With a large military community, a very active port and many veterans, a social media website has ranked San Diego the most patriotic city in the United States.
Just in time for the 4th of July, America’s Finest City has topped a list of the Top 10 Most Patriotic Cities, as released by MyLife.
The social media website’s analysis took a look at four sets of data to determine patriotic pride including the percentage of population in the Armed Forces, total spending on U.S. military veterans, the popularity of fireworks and community and social service workers.
San Diego nabbed the top spot, in part by ranking 5th in total spending on vets and 5th in popularity of fireworks in July, according to MyLife. The city was one of only two in California to make the cut.
After San Diego, other patriotic cities on the list include, in order: San Antonio; Austin, Texas; Fort Worth, Texas; Oklahoma City; Las Vegas; Long Beach, Calif.; El Paso, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Houston.
Speaking of red, white and blue pride, here’s a list of communities around San Diego County hosting 4th of July events this Friday and, of course, fireworks.
Children holding stuffed animals joined activists, clergy, attorneys and other community members Wednesday in San Diego to show support for those undocumented women and children who were blocked from an immigration facility by a crowd of angry protesters.
“These are our children. Before we were us, we were them," said Enrique Morones, Director of Border Angels, a non-profit based in San Diego.
“It is absolutely wrong what is taking place.”
Morones was in Riverside County and witnessed the confrontation Tuesday between three buses carrying close to 140 undocumented immigrants and a group of protesters holding American flags and signs and chanting anti-immigration slogans.
“What I saw was one of the worst things I’ve seen in my life,” Morones said. “We saw the worst of the American spirit.”
Border Angels is collecting donations of food, clothing, toys and other supplies for the thousands of immigrants expected to arrive in San Diego County over the next several weeks.
The undocumented immigrants are being flown to California from Texas in an attempt to relieve overcrowded conditions in U.S. Customs and Border Protection housing made even more overwhelming by an influx of unaccompanied minors.
The situation has been described as a “humanitarian crisis” by the Obama administration.
CBP officials said the approximate 140 women and children that arrived in California Tuesday are undergoing pre-screening for health issues at various locations in San Diego County.
Once they are processed, officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement will decide who can be released while awaiting deportation proceedings.
Hundreds of emails and phone calls from people willing to help the families have come in to San Diego according to Morones.
He has even received a call from a woman living in Hawaii offering to house someone.
Among those who spoke at Wednesday's news conference was Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson with Palomar Unitarian who called for people to find compassion for those seeking help from the U.S.
“Each and every person has inherent worth and dignity,” Johnson said. “Let us be the people that reach out in love and that stand on the side of love.”
Armando Telles with the American GI Forum called on veterans to join the movement and help protect the children – both from outside American borders and within the U.S.
“Our children are learning and watching what we are doing. Be an example we can live with,” Telles said.
An American flag that was flown over the World Trade Center ruins during the 9/11 cleanup and was later given to the sister of a fallen firefighter was stolen from her front yard on Long Island.
Melissa Brengel said the flag was still in the front yard when she returned to her Huntington Station home at about 10:30 p.m. Monday night. When her husband left for work at about 5:15 a.m. Tuesday, it was gone.
The flag is particularly special to Brengel and was given to her by the September 11th Families Association.
"We put it out during certain times of the year just to remember," she said.
"I don't think there's a way [the thief] could have known, but at the same time, they're coming onto my property and taking something that means so much to me and so many Americans," said Brengel.
Brengel's brother Jonathan Ielpi was a 29-year-old FDNY firefighter working out of Squad 288 in Queens when he died on Sept. 11.
Her other brother is also in the FDNY, and her father is retired from the department, now running a tribute center in New York City.
"It hurts me and all of them that somebody could do something like this," she said.
Brengel's home is at the end of a dead-end street, and while her neighbors also have American flags hanging, "for whatever reason, they took ours."
She is hoping whoever took the flag somehow hears of its significance and returns it.
Local leaders, community members and immigration activists are criticizing the Murrieta police for not doing more to prevent Tuesday’s protest that blocked a caravan of undocumented women children.
