Rainy roads may have contributed to a five-car pileup that blocked three lanes of southbound Interstate 805 Friday night.
California Highway Patrol says the collision started near Sweetwater Road, just north of Chula Vista.
Paramedics were called in, but those hurt in the crash had minor injuries.
Check back here for updates.
The town of Westbrook, Connecticut, has filed an animal cruelty complaint against a woman whose horse was so weak and thin he had to be euthanized after falling into a pile of debris and struggling for 24 hours to get up.
According to the complaint filed Dec. 11 in Middletown Superior Court, animal control officers and veterinarians were called to the home of Kristin Calabrese and her husband Nick at 145 Green Meadow Drive in Westbrook on Nov. 30.
One of their horses, a 13-year-old Standardbred gelding named Killian, had wandered into a room full of junk and knocked over a paint can, falling to the floor. He never got back up.
Witnesses whose accounts are included in the complaint said the horse had apparently been lying there for a full day before the owners sought help. Officials said Killian was half his healthy weight.
“I have had many neglect cases over the years. This one was one of the worst,” one witness said in the complaint.
According to the witnesses, Killian’s stall was so full of manure he was able to climb over the rope keeping him in and ended up in a cluttered section of the garage, where he fell.
There was blood on the floor, and Killian was kicking his feet trying to get up. His body was covered with sores and he thirstily lapped at glasses of water the witnesses poured down his throat, according to the complaint.
“It was very sad to watch this horse try so hard to lift his head,” a witness said. “This horse was extremely dehydrated and was suffering.”
A vet who responded to the home said Killian was so weak he wouldn’t have the muscle mass to stay on his feet if they were able to get him up, so she opted for euthanasia.
Jeff Blaschke, owner of Connecticut Horse Cremation, said Killian's condition "just brought tears to [his] eyes."
An inspection of Killian’s stall revealed no food and water. Dust had collected on the bottom of his water bucket, and the one container of food in the barn was almost empty and had two dead mice at the bottom, according to the complaint.
“I noticed that the outdoor paddock was loaded with feces around the perimeter as well as twine used around hay bales everywhere,” one witness wrote. “This is dangerous as the horses can ingest the twine by accident and choke.”
The couple also had a pony in the barn, who was malnourished and full of parasites. According to the complaint, there was no food or water in her stall either and the floor was covered with excrement. Chloe, the pony, was taken into custody and brought to a rescue barn to be nursed back to health.
"It was a little rough for a while. I think they had been having a tough time with money and I think they were having issues, you know, getting the horses fed," explained neighbor Christa Diaz, who said she'd buy apples and carrots for the animals to eat. "I'd say at least a few years, I noticed the horses getting thinner and thinner."
Investigators checking the family home noticed a strong smell of ammonia and said the floor was littered with garbage. Two dogs and four cats living in the house seemed to be in good condition, but witnesses said they were worried about the safety of the couple’s 12-year-old daughter.
“I am concerned that if they neglected the horses so badly it may happen to the child,” one wrote in the complaint.
Kristin Calabrese has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty and has been issued a summons to appear in Middletown Superior Court on Dec. 18. She said she's been dealing with health problems but admitted that the situation got out of control. Calabrese said she will not own horses again.
"As an animal lover myself, it's tough, because, you know, animals sometimes have diseases which cause them not to gain weight and things like that," Diaz said. "So I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt hoping that they could figure it out, because I have seen vets here and there."
Nick Calabrese has not been charged because the horses are in his wife’s name, but witnesses said he “knew what was going on in the stable with both horses and did nothing to help them.”
"It was really upsetting. It really was," said Blaschke. "It's one of those things, when I came home, I had problems sleeping from it."
A Southern California family is grateful to a woman who rescued their baby from a fiery wreck.
Early morning on Nov. 1, probation officer Maria Esparza was driving to work — a few minutes late — when she saw a car spin out on the freeway ahead of her.
