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Homeless Man Tied to Ebola Patient

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Dallas County officials have found and are monitoring the homeless man they say may have come into contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan but whom they consider low-risk.

“So we had a person – it’s now known rode in the ambulance after Mr. Duncan rode in the ambulance but before it was placed out of service,” Jenkins said, “Because of the protocols that go on in an ambulance we think the risk is very, very low.”

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said officers obtained a type of protective order for 52-year-old Michael Lively on Saturday. Jenkins says Lively was check for symptoms Saturday but showed none.  

Lively was told he needed to be monitored, but he left, added Dr. David Lakey of the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Jenkins was taken to Parkland Hospital this afternoon, and is now being held at an undisclosed location, according to Jenkins.

“The officers had a protective order similar to the one that needed to be placed on the family earlier in the week because we could not get him to a regular location at daily time intervals to do our monitoring up to the safest standards,” Jenkins said, “that was the type of paperwork they were serving – they saw some things there that caused them concern and took him for an evaluation.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Dr. Thomas Frieden emphasized that Lively is not a danger, adding that Ebola can only be spread by infected people who show symptoms. If an exposed person does not develop symptoms within 21 days of exposure, the person will not become sick with Ebola, the CDC said.

Only 10 people are now believed to have had direct contact with Duncan and are considered high risk, officials said Sunday. Those 10 people are three family or community members and seven health care workers.

Those 10 high-risk contacts are among the 48 people health officials will be tracking for 21 days. If any of those 48 people develops a fever, they will be isolated immediately and tested for EBola, the CDC said Sunday.

Another 66 people have been ruled out for Ebola, after the CDC assessed a total of 114 people in Dallas it thought may have been exposed to Duncan.

Duncan, who arrived in Dallas from West Africa last month and is the first person diagnosed with Ebola virus in the United States, is in critical condition Sunday. He's been in isolation in the ICU since Sept. 28.



Photo Credit: Linda Angelle, NBC 5 News

Man Beaten at Angel Stadium

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A man is in critical condition after being beaten in the Angel Stadium parking lot after the team lost Friday night's playoff game.

At around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, the 43-year-old man and a relative were walking in the lot when they were attacked without provocation by three individuals, Anaheim police said.

The man was severely beaten and is currently in critical condition, officials said.

There was no evidence to suggest fan rivalry or an argument inside the stadium, police said, adding that there were no apparent weapons used.

The beating occurred after the Angels' Game 2 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Witnesses could not provide more than vague descriptions of the suspects, police said.

Authorities said there will be extra patrolling during the next home game on Wednesday.

Harvard Receives Apology for Threat

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Hundreds of students and other people affiliated with Harvard University who got a threatening email have received a second message with an apology that apparently came from the same email account.

Boston City Councilor at Large Michelle Wu is a Harvard graduate who received the emails. She says the email list appeared to target people with Asian surnames.

The second email that went out Saturday apologized and told recipients that the threatening email sent Friday was written by the writer's younger brother and he didn't mean it.

Friday's message threatened a mass shooting at Harvard on Saturday, prompting campus police to tighten security. A campus safety advisory was issued and a public event about the experiences of Asian Americans at Harvard was postponed.

Campus police continue to investigate.
 

3 Dead, 26 Hurt in Chicago Violence

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Editor's Note: NBC Chicago includes shootings that took place between 6 p.m. Friday and 12 a.m. Monday in the weekend violence report.

At least three people have been killed and 26 others wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday evening.

The most recent fatal shooting took place just before 11:30 p.m. Saturday in the 1700 block of West 59th Street.

Police responded to a call of a person shot and found a 29-year-old man unresponsive inside a residence with a gunshot wound to the head. The incident was being investigated as a homicide but police later said the shooting may have been a suicide, according to Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada.

Police said the man had a history of mental issues and “expressed desire to harm himself.”

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Earlier Saturday, four people were shot while driving in the city’s West Garfield Park neighborhood.

Police said four men were in a vehicle around 3 a.m. in the 4400 block of West Van Buren when they were shot.

The driver managed to flee the scene and stopped at 600 South Sacramento, where they were found by police.

A 20-year-old man was shot in the face and was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.

A 23-year-old man was also taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and was listed in critical condition with a wound to the upper back.

A 23-year-old man with a wound to the leg was taken in critical condition to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and a 24-year-old man was also taken to Stroger with a gunshot wound to the buttocks.

