The construction company that built the apartment complex in Berkeley where a balcony collapsed during a 21st birthday party, sending six students to their deaths, has been sued at least twice and paid $6.5 million to settle the suits in cases that claimed its balconies prematurely rotted and failed.

Segue Construction, the Pleasanton-based contractor that built the Library Gardens apartments on 2020 Kittredge Street, was sued by homeowners' associations in San Jose and Millbrae. Among other allegations, Segue was accused of improperly waterproofing balconies.

Court filings reviewed by NBC Bay Area showed that Segue paid $3 million in 2014 to settle a lawsuit over “water penetration” problems on dozens of balconies at the 245-unit Pines at North Park Apartments at 70 Descanso Drive in San Jose. The Irvine Co. accused Segue of “failing to design the breezeways, private balconies and stairwells at the project in substantial compliance with all applicable local and state codes and according to industry standard.”

And in 2013, Segue paid $3.5 million to settle a case brought by the owners of a 109-unit condominium complex that had been completed just three years earlier on El Camino Real in Millbrae, according to court documents filed in San Mateo County.

Segue was the general contractor in the Millbrae case but was not named specically as a defendant in the original complaint, according to attorney Rachel Miller, a senior partner at the Miller Law Firm in San Francisco. An insurance company that represents Segue and all the other building contractors involved that project ended up paying the settlement recovery to the homeowners, Miller said.

However, Miller said the similarities of the Millbrae case and Berkeley are striking.

In the Millbrae case, the contractor failed to waterproof the balconies, which caused "immense dry rot and mold." No one has been able to use the balconies there for 18 months, she said, and the Park Broadway Homeowners Association is is now in the process of opening up bids process to repair the balconies.

The homeowners board discovered the issue, Miller said, while doing their "due diligence" and hired independent experts after several tenants complained.

Segue spokesman Sam Singer said such litigation is common on large projects and "has no bearing on the tragedy" in Berkeley.

"They are completely different projects. They are completely different types of balconies," he said. Singer said of the balcony collapse: "Segue Construction has never had an incident like this in its history."

The company also issued a statement saying, "Segue’s hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the young people who died or were injured in this tragic accident. We have offered our assistance and full cooperation to investigating authorities. Segue Construction has built more than 6,000 apartment units and has never had an incident like this in its history."

Cassandra Bujarski, a spokeswoman for the apartments' property management firm, Greystar, had no comment.

As the city of Berkeley demanded that the property manager take down a second balcony and Berkeley's mayor, Tom Bates, speculated that water damage caused the wooden balcony to rot, hundreds came out to mourn the six who died in the collapse, and the seven sent to hospitals with serious injuries.

The dead have been identified as: Ashley Donohoe, 22, of Rohnert Park, California, and Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcan Miller and Eimear Walsh, all 21-year-olds from Ireland.

Hundreds came out Wednesday night at vigils to remember them, and pray for a speedy recovery for the survivors.

The Irish students were working and traveling in the U.S. over the summer on J-1 visas, a rite of passage enjoyed by thousands of their countrymen.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A brush fire burned near a home in Lakeside Thursday amid high temperatures, officials said.

The fire sparked just before 1 p.m. in brush near a large residence on Wilajobi Way and State Route 67.

Firefighters could be seen battling the blaze while trying to prevent it from spreading to the home.

It was knocked down quickly without causing damage to the house, stopping at about a quarter of an acre.

No injuries were reported. The cause remains under investigation.

It was about 90 degrees in Lakeside when the fire sparked.

Meanwhile, about 12 miles away, the 170-acre Wildcat Fire on the Barona Indian Reservation continued to burn Thursday. More than 200 firefighters were tackling that blaze, which was 38 percent contained as of 1:45 p.m.

Cal Fire officials said high temperatures, winds and low moisture were all factors that made fighting the fires in the East County challenging.
 

Electronic cigarettes are now banned across San Diego public transit, the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) announced Thursday.

The MTS Board of Directors voted unanimously to ban the use of E-cigarettes in places where it is already illegal to smoke tobacco products.

This means all buses and trolleys running in San Diego, plus bus stops and transit centers, will ban E-cigarettes beginning on July 18.

Passengers will be fined if they break the ban. Fines are $50 for the first offense, $75 for the second offense and $100 for the third and subsequent offense, MTS confirmed.

It’s currently prohibited for passengers to smoke cigarettes in MTS buses and trolleys and within 25 feet of any bus stop, Trolley station or other MTS transit facility.