The truck spun out of control and crashed into a wall and pole. The engine ignited and threatened to burn everything and everyone inside.
Esparza pulled the child out, while another passer-by helped pull out the driver.
"There is some primal instinct there," Esparza said. "You see a child cry and the adrenaline just shoots through the roof."
After pulling out baby Aaliyah, Esparza loaded the baby into her car and drove away to avoid explosions coming from the car's engine.
Almost six weeks later, Esparza still can't believe what happened.
The baby's family is grateful for her heroic actions.
"It was really early in the morning and a lot of people … don't do this much," said mother Sue Escalona. "They don't want to get hurt too, you know?"
Eighteen-month-old Aaliyah suffered a fractured skull and broken leg in the crash, but just got her cast off Friday and is recovering well.
Escalona said she thinks she would not be spending Christmas with her child were it not for Esparza's quick thinking.
"I really appreciate what you did," Escalona said to Esparza, adding that she's like family now. "Thank you."
A sailor who hadn't seen his children for more than 90 days in the last two years surprised his young sons while disguised as a knight at a dinner and show Friday night.
U.S. Navy Petty Officer Steve Hallock was at Medieval Times in Schaumburg, Illinois, clad in a knight's costume, and his young sons had no idea.
“I was very nervous,” Hallock, who was returning home from his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, told NBC 5. “I’m still shaking a little bit. To [be able to] spend time with my boys, I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”
Hallock's fatigues and his shoes were the only clues of his true identity. His two unsuspecting sons, Patrick, 9, and Seth, 5, were called from their seats, thinking they were becoming knights in front of the theater’s audience.
That is when Hallock removed his mask to the cheers of the crowd and the delighted surprise of his children.
Hallock remembered the day he had to tell his sons he was leaving for his second tour of duty.
“When I told these wonderful boys I was leaving, they were very upset,” Hallock said. “Skype is a wonderful thing.”
The crowd thanked Hallock for his 18 years of service in the U.S. Navy, and his family became emotional as they witnessed the surprise for the boys.
“I’m [almost] having trouble talking,” Hallock's father said. “I’m very proud of him.”
Now that Hallock is home, he's made some big plans with his sons. The next item on their agenda? Disney World!
San Diego's new city council president is now going public with the reason she pursued the job held by the ousted Todd Gloria -- and her plans moving forward.
Sherri Lighter had been the center of media intrigue surrounding the City Hall coup.
Lightner, media-shy and introverted by nature, wasn’t inclined to feed the speculation that began when NBC 7 broke the story that Gloria's presidency would be challenged.
In an interview Friday, she said that report was the first she had heard about what became more than a political insiders’ controversy – and that she doesn't know who on the council set the wheels in motion.
"You didn't put this out first?" I asked her.
"No. I did not," Lightner replied.
"So who came to you first?" was my follow-up.
"It was Todd."
"Where had he heard it?”
"It was the press inquiry,” Lightner responded. “We both got the same press inquiry at the same time."
Without quoting him, Lightner indicated that Gloria wasn’t thrilled to learn of her interest in the council presidency.
“I think we know how he took it,” is all she would say.
On Thursday, Gloria offered NBC 7 a blunt description of the change of command: “This is politics.”
Lightner said the fact that Gloria’s two predecessors as council president each had held the post for two years had created an informal expectation among other members that the job should be limited to that time span.
The idea behind that expectation, she continued, is that council vice presidents -- which Lightner had been during Gloria's tenure – can thereby advance to the top post, often referred to as “moving up the chairs.”
"It is something that's important to all the councilmembers, to have the possibility of being the council president,” Lightner explained, adding that there's been talk on the council floor of formal action to make it just a two-year job.
NBC 7 has reported that discussions about the succession process involved private, one-on-one meetings that involved six councilmembers including Lightner and Gloria, and quoted a council aide as saying Lightner told Gloria last week that she was “going for it."