The weekend’s first homicide took place around 9:20 p.m. Friday when a 20-year-old man was fatally shot in the 10600 block of South Yates Avenue.

Police said the man was walking with another man on the sidewalk when an offender walked up and fired shots and him. The man was transported to Trinity Hospital with gunshot wounds to the head and right arm but he was later pronounced dead, according to authorities.

At least 20 others have been wounded since 6 p.m. Friday.

  • Around 2:30 p.m. Sunday a 37-year-old man was shot in the 5700 block of South Elizabeth Street. The man suffered a gunshot wound to the left side and was being treated at Stroger Hospital in good condition. Police said the man was uncooperative with investigators and further details surrounding the shooting were not immediately available.
  • Less than 15 minutes earlier, a 14-year-old boy was shot while walking in the 4300 block of West 16th Street. Police said the teen told officers he "heard shots and felt pain." He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.
  • Just before 1:30 p.m., another 14-year-old boy was shot, according to authorities. The teen was shot in the chest in the 6100 block of South Vernon Avenue and was taken to Comer Children's Hospital in serious condition.
  • Three teens were shot just after 10 a.m. in the 9500 block of South Jeffery Boulevard. Police said a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man were inside a vehicle traveling southbound on Jeffery Boulevard when a white SUV, also traveling southbound, pulled up and someone inside the SUV opened fire. The 17-year-old was shot in the wrist and thigh and the 18-year-old was shot in the back. Both were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where the 17-year-old was listed in stable condition and the 18-year-old was listed in serious condition. Police said the white SUV then continued on Jeffery Boulevard and turned eastbound onto 95th Street shooting a 15-year-old boy in the 2000 block of East 95th Street. The boy was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in serious condition. Area South Detectives are investigating.
  • Around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, a 21-year-old man was shot while stopped a stop sign in the 4600 block of West Adams. Police said a man approached the victim with a firearm and when the victim tried to flee the man fired several shots, striking him in the lip. The victim drove himself to Loretto Hospital where he was listed in stable condition.
  • Just after 3:30 a.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot in the 2500 block of West Cortland Street. The teen was a passenger in car when two offenders shouted gang slogans and fired shots at the vehicle as they drove by, police said. The teen was taken to Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the lower left leg and was listed in stable condition.
  • About 10 minutes earlier, a 29-year-old man was shot at a park in the 4800 block of South Laflin Street. Police said the man was sitting in the park with a friend when a red pickup truck pulled up and two men exited the vehicle asking if the pair had any gang ties, according to authorities. The two denied any gang affiliations and started walking away but the victim’s friend began exchanging words with the offenders. One of the men pulled out a gun and fired shots and the 29-year-old victim was hit in the right forearm. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition, police said.
  • Around 2:30 a.m., a 17-year-old girl was shot in the 5900 block of South Maplewood Avenue. The teen told police she was walking on the sidewalk when she “heard shots and felt pain.” She was taken to Holy Cross Hospital with a graze wound to the head and was listed in good condition. Area Central Detectives are investigating.
  • Just before 1 a.m., two teens were shot in the city’s Logan Square neighborhood. The two were passengers in a sedan that was stopped at a red light in the 3300 block of West Diversey Avenue when a green van pulled behind them and a man got out of the vehicle and opened fire, police said. A 19-year-old woman was shot in the upper torso and right thigh and was listed in stable condition and a 14-year-old boy was shot in the abdomen and was listed in critical condition. Both were transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center for treatment.
  • Around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, a 21-year-old man was shot in the 5400 block of South Talman Avenue. Fire officials responded to a call of a person down and found the man on the ground with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The man was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.
  • Just before 9 p.m., a 27-year-old man was shot while riding in a vehicle in the 4200 block of West Wabansia Avenue. The man was a passenger in the vehicle when a group of men opened fire on it from the sidewalk. The man was taken to Norwegian American Hospital with a wound to the lower back and was listed in stable condition.
  • Around 3 p.m. Saturday, a 24-year-old man walked into Provident Hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg. The man told police he was walking in the 10500 block of South Wentworth Avenue when he “heard shots and felt pain.” Police said the man was being “uncooperative” with officials.
  • About 20 minutes earlier, a 23-year-old man was shot in the city’s Little Village neighborhood. The man was walking on the sidewalk in the 3400 block of West 23rd Street when someone got out of a vehicle and opened fire. The man was shot in the lower back and was listed in serious condition at Mount Sinai Hospital.
  • Just before 7 a.m., a 22-year-old man walked into Saint Anthony’s Hospital with a gunshot wound to the back. The man told officers he was shot in the 2400 block of South Washtenaw Avenue after three offenders began displaying gang signs at him while he walked on the sidewalk. The man attempted to flee the scene and was shot in the back as he ran, police said. He was taken to the hospital by a passing motorist.

