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Rep.: I'll Pay for "Downton" Decor

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An Illinois Republican congressman says he will pay for his elaborate "Downton Abbey" decor, after a watchdog group filed an ethics complaint accusing him of accepting decorating services for free.

Rep. Aaron Schock spoke out Wednesday in defense of his “Downton"-themed office digs, saying, in the words of Taylor Swift, "haters gonna hate.”

The Washington watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics had filed a complaint Tuesday asking the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether the 33-year-old violated House rules by accepting free interior decoration services and using campaign funds to pay for office furniture.

Schock’s interior designer told reporters she was not paid for her $70,000 renovation services, and this was not the first time she designed Schock’s congressional office.

But Schock told reporters he does plan on paying for the services out-of-pocket; he just hasn’t yet, because he has yet to receive an invoice.

As for the scrutiny he’s received for hiring a luxurious interior designer to outfit his congressional offices in the first place, he said in a statement he’s just "never been an old crusty white guy,” hence the bright red walls.

“I'm different. I came to Congress at 27,” Schock said. “When I go take a personal vacation I don’t sit on the beach, I go do active things. And so, I'm also not going to live in a cave. So when I post an Instagram photo with me and my friends, as Taylor Swift said, 'haters gonna hate.'"

Despite being one of the country’s youngest to have a seat in the House, he said his taste in décor has little to do with his role as a congressman.

"At the end of the day, regardless of what color wall you choose your office, the most important thing in Congress is what you do for your constituents and what you do for your job," Schock said.


Missing Girl, 12, Found Safe

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A 12-year-old girl who went missing after getting into an argument with her father was discovered safe by a deputy sheriff early Thursday morning.

Tanya Allsup had told NBC 7 her daughter Rylee was driving home from school with her father on Tuesday when they got into an argument. Rylee got out of the car about a block away from their home and stormed off in the 1200 block of Reese Road, which is unincorporated Escondido.

Her father waited at home for her to arrive, but half an hour later, she did not show that night.

Allsup called the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, which deployed its helicopter and deputies on the ground to help in the search. At about 3:20 a.m., a deputy sheriff found her walking near the intersection of Sunset Heights and Nutmeg and returned her to her parents. The San Diego Sheriff's department said she had gone to a friend's house then left.

Meth Intoxication Caused OB Man's Drowning Death: M.E.

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A former Navy diver whose body was found floating in Ocean Beach last November apparently drowned due to methamphetamine intoxication, according to the medical examiner.

Scott Bowles, 37, was an experienced diver who loved two things: his daughter and the ocean, his family told NBC 7 in November.

That's why his drowning baffled investigators and his parents.

Bowles was reported missing after he had not been heard from since Halloween, and his car and cell phone were left at his Ocean Beach home.

A kayaker discovered Bowles’ body eight days later floating in the ocean in the 3100 block of Ocean Front Walk.

The medical examiner said there was no foul play suspected and Bowles' family said in November that he must have somehow gotten into trouble and "met his fate there."

According to the medical examiner's report, however, Bowles was under the influence of methamphetamine and the drugs contributed to his death. It was ruled an accident.

The report outlines a years-long struggle with addiction, including more than a half dozen relapses in the last three years.

John Bowles described his son as the model of physical fitness. He was in the Navy for four years, serving as both a sonar technician and a diver on a submarine. He told the medical examiner his son's only medical condition was past "designer" drug use.

His mother Kathy called him "patriotic," saying he put flags on his grandfather's grave when he was in high school, then continued the tradition with his own family.

Bowles is survived by a teenager daughter, who he was supposed to pick up the nigth of his disappearance.

School Threat Tied to Harassing Calls: FBI

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Dozens of harassing phone calls made to La Jolla Country Day are part of the investigation into an alleged bomb threat that shut down the school Wednesday, FBI officials confirmed.

School officials notified parents Tuesday of a threat made over the phone relating to "a personal matter between individuals not employed by the school."

Classes and after school activities were canceled and a security sweep of the campus Wednesday netted nothing suspicious.

