On Nov. 18, LeGarrette Blount was out of a job. The running back had just been released by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his career was in doubt.

Blount had left the field the night before while the Steelers-Titans Monday night game was in progress, upset that he hadn’t had a single carry. One source with the Steelers told the NFL Network that the reason for his release was “selfish behavior.”

So, just over two months ago, Blount seemed like the most unlikely of potential Super Bowl difference-makers.

But after he re-signed with the New England Patriots just two days after his release, Blount is heading nto Super Bowl XLIX as one of his team’s biggest offensive stars and a factor in the team’s run to the AFC championship.

Blount carried the ball 30 times for 148 yards in this past Sunday’s AFC Championship Game victory over the Colts. And in the five regular-season games he played with New England late in the season, Blount averaged 4.7 yards per carry, with 281 yards on 60 carries for three touchdowns.

At 6 feet and 250 pounds, the former standout from Oregon has plugged right back into the New England offensive scheme he had been a part of in 2013. That season, he averaged 5.0 yards per carry, collecting 772 yards on the ground and scoring seven touchdowns for Bill Belichick’s team.

When Blount became available, Belichick didn’t hesitate. He re-signed Blount and immediately gave him the ball.

Now the Patriots have a physical, hard-to-bring-down back almost in the mold of Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch. Both defenses in the Feb. 1 Super Bowl in Arizona will have to stop the big backs early to set the tone.

Belichick isn’t usually effusive with his praise, but he’s very happy he has Blount again. Blount had left the Patriots as a free agent after the 2013 season to sign with Pittsburgh.

“You don’t see a lot of guys like him,” Belichick told reporters this week. You just don’t. I thought a couple of cuts he made (against the Colts), the way he can stop, start, accelerate, change directions – for a 250-pound guy or whatever he is, he’s got great vision and athleticism. At times he looks like a small back, but he’s not. He’s a big guy and he’s a hard guy to tackle.”

The way Blount has played with the Patriots led to some criticism of the Steelers’ decision to release him, based on the fact that Pittsburgh could have used him when No. 1 back Le’Veon Bell was unavailable for its playoff game against the Ravens.

But this week, Steelers president Art Rooney II said he has no regrets.

“I think we made the decision for the right reasons,” Rooney told ESPN.com. “Not going to worry about it too much. We just have to make sure that we make a better decision this year and fill that position with someone we’re comfortable with and who will be a good fit.”

Now Blount has a chance to win a Super Bowl ring. He’s gone from unemployed to a potential Super Bowl star. Like Belichick, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is grateful Blount is on their side again.

“He’s tough to bring down and has the ability to make people miss in the hole, which I think is a unique trait for a bigger back,” said McDaniels this week. “Obviously he played well (vs. the Colts), really carried a big load for us and made a huge impact. … We’re very happy to have him here with us.”

A police pursuit that reached freeway speeds on Linda Vista and Morena streets ended Thursday with one suspect in custody.

San Diego Police say the chase started on Interstate 8 at about 9:30 p.m., though it's unclear why they started chasing him. Officers followed the driver as he exited the freeway onto Morena Boulevard, speeding through alleyways and residential roads.

The suspect, who at times hit 65 mph on streets with a much slower speed limit, bypassed several spike strips laid out to damage his tires, police say.

Officers finally caught up to the driver in the 6900 block of Linda Vista Road, where he was arrested. The suspect's mom was at the scene.

K-9 units helped search the vehicle, and police are still investigating.

The most overcrowded section of your grocery store may well be the snack bar aisle. Snack bars are a handy, grab-and-go food.

But there’s a difference between those that are healthy and the ones that have a lot of sugar and saturated fat. Consumer Reports evaluated 28 bars and rated them for nutrition and taste.

Lots of bars boast about their protein content. But watch out for “soy protein isolate,” when it’s listed as the first ingredient. It’s a processed ingredient that manufacturers put in to boost the protein content.

It’s better to get most of your protein from natural sources, like nuts.

Testers found some standouts like the Kind Plus Cranberry Almond bar. It’s top-rated and costs $1.25. It has whole almonds, macadamia nuts and dried cranberries.

The nuts add some fat, so eat in moderation. Abound Pomegranate and Cranberry from CVS is a Best Buy at 80 cents. The bars are chewy, with a mix of oats, almonds, cranberries and blueberries, and rated “Very Good” for nutrition.

The Chunky Peanut Butter Chocolate bar from Raw Revolution is $1.60. It’s dense and chewy, with a good balance of chocolate, peanuts and dates. It has 6 grams of protein, and while it does have 12 grams of fat, very little of it is saturated fat.