This new ban amends that rule to expressly include electronic cigarettes and prohibits passengers that “smoke or carry a lighted or smoldering pipe, cigar, cigarette, or tobacco or use any electronic smoking product or device that causes smoke, mist or vapor in any form,” MTS said.

“The popularity of electronic cigarettes has grown significantly in recent years. We now have uniform policy between the way we treat traditional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes,” said MTS Chief Executive Officer Paul Jablonski in a press release.

MTS joins other California transit agencies that have already banned the use of E-cigarettes including North County Transit District (NCTD), LA METRO and San Francisco’s BART.

In San Diego, MTS operates 95 bus routes and three Trolley lines on 53 miles of railway.

MTS says more than 300,000 passenger trips are taken on its buses and Trolley services every weekday. The transit service expects to set a new ridership records this year with more than 97 million riders.
 

Two years after a gunman opened fire in a Sikh temple south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing six people, the congregation has formed its own security force, police officers patrol its parking lot and its members have had to learn how to be both welcoming and cautious.

They watched newcomers for suspicious behavior and felt secure again only with time, said Amardeep Kaleka, whose father, Satwant Singh Kaleka, was killed in the attack at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek.

“As a congregation we had trouble with trusting and opening our doors up again,” Kaleka, an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, said. “But we did, based on the community’s response. We did start to feel more and more secure as people would come through and say nice things and positive things.”

On Wednesday another tragedy gripped the country: Nine people were shot to death during Bible study at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The suspect, Dylann Storm Roof, was arrested in what officials are calling a racially motivated attack. Police say he joined the prayer meeting about an hour before the attack. 

Attacks are not new, but what is unprecedented are mass casualties, said Paul Goldenberg, director of the Secure Community Network, a nonprofit organization serving the American Jewish community, and the co-chair of the Department of Homeland Security’s Faith-Based Advisory Council.

“There has been a paradigm change,” he said. “Ten years ago we saw graffiti on synagogues and AME churches and we saw cemetery desecrations. Now we actually see people going into our houses of worship and committing mass killings.”

Security experts say that is it possible to balance openness and vigilance in protecting houses of worship but that congregations must take part in keeping themselves safe.

Churches and synagogues need to train people within the community to spot someone who is planning an attack — the volunteers, ushers, administrators or people who cut the lawns — and to encourage them to speak up immediately if they see something odd, he said.

“We have only minutes sometimes to save lives,” Goldenberg said. He advocated having video cameras, panic buttons and lighting at night and training in what to do if there is a shooter.

“It’s about empowering members of congregations, not scaring them,” he said. “So they want to continue coming and praying and participating.”

The Department of Homeland Security provides grants to help protect non-profit organizations that are at a high risk of a terrorist attack and that are located within eligible areas. For the 2015 fiscal year, $13 million was available for security improvements.

Bishop William P. DeVeaux Sr. of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, who is based in Washington, D.C., said that so far the bishops have been focused on bringing solace to the family of the slain pastor, Clementa C. Pinckney, but that they would have to turn their attention to increased security.

“I think that’s going to have to be carefully worked out and to be honest with you it has not been done so,” he said. “Now we cannot make it like a fortress obviously and we’ll have to work out some other arrangement where we have to be more attentive to security.”

Emanuel AME Church had cameras, which did not prevent the attack but did help in Roof’s capture, he said. Other measures will have to be considered too, he said.

“That’s a tough one in terms of how do you make people welcome especially if you come anywhere near profiling,” he said. “You wouldn’t want to do that.”

Rabbi Seth Limmer of Chicago Sinai Congregation leads a synagogue in the heart of the city’s downtown. Before he arrived, the FBI was called in to investigate what he called a threatening package that he declined to describe further.

“We’re a place that really has to confront these issues in a real way,” he said.

The hope is that the synagogue’s members will think of the building as a sanctuary, not a fortress, he said. Its staff meets with the Department of Homeland Security every year to review its security measures, from entrances and locks to policies should a shooter get in the building.

Windows are of bullet-proof glass. Off-duty police officers who act as security guards open the two set of doors that lead into the building. They know when to open a door and when not to, and when to go outside to talk to a drunk man who thought the synagogue was his apartment one Friday night, Limmer said.

He said his heart would be torn if nine people were killed no matter where, but that the shooting occurred in a church and was racially motivated made the tragedy even worse.

“On top of all the violations of human dignity and propriety that it happened in that sacred space, it’s so appalling,” he said.

