Deputies are searching for the suspect who assaulted a woman as she left a Santee bar early Sunday morning.

The woman was walking from the Second Wind bar, traveling near Prospect Avenue and Pepper Drive at about 12:45 a.m., when someone came up behind her.

A man pushed her to the ground, saying nothing as he tried to remove the clothes on the lower part of her body, according to San Diego County Sheriff’s officials.

The woman was able to kick the suspect, and the man ran away.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned man in his mid-twenties with light, short hair.

If you have any information about this assault, call the sheriff’s sexual assault unit at 858-974-2316.

As attorneys in the Boston marathon bombing trial inch closer to identifying a large enough jury pool to move into the third phase of jury selection, it's becoming clear that the focus on both sides is not necessarily on defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's guilt, but rather on the death penalty.

Most jurors seemed convinced of Tsarnaev's guilt based on what they'd heard or read about the case, although some said they could put that aside and be impartial.

The defense seemed to question how one of those jurors could possibly be impartial when her life had "intersected with this case in so many ways."

She was a University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth graduate who may have shared a history teacher with Tsarnaev.

Her boyfriend and friends had to shelter in place during the manhunt.

And her brothers are Marines, one of whom served in the war in Afghanistan - which, the defense pointed out, may be discussed as a possible motive in this case.

Defense attorneys even questioned whether another woman was too eager to get on the jury - saying that she works for Mass General Hospital but that she didn't know the president visited victims there.

For his part, Tsarnaev seemed disinterested in the proceedings much of the day, at times slumped back in his chair or flipping through papers.

So far, only 52 jurors have been questioned individually. While none of them have been excused on the record, it's clear many will be excused for cause.

At least 58 jurors will be needed to move onto the third phase of jury selection.

Denise Mattison called her husband, Corey, her hero. He was her protector long before a terrible night last week, when Corey was shot and killed, deputies say, by Denise's ex-husband.

Investigators believe Corey Mattison died outside, behind the Ashburn townhome he shared with Denise.

He may have been leading suspected gunman Minh Nguyen, 38, away from his wife and two children, the Mattison family said.

Nguyen -- the high-profile founder of a Silicon Valley-based, pre-Facebook social network -- was captured by his own mother. Search warrants reveal that when deputies responded to the town home, they found Nguyen in the garage, being held down by his mother.

The two were struggling over control of the firearm, the warrants showed. Nguyen's mother told deputies to take the gun, and Nguyen was arrested.

"He was my hero way before a few nights ago," Denise Mattison said. "They just don't come like him. It was a kind of thing when every single one of my friends or family members met him, they would think, it was just kind of like, he's just kind of too perfect... and the truth is that he was. He was the greatest man I've ever known."

Corey and Denise married three months ago and lived with their five children. She said he was good at everything he tried, from cooking to helping raise their children together. He was an athlete in high school and college. 

"He came into our lives and stayed when no one else would have," Denise said. "Every morning... he would say, 'Lord I'm so thankful for this day that I can live in this beautiful world you've created.' That was every single morning. That was the way he lived. He was always just thankful for everything." 

"[He would say,] 'I love you for everything that you are and I don't spend a second thinking about anything that you're not,'" she said.

For Denise's brother, the marriage was a dream come true -- his sister had a protector.

"To see the way he loved Denise on a consistent basis, to see the way he treated her... there's nothing more that a brother could ask for," Aaron Fox said.

Now, Denise's family is on an emotional roller coaster, bound together by their faith.

"There isn't any regret other than the fact that my sweet husband isn't here anymore," Denise said.

Nguyen, a one-time social media tech pioneer, is facing a first-degree murder charge. He's behind bars without bond.

A family friend organized a GoFundMe page to help Denise and her family with expenses. 

Atherton police are looking for  a suspect linked to three possible attempted burglaries.

