The bicyclist who came upon the scene of Friday’s fatal collision involving an SUV that struck a nanny pushing a toddler in a stroller spoke exclusively to NBC 7 about the horrific accident.

According to officials, 41-year-old nanny Monserrat Mendez was pushing a stroller carrying a 14-month-old boy at Camino Del Sur and Via Verrazzano in the Santaluz community near Rancho Santa Fe around noon Friday when an SUV plowed into the pair.

Mendez sustained critical injuries and later died at the hospital. The toddler suffered serious injuries and remains in the Intensive Care Unit at Rady Children’s Hospital.

On Saturday, the female bicyclist, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke to NBC 7. She described the chilling scene she stumbled upon while riding her bike in the Santaluz neighborhood that day.

When she arrived at the scene of the accident, the bicyclist said she saw the injured toddler dangling from the straps of his stroller. The stroller, she said, was wedged tightly under the bumper of the SUV.

The cyclist said she moved quickly to prevent any further harm to the boy.

She also said she felt the nanny’s pulse, but found nothing. She then took the little boy out of the stroller, away from the SUV because she feared the vehicle might explode.

At the scene that day, witness Iraj Karimi told NBC 7 she had seen the female bicyclist pull the toddler out from the stroller underneath the SUV.

Two days after the frightening, fatal crash, police are still investigating.

According to a report released late Friday night by the Medical Examiner’s office, the female driver of the SUV ran a red light before striking Mendez and the boy at the intersection.

Police have also said the driver ran a red light. The impact, officials said, dragged the nanny and toddler from one crosswalk to the next.

NBC 7 also learned the driver of the SUV may be a new mother herself. A man believed to be her husband told NBC 7 Friday the woman was in no shape to comment on the crash, adding, “We have a one-day old.”

The driver, whose name has not yet been released, is said to be cooperating with police and has not been charged in the fatal collision.

Meanwhile, the parents of the seriously injured toddler have been updating NBC 7 on the boy's condition. His mother says he remains in Intensive Care with a with a fractured femur, a pelvic fracture, a broken rib and a skull fracture. He also has a shattered spleen and may need surgery.

The boy's parents issued a statement exclusively to NBC 7 Saturday night.

The statement said:

“We are devastated by the loss of our nanny. She was a wonderful woman and we truly believe that she saved our baby's life. Our love goes out to her family and everyone in the community who are supporting us during this difficult time.”

On Sunday evening, the boy's parents said he has been weaned off heavy pain medication and his test results showed no bleeding, swelling or tearing in his brain. The positive signs came after a "touch and go" first few days in the hospital, with uncertainty over the potential injuries and trauma as a result of the impact.

His arm is in a cast, and doctors may soon be putting a cast on his broken leg as well. All the other injuries -- fractured pelvis and skull and broken ribs -- will heal with time and physical therapy, his parents said.

He is expected to remain in the ICU another five days due to the nature of his spleen injury. His parents hope after that, he will return home to complete his recovery.

His parents said the nanny was their son's best friend, and treated their son as her own.

"She is a hero in our eyes and we are forever grateful to her for saving [our son] in this horrific event," they wrote.

Mendez leaves behind two children of her own.

On Saturday night, flowers were placed at the intersection where the nanny was fatally hit as part of a makeshift memorial – a tribute to a woman who lost her life while caring for another.

A tour bus swerved for several minutes Sunday evening, crashing into two other vehicles before flipping on a two-lane mountain road east of Los Angeles in a rollover that killed at least eight people and injured 38 others.

Crash investigators at the location -- the crash occurred at about 6:30 p.m. on Highway 38 near Mentone, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles -- are attempting to determine what led to the deadly crash.

"Speed was probably a factor," said CHP Officer Mario Lopez. "We do not know if there was a mechanical failure or driver error. That's what investigators at the scene are going to determine."

A victim's family member identified some of the passengers as medical students from Tijuana, Mexico. They were returning from a skiing and snowboarding trip in Big Bear when the bus began swerving and the driver, who survived the crash, reported a problem with the brakes.

The bus collided with a Saturn sedan and Ford truck that was towing a trailer. Aerial video showed debris scattered across the two-lane road and the pickup with significant damage on the side of the road. 

