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4th of July Road Closures to Watch Out For

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Many people will be heading out on Independence Day, but some areas residents may want to avoid. 

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department warned that some areas around the county would be heavily congested throughout the day. 

Here are some areas you may want to avoid on the 4th:

  • Expect heavy traffic around the San Diego County Fair from 10 a.m. to midnight, especially around Via De La Valle, Del Mar Heights Road and Lomas Santa Fe Drive. 
  • Several roads will be closed in Rancho Santa Fe starting around noon during the Rancho Santa Fe Association's Independence Day Parade. Avoid areas near Linea Del Cielo, Paseo Delicias and La Granada in the area. 
  • A fireworks show in Imperial Beach from 9:30 p.m. to midnight will leave many roads along Silver Strand and Palm Avenue going east toward Interstate 5 jammed. 
  • From 6 p.m. onward, the areas surrounding Poway High School are expected to become congested. The school is located on the 15000 block of Espola Road. 
  • In Vista, road closures will be in effect near Bringle Terrace Park starting at 6:30 p.m. and going until midnight on Vale Terrace Drive. Sheriff's officials say no street parking will be allowed along Value Terrace Drive between 7 a.m. and midnight. 

For a list of fireworks in and around the San Diego area, click here.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 News

LAX X-Ray Machine Reveals Cat

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Transportation Security Administration officers made a furry find at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday afternoon when an X-ray machine revealed a passenger’s pet cat inside his checked bag.

The discovery was made after a JetBlue passenger placed his bag, which was not a pet carrier, through an X-ray machine in Terminal 3, according to LAX Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Belinda Nettles.

TSA officers removed the cat from the bag and determined that it had not been harmed by the machine.

The passenger told a TSA supervisor that he did not know animals were not supposed to be placed through the X-ray machines, Nettles said.

The cat's discovery gained social media attention after several passengers in the terminal tweeted about the event.

The amount of screaming that's happening in the Jet Blue terminal at LAX is incredible right now and yet it feels completely appropriate.
— The Sklar Brothers (@SklarBrothers)

Standing in front of a guy at TSA. I hand him a bin. I turn away and go through the scanner. I hear screams. HE PUT HIS CAT IN THE BIN.
— Sara Benincasa (@SaraJBenincasa)

I have seen people pulled out of the TSA line for knives. Guns. I have never seen the rage of the TSA when dude just put his cat in the XRay
— Sara Benincasa (@SaraJBenincasa)

Officers determined that the incident was accidental and both the man and the cat were allowed to board their New York-bound flight.

According to Twitter, a similar incident also occurred at LAX Tuesday.

I have now seen everything. A woman trying to put a live cat, no cage, through the xray thing at LAX security. Officers suddenly screaming!
— The Obvious Hiker (@ObviousHiker)



Photo Credit: Getty Images

App Delivers Medical Marijuana to Homes

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If you want medical marijuana delivered to your home, now there is an app for that.

The new smartphone application Eaze delivers medical marijuana to a user’s home, but it has some critics questioning their methods.

On Tuesday, the company moved from one market to four. Eaze now operates in the Bay area, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego.

“It’s about providing quick and professional access to medicine everywhere,” the application’s Founder and CEO, Keith McCarty, told NBC 7.

Here’s how it works. Once users have downloaded the app, they must prove they have a medical marijuana recommendation. Then they can pick a type of marijuana, edible or concentrate. McCarty says after that, the product will be delivered quickly and discreetly to your home.

If you do not have a medical marijuana card, you must speak with a physician before you order. Their physician service can approve you for a medical marijuana card so you can order from the app.

“You start a videoconferencing with a physician that's certified, a licensed physician, and within a matter of minutes you'll have your recommendation if you are eligible for medical marijuana,” McCarty said.

Some critic like Scott Chipman, with Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana, however, blasted the app as a type of criminal operation.

"What we have is back door legalization. It's a complete criminal operation,” said Chipman. “This is basically just drug dealing.”

He says he has two medical marijuana cards himself and got those cards by talking to a receptionist, without a doctor or any sort of examination.

“This is the standard of health care with marijuana. It's not health care. This is the snake oil of the 21st century,” said Chipman. “Talking to a doctor via Skype or your cellphone, facetiming, that is not practicing medicine. That is completely irresponsible.”

