Four people were hurt during a "freak wind event" outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Wednesday that sent revelers running in fear as canopies and tents flew through the air, officials said.

All four suffered minor injuries and were treated on site, said Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the Pasadena Fire Department.

Derderian said the wind event was not a tornado, despite social media posts that described it as one.

Around 2 p.m., the wind whipped up tent equipment on the grass near the stadium, sending canopies and umbrellas flying and struck four people.

Video posted online soon after the event showed people running as the metal poles and canopies whipped around the grounds outside the stadium.

Gary Knudson recorded the video with one hand as he held onto a table with the other.

"I mean, it could've come right at our tent," Knudson said. "If it had come towards our tent I think I would've gone for a ride."

A person dressed as the Chick-fil-A cow mascot was among the crowd.

The wild winds come weeks after a rare tornado touched down in South Los Angeles, ripping rooftops and blowing over trees during a late fall storm.

A traffic stop turned deadly overnight in South Jersey.

Police officers in Bridgeton, New Jersey opened fire on a 36-year-old passenger of a Jaguar after pulling the vehicle over at South Avenue and Henry Street around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday.

The man, later identified as Jerame Reid, died after being rushed to the hospital.

Police recovered a handgun from the scene and the suspect was apparently armed at the time of the shooting, according to investigators.

The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody for questioning.

Police didn't report any injuries to either officer involved in the shooting.

Investigators revealed few details about what led to the shooting or the initial traffic stop. New Jersey State Police continued to investigate through the early morning hours of Wednesday,  marking various shell casings.

A bullet hole was also visible in the windshield of the vehicle.

Tahli Dawkins, who was taking out his recycling at the time of the shooting, told NBC10 he witnessed the incident.

"He had nothing in his hands," Dawkins said. "He had his hands up trying to get out of the car, one on the door was getting out like this and he just started shooting him." 

The Cumberland County Prosecutors Office will also look into the deadly incident.

Reid had a three-month-old son, according to his cousin Keesha Springs.

"He was a good kid," Springs said. "He had a troubled past but after that he became a good person. I love my cousin. Everybody has their bad times and he had his bad times. But he was very lovable." 

Three people died in a New Year’s Eve fire at a Queens high-rise building, the FDNY said.

The fire started Wednesday just before midnight in a ninth-floor apartment on 57th Avenue in Elmhurst, the FDNY said. Food was cooking unattended on the stove when the fire started, firefighters said.

Inside the apartment, firefighters found three residents who had died in the blaze.. There were no working fire detectors inside the apartment, firefighters said.

Police identified the deceased as Louise Jean-Charles, 59, Nadia Donnay, 37, and Napoleon Michel, 69.

The five firefighters were treated for minor injuries at area hospitals.

Authorities on Wednesday captured a second person wanted in connection with a shooting at an LAPD patrol car in South Los Angeles over the weekend, officials said.

James Brooks, 19, was taken into custody in Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon and will be extradited to LA by the Fugitive Task Force, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

Los Angeles police officers were driving about 9:30 p.m. Sunday near 62nd and Hoover streets when two people fired at their squad car, police said. The officers fired back, but the two people fled. No one was hurt.

Authorities found a rifle, a pistol and multiple shell casings, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said. Police also arrested 18-year-old Christopher Taylor in connection with the shooting.

LA County prosecutors on Tuesday alleged Taylor and another person opened fire on rival gang members in a car, which sped away just as an LAPD patrol car drove through the area.

Authorities said Brooks and Taylor belong to the same gang. Brooks was arrested based on a joint investigation by the FBI in LA and Vegas and LAPD, Eimiller said.

Taylor is set to be arraigned in January on two counts each of shooting at an occupied vehicle and assault on a peace officer with a semi-automatic firearm, and one count of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, according to the DA's Office.

Chick-Fil-A officials said they're investigating a potential data breach of their systems after reports of suspicious activity.

The company received several reports of unusual activity on payment cards used at some of their restaurants beginning Dec. 19, according to a statement issued by Chick-fil-A.

Officials with Chick-fil-A said they notified authorities of the possible breach and are looking into possible fraudulent charges on customer accounts.