On Saturday,  a man was spotted walking around Sutherland Drive and looking into windows. A short time later, the same person was reported being seen on Mesa Court poking inside a pool house. When police got there, they couldn't find anyone but witnesses gave police this description: Slender Latino man, approximately 25 to 31 years old, 5 foot 8 inches to 5 foot 11 inches tall, and weighing 140 to 155 pounds. He has a thin face, pointed nose, and a closely cropped beard.

On Jan. 12, a homeowner's car was broken into near Alpine Road and Highway 280 and her purse was stolen, police said. When she returned home to Laburnum Drive, she noticed the spare key, which had been inside of her purse, was in the front door deadbolt lock. However, there was no one inside and nothing was missing.

And somewhere between Dec. 27 and Jan. 3, police said a man entered a house on Maple Avenue through an unlocked back door. The housekeeper called it in. But nothing appeared to be missing, police said.
 

A doctor critically injured by a gunman who opened fire before fatally shooting himself inside a major Boston hospital Tuesday has died, police said.

Boston Police said the victim, identified as 44-year-old Michael Davidson of Wellesley, Massachusetts, succumbed to his injuries after being shot twice at Brigham and Women's Hospital. A source said Davidson was a surgeon.

Earlier Tuesday evening, Boston Police identified the shooter as 55-year-old Stephen Pasceri of Millbury.

The shooting occurred around 11 a.m. in the Shapiro Cardiovascular Center at 75 Francis St., which was temporarily placed in lockdown. The rest of the hospital was not in lockdown and the hospital and police now say the situation is under control.

"At this time, there's no threat out there. The area's secure," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said at a press conference with hospital officials Tuesday afternoon.

He said the first calls were received at 11:04 a.m. reporting a shooting at the hospital. Minutes later another caller reported that a doctor had been shot. He said the shooter came into the hospital and asked for Dr. Davidson by name. Police say Pasceri took out a gun at some point during his meeting with the doctor, shooting him twice.

"He was targeted, and the reason right now is not clear," Evans said. "There's something in the past that upset this guy to come in looking for this particular doctor ... Our prayers go out to his wife, and we all pull for his speedy recovery."

When police arrived at the hospital, they made their way to the second floor and found a man they believe to be the suspect inside an examining room, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The gun believed to have been used in the shootings was found beside him.

Evans said the shooter was not a doctor, and police don't believe he was a patient at the hospital.

The hospital said there are no metal detectors at the facility, but that could be something that will be considered in the future.

"We've had a very tragic situation here this morning," hospital President Betsy Nabel said. "I want to thank the Boston Police Department for doing an extraordinary job of responding rapidly. I want everyone to know that all of us here at Brigham and Women's Hospital are alert, have responded, we are available now for all who have been affected by this situation, and we will continue to make all the resources of the hospital available to those who have been affected in any way."

"It was a great response by not only my officers but the hospital," added Evans. "I've got to commend their response. We had a dangerous situation here, but they did everything they could to neutralize it."

Late Tuesday evening, the family of Stephen Pasceri released a statement reading, "First and foremost, our hearts go out to Dr. Davidson, his family, and friends. We are praying for them and his recovery. No words can truly express how heartbroken we are by this tragedy. We are saddened and struggling to make sense of what has transpired and ask that you respect our privacy during this time."

Brigham and Women's Hospital is the largest in Boston's Longwood Medical area. It is Harvard Medical School's second largest teaching affiliate.

There were several road closures in the area and the Green Line E Branch was temporarily suspended as police were first responding to the scene.

Twenty students who have not been vaccinated against the measles are not be allowed on the campus of Huntington Beach High School for three weeks after a possible exposure to the virus, officials confirmed Monday.

A student with measles was on the Orange County campus in early January, and could have potentially spread the highly contagious disease according to a letter sent to parents.

Students who have been exposed and do not have the necessary vaccination to guard against the disease were sent home for three weeks, according to county health officials. They will not be allowed to attend school until Jan. 29, according to the Orange County Department of Education.

