A car plowed into a group of bicyclists on Fiesta Island Tuesday evening, sending at least six people to the hospital.

At least two of those injuries were considered serious, according to the San Diego Police Department.

The incident happened around 6:30 p.m. on Fiesta Island Rd. Aerial pictures showed several bikes in the grass and a sedan with extensive damage to the windshield.

Police said the driver was traveling the wrong way on the road when the vehicle rammed into a group of about 30 bicyclists. Two of those cyclists hit the windshield and were pinned between the glass.

The driver may have been under the influence, according to police.

The group was riding and training at Fiesta Island as part of a weekly cycling gathering.

The conditions of the injured victims were unknown as of 8:45 p.m.

Watch NBC 7 News at 11 p.m. for the latest updates on this deveolping story.

Makeshift memorials are growing outside the real and stage homes of Robin Williams as mourners in the San Francisco Bay Area gather to remember a comedian whose work shaped the childhoods of many.

Williams, 63, was found dead Monday in what the Marin County Sheriff's Department described as an apparent suicide by asphyxiation. His publicist said he suffered from depression. Marin authorities plan to hold a news conference on his death at 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

At a home in San Francisco's Pacific Heights on Steiner Street, where Williams starred as father-turned-nanny in "Mrs. Doubtfire," one stranger left a sign: "You taught me that it is okay to feel like I was on the planet." The photo, offset by a candle and a bright sunflower, shows a picture of Williams when he played his first big part - the alien Mork in the 1970s TV smash series "Mork and Mindy."

Less than 30 miles away in the tony town of Tiburon hordes of reporters camped out in front of the bayside home where William lived with his third wife, Susan Schneider. Fans there also left flowers, candles and messages: "You will be missed, Robin."

Cody Queen of Santa Clara said it's just so odd that Williams is gone, because people like him just seem "eternal."

"He's my favorite actor," Queen said. "I grew up watching his movies." If Queen was ever in a bad mood, he'd put on a Williams movie and "all of a sudden you're smiling, you're laughing, you forget about any problems you were having."

In Los Angeles, his star on the Hollywood Hall of Fame was also strewn with notes of love for a man who kept his audience in stitches with his genius and ability to mock people and mimic them with love.

Williams, who acknowledged battling addiction and severe depression throughout his life, was clean for two decades — the longest stretch of his career.

Williams returned to rehab last month — this time, he said, not because he'd relapsed again, but because he wanted to make sure his recovery stuck.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED: If you know someone who needs help, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline here.

NBC Bay Area Bob Redell and Stephanie Chuang contributed to this report.

Local educators learned an important lesson in what it takes to be a Marine recruit by spending a week experiencing military training meant to show teachers how the Corps can shape the right young person’s career.

With a Marine Drill Instructor yelling, “Get off the bus!” educators began day one of boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (MCRD).

More than two dozen teachers, counselors and coaches got a different kind of education at the week-long training camp.

“The faster they move the louder, they are, the easier it is for us to get the information across to them, and for them retain the information,” explained Sgt. Eddie Gantt.

Claudia Hardin, a 10th grade English teacher from San Diego High School, said she was focused right off the bat.

“The teamwork it was immediate, it was very eye opening,” Hardin said.

Soon enough, it was off to a room where items like cellphones were bagged up and uniforms were issued.

Biology and chemistry teacher Robert Dyson said much of what his students know about the military is what they see in movies.

He said he wanted to partake in the boot camp to find out more about how the Marines can benefit his students at Serra High School.

After suiting up, educators were off to the Confidence and Obstacle Course.

Before taking a smaller fitness course, the educators got to observe Marines as they prepared under pressure - all with purpose.

“When they get into combat or into the fleet them getting yelled or forced to move quicker they are going to act cool, calm, and collected,” said Sgt. Gantt. “Our primary goal is to instill our core values of honor, courage and commitment.”

Finally, after all that, the group of educators were off to MCAS Miramar and Camp Pendleton.
 

The NBA countersued former Clippers owner Donald Sterling and the Sterling Family Trust on Monday, arguing the high-profile spectacle over Sterling's racist comments and the resulting sale of the team hurt the league.