Nine others were wounded late Friday and into Saturday morning.

1 Dead, 5 Hurt in NYC Melee

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A melee broke out in front of a Bronx nightclub early Sunday, leaving three men shot, two men slashed and one man beaten with a baseball bat, police said.

A 24-year-old man died after being shot in the torso, and a 21-year-old was in critical condition after being shot in the head. The other victims, all in their 20s, were hospitalized in stable condition, according to the NYPD.

The clash occurred shortly before 4 a.m. outside of the Xtreme Lounge on Valentine Avenue in the Fordham neighborhood, just as the club was closing down for the night, police said. It wasn't immediately clear what sparked the brawl.

Woman Cited After Cop Shoots Dog

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A west suburban woman has been cited after police shot her pit bull in front of her home Friday, but the woman says she's upset because the officer fired at the dog in front of her young children.

Gina Marie Stone said her 2-year-old pit bull was shot by Berkeley police Friday afternoon outside her Taft Avenue home.

“When I was putting daughter’s clothes away I heard like a noise,” Stone said.

Stone said her two young children, ages 4 and 5, rushed inside and told her their family dog had been shot.

“The kids came in running like ‘The cops shot Rayleigh, they killed Rayleigh,’” she said.

Rayleigh survived the shooting and police took her to the DuPage Animal Hospital for treatment.

Neighbor Wanda Williams heard the commotion and said she was shocked to see the children were near the scene of the shooting.

“What startled me even more is that these babies were right there by the cops,” she said.

Berkeley police said they responded to the scene after neighbors called to report an aggressive dog running loose.

Sgt. Justin Patti said when an officer arrived at the scene, two shoeless children were chasing the dog in the street.

“It was reported by one of the callers that called our station that [the children] were using conduit pipe sticks, chasing after the dog and hitting it,” Patti said.

Police said the dog was on a grassy area between the sidewalk and the street when it was shot.

“The dog actually became aggressive towards the officer, lunged at him, got within close proximity and the officer had to protect himself,” Patti said.

Officials say Rayleigh is recovering from the gunshot wound but vet bills have since totaled roughly $350. Police said Stone was cited for having a “vicious dog at large without tags.”

Police said an investigation into the shooting is ongoing and Patti said additional citations or charges could be filed.

Texas Woman Attacked by Bees Dies

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The North Texas woman attacked by a swarm of bees has died.

Nancy Whitehead rushed to help her husband, Stanley Whitehead, when he disturbed a bee hive underneath a piece of Styrofoam behind the Possum Kingdom Chamber of Commerce near Possum Kingdom Lake on Sept. 19.

Whitehead's son said that his mother suffered from diabetes and other underlying health problems which were complicated by the stings.  According to her husband, Whitehead was also allergic to killer bees.

Nancy was stung over 200 times and was in critical condition at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.

She died from her injuries.



Photo Credit: NBC 5 News

Paraglider Hanging From Cliff After Crash

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Emergency workers had to rappel down a cliff to reach an injured paraglider Sunday in La Jolla.

A lone paraglider crashed into the cliffs at the Torrey Pines Gliderport around 3 p.m.

The delicate rescue operation took about an hour and a half. Crews had to work carefully to reach the man hanging from the cliff.

The man was flown to Scripps Memorial Hospital complaining of hip and back pain, according to officials. Lifeguards said he was not wearing a helmet.

Check back for updates.
 



Photo Credit: Sherene Tagharobi/NBC 7

3 Dead, 11 Hurt in Illinois Crash

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At least three people were killed and more than 11 others hurt in a multivehicle crash at 95th Street and Cicero Avenue in Oak Lawn Sunday evening, officials said.

Oak Lawn Mayor Sandra Bury said the accident took place just before 5 p.m. when a vehicle was traveling westbound and collided with cars waiting at a stoplight at the intersection.

Bury and Village Manager Larry Deetjen confirmed at least three people were killed and more than 10 others were injured in the accident.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office said two women and a man were among those killed. Their identities were not immediately known, officials said.

