US, Mexican officials warn San Diegans of dangers down south amid spring break season

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — As the spring break season nears, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico is warning Americans planning to take a trip to the country. The main concern? The violent crime that every so often spills into popular tourist areas. Every year, thousands from San Diego will either fly out of the San Diego International Airport to Cancun or head to the Port of Entry to visit Rosarito. While fun getaways, officials say travelers should keep their wits about them. For Ofelia Aguirre, simple common sense goes a long way for anyone considering a vacation down south. “If you’re looking for something bad, bad things are going to happen to you,” Aguirre said. On Monday evening, FOX 5/KUSI met Ofelia and her husband while parked outside Cross Border Xpress. The two were waiting to pick up their daughter who just took a trip to Cancun, a spot the U.S. and Mexican officials warn can be a dangerous location when it comes to crime. SpaceX launch seen in San Diego area “Crime, including violent crime, can occur anywhere in Mexico, including in popular tourist

Trial date set for Navy sailor accused of spying

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Monday’s hearing in federal court lasted a matter of minutes with a Dec. 3 trial date set for Jinchao Wei, the San Diego-based U.S. Navy sailor accused of espionage. Wei, 22, was an active-duty sailor on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex when he was arrested last August as he arrived for work at Naval Base San Diego. Federal prosecutors say Wei is a naturalized citizen who was selling information to a Chinese intelligence officer beginning in February 2022. Wei allegedly was paid thousands of dollars for passing along photos, videos and around 50 manuals of U.S. military intel to the Chinese, including sensitive information about ships and upcoming military exercises. Wei, who was brought to the U.S. by his mother when he was 16, has pleaded “not guilty” to all charges. SpaceX launch seen in San Diego area Including new charges added last week, in particular naturalization fraud, with accusations that Wei was communicating with his Chinese handler during the process to become a U.S. citizen. Wei was arrested the same day as sailor Wenheng Zhao who was based in

SpaceX launch seen in San Diego area

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites on Monday caught the attention of many people in the San Diego area. The launch occurred at 7:28 p.m. at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, according to SpaceX’s website. Reports flooded in to the FOX 5/KUSI newsroom about a mysterious aircraft in the sky, which turned out to be SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX rocket seen in Alpine. (@cristinacruse IG) SpaceX rocket seen in Ocean Beach. (Jim Grant) SpaceX rocket seen in downtown San Diego. (@rpv15) SpaceX rocket seen at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Hail, lightning spotted in San Diego County “This is the 10th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SDA-0A, SARah-2, and seven Starlink missions,” SpaceX said. The large smoke plume trail left behind by Falcon 9 could be seen from Alpine to Escondido and Kearny Mesa to Chula Vista. Around 8:35 p.m., Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship in the Pacific Ocean, the space company posted on X

Fire erupts in downtown San Diego building

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A fire broke out Monday in a four-story building in downtown San Diego, authorities said. The blaze occurred 6:02 p.m. at Sixth Avenue and A St. in a boarded-up structure, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Videos show hail, lightning in San Diego County Around 6:45 p.m. firefighters extinguished the flames and searched the building, according to SDFD. Check back for updates on this developing story.

Hail, lightning spotted in San Diego County

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Ominous clouds produced eerie weather in some parts of San Diego County on Monday. Around 1 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of southeastern San Diego County until 2 p.m. Those communities included El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee, Bonita and Ramona. FOX 5/KUSI viewers sent in photos and videos of lightning, hail and dark clouds. One of the videos shows a viewer from Harbinson Canyon capture lightning strike the top of a mountain, while another shows lightning strike close to what appears to be powerlines in San Diego. In Jamul, hail could be seen pelting the ground, resembling somewhat of a winter wonderland at a quick glance. Watch the videos in the player above. A viewer submitted a photo of a plane tied down on the parking ramp at Palomar Airport with lightning in the backdrop.  Lighting strikes near Palomar Airport on March 18, 2024. (Ryan Grothe) Around 4:07 p.m., NWS San Diego released a graphic of the total number of lightning strikes in Southern California, with purple representing cloud to cloud and in

