Controversy surrounds an upcoming cable interview with a former member of SEAL Team 6 who says he shot the bullet that killed Osama Bin Laden.

Navy SEALs are often called silent warriors, and they take an oath not to discuss what happens when on a mission.

But now the SEAL known as “The Shooter” is about to tell his story on Fox News in an interview scheduled to air next week. He is expected to describe his role in the death of the infamous 9/11 mastermind.

The service member joins a handful of SEALS recent years that have written or talked about their experiences.

Hollywood movies like “Zero Dark Thirty” have depicted the 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed bin Laden. Other missions are portrayed in a host of films and TV shows, and political leaders, including former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, have written books about them.

So why not a SEAL himself?

In an open letter signed by Rear Admiral Brian Losey, Naval Special Warfare Command, there is a quote about the team’s ethos: "A critical tenant of our ethos is, I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions. Our ethos is a life-long commitment and obligation."

NBC 7 went to Coronado where SEALs train and asked people what they thought about allowing SEALs to talk about their missions.

“Why do they want to keep him quiet? I don't know. Technically he is a hero after what happened in 2001. He should be able to come out and say, ‘Hey I'm the man who got rid of this burden to the country,” said Gavin Smith.

Navy veteran Mike Behan told us, “From my military experience, when you sign on you take an oath. When you have a secret clearance, you have a secret clearance, and you say you are not going to talk about it.”

Others expressed concern about releasing classified information and about the safety of the SEAL’s family or friends.

Police have closed down a road in Point Loma Heights after a man shot at least one round into his own house and is threatening to shoot more.

Traffic is being turned away from the 1800 block of Tustin Street after the first shot went off at 8:45 p.m.

San Diego Police officers are responding to talk with the man and convince him to surrender his weapon.

It's unclear what started the incident.

Check back here for details on this breaking news story.

The day after he was elected to an unprecedented fourth term in a landslide victory, Governor Jerry Brown sat down with reporters to discuss the next four years.

Sitting at the end of the cedar picnic table in the middle of his Sacramento office, Brown spoke of the future and of the past.

"I don't like to think about my last campaign. I find it a depressing thought," Brown said.

The governor said the next four years would remain "balancing act."

"Certainly I'd like to keep the state on an even fiscal keel," he said. "But I also want to build things — the water, the  high speed rail, the reform of criminal law, realignment — these are big things."

The governor said he wants to phase out the income and sales tax hikes from Prop. 30, passed two years ago.

He argued passage of Propositions 1 and 2 — dealing with water storage and a budget reserve — was a sign that unlike Washington, California is not in political gridlock.

He spoke of the legacy of his family.

Father Pat Brown served two terms as governor and his great-grandfather, August Schuckman, a German born immigrant, who came to California in 1852.

"I take comfort and inspiration from my own forebears, who didn't sit around, waiting, but forged ahead, against great obstacles," he said.

As for this being his last political office, Brown quipped, There are others to run for. Now that we have an incumbent superintendent of instruction, there'll be a vacancy in four years."

The long, divisive road to the 52nd Congressional District seat stretches on for its two weary candidates: U.S. Rep Scott Peters and former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio.

Exhausted by a late election night that left DeMaio in the lead by only 752 votes, both candidates are trying to put a positive spin on the numbers, with 46,000 ballots still uncounted.

“This is a historically bad night for Democrats, turnout historically low, and the fact that we're even close is a miracle. I think we're going to win this thing," said Peters at a news conference Wednesday evening.

The initial surge of results had DeMaio in the lead, but as the late ballots came in Tuesday night, the trend was in favor of Peters.

But DeMaio was just as confident that his campaign will come out on top.

“I believe when all votes are counted, we will prevail and I will have the honor of being San Diego’s voice in the U.S. Congress,” he said at a Wednesday morning news conference.

The San Diego County Registrar of Voters says there were 36,000 mail-in ballots and 10,000 provision ballots from the 52nd District to be counted, and all were sorted Wednesday.

On Thursday, the counting starts. Both candidates are sending representatives to make sure each vote is counted correctly.

The Registrar is expected to release more numbers Thursday evening, and a final winner should be announced Monday.

But even after the ballots were cast, the biting comments remained.

