A 7-month-old boy suffered broken ribs, a skull fracture and other abuse at the hands of his father, a Camp Pendleton Marine, before he died last week, prosecutors allege.

Stanford Morocho, 22, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and assault of a child under 8 resulting in death in connection with his son’s killing. He entered the plea as his estranged wife and people close to her filled the North County courtroom.

Deputy District Attorney Ryan Saunders told the judge between Dec. 2 and Dec. 12, Morocho had custody of his infant son.

According to the prosecutor, the Marine abused his child at various times over those ten days.

“The defendant used various forms of physical abuse on his 7-month-old child that resulted in a fractured skull, fractured ribs on both sides of the child’s body, bruising all over his body and his face,” Saunders said in court.

Early Friday morning, the baby was brought to the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton for those injuries, as well as internal bleeding.

When doctors started examining the child, they thought the injuries were suspicious and notified Oceanside police, who opened up an investigation. Morocho was arrested later that day.

The child was transferred to Rady Children’s Hospital, where he ultimately died.

Saunders said the motive for the alleged crime is not known at this time.

Morocho is being held on a $5 million bail, and he faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He is scheduled to be next in court on Dec. 26.

Police are searching for a suspect who attacked a woman in Chula Vista as she was walking on a sidewalk Sunday night and have released a composite sketch in hopes of tracking him down.

Chula Vista police said the 49-year-old woman was walking on North Rancho Del Rey Parkway between Del Rey Boulevard and Terra Nova Drive when a stranger approached her from behind with a handgun.

He grabbed her around the neck and tried to drag her toward some bushes when she fought back by grabbing on to some branches, police said.

That’s when she snapped off a branch and struck the man with it several times, screaming for help. The suspect then ran off.

The man is described as between 20 and 25 years old, 5 feet 8 inches and 180 pounds, with brown hair. He was wearing a black T-shirt and dark pants.

Police are also looking for a suspect who attacked a woman a month prior in the same area.

A 24-year-old woman said she was parking her car at 590 E. H St. when a man wearing a dark ski mask approached her and sprayed a caustic chemical in her face, police said.

She described this suspect as in his early 20s, 5 feet 10 inches, with a thin build.

Police don’t yet know if this suspect is connected to the Sunday night attack.

Anyone with information should call the police department’s crimes of violence unit at 619-691-5178.

Reaction to changes in U.S.-Cuba relations fell mostly along party lines on Wednesday, with prospective GOP presidential candidates Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio denouncing the decision by the Obama administration.

Bush, the former governor of Florida, called the move toward easing ties with Cuba President Obama's latest misstep.

Though he said he was delighted that American Alan Gross had been released from a Cuban prison, he charged that Obama had again overstepped his executive authority.

"Cuba is a dictatorship with a disastrous human rights record, and now President Obama has rewarded those dictators," he said. "We should instead be fostering efforts that will truly lead to the fair, legitimate democracy that will ultimately prevail in Cuba."

Rubio, a Cuban-American from Florida, called the opening the latest in a long line of failed attempts by Obama to appease rogue regimes.

The president’s decision to begin normalizing relations with Cuba is inexplicable, Rubio said, while Cuba, like Syria, Iran and Sudan, remains a sponsor of terrorism.

“It colludes with America's enemies, near and far, to threaten us and everything we hold dear,” he said. “But most importantly, the regime's brutal treatment of the Cuban people has continued unabated. Dissidents are harassed, imprisoned and even killed.”

The new course announced by the White House, which covers diplomatic relations, cultural exchanges, economic engagements, religious travel and other policies, does not affect the longtime economic embargo. Only Congress can change that.

And said Rubio: “This Congress is not going to lift the embargo.”

Unlike many other Democrats, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat who is the second Cuban-American in the Senate, criticized the exchange of Gross for three Cubans in prison in the United States as a swap of an innocent American for three convicted spies.

"President Obama's actions have vindicated the brutal behavior of the Cuban government,” he said.

With the exchange, the president established a dangerous precedent that invites dictatorial and rogue regimes to use Americans as bargaining chips, he said.

"This asymmetrical trade will invite further belligerence toward Cuba's opposition movement and the hardening of the government's dictatorial hold on its people,” he said.

Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, said that as attitudes toward Cuba have changed among younger Cuban Americans, opposition to the regime there comes with risks for politicians. Obama carried Cuban Americans in Florida in 2012, he said.

“People under 45 have a very different view than people over 45,” he said. “So it’s clearly a generational difference.”

Opinions shaped in 1960s, during the Cuban missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs invasion, do not necessarily still hold.

“So being opposed to the regime in Cuba is no longer a free ride for politicians,” he said. “There’s risks and costs.”

A poll done by Florida International University has tracked opinions of the Cuban-American community in South Florida for two decades. This year, it found that a slight majority of CubanAmericans in Miami-Dade County opposed continuing the embargo — 52 percent overall and 62 percent among those 18 to 29 years old. Sixty-eight percent favored diplomatic relations with Cuba and 69 percent backed lifting restrictions impeding all Americans from traveling to Cuba.

But 63 percent said they believed Cuba should continue to be designated a “State Sponsor of Terrorism,” with Iran, Sudan and Syria.

Among registered voters, 53 percent said they would be very likely or somewhat likely to vote for a candidate who supported re-establishing diplomatic relations. Fifty-seven percent said they would be very or somewhat likely to vote for someone who backed replacing the embargo with a policy that increased support for independent business owners in Cuba.

Much other reaction from national politicians fell along party lines, though some politicians took neutral tones.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who is to become the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that he was pleased Gross was being reunited with his family after years of mistreatment by the Castro regime.

"The new U.S. policy announced by the administration is no doubt sweeping, and as of now there is no real understanding as to what changes the Cuban government is prepared to make,” he said. “We will be closely examining the implications of these major policy changes in the next Congress."

Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona released a joint statement on Obama's announcement.

"We agree with President Obama that he is writing new chapters in American foreign policy. Unfortunately, today's chapter, like the others before it, is one of America and the values it stands for in retreat and decline," the statement read. "It is about the appeasement of autocratic dictators, thugs, and adversaries, diminishing America's influence in the world. Is it any wonder that under President Obama's watch our enemies are emboldened and our friends demoralized?"

House Speaker John Boehner also denounced the president's policy change.

"Relations with the Castro regime should not be revisited, let alone normalized, until the Cuban people enjoy freedom - and not one second sooner. There is no 'new course' here, only another in a long line of mindless concessions to a dictatorship that brutalizes its people and schemes with our enemies," Boehner said.

Florida Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that although he was happy for Gross and his family, the exchange made America less safe and emboldened the dictatorship in Cuba.

“This prisoner swap sends a signal to rogue regimes and actors that taking an American hostage can be leveraged into scoring policy concessions,” he said.

But two Republicans broke ranks, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina.

Flake, who traveled with Democrats Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland to Havana to pick up Gross, said the policies in place had done more to keep the Castro regimes in power.

Sanford said the existing travel policy was inconsistent with individual liberty and freedom of movement. The move toward establishing a U.S. embassy in Cuba was wise, he said.

Leahy, the chairman of the State Department and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, congratulated Obama and Cuba President Raul Castro for making history.

“After 64 years of animosity rooted in the Cold War, they have finally put our two countries on a new path,” said Leahy, a Democrat who had visited Gross twice in prison in Cuba and who has led efforts for fundamental changes in U.S. policy toward Cuba.

U.S. policy has been frozen in time and had failed to achieved its goals, he said.

Michigan Democrat Sen. Carl Levin, who also met with Gross in prison, said that Gross’ release sends a message to Americans held around the world that the country will not forget them.

“A more regular relationship between the United States and Cuba has been overdue and is now possible,” he said. “U.S. policy up to now has not worked in U.S. interests, and it has not weakened the Cuban regime.”

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said he supported Obama despite Cuba’s history, though he added: “I remain concerned about human rights and political freedom inside Cuba, but I support moving forward toward a new path with Cuba.”

The boards of supervisors in two North Bay counties proclaimed states of emergencies on Tuesday night, saying the damage because of the rains and flooding have reached at least $18 million in both their areas.

