Temperatures 9 to 12 degrees above normal in California reduced an already low snowpack as drought conditions remained unchanged amid the state's dry spell, according to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor.

The report (scroll down to view map) tracks drought conditions across the country. Drought Monitor

researchers use five categories to indicate drought intensity -- Abnormally Dry (D0), Moderate (D1), Severe (D2), Extreme (D3) and Exceptional (D4).

More than 95 percent of California remains in the D2 to D4 categories. Three months ago, nearly 90 percent of the state fell into those categories as communities struggle through a third-consecutive dry year.

Above-normal temperatures in the Sierra Nevada range were "detrimental" to the region's snowpack, according to the report. The snow melts as spring runoff, providing water for communities and farmers who depend on it during California's hot, dry summers.

"California lost half of the snow water equivalence (SWE) in a single week and there was little response to inflows into reservoirs," according to the Drought Monitor report.

The Sierra snowpack measured at 32 percent of normal earlier this month -- a time of year when it is supposed to be at its peak. The California Department of Water Resources measures the snowpack monthly during the wet season.

No significant rainfall is in the forecast with summer's hot, dry months ahead. A storm system might bring small amounts of rain to central and northern California next week.

San Jose police are investigating the death of a 9-month-old baby after they said the father forgot to drop him off at the babysitter's before he went to work.

"People always want to vilify these parents," Janette Fennell, president of Kids And Cars, told NBC Bay Area by phone from Philadelphia when she heard the news. "But 90 percent of the time, they are not bad people or drug addicts. They are parents who love their children."

She added that this baby death is the first of its kind this year in the country. On average, 38 children die from heat stroke every year after being left in a car nationwide, her organization said. Last year, however, the heat stroke car death toll hit 44.

Sgt. Heather Randol said police received a report on Wednesday about 7:15 p.m. about an "unresponsive" baby in a car in the 3700 block of Payne Avenue. Police arrived, and the baby was declared dead a short time later. Randol said the father was supposed to drop off the baby at the babysitter's house before he went to work but forgot.

Instead, Randol said he parked his car on the street with the baby strapped in his car seat and went to work. At the end of his work day, he returned to his car to discover his baby was unconscious.

Yousif Njimeh told NBC Bay Area that the father worked for his brother at his vending machine company, Star Vending. The father's usual routine was to park his silver Honda SUV on Payne Avenue and then take off in the company vending machine truck. The father, who had two other children, worked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Njimeh said.

Njimeh was actually repairing his car Wednesday near the father's parked Honda. He said he had no idea that a baby was inside; he didn't hear or see anything. The Honda's windows were tinted.

When he saw the father return to the car after work, Njimeh said he was "sobbing uncontrollably."

The father has not been arrested. The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office did not identify the baby.

Wednesday's temperatures in San Jose reached 81, and Fennell noted that a baby younger than a year old would not be able to tolerate that heat for very long.

In addition, since the baby was so young, he would have been in a rear-facing car seat, which makes it much more difficult for a driver to actually see if a child is inside or not.

More than 33 percent of the heat stroke car deaths involve children younger than one, Fennell said, often because they are harder to see.

Without knowing specifics of the case, Fennell added that the number one reason for parents who inadvertently forget their children in cars is a change in their daily routines.

Fennell also offered two quick tips to remember that your child is in the car: Leave something like your wallet or work badge next to your baby, so that when you head to work or home, you can't get inside without them. And tell the babysitter or daycare center to call you if you are late bringing in your child.

More tips can be found at KidsAndCars.org.

The Clintons are going to be grandparents -- Chelsea Clinton is expecting her first child later this year.

Chelsea Clinton, who married Marc Mezvinsky in 2010, made the announcement Thursday during an event in New York with her mother. 

"Marc and I are very excited that we have our first child arriving later this year," she said. "I just hope that I will be as good a mom to my child, and hopefully children, as my mom was to me."

Chelsea Clinton, 34, delivered the news as she and her mother hosted "Girls: A No Ceilings Conversation," which is part of their project that works to advance progress for women and girls around the world.

The former New York senator and secretary of state, who is considering another presidential run in 2016, said she is thrilled.

"It makes this work even more important because we've made a lot of progress," said the former first lady.

"Obviously we are very excited about what's happening in our family," she said. "But we're also very excited because of what we are doing that we hope gives confidence and support to so many of you across our country as you make decisions about the lives you want to lead."

Later Thursday, the Twitter account for Bill Clinton posted a tweet that said "Excited to add a new line to my Twitter bio ... grandfather to be! @hillaryclinton and I are so happy for Chelsea and Marc!"