"Any fraudulent charges will be the responsibility of either Chick-fil-A or the bank that issued the card," the statement released by Chick-fil-A read. "If our customers are impacted, we will arrange for free identity protection services, including credit monitoring."

For additional concern or support, customers can call 855-398-6439 when the company's call center reopens Friday.

Oceanside police are seeking information on the circumstances leading to the death of man involved in a fight on Sunday morning.

Police said Mark Girard Jr. died at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla after succumbing to injuries suffered in a fight. It happened between 2:15 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the 300 block of North Tremont, near the ABC Laundry in Oceanside.

Anyone who saw the fight or has information about it is asked to call Oceanside Police Detective Mike Provence at 760-435-4746.

Two armed men pretended to be officers Wednesday morning when they forced their way into a West Covina home and tied up three children and their family, police said.

The pair arrived to a duplex in the 3400 block of Maranville Court about 6 a.m. and said they were officers serving a search warrant, West Covina Officer Eddie Flores said.

The men forced their way inside and tied up three children, their parents and grandmother before ransacking the home, Flores said. The children's ages were not immediately known. 

Both men were armed with a handgun and donned vests that resembled police tactical gear, but had an American flag in place of a badge, Flores said said.

The pair escaped with cash, jewelry, an Xbox console and games before officers arrived.

The men also broke into the second unit in the duplex, police said.The residents left before police arrived, so it is not clear what the men took from that unit.

Police asked anyone with information to call 626-939-8557.

Kathy Vara contributed to this report.

A Florida man is accused of decapitating his mother with an ax because she had been "nagging" him about chores.

Christian Jose Gomez, 23, was arrested Wednesday night near his family's house in Oldsmar, near Tampa, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Gomez faces a first-degree murder charge and is being held without bond, and it was unknown if he has an attorney.

Deputies responding to a 911 call found the body of the victim, 48-year-old Maria Suarez Cassagne, outside the residence, officials said. Gomez was found and arrested a few blocks away.

Gomez hit his mother over the head with an axe then decapitated her in the garage, sheriff's office officials said. He put her head in a garbage can and tried to put the body inside, but it was too heavy, they said.

Gomez's older brother found their mother's body.

Gomez said he was angry over his mother "nagging" him to put some boxes in the attic and had been planning the murder for two days, officials said.

A police cruiser hit and killed a college senior who was lying in the road early in the morning on New Year's Day in Chatham, Massachusetts, police say.

Garrett Gagne, 22, of Longmeadow, a senior at St. Lawrence College and a four-year lacrosse team member there, is believed to have been celebrating New Year's Eve with friends in Chatham.

It was unclear why he was lying in the road or what his condition was before the cruiser hit him, police said. They could not immediately reach the friends with whom he had been celebrating.

Gagne was hit on Crowell Road near Tipcart Drive just after 4 a.m. by a marked Chatham police cruiser responding to an emergency call, police said.

The officer who hit him stopped, called for assistance and gave him medical aid, but he was pronounced dead soon after at Cape Cod Hospital.

The crash is under investigation, and police say they will release the name of the officer involved in the next 24 hours.

St. Lawrence College's president William Fox expressed "heart-breaking sadness" in a statement the school put out notifying the school community of his death.

"Wisdom and meaning seem impossible right now in the midst of our immediate, heart-breaking sadness," Fox said. "We must, of course, give our best and most loving thoughts to Garrett's family and friends in a day of such sudden deep grief. When our campus community returns from break, we will plan a gathering to honor Garrett's memory."

Gagne's lacrose coach Mike Mahoney mourned his long-time player as well.

"His smile and enthusiasm were contagious. He could light up the field and sidelines with his personality," Mahoney said in the statement. "This sudden and shocking loss touches every one of us who knew him as one of our best."

NECN will have more as this story develops.

Come Jan. 1, the military will be subject to a new pension structure that is going to reduce benefits, particularly for higher rank retirees, over time.

This comes as the debate on how to cut the defense budget overall over the next several years is a hot topic on Capitol Hill.

This issue will impact all San Diegans, military or not, because this is where many military members retire. And for the last several years, retiring from the military has paid off in way that will likely never happen again.

