Foodies, prepare your bellies: the 14th annual Taste of Hillcrest is happening this Saturday, and things are bound to get delicious.

The self-guided culinary tour of Hillcrest – a popular community in San Diego’s Uptown area known for its vibrant culture and wide array of unique eateries – runs from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and includes more than 40 participating restaurants serving samples of their best bites.

From quaint cafés to budding bistros, foodies will get to indulge in all of the global cuisine the community has to offer.

For instance, if you’re in the mood for Mexican, head over to Baja Betty’s, Fiesta Cantina or Ortega’s: A Mexican Bistro, all on University Avenue. If your palate wants to travel a bit further, snag a sample at Bombay Exotic Cuisine of India on 5th Avenue, Saigon on Fifth, Nami Sushi or Michoz’s Fresh Lebanese Grill.

Of course, there’s always Italian and French-inspired cuisine, and for this, there’s Au Revoir Bistro, Pizzeria Arrivederci and the ever-popular Bread and Cie.

And if good, old-fashioned American comfort food is what you’re craving, the choices are easy: Crest Café and Harvey Milk’s American Diner.

Other eateries partaking in Taste of Hillcrest also include Brazen BBQ Smokehouse & Bar, D Bar Restaurant, Hillcrest Brewing Company, Aladdin Hillcrest, The Tractor Room, Uptown Tavern, 100 Wines, Salt & Cleaver and Local Habit, among many, many others. Check out the full list here.

Each eatery is within walking distance, so plan to stroll from sample to sample or hop on the free Hillcrest Trolley making its way around the neighborhood. Altogether, the tour spans more than 12 blocks.

Pre-sale tickets cost $30 per person and $35 on the day of the event.

Tickets are available here or can be purchased at several Hillcrest restaurants including Urban Mo’s, Heat Bar & Kitchen, Rock Fire Grill, Eba’s Lounge and Bistro, Baja Betty’s or Harvey Milk’s American Diner.

Before starting the food adventure, attendees should check-in at the ticketing booth at the Rite-Aid located at 535 Robinson Ave. The booth opens at 11:30 a.m.

A broken family’s screams erupted in a San Diego courtroom after a guilty verdict was announced in the trial of an Iraqi immigrant who killed his wife.

As the defendant cried out in Arabic "not guilty," his mother-in-law flailed her arms, screaming "you killed my daughter," while his two teenage sons chose opposing sides.

Jurors found Kassim Al-Himidi, 49, guilty in the death of his wife Shaima Alawadi -- a bloody, brutal beating once considered a hate crime that was, in the end, an act of domestic violence.

After Judge William McGrath handed off the verdict for reading, several family members began screaming, including the defendant's oldest son, who yelled profanities, saying he disagreed with the jury's verdict.

• Watch: WARNING Graphic Language - Courtroom Chaos After Verdict is Read

"This is bulls---!" This is f---ing bulls---!" the son yelled. "My dad is innocent. He was tried unfairly."

Al-Himidi smirked, crossed his arms, shook his head, wagged his finger and began praying as the jury was polled one by one. At one point, he put his head on the table in front of him. Then, he too began yelling.

According to a translator, Al-Himidi screamed out in Arabic, "God knows I'm not the killer. I'm not the killer! I'm innocent. Not guilty."

As deputies rushed to place handcuffs on Al-Himidi, he continued to yell, telling his family to seek international help on this case and have investigators look at it as a hate crime. He said to get him help from overseas to get him out of jail, the translator said.

Meanwhile, the mother of the victim stood up in court, flailing her arms, and screamed,"You killed my daughter. This is not a mistake, you did kill her."

Another one of Al-Himidi's sons sided with his grandmother and said his father did kill his mother.

Outside of the courtroom, through a translator, the victim's mother said a guilty verdict is the least Al-Himidi could have gotten in this case.

"If you killed her, you deserve to be killed as well," she added, with tears in her eyes. "My daughter was home, as you probably all know. He's the one."