However the decisions behind the ultimate 7-2 vote in favor of Lightner over Gloria were reached, Lightner says her professional background is well-suited to running what's been called the "nuts and bolts" of council business -- which she did herself for the six months Gloria was acting mayor after Bob Filner’s departure from City Hall.
"I think the reason for 'nuts and bolts' is, I am an engineer, and engineers by and large are very interested in getting things done in a rational way,” Lightner said. “They're solution-oriented: 'Let's fix the problem, let's not just talk about the problem, and let's move forward with that.'"
Lightner wants to move forward with water policy, economic development, open data, cybersecurity and workforce building through science, math, engineering, arts and technology by way of public, private, and academic partnerships.
There will to lots of long-term “swamps to drain,” I pointed out, and lots of day-to-day “alligators” to fend off in the process.
Lighter’s response: "The minimization of 'alligators' is working collaboratively with other people to put the fires out before they happen.”
She laughed off suggestions that she'll be "gamed" by the four-member Republican bloc on the nine-member council or that they promised her some kind of power.
"You need to include everyone in your discussions, and these folks have things to add to the discussion,” Lightner said.
“It's important to include as many viewpoints as you can while you're building something and engage in a rational discussion. We certainly have enough problems. We don't need to be at each other's throats. We need to solve the problems."
Lightner’s recommended appointments to new terms on council committees have Gloria serving as chair of the Budget & Government Efficiency Committee, vice chair of the Smart Growth & Land Use Committee and a member of the Environment and Public Safety & Livable Neighborhoods Committee.
She also appointed him to continue to represent the city as a director and executive committee member of the San Diego Assn. of Governments, director of the Metropolitan Transit District and liaison to Civic San Diego, successor agency to the disbanded redevelopment authority.
In the process, Gloria maintained positions he’s previously held and was given new ones now that he no longer faces the obligations of the council presidency.
“No objections,” Gloria’s spokesman said in a text message when asked about his reaction to the appointments. “He’s very grateful.”
Congress has passed a bill that could potentially resolve the long-running church-state conflict featuring San Diego's Mount Soledad veterans memorial and cross.
The Senate passed the bill that sets defense policy by a vote of 89-11 on Friday. The legislation contains a provision from Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr. that authorizes the defense secretary to essentially sell the land containing the veterans memorial and a 43-foot cross to the Mount Soledad Memorial Association Inc., a private group that already maintains the site.
The House passed the bill last week, so now it goes to President Barack Obama for his signature.
Federal courts have consistently ruled that the cross is an unconstitutional effort by the government to endorse a religion. A judge has ordered the cross's removal.
It's unclear whether Hunter's legislation will end the litigation, however. Before the federal government took possession of the land in 2006, the city of San Diego tried to sell it to the same private group on two occasions, but neither attempt passed muster in the courts because the judges found that the sales process aided a sectarian purpose in violation of the California Constitution.
"This is a significant development in the decades-long fight against efforts to dismantle the memorial," said Hunter, whose district covers an area east of the site. "The assumption remains that legal challenges will continue, but at least now, this one veterans memorial, which is an important piece of the San Diego community, can no longer be perceived as a government endorsement of religion."
Local attorney James McElroy represents Steve Trunk, an atheist and Vietnam Veteran who sued the federal government to get the cross removed. McElroy said he is ready to talk about what it would take to settle the case. Whether the lawsuit continues will depend upon negotiations between the federal government and the association now maintaining the memorial, he said.
The government's failure to sell the land at a reasonable value or to give up full control of the memorial and cross would be signals that the government is still violating the Constitution.
"I'm not saying a settlement can happen, but it's at least something worth talking about," McElroy said.
The federal government has owned the land since 2006, when Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter Sr., the current congressman's father, authored legislation transferring ownership from the city of San Diego. At the time, the city faced fines of $5,000 each day if it did not remove the cross.
The death penalty has been taken off the table in the case of a Marine wife who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in 2012.
