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Young Borrowers Buried in Debt

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Brian Mooney walks across campus at San Diego State University. He says it's expensive to be a college student, but some students make it even harder by maxing out their credit cards.

"It is a slippery slope," said Mooney. "You start to take out a little bit for what you need, then you start getting what you want."

According to a recent study by Ohio State University, younger Americans are in substantially more debt than previous generations.  The study says people born between 1980 and 1984 are carrying credit card debt on average $5,6890 more than their parents did at the same age, and $8,156 more than their grandparents.

"Young people grow up thinking that a credit card doesn't have to be paid, ever," said Lou Murillo with SDSU. 

Murillo is part of a program that teaches financial literacy to high school students. But he says everyone with a credit card needs to learn some valuable lessons.

"There's a distinction between what you need and what you want," said Murillo. "Because what you want is always much more enticing."

College Student Christina Blackwell says she gets credit card offers in the mail all the time. Charles Njoku is a college junior and says credit cards are a real temptation for people his age.

"When you have so many credit cards," said Njoku. "It is a lot easier for you to get in debt."

Not only are young people quicker to get into debt but they are slower to pay it off.

"If you have a credit card or debit card, it's easier to spend you money fast," said Maria Cavataio.

The Ohio study says younger generations may continue to add credit card debt into their 70's and die owning money on their cards.

But Sydney Turner says you simply have to say no. "Don't eat out, don't drive places," said Turner, "really focus on your education."



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Nearly $500K in Meth Hidden in Car

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On Jan. 23 at around 4:30 p.m., U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Interstate 8 checkpoint near Pine Valley discovered 10 packages of methamphetamine hidden under the driver’s side fender of a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier. An additional 13 packages of meth were hidden under the front passenger fender.

Confession: "Halloween" Gave Teen Idea to Kill Family

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A Texas 17-year-old wrote in a confession released Thursday that the horror movie remake of "Halloween" gave him the idea to kill his mother and sister.

Jake Evans is on trial for the Oct. 3 slayings of his 15-year-old sister, Mallory, and mother, Jami, in their upscale Aledo home in north Texas' Parker County. The confession was introduced as evidence.

In a four-page written confession to police hours after his arrest, Evans said he had watched the remake of "Halloween" three times earlier that week.

The 2007 Rob Zombie film is about a 10-year-old boy who murders several people and kills a number of others 15 years later.

"While watching it, I was amazed at how at ease the boy was during the murders and how little remorse he had," Evans wrote. "Afterward, I was thinking to myself it would be the same for me when I kill someone."

Later, as his mother and sister watched the presidential debate that night, he said he "just sat in the living room thinking about how I was going to kill my family."

He wrote that he got a knife.

"I went back upstairs and kept pacing back and forth imagining killing Mallory," he said. "Thoughts of causing her pain kept entering my mind and were really bothering me. But then I'd think about the times she hurt my feelings."

He later knocked on her bedroom door and asked her to watch the comedy movie "Water Boy."

Then he changed his plans.

"After a while, I thought to myself that if I were to kill my mom and Mallory, I wouldn't want them to feel anything, so I decided to kill them both with the .22 revolver I stole from my Grandpa," he wrote.

He said he thought about it some more.

"I then spent probably over an hour walking nervously around the house thinking how life will never be the same and how I would never see them again," he wrote.

He said he knocked on sister's door again and told her their mother needed her.

"She came out and out of the corner of her eye she saw me pointing the gun at her," he said. "She thought I was joking and told me that I was freaking her out. I shot her in the back and then the head."

He then went to the study and shot his mother three times.

"In shock, I ran to my room and was screaming at the top of my lungs that I am really messed up and that I killed my mom and sister," he wrote.

"As I emptied the shells on my bed, I heard noizes (sic) and realized that Mallory was still alive," he said. "While I loaded the gun back up, I was shouting that I was sorry and then ran as fast as I could to kill her. I made sure my mom was dead and shot her again in the head."

He said he placed the gun on the counter and called 911.

Sheriff's deputies found the bodies of his mother and sister and arrested him.