Sonoma County board of supervisors spokeswoman Rebecca Wachsberg said damage estimates there have reached at least $17 million. And the Marin County board of supervisors estimated the damage there to be at leat $1 million.

Both declarations allow the counties to apply for state and federal aid to help pay for repairs. 

The Marin County board ratification came one day after county administrator Matthew Hymel proclaimed a local emergency, and hours after a mudslide closed Tennesse Valley Road, which leads to a popular hiking trail.  In addition, one of the levees near downtown Novato was intentionally breached as an emergency measure to lower flood water on Novato Creek. And a portion of Highway 1 near Muir Woods crumbled last week.

The entire Bay Area has been drenched with rain - much needed after three years of drought - but the precipitation has most severely damaged the North Bay,  including residents of Tiburon, where a hillside crumbled into residents' backyards.

Marin County spokesman Brent Ainsworth said this is the fourth such state of emergency proclamation because of storms in the last decade. The board of supervisors declared states of emergencies in 2005, 2006 and 2011, as well.

But just because a county asks for state help, doesn't mean they get it all. In 2005, for example, the county suffered $12 million in damages, and Ainsworth said FEMA reimbursed the county for $8 million of it.

There is at least one silver lining to all the storm damage in Marin County, about an hour's drive north of San Francisco - four of the seven county reservoirs are full, and the others are nearly flush with water.

Updates: Interactive Radar and Severe Weather Alerts

NBC Bay Area's Mark Matthews contributed to this report.

The San Francisco 49ers released Ray McDonald on Wednesday after San Jose police revealed the defensive lineman is under investigation for an alleged sexual assault.

"This isn't about just this incident. This is about a pattern of poor decision-making,” 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “This is a team decision, not a league decision.”

Police executed a search warrant at McDonald's San Jose home on Tuesday. He has not been arrested. This is the second time in recent months that McDonald has been the subject of a police investigation.

"We just want to inform everybody that after the recent allegations concerning Ray McDonald, we as an organization have notified him and his agent that he will be terminated, released immediately. Effective immediately," Baalke said.

Baalke said CEO Jed York and coach Jim Harbaugh, who notified the players, were also involved in the decision. "We expect a lot from our players, hold them accountable for their actions,'' Baalke said.

In a statement released earlier in the day, SJPD Sgt. Heather Randol said police were called to an area hospital at 10:43 a.m. Tuesday morning regarding a "possible sexual assault victim" who was receiving treatment. Officers spoke to the woman, and she told them she was "possibly assaulted" on Monday.

The "preliminary investigation revealed the alleged suspect was Ray McDonald," Randol said.

The San Jose Police Department Sexual Assaults Investigations Unit  responded to conduct follow-up investigation.  Based on preliminary investigation, detectives secured a search warrant at McDonald's home some time on Tuesday. The woman's identity was not revealed, but two sources told NBC Bay Area that she is not McDonald's fiancee.

Reached by phone in Florida on Wednesday, McDonald's mother, Labrina McDonald, said she didn't yet know the full story but insisted it was a "bunch of mess. There's  no truth to it at all."

She added that her son has “cameras all over his house” after his home was broken into, which she said will show that “he’s been targeted.”

“This is just an accusation, anyone can make it. It has no merit to it,” she said. “I don’t like that they’re releasing him, and that this cost him his job.”

She offered no other details, and said her son asked her not to divulge any more.

McDonald was arrested on Aug. 31 after his pregnant fiancee at the time accused him of choking and punching her at his 30th birthday party at his home in San Jose.

On Nov. 10, the Santa Clara County District Attorney decided there was not enough evidence to charge him, Two female prosecutors investigated the altercation, releasing a public memo,  deciding there weren't any "verifiable witnesses." McDonald had steadfastly denied harming his fiancee.

After the arrest, he told CSN Bay Area he was "doing stuff to try to better our relationship."

When asked for a comment Wednesday regarding the latest sexual assault allegation, an NFL spokesman said, "We are looking into it."

The Associated Press and CSN Bay Area contributed to this report.

How exactly the former Marine suspected in this week's killing spree in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania died is unclear after an examination by the county's coroner.

Coroner Dr. Walter Hoffman tells NBC10's Deanna Durante there was no sign of trauma to Bradley Stone's center region, contradicting information released by prosecutors on Tuesday.