Elise Jarvis, the associate director for law enforcement outreach and communal security for the Anti-Defamation League, said that staff and others should learn how to identify suspicious people, activity, objects, letters and packages. Evacuation plans should be in place; contacts with law enforcement made before an emergency takes place.

A secure environment is a welcoming one, she said.

“People want to feel protected and in a safe place,” she said. “We try tp have people think about them as not necessarily two incompatible things.”

A U.S. Marine sergeant found guilty of murder in the retrial of an Iraq war crimes case involving the slaying of a retired Iraqi policeman should get no additional prison time, a jury recommended Thursday.

Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III was found guilty of murder, larceny and conspiracy in a verdict reached Wednesday evening by a military jury of three enlisted men and three military officers.

The 2006 killing involved 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from the village of Hamdania.
Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 2,379 days in prison, minus time served for Hutchins. The Marine has already served seven years of an 11-year sentence.

Over the years, Hutchins has had his conviction overturned twice by military courts after rulings that there were errors in the handling of his case.

Under the military justice system, the Navy was allowed to order his case to be retried.
 

A woman died Thursday morning following a crash between a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vessel and a boat carrying 20 people suspected of trying to enter the country illegally, officials said.

CBP officials with the agency's Office of Air and Marine spotted the panga boat off the coast of Encinitas and believed it was filled with people being smuggled into the United States, said Jackie Wasiluk, a spokeswoman for the CBP.

Agents said they ordered the person operating the 26-foot-long boat to stop, but the vessel did not yield, so agents fired warning shots.

The suspected smuggling boat then collided with the CBP boat, causing the panga boat to capsize.

As agents worked to pull all 20 people out of the water, they began trying to resuscitate a woman who was unresponsive, Wasiluk said.

Four people, including the woman, were taken to the hospital; she died there, Wasiluk said.

Her cause of death wasn’t immediately known.

CBP authorities are investigating the incident. The panga boat is at the bottom of the ocean.

The 19 remaining people on board the panga boat were taken into custody, suspected of trying to enter the country illegally.

An immigrants rights activist told NBC 7 he questioned the CBP's version of events, specifically which boat ran into which.

"It's very unfortunate that there was a loss of life, but we also question the need to fire warning shots specifically when that might deter or scare people from actually making contact with CBP," said Pedro Rios of the American Friends Service Committee. "In this case, it's unclear who struck who, but we do know there was a fatality and that's very unfortunate."

Crews are battling a fire that broke out inside a Vista paint store.

Smoke was seen coming from the roof of Frazee Paint Supply in the 2000 block of Hacienda Drive.

Fire crews just rang a second alarm, calling for additional units.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

Nevada-based Sky Combat Ace plans a July 1 opening for the second location of its adventure attraction that lets customers ride high-performance stunt planes, set to debut at Gillespie Field in El Cajon.

A company statement said the attraction, which currently operates at Henderson Executive Airport near Las Vegas, lets thrill-seekers take the controls of high-performance stunt planes, assisted by experienced pilots. Customers can ride SCA’s Extra 330LC stunt plane that can reach a gravitational force of around 10, or an open-cockpit biplane built in the style of a World War I-era barnstormer.

The experience includes “aerial dogfights and wild aerobatic flights” with spins, barrel rolls and loops. Pricing and other information is at skycombatace.com.

Company officials said Sky Combat Ace provides civilian aerial combat and aerobatic training at its two locations. Services from Gillespie Field also will include sightseeing tours of the San Diego coastline and combination packages with adventure and sight-seeing elements
 

San Diego Police were able to trace a laser pointing at one of its helicopters to a Lemon Grove man, who was arrested for the alleged crime.

Officers in the chopper spotted the laser as they were flying in the Lemon Grove area just after 11 p.m.

Tracing the light’s line, the officers directed sheriff’s deputies to the 3100 block of New Jersey Avenue. There, they found Daniel Burks, 39.

According to officials, Burks admitted he had been pointing the laser at the helicopter.

He was arrested and booked into jail on a charge of unlawful discharge of a laser at an aircraft. He is being held on a $25,000 bail and is set to be arraigned Friday.

The FAA says laser beams are dangerous for pilots because they can leave them blind in the air, unable to see other aircraft or their landing.
 

A San Diego high school English class has a lot to say about bullying.

Their powerful words, not actually spoken, are shown in the form of signs they hold in a moving YouTube video making its rounds on the Internet.

“Don’t comment on my weight.”

