Ford is recalling about 65,000 Fusion midsize cars in North America because the ignition keys can be removed if the transmission is not in park due to a software problem.

The recall covers certain Fusions, including gas-electric hybrids, from the 2014 and 2015 model years. Ford traced the problem to a computer program in the instrument cluster. Keys can be removed 30 minutes after the ignition switch is turned off if the cars are left in gear. That violates U.S. safety regulations and increases the risk of cars rolling away unexpectedly.

Ford says it's not aware of any crashes or injuries from the problem. Dealers will reprogram the instrument cluster at no cost to owners.

The recall covers about 55,000 vehicles in the U.S., with the rest in Canada and Mexico.

San Diego is joining other California cities that are taking a closer look at recycling wastewater for drinking as the state suffers from severe drought.

The San Diego City Council will consider a $3.5 billion water recycling project that would produce 83 million gallons of recycled water a day by 2035. That’s an estimated one-third of the city's water supply.

Environmental groups like San Diego Coastkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter are backing the project, calling it a "drought-proof water source."

The plant will take wastewater and turn it into drinking water. It's a multi-step cleaning process that backers of the plan say actually meets or exceeds quality standards of the water San Diegans drink now.

The plan enjoys broad support, including from Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

The project could help alleviate $2 billion in costs needed to upgrade the plant up to standards and, city council officials say, could save taxpayers more than $800 million dollars.

The Orange County Water District in Southern California has recycled wastewater for drinking since 2008 and is expanding production to 100 million gallons a day from 70 million.

The program was recently profiled on the CBS magazine show “60 Minutes.”

The Santa Clara Valley Water District in the San Francisco Bay area is also considering the idea.
City Council will vote at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
 

Parts of all U.S. states were hit with bone-chilling temperatures Tuesday, however, people in and around Buffalo, New York, had an especially rough time.

Meteorologists say the city may get throttled with six feet of lake-effect snow. A state of emergency has already been declared in the city’s suburbs of Orchard Park and West Seneca, which had already seen 47 inches of snowfall by 10 a.m. ET, NBC News reported.

About a third of flights at Buffalo/Niagara International Airport were cancelled, according to Flightaware.com, as noted by USA Today.

Lifelong Buffalo resident Nick Giammusso, 46, explained that "impassable" snow has snarled traffic in the area.

"We're used to the snow but not this," Giammusso said. "There's 5 feet of snow outside my house. A friend has snow up to his shoulders at his home."

The National Weather Service said that snow off the Great Lakes would continue at least through Wednesday. 

The National Guard will be deployed to Erie County to provide additional plows, tow trucks, and other assistance to aid in the cleanup from the snow storm, County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced Tuesday.

Below, you can see some photos people in and around Buffalo have shared on social media: 

An elderly man caught on surveillance camera robbing a San Diego-area bank may look like the Geezer Bandit but based on his height, it’s not likely the same person.

The so-called Geezer Bandit, is believed to have been involved in 15 bank robberies throughout California.

Five years after his first robbery, the Geezer Bandit has not been caught.

So on Monday, when FBI officials released images of the elderly suspect in a recent San Diego-area bank robbery, there were questions. Could this be the work of the Geezer?

The man, dressed in a wide-brimmed hat and blue blazer, handed over two different demand notes to the teller behind the counter at the Union Bank on Bernardo Center Drive.

It was just before 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14.

He had a small pistol and put an item with wires and an antenna on the counter that he claimed to be an explosive device.

He also said he wanted a certain amount in specific denominations.

Before leaving the bank, the man put the cash into a purple duffel bag.

The blazer may be considered gray, officials said. Other details in his description included a silver watch worn on the left wrist and a purple zip-up sweater under the blazer.

He’s believed to be in his mid to late 60’s and stands between 5-foot 5-inches to 6-foot tall.

Here’s where the description varies from the Geezer Bandit. The wanted fugitive is considered 60 to 70 years old and is believed to be 5-foot 11-inches to 6-foot tall.

There is a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the Geezer Bandit.

Anyone with information on Friday's robbery can contact the FBI (858) 320-1800 or submit a tip via the Internet or call Crime Stoppers at telephone number (888) 580-8477.