In the last lines of his confession, he wrote: "I know now though that I'm done with killing. It's the most dreadful and terrifying thing I will ever experience. And what happened last night will haunt me forever."

Can Women Withstand SEAL Training?

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Women can now officially serve in ground combat roles.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed an order rescinding the 1994 rule that prevented women from being permanently assigned to combat units. Women have been allowed to serve in some combat roles for years, but this new announcement means women could eventually serve as Navy SEALs.

Retired Admiral George Worthington served more than 30 years as a SEAL, and says he supports women serving with SEALs.

But, when it comes to women being SEALs , he doesn’t believe they can make the cut.

“A lot of the men can't do it. They only graduate 25 to 30 percent of the people who volunteer,” said Worthington.

On Thursday, the Pentagon officially lifted the ban on women serving in ground combat.

This may open the doors for women to serve as SEALs, but the training to become a SEAL is arguably the toughest in the military.

Worthington says even beyond the training, the SEALs have a unique culture that's essential to the mission.

“It's the basic essence of Special Ops: you have to work together and develop the camaraderie, and I'm just doubtful that could happen with a female,” said Worthington.

Brent Gleason is also a SEAL combat veteran, and he takes a different stance.

"I'm definitely all for it. I think that women certainly have the mental and physical ability to not only get into the program that is SEAL training, but also to successfully navigate that course and make it into the teams,” said Gleeson.

The services will have to report their implementation plans for opening combat roles to women to the Pentagon by May 15.

But, they have until January 2016 to seek special exceptions if they believe any positions, like the SEALs, should remain closed to women.
 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Flu, Cold Cases Affecting Local Schools

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Cold and flu season is in full swing in San Diego, and health experts are predicting it will only get worse in the weeks ahead.

Locally, the latest numbers include eight deaths last week with a death toll of 14 this season from influenza. All but one person had underlying health issues.

The number of people seeking emergency room help is rising with more than 1,000 cases reported from area hospitals.

At Adventure Days Preschool and Day Care - students and staff are being hit hard by the cold and flu season. Teachers said their private kindergarten classroom have noticeably fewer students the past couple weeks.

"Yesterday was one of our worst days, I was actually out sick, we had four teachers and then like half a school out,” said Campus Director LaTeresa Orepeza, who oversees 140 students. "This season, this last two weeks has been very, very overwhelming almost because so many people are sick."

Schools and facilities across the county are scrambling to shuffle staffing, making sure sick teachers don't affect their child care licensing.

"We have to have a 12 to 1 ratio when it comes to our pre-school, so if one of our teachers is out, we have to have a qualified teacher to step in,” said Orepeza.

She said they have managed so far because the school has had that same ratio of sick kids to sick teachers. The school even considered opening a sick room because for every kid missing school, that likely means a parent missing work.

In the meantime, they're wiping down tables more often and bleaching toys where little hands can spread big germs.

"It’s almost been like a rotating door, this group goes out and they come back feeling better and then the next group goes through it."

The county's largest school district, San Diego Unified, said absences are about 10 percent above normal, but said that is in line with what they've seen for the past few Januaries on record.

Witnesses Describe Deadly Downtown Shooting

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Witnesses recalled the horrific moments when a woman was shot and killed on a busy downtown San Diego street corner.

Deborah Gotell, 57, was shot in the head and arm on a sidewalk at Fifth Avenue and Broadway on Saturday, May 14, 2011. She died several days later.

Prosecutors say Gotell's husband gunned down his wife in broad daylight, tossed the gun immediately and tried to flee.

The loud fight captured the attention of crowds on the busy downtown street on a Saturday afternoon.

Witness Carolyn Louise Manigault recalled seeing Joseph Gotell, now 85, slam Deborah’s head up against a store window.

“She was struggling. He overpowered her. She couldn’t get up,” Manigault testified at a pre-trial hearing Thursday.

Then, after hearing a loud noise, Manigault said she turned and saw the victim sitting on the ground, leaning up against the building with a bullet wound in her right temple.

Gregory Bowler was across the street from the argument and at first didn't believe the noises were gunshots.

His friends joked the loud pop or bang was "probably a shooting" he testified. Then, seconds later they heard more noises.

