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SDPD Investigating Mt. Hope Homicide

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Police are investigating two shootings in Mount Hope that left one man dead.

The first shooting happened at around 8:52 p.m. Friday night on the 3900 block of B Street, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said.

SDPD is trying to determine if the shooting is connected with another nearby non-fatal shooting that happened around the same time on Hilltop Drive.

Check back for updates on this story.



Photo Credit: Candice Nguyen/Mount Hope Shooting

Ex-TV Reporter Arrested for Gun on Campus, Child Endangerment: SDPD

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Former San Diego television news reporter Tony Tull was arrested Thursday after officers found a loaded handgun in the possession of a toddler in his care.

Tull was approached by officers near 14th and F Streets in the East Village neighborhood just before 8 a.m. after a citizen told officers Tull had pointed a handgun at someone and claimed to be a police officer.

The incident occurred on the campus of Urban Discovery Academy on 14th Street, police said.

Tull was searched but no handgun was found, according to SDPD Sgt. Elmer Edwards. Officers then found the loaded handgun in the possession of a two-year-old boy sitting in a stroller, Edwards said.

Tull was also caring for a 6-year-old child at the time of his arrest, police said.

He was taken into custody on suspicion of child endangerment and bringing a loaded gun to a school campus.

The children were handed over to the custody of their mother, Edwards said.

Tull, the son of Entertainment Tonight host Kevin Frazier, was a former reporter for CW 6 San Diego and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Long Legal Battle Over Gregory Canyon Ends

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A decades-long dispute over sacred land in Pala is over.

Developers wanted to make it into a landfill, but the Pala Band of Mission Indians fought it for 25 years.

Their fight paid off.

The land was purchased from a private owner by developers who were interested in making it a landfill in the 1980’s. The tribe never owned the land.

It wasn't until new owners acquired that land about two years ago, that the tribe was finally able to buy the sacred ground.

It's been a hard-fought battle for Pala Band of Mission Indians to get 700 acres of land along Highway 76. "The tribe has been fighting it as a proposed landfill site since the late 1980's,” said Shasta Gaughen, Pala Environmental Director and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer.

Developers bought the land to make it into a landfill, but the project stalled several times, after it needed nearly 20 different permits and county approval. "Their intention was to blast all of that out with dynamite to make it deeper so that over 30 years it could hold 30 tons of garbage," explained Gaughen.

The land includes Gregory Mountain, which the tribe considers sacred ground. It's one of the homes of a spiritual entity called Takwic. Gaughen added, "if that is a place where one of your most important spirits resides, the last thing in the world you want, is for there to be trash on it."

The site also includes pictographs, medicine plants, as well as an archeological village site that could potentially have human burials. The original developers eventually ran out of money before the project even began, and the land was bought by new developers who are planning to build housing and retail space on part of property that is not sacred. The new owners, also allowed the tribe to buy the land. "I'm hoping that our victory is just good news going forward for other tribes who are trying to protect their sacred sites," said Gaughen.

The new company, GCL, LLC let the tribe purchase about 700 acres out of the 1,700 acre property, which included Gregory Canyon.

Purchase price was $13 million.

Even though that land has an archeological village, it will remain just the way it is now, untouched.



Photo Credit: NBC 7
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SDSO Investigating Suspicious Death in Vista

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The San Diego County Sheriff's Office (SDSO) is involved in a suspicious death investigation after a body was found in a mobile home in unincorporated Vista.

Deputies were called to the 1000 block of La Rueda Drive at around 11:30 a.m. after receiving calls of a possible assault with a deadly weapon.

Emergency crews arrived and found the body of a 49-year-old woman inside a mobile home on the property.

SDSO investigators are classifying it as a suspicious death and say they have a person of interest.

It wasn't until after 8:30 p.m. on Friday that investigators received a search warrant to go inside the home and collect evidence.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Gaspar Closes Gap in Tight County Supervisor Race

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Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar has closed in on Supervisor Dave Roberts in a tight race for a county supervisor seat, trailing the incumbent now by 560 votes, according to the latest tally Friday afternoon.

Political experts say the race may be too close to call for at least another week.

Countywide, there are more than 300,000 votes provisional ballots left to count.

If the provisional ballots are distributed evenly among the five county supervisor districts, that would be about 63,000 votes left to tally in the razor-close election between the Republican challenger and Democrat incumbent.