Todd Bosnich, who accused Carl DeMaio of sexual harassment, will not be charged, prosecutors told NBC 7 Tuesday. 

The former campaign staffer who brought sexual harassment accusations against the former congressional candidate was arrested following a Nov. 7 incident.

Bosnich, 29, was accused of assault with a deadly weapon and disabling a wireless device. 

The arrest stemmed from an argument between Bosnich and his mother, SDPD Lt. Mayer said. Bosnich was accused of pushing his mother, throwing a drinking glass at her and disabling her phone.

Court records show a domestic violence case was filed against him and he was booked into jail on Nov. 12.

News cameras caught up with him as he bailed out.

On Tuesday however, prosecutors told NBC 7 the charges will be dropped. The San Diego City Attorney's Office told NBC 7 they are still reviewing the case.

Over the past couple of months, Bosnich became embroiled in the scandal that plagued DeMaio’s campaign for the 52nd Congressional District seat.

In October, Bosnich accused his boss of unwelcome touching and repeated sexual harassment. In one alleged incident, he said DeMaio had called him to his office, only to expose himself there.

DeMaio flatly denied the allegations, calling them outrageous lies. The candidate in turn accused Bosnich of breaking in and vandalizing campaign headquarters in May. During that incident, confidential campaign documents were taken.

The San Diego District Attorney and San Diego Police Department investigated both the sexual harassment claims and the break-in, but no charges were filed in either case.

But unsealed search warrants say Bosnich is the one who gave the stolen campaign documents to DeMaio's opponent, U.S. Rep. Scott Peters.

Bosnich said everything he gave to Peters' campaign were items he had been working on and had access to without breaking into DeMaio's offices.

Peters went on to win the tight, contentious race when DeMaio conceded.

A new study out of the University of California San Diego suggests that trans fats are not only expanding waistlines, but could be damaging your memory as well.

The study, presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association conference, found that among 690 men, those who ate the most trans fats remembered 11 fewer words out of 104 than those who ate the least.

The study’s author, Beatrice Golomb, a professor at the UCSD School of Medicine, told USA Today that trans fats amount to a “metabolic poison.”

"Trans fats increase the shelf life of the food but reduce the shelf life of the person," Golomb said. "They don't provide anything the body needs.”

Also called partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats are often used to extend the shelf life of snacks, such as cookies and crackers, and have previously been linked to obesity and heart disease.

Manufacturers have been required to disclose trans fats on labels since 2006, and many foods like margarine were reformulated with alternative ingredients. But the law allows products with less than half 1 gram of trans fat to be listed as trans fat-free.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration took the first steps to banning trans fat outright, removing it from the Generally Recognized As Safe list of foods. California has already prohibited its use in restaurants, as has New York City.

You may not even know you’re consuming trans fat. It may appear as an ingredient listed as “partially hydrogenated” on nutrition labels.

USA Today reported that out of over 100 Keebler products, for example, 42 were labeled trans fat-free, but listed partially hydrogenated oils among their ingredients.

The study did not explain why eating trans fat would cause memory loss, but experts think the findings are in line with what they already know on how nutrition affects the brain.

"These artificial fats penetrate every cell in the body and can disrupt basic cell functions," Dr. Walter Willett told USA Today.

Willett is chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, but was not involved in the research.

Police have arrested a man in the subway attack Sunday in which a 61-year-old man was pushed to his death in front of a Bronx train as his wife watched in horror, police say.

Kevin Darden, the suspect in the fatal shove that killed Wai Kuen Kwok on the D train platform at the 167th Street station, was taken into custody Tuesday near his mother's home in the Bronx after an intensive manhunt, police and law enforcement sources said.

Darden was initally picked up for questioning in a seperate assault at the West Fourth Street station during the evening rush Nov. 6, when he allegedly pushed a 51-year-old man to the ground.

He was arrested and charged in that assault, then later charged with murder in the Bronx subway push. 

It wasn't clear how police linked the two attacks, but Darden was wanted in both. The victim in the earlier case was treated for hand and back injuries at a hospital; it wasn't clear if he had fallen to the trackbed.