Police said two victims were hospitalized in critical condition, one was in non-critical condition and eight others were treated for minor injuries. Eleven cars were involved in the crash, according to a release from police.

Witnesses told investigators the vehicle that sparked the crash was driving at a high rate of speed before the incident. As the car approached Cicero Avenue while traveling westbound on 95th Street, the driver drove through a red light and struck several cars waiting at the stoplight to travel eastbound, police said.

Deetjen said the crash stems from an incident outside the Oak Lawn area and said the accident is under a full investigation. Officials believe there may be witnesses as far as Evergreen Park and possibly Chicago, Deetjen said.

No further information was immediately available.



Photo Credit: Debbie Phebus

"Friends" Killed Teen: Family

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Four teens have been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a Niles North High School student last week.

Max Gadau, 17, and a 17-year-old girl were either standing next to or inside a Honda Civic in the 9200 block of Kedvale Avenue when they were both shot. Gadau died in the attack and the girl was listed in critical condition at Evanston Hospital.

Dzevad Avdic, 19, of the 5900 block of South Honore in Chicago, Myles Hughes, 19, of the 4200 block of West 81st Street in Chicago, Jeremy Ly, 19, of the 8100 block of Lowell in Skokie, and Nicholas Smith 19, of the 3800 block of West 84th Street in Chicago were each charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and armed robbery.

In court Sunday, prosecutors allege the shooting was part of a drug deal gone wrong.

The victim's mother, Patricia Gadau, said her son was asked by a classmate, who's allegedly involved in drugs, to accompany her for "protection."

"Max went to front of the house, to the car, where they were approached by two men on foot and they shot him," she said. "She wanted him to protect her and he did, and he lost his life for it."

Prosecutors said the offenders attempted to rob the 17-year-old girl of pot.

Officials allege Avdic planned the robbery and Ly suggested the 17-year-old girl.

Avdic set up the drug deal via text message and drove Hughes, Smith and another person who has not yet been charged to the 9200 block of Kedvale Avenue, where the shooting took place, prosecutors said.

Gadau was shot in the back and the teen girl was shot in the face. The girl remains hospitalized and is on a respirator, officials said.

Prosecutors said Sunday the group smoked pot as they drove away from the scene. They also said the alleged shooter remains on the loose.

Patricia Gadau said at least two of the teens charged were friends of her son.

"It was hard for us to know that two of the youths involved were friends of my son," she said. "It was hard, very hard."

Patricia Gadau said one of the teens was even on the same swim team as her son at one point.

"They've both been to my house," she said. "I don't believe they knew it was Max. I think that they're crushed."

Hughes, Ly and Smith were ordered held without bail Sunday afternoon. Avdic is scheduled to appear before a Cook County bond judge Monday.

An attorney for Nicholas Smith, Edgar Howard, said his client is innocent.

"He was just a passenger in the car," Howard said.

Family and friends gathered Sunday at a memorial service in Evanston.

Gadau was a standout swimmer who instructed others at a local gym. He was planning to swim in college and had just filled out applications at Eastern Illinois University.

"If this can happen to Max, who's a bystander, it can happen to anybody. Bad things happen to good people. You could be next," Patricia Gadau said.

Niles North parents said they're sick of the violence.

"Enough guns! What are you hunting? What are you doing here in Skokie that you need guns to kill people?" Stacey Robinson said.



Photo Credit: Skokie Police
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Indiana Aid Worked Feared Death

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The parents of an Indiana aid worker held captive by the Islamic State group say he told them in a June letter he's afraid to die but that he converted to Islam voluntarily and is at peace with his beliefs.

The group has threatened to behead 26-year-old Peter Kassig, who was captured Oct. 1, 2013.

Ed and Paula Kassig say in a Sunday statement that their son, now known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, indicated he wasn't forced to convert. They say an ex-hostage told them he converted when he shared a cell with a devout Syrian Muslim.

In the letter Kassig says he's scared but that if he dies his parents should take comfort knowing he "went out as a result of trying to alleviate suffering and helping those in need."



Photo Credit: AP
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Marine Lost at Sea Was Living Dream: Father

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The father of a Marine corporal presumed dead at sea says it was his son’s childhood dream to serve.

"That's all he talked about,” said George Spears in a phone interview with NBC 7. “Then his senior year in high school, in fact, he was still 17 when he went to see the recruiter."