In its response to the antitrust lawsuit Sterling filed in June, the league asked the court to enforce an indemnification of the NBA for losses incurred as a result of the leaked recording of Sterling making discriminatory comments about minorities and the subsequent legal wrangling to remove him as an owner of an NBA team.

Sterling was fined $2.5 million and banned for life from any association with the Clippers or the NBA. He susequently agreed to a sale before reversing course and fighting his wife Shelly in court to block any deal to divest of the Clippers.

“This matter has caused devastating and incalculable harm to the NBA and its teams, as well as sparked an intensely adverse public reaction,” the claims reads.

The NBA's suit asks for compensation foor costs incurred while investigating the recording of Donald Sterling’s discriminatory statements, the cost of enforcing its ban and the legal costs of the lawsuit.

The response also argues that because Donald Sterling was removed from the Sterling Family Trust by his wife Shelly as part of the saga to sell the Clippers, he no longer has any interest in the company that technically owned the team, and therefore cannot sue on its behalf.

The league also used the claim to continue to distance itself from Sterling's statements recorded by then-companion V. Stiviano.

"Mr. Sterling's discriminatory views toward African Americans and 'minorities' in general, as well as his demands of a female acquainance that she not associate publicly with African Americans or 'minorities,' or bring them to Clippers' games, are antithetical to the [NBA's] most basic values, principles, and purposes," the league said in its suit.

The NBA announced Tuesday that the sale of the Clippers to former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer has been completed.

Like sand slipping through your fingers, this final stretch of the San Diego summer is quickly disappearing as school resumes and the days begin to shorten. Luckily, there’s still a little time to sip and savor what’s left of the season. So, post up on a local patio this month and try these cool concoctions from highly-rated restaurants found on Yelp while’s it’s still hot.

Masters Kitchen & Cocktail (Oceanside)
Newly opened, the locals and yelpers are already giving this place their thumbs up, perhaps due to the drinks being poured here. Warm weather libations include the refreshing Rosemary Lemonade, with gin, fresh lemon, St. Germaine and muddled rosemary. The crisp Cucumber Martini is a delight with citrus, simple syrup and organic cucumber vodka. If you need a little extra heat in your summer sipper, try the Spicy Mango Margarita. This drink steps it up a notch with fresh mango and Serrano chilies.

The Land and Water Co (Carlsbad)
The menu at this spot changes monthly so slide in before September hits. The Saffron Cooler fits the bill: a vodka based drink with tropical pineapple, lime and a splash of soda with yellow chartreuse. Keep the “I’m on vacation” feeling alive in the Carlsbad Village with the Italian Riviera Mojito made with coconut rum, mint, line, a guava puree and crème de banana – all topped off with a Prosecco float! Alternatively, if you’re feeling fiery, order The Sweet Heat, a cocktail mixed with strawberries and tequila, plus lime, agave and cayenne.

AVANT (Rancho Bernardo)
Priding themselves on handcrafted cocktails, the bartenders at AVANT can mix up a summer storm. The La Paloma is the perfect pairing for their patio, made with fresh lime, grapefruit, agave nectar and tequila with Himalayan salt. If you’ve been obsessed with fruity sips this season, we suggest Gigi’s Sparkle, a gin cocktail created with sweet agave, fresh squeezed lime and watermelon. The Mojito is a solid choice too, with mint fresh from the property’s onsite garden.

The 3rd Corner (Encinitas)
Maybe these sunny months have resulted in your garden yielding a veggie crop worth bragging about? Cheers to your green thumb with a drink full of seasonal flavors at this Encinitas business. The Heirloom Tomato cocktail is made with vodka and St. Germaine, mixed with lime, basil and cherry tomatoes. If you’ve already had your greens today, we suggest the Aperol Spritzer, a delightful mix of Prosecco, seltzer, orange and the Italian aperitif in the title. The Blood Orange Margarita and Pineapple Elderflower are also notable choices.

Sea & Smoke (Del Mar)
Have you been downstairs? It’s a stunning lounge, bar, and patio. The vibe is complete with impressive cocktail offerings like the Cuke Mule, a cucumber twist on the classic with a kick of key lime. Lounging on the outdoor patio is a summer dream, especially with the Yuzu My Sweet Heart in hand. The drink combines crushed cilantro, lime and tequila with syrup from the aromatic Asian citrus. If you want a virgin option, go for the Ginger Sparkler: no booze, but plenty of peach puree, ginger, lime and soda water.