McCarty said his company wants to revolutionize the industry.

"It's just a matter of doing your own research,” McCarty said. “I think that's what Eaze is trying to do as well. We're trying to remove that stigma.”

5-Year-Old Hit by Car, Taken to Hospital in Helicopter

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A 5-year-old child was taken to the hospital by helicopter after being hit by a car in San Marcos late Wednesday, San Diego Sheriff's officials said. 

The child was hit on the 400 block of Rancho Santa Fe Road at 6:43 p.m., officials said. 

After the incident, the child was taken to Children's Hospital from Bradley Park. The condition of the child is unknown, though officials said the child was conscious and breathing when taken to the hospital.

It is unknown whether the child is a girl or boy. It is unclear how the accident happened. 

The driver stayed on the scene, deputies said. 

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 



Photo Credit: NBC10.com

Ex-California Sen. Leland Yee Pleads Guilty

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Leland Yee, a former California state senator,  pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a felony racketeering charge in an organized crime and public corruption case that brought down the once-popular legislator known for good government and gun control, ending his political career.

Yee, who previously has pleaded not guilty to bribery, money laundering and other felony charges, was scheduled to go on trial in late July in the sweeping case that was centered in San Francisco's Chinatown.

But he changed his plea Wednesday in San Francisco federal court and will likely serve some time in prison, legal analysts say. He could face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to federal sentencing guidelines and the plea agreement obtained by NBC Bay Area. He admitted to a long list of crimes, including wire fraud and quid pro quo favors in return for campaign contributions, from 2011 to March 2014, in a spree called the "campaign," the plea deal shows. In many of the cases, Yee was interacting with undercover FBI agents.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is scheduled to sentence Yee on Oct. 21.

Before the hearing, reporters tweeted that he was smiling and chatting with them as he was forced to sit in the media section as there wasn't enough room. Afterward, neither he nor his attorney had any comment.

Right after Yee, Keith Jackson, a former San Francisco school board member who acted as Yee's consultant and fundraiser, pleaded guilty to the same charge.

In a statement, Jackson's attorney at Morrison and Foerster said: " Keith Jackson has entered an honest plea to what he actually did when the FBI embroiled him in their activities. The FBI started by hiring Mr. Jackson and paying him money to do perfectly lawful things. They also promised him great wealth. After they had done that, they began to embroil him in the matter that brings him to his plea today. Mr. Jackson has contributed a great deal to this community over the years. He is attempting, by this plea, to put his life back together in hopes that he will be allowed to contribute more in the future. ”

Jackson's son, Brandon Jackson, and former sports agent Marlon Sullivan, also pleaded guilty to racketeering charges on Wednesday, under separate plea deals.

The FBI arrested Yee and 19 others last year during a series of raids throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. NBC Bay Area first broke the news of his arrest in March 2014.

Yee was accused of soliciting and accepting bribes from an alleged Chinatown gang leader in exchange for providing help from Sacramento. The FBI also alleged that the San Francisco Democrat, who was running for secretary of state at the time, conspired to connect an undercover agent with an international arms dealer in exchange for campaign contributions.

The arrests were the culmination of the FBI's eight-year investigation of Raymond "Shrimp Boy'' Chow, the elected "dragonhead'' of a Chinese-American association called Ghee Kung Tong. The FBI alleges the association was a racketeering enterprise and that undercover agents laundered $2.6 million in cash from illegal bookmaking through the organization.

Chow has pleaded not guilty to money laundering and other charges.

Sudhin Thanawala from the Associated Press and NBC Bay Area's Mark Matthews and Stephanie Chuang contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: Getty Images
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Monsoonal Moisture Returns, Storms Possible

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Monsoonal moisture will bring another chance of pulse thunderstorms to San Diego Wednesday.

“At the very least, we'll be warm and humid,” said NBC 7 Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh.

Storms moved across San Diego COunty Tuesday, bringing thunderstorms, dangerous lightning and rain.

Due to lightning strikes, most San Diego-area beaches were closed before 5 p.m., including Coronado and Imperial Beach.

For Wednesday, the tropical moisture will continue to seep into SoCal and bring with it another chance of thunderstorms in all forecast zones of San Diego County, Kodesh said.

The heat of the afternoon will combine with humid air for a 20 to 30 percent chance of pop-up thunderstorms that form over the deserts and mountains then slowly push to the west.