“Don’t call me weird because I express myself with my clothes.”

“Do not call me unintelligent.”

The video underscores the impact of bullying and calls out to: “End the hate. Stop bullying.”

The class at Monte Vista High School were tasked with creating a public service announcement about bullying, but never knew it would get so much attention.

The project was headed by two seniors, Gilberto Jimenez and Ester Serns, who both have experiences with bullying.

“I was a really chubby kid,” Jimenez said. “Fat, they used to call me.”

Everyone’s been called a name, so these students chose to put those words on display.

“This is my chance to show people that they shouldn’t be affected by what other people say or what other people do to them,” Jimenez said. “They should stand up for themselves.”

The video took off, spreading to other classes, including a special education class, and event to other schools.

“We just asked them, ‘What was something you didn’t like to be called and it really hurt you?” Serns said.

The video gave the students a chance to be heard and their chance to speak their minds.

“The more we spread like this video, the more it’s going to hit closer to home and I think it’s going to stop things at the source and I hope that it will change someone from being a bully to think about what they say,” Serns said.

Watch the full video here:

A San Diego man accused of taking up-skirt photos of women has now been charged with possession of child pornography as police discovered sexually-explicit photos of kids on his cellphone, many of them clients at a day care operated by his ex-wife.

The Escondido Police Department (EPD) announced the arrest of Abdullah Sediqi, 64, Thursday. He faces 31 counts, including possession of child pornography, lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and disorderly conduct.

Police said Sediqi was first arrested on June 13 after a woman shopping at the Valley Thrift Store on East Valley Parkway in Escondido noticed the suspect crouched down closely behind her with his cellphone in hand.

The woman moved away from him and then saw Sediqi approach another woman shopping at the store. Sediqi then allegedly crouched down low to take a photo under the woman’s clothing, police said.

The witness called police and officers arrived at the store to speak with Sediqi.

Officers discovered Sediqi had used his phone to snap several photos underneath the clothing of unsuspecting women in the store, two of whom were minors. The up-skirt images were taken from at least two separate locations, police said.

Sediqi was arrested at the scene and booked in the Vista Detention Facility. He posted bail shortly thereafter.

As part of the investigation into the suspect, police said Sediqi’s phone was forensically analyzed by an EPD detective with the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The detective found that Sediqi’s phone contained more than 6,000 photographs – and not only up-skirt shots.

Police said many of the images were sexually-explicit images of children. Some of the kids in the photos appeared to be as young as three to five years old.

Further investigation revealed that many of the children in those inappropriate photographs were kids that attend Kid’s Castle Day Care on Matinal Road, a Rancho Bernardo business owned and operated by Sediqi’s ex-wife, Katrien Sediqi. The day care also goes by the name of Sediqi Family Day Care.

Based on these new charges of possession of child pornography, police arrested Sediqi again within 24 hours of his up-skirt arrest.

He is currently being held without bail on dozens of charges and is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

The EPD said detectives served a search warrant on the Sediqi home and day care facility and seized all records of current clients of the business. More phones, computers and external hard drives were also taken from the home by investigators.

During the search, police also found nearly 14 grams of cocaine inside the home belonging to the suspect’s adult son, Roin Mohammad Sediqi, 26. Roin was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, police said.

The police department said officers contacted the parents of every child who is a current client of Kid’s Castle Day Care and alerted them of Sediqi’s arrest.

Police have also notified the Community Care Licensing Division of the California Department of Social Services, which is responsible for the issuance and revocation of state licenses to day care facilities.

The EPD said the investigation on this case is ongoing. It's unclear if Sediqi has obtained an attorney.

San Diego court records show Sediqi and his ex-wife filed for divorce in June 2010.

Anyone who is a current or former client of the day care who is concerned their child may have been victimized by Sediqi should contact detectives at the police department at (760) 839-4926.

After deliberating for three days, a jury has convicted two men of murdering another outside a World Cup party in National City one year ago.

Daniel A. Gonzalez, 36, and Salvador Oswaldo Chavez, 38, were found guilty Thursday of second-degree murder in the death of Josue Crook, 36.

Both were also convicted of assault with a deadly weapon – Gonzalez for shooting Crook, and Chavez for stabbing a second victim, City News Service (CNS) reported.

The three were involved in a fight at the Rincon Del Mar restaurant, which spilled into the street on June 17, 2014. That day, the restaurant was hosting a viewing party for the Mexico-Brazil World Cup game.