Trish Sanderson is the community manager and marketing director for Yelp North County San Diego. She leads the local community of Yelp reviewers both online and off.

A newly released animated map shows the growing severity of California’s drought as compared to our limited water supply.

The animated map, provided by San Diego Coastkeeper, shows the increasingly bad drought conditions over the past year, month by month.

The worst drought conditions appear to begin in central California, just north of Los Angeles before spreading to much of the state. The area labeled “exceptional drought” stops just north of San Diego. Still, our county was labeled as “extreme drought” for much of this year.

The map also shows the drought’s impact on water supply by overlying the outlines of the Colorado River Basin and Sacramento River Basin, combined with the San Joaquin River Basin, which flows into the Bay Delta.

“We must develop a plan that focuses on water recycling and conservation so we can stay hydrated for the days, months and years to come and reduce climate change impacts associated with our water supply choices,” the Coastkeeper blog says.

Two men have died after allegedly attempting to cross the border illegally in south San Diego while in the trunk of a car, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed Tuesday night.

According to CBP officials, at around 2:30 p.m. a U.S. Citizen arrived at the San Ysidro Port of Entry driving an orange 2012 Dodge Challenger.

A CBP officer referred the car and driver for a more in-depth inspection. Once the car ran through the port’s imaging system, CBP officials said anomalies were detected in the trunk of the vehicle.

Officers opened the trunk and found two men inside – a 28-year-old and 20-year-old – both unconscious and not breathing.

CBP officials called the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department for emergency assistance. Crews transported both men to local hospitals, one to Scripps Chula Vista and the other to Sharp Chula Vista.

The men both died shortly thereafter, CBP officials said. They were both citizens of Mexico.

The driver of the Dodge was taken into custody for questioning. The investigation is ongoing, but CBP officials said they believe the incident is “related to an alleged illegal entry attempt.”

“The incident is unfolding and under investigation, but CBP will provide more details as soon as possible,” a CBP spokesperson told NBC 7.

The names of the men inside the trunk were not immediately released.
 

On Thursday the NCAA voted to give the five major conferences autonomy in how they handle student-athlete benefits like health care.

What may be a great thing for the players may be considered not so good for all the other conferences, like the Mountain West and San Diego State University.

“Everybody is trying to make a big deal out of it, and it makes no difference,” said Aztec Head Football Coach Rocky Long. “If you look at the advantages they’ve already had for the last 20 years, this is no more of an advantage.”

Starting October 1, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, as well as Notre Dame can start writing their own rules that don’t apply to other schools in other conferences.

“We can run with their rules too if we can afford it. Now, we’re not going to be able to afford it but that’s how it’s been forever,” Long said at Tuesday’s briefing with local sports media.

Some sports writers say the effects of the new NCAA policy won’t be known for some time.

Coach Long had a few predictions of his own and some advice for schools like his.

He believes in the next year or two, college football is going to be in for an eight-team playoff instead of a four-team playoff.

He also sees teams that have what he called “TV value” will be invited into new conferences. He put SDSU in that group of teams with “TV value.”

“A four-team playoff gives somebody in our league no chance of being in,” Long said. “All they gotta do is let us in.

“And if you get in, guess what? They don’t want it. They don’t want it because we may have a good enough team to beat ‘em. And they don’t want that to happen,” Long said of the “power conferences.”

His advice is for teams in the so-called “non-power conferences” to say no to those preseason games.

“If they can get four teams on their schedule that they can beat, they can start their season 4-0 without winning one league game,” he explained.

“So they can go 2-6 the rest of the year and they’re in a bowl game. So they’re always going to schedule us.”

“Do we want to be included right away? Then we shouldn’t play them.”

Pageant contestants seek the spotlight, but it was the limelight -- on the Internet -- that proved to be the incriminating evidence against a beauty pageant contestant collecting worker's compensation for a fractured toe.

Shawna L. Palmer of Riverside started collected workers’ compensation benefits in March after fracturing her toe as a clerk at Stater Bros. Markets, according to a news release from the California Department of Insurance. She told her doctor during multiple visits that she couldn’t put weight on her foot or wear shoes for an extended period of time.

