A 15-year-old had to be taken to the hospital after she slipped on wet rocks at Sunset Cliffs, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said. 

The Chula Vista girl was walking with her dad on the rocks near Ladera Street, where they could access the tide pools on foot, according to lifeguards. 

As she walked on the slippery rocks, the girl fell and fractured her lower leg. 

Rescuers had to load her onto a stretcher and hoist her using a rope to get her out of the area.

The girl was taken to UCSD Medical Center for treatment. 

Three people were injured, including two police officers, and two men are dead following a shootout in suburban River Forest, Illinois, early Sunday morning.

River Forest police officers and fire officials responded to a call at a residence in the 100 block of Lathrop Avenue  around 7:20 a.m. about a woman suffering from shortness of breath, according to Deputy Chief Jim O'Shea. When the officers arrived at the home, they were "ambushed by an armed assailant with a shotgun," O'Shea said.

Gunfire was exchanged between the police officers and the alleged offender, who has been identified as a 24-year-old man.

The offender was killed in the shootout, and two police officers received non-life-threatening injuries, according to O'Shea. One was a 15-year veteran with the department, who was shot while wearing a bullet-proof vest. The other was a 5-year veteran. The nature of his injuries is unclear.

Two other victims were inside the house. One of them identified as a 60-year-old man was killed in the incident. The other — a 59-year-old woman who was identified as the mother of the offender — was injured, O'Shea said. She underwent surgery for her injuries Sunday.

The Cook County medical examiner identified the 24-year-old victim as Matthew Watson, who died at Loyola Hospital. The 60-year-old man, who died on the scene, was identified as William Carlson.

Dan Flannery, a witness who lives on the same block as the incident, told NBC Chicago he heard more than 20 or 30 shots fired.

Flannery said he saw an officer on the ground outside a house holding his side. The officer fired shots into the house, and shots were returned to the officer. A body was then wheeled out of the home, Flannery said.

This is a developing story. Check back for more details.

A gas leak has been shut off after a car crashed into a pipe in La Mesa, Heartland Fire and Rescue officials said. 

An elderly woman driving a car hit a gas line on the 8100 block of Cinnabar Drive in La Mesa, officials said. 

SDG&E said they had to perform a major dig to fix the pipe and are waited for equipment to dig the asphalt and access the line to cap it. 

Officials originally asked residents to avoid the area for one hour, but it took them approximately two hours to cap the leak. 

One of the people rescued from La Jolla Cove Friday evening has died, San Diego Lifeguards said. 

The incident started at 7:45 p.m. when Azfar Alam, 22, of Downey, California, and a 16-year-old girl were found nearly drowned in the water.

Lifeguards Lt. Lerum said it is still unclear how the two ended up in the water. They either fell off the cliffs or were washed off the reed if they were standing in a low-lying area when the tide came in, he said. 

"We had two people enter the water or fall into the water over at the sanctuary near La Jolla Cove," said Marine Safety Lt. James Gartland. He said it's unclear if they tumbled from the cliffs because no one saw the incident; they only heard the screams of the victims.

One good Samaritan jumped off a cliff to save them and swim them to shore after he heard their screams. 

Rescuers had to airlift the teen, who was in moderate condition, according to Gartland. Alam, who had more serious injuries, was taken to the hospital in an ambulance after lifeguards performed CPR on him. He died Saturday afternoon, according to the medical examiner.

The 16-year-old girl is in moderate condition, lifeguards said. Officials are waiting for the girl to recover before they ask her questions about what happened. 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is expected to make a big announcement Monday, but it seems he gave away the surprise last week in a tweet.

On Friday, Walker appeared to have tweeted a black-and-white photo of himself waving on a stage with the words "Scott Walker is running for president," according to Politico. The tweet has since been taken down, but Walker sent a few more presidential-sounding messages afterward, including one showing "the official campaign logo."

It's here. It's out. Introducing, the official campaign logo. RT if you're excited for Scott Walker! #Walker16 -STAFF pic.twitter.com/OcPvmAI2Qh

• Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, 55, Dies of Tumor

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) July 10, 2015

Walker is set to make the announcement at 5 p.m. Monday in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha.

Campaign aides revealed to the Associated Press in early July that Walker planned to file the paperwork for his long expected candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on July 2.