According to Deputy District Attorney Melissa Diaz, the brawl began when someone in Gonzalez’s group thought a person in Crook’s group looked at him strangely. That person started a fist fight that continued outside the restaurant.

Prosecutors say Chavez stood guard as Gonzalez fired multiple shots at Crook. The two worked hand in hand during the murder and stabbing, according to Diaz.

Gonzalez’s attorney Jan Ronis said the charge against his client should have been, at most, manslaughter – not murder – because there was plenty of evidence the two men were defending themselves, CNS reported. The evidence against Chavez was “minuscule,” Ronis said.

Crook’s family maintained he was not a violent or aggressive person, but instead was a father of four and an active member in his church. They believed he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Former "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams says he didn't lie about his experiences as a journalist, but rather that his ego clouded his memories of them and made him embellish his retellings of them, he told the "Today" show in an interview that aired Friday.

"What happened is the result of my ego getting the better of me," he told Matt Lauer in a one-on-one interview, a day after the network announced he wouldn't be returning to the "Nightly" anchor desk.

The comments were Williams' first since NBC suspended him as "Nightly" host in February for misrepresenting his experiences as a journalist, after he admitted to erring when he said on-air that he had been in a helicopter hit by enemy fire during the Iraq War. His helicopter had not been hit.

"Looking back, it had to have been ego that made me think I had to be sharp, funnier, quicker than anybody else -- put myself closer to the action, having been at the action in the beginning," he said.

NBC announced Thursday that Williams would not be returning to the anchor desk and that Lester Holt, who has anchored the show since Williams' suspension, will take over that position permanently. Williams will take on a new role anchoring breaking news for MSNBC.

After NBC first suspended Williams for six months on Feb. 10, the network subsequently ordered an internal investigation into his reporting and the way he described his experiences, most often in talk show appearances.

The review found Williams made a number of inaccurate statements about his own role and experiences covering events in the field. The statements did not for the most part occur on NBC News platforms in the immediate aftermath of news events, but usually years later.

This TV station is owned by parent company NBCUniversal.

An Ohio fugitive wanted in connection with a Miami murder has been captured in Kansas along with his wife, authorities confirm.

Michael Douglas Evans and his wife Kristy Evans were apprehended by U.S. Marshals late Thursday in a motel room in Hays, Kansas, roughly three hours northwest of Wichita, officials with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office have confirmed.

Kristy's 7-year-old daughter Jala Barnett was safe and in the custody of child protective services in Kansas, the sheriff's office said. She will be given to a relative in Ohio for custody.

"We are relieved that this dangerous fugitive is now in custody and that this innocent young girl is now safely removed from potential harm," Tuscarawas Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Orvis Campbell said in a statement.

The couple has been on the run with the girl since early May. Michael was wanted in Ohio for failure to appear for aggravated robbery and felony assault charges, and is also a suspect in the murder of 46-year-old Joe Moniz, whose body was found at the Sunshine Inn Motel in Miami.

The family was staying in the same Miami motel room where Moniz's body was discovered on June 6.

Shortly after the body was discovered, a missing child alert was issued for Barnett.

Authorities also recovered a 2005 Audi A4 convertible in a WalMart parking lot near the motel in Kansas. The vehicle is believed to be the one Moniz was driving before his murder, officials said.

Moniz's ex-wife expressed relief at the arrest.

"This happened last night and today is his birthday and it is just so odd that everything happened all at once and I could not be happier," Elaine Moniz said in a phone interview Friday.

Michael and Kristy Evans are awaiting extradition to Ohio, and investigators from Miami are on the way to Kansas to continue the homicide investigation of Moniz.

"That is something that we do routinely," Miami Police spokeswoman Kenia Fallat said. "If someone that we need to speak with is in a different state then absolutely we will take that extra mile and travel up to them."

If charged in Moniz's murder, Michael Evans could be extradited to Miami.

Newt Gingrich's long resume just got longer.The former presidential candidate, House speaker and political consultant is now also a tech reviewer for Mashable.

His first post, a review of the Apple Watch, hit the site today, saying while there are some hiccups with the wearable gadget, it's a step in the right direction and fun for many people.

"At the moment, the Apple Watch seems best suited for busy people who need quick access to information on the go, those who want access to their schedules at a glance and anyone who likes being an early adopter of the newest technology," he wrote. "In many ways, the Apple Watch is like a beta product, but one promising a new direction, much like the first BlackBerrys and first iPhones." 