The pickup driver suffered major injuries, and three people in the Saturn suffered minor injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Betty Harvey was traveling down Highway 38 when she saw the bus speed past.

"I saw a headlight in the my rear-view mirror," said Harvey. "I moved over and he went flying past. He was swerving all the way down."

Passengers told NBC4 the bus swerved for about three minutes before it flipped near Bryant Street (map).

Authorities plan to retrieve a passenger list from inside the bus Monday morning. Investigators are waiting to stabilize the vehicle, which is on an embankment, before entering.

At least two deceased passengers remained on the bus Monday morning. The number of casualties might change during the investigation, Lopez said.

About 40 people were aboard the bus, owned by Scapadas Magicas LLC. At least 15 victims remained hospitalized Monday morning.

"We've been unable to go inside the bus," Lopez said. "Once we can do that, we can identify the individuals involved in this."

Officials with the coroner's office remained at the location Monday (AP photo embedded right). National Transportation Safety Board investigators were en route to the site.

Highway 38 was expected to remain closed during the investigation Monday.

Carrier Inspections Show Violations

Scapadas Magicas has offices in National City, Calif. Federal transportation records show that the company is licensed to carry passengers for interstate travel. No crashes involving a company owned bus have been reported in the past two years, but several violations were reported during inspections, according to federal records.

The violations -- based on a 24-month period that ended Dec. 14, 2012 -- included loose wheel fasteners, power steering and brake system issues, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The tour operator, INTERBUS Tours, released a statement Monday morning on its Facebook page.

"INTERBUS Tours and its team are working to support our clients and their families that unfortunately suffered an accident coming down from the mountains of Big Bear in San Bernardino CA. Interbus staff are located in offices and in the hospitals where we know the authorities transferred the wounded."

The man charged with shooting Chris Kyle, the author of "American Sniper," and Chad Littlefield is on suicide watch, according to Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant.

The suspect in the shootings, Eddie Ray Routh, is now in solitary confinement and on suicide watch in an Erath County jail.

According to Bryant, Routh became aggressive with jail guards after refusing to hand over his dinner tray. After several minutes, guards had to open the cell to go in and retrieve the tray.

At that time, guards said, Routh became aggressive and they had to use a stun gun to subdue him.

Bryant say they have heard of death threats against Routh and that they will do everything them can to keep him safe.

Routh is scheduled to stay in the jail until a plea deal is reached or a verdict and sentence come down at a trial.

Routh, a 25-year-old veteran, may have been working with Kyle to overcome Routh's personal struggles. The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that Routh was a corporal in the Marines from June 2006 to January 2010. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and Haiti in 2010. His current duty status is listed as reserve.

Routh's family and neighbors had differing opinions when reporters contacted them about his background.

Routh is charged with two counts of capital murder and is being held on $3 million bond.

Previous Coverage:

• $3 Million Bond for "Sniper" Slaying Suspect 
• EXCLUSIVE: Chris Kyle In His Own Words
• Routh's Mother Reached Out To Help Her Son
• Suspect in Kyle Shooting Faces Capital Murder Charges
• Neighbors Offer Very Different Impressions of Slaying Suspect
• California Neighbors Remember Chris Kyle

A driver who fatally struck a woman and injured a child in a stroller last week ran a red light, according to investigators.

Preliminary findings in an investigation of the accident suggest that the driver, who remains unnamed, ran a red light before driving her her SUV into a stroller, killing 41-year-old Monserrat Mendez and severely injuring a 14-month-old toddler.

The driver was not cited because of the pending investigation, said Sgt. John Saflar with San Diego Police Department Traffic Division. It is unknown how fast she was driving.

Saflar also said charges could include more that running a red light and in similar cases, a driver could face manslaughter charges. Charges will be officially determined by the district attorney’s office once police finish their investigation.

Mendez (shown right) was critically injured at the scene and was pronounced dead at the hospital. She had been working as the boy’s nanny.

The toddler’s mother, a Santa Luz resident, spoke exclusively with NBC 7 Friday night and said Mendez had been working for her family since last September. The nanny leaves behind two teenage children of her own.

The boy remains in the intensive care unit, where he is battling severe injuries, including a fractured femur, pelvic fracture, broken rib, broken leg and a skull fracture.