Heavy rain, gusty winds and more cloud to ground lighting is a strong possibility, she adds.

 



Photo Credit: KNBC
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LA Mayor Talks NFL Franchises With Chargers, Raiders

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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti met with officials from the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders on Tuesday to discuss the possible return of one or more NFL franchises to the LA area.

Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos and Raiders owner Mark Davis requested the meeting with the mayor, Garcetti spokesman Jeff Millman told City News Service.

In a prepared statement, Millman said Garcetti "would welcome a team anywhere in the Los Angeles area."

He added that the mayor's office is "mindful that the Chargers, Raiders and (St. Louis) Rams are still actively discussing stadium deals in their current cities and the NFL has not yet approved a team moving to the Los Angeles area."

Millman said the meeting was not held to talk about a potential football site in downtown Los Angeles or within city limits. The city and AEG had an agreement for construction of a stadium adjacent to the Los Angeles Convention Center, but were unable to lure an NFL team to the site.

The Chargers and Raiders are working jointly on a possible stadium in Carson, if the teams can't reach stadium deals in their respective cities.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke is moving forward with a planned stadium on the site of the former Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Murder Suspect’s DNA Found in McStay Car: Docs

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Search warrants in the mysterious McStay family murders case were unsealed Wednesday and, among new revelations, the documents said the DNA of the accused was found in the family’s vehicle abandoned near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Charles Merritt – who is facing the death penalty at his trial slated for Aug. 10 – is suspected of killing business partner Joseph McStay, as well as McStay’s wife, Summer, and the couple’s children, 4-year-old Gianni and 3-year-old Joseph Jr. in February 2010.

The family vanished from their home in Fallbrook, California, north of San Diego County, on Feb. 4, 2010. Four days later, the McStay family’s 1996 Isuzu Trooper was found in a parking lot near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Ysidro.

The newly-unsealed search warrants in the quadruple-murder case say detectives analyzed the family’s vehicle and collected DNA swabs. When detectives looked at this DNA evidence again in February 2014, criminalists matched the DNA collected from the Trooper to Merritt.

Merritt’s DNA was found on the steering wheel, the shifter and the radio and A/C control panel.
The warrants say Merritt’s DNA had been collected in February 2010 while the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) was investigating the disappearance of the McStay family as a missing persons case.

Merritt was interviewed by SDSO investigators during this time and on Feb. 17, 2010, he told investigators he had last been in the Trooper with Joseph McStay six weeks before the family vanished. Merritt claimed he sat in the front seat and had never driven the Trooper.

The warrants say Merritt “had a fresh injury to his hand” during this interview, which he said was from cutting his hand on sheet metal.

“Merritt made several statements about Joseph in the past tense, including “Joseph was,” leading investigators to believe Merritt knew Joseph and the family were deceased,” the warrants state.

In later interviews, Merritt told detectives he did not like Summer McStay. He also told investigators he did not like another business partner he and Joseph had been working with and said, “If I were ever going to commit murder, it would be with him,” referring to harming the other business partner.

When detectives spoke with this other business partner, he told detectives Joseph had lent Merritt $30,000 to pay a gambling debt and that Joseph planned to fire Merritt.

The men were partners in Joseph’s business, Earth Inspired Products (EIP), a water fountain design and distribution company. Merritt was hired as a designer and builder of the custom fountains sold by EIP.

On Nov. 11, 2013 – nearly four years after the family’s disappearance – the skeletal remains of the McStay family were uncovered in shallow graves in a very remote desert location in Victorville, Calif., near Stoddard Wells and Quarry roads.

The partial skull of one of the children was bleached white due to exposure to the elements, as the remains had been there for an undetermined amount of time. A sledgehammer was found in one of the graves.

Merritt was arrested in connection with the murders in November 2014. He has pleaded not guilty in the slayings.

To read the search warrants in full, click here

The search warrants reveal investigators also spoke with a personal friend of both Joseph and Summer who had been hired to paint the inside of the family’s Fallbrook home.

This friend had been in the home days prior to the McStay family’s disappearance and was scheduled to finish painting, but could not get a hold of the couple after Feb. 4, 2010.

The friend told investigators he went to the McStay’s home again on Feb. 17, 2010, with Joseph’s mother, Susan Blake, at her request, because she didn’t want to be alone. This was after the family was reported missing but before the SDSO obtained a search warrant for the residence, according to the documents.