“I don’t think a lot of this outrage is racially motivated. I know it is,” activist Enrique Morones said. “There’s a double standard in play here and there’s no doubt about it.”
He witnessed the confrontation and has called for an investigation into the Murrieta Police Department to determine why more wasn’t done to keep the road clear for the caravan of buses.
In response to the criticism, Murrieta Mayor Alan Long said the police achieved what they were brought in to do.
"Their No. 1 priority was to keep everyone safe.. People on the buses safe.. Protesters on both sides of this issue safe and that's exactly what they did," he said.
While the protests did get heated, the mayor said those involved did not break any laws.
"They allowed people to exercise their constitutional rights," he said.
Long said he felt compassion for the families escaping violence and poverty in Central America, but he's also frustrated by the lack of guidance from federal authorities.
"And now we feel dumped on and we are utilizing our resources with no financial help," he said. "In fact, the Department of Homeland Security to date has not talked to us about this."
On Friday, more buses carrying immigrants are expected to arrive. Asked whether he thinks the same scenario will take place then, Long said: "I would anticipate if everyone remained peaceful and they were exercising their constitutional rights and everyone remained safe. You would see the same outcome."
Still, tensions continued to sizzle Wednesday.
Morones organized other community members and human rights activists at a news conference Wednesday to denounce the treatment of those nearly 140 women and children who were transported to San Diego from the U.S.-Mexico border region in Texas.
Their transfer to California was the first of many scheduled over the next several weeks as the federal government tries to handle an overflow of unaccompanied minors and families with small children that have crossed into the U.S. in recent weeks.
In Murrieta, residents stood in the street waving flags and chanting anti-immigration slogans as a caravan of three buses approached the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol facility to begin the process of pre-screening the children and their mothers.
“They simply want to live and that’s how they’re greeted with pounding on the buses and blocking the buses,” Morones said.
Tuesday’s gathering was an unlawful gathering, a spokesperson for the Murrieta Planning Department told NBC 7.
No permit was filed at the department or the Murrieta Police Department for the public protest outside the facility.
Speaker of the Assembly Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) called the protest in Murrieta “shameful.”
“This is a complex problem with many parts to resolve, but we must not forget that there are real human beings at the center of it,” she said in a written statement.
Everard Meade, Director of the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego, suggested those planning to protest future immigrant transfers should consider their actions from the perspective of the children.
“Let’s say it’s an 11-year-old kid who’s inside of there or a mother who is trying to shield her children. What that must have been like for them to go through that circus,” Meade said.
Victor Torres, an attorney who works with La Raza, suggested members of the public get educated on the issues from more sources than bumper stickers or talk radio.
“What are the people of Escondido and Murrieta afraid of? Nine year olds? I don’t think so,” Torres asked. “They are afraid of what they don’t know.”
Andy Carey, Executive Director of the U.S.-Mexico Philanthropy Partnership agrees that fear of the unknown may be fueling the passion seen in Murrieta.
“It’s unfortunate that ignorance, bigotry, racism still persists in 2014,” Carey said.
“Some people may be angry but it’s important to place that anger in its right place,” Carey said. “In directing it towards children is beyond anything of human decency.”
He said his organization is looking into how they can help create a more productive way for both sides to have a dialogue about the issues.
An unruly passenger forced an American Airlines flight en route from San Diego to Dallas to land in Phoenix on Wednesday, officials say.
Transportation Security Administration officials said the plane diverted and made an unscheduled landing after the passenger caused a disturbance on board, but did not offer further details.
American Airlines flight 362 landed in Arizona at 2:14 p.m., about an hour after it left San Diego, KPNX in Phoenix reported. It had been scheduled to take off from San Diego at 12:50 p.m. and wound up departing at 1:19 p.m.
The flight took off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International at 3:29 p.m. PT and was scheduled to arrive in Dallas at 7:16 p.m. CT, according to the American Airlines website.
