A hazardous materials team worked all day Sunday removing contaminated items from the apartment at the Ivy Apartments in Dallas where the first person diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the United States was visiting.
The Liberian Community Association held a meeting Sunday night to inform members of the Liberian community about Ebola. But very few people attended.
"Some people in the larger community don’t understand what Ebola is and how it’s transmitted,” said Alben Tarty with Liberian Community Association. “Some Liberians are like that [too].”
UC San Diego and the U.S. Marine Corps celebrated the 50th anniversary of a land transfer that helped shape the campus into the world-renowned university it is today.
Beginning in 1917, more than a million Marines and other military personnel completed their rifle marksmanship training at the site in La Jolla.
On Oct. 6, 1964, the USMC officially transferred the land known as Camp Matthews to the university.
Several veterans including guest of honor and Iwo Jima First Wave survivor Jerry Kranz marked the anniversary Monday near the monument in Town Square, located in the center of the UC San Diego campus.
There are about 250 students enrolled at UC San Diego who are veterans or active duty military, school officials said.
John Cerda, chair of the UC San Diego Veteran’s Association, praised the Marine Corps for its forethought in promoting higher education.
“The Marine Corps was probably knowledgeable that you can't have all your leaders in just the military. They wanted to have great civilian leaders as well,” Cerda said.
Leaders from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and the Marine Corps Band and Color Guard were also in attendance.
A 20-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly leaving her 10-month-old boy alone in a car while she went shopping at a Long Island store Sunday after a good Samaritan who heard the child crying pried open the vehicle with a car antenna and called police, authorities say.
Police responding to the 911 call found the baby's mother, Tirza Artiga-Acosta, at the Huntington Station complex on East Jericho Turnpike and arrested her on child endangerment charges. She had allegedly left the baby alone for about half an hour.
The baby was taken to a hospital for evaluation and released to a family member.
It wasn't immediately clear if Artiga-Acosta had an attorney.
A black bear cub was mysteriously found dead in Central Park Monday, police said.
A dog walker found the dead bruin in the brush near West 69th Street and West Drive shortly before 10 a.m. and notified a Central Park Conservancy worker, who called police.
It had suffered some type of trauma and had lacerations on its side, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the discovery.
Police said no bears were reported missing from the Central Park Zoo, and there are no black bears in the habitat. A necropsy will be conducted to determine how the cub died and where it came from.
No people in the park were injured.
Police say the department's animal cruelty squad is investigating.
"Whenever any wildlife is hurt or harmed we are upset about it," said Elizabeth Kaledin, a spokeswoman for Central Park Conservancy.
Local parks and state wildlife officials, as well as the NYPD, are investigating. The carcass will be sent to the state's Department of Environmental Conservation labs in Albany for examination.
#centralpark conservancy worker finds dead baby bear near CPW details at 5 #NBC4NY pic.twitter.com/GVx5KjOi5s
— Andrew Siff (@andrewsiff4NY) October 6, 2014
Olympic champion Michael Phelps is being disciplined by the U.S. swimming team after his recent DUI arrest and will be out of competition for six months for violating its code of conduct.
The 18-time gold medalist will be barred from swimming in team-sanctioned meets for six months, must withdraw from the 2015 world championships team and must give up funding for six months, USA Swimming said Monday.
Phelps said Sunday that he planned to take a hiatus from swimming to attend a 6-week, comprehensive in-patient program following the DUI arrest, his second after one back in 2004.
He was arrested and charged last week with driving under the influence of alcohol, excessive speed and crossing double-lane lines in the Fort McHenry Tunnel on Interstate 95 in Baltimore.
Sunday morning, he tweeted his intentions, saying that the past few days had been difficult and that he was very disappointed with his actions.
I recognize that this is not my first lapse in judgment, and I am extremely disappointed with myself.
— Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps) October 5, 2014
“I’m going to take some time away to attend a program that will provide the help I need to better understand myself,” he wrote. “Swimming is a major part of my life, but right now I need to focus my attention on me as an individual, and do the necessary work to learn from this experience and make better decisions in the future.”
"Michael takes this matter seriously and intends to share his learning experiences with others in the future," Phelps' spokesperson said in a statement.
Phelps is the most decorated Olympian, winning 22 medals – 18 of them gold. He briefly retired from swimming, but got back into competition at the Pan Pacific Games in August.
"We fully support Michael's decision to place his health and well-being as the number one priority," said Chuck Wielgus, USA Swimming Executive Director in a statement. "His self-recognition and commitment to get help exhibit how serious he is to learn from this experience."
