A taxi driver was injured when his cab crashed into a tree off a San Diego highway early Friday.
The driver’s legs were crushed when the Rita Cab company vehicle crashed off Interstate 5 near Dairy Mart Road at 2:40 a.m., officials said.
It took San Diego Fire-Rescue crews close to 20 minutes to remove the roof of the taxi to safely extricate the driver.
The man was then rushed to a nearby hospital.
All health care workers who had contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan are being asked to sign a document agreeing not to fly, use public transportation or visit public areas, asked officials said.
The Texas Department of State Health Services created the document at the request of Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jenkins spokesman Philip Haigh told NBC News.
Two Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurses who cared for Duncan, a Liberian man who died of the virus in Dallas on Oct. 8, have tested positive for Ebola and health officials have cautioned that more cases could surface. One of those patients, 29-year-old Amber Joy Vinson, traveled on a commercial airline to Cleveland and back before her diagnosis. Another health worker who handled a lab specimen from Duncan is now being quarantined and monitored for signs of an infection on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.
Haigh said the document was not created out of fear that the hospital workers will break the rules, but because they want to reassure the people of Dallas that these health care workers will not be out and about.
"They already know what they're supposed to do," he said.
Haigh noted that the document is a voluntary agreement rather than a control order or court order. He added that action could be taken in the event of non-compliance, but that he doesn't expect that to happen.
"These are health care workers. They wouldn't endanger people's lives with unnecessary risks," Haigh said. "These are people who volunteered to help treat the first case of Ebola in this country."
Officials have not yet released the document publicly because they want the health care workers to see it first.
Dallas health officials and members of the CDC "contact tracing" unit began distributing the agreement and asking for signatures Thursday.
"Some official will go to them," Haigh said. "They are already being monitored."
A conservative ad campaign that featured James Foley, the New Hampshire journalist slain by ISIS, moments before his execution, will be pulled, the group responsible for the ad said.
Secure America Now President Allen Roth said in a statement that his group didn't intend to upset Foley's family with the ad attacking Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and that they "apologize for any pain we inadvertently caused.“
“It has been brought to our attention that a news report image of American hostage James Foley that appeared in a Secure America Now video has upset his parents, so we have decided to take the video down," the statement continued. “The purpose of the video was to draw attention to Washington’s failure to secure our borders from real threats by terrorists. That remains our objective and we will continue to engage in this public debate.”
Foley, a Rochester native, was beheaded by Islamic State militants in August, nearly two years after he was kidnapped in Syria. His parents say the ad was "deplorable" and told NECN in an emotional interview that they were demanding that the ad be pulled from New Hampshire.
Secure America Now used the image in a 15-second Internet ad attacking Shaheen, who is locked in a tight race against Republican Scott Brown, and other Democratic incumbents in critical Senate races nationwide.
"It makes me very sad that people would use the brutality of our son's death for their own political purposes," Mrs. Foley said.
Shaheen issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon condemning the ad.
"This is a disgraceful ad that dishonors the memory of a respected journalist and New Hampshire native," she said. "It hurts all who loved and knew Jim, and the people behind this ad owe the Foley family and apology."
According to Elizabeth Guyton, communications director for Scott Brown, Brown said, "This is completely inappropriate and disrespectful to the Foley family.”
Roth says the group did not contact the Foley family before making the ad public.
Secure America Now emphasized that the Foley execution video and the image have been used in other campaigns across the country several different times.
San Diego State's men's basketball program keeps rising to new heights.
The Aztecs were ranked No. 17 in the USA Today coaches poll, released today. That’s their highest preseason ranking ever and just the second time the program has been ranked in the preseason. SDSU was ranked 20th in the AP and USA Today polls in 2012-13.
Last year, the Aztecs were unranked in the preseason poll. They climbed as high as No. 5 and were in the poll for the final 16 weeks of the season, from Dec. 9 on. They finished No. 12 in the postseason USA Today poll.