Marine Sgt. Louis Ray Perez, 48, Dorothy Maraglino, 39, and Jessica Lynn Lopez, 27, will face life in prison without parole if convicted in the death of 22-year-old Brittany Killgore, Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza announced at a readiness conference Friday.
The prosecutor confirmed his office would not be seeking the death penalty if the defendants are convicted at their June trial.
Killgore went missing on April 13, 2012, after she agreed to go on a dinner cruise with Perez, an acquaintance, according to police. Four days later, her body was found nude and mutilated near Lake Skinner in Riverside County.
Prosecutors say Killgore was the unwilling member of a deadly sex game between Perez, Maraglino and Lopez, who allegedly participated in a bondage, discipline and sadomasochistic (BDSM) lifestyle.
At their preliminary hearing, witnesses testified about the BDSM practices that went on in the trio’s home on East Fallbrook Street.
A suicide letter written by Lopez in April 2012 also played a prominent role for the prosecution, for they say it describes in detail how Killgore was killed.
All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, torture and conspiracy to commit a crime.
A Camp Pendleton Marine has been arrested in the death of his 7-month-old boy in San Diego's North County.
The boy was brought to the Naval Hospital on Camp Pendleton at approximately 5:30 a.m. Friday, according to Oceanside Police Lt. Valencia Saadat. He was admitted for injuries, though investigators would not say what those injuries were.
She said when doctors started examining the child, they felt something wasn't right, so they called authorities.
Doctors at the Naval Hospital arranged for the boy to be flown to another hospital for treatment, police said. At 9:15 a.m. the child had died, police said.
No cause of death has been released.
Oceanside police processed a potential crime scene for evidence and started interviewing witnesses.
The child's father, Marine Stanford Morocho, made incriminating statements about the incident in an interview with investigators, according to Lt. Sean Marchand.
Morocho was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on first-degree murder. The investigation is ongoing.
The Naval Hospital on Camp Pendleton serves active-duty service members, their family members, retirees and other eligible beneficiaries.
A tornado ripped parts of rooftops from buildings and spewed debris in South Los Angeles on Friday as a powerful fall storm walloped the region, the National Weather Service confirmed.
The small EF0 tornado touched down about 9:20 a.m. It damaged an apartment complex roof, the roofs of two homes and a steel billboard, knocked down trees and blew out windows.
An EF0 tornado is the smallest type of tornado, with winds reaching 65 to 85 mph, said Eric Boldt of the NWS.
Video captured by a witness showed winds bending palm trees before a sudden surge of roof material and debris went flying into the air.
"I saw the palm trees swinging, and I wanted to know what it was really," said Jamie Mena, who recorded the tornado on his cellphone camera. "Nobody got hurt as far as I know."
South LA residents who felt the tornado said they got down onto the ground thinking they were in the middle of an earthquake.
"All of the sudden I heard something rumbling, and one of my neighbors was here and she said, 'The trash can is flying, we're having a tornado,'" Marleen Benefield said. "I said, 'No, not in Cali, we don't do that!"
One man saw the roof of his own home come apart.
"I watched my roof of this house flip and go to the next street," Chris McCall said. "Don't try to outrun it. You can't."
The twister blew through streets from South Vermont and West Gage avenues to 57th and Figueroa streets, according to the NWS.
"I was out on the front porch, I got soaking wet," said Rose Beard, who was praying inside when a tornado forced a tree to topple onto her home. "I thought it was ironic, I just said 'Oh Lord, wash me,' and then boom! I just got drenched."
"Things were flying everywhere," Beard said. "As the day has progressed I'm more and more grateful the tree didn't fall on me. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen."
Boldt said at least two waterspouts were seen off the Southern California coast.
"That's consistent with what we see for (waterspouts)," Boldt said. "Some of those move onshore once in a while and cause a small tornado on land."
The whirling wind comes on a day when rains soaked SoCal, sending mudslides into Ventura County neighborhoods and burying homes under piles of rocks.
Michelle Valles contributed to this report.