Hours after Interim Head Judy Fox notified parents the school would be open again Thursday, FBI officials confirmed the threat was part of dozens of harassing phone calls reported Tuesday to San Diego Police.

The individual is known to investigators but has not been arrested according to FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth.

The caller, a male, is not an employee or a former employee according to investigators. The caller is also not a student but FBI officials would not divulge if the caller was a parent of a student.

"We believe the alleged threat that was communicated is an isolated incident and it’s not related to any other threats that may have been made to any other high schools in recent weeks," Foxworth said.

La Jolla Country Day is a private, college preparatory school with about 1,200 students, ages 3 through grade 12.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Navy Trailblazer to Women: Military Needs You

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The U.S. Navy’s first female F-14 tomcat fighter pilot advised women to be “fearless” and “go all in” because the military needs women in leadership roles.

In the mid-1990's Carey Lohrenz accomplished something no other woman had done before. She told NBC 7 Wednesday that she didn't think twice about pursuing her passion to become a Navy pilot.

The daughter of a U.S. Marine says growing up she believed she could do anything but being a trailblazer in a field of men wasn't an easy ride.

“I always came from a position of, the jet doesn't know the difference, so why is this such a big deal,” said Lohrenz.

But apparently it was a big deal to her fellow Navy pilots who weren't ready to welcome in a woman combat pilot.

“Stepping into naval aviation it was about a hundred years of entrenched strong culture,” Lohrenz said.

A culture that created an atmosphere that wasn't very friendly to female pilots and Lohrenz says it never got easier.

While she knows women still have to break through many barriers she told women at the Farmers Insurance Open Executive Women’s Day luncheon in La Jolla to be fearless.

Women must push forward in combat and leaderships roles because the military needs women, she explained.

“From a numbers perspective, first of all, but more importantly women problem solve differently,” she said. “We bring different assets and attributes to the table.”

Her message to women in fields like technology, politics, and business is not to wait until you think you are ready for the next big thing to grab an opportunity, because most men don't.

“At the end of the day when you start questioning that voice that says I am not ready yet, go all in,” she said.

Lohrenz believes when you push past those limits, that is when the magic happens.
 



Photo Credit: NBC 7
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Noise at Camp Pendleton Is Training Exercise

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A live-fire training exercise in Camp Pendleton Thursday will bring loud noises that residents up to 50 miles away might hear.

From 6 a.m. to midnight on Thursday and Friday, artillery units will be conducting training exercises that involve firing on the Whiskey and Zulu impact areas on the northern part of the base.

In some cases, the sounds of those explosions may be heard up to 50 miles away.

More information on noise levels can be found online by clicking here.
 

Seahawks Coach Speaks Out on Super Bowl's Last Play

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Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said the controversial call that led to a stunning, last-minute loss to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl isn't going to define his team.

“That one moment, that moment isn’t going to define this team and who we are,” Carroll told "Today's" Matt Lauer in an interview that aired Thursday. “This is a championship team, it’s a great team that plays great football.”

Carroll has been criticized for his decision to pass the ball only a yard from the goal line instead of giving it to star running back Marshawn Lynch. Russell Wilson’s pass with 26 seconds remaining in the game was intercepted by Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler to secure the 28-24 victory.

“Immediately — I mean within the instant of the turnover — the gravity of what just happened, I understood.” Carroll said. "There was only a second or two before you stand up and start looking ahead and getting ready for what’s coming.”

Carroll said that his team knew they were going to throw the ball one time in that sequence somewhere “and all of a sudden [New England] had a goal-line group of defense on there that we could take advantage of if we threw it, and so we did, and it just didn’t turn out right.” He explained that he made the call that comes out of the process of preparation and practice during the season.

“It was the worst result of a call ever,” Carroll said. “The call would have been a great one if we catched it. It would have been just fine and no one would have thought twice about it.”

Carroll woke up on Tuesday at 4 a.m. and was able to grasp what had happened and allow the rush of it all to hit him. But that was it, he said. The moment was over and he’s looking toward the future.