When asked if he is prepared for a recount in the event of a very close final tally, DeMaio replied, “After what Mr. Peters has done in this campaign, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything.”

Peters’ response later in the day: “I think the campaign's over now. We can get past the hard feelings, stop whining. You know, let's just count the votes."

With nothing to do but wait, both candidates had time to reflect on their contentious campaigns and their plans for the future.

DeMaio will be hopping a plane to Washington, D.C., next week to attend the Congressional freshman orientation.

“What I emphasized last night was that my candidacy hopefully is the beginning of the Republican Party becoming more inclusive, of us getting past labels and putting people in boxes,” the gay candidate said.

While DeMaio zeroed in on reforming his own party, Peters said his focus will be reaching across the aisle in the now Republican-led Congress.

"Well the middle is my territory. I don't think there's enough of us who want to be in the middle,” he said. “I think one of the problems with Congress is it's so polarized and what I offer is a promise that I will always work with anybody."

Voters will continue to watch the results of the race closely, but the end of election season brings one thing both sides can be thankful for: no more political ads.

Delvin Barnes, the man accused of abducting Carlesha Freeland Gaither off a Philadelphia street, has an extensive criminal history, including one incident in which he held his estranged wife captive, according to court documents. He is also a suspect in the abduction and rape of a Virginia teenager.

Barnes, 37, was arrested along the side of a road in Jessup, Maryland Wednesday, officials said. Freeland-Gaither, the nurse’s aide he allegedly kidnapped Sunday, was rescued from his car at the same location and taken to a nearby hospital in Columbia, Maryland.

Barnes, who has ties to Philadelphia and Virginia, is being held on a bench warrant out of Virginia for alleged capital attempted murder in Charles City County. He will be charged federally in connection to Freeland-Gaither’s kidnapping, police said.

Lamar Barnes, Delvin Barnes' uncle, told NBC10 his nephew's father is a minister and he was raised by good parents. Despite this, he also told NBC10 he isn't "necessarily surprised" by the allegations against his nephew.

"Some men grew up having problems with women so they take it out on women," Barnes said. "Apparently, he's one of them."

Court documents reveal Barnes has a lengthy criminal history, including an incident several years ago in which he held his estranged wife captive inside her Philadelphia home.

On Nov. 28, 2005, Barnes’ estranged wife returned to her home around 9:45 p.m., according to court records. Officials said she had a protective order against Barnes due to past abuse.

As she was going to bed around 10:15 p.m., Barnes jumped out of her bedroom closet and tried to talk to her. She then told him to leave or she would call police but Barnes refused, according to court records.

As she went to call 911, Barnes jumped on top of her, grabbed her face and began digging his nails into her skin. He then hit her in the face, choked her and allegedly threatened to kill her.

Barnes then allegedly told her he’d only stop beating her if she took off her clothes. The woman told police she removed her clothes, fearing for her life. She accused Barnes of forcing her to have sex with him three separate times throughout the night. She also told police Barnes forced her to give him oral sex and threatened her with several objects, according to the documents.

The next morning, the woman begged Barnes to let her use the phone and call her parents, telling him she talked to her mother everyday, officials said. As she spoke to her mom, she was able to indicate she was in trouble and told her mother to call 911, according to investigators.

A short time later, the woman’s mother and father walked into the home. As he heard them come in, Barnes, enraged, began to beat the victim again. The victim’s father ran into the room with a baseball bat and tried to get Barnes off his daughter. Barnes then began to beat the victim’s mother, ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

The woman and her parents then ran to a neighbor’s home and called 911 as Barnes fled the scene, police said.

The next day, on Nov. 30, Barnes was found by officers patrolling the area. He was arrested after he tried to flee.

According to court records, Barnes was found guilty of aggravated assault, criminal trespassing, false imprisonment, simple assault, reckless endangerment and other offenses in relation to the incident. He was found not guilty of rape, unlawful restraint, burglary and attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

Barnes was also arrested in Virginia in July and accused of making a bomb threat, which is a felony. That charge was amended to trespassing, a misdemeanor, and the case finally dropped on Oct. 24, court records show.

Authorities later issued a warrant for his arrest related to a case he was being investigated for in Charles City County, Virginia.