Bowler said he looked across the street and saw a man holding a gun at a woman and firing it directly at her, at pointblank range.

Witnesses told police Joseph Gotell dropped the gun to the ground and tried to casually walk away however security guards held him down until police arrived.

“There was a tear in her jacket her arm area and also here was a red spot on her head. That spot at the time still had smoke coming out of it,” Bowler testified.

As he checked Deborah Gotell for a pulse, Bowler testified he heard someone nearby ask Joseph Gotell why he shot her.

Bowler testified that Gotell said, “’That f_ing b__ch, I’ve been dealing with this for years’ or something along those lines.

In an earlier interview with NBC 7 San Diego, Deborah Gotell's three daughters described earlier threats of violence made by Joseph toward their mother.

"I don't feel like honestly we took it seriously enough," one daughter said.

The Gotells were married for about 5 years but separated just before the shooting prosecutors said.

Judge Peter Deddeh held the case over for trial. Gotell faces a murder charge along with an additional charge of firing a weapon that carries an additional 25 year sentence.

A trial date was set for March.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

Southwest Could Soon Charge Baggage Fees

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Would you prefer baggage fees or pricier airline tickets?

Or neither? That's the way it's been thus far for Southwest Airlines.

But in an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box," the airline company's CEO admitted that the rising cost of fuel and higher operating expenses may prompt increased fees in one form or another. 

"There are no plans to charge for bags in 2013," he said in the "Squawk Box" interview, but added, "Never say never ... the customers will tell us whether they would prefer to have extra fees or whether they would prefer to have everything bundled."

Currently, the airline allows passengers to check two bags for free

CNBC reports that Southwest's revenue of $4.2 billion was just shy expectations. On Thursday, the company announced that fourth-quarter earnings fell 49 percent.

Like many other legacy carriers, Southwest is seeing higher operating expenses and a decline in passenger numbers.

In 2009, Southwest Airlines announced it would begin charging a fee for passengers who bring small pets onboard and for unaccompanied minors.  

The company also raised the fee for checking a third piece of luggage or an overweight bag. The fee now is $50 per checked bag weighing more than 50 pounds up to 100 pounds. Oversized checked bags are charged $50 per bag larger than 62 inches up to 80 inches, according to the company's website

 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Airline Offers New Service from SD to El Centro

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Locals who frequent the El Centro and Imperial Valley area, and vice versa, will soon have a much faster travel option than driving.

On Thursday, SeaPort Airlines announced a new, non-stop flight service between El Centro/Imperial Valley and San Diego via Lindbergh Field.

According to the airline, the direct service begins March 1 and will include five roundtrips per day, Monday through Friday, and two trips per day on Saturdays and Sundays.

The introductory flights will cost $39 each way, per person.

Those special fares are available for purchase through Mar. 31 on flights through Jun. 30. After that introductory period, fares will range between $49 and $109 each way.

“This new service will provide a quick, convenient alternative to the current commute between Imperial Valley and the metropolitan San Diego area,” said Thella F. Bowens, President/CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. “With the airline’s choice of schedule and frequency, the service will be convenient for both business and leisure travelers.”

For drivers, it takes approximately an hour and 45 minutes to two hours to get from San Diego to El Centro. The distance between the cities is about 113 miles.

To learn more about this new flight service or to purchase plane tickets, visit the SeaPort Airlines website.
 



Photo Credit: NBCSanDiego

Phillies To Put MLB Star on Scale -- But Will It Work?

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Even in the twisted perspective of professional sports contracts, Delmon Young’s unusual deal with the Philadelphia Phillies sounds pretty sweet: $600,000 in bonuses if he can lose 10 pounds and keep at least half the weight off his 6-foot-3-inch frame all season.

His target: 230 pounds, nearly obese by common benchmarks.

The Phillies presumably believe that the relatively modest weight loss will improve Young’s production in the outfield. But nutritionists, sports lawyers and health-care analysts don’t see it that way. Money alone isn’t that great an incentive for overweight people, and in an athlete’s case, forced dieting may actually hurt performance.