Walker has traveled throughout the country in the past several months, including stops in Iowa, to speak to conservative groups and court voters. The Wisconsin governor became a national figure after enacting laws that weakened labor unions' power and then survived a union-backed recall election.

He will join a large field of GOP contenders, with 16 others who have already announced or are expected to soon announce their candidacy.

As activists call for the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars of Bill Cosby and Donald Trump to be removed, the group behind the storied landmark is saying it won’t entertain the demands.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce acknowledged Wednesday night that it has received some requests for it to pull the star honoring Cosby amid on-going sexual assault allegations as well as that of Trump after he made comments about Mexicans that many people have called offensive.

But the organization said it would not be removing any stars from Hollywood sidewalks.

"The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has received inquiries asking on whether we are planning to remove the stars of Donald Trump and Bill Cosby. The answer is no. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a registered historic landmark. Once a star has been added to the Walk, it is considered a part of the historic fabric of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Because of this, we have never removed a star from the Walk," said Leron Gubler, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive, in an emailed statement.

“The late Johnny Grant, who chaired the Hollywood Walk of Fame Selection Committee for many years, made the following statement when asked this question: ‘Stars are awarded for professional achievement to the world of entertainment and contributions to the community. A celebrity’s politics, philosophy, irrational behavior, outrageous remarks or anything like that have never been cause to remove a Walk of Fame star,’” the statement continued.

Cosby has faced a steady stream of sexual assault allegations, and admitted in a decade-old deposition that he had previously obtained quaaludes to give to women with whom he wanted to have sex. The admission came to light when the previously sealed deposition was obtained by the Associated Press Tuesday.

African American Los Angeles civil rights leaders said in written statements Wednesday that they planned to ask the Chamber to remove Cosby’s star during a Thursday press conference.

“Cosby deliberately placed himself in a position of high moral standards and told the African American community who they are to be, while he was cheating on his wife and drugging and raping women nationwide. This is the epitome of hypocrisy revealed. Cosby has been lying to his wife, family, loved ones, friends, colleagues, fans, the community of African American students, and the entire African American community,” Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope said in comments published on the website eurweb.com.

Presidential candidate Trump has come under fire for comments he made during a speech announcing his run.

Trump said in relation to immigrants, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with (them). They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

Univision responded by cutting business ties with Trump, and NBC and Macy's later followed suit.

On Tuesday, Disney removed a statue of Cosby from its Orlando theme park.

Correction: An earlier verstion of this article incorrectly stated which statue Disney removed from its Orlando park.

As the costumes are lovingly packed away and exhibitors break down the stalls, Comic-Con International has wrapped for another year.

More than 130,000 people crowded San Diego's Convention Center for the annual gathering of pop culture geeks, cosplay afficienados, and fanboys and fangirls.

While some decried the lack the big studio reveals, others reveled in the smaller panels, better overall organisation, the "relaxed" and positive energy, and a renewed and balanced interest in all aspects of the event.

Late Sunday afternoon the walkways of the convention center continued to be packed with attendees looking to make last minute purchases and unearth any exlusive Con merchandise that may have surfaced as the final hours ticked down to the 5 p.m. closing time.

Wandering by the Peanuts booth it was obvious business had been good. Not a single piece of merchandise remained on the shelves – the only thing left on offer: a scheduled appearance by Snoopy at 3 p.m.

According to Chuck Rozanski of Denver, Colorado-based Mile High Comics (a Con fixture for 43 years), 2015 "has been the smoothest running convention in at least half a decade. The biggest thing for us that we've noticed is the fans have been spending more of their time here in the comics and art area versus in the media halls."

Rozanski said the emphasis on Hall H extravaganzas and the latest product offerings from the big toy makers has waned somewhat. "This year it is much more balanced and we're seing people experiencing everything, they're not just captive to what Hasbro and Mattel have brought. It's very pleasing. And I've seen all the changes over the years."

Justin Harder of Claus Studios in Santa Monica, California spends his regular workdays as a concept art designer for major motion picture titles ("Book of Life," "Avengers: Age of Ultron") and commercials, but brought his personal art to a small booth at the convention. "This is my second year in small press," Harder explained. "The people here are so supportive. The fans are phenomenal. Wednesday night, preview night here was something I was not expecting. It was out of control. Sunday and Wednesday alone were worth it for us coming down."