The teen was reported missing back on Oct. 1. Two days later, the girl arrived at a business on Route 106 in Charles City County, Virginia, two miles from Barnes’ home, investigators said. The girl was naked, bleeding and covered in burns from gasoline and bleach, according to police.

Federal authorities said the charges for that case attempted capital murder, assault, malicious injury with acid, forcible rape and other related offenses.

On Nov. 2, Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, 22, was grabbed off a Philadelphia street as she walked home from visiting her godson. She was rescued from Barnes' car after three days of an intense search, police said.

"If he was somebody I didn't know I'd say whatever they do to him is fine," Lamar Barnes said. "He's my nephew, the same thing. What am I gonna do? It's hard for me to accept the viciousness of it." 

The man accused of abducting a woman off a Philadelphia street is also a suspect in the abduction and rape of a Virginia teen. 

Delvin Barnes, 37, was arrested Wednesday along the side of a road in Jessup, Maryland. Barnes was caught on surveillance video abducting 22-year-old Carlesha Freeland-Gaither off a Philadelphia street Sunday, according to investigators. Freeland-Gaither was found alive in Barnes’ car Wednesday at the same location where he was arrested.

Barnes, who has ties to Philadelphia and Virginia, has an extensive criminal history, including an assault and false imprisonment conviction involving his estranged wife and most recently, charges in the rape and abduction of a 16-year-old girl from Richmond, Virginia.

The teen girl was reported missing back on Oct. 1. On Oct. 3, the girl arrived at a business on Route 106 in Charles City County, Virginia, two miles from Barnes’ home, investigators said. The girl was naked, bleeding and covered in burns from gasoline and bleach, according to police. 

After a DNA test was conducted on the girl, investigators identified Barnes as the suspect Oct. 28. Barnes was arrested in Virginia in July after he was accused of making a bomb threat. That charge was amended to trespassing, misdemeanor, and the case was dropped Oct. 24, just four days before he was identified as a suspect in the teen girl’s abduction.

Barnes was then held on a bench warrant in connection to the teen girl’s abduction, which include charges of attempted capital murder, assault, malicious injury with acid, forcible rape and other related offenses. He will be charged federally in connection to Freeland-Gaither’s kidnapping, police said.

The Chula Vista Police officers will soon be sporting body cameras of their own.

Tuesday night, the Chula Vista City Council unanimously approved the purchase of 114 body worn cameras, an investment the police department has been researching since 2010.

A five-year contract with Taser International, the camera manufacturer, will cost the city $501,294.

According to the city’s resolution, that will include the equipment, docking stations, cloud-based storage for the digital video evidence and support services.

The police requested that the city council wave the competitive bid process of the cameras, saying no other manufacturer gives the high-quality equipment and the evidence storage solution. The councilmembers agreed.

A timeline has not been released for when officers may begin wearing the small devices.

The agency is following the lead of the San Diego Police Department, which rolled out its own line of cop cameras in June.

For the SDPD, the decision to purchase the equipment stemmed from allegations of criminal activity and sexual misconduct by its officers in recent years.

Once practice ended today, the Chargers were officially on mini-vacation – as much as a pro football player can be during the regular season.

With the Bolts on their bye week, players get four days off before getting back to work on Monday morning to prepare for next Sunday’s home game against the Oakland Raiders.

“It’ll be a good opportunity for players to get some rest,” Chargers coach Mike McCoy said. “We have some players that have worked extremely hard – they all have. So it’s a great four days for them to get away, take a deep breath.”

It sounds like most players are more concerned with sitting back and resting than doing anything crazy.

“Just kick my feet up a little bit and get some rest,” center Rich Ohrnberger said about his weekend off.

Quarterback Philip Rivers said he will spend time with his wife and kids. But he conceded thoughts of the game never fully stop.

“I’m sure I’ll peek at a little football, but I’m just taking a little breather,” he said. “I don’t think you ever completely turn it off, but it does help to rest a little bit mentally.”

McCoy talked about the message he gave his team in the final huddle after Wednesday’s practice.

“Get away from it, enjoy your family time, or whatever you plan on doing,” he said.

But also gave them a warning that their work was just beginning.

“Understand when you come back Monday morning what you gotta do. Commit to something special the last seven weeks.”