Kentucky is ranked No. 1 in this year’s preseason poll, followed by Arizona, Duke, Wisconsin and Kansas.
The Aztecs’ regular-season opener is on Nov. 14 against CSUN.
A San Diego mom who was high of methamphetamine when her two toddler drowned in a pool last year was sentenced on Thursday to four years in prison.
Tassie Behrens, 27, had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of felony child endangerment in connection to the May 2013 drownings of her 2-year-old son, Jason Bradford Jr., and 16-month-old daughter, Harley Bradford.
The toddlers drowned in a swimming pool at an unincorporated La Mesa home. Prosecutors described Behrens as a drug addict, who was unresponsive that day when her 2-year-old tried to wake her to say his little sister was missing.
Behrens told him to go back to sleep, prosecutors said. The boy’s clothes were later found at the edge of the pool and authorities believe he was trying to save his sister.
Once she discovered the children face down in her friend's pool, Behrens made several decisions that hampered officials.
Instead of calling 911, she and her friend drove the children to a fire station 15 minutes away.
She also lied to investigators about where the children died to cover up a marijuana growing operation inside the home, officials said.
Behrens’ attorney on Thursday said the toddler nourished and were well-cared for. He asked the judge to sentence his client to probation, also pointing out Behrens’ lack of criminal history.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Laura Halgren denied probation and sentenced Behrens to four years, saying she hoped it sent a message to the community about the effects of drug addiction.
"The punishment is partly for deterrence," she judge said.
With credit for the time she’s already served in jail, Behrens could be free by next August.
Behrens' mother, father, sister, brother-in-law and friends were in court for her sentencing. The only statement they wished to make was to say that Behrens will have to live the rest of her life knowing what happened to her children.
NBC 7 has learned only one San Diego County lab is approved by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to test for Ebola: the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC).
"We do have the certification and capability to test for Ebola should a medical -- civilian or military -- center need the support," said NHRC spokeswoman Anna Hancock in a statement.
She said theirs is the only lab in the county that is part of the CDC's National Laboratory Response Network.
However, should a patient fall ill with the virus, county health officials say they will still send samples elsewhere.
“To date, the County Health and Human Services Agency has not tested any for Ebola. If a test was performed on a possible Ebola patient, the specimens would be sent to the Los Angeles Public Health Lab and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation,” said Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten.
According to Wooten, the time it takes to diagnose would be the same whether the testing is done in San Diego or Los Angeles.
Either way, a patient would be isolated and treated as if they had Ebola from the onset until the test came back.
However, Wooten said if a person in the military came to the Navy’s medical center and required Ebola testing, it could be done at the NHRC.
A man and two women survived a small plane crash in the rugged mountains of Big Bear in California on Thursday in what a firefighter called a miracle.
Rescuers hoisted the trio to safety after the small plane went down about 12 miles west of Big Bear Airport after 2 p.m., according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Crews had to hoist the victims out of the dangerous area one rescue official described as"very steep, very rugged, very tree-lined."
"For them to land in the area they did or crash land in the area they did, I believe it to be a miracle that they survived," said Marc Peebles, a battalion chief with the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
The wreckage of the plane could be seen between the trees at the bottom of a steep ridge off Highway 18, a main route through the San Bernardino Mountains.
All three were hoisted in harnesses and then put on stretchers. Two were taken to the hospital by ambulance a third was taken by helicopter to the hospital.
One woman who appeared to sustain facial injuries in the crash told a reporter she thanks God she survived as she was rolled away on a stretcher
It's unclear what caused the plane to go down.
A San Diego County couple whose Ramona home was destroyed in the 2007 Witch Creek Fire is accused of leveraging fake money from a non-existent settlement to obtain various loans, according to U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy.
Douglas Tumlinson, 40, and Deborah Tumlinson, 43, were arraigned on ten fraud-related charges Thursday in federal court.
Duffy says the scheme began after the Tumlinsons lost their home and joined a class-action lawsuit against San Diego Gas & Electric to recoup their losses.