"It's probably my healthiest in terms of sales that I have done [at the Con]," said Steve MacIsaac, a Long Beach, California-based graphic novelist operating out of the Prism booth, which showcases and supports LGBT content. MacIsaac believes the cultural shift that has happened over the last few years in terms of marriage equality is now reflected in fan culture as well. "Which has not always been as up to date as the rest of the country. ... Prism has always been here but now we're like a destination for parents with kids."

MacIsaac noted that while sales are up, exhibiting at Comic-Con is not an inexpensive proposition. He only attends when he has a new book to promote, this being the first time in three years he has trekked to San Diego.

It's a sentiment echoed by Rozanski. "Business has been good enough," he said. "This is an extremely expensive show to do. So it took us until about an hour ago to break even, so we'll make a little bit. If we didn't love doing this it wouldn't be worthwhile as an economic endeavor, but as a social endeavor, gettting to see my friends and just being able to enjoy the atmosphere, that makes it worthwhile."

Enjoying the atmosphere rather than spending hours in line was a common refrain heard across the convention floor. Nicole Roberts and Kristi Flojtik, both from Los Angeles, have been attending the convention since 2004 and 2002 respectively. Sunday they cosplayed as "rococo X-Men," outfits they described as "days of future past, past," a riff on a "X-Men" franchise movie title.

"We planned how we wanted our Con to go," said Roberts. "We did not do any of the big line events. We didn't do any camping out overnight; we did that last year. So we tempered our expectations and had a wonderful time."

For Fojtik it was the more intitmate panels that proved the highlight. "We got into the things that a lot of people really overlook, which is the smaller panels and they were amazing." Her favorite? "'The Blacklist' put out a comic book and I got my comic signed by the writer. I was sad that they didn't do a cast event this year, but the comic book was enough."

Beth Bryson of Burbank, California stopped to chat in between fan photo requests. Dressed as Wonder Woman from the upcoming "Batman v. Superman" movie, she cosplayed the character each day of the convention. "I did bring a couple of others with me, but this is pretty relevant at the moment so I decided to stick with it," Bryson said.

With four years of attendance under her gold belt, Bryson said 2015 had been by far her favorite year at Comic-Con. "There were absolutely incredible panels. The guests have been great, the projects that they are featuring in all the halls have been fantastic. It's a just a big year for pop culture, with 'Star Wars' coming back and 'Batman v. Superman' next year. And women in comics are beginning to get a really good response which is starting a huge conversation that has needed to happen for a very long time."

According to veteran exhibitor Rozanski, the overall energy was "extremely mellow. It hasn't been that people are frantic or frenetic, people have just been enjoying themselves and I haven't seen it quite this way in 10 years. They somehow got a harder edge to Comic-Con as people got more into the exclusives and reselling things, and there was also this sort of social media competition, who can get a picture with whom. Everyone seems to have thrown that out the window this year. I can't give what the catalyst is for that, but I can tell you that it has been a whole different convention than what we've seen of late. I've enjoyed the hell out myself this year and I'm very sorry to see it end."

The Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force is wrapping up part of its Marine Corps research to set standards for what it takes to be an infantry Marine and to determine how to integrate women into combat roles.

Part of the study took place at Camp Pendleton. The task force began evaluating criteria to determine what a good infantry Marine physically looks like last October.

“Take gender out of the equation. What are the good traits that make this type of Marine good?” asked 1st Philip Kulczewski, a public affairs officer from the task force.

Those traits include variables that could include height, strength, speed, and other factors.

“Our mission was to complete a Marine Corps standards-based assessment of the physical performance of Marines in a simulated operating environment, and those Marines would be performing specific collective ground armed combat tasks,” Kulczewski told NBC 7.

Data from the study will also be used to evaluate any possible impacts that general integration would have on each unit’s combat readiness and effectiveness, as well as to establish gender neutral standards for different combat jobs.

The group was set up like a ground combat element of a Marine Expeditionary Unit, made up of 600 Marines. Inside the group, 350 volunteered for the study, 75 of whom were women.

“The ground combat element is one of our MEUs, Marine Expeditionary Units, and we’re made up of all the infantry elements: we’ve got artillery, we’ve got light armed vehicles, amphibious vehicles, we’ve got tanks, artillery and combat engineers,” said Kulczewski.