District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman had said at a briefing Tuesday that it appeared Stone took his own life and had "self-inflicted cutting wounds to the center of his body."  She did add, however, they were awaiting an official report by the coroner.

Hoffman initially said Stone suffered no trauma to his body, then clarified that although the 35-year-old did have a cut to his leg, the trauma was not something that caused his death. He did not say whether it were self-inflicted.

Sources said there were two medicine bottles found on Stone's body and that one contained a crushed up powder substance. An energy drink container with powder on the rim was also recovered, sources said.

Hoffman said he is awaiting toxicology results to make a final determination on how Stone died. He has expedited the testing and expects an answer by next week.

An intense manhunt was launched Monday for Stone, after prosecutors say he shot or stabbed his ex-wife Nicole Hill Stone and six members of her family early Monday. Six of them died. Hill Stone's 17-year-old nephew Anthony Flick is the lone survivor. He suffered a gaping head wound and serious cuts to his arm.

Stone was found dead in the woods near his Pennsburg home Tuesday after two days of searching.

The coroner has also released autopsy information, along with the official causes of deaths, for Stone's victims.

Stone's ex-wife Nicole, 33, was shot multiple times, just feet away from the couple's two daughters, aged 8 and 5. Nicole's mother, Joanne Gilbert, was shot in the head and had cuts to her neck. Grandmother Patricia Hill, 75, was shot in the head.

Nicole's sister, Trisha Flick, 36, was shot in the head and also suffered gunshot wounds to her arm. Her husband A.J. Flick had "chopping" injuries to his hands and head. Tricia and A.J.'s 14-year-old daughter, Nina, also died from chopping wounds to her head.

A large handled machete and a double-bladed axe-type instrument were found near the Stone's body, according to sources. They both appear to be coated in blood.

The Department of Veteran Affairs says Stone had post-traumatic stress disorder but that he didn't have any suicidal or homicidal thoughts when he met with his psychiatrist on Dec. 8.

Erik Weber is the epitome of beating the odds.

He was just 2-and-a-half years old when a high fever suddenly left him autistic. He lost all his language skills and wasn’t even expected to live on his own.

On Tuesday, the San Diego man showed that perseverance, hard works and grit pays off, graduating from Cal Western Law School.

“People call me the trailblazer – the icon – but really I’m an ordinary person doing extraordinary things,” Weber said.

When he was a young child, Weber was institutionalized at the Scottish Right Center, but thanks to a good teacher, he learned the beginnings of language and left two years later.

He went on to prove the doctors wrong, joining Special Olympics and becoming a star runner.

His mother, Sandy, in an effort to improve her son’s people skills, had her son start helping out on local political campaigns.

“I wanted into the two council districts and the one who embraced us was (City Councilwoman) Marti Emerald,” his mother said.

Sandy Weber said it taught her son how to understand first impressions, body language and read facial expressions.

And on Tuesday, Weber proved that living by those words can get you pretty far.

At his law school graduation, he was joined by members of Emerald’s office, members of the San Diego Police Department and friends and coaches from Special Olympics.

Weber will now study for the bar exam and then hopes to practice special education law.

Long-delayed plans for prime waterfront property on Mission Bay got a giant step close to reality at City Hall Tuesday.

Many consider the 76-acre De Anza Cove mobile home park -- on that site since 19543 -- an eyesore, an underperforming asset for taxpayers and a waste of potential parkland and recreational space.

The legality of the residential compound on public tidelands came into dispute in 1978, and after its municipal ground lease expired in 2003, eviction notices were served and lawsuits were filed.

On Tuesday morning, the San Diego City Council approved a $32 million settlement for homeowners. The legal settlement covers nearly 300 residents whose payments will average $77,000 after lawyers split $10 million.

Some 90 others who received earlier settlements averaging one-tenth that amount are suing to set those aside and join the others. They all have a year to move out.

And now the question facing city leader is, what should become of the property?

"This land is public and should be used for the citizens of San Diego and those who want to come and visit the region," said Scott Chipman, a leading advocate for a proposal branded “Mission Bay Gateway,” which local planning groups see as consistent with the area’s master plan.