"AA 362 en route from San Diego to Dallas-Fort Worth made an emergency landing in Phoenix because of a disruptive passenger. The flight landed in Phoenix around 2pMT, the passenger was escorted off the flight, and they took back off at 3pMT," the airline said in a statement.
No injuries were reported and further details were not immediately released.
A whale may have caused a boat to overturn Wednesday off the coast of San Diego.
The Coast Guard received a call around noon from a Good Samaritan who said he had rescued two people after their 23-foot boat overturned about 12 miles off the coast.
The rescued mariners said their boat was hit by a whale.
The Good Samaritan took them onto his boat and towed their boat ashore, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard did not respond to the incident, and no injuries were reported.
The people brought to Southern California will be allowed to walk out the door:
U.S. Border Patrol union representative Gabe Pacheco said that’s not exactly the case, as the immigrants must come back for a hearing.
“They may have a phone number of a relative someplace. They may have a destination. So they will be released on a promise they’re going to come back for an immigration hearing,” he explained.
Undocumented immigrants coming into the country carry diseases
Pacheco confirmed Wednesday that some of the immigrants transferred to San Diego had been quarantined for “various medical reasons.” He said this includes conditions such as scabies and lice.
“That’s a concern for patrol officers in the field, coming into contact with scabies or something like that,” he explained. “Some of [the immigrants] are unhealthy because of the lack of medical attention.”
Pacheco said there are “ongoing medical examinations” taking place within the holding facilities before the immigrants are turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Just like some of the immigrants may have health conditions, Pacheco said others are perfectly healthy.
Taxpayer money will be spend on medical bills for those coming into the county sick
Pacheco said this claim is “absolutely true.”
• These women and children should enter the U.S. “the right way”
Pacheco agreed with this, adding:
“There are lots of people who have immigrated to the United States legally and have paid their fees, who have been medically screened, and all the steps they went through. This is just a big upfront to them,” he said.
Undocumented immigrants should be sent back to their country of origin
According to Victor Torres, attorney with the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, simply deporting these immigrants would be against the rule of law, which dictates that unaccompanied minors from Central America cannot be sent back on a simple basis.
Torres said the immigrants are being treated under the laws that currently exist. The laws, he said, require these children to be taken out of Border Patrol custody and put into the custody of Child Protective Services.
Enrique Morones, Director of Border Angels, a non-profit based in San Diego, said the migrant children will be held for 72 hours under a law that was passed under the Bush Administration. They will then be turned over to a family member that lives in the area, if they have one, or moved to someplace where they can stay.
Pacheco said the immigrants should see an immigration judge who will decide if they can stay or if they will be flown back to their country of origin.
Additional Details:
The women and children at the center of this heated immigration debate are part of a large group of undocumented immigrants that crossed into Texas from Central America.
Due to the strain on U.S. Border Patrol in Texas, this group was flown into San Diego Tuesday in a chartered plane. They were then transferred onto buses destined for a CBP processing facility in Murrieta, Calif., but protesters chanting anti-immigration slogans blocked their arrival.
On Wednesday, one of those buses traveled eastbound along State Route 905. An NBC 7 news crew attempted to follow the bus, but was stopped when CBP agents blocked the highway entrance to traffic.
As of Wednesday, 40 immigrants from the group were being detained at the Brownfield Station in Otay Mesa, while 42 others were sent to the Imperial Beach Station, 17 were moved to the Boulevard Station and 40 were in quarantine in Chula Vista, according to Ron Zermeno, Health & Safety Director of the National Border Patrol.
Pacheco said each immigrant would be processed and eventually turned over to ICE.
He said many of these immigrants are coming from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, places that are known for violence and gangs.
“They look at this as an opportunity to leave that country and come directly to the United States and grab the American Dream,” he added.
Still, Pacheco said this influx is putting a strain on national security.
“When you have the poorest border, when you have people coming across, agents are busy processing, changing diapers and doing whatever duties go along with that, you don’t have the agent on the ground out there,” he said. “If you don’t have that agent on the ground, all the infrastructure is for not.”
