Fourth of July fireworks scared many animals away from their homes Saturday night, so the county’s animal shelters are now trying to reunite dozens of dogs with their families.

San Diego County Animal Services says Independence Day is one of the busiest times for them, since dogs tend to panic and run away during the big booms and flashes in the sky.

Over this weekend, the county’s three shelters took in 67 dogs, compared to the prior weekend’s 37. Last year, 83 dogs were rescued over the 4th of July weekend, county officials say.

So far, only 18 owners have found their dogs, while roughly another 48 are still waiting in the shelters.

If you’ve lost your dog, check out Animal Services’ lost and found page and compare pictures. You can also call 619-767-2675. The shelters open at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

You can download and check the free app Finding Rover, which uses facial recognition, to see if your dog has been listed there.

“The best way to protect your dog from getting lost is to license your pet and make sure he is microchipped. Finally, register your dog with Finding Rover,” said Animal Services Deputy Director Dan DeSousa. “Those are the three things that will help bring Rover home.”

Those who find a lost animal are asked to make sure the dog stays on your property until it can be picked up by an Animal Services officer.

All of the county’s shelters offer a microchipping clinic Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m., which costs $10 per microchip.

Animal Services covers the unincorporated parts of the county and has contracts with San Diego, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar and Santee.
 

A Rancho Penasquitos family is raising concerns about a local charity called WishWarriors, saying the nonprofit took advantage of their situation as they tried to save their 13-year-old daughter from cancer.

Within a week of Kasey Harvey’s diagnoses of Rhabdomyosarcoma cancer late last year, her parents got a letter which seemed to be written by one of Kasey’s schoolmates. In the letter, the girl writes her father is Robert Bjork and he works for WishWarriors. According to the letter, WishWarriors “helps raise money for families of children with cancer.”

But the Harveys say instead of receiving any support, their daughter was treated like a marketing tool.

NBC 7 Investigates started digging into WishWarriors and found multiple emails, advertisements and texts showing organizers, particularly CEO and President Brianna King, promising the family financial support for allowing the charity to highlight them.

When the family agreed to let the charity highlight Kasey, they soon saw their daughter’s story on local news segments, on social media and in a magazine article that read, “WishWarriors is supporting Kasey and her family through their journey.”

“When they said they were helping us financially through it, we sort of said to our friends that’s not correct. We haven’t had any money,” said Susan Harvey, Kasey’s mother.

The Harveys were heavily involved in a WishWarriors-hosted golf tournament at Maderas Gold Club last April. NBC 7 Investigates confirmed the fundraiser was hosted by Chargers players and people donated thousands of dollars to the event’s stated mission.

At last check, none of that money has been distributed to any families. WishWarriors said in June it would release information about the money raised. That information has not been provided.

Since forming in April 2014, WishWarriors has highlighted several local families with sick children and, to date, none of them have received any money.

“You shouldn’t have to go through that when you’re also trying to save your daughter’s life,” said Rodney Harvey, Kasey’s father.

NBC 7 also learned that 45 percent of all donations goes to what the charity’s website calls “today’s most advanced cancer research.” Specifically name is The Biotelesis Project where the sole researcher and independent owner is Dr. Robert Bjork — the same man whose daughter sent the Harvey’s that handwritten letter. Bjork is also one of the charity’s board members and the chair of its advisory board.

“People shouldn’t be making decisions to be giving money to themselves,” said Daniel Borochoff. Borochoff is the president of Charity Watch, a national charity watchdog group.

“You need some checks and balances there,” he said.

WishWarriors says there is no conflict of interest because Bjork will recuse himself from any board votes involving donated money.

A check by NBC 7 Investigates into WishWarriors President and CEO Brianna King uncovered a criminal past.

While King was running the charity, she had two active arrest warrants in Riverside and Orange Counties. In Riverside, King was charged in 2005 with a misdemeanor for writing bad checks two stores. King never appeared in court. Two years later, in Orange County, King pleaded guilty to felony charges for burglary and writing bad checks.

After NBC 7 Investigates questions about those warrants, law enforcement arrested King late Friday in Lake Arrowhead in connection with the Orange County felony charges. Currently, she is at an Orange County jail and is ineligible for bail.

NBC 7 Investigates has asked both King and Dr. Bjork for on camera interviews. Neither have made themselves available.

They Harveys say they feel hurt and disgusted about being involved with WishWarriors. They say it broke their trust and cost them valuable time with their daughter.