The driver’s name has not been released; however on Friday NBC 7 learned the woman driving the SUV may be a new mother herself. After running a check on the vehicle’s license plate, NBC 7 learned the car was registered to a Jeffrey Padilla who lives near the scene of the accident.

NBC 7 went to the address and a man who identified himself as a Mr. Padilla answered the door. He said his wife was too distraught to issue a statement.

“Please, she’s gone through enough,” Padilla told NBC 7 on Friday. “There’s no way we can give a statement right now. We have a one-day-old baby.”

The family of Mendez issued the following statement Monday afternoon to NBC 7 through one a family friend: “The family is devastated with this tragedy. We are still in shock, but we will always remember Monse as a strong and caring woman."

Friends of Mendez have set up a fund to help her family. Interested donors can go to any Wells Fargo Branch and make a deposit to the “Monserrat Mendez Memorial Fund."

California is abandoning an ambitious plan that effectively required middle school students to take algebra in the eighth grade.

Even though most other states offer algebra in high school, California moved the course to the eighth grade in 1997, around the time the state tried to improve its educational offerings in a number of subject areas.

But while other states allow students who are ready for advanced mathematics to take algebra in eighth grade - or in some cases, even younger - none but California required it.

Under guidelines and curriculum standards adopted by the state, students who didn't succeed at algebra in the eighth grade simply had to repeat it until they passed.

Two weeks ago, the state's board of education voted to change that, said Tom Adams, head of California's curriculum framework and instructional resources.

Citing studies indicating that not all children were ready for algebra in the eighth grade, the board decided to offer a choice: students could still take algebra in the eighth grade if they were ready, but if not, a new course would be available to them instead.

The new course would be richer than a typical pre-algebra class, Adams said, but not as complex and difficult as algebra itself.

The new course will be available in time for the 2014-2015 school year, Adams said.

It will be a brave entertainer who accepts the invitation to perform the halftime show at the 2014 Super Bowl.

Beyonce arose from beneath the stage amidst flames and smoke to deliver a performance Sunday that was at once a call to rise up and dance and proof that she has the ability to wow a stadium and broadcast viewers with the sound of her voice – no prerecorded backing track needed.

Clad in a black leather and lace corset with removable miniskirt, Beyonce’s Super Bowl outing may have lacked the out-sized spectacle of Madonna’s Egyptian inspired headdresses, Vogueing and endless parade of speical appearances by artists including MIA, Nicki Minaj and LMFAO in 2012, but what it excelled with was an onslaught of foot-thumping rythms, gyrating dancing and full-throated vocals.

“Crazy in Love’s” staccato beat, 120 shimmying backup dancers and a jamming all-female band set the pace as Beyonce pranced between two 20-yard neon-lit facial silhouettes that comprised the stage area. “Till the End of Time” followed, executed before a giant LED screen.

"I'm so anxious," Beyonce said during a press conference Thursday of the pressure surrounding Sunday’s performance. It was at the same event she revealed she used a backing track at the recent presidential inauguration but promised her Super Bowl performance would be "absolutely live."

Any lingering anxiety was well hidden when the superstar was joined onstage in New Orleans by Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland for a much-anticipated Destiny's Child reunion. The group performed a medley of their hits including “Bootylicious,” “Independent Woman” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” - which is a solo Beyonce hit.

There had been plenty of speculation regarding special guests, including reports of the Destiny's Child reunion, though Williams had previously denied the possibility saying she would be in Washington, D.C. performing in the touring version of the Broadway hit "Fela.”

Taking solo control of the stage once more, Beyonce ended her halftime set - which lasted just over 13 minutes - with “Halo,” encouraging her legion of fans to join her in voice.

Whether the “Countdown” singer set a new viewing record remains to be seen.

Last year, Madonna's halftime performance was the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance ever, with an average of 114 million viewers. It garnered more viewers than the game itself, which was the most-watched U.S. TV event in history.

The black leather costumes for Beyonce's extravaganza - as well as Williams' - were created by New York-based designer Rubin Singer. Rowland's bodysuit was by Emilio Pucci.

Opening the evening’s entertainment proceedings was Alicia Keys, who played the piano as she softly sang "The Star Spangled Banner,” the majority with her eyes closed. Her publicist said the performance was live.