“I was really surprised to see that we are getting tightening results in this race,” said Vince Vasquez, an independent elections analyst. “Typically, what you see in San Diego are those late votes that come in from poll voters as well as late absentee votes, typically tend to be more progressive, more Democratic. Those are Roberts voters.”

But, in this case, late votes are swinging right, to the Republican.

“Statistically, right now, the trend is going in Gaspar’s direction,” said Gaspar’s campaign advisor, Jason Roe.

Roberts’ campaign strategist, Gary Gartner, said the number of votes left to count in the county supervisor race is around 50,000.

“We’re closely monitoring the results and optimistic that Supervisor Roberts will remain in the lead,” Gartner said.

Unseating an incumbent supervisor is virtually unheard of in San Diego County. Roberts won his seat in 2012 after County Supervisor Pam Slater Price retired.

In many of the ballots left to county, people wrote in a candidate for president, which means the machine can’t read them.

All of those now have to be counted by hand.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Body Found in Sweetwater Channel Is Victim in Monday Crash

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A man found floating in the Sweetwater Channel Friday was a driver reported missing four days earlier following a collision between a vehicle and a bus on Interstate 5, Chula Vista Police confirmed.

A cyclist on a nearby bike path reported seeing the body of a man in the Sweetwater Channel, south of State Route 54 just before 10 a.m.

Art Sanchez was fishing in the area when police showed up. He told NBC 7 that he's been fishing here for years and has never seen anything like this.

The man's body was face down in the water with just the head and shoulders above the surface.

The crash happened before 2 a.m. on Interstate 5 when a car collided with a bus. After the crash, the CHP could not find the driver of the car.

Late Friday, Chula Vista police confirmed the man found in the water was the driver reported missing after the collision.

Antonio Romero told NBC 7 the man was his 26-year-old son, A.J. Romero.

CHP officers found blood in A.J. Romero's car, but they never found him.

A.J. Romero was a student at UC San Diego, majoring in international studies. One friend said he was also studying real estate.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates.

Son of El Cajon Standoff Suspect Unaccounted For: ECPD

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El Cajon Police Department SWAT is involved in a standoff with a man barricaded inside of a home on the 800 block of Grape Avenue in El Cajon.

ECPD says it first received calls at around 4:40 p.m. from family members who said the man, 25, fired several rounds inside the home.

The family also told police that the man has several weapons inside the home, including a rifle.

Several family members were able to escape the house safely, but the 7-year-old son of the suspect is currently unaccounted for, according to ECPD Lt. Rob Ransweiler.

Authorities believe that the child is still inside of the home, but could not confirm.

ECPD says that it had its first contact with the suspect at around 10:30 p.m. via Instagram, but said that what the suspect was saying was incoherent.

Residents living in immediate proximity to the house were evacuated and police set a perimeter in a two-block radius around the home. Remaining residents in the area were asked to shelter in place.

Broadway between N. 2nd Street and N. 3rd Street and Grape Street from Broadway to Naranca Avenue are currently closed off.

ECPD officers, ECPD SWAT units, the ECPD Crisis Negotiation Team and San Diego County Sheriff's SWAT are all on scene.

As of 11:00 p.m., authorities are still attempting to negotiate the suspect's surrender.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Iraqi Troops Face Stiff Resistance From IS in Eastern Mosul

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Iraqi troops faced stiff resistance Saturday from Islamic State militants as they pushed deeper into eastern Mosul, backed by aerial support from the U.S.-led international coalition, a senior military commander said.

At dawn, troops moved into the Muharabeen and Ulama neighborhoods after fully liberating the adjacent Tahrir neighborhood on Friday, said Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi of the Iraqi special forces. Al-Aridi said IS militants were fighting back with snipers, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds.

Thick black columns of smoke were seen billowing from the two areas, while dozens of civilians were seen fleeing to government-controlled areas. Shortly before noon, a suicide bomber emerged from a house in the Tahrir neighborhood and attacked security forces, wounding four troops. Another suicide car bomber hit the troops in Aden neighborhood afternoon, killing a soldier and wounding three others.

Late on Friday, a group of IS militants attacked the village of Imam Gharbi south of Mosul, controlling most of it for hours before airstrikes from the U.S.-led international coalition were called in, an officer said. The clashes and multiple suicide bombings left three policemen dead, including an officer, and four others wounded, he said. Nine IS fighters were killed, he added. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief media.