He noticed Blake was cleaning the house, which “struck [him] as odd because he felt it could destroy evidence,” the search warrants say.

As he walked through the house the Blake, the friend spotted “three things that struck him as being odd or out of place.”

This included a missing cover for a futon in the family room area that he specifically remembered had a cover. The second was some dried up paint in one of the paint trays.

According to the search warrants, the painter had taught Summer how to properly line a paint tray with foil to make clean-up easier because she had complained about cleaning the trays and brushes.

Finally, the friend noticed clothes strewn all over the floor in the upstairs bedroom. The friend felt this was out of character because Joseph was not a messy person. He knew this because he had been roommates with Joseph in the past, he told investigators, and Joseph would not have left behind that type of mess.

As revealed during Merritt’s preliminary hearing last month, the search warrants note that the cause of death for the McStay family was blunt force trauma and one of the murder weapons was likely the sledgehammer found at the gravesite in the Southern California desert.

A detective states in the warrants that murder by blunt force trauma usually generates a large about of blood and leaves blood stains at the crime scene.

Still, detectives had not been able to locate a crime scene that showed where the family had been killed. SDSO investigators had been treating the case as a missing persons case and “did not process the residence for latent evidence such as blood stains,” the search warrants state.

SDSO investigators did not believe there were signs of a struggle inside the home.

However, based on the odd things the family friend reported to investigators, a detective with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department states in the warrants that there is probable cause to believe the McStay family was murdered inside their Fallbrook home.

The detective states one of the clues is that the cover missing from the futon was used to wrap Joseph’s body and was found at the desert gravesite. A possible paint stain was found on Summer’s bra at the gravesite, too, that may have dripped onto her as she lay on her side at the crime scene.

“Based on my training and experience, criminals who commit murder will typically attempt to clean the crime scene,” the detective says in the search warrants.

“Murder committed by blunt force trauma typically creates a large amount of blood stain splatter and cast off that could be on the ceiling of a room. One of the attempted ways to clean a scene is to paint over the blood stains, though a correct forensic processing of the crime scene would still show the blood stain, the blood stain would not be visible to the naked eye. The blood stain could also be detected by forensic experts years after it was painted over,” the detective adds.

The McStay home was sold months after the family went missing.

The warrants say DNA swabs and a piece of tan-colored carpet was taken from the McStay home by San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department investigators in 2014.

In the unsealed documents, investigators also say Merritt was the last person to see and talk to Joseph alive. Merritt met with Joseph at a Chick-Fil-A restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., on Feb. 4, 2010.

Merritt told investigators they met to discuss business dealings. After the meeting, cellphone records show Joseph drove back to his home in Fallbrook.

Just before 8:30 p.m., Joseph called Merritt and they spoke about a fountain being fabricated for a company overseas. Investigators say phone records show this was the last activity on Joseph’s cellphone.

Merritt told detectives he had tried to call Joseph several times after the family vanished, but couldn’t reach him. He also said he visited the McStay home in an attempt to find the family on Feb. 9 or Feb. 10, 2010.

Detectives obtained phone records for Merritt to analyze where he was during the time of the family’s disappearance.

The warrants said “Merritt was in a position to access the cellular telephone tower northeast of the McStay family gravesite on Feb. 6, 2010 – two days after the family was last seen alive. Merritt made six phone calls in the area between 10:46 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. that day.

The warrants also say it’s “probable” that there was more than one suspect involved in the murders “since an entire family of four was murdered and transported to the desert."

NBC 7 reached out to Merritt's attorney, Jimmy Mettias, Wednesday for comment on the search warrants. Mettias is traveling out of the country and has not yet responded to NBC 7's request.
 


F-18 Makes Emergency Landing at MDW

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A military jet made an emergency landing at Midway Airport Wednesday afternoon, according to officials.

The U.S. Navy F-18 was headed to Virginia from an airshow in Wisconsin when the plane’s pilot requested an emergency landing in Chicago after experiencing an engine malfunction, military officials said.

The jet landed safely at 12:40 p.m. with two passengers on board.

The cause of the F-18’s engine malfunction is under investigation.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Mystery Solved: Amnesia Patient ID'd by Family

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Nearly five months after showing up in a San Diego-area emergency room without any recollection of her name, age, family, or friends, a woman who called herself “Sam” has finally rediscovered who she is.