The grandmother went on to say that she disagreed with her oldest grandson about the verdict.

"He does not believe that, but I do," she added.

She said she heard about the problems between her daughter and Al-Himidi before the killing, but she never imagined it would lead to murder.

Ron Rockwell, attorney for Al-Himidi's children, including daughter Fatima Al-Himidi, said the tension in the courtroom was from years of pent-up emotions. Despite the oldest son's outburst, which surprised the attorney, Rockwell said all of the siblings agree with the guilty verdict.

He released this statement, on behalf of the children:

“Fatima and her brothers and sisters respect the integrity of the jury system and find it unfathomably sad that their father found life so difficult that he resorted to taking the life of their dear mother but hope that this is justice for her and for them, her children that miss her dearly. We agree with the jury’s decision and although we love our father, we hate what we also believe that he did.

After over two years of great sadness, Fatima and her brothers and sisters find relief in now believing that they can begin to heal as a family while knowing in their minds that while missing their mother more and more with each passing day, whether that is with or without their father, it will always be without their mother.”

Al-Himidi will be sentenced on May 15, Judge McGrath said Thursday.

Alawadi, 32, was beaten in a bloody attack inside the family's home on March 21, 2012. She suffered critical brain injuries and died three days later.

At first, the case was investigated as a hate crime because of a handwritten note found at the crime scene that read: “This is my country, go back to yours, terrorist.”

Just before they entered deliberations, jurors were reminded of the defendant's timeline on the day of the beating.

According to phone records, Shaima called her husband at 8:04 a.m.

Video from a nearby middle school shows a burgundy Nissan Quest going and leaving the home that morning.

At 8:15 a.m. the van was seen traveling southbound along Emerald Avenue toward Skyview Street as Al-Himidi returns to the house from taking the children to school, prosecutors said.

Then, at 9:49 a.m. a vehicle matching the description stopped at the curb, just north of the intersection of Emerald and Skyview.

Prosecutors say 30 seconds later, a pedestrian can be seen moving from the vehicle towards the house at 564 Skyview Street, three homes from the corner.

At 10:10 a.m., cell phone records show someone called Al-Himidi’s cell phone but it goes unanswered.

Prosecutors say the phone communicated with the cell tower that serves the same area as the family’s home on Skyview.

“At 10:10 he’s still in his home tower area,” Deputy District Attorney Kurt Mechals said Tuesday.

The next phone call to Al-Himidi’s cell phone was from his daughter, Fatima, at 11:18 a.m. after Shaima is discovered.

Defense attorneys poked holes in the prosecution's case in their closing arguments.

Investigators did not find any forensic evidence linking their client to the crime scene, the defense argued.

They reminded jurors that witnesses testified how violence is not in Al-Himidi's character.

Throughout the trial, the defense raised questions about the role of Shaima's daughter, Fatima, who was in the house at the time of the attack.

She was called to testify several times and shared details of her parents’ tense marriage.

The defense believes Fatima was somehow involved in her mother’s murder.

“You don’t have to solve this mystery to acquit Mr. Al-Himidi,” defense attorney Richard Berkon told the jury. “You don’t have to figure out who did it.”

In closing, even Mechals told jurors, "Fatima doesn’t make your job easy, that’s for sure."

"Whether you can believe anything she says, that’s up to you," he said.

However, Mechals urged the jury to use their common sense to find what is reasonable and what isn't.

Al-Himidi has been visibly emotional throughout the trial, at times crying and wailing loudly as evidence was presented to the jury. He wept uncontrollably when 911 tapes were played in the courtroom at the beginning of the trial.

Cameras were only allowed in the courtroom during opening statements and closing arguments.

“He thought he had committed the perfect crime. He thought he had nothing to worry about,” Mechals said.

Both the defendant and victim are Iraqi immigrants. The murder investigation reverberated across the nation when it first happened because of the discovery of a threatning note.