Some tests involved researchers from the University of Pittsburgh. They helped set up baseline by measuring combat tasks. Researchers hooked Marines up to heart rate monitors and GPS devices to see how much energy each used.

Many of the exercises involved firearms, Kulczewski explained.

“These Marines put rounds down range again and again and again and they did it safely, and they did live fire ranges where they were moving,” he said. “That is very dangerous stuff when you are on the ground there. And they did it day and day again.” No one was injured.

At Camp Pendleton, the AAV Platoon completed Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) tasks in the water, including water towing.

Sgt. Kassie McDole, one of the female Marine volunteers in the study, described the task: “One vehicle simulating as a disabled VIC. Then we’d drive out there next to each other and throw ropes, one vehicle throws ropes to the disabled vehicle.”

Right now the researchers and the data collectors are in a phase of number crunching and putting together the information, according to Kulczewski.

“Based on that data, the Marine Corps is going to take a look and see if we need to ask for any possible exceptions in policy in each one of the individual MOS,” he said. “Or if the Marine Corps is ready to open up those MOS now, then how do we take a look at our standards and improve them for the better.”

The Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force will de-activate next week, and while the process has taken many years, Kulczewski said he feels it was important to take that time to conduct this kind of scientific research.

“I think everyone at the end of the day really feels very good about what we were a part of and what we accomplished,” he told NBC 7.

The data collected will go to the Commandant of the Marine Corps next month.
 

Susan and Rodney Harvey helped WishWarriors promote its “Kick Cancer” Golf Tournament in hopes the cancer nonprofit would financially assist them as they tried to save their 13-year-old daughter’s life.

Friday, they said those hopes are dashed, as they learned the tens of thousands of dollars raised by the nonprofit appear to have vanished.

In an email to NBC 7 Investigates, Angelica Simmons, a board member and the attorney for WishWarriors, said, “at this time it appears most of the money raised by WishWarriors is gone.”

Earlier this week, the Harvey family raised concerns about WishWarriors in an NBC 7 Investigates story. Her parents said they felt the nonprofit took advantage of their situation and used their daughter as a marketing tool.

"I'm not really surprised," said Rodney. "Once certain things got revealed, I thought that was going to be the outcome of this, that the money was gone." 

But to the Poway parents of 12-year-old Maddie Taylor, who was also featured by WishWarriors, the revelation is shocking.

"It's mind boggling that people can use you like that and your community and every one of our friends who went there," said Maddie's mother Georgine Taylor.

NBC 7 Investigates started digging into WishWarriors and found the then-President and CEO, Brianna King, had a criminal past. While running the charity, there were at least three active warrants for her arrest connected to charges unrelated to her work with the charity.

Click here to see the complete investigation:

It’s King, according to Simmons, who had “full control” over WishWarriors’ bank accounts and was the person who dealt with the charity on a “day-to-day basis.”

In a statement, Simmons and the WishWarriors’ Board of Directors said they “had no knowledge of Ms. King’s criminal past.”

King’s Criminal History

King’s past includes misdemeanor charges in Riverside County in 2005 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.

She was arrested in Lake Arrowhead last week in connection with probation violations related to the Orange County felony charges. She was released late Wednesday after admitting to violating her probation terms.

In the statement, the WishWarrior board members said they “were shocked and blindsided by the arrest” of King. It’s the arrest, according to the statement, that prompted them to look into the charity’s finances.

Wednesday, the board learned “that the known WishWarriors bank account was closed by the bank for insufficient funds in May 2015,” according to their statement.

“The Board members have no information as to whether the money was moved to another account or whether it has been squandered by Ms. King,” the statement reads.

Click here to read the complete statement from WishWarriors.

According to Simmons, King “has not admitted to anything.” When Simmons asked King about her criminal past, King said it was a "misunderstanding," Simmons told NBC 7 Investigates.

Calls and emails to King from NBC 7 Investigates have gone unanswered.

According to the statement from the board members, the cancer charity reported the “missing funds” to the San Diego County Sheriff Department.

At an emergency meeting Wednesday, Simmons said, the board also removed King as both the president and a board member of the organization and has suspended all of its fundraising activities.

A spokesperson for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Jan Caldwell, could not immediately confirm if the department had received the report from WishWarriors but is looking into it.