Cpl. Jordan L. Spears, 21, of Memphis, Indiana, was the first member of his family to join the military, his father said.

The Navy called off the search for Jordan on Thursday, 24 hours after he ejected into the Persian Gulf from an MV-22B Osprey that lost power.

“That was the longest and the worst time because we held out such hope for his safe rescue,” George said. “But then as the time drug on and the longer it got, the hope began to fade."

George said water was the least of his concerns because Jordan was a lifeguard in high school and always a strong swimmer.

Jordan was assigned to Marine Tiltrotor Squadron 163, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. In July, he deployed with USS Makin Island to support U.S. military operations in the Middle East.

Besides his parents, Jordan leaves behind five siblings, including a twin. His father said he doesn’t know how they could get through this tough time without support from the Marine Corps.

“They say they'll be with us as long as we need them and trust me, it's a very difficult time," George said.

The family is planning a private memorial service for Jordan.



Photo Credit: Family via Facebook

Alzheimer’s Patient Missing From Julian Campground

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Authorities are searching for an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease who vanished from a Julian campground while her husband was in the shower.

Sally Estabrook, 75, was last seen around 4 p.m. Saturday at the Pinezanita RV Park & Campgrounds on Highway 79, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

The woman’s husband told deputies he finished taking a shower and discovered his wife was gone. Officials believe she may have wandered away from the campsite.

Sheriff's deputies, volunteers and the ASTREA helicopter looked for Estrabrook into the night Saturday. The search resumed Sunday morning.

Estabrook is described as 5 feet, 4 inches tall and 145 pounds with shoulder-length blond hair. She may be wearing a teal shirt and white capris. She isn't very communicative but may respond to her name, according to officials.

Anyone who sees Estabrook is asked to call 911.
 



Photo Credit: San Diego County Sheriff's Dept.

Cameraman With Ebola Flying to U.S.

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An NBC News freelance cameraman from Rhode Island who contracted Ebola is on his way back to the U.S.

Thirty-three-year-old Ashoka Mukpo of Providence was working in Liberia, a country for which his family and friends say he cared deeply.

He will be treated at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, the same hospital where Dr. Rick Sacra of Holden, Massachusetts, was treated for Ebola.

Ashoka Mukpo's mother, Diana, told NECN Friday just how difficult the news is.

"There's no way to feel alright about it. It's incredibly stressful," said Diana Mukpo. "We're getting him th best medical care we can, but it's only stress and anxiety for all of us."

After he began showing symptoms, Ashoka Mukpo quarantined himself. He is in the early stages of the disease, his mother said.

Diana Mukpo arrived in Nebraska Sunday night to greet her son when he lands.

"Ashoka feels tremendously connected to the Liberian people," said Diana Mukpo. "He wanted to document the impact that this is having socially and economically."

A friend and former classmate who studied with Ashoka Mukpo at Georgetown University agreed about the cameraman's desire to help the people of West Africa.

"I just always knew him as a very thoughtful, caring person," Chad Bilyeu told NECN Friday. "I saw that the studies, and his interest in Africa, was very altruistic."

NBC News hired Ashoka Mukpo Tuesday to work on a team with Chief Medical Editor and Correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman, covering the outbreak of the illness in Liberia.

As concerns over the virus mount in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control sent some tweets reminding those concerned about how the virus is spread.

Chargers Soar Past Jets

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The Chargers are going to have to start discounting tickets to fans, because the fourth quarters at Qualcomm Stadium have mostly been meaningless in blowout San Diego victories.

The Bolts rolled to another convincing victory on Sunday, this one a dominating 31-0 win over the New York Jets.

Forget the fourth quarter. This one was over by halftime, as tight end Antonio Gates added to an already full Hall of Fame portfolio with a pair of first-half touchdown catches.

Rookie running back Branden Oliver added two touchdowns to keep the Chargers (4-1) on top of the AFC West standings.

Philip Rivers threw for three scores, stretching his streak to 25 straight games with a touchdown pass. He finished with 288 passing yards.

The Chargers dominated almost from the start, forcing Jets (1-4) quarterback Geno Smith to just 4-of-12 completions for 27 yards in the first half. He was benched at halftime in favor of Michael Vick, who fared even worse, completing just 9 of 20 passes for 47 yards.

Meanwhile, Sunday was Oliver's coming-out party, as he killed the Jets from all over the field. He ran the ball 19 times for 114 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 68 yards.