If you’re tempted to grab a snack bar instead of breakfast or lunch, Consumer Reports says make it a real meal by pairing it with a banana and a small container of yogurt. You’ll get the healthy benefits of a meal for about 400 calories.

Hey, El Cerrito, a real estate brokerage firm thinks you’re about to be hot. Real hot.

RedFin, a Seattle-based real estate company with agents in 25 locations across the nation, ranked the San Diego spot as the No. 1 neighborhood in the nation to become hot in 2015.

El Cerrito, near San Diego State University, doesn’t usually grab headlines for being trendy, but Redfin described it as a “relatively undiscovered jewel of a neighborhood.” In a news release, the firm said affordability has a lot to do with its high ranking.

“As prices continue to rise in the popular neighborhoods on the east side of San Diego, many first-time homebuyers are getting priced out of places like Kensington and North Park,” the news release said.

The median sale price for a home in El Cerrito is $320,000, less than half of the median price for a Point Loma home, for instance, which is $760,000.

Real estate agents said they determined the ranking by taking into account the number of page views on its site of homes in each neighborhood, home favorites and the number of “hot” homes in each neighborhood.

The ranking also drew from insight from real estate agents in San Diego on which areas buyers are increasingly targeting.

“El Cerrito has a good mix of recently updated, yet still affordable, homes and some pockets of extreme affordability that are drawing in developers and investors,” the news release said.

Ranked second in the nation is the Dickinson Narrows area of Philadelphia and third is East Atlanta in Atlanta.

Here’s the remainder of the list:

4. Little Neck (Queens, New York)
5. Bohemia (Long Island, New York)
6. Curtis Park (Sacramento, California)
7. Andersonville (Chicago, Illinois)
8. Woodridge (Seattle, Washington)
9. Crocker (San Francisco, California)
10. Woodridge (Washington, D.C.)

It’s not too late to add a New Year’s resolution, right? Trust us, you’ll want to pick up this one: a new list of spots to try in 2015.

Yelp released its Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. in 2015, and it’s no surprise nine San Diego County restaurants made the list. The surprise, really, is that more didn’t.

From delis to Bobboi Natural Gelato (which broke the Top 10), the eateries and hidden gems span the breadth of the area.

The popular review website said its data team analyzed which places were the most popular and well reviewed throughout last year. But unlike in years past, they put more weight on recent reviews to compile this Top 100 list.

Check out which local places were the best reviewed and where they ranked nationally:

#8: Bobboi Natural Gelato in La Jolla
#21: Yoshino Japanese Deli in Carlsbad
#29: Tacos El Gordo De Tijuana BC in Chula Vista
#49: Vitality Tap in San Diego
#57: Eddie V’s Prime Seafood in San Diego
#68: T-Deli in San Diego
#70: Embargo Grill in San Diego
#79: Beyer Deli in San Diego
#89: Mister Falafel in San Diego

Have you tried any? Let us know what you thought of them in the comments.
 

An 11-year-old boy who received the first pediatric heart transplant in San Diego history thanked his doctors Thursday for the surgery.

“Thank you for my new heart,” Eric Montaño, of San Diego, said through tears at a press conference at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

The hospital and its surgeons say they performed the hospital's first pediatric heart transplant last week after they got word that a heart became available for Montano.

Among the team to do the procedure were Dr. Eric Devaney, his transplant surgeon, and Dr. Rakesh Singh, his transplant cardiologist.

The young boy needed the surgery because he had restrictive cardiomyopathy, a condition that meant the walls of his heart got stiff and limited the heart from filing with blood properly. Eric’s twin brother also has a similar condition and is still on the transplant list, waiting for a heart.

At the emotional press conference about the surgery, Montano’s mother, Alma Mundo, started crying as she thanked the hospital and her son’s team.

“There’s no words, I can’t express myself…I’m sorry,” Montano’s mom, Alma Mundo, said through tears. “My son is returning to having a new life and a new heart and I’m just so grateful and thankful.”

The surgery marks the first time a hospital in Southern California was able to provide that procedure to pediatric patients such as Montano. Previously, pediatric patients had to travel to Los Angeles to receive a heart transplant.

Eric and his twin brother were both placed on the waiting list for a new heart at the same time. However, regulations meant that Eric was placed higher on the transplant list because he was smaller in size for his age, doctors said.

When his parents first told him about having to go to the hospital again, Eric said he did not want to go and started to cry, his mom said.