To the west of Mosul, government-sanctioned Shiite militias took full control of the Tal Afar military airfield Friday night, said Jaafar al-Husseini, spokesman for the influential Hezbollah Brigades. Al-Husseini said the clashes almost destroyed the airport and that it will be an important launching pad for the troops in their advance.

The extremist group captured Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, in the summer of 2014.

The offensive to retake the city, which was launched on Oct. 17, is the biggest military operation in Iraq since American troops left in 2011. If successful, the retaking of Mosul would be the strongest blow dealt to IS' self-styled caliphate stretching into Syria. The Shiite militias are leading an assault to drive IS from Tal Afar, which had a majority Shiite population before it fell to the militants in the summer of 2014, and to cut IS supply lines linking Mosul to Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 56,000 civilians have been forced from their homes since the operation began out of nearly 1.5 million civilians living in and around Mosul.

In the heavily damaged town of Bashiqa, about 13 kilometers (8 miles) northeast of Mosul's outskirts, Christians rang the bells of Saint George's church for the first time to celebrate its liberation from IS, which was driven out earlier this month. Much of the town has been reduced to rubble from artillery strikes and air raids.

Parishioners, peshmerga fighters and Kurdish officials sang hymns and played band music as they walked in procession into the church, which was heavily vandalized by IS fighters. Men prepared a large cross to mount on the rooftop, replacing one destroyed by the extremists.

"The first thing they did was break the cross, we want to replace it and tell Daesh that the cross is still here and we are not leaving at all," said Rev. Afram al-Khoury Benyamen, using the Arabic acronym to refer to the group.

Bullet holes marked the walls inside the church courtyard, strewn with garbage and graffiti left by the extremists, including some of their names. Much of the church's inside had been smashed, with rubble strewn across the ground and holy inscriptions covered with black paint. In an upper level, pews had been pushed back to make room for cushions and carpet beneath a broken window that had been used as a sniper's nest, marked out by scattered spent bullet casings.

Broken brass instruments and a torn bagpipe from the church's boy scout band lay scattered across the site, with pills and syringes on the floor in one area. The church graveyard was desecrated, with graves broken into and tombstones smashed and painted over.

"It's good they're gone but how happy can we be — look at this mess," said 22-year old Youssef Ragheed, a drummer from the band who had fled the town when IS controlled it, but returned for Saturday's ceremony.



Photo Credit: AP

Michelle Obama Joins Mourners at Gwen Ifill's Funeral

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Thousands of mourners — including first lady Michelle Obama — remembered and celebrated veteran Washington journalist Gwen Ifill on Saturday, recalling her as a standard bearer, cherished friend, devoted mentor and woman of abiding faith.

Ifill died Monday at 61 after a yearlong battle with cancer. Mrs. Obama did not speak at the service, but several journalists and political figures offered reflections.

"We didn't look like other anchor pairs — and we loved that," said Judy Woodruff, half of the history-making team that became the first female co-anchors of a major news broadcast in 2013. The two co-hosted PBS' "NewsHour." Woodruff added that Ifill is needed "more than ever."

"Never have we faced tougher challenges, and no one would've risen to them better," she said. Ifill, she added, will "be our compass."

Former Attorney General Eric Holder read a letter from President Barack Obama, who was in Peru. Holder likened Ifill to "a comet" and challenged the colleagues she leaves behind to honor her legacy with their work by holding those in power accountable.

"Will you cower? Will you normalize that which is anything but?" Holder asked in a veiled reference to the incoming administration of Donald Trump.

The service, held at the historic Metropolitan A.M.E. Church — where Ifill was a longtime member — was also a grand display of her faith and roots as the daughter of Caribbean immigrants whose father was a leader of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Her pastor of many years, Bishop James L. Davis, recalled Ifill as "brilliance cloaked in humility."

A former reporter for The New York Times and The Washington Post, Ifill transitioned to television in the 1990s, covering politics and Congress for NBC News. She moved to PBS in 1999 as host of "Washington Week" and also worked for "NewsHour." She moderated vice presidential debates in 2004 and 2008.

John Dickerson, host of CBS' "Face the Nation" who joined Ifill as a regular panelist on "Washington Week," said Ifill "wore her grace like a garment," but added her infectious laugh came with a withering scowl.

