San Diego area schools without air conditioning will switch to shorter hours again Tuesday as a major heat wave continues to move through the county.

The National Weather Service has extended its heat advisory through 7 p.m. Tuesday, and San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), National School District (NSD), Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) and Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) are following suit.

They have all extended their minimum day schedule through Sept. 16 for schools that don’t have AC.

For the SDUSD, that includes 122 schools. Click here for a full list. 

Each one has its own shortened schedule, so parents should check the school’s website to learn when their children will be released. They can also call the Quality Assurance Office at 619-725-7211.

The bus schedule will be adjusted accordingly, and the PrimeTime after-school program will not change. However, all athletic practices and games have been canceled at all campuses.

All of Coronado’s schools will start at the regular time, but the day will end at 12:30 p.m. District officials say for those who need lunch, they’ll provide food for students in the lunch area as classes are dismissed.

In the National School District, all schools except Palmer Way and Rancho del la Nación will get out early. Kimball, Olivewood and Central will be released at 1:25 p.m.

Ira Harbison, Las Palmas, Lincoln Acres and John Otis will end at 1 p.m. The district’s REACH Program will maintain its usual hours, and the bus will switch to its Thursday schedule.

SUHSD schools that will be on a minimum day schedule are Castle Park Middle, Chula Vista High, Hilltop Middle, Mar Vista Academy, Mar Vista High and Sweetwater High.

For parents who have to work as their kids are released early, the YMCA of San Diego County is offering free emergency childcare at its before and after-school sites. Closing times will vary per location.

All SDUSD schools with full AC will operate under the district's hot weather guidelines, which include limited recess activities and keeping kids hydrated.

But while kids are being allowed out early, teachers must stay behind for a work day.

Some are questioning why.

"It was 104 in my classroom today. No AC, nothing," one teacher told NBC 7. "And it's really hard to work when you have a pounding headache, sweat is burning your eyes, your clothes are soaked to the skin, you have sweat dripping on your papers."

SDUSD spokesperson Linda Zintz says if teachers can't find a cool place on campus to finish their work, they can always go to a cafe.

However, the teacher, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they were directed to stay on campus, sticking their heads in the freezer to find relief.

"It does affect our health and our ability to do our jobs," the teacher said.

Meanwhile, SDG&E confirmed Monday that residents across the county have used a record amount of energy during this heat wave.

A spokesperson says the utility passed its all-time system peak record for electric use as people cranked up their AC, but she made it clear that SDG&E has enough resources to serve customers.

Despite the heat, some local sports teams fought on. Santana High and Foothills High students faced off Monday evening in volleyball, forced to play inside a gym with no AC.

"I love volleyball. It's going to be fun no matter what, but I'm going to be dying," said one player.

An East County man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for building a homemade explosive device that killed his longtime girlfriend.

Richard Dale Fox, 41, was denied probation and given the maximum sentence for charges of explosion of a destructive device and possession of ingredients to make an explosive device. He pleaded guilty in July to those charges.

Fox was originally charged with murder in the March 2012 death of Jeanette Ogara, 38, his girlfriend of 11 years.

The 10-year sentence was the punishment that the victim's family sought in the tragedy.

"We have suffered a lot and we're still suffering," Marisa Salyear, the victim's mother, said during sentencing. "I could never forget my child. She's gone."

Ogara's family called the incident an act of stupidity.

"This doesn't surprise me whatsoever that he finally caused someone to die, be it intentionally or not," said Ogara's brother, Anthony Ogara. "This was known he was going to do this to somebody, somehow, somewhere and here it's my sister now."

In a jailhouse interview with NBC 7, Fox said the couple had been drinking at their Potrero mobile home when he decided to light off fireworks from his cannon-like device – something he had done a dozen times before.

He cut off the tops of the fireworks, poured the powder into his 26-inch pipe and stuffed it down with a broom handle.

But when he placed it on the ground and the device exploded, shrapnel went shooting through the side of the couple’s trailer, hitting Ogara in her chest.