After the six hour surgery, his doctor said, a nurse said the first words out of his mouth were, “this is awesome.”

“My son got a new heart so it’s just something v emotional,” Mundo said. “It’s an experience we never thought we would go through but we’re very happy.”

His doctors said Eric is recovering well. He recently had Cheetos and pizza for breakfast to celebrate. Doctors expect to discharge him in about a week.

As if the story of the tow truck driver killed on the job wasn't sad enough, a local company attending the victim's funeral was robbed while they were out.

Employees at Sky Towing were gone only five hours, but in that time someone cut a hole in a fence lined with barbed wire and made off with tens of thousands of dollars in property, and even siphoned diesel fuel from trucks.

"My initial thought is how horrible this is," said Amir Elias of Sky Towing.

Elias said he's at a loss as to why anyone would break into the tow yard on the 600 block of Alpine Way and leave with what he estimates to be upwards of $25,000 in tools and property.

"This is beyond cruelty," Elias said. "Anybody that would do this...just outrageous. They have no hearts and are inconsiderate. And, basically, it's a crime."

The worst part, Elias said, is that the burglary happened while they were honoring the life of a fellow employee.

Jabar Issa, 48, of El Cajon was killed while helping a stranded motorist early Saturday on eastbound State Route 78 near Nordahl Road in San Marcos.

He and a colleague were fixing a flat on the right shoulder of the highway when a Ford F-250 truck drove into the shoulder, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Issa was killed immediately. His co-worker suffered serious injuries and the stranded driver received cuts and scrapes. The Ford F-250 driver wasn't hurt.

A convoy of trucks took part in a procession from Escondido along southbound Interstate 15. At the funeral, drivers wore black ribbons on their uniforms.

But it was during that time - between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. - that someone made off with specialty towing items, including straps, cables, chains and portable battery starters worth as much as $400 each. The company said more than 200 gallons of diesel fuel had been siphoned from tanks of four or five of their trucks as well.

Elias said he really has no idea who could be responsible.

"I have no idea, sir. I wish I could tell you, but I don't know anybody that would have that kind of heart to do such a thing," Elias said.

The company is hoping the security cameras across the street may have caught the crooks in action, making it easier to find out who is responsible.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Escondido Police Department at (760) 839-4722.

The verdict is in for the man accused of attacking a woman in the bathroom of a Clairemont Big Lots store last February.

Gregory Phillip Schwartz, 41, was found guilty Thursday of felony false imprisonment, misdemeanor assault and shoplifting. He was acquitted of assault with intent to commit rape and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, however.

Schwartz was accused in the February attack on a woman in the toilet stall of a Big Lots store in the Clairemont Town Square. She alleged in court that Schwartz had peered over the divider at her before climbing under and attempting to sexually assault her.

He was charged with shoplifting for the pink Barbie costume he was sporting during the alleged attack.

Schwartz’s defense team argued at the beginning of the trial that he suffered from drug-induced “transvestic fetishism” and becomes more sexual and is aroused by cross-dressing while under the influence of meth.

Testimony heard in the close of the trial from both Schwartz and a psychiatrist specializing in addiction supplemented the defenses claims.

Schwartz, who admitted to being high on meth and drunk at the time, denied the accusations, claiming he remembers very little from that day, be he did not assault the victim, according to court testimony.

A jury found Schwartz not guilty on the rape and felony assault charges Thursday. He will be sentenced for the false imprisonment, misdemeanor assault and shoplifting charges on Feb. 20.

Last year the Wishes in Flight Mile-A-Thon on NBC7 collected a grand total of 4.1 million airline miles for Make-A-Wish San Diego.

In 2015, Make-A-Wish San Diego estimates it will need more than 25 million airlines miles to fulfill the more than 140 wishes that will involve travel this year.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a unique program that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

• Impact of Wishes – based on a 2011 study conducted by Make-A-Wish America…
• 89% of doctors, nurses, social workers and child life specialists say they believe that the wish experience can influence wish kids’ physical health.
• 74% of wish parents observed that the wish experience marked a turning point in their own children’s response to treatment.

Friday, January 23rd from 6A-7P Make-A-Wish and NBC 7 will again partner to collect as many airline miles as possible from US Airways, Delta Airlines, United Airlines (includes Contintental OnePass). The Wishes in Flight Mile-A-Thon kicks off a year of collecting donated miles to keep sending Wish Kids on the trips of their dreams.