With the war in Iraq in a critical phase in 2007, the U.S. military committed to a surge to defeat Al-Qaeda and stepped up efforts to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan. To keep senior leadership – star rank officers – Congress made a commitment to the military, increasing the cap to 40 years plus of earning potential in which leaders could earn a pension in a time period half that.

“This person has spent the last 30 years learning and demonstrating their ability, and it's only the best of the best that are going to make it to that flag level. So are these the people that we want to compensate and keep in the organization,” said Tony Teravainen, CEO of Support the Enlisted Project, an organization that helps enlisted members of the military who are struggling financially.

That 2007 change dramatically increased pensions. Before the law was changed, the typical pension for a retired four-star officer was just over $134,000. After that, according to the Pentagon, the highest pension was nearly $273,000 to a retired four-star officer with more than 40 years of service.

But the 2015 Defense Authorization Act Congress included a provision decreasing a pay raises over time, the so-called "longevity" steps in basic pay.

Some families of service members say it’s hard to believe a reduction in pension is coming given all the sacrifices over the last decade.

“It is sort of an insult to think all the time that you've put into an organization now is telling you that you are not worth as much as you were to begin with,” said military spouse Tera Scott.

So will this effect recruiting and retention? According to a RAND study, military members don't stay because of pensions when they reach higher ranks, but that may not be the case at lower levels.

That’s where Teravainen says many sacrifices are made, from moving from base to base to long deployments to living on low pay.

“For all the other hardships, this is the reward for sticking with it for 20 years,” he said.
 

An NYPD officer is in police custody in connection with an attack last week on an MTA employee on a Bronx subway platform, authorities said Thursday.

Officer Mirjan Lolja turned himself in at his precinct, authorities said. No charges have been filed. He has been suspended from the force, according to the NYPD.

The 28-year-old MTA officer told investigators that she was attacked at about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 23 by a man on the D train platform at the East Tremont Station. The man grabbed her from behind and pushed her to the floor, where he choked her and then fled.

The victim, who was wearing her MTA uniform and on duty at the time, was treated at an area hospital for minor injuries to her head, neck and back. 

A woman lit on fire allegedly by her live-in boyfriend last Sunday in Poway remains in a medically induced coma at UCSD Medical Center, according to a longtime family friend.

Jana Tzinberg is close with the victim’s sister. She told NBC 7 the situation is very “touch and go.”

Tzinberg provided more details into what happened last Sunday. She says the victim’s sister called her to say something horrible had happened.

“She sounded completely different,” she said. “They woke up because they saw and heard the screaming. They saw light come from under their door, and what it was was her sister completely engulfed in flames.”

Tzinberg said six people were in the home at the time – the victim, the victim’s boyfriend and suspect 41-year-old Vidal Webb, the victim’s sister, the sister’s daughter, the sister’s boyfriend and a friend. She said everyone except Webb was fast asleep when he poured accelerant over the victim and lit it.

Sheriff’s officials say Webb left the Poway home before they got there.

“[My friend’s] boyfriend was the one who grabbed her and got her into the bathroom, into the shower and turned on the overhead hose,” said Tzinberg. She said it was the victim’s sister who got her out of the burning home.

After the fire, Webb was involved in a nine-hour SWAT standoff with sheriff’s officials in City Heights.

Shortly after his arrest, Webb jumped from the second story of the jail and died.

Facebook and GoFundMe pages are being set up to help the victim. They should be up Friday, according to Tzinberg. She told NBC 7 the family is currently displaced due to fire and water damage to the home.

The unusually frigid temperatures in San Diego mean all of our region’s homeless shelters are full, and shelter staffers are doing everything they can to provide more room.

Temperatures on New Year’s Eve dipped into the 30s in downtown San Diego, forcing many of the estimated 4,000 people who live on the streets to find a warm place to stay for the night.

St. Vincent de Paul Village, an inclement weather shelter on Imperial Avenue, opened Tuesday night and will be open through Thursday night for those needing to escape the cold.

Already full, the shelter has placed cots and mats in its two dining rooms to accommodate the influx of visitors and is among a network of shelters and churches making room for additional people.

“We don’t turn anyone away,” said Jesse Casement, operator of St. Vincent de Paul. “As long as we have space, we’re not going to turn anyone away.”

