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U.S. Border Patrol Sees Increase in Assaults

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Activity and assaults against federal agents patrolling the U.S. Mexico border have increased. Now, one field agent tells NBC 7 San Diego that agents from other parts of the country are being called in to help patrol.

Jerry Conlin with U.S. Border Patrol said the agency saw a 70 percent increase in assaults against U.S. Border Patrol agents last year over the previous year.

“In 2011 we actually recorded 77 assaults against our agents,” Conlin said. “Last year we had 133."

Just this week there have been two assaults on two agents patrolling in the San Diego region.

On Monday, a U.S. Border Patrol agent was struck twice in the face by a man intercepted near Otay Mountain. The suspect was eventually taken into custody and faces charges of assault on a federal agent.

Then Tuesday, about a mile west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, an agent spotted four people jump the fence. When the agent arrested one of the men, the other three jumped back over the fence.

“As he was placing this individual under arrest, the three individuals started throwing rocks from south of the fence," Conlin said.

"Rock throwing is probably the most common form of assaults," he said.

While rocks are the most common weapon, agents need only remember back to 2009 when Agent Robert Rosas was ambushed and shot to death near Campo by a group trying to steal his night vision goggles.

Conlin says a week with two separate assaults on agents is a reminder to all of them.

"Anytime we see assaults go up, it's just a reminder of how dangerous it is and how we always have to be aware of our surroundings and protect our fellow agents," Conlin said.

NBC 7 San Diego spoke with one field agent working near the border Wednesday night who said there has been a lot of activity near the San Ysidro border here lately.

So much so, he said, that they're calling in agents from other parts of the county to patrol here.


Hillcrest Introduces Trolley to Ease Parking

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A San Diego neighborhood has introduced a trolley to its streets to ease parking in the area.

Hillcrest launched its free trolley today that will run from 6-10 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Residents and community leaders said they hope to ease parking problems in the area.

“You figure people that are riding the trolley -- that's taking a car off the street, potentially -- and that's freeing up a parking space,” said Benjamin Verdugo with Uptown Community Parking District. “So more people that know about this, that ride the trolley [and] use other means of transportation besides their automobile, it's a good thing for Hillcrest.”

The free trolley will run on University and Washington avenues from First Avenue to Normal Street.

The group Park Hillcrest also launched a campaign for visitors to find parking online using their website. The site will show where there are metered spaces throughout the area.

Uptown Community Parking District gets a percentage money from the meters it and the city gets a percentage, so it can pay for projects like this.



Photo Credit: Diana Guevara

Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing Near School

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A U.S. Navy helicopter made an emergency landing in a South Bay park near an elementary school Thursday.

According to Chula Vista police, the military helicopter landed in Terra Nova Park, north of East H Street and east of Interstate 805.

U.S. Navy confirmed the U.S. Navy MH-60 Romeo Seahawk was on a routine flight when the pilot got a signal inside the cockpit to land around 1:15 p.m.

There were no injuries and no damage was done to the aircraft according to Navy officials.

Terra Nova Park is located near Clear View Elementary School in the Rancho Del Rey neighborhood of Chula Vista.

A student named Hannah said she could feel shaking in her classroom and she saw the helicopter very close to the ground.

“We heard the noise and it was very loud,” she said adding that "it was a little bit exciting and a little bit scary."

Two little boys, Caleb and Eli, thought the landing was cool. “I’ve never seen a helicopter make an emergency landing so this was a first time,” Caleb said.

The Navy sent mechanics out to repair the helicopter and get it back on its way.

4 Injured After LED Display Fell at Ultra Site

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Four people were injured, two critically, after a LED display that hung from a stage fell at the site of the Ultra Music Festival Thursday night, Miami Fire-Rescue said.

Two workers were trapped after the lighting display fell in Bayfront Park, while debris hit another person, Miami Fire-Rescue spokesman Lt. Ignatius Carroll said.

Firefighters were able to free the trapped people and rushed them to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where they are in critical condition, Carroll said.

He said the LED display crashed at about 7:50 p.m. on the stage at the south end of the park. It is one of two main stages for the festival, which is scheduled to begin Friday.

One witness described the display as an approximately 30-foot-long rectangular video monitor that was suspended under the red “U” above the stage.