His nine-yard TD catch midway through the third quarter put the Chargers up 28-0, turning the rest of the afternoon into mostly garbage time.

Malcolm Floyd led the Chargers with 72 yards. Gates added 60 yards on four catches.

The Bolts dominated both sides of the ball, outgaining the Jets 439-151. They had 21 first downs to New York's 11 and held the ball for nearly 18 more minutes.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Hot Air Balloon Lands in Ocean Off Cardiff

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A newly engaged couple had the experience of a lifetime when their sunset hot air balloon ride ended with an emergency landing on a beach north of San Diego Sunday.

Hundreds of people along the coast near Cardiff-by-the-Sea just before 7 p.m. watched as the balloon drifted off course and hovered over the waves.

Eric Barretto was proposing to his fiancee when he said the balloon veered over the water and the pilot could not get the balloon back to shore.

Barretto said they threw a line to the water below and some surfers helped pull the balloon back to shore.

"It's unforgettable. That's all I can say," Barretto said. "I don't know if we'll do it again."

The pilot who identified himself as Tim with Panda Air Bear Balloon Flights, said that as the winds pushed the balloon to the west, he thought the best thing to do was get to the water and have the onshore winds help push the balloon back to shore.

The balloon basket landed in the surf and took in several waves, according to Encinitas Marine Safety Capt. Larry Giles.

"Between the lifeguards and the bystanders in the water, the surfers here at Cardiff reef, everyone did a great job and they got the balloon back up onto the beach without injury," Giles said.

No one was hurt. 



Photo Credit: Spencer Thornburg
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Drug-Sniffing Dog Causes Stir at San Diego Schools

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The plan to use a drug-sniffing dog on school campuses within the San Diego Unified School District has some parents upset. NBC 7's Matt Rascon has this report.

Vizsafe Used for "Drought Shaming"

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The smart phone app originally created to increase neighborhood safety is now being used to tattletale on people wasting water. NBC 7's Vanessa Herrera reports.

Ebola in Dallas: What We Know About the 1st U.S. Case

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As the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States fights for his life and health officials try to contain the deadly virus' spread, a portrait of him -- and of the web of contacts he may have made in the days since he arrived in Dallas from West Africa -- is emerging.

Here's what we know so far about the patient, how he got here, whom he may have exposed to Ebola, how the virus may have been spread and what could happen next.

WHO IS THE EBOLA PATIENT?

Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man with family in the United States, boarded a Brussels-bound plane in his hometown of Monrovia en route to Dallas on Sept. 19, days after neighbors in Monrovia said he helped take a woman dying of Ebola to the hospital. It is unclear whether he knew of her diagnosis before traveling. The New York Times reported that the woman had been turned away because there was no room in the hospital's Ebola ward. She died several hours after she was brought back home.

His brother in Phoenix, Arizona, told The Associated Press that Duncan had headed to the United States to be with his girlfriend and child. He said he did not believe Duncan knew he had Ebola before he left Liberia.

HOW DID HE GET HERE?

Duncan is believed to have flown to the U.S. via Brussels on Sept. 20. United Airlines believes he took two connecting United flights that day to get to Dallas — flying from Brussels to Washington Dulles on Flight 951 and then from Dulles to Dallas-Fort Worth on Flight 822 the same day.

He boarded those flights, according to the Liberian government, after answering "no" at the airport to a health screening form's questions about whether he had cared for anybody with the virus or touched the body of anyone who died in an area where Ebola is prevalent.

Liberia says it will prosecute him for lying on the forms, though it is unclear whether Duncan knew the woman he had helped had Ebola. Texas officials have also said they are considering whether to bring charges against Duncan.

WHAT HAS HE DONE SINCE HE GOT HERE?

Duncan was taken to the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital after 10 p.m. Sept. 25 — not Sept. 26, as officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had earlier said — with a low-grade fever and abdominal pain.

Hospital officials at first said Duncan told a nurse that he had traveled from Liberia, but that information was not passed on to other workers there. Doctors, apparently not suspecting Ebola, diagnosed him with a low-risk infection and sent him home with antibiotics. The hospital initially said flaws in its electronic health record-keeping, not human error, had caused doctors to miss the diagnosis but later acknowledged that doctors did have access to the information that Duncan had traveled from Liberia.