Donating to the Mile-A-Thon is easy, just have your frequent flier number ready and know how many miles you have to donate. Call 619-237-0700 to talk with us about donating your miles. NBC 7 will cover the Mile-A-Thon all day long during newscasts and donors can expect some exciting giveaways throughout the day.

The miles donated will never expire and will be used to grant wishes to children in San Diego.

You can also donate your miles anytime online on the Make-A-Wish website. Make sure you know your frequent flier account number and the number of miles you want to donate when you log on.

This year's Wishes in Flight campaign on NBC7 features two Wish Kids from San Diego that have been through the experience of having a wish granted from Make-A-Wish, meet Josiah and Hannah.

A special thanks to our sponsors:

For alternate entry into sweepstakes send your name and phone number to this email address: nbc7contests@nbcuni.com

During routine checks Thursday, Animal Control officers looked in on a home only allowed to have six dogs. They found five times that number living under one roof.

After undergoing a public nuisance hearing about a decade ago, the San Ysidro homeowners were told they can have no more than six adult dogs at a time. Every year since then, Animal Control officers inspected the property to make sure they were complying.

But Thursday, they found the owners had blown past that limit this year, gathering 30 dogs of various breeds. The owners voluntarily gave up their animals, which were taken to the County Animal Services shelter in Bonita.

All of the pets are in sad shape.

“At this point, we’re discovering bad skin, bad ears, long nails,” said Lt. Laura Ward with the Department of Animal Services. “We’ve had a couple dogs who are almost hairless because of possible scabies type situation, which is very contagious to the other dogs.”

Each dog will be treated daily, depending on what condition it has. Officials say it will be some time before they are healthy enough for adoption.

The case is under investigation, and the owners could face criminal charges.
 

A woman suspected of killing her boyfriend and 3-year-old son, who was found in a freezer on a Southern California Indian reservation, has been released from jail, detention center officials told NBC 7.

Elaina Welch, 32, walked from the Las Colinas Detention Facility Thursday after the San Diego County District Attorney’s office did not file charges against her. Law enforcement and prosecutors can only hold suspects for up to 72 hours without charging them.

Welch was booked into jail on two counts of first-degree murder after a SWAT standoff played out at her home in the 1500 block of Quincy Canyon Road last Friday. It started after a woman called 911 to say her child was dead.

Deputies say at the home, they discovered Welch’s boyfriend Julio Ricardo Monggiotti dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. Emerging from the house with a shotgun, Welch went to hide in the bushes. She was taken into custody a short time later.

Investigators, who obtained a search warrant for the property, later discovered Welch’s 3-year-old son Roland’s body buried beneath frozen food inside a freezer, sheriff’s officials say.

Although Welch was booked into jail on Friday, the district attorney’s office had until Thursday to file charges against her because of the three-day holiday weekend. It’s unclear why Welch was not arraigned.

The DA's office said the investigation is on-going and the case is still under review.
 

San Diego taxpayers are drowning in a fiscal swamp of backlogged maintenance work needed for their public facilities.

We now know the price tag -- almost $4 billion.

How does the city pay for all that, while fantasizing about a new stadium and expanded convention center?

For several years, the cost of fixing and upgrading San Diego's infrastructure has been pegged at $2 billion. The latest numbers indicate it's nearly double that, and there’s a funding gap alone that approaches $2 billion.

Critics have long faulted the city for being distracted by "bread and circuses" and skimping on the "meat, potatoes and vegetables" of sound, functioning facilities: streets, sidewalks, water and sewer systems, police and fire stations, parks and public buildings.

They say that work needs big bucks -- and soon.

So much municipal property is degrading, it's never fully been quantified, until now.

"This is the first time the city has ever put together a strategic, comprehensive look at infrastructure – ever,” said San Diego City Councilman Mark Kersey, who chairs the council’s Infrastructure Committee. “And this is something other cities do. Big cities do it. Medium-size, small cities do this. The is the first time San Diego's ever done this."

But while Kersey and other city leaders explore "public-private partnerships" and "enhanced infrastructure finance districts" to take a nine-figure bond issue to the 2016 ballot, Mayor Kevin Faulconer is looking at that same year to sell voters on a new stadium for the Chargers.

Will they go for both propositions?

One?

The other?

Or neither?

"If we do not resolve our critical, basic needs,” said Councilman David Alvarez, “I don't see how anything else gets funded in the city."

How much can Chargers owner Dean Spanos and his associates, including the NFL, help with "anything else” – and to what extent will that sway voters toward his stadium proposal?

We posed those questions Thursday in a downtown interview with an Encanto resident who identified himself only as “D.J.”.