Some parents said the district was going overboard.

"I'm not a doctor so I can't say, but that seems extreme to me," one parent said. "I mean, I had the measles and I think I was out for three days."

However Orange County Department of Education Health and Wellness Coordinator Pamela Kahn  told NBC4 Tuesday that keeping the students away from school is the only thing they could do to prevent the disease from spreading further.

As carriers are contagious both four days before and four days after developing a rash, and as students could be at school for as long as 21 days before a rash develops, it is essential to keep unvaccinated pupils away from school for that period to minimize the exposure of other students from the disease.

The county has confirmed 16 cases of the disease, among 46 confirmed cases in California.

In late December an outbreak was reported among people who had visited Disneyland, but health officials in San Diego and Orange county have now confirmed the outbreak has spread beyond the initial cases.

Measles is spread through the air or contact with an infected person and is highly contagious.

It is characterized by fever, rash, cough and red, watery eyes.

Doctors advise that anyone who thinks they may be infected call their doctor immediately.

Michael Larkin and Annette Arreola contributed to this report

Two Yemeni terror suspects were flown to New York for trial amid allegations they had helped a Long Island man who plotted to bomb the Long Island Rail Road meet al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan, federal agents say.

Saddiq al-Abbadi and Ali Alvi are charged in Brooklyn federal court with conspiracy to murder Americans and material support for terror, authorities said.

Prosecutors said the men are al-Qaida operatives who targeted U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. FBI agents said Alvi also helped Long Island native Bryant Neal Vinas meet and train with top al-Qaida operatives in Pakistan in 2008.

Vinas was captured by Pakistani forces in 2008 and transferred to FBI custody. In January 2009, he pleaded guilty to all three charges against him in the plot to bomb LIRR trains heading to and from Penn Station and is now cooperating with U.S. investigators as part of a plea deal.

Alvi, 30, is accused of traveling from Yemen through Iran to meet with al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan, including a top explosives expert with the terrorist group. Federal prosecutors said Alvi trained with explosives, AK-47’s and other weapons before crossing into Afghanistan in late 2008 to scout U.S. military positions for an attack.

Al-Abbadi is also accused of helping target U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Prosecutors said one attack in May 2008 killed a U.S Army Ranger and wounded several other military members. The 36-year-old allegedly fought U.S. forces in Iraq from 2003 to 2007, according to court documents.

Both Alvi and al-Abbadi were captured by Saudi security forces and turned over to the U.S. for trial, officials said.

"There is no escape from the reach of our law for violent terrorists, especially if they target our military,” said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. "Al-Abbadi and Alvi may have operated in the mountains of Afghanistan, but now they face justice in a courtroom in Brooklyn.”

A detention memo filed by prosecutors said Vinas plans to testify against the two men, including how he met them, trained with them and knows first-hand some of their past plans to target U.S troops. Investigators said Alvi made statements about his alleged involvement when questioned.

Alvi was in court Sunday and al-Abbadi is expected to appear Tuesday afternoon. Both men, if convicted, could face life in prison.

At a cost of $12.7 million, Caltrans is activating 15 new on-ramp metering lights along six miles from Cupertino to Mountain View this month in an effort to ease congestion in this part of Silicon Valley, though some are worried about the waiting cars jamming up residential side streets.

And the the lights will be kept on almost through lunchtime, as opposed to most metering lights that turn off between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Gary Richards, aka "Mr. Roadshow," of the Mercury News, said this is the first time the state of California will run those lights for almost the entire morning drive on any freeway in the nine Bay Area counties.

Caltrans District 4 Director Bijan Sartipi said on his website that congestion along State Route 85 from Interstate Highway 280 to U.S. Highway 101 is caused by "platoons of vehicles" entering at unmetered on-ramps and merging with the mainline traffic. And so, the metering lights, he said, will "minimize gridlock of the freeway system, decrease travel time and improve mobility through the corridor during the peak hours."