The idea to have him write for the site arose on Twitter two years ago, after Gingrich tweeted about virtual cars. A then-Mashable employee tweeted back, saying he wished the Republican would review the car for the site. 

While that review never happened, the prolific writer and technology fan later gave the site another reason to ask. In May 2015, he wrote a post for his own website about the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift. Mashable again took to Twitter to hint at the idea of him writing for the site.

With an excited response from Gingrich, a plan was set: he would be reviewing the Apple Watch. The 1,000-plus word review, which covered use of the watch during a cross-country flight and managing a busy schedule, got more than 1,000 shares within hours of hitting the Web. And the cub Mashable reporter seemed to be enjoying the job, too. 

Dreams of snapping that perfect selfie with your favorite Comic-Con star will be dashed with the organization’s latest ban: no selfie sticks.

The nation’s biggest pop culture convention is saying no way to any device that extends your camera or phone away from your hand, including the now pervasive sticks or GoPro poles.

“With so many people in attendance, protruding cameras and phone sticking up in the air are a definite hazard,” Comic-Con organizers posted to their blog “Toucan.”

If you’re caught with a selfie stick, security will ask you to put it away, the organization says. The ban will apply to the San Diego Convention Center, outside grounds and any hotel or theater hosting Comic-Con events.

And even if you’re holding your phone the old fashioned way, you still won’t be able to use apps like Meerkat and Periscope to live stream the events. Google Glass will also be prohibited.

Comic-Con is following the lead of events and attractions around the world that have banned selfie sticks. Places like the Colosseum in Rome, soccer stadiums in Brazil and the Smithsonian museums in Washington D.C. have turned up their noses to the new trend.

As tech advances, another couple of bans have apparently become necessary. The organization says there will be no e-cigarettes allowed, and the convention center will be a no-fly zone for drones.

Three new batches of mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile virus, a bad sign for the year to come, according to San Diego County health officials.

The latest sampling was taken in and around Jamacha, near its border with Lemon Grove. Because many dead birds with West Nile were also found in the area, county vector control employees have placed mosquito traps there to try to stop the virus’ spread.

Since the beginning of the year, vector control inspectors have picked up six infected batches of mosquitoes – the same amount collected for the whole of 2014.

The rise in mosquitoes with West Nile accompanies a May spike in the number of infected dead birds, which continues to grow.

“Mosquitoes are the main way people get exposed to West Nile virus,” said Department of Environmental Health Director Elizabeth Pozzebon in a statement, “so remember to get rid of standing water around your homes so mosquitoes can’t breed, wear insect repellent and report dead birds.”

In May, the number of dead infected birds through the county jumped from five to 29, according to county officials. Now, the total is 33 – the largest found in any California county this year. Last year, San Diego County did not reach 33 dead birds until November.

So far, there have been no reported cases of West Nile in humans. Last year, 11 people in San Diego were diagnosed with the virus, which is the largest number since 2009. Two people were killed by the illness.

The county recommends doing three things when you want to avoid West Nile: Prevent, protect and report.

Officials say you should prevent mosquito breeding by dumping out anything around your home that can hold water. If you have ponds, the county offers free mosquito fish to help get rid of the pests.

Protect yourself from mosquito bites by using insect repellent with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535. You could also wear long sleeves and pants, and make sure your doors and windows are secure enough to keep the insects out.

Finally, report any dead birds or green swimming pools you see to the vector control program by calling 858-694-2888, emailing vector@sdcounty.ca.gov or downloading the county’s app “Fight the Bite.”

Brian Cloninger, the man convicted of shooting 8-year-old Donald "D.J." Maiden in the face in 2013, was sentenced to 45 years in prison Friday.

The boy, now 9-years old, has undergone surgery to repair his face. But his grandmother Sharon Locklin testified Friday at Cloninger's sentencing that D.J. still lives in fear of seeing the shooter again and in fear of kids bullying over his appearance.

"He always asks, 'Well, grandma, am I always going to look like this?' And I say, 'We're trying D.J., we're really trying to make you like your old self,'" Locklin said.

Cloninger, 48, admits going to the boy's Dallas apartment complex to see a prostitute, but still claims he does not remember the shooting because of prescription drugs and alcohol he used that day. At his sentencing Friday, Cloninger asked the judge to return him to his work as a plumber so he could pay restitution to the family.

"I just hope that someday the family of Donald can forgive me and I just beg for mercy and the opportunity to get help and possibly become a productive member of society," Cloninger said.