“I’m not going to let things go very far before we start to figure it out about how we’re going to move forward and take the next step," he said.

The Seahawks held a weekly team meeting, called "Tell-the-Truth-Monday" where they discussed the call.

“By getting in there and talking about it and facing it up and everybody’s cleared their minds, okay this is what the truth is…. When you finally gather and you’re ready to take that next step, we’re going to go places that are extraordinary," Carroll said.



Photo Credit: AP

Chula Vista Building to Be First Powered by Solar Panels

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A Chula Vista building will be the first in the city to power up exclusively on solar panels Thursday.

The Gateway Center on H Street in Downtown Chula Vista is the first commercial building to make the leap to solar energy.

The move is a part of the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, which enables qualified residential and commercial property owners to make water and energy upgrades to their buildings.

Those costs are then repaid through saving on their property taxes. Since last year, 57 projects were completed or in the process of being completed.

The five story building installed 1,054 solar panels that will generate 344.6 kilowatts of energy for the structure.

Thursday will mark the ceremonial switching-on of the solar panels. Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas, Mountain West Properties President Jim Pieri and Ygrene Energy Fund National Sales Director David Kelly are expected to attend.

Chula Vista is partnering with Ygrene Energy Fund to fund the upgrade.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 Chopper

Can Technology Prevent Crashes? Sensors Could Warn Trains of Cars

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Sensors installed at a Connecticut railroad crossing more than a decade ago can signal to approaching trains if a car is on the tracks — a technology that could attract new interest after a commuter train smashed into an SUV outside New York City, killing six people.

The technology, a four-quadrant gate with a warning capability, was first used at a street-level crossing on Amtrak’s Northeast corridor when the high speed Acela Express trains went into use in the late 1990s.

The quad gates system uses metal-detecting sensors installed in the pavement to detect a car on the tracks and alert an approaching train in time to stop, said Stephen R. Szegedy, a retired engineer who designed the system while working for the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Six of the 11 street-level crossings on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor now use the technology, according to Amtrak.

Questions about how to make street level railroad crossings safer follow Tuesday’s deadly Metro-North Railroad in the New York City suburb of Valhalla. A crowded commuter train smashed into an SUV stuck on the tracks, dislodging the third rail. Five people plus the driver of the SUV were killed in the resulting fireball, making it Metro-North's deadliest accident, and about 15 people were injured.

That first quad gate — which uses four gates to seal off the crossing — was installed at School Street in West Mystic, Connecticut, in July 1998, at a time when officials were discussing closing some street-level crossings due to safety concerns. School Street provided the only access to a commercial and residential area called Willow Point.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation had been awarded an $800,000 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration for the project, and it contributed another $200,000 of its own money. The alternative would have been to re-engineer the intersection to avoid a street-level crossing -- a project that would have cost $4 million.

Before the gate went into service, Szegedy made sure that it worked with a test train and his own Audi.

“The car was detected and the test train came to a stop 400 feet before that,” he said. “And we proved that it did work. And it went into service.”

In September 1999, Szegedy told the Harford Courant that School Street quad gate had alerted train engineers to vehicles on the tracks three times: twice when pickup truck drivers were caught on the tracks trying to beat the train and once when there were people sitting on the tracks as a train approached.

If a driver raises a gate and tries to cross the track, it could be too late for a train to stop, he warned.

A 2007 report by the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Research and Development found that the School Street four-quadrant gate performed as designed. Initial indications were that the technologies — the quad gates, the obstruction detection and the railroad cab signaling, which transmits data to the train — would be a valuable way to make crossings on high-speed rail corridors safer, the report said.

It also said that the more restrictive gate decreased risky behavior among motorists. And if a vehicle becomes trapped, the exit gates raise to the up position to allow the motorist to escape.

The Metro North Railroad did not immediately respond to a question about whether it had considered the technology.

Installing the technology in all street-level crossings would be expensive. Szegedy estimated in 2011 that the system would cost $1.2 million to $1.5 million per crossing. Connecticut alone has 53 street-level crossings on Metro-North tracks.