However, in November 2012, El Cajon police announced the arrest of Al-Himidi and said the killing was not a hate crime, but rather one of domestic violence.

Two illegal immigrants were arrested in south San Diego after one of the men allegedly used a 45-inch stake as a weapon against a U.S. Border Patrol agent, officials said.

The incident happened Tuesday morning around 6:30 a.m.in Otay Mesa, near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry by the U.S-Mexico border.

Agents became suspicious of some activity in a parking lot and attempted to detain two men for questioning. The Border Patrol says the agents saw the men jump out of a row of bushes and run toward a warehouse parking lot. One man was carrying a large, wooden stake.

The agents ordered the men to stop running. One man complied, but the other took off, with the stake still in hand.

Officials said one of the agents chased the man and, as they rounded the corner of the warehouse, the man allegedly swung the 45-inch weapon at the agent.

The agent dodged the stake, drew his service weapon and ordered the man to put down the stake and stop. The man continued to run. At that point, the agent tackled him to the ground.

Officials said the man fought back, kicking the agent with both feet, striking him on the face with his foot. The suspect then ran toward an open field, stopped, turned and allegedly swung on the agent again, this time with closed fists.

A nearby Border Patrol agent witnessed the chase and radioed for backup. An agent on an ATV tracked down the suspect and maneuvered himself in front of the man to cut off his escape route.

Trapped between two agents, the man finally gave up the foot pursuit. He was arrested on the spot.

Border Patrol officials said both men were in the U.S. illegally. The man who fled was turned over to the Department of Homeland Security and is now facing prosecution for illegal entry and assault on a federal agent. The other suspect was returned to Mexico, officials said.
 

 A man suspected of drug possession lost consciousness while being arrested by police, and he has yet to regain consciousness.

The 51-year-old man was initially contacted by police for a bicycle traffic violation in the Stockton area of San Diego around 9:25 a.m. Thursday.

San Diego Police said he attempted to flee, but officers caught him in the 300 block of 31st Street and after a brief struggle, took him into custody.

Narcotics were found in his pants pocket, according to officers.

As the suspect was being processed at police headquarters for possession of narcotics for sales and resisting arrest, someone notices that he had passed out in the back of the patrol car.

Officers started doing CPR on him, and paramedics soon arrived to take him to the hospital.

Police said the man has not regained consciousness while being treated at a local hospital. He is in critical condition.

It's unclear what the man is suffering from.

The 51-year-old man will not be identified until his family is notified.

Seals and sea lions in California are turning up sick or injured at a record pace this year.

Sausalito’s Marine Mammal Center has more animals in its care right now than ever before in its 39-year history.

There are three factors at play: First of all, this is the time of year when pups get stranded or separated from their mothers for an unknown reason. Alsoast year's sea lion epidemic sent malnourished, sick pups onto California shores at record levels.On top of that, a Monterey Bay algae bloom is making a lot of animals sick. Experts say it’s creating the worst kind of perfect storm.

A sea lion pup nicknamed "Hoppie" is on the mend now, but he was near death when the little guy was rescued, not at the beach, but 100 miles inland in an almond orchard along the San Joaquin River.

• Lost Sea Lion in California Found Miles From Water

"That's unusual,” the Marine Mammal Center’s Jeff Boehm said. “How he got there we can only speculate, but (he’s) a little guy, trying to find food, not experienced, not mature as he should be."

Unfortunately, Hoppie has a lot of company. The Marine Mammal Center currently has 195 sick or injured sea lions and seals. The Marine Mammal Center in Southern California was caring for more than 200 mammals Thursday, most of them California sea lion pups.

"It was definitely linked to food availability or the distribution of their normal food source last year," said David Bard, the director of the San Pedro center, of last year's epidemic. "If we see the same sort of thing this year, well, we are certainly hoping it's on a downward trend."

Boehm says the numbers are extraordinary.