“You cannot do something like that to a family who’s going through cancer. You just can’t,” said Susan.

A Chula Vista man who was hit by a car while mowing his lawn compared the crash to being tackled by the whole Chargers team.

Carlos Rodrigues, who shared his harrowing story exclusively with NBC 7 Monday night, said he is not sure how fast the black Ford Focus was moving before impact, but it had speed enough to take out 20 feet of fence, destroy a concrete pillar and knock Rodrigues, his mower and garbage can 15 yards backward.

Now, Rodrigues’ road to recovery is the distance between his couch and kitchen for now.

“I'm really beat up. I feel like I got hit by the whole Chargers team without wearing any kind of gear,” he said.

Photographs were taken after emergency crews arrived, one of which shows Rodrigues strapped to a gurney board.

The driver of the Ford Focus standing behind him is 31-year-old Michael Torres, who now faces two counts of DUI. He was treated for minor injuries after the crash and then was booked in San Diego County jail.

He has since been released to await his first court appearance.

Rodrigues’ wife Chris walked the distance from where the car hit her husband to where he landed -- about 45 feet away.

“You just ruined a family for what you did. You hurt us to the core. For me, I regret, have sorrow, sadness, anger and a lot of anger,” she said.

Rodrigues said the most surprising part was that at the time of the collision, he wasn't in the street; he was on his lawn.

“It's really not something you think about when you are mowing your grass,” he said.

His injuries, while not life threatening, may be slow healing. He suffered several cracked ribs, a punctured lung and bruising from his knee to his hip.

The rest are deep scrapes on his elbow and back. Still, Rodrigues is counting his blessings. “I owe it all to God. I believe he was looking out for me,” he said.

Like Carlos, the mower needs some repair. The next time the uses it, he plans to approach it far more cautiously.

“I just feel very fortunate and I am not going to take another day for granted,” Rodrigues said.

A large chemical spill was reported Monday at an El Cajon company that sells water treatment chemicals.

Abcana Industries discovered the leak around 5:30 a.m. at the company’s location on West Bradley Avenue and North Johnson Avenue.

Concentrated bleach leaked out of a storage tank and reached a secondary container, a three-foot concrete wall, according to Heartland Fire and Rescue crews.

Employees estimate the spill at 2,000 gallons.

The company was instructed to have a private clean-up crew come in and use a vacuum truck to clean up the spill.

No word on how long the tank was leaking.

The company sells wholesale water treatment chemicals for water parks, pool service, laundry facilities and other businesses.

"We are taking soil samples, as well as liquid samples just to confirm what type of product it is,” said Chris Jensen with Heartland Fire and Rescue. “As well to see how far in the soil it may have gotten and what mitigation we may need to do there as well.”

After the clean-up phase Environmental Health will determine the cause.

Officials say the spill does not appear intentional.

The holiday weekend did not bring the crowds expected to San Diego-area beaches and businesses. 

“On Sunday, it was like a ghost town here,” said Dennis Fagan, the owner of P.B. Sun and Surf.

The number of people who gathered at the beach over the three-day weekend was about half of what was expected, San Diego Lifeguards reported Monday.

The gray overcast skies San Diego experienced were not good for spending a day at the beach or spending money at local businesses.

Saturday was by far the busiest day, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesperson Lee Swanson.

He reported beach attendance at 313,000 people Saturday. Over the holiday weekend, a little over half a million people enjoyed the sand and surf, officials said.

Sunday was the slowest day with approximately 66,000 people heading to the shore.

In comparison, last year's crowds numbered 459,000 with the Fourth of July holiday on a Friday. An estimated 275,500 people were reported on San Diego's beaches on July 5, 2014.

Rich Walwood of Mission Surf said business may be off slightly over last year's holiday weekend.

“Business wise in terms of numbers, it was about the same as last year, maybe a little bit down, 10 to 20 percent,” he said.

While many restaurants and bars say they did not see that big of a drop in customers, it's the specialty shops that seemed to take the biggest hit.

The owner of Ocean's Ice Cream in PB, says business was down about $3,000 over the holiday weekend.

Fagan says his business was down some 40-percent.

“Usually on July 3rd, I'm on my knees in here praying to the weather gods that there will be no marine layer, no fog and no rain. And this year, they didn't listen,” he said laughing.

On Friday, tourism officials told NBC 7 that 99 percent of the area's hotel rooms were booked for the weekend.