Before Keys took her position at the grey grand piano, Oscar- and Grammy-winner Jennifer Hudson performed "America the Beautiful" with the 26-member Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus. All wore green ribbons on their shirts- green and white being the school’s colors - in honor of the 20 first-graders and six adults who were killed in a Dec. 14 shooting rampage.
 

Despite an 11th hour argument by planners and the City three days earlier, a San Diego judge issued his ruling Monday pulling the plug on a multi-million dollar plan to renovate Balboa Park in time for the city's Centennial Celebration.

The controversial project included the construction of a bypass road off the Cabrillo Bridge and an 800-space underground paid parking lot in the large public park in the heart of San Diego.

Judge Timothy Taylor ruled the City of San Diego and The Plaza de Panama Committee (RPI) violated municipal code.

Read entire ruling here

In response to a petition filed by project opponents Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO), Judge Taylor ruled the City must set aside its approval of the Site Development Permit needed for the project because of the violation.

Read: Timeline of Plaza de Panama Project

The RPI was not accurate in describing the area of the park as having "no reasonable beneficial” a requirement for the permit.

Despite arguments presented in a hearing Friday, the judge maintained his tentative opinion released last week.

"While the court agrees with RPI and the City that the evidence establishes that the status quo in the Plaza de Panama results in an 'undesirable park experience,' this is unfortunately not the legal standard enacted by the City for approval of the SDP," the judge wrote in his ruling issued just before 2 p.m. Monday.

A spokesperson for the RPI said the team was disappointed with the finding of “reasonable beneficial use” of the car-dominated plazas.

Planning leaders had been working on the proposal for more than two years when it was approved by city leaders in July.

Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs and the Plaza de Panama Committee committed to raise $25 million in private funding to help pay for the project designed to remove traffic from the heart of the park and restore the central area to pedestrian traffic.

The remaining funding – approximately $15 million - would come from a revenue bond to pay for the parking structure, repaid by revenue generated from parking fees.

Even the judge recognized the ruling could deliver a real setback to the fundraising needed to complete the project and “at a minimum render very difficult a centennial celebration along the lines hoped for by so many.”

The ruling even suggests that the loss of the funds already raised by the committee would be a “sad day for San Diego.”

The manager of an El Cajon tattoo shop fought for his life in a battle against two robbery suspects early Monday.

After a day of renovations at Classic Tattoo on Broadway, Jimmy Blue decided to spend the night in the shop.

Around 2 a.m. Blue was awakened by two men robbing him at gunpoint.

He was hit in the head several times with a gun and suffered serious injuries to his head.

The suspects tried to take his motorcycle and money out of his pocket.

Blue told NBC 7 San Diego the battle lasted for almost 10 minutes and credits martial arts with saving his life.

"I put him in a guillotine, disarmed him and tried to get him out of the shop, by the time I got him, one dude ran scared and then the other guy was trying to save grace or save face or whatever," Blue said. 

When El Cajon police arrived, officers approached the shop with assault rifles because they weren’t sure if the armed suspects were still inside.

The suspects had already escaped, and are still outstanding according to police.

Blue initially refused to be transported to the hospital and was treated on the scene by emergency personnel. A friend later took him to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The former Navy SEAL and renowned U.S. sniper shot to death at a gun range in Stephenville, Texas, spent many years living in San Diego’s East County, one of his friends told NBC 7 San Diego.

Chris Kyle, 38, and another man were found dead at the shooting range of Rough Creek Lodge Saturday, officials said.

Suspected gunman, Eddie Ray Routh, of Lancaster, Texas, was later arrested in connection with the double fatal shooting. Routh is in the Marine Corps Individual Reserve, according to reports.

Kyle was a highly-decorated former Navy SEAL who wrote “American Sniper,” a best-selling book about his career as a marksman in Iraq. He was known as one of the deadliest snipers in U.S. military history.

On Sunday, NBC 7 San Diego reached out to some of Kyle’s local friends. One man said Kyle lived in Alpine for six years while he served in SEAL Team 3 in Coronado.

Kyle’s former next door neighbor said he was good friends with the former SEAL. Their kids grew up together during the time Kyle lived in San Diego.
 

After about a month of searching for the suspect in an Oceanside bank robbery, officers have made an arrest.

Edward Jones Inzunza, 30, was arrested Friday in connection with the January 4 robbery of a Carlsbad Comerica Bank on El Camino Real, according to a federal complaint filed with the U.S. District Court. 