“I just wish that the damn thing had hit me instead of her,” Fox had told NBC 7. “I would have much rather died than her.”

The district attorney’s office decided there was no evidence that Fox intended to kill Ogara, so the murder charge was dropped.

The couple’s then-4-year-old daughter was inside the trailer with three friends at the time, but they were not injured. Ogara and Fox also have a 13-year-old daughter.

In response to the victim's family's comments and the sentence on Monday, Fox appeared contrite.

"I love you, Jeanette. Forever. You're my best friend," he said. "I wish it would have been me instead. I'm sorry."
 

Starting Tuesday, drivers will have to keep three feet of space between them and bicyclists on the road under a new California law.

The safety measure may be just another law to some, but for Cheri O'Neill, it's a tribute of sorts to her son and others.

“We need to honor him, and this is how we can do that,” O’Neill said choking back tears. “We need to save other lives.”

The Chula Vista mother’s 33-year-old son Matthew was killed Aug. 9 doing what he loved -- cycling a Central California road -- when he was hit by a teenage driver in a truck hauling a horse trailer.

“In our son's case, if the driver, if he'd given our son the three feet, he'd be alive today," O’Neill told NBC 7.

The state law applies for drivers passing from behind. If not, motorists have to slow down to the bike’s speed and wait until it is safe to pass.

The rule is a good start to sharing the road, says Andy Hanshaw, head of the San Diego County Bike Coalition.

“While we know laws are good, the policies are important as well,” explained Hanshaw. “We need to continue to push for actual physical infrastructure that separates bikes from traffic and gets more people riding safely."

According to the most recent CHP statistics online, San Diego County recorded 11-bicycle related fatalities and 939 bicycle-involved injuries in 2012.

Hoping to reduce those numbers, the O'Neills started a Facebook page called “Remember
Matthew: Change Lanes to Pass a Cyclist."

Though thankful for the new law, they're planning to push for an amendment.

“When it is safe -- and we stress when it is safe-- a driver may cross the double yellow to pass a cyclist,” said O’Neill.

A previous version of the measure had that provision, but it was vetoed because of safety concerns.

If you violate the new law, you could be fined $35, which jumps to $220 if you injure a cyclist.

A man wanted on suspicion of molesting a child has been arrested in Mexico and turned over to the San Diego Police.

Salvador Meza-Paz, 52, was wanted on a Jan. 2014 warrant for two counts of lewd conduct with a child under 14, U.S. Marshals say, but officials did not release any more information about what the suspect is accused of.

Using information from U.S. Marshals and the SDPD, Tijuana Municipal Police arrested Meza-Paz at an auto shop where he worked on Thursday.

That evening, he was turned over to Marshals at the San Ysdiro Port of Entry and then transferred to SDPD detectives.

He is being held on a $750,000 bond at the San Diego Central Jail. He will next appear in court on Sept. 24.

An investigation into what allowed a second patient in two years to simply walk away from a San Diego health care facility revealed broken alarm systems that were known to be inoperable but went without repair.

California Department of Health and Human Services records obtained by NBC 7 shed new light on what went wrong inside UCSD Medical Center when a disoriented patient walked away from his supervised room into a nearby canyon in May 2013

The lapse in hospital security led to a tragic search which ended when 57-year-old Thomas Vera’s body was found five days later less than a mile from the hospital entrance in Palm Canyon.

Vera’s family blamed the hospital for allowing the man suffering from severe head and neck injuries to leave the facility.

According to the CHHS investigation, Vera’s bed alarm never sounded. Vera was under video surveillance, and when nurses were notified, the report states they “attempted to contact security by paging security twice with no response and then pushing the panic button twice with no response.”

The panic button was “broken for 8 days,” according to the report.

State inspectors said the hospital failed to routinely test the buttons and failed to repair them when broken.

Prior to Vera’s disappearance, the most recent test had revealed more than 1 out of every 4 panic buttons at UCSD’s two main hospitals didn’t work.