"I'm not going to say it in church, but there's a very specific word for what Gwen could detect," Dickerson said.

The pews were filled with journalists, politicians, her mentees, family and friends, including civil rights attorney Vernon Jordan, interim Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, veteran journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, New York Times columnist David Brooks, former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, Donald Trump surrogate Omarosa Manigault, and NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Sherrilynn Ifill, the journalist's younger cousin.

"She was the shining star in our family," Sherrilynn Ifill said of Gwen. "She was the most American of success stories. Her life and her work made this country better. She did the hard work for us for so long ... It's time to take her example and do what she did."

Ifill took a leave from "NewsHour" last spring for health reasons, but kept the details of her illness private.



Photo Credit: Sarah Glover

9 Homes in City Heights Get 'FaceLift'

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After two years, a neighborhood beautification event returned to City Heights Saturday, making improvements to nine homes in the community.

"FaceLift" is an operation put together by community members, nonprofits, and corporations to give a “face lift” to homes of low-income residents in the City Heights.

Tools in hand, volunteers made home improvements to nine houses including painting, planting and parkway beautification. The work took place from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wightman Street, between 41st and 43rd streets.

The event was last held in 2014. Now, due to funding by Civic San Diego, the City Heights Housing Trust and SDG&E, the FaceLift project is operable again. 

The project aims to not only beautify the exterior of the selected homes but to create and improve a lasting benefit for the community as well.

Since 1995, more than 500 homes have been beautified in City Heights through this project.



Photo Credit: FaceLift City Heights/Facebook
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Facebook Fixing Fake News Problem With CEO at Trade Summit

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urged world leaders meeting in Peru on Saturday to help get more people online to improve global living standards while separately announcing new measures to cut down on fake news stories on the social network that some suggest could have helped sway the U.S. presidential election.

The Facebook founder took on the role of an evangelist for "connectivity" as he spoke at an Asian-Pacific trade summit, lamenting that half the world has no access to the online world and is being deprived of its economic potential as well as advances in science, education and medicine. He urged leaders to work with his company and others to close that gap.

"If we can connect the 4 billion people who aren't connected we can lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty," Zuckerberg said as he addressed business and government leaders at the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.

But as he was promoting the benefits of the online world in the speech, he took to his Facebook page to address one of the downsides of the internet: the rapid dissemination of bogus news stories on social networks.

Zuckerberg said in a post late Friday that his company was taking measures to curb what he said was a "relatively small" percentage of deliberately false stories. The measures include developing new tools to detect and classify "misinformation" and to make it easier for users to report the material.

He said the company also is looking into the possibility of working with established fact-checking organizations to evaluate content and into the feasibility of warning labels for stories flagged as false.

Critics have complained that a surge of fake news stories on Facebook may have swayed some voters to back President-elect Donald Trump. The company said on Monday that it was clarifying its advertising policy to emphasize that it won't display ads — thus cutting revenue — for sites that run information that is "illegal, misleading or deceptive, which includes fake news." That followed a similar step by Google, which acknowledged that it had let a false article about the election results slip into its list of recommended news stories.

"The bottom line is: we take misinformation seriously," the Facebook CEO said in his post. "Our goal is to connect people with the stories they find most meaningful, and we know people want accurate information.

Zuckerberg's comments came after President Barack Obama, who is also attending the APEC summit, and others have been sharply critical of the spread of fake news online.

In a news conference Thursday in Berlin, Obama called bogus stories disseminated on Facebook and other social media platforms a threat to democracy. The president decried "an age where there's so much active misinformation and it's packaged very well and it looks the same when you see it on a Facebook page or you turn on your television."

Zuckerberg called the problem "complex, both technically and philosophically." It is also sensitive issue for a company that does not want to censor content such as legitimate political satire that some people find offensive. Facebook sees itself not as a traditional publisher, but as a facilitator of global communication.

It was that lofty vision of the company that was on display as Zuckerberg spoke at the APEC forum.

He described Facebook efforts in artificial intelligence programs that could lead to advancements in medicine and education, as well as a high-altitude solar-powered drone, still in the development stage, to provide online access to places with none. He also described a program to work with local operators around the world to provide free basic internet.

"We can't afford to leave anyone behind," he said.