"My biggest concern is if he gets down to 230, does that make him a better player? If it does, then it makes sense," said Greg Salgueiro, a Rhode Island dietitian who consults athletes and trainers and helps companies develop wellness programs. "But what if he loses 10 pounds and he isn't as good? It's a big assumption to say he'll lose 10 pounds and he'll be just as good or better."

Weight clauses are relatively uncommon in sports contracts, so it is difficult to analyze their effectiveness. The last time one made news was 2010, when the Los Angeles Lakers signed 6-foot-9-inch rookie power forward Derrick Caracter to a contract that required him to weigh 275 pounds.  Caracter lasted just one season and is now reportedly playing in Israel.

A year earlier, the Boston Celtics signed 6-foot-9-inch Glen "Big Baby" Davis to a contract that promised $500,000 bonuses if it avoided exceeding a certain weight. Davis ended up getting traded to the Orlando Magic, where he apparently does not have a weight clause.

Young, who won last year's American League Championship Series MVP award while playing for the Detroit Tigers, has reportedly agreed to six weigh-ins throughout the 2013 season with the Phillies. The first three times, he must weight 230, and the last three 235. He is promised a $100,000 bonus for hitting each mark.

Why the Phillies sought the weight clause, and why Young agreed to it, no one's saying. But while pro baseball players are getting heavier -- of the 35 Major Leaguers who've been listed at 240 pounds or more, 23 played in the last decade -- many teams are loathe to put such pressure on an athlete.

New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said last year that he didn't want pitching ace C.C. Sabathia playing with a weight clause because, in his experience, they almost always backfire. He said he'd seen players doing anything necessary to drop weight.

"Guys would starve themselves two days before to make the weight and then cost us a game because he shouldn’t have even been out there competing,” Cashman told the New York Daily News.

Sports lawyer Michael McCann says he once analyzed the rosters of the 2004 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox and found that more than 90 percent of the players were technically overweight.

"Pounds may be a useful measure for the rest of the population, but sometimes athletes are just thick and wide with muscles," McCann said. "They may be in good condition but their poundage is in excess for what someone would normally be for their height and age."

He added, "Maybe an athlete feels that he has to carry around the additional weight to be a good player."

John Cawley, who runs Cornell University's Institute on Health Economics, Health Behaviors and Disparities, views weight clauses through the prism of a basic economic rule: You get what you pay for.

Young's contract, Cawley said, could discourage him from lifting weights and adding muscle mass, and since muscle is heavier than fat, losing it could be a faster way to hitting his marks. A more effective tool would be to measure Young's percentage of body fat.

"He chose to sign (the contract). Maybe he likes to structure things this way. But it begs the question: are the Phillies going to get an extra $100,000 in benefits from his hitting (each of) these target weights?" Cawley said. "What are they getting in terms of production on the field? That's going to be a really interesting thing to follow."

His point begged another question: Are weight-loss incentives effective in the real world?

Research shows that overweight workers are less productive and get sick more often. They also incur higher healthcare costs. So employers are exploring ways to bring those costs down. One way is to enroll them in programs that offer money if they hit certain weight loss goals.

Cawley studied one of those programs and found that half dropped out within the first quarter, and by year's end, three-quarters had quit. Of those who stuck with it, the average weight loss was six pounds, Cawley said. Among all the participants, the average weight loss was under two pounds.

None of them were offered $100,000 bonuses like Young, but the point, according to Cawley, is that free money alone isn't an effective motivator.

Joshua Price, who worked with Cawley on the weight-loss study, studies the economics of health and sports at the University of Texas at Arlington. He cautioned against judging Young's contract without knowing exactly what went into the negotiations.

A brief look at Young's career shows that his weight ballooned only in the last couple years, which happens to coincide (despite the MVP performance last October) with a drop-off in his overall performance, Price said. The Phillies may have taken that into consideration, and tailored a contract that balances his value as a heavier player and as a lighter one.

"I imagine that the people making contracts are intelligent and consulted with doctors, so the (weight clause) may be based on Young's body type and body fat showing that 230 pounds is some optimal number," Price said.

Daniel Werly, a sports lawyer in Chicago, said he was skeptical that the weight clause would have much of an impact on Young's output.