San Diego’s Maritime Museum unveiled the results of a two-year labor of love that took hundreds of volunteer hours to complete.

The Vietnam War-era swift boat PCF 816 is ready for museum guests to ride, officials said Thursday.

Vice Admiral Edward H. Martin, U.S. Navy (Ret.) was on hand for the ceremony marking the vessel’s first public appearance in San Diego.

Veterans from all over the U.S. took part in the restoration that lasted two years.

The swift boat was stripped to bare metal, primed and repainted to its original Navy colors.

All systems have been upgraded to present day standards.

The museum is excited to offer the vessel to guests as a way to explain the unique role the swift boat and its crews played in the Vietnam War.
 

A group of people are accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of unclaimed property from Californians, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.

The California Unclaimed Property website lists property, such as insurance payouts and bank accounts, which has not been claimed by their owners. Many of the owners were deceased or didn’t know money was owed to them.

According to the indictment, the suspects assumed the real owners’ identities, using forged signatures and fake notary stamps to claim the money for themselves.

They’re accused filing fraudulent claims with insurance companies and financial institutions to steal $1.5 million.

Eight people have been charged in the scheme: Stan Gurrola, Ignacio Garcia Nunez, Moises Y. Covarrubias, Moises Covarrubias Angulo, Manuel Reyes Ornelas and Cesar Alfonso Benitez of Calexico; Claudia Griselda Stolp of Newbury Park; and Alma Gurrola of Agoura Hills.

Garcia Nunez, Alma Gurrola and Alfonso Benitez are in federal custody. The other five remain at large.

The defendants face between five and 30 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
 

The 911 calls released Thursday reveal audible cries of fear in the moments after the fiery Northern California bus crash that claimed 10 lives while en route to Humboldt State University last Thursday.

• Listen to the 911 Calls Here

The distressed caller tried to explain what happened over screams in the background.

"We crashed into a bus...a truck. I don't know where we are," the caller said. "We were coming from LA and we're going all the way to Humboldt State University."

Ths bus erupted into flames when a FedEx big rig crossed a 60-foot median and slammed head-on into the bus.

"The bus is on fire," the caller said as others could be heard screaming and crying. "We are getting away from the bus actually."

• Full Coverage: Deadly California Bus Crash

California Highway Patrol Capt. Todd Morrison said that investigators will conduct vehicle tests using a 2014 tour bus and a 2007 FedEx tractor-trailer truck to learn more about characteristics such as braking and visibility.

“We are hoping to learn how it happened so that we can identify what to do to prevent it from happening again,” Morrison said.

Investigators were also still interviewing passengers, witnesses and urging anyone with video of the crash to send it to authorities. They also attempted to recreate the crash scene with similar vehicles to try to gain insight.

"We owe it to the families of the involved families and the victims of this tragic collision that we tell the story of what happened, and that we tell it as accurately as possible," Leal said.

All 10 victims in the crash had been identified, some by authorities and others by family, including a recently engaged couple, a college admissions counselor and the the drivers of the truck and bus.

Fellow students returned to the scene of the crash Thursday to pay tribute to those killed one week ago.

Glenn County Sheriff-Coroner Larry Jones said most of the victims had been positively identified by his office, but their causes of death were being withhel pending toxicology testing.

"That can be several weeks out before we receieve all of that data from the labatory," Jones said.

• Bus Crash Victims Identified

Michael Myvette, 25-year-old Mattison Haywood, 26-year-old counselor Arthur Arzola, students Adrian Castro, 18, Marisa Serrato, 17, Denise Gomez, Ismael Jimenez , Jennifer Bonilla, bus driver Talalelei Taiao and FedEx driver Tim Evans were among those killed in the wreck.

The news conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. near the collision site.
 

These two kittens are just a few weeks old, but they’ve already taken the trip of a lifetime.

A worker at Cox Communications in San Diego County discovered the kittens inside a box of equipment. They had been accidentally packed up and shipped from Cox Communications in Hollywood.

Somehow, they survived the journey to San Diego.

The kittens, named Mouse and WiFi, are now being cared for at the San Diego Humane Society’s 24-Hour Kitten Nursery. Humane Society workers believe the mother cat was looking for a safe, warm place for her babies and put them in the box.

San Diego Humane Society public relations manager Kelli Schry said it’s a miracle the kitties survived.

“They were just a few days old, and at that young age kittens have to be fed every two hours,” she said via email.