Ashley Menatta, 53, never married and has sisters in Colorado and Maryland. She was born in Pennsylvania, lived in Flagstaff, Arizona, and several years ago found her way to Southern California, where she lived in La Jolla, Vista, and Carlsbad.

The woman’s plight captured attention worldwide after our NBC 7 post went viral with a Facebook reach of 21.2 million people as of Wednesday afternoon. Facebook users shared the post nearly 200,000 times, leading to thousands of tips and suggestions.

Menatta’s nephew watched the NBC 7 story online and immediately called his mom to tell her about the mystery woman: Aunt Ashley.

The FBI took the tip to Menatta and her friend Debbie Rough, her nurse from Tri City Medical Center in Oceanside, who championed the initial search for relatives. The phone call led to tears and details of her forgotten past.

“It was extremely emotional. We were all sobbing. They’re so sorry I had to go through what I did during this time without them,” said Menatta.

The FBI did not officially confirm Menatta's identity, but investigators felt comfortable with the information they've provided to help facilitate a reunion. Menatta's family did not provide independent verification of her identity.

Carlsbad firefighters responded to an emergency call on February 1 and found her  in dire shape. Her blood pressure was so low, she was barely conscious. She couldn’t tell paramedics anything about herself.

Doctors at Tri City Medical Center diagnosed her with ovarian cancer, telling her the antibodies from the tumor possibly caused “retrograde amnesia."

Carlsbad police and the FBI got involved in an effort to help identify her. They said more pressing responsibilities kept them from devoting the many hours needed to solve the case.

Searches of their fingerprint database turned up empty.

“He [the FBI agent] said you must be a good girl, otherwise we’d have records of you,” said Menatta.

FBI agents posted Menatta’s picture and story to the Interpol website in an effort to attract global attention.

She spoke with an English/Australian accent and had vivid dreams about time spent in Perth.

"Apparently I have a long time of visiting Australia for extended trips. I’ve been going there throughout my life,” said Menatta. The family lost track of her in 2013, around the same time she showed up in Southern California and attended St. Patrick Catholic Church in Carlsbad.

The FBI said NBC 7’s Facebook post and subsequent stories generated numerous tips, which helped put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Menatta plans to fly back to Maryland and live with one of her older sisters.

“She was just telling me she has a four-bedroom, large house and a lovely king-size bed waiting for me."

Menatta thanks the millions of people around the world who watched her story and prayed and tried to help with leads and suggestions.

The story seems almost too remarkable to be true.

The FBI can’t confirm or deny the circumstances, but feels comfortable with the information they’ve provided to help facilitate a reunion. 

Menatta’s close friends and the nurse who championed her story call her a genuine and sweet human being.

They believe she has the genuine faith in God which was the first thing she remembers feeling in the emergency room.

“I had peace where there should be none and I believed He would bring me back together with people that that were family and I trusted Him," she said.

Ashley Menatta will need to continue with chemotherapy to treat the aggressive cancer, but with family and faith she says “she knows where she is going” and now, finally, where she came from too.



Photo Credit: NBC 7, Family photo
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Gay Pride Adaptation of Iwo Jima Photo Draws Backlash

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Joe Rosenthal’s historic photograph depicting five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the flag on Iwo Jima is one of America’s most iconic war-related images. It is also one of the most parodied images, but a recent depiction of the event sparked fury on social media. 

On June 26, photographer Ed Freeman posted a picture he took more than a decade ago for the cover of Frontiers, a gay magazine, that shows four male models planting a gay pride flag similarly to how the six soldiers planted the flag at Iwo Jima 70 years ago. Freeman’s Facebook post celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision to allowing same-sex marriage nationwide. 

“When I took this picture almost ten years ago, it never, never occurred to me that it would someday come to symbolize the victory we are celebrating today,” Freeman said in the post. “Congratulations to all of us! Love to you all.”

The backlash against the photograph was fierce, according to The Washington Post, with many social media users saying that comparing the sacrifice of American soldiers in World War II with the struggle for gay rights was disrespectful. 

"Altering the American flag colors && trying to remake the "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" photograph with the gay pride flag is degrading," one user said.