"I don't think it's necessarily a fair measure of performance," he said. But he added: "In baseball and other sports, athletes are getting bigger and stronger and weighing more, so it might be something that comes more into play."

Scott Ross contributed reporting.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Local Health Centers Offer Flu Shots

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With the nationwide flu outbreak in full swing, local health centers are urging vaccination.

In San Diego, a total of 14 people have died from influenza this season, including eight deaths last week, according to the County Health and Human Services Agency.

Local students and staff are being hit hard by the flu. The number of people with flu-like symptoms seeking help at local emergency rooms is also on the rise, with more than 1,000 cases reported at area hospitals.

In an effort to curb the spreading of the virus, various public health centers across the county will conduct flu shot clinics on Friday.

This includes the North Inland Public Health Center located at 606 E. Valley Parkway in Escondido. Flu shots will be administered there from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The Bayside Community Center located at 2202 Comstock St. will offer flu vaccinations from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Naval Hospital has set up a walk-in flu clinic for all eligible TRICARE beneficiaries experiencing flu-like symptoms. Entrance to that flu clinic is located outside the Naval Hospital’s pharmacy entrance. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For a full list of County Public Health Centers, click here. For general information about influenza, visit this website.
 

'Top Notch Ship' Honored at Decommissioning Ceremony

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A decommissioning ceremony was held Friday morning for the guided-missile frigate USS Curts.

The vessel, affectionately known as the "38 Special," took part in Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War and numerous anti-narcotics missions around the world.

Jon Rose was the ship's superintendent and has been part of the crew since its inception nearly 30 years ago.  

"I knew the ship inside and out," he said at the ceremony Friday. "I was with it through its final completion and went on sea trials with it was well."

USS Curts was commissioned in 1983 and was first used in anti-submarine operations.Beginning in 1991 at the outbreak of the Gulf War, the ship took part in most of the naval combat operations in the gulf, according to Naval historical records.

Later, in 2004, it seized 12 tons of cocaine -- the most in maritime history.

"It's a fascinating ship," Rose said. "The electronics are fascinating, the weapons system is just incredible. It's a top notch ship."

Retired Lt. Commander John Woodbury with the US Navy said serving on the ship gave him and the crew a chance to do "a lot of things that most ships will never get to do." 

"We had a wonderful crew, we had a great shipyard to build us, it was a fantastic time," he said. 

The ship was named after late Admiral Maurice E. Curts, former Commander in Chief of the U. S. Pacific Fleet.

The decommissioning ceremony was held at Naval Base San Diego. A crowd full of sailors and their families attended to pay tribute to the vessel. 



Photo Credit: Brandi Powell

WATCH: Dolphin Reported Stranded in NYC Canal

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Authorities responded to the Gowanus Canal after a report that a dolphin was stranded in the water Friday afternoon. 

Chopper 4 showed the sea creature bobbing up and down in the murky water, the spout in its head visible each time it pushed itself above the surface.



Photo Credit: NBCNewYork

How to Donate Miles to Wishes in Flight

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Looking for a creative way to donate this New Year? Try donating your airline miles.

Make-A-Wish and NBC 7 San Diego have partnered together for Wishes in Flight, which allows you to give your unused miles to children in need.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a unique program that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Last year, more than 70 percent of wishes in San Diego required flight travel.

Between  6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25 people can call 619-237-0700 to donate their unused miles from US Airways, Delta Airlines and United. Make sure you know your frequent flier account number and the number of miles you want to donate when you call.

You can also donate anytime online on the Make-A-Wish website.

Once donated, your miles will never expire and will be used to grant wishes to children in San Diego.

For more information, visit the Wishes in Flight website.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Retired CBP Agent Found Guilty in Child Porn Case

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A retired U.S. Customs and Border Protection supervisory special agent was found guilty by a federal jury Thursday on two felony counts of receiving child pornography.

According to U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy’s office, retired CBP agent Lawson Hardrick, 64, of Calexico, Calif., was found guilty in a San Diego court.

Hardrick is accused of receiving images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

According to evidence presented at trial, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security investigators say Hardrick used peer-to-peer file-sharing programs to exchange child pornography with others.