Law enforcement sources said Darden has been arrested more than 30 times, some for violent crimes across the city. It's not known how many of those arrests led to convictions.

Kwok's wife was not hurt, though investigators have said the person who killed her husband may have tried to push her onto the tracks as well before he fled the station.

The motorman on the train that hit Kwok told NBC 4 New York he immediately applied the brakes when he saw Kwok flying onto the tracks, but it was too late. 

There was no indication that Kwok knew the man who pushed him or fought or argued with him. Witnesses told police they believe the man left the subway station and jumped on a city bus.

As if it couldn't get better for 93-year-old Phyllis Gould and her small band of Rosie the Riveters.

Not only did she and a handful of octogenarians meet President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the White House in April. Now, there's a push in Congress to turn one day of the year into National Rosie the Riveter Day.

"I thought of the idea while I was in the shower one morning," the Fairfax woman told NBC Bay Area on Tuesday. "And it just started rolling."

She initially contacted U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman. And the idea grew. U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier then enlisted the help of Huffman and outgoing U.S. Rep. George Miller – all Democrats from California – to draft a formal letter to request a day be marked on the U.S. calendar to honor the women who are "among our nation's greatest living heroines."

So far, the request has about 30 co-signers, and the deadline to sign before sending it to the White House is Wednesday. There is no required number for the president to act, and no specific date has been set or suggested.

The congressional letter highlights the role women played during World War II, when 6 million women went to work, "literally providing the weaponry and ammunition to end the war."

For her part, Gould was a welder during World War II. And she was one of six Rosie the Riveters — all in their 70s, 80 and 90s — from the San Francisco Bay Area who flew to Washington, D.C., at Biden’s special invitation, after Gould had written one of her many letters to the White House seeking recognition for the role of women during the war. Biden didn't ignore her and, in a conversation captured in a radio chat, invited her and her pals to D.C.

For Gould and her friends, it was a trip of a lifetime. She hugged the leaders of the free world and felt that she finally got respect from the very top.

But Gould said she's still not completely done with her mission. She now wants every city to post Rosie the Riveter acknowledgments at veteran memorials throughout the country.

"I'm obsessed with women being recognized," she said. "Because it won't happen once we're gone."

Over Thanksgiving weekend, volunteers will be on hand at two San Diego locations to provide hot meals to the less fortunate.

On Nov. 22, the San Diego Rescue Mission will host a Thanksgiving meal to more than 1,500 homeless men, women and children.

Nearly 200 volunteers will serve the hot turkey meal from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. as well as offer personal necessities, such as T-shirts, socks, towels, shampoo, soap and lotion.

Over at the Kiva Learning Center on Nov. 23, volunteers will serve a warm Thanksgiving lunch from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to women and children involved in its treatment program. The program allows women to live with their children while receiving alcohol and drug treatment.

Volunteers will donate turkeys, hams, gift cards and baby necessities to the women and children.

A New York woman who lost her father on Sept. 11 took the final step in carrying out his legacy when she graduated from the FDNY Academy Tuesday. 

Josephine Smith, 34, of Mastic, is one of four women in this year's FDNY class of 280, and the first-ever daughter of a firefighter killed in the World Trade Center attacks to join the FDNY. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Smith said she felt "proud, happy, excited... sad that my father couldn't be here." 

Kevin Smith, 53, lost his life when the north tower fell. Josephine was 21 at the time, and she first heard it on the radio -- but her desire to be a firefighter like her father started years before.

She recalled "going to work with my dad, playing on fire trucks, even telling my dad how I was going to work with him one day."

Her mother, Angelina Clay, now remarried, said she never doubted.

"I bought her a bottle of champagne before she even started the academy because I knew she'd make it," she said. 

Smith's first assignment is Engine 39 on Manhattan's East Side. Her father was with Haz-Mat Company 1. 

She carries a picture of him under her uniform hat, and wears his bracelet, too. She said she'll go to work with him every day. 

"There's not a second that goes by that I don't think about my father," she said. "There's so much that reminds me of him, there's so much I wish I can tell him about, to come home and tell him what I learned that day." 