Authorities initially reported that a stage collapsed.

Ultra Music Festival Expanding to 2 Weekends

Construction was almost complete on the stage where the incident occurred, but all operations were halted there Thursday night.

“And right now we’re going to suspend any of the building on that stage until daylight, where we can be out here with structural engineers, OSHA as well, and then the fire marshal’s staff, to make sure that this stage and all the other stages are going to be safe for the Ultra Fest," Carroll said.

One person who was injured refused treatment on the scene, Capt. Bill Christopher, a dispatcher with Miami Fire-Rescue, told NBC News.

PHOTOS: An Ultra Weekend

The 2013 festival is due to begin Friday, with its first weekend running through Sunday, to be followed by a second weekend Friday, March 22 through Sunday, March 24.

More Local Stories:

 

Mayor’s Job Bid for Frye Denounced by DeMaio

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The bitter rivals in last fall's mayoral race re-claimed the media spotlight Thursday, once again on opposite sides of an issue.

Specifically: "double dipping" — hiring government retirees back on the public payroll.

The flap involves former Councilwoman Donna Frye, Filner's Director of Open Government, who's often referred to Filner's November runoff opponent, Carl DeMaio, as a "political sociopath".

An inveterate government-spending watchdog whose one term on the Council ended last December, DeMaio is taking sharp issue with the mayor's plan to boost Frye's employment status.

Frye, City Hall's longtime champion of "transparency" in government, is working for the mayor as a 90-days-per-year "provisional" employee.

Filner wants to give Frye -- and other retired councilmembers who may be rehired by the city -- a full slate of workdays, without further pension benefits.

DeMaio has slammed the proposal in a U-T San Diego op-ed piece, and at a Thursday gathering of taxpayer advocates.

He says Filner’s proposed job setup for Frye raises legal questions, tax issues and concerns about political abuse of the system.

"It doesn’t pass the smell test … it's pretty offensive,” DeMaio told NBC 7 in an interview Thursday. “It's not what voters want to see, because voters have spoken very clearly -- they want an end to double-dipping. They want to see real pension reform at City Hall."

Retorted Filner, during a news conference he held to showcase Frye’s work on new, city-information web pages: "There is no double-dipping here. We want to make use of her talents, and her commitment to the city … she earned a pension as a councilmember. She earned certain benefits as a councilmember. She keeps those, but we are not adding to those in any way."

The change would give Frye an hourly wage of $48, or $100,000 a year.

She draws about $32,000 in retirement income.

Unless the City Council approves Filner’s plan, the mayor said Frye is on pace to be termed out as a 90-day "provisional" employee next month.

Under current regulations, she’d have to wait until next year to regain that status.

The mayor he told reporters he doesn't know whether he can count on five votes from the Council’s current membership of eight -- there's a now 4-to-4 split between Democrats and Republicans.

A fifth Democrat likely would emerge from the special election in the 4th Council district to replace the departed Tony Young, but the outcome ultimately may not be decided until May.

DeMaio is unhappy that the proposal would even come to a Council vote.

"These politicians,” he said, “are voting themselves an exclusive benefit that no other city employee receives, that the taxpayers themselves do not receive. It's wrong and it ought to be rejected."

Asked at the news conference for her response to DeMaio’s stance, Frye replied – coyly -- "My response is who?”

She then stepped away from the podium, to guffaws from the media.
 

Women Will Get $40,000 for Truck Shot by Police

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The Los Angeles City Attorney's office has reached an agreement to pay two newspaper delivery women $40,000 for the loss of their truck, which was shot up by police in a case of mistaken identity during the search for ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner.

The Los Angeles Police Department had said it planned to replace the mother-daughter pair's truck, which was shot at more than 100 times while they delivered newspapers in Torrance, according to the women's attorney.

But the women were told they would need to pay income taxes on the value of the truck after a private donor got an involved — and 71-year-old Emma Hernandez and daughter Margie Carranza refused that offer.

Details on the "property agreement" with Hernandez and Carranza to compensate them for the truck were announced at a 3 p.m. press conference by LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich's office. Both Trutanich and the women's attorney, Glen Jonas, were at the event at LA City Hall.