A 2008 California Public Utilities Commission report found SDG&E and Cox Communications were responsible for starting the three destructive wildfires, including the Witch Creek Fire, that burned in October 2007.
While the Tumlinsons did not receive a settlement from the utility, the indictment says the couple claimed that they did to get a loan from funding company U.S. Claims, promising to use the settlement funds as collateral.
According to prosecutors, the Tumlinsons used that money to launder more than $500,000 to purchase a new Valley Center house.
They then got a $250,000 home equity loan on that house by making “material misrepresentations” on a loan application to mortgage broker Seaside Funding, Inc. in Carlsbad, the indictment alleges.
Seaside Funding says they failed to repay that loan, and the U.S. Claims later sued the couple for not making payments.
The U.S. Attorney also accuses the couple of intentionally failing to list the outstanding loan from U.S. Claims on three separate bankruptcy petitions.
Deborah has been charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, bank fraud, false statement on a loan application, money laundering and two counts of bankruptcy fraud.
Douglas faces charges of conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud, bank fraud, false statement on a loan application, money laundering and two counts of bankruptcy fraud.
Both will next appear in court for a motion hearing on Nov. 14.
The Witch Creek Fire, the largest of the 2007 wildfires and second largest in California history, destroyed and damaged thousands of homes and killed two people.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is pushing back on reports he's using too much water at his home.
The Center for Investigative Reporting says Faulconer's water usage was 20 percent higher than the state average in 2013.
But the mayor's office said Wednesday that data was from the time before conservation limits were imposed by the state.
In the first six months of this year, they said Faulconer and his family reduced their water usage by more than 18 percent.
Read the CIR report on California officials and their water use here.
A federal judge won't throw out evidence found in Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's dorm room, laptop and family apartment in the case against him.
Judge George O'Toole Jr. rejected defense lawyers' two bids to suppress evidence on Friday, as well as another request to have the indictment against Tsarnaev tossed.
Lawyers for Tsarnaev had asked the judge to toss the evidence collected from his UMass-Dartmouth dorm room, his brother Tamerlan's Cambridge apartment and the brothers' Yahoo email accounts, saying that the search warrants weren't specific enough and that some items were improperly seized.
The defense had also hoped to delay the trial, which is scheduled to start Jan. 5.
Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan, who died in a shootout with police after the attacks, are accused of carrying out the April 2013 bombings that killed three people and injured about 260 more when they exploded at the Boston Marathon finish line. An MIT officer was later fatally shot sitting in his cruiser.
Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Meanwhile, closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday in the trial of one of Tsarnaev's friends. Robel Phillipos is accused of obstruction of justice.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurses held a rally Friday afternoon to show support for the hospital following some criticism they mishandled the Ebola situation in recent weeks.
Earlier in the day, hospital officials posted two videos on YouTube complete with the catch phrase "I'm PresbyProud." They also started using the Twitter hashtag #PresbyProud.
This campaign comes in response to allegations made by Texas Health Presbyterian nurse Brianna Aguirre, who blasted the hospital for not having proper protective gear for nurses treating Ebola on the "Today" show.
"We have acknowledged that we made mistakes and that we are deeply sorry," hospital officials said in a press release.
The press release issued by the hospital also stated that employees are encouraged to raise issues and concerns via the chain of command.
"Texas Health Dallas employees have two mechanisms available to anonymously raise issues about safety concerns or related matters," the release stated. "It is important to note that no Texas Health Dallas employee did so concerning their care of Mr. Duncan or our two co-workers."
The release continued by stating that much of the information being reported is "loosely based on fact," but "often out-of-context and sensationalized" or "completely inaccurate." Hospital officials said they conducted interviews with more than 100 people involved the care of Duncan and reported being compliance with all CDC guidelines.
"The CDC guidelines changed frequently," the release stated. "Nonetheless, they endeavored to remain compliant with what was communicated as the most recent and appropriate guideline."
Hospital officials also wanted to dispel rumors about the nurses' commitment to their jobs.