Inzunza was arrested during a traffic stop at the intersection of Lewis and Thunder in Vista.

Authorities said he entered the bank at about 4:30 p.m. and demanded money from a teller. He kept one hand in his pocket, and some bank employees believed he was armed. He fled in a white pickup truck. 

Crime Stoppers received an anonymous tip last week, saying he or she recognized Inzunza from the surveillance photo released after the robbery. The FBI used this information and evidence from the scene to file charges against Inzunza. 

 A motorcycle collided into a pedestrian Monday evening in Clairemont. 

The impact of the crash appears to have seriously injured the pedestrian's leg, according to the San Diego Police Department. 

Police said the crash happened in the 3700 block of Clairemont Drive at about 6:30 p.m. when a man was crossing the street illegally. 

Medics were called to the scene to assist the 68-year-old man struck by the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist is reportedly not injured.

Police are investigating the crash. They shut down southbound lanes of Clairemont Drive while they invesitgated. 

Check back here for more information. 

Authorities say the Iraq War veteran charged in the shooting deaths at a Texas gun range had threatened himself and his family in the past, according to police records.

Eddie Ray Routh is facing one count of capital murder and two counts of murder in the deaths of former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield.

Kyle and Littlefield were shot and killed at a Texas gun range on Saturday.

NBC 5 DFW obtained police reports from Lancaster Monday that said Routh was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in September 2012, after his mother said he'd threatened to "blow his brains out."

In the report, officers said they were called to a disturbance where Routh was threatening to kill himself and his family. Officers said they'd found Routh walking without shoes and a shirt and that he smelled of alcohol. According to police, Routh told them that he was a Marine veteran suffering from PTSD and that he was hurting and that his family didn't understand what he'd been through.

According to Routh's mother, who is quoted in the report, he became upset when his father said he was going to sell Routh's gun.

An earlier report from the Lancaster police, from May of 2012, indicated Routh's mother Jodi had called police after she said her son had taken nine bottles of pills from her home.

On Monday, Routh's attorney said his client was counseled as recently as Jan. 29 at a Dallas Veterans Affairs hospital and was taking medication.

Routh, a member of the Marine Corps Reserve, is being held at the Erath County Jail on $3 million bond. According to Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant, Routh is on suicide watch.

NBC 5's Scott Gordon and Randy McIlwain contributed to this report.

A couple was shot and killed Monday morning in an argument with their neighbor over dog feces, Dallas police say.

When officers arrived at the Sable Ridge Apartments around 8 a.m. Monday, they found two people, later identified as 32-year-old Michelle Jackson and 31-year-old Jamie Stafford, dead at the scene from apparent gunshot wounds. An infant inside the couple's apartment was not injured.

After talking with witnesses, police began searching for Chung Kim, a resident of the complex identified by residents as a man who lived in the unit below Stafford and Jackson and was seen leaving the complex after the shooting.

Police later located Kim in his black Lexus SUV on nearby Larmanda Street and took him into custody.

Investigators said the couple had been dumping dog feces on the patio and at the front door of Kim's apartment. During the dispute Monday morning, police said Kim pulled out a gun and shot Jackson as she stood on her balcony. Police said Kim then went upstairs and into the couple's apartment and shot Stafford as he jumped off the balcony while trying to escape. Police said Kim then stood over Stafford and shot him again.

Residents told NBC 5 DFW they heard arguing followed by several gunshots.

"I heard about eight or nine gunshots just go off, 'pow, pow, pow,' like three separate times. It was like, first there was two or three, then there was a pause for like 30 or 40 seconds and then there was another three or four shots, and there was a pause and a couple more shots," said resident Michael Issa.

"I waited for like three or four minutes and I ain't hear nothing. I came outside to smoke a cigarette and look upstairs, and there's feet hanging over my head," he added.

A friend of the victim said there had been several arguments over pets and noise. 

One neighbor, Yolanda Washington, spoke of the couple's children, including the infant who was home at the time of the shooting.

"When they come home today, their mother and their father is gone. Little baby — they call the newborn Little Mama — Little Mama is not going to never know her parents. She'll never know her parents. Never," said Washington.

Marissa Gonzales with Child Protective Services said they took temporary custody of a 1-month-old child found unharmed inside the apartment. CPS said there were three other children who were attending school at the time of the shooting. All of the children are now with relatives.