In a statement to NBC 7 Investigates Friday, Lt. Scott Wahl, a spokesperson for the San Diego Police Department, confirmed the San Diego District Attorney’s Office is “conducting the criminal investigation of Brianna.”

SDPD “opened an internal investigation immediately upon being notified of the situation,” according to Wahl. Read the full statement from SDPD below.

King’s significant other is an SDPD officer, Wahl confirmed to NBC 7 Investigates.

The Families

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

The Harveys were heavily involved in a WishWarriors golf tournament fundraiser at Maderas Golf 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.

Maddie Taylor, who is battling a form of bone cancer, was also highlighted at the “Kick Cancer” Golf Tournament.

According to her parents, the family was contacted within a month of Maddie’s diagnosis with Ewing Sarcoma. WishWarriors promised them financial support in exchange for participating in the golf fundraiser.

NBC 7 Investigates has confirmed neither family has received any money from the event.

"I just remember them saying someone might have stolen moeny, someone probably did steal money," said Maddie. "I I just thought, wow."

Even though the money is gone, Maddie said that she wanted to thank all the donors for their support and that "I love them back as much as I can."

"God picks the toughest warriors to fight the toughest battles," the 12-year-old said.

According to Simmons, the golf club was paid for having the fundraiser at its course.

Scott Taylor, Maddie's father, said he realizes now that King had no intention to help his family.

"How do you live with yourself?" he asked. "What's happened in your life that makes this right. Where's the justification?"

NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the Chargers and Maderas Golf Course.

In an email, Tony Pistillo with Maderas said they have shared everything it knows with the authorities and “have no further insight or comment.”

In an email, Bill Johnston, the Director of Public Relations for the Chargers, said, “The Chargers organization has no connection to this organization or event whatsoever. The players involved were asked to participate by Dr. (Robert) Bjork and paid to play in the event the same as the other golfers.”

Full statement from Wahl:

"The San Diego Police Department opened an internal investigation immediately upon being notified of the situation. That investigation ultimately led to the apprehension of Brianna King for her outstanding warrants. We are fully cooperating with the San Diego District Attorney's Office who is now conducting the criminal investigation of Brianna. The extent of that investigation and the involvement of any other parties will have to come from the DA's Office."

Two men in a car placed an order at a Jack in the Box drive-thru before opening fire on a restaurant employee at the pickup window late Sunday in the San Fernando Valley.

The employee was in stable condition after suffering a gunshot wound to the hip during the attempted robbery, according to police.

No detailed description of the attackers was immediately available. The vehicle was described only as a Nissan, but police plan to review restaurant security camera video to gather more details.

"It was a robbery that went bad," said Los Angeles police Sgt.  Mike Stewart.

The employee fumbled with the cash register before at least one of the men opened fire, police said. The attackers drove from the restaurant at Roscoe Boulevard and DeSoto Avenue in Canoga Park without getting any money from the cash register, police said.

No arrests were reported early Monday.

Air drops over a brush fire in San Bernardino County came to a temporary halt Sunday when firefighters encountered a recreational drone, fire officials said.

The so-called Mill 2 Fire broke out about 2:30 p.m. near Mill Creek Canyon and Bryant Street just north of Yucaipa, forcing the evacuation of four homes on the Yucaipa ridge, Cal Fire officials said.

As of 11:30 p.m., the blaze had charred 35 acres and was 10 percent contained.

Earlier, tanker operations were stopped when crews spotted the drone, but resumed a short time later, fire officials said.

"This could decrease the effectiveness of fire suppression operations, allowing the fire to grow larger and potentially threaten lives, property, and valuable natural and cultural resources," the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement.

The incident came less than a month after another drone grounded aircraft fighting a fire in the mountains east of Los Angeles.

The cause of Sunday's blaze was under investigation.

• 'America Deserves A President Who Will Fight': Walker

An Unmanned Aircraft System (drone) temporarily halted tanker operations on the #Mill2Fire, but operations soon resumed

— San Bernardino NF (@SanBernardinoNF) July 12, 2015

The son of a Boston police captain has been arrested for allegedly plotting to attack college campuses on behalf of ISIS.

A criminal complaint charging Alexander Ciccolo, aka Ali Al Amriki, 23, of Adams, Massachusetts, with being a felon in possession of firearms was unsealed Monday by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI. A pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in Springfield. Ciccolo is being held in custody pending that hearing.