“That’s incomprehensible to me. This is a big time, generally well thought of medical facility, and it’s like clown school” said legal expert Joel Brant, an attorney who specialized in elder care law.

UCSD Medical Center has since added a policy where patients like Vera are given orange wrist bands as a visual clue they shouldn’t be walking around unattended.

UC San Diego Health Sciences director of communications Jacqueline Carr released this statement in response to the incident:

“UC San Diego Health System underwent extensive internal and external investigations to identify the reasons that led to this tragic event. In response, UC San Diego Health System submitted plans of correction to the California Department of Public Health which were accepted and implemented. In the instance of the panic buttons, the buttons have undergone a software upgrade and are tested monthly for functionality. We remain vigilant in training employees to communicate quickly and effectively with our hospital security team so that responses to patient needs are timely, with safety as the first priority.”

Fifteen months after the incident, CHHS says no fine or penalty has been issued as a result of the mishap.

“The state said ‘Oh well, you made mistakes.’ UCSD fills in a plan of corrections saying ‘OK, we’ll do our best to make sure this doesn’t happen again,’ and to a family, that’s not going to be enough” said Bryant.

An NBC 7 records search also found the hospital paid the Vera family $85,000 in a settlement.

Vera was the second walkaway from UC San Diego Medical Center in the past two years, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Bertillia Lavern has told the story of finding her co-worker shot in the temple, strapping him into an evacuation chair and undertaking the terrifying job of pulling him out of a building under attack.

A Park Police officer, who had been on the job only three years, has shared the story of blocking out what a spokesman called "absolute carnage" in an office to conduct a cubicle-to-cubicle search to find, and eliminate, a gunman.

The doctors at MedStar Washington Hospital Center didn't have to tell their stories. The emotions of a year ago were clear on their faces in photographs taken during the long wait for "multiple gunshot victims" coming to them in a fleet of ambulances.

One year ago Tuesday, 12 people were killed and eight people were injured in a mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. For anyone in the Washington, D.C. area, or anyone with ties to the Navy — or, frankly, for anyone who heard the story — the news came like a gut punch: Hell had broken out inside a secure military facility.

Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old civilian contractor, had entered Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard and shot at victims indiscriminately, killing a dozen people before police killed him. 

Tuesday, the focus is on remembering the lives of the 12 victims and on supporting their families.

The day began with an invitation-only ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard, gathering officials and family members to remember those lost.

"...[I]n 22 minutes, our worlds turned upside down," said Rear Adm. Margaret Grun-Kibben, chief of chaplains.

Navy Sec. Ray Mabus said the pain of the losses will never completely fade.

"Even in our sleep, pain which we cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own depair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God," he said. "One year. We know now that while the pain has receded, it will never completely leave."

Other speakers included Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert and Vice Adm. William Hilarides, who is commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, or NAVSEA, which was headquartered in Building 197.

Hilarides read the names of the victims as a bell rung 12 times, for each of those killed: "Mike Arnold. Marty Bodrog. Arthur Daniels. Sylvia Frasier. Kathy Gaarde. J. J. Johnson. Frank Kohler. Mary Knight. Kisan Pandit. Ken Proctor. Gerry Read. Mike Ridgell."

At 6 p.m., city and federal officials will join Hilarides for a community event at Canal Park in southeast D.C. to commemorate the anniversary with prayers, readings and meditation. (NBCWashington will carry the event live from 6 to 7 p.m.)

Family members will commemorate in more personal ways, too. Judy Johnson, wife of John "J.J." Johnson, who died in the shooting, plans to skip the ceremonies to spend time with her family and toast her late husband, with whom she used to have a martini after work.

"My husband was the most beautiful human being that I have ever had the honor of having in my life," Judy Johnson said. "He just loved his Lord, he loved everybody, loved his country, loved his job.

"He loved me with all his heart and soul," Judy said. "He was the light of my life. He was my best friend, my partner, he was my soul mate."

Johnson told News4 how difficult this year has been, how she struggled to sleep, to eat or to leave her home.