But a YouTube video of the 2014 Miss Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix beauty contest showed otherwise: She was seen walking around in high heels “without any signs of discomfort,” according to the Department of Insurance.

"This suspect made the job of our departments' detectives easier by openly participating in high profile events,” Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement.

The news release said 22-year-old Palmer participated in at least two beauty contests while collecting workers’ compensation, even though her doctor had provided her an orthopedic boot, crutches and instructed her not to work.

If convicted of workers’ comp fraud, Palmer could face up to one year in the county jail, three years’ probation and $24,000 restitution.

A flash flood warning is in effect until 3:45 p.m. in southeastern San Diego County.

The locations in the warning include but are not limited to Live Oak Springs near Boulevard. The National Weather Service reports that a strong thunderstorm is drifting northwest through the area.

As of about 2:15 p.m., there were more than 100 lightning strikes in the area. So far, no reports from Cal Fire of issues with those lightning strikes.

In the Pine Valley area, some residents reported pea-sized hail according to meteorologist Dagmar Midcap.  The heaviest rainfall is happening just north of Campo, according to the NWS.

When one storm collapses, it creates a new one, Midcap explained. 

"When the storm dies, it collapses on itself and creates an outflow boundary. When the weight of that storm hits the ground, it has to go somewhere, so it goes in all directions and creates new thunderstorms," Midcap said.

A flash flood warning means a flash flood is imminent or occurring in the warned area. In addition, the NWS has issued a flash flood watch for San Diego's desert and mountain communities through 9 p.m. PT.

On Sunday, August 3, Palomar Mountain, Ramona and Borrego Springs were under a flash flood warning. The excess rain pushed debris and mud onto State Route 78.

On the same day, near Mt. Baldy, One man was killed when his car was was swept into a rain-swollen creek.

If you live or travel in an area under a flash flood warning, get to high ground. Do not cross streams on foot where water is above your ankles. Do not attempt to drive through water-filled areas of unknown depths.

If your vehicle stalls in rising water, get out of it and get to safety. Many people become trapped by trying to move a stalled vehicle.
 

Three men face new charges in a conspiracy to control the outcome of local elections in San Diego, federal prosecutors allege in a new indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Mexican millionaire Jose Susumo Azano Matsura, 48, Ravneet Singh, 41, of Washington, D.C., Singh’s business ElectionMall Inc. and San Diego lobbyist Marco Polo Cortes, 44, are named in the revised indictment.

Prosecutors list 20 instances in which campaign finance records were falsified to send money from Azano to three candidates in local elections.

The defendants are accused of hiding the source of campaign donations or concealing a donation altogether in records with the San Diego City Clerk, the Federal Election Commission, or the California Secretary of State.

Azano, referred to as "Mr. Lambo" in the indictment, is accused of making more than $600,000 in illegal contributions to former Mayor Bob Filner, failed mayoral candidate Bonnie Dumanis, and other candidates.

In the indictment, the candidates are identified only by the numbers "1, 2 and 3." A fourth unidentified candidate was unaware of the defendants' attempt to donate to his/her campaign, officials said.

It is illegal for a foreign national to donate to a U.S. political campaign.

Under the new indictment, federal prosecutors allege that defendants would survey candidates for various elective offices to determine which ones to support.

Once Azano met with the candidate privately, the group would allegedly come up with secret ways to fund the candidate’s campaign.

For the first time, prosecutors allege that Singh tried to bribe a federal official as recently as January.

The new documents show Azano has also been charged with being an alien in possession of a firearm, a black Sig Sauer P225 semi-automatic pistol.

He remains under house arrest at his Coronado mansion.

Attorney Michael Lipman, who represents Singh, said the government used at least one wiretap to build its case against Azano, Singh and the other defendants. Lipman said defense attorneys will challenge the legality of that wiretap.

The next hearing in the case was set for September 15.

A Georgia-based meat company is recalling over 15,000 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets after reports surfaced that consumers found small pieces of plastic in the meat.

Perdue Farms and the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service said they have not received any reports of injury from the consumption of the 8 ounce box of "Applegate Naturals Chicken Nuggets" with the establishment number P2617.

The product was produced on Feb. 5, 2014 with a sell by date of Feb. 5, 2015, according to a press release from the FSIS.