Mouse and WiFi will be available for adoption when they are 8 weeks old. 

A truck carrying large pipes lost its load Thursday afternoon near Ramona, causing traffic problems.

The accident happened around 3:30 p.m. on Highway 78/San Pasqual Valley Road near Guejito Truck Trail.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the pipes were still blocking the roadway. The California Highway Patrol has issued a Sig Alert and is detouring traffic.

No one was injured.

Have you noticed gas prices going up in your area?

A double-digit spike in Southern California gas prices has brought them to their highest point reached since 2013, according to a statement released by the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Weekend Gas Watch.

The state average for a regular gallon of gas Thursday was $4.196 -- more than 12.7 cents higher than last week, according to the statement.

• READ: Gas Prices Jump at the Pump

“Local gas prices are now 70 cents a gallon higher than at the end of January,” Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring said in the statement.  “But there are signs of relief – wholesale prices dropped back down by 20 cents as of Wednesday, and local pump prices seem to be staying steady in the last couple of days.”

As of Thursday, a regular gallon of gas could cost drivers $4.59 in West Los Angeles at the 76 gas station on Santa Monica and Sawtelle boulevards, according to GasBuddy.com. With the lowest price in the Los Angeles area at $4.25 at the USA Gasoline station, also in West Los Angeles, at Santa Monica Boulevard and Malcom Avenue.

Premium gasoline users could expect to pay as much as $4.89 a gallon at the 76 gas station in West Los Angeles on Santa Monica and Beverly Glen boulevards, according to GasBuddy.com. With the cheapest premium gallon being reported at the USA Gasoline station in West Los Angeles at $4.45.

• Read: California to See Surge in Oil Brought in by Rail

GasBuddy.com monitors gas prices through user submissions. Although West Los Angeles area gas stations were mentioned in both the highest and lowest prices for a regular or premium gallon of gas, the site covers stations from across the Southland in real-time.

The Auto Club’s Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline nationwide. As of 9 a.m. on Thursday, it reported the weekly averages across the Southern California as:

 The California Highway Patrol was dealing with two separate crashes not far from each other in Fallbrook, one which left a person dead. 

The CHP has issued a Sig Alert for the area of S. Mission Road and Via Monserate after at least five vehicles collided in two separate incidents. 

Paramedics were requested for other injured people, and CHP confirmed that one person died in the crashes. 

The roads are expected to be closed for about 90 minutes. 

A modern-day "Field of Dreams" is being planned for youth and adult baseball teams in Point Loma -- with help from a big-name retired major leaguer.

But city officials are looking to block the plate.

The showdown, headed for the City Council next Tuesday, is over a campaign to renovate the baseball field at Dana Middle School that serves as home venue for the Point Loma High School baseball team.

The San Diego Unified School District owns the land and will bankroll the project.

But there’s a hang-up involving the underlying property, David Wells Field, named after the retired major league pitching star who’s a graduate of Point Loma High, an assistant baseball coach there and a heavy hitter when it comes to upgrading the program.

The city of San Diego has a joint-use agreement with San Diego Unified for 7.3 acres on the Dana campus, encompassing two baseball fields and paved playground areas.

The district wants to work with Wells – affectionately nicknamed “Boomer” -- to upgrade his namesake field with money from Prop. Z school bonds, and change the joint use agreement so as to control and oversee the 3.5 acres comprising Wells Field.

But to the city, it's a loss of vital acreage from an inventory that officials say already has a 78-acre “deficiency” of “population-based” parkland in the Peninsula Community.

The Park & Recreation and Development Services departments are advising against the arrangement.

“With the current land values in Peninsula and limited available funding for the acquisition and development of new park space,” they said in a staff report to the Council, “The removal of 3.5 acres of joint-use will be difficult to make up elsewhere in the community.”

Activists involved in the proposal are pushing back with arguments challenging city staff’s zero-tolerance stance on the joint-use amendment.

“We’re surrounded by the beaches and Robb Field and regional parks and resource-based parks which are a benefit to our community,” says Point Loma resident Byron Wear, a former City Council member and longtime PLHS booster. “So these park standards really don’t make sense in their application. It's more of a technical, bureaucratic kind of a situation.

“Bottom line is, what's in it for the community? The community's going to get a $2 million baseball complex which is open to everybody … and if you want to lease it or use it, you go through the city schools for your permit versus Park & Recreation."

PLHS baseball coach Joe Radovich says Wells Field is long overdue for a major makeover, starting with artificial turf and state of the art-irrigation.