"They are understandably worried and concerned in the eye of this storm, but they are steadfastly supporting their patients, each other and the hospital they love," the release stated.
A South Florida courtroom was cleared Friday amid a brief Ebola scare caught on camera, after a man allegedly told police arresting him, “I have Ebola.”
Joseph Britton insisted in Broward County bond court as his police report was being read that officers had taken his remark out of context, just as Judge John Hurley advised his lawyer to back away, fast.
“Uh-oh, uh-oh. Mr. Miller, I’d back up pretty quick if I were you,” Hurley said. “I don't know. I don't know — what do we do?”
Hurley had just read something in the arrest report for Britton that had caught him off-guard.
“Mr. Britton, take a step to the right. This man claims he has Ebola,” Hurley read from the report, before he turned to a deputy in the courtroom. “Now, I believe you should clear the courtroom of all prisoners.”
While Britton was being arrested Thursday on charges of battery, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer, he told officers, “I have Ebola,” according to the police report.
After reading the report, Hurley ordered officials to clear the jailhouse courtroom. Inmates grumbled as they were ordered out of the room. "He's making it worse for everybody right now, man," one said.
All the while, Britton said the entire situation was a misunderstanding.
“The officer took it out of context,” Britton said.
According to Fort Lauderdale police, the officer who wrote the report was trying to document Britton’s intent to create a disturbance by claiming he had Ebola and making other expletive-filled exclamations.
Police arresting him didn't notice any symptoms that led them to believe he actually had Ebola, and Britton later denied making the claim, police said.
The Sun Sentinel reported that jailhouse deputies put on protective suits and the jail was locked down as the claims were investigated. It remained locked down until 3 p.m. while a contractor cleaned the spaces where Britton had been, the Sentinel reported.
In the end, it turned out the inmate had been checked out Thursday night and was cleared, but no one had told Judge Hurley.
“I am 99.99 percent sure that this person does not have Ebola,” Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said. “The screening questions were asked of this gentleman, the inmate, last night. There was no reason to be concerned based on his answers to several questions. So, he was put in a cell.”
That cell is where Britton remained Friday night after being cleared by health officials. His bond court appearance was rescheduled for Saturday.
The pilot who flew a Dallas nurse with Ebola to Maryland for treatment Thursday says the task of ferrying patients with the deadly disease on life-saving missions is always gratifying, and says none of his crew members has had any problems.
Randy Davis, vice president of Phoenix Air, was the pilot who brought Nina Pham, 26, the first nurse to fall ill with Ebola after treating the first U.S.-diagnosed patient, from Dallas to Maryland on Thursday night. He had earlier helped fly now-recovered Ebola patient Nancy Writebol back from Liberia.
"You're always gratified when you know you're helping someone directly," Davis said. "You can see their face. You can see them walk in and out of your aircraft."
Davis is not nervous about the missions. "Not a single Phoenix Air flight crew personnel or medical personnel has had any problem whatsoever," he explained.
On the company's last two missions, there were two pilots in the cockpit and three medical staff members, including one person overseeing the process. That person doesn't wear protective gear, as he serves as the eyes and ears of the staff.
Davis' company has been a part of a dozen Ebola-related missions, but it wasn't until the last two days — when it flew Pham to Maryland, and her Ebola-stricken coworker Amber Vinson to Atlanta — that it had flown patients within the U.S.
"We're very happy that all the Americans we've brought home are still alive. Some of them have already walked out of their hospital," Davis said.
Nina Pham is currently "resting comfortably" at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, where she was flown Thursday and is in fair but stable condition, officials said Friday.
Amber Vinson is being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where she was flown Wednesday, but neither the hospital nor her family have said Friday what her condition is.
Amber Joy Vinson is the second American nurse to contract the Ebola virus after treating the first patient who was diagnosed in the United States at a Dallas hospital.
Here's what we know so far about Vinson, her background, her treatment, the people who may have come in contact with her and precautions being taken.