“We don’t put enough money in our railroads,” Szegedy said. “It’s an infrastructure system that needs to be brought into the 21st century.”

The cost of rebuilding street-level crossings are a state or local responsibility, said William Vantuono, editor in chief of RailwayAge Magazine.

Sometimes the work is done in partnership, he said, and pointed to a project to bring high-speed rail service between Chicago and St. Louis that is being funded by federal and state money. The work to allow trains to travel at speeds of up to 110 miles per hour includes adding four quadrant gates at street-level crossings.

There are 228,000 street crossings in the country, about 140,000 of them on publicly owned roads, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. About 53 percent of the public ones are equipped with active warning devices, but the administration said it could not say how many had quad gates. An active warning device could include a wide range of measures, from flashing lights or bells to warn drivers of a coming train to the high-tech quad gate system.

Augustine Ubaldi, a railroad engineering expert who works for the Pennsylvania-based Robson Forensic, said that although the safest way for a road to cross railroad tracks was over a bridge or through a tunnel, the crossings are expensive to re-build. There may not be enough land available, he said.

Drivers must be sure that they can clear the tracks before they enter a crossing, he said.

“If you do for some reason get stuck with the gate on top of you, by all means just keep right on driving,” he said. “The gates are designed to break away if somebody hits them.”

Collisions at the crossings have dropped by 85 percent from a high of more than 13,500 in 1978 to just over 2,000 in 2011, according to the administration. It attributes the dramatic decrease to engineering improvements, better enforcement of traffic safety laws and education of motorists. The administration estimates that 94 percent of collisions and 87 percent of fatalities are the result of risky behavior by drivers or poor judgment.

Connecticut's Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday that the crash showed that there was a need for continued progress on safety and reliability.

“This kind of horrific, terrible crash was preventable,” he said.

New York's Sen. Chuck Schumer called for a thorough investigation and answers as quickly as possible so that any needed corrective action could be taken.

Metro-North Railroad was criticized in a report by the National Transportation Safety Board after a 2013 deadly derailment plus four other accidents. The report found common safety management problems in all of the accidents.

Metro-North Railroad responded then that it was working to improve safety.

–Additional reporting by Khorri Atkinson.


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SDSU Sex Assault Prevention Meetings Start Thursday

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San Diego State University officials will meet with campus members to discuss sexual violence education, the first in a series of bi-weekly meetings meant to combat sexual violence on campus.

The school received a $200,000 grant in January that they said would be used to fund a full-time sexual assault victim advocate on campus in addition to other prevention and educational resources.

Wednesday’s meeting,by the Sexual Violence Task Force, will address that grant and how those funds will be directed. The meeting will also address campus media bulletins, safety alerts and the processes for the distribution of each as well as the differences between types of sexual assault reporting.

At the panel discussion, associate vice president for Business and Financial Affairs and Title IX coordinator for SDSU Jessica Rentto and ; Joshua Mays, captain of the SDSU Police Department; and Christy Samarkos, associate vice president for campus life, will speak.

SDSU officials previously said the grant, from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), will provide for a full-time sexual assault victim advocate on campus who will be trained and hired through the Center for Community Solutions. The money will also provide for a part-time police officer dedicated to sexual assault prevention.

The grant comes after 13 sexual assaults were reported on campus and police made an arrest in one case during the school's fall semester. Seven of the alleged incidents happened at locations classified as fraternities. The SDSU Green community also came under fire at the time for the reports and in December the community announced new sexual assault awareness training for fraternity and sorority members.

The school submitted the proposal for the grant to Cal OES in July of last year and will be committing an additional $66,667 of its own money to support grant activities.

SDSU is one of two universities to receive the annual allocation of up to $200,000 per year for three years. California State University Long Beach also received a grant.

Woman Accused of 'Crash and Buy' Car Insurance Fraud

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A San Diego woman was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of buying car insurance to cover a crash she caused hours before.

Tamickeua Jones, 30, rear-ended another vehicle last December while driving without insurance, according to the California Department of Insurance (CDI).