"The field right now takes a tremendous amount of time, effort and money to maintain the field as it is,” Radovich said Thursday in an interview with NBC 7. "When we talk about turning it into a turf field -- now it's all taken care of.”

Radovich noted that seating will be expanded, the outfield fences will be moved in, surrounding windscreens will be installed, and other upgrades will include overhauls to batting cages and pitching mounds.

“It's a win-win for everybody,” said Radovich. “It's a win-win for the high school kids. It's a win-win for the adults that play on the field on the weekends … so it's going to be a quality program for this community."

Editor’s Note: In an email sent after NBC 7’s broadcast version of this story aired, we received this email from Andy Field, Interim Park and Recreation Director:

“As stewards of the community we adhere to plan standards, however, the school district plan for the Dana Middle School ball field has been vetted by the Park and Recreation Board and will provide improvements to the facility. That’s why we are deferring to the community on the proposal before the Council on Tuesday.”

 A hazy piece of ballpark rules is getting some clarity. Petco Park officials confirmed Thursday that smoking electronic cigarettes is not allowed inside the park.

The e-cigarettes fall under the no-smoking policy inside the Padres’ walls, according to Shana Wilson, even though they don’t contain tobacco. Instead, users inhale vaporized liquid nicotine, a process called vaping.

The rule has not been widely publicized, as multiple e-cigarette users have been spotted smoking in the stands.

"I don't see too much of an interference being next to it myself, but with my daughter around, I don't want her to exposed to things like that," said Padres fan Christina Slaughter.

Wilson said if fans see it happening, they can tell an usher, who will approach the user and tell them to stop.

Smokers can find designated areas outside the ballpark if they want to light up – or in the case of e-cigarettes, power up.

"I try to go into the smoking section because I know a lot of people see the smoke and associate it with something bad, even though there's no carcinogens in it. I try not to do it just to be respectful," said e-cigarette smoker Jeff Guilford.

Other proponents of the tobacco alternative say they help people quit smoking, but some health care professionals say more research needs to be done to see if the second-hand smoke is harmful to your health.

Petco Park is just one of multiple areas around the county that have banned vaping.

Poway, Vista, Carlsbad and Oceanside have enacted bans within city limits, and a similar proposal is making its way through the San Diego City Council.

Three men face criminal charges after investigators look into a fatal tree trimming incident in La Mesa five months ago.

Joshua Pudsey, 42, was trimming trees using a large cherry picker outside the La Mesa home of his employer on November 12 when a large branch from a 60-foot eucalyptus tree fell on him, crushing his head.

Just days after Pudsey's employer, Three Frogs, Inc., was cited by Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), better known as Cal/OSHA, prosecutors with the San Diego County District Attorney's Office announced criminal charges have been filed in the case.

David Scot Wolf, 48, is president of the La Mesa-based business that purchases, renovates and resells residential properties.

The DA's office said Wolf (pictured right) faces five criminal counts including two allegations of OSHA violations. If convicted of all charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 6 years, 6 months.

“Our focus is still on the family and their loss and our condolences go out to them," Wolf told NBC 7 Thursday. "We are working with attorneys to resolve these and can’t make any further comment.”

The company's Chief Operating Officer John Murphy, 36, and Chief Financial Officer Jonathan D. Cox, 34, each face tax charges in connection with the investigation. If convicted of all charges, Murphy and Cox face a maximum sentence of 4 years, 8 months, prosecutors said.

Cal/OSHA found that neither Pudsey nor his co-workers had "the experience or training needed to safely cut down a tree of that size."

The agency said the company didn't bring in a qualified tree worker to supervise the project, did not train Pudsey or his co-workers on how to use the aerial lift they were using to trim the tree and did not provide eye protection or a harness.

The company was also named in the criminal case and faces $1.5 million in fines. Under the proposed Cal/OSHA penalties, the business must pay $91,865 in fines.

 The leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego has suffered a stroke, church officials confirmed Thursday.

Bishop Cirilo Flores fell ill Wednesday in his office at the pastoral center and was immediately taken to the hospital, according to a statement from Monsignor Steven Callahan.

On Thursday, he was “alert and in good spirits,” Callahan said. He’s expected to be hospitalized for a few more days.

“With the faithful people of God let us pray for Bishop Flores’ speedy and full recovery,” said Callahan’s statement.

Flores became the fifth bishop of San Diego after after Pope Francis accepted Bishop Brom's resignation in Sept. 2013. 

A man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women in Ocean Beach was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison Thursday.