WHO IS AMBER VINSON?
Amber Joy Vinson, 29, is a nurse who was planning her upcoming wedding before she was diagnosed with Ebola this week.
Vinson is from Akron, Ohio, and has two degrees from Kent State University, where three of her relatives work. She was licensed as a registered nurse in Ohio in 2009 and remains licensed there, records show, though she has since moved to Dallas. She became an R.N. in Texas in 2012.
A relative told NBC News that Vinson was drawn to healthcare work at a young age and called her "sweet and kind."
"She wanted to help people. Amber has always been kind and compassionate," said Diane Sloane Rhynes, whose late brother was married to Vinson's mother for several years and who considers Vinson her niece.
Vinson had flown from Dallas to Ohio on Oct. 10 to visit her family there and plan her upcoming May wedding, before she returned Oct. 13. Now, she is being treated in isolation for Ebola.
HOW DID SHE GET EBOLA?
Vinson, 29, is a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and was part of the team that treated Thomas Eric Duncan — the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States — after he was hospitalized for the virus in late September.
She had worn protective gear including face shields, hazardous materials suits and protective footwear as she inserted catheters, drew blood and dealt with Duncan's body fluids. She was working on three days when Duncan experienced "extensive production" of diarrhea and vomiting, the CDC said.
Vinson was hospitalized with symptoms on Tuesday, Oct. 14, and tested positive for Ebola a day later. It is still not clear how she contracted the virus, leading the CDC to call her diagnosis "a serious concern."
HOW AND WHY DID SHE TRAVEL TO OHIO?
Vinson flew from Dallas to Cleveland on Oct. 10, two days after Duncan died, to visit her mother and fiancé and to plan her upcoming wedding, a health official said. She flew back to DFW on Monday, Oct. 13, on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143.
Vinson, who had been self-monitoring and was reporting her temperature to epidemiology teams routinely, had called the CDC before flying from Cleveland back to Dallas, saying she had a temperature of 99.5 degrees, an unidentified government spokesman told NBC News.
At the time, CDC guidance indicated that potentially exposed health care workers categorized as "uncertain risk" could fly commercially if they did not have a temperature of 100.4 degrees. She was not told that she should not fly.
However, CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said Wednesday that Vinson should not have boarded the plane to Dallas, because of her slight temperature and because she had had contact with Duncan.
A day after she landed, she was hospitalized, and one day later, she was confirmed to have contracted the potentially deadly disease.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE PEOPLE ABOARD HER FLIGHTS
The CDC contacted and interviewed 105 of the 132 people aboard Frontier Airlines Flight 1143, the flight she took from Cleveland home to DFW on Oct. 13. Several passengers who were near her on the plane will be monitored by health officials for symptoms, the agency said Oct. 16.
Passengers on the flight are being split into two groups: those who are at low risk, and the “few passengers” who sat close to Vinson. Those who are at low risk and will be kept informed, while those who were close to her will be interviewed and monitored for fever and other symptoms for 21 days.
Frontier was also contacting passengers on Vinson's flight from Dallas to Cleveland, even though she was asymptomatic at that time. They also want to talk to hundreds more passengers who were on five other flights that the plane she took Monday made after she returned to Dallas.
The president of the airline, Barry Biffle, indicated Oct. 17 that Vinson may have been at a more advanced stage of the illness when flying than previously thought. The airline shared CDC findings with employees in an email. Crewmembers on the flights are at a very low risk of exposure, according to the CDC, yet as a precaution, the airline put the pilots and flight attendants on leave for 21 days--the amount of time experts believe it would take for someone exposed to Ebola to become sick.
WHO MAY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED IN OHIO?
Ohio health officials are still trying to determine how many people might have been exposed while Vinson was visiting the state before testing positive for Ebola.
Officials are monitoring the health of 16 people in the state who had contact with Vinson — 12 in Summit County, which includes Akron, and four in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, according to The Associated Press. None of those people has shown any symptoms of the virus, health officials said.