"Out of the gates this year, it's a record-setting pace,” he said. “We don't know what May is going to bring us yet. We don’t what June is going to bring us yet. We've had peaks of activity as late as October some years"

"Is it related to human activity along the coastline? Is that what's causing the numbers, or is it something of a natural source?" Bard said.

Experts hope what they were dealing with last year was an anomaly rather than a new normal for California's sea lion pup population.

In January, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the cold water conditions in the Pacific Ocean have caused a crash in the number of sardines, which may be one contributing factor.

Back in Sausalito, Volunteers are working around the clock caring for and feeding the animals.

• 2 Days-Old Kittens Survive Accidentally Being Mailed

Some of them eat just a couple of pounds of fish a day, but some of them are eating much more than that.

With all the seals and sea lions being cared for at the Marine Mammal Center right now, they're going through a whole lot of fish: 1,000 pounds a day to keep everyone fed.

"Our volunteer teams are running full tilt,” Boehm said.

The Marine Mammal Center has about 1,100 volunteers. They’re asking for donations so they can buy more fish to feed the animals. They say every $1 donated will bring in about a pound of fish.

• Link: The Marine Mammal Center's Donations Page

Hetty Chang contributed to this report.

An Indiana school’s “lip dub” video has gone viral.

The toe-tapping film showcases thousands of Avon High School students and staff who lip sync to a “danthology” of 68 pop songs, including hits from Justin Timberlake, Lorde and Taylor Swift. And they did it all in the name of charity.

“Avon High School Lip Dub 2014” was produced to drum up excitement for the school’s dance marathon event this weekend, hoping to raise money for James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children.

The more than six-minute video posted to YouTube Saturday has already garnered more than 150,000 views.

Produced and filmed by student Suketu Patel, the video showcases thousands of students from cheerleaders to athletes to musicians to art students, and it was all done in one take.

The video starts in the school cafeteria and travels through the halls as students and staff, dressed in spirited school attire, sing and dance in a choreographed routine, culminating in the school gymnasium where thousands of students cheer and celebrate.

The school hopes the video will encourage donations ahead of their Riley Dance Marathon Saturday.

Donations can be made here.

 As the battle to keep the San Diego Opera open rages on, NBC 7 has learned that the president of its board of directors has resigned.

President Karen Cohn tendered her resignation at a closed board meeting in La Jolla Thursday, according to Director of Media Relations Edward Wilenski.

Carol Lazier was then voted in as acting board president.

About seven board members, including Cohn, were seen storming out of the meeting. Those who left have been in favor of shuttering the opera.

• READ: Screams Erupt as Guilty Verdict Is Read in Murder Trial

During the meeting, the board heard from an Opera America consultant about alternatives that could keep the opera open for the 2015 season – its 50th year.

The reorganization presentation included a plan to scale back the operations and initiate significant fundraisers.

More details about what was said inside that closed-door session are expected at a later time.

The opera is still set to close April 29.

As the board met in La Jolla, about 200 people gathered downtown Thursday afternoon at the San Diego Civic Theater to rally to keep the curtains open.

On Sunday, supporters held a vigil after the opera's final performance to mourn the death of the institution. 

A man has been arrested for the murder of a woman found dead inside her apartment in Bay Terraces earlier this week, the San Diego Police Department confirmed Thursday. That man is the victim’s longtime boyfriend.

San Diego resident Martin Huey, 22, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Angelica Gregory, 22.

On Monday, at around 3:45 p.m., police were called to Gregory’s apartment in the 6600-block of Doriana Street. When officers arrived, they discovered Gregory unconscious in her home. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Although Gregory had sustained minor contusions, investigators were not able to immediately determine her cause of death. Investigators did, however, deem her death suspicious.

Huey was at the scene when officers arrived at Gregory's apartment. Investigators learned the couple had been dating for about four years.

On Wednesday, Huey was arrested in Riverside County by San Diego homicide detectives. He was initially charged with domestic violence in connection to Gregory’s case but on Thursday, police said Huey had been subsequently charged with the murder of his girlfriend.