Chipman notes that the ground lease for nearby Campland runs out in 2017 and believes it would make perfect sense to relocate that 30-day-limit access complex onto the De Anza Cove mobile home park site, easterly across the Rose Creek inlet.

“Eighty percent of the people who use Campland are city residents,” he says. “So they're basically using it for a ‘staycation.'”

The gateway proposal calls for the Campland site -- once abandoned -- to be replaced by a vast complex of marshland to mitigate silt runoff that constantly has to be dredged.

The master plan allows for development.

But because there's a 30-foot height limit west of Interstate 5 that can only be lifted by the voters, highrise hotel speculators might have second thoughts.

Said Chipman: “I like to tell people, think of this as like a four-star resort, but your accommodations are campers and tents. That's the way the facilities can and should be. They should be a resort for the community and regional use."

Mobile home park residents interviewed Tuesday by NBC 7 also favor a minimalist approach going forward.

"I would be disappointed if it actually became a hotel,” said Mary Boynton. “The one thing that would be nice is to leave this area as a public access area. Because there aren't that many at the beach, there's so many private places. So it would be very nice to have it somewhere where anybody can come and enjoy it."

Added Connie Nott: "It's a beautiful spot, it's public access. As long as they make it public access and don't make it some elite thing where the people of San Diego can't enjoy it, then I think that's pretty good."

Aside from the prospect of competing commercial interests, some environmentalists have another priority for the property.

"There are some people who say this entire area should be marshland,” Chipman acknowledged. “The downside of that is we push the recreational opportunities away.”

Chipman figures it costs a family of four $300 a night to stay in a Mission Bay hotel; $100 a night for even more to camp on the waterfront: “It is the low-cost opportunity for people to stay overnight at the bay," he said.

Future plans for the site go before the City Council Smart Growth & Land Use committee in February.

A surprised hotel guest who traveled from Canada to visit Disneyland suffered minor cuts and bruises when part of a rain-soaked ceiling fell on her overnight as a storm pounded Southern California.

Saturated drywall above the hotel room bed broke apart at about 2 a.m. and fell onto the guest at the Alamo Inn & Suites in Anaheim, according to the Anaheim Fire Department. The woman, who traveled from Vancouver, Canada to visit Disneyland, was hospitalized with minor injuries to her chin and face.

Paolo Ang, a friend of the woman, was sleeping in a next-door room when he heard the collapse.

"It was a huge bang," Ang said. "It sounded like someone dropped onto the floor from the bed."

The ceiling was waterlogged after nearly two days of heavy rains that continued overnight in Southern California.

The visitors still plan on stopping by Disneyland after their friend is released from the hospital, Ang said.

The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) has filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego and the San Diego Police Department to obtain records about policies, rules and procedures they use for Stingray surveillance.

NBC 7 first reported evidence that local law enforcement use the technology in April. The Stingray is manufactured by Harris Corporation and is described as a device “capable of tracking the signal of cellular telephones even if the person has disabled GPS capabilities.”

“We believe the SDPD has an obligation to tell San Diego citizens that it is using this invasive technology and to describe the steps it is taking, if any, to protect citizens’ privacy rights,” said Peter Scheer, FAC’s executive director.

Earlier this year, NBC 7 obtained a 2009 federal grant application that shows the City of San Diego was interested in purchasing the cell phone tracking equipment. Court documents revealed, in September of that year, the U.S. Department of Justice made the grand funding available.

FAC, which is represented by Los Angeles attorney Kelly Aviles, filed the suit to force the San Diego Police Department to disclose the records.

NBC 7 spoke to Aviles Tuesday who said, in response to the coalition’s request for information, SDPD turned over only a single, heavily-redacted invoice for the agency’s apparent purchase of the Stingray in December 2012 for $33,000.

NBC 7 reached out police Tuesday evening and was told all comment had to come for the City Attorney. A representative of the City Attorney’s office later told NBC 7 the case is under review and the office has no comment at this time.

Half a dozen people, including a police officer and a child, were injured late Tuesday night after a fire at an Oceanside apartment building, police said.

The fire at Briarcrest Apartments happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. at the 3900 block of Waring Road.