Metering lights have employed by Caltrans in the past to keep freeway traffic moving by slowing the flow onto the highway, leading to less merging chaos but leading to long waits at on-ramps. That's what some residential neighbors are the most worried about.

Beginning on Wednesday: Metering lights will be set in the southbound direction will be activated for the afternoon peak commute hours of 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Beginning on Jan. 28: Metering lights will be set in the northbound direction will be activated for the morning peak commute hours from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Freeway-to-freeway meters: 280 to north 85 morning and north 280 to south 85 in afternoon.

This stretch has traditionally been a trafic nightmare. But the rebounding economy and all the tech workers headed to Silicon Valley to jobs at Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Apple has made the commute even worse.

The cost of the project - a joint venture between Caltrans, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority - totaled nearly $13 million.

The capital cost of the project is $9.5 million: $1.5 million came from State’s Corridor Mobility Improvement Account Funds and $8 million came from State Highway Operation and Protection Program Funds.

The ramp metering information line phone number is 510-286-4531.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.4 struck in Monterey County on Tuesday morning, after being downgraded from 4.9, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The epicenter hit about 5:20 a.m., 17 miles north of King City, and 19 miles east of Soledad.

The National Weather Service tweeted the quake was "felt here at the office in Monterey." Fred Sampson tweeted he felt the earthquake in Aptos, and Denica Lorax De Foy tweeted her walls shook in Prunedale. Someone at  Liberty Tax in Hayward tweeted the windows in the office popped.

Lucy Fuentes and Nicole Rhaven wrote on NBC Bay Area's Facebook page that they felt light shaking in Gilroy and Felton. Carol Witter wrote she felt it in Santa Cruz, and Kim Bickmore said it was "rolling good" in Hollister. "Everything was swaying for at least 10 seconds or more."

Police in Carlsbad are looking for a man they say robbed a Taco Bell via the drive-thru.

As the employee working the drive-thru window at 6017 Paseo Del Norte was completing an order, the man, who was on foot, apparently reached into the window and took an undetermined amount of cash while brandishing a handgun, police said.

The suspect then fled westbound on foot, according to authorities.

Police described him as a white male in his early 20's wearing a white ski mask, black hoodie and black gloves.

As of Tuesday morning, the suspect had not been located and police said an investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Sergeant Matt Lowe of the City of Carlsbad Police Department at (760) 931-2115.

Police are looking for a man suspected of robbing a La Mesa pharmacy Monday.

The suspect apparently entered the Walgreens at 8766 Navajo Road and went to the pharmacy inside. Police said he then handed the pharmacist a note claiming he had a gun and demanding prescription medication.

The suspect fled the store with multiple prescription bottles, but no weapon was seen and no one was injured, according to police.

Police described the suspect as a man in his 20's wearing sunglasses, a long sleeve shirt and jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department Robbery Division at (619) 531-2299.

An Air Force veteran was shocked to discover a nasty note slamming her for parking in a spot saved for servicemembers taped to her car during a routine trip to a North Carolina grocery store.

Four-year Air Force veteran Mary Claire Caine was loading her groceries into her car at a Harris Teeter store in Wilmington on Friday when she found the note on the passenger-side window, according to NBC affiliate WECT.

“Maybe [you] can’t read the sign you parked in front of. This space is reserved for those who fought for America…not you. Thanks, Wounded Vet,” the note read.

Caine, who served overseas in Kuwait and on the flight line of the F-117 Nighthawk, told WECT that she’s proud to hold a “Veteran Parking” tag and never expected any backlash.

“The first thing I felt was confusion that there was a mistake,” Caine said

She initially wanted to speak with the person who wrote the note to understand why they were so quick to assume she wasn’t a veteran and that the parking privilege didn’t belong to her. She also wondered whether she received the note because she’s a woman.

"I think they took one look at me when I got out of my car and saw that I was a woman and assumed I wasn't a veteran and assumed I hadn't served my country," Caine said.