The motive for the killing is unknown.

He’s currently being held at San Diego Central Jail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Friday.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information should contact the SDPD’s homicide unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

Nordstrom Inc. plans to relocate its full-line department store in University Towne Center to a new space within the Westfield UTC mall, with a new two-level store expected to open in 2017.

The upcoming 145,000-square-foot store will incorporate the company’s latest design concepts, geared toward improving the shopping experience, said Erik Nordstrom, president of stores for the Seattle-headquartered retailer, in a statement.

Nordstrom’s current 130,000-square-foot store at Westfield UTC opened in 1984 and will remain in operation until the relocation.

The move is part of long-term renovations underway at the mall off La Jolla Village Drive, owned by Sydney-based Westfield Group, including the addition of retail space and structured parking.

Nordstrom will be moving to the mall’s west side, along Genesee Avenue.

Nordstrom also operates local full-line stores at Fashion Valley in Mission Valley, Westfield Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego, and Westfield North County in Escondido. In addition, it has four San Diego County locations of Nordstrom Rack, its chain of off-price retail stores.

Founded in 1901 as a shoe store, Nordstrom now operates 267 stores in 36 states. 
 

The Business Journal is the premier business publication in San Diego. Every day online and each Monday in print, the Business Journal reports on how local business operate and why businesses leaders make the decisions they do. Every story is a dose of insight into how to run a better, more efficient, more profitable business.

A Spanish golfer jumped into a nearby lake to escape a swarm of hornets then continued on despite his stinging injuries.

Pablo Larrazabal was in the fifth hole's fairway during the Maybank Malaysian Open when he swatted away a stray hornet, which then prompted a swarm to attack him. The golfer attempted to fight them off, but had to run to the lake to escape the angry wasps.

“They were huge and like 30 or 40 of them started to attack me big time,” Larrazabal said in a statement to ESPN. “I didn’t know what to do. My caddie told me to run, so I start running like a crazy guy, but the hornets were still there, so the other players told me to jump in the lake.”

The scene could have been reminiscent of Chris Farley's character fleeing a bee attack in the 1995 film "Tommy Boy."

Larrazabal suffered more than 20 stings and had to receive medical attention. He described the encounter as the “scariest moment" of his career.

However, he returned to play his last five holes in a borrowed shirt, reversing his luck by finishing the 14th hole – the same one where he was attacked – with a birdie putt and finishing overall with two under.

He later tweeted out thanks to supporters and joked that golf is a dangerous sport.
 

 In a family of 20, transportation is a challenge not to be taken lightly. But when many of those children need wheelchair-accessible rides, the challenge grows exponentially.

Chuck and Penny Hauer were facing that difficulty as parents to 18 adopted special needs children.

But Thursday, the Hauers were surprised with a gift that they say will change their lives: a handicap-accessible van.

“I’m usually never at a loss for words, but I don’t know -- what words do you say? Other than thank you all,” said Penny.

Encinitas charity Passion 4 K.I.D.S. – a nonprofit dealing with handicapped, abandoned and abused children – presented the new set wheels to the family.

Founder Linda Van Kessler said she received a call from an anonymous El Cajon donor about three weeks ago, asking what their biggest need was.

When Van Kessler pointed out the Hauer’s need, the donor handed over the money to go buy the van.

“This is something that’s been a dream of ours for so long to get this for them. It’s been such a huge need,” said Passion 4 K.I.D.S. founder Linda Van Kessler.

Helping special needs children has become a life mission for the Hauers. They have adopted 44 children in addition to their five biological kids.

“You never think of numbers. They’ll call you and say, ‘Well we have this little girl, born in India. She has no eyes. What do you think?’ Well, you think, ‘What can I do for her?’ That’s pretty much what Chuck and I based all – pretty much all – of our life on is ‘Can we give them something?’” said Penny.

But after Chuck retired, money has become tighter with each addition to the family – a big reason this gift will go a long way.