San Diego Lifeguards also reported they handled 258 medical aid calls and took part in 154 water rescues over the holiday weekend.

An 84-year-old man died Monday after his vehicle veered off State Route 163 and struck a tree.

According to the medical examiner's office, Charles Babin, who lives in San Diego with his wife, was driving alone in his Hyundai Sonata just before 7 a.m., heading south on SR-163.

Just north of Interstate 805, witnesses saw his vehicle turn to the right and off the road. Babin then hit a large eucalyptus tree.

Emergency crews took Babin to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The cause of his death has not been determined, the medical examiner's office says.

A Carlsbad boy underwent brain surgery after he was struck in a plane crash on the beach Saturday.

Nicholas Baer had no idea he was in the path of danger on Carlsbad beach near Cannon Road.

He was walking back from the water after body surfing and to his left, a plane with engine trouble was flying low along the sand.

As the pilot reached the area where Nicholas was standing, the plane flipped over and landed upside down, striking the 12-year-old boy in the head.

"Nicholas was pretty much at the end of that plane's journey," the boy's mother Janice Baer said Monday. "Somehow he was in that area at the time, so I think he's a miracle dude."

Janice said she learned of the accident when a family friend called her. She admits she was having trouble connecting the dots between a plane crash and her son being injured. When she heard, "I think he got hit in the head by the propeller" she dropped the phone.

Bill Baer said he and his wife rushed to the beach and were able to join their son as emergency personnel loaded him in the ambulance.

Nicholas suffered a concussion and underwent emergency brain surgery at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

"He's had a fantastic recovery," said neurosurgeon Hal Meltzer, M.D. "He did have to have surgery the night he came in. The surgery could not have gone better."

His parents say Nicholas doesn't remember the moment of impact.

"He's been fairly quiet about it," Bill said. "I think a lot of it, he's just tired. He wants to go home."

"Watching some of the videos, it's kind of surreal for him," he added.

FAA officials say the plane lost power before the crash. It's registered to Air Ads Inc., based out of Gillespie Field in El Cajon.

The owner of the plane told NBC7 the pilot had 700 hours of training and the plane had just been serviced and checked out okay.

The pilot was uninjured.

Baer will attend seventh grade at Valley Middle School. Some of his classmates shaved their heads as a show of support. 

The gesture meant a lot, according to Nicholas' parents.

"He was so mad about his bald head. I mean that's what makes the sweetness of his little buddy shaving their heads. It's just wonderful," Janice Baer said.
 

NASCAR driver Austin Dillon, who survived a horrific crash after his car went sailing into the protective fence at the Daytona Speedway Monday morning, said "the safety equipment did it's job."

"I'm feeling pretty good this morning actually for what we went through," Dillon said on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday. "It was a heck of a crash and the safety equipment did it's job and I'm here today."

Spectators and fellow drivers feared for Dillon's safety after his Chevy sailed upside down and careened into a fence before being slammed by two oncoming cars -- all at speeds estimated to be between 190 and 198 mph. Daytona President Joie Chitwood said 13 fans were attended to in the grandstands after the last-lap accident. 

"You see a wreck like that and you shouldn't be talking to a person as early as you guys are talking to me today," Dillon told "Today's" Matt Lauer. He added that the safety measures implemented by NASCAR are among the reasons why he emerged from his mangled car with only a bruised tailbone and forearm.

Dillon also addressed concerns many have over the safety of restrictor plate racing in which drivers race tightly bunched together at speeds of nearly 200 mph.

"I think for this type of racing we could probably bring the speed down a little bit and get the same style of racing that we want to see out there for the fans. Obviously we don't want cars getting in the air. So, we'll work hard to do that," Dillon said.

Meanwhile, Dillon said he is "just a little sore," but ready to get back in the hot seat this weekend at the Kentucky Speedway.

"We signed up for this as drivers," said Dillon about the risks of his sport, particularly during restrictor plate races. "It's a part of our race and we go to Talladega and Daytona twice a year."
 

A judge has refused to dismiss a murder case filed against former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephen Marcus rejected a motion by Knight's attorney to dismiss the case. His attorney wanted the case thrown out because a key witness refused to identify the Death Row Records co-founder as the person who ran him over.

Knight's attorney Thomas Mesereau also argued that the 50-year-old was fleeing an attack by a key prosecution witness, Cle "Bone" Sloan, and the case should be thrown out.