This recent spike in unaccompanied children crossing into the United States has been called a "humanitarian crisis" by President Barack Obama. Some of those entering the U.S. alone are younger than 13.
San Diego-based Border Patrol agents report seeing 642 minors crossing the border this year, a 55 percent increase over last year.
This 4th of July, make sure your pet is safe if he decides to go forth without you.
The San Diego Humane Society is offering free ID tags and free microchipping on Wednesday and Thursday.
Pets can be spooked by booming fireworks and run away in fear.
“There is typically a spike in the number of stray animals that we receive the day after a big holiday, like the 4th of July,” said Dr. Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA.
The services will be offered from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Central Campus at 5500 Gaines St. and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at both Oceanside locations — 2905 San Luis Rey Rd. and 572 Airport Rd. No appointment is needed.
Your information is attached to the chip, which is inserted in the area between your pet’s shoulder blades, similar to a shot.
The Humane Society typically charges $10 for microchipping.
Medical marijuana dispensaries in Berkeley will likely soon be required to provide free pot to low-income members and homeless people, according to an ordinance approved by the city council on Tuesday.
The city is also looking to approve a fourth dispensary, raising the current limit of three locations.
The proposed ordinance, first reported by the East Bay Express, requires that Berkeley dispensaries give away two percent of the amount of cannabis they sell each year low-income people. And the pot can't be poor quality either. The proposed city ordinance reads (PDF) that the "medical cannabis provided under this section shall be the same quality on average" as marijuana "dispensed to other members."
“It’s sort of a cruel thing that when you are really ill and you do have a serious illness... it can be hard to work, it can be hard to maintain a job and when that happens, your finances suffer and then you can’t buy the medicine you need,” said Sean Luce with the Berkeley Patients Group.
In order to be eligible, a person must qualify for exemption from local taxes and fees, an income level that's set every year by the city council. That equates to $32,000 a year for one person and $46,000 a year for a family of four.
The ordinance is awaiting final approval, but could become law in August.
Louis Zamperini, a member of the 1936 U.S. Olympic track and field team who survived repeated torture for two years as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II, died Wednesday from pneumonia at the age of 97, his family announced.
"After a 40-day long battle for his life, he peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives. His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days," his family said in a statement released by Universal Pictures, which will release a movie on Zamperini's life, "Unbroken."
The movie, an adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand's book directed by Angelina Jolie, is scheduled to be released Christmas Day. Jolie called Zamperini's death "a loss impossible to describe."
"We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known him," Jolie said.
In May, Zamperini was selected to be grand marshal of the 2015 Rose Parade -- themed "Inspiring Stories" -- on New Year's Day in Pasadena, California. The former University of Southern California track star wore a Trojans cap as he talked about the book and film based on his inspirational story and his new friend, Jolie.
"After the book was finished, all of my college buddies were dead, all of my war buddies were dead -- it's sad to realize you've lost all of your friends," said Zamperini. "But I think I made up for it. I made a new friend -- Angelina Jolie. The gal really loves me. She hugs me and kisses me, so I can't complain."
Born in 1917 to Italian immigrants in Olean, New York, Zamperini moved to the Southern California community of Torrance in 1919 and became a world-class distance runner by the time he graduated from Torrance High School. He set an interscholastic record of 4:21 in the mile at a state championship preliminary meet.
His ability and drive to compete on the track won him a scholarship to USC, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. At 19, he became part of a long tradition of USC track Olympians when he made the U.S. team. He was the country's top finisher -- eighth place -- in the 5,000-meter race at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
His ran his final lap in a blistering 56 seconds, prompting Germany's Adolf Hitler to request a personal meeting with him. In an interview with NBC News, Zamperini said Hitler commented on his strong finish.
"That was it," Zamperini said. "I couldn't really shake hands, he was up pretty high. So I just reached up and touched his hand."
Zamperini retired from competition to serve his country during World War II, becoming a bombardier and in the South Pacific. While on a reconnaissance mission, Zamperini's aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean in Japanse-controlled waters. He and a surviving crewmate spent 47 days adrift on an inflatable raft before being captured by Japanese soldiers when they reached the Marshall Islands.