Ohio health investigators are also tracking down people who visited Akron bridal shop Coming Attractions when Vinson was there with friends Saturday afternoon and set up a hotline for customers who may have been exposed. The shop's owners voluntarily shuttered it temporarily after Vinson was diagnosed.
HOW IS SHE BEING TREATED?
Vinson was flown Wednesday, wearing a hazmat bubble suit, to Atlanta to be treated at Emory University Hospital, the same hospital where three Americans have been treated with Ebola and where two of them have recovered.
She is being treated there in isolation in a biocontainment unit. Her family said Thursday she was in stable condition.
Emory had previously treated both Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, American aid workers who contracted Ebola in Liberia and who later recovered after successful treatment at Emory. A third unidentified American is also being treated there.
Her family said Thursday, Oct. 16, that they are "overwhelmed with support" as she battles the virus. The hospital did not release her condition Friday.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Texas authorities are taking additional precautions to prevent the virus from spreading, asking other health workers who treated Duncan not to travel with the public or go anywhere that people congregate.
Frieden added that an investigation had found that some workers at the Dallas hospital layered some of their protective gear and taped their gloves to their hands, two behaviors that can increase the risk of contracting the virus.
Vinson may have been sick as early as Friday, Oct. 10, the day she flew to Ohio, the CDC said at a briefing on Oct. 17. The timing of when she fell ill is important, because patients with the virus are only contagious when they are sick.
Staff and students at San Diego State University are mourning the loss of "vibrant" 18-year-old freshman Sara Stelzer, who school officials say died after contracting meningococcal disease.
Stelzer, who was studying pre-communications, was hospitalized on Tuesday after starting to experience flu-like symptoms two days prior. She was then diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis.
Her family gave SDSU officials permission to release a statement Friday morning saying they have told their daughter farewell. Stelzer's body will be kept on life support for a short time while the hospital looks for recipients of some of her vital organs, according to SDSU Chief Communications Officer Greg Block.
The university issued a statement, saying it was “deeply saddened by the loss” and asked for privacy while students grieve.
"After speaking with her family, we know that Sara was a vibrant young woman who loved San Diego State, her friends and the time she spent at our university," said Eric Rivera, vice president of the university's student affairs. "It is always difficult when a young life is lost, especially when that person is part of our SDSU family."
The school is offering emergency counseling to students at SDSU's counseling and psychological services, which can be reached at 619-594-5220.
Now attention has turned to preventing another meningitis-related tragedy.
More than 400 students have signed up for antibiotics after the university sent a campus-wide notification to alert students of the health threat. Specifically, between 300 and 400 people were notified, including all members of the Kappa Delta sorority and anyone who attended two specific fraternity parties on Oct. 8 and 9.
"It's awful. Everyone's really devastated," said Elleni Anast, who attended the same fraternity party as Stelzer. "My roommate is in Kappa Dela, so (I'm) trying to help them through that time."
"It breaks my heart. Everyone's heart," echoes freshman Nicolette Pianelli. "Took flowers to Kappa Delta house the other day."
Many took to social media to express their grief.
Prior to her death, Stelzer also helped out with homecoming last Friday at her alma mater, Moorpark High School, north of Los Angeles.
She helped friends with hair and makeup, and the Ventura County Health Department has identified 10 people, who had contact with her. About six of them had "prolonged" contact with her, school officials said.
All those people have been examined by doctors, given antibiotics and were back in class on Friday.
Officials at Moorpark said Stelzer had been part of the golf team and Renaissance class at the school and "brought an amazing amount of light to MHS."
"We are extremely saddened by the loss of Sara," school superintendent Kelli Hays said in a statement. "She left a very meaningful mark on Moorpark High School and we will continue to honor her memory."
Meningococcal disease refers to any illness caused by the type of bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis, also known as meningococcus, according to the CDC.
These illnesses can be life-threatening infections of the lining of the brain and spinal cord as well as bloodstream infections.