From 2008 to 2010, investigators say he received sexually explicit videos of children as young as four and nine years old. His indictment was handed up by a federal grand jury in San Diego in July 2012.

Hardrick’s sentencing is scheduled for Apr. 29.

The former CBP special agent faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison with a five-year mandatory sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years to a lifetime of supervised release. Hardrick is also required register as a sex offender.
 



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

1 Killed in I-15 Multi-Car Crash

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One person died in a multi-vehicle crash along northbound Interstate 15 and State Route 56 Thursday.

Five cars and one motorcycle were involved in the crash around 10:30 p.m. when a motorcycle lost control on the slick road officials said. 

One SUV was tipped over on its side. Debris spread over multiple lanes.

The motorcyclist was transported to nearby Pomerado Hospital where he was later pronounced dead according to the California Highway Patrol.

The county medical examiner identified the driver as Daniel Shea, 24, of Poway.

While it’s unclear what caused the crash, CHP said the roads were wet from rain showers. The medical examiner said Shea was driving at a high rate of speed.

Rain picked up in Sabre Springs again early Friday making the roadways wet for morning commuters.

 


It's a Day of Rain San Diego

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Whether you love it or loathe it, San Diego is about to get a day of rain Friday as a winter storm moved ashore early this morning.

Check interactive radar

The heavy rain that covered Point Loma and Coronado moved north through the morning commute heading for La Jolla and Encinitas.

“We have a lot of food for this storm, a lot of that water, that moist air heading up out of the south,” NBC 7 San Diego’s meteorologist Jodi Kodesh said referring to the interactive radar showing storm clouds over the South Bay.

That heavy rain formed some street flooding on H Street near the Interstate 5 exit in Chula Vista.

Some locals heard thunder overnight and that may happen in our area again today. Lightning caused outages for several hundred customers in Escondido.

Check your forecast

On the roads, wet roads caused dozens of accidents in the 6 a.m. hour according to the California Highway Patrol.

A truck jackknifed along northbound I-15 in Mission Valley just south of Interstate 8. The truck collided with a van closing some lanes for about 30 minutes.

In San Marcos, a fire battalion chief was involved in an accident along southbound I-15 at Deer Springs Road.

Check interactive traffic map

Even though the rain made for a messy commute, some San Diegans welcome the change in the weather.

"I woke up really happy and we're going to have a good day," said Chula Vista resident Carmen Lugo. "Even if we have rain, it's going to be a good day." 

 



Photo Credit: Jeff Herrera

Officer Jumps to Stop Moving Motorcycle

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An officer pursuing a potentially stolen motorcycle in Mission Valley was dragged down a street after attempting to stop the motorist, according to the San Diego Police Department.

The pursuit began late Thursday at about 10 p.m. near Mission Center Road and Hazard Center Drive, police said.

The officer was responding to a report of a stolen motorcycle when he saw the motorcycle and began following it.

The motorcyclist fled up the hill to Murray Ridge Road.

See raw video of the incident here

In an attempt to stop the motorcyclist, the officer jumped from his patrol car and grabbed the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist continued to flee with the officer still holding on. The officer was dragged for an unknown distance until the motorcyclist lost control and crashed, police said. 

Authorities took the motorcyclist into custody.

The officer was not injured, however there were three incidents earlier this week in which officers were injured on the job. On Monday, an officer was punched during a scuffle with a suspect outside a convenience store at Florida and El Cajon Boulevard in University Heights.

Then, later the same day, a woman was arrested for battery on a peace officer after she punched the officer at the downtown trolley station at American Plaza and India Street.

The next day, an officer was attacked by a man along the side of the road in Mission Bay. Authorities on the scene said a father trying to drive his 21-year-old son to a mental health facility crashed the car after the son became violent.



Photo Credit: Paul Anderegg

Giffords' Husband, NRA VP to Testify at Senate Hearing

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Mark Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and co-founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions—an initiative aimed at countering the gun lobby—will testify alongside the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence next week.

The Jan. 30 hearing with a straightforward name—"What Should America Do About Gun Violence?"—was first introduced by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy in a speech earlier this month at the Georgetown University Law Center and the list of witnesses was released Friday.