He was a POW for more than two years, during which time he was frequently beaten and tortured by his captors in prison camps.
"It was heartbreaking," he said during a recent interview with Tom Brokaw. "But I never had a thought in my mind ever about giving up."
Zamperini returned to Southern California to a hero's welcome and later returned to Japan to carry the Olympic torch at the Nagano Games.
Suffering from post traumatic disorder, Zamperini found solace in 1949 when he became a born-again Christian after attending a Los Angeles crusade led by evangelist Billy Graham. He eventually became an inspirational speaker preaching the power of forgiveness.
He practiced what he preached in 1950, when he went to Sugamo Prison in Tokyo -- where Japanese war criminals were being held -- and met with some of his torturers to offer them forgiveness, hugging them in the process.
At age 81, Zamperini -- a five-time Olympic torch-bearer -- ran a leg in the torch relay for the Winter Olympics in Nagano. During his visit, he attempted to meet with his most brutal tormentor during the war, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, but Watanabe --who escaped prosecution as a war criminal -- refused to see him.
In 2005, Zamperini returned to Germany to visit the Berlin Olympic Stadium for the first time since he competed there in 1936.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti releasted a statement Thursday on Zamparini's death.
"I am saddened to learn of the passing of one of our finest Angelenos, Louis Zamperini, a World War II hero, Olympian and inspiration for our nation. My thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family, particularly his son Luke, chief inspector for Training and Emergency Management at the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety."
The Tournament of Roses also released a statement Thursday in which officials said Zamparini will be honored as Grand Marshal at the 2015 parade.
"Louis Zamperini was and will continue to be the embodiment of the 2015 Tournament of Roses theme 'Inspiring Stories,'" Tournament of Roses President Richard L. Chinen said in a statement. "As we mourn the passing of a member of the Tournament of Roses family, one who was moved to be asked to serve as Grand Marshal, we are honored to shine the light on one who truly lived a life of unconditional love, courageous perseverance and patient endurance. He shared with us that his faith in God was his inspiration to be content in plenty and in want. At this time, we pray that Louis' family and friends may find strength knowing that that the story of Louis' journey will inspire the world."
Several California residents are turning to an ancient practice called dowsing to help find water during the severe drought.
The practice, also known as "water witching," resorts to using items like copper rods and prisms. It's a method Napa Valley winemaker Marc Mondavi uses.
"Well, they've helped me find a lot of water in California," Mondavi said. "I'm not just doing Napa Valley, I've done wells throughout northern California. I've gone as far as Mexico."
Mondavi said his services as a "water witch" are in demand as California's historic drought continues. He charges $500.
"There's no guarantees," he said. "Although I'm more than 95-percent successful."
Skeptics point out that the Earth is more than 70 percent water, so finding it is not difficult.
One of those skeptics is James Underdown, who heads the Center for Inquiry and the Independent Investigations Group in Los Angeles.
"Through the years we've tested many dowsers," Underdown said. "None of them have been successful in a scientifically controlled test."
Underdown said that when it comes to the movement of dowsing rods, there is a "down-to-Earth" explanation.
"There's something called the ideomotor effect, which says, that the unconscious mind can effect the muscles and move muscles without one being conscious of it."
Underdown said it is the same effect that moves a planchette across a Quija board.
Mondavi, however, questions his skeptics.
"It's not a science," he said. "Scientists don't understand this. Therefore, they don't believe in it."
Meanwhile, Underdown's group is offering a $100,000 challenge to anyone who can prove this version of paranormal ability.
A 17-year-old skateboarder was badly hurt Wednesday evening when he was hit by a vehicle, police said.
Police say the teen was skateboarding down a hill, didn’t stop at a stop sign and was hit by a passing truck driven by a 58-year-old man at the intersection of South 65th and Skyline in the Encanto neighborhood. The incident happened just before 7 p.m.