McCoy even conceded that he will take a break – if only a short one.

“I definitely will get away from it, to a certain extent,” he said. “But I’m sure something comes up every day that I think about. … That’s just the life I live.”

A dog scampering through the mud in the San Diego Riverbed got itself in quite the predicament Wednesday evening.

As it waded into the water near Ocean Beach just before 5 p.m., the black dog became stuck in the thick mud, caused by low tide.

Thankfully, a lifeguard had a surfboard on hand to help the poor pup.

The lifeguard slogged through the sticky surface and pulled the dog out of the mud onto the board.

It took a few tries, but eventually, the dog got to more solid ground, where its owner was waiting.

A 37-year-old San Diego man has gone missing, leaving behind his vehicle and his cellphone.

San Diego police say Scott Bowles has not been heard from since Oct. 31, when he sent a text message in the afternoon.

After someone reported him missing, Bowles’ vehicle was found parked at his Ocean Beach home, and his cellphone was discovered inside.

A missing persons detective says Bowles does not have a history of disappearing, and it is unusual that he left his belongings behind. Police are asking for the public’s help finding him.

Bowles is described as a 37-year-old white man with brown hair and gray eyes. He stands 5-foot-11, weighs about 185 pounds and works in the Lakeside area. Detectives do not know what he was wearing when he went missing.

If you have any clues as to where Bowles may be, call the SDPD Missing Persons Section at 619-531-2277.
 

A Red Flag Warning in San Diego County has been extended until 5 p.m. Thursday, meaning conditions are favorable for wildfires.

“When you’ve got those three issues – the heat, the low humidity and the winds all moving in together – that’s when you get the Red Flag Warning,” explained NBC 7 meteorologist Dagmar Midcap.

Of the 20 most dangerous and deadly wildfires in California history, four happened in Southern California during the month of November, according to Calfire. That’s why the agency has prepared for the increased fire risk.

All 18 Calfire stations and 26 engine companies are fully staffed around the clock, including more than 100 seasonal firefighters, according to Calfire. In addition, the agency’s four bulldozers will be manned at all times and its two contracted air tankers will be on the clock earlier than normal.

The area did get rain recently, but the Santa Ana winds dried things out quickly, according to Calfire Fire Capt. Kendal Bortisser.

“Within four hours of a Santa Ana wind event, the fuels are so dry that the most recent rainfall we’ve had really doesn’t have much impact whatsoever on fuels,” Bortisser said.

“Those (dry fuels) combined with this Red Flag create a situation that in the event something should happen, we have the potential for a major wildfire if one starts,” he said.

Fire experts say a good defense is the best offense against wildfires. That starts with creating up to 100 feet of defensible space around homes. However, experts say people shouldn’t clear shrubbery during a Red Flag Warning; power tools combined with dry conditions could spark a fire.

Remma Maayaa of Rancho San Diego has seen the destruction of a wildfire firsthand. She says her family takes the threat seriously and have already prepared.

“We have a fire box and emergency supplies in house,” Maayaa said. “We have all our birth certificates, some personal items, paperwork and stuff. We have perishable foods and flashlights in the other box.”

Experts say it's smart to have an evacuation route as well.

San Diego County is currently categorized as “moderate” on the government’s Santa Ana Wildfire Threat Index.

“The western edges of our San Diego County mountains will be the hardest hit,” Midcap said.
 

A man was stabbed Wednesday afternoon with a machete in a storm drain in National City, police said.

Police are searching for two suspects in connection to the stabbing.

The case surfaced when the severely injured victim flagged down a driver in the 2300 block of Plaza Boulevard, begging for help to get to the hospital, police said.

The driver rushed the man to the hospital; his injuries were determined to be life threatening and he was transferred to Mercy Trauma Center.

Police believe the attack took place in a storm drain parallel to Plaza Boulevard and that the man might have known the two suspects.

Officers canvassing the area found a sheath or machete that may have been used in the attack, police said.

This is a breaking news story and we have an NBC crew on the way. Check back for updates.

The number of people under "active monitoring" for Ebola symptoms has increased from 117 on Monday to 357 people Wednesday, health officials said.

The vast majority of those being monitored arrived in New York City within the past 21 days from the three Ebola-affected countries, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation said in a statement.