A man fell to his death after attempting to climb onto his apartment building roof in Fallbrook, according to officials.
Sheriff's deputies were called to the 400 block of Ammunition Road around midnight on Saturday. Upon arriving at the scene, they found the man with a major head injury. Despite efforts to revive him, he died at the scene, officials said.
According to a witness, the man was heavily intoxicated and had tried to get into his second-story apartment by climbing up the building and onto the roof, where he slipped and fell.
A staff member for San Diego City Councilwoman Lori Zapf has been suspended without pay for comments she made about protesters.
Community Representative Shirley Owen is apologizing for reportedly saying she wanted to “shoot” protesters during their demonstration Wednesday at Golden Hall.
As Councilwoman Lori Zapf and others were being sworn-in as council members, Mark Jones and a dozen others were protesting.
“We were very peaceful,” Jones said. "I was aware that this was a very special ceremony for the city council members. Their families were there, and I didn't want to go in and make a mess, so all we did is just quietly put our hands up. We made a gesture for Eric Garner. We did a die in."
According to KPBS, after the ceremony was over and as reporters were waiting for Councilwoman Zapf for interviews, Owen was overheard calling protesters "idiots with their hands up" and saying "I wanted to shoot them."
Jones admits he didn't hear what Owen said but was told by a KPBS reporter.
“I could not believe that someone who was representing the community, or shall I say one of our councilwomen, would say something that incredibly insensitive and, to me, very racist," he said.
On Friday, Owen issued an apology saying: “I sincerely apologize for my comment on Wednesday. It was an offhand comment to a friend about the protest, and I should not have said it. It was wrong and in incredibly poor taste. I apologize to all I have offended, and especially to the protestors who were exercising their First Amendment rights by peacefully demonstrating."
“Nobody was arguing with you,” Jones said. “Sometimes we say things that we don't mean. You just said that, so that's who you are. I accept your apology, but I can't have anybody like that representing me or my community.”
Zapf also issued a statement: "A few days ago a member of my staff made a grossly inappropriate comment to a friend about individuals who were peacefully protesting at a City event. Her words were extremely insensitive and in no way reflect my beliefs or the values of my office. Ms. Owen has been suspended without pay for two weeks. As the first Latina elected to the San Diego City Council, I am acutely aware of the interaction between law enforcement and our communities. Ensuring that there is accountability and trust between those groups is paramount. This is a highly sensitive national conversation, which is in no way helped by flippant remarks.”
Jones says the apology and two weeks without pay isn’t enough.
“I'd like to see her terminated, and I think all of Councilwoman Lorie Zapf's staff needs to go to some type of racial and human rights sensitivity training,” he said.
In spite of recent rain, California’s drought has taken a serious toll on the avocado industry.
Industry experts expected prices to climb about 35 cents an avocado.
Ninety-five percent of avocados grown in the United States come from California farms.
It takes 70 gallons of water to grow just a pound of avocados. With water in short supply most of the year, crops have dried up.
Others have abandoned the fruit all together to grow crops that need less water.
Layoffs were happening at SeaWorld San Diego on Friday as part of the parent company’s restructuring to cut about $50 million by the end of next year.
A SeaWorld spokesman told the Orlando Sentinel the number of jobs affected company-wide was 311.
The layoffs came the day after the CEO of SeaWorld’s parent company, Jim Atchison, stepped down and Chairman David D’Alessandro was named to replace him as interim CEO in January.
The statement about the CEO’s departure on Thursday hinted at layoffs, saying SeaWorld was moving forward with its “company-wide cost initiative.”
“This effort will centralize some operations, reduce duplication of functions and increase efficiencies and accelerate execution,” the statement read.
Officials with SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., which operates SeaWorld parks in San Diego, Orlando and San Antonio, confirmed on Friday a restructuring at its parks. However, a spokesman was tight-lipped on the number of employees given pink slips or the types of jobs affected in San Diego.