During some of the toughest times, she sought solace in a personal letter from Vice President Joe Biden, who suffered his own loss in 1972, when his wife and young daughter were killed in a car accident.

"The time will come when J.J.’s memory brings a smile to your lips, before a tear to your eye," the letter reads. "My prayer for you is that day will come sooner, rather than later. But I assure you that it will come."

The victims of the shooting ranged in age from 46 to 73. Several were veterans. One was a former state trooper working as a security guard.

Sylvia Frasier was a computer systems manager who also held a night job at Walmart because she loved interacting with people. Arthur Daniels installed office furniture for federal buildings, and was in Building 197 on a job.

Vishnu Pandit, who everyone knew as Kisan, was born in Bombay but was proud of his civilian career with the Navy. He was the man whom Bertillia Lavern brought out of the building.

They are among the victims who will all be honored Tuesday. They are:

Michael Arnold, 59, of Lorton, Virginia, an avid pilot who was building a light airplane in his garage in his spare time;

Martin Bodrog, 54, of Annandale, Virginia, a Naval Academy graduate who could be counted on to shovel an elderly neighbor’s walk;

Arthur Daniels, 51, of Washington, D.C.;

Sylvia Frasier, 53, of Waldorf, Maryland;

Kathleen Nark Gaarde, 63, a wife and animal lover from Woodbridge, Virginia;

John Roger "J.J." Johnson, 73, of Derwood, Maryland;

Mary Francis Knight, 51, a civilian contractor from Reston, Virginia;

Frank Kohler, 50, of Tall Timbers, Maryland, a Rotarian who served as "King Oyster" for the Lexington Park, Maryland Rotary Club;

Vishnu "Kisan" Pandit, 61, of North Potomac, Maryland;

Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46, of Waldorf, Maryland, a utilities foreman who was in building 197 just to get breakfast;

Gerald L. Read, 58, of Alexandria, Virginia, who saved a co-worker’s life before losing his own; and

Richard Michael Ridgell, 52, of Westminster, Md., the former Maryland state trooper who called himself on Twitter "just a dad who loves his girls."

The reasons for Alexis' rampage died with him. But investigators have said there are "multiple indicators" that Alexis had delusions, including the belief that he was being controlled or influenced by extremely low frequency electromagnetic waves, which are used in submarine communications.

Alexis had etched the words "End to the Torment!" onto the barrel of his Remington 870 shotgun, and "My ELF weapon!" onto its receiver, along with "Better off this way!"

Inside a backpack in the fourth-floor bathroom were what investigators described as "electronic media," including a document that stated, "Ultra low frequency attack is what I’ve been subject to for the last 3 months, and to be perfectly honest that is what has driven me to this."

Investigators know that, at about 8:08 a.m., Alexis went into Building 197 using a valid building pass. He went into a bathroom on the 4th floor and, at about 8:15 a.m., emerged with a Remington 870 shotgun with a sawed-off barrel and stock. Later he armed himself with a handgun as well.

Alexis shot his first victim at 8:16 a.m., and for more than an hour, he shot indiscriminately at people inside the building. At 9:25 a.m., police found and killed Alexis.

The lockdown at the Navy Yard lasted hours longer, and Building 197 has been closed ever since.

In the year since the shooting, the Navy has begun to transform Building 197. There are plans for a "Remembrance Area." A new entrance was created.

Workers are expected to return for the first time in February. The building will be renamed after Joshua Humphreys, who designed the Navy's first six frigates.

There’s also been investigations into some problems communicating that rescuers experienced that day, and that some victims’ family members experienced as they waited for news of their loved ones.

Douglass Gaarde, Kathy’s husband, waited about 12 hours for news; he spent much of that time in the parking lot of Nationals Park, where military officials were bussing Building 197 employees.

"Every bus that came, she wasn't on it," Gaarde said. "The anxiety just started exploding. I was just walking up and down. I was just pacing. I don’t know how many times."

Meanwhile, the security contractor who did the background investigation into Alexis (and into NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden) is losing its massive contract with the federal Office of Personnel Management.