Photo Credit: Manu Fernandez/AP

Man Escapes Trailer Fire in San Ysidro

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A San Ysidro resident managed to safely escape his trailer Saturday as flames ripped through his home, officials said.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) said the double-wide trailer, located at 1819 Smythe Ave., caught fire just after 1 p.m., while one resident was home. The resident was able to get out, unscathed.

Fire investigators believe the blaze sparked in the kitchen. By the time firefighters arrived, the flames had torn through half of the home. Crews were able to knock out the fire within 15 minutes, the SDFD said. The fire did not spread to other units.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

San Onofre Nuclear Waste Storage Lawsuit Will Continue

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In what is a rare occurrence in San Diego’s Superior Court, Judge Judith Hayes has changed her mind about tossing a lawsuit aimed at changing plans to bury nuclear waste near San Onofre State Beach.

Citizens Oversight, the group behind the lawsuit, is arguing the California Coastal Commission was wrong in approving a permit to store the spent fuel from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on the northern edge of the plants property, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean.

The San Onofre plant was permanently retired by its owners, Southern California Edison, SCE, and San Diego Gas and Electric in 2013. The plant’s operations left 3.6 million pounds of radioactive waste behind.

The companies asked that the lawsuit to be thrown out because the attorney representing Citizen’s Oversight, Michael Aguirre, missed a filing deadline.

In August, Judge Hayes tentatively decided to support the position of the Coastal Commission, SCE and SDG&E. This week she changed her mind, allowing for the lawsuit to continue through the court system.

In her order denying the motion to dismiss, Judge Hayes said the protectionist policies of the Coastal Act are more relevant than an “expedient resolution” of what to do with the waste. “The stakes for the environment are so high,” she said.

Click here to read the order. 

Aguirre said it is not appropriate for a New Jersey contractor to be in charge of the waste. “SCE created the waste, SCE profited from the waste and SCE has the obligation to find a safer location to store of the waste,” he said. “The judge’s ruling makes it possible to argue the case on its merits.”

In an email, Maureen Brown, a spokeswoman for SCE, said, “The judge’s recent decision involved a procedural issue and was not a judgment on the merits of the case...SCE declines to comment further on a pending lawsuit.”

The lawsuit is scheduled to be discussed in court again on March 30, 2017.

In a previous story, critics of the nuclear waste storage plans shared concerns about the storage location with NBC 7 Investigates.

While the threat of a nuclear meltdown is no longer a concern because the plant is shut down, a shuttered nuclear plant does present another potential threat to public safety, according to an editorial in the April 2016 edition of Scientific American Magazine. The article warns of a greater danger, and says “more threatening than a meltdown, it's the steady accumulation of radioactive waste.”

Daniel Hirsch, the Director of the Program on Environmental and Nuclear Policy at UC Santa Cruz, described the material as “the most dangerous stuff on earth; a witches brew of radioactive material.”

Click here to see the complete investigation. 

SCE does not agree. Neither does the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, and the California Coastal Commission, which both approved the Pacific coastline location.

It’s not a case of no risk, the utilities argue, but low risk.

Nina Babiarz, a transportation consultant and former journalist, said the location for the nuclear waste storage is a poor one.

"It's on an earthquake fault in a tsunami zone," she said.

NBC 7 Investigates reviewed weather reports and found rising sea levels at and around the nuclear waste storage location could continue.

A Pacific Institute report on sea level rise, with contributions by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, found "flooding and erosion" risks will increase. According to the report, "in areas where the coast erodes easily, sea level rise will likely accelerate shoreline recession" and "may expose previously protected areas to flooding."

NBC 7 Investigates is working for you. If you have more information about this or other story tips, contact us: (619) 578-0393, NBC7Investigates@nbcuni.com. To receive the latest NBC 7 Investigates stories subscribe to our newsletter.

San Diego Girl Living With Microcephaly

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A San Diego family knows first-hand the effects of microcephaly, a rare birth defect that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads, a condition now in the spotlight due to the Zika virus.

Microcephaly stunts brain development in fetuses, but the condition is not just caused by the Zika infection. One local family, the Handy family, says their daughter, Scarlett, has microcephaly, and say the birth defect has been around long before the Zika virus started gaining attention.

Parents Russ and Rhonda Handy hope that by sharing 6-year-old Scarlett’s story, they can educate the public about what it means to live with microcephaly.

Scarlett is Russ and Rhonda’s adopted daughter. She was born with microcephaly and, when she was an infant, a doctor told her parents Scarlett might not survive.