Penny said it will enable them to take multiple kids to doctor visits and other medical errands.

When first presented with the gift, all Penny could initially say was “Angels.”

One of the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives, accused of the 38-year-old hammer slayings of his family of five, has ties to Southern California.

William Bradford Bishop, Jr., who was born in Pasadena, allegedly bludgeoned to death his mother, wife and three sons -- ages 5, 10 and 14 -- at their home in Bethesda, Md., on March 1, 1976.

Agents called him a "family annihilator" and blitzed the Internet last week with a social media and news publicity campaign to try to capture him.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to his arrest.

"If he’s dead, so be it," said Steve Vogt, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Division. "But until we know for certain, we will not stop searching for him."

Agents hope people who are active on social media will pay attention and help close the case. A forensic artist has produced a 3-D, age-progressed representation of Bishop to help the public identify him.

"When Bishop took off in 1976, there was no social media, no 24-hour news cycle," Vogt said. "There was no sustained way to get his face out there like there is today."

At the time of the killings, Bishop would have been in his early 40s. Today, he would be 77.

He has a 6-inch vertical surgical scar on his lower back and was fond of sporting his class ring from Yale.

Bishop is considered armed and dangerous. Investigators believe he is in the possession of a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver.

The Yale graduate speaks five languages, including French, Italian, Serbo-Croation and Spanish.

He is also capable of flying planes, and is an avid outdoorsman and hiker with an affinity for the Sierra Nevada Mountains, FBI officials said.

Bishop Jr. allegedly bludgeoned his family to death in their home in the Maryland suburbs of Washington.

It was the same day the former U.S. Department of State employee learned he had been passed over for a job promotion, authorities said.

After the slayings, he allegedly drove to a wooded area in North Carolina, dumped their bodies in a shallow grave and burned them, the FBI said.

The victims' bodies weren't identified until one week later, giving Bishop sufficient time to flee.

There have been sightings of him in North Carolina and Europe.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or go online.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

National City police officers rescued a woman from a fire Thursday night after she became trapped in her burning studio apartment.

According to the National City Police Department, officers responded to the fire in the 1900-block of I Avenue just after 10:30 p.m. There, police found smoke billowing from a studio apartment and a 55-year-old resident still trapped inside. Officers forced open the front door and pulled the woman out to safety.

Police then used fire extinguishers to battle the blaze until crews from the National City Fire Department arrived. Firefighters were able to knock down the fire within about half an hour.

The woman remained with officers outside the home and was then transported to a local hospital with some injuries. Officials said the woman suffered minor burns on her hands and smoke inhalation. She’s expected to make a full recovery. No officers or firefighters were injured in the incident.

Fire investigators believe the fire was started by a candle, though the cause remains under investigation.

Firefighters praised quick-thinking by police and said that if officers had not rescued the woman from the burning building as quickly as they did, the outcome would have been tragically different.
 

Four people were injured in a crash on Interstate 5 in Carmel Valley Friday morning that slowed the early-morning commute for many drivers.

The accident happened at around 5:10 a.m. on northbound I-5 near Carmel Valley Road and State Route 56 and involved multiple vehicles.

Several lanes of the freeway were blocked following the crash, and CHP officials issued a SigAlert at around 5:30 a.m., which remained in place for more than an hour.

Officials said four people sustained injuries and were transported from the scene to a local hospital. Two of those patients suffered serious injuries, while the other two sustained non-life threatening injuries, CHP officials said.

• Get Traffic Updates Here

By 5:45 a.m., traffic had come to a complete standstill on the freeway and was backed up for miles and miles.

Further details about the accident were not immediately released.

By 6:40 a.m., traffic was moving again, albeit slowly.

Police took a man into custody Friday morning after he led officers on a high-speed chase through San Diego at speeds of up to 120 mph.

The pursuit began just before 4 a.m. at the Circle K gas station on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in Tierrasanta, where an officer said he witnessed an ATM burglary taking place.