Marcus disagreed, saying there was no dispute that Knight was behind the wheel of his pickup when he ran over Sloan and another man outside a Compton burger stand in late January.

Knight is currently being held on $10 million bail.

A Rancho Penasquitos family is raising concerns about a local charity called WishWarriors, saying the nonprofit took advantage of their situation as they tried to save their 13-year-old daughter's life. 

Within a week of Kasey Harvey’s Rhabdomyosarcoma cancer diagnosis late last year, her parents got a letter from one of Kasey’s schoolmates. In the letter, the girl writes her father is Robert Bjork and he works for WishWarriors. According to the letter, WishWarriors “helps raise money for families of children with cancer.”

The Harveys say instead of receiving any support, they feel their daughter was treated like a marketing tool.

NBC 7 Investigates started digging into WishWarriors and found multiple emails, advertisements and texts showing organizers, particularly CEO and President Brianna King, promising the family financial support for allowing the charity to highlight them.

When the family agreed to let the charity highlight Kasey, they soon saw their daughter’s story on local news segments, on social media and in a magazine article that read, “WishWarriors is supporting Kasey and her family through their journey.”

“When they said they were helping us financially through it, we sort of said to our friends, 'That’s not correct. We haven’t had any money,'” said Susan Harvey, Kasey’s mother.

The Harveys were heavily involved in a WishWarriors-hosted golf tournament at Maderas Gold Club last April. NBC 7 Investigates confirmed the fundraiser was attended by San Diego Chargers players and received thousands of dollars in donations from other participants.

At last check, none of that money has been distributed to any families. WishWarriors said in June it would release information about the money raised. That information has not been provided.

An attorney for the charity wrote in a statement the organization is "new and small" and doesn't have the resources "to handle administrative duties full-time."

Since forming in April 2014, WishWarriors has highlighted several local families with sick children and, to date, none of them have received any money.

“You shouldn’t have to go through that when you’re also trying to save your daughter’s life,” said Rodney Harvey, Kasey’s father.

NBC 7 also learned that 45 percent of all donations is slated to go to what the charity’s website calls “today’s most advanced cancer research.” Specifically named is The Biotelesis Project, where the independent researcher and sole owner is Dr. Robert Bjork - the same man whose daughter sent the Harveys that handwritten letter. Bjork is also one of the charity’s board members and the chair of its advisory board.

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“People shouldn’t be making decisions to be giving money to themselves,” said Daniel Borochoff. Borochoff is the president of Charity Watch, a national charity watchdog group.

“You need some checks and balances there,” he said.

WishWarriors says there is no conflict of interest because Bjork will recuse himself from any board votes involving donated money.

A check by NBC 7 Investigates into WishWarriors President and CEO Brianna King uncovered a criminal past.

While King was running the charity, she had two active arrest warrants. In Riverside County, King was charged in 2005 with a misdemeanor for writing bad checks to two stores. King never appeared in court. Two years later, in Orange County, King pleaded guilty to felony charges for burglary and writing bad checks.

After NBC 7 Investigates asked questions about those warrants, law enforcement arrested King late Friday in Lake Arrowhead in connection with the Orange County felony charges. Currently, she is at an Orange County jail and is ineligible for bail.

NBC 7 Investigates has asked both King and Dr. Bjork for on-camera interviews. Neither have made themselves available.

The Harveys say they feel hurt and disgusted about being involved with WishWarriors. They say the organization broke their trust and cost them valuable time with their daughter.

“You cannot do something like that to a family who’s going through cancer. You just can’t,” said Susan.

Borochoff, the president of Charity Watch, gave tips on what people should do before getting involved with a new charity:

1. You need to be able to trust the people running it.

2. Research the organizers online.

3. Ask for their qualifications. They should have past experience.

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If you’re one of the thousands of costumed fans who will descend on downtown San Diego this week for Comic-Con, public transit is your best bet for getting to the massive pop culture convention.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) plans to boost its Green Line Trolley frequency to every 7.5 minutes during Comic-Con, increasing service for the big event Wednesday through Sunday. This line provides direct service to Trolley stations next to the San Diego Convention Center.

Trolleys will serve the Convention Center from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. The full MTS Comic-Con schedule can be seen here.

MTS says Trolley stops with the highest capacity of free parking along the Green Line include the lower level of the Hazard Center Station, Qualcomm Stadium, El Cajon Transit Center, Old Town Transit Center and the Grantville Trolley Station.