The disease can be spread by sharing cigarettes or pipes, drinking out of the same water bottles or beverage containers or through other intimate contact like kissing.
Because it takes one to 10 days for someone exposed to the disease to see symptoms, others may have it and not know it.
Symptoms include fever, intense headache, neck stiffness and rashes.
Anyone experiencing symptoms should go directly to a hospital emergency room and explain the possible exposure, school officials said.
There is no word yet on memorial service plans.
The mayor of a Riverside County community was arrested late Thursday on suspicion of DUI after a crash that injured four members of a high school cheer team, according to police.
Murrieta Mayor Alan Long, 44, was booked on suspicion of DUI causing bodily injury, according to Riverside County jail records. He was arrested Thursday night after a crash at Jefferson and Lily avenues in Murrieta in southwestern Riverside County.
Officers determined that a "full-size" truck had rear-ended a passenger vehicle carrying four Murrieta Valley High School students, ages 14 to 17. The students' injuries were described as "moderate to major," according to a police department statement.
"Officers contacted the driver of the truck who was the sole occupant of his vehicle," police said in a statement. "The driver had signs and symptoms consistent with alcohol impairment. The driver participated in some standardized field sobriety tests, and officers determined that the driver was in fact impaired."
Long's blood alcohol content was .07, just below the legal limit of .08, but investigators were also waiting for blood test results, police said.
Karen Parris, a spokeswoman for the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, said one of the four injured female students, members of the school cheer team, remained hospitalized Friday. She is expected to make a full recovery.
The girls had just attended a pep rally ahead of Friday night's football game.
An attorney for Long, who's hoping to be re-elected in two weeks, said he helped the victims at the scene, talked to their parents and cooperated with police.
"Long is concerned for the well-being of the teenagers and while he admits he was involved in an accident, he does not believe he committed a crime," the attorney said.
He was booked into jail on $50,000 bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.
Long also serves as a battalion chief for Anaheim Fire and Rescue.
A court date was scheduled for Dec. 11.
Residents had mixed reactions.
Melissa Young said the arrest would influence her vote.
"It's sad," she said. "There's other options besides drinking and driving."
Kathy Huerta said she was saddened.
"But at the same time -- 'Go Alan!'" said Huerta, who has known the mayor since he was a child.
She said it was a rare lapse in judgment.
"He is a solid, wonderful person," she said. "He runs 24/7, OK? He's tired. He is being bombarded by everybody and their brother on a normal daily basis."
Murrieta Councilman Rick Gibbs told the Riverside Press-Enterprise, "This is certainly very much out of character for Alan Long.
"I've been at a number of social events with Alan over the years, ... and I've never seen him take a drink."
Long was in the national spotlight earlier this year when a busload of undocumented immigrants, bound for the Murrieta Border Patrol Station for processing, was blocked by protesters.
Long criticized the federal government's handling of the immigrant transfer, part of a plan to alleviate what the Obama administration as a humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied minors in federal custody along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Kim Baldonado contributed to this report.
There is no room for anything Royals-related in San Francisco, and that includes "Royals."
The 2013 pop hit from Lorde has been removed from KFOG's playlist, the radio station announced Thursday.
That means a "Royals"-free local airwaves for at least 10 days or so... fewer, if the Giants can wrap up the World Series against that certain team from Kansas City in quick fashion.
No offense, Lorde, but for the duration of the World Series, KFOG Radio will be a "Royals"-free zone. We're sure... http://t.co/7uvseCjb03
— KFOGRadio (@KFOGRadio) October 17, 2014
"Why send any positive vibes to Kansas City?" asked Jim Richards, KFOG's program director. "Why not give the song a rest? No one is going to get hurt over it."
Richards told NBC Bay Area that the powers that be decided to remove the song from KFOG's rotation "as the [Giants] players were chugging beers" Thursday night.
New Zealand-born Lorde, who at 17 still has plenty of time to pick a different team, has confirmed that the song was in fact at least partially inspired by a National Geographic photo of Royals legend George Brett signing autographs.