Officials say Ciccolo is the son of Boston Police Capt. Robert Ciccolo. Sources say Alexander has been in and out of mental health facilities since the age of 7, but when he turned 18 he refused care and went out on his own. His father reported his instability and terrorism threats to the FBI.

According to the complaint affidavit, on July 4, Ciccolo took delivery of four firearms - including two rifles with large ammunition magazines - which he had ordered from a person who was cooperating with members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. The supplier had been communicating with Ciccolo about Ciccolo's plans to engage in a terrorist act.

Ciccolo was arrested immediately after taking delivery of the firearms, which included a Colt AR-15 .223 caliber rifle, a SigArms Model SG550-1 5.56 caliber rifle, a Glock 17 9mm pistol, and a Glock 20 10 mm pistol. Ciccolo was convicted of drunken driving in February and therefore was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Prosecutors allege that Ciccolo is a supporter of ISIS and had spoken with the cooperating witness about his plans to commit acts of terrorism inspired by the terrorist organization, including setting off explosive devices, such as pressure cookers filled with black powder, nails, ball bearings and glass. He reportedly planned to set them off in places where large numbers of people congregate, such as college cafeterias. Prior to his arrest, agents also saw him purchasing a pressure cooker similar to those used in the Boston Marathon bombings.

After Ciccolo was arrested, agents searched his apartment and found several partially constructed Molotov cocktails. The incendiary devices contained what appeared to be shredded Styrofoam soaking in motor oil. Ciccolo had previously stated that this mixture would cause the fire from the exploded devices to stick to people’s skin and make it more difficult to extinguish. Agents also found two machetes and a long curved knife in his apartment.

According to court documents, the FBI became aware in the fall of 2014 that Ciccolo had expressed a desire to go overseas to fight for ISIS. A close acquaintance told the FBI that Ciccolo had a long history of mental illness and in the last 18 months had become obsessed with Islam. The acquaintance also said Ciccolo had recently said that he believed that the "faith is under attack" and that he was "not afraid to die for the cause." The acquaintance also reportedly received text messages from Ciccolo saying that America is "Satan."

In October of 2014, the FBI found a Facebook profile under the name "Ali Al Amriki" that contained information indicating that the user was interested in martyrdom for the sake of Islam and was living in the United States. Subsequent investigation identified the defendant as Ciccolo.

The FBI arranged for a cooperating witness to meet Ciccolo, who told the witness that he had a plan to engage in violence in support of ISIS. During one meeting on June 24, Ciccolo met with the witness in person and said that he would attack two different bars and a police station. He said he planned to use improvised explosive devices during the attack, including pressure cooker and portable microwave bombs. Ciccolo reportedly said:

"you put uhm, take a pressure cooker

Uhm, fill it up with ah, black powder

Yeah, you fill it up with ball bearings, nails glass, rocks ... you know."

On June 30, Ciccolo again met with the cooperating witness. During that conversation, the witness asked Ciccolo if he had heard what happened in Tunisia. Ciccolo responded:

"Awesome. Awesome, you know that ah, that brother in Tunisia was impressive ... he got like 38, 39 people ... one guy ... that is a huge accomplishment I think."

Ciccolo also reportedly told the witness he wanted to conduct an attack at a state university using assault rifles and improvised explosives. He said the attack would be concentrated in the college dorms and cafeteria and would include executions of students broadcast live via the internet.

After he was arrested, Ciccolo was taken to the Franklin County House of Correction. While meeting with a nurse for a routine medical screening, authorities say he stabbed her in the head with a pen, leaving a bloody hole in the nurse's skin and causing the pen to break in half.

Previously, Ciccolo was arrested on June 18, 2014 by state police in North Adams, Massachusetts, according to the North Berkshire District Court. He was charged with possession of an open container in a motor vehicle and carrying a dangerous weapon, but the charges were dropped on Feb. 15, 2015 at the request of the state.

The Ciccolo family released the following statement addressing Monday's arrest: “While we were saddened and disappointed to learn of our son’s intentions, we are grateful that authorities were able to prevent any loss of life or harm to others. At this time, we would ask that the public and the media recognize our grief and respect our desire for privacy.”