Riders can also access Comic-Con from the Orange and Blue Lines. Both lines stop at 12th & Imperial Transit Center and from there, riders can transfer to the Green Line.

MTS says downtown is also served by many bus routes, including the new Rapid 215, which departs from SDSU via El Cajon Boulevard, and Rapid 235, which comes from Escondido via Interstate 15.

MTS says riders can make their trip to Comic-Con even faster by getting Trolley tickets via the free MTS mobile ticketing app, mTicket. Passengers can buy and store Trolley tickets on their smartphone and avoid waiting in lines at ticket vending machines or booths. Mobile tickets for one to five days of the convention range in price from $5.50 to $20 per person.

That’s it, Comic-Con fans. May the Force be with you as you brave the caped crowds. To get the latest buzz from San Diego Comic-Con International (SDCC) 2015, visit NBC 7's SDCC coverage page.
 

A Ride the Ducks amphibious vehicle's large blind spot and a lack of pedestrian crossing signals at a Philadelphia intersection led to the tragic death of a Texas woman run over by the tourist attraction this spring, a wrongful-death lawsuit claims.

Elizabeth Karnicki was pulled under the wheel of Duck Boat #46 — packed with passengers on a tour — at 11th and Arch Streets on May 8. The 68-year-old psychologist from Beaumont, Texas screamed seconds before her head and body were crushed by the front tires just a few feet from her husband, Dan.

The pair were crossing southbound on 11th Street when the light changed and the duck boat started to move west. According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas, the duck boat driver could not see Karnicki or her husband because the driver's seat is 10 feet away from the large bow.

"These duck boats are deadly," said attorney Robert Mongeluzzi. "These are being driven through the most crowded streets in Philadelphia. It is very inappropriate for them to be operating."

A popular tourist attraction that opened in Philadelphia in 2003, Ride the Ducks takes passengers on an 80 minute tour around the city pointing out cultural sights before taking a 20 minute drive in the Delaware River.

Mongeluzzi showed 3D laser scans of the World War II-era duck boat to illustrate what he called a "massive blind spot" on the 11-foot tall, 35-foot long steel land and sea vehicle. Karnicki, being 5-feet tall, would never have been seen by the driver once he put his foot on the accelerator, the attorney claims.

The victim also had a blind spot, Mongeluzzi explained, because the duck boat blocked her view of the traffic light and prevented her from knowing how much time she had to cross. He said the city is at fault for failing to install a pedestrian countdown clock at the busy intersection that sits at the foot of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

A spokesman for Ride the Ducks said safety is paramount and rebuked several claims including that the driver was at fault. 

"Witnesses interviewed by the police also stated that the decedent walked out against a red light, was distracted and the driver was not at fault," the statement read in part.

The city declined to comment citing the pending litigation.

A Deadly Anniversary

The lawsuit was announced on the fifth anniversary of Philadelphia's other deadly Ride the Ducks incident. On July 7, 2010, a duck boat, disabled in the Delaware River, was run down by a barge. Dozens of tourists were thrown into the water as the boat sank some 40 feet to the riverbed. Two Hungarian tourists could not escape and drowned.

The pilot of a tug boat pulling the barge was on his cellphone when the collision happened and later sentenced to two years in prison. Ride the Ducks and the tug operator settled with the victims for $17 million and the duck boats were dry docked for eight months.

The duck boat manufacturer, an arm of Ride the Ducks, is also cited in the lawsuit. Mongeluzzi said the company regularly built the vehicles on a 1940s-era chassis — from a time it was used during the D-Day invasion in France — to get around complying with modern safety standards.

Duck Boat 46 was refurbished in 2003, the suit said.

"Three deaths in less than five years have proven that the duck boats are dangerous on the water and dangerous on the land," the attorney said.

Disputing a Distraction

Witnesses of Karnicki's death told police and NBC10 the woman seemed distracted in the moments before she was run over.

A woman who declined to share her name on the day of the accident said Karnicki was looking down at her iPad while crossing the street. Another witness, Joseph Kist, said Karnicki had her back turned to the duck boat. "She didn't know what was coming by," he told NBC10 in May.

A Philadelphia Police spokeswoman also cited witnesses claiming the woman may have been distracted.

Mongeluzzi said three witness statements included police reports made no mention of Karnicki being distracted. He conceded, though, the issue will be a challenge in court.