Others being monitored include the staff caring for Dr. Craig Spencer, the physician being treated for Ebola at Bellevue Hospital, the lab workers who conducted his blood tests and the FDNY EMTs who transported the doctor.

All of those being monitored showed no symptoms but are being checked on out of "an abundance of caution," the statement said.

A second person under quarantine for coming into contact with Spencer will now be also subject to active monitoring because "the individual poses no public threat and is showing no symptoms," health officials said. The person's movements will not be restricted, but the person will be assessed twice a day by city health workers.

His fiancee, Morgan Dixon, was released from the hospital days ago and returned to the couple's Hamilton Heights apartment. She had not developed any sign of the illness, and she was to remain under quarantine at home.

Authorities also said Spencer's condition also continues to improve. The latest good news about Spencer comes just four days after health officials upgraded his condition from "serious but stable" to "stable."

Spencer received a plasma transfusion from the second American Ebola patient, Nancy Writebol, on Oct. 25, according to SIM, the Christian organization that Writebol worked with before she was admitted to Emory University Hospital in August.

Authorities have said Spencer was awake, communicating and undergoing plasma and antiviral therapies, treatments that have been used to treat Ebola patients at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta and at the Nebraska Medical Center.
 

Two Florida men accused of cutting a hole in the roof of an Enfield pharmaceutical warehouse and making off with $80 million in prescription drugs in 2010 have pleaded guilty to felony charges in what's largely considered the biggest heist in Connecticut history.

Yosmany Nunez, 42, and Alexander Marquez, 41, both Cuban citizens, pleaded guilty in court Wednesday. They'll be sentenced in February and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

They are two of the five suspects federal prosecutors have charged in the 2010 heist at the Eli Lilly warehouse in Enfield — a crime that U.S. Attorney David Fein said police began to unravel thanks to a water bottle that one suspect, Amed Villa, left behind at the crime scene.

Villa and his brother Amaury Villa are also charged in the heist, as is Rafael Lopez. The Villa brothers have also pleaded guilty to the crime.

Federal prosecutors say the men propped a ladder against the warehouse the night of March 3, 2010, climbed onto the roof, cut a hole in it, dropped down into the warehouse and disabled its alarm.

There, prosecutors say, they loaded more than 40 pallets of prescription drugs – including thousands of boxes of Zyprexa, Cymbalta, Prozac, Gemzar and other pills worth tens of millions of dollars – into the back of a tractor-trailer.

The stolen drugs were found in a Florida storage facility more than a year later.

Enfield police chief Carl Sferrazza called the heist "the largest theft we've ever had, not only in Enfield, but probably the largest pharmaceutical theft the country has ever seen."

The first significant rainfall of the season resulted in greener lawns and more water in some streams, but only minor improvements to California's drought situation as the state enters its fourth consecutive dry year.

The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report shows a slight reduction in the percentage of the state in moderate to exceptional drought, the most severe of the the monitor's five categories. About 55 percent of the state remains under exceptional drought, down three percentage points from last week.

Nearly 100 percent of the state remains under moderate to severe drought.

Two to 3 inches of rain fell in some parts of Northern California last week, but the report serves as a reminder that drought relief will require more than a brief break in the state's three-year dry spell. Drought problems were exacerbated during a summer of record heat and a late-summer heat wave.

The moderate to heavy rains last week in parts of California contributed to stream flows and "greening" of smalls plants and grasses -- a cosmetic improvement that does not indicate deep soil moisture. Significant drought improvement will depend largely on snowfall in the Sierras, a source of water for the state's critically low reservoirs and agriculture operations in the drought-stricken Central Valley.

"During the past two months precipitation amounts for Del Norte, Siskiyou, Humboldt, Trinity and Northern Shasta Counties have been 150-250 percent of normal," according to the Drought Monitor report.

Forecasters also are assessing the potential for El Nino, the Tropical Pacific weather phenomenon that affects weather patterns. Strong El Nino patterns draw moisture into California, but a weak El Nino would probably not generate enough rainfall to affect drought levels.

The latest estimate places the chance of El Nino at 58 percent, but conditions are forecast to be weak. Forecasters are expecting a warm winter for California, meaning drought conditions are likely to persist.