But those continuing reverberations of the mass shooting — the second-deadliest mass shooting at a U.S. military facility and one of the deadliest single events in the nation's capital — will take a back seat Tuesday, to memories of those lost.

"I know he’s here," Judy Johnson said of her husband.

"And I know he loved me, with all his heart and soul. A lot of people never have in their life what I had."

When San Diego-area schools opted for early dismissal in the face of extreme heat, many applauded the decision.

However, there were those educators who couldn't help but ask, what about us?

In the past, teachers have used spray bottles, frozen baby wipes and popsicles to keep children cool when the temperatures rise, one teacher told NBC 7.

“September, October is always horrible,” she said.

With the county under a heat advisory Monday and Tuesday, the San Diego Unified School District decided on early dismissal for those schools and classrooms unequipped with air conditioning.

Great for students but not the staff, according to one teacher who agreed to speak with NBC 7 if her identity was concealed.

"It was 104 in my classroom today. No AC, nothing," the teacher said.

The woman said she was assigned administrative tasks that kept her in her classroom even though students were let go.

And she wasn’t the only one.

She said staffers resorted to putting frozen water bottles in the backs of their shirts or sticking their heads in a freezer to find relief. One staff member broke down in tears because she was so fatigued, the woman claims.

"And it's really hard to work when you have a pounding headache, sweat is burning your eyes, your clothes are soaked to the skin, you have sweat dripping on your papers."

"It does affect our health and our ability to do our jobs," the teacher said.

Even though she admits it's not as extreme as say a construction worker or a roofer, she said it would be nice to know why teachers and staff weren’t taken into consideration by the district.

“We’re the grownups, we can suck it up,” she said. “It would be nice if they were concerned about our health and safety as well.”

SDUSD spokesperson Linda Zintz says if teachers can't find a cool place on campus to finish their work, they can always go to a cafe.

She also said if teachers are that uncomfortable, they can also use one of their sick days or personal time.

Something’s brewing over a Bunsen burner downtown, but it’s not chemicals for some science experiment.

It’s siphoned coffee, bubbling in a small, round glass on a setup you would expect to see in a chemistry lab.

Instead, the laboratory is at Zymology 21, a new restaurant and bar concept on Fifth Avenue created by the folks behind brunch staple Café 21.

There, everything is science-themed, from the kitschy, hexagon-shaped décor to the cocktails served in beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks.

It all started with the strange word “zymology,” meaning “the science of fermentation,” said owner Leyla Javadov.

“We want to more concentrate on the bar, but not just the bar. We wanted to do something cool, fun, and to get in touch with natural products,” she said.

During their first trip to a lab supply store, it was decided. Beakers for the beverages, test tubes for margarita and beer flights and magnifying glasses for table centerpieces: the science design was a go.

Fermentation goes beyond the drinks at Zymology 21. They incorporate the process into the food, using brining, braising or pickling to add richer, juicer flavor.

Take their chicken and waffles.

“People think, ‘Oh it's just chicken and waffle,’” said Javadov. “But the chicken, we are marinating and brining this chicken at least 48 hours in ginger, buttermilk, garlic, basil mix.”

“And waffles, even waffles, to make batter, you need a chemical reaction, especially like yogurt and baking soda reaction,” she explained.

Add a six-sided waffle iron and a honey chipotle glaze, and you have a dish you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else.

Javadov takes pride in her restaurant’s unique concept. Manager Jason Ernst sees it as part of a bigger trend: A resurgence in science.

"During Kennedy's administration, kids went to school wanting to be an astronaut or be a scientist,” said Ernst, “and during the 70s and 80s and 90s, no one wants to do anything in terms of the sciences.”

But he hopes the newest school-aged generation is taking a renewed interest in STEM programs -- something he wants to foster.

“I would love to be a part of that and make it fun for people to be like, ‘You know what, you can have fun with science and you can be comfortable with science,’” said Ernst.

With Zymology 21, Javadov said she wanted to maintain the farm-to-table quality of food established with Café 21, working with the same farmers for both projects.

