints location, a British fashion house that’s a newcomer to San Diego, will be the first to set up shop at the mall. It’s the first-ever standalone AllSaints store to come to San Diego, joining 107 AllSaints stores that already operate across eight different countries.

In Fashion Valley Mall, this store will open Mar. 28 in a 5,200-square-foot space on the mall’s lower level, next to Michael Kors and near Macy’s. Besides carrying its edgy, cool apparel for men and women, this store will also carry some tech and digital products.

In July, those who love to lounge in comfy loungewear will rejoice when Victoria’s Secret opens the PINK store. This 5,500-square-foot shop will be located near the children’s play area.

Once that opens, the existing Victoria’s Secret store will expand its retail space, providing an even bigger selection of lingerie, undergarments, sleepwear and other products.

Also this summer, lululemon athletica will open a location on the second level of Fashion Valley Mall, between J. Crew and Sur La Table. There, San Diegans can buy yoga and fitness apparel for both men and women. Mall representatives say the retailer also plans to host various healthy community events, including weekly complimentary yoga classes and fitness goal-setting workshops.

Later in 2014, a Free People store will join the shopping lineup at the mall, boasting its trendy, free-spirited designs. This store will be located on the second level near Neiman Marcus and will specialize in printed tees, thermal tops, unique jackets, shoes and more.

Finally, the mall’s existing women’s activewear label, Lorna Jane, will relocate later this year to a permanent spot on level one between Macy’s and Neiman Marcus.

Currently, Fashion Valley Mall -- located at 7007 Friars Rd. -- houses more than 200 stores and restaurants in its outdoor setting.

This includes big retailers like Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, JCPenney and Neiman Marcus. With more than 1.7 million square feet of retail space, it’s the largest shopping mall in San Diego and one of the largest in California. Global brands sold at the mall include Burberry, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Prada and Louis Vuitton, among many others.

There are also various restaurants and dining options at the mall, as well as a movie theater. Fashion Valley Mall is currently open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

For a full list of stores, events and deals, visit the Fashion Valley website.
 

A City of San Diego employee is under fire for allegedly stealing $240,000 in vehicle batteries and other automotive supplies, according to a report issued by the city auditor.

Jason G. Williams, 44, was charged with six felony counts for grand theft and one felony count for receiving a bribe related to his responsibility in the public utilities department, a court complaint shows.

The auditor’s investigation began after a tip came through the city’s fraud hotline. Investigators found an employee had ordered 1,844 car batteries and other auto parts that the city never received.

The parts and batteries were not even the kind used in city vehicles, according to City Auditor Eduardo Luna.

It’s still unclear what exactly happened to the batteries, paid for by San Diego taxpayers.

“I have no information on what happened,” said Luna. “Once we conclude our investigation, we refer it to the city’s police department for their investigation.”

An audit released this week also says that Williams also demanded and received cash goods from a vendor doing business with the city.

The complaint alleges that the criminal activity happened between 2008 and 2012.

“What you want is employees when they see wrong-doing, they are able to report it to the city’s fraud line,” said Luna.

Approved city purchases come through the purchasing department’s central stores.

However, the city’s audit states further controls are needed because there is no normal procedure to make sure items coming in match up with the bills being paid. There also needs to be steps to make sure a single employee can’t place an order, receive it and pay the vendor.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer said those further controls will be put into place.

“And if someone is doing the wrong thing, that it’s discovered, and discovered immediately,” said Faulconer. “I have zero tolerance for people doing the wrong thing when it comes to our city’s tax dollars.”

Williams, who no longer works for the city, faces five years and eight months in prison if he is convicted on all counts.

A teenager on his way to school was killed in a head-on collision Thursday morning near El Cajon, officials confirmed.

The California Highway Patrol has identified the victim as Julian Fraire, 16, a junior at Steele Canyon High School.

The accident happened at 7:20 a.m. in the 2900 block of Steele Canyon Road just north of Campo Road, about two miles away from the school.