Just hours later, she is accused of rushing out to buy an insurance policy. Jones then reported the crash to her insurer minutes after the policy went into effect, the CDI says.

CDI officials believe Jones turned in the dishonest claim to get her company to pay for the crash damage to her car. She was booked into jail on three felony counts of insurance fraud for filing a fraudulent auto claim.

According to the CDI, the “crash and buy” scam is the most common type of insurance fraud in California. Last November, a CDI sweep for netted 35 people in San Diego and 195 across the state.

"People think that they won't get caught. They'll try to purchase insurance and try to file a claim later,” Fraud Investigator Sgt. Greg Lorek said.

Insurance officials estimate insurers lost more than $1 million because of November’s cases. When the companies lose the money, properly insured motorists are charged higher premiums.

“Insurers pass the cost on to consumers, so we all pay for this kind of crime,” Sgt. Lorek said.

Fraudulent claims are a crime but so is driving without insurance in California.

For more information about what the state offers low income drivers and others on a fixed budget, log on to MyLowCostAuto.com
 



Photo Credit: California Department of Insurance

Tiger's Forecast: Foggy at Best

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There were more than a few eyebrows raised after Tiger Woods fired a career-high 82 in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open last Friday. He missed the cut by a mile and looked like a 12-handicapper around the greens.

Woods is hoping a familiar course where he has won eight PGA Tour events will help cure what ails him. Others are not so sure. Rocco Mediate, who dueled Woods in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, was rather blunt in his assessment of Tiger's chipping. "It's a mess right now," Mediate said to The Golf Channel last week.

In Tiger's defense, he was injured a big chunk of last year and has a new swing coach in Chris Como. 

Woods spoke about his recent struggles in his post pro-am round on Wednesday, "When I get out here and try and I have to hit a shot, I'm caught right in between. It's battling through that. My good is really good, unfortunately my bad is really bad."  

Just how bad has it gotten for the former world #1? Woods has tumbled to 56th in the rankings and is 40-1 to win on a course he once dominated. Bookmakers like Dustin Johnson's chances better (28-1) despite not playing on tour for the past six months.  

Still, Woods has his eye on the bigger prize.

"I want to be ready come Augusta and the rest of the majors, but we still have some work to do," he said.

That work begins again on Thursday morning. He's paired with Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel. They tee off at 9:20 am PST from the 10th tee on Torrey's North course. 



Photo Credit: Chris Chan

Driver Hits Person, Leads Police on Pursuit: PD

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A hit-and-run suspect led officers on a chase into downtown San Diego Tuesday evening, according to the San Diego Police Department.

The man hit a person but refused to stop at the scene, police say. When officers started chasing him, he took off and tried to escape.

It wasn't long, however, before the driver pulled over in the 6800 block of Federal Avenue and put his hands out of the window in surrender.

Police say they were taking the suspect into custody. The person hit had minor injuries, but the investigation is ongoing.

It's unclear with what the driver will be charged.

Kensington Residents on Alert After Coyote Tries to Attack Area Dog

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Residents of Kensington are on alert after another coyote was spotted in the area.

The most recent warning comes after a man says a coyote tried to attack his dogs early Wednesday morning.

The dog owner posted details of the attack on the Nextdoor app for Kensington, a private social network for neighborhoods. This is the second attack in just three weeks.

“I hear they’ve been around, but never this vicious since my neighbor said his dog was attacked,” said Kensington resident Mary Benchabane.

Since hearing about the attacks, she isn’t leaving her house alone.

“I just have my yard stick ready and I’ve got a flashlight and I’m going to take my chances,” Benchabane said.

Early Wednesday morning, the man says as he opened his front door to take his two dogs out. A coyote, the size of a German Shepard, rushed in. Thankfully, he was able to pull the dogs away.

“You have to be alert. Watch your surroundings and environment,” said Kensington resident Lori Lucus. She isn’t afraid to take her dog Smuckers and his friend Vince for a walk. Lucus says she hasn’t had any run-ins with a coyote, but knows they are out there.