But this time, they’re expanding into farm-to-bar cocktails. Their drink concept is based around shrubs: a colonial-era way of making bitters or cocktail flavorings.

They combine fruits – grapefruit, watermelon, strawberry or others – with vinegar and sugar. They let it mix into a simple syrup, Ernst explained, and the vinegar acts as a sort of preservative so the liquid does not spoil.

Guests can then do a little experimentation of their own, adding a shrub to their choice of cocktail: champagne, Gin Ricky, Vodka Collins, whiskey sour, mojito or margarita.

As with any science experiment, finalizing Zymology 21’s menus took a great deal of trial and error, like figuring out what type of alcohol to pour over their sangria popsicles. But Javadov and Ernst agree it was a great kind of work.

The best surprise byproduct of their time in the “lab?” The visitors that Zymology 21 attracts.

"We get some really cool, crazy, eccentric, weird, overly smart people that really resonate with being able to -- you can't drink out of beakers at work, but you can come here after work and drink out of a beaker,” said Ernst.

He said of every group of three or four that come in on weekend nights, at least one works in the science industry.

The downside? Ernst has to field impromptu quizzes about his scientific knowledge.

“They try to correct us on anything that is out of place because they're very regimented. They're like, ‘Oh that formula's wrong over there,’” Ernst says, pointing at a blue wall with formulas scrawled across it in chalk. “And then I point out that my name is on the wall.”

So it is, written “jä(s•n).”

The venue has a couple games for the truly nerdy: Can you spot the impossible equations? And where is an image of Bill Murray hidden in plain sight?

Zymology 21, located at 750 Fifth Avenue, is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday.

The San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to regulate the use and sale of electronic cigarettes.

The ordinance, proposed earlier this year by Councilmember Mark Kersey, suggested banning vaping or e-cigs in public places like parks, beaches, bars and restaurants.

The ordinance also calls for businesses selling e-cigarettes to have a tobacco retailer license.

On Tuesday, the council unanimously approved the measure.

The battery-operated devices use liquid nicotine, not tobacco, so users inhale a vapor instead of smoke. E-cigarette companies say they are safer than traditional cigarettes.

But in 2009, The Food and Drug Administration found the inhaled substances contain carcinogens.

Poway, Vista and Carlsbad have already enacted similar measures.

The ordinance next goes to the desk of Mayor Kevin Faulconer for his signature.

The San Diego City Council unanimously approved setting aside $250,000 to defend against civil lawsuits after a former police officer admitted to misconduct while on duty.

City leaders approved the request from the City Attorney's Office Tuesday.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith asked for the funds in the event they were needed to hire outside council to defend former San Diego Police Officer Christopher Hays in any future lawsuits.

Hays pleaded guilty to felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor counts of assault and battery under the color of authority by a peace officer on Aug. 22.

Hays had resigned from the police department after four women claimed he had inappropriately touched and groped them during pat downs while he was on duty.

He faces a maximum of five years behind bars but may wind up being sentenced to about one year. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 26.

The FBI is offering a reward up to $20,000 for information leading to an arrest of a serial bank robber who’s struck 15 banks in the San Diego area since November of last year.

Known as the “El Chapparito Bandit,” the bandit’s latest robbery occurred on Saturday at a Wells Fargo Bank branch at 10707 Camino Ruiz in San Diego.

In that heist, the robber entered the bank and yelled “hands up, everyone,” and simulated a weapon under his shirt with his thumb, the FBI reported. He then approached two bank tellers and demanded money from each of them.

He took off with an undisclosed amount of money in a bag. No weapon was seen.

A San Diego Police Department sketch artist used bank surveillance photographs from a recent robbery as well as witness statements to develop the above sketch.

The robber is described as Asian or Hispanic, in his mid-20s, 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, with dark hair and a skinny build.

He was wearing a blue baseball cap, a blue bandanna-style mask, sunglasses, yellow gloves, blue jeans and dark shoes.