The makeshift shelter room comes with strict rules. Check-in is only available from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a lights-out order for 9 p.m. and a wakeup call at 4 a.m., so staff can have the dining room clear by 5 a.m.

Casement said some of the homeless are new to the streets, so it’s especially scary when temperatures dip so low for San Diego.

“To see the families and know they’re sleeping with their kids on the streets is heartbreaking,” Casement said. “And we want to get those people off the streets as much as we can and fill their bellies with warm food and make sure they have a safe place to sleep.”

Tuesday night, St. Vincent de Paul took in a larger crowd than usual for the first night of an emergency shelter: nearly 120 people.

The emergency shelter typically opens when the weather dips below 50 degrees and there’s a 40 percent chance of rain.

Officials are working to pull a car from Mission Bay after the driver says he drove it into the water early Thursday morning.

The man called San Diego police later New Year's Day, saying he took a wrong turn and drove straight into Mission Bay off Fiesta Island at about 1:30 a.m.

The vehicle was discovered about 50 yards from the coast, completely submerged.

It's unclear why the man waited until the afternoon to call police and tell him his car was underwater.

Police are working with firefighters to get the car out of the water.

Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo has died following weeks of reports that he was ailing, sources said Thursday. He was 82.

Cuomo, who served three terms as governor from 1983 to 1994, died on the same day that his son delivered an inaugural address marking the beginning of his second term in the same office.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo paid tribute to his father in the speech, delivered from the lofty heights of the newly completed One World Trade Center.

"He couldn't be here physically today, my father. But my father is in this room," the governor said. "He is in the heart and mind of every person who is here. ... His inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what has brought this state to this point."

The governor said he had gone over the speech with his father, who quipped that it was "good, especially for a second-termer."

The former governor hadn't been seen publicly since his son's re-election celebration on Nov. 4. In December, he was hospitalized for a number of days and treated for a heart condition before returning home.

The elder Cuomo was born in Queens, the son of Italian immigrants who came through Ellis Island and later ran a grocery store in South Jamaica. He earned his law degree nearby, at St. John's University, and became a legal assistant at the New York State Court of Appeals, before going into private practice in 1958.

Cuomo lost to Ed Koch in the 1977 mayoral primary in New York City, but was elected lieutenant governor a year later. In 1982, he declared his candidacy for governor when incumbent Gov. Hugh Carey announced he wouldn't seek reelection. Again, he faced Ed Koch in a primary, but beat him with the help of his campaign manager, his son Andrew.

The elder Cuomo catapulted into the national spotlight two years into his first term, when he delivered a keynote speech to the 1984 Democratic National Convention. He very publicly pondered a presidential run himself, but ultimately decided to stay in the governor's chair. He was elected to three consecutive terms before being narrowly defeated by a then little-known Republican upstart, George Pataki.

-- David Ushery contributed to this report.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 struck the coast of Northern California early on New Year's Day, about 70 miles from the nearest city of Ferndale.

An officer with the Ferndale City Police Department told The Associated Press slight shaking was felt in the area, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

The epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean. The quake struck at 4:16 a.m.

According to the U.S. Geological Service, the cities closest to the quake include Eureka, Arcata and Sacramento - the latter city is about 250 miles from the epicenter.

The earthquake was about 250 miles northwest of the epicenter of a magnitude-6.0 temblor that caused extensive damage in Napa and the surrounding area on Aug. 24

An 80-year-old woman died on New Year's Eve as she and her husband were crossing a street in El Cajon, police said.

Rosie Mondejar's husband, Merlin Mondejar, walked away from the collision with minor injuries following the crash in the 300 block of West Washington Avenue.

The couple were hit just after 8 p.m. by separate vehicles while crossing the street, El Cajon police reported. Both Mondejars were rushed to the hospital; Rosie died there and Merlin was treated and released.

“I saw bags flying everywhere, and the truck in front of me stopped really abruptly,” said witness Madison Patchett. “There was a guy trapped underneath the car, and he was screaming."

Police said the drivers involved in the collision stayed at the scene and have been cooperative with the investigation. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash, police said.