Applegate withdrew the frozen chicken from markets on Aug. 8, 2014, but consumers may still have the product in their possession since it is a frozen item, the statement said.

Consumers with questions about the recall should contact Gerry Clarkson, Applegate Consumer Relations Specialist at (800) 587-5858.

People visiting Mission Bay Wednesday have a whale of a tale to tell.

A gray whale was spotted around 10 a.m. off Mission Point Park south of Mariner's Point near the entrance channel into Mission Bay.

The whale delighted onlookers, who gathered on the shore eager to catch a glimpse. Kayakers and boaters, including one lucky whale watching tour group, tried to get as close as possible.

"I saw the tail, saw when it arched up and you could see all the little ripples on its back," Abel Garcia said. "It was fascinating." 

The gray whale had apparently gotten off course on its migration to Alaska. At one point, the whale swam close to the rocky shore and dodged several sailboats anchored in the bay. San Diego lifeguards followed the whale, guiding it back to the ocean.

Whale watching boat captain Chris Switzer said the whale was a juvenile.

"I would say that whale was eight feet, 10 feet tops," Switzer said.

The wayward whale eventually made it out of the bay. Experts say whales should have already arrived off the Alaskan coast by this time of year. The hope is the whale will continue moving north to Alaska so that it can feed and get ready for the trip back down the west coast to Mexico, which typically begins in December.

So long doughnuts, chips, and soda in school vending machines. Snacks in schools will look a lot different when kids head back to classrooms this year.

Under the new “Smart Snacks in School” nutrition standards, which took effect nationwide in July 2014, most foods sold in schools will have limited fat, calories, sugar and sodium.

It’s all part of the government’s effort to improve students’ eating habits and to make sure they don’t avoid nutritionally-balanced federal school meals by eating snacks sold in vending machines and snack bars.

"It's pretty common for kids to buy a few cookies and ice tea instead of getting an actual lunch," said James Walsh, 16, a junior at Linden High School in Linden, New Jersey. "It's a smart decision to try to regulate what's sold in vending machines, but kids can still get junk food at the corner store or bring it with them to school."

Snack foods sold in schools will have to be less than 200 calories, have less than 35 percent saturated fat, zero grams of trans fat and contain some sort of nutritional value instead of just empty calories, according to the guidelines.

They also have to be a “whole grain-rich” grain product or have as the first ingredient a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy product, or a protein food.

The new rules will help parents and schools raise healthy kids, Tom Vilsack, the former agriculture secretary, said last year in announcing the program.

Schools had a year to begin offering healthier standards for snacks, but many started offering more nutritious options earlier.

Thousands of schools had started offering better lunches and snacks as part of the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) and Healthy Schools Program of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, according to The Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project. Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, were among them.

"It doesn't make sense to focus on healthy breakfast and lunches if you're going to give students junk food," Julia Bauscher, director of school and community nutrition services at Jefferson County Public Schools said in 2013.

"What we've seen is that when junk food isn’t available, students have healthy breakfast instead," Bauscher added. "Most of us buy things that are in front of, so if we improve the variety of things in front of us it's easier to make healthier choices."

The new standards, introduced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in June 2013, are meant to help tackle childhood obesity in the United States, which affects about 17 percent of children and adolescents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A separate set of rules already applies to lunch meals.

The new snack rules are required under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act passed by Congress in 2010 with broad bipartisan support. The food industry and nutrition advocates worked very closely on drafting the snacks measure, which is the first nutritional overhaul of school snacks in 30 years.

Michelle Obama, who’s made it her mission to curb childhood obesity, had applauded the law.

"I am so excited that schools will now be offering healthier choices to students and reinforcing the work we do at home to help our kids stay healthy," the first lady said in a statement.

The increasingly restrictive standards have prompted some school systems to opt out of the National School Lunch Program, which means they don't have to implement the new snack program, the Chicago Tribune reported.

But many parents say the new standards are not strict enough. The new rules cover snacks sold only during regular school hours, so kids can still get junk food at sports game concessions and school clubs can still sell candy after or outside of school.

Karen Devitt, co-founder of Real Foods for Kids, a grass-roots, parent advocacy group promoting healthy foods in the Montgomery Country public schools, Maryland, said the guidelines are a step in the right direction but don’t go far enough.