Phelps had previously targeted an Olympic return in Rio in 2016.
A West Virginia community is outraged after a high school yearbook named two teens, one of them a special needs student, "Most Likely to Disappear."
The odd title, included in the yearbook's superlatives section, was printed across the bottom of a photo of the two students at Cameron High School in Cameron, West Virginia, Ohio Valley NBC affiliate WTOV reported.
One of those teens is a special needs student, and his family is demanding action.
“The family and the young gentleman in the picture had no idea this was coming, and to be quite frank, they were very offended and shocked,” the family’s lawyer Jerry Sklavounakis told WTOV.
The student, whom WTOV identified only as Brady, was confused by the superlative. He looked up what it meant and saw “no positives,” Sklavounakis said.
Other superlative categories in the yearbook were positive, like “Cutest Couple,” “Best Dressed” and “Most Athletic.”
“In this day and age, it’s pretty amazing that someone with the school system would approve this superlative for any student, let alone someone with special needs,” Sklavounakis added.
Marshall County Superintendent Michael Hince told WTOV that he could not comment because it is a legal matter.
San Diego County continued its excellence in all things suds by grabbing 14 medals in this past weekend’s top national beer contest.
The awards bestowed to San Diego at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado, included four gold medals, three silver and seven bronze medals.
Entries are judged anonymously from industry experts from around the world. They take into consideration which beers best represent each beer-style category.
In terms of states, California garnered the most medals with 46, followed (unsurprisingly) by Colorado (39) and, also not surprisingly, Oregon, which picked up 22 medals.
Here are the San Diego County breweries that received honors:
Mayor Bill de Blasio says he's "very confident" the city's hospital system could handle an Ebola outbreak.
De Blasio touts the public health system in the nation's biggest city, the ability of its first responders and its ties to the leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
De Blasio said Monday his city has a "much more aggressive and coherent game plan" than other U.S. cities to fight a potential Ebola case.
Eleven thousand Liberian immigrants live in the Clifton section of Staten Island, the greatest number in any city outside Africa, many of them refugees of the civil war of the 1980s and 1990s. Now they're watching as another enemy takes over their homeland.
"Words cannot express... to see your countrymen dying from an enemy that you cannot see," said Jolo Redd.
Home health aide Martha Daykeey said she sends practically everything she earns to keep her grown children in Liberia isolated and safe. When they speak on the phone, she cries.
They tell her "'Mommy, we don't know what's going on, and people are dying around us, and we don't know if we are even going to survive,'" she said.
On Targee Street, the owner of an African grocery store says he now sanitizes his hands after every transaction.
"Different people come here and I deal with cash all the time," he said.
De Blasio says "there is a clear protocol on what would happen if we had a case, clear understanding of how we will communicate among the hospitals," he said. "There are some places where someone may come into an emergency room with something that may look like Ebola. We may want to get them to a different facility with a different specialized capacity.
He said anyone who suspects he or she has Ebola should call 911 or rush to the nearest emergency room.
Five Americans have returned to the U.S. from Africa for treatment since the start of the Ebola outbreak.
A New York man treated for Ebola-like symptoms in August didn't have the virus.
-- Roseanne Colletti contributed to this report.
Miami Police announced Monday that 17-year-old Will Campbell has been arrested for the mass shooting that left 15 people injured, including children, at a Miami night club on Sept. 28.
Police Chief Manuel Orosa said detectives had been looking for Campbell throughout the weekend before taking him into custody Monday afternoon. Police said Campbell has been talking with detectives with his mother present.
Chief Orosa said the shooting stemmed from a fight at Norland Senior High School.
“One of his friends got involved in a fight and when him and his friends arrived at The Spot, they found the other person involved in the fight there," Orosa said. "He was told that (another patron) was the other juvenile involved in the fight. So, he took out a gun and shot that juvenile, who’s in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital. He also shot at the crowd as he was running away, hitting 14 other people."
Orosa continued, “He will be charged with attempted first-degree murder and 14 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm.”
Police said since Campbell is still under 18, he will go through the juvenile justice system for now. Orosa said Campbell didn’t have much of an arrest history. The chief said Campbell had arrests for obstructing a police officer and possession of marijuana.
Campbell was arrested just days after The Spot's manager Tiffany Johnson was arrested and given a notice to appear in court for allegedly selling liquor without a license.