"I get all that gay marriage stuff but to replace the American flag from the iconic Iwo Jima picture, just no," another post read. 

Freeman, whose studio is in Los Angeles, told the Post he even received a death threat that he reported to the FBI.

"This picture was just a flashpoint for a lot people who are looking for a reason to lash out, so I guess I get to be the whipping boy,” Freeman told the Post about the backlash. “I’m fine with that if that’s what it takes.”

The Iwo Jima motif has appeared elsewhere, including to sell beer and promote the Hard Rock Cafe, and its use has been similarly criticized. In 2008, Time magazine was criticized for using an altered version of the Iwo Jima photograph showing soldiers planting a tree. That cover, which was meant to compare the struggle to win the war to the struggle to combat climate change, even drew condemnation from some fellow journalists.

Missing Woman Rescued Cliff-Side

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A 40-year-old Simi Valley, California, woman reported missing earlier this week was found stranded Wednesday inside her SUV, which had plummeted about 70 feet over the side of a Malibu cliff.

Los Angeles firefighters responded to a crash about 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Latigo Canyon Road area after a walker reported hearing screams and spotting Jenifer Duron's white Kia Sorento at the bottom of the canyon, officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

Lisa McClelland was walking her dogs in the area with husband John Abbene when she noticed something was amiss.

"I saw skid marks, splayed gravel and matted down grass, so I went to the cliff side and looked over the edge and that's when I saw the white SUV," McClelland said. "I hollered down and I heard a very weak response of 'help me.'"

Her husband waited at the cliff and reassured Duron while his wife went to call emergency services.

"We could see her hand coming out of the back door... so we knew she was OK but she couldn't really verbalize how she felt," Abbene said.

When rescuers arrived they climbed down the steep cliff to reach Duron, who was dehydrated, but talking and conscious. She was lifted to safety and then taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, sheriff's officials said. She was treated for dehydration and underwent tests for numbness in her legs. Her family said she could return home as early as Thursday.

After the rescue McClelland was told by rescuers if it was not for her Duron would have perished.

"(Rescuers) told me I saved her life and I said no, you guys did the heavy lifting. And he said, 'no you saved her life," McClelland said. "I only did what a good citizen would do."

Duron was reported missing by family members Monday when didn't return home from a jog she was going on in Malibu.

After reuniting at the hospital, Daruty said his daughter was driving home that day when she got distracted by her purse in the passenger seat. Duron swerved, drove off the road and was stranded the next two nights in tough terrain without food, water or cellphone service.

"She could hear cars going by and she didn't know if someone was going to find her or not," Daruty said.

Gordon Tokumatsu, Robert Kovacik and Michael Larkin contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: NewsChopper4-KNBCTV

Canyon Fire Burns Close to Homes

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A canyon fire that burned dangerously close to several homes may have been caused by illegal fireworks.

Neighbors say they heard the sound of fireworks just before 9:30 p.m. on Galloway Drive, along the edge of Rose Canyon Open Space Park north of State Route 52 and west of Genesee Avenue.

Soon after, they heard the sirens of fire engines as San Diego Fire-Rescue crews were called out atr 9:37 p.m. to battle a vegetation fire.

Fire officials say the fire was small, just 25 feet by 20 feet in size.

Fire crews had to use a hose line to get up and down the steep slope and reach the flames.

The fire was extinguished without any damage to nearby homes.

Investigators have not confirmed fireworks caused the fire.

An investigation is ongoing.
 



Photo Credit: NBC 7

MTS Gets $31.9M for New Station, Trolleys

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The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has been awarded $31.9 million in grants.

The MTS grant is one of only 14 projects in the state funded by the State of California’s 2015 and 2016 cap-and-trade budget. A total of $224 million is being allocated for the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP).

The grant will be used to purchase eight new light rail vehicles to increase capacity on the MTS Trolley system, and for a new trolley station serving the 22-story San Diego Central Courthouse being built on C Street between State and Union streets.

The proximity of the new station will provide convenient access to the 44,500 jobs expected to be within a half-mile walk by 2020.

“The addition of the light rail vehicles will ease overcrowding on the Trolley, making it more attractive and comfortable,” said MTS Chief Executive Officer Paul Jablonski. “And the new rail station will serve the expanding court complex, which is a major destination for employees and jurors.”