Scientists have isolated a virus they are pretty sure is causing the mysterious disease that has killed millions of sea stars on the Pacific Coast from Southern California to Alaska by causing them to lose their limbs and eventually disintegrate into slime and piles of tiny bones.

A study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says a variety of densovirus is the likely cause of wasting syndrome among sea stars, also known as starfish. Varieties of densovirus are used as a biological control on cockroaches, and include the parvovirus that infects dogs.

Cornell University marine microbiologist Ian Hewson says they found larger amounts of the virus in sick sea stars than healthy ones, and the amount of virus increased as the disease progressed. Also, injecting material from sick sea stars that was filtered to concentrate virus-sized organisms caused healthy sea stars to get the disease.

Hewson said thousands of bacteria and viruses live in and on sea stars, but researchers suspected a virus was responsible for the disease because sea stars got sick in aquariums that drew water from the ocean. The disease did not infect sea stars in museums that exposed the water to ultraviolet light, which kills viruses.

Hewson adds they don't know yet what triggered the outbreak of the virus, which can be found in plankton, sandy ocean bottoms, and sea urchins, and has been found in museum specimens of sea stars dating to 1942. He said It could be related to a population boom in one of the species heavily infected by the disease, a change in the virus, or changes in the environment. Some of the most heavily infected species are members of the same family, suggesting they may share a common vulnerability.

Past outbreaks of sea star wasting have been smaller and more confined in geographic area. The current one started in the summer of 2013 in Southern California and has since spread through Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and southern Alaska. It has infected 20 different species of sea stars, but primarily the five-legged ochre sea stars commonly seen in tide pools, and the sunflower sea stars that have up to 16 legs.

Hewson said the disease was not likely to make any sea stars go extinct, but was likely to affect the mix of species in the intertidal regions of the ocean. Mussels, a favorite food of sea stars, are likely to become more abundant, for example.

Chris Suttle, a marine virus expert at the University of British Columbia, and Bruce Menge, professor of interactive biology at Oregon State University, were not part of the study. Both said the study, though it did not definitively identify a virus as the cause of the disease, was very persuasive.

They agreed that the increasing acidity of ocean waters associated with climate change could be a factor in triggering the outbreak, perhaps by making the sea stars more vulnerable to attack.

"If (viruses) get in through damaged areas (of the sea star), what causes the damaged area?" Menge asked. "If they don't get in though damaged areas, how do they get in?"

Warming ocean temperature appears to be less of a factor, because outbreaks in Oregon occurred in waters that have been colder than normal lately, Menge said.

Suttle said ocean acidification is affecting other marine invertebrates, such as commercial populations of scallops and oysters.

The "zombie" sea stars were discovered this year in Carlsbad, La Jolla, Mission Bay and Point Loma.

A Connecticut woman is facing charges after police say she had sex with her friend’s 10-year-old son while baby-sitting for the family in Meriden.

Police said Marybeth Rataic, 25, of Willimantic, sexually assaulted the boy three to four times over two weeks in August at the family home in Meriden while she baby-sat four children while their mother was in the hospital giving birth.

Rataic was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with three counts of first-degree sexual assault and seven counts of risk of injury to a minor/impairing the morals of children.

The boy told investigators the sex took place on the living room couch and in his parents’ bedroom. He said Rataic took off his clothes and encouraged the sexual contact, according to the warrant for Rataic’s arrest.

Police said Rataic, the mother of a 9-month-old, continued to stay at the house overnight after the mother returned home and would sneak into the bedroom the boy shared with his brothers.

According to the warrant, Rataic would spend the night in the boy's bed and have intercourse with him while his brothers slept across the room.

The victim told police one of the sexual encounters happened after Rataic had gone to Hartford to buy drugs, the warrant says. According to investigators, the boy''s mother became suspicious when she found a hickey on the boy's neck.

Rataic denied the allegations and said the victim forced himself on her while they were wrestling and tickling each other, according to the warrant. She told investigators she asked the boy to stop and tried to push him off.