“You hear them. You hear them when they get something. They’re traveling in packs,” Lucus said. “I actually have never seen one out on the street and I’ve lived in Kensington since 2001.”

San Diego County Animal Services set traps a couple of weeks ago to catch a coyote who attacked a jogger in Kensington. Those traps were unsuccessful.

Now, Animal Control is asking everyone to be on alert. Most dog owners say the coyote isn’t getting away without a fight.

“It’s not taking my dog,” said Lucus.

Animal Control says coyote attacks are not on the rise. Right now, it is pupping season for coyotes. They say stay on sidewalks or paths away from canyons and if confronted, The best thing to do if you come face-to-face with a coyote is wave your arms and yell to scare the coyote away.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Parents Stand Up for Scout Leader in Nude Beach Incident

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Cub Scout parents are showing their support for the leader who accidentally led his group to a nude beach in San Diego.

On Jan. 24, Cub Scout Pack 766 stumbled upon Black’s Beach while hiking along the Torrey Pines State Beach trails, just north of La Jolla.

The beach is known as a hot spot for nude sunbathers, so the 9- and 10-year-old scouts, accompanied by parents and scout leader Desmond Wheatley, got an all too "natural" experience.

NBC 7 obtained a letter sent to parents from Camping Director Karl Shelton, who wrote that the outing was “rerouted to protect the youth, thanks in part to Mr. Wheatley’s actions.”

After the incident, the local Cub Scout council and pack leadership met with parents to discuss the trip and find out if they should take further action. Shelton said Wheatley, a volunteer leader for the past four years, and the other adults followed protocol and took steps to protect the boys.

Seven parents who were on the hike said the same thing in a statement released Wednesday.

After parent Diane Lekven brought the story to the media’s attention and filed a complaint with the Boy Scouts, the group said they disputed her account and wanted to set the record straight.

“We have had – and continue to have – the highest regard for Mr. Wheatley’s integrity, leadership and his impeccable character,” their statement said.

The parents continued, saying they believe the response to the unexpectedly au naturale hike was responsible, prudent and followed Boy Scouts of America protocols.
 


Oceanside PD Warn of Publisher's Clearing House Scam

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The Oceanside Police Department is warning residents about a Publisher’s Clearing House scam where a caller claims to be a local police lieutenant.

Police said residents have been receiving phone calls from a caller that introduces himself as Lieutenant Aaron Doyle of the Oceanside Police Department, telling the person on the phone that they have won $100,000. The caller then requests a $1,000 processing fee to clear the check in Mexico.

Though there is a police Lt. named Doyle, they said, the department does not notify residents that they are winners in any sweepstakes, including the PCH. Officers are also not allowed to engage in those activities off-duty and are not allowed to claim they represent the department in that way.

The PCH website said the organization has been victimized by scams in the past. The PCH Learning Center has these tips for residents when it comes to dealing with scams:

  1. We never notify winners ahead of time with a phone call;
  2. We do not send friend requests or private messages to our winners on Facebook;
  3. You never have to pay anything to claim your PCH prize. There are no fees, taxes, surcharges, activation fees or processing charges to claim your prize; and,
  4. PCH does not send out emails telling people they have won.

Victims of the scam, police said, tend to be elderly and/or live alone.
 



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Padres Caravan to Travel Around County

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The Padres caravan will hit the road in San Diego Friday, making stops across the county with players as tickets for the upcoming season go on sale.

Padres players, coaches, executives, broadcasters and staff from the team will spend February 6, 7 and 8 volunteering, meeting with fans and visiting members of the military and first responders.

The first stop on the trip will be in Mission Beach Park. There, team members and staff will launch the new Padres Volunteer Team with representatives from Toyota. The county-wide initiative will bring together players and fans to donate their time to the community.

On Sunday morning, players will hand out jerseys and caps to San Diego American Little League players as a part of their Future Padres initiative, now in its fourth year. 15,000 youth baseball players in more than 50 leagues will have Padres gear by 2015.