Here are the other banks the “El Chapparito Bandit” has hit:

• Chase Bank, 1101 E. Plaza Blvd. in National City on Nov. 19, 2013
• California Coast Credit Union, 1060 University Ave. in San Diego on Dec. 13, 2013
• Chase Bank, 6116 Mission Gorge Road in San Diego on Dec. 19, 2013
• Chase Bank, 4500 Bonita Road in Bonita on Jan. 3, 2014
• Chase Bank, 4111 Governor Drive in San Diego on Jan. 10, 2014
• Chase Bank, 5303 Ruffin Road in San Diego on Jan. 15, 2014
• Wells Fargo Bank, 1220 Cleveland Ave. in San Diego on Jan. 23, 2014
• Bank of America, 5821 Balboa Ave. in San Diego on Jan. 29, 2014
   

Police are studying new video of a missing University of Virginia student, hoping that the sighting outside a pub in Charlottesville will help them narrow their search.

Hannah Elizabeth Graham, 18, who is from Fairfax County, has been missing since Saturday.

The recently released video shows her outside McGrady's Irish Pub, then walking east along Preston Avenue in Charlottesville at 12:46 a.m. Saturday.

MT @NBC29 Police tell @HenryGraff #HannahGraham was alone on the McGrady tape, appeared intoxicated, without visible injuries, heading east.

— Julie Carey (@JulieCareyNBC) September 16, 2014

"Hannah is not the kind of kid that would just go on a road trip and disappear," said Stephen Rice, the band director at Graham's alma mater, West Potomac High School. "She was always very diligent with everything she did, and always did everything exactly by the book."

Her family released the following statement in part Tuesday afternoon:

"Those of us who know and love Hannah know that she would not disappear without contacting family or friends. She is highly responsible and organized. She embraces life with energy and enthusiasm and has enriched the lives of many. Her empathy is evident in her daily interactions with us and her friends."

Police have started searching in the area of Grady and Preston avenues in Charlottesville. Previously, they had used a bloodhound to search a large area northeast of the university on Monday and found no trace of Graham. The FBI has confirmed their involvement in the search, saying only they're providing investigative resources to local police.

Graham, who is originally from England, is 5 feet 11 inches tall with blue eyes, light brown hair and freckles, according to university officials. She was last seen wearing black pants and a gold crop top with black mesh cutouts, surveillance photos released by police show. 

Teams searching for Hannah Graham, missing UVA student from #FairfaxCo. The latest #News4@5,6 @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/5QnFu0UlW4

— Julie Carey (@JulieCareyNBC) September 16, 2014

Police said Graham's friends reported her missing Sunday after realizing nobody had seen or heard from her since early Saturday morning, when she sent a text message to a friend after leaving a party.

University President Teresa A. Sullivan issued a statement saying the community is "united in our deep concern'' for the Fairfax County freshman.

Graham graduated from West Potomac High School in Fairfax County last year. Her parents have left their home in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County to go to Charlottesville to help look for her.

"I just want her home safe. I'm scared for her," said Karen Blunk, who lives next door to Graham's parents. "Just from the standpoint of, you hear horrible things."

In October 2009, Morgan Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student, went missing after leaving the University of Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena while attending a rock concert. Her remains were found three months later in a rural area. No arrests have been made.

At least two other young women, both 19 years old, have also disappeared in the area in recent years. Samantha Ann Clarke vanished after leaving her Orange County townhouse in September 2010. DaShad Laquinn Smith disappeared in Charlottesville in November 2012. Neither have been found.

A "Help Find Hannah Graham"' page was established on Facebook.

Anyone with information regarding Graham's whereabouts is asked to call police at 434-970-3280 or Crimestoppers at 434-977-4000.

Marijuana has often been blamed for making the California drought worse.

At least one marijuana farmer says he has figured out a way to garden without wasting water, and he wants to share his drought-busting tips with the world.

George Bianchini, the founder of joint-rolling company Medi-Cone, says he has an "ultra-conserving garden" that has similarities in common with the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the wonders of the ancient world, according to reports.