Duncan returned to the hospital by ambulance on Sunday, Sept. 28, and was isolated. NBC News reported that a neighbor said that Duncan was "throwing up all over the place" as he was bundled into an ambulance.

A specimen sent to a state lab in Austin confirmed Tuesday, Sept. 30, that Duncan had contracted Ebola. Those test results were confirmed by the CDC in Atlanta.

When Duncan was hospitalized, he was listed in serious but stable condition, but is now in critical condition. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Thomas Frieden, said on CNN on Oct. 5 that Duncan is "fighting for his life."

Relatives in North Carolina say doctors have told them he is on a respirator and a dialysis machine. He has been given an experimental drug called brincidofovir.

WHO MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED?

The four people living in the apartment where Duncan was staying when he fell ill — a woman, her 13-year-old son and two young men — were moved to a new apartment Friday, after earlier being ordered to stay in their contaminated apartment in court-ordered quarantine under armed guard.

Duncan and the woman, Louise Troh, had a son together in the early 1990s after meeting in a refugee camp in the Ivory Coast, where both had fled Liberia's civil war, The New York Times reported. They had recently revived their relationship and were planning to marry, Troh's pastor has said.

Texas health officials, meanwhile, are focusing their efforts to contain the virus. They have narrowed their monitoring to a group of about 50 people who may have had some level of exposure to Duncan, after earlier saying they would reach out to as many as 100 who may have had direct contact with him.

Among those are 12 to 18 people who came in direct contact with Duncan, including an ambulance crew and a group of school children. Three siblings who attend Wallace Elementary School in Richardson were sent home Thursday after authorities learned they may have come in contact with him, after five students at four different Dallas schools were sent home earlier in the week.

A homeless man who was the next patient to ride in the ambulance used to transport Duncan to the hospital disappeared. But he has since been located and also is being monitored.

None of those people is showing symptoms, but health officials have educated them about Ebola and told them to contact them if they fall ill, a health official told The Associated Press.

Because Duncan did not fall ill for several days after he arrived in Dallas, the CDC says the other passengers on the flights he took are not at risk. Duncan showed no symptoms of Ebola when he traveled to the U.S., and he registered no fever when his temperature was checked at the Monrovia airport, CDC chief Frieden told reporters on Thursday.

HOW MIGHT EBOLA HAVE BEEN SPREAD?

Duncan may have been infected with Ebola from helping to get his landlord's Ebola-stricken daughter to the hospital in a taxi.

Ebola can only be spread by infected people who show symptoms. The virus can be spread through the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, or an infected person's body. It can also be spread by objects contaminated with Ebola, like syringes or other medical equipment, and by infected animals or meat. Contaminated objects can be disinfected with bleach.

If an exposed person does not develop symptoms within 21 days of exposure, the person will not become sick with Ebola, according to the CDC — though the virus has been found in semen for up to three months after exposure.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The four people with whom Duncan was staying were moved to a new, clean apartment on Friday, Oct. 3, just after crews finished decontaminating their apartment.

For days they had been ordered not to leave that apartment. On Friday, that changed, after the apartment was cleaned and the sheets and dirty towels Duncan had used while sick were removed.

A Dallas County official apologized to the family for how long it took to remove those items from the apartment; officials said they had had trouble finding a contractor willing to clean up the apartment.

HP Investors Joins L2HP Group

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San Diego-based HP Investors LLC has joined the group of developers planning the mixed-use Makers Quarter project in East Village, buying out the interest of Portman Holdings for an undisclosed price.

A statement from HP Investors said the company has joined with current Makers Quarter developers Lankford & Associates and Hensel Phelps to form a new co-development entity called L2HP.

The newly formed group is scouting tenants to turn a five-block area of East Village into a new urban neighborhood “that serves as a catalyst” for future links with the surrounding downtown area. Plans call for residential, office, retail, restaurant and other community elements.

Developers last year turned a vacant lot in the development area into a gathering hub called Silo, which developers said has attracted more than 11,500 people to the Makers Quarter site.

Announced in 2013, Makers Quarter is slated for an area bounded by 14th Street, 17th Street, Broadway and G Street. Developers have previously estimated that the multiblock Makers Quarter would represent an investment of $900 million by several entities by the time it is fully built out over the next several years in multiple phases.

It is one of two large mixed-use developments underway in a part of East Village known as the IDEA District, with plans to transform underutilized properties into a vibrant hub for economic activity geared to innovation, design, education and the arts.

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Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego
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