Employees told NBC 7 the atmosphere at SeaWorld was grim, with people crying about the restructuring. One employee told NBC 7 that some employees were finding out when they tried to swipe their badges and weren’t allowed access to the building.
Attendance is dropping at the SeaWorld Entertainment parks as SeaWorld continues to battle negative publicity surrounding its treatment of killer whales following the documentary "Blackfish" that suggested its treatment of the animals may have led to the death of trainers.
Just last month, SeaWorld announced its third-quarter earnings fell 28 percent from a year ago as attendance fell.
Attendance at its theme parks fell 5.6 percent to 8.4 million in the third quarter from 8.9 million in the same period a year ago, SeaWorld said.
The employees laid off will receive severance packages, the CEO’s statement said.
A December storm brought steady rainfall to San Diego County Friday causing some minor flooding and damage but nothing compared to what occurred in other parts of California.
A flash flood watch was in effect through late Friday with the possibility of flash flooding in burn areas like that left behind by the Cocos Fire in San Marcos.
Deputy City Engineer Matt Little told NBC 7 that San Marcos residents have been preparing for a rain like this for months.
They've hunkered down the burn areas with hydro mulch, fiber rolls and silt fences to slow any flow in case of a mudslide.
About 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles, heavy rains moved rocks, boulders and mud and piled it up to rooftop levels in Camarillo Springs.
Friday’s storm brought exactly the kind of rain needed, Little said, steady and quick.
If it were a week-long storm, he would be more concerned.
It was a different story along the coast, where lifeguards were keeping an eye on the surf.
Marine Safety Lieutenant Rich Stropky told NBC 7 the consistent rain and large surf have him concerned about potential flooding.
“We do have units out in the field from the Tijuana River Valley to Sorrento Valley prepared to handle any emergencies that may come up,” Stropky said.
As of 2 p.m. Friday, waves along San Diego’s coastline reached between 8 and 10 feet, according to NWS.
More than an inch of rain was recorded in Encinitas, Vista, Valley Center, Carlsbad and Oceanside as well as at Lindbergh Field. More than a half an inch of rain fell in Chula Vista, Escondido, Fallbrook, Alpine, Rancho San Diego, Poway, Ramona and La Mesa.
Del Mar and National City received just shy of half an inch of rain as of 2 p.m. PT.
Minor flooding was reported in Mission Valley along the San Diego River, forcing Fashion Valley mall to close the first level of its back parking garage.
Strong winds that accompanied the rain did some damage along Mission Beach where one business suffered a broken mirror caused by a loose tarp.
In Hillcrest, a tall palm tree toppled onto a home at 3rd Avenue and Pennsylvania.
When Kenya Patterson with Urban Forestry Tree Department arrived to start working on cleanup, she says she knew it was going to take a lot of effort to clear.
“We’re going to be busy probably all night,” Patterson said.
The city plans to bring in a crane truck to remove the tree from the roof and cut up the trunk.
In the North County, one trucker couldn’t make the turn at Discovery and Bent Ave because of the flood. He said he’s used to wet roads but complained about other drivers.
No one knows how to drive in the rain, he said.
For Karen Baskin, who grew up on the East Coast, the rainy conditions on the roads remind her of home.
“I love it. I love driving in it,” Baskin said though she’s careful to use side streets because she feels they are safer in the bad weather.
“I think they don’t really understand that they need to adjust to weather,” she said of Southern California drivers.
Joanna Pietrzyk is another East Coast transplant who was surprised to hear schools were closed in Northern California due to winds and rain.
“People are driving really slow,” she said. “California’s not really prepared for it, I think.”
Slippery roads contributed to a five-car pileup on Interstate 805 southbound near the Sweetwater exit Friday night.
A man is dead after a rollover crash overnight in San Marcos, according to California Highway Patrol.
It happened right before 1 a.m. Saturday on State Route 78. The man was attempting to exit at the Las Posas exit ramp when he lost control of his vehicle, crashed into the shoulder wall and rolled over, according to officials.