The suit is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and Mongeluzzi said Don Karnici, the victim's husband, wants Ride the Ducks shut down.

Answering a question about how closing the attraction could have a negative impact on tourism, the attorney balked.

"You don't promote Philadelphia tourism by drowning and crushing tourists to death," he said.

As a group showed off a gun on a City Heights basketball court, a man was accidentally shot in the foot, prompting the lockdown of a nearby elementary school, police say.

San Diego police say officers responded to the 4400 Wightman Street for a shooting at Henwood Park.

At 1:50 p.m. -- just 15 minutes before school let out — Rosa Parks Elementary, a year-round school, was placed on lockdown as a precaution.

The 19-year-old man was taken to Mercy Hospital. Investigators say he was with a group of people on the basketball court who were showing off a gun. The weapon accidentally fired into the man's foot.

"It kind of concerns me, right next to the school," said parent Janette Vargas. "This area is getting worse through time. It's a big concern." 

Clarence House, a parent of an elementary student, was inside the school when the lockdown was ordered.

"The principal came over intercom and said don't go outside," said House. They told the children to get under the table as quietly as possible.

According to police, the lockdown was lifted at 2:30 p.m.

The investigation is ongoing since the gun has not been recovered.

The city has decided to hold a ticker-tape parade to celebrate the U.S. women's soccer team's World Cup victory, marking the first time in more than half a century that the honor will be bestowed upon female athletes.

Mayor de Blasio's office has announced plans for the parade, which will be held Friday beginning at 11 a.m. along Broadway from the Battery to City Hall, known as the Canyon of Heroes.

All are invited to celebrate along the parade route. Those who want a chance to attend the special program at City Hall can go to nyc.gov/parade or call 311 on Wednesday between 2 to 4 p.m. to sign up.

NBC 4 New York will be live streaming the parade on air and online.

Forward Abby Wambach tweeted: "Looks like we now are headed to NYC!! Very humbled by this... #the celebration continues." 

"NYC we will see you Friday! #WorldChamps," added team member Alex Morgan. 

The U.S. defeated Japan 5-2 on Sunday in Canada to win the World Cup, propelled by the heroic three-goal hat trick of South Jersey native Carli Lloyd.

On Monday, de Blasio's press secretary said the administration congratulated the team "on its tremendous achievement and is currently exploring logistics and talking with the team and other partners about a possible ticker-tape parade."

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer had written to de Blasio suggesting the women be honored with a parade in lower Manhattan. In her letter, she said the team "set an amazing example for athletes across our great nation" and pointed out that there has never been a parade honoring a women's team.

"Our newest soccer champions represent an opportunity for New York to recognize that heroes and role models come in all genders," she said.

The route along Broadway is known as the Canyon of Heroes. Among those honored with parades have been the New York Yankees when they've won the World Series and the New York Giants when they've won the Super Bowl, most recently in 2012.

The last female athlete to earn the honor of the confetti shower was Olympic figure skating gold medalist Carol Heiss Jenkins in 1960, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York. Jenkins told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday that she wanted to see the women's soccer team celebrate in a similar manner. The U.S. women's team would be the first female sports team to earn the honor. 

The events have been known as ticker-tape parades, from the ticker tape that was showered down upon those being celebrated from people in the nearby buildings. The ticker tape has been replaced by paper confetti.

The U.S. women's soccer team is being honored with a rally in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The group is also expected to make a visit to the White House.

Great white sharks have returned to the coast of Massachusetts — and experts are thrilled to see them back.

"It's a wonderful experience to have the sharks return," said John King of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

King, along with researchers from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, tagged the first great white of the 2015 season off the coast of Chatham on Monday.

The nearly 13-foot-long female, affectionately named Avery, is something of a local: She was also the first great white spotted in the area in 2014. Sharks frequent Chatham because of its huge seal population.

The skipper said they found her about a quarter-mile off the Chatham shore in just seven and a half feet of water, and he couldn’t be happier.

King isn’t skittish about great whites, but he is concerned about other shark species, like the kinds he says could be biting people near North Carolina.

"The sharks that are biting people in North Carolina are not white sharks — they are bull sharks or black tip sharks, and those sharks don't occur in Cape Cod waters," he said.

Still, King stresses caution and common sense for swimmers.

“Pay attention when you have your kids at the beach," he said. "Pay attention to whether you're swimming with seals. I would avoid swimming at dawn and dusk because that's the time when sharks hunt."