Before officers got to the fire, a mother safely dropped her three-year-old son from a second floor balcony to a Good Samaritan below, Oceanside Police said. That Good Samaritan, a neighbor, helped the mother out of the apartment after catching her son.

Officers arrived to find heavy smoke billowing from inside the apartment, where officers were told that people were still inside. Once the officer entered the apartment, he dragged an unconscious person lying on the floor out of the building.

Once he was out, the officer was nearly overcome by smoke inhalation. He handed his flashlight to Jonathon Alvarez, a neighbor. Alvarez looked inside to find another unconscious person still inside. Alvarez helped the officer pull out another unconscious victim from the apartment.

The two elderly people trapped inside the apartment were both unconscious and in critical condition. They were airlifted to the UC San Diego Medical Center Burn Center. The mother and her son were treated for smoke inhalation at the Tri-City Medical Center.

The officer was treated for smoke inhalation at a hospital and was under observation until Wednesday morning. Another person, a Good Samaritan assisting the officer, was also injured and treated.

The Oceanside Police Department has said they will honor the seven-year police veteran and the Good Samaritan that helped save the lives of residents.

All of this may have started because of a cigarette, police said.

The fire progression was stopped once firefighters worked on scene and the fire did not spread to other apartments or to the attic of the building.

A man and a woman were taken into custody after leading officers on a chase through San Diego that reached speeds of 100 mph.

The pursuit started around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Midway District, according to San Diego Police. Aerial pictures showed the white sedan racing across eastbound Interstate 8 and southbound Interstate 805 with officers trailing close behind.

The car exited the freeway at National Avenue in Southcrest, running stop sign after stop sign in a residential neighborhood.

The pursuit ended around 9:45 a.m. when the suspects' sedan crashed into a parked car at National Avenue and 40th Street. The man and the woman were taken into custody without incident, though the crash did spark a car fire. 

The man was wanted on a felony warrant, according to police. Police say another suspect got out of the car when the chase first started in Midway and is still on the loose.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

Christmas came early for some first graders in Barrio Logan Wednesday morning.

Fifty-two students from Perkins Elementary School received new bikes and helmets courtesy of Metropolitan Transit System employees.

The students attended an assembly to learn about safety tips when walking and riding bikes near public transport such as a bus or trolley.

After the safety presentation, Santa Claus came in and surprised students with the gifts. For some, it was the first bike they had ever owned.

MTS employee Brian Riley told NBC 7 it's important to put others first, especially during the holidays.

"If there's anything you could actually give, like the employees at the Metropolitan Transit System, you should be willing to do that just to give some joy to some folks out there that may not have the things that you may have," said Riley.

The 10th annual MTS Employee Holiday Bike Drive has gifted more than 500 new bikes and helmets to first graders across the county during the holiday season, a press release said.

Workers hold fundraising events throughout the year to help pay for the new bikes, which are given to a different school each year.

Bus and trolley operators were joined by the San Diego Police Department, MTS K-9 officers, teachers and parents.

Emergency Department visits are on the rise this week, as our cases of influenza in San Diego County, health officials said Wednesday.

The percentage of hospital emergency room visits for influenza-like illnesses was 4 percent, compared to 3 percent the previous week, according to the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.

Similarly, the number of influenza cases this week was 79, up from 45 the previous week.

Influenza this winter is spreading and sickening San Diegans at a faster rate than last year’s flu season: there have been 263 confirmed cases to date, more than double last year’s number.

Local health officials say it’s not too late to get vaccinated, as the flu season usually stretches into March or April.

Health officials also have these recommendations for avoiding sickness:

• Wash your hands often and well
• Use hand sanitizer
• Avoid sick people
• Clean commonly touched surfaces
• Avoid touching your face
• Stay home if you are sick to prevent the spread

For a list of places to get a flu shot, visit the San Diego Immunization Program’s website.

Some parts of San Diego County have seen four times as much rain than normal for this month.

Has it made any impact on the county’s drought stricken lakes?

The deluge of rain is helpful for San Diego, but not enough, according to Jason Foster of the County Water Authority. At Lake Morena, the water lines on the rocks show it’s still too shallow.