Speed and the slick road were both factors, CHP officers said.
The man was alone in his car at the time of the accident. No other vehicles were involved.
It's unknown if alcohol or drugs played a role in the crash.
The clouds cleared up long enough Friday to reveal a mysterious light soaring over San Diego skies.
Calls and emails to the NBC 7 reported the orange light with a white wake spotted throughout the county.
Turns out, the sight was most likely an Atlas V rocket from Santa Barbara County.
NASA launched the rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 7:19 p.m. However, some aspects of the rocket remain shrouded in mystery, for it is carrying a secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. Other details of its mission are classified.
The rocket was initially supposed to take off Thursday, but bad weather put it on hold.
A man is dead after he started fighting security in the parking lot of an adult entertainment club in the Midway District, according to San Diego Police.
The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. Saturday at Pacers Showgirls International in the 3300 block of Midway Drive. Police say they received a call about a male customer who was causing a disturbance the strip club and then asked to leave When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man in his 30s being held by security guards in the parking lot, unconscious.
He was taken to the hospital where he died an hour later, according to police.
It’s not known what caused his death, but police do say the man was combative security before going unconscious.
Investigators are calling the incident a suspicious death. Homicide detectives are looking to see if foul play or drugs were involved.
The U.S. Probation Office recommended former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell spend at least a decade in prison for his corruption conviction.
In September, McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted for accepting more than $175,000 in gifts and loans.
The probation office suggested a range from 10 years and a month to 12 years and seven months.
Sentencing is set for January.
While officials continue to warn that a few days of rain won't end California's drought, one local utility was celebrating how much water they collected from Friday's heavy rain.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works tweeted the "sunny news" Saturday that it captured 1.8 billion gallons of stormwater, enough to supply 44,000 people for a year.
The county's tweets were a bright spot during the storm, which drenched parts of the area with 5 inches of rain -- at first 390 million gallons were collected at an intake center in Pacoima, they tweeted Friday morning, then 1 billion https://twitter.com/LAPublicWorks/status/543447263775707137.
We finally have more water stored behind San Dimas Dam Reservoir! #LARain #LACountyPublicWorks pic.twitter.com/sPidcKfdjE
— LA Co Public Works (@LAPublicWorks) December 12, 2014
Dams and water storage basins were used to capture excess water, according to the often-updated Twitter account.
But it wasn't all drought savings they were reporting. For example, the Department's Twitter account explained as the rain fell that 30,000 cubic yards of debris clogged Lake Hughes Road near Castaic Lake, which wasn't expected to reopen until Wednesday.
Experts warn that California's historic drought will need a lot more rain to replenish depleted aquifers and restore mountain snow packs.
"We're still in a deep drought, and the rains provide a great opportunity to conserve water that we can use later," said Marty Adams, deputy assistant general manager of the water system for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Just because the #LArain stops doesn't mean we do. Flood Control crews hard at work dewatering Beatty debris basin. pic.twitter.com/FllhXAoaCo
— LA Co Public Works (@LAPublicWorks) December 13, 2014
Plano police say Enrique Gutierrez Arochi, 24, has been charged with aggravated kidnapping in the case of missing woman Christina Morris.
Plano police detectives executed an arrest warrant Saturday just before 8 a.m. at Arochi's home in Allen.
Arochi was later transferred to the Collin County jail and booked on a $1 million bond.
Investigators said the arrest comes after the results of DNA testing earlier in the investigation.
Police said they are still unaware of Morris' location, and their search continues.
Morris was last seen Aug. 30 walking into a parking garage near The Shops at Legacy in Plano.
Surveillance footage from the parking garage showed a man later identified as Arochi accompanying her into the garage.
His vehicle is later seen driving out of the garage, but there was no sign of Morris. Arochi, in a previous interview with NBC 5, said he didn't see where Morris went and had nothing to do with her disappearance.