Weather conditions and snowpack are critical to solving the state's water woes, and a ballot measure that Gov. Jerry Brown touted as part of the long-term solution went before voters this week. On Tuesday, voters approved Proposition 1, a nearly $7.6 billion bond measure placed on the ballot by the Legislature.

In January, Brown declared a drought emergency as low reservoir levels and decreased Sierra snowpack led to farmers fallowing fields in the Central Valley region and mandatory water restrictions. The next month, lawmakers fast-tracked legislation a bond funding for public works projects that Brown said will help the state better prepare for future droughts.

The water bond funds are part of work that Brown said began when he was first governor of Calfiornia, from 1975 to 1983. Those terms also happened to be during the the state's last major drought, a problem that Brown referred to as "work for a four-term governor."

A profile has begun to emerge of the man accused of snatching Carlesha Freeland-Gaither off a Germantown street, just as she returned home to her family Thursday morning.

Delvin Barnes is already a suspect in the brutal abduction, rape and attempted murder of a Virginia teen just last month, and he spent seven and a half years behind bars after being convicted of attacking his estranged wife.

“He has a very extensive criminal history,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told the "Today" show. “A violent predator, and we are very fortunate to get her back alive.”

Barnes, whom police call a "vicious predator," faces a bail hearing Thursday afternoon in Towson, Maryland, where he could decide to fight extradition to Charles City County, Virginia, where investigators say DNA has linked him to the rape of a 16-year-old.

Barnes, 37, would first face charges in the Virginia case before being extradited to face any charges in Philadelphia. The office of the Philadelphia federal prosecutor said charges hadn't been filed as of Thursday in Freeland-Gaither's case.

Delvin Barnes' uncle Lamar Barnes told NBC10 he isn't "necessarily surprised" by the accusations against his nephew, even though his nephew was raised by good parents and his father is a minister.

"Some men grew up having problems with women, so they take it out on women," Barnes said. "Apparently, he's one of them."

Barnes was convicted in 2006 of a handful of charges after he was accused of holding his estranged wife captive and raping her in her Philadelphia home, court documents show.

On Nov. 28, 2005, Barnes jumped out of her bedroom closet and tried to talk to his estranged wife shortly after she returned home, according to records. She had a protective order against Barnes due to previous abuse and she told him to leave or she would call police, but Barnes refused, according to court records.

As she went to call 911, Barnes attacked her and threatened to kill her, according to court documents.

Barnes then told her he would only stop beating her if she took off her clothes, according to investigators. The woman told police she removed her clothes, fearing for her life. She accused Barnes of forcing her to have sex with him three separate times throughout the night, and she told police Barnes forced her to give him oral sex and threatened her with several objects.

The next morning, the woman begged Barnes to let her use the phone and call her parents, telling him she talked to her mother everyday, officials said. As she spoke to her mom, she was able to indicate she was in trouble and told her mother to call 911, according to investigators.

A short time later, the woman’s mother and father walked into the home. As he heard them come in, Barnes, enraged, began to beat the victim again, according to court records. Barnes also allegedly beat the victim’s mother, ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

The women escaped, and police caught up to Barnes the next day.

Barnes faced a slew of charges in that alleged attack, including rape, burglary and assault, according to court records.

Barnes was acquitted at trial of the most serious charges, including rape, burglary and attempted involuntary deviant sexual intercourse. He was convicted, however, of aggravated assault, criminal trespassing, false imprisonment, simple assault and reckless endangerment, and he was sentenced to up to eight years in prison and two years of probation.

He was released a year ago, after serving seven and a half years.

In July, Barnes was arrested and accused of making a bomb threat, a felony. That charge was amended to trespassing, a misdemeanor, and the case was finally dropped Oct. 24, according to court records.

Barnes was recently named a suspect in the abduction, rape and attempted murder of a Virginia teen, and a warrant was issued for Barnes' arrest in Charles City County, Virginia.

On Oct. 3, the teen arrived at a business on Route 106 in Charles City County, two miles from Barnes' home, naked and covered in burns from gasoline and bleach, police said. She had been reported missing two days earlier.

Federal authorities said the charges for that case attempted capital murder, assault, malicious injury with acid, rape and other related offenses.