Rain makes up very little of the water in local lakes and reservoirs, Foster said.

“We use only about 6 percent of our local demands from local surface water that’s captured here,” he said.

The find the more critical water supply is north of San Diego, in the Northern Sierra Region, which has seen 142 percent of its normal rain amount so far this season.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story. The snowfall there has been less than half of what’s normal.

“Some of the early storms that came through were really warm weather storms,” Foster said. “So we didn’t get a lot of snowpack out of it. And the snowpack really is this reservoir for California that melts off in a nice, regular pace that helps us get through the hot summer months.”

While every storm counts, it’s still an uphill climb out of the state’s drought.

“A couple of wet weeks isn’t going to do it,” Foster said. “We need a full wet winter to full break us out of this cycle.”

A water main break has shut down a portion of Harbor Drive in Barrio Logan Wednesday evening.

San Diego water officials said a 10-inch concrete water main broke in the area of Cesar Chavez Boulevard just after 5:30 p.m. and one business and a trolley station are without water service.

Officials estimate repairs will be done by 3 a.m. Thursday.

San Diego police Harbor Drive in the area was closed in both directions until just after 8 p.m. The water has been shut off while workers fix the problem.

The state Supreme Court judge who was set to preside over a hearing Friday to decide whether the documents from the Eric Garner grand jury proceedings could be released to the public has recused himself from the case, NBC 4 New York has learned.

Judge Stephen Rooney removed himself from the case because his wife works at Richmond University Medical Center, the same hospital where the EMTs who responded to the Garner call worked, multiple officials familiar with the case proceedings said. 

As a result, Friday's hearing will be postponed until January, when a new judge is expected to be assigned. 

New York City Public Advocate Letitia James said Rooney's recusal raises more questions than answers and "further underscores the need to release the grand jury minutes related to the investigation of Eric Garner's death." 

"The only way to restore the public's faith in our justice system is to bring sunlight into the court system," she said in a statement, adding that she is directing her legal team to continue fighting in court for disclosure. 

NBC 4 New York first reported earlier this month that Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan did not ask grand jurors to consider a reckless endangerment charge in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.

Donovan only asked grand jurors to consider manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges against NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo, the cop seen on widely-watched amateur video wrapping his arm around Garner's neck as the heavyset, asthmatic 43-year-old yelled, "I can't breathe!" nearly a dozen times during the July 17 confrontation, the source said.

It's not clear why Donovan left the lesser charge off the table, and he has said strict confidentiality laws surrounding grand jury proceedings prevent him from discussing the details of the case.

Donovan had submitted an application to the court seeking authorization to publicly release specific elements of the proceedings but the only information released when Rooney granted his request a day later involved the number of exhibits the jurors saw, how long they heard evidence and how many witnesses they heard it from. The application was sealed, so it's not clear if he had petitioned the judge to release information about the charges the jurors considered.

Last week, the New York Civil Liberties Union formally petitioned for the public release of the grand jury record, and the hearing on it was scheduled for this Friday. 

The grand jury in the Garner case delivered a vote on Dec. 3 of "no true bill," which determined there was not probable cause that Pantaleo committed any criminal offense the panel was tasked with considering. The decision set off protests in New York City and across the country.

The NYPD said its internal review of the case is ongoing, and the U.S. Department of Justice said it also is investigating.  

Travelers flying home over the holidays will be able to enjoy two new restaurants opening up in San Diego International Airport.

Terminal 1 will see a new Jack in the Box and Pacifica Breeze Café join 13 existing restaurants at the gateway as a part of San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s comprehensive Concessions Development Program.

Both dining options will open at pre-security locations, joining several other restaurants available for travelers with a case of the munchies.

A celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony were held Wednesday with airport staff, officials and media.

The airport has been undergoing a series of upgrades to their facilities in recent years, which has included adding its first-ever meditation room post-security in Terminal 2.

Many of the expansions in the past several years have been part of The Green Build, a $1 billion project set to expand Terminal 2 with 10 new gates, a duel-level roadway and additional parking and security lanes. The improvements include more concession stands and dining options.

The airport was also the first to become the first airport in the nation to have a formal sustainability policy where tons of food is recycled each month, including a quarter of coffee grounds.