“When that doctor told me she wasn't going to live past four months old, I left that doctor's office thinking, ‘No, she's going to live a full life and whatever her capacity is she's going to live it to the fullest.’ And I've made sure every day she's going to be on this planet, and I'm here, she's going to live it,” Rhonda told NBC 7.

Rhonda said that when Scarlett was born, her head circumference was nine inches. An average, healthy newborn's head circumference is between 14 to 16 inches.

“I'll say, ‘Oh, she has microcephaly’ and people will go, ‘Oh, from the Zika virus?’ And you can see the horror in their eyes, and it's like, ‘No, no, no,’” said Rhonda.

Microcephaly isn't just caused by Zika.

“There are a lot of things that can cause a brain not to fully develop and be smaller at birth,” said Russ.

In Scarlett’s case, it's genetic.

Right now Scarlett's head circumference is the size of a normal newborn's and it is not expected to grow anymore. She struggles with almost constant low-grade seizures and cerebral palsy and takes a list of medications.

Developmentally, she is challenged -- at age six she has the cognitive ability of a 2 or 3-year-old. Her parents consider her higher-functioning. Some children with this condition spend most of their lives on a feeding tube and ventilator.

"The textbook really hasn't been written on microcephaly,” said Russ. “We work with one of the top guys in the world on this and he says we're still collecting data, we really don't know what her potential is.”

The Handys have dedicated themselves to learning as much as they can, and connecting with other families facing similar challenges. They've found a community of support with the help of social media.

“We've seen very high functioning kids with microcephaly at some of the conventions we've been to who are doing karate, participating in pageants there's even one kid we've heard about who's grown up and gotten married,” said Russ.

The Handys said they want to encourage others facing a similar diagnosis for their baby not to give up hope.

“If your child does have microcephaly, you're not alone,” said Rhonda.

Even through the struggles, they say their life is sweeter because of this little girl, and they're determined to help Scarlett enjoy it.

"No matter what challenges she may have, no matter how many times she has to be in the hospital, she's going to live life to the fullest,” Rhonda added.

Russ said Scarlett enjoys water activities, including canoeing and kayaking. The 6-year-old also keeps busy riding horses. She has a lot of support from her family.

“We're fortunate, because we have a big family, we have 10 children, and we're really big on family so all of our children love her and they all have her own relationship with her so she has so much stimulus and so much interaction," he added.

The Handys say one of the positive things to come from the Zika virus has been the additional focus and research money devoted to microcephaly. For more information on microcephaly and how to help this family, see this post below.

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Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego
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Canyon Fire Threatens Homes in Serra Mesa


Local Progressives Protest Democratic Party Meeting

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While the California Democratic party was in San Diego over the weekend for their fall executive board meeting, a group of progressives rallied outside the meeting to protest the way the party has been running.

The former Sanders voters say the party is steering away from more progressive issues and closer to corporate interests.

“People’s health care is still important,” DNC Sanders delegate Jose Caballero tells NBC 7. “We are going to continue to fight.”

Caballero and the other protesters are worried the party has become about money and special interests.

They also believe if the party had backed Sanders he could have won the presidential election.

A spokesperson for the California Democratic Party says that's not the case -- and now more than ever the group needs to come together.

“We want this energy to come into the party,” Michael Soller, communications director of the California Democratic Party, says. “We need everyone to come together, encourage everyone inside and outside to run and be a delegate for the California Democratic Party.”

He says the party still backs the issues this group is rallying for and this energy can be used to move the Democratic Party forward.

Both groups will join together at the Hyatt Regency to hear a speech from a Bernie Sanders surrogate addressing the Progressive Caucus Saturday evening.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Illegal Pot Delivery Services Hurt Legal Dispensaries: Owner

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The owner of a licensed medical marijuana dispensary is speaking out, saying illegal marijuana delivery services are taking business from those following the law; and they're putting people in danger.

Ebon Johnson, owner of Mankind Cooperative has one of eight storefronts in the city that has a legal permit to sell medical marijuana. With that, he's also allowed to have a delivery service. He said business is way down because hundreds of illegal delivery services are taking over. "They're everywhere,” Johnson added. “They're doing it out of their house they'll take a little spot in a suite. There's no regulation."