The investigation is being conducted by the Joint Terrorism Task Force and member agencies including the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Springfield Police, Ludlow Police, Holyoke Police, West Springfield Police, Easthampton Police, Pittsfield Police, Massachusetts State Police and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from Adams Police and the Massachusetts State Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team.

A study at UC San Diego says learning impacts how the brain processes what we see.

From taste to smell to past experience, our vision is influenced by perception.

A cognitive process known as top-down control changes the way we interact with the world based on prior knowledge and expectations.

An example of top-down control is being able to read a word with missing letters based on past experiences.

The research study at the UC San Diego School of Medicine was led by Takaki Komiyama, PhD, assistant professor of neurosciences and neurobiology.

The researchers found in lab tests when a mouse assigned a new meaning to a neutral stimulus top-down control became much more influential in activating the visual cortex.

The study, published in the online journal Nature Neuroscience, has broader implications on health research.

"In addition to revealing circuit mechanisms underlying these learning-related changes, our findings may have implications in understanding the pathophysiology of psychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia, that generate abnormal perception," said Hiroshi Makino, PhD, postdoctoral researcher in Komiyama's lab in a written release.

A woman was rescued early Monday after her Mercedes crashed 90 feet down into a canyon in University City.

The vehicle broke through a barrier set up at the end of Regents Road and landed on its roof in Rose Canyon Open Space Park.

TJ Zerr lives along nearby Lahitte Court and said the sound of the crash woke him up just before midnight.

“We came out with a bunch of the other neighbors and one of the neighbors went down and got to the car and the woman before police got here,” Zerr said.

San Diego Fire-Rescue crews carried the woman up the canyon on a stretcher before transporting her to Scripps La Jolla.

Zerr has lived on the street for three years and said he’s seen at least five or six collisions with the wooden fence marking the end of Regents Road before the open space park.

“The width of the road appears to be a highway I think to most people who aren’t from this neighborhood,” he said. “People don’t realize it’s going to come to a stop.”

In another incident, a driver went through the wall on his property and landed in his back yard, Zerr said.

He’d like to see the city should add more improvements to keep drivers from traveling at high speeds along the road.

“And make a change to the physical construction of the road that would make it impossible to get the speeds that people are getting before it’s too late,” Zerr said.

Officials say the driver suffered bumps and bruises. She is expected to faces charges of driving under the influence, according to San Diego Police.
 

When John Oliver, host of HBO's "Last Week Tonight" and former correspondent on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," gets an idea and a week to work on it, the results are going to be either hilarious or horrifying, depending on your point of view.

Sunday night Oliver took on a new topic ... professional sports stadiums. As usual, he got in-depth on the politics, economics, pros, cons and occasional absurdity of the process by which communities build new facilities for their local teams. Naturally, San Diego came up.

Oliver talked about the Bolts and their threats to leave, but then dug deep in the internet to find a few things about what's going on here. You can see what he found (please be warned, it is HBO so there is some profane language) below or through this link at the 7:18 mark.

 If you don't have time to watch it, Oliver found the Save Our Bolts music video performed by San Diego-based rapper C-SICCNESS and took a couple of shots at the lyrics, actually referencing again in the end of the piece.

So the Save Our Bolts movement has gone nationwide on HBO. But, not exactly in the most flattering manner. So how did the C-SICCNESS, the San Diego-based rapper who did the song, respond to the lampooning? Well, you know the old saying in show business, "There's no such thing as bad publicity." C-SICCNESS says it's true, and he's actually benefitting from it:

This is actually perfect timing for the national exposure. On Tuesday, July 14 at 2 p.m., the San Diego City Council will vote on whether to approve $2.1 million to fund, in part, an Environmental Impact Report that could allow a stadium vote to take place by January.

Chargers fans are planning a rally starting at 1:30 p.m. on Civic Center Plaza in front of City Hall (202 C Street) and are encouraging as many supporters as they can get to show up and try to sway the opinion in favor of the approval.

You can also see the Save Our Bolts video in its entirety here.

The woman accused of embezzling nearly $600,000 from a Carlsbad golf course appeared in court for her pretrial conference Monday.

Bound in handcuffs, Dawn Snow, 52, of Murrieta, learned her pretrial hearing would be continued until Sept. 10.

Snow is accused of misusing funds by stealing nearly $600,000 over the last seven years while she worked as the former controller at the Crossings, Carlsbad’s city owned golf course.