It could be some time until authorities reveal what charges Barnes could face in the Philadelphia abduction.

Investigators are "optimistic" about an arrest in the case of a Fox executive who disappeared two years ago after last month's discovery of his remains in the high desert north of Los Angeles.

Authorities said they believe Gavin Smith was killed on the night he vanished in May 2012. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office confirmed Wednesday that remains found by hikers Oct. 26 in a remote area of Palmdale near Acton are those of the 57-year-old.

"The investigation at this time is ongoing," said Lt. Dave Dolson, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "Because of the discovery of the remains, there's potentially a lot more evidence for us to process."

Dolson said investigators have not identified a suspect in the case.

"It's a crucial piece of evidence," Dolson said of the remains. "Examination of the body will hopefully lead us to additional leads and potentially help solidify an arrest of the person or persons responsible.

"It puts us closer."

Investigators said they are waiting for autopsy results to determine a cause of death.

"It was brought up that he suffered from gunshot wounds," Dolson said. "We haven't ruled that out, but we don't believe at this time that that was in play."

The October discovery was in a remote area south of Palmdale that had been searched before in connection with Smith's death, Dolson said. The Antelope Valley Press reported that a family discovered a skull, a shallow grave and clothing that day while hiking in the same area. The skull was found by the Rocky Ramos' Palmdale Labrador retriever about 20 feet from the grave.

"I find all kinds of stuff up here," said Rocky Ramos. "But nothing like that."

The skull's lower jaw was missing and there appeared to be a hole, about an inch or more across, in the skull, Ramos said.

Smith disappeared May 1, 2012. He was last seen driving his black Mercedes-Benz 420E from a friend's home in the Oak Park area at the western end of Los Angeles between 9 and 10 p.m. He was reported missing the next day after failing to pick up his children from school, according to the sheriff's department.

The car was found Feb. 21, 2013 at a Simi Valley storage facility in Simi Valley connected to convicted drug dealer John Creech.

"After examining Gavin's car we were confidently able to label Gavin's death a homicide," Dolson said.

Creech was named a person of interest in the case and is currently in custody on a drug charge at the Men's Central Jail. During a news conference Thursday, investigators confirmed that Creech remains a person of interest.

Creech has not been charged in connection with the Smith case.

Dolson was asked during the news conference about the nature of the relationship between Creech's wife and Smith. He refused to provide details.

"We have a pretty good picture," Dolson said. "Gavin knew Mr. Creech's wife."

Smith was a basketball player on the 1975 UCLA championship team led by legendary coach John Wooden. Smith went on to become an actor and later a film executive at 20th Century Fox.

Smith is survived by three sons.

Harvard University has admitted to secretly photographing students in classes in 10 lecture halls, in which more than 2,000 students were enrolled, as part of a study of classroom attendance.

Harvard President Drew Faust says that she takes this matter "very seriously" and will have the case reviewed.

The findings of the study were apparently released at a conference this fall, but the researchers never revealed how the data was collected.

The study was done by Harvard's Initiative for Learning and Teaching, which is overseen by Vice Provost Peter Bol, and was authorized by the school's Institutional Review Board.

"Professor Bol has reached out to every faculty member involved and has already spoken in person to all but two. He will continue that effort to ensure that the faculty have full details," the school said in a statement.

"In addition, he has committed to informing every student – using enrollment data – whose image may have been captured anonymously and subsequently destroyed as part of the research," it added.

The researchers say the study was not designed to trick or identify individual students. The images have all been destroyed, and only the data was kept for research use, Bol said.

The latest revelations come a year and a half after the university apparently searched thousands of Harvard email accounts secretly. That prompted the Ivy League school to implement new privacy policies on electronic communications.

A record number of booster seats have earned the highest rating for safety belt fit from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Out of the 41 models the agency tested, 27 earned the "best bet" designation while three were deemed "good bets."

The evaluations are based on how three-point lap and shoulder belts fit a child-size test dummy under various conditions. Crash tests were not a part of the review. The recommended seats position your child so that the seat belt is snug and safe for them in almost every car.

Booster seats that fell into the "check fit" category may provide a good belt fit for some children in some vehicles, but not as many as the boosters that earned a higher ranking, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says.