Johnson, 31, was arrested after agents found bottles of liquor behind the bar during an inspection of the facility. The bar only had a license to sell beer and wine.
The owner of the land where The Spot sits, Elijah Dukes, told NBC 6 last week he had been trying to get in contact with The Spot's owner John Stuart. Dukes said the business was "absolutely not" supposed to be operating as a club.
Dukes said the shooting was the first time police had been called to the property, which is the only commercial property Dukes owns.
Authorities were investigating a body discovered near a Northridge middle school after firefighters extinguished a blaze Monday morning, officials said.
Firefighters received the call of a rubbish fire just before 7 a.m. in the 19300 block of Lassen Street, according to Katherine Main of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The body was located near Alfred Bernhard Nobel Middle School. No evacuations were in place at the school, but classes near the fire site were relocated on campus.
The body does not belong to a student of staff from the school, the principal said during a campuswide announcement over the school intercom.
Authorities had not identified the remains as of Monday afternoon. They said the body was burned so badly it was nearly unrecognizeable as human.
Authorities believe the victim was a male.
Sylvia Chinchilla, a private security guard working in the area, told NBC4 that she heard an explosive sound before the fire.
“It was kind of loud," Chinchilla said. "I thought it was maybe, like, something like gas or something caught on fire.”
Los Angeles police were called to the scene, but details about the fire and remains were sketchy.
“The fire itself, we have no details on how it started or who may have started it," said Sgt, Barry Montgomery.
The investigation is ongoing.
Patrick Healy contributed to this report.
Don’t call 911 unless there’s a real emergency.
That’s the message authorities are sending to 43-year-old Shaila Hegde, who they say has called Glastonbury police 162 times since 2007, including 24 times this year alone.
According to the police department, Hegde’s calls were mostly “unfounded complaints.” Once, she called to complain that her CDs were scratched, and another time she alleged her phone was being monitored.
Police said they warned her multiple times to stop calling about non-emergencies – but that she didn’t listen.
Hegde was arrested and charged with misuse of 911 and falsely reporting an incident.
She appeared in court late last month and is due back before a judge Oct. 10, according to online court records.
It's not clear if Hegde has an attorney.
A propane tank exploded at a popular campground in San Diego County, seriously burning two people.
San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies say a man and a woman were trying to light a propane stove around 10 p.m. in Santee Lakes when the explosion occurred.
Both suffered burns to 40 or 50 percent of their bodies, Santee fire officials said.
The victims were able to walk out of trailer on their own but will have a long recovery.
They were rushed to the UCSD Burn Center for treatment.
The tank was inside the motor home and caused significant damage to the RV, Santee Fire Battalion Chief Tim Stuber said.
Other campers tried to help the men before emergency personnel arrived, Stuber said.
The cause of the blast was under investigation. Fire officials said the explosion was a flash and self-extinguished.
Excess unburned fuel inside the trailer may have ignited causing the blast, officials said.
A 19-year-old man from southwest suburban Bolingbrook was arrested Saturday at O’Hare International Airport for allegedly attempting to travel overseas to support terrorism.
The man, identified as Mohammed Hamzah Khan, was charged Monday with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization operating inside Iraq and Syria. Khan was arrested without incident on his way to Vienna and then Istanbul to allegedly fight for ISIS, prosecutors said.
Khan appeared in federal court Monday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox in Chicago and remains in federal custody pending a Thursday morning detention hearing.
According to the complaint affidavit filed Monday, a round-trip ticket was purchased for Khan on Sep. 26, from Chicago to Istanbul. He was scheduled to depart Saturday and return on Thursday.
Khan was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at O'Hare while passing through the security screening checkpoint Saturday afternoon and interviewed by FBI agents at the airport.
While executing a search warrant at Khan’s residence, federal agents found "multiple handwritten documents that appeared to be drafted by Khan and/or others, which expressed support for ISIL," according to the affidavit.
One of the items, according to the affidavit, was a handwritten letter that appeared to have been written by Khan and left in his bedroom to explain his travel to his parents.
The affidavit alleges the letter instructed his parents not to contact police about his trip and informed them he was on his way to Syria.
“First and foremost, please make sure to not tell the authorities, for if this were to happen it will jeopardize not only the safety of us, but our family as well," the letter read, according to the affidavit.
The letter read there was an obligation to “migrate” to the “Islamic state” now that it has “been established.”
According to the affidavit, Khan was upset that he was obligated to pay taxes that would be used to kill his “Muslim brothers and sisters."