“(Spanos) has got a billion dollars, he doesn't care if it's Chargers fans, Raiders fans, Patriots fans -- we're already in the stadium,” D.J. told us.

“As long as they're selling beer and the seats are full -- right?” he continued. “The city isn't making that much of a profit off the Chargers selling out, so – infrastructure all the way.”

It’s a balancing act that oddsmakers might be inclined to book as a long shot.

But Councilman Todd Gloria offers this cautious assessment: "We're a big city. We're a world class city. I think we can handle most of the challenges and find solutions. But time's wasting. And we need to have a clear signal from every city leader that they understand not only this is a problem, but they're willing to take on the hard solutions that are necessary to fix them."

Craig Gustafson, a spokesman for Faulconer, said the mayor is already taking action on fixing city streets, and will soon unveil "a series of reforms" to expedite other infrastructure projects.

Gustafson added that Faulconer is challenging council members for specifics as to what their proposed bond issue will cover.
 

San Diego Police are searching for the man who used a sharp object to threaten a woman and sexually assault her in Mira Mesa. 

On Monday at about 10:30 p.m., the woman was getting out her parked car in the 10600 block of Penara Street when a suspect came up behind her with a sharp object. 

Police say he pulled her toward the back of her vehicle and sexually assaulted her. 

The man was last seen heading south from the area, and he is described as a light-skinned, bald man in his 40s. At the time of the assault, he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans.

If you have any information about this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or the SDPD sex crimes unit at 619-531-2210. 

A family is suing the San Diego Unified School District after their 4-year-old girl with mild autism was left behind on an empty school bus.

A complaint filed by the Estrada family a week ago seeks an unlimited amount of monetary and punitive damages in response to the 2014 incident.

On May 22, Fernando Estrada and his wife put their daughter Zia, who has been diagnosed with mild autism, on a school bus bound for Kumeyaay Elementary School. But four hours later, they were called to pick up their 4-year-old from the bus yard serving the SDUSD, Estrada says.

The parents soon learned Zia was found alone in an empty, parked bus by another driver.

Estrada told NBC 7 in May that he heard several explanations from school officials. One person told him the bus driver had told a school staffer that Zia was not on the bus, so he left to pick up other children and drop them off at another school.

An SDUSD spokesman said Zia was left unattended for less than 30 minutes. The girl was unharmed.

On Thursday, SDUSD spokeswoman Ursula Kroemer told NBC 7 they are not able to comment on the case since it is active litigation. She did say that the bus driver involved is still employed by the district, but he is on leave and no longer driving for them.

The SDUSD has 30 days to respond before a lawsuit if filed.
 

Four suspects were arrested Friday in connection with five armed robberies on the streets of Hillcrest, University Heights and La Jolla.

Around 10 p.m. Thursday, San Diego Police began getting reports of street robberies involving three to four men carrying handguns and driving a dark-colored Honda with Mexico plates.

Just after 2 a.m., a robbery was reported near WindanSea. Four people were robbed of wallets and cell phones, police said.

Shortly after that, near Mission and Belmont, San Diego police noticed a car that matched the description of the one used in the robbery.

The SDPD helicopter followed the vehicle along Mission Boulevard and when the driver failed to stop for patrol cars, a pursuit began.

Officers used spike strips to stop the car near Midway Drive and Duke Street just a block from the sports arena.

Lt. Steven Shaw said the suspects started to lose the tread on their tires and collided with another SUV.
Officers discovered the car was stolen and believe the suspects may have added the Mexico plates to disguise the vehicle.

One of the suspects was bitten by a police dog in the arrest and was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The men were identified as two adults and two juveniles.

Investigators will search for evidence that may have been thrown out of the suspects’ car during the pursuit, Shaw said. 

A new record was reached for San Diego’s airport with 18.7 million passengers served, airport officials announced Friday.

San Diego International Airport, known to many locals as Lindbergh Field, set the new records for total passenger boarding and international passengers.

“By virtually any passenger metric, San Diego International Airport has seen exceptionally strong and steady growth in recent years,” Thella F. Bowens, President/CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority said in a statement.

Bowens credited more nonstop flights and other new routes along with recent changes to the facility allowing it to serve more airlines as a few of the reasons for the record.

The airport underwent a $1 billion project to expand Terminal 2 adding in 10 new gates, a duel-level roadway, additional aircraft parking and more security lanes.

On Jan. 15, the airport's authority board unveiled four proposals for expansion of Terminal 1.

Detailed reports of SAN air traffic statistics are available at the airport website.