The judge imposed the 45-year sentence without comment.

The victim's relatives said they were satisfied but still troubled by the medical treatment that lies ahead.

"The man will be away for a while so he has a chance to grow into his adulthood and become the best man he can be," Locklin said.

Prosecutor Carmen White said the law grants no defense for voluntary intoxication before a crime.

"Today we believe that justice was served, that D.J. will be able to go on and live his life knowing that the criminal justice system works," White said.

Cloninger Found Guilty

Cloninger was found guilty last week.

There was no jury in the trial. Retired Judge Gary Stephens heard the case. 

Speaking publicly for the first time since his arrest, Cloninger began his testimony Tuesday afternoon with an apology.

"More than anything I wanted to say something to the family, that I'm sorry about what happened that day," Cloninger said.

The plumber went on to explain how he arranged to meet a transsexual prostitute for a massage at the boy's apartment complex that day because he was distraught over being laid off from his job.

He said he'd left a gun in his pick-up truck from an excursion the weekend before.

Cloninger said he was taking the medication Vyvanse for attention deficit disorder and he had a strange reaction to the drug. He also admitted drinking numerous cans of beer and said he went "lights out" before he left the prostitute's apartment.

"I do not ever recall seeing Donald, a child. I don't remember picking up the gun. I don't remember firing the gun. I don't remember setting the gun back down. I wish I could sit here and tell you I did.

It would clear a lot of things up. I don't ever remember being out of the vehicle," Cloninger said.

The boy's family members were in the court room during Cloninger's testimony Tuesday. They became emotional and left after listening to what Cloninger said.

Earlier Tuesday, Cloninger's wife, Martha Ewing Cloninger, testified that she was shocked to hear what her husband had done that day.

"That would be an understatement," she said.

She denied knowing her husband had any interest in prostitutes and said she had had never seen him as inebriated as he was reported to have been the day of the crime. His wife said she did know Brian Cloninger was not supposed to drink alcohol or have firearms because he was on probation for drunk driving.

Dallas psychiatrist John Tallmadge testified the combination of drugs and alcohol could induce stupor and account for amnesia.

Prosecution witnesses occupied the first week of the trial and it adjourned Tuesday before Brian Cloninger was finished on the stand.

NBC 5's Holley Ford contributed to this report.

Authorities are investigating whether a man identified as the suspect in a string of recent attacks on Asian women in Manhattan is the blogger who wrote that he decided to begin his violent onslaught because he wanted "to give all Asian Women a legitimate reason to hate" him.

In a blog police are investigating as linked to 25-year-old suspect Tyrell Shaw, a writer said he would begin attacking women after following two women in SoHo and being rejected by other Asian women.

"By starting an independent civil war where I will hit over a million Asian Women in the face with a stick will change history," the blogger wrote.

Sources have said a tipster called Crime Stoppers to report the blog thought to be linked to Shaw, who is suspected of attacking four Asian women in their 20s across Manhattan. Sources also briefly investigated whether he was the man who allegedly followed two women for about an hour a few days before the first attack, but later said it didn't appear those cases were connected to the pattern.

Previous posts mention growing frustration after talking to nearly 1,500 Asian women in less than a year, while others have threatened suicide. Sources have said that they have found no indication the suspect has taken his own life. 

Shaw has been arrested 10 times in the city since 2006 for an array of offenses, including credit card theft, criminal trespassing and burglary, records show. The sources say he has been involved in four prior domestic cases; three of them involved arguments with family members and one stemmed from a fight with a girlfriend.

Police have also encountered him several times when responding to reports of an emotionally disturbed person; in April, they responded after he was running into oncoming traffic on 10th Avenue, putting himself and others in dangers, law enforcement sources say.

Police have released photos of the suspect in the case, who they say began attacking Asian women last week in Chinatown. In the first case, on June 10, he asked a 35-year-old woman, "Who is the president of the United States?" police say. When she didn't respond, police say, he walked away, then returned with a white plastic bag containing a hard object and hit her in the face.

About four hours later, a 29-year-old Asian woman was walking down Park Avenue near East 30th Street when the suspect walked past her and waited at the corner, police say. He hit her in the face with the bag when she reached the corner; she was treated at a hospital and released.

Two days later, on June 12, the same suspect attacked a 34-year-old woman walking near Second Avenue and East 60th Street. As in the earlier cases, he walked up to her, armed with the white bag containing the hard object, and bashed her in the forehead. She also was treated at a hospital.