The attorneys said the women will get a check for $40,000 for the value of the truck, and they will not have to pay attorney's fees or income taxes on the amount. Jonas will not be compensated for his work related to the truck.

The agreement releases both sides from liability for the property loss, and it allows the truck to be used by the city as evidence until it's no longer needed. Then the seriously damaged truck will be returned to the women.

The money will come out of the city's general fund.

Trutanich said he believed the agreement was a "fair resolution." Earlier in the week, he had said he wanted to find a way to compensate them for the truck, calling it a "no-brainer."

"It's going to be handled competently, it's going to be handled appropriately and in the best interests of the city of Los Angeles," said Trutanich, who faces reelection on May 21, on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Trutanich's office is examining a demand letter over the shooting sent by Jonas. The letter asks for compensation related to the shooting beyond to the value of the truck.

"I don't understand how they survived," Jonas said last month. "They're grappling with a lot of issues — the fact that they were almost killed by the police."

On Thursday, he said he's hopeful that the city and his clients can come to an agreement — based on the ease with which compensation for the truck was worked out.

"I'm pleased to have it done; my clients are pleased to have it done. Everybody gets to move forward, put this incident as far as the donation was concerned, behind us, and get down to business," Jonas said.

"If we don't, we do what lawyers do. We go to trial," Jonas said during the news conference.

The women were shot at Feb. 7 when they drove their blue Toyota Tacoma in the dark, early morning hours toward the Torrance home of one of the police officials who was under protection because of threats in an angry manifesto posted online by Dorner, who was later killed after an extensive manhunt.

Hernandez was shot in the back and still suffers from nerve pain, Jonas said.



Photo Credit: AP

Pedestrian Struck, Killed by Semi-Truck

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A pedestrian was struck and killed by a semi-truck in downtown San Diego Thursday night, CHP officials confirmed.

The fatal incident happened near the northbound Interstate 5 ramp at 6th Avenue at around 6:45 p.m.

CHP officials said witnesses reported the pedestrian darted into traffic as the semi-truck approached the area.

The semi-truck pulled over following the collision and waited for officials to arrive. The pedestrian was declared dead at the scene.

Rights lanes near the scene were temporarily blocked to traffic, causing some slowing.

CHP officials say there are no traffic cameras in the area. The investigation is ongoing.

The lanes had reopened by 8:40 p.m.



Photo Credit: NBC10 Philadelphia

Father of Slain Baby to Cooperate With Police, Pastor Says

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A 28-year-old father injured in a Monday shooting in Chicago that killed his daughter was released from the hospital Thursday evening and went directly to a police station.

Jonathan Watkins stood silently as Pastor Corey Brooks, who has been acting as the family's spokesman, spoke to reporters outside the 5th District police station shortly after 9:30 p.m. Brooks said Watkins wished to "fully" cooperate with authorities and dispel misinformation that's been reported this week. He didn't offer specifics.

"His wounds haven't even healed yet and he's in a lot of pain and so we're going to go in and whatever the police need to know that he may know, we want to make sure that he fully commits himself to letting them know that," said Brooks.

Police said Jonathan Watkins told them he was changing the diaper on his 6-month-old daughter, Jonylah Watkins, on Monday when someone came up behind him and started shooting. Sources told NBC Chicago on Wednesday police had their doubts about that story.

The girl suffered multiple injuries to her little body and died the morning after the shooting. A medical examiner source told NBC Chicago the damage to her thigh, shoulder, lung live and bowels may have been caused by a single bullet.

Jonathan Watkins, police said, has ties to the Gangster Disciples and has an extensive criminal record. Police records show he's been arrested 39 times and was likely the shooter's intended target. Numerous weapons violations and an attempt to steal his car back from police after it was impounded are among the previous charges against the father.

"He paid for his crime. He's fine with that. We're not trying to hide from that. We're not ducking and dodging from that," Brooks said Thursday night. "But that's not the issue. The issue is a baby got shot and killed and we need everybody to stay on point and stay on focus on what happened."

Jonylah Watkins' funeral has been scheduled for March 19. Brooks said basketball star Derrick Rose has offered to pay for the services.

An $11,000 reward stands for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooter.
 

Pastor: Father Wants to "Fully" Cooperate

 


Falling Power Poles Create 'Domino Effect'

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Several power poles toppled over for unknown reasons in El Cajon Thursday afternoon, creating a domino effect, according to officials.