The teenager was heading south on Steele Canyon when his Chrysler minivan collided head-on with a Ford F-450 truck, according to officials.

Officials said for some reason, the teen got distracted and crossed the double yellow lines into the path of the truck.

A medical helicopter landed on the road to transport the victim, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the truck, described by investigators as a 36-year-old man from Jamul, was transported to Sharp Hospital with minor injuries.

Cal Fire, CHP and San Diego County sheriff’s deputies responded to the crash.

Officers say they are examining Julian's phone records to see if texting and driving could have caused the crash. They say the teenage driver just got his license last September.

“It hits all of us hard, regardless of who’s at fault or what happened," said CHP Officer Kevin Pearlstein. "Unfortunately, it’s a tragedy. A 16-year-old has been taken from his family, and it’s a tragedy the school is going to have to deal with as well.”

Officials said both vehicles were going the speed limit and it does not appear alcohol or drugs were factors.

Steele Canyon Road between Willow Glen Drive and Campo Road was closed for four hours after the deadly crash. The wreckage was towed away just after 11 a.m.

Students say school officials made an announcement about Julian's death Thursday morning.

Steele Canyon High School Principal Eileen Poole shared her condolences in a statement:

Our hearts go out to his family and friends. The counseling staff at Steele Canyon is working with students and staff to help them deal with this tragedy.

Poole said extra counselors have been brought from nearby schools to help students work through their grief. 

Check back for updates on this developing story.

Music legend Stevie Wonder was in San Diego Thursday, not for a performance, but checking out new gadgets showcased at the International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference.

The Grammy Award-winning hitmaker attended the event at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown San Diego.

There, he spoke with NBC 7 about the importance of assisted technology for those with disabilities and impairments, including visual impairment, such as Wonder himself.

“It’s always good seeing new technology that makes the world more accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired,” Wonder told NBC 7.

“Imagine yourself not being able to see, and then all of a sudden, you’re able to get information that you would have never had available to you. That’s how important [new assisted technology] is,” he added.

Wonder made his way through the conference, visiting with friends and checking out gadgets. He wasn’t a keynote speaker or performing, just simply enjoying the event as an attendee.

In its 29th year, the conference filled an exhibit hall, highlighting products from more than 150 companies catering to those with hearing, reading and writing disabilities.

For instance, one product on display was a braille note-taking tool with a voice output system. Other examples of new technology included screen-reader devices that read out loud what is being typed.

The devices may look simple to some, but they can make a world of a difference for those who need it most.

Dinah Cohen has spent the last 23 years as the director of the Department of Defense’s computer electronic program, which provides these types of technology to wounded warriors. She also attended Thursday’s conference and said events like these are important in supporting soldiers returning home from deployment.

“I know when the first wave of wounded warriors were coming back, many had lost their vision, lost their hearing. And they had no idea where to start. And to know the technology is out there is step one of the recovery and process,” said Cohen.

Kathy Martinez is the Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy. Martinez says assisted technology helps her and others with their everyday tasks.

“Technology is the great equalizer. A lot of us cannot do what we do. I get upwards of 300 emails a day. Tthere’s no way I can ask someone to read them to me. So to have an iPhone or tablet that talks where I can actually hear what’s on the screen is critical for me to do my job,” she said.

Martinez says assisted technology also helps people with disabilities stay employed.

“That means we're paying taxes. That means were not on benefits and contributing to society," she said. "So accessible technology has a huge impact on society as a whole, not only on the person that has disability.”

The International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference is in town through Saturday.

 A man wanted in a Sacramento stabbing death was arrested Wednesday in San Diego.

The San Diego Fugitive Task Force took Dinette Eugene Edwards, 38, into custody in Lemon Grove.

Edwards is wanted connection with the stabbing death of a long-time associate 42-year-old Charles Lee Jordan in Sacramento on March 7.

The suspect was booked into the San Diego County Jail, where he is awaiting extradition to Sacramento County. There, he will face murder charges.

A motive for the killing has not been determined.