Vice President Joe Biden visited Los Angeles on Friday to talk about helping more Americans go to college, three days after President Barack Obama called on Congress to make two years of community college free.

In his State of the Union speech Tuesday, Obama said he wants two years of college to be "as free and universal in America as high school is today." He also vowed to work with Congress to reduce monthly student loan payments for students already in debt.

"You think 12 years is enough? In the year 2015?" Biden said Friday at West Los Angeles Community College, touting Obama's proposal

The community college plan would benefit an estimated 9 million students each year and cost taxpayers a projected $60 billion over 10 years.

Students would have to maintain at least a 2.5 GPA. Community colleges would be required to offer programs with credits that can be transferred to four-year colleges and universities or offer in-demand, career-oriented training.

"We have a gigantic opportunity to do a great service not only to our children and our young people and people who need to be retrained, but we have a gigantic opportunity to position the United States of America in a position for the second half of the second decade of this century to lead the world -- this is not hyperbole -- lead the economy of the world for the next 50 years," Biden said.

West Los Angeles College is one of 15 California community colleges that received approval Tuesday to start offering career-oriented bachelor's degrees. The cost of college has become prohibitive for many people who are juggling education, family and work, Biden said

"We're delighted with this visit as we are delighted with the President's announcement," said West Los Angeles College President Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh. "Colleges fees are not the most pressing need. The cost of living in California, support for students, home care, child care for working mothers, cost of transportation, housing, the difficulty of maintaining a working schedule... those are some of the big questions we hope to raise."

The Republican-controlled Congress is likely to be hesitant to embrace such a high-cost idea. States would have to contribute a quarter of the cost, and it's unclear how many would support the program.

Ninio Fetalvo, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, blasted the community college proposal as yet another burden on taxpayers.

"Delivering empty rhetoric and misleading proposals are hallmarks of Obama's failed presidency, but the reality is Vice President Biden will continue to be a puppet for the president's costly proposals as they continue to refuse to work with Congress to create real solutions," Fetalvo said. "The president and vice president are misleading the American people on their college proposal, claiming it's free, when in reality it costs billions of dollars and taxes the college savings plans of middle-class Americans."

On Saturday, Biden will be in Irvine to deliver the keynote speech at the Patient Safety, Science and Technology Summit at the Hotel Irvine, 17900 Jamboree Road.

He made a surprise visit to a downtown LA diner as well.

In an email sent to NBC News Friday, Bernie Madoff, the man behind one of the most infamous Ponzi schemes in American history, discussed the pain of losing his two sons and refuted claims that they knowingly participated in the scam.

"As difficult as it is for me to live with the pain I have inflicted on so many, there is nothing to compare with the degree of pain I endure with the loss of my son's Mark and Andy," Madoff said.

His son Andrew died in September at age 48 after a long battle with cancer. His son Mark committed suicide in 2010 at age 46 on the second anniversary of his father's arrest.

Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee seeking to recover money for bilked investors filed an updated lawsuit last summer accusing Madoff's sons of having full knowledge of their father's scheme and using it as their "personal cookie jar" that they tapped through sham loans, fictitious trades and deferred compensation.

"What is still my most important goal is to do everything in my power to protect their legacy," Madoff said of his sons. "Although neither of my son's were ever charged with anything. They were subjected to the completely false and slanderous claims and remarks of the Trustee and the media."

Madoff said his sons were compensated at the same rate as the traders that they managed, disputing Picard's claim that his sons should have known their compensation was unrealistic.

Madoff also defended has sons against several other claims Picard made, including an alleged incriminating email Andrew sent to Mark and loans linking his sons to the scam. Click here to see Madoff's full email.

In a statement to CNBC, Amanda Remus, a spokeswoman for Picard's office, said Madoff's credibility was "highly suspect."

"We stand by our filings, which speak for themselves, and we intend to pursue recoveries against both estates," she said.

Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009.

The Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board has suspended former Gov. Bob McDonnell's license to practice law, citing his felony public corruption convictions.

The bar said Friday that the suspension takes effect next Thursday. McDonnell was directed to appear before the disciplinary panel on Feb. 20 to show cause why his license should not be further suspended or revoked. However, the former governor is scheduled to report to federal prison on Feb. 9 to begin serving his two-year sentence.

According to the bar, McDonnell's license also was administratively suspended for nonpayment of dues to the organization since Oct. 15.

McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted of accepting gifts and loans from a vitamin executive in exchange for promoting his products. Maureen McDonnell will be sentenced Feb. 20.