The teen suffered major injuries to his spleen, kidney, shoulder and tailbone and was unresponsive. He was taken to Mercy Hospital. His condition Wednesday evening was not yet known.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation imposed the ban Monday, restricting second generation anticoagulant rodenticides – commonly referred to as “super-toxic” rat poisons – from being sold to California consumers.
The products were sold under names such as d-CON Mouse Prufe II, d-CON Bait Pellets and Just One Bite, the agency said.
“They had to be removed from store shelves – only people who are trained and certified to handle them will be allowed to use them in California,” said DPR spokesperson Charlotte Fadipe.
Fadipe said that the now-banned rodenticide contained the chemicals brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum or difethialone, which DPR classified as “restrictive materials.”
“If a rat comes along and eats these poisons on a Monday, it will still be running around on a Tuesday or Wednesday – during that time if a barn owl or a coyote eats the rat, the poison ends up in their bodies,” Fadipe said. “That’s why it’s so dangerous.”
Sometimes even pets may eat the rodents, Fadipe said.
A study conducted by DPR and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife from 1995 to 2010 found residues of the poison in 75 percent of the dead animals studied.
Animals adversely affected by the poison include barn owls, bobcats, coyotes, raccoons and the endangered San Joaquin kit fox.
“There’s a whole range of methods to tackle pests, including non-chemical ones, like getting a cat or an owl, or using other products that are not a threat to wildlife,” Fadipe said.
Reckitt Benckiser, one of the 17 manufacturers of the poison, initially tried to delay the consumer ban, taking DPR to court.
But a Superior Court judge agreed with the ban and the company has agreed to phase out production nationally by next year.
Something smells up there, or at least that what NASA hopes.
A carbon-sniffing satellite was launched into orbit on Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base charged with the task to study and track the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The satellite, called the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2), is part of NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Scientists hope the $466.6 million project can help pinpoint the major sources of human-caused carbon dioxide and measure its impact on the Earth's climate.
OCO-2’s "nose" is actually a sensor that measures the intensity of the sunlight reflected by the gas in a column of air. Each individual measurement is unique and can be used both for identification and to determine patterns of carbon emission.
"Our uncertainty in carbon, what's happening with carbon, leads to a lot of uncertainty in climate," said Joshua Fisher, a JPL research scientist.
Observations of carbon dioxide levels of Earth are expected to begin in about 45 days.
The mission team is staffed and led by members of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, based in Pasadena. For the lab OCO-2 represents the culmination of years of successes, failures and some things that never quite got off the ground.
"This is the satellite that everyone's been waiting for," Fisher said.
Most recently, OCO-2’s launch was scrubbed at T-46 seconds on Tuesday due to a malfunction in the launch pad water system.
But the most serious setback to the launch of a satellite dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide happened back in 2009 when the first edition of the OCO crashed into the Indian Ocean only minutes after lift-off.
The satellite will eventually settle at the head of the A-Train constellation, a group of satellites that orbit the globe together in formation, collecting massive quantities of climate and weather data.
"Climate change is the challenge of our generation," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "With OCO-2 and our existing fleet of satellites, NASA is uniquely qualified to take on the challenge of documenting and understanding these changes, predicting the ramifications, and sharing information about these changes for the benefit of society."
Scientists expect to begin archiving calibrated mission data in around six months and plan to release their first initial estimates of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations early next year.
MRI scans save lives by detecting diseases and identifying injuries, but for millions of people with pacemakers these important tests have been off limits.
The magnet and radio frequency from the MRI damages conventional pacemakers, making it potentially dangerous for patients and sometimes impossible for doctors to read results.
That is why Dr. Raymond Schaerf of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank is participating in a clinical study to test a new MRI-friendly pacemaker called the Accent, offering the device as an option to his patients. It is the first pacemaker in the U.S. that can scan any part of the body.
“There are various parts of the body that are very dependent upon on a good MRI to tell us what to do,” Schaerf said. “What we find is that of all people that get pacemakers or defibrillators, within 3 to 5 years, 70 percent of them can benefit with getting an MRI done.”