NBC 5 DFW's Keaton Fox, Greg Janda and Stefan Gorman contributed to this report.

San Diego Hospice has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a statement from the organization's CEO.  

"Our decision to take this course follows many months of financial and other challenges," said Kathleen Pacurar, CEO of the troubled non-profit. 

The end-of-life care service, which faces growing medical costs and a federal audit, announced it will continue operations while it reorganizes assets and "explores" structural options. This will take up to 90 days, Pacurar said.

According to the Chapter 11 filing, the organization's creditors include Wells Fargo Bank, which the organization owes $4 million, and Price Charities.

Among the critical challenges now facing San Diego Hospice includes a rapidly decreasing number of patients. Pacurar said that number has decreased 50 percent in just three months. 

Last year, two high-level San Diego Hospice employees resigned in the midst of a years-long Medicare audit. The results of that audit are still unknown. 

Pacurar said in a previous article the organization was expecting to return money to Medicare because it hadn't been strict enough in making sure that it only accepts patients who are likely to die within six months.

According to KPBS, In December of last year, the organization temporarily shut down its 24-bed hospital in Hillcrest and laid off staff.

Check back here for more information. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano traveled to Shelter Island Monday to check up on border operations in San Diego.

Her visit is part of a short tour between California and Texas to discuss the department’s efforts to secure the border while also encouraging lawful trade.

She said at a media appearance Monday she was on a "fact-finding mission" for the Obama Administration as it works toward comprehensive immigration reform. 

Napolitano also touted an increase in the number of agents and inspectors who work the ports of entry and patrol the border, and also the growing arsenal of high-tech equipment and unmanned drones that are in service to stretch the resources.

"What we have seen now compared to 20 years ago is the difference between a rocketship and a horse and buggy," she said Monday. "Now we have manpower factors of twice, thrice, ten times what we had a few years ago."

The trip comes after federal lawmakers announced proposals to reform immigration policies and strengthen border security.

Mayor Bob Filner joined Napolitano in urging feedback on policy reforms.

“We want our lawmakers in DC to know that local border mayors and police chiefs need to be part of the discussion on border security,” said Filner in a statement. “Crime along the border has decreased over the last decade and San Diego is an example of that.”

The immigration reform plan that's emerging from a bipartisan group of senators on Capitol Hill calls for U.S. borders to be "appropriately secure" from terrorist threats and trafficking in humans, narcotics, weapons and stolen goods. 

The lawmakers are demanding this happen before creating a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants. It's not clear what specific, objective criteria must be met, or who will make the assessment of whether an immigrant is appropriately secure.

Leading Democrats want the Dept. of Homeland Security to have that power. Republicans aren't yet on board with giving Napolitano such authority.

In 2011, San Diego had the third-highest number of apprehensions by U.S. Border Patrol agents. That number has declined since 2009, according to DHS immigration statistics.

As of June, certain young people who were brought to the United States as children, do not present a risk to national security, and meet several criteria are eligible for relief from removal from the country or from entering into removal proceedings.

Construction isn’t the only major change going on at Westfield’s Horton Plaza. The downtown mall drastically altered its parking plan, effective Monday, Feb 4.

Shoppers will no longer be able to receive free validation for three hours unless they spend $10 within any of the mall’s stores. A parking representative will be placed on the first floor of the mall to validate parking with proof of purchase.

The new rules apply to weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and 10:30 to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Thirty minutes of free parking is still allowed from 4:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.

The cost of parking without purchase is $8 per hour, with a maximum charge of $60.

A new parking rates flyer was placed on cars at Horton Plaza this week to inform drivers of the change.

More than ever before, criminals are communicating with each other using computer-driven smart phones, tablets, cameras and even home gaming systems.

As a result, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are combing through more data yearly than is contained in 1050 Libraries of Congress.

Lucky for them, the FBI has a top notch Computer Analysis Response Team or (CART) team that started here in San Diego

Across the country, the FBI has 500 specially-trained cyber sleuths in 56 field offices. Those detectives work to outsmart, out-hack and expose criminals involved in white collar crime like former Congressman Duke Cunningham or an online predator trying to find a child victim.

Special Agent James Mailloux is also Acting Director of the FBI’s Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory.