“We are all witness that the western societies are getting more immoral day by day. I do not want my kids being exposed to filth like this...” the letter read.
He also extended "an invitation" to his family to join him.
Khan's Bolingbrook neighbors are upset and concerned about the arrest.
"I see the people every day when I am coming home from work doing whatever they do across the street there. You never think you have terrorists living on the same block as you. That's scary," neighbor Daniel Arnold said.
"A couple of my friends were like, "watch out for that house." I am like, 'don't be like that,' and, low and behold, they were right I guess," neighbor Steve Moore said.
If convicted, Khan could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A University of Alabama student from Fort Worth was found dead Monday in a fraternity house, school officials say.
Parker Alexander Jordan's body was found Monday morning at the Theta Chi house, university officials said in a statement. His death is not linked to hazing, and his cause of death hasn't been released, they said.
Jordan, of Fort Worth, was an accounting student, officials said. Interim Vice President for student affairs Steven Hood said in a statement that Jordan was a valued member of campus and will be missed.
A New Jersey dad is accused of assaulting his son's youth football coach after the coach told players he was cutting their season short because of bad attitudes, authorities say.
The team of eighth-graders from Toms River High School North was 0-6 and had just lost 37-0 to crosstown rivals.
The coach alleged Joseph Oleske, a dentist whose son is on the team, ran across the field after the game Sunday and tackled him without any provocation. The two men then fought on the ground until bystanders broke them apart, he said. The coach suffered a bloody lip.
Oleske told police he went to speak with the coach after he learned post-game that the coach told players to turn in their equipment because he was cutting short their season due to "ongoing bad attitudes," according to the prosecutor's office.
The coach admitted to police he told the players the season was over as a discipline measure for poor sportsmanship and bad attitudes, but he said he did nothing to antagonize the parent, authorities said.
The parent alleged the coach behaved aggressively toward him and he acted in self-defense.
American Youth Football Commissioner Dave Schlendorf said three people were expelled from the league: Oleske, for the alleged assault; his son, for allegedly jumping in to help his dad; and the coach, for using profanity while berating the players after the loss.
Schlendorf said he'll take over coaching the team.
Oleske, 46, was charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor. He was released pending a later court date.
Oleske didn't return calls to NBC 4 New York for comment.
Jen Maxfield contributed to this report. Follow Jen Maxfield on Twitter @JenMaxfield4NY
For the first time in its 10-year history, the country’s largest gathering of wounded combat veterans gathered in Coronado on Monday.
The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes played host to the uplifting conference for veterans and their families and paid for all of them to attend.
The conference provided healing for attendees, such as Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient Dave Roever. He recounted to the group his wife’s reaction when she saw him for the first time after he was burned in combat.
His words sparked laughter and tears from the other veterans.
“I love you for who you are not what you look like,” he said his wife told him.
Sharing with others is something that many veterans find hard to do, said vet Don Urbany. He was injured by an IED while delivering school supplies to children in Iraq.
“This is all about talking and sharing and being open,” he said.
At the conference, he learned from others about healing, while his wife shared advice, including how she leaves lots of helpful notes for her husband.
“He can feel like independent like he's doing it himself, but I am in the background guiding him,” Jennifer Urbany said.
The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes also helps families with financial assistance -- anything from mortgage payments and car payments to medical bills, said president and CEO Dave Walker.
“We provide emergency aid anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000,” Walker said.
The purpose is to bring wounded combat veterans together to remind them to stay on the path to recovery.
“There's never an ending of the road, but whatever you’re at that transition, the race that you’re on in life, whatever you learn you can help each other out,” said Iraq War veteran Richard Silva.
This weekend, you can visit Germany, Italy and other exotic locales without leaving town. Here are some suggestions to plan your San Diego weekend adventure.
Thursday, Oct. 9
Free Cruises for Kids
Starting at 10 a.m. at the Embarcadero
All month long, Hornblower Cruises is inviting kids to experience the open seas for free. Get up to two free kids’ tickets with one paid adult admission for any Harbor Cruise & Sea Lion Adventure Tour throughout October.
Opening Night of “The Royale”
8 p.m. at the Old Globe Theatre
“Before Jesse Owens, before Jackie Robinson, there was Jack Johnson.” This gritty production shares the story of the first African American heavyweight champion. Playwright Marco Ramirez, who’s written for “Orange is the New Black” and “Sons of Anarchy,” brings Johnson’s struggles and triumphs to life on the Old Globe stage.