Snow allegedly embezzled the money while working for KepmerSports, which manages the golf course, according to the City of Carlsbad.

During her employment, Snow handled all golf course operations and management through a competitively bid contract with the city, going back to the course’s opening. She left KemperSports in August.

Two months after Snow left her position, managers at KemperSports found evidence of a possible misuse of public funds involving a former controller’s credit card and opened an investigation. When they told the City of Carlsbad, they began their own investigation. The results of the investigation have been given to the District Attorney’s office.

KemperSports will reimburse the city for the money it lost.

The Triple Crown is the ultimate prize in horse racing. But it is far from the end of a career for a race horse. So when another season of racing starts Thursday at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, American Pharoah will be there.

He won't be racing yet, mind you, but the biggest thing on hooves is going to stay in Del Mar for a while. Trainer Bob Baffert is bringing American Pharoah to our town on Tuesday. Baffert had worked the horse out a few times at Santa Anita.

The next time the now-legendary horse will race is Aug. 2 in the $1 million Haskell Invitational in New Jersey. But his owner and breeder, Ahmed Zayat, has not ruled out more races after that. In fact, he seems ready to let American Pharoah run for a while longer.

"With this horse," Zayat told the Washington Post after winning the Belmont Stakes in June, "we owe it to the sport to continue properly and as often as we possibly can. It is my genuine desire to race him as long as I possibly could, at least, at least - until his finishes (as a) 3-year-old."

That opens the possibility that American Pharoah will, indeed, race at Del Mar again. Remember, he got his first win on this track last year in the Del Mar Futurity, so there are fond memories here. Plus, the $1 million Pacific Classic is held on Aug. 22. That leaves a nice break between races for the prized horse.

Jockey Victor Espinoza, a regular at Del Mar, will be racing as usual this season north of San Diego. But when American Pharoah is on the track Espinoza will be with him again.

NBC 7's Todd Strain asked Del Mar Thoroughbred Club President Joe Harper about whether or not we'll see American Pharoah, and plenty of other topics, in this 2015 Del Mar Racing Season primer.

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A woman died from injuries suffered in a hit-and-run collision at what has been one of downtown’s busiest pedestrian intersections during Comic-Con 2015.

San Diego Police are investigating the crash that occurred along Harbor Drive near the San Diego Convention Center.

Officers were called to the corner of Harbor Drive and 5th Avenue just before 4 a.m.

They say the woman, described as a 40-50 year old, was crossing from the Convention Center side of the street when she was struck by a car traveling westbound.

San Diego Police described the suspect vehicle as "a small silver Ford with front-end damage including the headlight assembly."

The intersection has been packed with crowds for several days due to the Comic-Con International convention.

The nearest crosswalk is located 25 feet away from where officers were collecting evidence.

Comic-Con 2015 wrapped up its stay at the convention center Sunday.

Anyone with any information on this case can call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.

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A woman convicted in the murder of her stepfather receives a new sentence Monday after an appellate court ruled in her favor.

Brae Hansen, 24, cried when she was convicted of first degree murder with special circumstances of lying in wait.

Jurors in the 2009 trial agreed she was the “mastermind” behind the 2007 shooting death of local attorney, Timothy MacNeil.

Hansen, who was 17 when she was arrested, was tried as an adult. Her attorney successfully appealed to reconsider the sentence after a Supreme Court ruling found that these sentences may be cruel and unusual when it comes to minors.

In a resentencing hearing Monday, her life in prison without parole sentence was reduced to 26 years to life.

Judge Frederic Link said in his 34 years of being a judge, he's never put more thought into a case than this one.

It came down to meeting a standard set by the Supreme Court for a sentence of life in prison without parole. Is Hansen irreparably corrupt, beyond redemption and unfit to enter society?

Hansen’s brother, Nathaniel Gann was convicted in the same case.

Investigators testified in the trial that Hansen had promised her brother 15 percent of her inheritance as they planned MacNeil’s murder.

MacNeil, a criminal defense attorney, was shot and killed in his Rolando home in July 2007. MacNeil was tied up and shot to death by Gann during a staged robbery.

The killing was originally investigated as a home invasion robbery but when Hansen’s version of the incident changed, she was taken into custody and questioned.

A confession videotaped by San Diego Police swayed jurors in her trial.