Nonetheless, Rataic is "concerned about the child even after everything that went on," said Ashley Elliott, who lives in the same apartment building as Rataic and said the two are longtime friends.

"Emotionally, she's torn apart," Elliott added.

Rataic is being held on $150,000 bond and is due in court Nov. 25. Information on an attorney for Rataic was not immediately available.

Chula Vista Police have released the identity of the man who was shot to death by his brother, an off-duty San Diego Police officer.

Wesley Castillo, 34, is accused of instigating the violent fight Friday, which started as an argument with his parents.

Castillo suffers from mental health issues, police say, so when he started to get physical with his mother, his brother and SDPD officer Bryan Castillo intervened.

Arming himself with knives, Castillo stabbed Bryan four times. Investigators say Bryan, in self-defense, shot his brother.

Though emergency crews tried to save him, Castillo died at the Parkwoods Condominium Association on Center Street, where the family lives.

Bryan, a 6-year veteran of the SDPD, was found bleeding in the complex's parking lot and was taken to the hospital. He was released this week.

The investigation into the incident is on-going.

The family of a woman who fell to her death from a Six Flags Over Texas roller coaster last year has reached a settlement with the theme park and the coaster's German manufacturer.

All three parties announced the settlement in a joint statement Tuesday, saying Six Flags and Gerstlauer Amusement Rides had reached the deal with Rosy Esparza's family. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.

Esparza, 52, plummeted 75 feet to her death as she rode the Texas Giant in July 13.

"Our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers will forever be with the Esparza family," said Steve Martindale, park president via a statement Tuesday. "We are thankful that all parties could reach an agreed settlement."
 
"The Esparza family is very pleased with the settlement and appreciates the condolences offered by Six Flags and Gerstlauer," said both Frank Branson and Garret Chambers, attorneys representing the family.

 
The statement said that Gerstlauer is also very pleased with the settlement.

Soon after the accident, seat belts were added to the Texas Giant, and there was a test seat put out, so people could see if they could safely get on the ride.

Gerstlauer Amusement Rides said that seat was provided for the park two years prior to the accident, but never used.

Read the court filing in its entirety below.

Hundreds of UC San Diego students staged a sit-in Tuesday morning, a day before the UC Board of Regents is set to vote on a tuition hike.

Students dressed in black sat on the sidewalk outside Geisel Library as part of the statewide “Day of Action.” They chanted and held signs reading “Education Is Our Right” and “Freeze Tuition Now.”

But UC President Janet Napolitano says the university system has no choice but to raise tuition, citing pension costs and inadequate funding from the state, among other factors.

Napolitano’s proposal would raise tuition 5 percent a year over the next five years at all UC schools. That means the average tuition would increase from $12,192 to $12,804 next fall and $15,564 in 2019, according to the Associated Press.

Tuition has remained the same the past three years.

UCSD provided the following statement to NBC 7 regarding Tuesday’s protest:

It's appropriate that students vigorously express their opinion on the tuition proposal and the continued funding shortfalls provided by the state. We hope that students understand that the real issue is how the state of California funds the university. The state has reduced funding to the University of California by 25% in last ten years yet enrollment continues to grow.

Still, students say they can’t afford the hike.

“Definitely going to have to apply for more financial aid. If that doesn’t cover it, that means loans for me,” said UCSD student Haley Asturias.

“I’m already worrying about my studies. Now I have to worry about financial issues. It’s just a lot of stress,” she added.

“They look at the prices, and they’re scary,” said Nicolas Monteiro, another UCSD student.

California Gov. Jerry Brown opposes increasing tuition.

The UC Board of Regents is meeting Tuesday through Thursday in San Francisco.

A San Diego man has been arrested, accused of jumping a woman from behind near the UTC shopping mall three months ago.

Adam Espinoza Moore, 22, of San Diego has been arrested and faces charge ranging from assault, rape, false imprisonment, kidnapping and battery, police said. 

San Diego police announced the arrest saying only that on Monday, Nov. 17 its investigators received evidence in the case. No other details were given.

On Saturday, August 30 around 8:30 p.m. a 21-year-old woman was walking on La Jolla Village Drive, across the street from the Westfield UTC mall.