While the likelihood of finding the person is slim, Caine hopes her ordeal will teach others not to make assumptions about veterans.

“I want them to know they owe me and every other female service member who's fighting now and who's fought in the past, an apology for jumping to conclusions," Caine told WECT.

A 23-year-old was arrested Sunday after San Diego Border Patrol agents said he tried to smuggle six Mexican nationals into the United States.

The U.S. citizen, not identified by agents, was charged federally with human smuggling; the six others also were arrested, according to a news release from the U.S. Border Patrol.

Agents said they stopped a Chevrolet pickup on I-5 north of Oceanside at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The driver had four passengers in the cab and two others laying down in the bed of the truck.

The seven people were taken to the Border Patrol checkpoint just south of San Clemente and later arrested.

The pickup was seized by Border Patrol.

To report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol, call San Diego’s sector at 619-498-9900.

California’s economy is on the move, poised to overtake that of Brazil, a country with a population five times that of our state, according to published reports.

Bloomberg News examined the recent growth of the state’s economy, valued at $2.2 trillion in 2013. If California's economy continues to expand as it has – growing more than 4% a year from 2011 to 2013 – it will likely surpass that of Brazil to make it the seventh largest economy in the world.

Brazil’s gross domestic product declined in 2014 to $2.25 trillion according to the report.

“What’s interesting about that is Brazil has a population about 5 times of California but yet we have more economic strength,” said NBC 7 business reporter George Chamberlin.

Get more details on the report from Bloomberg News here.

A high speed chase across three different freeways ended Tuesday morning after police arrested the man who took off in a van.

At approximately 1:15 a.m., an officer found a man behind a Fry’s store throwing items into a dumpster. When the officer confronted the man about the situation, he hopped into a van and started a pursuit across three different freeways.

That pursuit ended in Serra Mesa, where the driver crashed the van into a fire hydrant and several parked cars.

One resident’s home started to flood. The woman said she has lived in the neighborhood for more than a decade and she never expected anything like this on her street.

Police arrested the driver after they found him inside a home in the neighborhood, though it was unclear if he knew the people inside or not. Police are investigating to see whether the material he threw in the dumpster was stolen.

A bodybuilder who was struck and killed Saturday by a train in Burbank was shooting a promotion for one of his sponsors and running between the rail tracks when the train caught up with him, police confirmed Tuesday.

The new details provide insight into the events that led to the death of 37-year-old bodybuilder, inspirational coach, actor and model Greg Plitt. Investigators have said they believed his death was an accident based on their preliminary investigation.

Plitt, who was to be featured in a new Bravo reality series that premiered Monday called “Friends to Lovers,” was struck at about 4 p.m. Saturday on the tracks at Front Street, just north of the Burbank Metrolink Station.

Until Tuesday's confirmation from police, it was not clear whether Plitt was running alongside the tracks or between the rails. He was with two others during the shoot and did not respond to a horn blast from the Metrolink train before it caught up to him, Burbank police said.

He died at the scene.  Police learned he was shooting a promotional video for sponsor Shadow Beverages, which includes brands such as No Fear and WheyUp.

"We are extremely saddened by the suddent and tragic loss of our spokesperson and part owner of the WheyUp brand, Greg Plitt," reads in part a statement posted on the WheyUp website.  The statement did not address the circumstances of the video shoot or the death.   

A call Tuesday to the energy drink company's office in Phoenix was not immediately returned.

A filming permit had not been issued, according to police, and Metrolink had not been contacted tp arrange for a traffic stop and other required safety precautions before a crew is allowed to enter railway right of way, said a spokesmn for the regional rail service that owns and operates the tracks where the incident occurred just north of the Burbank Station.

A former U.S. Army Ranger, Plitt grew to fame as a fitness guru, model and motivational speaker. Plitt had previously worked out next to, and even on, train tracks, according to videos he posted. The videos include scene that appear to have been shot at the same location as the site where he was killed.