For more U.S. news, visit NBCNews.com.

Kelly and Giffords, who was shot in the head during a 2011 mass shooting in Tuscon, Ariz., have become vocal proponents of gun control in the wake of the recent school shooting that killed 26 at a Newton, Conn. elementary school. Together they launched their gun control initiative on the two-year anniversary of the Tuscon shooting that nearly ended Giffords' life.

"Achieving reforms to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings will mean matching gun lobbyists in their reach and resources," they wrote in an editorial announcing their initiative earlier this month.

The NRA’s Wayne LaPierre also responded to the Newtown massacre, blaming the media, violent video games and an inadequate mental health care system in the country for instances of gun violence. He proposed having armed personnel in schools to prevent another school shooting.

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," he said at a press conference several days after the shooting.

Other members invited to testify at the hearing include Nicholas Johnson, a law school professor from Fordham University, James Johnson, the Chief of Police in Baltimore Country and Gayle Trotter, an attorney and senior fellow at the Independent women’s forum in Washington, D.C.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

The 9 Best Super Bowl Ads Ever

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Super Bowl commercials have almost become as big as the game itself. Now, the water-cooler talk on the morning after is just as likely to be about the big commercial as the big play. That's not surprising:  When advertisers have the biggest TV audience of the year and are paying top dollar for air time -- $3.75 million for 30 seconds this year -- they're going to swing for the fences.

Here are nine Super Bowl spots from the past 25 years that stand above the rest:

"The Showdown" starring Larry Bird and Michael Jordan for McDonald's, 1993
Two of the greatest basketball players of all time facing off in a game of HORSE, with the loser watching the winner eat a Big Mac -- what's not to like?

Mean Joe Green for Coke, 1980
Everyone talks about how Apple was the first Super Bowl advertiser to get people starting about a commercial, instead of the game, but this spot featuring one of football's fiercest players showing a softer side came out four years earlier, and remains a touchstone.

"When I Grow Up" for Monster.com, 1999
Shot in a stark black-and-white, and featuring kids dreaming about the horrors so many adults already face: "When I grow up, I wanna be a Yes Man!" Funny and depressing.

"1984" for Apple, 1984
Hailed as one of the greatest ads of all time, director Ridely Scott's spot inspired by George Orwell's novel totally caught the world off guard.

"Terry Tate, Office Linebacker" for Reebok, 2003
An instant classic, this series had a little something for everyone, from inappropriate inside jokes to "Office Space" references.

"The Force" for Volkswagen, 2011
One of the few commercials where the set-up is nearly as entertaining as the reveal. Simply awesome.

"The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" for Old Spice, 2010
Technically not a Super Bowl ad, as it was an online campaign that started just before the game and the first spot aired right after, but they caught the big game's wave and road it home. A rare ad that made fun of both men and women without insulting either, and managed to be sexy without being cheap. Throw in the fact that it's genuinely funny, and you've got a hit on your hands.

"You're Not You When You're Hungry" starring Betty White for Snickers, 2010. The spot that launched the Cult of Betty White. In the commercial, the octogenarian talks trash to a teammate, and the national ate it up: An online petition begged for her to "Saturday Night Live" (and she did), and she landed a role in a new sitcom, "Hot in Cleveland." Bonus points for an Abe Vigoda cameo.

"Matthew's Day Off" for Honda, 2012
Matthew Broderick starred in this recreation of his most iconic film, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," staying true to the source material right to the very end.



Photo Credit: Apple

Notre Dame Defends Handling of Te'o Hoax

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Top administrators at Notre Dame decided within hours of hearing about the Manti Te'o dead girlfriend hoax that it did not involve a crime and within two days had concluded there was no NCAA violation, according to a letter sent by the university president to board of trustee members on Friday.

The Rev. John Jenkins told trustees that despite "the unrelenting scrutiny of hundreds of journalists and countless others — and repeated attempts by some to create a different impression— no facts relating to the hoax have been at odds with what Manti told us" on Dec. 27-28.