She told police a man grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the bushes.

Officers say the victim bit the hand of the suspect that was covering her mouth. 

Despite the victim's efforts, she was dragged up a grassy area and assaulted behind some bushes, officers said.

When someone nearby heard her scream, the suspect was confronted and then fled on foot.

San Diego Police have released the name of the man shot to death behind a Rolando hookah lounge Sunday.

Rodney Vanburean Harmon, a 29-year-old San Diego resident, was at the 3 Kings Hookah Lounge at about 4 a.m. Sunday, after the business had closed.

The owner says the few left inside heard a loud banging on the door, so Harmon got up to answer it. He was shot in the chest and died in the nearby alley.

SDPD says the suspect ran east from the building on El Cajon Boulevard. He is described as a dark-skinned man between 5-foot-8 and six-feet tall, wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt and pants.

The hookah lounge owner told NBC 7 he has given police surveillance video of the shooting so they can find the suspect.

Investigators have not released a possible motive for the shooting.

A pedestrian was seriously injured Tuesday evening after being hit by an SUV in Vista.

The driver in a Toyota SUV was heading north on South Santa Fe Avenue was the 60-year-old pedestrian crossed the street. Witnesses say he was jaywalking at Pala Vista Drive. 

The driver saw the man but could not stop in time, San Diego Sheriff’s Department deputies say.

The SUV sideswiped the man, sending him flying to the ground just after 5:30 p.m.

The pedestrian was taken to the hospital for serious injuries, though he is expected to survive. 

Deputies say the driver stayed at the scene. Alcohol is not considered a factor in the crash.

Camp Pendleton officials broke ground Tuesday on the 65th Fisher House, an important facet for those visiting the base due to an emergency.

The new Fisher House will be 8,000 square feet with have eight suites, offering a place where the families of injured or ill service members can stay for free while their loved one is being cared for at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton.

“This hospital provides world class health care, but sometimes doctors, nurses and medicine isn't enough. You need you family with you in order to heal. That is what Fisher House does,” said Marine veteran Derek Donovan, the vice president of programs and community affairs for the Fisher House.

The facility will provide some 3,000 nights of lodging for about 280 families a year, saving them an estimated $250,000, base officials say.

The project cost of $2.65 million was donated by United Health Foundation.

The Fisher House Foundation and the military have a unique partnership. The foundation takes care of building the home and lodging fees, along with other items inside the home.

The military takes care of the management and operation of the facility once it is complete.

Both agree the lodging plays an essential part in healing for wounded members of the military and their families.

“When we see our Marines wounded or injured, we recognize that the absolute essential ingredient to making sure that they are healthful again is the support -- the role of the families,” said Brig. Gen. Joaquin Malavet, deputy commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

The Fisher House Camp Pendleton should be ready to host its first family in May of 2015.

Nearly 250,000 military families have been served by the Fisher House Foundation since the organization began back in 1990.

Taco lovers, there's a recall you need to know about.

B&G Foods is voluntarily recalling certain Ortega Taco Seasoning Mix, Ortega Taco Sauce, Ortega Enchilada Sauce and Ortega Taco Kit products and certain Las Palmas Taco Seasoning Mix and Las Palmas Taco Sauce products.

CLICK HERE for a complete list of affected products.

The recall is a result of one or more of the spice ingredients purchased from a third-party supplier contain peanuts and almonds, allergens that are not declared on the products’ ingredient statements.

People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to peanuts and almonds run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.

There is no health risk associated with these products for anyone without an allergy to peanuts or almonds.

This recall does not apply to any other sizes or varieties of Ortega Seasoning Mix or to any Ortega Seasoning Mixes in canisters, all of which are correctly labeled.

Consumers who have purchased the recalled products are can return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

NBC 5 visited several grocery stores in North Texas on Monday night. Many stores had already pulled the items from their shelves, but at one Irving supermarket, the recalled packages were still on the shelves and available for purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact the company’s recall hotline at 877-929-2576 from 7:00 a.m. CT to 7:00 p.m. CT, or visit www.ortega.com for additional information.