The Cap-and-Trade program was established via Assembly Bill 32 to collect fees from producers of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The fees collected are then distributed to a variety of projects that will provide long-term reductions in GHG emissions. The addition of trolley cars will increase capacity on the MTS Blue and Orange Lines, thereby encouraging more trips via public transit instead of by car. The new downtown station will reduce train congestion at Santa Fe Depot, allowing for more trips on Trolley, COASTER and Amtrak from there, which can reduce trips in automobiles.

MTS expects to take delivery on the new Trolleys and begin construction on the new station by late 2017.


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Smartphone 'Kill Switch' Law Takes Effect

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Effective Wednesday, newly-purchased smartphones in California will be required to come pre-equipped with theft-deterrent technology.

This technology allows for a “kill switch” to be enabled in consumers’ smartphones unless they intentionally opt out. In the event that the phone gets stolen, cell phone providers have the ability to instantly shut off or “kill” access to the phone.

This smartphone theft law is the first of its kind and could set a precedent for other states to follow. The state district attorney’s office has reported that many industry leaders will not be making California-specific smartphones, meaning that all the smartphones sold by major companies nationwide will have the same theft-deterrent capability.

Technology like this has existed for quite some time, but it has only now become law.

“California has led the nation in protecting consumers against the epidemic of smartphone theft, and our efforts are already paying off,” said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco. “Recent reports show that smartphone thefts are already on the decline as more new phones come equipped with kill switches. The incentive to steal smartphones, which had become a trigger for violent street crime in many of our largest cities, is rapidly dwindling.”

A study conducted by consumerreports.org found that smartphone theft was down from 3.1 million in 2013 to 2.1 million in 2014. With California’s historic new law in place, that number is likely to decrease at an even more rapid rate while simultaneously increasing public safety.


Local's Mission: Making Vintage VW's Electric

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David Bernardo’s 1963 VW Beetle has no trouble getting attention on California roads.

His red bug is dutifully restored from tires to wooden roof luggage rack, from chrome dome hubcaps to the polished bumpers bracketing this mid-century classic.

But it’s the motor which makes this bug truly remarkable. It is retro-fit with a high performance electric engine that can power the car, typically known for charmingly sputtering along below the speed limit to high speeds that top 100 miles per hour.

Bernardo doesn't have an automotive background. He is a graphic designer by trade who had a love of this car and a wish to one day convert one to a zero emissions vehicle. But when he looked at conversion options almost a decade ago, he discovered it wasn’t easy. They typically included altering more of the car body he wanted to preserve.

But rapid technology advancements for electric motors just in the past few years made it possible to have an efficient, speedy motor and keep the historical body virtually the same. Working with San Marcos company EV Motors which makes electric motors for race cars, David created his first electric VW simply for his own use.

But quickly, he began to get interest from would be buyers and that is how Zelectric Motors was born.

Bernardo now restores and converts typically one VW vehicle a month ( Beetles, Micro-Busses, Karman Ghias and Things) for an array of customers who range from car enthusiasts to undisclosed celebrities.

The price isn't cheap.

It starts typically around $60,000 but there appears to be strong interest in these cars which marry charming, classic style with modern technology with the allure of little maintenance required.

Zelectric cars have won awards from prestigious US car shows. And the company has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, on cable news networks and in automotive blogs like Robert Angelo’s Roads and Rides.

Despite the vehicle’s environment-friendly motor, David Bernardo says going green wasn’t his driving motivation. He says he wanted to evolve a largely maintenance free classic that goes fast. And he had a cultural mission: to make sure this beloved bug that hit the streets almost 80 years ago can still power along the California coastline for at least another half century
 



Photo Credit: Mark Mullen, NBC 7

Statue to Honor Astronaut Sally Ride Delayed

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California Lawmakers decided Thursday to shelve the plan to replace a statue of Father Junipero Serra with Sally Ride, longtime La Jollan and first American woman in space.

The decision was backed by Pope Francis’s planned visit in September to the U.S. Pope Francis plans to make Father Junipero Serra a saint during his visit.

State Sen. Ricardo Lara made the announcement and said he wanted to honor Ride for her scientific achievements. Having a statue of Ride would also make history. She would be California’s first woman and lesbian represented in National Statuary Hall.

Mixed emotions come from the delay in replacing the statue.

Serra has been accused by Native Americans of wiping out indigenous populations and forcing populations to suppress their culture. Native Americans support the statues departure.