Heartland Fire & Rescue and San Diego Gas & Electric officials arrived in the 300 block of South Mollison Avenue and East Lexington Avenue around 4:45 p.m. to check out reports of five to six downed power poles.

Some of the poles were leaning, whole others had fully fallen over into the street.

Fire officials set up a command post near the intersection and secured the area for investigation. Officials were concerned the poles might be energized, so they've asked residents to stay away from the area.

Officials temporarily blocked off traffic at Mollision Avenue between Main Street and Washington Avenue, while police provided traffic control.

SDG&E officials are working to de-energize the affected poles. Eventually, officials plan to get the poles upright and make necessary repairs. AT&T and Cox Cable crews are also at the scene.

Officials say the cause of the downed power poles is unknown at this point.

The first downed pole was reported at about 4:30 p.m., and as far as officials can tell, this created a chain reaction, causing several other poles to follow suit and topple over.

No one was injured and there were no car accidents on the impacted streets.

El Cajon PIO Monica Zech said a two poles fell down completely, and six others were leaning and "compromised." She said officials would likely remain at the scene all night making repairs.

The incident caused a related power outage in the El Cajon area at around 4:30 p.m., according to SDG&E. The outage initially left approximately 1,500 customers without power.

Telephone and cable service were also impacted.

A Heartland Fire spokesperson told NBC 7 that in addition to finding enough crews to replace the poles, officials will also have to wait for crews to identify where water, gas and sewer lines are located before they can start digging.

As of 6:40 p.m., crews said they believe the repair job could last through the night.

SDG&E spokesperson Amber Albrecht told NBC 7 power could be restored soon to El Cajon residents. It will be re-routed through other secondary lines while downed lines are replaced.

Although one El Cajon resident told NBC 7 she saw some power poles leaning Wednesday, Albrecht said she was not aware of any calls or concerns.

Partial power was restored to some residents by 6:10 p.m. As of 7:45 p.m., there were still about 600 people without power in the area. Full restoration for them is expected at 11 p.m.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
 



Photo Credit: Artie Ojeda

Missing Del Mar Woman Pulled From Wreckage

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A missing Del Mar woman who is at-risk was found Thursday afternoon, according to the sheriff's department.

Elizabeth Allen, 50, was reported missing earlier in the day. She was pulled from a ravine by rescue crews at around 3 p.m. She had crashed her car and was pulled from the wreckage, alive but with some injuries.

Officials said her medical condition put her at-risk. Her husband originally reported her missing around 11 a.m. after he went to a towing facility and told a deputy his wife had not returned home.

The husband told officials that he'd last spoke to her on the phone Wednesday morning. Allen told him she was at Valley View Casino Center.

Her car was found rolled down a cliff yesterday. A cell phone was also found in the car and witnesses told authorities they saw a woman running away from the vehicle.

Officials said Allen is currently receiving medical attention.

Deputy Faces Motel Prostitution Charge

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A San Diego County sheriff’s deputy who flies the department’s helicopter has been accused of soliciting a prostitute at a local motel at the center of a recent prostitution investigation.

NBC 7 San Diego has obtained court documents that show Deputy Stuart Rea, 48, was charged with one count of agreeing to engage in an act of prostitution in January.

According to court documents, Rea allegedly solicited a prostitute just before 5 p.m. on Jan. 23 at the Howard Johnson motel located at 1631 Hotel Circle South in Mission Valley.

He was arrested by undercover SDPD vice unit officers right outside the motel, court documents confirm.

The motel is a well-documented problem spot for law enforcement officers who have been cracking down on prostitution there, with at least 18 prostitution-related arrests – including Rea’s arrest – since late 2011.

Just two weeks ago, NBC 7 reported that the City of San Diego had ordered the owner of the Howard Johnson motel to crack down on prostitution activity. As a result of a legal settlement, the Howard Johnson was fined and ordered to add a 24-hour security guard, install more security cameras, post signs warning of criminal activity and change the motel's check-in policy.

According to City Attorney Jan Goldsmith’s office, an investigation was launched into the activity at the motel after San Diego police made those 18 prostitution-related arrests over the course of about one year.