"It’s a big puzzle you get to crack open and figure out how things went together,” Mailloux said. “Figure out how to get the data the right way and in a forensic manner that will stand up in court.”

His task force of FBI-trained federal, state and local police personnel works in a secure, secluded area of the FBI complex. They’re often harvesting digital evidence no matter what a suspect tries to do to destroy it.

A broken, burned or submerged hard drive? No big deal for these experts.

If the owner of a cell phone tries to erase its contents remotely, the FBI has a solution – a clear box that blocks cell phone signals as detectives mine the phone’s secrets.

But their most powerful weapons are a keyboard and their wit. They work to invent ways to decrypt and expose hidden evidence of criminal activity on computers, tablets, phones, even Playstation consoles.

“We don’t know how to do it until we have to try,” Mailloux said. “Sometimes the tools we have don’t work and we have to develop new tools or find new tools.”

“We are always trying to stay even with the bad guys. Even a step ahead"

While they’ve nailed drug dealers and embezzlers there’s one thing this team can’t do – move with the speed of a television show like NBC’s “Law and Order: SVU”

“We call it the CSI Effect,” Mailloux explains. “We have to tone people’s expectations down. Even sometimes detectives who come to the front door with their computer evidence and say 'Can you give this to me in an hour'?"

It often takes at least an hour just to photograph the digital device.

The role and importance of the FBI CART Team is expected to expand with the use of more digital devices especially smart phones which are computers themselves.
 

Baltimore celebrated with its Super Bowl champion Ravens on Tuesday, with thousands of fans in purple lining the streets of Charm City and packing the team's stadium for a celebration.

Fans filled the square in front of City Hall and cheered when the team arrived and when players held the silver Lombardi trophy aloft.

Coach John Harbaugh thanked the fans for their support, and safety Ed Reed sang the melody of Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise." Retiring middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the only current player to have started with the team when it came to the city from Cleveland in 1996, told fans the team had fulfilled a promise to go to New Orleans and win.

"The city of Baltimore — I love you for ever and ever and ever and ever," Lewis told fans in front of City Hall.

The players were about an hour late arriving, but fans waited to see them pile into military vehicles and set off on their drive to the stadium. The city shot off purple and white confetti as the parade started and the Queen song "We Are the Champions" played over a loudspeaker. Quarterback Joe Flacco and several other players rode in their own camouflage-colored military vehicles, while others stood on a float decorated like a football field with a yellow goal post.

Lewis had a position of honor in a military vehicle that brought up the end of the procession. He touched his hand to his heart and gave fans a double thumbs-up as he started on the parade route. Fans followed behind, surrounding the back of the vehicle.

Fans wore every article of purple clothing imaginable. In addition to team jerseys, people were dressed in purple hats and scarves, purple Mardi Gras beads, purple wigs. One man wore a Ravens flag as a cape, and many women came wearing purple lipstick and eye shadow.

Lewis Neal, 59, who was born and raised in Baltimore, was decked out in a purple tie and vest to purple pants and shoes. He said he went to the parade after the team won its first Super Bowl championship in 2001. This time was smaller, he said, but still special.

"My heart goes out for them," said Lewis, who said he had tears in his eyes Sunday when the team beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.

Nancy Monseaux, 63, a Baltimore resident for nearly four decades, cheered the team on Pratt Street, where fans lined the sidewalk five or more people deep in some places. Monseaux, who held a sign that said "Doubt the Ravens nevermore," said she wanted to come to show her support for the team.

"These boys earned it," she said of the victory, cheering as members of the team passed.

Some fans along the parade route said they also planned to go to the team's M&T Bank Stadium. But the stadium, which usually seats 71,000, reached capacity around 12:30 p.m., a police spokesman said, and late-arriving fans were turned away.

When the team did arrive, they treated fans to a thank-you celebration that lasted just over a half an hour. Lewis emerged from a tunnel onto the field, handed off the Lombardi trophy and did his signature dance, "The Squirrel." He thanked fans for their love of the team and said he wanted to win the Super Bowl to repay Baltimore for everything it's done for him.

"There is no place on this earth that's better than Baltimore," he told the crowd.

Flacco, the Super Bowl's most valuable player, also addressed fans.

"Baltimore, we did it. Super Bowl champs, baby," he said.