The ATM was left behind in the parking lot, but a floor safe police also believe was stolen from Circle K fell out of the suspects’ maroon Toyota pickup truck near Interstate 15.

The chase spanned several side streets as well as I-15, Interstate 8 and Interstate 5.

Police said spikes were deployed near Old Town San Diego but the suspect continued driving erratically until finally pulling over in the 1500-block of Morena Boulevard in Bay Park. Police said the driver surrendered and was taken into custody, but a passenger took off on foot.

Officers set up a perimeter and searched for the second suspect with the help of K-9 units and a Border Patrol helicopter, but were unable to immediately locate that passenger, who remains outstanding.
 

A student’s airsoft gun prompted a police investigation at Mission Bay High School in San Diego Friday morning, authorities confirmed.

Officers were called to the campus just after 8 a.m.

According to the San Diego Police Department, while in a classroom, a student texted parents to let them know that another student had a gun in their pocket. The incident was reported to police.

Officers quickly made contact with the suspect student and discovered the student was carrying an airsoft gun. He was detained by school police.

No one was injured. The high school is located at 2475 Grand Ave.
 

A New Jersey college professor was placed on unpaid leave after posting online a photo of his 6-year-old daughter wearing a shirt with a quote from "Game of Thrones" that administrators took as a threat.

The shirt says "I will take what is mine with fire & blood," and the photo was posted on Google+ by the Bergen Community College professor, Francis Schmidt, in January, around the time HBO released a trailer for the new season of the show.

After a college dean saw the post, and perceived it as a "threatening email," Schmidt was ordered to meet with administrators and was then placed on unpaid leave. The dispute in January came to light this week after Inside Higher Ed referred to it in an online post.

Schmidt on Friday shared an email with NBC 4 New York that he said was from a human resources employee at the college at the time of the dispute.

"You are not to be on campus for any reason," the email says. "The safety of all of the members of the community is taken very seriously."

Schmidt was allowed to return to teaching later that month after he was cleared by a psychiatrist. He says he missed crucial time with students he was advising.

He says he can't imagine why anyone would think he's capable of violence.

"They claimed to have never heard of 'Game of Thrones,' and so I tried to explain it to them," he said Friday.

College spokesman Larry Hlavenka Jr. said in a statement that the matter was a private personnel issue, but added that the college takes seriously any perceived threats of violence.

"Since Jan. 1, 2014, 34 incidents of school shootings have occurred in the United States," Hlavenka said. "In following its safety and security procedures, the college investigates all situations where a member of its community – students, faculty, staff or local residents – expresses a safety or security concern."

Schmidt believes he was targeted because he filed a grievance against the school when he was not granted a sabbatical.

The faculty union has also been embroiled in contract negotiations with the college; last week the union cast a no-confidence vote in the school's president. 

--Jen Maxfield contributed to this story

An Oceanside, Calif., woman said she had a rude awakening Friday morning when she found a man standing over her bed.

Anna Thompson told NBC 7 the situation is one she's only seen in movies but never imagined would happen to her.

She woke up just after 6 a.m. Friday to a man covering her mouth in her home on Vine Street. She immediately started fighting the man off.

"I fought back as much as I could until I got to a point where my dog woke up, and he was laying right next to me, and he started going after the intruder and chased him out of my house," said Thompson.

Thompson received a scratch to her chest and an injured lip.

She believes the suspect came through the side gate to her home, took off his shoes and went inside. He left those shoes behind when he fled.

In the scuffle, she knocked his hat off. Oceanside Police later took the hat as evidence to get DNA from it, Thompson said.

Investigators said there was no forced entry into the house. They believe the suspect is in his 30s, but they have not released any other information.

She said the incident has prompted her to put an alarm system in her home as soon as possible.

A fast-moving 7-alarm fire, fanned by strong ocean winds, burned million dollar homes to the ground and damaged nearly a dozen others in Sea Isle City, N.J. on Good Friday.