That could make it easier for doctors to diagnose and treat an illness or injury in their patients.
The Accent works alongside a wireless device used by the doctor. Before the patient gets an MRI, the device notifies the doctor if the pacemaker is safe to go through the scan. The doctor can also use the device to turn the pacemaker off temporarily, if necessary, or keep it on during the procedure.
The Accent is still in the first phase of testing, but Schaerf expects it to be widely available in the coming years.
The family of a California State University, Northridge student who died while hiking on a trip with members of a school fraternity is looking for answers and justice following what they believe was a hazing incident.
Armando Villa, a 19-year-old "associate member," or pledge, of the Zeta Mu Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at CSUN, died Tuesday during an outing in the Angeles National Forest, officials said.
The group ran out of water and the teen lost consciousness on the trail near Big Tujunga Canyon Road, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.
The others flagged down a forest ranger and the teen was taken to a hospital, where he died.
According to Villa's aunt Marie Castaneda, three boys that were on the hike with Villa were at the hospital and told his family that they were "left barefoot with very little water to share between the boys, and no cellphones, and to find their way out of the forest."
"The doctor was really concerned because [Armando's] feet were blistered and cut, and he, he used the word 'hazing' to my sister because it was a fraternity-sponsored event that they were on," Castaneda said.
Villa had just completed his freshman year at CSUN. His cousin told NBC4 that from what he understood, this event was supposed to take place about a month and a half ago, but that it was moved.
Family members said Villa was eager to make friends at school.
"He wanted to be part of a group at school and you know what better way to be part of a group than being in a fraternity," said Villa's cousin, Efrain Lopez. "During the pledges, he kind of felt out of it, didn't really like it, didn't enjoy it as much as he thought he would."
Lopez said Villa had previously told his cousins about another uncomfortable ritual for new members.
"They were blindfolded and when Armando took the blindfold off, [the pledges] were at a beach and [the fraternity members] told them that they have to lay on the sand with their elbows in the sand for who knows how long," Lopez said. "Armando got home and his elbows were all, like the skin was basically coming off and cut up from the sand, and that’s when Armando was like, I don’t want to do this anymore."
Castaneda said Tuesday's event, which was called "Saw," was the final pledge challenge, required for securing a spot in the fraternity.
"In his cellphone he had actually notes to himself. And I think it was just notes of what he would do when he got in the fraternity," Castaneda said. "One of the things he had on there was stop hazing and the second thing was stop making underage students drink alcohol as part of their pledges."
Homicide detectives believe Villa's death was accidental and possibly caused by a heat stroke, LASD officials said. But Villa's family wants the pledges who were with Armando to come forward and tell them what exactly happened Tuesday. They feel the fraternity should be held responsible for his death.
"The men in charge of this fraternity, you know, the ones that left them there, we want [punishment] for these guys cause they, they murdered our child. They killed him. They left him there to die," Castaneda said.
The fraternity chapter has suspended all activities during an investigation into the incident. Pi Kappa Phi Chief Executive Officer Mark E. Timmes said that at this point, the group's "primary concern is supporting our members and the student's family."
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the student," Timmes said. "We appreciate the support from the Division of Student Affairs and the entire CSUN community during this difficult time."
A photo exchange from outer space that kept NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio up to date with his family back on Earth touched even more lives when it was shared on Facebook.
One keepsake Mastracchio, 54, packed for his six-month stay aboard the International Space Station was a photograph of his son David and daughter-in-law Christin, during her B-52 pilot training. Mastracchio photographed the couple’s picture from the ISS and David posted it to his Facebook page.
When Christin became an Air Force pilot, she and David took another photo from the B-52 cockpit, this time holding the photo that Mastracchio took from space. They emailed the new picture to Mastracchio, who once again snapped a photo that was posted to Facebook.
“Well, this is probably as far as it will get... A picture of a picture of a picture of a picture... in space,” David Mastracchio captioned the post.
Additional photos Mastracchio took from space garnered social media attention as well. In April he posted a selfie to Twitter with the Earth in the background after he replaced a failed backup computer box on the ISS. The photo got retweeted over 5,000 times.