The woman in that case said the man spoke to her, saying, "All Asian girls doesn't talk to me," the victim told NBC 4 New York. She said he complained he could never get their phone numbers; she said she ignored him.

"And then, just after next second, he just hit my face," the woman said.

She said she chased the man after the attack, but stopped when she realized she was covered in blood. The woman needed 10 stitches to close a gash above her eye. She says the wound is so painful that she can't work.

The most recent attack was Monday, when police say the suspect tried to strike up a conversation with a 41-year-old Asian woman on Mulberry Street. She ignored him and he left, but returned, this time with a gray bag containing a hard object, and whacked her in the face with it.

None of the victims were seriously injured in the attacks, which authorities are investigating as bias crimes.

Anyone with information on Shaw's whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.  

A deadly outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Virus in South Korea is prompting health officials and experts to prepare for the possibility of more cases in the United States. 

MERS has infected 500 people worldwide since it first surfaced in Saudi Arabia in 2010, killing roughly a third of those affected, according to the CDC. Now, the virus has spread across South Korea, infecting more than 150 people and killing 11. 

That outbreak, the largest outside the Middle East, has sparked concerns about the potential for the virus to pop up in other countries, including America. The United States, one of at least 16 to report cases since 2010, has previously handled two MERS patients. Some experts are preparing for that number to rise.

“In South Korea more people will get infected, and eventually they go on a plane and travel,” said Peter Daszak, a member of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University. “The U.S. is consistently in one of the top 5 countries (to travel to); we are likely to have MERS to come to the U.S.”

MERS, part of the same family of viruses as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and the common cold, is believed to have originated in camels, officials say. The virus has since spread from human to human, particularly among people in close contact with an infected patient. The recent outbreak in South Korea, for example, has been traced to hospitals in the area that did not follow proper protocol when dealing with infections.

While officials say there is not an urgent threat of MERS to the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is taking extra precautions given the situation in South Korea and the potential that one sick traveler could bring the virus back to the U.S. 

Officials are changing the way they collect data and detect cases on MERS, as well as working with the World Health Organization to better understand the virus. The CDC recommends that Americans traveling outside the U.S. take basic precautions such as frequently washing their hands and avoiding contact with people who appear ill. The CDC is also urging health professionals to be on the lookout for potential cases, taking extra care to examine patients who have traveled recently to countries affected by the outbreaks or had contact with someone exposed to the virus. 

Because the international cases have been traced to patients who traveled after contacting the virus — all the infections so far have been linked back to countries in and near the Arabian Peninsula — the CDC has been working with airports specifically to help them identify ill passengers and report them properly to the organization. Officials caution that the virus' flu-like symptoms, such as coughing, fever and shortness of breath, can make it difficult to diagnose. 

There is currently no travel ban to South Korea or any of the Middle Eastern countries affected by MERS. In fact, travel has more than doubled from 2000 to 2010 in the Middle Eastern region, according to the United Nations World Travel Organization. 

And despite concerns about travelers carrying the virus to new places, officials in at least one major U.S.  airport are currently not taking additional precautions. Nancy Suey Castles, public relations director at Los Angeles International Airport, said while the airport has six daily flights entering and exiting the Incheon/Seoul International Airport, it has not made any changes to patrons’ arrivals or departures.

Castles said that if they did come in contact with a passenger who was infected with MERS, the protocol would be the same as any other sick passenger: separating them from the public, examining them and possibly transporting the patient to a hospital.

Despite its potentially deadly effects, treating MERS as any other virus is the ticket for best possible treatment, says Marie Forszt, director of marketing for Indianapolis' Community Hospital, which handled the first U.S. MERS case in 2014.

“Because it was the first case, no one had a specific process but it was an infectious disease,” Forszt said. “It wasn’t specific to MERS, but we just did what we do with every single case.”

She said the key to dealing with any infectious disease is to remain on high alert and keeping up with the CDC protocols.

“Shortly after MERS happened, Ebola ramped up,” she said. “There’s always some type of infectious disease, the process is the same no matter what the name is. We muddy the message when we have specific processes for MERS or a specific virus.” 

Being prepared to start that process of treating and containing cases is key, experts say, cautioning that as long as the virus spreads overseas, the U.S. will remain at risk.

“I don’t think anything in the Middle East will change quickly, specifically in Saudi Arabia,” Daszak said. “It will continue to spill into Saudi Arabia and around the world… people think South Korea is so far away, but it’s only one flight away.”