Richard Christopher Butts, 26, was arrested in March 2013 for kidnapping, beating and raping a woman as she walked along Long Branch Avenue.

More charges were filed against him when a second victim came forward, saying he had attacked her in Aug. 2012 near Bacon and Voltaire streets.

According to prosecutors, Butts’ method of attack was similar in both incidents. He came up behind the victims and pulled their sweatshirts over their heads and eyes so they couldn’t see him. He then dragged them to secluded areas and sexually assaulted them.

Both crimes were interrupted by neighbors who called 911, and Butts was arrested after running from the scene of the March attack.

Last month, Butts pleaded guilty to one count of oral copulation with a kidnapping allegation and one count of forcible rape with a multiple victim allegation.

Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick told NBC 7 she credits the bravery of the two young women and neighbors for securing the 30-year sentence.

She said the community effort led to this verdict outcome.
 

 A fourth U.S. Navy officer has been implicated in a far-reaching bribery scandal involving a defense contractor's CEO, an NCIS agent and multiple senior naval officials.

Petty Officer First Class Dan Layug, 27, was arrested Wednesday in San Diego.

According to a newly unsealed complaint, he was charged in federal court Thursday with accepting cash, luxury travel and consumer electronics from Singapore-based defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA). A judge ordered Layug be held on a $100,000 bond and that he be subject to GPS monitoring.

The complaint said Layug received bribes in exchange for sending classified ship schedules and other sensitive Navy information to GDMA’s vice president of global operations.

That in turn helped GDMA and its CEO Leonard Glenn Francis – also known as “Fat Leonard” – overbill the Navy by at least $20 million, prosecutors say.

While Layug worked as a logistic specialist at a U.S. facility in Yokosuka, Japan in 2012, the vice president allegedly told a GDMA accountant that “at the end of each month, we will be providing an allowance to Mr. Dan Layug. Total of US $1,000. You may pay him the equivalent in Yen. He will come by the office at the end of each month to see you.”

In addition to that monthly allowance, the complaint said Layug requested a “bucket list” of electronics from GDMA, including a high-end camera, iPhone 5, iPad 3, Samsung S4 cell phone and an iPad Mini. Prosecutors said he also received rooms at luxury hotels throughout Asia for him and his friends.

Layug then tried to hide his illicit relationship with GDMA, according to the complaint. He described the classified ship schedules with the code word “golf schedules” and opened a bank account under the name of his infant daughter, into which he deposited parts of his allowance.

If convicted on the conspiracy to commit bribery charge, Layug faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain from the offense – whichever is greater.

So far, five other people have been implicated in the scandal, which Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said will continue to grow.

Francis, 49, was charged with conspiring to bribe Navy officials. Last month, Francis’ cousin and company manager Alex Wisidagama, 40, pleaded guilty to his part in the scheme.

Two senior Navy officials – Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, 46, and Commander Jose Luis Sanchez, 41 – have both pleaded not guilty to bribery charges against them.

NCIS Supervisory Special Agent John Bertrand Beliveau II, 44, pleaded guilty in last December to accepting bribes in exchange for tipping Francis off to the status of the government’s investigation into GDMA.

The investigation, which started in 2009, will continue under the NCIS, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

A Secret Service agent once threatened to shoot Mr. Met if he approached the president during a baseball game at Shea Stadium, according to a man who once worked as the baseball-headed mascot.

AJ Mass, who was the Mets’ mascot from 1994 to 1997, said a member of former President Bill Clinton’s security detail told him they’d “go for the kill shot” if he tried to pal around with the then-commander-in-chief at a Mets-Dodgers game on April 15, 1997. The account comes from an excerpt of Mass’ new book, “Yes, It’s Hot in Here: Adventures in the Weird, Woolly World of Sports Mascots,” published on Sports Illustrated’s website this week.

Mass wrote that he had planned to make his way to see Clinton, who was at the game commemorating the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first major-league appearance, calling the photo-op "the holy grail for all mascots."

Before he could make it to the president’s box, Mass wrote, he was stopped by an agent in a dark suit and a businesslike demeanor.

“We have snipers all around the stadium, just in case something were to happen,” the agent told Mass. “Like I said, do whatever it is you normally do. Nobody will bother you. But approach the president, and we go for the kill shot. Are we clear?”

Then the agent, who Mass wrote was staring into the mouth of Mr. Met’s head to make eye contact with the man inside, repeated himself.

“Approach the president, and we go for the kill shot,” the agent said to Mass. “ARE-WE-CLEAR?”