The manager of the motel told NBC 7 they had implemented the changes ordered by the city in December 2012, and no longer had prostitution problems. However, that wasn’t the case, as Rea was busted by police in late January.

Rea – who has been with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department since 1991 – is now on paid administrative assignment as a result of the criminal investigation.

An attorney for the pilot tells NBC 7 they’re handling the situation and called the accusations against Rea a minor matter. Rea’s misdemeanor arraignment is set for next week.

Customers, Mayor Plead for Padres on Time Warner

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A few Time Warner Cable customers pleaded with their cable company at a San Diego City Hall meeting on Tuesday, saying they want the company to air Padres games.

Fox Sports currently controls the television rights to Padres games and has agreements with five other providers. But negotiations with Time Warner are stuck.

Some cable customers said they want their company to air Padres games. But a Time Warner executive said it's too expensive and many customers who don't want it would have to pay more every month.

"Let me be clear from the outset. Time Warner cable wants to televise Padres' baseball,” said Dean Levenworth with Time Warner. “We'll sign on if Fox Sports is willing to do something at a lower price.”

Fox executives argue that they already extended a reasonable price to Time Warner.

“We offered Time Warner fair market rate which we offered to the other cable providers, but [they] are unwilling to pay it,” said Henry Ford from Fox Sports San Diego.

Cable customers voiced their concern, anger and complaints at the city hall meeting, saying they would like to watch games from the comfort of home. One upset customer even said he said he never would have voted for Petco Park to be built if he knew he couldn’t watch the Padres on TV.

“I think it’s terrible that we have a Major League Baseball team here in our town and we can’t even watch them on TV,” said Leslie Granger.

Even Mayor Bob Filner weighed in on the issue and said he is frustrated Time Warner won’t accept Fox Sport’s offer.

“I think it’s completely unreasonable and unconscionable that half our city does not have access to the Padres on television,” Mayor Bob Filner told NBC 7 San Diego. “Five out of six cable providers are providing it so it seems like the market rate is clear and Time Warner should be able to do this”

Filner offered to mediate with Time Warner and Fox Sports and has set up an email account for Time Warner subscribers to channel their frustration at Gopadres@sandiego.gov.

Filner said he’d like subscribers to use that email to tell Time Warner that they object to the policy and they’d be willing to pledge to discontinue their service. He also said he’d support a city boycott of Time Warner’s cable service.

“I’m ready to use my office to help organize that,” he said. “The Major League team is part of your city, it’s part of the spirit and it’s part of who we are. … I think this is one of their public responsibilities and they need to recognize it.”

Time Warner and Fox Sports have agreed to meet privately next week on a possible deal.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Silver Star Marine "Not an Average Man"

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A U.S. Marine killed in Afghanistan was honored with a Silver Star Thursday on Camp Pendleton .

Sgt. Wade Wilson, 22, of Normangee, Texas was killed May 11, 2012 in Helmand Province.

“Sgt. Wilson was not an average man. He was not your average Marine,” said LtCol T.M. Bairstow, 2d Battalion, 5th Marine.

Wilson jumped into action and put himself between an insurgent and a critically wounded Marine. As a result, he suffered multiple gunshot wounds at close range and died from his injuries.

“To charge at a man who is firing an AK-47 at you at close distance when you yourself are armed with just a pistol is an act of courage for us to fathom,” LtCol Bairstow said.

“Especially for those who have been under fire and have experienced that sort of fear.”

He said the average man would run for cover in a similar situation.

Major General Ronald L. Bailey, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, presented the award to Wilson's mother.

“He had his good qualities about him that helped him develop into the person he became as a Marine,” childhood friend Corey Boudiette said of Wilson.

Known as “Willy” to friends, the anti-tank missileman made national headlines when a friend posted a “shout out” on YouTube to Taylor Swift.

“Anybody that knew Willy personally knew that he worshipped you,” Wilson’s friend Josh Marreel said in the video. “He even slept with a poster of you in between our beds in Afghanistan on his first deployment there.”

In response, Swift sent flowers to the young Marine’s funeral services thanking him and telling him she will never forget him.

The Silver Star is the third highest combat award given for bravery.




Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

Pretend Abduction Detailed in Marine Wife Murder Case

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In the murder case of a North County Marine wife, who officials say was an unwilling participant in a deadly sex game, another woman testified Thrusday that she once took part in a pretend abduction as part of the defendants’ bondage, discipline and sadomasochistic lifestyle.

Fallbrook resident Brittany Killgore, 22, was found dead April 17 in Riverside County four days after she was reported missing.

Prosecutors claim the three defendants conspired to kidnap, torture and sexually assault Killgore.

Read: Timeline in Brittany Killgore case

According to testimony in the four days of a preliminary hearing, defendants Dorothy Grace Marie Maraglino, Jessica Lynn Lopez and U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Perez participate in BDSM using tools like restraints, vampire gloves, a spider web and a spanking bench.

The witness, identified as “Nicole” was a member of the BDSM family inside the home on East Fallbrook Street for three months in 2010.

When she first arranged to meet Perez and Maraglino she was told to drive to a location in Fallbrook and wait for instructions.

Soon after, Perez called her and told her to get into a white truck next to her. Maraglino was in the driver’s seat of the truck.

“I did what was asked of me,” she testified. “I put on the blindfold and got in the truck.”

She said Maraglino drove to the home on East Fallbrook Street and Perez helped her into the downstairs level known as “the dungeon.”

Her testimony soon became very graphic as she described Maraglino using restraints to hold her to a spanking bench.

She also described other instances of “play” where she would be choked or smothered with someone’s hands.

She testified Maraglino wanted to have four slaves in the home and invited her to sign a contract to be a slave in her BDSM family unit.

She also testified Staff Sgt. Perez, who has been described as “Master” by other witnesses was not the dominant in the home.

In other testimony, Nicole said the defendants enjoyed watching the Showtime series "Dexter" about a serial killer.

Nicole testified Maraglino was fascinated with blood and described an incident during “needle play.”

“When she took the needles out there was blood and she smeared it, smiling,” she said. “It was one of her fetishes.” 

Under cross-examination, Maraglino's defense attorney pointed out that the woman did not know the defendants' current relationship.

Nicole also testified Maraglino had "total control" of Lopez and that Lopez "made a much better slave."

San Diego County medical examiner Craig Nelson also took the stand Thursday and described the condition in which Killgore’s body was found, including extensive neck injuries.

“She had two marks on her neck – one of what we might call the front of her neck and the other basically on the back,” explained Nelson.

Killgore was last seen wearing a dark purple evening gown with purple floral glitter patterns on April 13.

She was found four days later near Lake Skinner with injuries to her neck that “were consistent with her being strangled” and injuries and her wrist and leg that were “consistent with someone using a tool such as a saw [sic] an attempt at dismembering her,” according to court documents.

 

 

 

 

Pope Stumbles in Front of Cardinals

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The new elected Pope Francis held an audience in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica on Friday morning, paying tribute to his predecessor Benedict XVI. As he stepped off the alter to greet the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Francis had a slight misstep and stumbled. He immediately recovered. Francis is set to be installed as pope on Tuesday.

Single Women to Face Pricier Long Term Insurance

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Long-term health insurance prices are expected to increase in the next month. But, it will only be affecting single women.

Gavin Smith Had Relationship with Drug Dealer's Wife: Cops

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A missing Fox executive who is presumed to have been killed was in a relationship with the wife of a convicted drug dealer who is a person of interest in the case, Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials said.

Gavin Smith, who has been missing for 10 months, met Chandrika Creech in drug rehab, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Dolson.

Chandrika Creech is the wife of John Creech, an admitted drug dealer who is currently in jail on a drug charge and has been named as a "person of interest" in Smith's disappearance. Creech has not been charged in connection with the Smith case as it remains an active investigation, officials said.

"There was a relationship and we’ll just leave it at that," Dolson said during a Thursday afternoon press conference announcing that the case is a homicide although Smith's body has not been found.

The discovery of Smith's Mercedes led police to reclassify the case as a homicide and link it to Creech, officials said. Dolson said a close associate led deputies to a storage locker linked to Creech.

Smith's black Mercedes Benz 420E was recovered at a storage facility in Simi Valley on Feb. 21.

Smith, 57, was last seen driving the car from a friend's home in the Oak Park area at the western end of Los Angeles on May 1 between 9 and 10 p.m.