Police have not released video from the promotional shoot.  Late Tuesday police were to begin reviewing additional video from a nearby business's security camera that looked out over the tracks.

A public memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. A second service is scheduled for next week in his hometown of Baltimore.

"We are devastated over the loss of our son," Plitt's family posted on his website. "Your messages have uplifted us and give us strength. We thank you for that. Greg's soul is now with our heavenly Father. May his spirit live on through his website and through each of you."

A police pursuit that began on a San Diego-area interstate ended on the edge of a ravine with the suspect's vehicle and a police patrol car just a few feet from falling into a canyon.

California Highway Patrol officers took one man in custody following the pursuit through central San Diego Tuesday.

The man failed to pull over for a CHP officer on Interstate 8 near Interstate 805 just before 10 a.m.

The officer pursued the driver off the highway and onto surface streets with help from San Diego Police.

The pursuit ended off the paved road and at the edge of a canyon in a cul-de-sac on Ash Street. The driver was taken into custody.

Video shot by an NBC 7 news crew shows how close the suspect's vehicle and the officer's patrol car came to the edge of the canyon.

There were no injuries, officials said.

A man who drove his estranged wife’s body to downtown San Diego police headquarters was found guilty by a San Diego County Superior Court jury Tuesday.

In 2013, Americus de Orenday, 44, flagged down San Diego police near the downtown headquarters early one Tuesday morning, telling them his wife’s body was inside his car.

De Orenday will be sentenced on February 20.

According to authorities, De Orenday, 44, approached two plainsclothes detectives walking toward the police station and told them his wife, 40-year-old Mirella Alas De Orenday, was dead inside his Ford F-150 pickup truck.

Prosecutors said on the night of the murder, De Orenday went to her apartment with their three young children to talk about reconciling. When he learned Mirella was dating an 18-year-old coworker, prosecutors said he strangled her.

The medical examiner was called to the scene, at 14th Street and Broadway near the SDPD headquarters, just after 1:30 a.m. when Orenday drove up.

Officials in San Diego announced the first country-wide task force to fight human trafficking and assist victims Tuesday.

At a news conference at the Hall of Justice, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Domanis introduced The San Diego Violent Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation, a task force that will partner with 14 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

The task force will have more than two dozen investigators dedicated solely to making sure suspects are prosecuted to the fullest extent and to help the victims.

"It's time our entire community wake up on this particular issue and help law enforcement by recognizing the signs of human trafficking and reporting it,” said Dumanis.

While many of the agencies have been working to fight the increase in human trafficking on their own, the task force will unite them and dedicate officers specifically to tackling the issue.

“In many cases these law enforcement officers were going after the sex trafficking and sex trade on their own time," said San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

The city has been identified in the past by the FBI as one of several human trafficking hubs in California and the nation.

The news comes after a cross-country law enforcement crackdown in December targeted a sex-trafficking organization that involved about 100 young women and girls, many of whom were recruited from San Diego County middle and high schools.

About 50 percent of trafficking cases handled by the district attorney involve gangs, Dumanis said. Gangs lure teenagers into a life of prostitution, she said, as a part of their business now.

The number of human trafficking cases convicted and prosecuted in San Diego County has more than tripled over the past four years, Dumanis said.

According to the DA’s office, under the state’s sex trafficking statutes, a total of 40 human trafficking cases were prosecuted in San Diego in 2012 – a big jump from nine cases prosecuted by the DA’s office in 2009.

Dumanis said the task force needs the public’s help to report possible cases.

"And if you think it isn't happening in our neighborhoods in San Diego County, think again,” Dumanis said.

In addition to the district attorney's office, the San Diego County Supervisor, San Diego County Sheriff, San Diego Police Chief, FBI officials, ICE Homeland Security Investigations officials, ICE/Enforcement & Removal Operations officials, La Mesa police, California Highway Patrol Border officials and officials from the California Department of Justice will participate in the task force.