UPDATE: KOIT has also banned the "Royals" song.
Should we remove #Lorde #Royals from our playlist? #Giants @nbcbayarea http://t.co/kyXeWiqKJu
— 96.5 koit (@965KOIT) October 17, 2014
Asked whether his 9-year-old son surviving a “freak” electrical shock at his birthday party was a miracle, Tony Belden didn’t waver.
“Absolutely,” the Temecula father told a group of reporters on Friday afternoon.
“There were people all over the world messaging us that they’re praying for us,” he said. “Every time I looked at the numbers grow on his Facebook page, I thought, ‘That’s one more person praying for my kid.”
Belden spoke to reporters at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego about his son’s recovery after being electrically shocked at his own birthday party in what’s been described as a “freak accident.”
Belden's family celebrated his birthday a few weeks early with family friends and his baseball team when the fourth grader was shocked near the swimming pool at their Temecula home.
Belden was snapping a picture with a friend when the accident happened. He apparently touched a metal patio cover support that had stringing lights and had somehow become electrified.
Elijah Belden, who turned 10 on Monday, was in a medically induced coma for days before waking on Tuesday.
Now, his father said his recovery is swift and impressive. When he first woke, Elijah was asked if he knew his name.
“With a hoarse voice, he was able to say his name,” his father said.
From there, the boy has started rehabilitation programs and on Friday, he was able to walk outside for the first time. His speech was evaluated and seems great, his father said. Doctors are focusing on strengthening his lungs.
On Saturday, family members are hoping Elijah can get on a treadmill to trying running again and next week, the family hopes to head home.
“We’re looking forward to getting him moving again," Belden said. "Getting him on the baseball field. Back to the normal kid he is.”
Republican challenger for the 52nd Congressional District Carl DeMaio has pledged to take on his own Republican Party to be more inclusive and accepting of diversity.
But Friday, a national conservative political action committee called for the resignation of DeMaio’s campaign manager for his comment about black people.
An internal campaign email obtained by NBC 7 to DeMaio’s staff from Campaign Manager Tommy Knepper offers tools for spotting a “tracker” – a person attending campaign events to catch a candidate saying or doing something that could be used against him.
Some red flags, Knepper wrote: being young and being black.
“We were hugely disappointed and frankly disgusted with the campaign manager there in California 52nd District and the comments he made about black people,” said Ali Akbar, a senior adviser to the board of the Black Conservative Fund, which said Knepper should resign.
In the email thread, DeMaio immediately responds by saying “drop black from the criteria.”
On Friday, NBC7 received an apology statement from Knepper.
“I apologize for my inappropriate and offensive comments, which do not reflect me or my values or the values of this campaign,” he said. “We value the support from all San Diegans in this election.”
Not enough, says Akbar.
"We want to see him step down. We want to see him terminated immediately. We don’t want to see him finish out this last stretch of the campaign,” Akbar said, adding that he was relieved that the attitude did not trickle up to the candidate.
“We were pleased to see that the candidate (DeMaio) in principle spurned him (Knepper) inside of that email, but it’s really wholly unnecessary to ‘red flag’ black attendees, and for that matter youth attendees, to GOP events,” Akbar said. “We need to be a party of inclusion.”
During a taping of NBC 7's "Politically Speaking" segment with candidates DeMaio and incumbent Scott Peters, DeMaio had little to say in response to questions about the email.
When asked by NBC7’s political expert Gene Cubbison what was up with the profiling of oppo trackers as young African Americans, DeMaio said:
“This is the dysfunction of politics. This doesn’t get anyone a job and that’s what San Diegans have told me they want me to focus on,” DeMaio said. “This doesn’t fix our financial crisis in our nation.”
Akbar says if Knepper isn’t off the payroll by Monday, his organization is going to be asking with his pocket book.
You can watch the entire “Politically Speaking” episode on Sunday at 9 a.m. right after “Meet the Press.”