Friday, Oct. 10
10th Annual OB Oktoberfest
4:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. in Ocean Beach
This can’t-miss event brings Bavaria to the beach. Enjoy seven 7-ounce German beers for just $20, and cheer on the contestants in the Ms. Oktoberfest Semifinals. (Who knows? Maybe the surfers will even wear lederhosen.) The OB Oktoberfest continues Saturday.
Saturday, Oct. 11
2014 Taste of North Park
11 a.m. – 3 p.m. in North Park
North Park is known for its diverse restaurants and funky boutiques. Check out everything this eclectic neighborhood has to offer at the 6th Annual Taste of North Park. This self-guided walking tour will lead you to 40 restaurants, breweries, galleries and more.
BraveCort Brew Fest
8 p.m. – 11 p.m. in La Jolla
Masskrugstemmen literally means “beer stein holding.” Sounds easy enough, but let’s see if you still feel that way after holding a heavy beer stein in front of you for a few minutes. This contest will be the highlight of BraveCort Brew Fest, which also features 15 carefully-chosen breweries. The event raises money for local pediatric brain cancer research. Now that’s something you can raise a stein to.
Sunday, Oct. 12
Paddle Fest 2014
8 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Mission Bay
Calling all paddlers. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned pro, this event is a must for anyone who loves standup paddleboarding. Paddle Fest 2014 features three different courses for all skill levels around Mission Bay’s Bonita Cove. Proceeds will help send foster kids to Hawaii.
Little Italy Festa
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. in Little Italy
Wake up and smell the meatballs. This event’s claim to fame is being the largest single-day Italian-American festival in the United States. Besides delicious Italian food, the Festa features cooking demonstrations, chalk art painting, fun inflatables for the kids and more.
Moments before a bomb squad was going to blow up a suspicious bag left at the McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, a woman came back to claim it.
The airport’s terminal and restaurant were evacuated at about 6:15 p.m. Monday when crews discovered a suspicious green REI backpack on the premises.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s bomb squad soon arrived on scene to evaluate if the bag was a threat.
Just before the squad detonated the backpack, a woman walked up to it, according to Carlsbad Police. When officials asked what she was doing, she explained that she was the owner and had left it behind by mistake.
Kim Rosner said she had just completed a trip from Europe and was waiting for her son to come pick her up with all her bags.
"Basically, tired, traveling, jet-lagged, whatever, thought I had all my bags in the car," she said.
Rosner didn't realize her backpack was missing until at home, she began searching for her camera, which was in the bag.
When no one at the airport answered the phone, she decided to return to the McClellan-Palomar Airport.
"Accidents, totally. Felt awful, but thankfully it was nothing to be concerned about," said Rosner.
Officials told her the video surveillance at the airport was down, so they were not able to track who left the bag behind or why.
No charges will be filed against Rosner. The evacuation order was lifted after 8 p.m.
No flights were impacted during the evacuation, police say.
The airport, situated off Palomar Airport Road east of Interstate 5, is home to about 283 aircraft, according to its website. In 2013, Palomar handled 160,290 takeoffs and landings.
A Delaware mother was arrested after her 4-year-old daughter brought over 200 bags of heroin to school and passed them out to other children at a local daycare, thinking they were candy, police say.
Delaware State Troopers and medics were called to the Hickory Tree Child Care Center on Hickory Tree Lane in Selbyville Monday around 11:45 a.m. Staff at the daycare told police they spotted some children with small bags of an unknown substance.
The white powdery substance inside the bags was removed by the teachers and taken to the Selbyville Police Department. Investigators determined the substance was heroin.
According to investigators, a 4-year-old girl unknowingly brought the bags of heroin to the daycare inside a backpack that her mother, identified as 30-year-old Ashley Tull, gave her. Police said Tull gave her daughter the bag after her other backpack was ruined by a family pet.
The girl passed the packets of heroin to her classmates, believing they were candy, according to investigators. Police said 249 bags of heroin weighing 3.735 grams were found inside the backpack.
Several children who came in contact with the unopened bags were taken to local hospitals as a precaution. They were later released.
Tull was apprehended by state troopers after she arrived at the daycare. She was then taken into custody after being interviewed.
She is charged with maintaining a drug property and endangering the welfare of a child. She was arraigned and released after posting $6,000 bail.
The 4-year-old girl as well as Tull’s 9-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter were placed in the custody of a relative. Tull was ordered to not have any contact with her children.
Police continue to investigate the incident and said more charges could be filed.