The USDA guidelines permit artificially flavored milk in elementary and middle schools and caffeinated beverages in high schools. Parents like Devitt are against it. They are also concerned about artificial dyes and preservatives allowed in school foods, according to the The Washington Post.

Michele Simon, a consultant with the Center for Food Safety, said that permitting diet soda in schools was "an abomination."

"They are still focused on nutrients and grams of fat, and not grams of sugar," Simon said, according to msn news, explaining that under the new rules, flavored milk has a size limit but no sugar limit.

Still, many parents appreciate the new rules. Mark Klabonski, 40, a father of two boys, 7 and 9 years old, said his house isn't free of junk food and the kids are allowed to have a few chips or a candy bar once in a while, so he appreciates schools trying to do their part as well.

"I really don't see a negative here," Klabonski, a data integration analyst from Metuchen, New Jersey, said of the new rules. "I'd imagine when they get older and have some money in their pocket they will want to buy snacks at school, so it's better to have healthier options available."

Take a look at examples of what type of snacks are out and what snacks are in:

Before the New Standards:

• Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (5 medium)- 286 Total Calories; 182 Empty Calories
• Fruit Flavored Candies( 2.2 oz. pkg.)- 249 Total Calories; 177 Empty Calories
• Doughnut(1 large)- 241Total Calories; 147 Empty Calories
• Chocolate Bar (1 bar-1.6 oz.)- 235 Total Calories; 112 Empty Calories
• Regular Cola (12 fl. oz.)- 136 Total Calories; 126 Empty Calories

After the New Standards:

• Peanuts (1 oz.)- 170 Total Calories, 0 Empty Calories
• Light Popcorn (snack bag)- 161 Total Calories, 17 Empty Calories
• Low-Fat Tortilla Chips (1 oz.)- 118 Total Calories, 0 Empty Calories
• Granola Bars with oats, fruit, nuts (1 bar- 8 oz.)- 95 Total Calories, 32 Empty Calories
• Fruit Cup with 100% juice (Snack cup 4 oz.)- 68 Total Calories, 0 Empty Calories
• Non-Calorie Flavored Water- (12fl. oz.)- 0 Total Calories, 0 Empty Calories

The man behind the social media-based money giveaway project @HiddenCash will no longer be making money drops, he announced Tuesday.

Jason Buzi, the Bay Area real estate investor who has been organizing the free money scavenger hunts in San Francisco, Los Angeles and cities around the world, cited financial reasons as explanation for the end of @HiddenCash.

"We realized at one point, that the only way to continue HC was with sponsors, and we were approached by several big names," Buzi and his partner Yan Budman wrote in a statement. "After much consideration, we decided that turning HC into an advertising business was not in line with our goals and mission."

Buzi used the Twitter handle @HiddenCash to tweet out clues about the location of cash drops. Lucky finders often replied to the Twitter account with pictures of themselves posing with cash.

Buzi and Budman called the decision "difficult" and thanked fans for sharing "so many inspiring stories about how Hidden Cash was making a positive difference in people's lives."

The craze over hidden cash has inspired local imitators in many cities, which the @HiddenCash founders said they are not affiliated with.

"If they can do it in the spirit in which it was intended, and safely, we support what they are doing," they wrote.

@HiddenCash has made several money drops in the Los Angeles area, with the last one in Hermosa Beach on July 13. 

One such drop left a park in Whittier with thousands of dollars in damage after scavengers tore up the landscape, but @HiddenCash offered to cover the city's costs.

Tessa Piccillo has certainly had her ups and downs in life. But she's certainly on an upswing this week. The 17-year-old Castro Valley High student was dubbed the top female yo-yo-er at the 2014 World Yo Yo Contest ending on Aug. 9. Gentry Stein of Chico won the men's division. Their combined No. 1 titles put not only the United States, but Northern California on the map in the tightknit yo-yo world.

"I feel great," Tessa told NBC Bay Area Wednesday morning, after her plane touched down from Europe on Sunday night. "I'm kind of like just coming down from an amazing week." Tessa scored 80.4, beating out Julia Gutowska from Poland who scored 75, and Corli du Toit of South Africa who scored 58. The 18-year-old Stein scored 88.2, beating Takeshi Matsuura of Japan who scored 86.7 and Iori Yamaki of Japan who scored 81.4. "It was cool," Stein said by phone, one week before he starts attending Butte Community College in Chico. "I was thinking it would only be a matter of time."