In 2014, Greg Skomal of the Massachucets Division of Marine Fisheries said he tagged 18 great whites. Experts expect to tag more this year, which could be good fun on social media.

A great white shark named Mary Lee who was tagged in September 2012 has been sending tweets to a mock account each time her tag sends out a signal or ping. The Twitter account @maryleeshark has more than 85,000 followers.

A monument in the East County honoring the victims of San Diego’s devastating 2003 Cedar Fire is nearly completed and organizers are now seeking artifacts from survivors.

The Cedar Fire Monument stands next to the Lakeside Fire Administration Office on Lakeside Avenue and pays tribute to those who died in the deadly blaze that destroyed thousands of homes and left more than 100 people injured in San Diego.

The community project will include a garden and art installations inspired by the Cedar Fire.

The monument also aims to be used as a community gathering space and an educational tool on wildfires for residents and students. The main walkway to the monument contains a chronology of fires that have impacted the Lakeside area, as well as information on fire preparedness.

“The Cedar Fire Historical Monument will be a place that will be forever set aside for our community to remember the devastating wildfire that touched all of our lives,” the website for the project explains. “It will be a place for reflection and remembrance of those that tragically lost their lives. It will also be there to provide education and awareness for the next time wildfire threatens our community.”

Lakeside Fire Protection District Fire Chief Andy Parr said the site is about 90 percent completed and will be ready to officially open to the public by late October – the 12th anniversary of the fire.

For now, organizers are in the process of collecting more donations for the project, as well as artifacts from survivors of the fire that artists will incorporate into artworks that will be on display at the site. Organizers are asking survivors to bring their items from the Cedar Fire to the monument on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

“Some of that artwork might be some items from the fire that might have uniquely melted into artistic shapes or pieces of the rubble of a home that a local artisan may have turned into art or something else very special,” Parr told NBC 7 Tuesday. “We hope something like that comes forward with this call.”

To donate to the Cedar Fire Monument click here or here. Donations can also be dropped off at the Lakeside Fire Administration Office Monday through Thursday between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Checks can also be mailed directly to: San Diego Regional Fire Foundation, ATTN: Cedar Fire Monument, 2508 Historic Decatur Rd., Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106-6138.

Parr said many community members have made donations toward the monument, and local building industry businesses and trades have been generous with their time and contributions to the project as well.

‘We'd like to raise another $25,000 to assist with the final touches and some of the educational elements/programs that are planned to accompany the site,” Parr explained.

When the project is 100 percent complete, Parr said it will be a symbol of the community.

“The monument is being built just how it was envisioned by the community. Years of committee work, fundraising and other events have turned this place from a vision into a reality,” he said.

“The Cedar Fire of 2003 touched all of us here in Lakeside very deeply and this project has been an opportunity to create something very special from a small sliver of land at the site of Lakeside's newest fire station that was built with the Cedar Fire in mind. The committee owes a great debt of gratitude to many, many people that have helped with this site,” Parr added.

Mia Commer was at La Jolla Shores celebrating her sister’s 11th birthday on Sunday when her mother heard her screaming in pain.

“Our two-year-old barely stepped off the grass into a dirt circle and starting screaming in tremendous pain. As soon as we ran over we realized she had stepped in hot coals someone had dumped there,” said Lisa Commer, the toddler’s mother.

The coals were covered with dirt and just 30-feet from a playground where kids were playing, Mia's mother told NBC 7.

Lifeguards were there to help the toddler and put cold water on her foot to ease the pain. Lifeguards then told her mother that the burns looked more serious and that she needed to go to the hospital.

The family took Mia to Rady Children’s hospital but she was then sent to UCSD Medical Center’s burn unit with second-degree burns.

Click to see Mia's injury - Warning Graphic Image

“As a mom it was really frustrating to know that someone couldn’t take the time to put their coals in the proper receptacles. They definitely shouldn’t be placed where anyone let alone a two-year-old would step on them; seeing her in that much pain has been really frustrating,” said Commer.

Mia will have to undergo several follow-up sessions with doctors before her burns heal. Doctors told the toddler’s mother that she can walk on her foot but her mother tells NBC 7 that Mia is crawling and asking to be held because of the pain.

“Please walk the extra 15-feet or whatever it may have been to put those coals where they need to go," she said. "Don't take the short cut and really think about what your actions can do.”