Investigators believe Smith was killed within a week of his disappearance.

Smith's widow Lisa released a statement on Thursday, thanking deputies for the hard work they've done on the case.

"We are both saddened and heartened by the discovery of this crucial evidence, and know that the sheriff's department will help us acquire a measure of justice," Lisa Smith said.



Photo Credit: CA DMV/Bill Robles

San Ysidro School Board To Act On Superintendent's Contract

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The San Ysidro school board has set a March 20 special board meeting to discuss the superintendent's contract, according to board president Jason Wells.

Superintendent Manuel Paul is on paid administrative leave until March 18, after questions arose from his testimony in a pending lawsuit against the district.

Paul testified under oath in a June deposition about a lawsuit that involved outfitting the district's eight schools with solar panels. Paul said he accepted about $2,500 in cash from a contractor who was seeking construction work with the district.

The story was first reported by NBC7 Investigates in August.

The superintendent was placed on paid administrative leave on Jan. 15. A Grand Jury issued indictments in January to Paul and 14 others in a South County bribery scandal involving multi-million construction contracts and three school districts. Paul's previous defense attorney said the superintendent is innocent, and he is scheduled to enter a plea in April.

The Grand Jury indictment stems from a different incident than the more recent cash drop-off. Paul and his wife are listed in court documents as participants of an expensive meal at Morton's steakhouse in July 2008 in which a contractor picked up the $1,700 dinner tab.

Since Paul's placement on leave, activists within the teacher's union have raised concerns that Paul continues to show up at district meetings and community meetings, even though he is on paid administrative leave.

Wells has said the district cannot prevent an individual from coming to community meeting and representing themselves as a community member; as the meetings are open to the public. 

Trustee Wells said Friday that just because no permanent action has yet been taken on the superintendent's contract doesn't mean the board isn't working toward a solution.

"Finality is what we don't have at this point. Everyone involved has their own rights and deserves a process," Wells said. "We don't have the luxury of knee-jerk reactions." 

6 Tips to Make Filing Less Taxing

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Preparing and filing your federal income taxes doesn’t have to be an upsetting experience.

If you’re committed to doing your taxes yourself – without professional help – there are a few things you can do to make the process easier on you (and those around you.)

Here are the IRS 6 Tips to Make Filing Less Taxing:

Don’t delay: Avoid doing your taxes at the very last minute. If you rush to meet the filing deadline, you may overlook possible tax savings. You are also more likely to make an error.

Visit IRS.gov: Go online to “1040 Central” for tax news, tax tools and information.

Use Free File: If you made $57,000 or less, prepare your return using free, brand-name tax software. If you made more than $57,000 and you’re comfortable doing your own tax return, use Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of IRS paper forms.

Try IRS e-file: IRS e-file is the safest, most accurate, easiest and most popular way to file a tax return. If you owe taxes, you can file now and delay your payment until the April 15 filing deadline.

File on time: If you owe taxes when you file your return but you can’t pay what you owe by April 15, you should still file on time and pay as much as you can. This will minimize penalties and interest charges. If you cannot pay the total amount of tax you owe you may request an installment agreement. Most people who owe taxes are eligible for one. You can apply using the Online Payment Agreement tool on the IRS.gov website.

File an extension: If your return is not ready by April 15, you can get an automatic extension for an extra six months. E-file your extension using the Free File program. You can also get an extension using Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
 

Hashtag May Be Coming to Facebook: Report

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Facebook may soon be taking another page from Twitter's playbook by incorporating the hashtag into its service.

The social media site is working on ways to allow users to click on a hashtag to follow trending topics on the web, according to The Wall Street Journal. But it may be awhile before users see the hashtag show up on their news feed.

"It is unclear how far along Facebook's work on the hashtag is and the feature isn't likely to be introduced imminently," unnamed sources tell The Journal.

A hashtag, made popular by Twitter, precedes a word or phrase with a pound (#) symbol and serves as a way to organize and search tweets about an event, idea or person. The function gives users more reason to "stay logged in and see more ads."

Facebook has already mimicked some of Twitter's other features, like the ability to create "subscriber" lists and the use of the "@" sign to mention and tag people.

Instagram, which Facebook purchased for $1 billion last year, employs hashtags to allow users to sort photos by categories.



Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images
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