The following booster seats were named "best bets" for safety belt fit for 2014:

• Baby Trend Hybrid 3-in-1 (backless mode)
• Baby Trend Hybrid No Back (backless)
• Britax Frontier 90 (highback)
• Britax Pinnacle 90 (highback)
• Britax Pioneer 70 (highback)
• BubbleBum Neon (backless)
• Cybex Solution X-Fix (highback)
• Diono Solana (backless)
• Dream On Me Turbo Booster (highback mode)
• Eddie Bauer Deluxe Belt-Positioning Booster (highback mode)
• Eddie Bauer Deluxe Highback 65 (highback)
• Evenflo Chase (highback)
• Evenflo Symphony 65 (highback)
• Graco Argos 80 Elite 3-in-1 (backless mode)
• Graco Argos 80 Elite 3-in-1 (highback mode)
• Graco 4Ever All-in-1 (backless mode)
• Graco 4Ever All-in-1 (highback mode)
• Graco Milestone All-in-1 (highback)
• Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 with Safety Surround (highback mode)
• Kids Embrace Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (highback)
• Maxi-Cosi Rodi AP (highback mode)
• Maxi-Cosi RodiFix (highback)
• Peg Perego Viaggio HBB 120 (highback mode)
• Recaro Performance Booster (highback)Safety 1st Store ’n Go (highback mode)
• Safety 1st Store ’n Go No-Back (backless)
• Safety 1st Summit 65 (highback)

The IIHS says the following booster seats are "good bets:"

• Baby Trend Hybrid 3-in-1 (highback mode)
• Cybex Solution Q-Fix (highback)
• Diono Rainier (highback)

Eight booster seats fell into the "check fit" category:

• Dream On Me Coupe Booster (backless)
• Dream On Me Turbo Booster (backless mode)
• Eddie Bauer Deluxe Belt-Positioning Booster (backless mode)
• Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 with Safety Surround (backless mode)
• Harmony Folding Travel Booster (highback)
• Maxi-Cosi Rodi AP (backless mode)
• Peg Perego Viaggio HBB 120 (backless mode)
• Safety 1st Store ’n Go (backless mode)

Three booster seats were not recommended by the IIHS:

• Diono Olympia (highback)
• Diono Pacifica (highback)
• Kids Embrace Batman No Back Booster (backless)

The fire chief in Middlebury faces federal charges, accused of embezzling $70,000 from the town's volunteer fire department, according to federal prosecutors.

Middlebury Fire Chief Paul Perrotti, 47, was arrested on Thursday morning at his Middlebury home. He pleaded not guilty in Bridgeport federal court on Thursday to three counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.

Perrotti, a licensed electrician, has served as the president and fire chief of the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department since 1996 and has operated Paul Perrotti Electric, LLC since 2010.

He's accused of paying for personal and business expenses with money from Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department accounts from January 2011 through December 2013, according to prosecutors. Perrotti has been stripped of his title and suspended from the fire department.

In May, FBI agents raided the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department while looking into reports of mishandled department finances related to fire chief business. The U.S. Attorney's office said the raid was connected to the investigation that led to Perrotti's arrest.

Perrotti said at the time that he was not involved in any wrongdoing and had completely cooperated with federal agents to give them the information they requested. He said he believed the allegations came from a vengeful former firefighter. 

According to the indictment, Perrotti used fire department funds to pay his electric company, employees, company vendors and personal loans.

He also opened a Home Depot credit under in the fire department's name, but used it to buy supplies for his electric company, prosecutors said. Perrotti is also accused of using the fire department debit card for personal expenses such as food and gas.

Perrotti is accused of submitting false invoices to the town of Middlebury, claiming that personal and electric company charges were related to fire department operations.

Middlebury First Selectman and former fire chief Ed St. John didn't comment on the case, but said that keeping the town's fire service going is of the "utmost importance."

He asked residents to support acting fire chief Tony Bruno, who met with fellow firefighters Thursday evening to update them on the case and "keep morale up."

Bruno said the fire department will continue working as a team and providing the same services to the community it always has.

NBC Connecticut spoke with Perrotti outside the courthouse, but he declined to comment on his arrest. He was freed on a $250,000 non-surety bond and will appear in court for jury selection on Jan. 9.

Perrotti could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.