There were 300 contestants all vying for the title, according to the World Yo-Yo Contest. It was held outside the United States - in Prague - for the first time this year. With the title, Tessa took home a trophy and 3,000 Czech crowns, which is about $150. She is sponsored by the Georgia-based YoYoJam Inc., which also helps sponsor the world event.

Scores are based on cleanliness, variation, rareness, execution, music choice, body control and showmanship.

Though Tessa was "nervous and excited" on stage, performing before a world audience including her family back at home watching a livestream, she also felt her tricks were "clean."

In a video of the championship, Tessa slings, and twists and manipulates her fingers, the string and a red yo-yo with expert skill. Her eyes are mostly glued to her yo-yo. Her dimpled face cracks into a smile only when she hits a hard move and the audience cheers her on.

Her father, Eric Piccillo, a wine distributor, said he wasn't completely surprised his middle daughter of three is now world champion. "I knew she had a really good shot at it," he said. "Like any dad, I got the kids into everything," Piccillo added, saying he coached all of his daughters, Emma, 20; Olivia, 13; and Tessa in basketball when they were younger. And then one day, he slipped Tessa a yo-yo. "I had it laying around," he said, "and she just took off with it."

That was about four or five years ago. Tessa watched YouTube videos to teach herself how to walk the dog and much more. When she's not running track, or dribbling a ball, Tessa practices with her yo-yo about two hours a day during the summer, and maybe 30 minutes a day - if that - during the school year.

"It's like a form of meditation for me," she said. "When I'm stressed out, it just makes me feel relaxed."
 

Watch Gentry Stein take home the world title.

A treatment for Ebola developed by a San Diego-based company was headed for patients in Liberia Wednesday, officials confirmed to NBC News.

Enough ZMapp for two patients arrived in Liberia according to a spokesperson for the Liberian government.

The antibodies in ZMapp were developed by Mapp Bio, the U.S. Army and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The Sorrento Valley lab Mapp Bio used the images created at Scripps to come up with the experimental medicine called ZMapp.

Erica Ollman Saphire, a researcher who worked for a decade to help determine the structure of the Ebola virus, told NBC 7 last week that Mapp Bio was working to ramp up production of the experimental drug cocktail to meet the demand.

The doses will be transported to Elwa where they will be administered with the consent of two doctors currently suffering from Ebola virus, the government spokesperson said.

Human consent is necessary because the cocktail of antibodies and proteins has been tested in mice and primates but wasn't supposed to be tested on humans until 2015.

Ebola has killed more than 1,000 people and sickened nearly 2,000 in the current West African outbreak that has also hit Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria. Many of the dead are health workers, who are often working with inadequate supplies and protection. 

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the virus an international public health emergency.

Mapp Bio has been operating for 11 years. In all, there are nine employees.

ZMapp is not FDA-approved. Its use was granted under the FDA's "compassionate use" clause, only given in extraordinary circumstances, and there are only a handful of doses of it available.

A 13-year-old girl's quick thinking and bravery helped nab three teenagers who police say broke into her San Jose home.

The girl, who NBC Bay Area is not identifying to protect her safety, was home alone last week when she heard a ringing door bell, followed by pounding at the door.

"I go to the peep hole to check who it is, and it doesn't look like regular people I'd see at the door," she said.

The girl, who didn't answer the door, said the teen boys at the door looked like they were up to no good. "I had a bad feeling in my stomach," she said.

The girl then rushed to her bedroom to call her father and told him she felt someone was breaking into the home. The teen then locked herself in the bathroom — hiding in the tub so the burglars wouldn't see her feet under the door — and called 911.

The burglars eventually got into the house, leaving behind a trail of broken glass and a busted sliding door, and the girl did what she could to keep quiet until her father and police arrived. She texted her dad instructing her not to call her out of fear that they would hear the ringing and discover her hiding spot.

Police sent about 10 patrol cars to the house and were able to catch all three suspects.

"For me, it was amazing," the girl's father said. "I told her the same day I was really proud of what she did."