The East Bay Express reports that Bianchini uses a "wicking" method that has cut down water waste by 75 percent.

And this is a system that other crops can use, too, the newspaper reported.

He also says he's figured out a way to harvest three outdoor crops a year... which might not go over well with some water districts, but in the meantime, he will demonstrate his garden to select invitees on Wednesday.

Officials identified the driver killed when his vehicle slammed into the back of a tractor trailer on the shoulder of Interstate 805 in Chula Vista Monday.

Paul Newton, 28, of San Diego, died in the collision between his gold Infinity and a semi that was waiting for service on the side of the highway.

The crash just before 8 a.m. caused a major traffic backup at H Street.

The Sig Alert was extended until noon Monday when the crash debris was cleared from the freeway.

California Highway Patrol officers said the impact of the crash broke the rear axle of the semi.

No one in the tractor trailer was injured.

A pedi cab driver was discovered unconscious with a snake around his neck in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter Tuesday.

Travis Elsner-Young, 27, was arrested by San Diego Police at 5th and J, accused of riding a bicycle under the influence.

Officers said they found Young intoxicated and passed out just after 1:30 a.m.

SDPD contacted San Diego County Animal Services who aid the snake was not in good condition.

The ball python was taken to an emergency vet.  A reptile expert will examine the snake to get an idea of its injuries.

Ball pythons are common pets available for purchase at many pet stores. Their bite often produces superficial wounds.

Dr. Kent Brantly, the Fort Worth doctor who was cured of Ebola after contracting the deadly virus while working with a charity in Liberia, is speaking Tuesday afternoon before a Senate panel hearing.

The hearing is on the public health threat of Ebola in West Africa.

Watch video from the hearing in the player above.

Earlier Tuesday, President Barack Obama met with Dr. Brantly and his wife, Amber, in the Oval Office.

The driver killed in a hit-and-run crash near Mission Bay has been identified by officials.

Clyde Preston Duncan, 27, was killed Sunday when a silver Corvette crashed into a row of trees along SeaWorld Drive near Friars Road.

Duncan was behind the wheel of the Corvette at the time of the crash and died of multiple blunt force injuries according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner.

The Corvette was racing alongside a Mercedes moments before the crash, police said.

San Diego police are looking for a Mercedes driver who fled the scene. While it doesn’t appear the Mercedes was damaged in the collision, investigators said they are treating the case as a fatal hit-and-run crash.

Investigators are asking the driver or passenger of the Mercedes to call police at 619-531-2000.
 

A Dallas couple who wed just after running the Boston Marathon last year, soon after a pair of bombs tore through its finish line, are celebrating the birth of a baby girl Tuesday.

Robert and Kelli Watling welcomed their daughter Alexandra Copley Watling, whose middle name commemorates Copley Square — the site of the Boston Marathon finish line, and of the 2013 twin bombings.

Alexandra was born at 10:26 a.m. Tuesday, weighing in at 5 pounds, 6 ounces.

The Watlings are a couple with a deep love of running, and a tradition of linking their milestones to marathons.

Their love story began with a first date at a 5K, progressed to a proposal after the Chicago Marathon and culminated in a wedding after the finish of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, just after the bombs exploded.

Their Boston Common nuptials had just begun last year when the bombs exploded, but with the support of their families, they went ahead with the wedding anyway amid the confusion.

"At that time, we still weren't sure who did this or why," Kelli told NECN earlier this year. "If it was a terrorist act, we certainly weren't going to let them derail our plans."

The couple raced the Boston Marathon again this past year knowing their daughter was on her way, in a triumphant move Robert said at the time marked "a perfect ending for us."

A powerful storm microburst caused damage in the eastern section of San Diego County Tuesday afternoon.

Not only did the storm dump a large amount of rain in a very short period of time causing some minor street flooding but also high winds estimated at 50 mph caused downed trees and damage.

NBC 7 Newschopper launched around 3:30 p.m. for a look at the damage.