The caravan will make additional stops throughout the weekend, including stops at Westfield UTC on Saturday at 11 a.m., the Otay Ranch Town Center at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, the Padres Store Tienda de Los Padres in Tijuana, and the Northgate Gonzalez Market at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Single-game tickets will also go on sale Friday to the general public at 9 a.m. online and will be the first opportunity to purchase single-game tickets.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Kids' Sleds Stolen in NYC Park: PD

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Thieves stole sleds from three children between the ages of 10 and 16, including a 12-year-old girl whom they punched in the face, in Central Park earlier this week, police say.

Police say the teenage thieves approached the kids in the park near West 86th Street around 5 p.m. Monday and asked to use their sleds. The kids agreed, and the suspects took the sleds and walked away.

When they tried to get the sleds back, one of the suspects punched the 12-year-old girl in the head. The suspects then fled the park with the sleds.

No arrests have been made in the robbery, which was first reported by the Central Park NYC Park Advocates.

Police are looking into whether the sled theft is connected to another robbery in the same area of the park about three and a half hours later. In that case, a 38-year-old man was robbed by a masked man.

The man, who asked not to be identified, told NBC 4 New York he was walking near the 86th Street transverse when two masked men approached him.

"They punched me in my mouth twice, I felt one of my teeth fall out and another one broken," he said. "I still didn't know what they wanted and after that, they punched me again and I fell down into the snow."

The assailants kicked the man, emptied his pockets and showed two knives as they robbed him, the victim said. 

-- Roseanne Colletti contributed to this report. 



Photo Credit: NBC 4 New York

Sharing Passwords For Streaming Video

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It seems so easy; type in your password and access countless video streams on a service you pay for, such as Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, HBO Go or WatchESPN.

And it seems just as easy to give your log-in to someone else.

Surprisingly, a newly-released Consumer Reports survey shows that 46 percent of those asked share their passwords with friends or relatives who don’t live with them.

Is sharing your password illegal?

Consumer Reports’ review of the terms of agreements finds that some seem ambiguous. But they say the companies don’t seem to be cracking down.

However, business models are evolving, and next year things could be different. As companies such as HBO and Dish Network begin to offer more online-only content, Consumer Reports says that they may get more protective of the revenue from streaming, and a bit more interested in just who is watching.

But for the time being, they appear to be more interested in creating streaming media addicts.

Though it technically may be alright to hand out your password, you could get blocked unexpectedly.

Netflix, like several others, limits simultaneous viewing. Each subscription plan is different.

Netflix is one to four screens at the same time, depending on your plan. Amazon Prime allows two at a time, HBO Go allows three at a time, Hulu Plus allows only one and WatchESPN, unlike the others, does not state any limits.

So if you don’t want to interrupt your own viewing pleasure, those limits may make you think twice before giving out your password.



Photo Credit: AP

Avoid "Sneaky Medical Billing"

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It's likely happened to you.

A week or so after a routine doctor visit, you get an outrageous bill, charged for things you didn't even know would cost you.

It’s a practice people call "sneaky medical billing.”

In some cases it includes steep charges for fairly simple procedures, including a charge for $80 to clear a pore and more than $50 to remove wax from a child's ear. In other cases, it's tens of thousands of dollars for complex medical care.

Either way, according to experts it's up to you, the patient, to make sure these charges don't sneak up on you.

Healthcare advocate and nurse Michelle Katz called "sneaky medical billing" a nationwide problem that’s getting worse.

“You have some doctors who are unfortunately taking advantage of the system but then you have other doctors who don't even know the system,” Michelle Katz, a healthcare advocate said.

Katz said doctors are not required to tell you when a procedure is going to cost you, and the onus is on the patient.

Thursday at 11 PM on NBC 7, we will have three tips to prevent “sneaky medical billing” from happening to you.

In the meantime Katz has a tip for your family’s current medical bills: make sure to ask for an itemized bill during your appointment so “by the time the medical bill comes and you have the itemized bill, you can say I don’t remember and bring it back to the billing person.”



Photo Credit: FILE - Getty Images
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