El Cajon police say the couple was not using a crosswalk on the busy road.

Close friends and former neighbors of the Mondejars were stunned to hear about the crash.

"Rosie was the most caring person in the world," said Bonnie Dines. "She would go out of her way to help people."

Gary Dines said the Mondejar family is devestated over their great loss.

"She was one of the nicest people that I ever knew, and she was so friendly and kind, and she was a great cook too," he said.

Gary told NBC 7 this is the second death the family has had in recent years. Merlin and Rosie lost their daughter suddenly, leaving the couple to care for their grandchildren and great grandchildren before moving to El Cajon.

"You know on New Year's Eve, on a day we should be celebrating, we are mourning her loss," said Gary.

To prevent other deaths like this one, police issued the following warning:

"Always cross at intersections controlled by traffic control devices and crosswalks," a police news release said. "When walking at night, wear bright or reflective colors that are more visible to drivers."

A car left running outside a La Mesa store rolled away with two children inside, La Mesa police say.

A mother left her kids in her car as she ran into a store at about 2:15 p.m.

But when she came back out, the vehicle was not where she left it. The woman initially believed the car had been stolen and then abandoned when the suspect realized there were children in the back seat.

However, police believe the car rolled away because she did not set the parking brake.

A report from witnesses saying they saw someone running from the vehicle was unfounded, according to officers.

No injuries were reported.

Firefighters had to carry a mountain biker down some rough terrain after he fell and broke his collar bone Thursday at Mission Trails Park.

The rider took a jump too hard and flew from his bike just before 2 p.m., according to San Diego Fire Battalion Chief Mike Finnerty.

Passers-by with a cellphone called 911 for help.

A collar bone break is not one of the more severe injuries, but you can't move it.

"That's not one you walk out on. You're going to basically sit down and request help and wait for it to arrive to take you out," said Finnerty.

Firefighters loaded the man onto a stretcher and carried him down the trail.

Finnerty wants to remind hikers and bikers that while you're enjoying the outdoors, be prepared to in case you get stuck somewhere for a number of hours. Bring plenty of water, cold weather clothing and a cellphone to request help if it's needed.

A New Year's Day venture for thousands into Julian to see its snow has turned the quaint town into a traffic nightmare, as every roadway into the town is backed up and the town is out of lodging for several days.

The small town, which saw 6 inches of snow on New Year’s Eve, is “overflowing with outsiders,” said California Highway Patrol spokesman Robert Catano.

Thousands have flocked to the picturesque town with a population of roughly 1,500 people.

The Julian Chamber of Commerce issued a warning to would-be visitors on its website:

"Be aware that Julian is bursting at the seams. Be prepared to wait in a traffic jam for a long time just to get into town. Please do not block anyone's driveway or enter private property looking for places to play in the snow."

Thursday afternoon, every major highway was backed up for miles, according to the California Highway Patrol.

To compound the problem, the town is completely out of lodging until Jan. 3, Chamber of Commerce officials said.

While state troopers told NBC 7 that the town had run out of gasoline, a clerk at Julian's only gas station said it did have gasoline and would have enough to last the night.

State troopers were dispatched to the area on Thursday after reports of gridlock traffic.

Traffic continued to worsen as the day wore on. State Route 67 had traffic backed up Thursday afternoon all the way to I-8 and the 8 was congested all the way to Willows Road near Viejas.

While Julian is known for being one of the rare places in Southern California to see snow in the winter, the amount that fell over New Year's Eve was unusual. The amount of snow that fell there Wednesday was more than twice the town's average snowfall for the entire month of December.

The average snowfall for an entire year is 22 inches and 2.5 inches is typical for the month of December, according to the Western Regional Climate Center.

Early Thursday morning, locals were in good spirits about the influx in visitors. Mom's Pie House expected to sell out of 500 pies by the end of the day.

Locals said the boom is good for their town's economy.

"People are having a great time," Julian resident Johathon Mitteman said. "They kind of lose their concept of driving rules, but that is fine."

Drivers planning to head up there on Thursday should expect major delays on State Route 79 and State 78 into Julian, Catano said.

Chains are required from the 79 to Old Highway 80 and those driving on Sunrise Highway are obligated to carry chains.