An EVA selfie. The space suit makes it very difficult to get a good selfie. I tried several today. pic.twitter.com/GvMEOj3ewu
A backyard barbecue pit exploded Wednesday night while members of a girls' softball team were roasting marshmallows over it, injuring two of the girls.
The six teen girls were having a sleepover at their coach's Campbell home and had been sitting around the gas-run barbecue pit when it exploded and sent debris flying, fire officials said.
Santa Clara County Fire Battalion Chief Wally Finck said crews responded to the explosion in the 800 block of Briarwood Way sometime around 10:15 p.m.
The explosion did not start a fire and did not damage any structures, Finck said, but two girls were burned on their legs and feet and taken to the hospital for minor burns.
One girl was seen hopping to an ambulance with a bandage on her left foot. The other girls were picked up by their parents.
Homeowner and coach Ron Fetsch, who also has a daughter on the team, told NBC Bay Area the blast sounded like a "firecracker" and then he started "seeing some blood."
He said he has used the barbecue pit at least 50 times without problems. On Thursday, he had been running it for more than 90 minutes before it exploded.
He said PG&E is investigating.
NBC Bay Area's Bob Redell, Lauren Inderhees and Bay City News contributed to this report.
The most severe category of drought expanded in California during the past week at the start of what looks to be a hot, dry summer for a state facing a significant dry spell.
"Exceptional" drought conditions expanded to more than 36 percent of California, a four-percentage point increase since last week, according to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report. The Monitor's drought levels are Abnormally Dry (D0), Moderate (D1), Severe (D2), Extreme (D3) and Exceptional (D4).
Exceptional drought conditions expanded during the past week in Ventura, LA and much of Orange counties, according to the Monitor. No part of California was listed in the Exceptional drought category at the start of 2014, but months without significant rainfall and a decreased Sierra snowpack -- a vital source of water for the state -- led to the drought expansion.
About 79 percent of the state is under Extreme to Exceptional drought, an increase of about 3 percentage points since last week. A large swath of the Central Coast and Central Valley has been hardest hit by the drought as the state just completed its warmest and third-driest winter on record.
In January, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought state of emergency because of critically low levels at the state's reservoirs, due to disappointing rainfall totals and snowpack that measured 16 percent of average.
This week's Drought Monitor report was issued a day after the National Weather Service announced that downtown Los Angeles recorded its seventh-driest rain season since record-keeping began in 1877. Just 6.08 inches of rain fell during between July 1, 2013 and June 30.
One person was killed and three others were injured in a fireworks accident Thursday in Comanche.
Kiwanis Club members were setting up fireworks for Friday's celebration on a baseball field west of a high school when the trailer holding most of the fireworks exploded around 9 a.m. It's not immediately clear what triggered the explosion.
One person was confirmed dead, and several others are being treated for burns, Comanche County Medical Center spokesman Jim Christensen said.
One of those victims was transferred to a burn unit, while two others were treated and released, he said. Their injuries ranged from first- to third-degree burns, mostly on the hands.
Close family and friends confirm to NBC 5 that the man killed is Dr. Russell Reynolds, a local chiropractor and member of the Kiwanis Club. Reynolds was involved in nearly every community event including the July Fourth fireworks show.
The office of State Rep. Dr. J.D. Sheffield, who was scheduled to speak at the fireworks event, released the following statement:
"I was saddened to hear of the tragic loss of Dr Reynolds. My thoughts are with his family, the community of Comanche, and those injured in this accident. I hope they have a speedy recovery. "
All Fourth of July activities planned for Friday night have been canceled after the fireworks accident, the Comanche Chamber of Commerce said.
This was the 24th year the event was set to be held. The event usually draws about 15,000 people, according to the chamber.
On its Facebook page, the Comanche Chamber of Commerce posted:
DUE TO TRAGIC CIRCUMSTANCES THE 4TH ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN CANCELLED FOR 2014.
The state fire marshal's office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the accident.