Johnson used to do about 55 deliveries a day before his store opened, when he too was operating a delivery service illegally. “Now we're down to 15 to 20 deliveries a day, so it cut our business by two-thirds," said Johnson. He said the amount of illegal delivery services are growing by the day. "They just go out and do it like a drug dealer. ‘Hey, call me up on weed maps, there's 400 people to choose from and if you're not going to provide it, someone else will,’" explained Johnson.

Johnson charges sales tax and follows guidelines issued by the city, something that he said the illegal deliveries don't do. "They can do it out of their house. They don't have to pay employees, they're not reporting anything," he added. He said there's also major safety concerns. Delivery drivers get robbed because they don't know who they're delivering to. It even happened to Johnson when he first started. Since they're illegally selling, when a crime happens, they don't report it to police. "They don't call police so there's a lot of undocumented crimes out there," Johnson said.

The issue was brought up by a prevention specialist to San Diego’s City Council November 15, asking for an ordinance that would stop these illegal delivery services.

#Boycotthamilton: Social Media Reacts To Trump Twitter Feud

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Donald Trump's criticism of the "Hamilton" cast on Twitter sparked debate on social media Saturday about the president-elect's motives for the tweets and the Broadway show's decision to address Vice President-elect Mike Pence. 

The cast spoke directly to Pence as he sat in the audience after a show Friday night, saying they hope the production inspired him to govern in a way that protects a diverse America. 

"We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our unalienable rights, sir," said actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr, with the cast assembled behind him.

Trump accused the cast of "harassing" Pence and demanded an apology on Twitter Saturday morning. 

Trump's supporters called for a boycott of the wildly-popular Broadway show on social media. The hashtag #boycotthamilton began trending on Twitter Saturday afternoon. 

 

But, Trump's critics argued his tweets were a smokescreen to distract the media's attention from his settlement of the lawsuits brought against Trump University. 

Other Twitter users chose no side in the debate, but looked to benefit if #boycotthamilton actually spread off Twitter.  



Photo Credit: NBC 4 NY
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Man Arrested for Intentionally Setting 3 Fires in Vista

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A man accused of intentionally setting fires in North County was booked into jail Saturday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, San Diego Unit. 

Investigators charged 20-year-old Alexandre Corona-Montes with three felony counts of arson for setting three fires last Wednesday morning near Old River Road at Mission Road in an unincorporated area of Vista.

Investigators from CAL FIRE, Vista Fire, California Highway Patrol and San Diego County Sheriff’s Department collected evidence and interviewed several witnesses on Wednesday before arresting Corona-Montes. 



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

Eater SD: Brian Malarkey Tops Eater Awards

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Eater San Diego shares the top stories of the week from San Diego’s food and drink scene including the local winners of the Eater Awards, led by local celebrity chef Brian Malarkey.

Brian Malarkey Named Eater's Chef of the Year
The 2016 Eater Awards have just been announced, with Brian Malarkey winning chef of the year and his Little Italy hotspot Herb & Wood named restaurant of the year. Other Eater Awards categories scored by the editor's picks and readers include design of the year and best neighborhood trailblazer. 

North County Chef Competing on "Top Chef"
The 14th edition of Bravo's reality cooking competition, “Top Chef,” debuts on Dec. 1 and this season features both new and returning contestants. Among the show alums is Casey Thompson, who appeared on season three and season eight; Thompson is currently the executive chef at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. 

Gourmet Sandwich Concept Expanding to San Diego
Mendocino Farms, a popular fast-casual, farm-to-table eatery with locations throughout Southern California, will open its first San Diego-area outpost next month in La Jolla, with a second coming to Del Mar next year, which will replace the soon-to-shutter Carnitas' Snack Shack in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center.

Juice Company Taps Tasting Room in Miramar
Cold-pressed juice brand Solti is building a new production facility in Miramar, which will include a tasting room featuring its organic beverages. Launching next year, the self-serve bar will offer tasters and growlers plus an array of raw and vegan food. 

Trendy Asian Dumplings Come to Convoy
Kearny Mesa's new Facing East Noodle & Bar features the latest food trends from Taiwan, including sweet drinks, snacks, housemade noodles, and fusion version of Chinese soup dumplings. The pork fillings are infused with black truffle, foie gras and even cheese, tucked inside dough tinted with everything from squid ink to mushrooms and beets.



Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy of Brian Malarkey
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