Catholics have been pushing for the delay, commenting that it would be disrespectful to rid the U.S. Capitol of the statue.

Attempts to replace the Junipero Serra will have to wait until 2016.

Ride, who died in July 2012 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, was just 31 years old when she flew into space aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983.
 



Photo Credit: NASA

Lyft, Uber Granted Airport Permits

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San Diego International Airport will allow Uber and Lyft drivers to pick-up riders from Lindbergh Field in a one-year piloted program.

This decision follows a unanimous vote by Airport Authority board members to bring in ridesharing businesses into Lindbergh Field.

Known as the Transportation Network Companies (TNC), now ridesharing entities like Uber and Lyft have the same benefits as taxi cab drivers in San Diego International Airport transportation.

Before, only taxi cabs and ride sharing vans were allowed to transport people flying in at Lindbergh Field.

An airport authority spokesperson said in a statement that Lindbergh Field is going through the process to issue permits to big name ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft. Riders can expect the companies to be picking up as early as the weekend, just in time for Comic Con.

Uber San Diego general manager Chris Ballard said, “Riders and drivers in San Diego voiced their strong support for ridesharing options at Lindbergh Field and we look forward to applying for the permit,” in a statement.

Some travelers look forward to having the ridesharing company’s pick-up at the airport.

Ketriel Mendy, who flew into San Diego Thursday said he likes the service Uber offers and would love to use it at the airport.

“If taxis would have offered the convenience before-hand, I would have used that, until they do, I’ll take Uber,” Mendy said.

Cab companies are not happy about the newly adopted resolution.

“Now with this, we’re irrelevant. Our business model is irrelevant,” said Tony Hueso of Cab USA, in a statement.

Lindbergh Field is considered late in the game to granting ride sharing permits. San Francisco International Airport, Portland International Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport are among those who have already signed on with the popular ridesharing companies.

NAS North Island Noise Warning for 4th of July

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This Fourth of July you could hear loud booms from more than just fireworks, but there’s no need to be alarmed.

In celebration of Independence Day, the Navy will lead a 21 Gun Salute this Saturday at noon at the north side of Naval Air Station North Island.

Anyone celebrating on Coronado Island, near the San Diego Bay and Downtown should be prepared to hear the gun shots. The ceremony will fire the 21 gunshots at five second intervals, so don’t be surprised by the string of loud noises.

The ceremony also known as the “National Salute,” is used to mark important occasions, such as in honoring U.S. Presidents and Heads of State.

The Navy emphasizes they are committed to being good neighbors to San Diegans and makes an effort to keep noise levels as low as possible, but if you wish to file a noise complaint, you can visit: http://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrsw/installations/navbase_coronado/om/NoiseComplaintForm.html
 



Photo Credit: NBC 7

WATCH: Judge, Suspect Reunite

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A Miami-Dade judge and one of her old middle school classmates had an emotional reunion in court after he was arrested following an alleged burglary and police pursuit.

Arthur Booth, 49, was arrested Monday by Hialeah Police on several charges including burglary, grand theft, fleeing, and resisting arrest.

On Thursday, he went before Judge Mindy Glazer in bond court. Glazer, recognizing Booth from their days at Nautilus Middle School, asked if he had gone there.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness," Booth said, as he covered his head and began crying.

"I'm sorry to see you there, I always wondered what happened to you sir," Glazer said, as Booth continued crying. "This was the nicest kid in middle school, he was the best kid in middle school. I used to play football with him, all the kids, and look what has happened."

Booth continued to repeat "Oh my goodness" as Glazer gave him words of encouragement.

"I am so sorry to see you there. Mr. Booth, I hope you are able to change your ways, good luck to you," she said. "What's sad is how old we've become. Good luck to you sir, I hope you are able to come out of this ok and just lead a lawful life."

According to an arrest report, Booth was spotted driving a gold Honda Accord that was a vehicle suspected of being involved in a home burglary. When an officer tried to stop the Accord, Booth took off, and a pursuit began, the report said.

Booth ran stop signs and was involved in two accidents before crashing the car in the area of Northwest 36th Street and North River Drive, the report said. Booth fled on foot but was caught a short time later, authorities said.

Booth's bond was set at $43,000. It was unknown if he's hired an attorney.

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