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The letter was obtained Friday by The Associated Press from a university official who provided it on condition of anonymity because the private school's internal workings are confidential.

The eight-page document, including a four-page letter from Jenkins and a four-page outline of how Notre Dame handled the hoax, is both a defense and an explanation of the school's actions.

"We did our best to get to the truth in extraordinary circumstances, be good stewards of the interests of the university and its good name and — as we do in all things — to make the well-being of our students one of our very highest priorities," Jenkins concluded in his letter.

Some of the timeline Notre Dame outlined is well known, including that its star linebacker disclosed the scam to his coaches the day after Christmas and it remained unknown to the public until Deadspin.com broke the story on Jan. 16, long after the Fighting Irish lost the BCS championship to Alabama on Jan. 7.

Jenkins wrote that Notre Dame officials talked in the hours after hearing from Te'o on Dec. 26 and agreed there was no indication of a crime or student conduct code violation. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick spoke with Te'o the next day, and on Dec. 28 the school concluded there were no indications of an NCAA rules violation, which could have put Notre Dame's 12-0 regular season in jeopardy.

The school then made moves to find out who was behind the hoax, thereby protecting Te'o and itself.

"For the first couple of days after receiving the news from Manti, there was considerable confusion and we simply did not know what there was to disclose," Jenkins wrote.

On Jan. 2, after several days of internal discussion and a week after Te'o's disclosure, Notre Dame retained Stroz Friedberg, a New York computer forensics firm to investigate the case and whether any other football players had been targeted. The firm did not return phone or email messages left Friday.

Notre Dame officials believed Te'o's girlfriend — whether alive or dead — was at least a real person until the next day, when Stroz Friedberg said it could not find any evidence that Kekua or most of her relatives ever existed. And by Jan. 4, two days after hiring Stroz Friedberg, Notre Dame officials concluded Te'o was the victim of the hoax, there was no threat to the school and the private investigation was suspended.

"We concluded that this matter was personal to Manti," Jenkins wrote, deciding it was up to Te'o to disclose, especially after he signed with Creative Artists Agency on the day after the BCS game.

Notre Dame's role in the scheme has been heavily scrutinized, with some wondering if the image of Te'o leading the top-ranked Irish through the heartbreaking deaths of his grandmother and girlfriend on the same day in September was aimed at burnishing his credentials and that of his school. Te'o was named an All-American and finished second in the Heisman Trophy race.

Te'o has denied in interviews with ESPN and Katie Couric that he was in on the Kekua hoax, though he has admitted he failed to be forthcoming about the fact that the woman he called his girlfriend was only someone he knew through phone calls and electronic messages.

Te'o says that when the hoax was exposed, a 22-year-old acquaintance from California named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo confessed that he was behind the ruse and apologized. The woman whose photos were used as the face of Kekua says Tuiasosopo stole them and that he has apologized to her, too. Tuiasosopo has not made a public statement about the hoax.

The episode put Notre Dame athletics on the defensive, a spot it has occupied before.

George O'Leary resigned in December 2001 after five days as the football coach, admitting he lied on his resume. In 2010, a student-athlete was accused of sexually molesting Saint Mary's College student Elizabeth Seeberg two weeks before she died of a suspected drug overdose. Later that same year, 20-year-old Declan Sullivan was killed when the aerial lift he was on was knocked over by winds as he filmed football practice. University officials acknowledged their procedures and safeguards were not adequate and paid a $42,000 fine to the state for safety violations.

In the Te'o case, the university's initial statement after the story broke on Jan. 16 said it had hired investigators to assist him in "discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax." It also said proper authorities would continue to investigate "this troubling matter." There is no indication law enforcement agencies were ever notified.

South Bend police and the St. Joseph Prosecutor's Office both say that they have never been contacted and Robert Ramsey, FBI supervisory special agent for northern Indiana, said there was no investigation because authorities don't believe a crime was committed. Authorities in California also have said they are not investigating the case.

University spokesman Dennis Brown and another university official who was not identified told the South Bend Tribune the school didn't go public about the hoax before the BCS title game because they didn't think it would be in the best interest of either the Notre Dame or Alabama teams.



Photo Credit: AP
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