• GALLERY: Sea Isle City Beachfront Homes Burn

As the rubble smoldered Saturday morning, crews returned to the 7800 block of Pleasure Avenue at the beach to put out some hot spots.

Flames began to flicker around 4 p.m. Friday and quickly spread to a total of three structures sharing the same lot, city officials said. In total five homes were consumed.

"It was just amazing how fast the first house went up in flames," said witness Daniel O'Connell, who is staying on the island with his family for the Easter holiday. "I followed the smell [of smoke] and speeding police cars to the house where there was just a small amount of smoke coming out of the basement of one of the houses."

Within minutes, however, O'Connell said the fire simply erupted.

"The police were attempting to put out the fire with fire extinguishers, but at that time it was too late," the 15-year-old Jenkintown, Pa.-native told NBC10.com. "The house started pouring black smoke out of the basement, so I rode around the block [on my bike] to get up wind of the fire and out of the smoke. From here, I could see the flames erupting and traveling up the house."

The structures were side-by-side townhouses, each about 2,000 square feet, according to Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio. According to data on the real estate website Zillow.com, the beachfront homes were listed for more than $2 million.

"The wind was blowing hard from the beach, going towards the bay," said Loretta Giello, who has a summer home on 85th Street. "And I kept hearing sirens and sirens, and I saw so much black smoke that I started to run down there to see what was happening."

NBC10 First Alert Weather Meteorologist Sheena Parveen said onshore winds were gusting near 15 to 20 mph at the time of the fire, which is pretty typical.

Giello said multiple fire engines have responded from different shore towns but that Sea Isle City is not as easy to access because the bridge coming in from Avalon is closed.

"So the fire trucks had to go all the way down Route 9, or the Parkway, until they get into Sea Isle and that's another 15 or 20 minutes," Giello said. Mayor Desiderio said however, he did not think the bridge being out affected response time.

Cape May County fire dispatch radio, posted to YouTube, shows the first call went out at 4:27 p.m. and that the Sea Isle Fire Department requested mutual aid from nearby fire departments about five minutes into the response, before Sea Isle crews were on scene.

A total of 14 fire companies from up and down the Jersey Shore responded to the blaze, fire officials said.

Mayor Desiderio said there were no injuries, but that 11 nearby homes were also damaged due to the intense heat from the fire. He said the homes that burned are vacation homes, not year-round homes.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Sea Isle City is a small Cape May County city of around 2,000 year-round residents that swells in the summers when vacationers flock to its beaches. But like much of the Jersey Shore, it was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

That storm damage cost the city an amusement park just this year, when the owner of Gillian's Funland said the severely damaged park would have to close.

Police say the woman suspected of trying to abduct a baby in a stroller as the child's nanny was pushing it down a Chelsea street Thursday afternoon is in custody. 

The NYPD said Friday they were looking for a woman named Tara Ann McDonald, who sources said has seven previous arrests for attempted kidnapping.

McDonald was picked up in midtown Friday afternoon and was in police custody. She was undergoing psychiatric evaluation at Bellevue Hospital Saturday, police said.

Police say the nanny was pushing the 8-month-old in a stroller near 17th Street and Eighth Avenue Thursday afternoon when a woman in her 50s approached the nanny and began talking to her. 

The woman, who may be homeless, then began pushing the carriage away, police said.

William Marte, a UPS driver who was eating his lunch while on break in his truck, told NBC 4 New York on Friday that he saw the woman grab the stroller by the handle.

"The other lady was saying 'oh please, help me, help me," Marte recalled. "That's when I decide to come out and tell the lady, 'Please, let her go, leave her alone.'"

Marte said the suspect cursed and fled.

He says the baby slept through the whole ordeal. The father of two says he's not a hero, and did what anyone would do.

"I consider myself like just another New Yorker, and I did what I'm supposed to do," he said. "I did the right thing in the right moment."

Marte said the nanny thanked him over and over. 

--Marc Santia contributed to this story