Lindbergh Field was recently ranked one of the least-frustrating airports in the nation.

Motorists at the nation's busiest border crossing were accustomed to waiting hours while vendors paraded between lanes with everything from sliced papaya and hot oatmeal to sombreros and ceramic mugs. Now, thanks to a $741 million construction project, they may not have enough time to lower their windows and order a cappuccino.

Waits to enter San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico, during the morning rush have dropped to less than 45 minutes from two hours since vehicle lanes were added in September. It can be less than 10 minutes during lulls, compared to a few months ago when waits topped four hours on busy weekends.

"I lost so much time that it made me cry," said Tijuana resident Alexandra Acua, driving a friend to the San Diego airport during a recent Monday morning rush. She had stopped crossing years ago because the jams were too stressful. "Now, I'm happy."

Reviews of the upgraded crossing are overwhelmingly positive. Delays have dropped between 50 percent and 75 percent, depending on the day and hour, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Shorter lines have fueled a 20 percent increase in passengers, luring more Americans to Mexico for family visits or getaway weekends and alleviating a nightmarish commute for many who live in Mexico and work, shop and go to school in the U.S.

One of every 13 people who come to the U.S. goes through San Ysidro. It's nearly twice as active as the busiest crossing on the Canadian border, in Buffalo, New York. The crossing handles about 50,000 motorists and 25,000 pedestrians daily, more people than the top two U.S. airports for international arrivals combined -- New York's John F. Kennedy and Miami.

About 1 of every 3 who cross at San Ysidro is a U.S. citizen, one is a U.S. legal resident, and the remainder come from other countries, mostly Mexico, said Pete Flores, Customs and Border Protection's San Diego field office director. A 2012 survey by research firm Crossborder Group Inc. found about seven of 10 of those who cross at San Ysidro live in Tijuana.

Among the regular commuters benefiting from the decrease wait times is Rene Peralta, who lives in Mexico to be near family and save money. "I earn in dollars, but I live in pesos," he said. The dual U.S.-Mexican citizen, who pays $600 a month for a three-bedroom house, has crossed regularly since grade school in San Diego and now teaches architecture at Woodbury University in San Diego. He has saved several hours in traffic each week since the upgrades.

Replacing the 1970s facility had been a priority for regional leaders since at least 2001, when heightened concern about terrorism led to the unbearable lines. A 2006 study by the San Diego Association of Governments estimated that border congestion cost the region $6 billion a year, mostly from lost productivity and forgone trips.

The renovations have replaced administrative offices, expanded vehicle inspection areas and erected two inspection booths in most of the 25 lanes under a new sunlit canopy.

The San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce says sales grew about 20 percent in the San Diego community during the first month, and a Crossborder Group survey of 344 motorists from Nov. 28 to Dec. 10 found 95 percent who crossed in the previous month said wait times were better or much better.

"It's had a great impact," Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazaran said. "Traffic is flowing again."

Inspectors remain on guard for those who disguise liquid methamphetamine in soda bottles and pack heroin tar in engine compartments. They're also keeping watch for people trying to enter the U.S. illegally and have found people hiding in gas tanks, under floorboards -- and even sewn into a seat.

"Any day anything can happen here," Flores said.

More improvements are planned. Construction should begin soon on a new pedestrian crossing to ease wait times that regularly stretch to three hours for people on foot. Additional vehicle lanes also are planned.

The last phase of the San Ysidro expansion will get $216 million in funding from the $1.1 trillion spending bill signed by President Barack Obama.

“The San Ysidro Port of Entry is a key driver for our local economy. The full funding of the expansion project allows the City of San Diego and our partners throughout the region to focus on making our border more efficient and effective,” Faulconer said in a statement.

Still, not everyone is pleased. Street vendors say their sales have fallen dramatically and will drop more when the expansion is completed.

"When they opened the lanes, it hurt us tremendously," Guadalupe Zamora said on a slow morning as she surveyed the crowd. Zamora had wheeled a cart with cellphone accessories almost daily for five years at the crossing. She now goes mainly on weekends. "For the general public," she added, however, "it's a good thing."