Videos show hail, lightning in San Diego County

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Ominous clouds produced eerie weather in some parts of San Diego County on Monday. Around 1 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of southeastern San Diego County until 2 p.m. Those communities included El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee, Bonita and Ramona. FOX 5/KUSI viewers sent in photos and videos of lightning, hail and dark clouds. One of the videos shows a viewer from Harbinson Canyon capture lightning strike the top of a mountain, while another shows lightning strike close to what appears to be powerlines in San Diego. In Jamul, hail could be seen pelting the ground, resembling somewhat of a winter wonderland at a quick glance. Watch the videos in the player above. A viewer submitted photos of a plane on a runway at Palomar Airport with lightning in the backdrop.  Lighting strikes near Palomar Airport on March 18, 2024. (Ryan Grothe) Around 4:07 p.m., NWS San Diego released a graphic of the total number of lightning strikes in Southern California, with purple representing cloud to cloud and in cloud, while orange is

San Diego International Airport experiencing dozens of flight delays

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego International Airport announced on Monday it is experiencing some flight delays after storms passed through parts of San Diego County earlier in the afternoon. As of 9:30 p.m., there are 20 arrival delays and 12 departure delays, according to SAN’s website. Severe thunderstorm warning issued for parts of San Diego County The San Diego airport advises customers to check with their airlines for up-to-date flight information before heading to the airport. Monday’s storm brought hail, lightning and thunder to the San Diego area. Check back for updates on this developing story.

Supreme Court extends block on Texas law that would allow police to arrest migrants

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday continued to block, for now, a Texas law that would give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. while the legal battle it sparked over immigration authority plays out. A one-page order signed by Justice Samuel Alito indefinitely prevents Texas from enforcing a sweeping state immigration enforcement law that had been set to take effect this month. The language of the order strongly suggests the court will take additional action, but it is unclear when. It marks the second time Alito has extended a pause on the law, known as Senate Bill 4, which the Justice Department has argued would step on the federal government’s immigration powers. Monday’s order extending the stay came a few minutes after a 5 p.m. deadline the court had set for itself, creating momentary confusion about the measure’s status. Opponents have called the law the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since an Arizona law more than a decade ago, portions of which were struck down by the Supreme Court. The court battle is

Severe thunderstorm warning issued for parts of San Diego County

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A severe thunderstorm warning was issued by the National Weather Service for parts of southeastern San Diego County as another storm moved through the region Monday afternoon. The warning was issued just before 1 p.m. and expired at 2 p.m. for communities including El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee, Bonita and Ramona. While it was in place, wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and nickel-sized hail could be possible. A map of the warning area can be found below. (NWS San Diego) According to NWS, the strongest thunderstorm picked up on radar by 1:30 p.m. was south of Interstate 8 in San Diego, producing wind gusts of around 45 to 55 miles per hour. Isolated showers an thunderstorms were also identified along Interstate 15 in the county. By 1:50 p.m., a southwest-moving thunderstorm was identified by NWS over Lake Elsinore in Riverside County. Wind gusts of about 30 to 40 miles per hour were recorded with brief heavy rain and possible small hail. The severe thunderstorm warning comes on the heels of another bout of thunderstorms last week

These Toyota models targeted in wheel, tire thefts across county

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Detectives from the San Diego Police Department are investigating around two dozen tire and wheel thefts that have taken place in the overnight hours in several areas across the county. SDPD reported Monday that since January of this year, there have been around 25 separate cases of tires and wheels being removed from vehicles parked overnight. How to get your catalytic converter engraved to deter thefts SDPD says these thefts didn’t happen in just one area. Reports came from areas in San Diego, Carlsbad, Oceanside, San Marcos and Escondido. The thefts happened to cars parked overnight both in parking lots and on the street. Detectives say the majority of vehicles being targeted are Toyota TRD style trucks and 4-Runners. Two arrested after North County retail thefts: Sheriff’s Anyone with information on these thefts is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department’s Northeastern Division at 858-538-8026 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Video shows car driving wrong way before head-on crash

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Video obtained by FOX 5/KUSI shows a car driving the wrong way down an Escondido street before a head-on crash that injured several people, including two children, on St. Patrick’s Day. The white sedan seen driving erratically in the video above is believed to be the car that caused the collision. The video shows the car traveling the wrong way, at times swerving to avoid vehicles. The car eventually crosses lanes to the right to get on the correct side of the road. Captures of the white sedan in the video and at the scene both show what appears to be a blue sheet stuffed in the rear window on the passenger side. (Left photo: Drea Ratcliffe/SIDEO.TV) Pedestrian hit, killed by train in Del Mar The crash between a sedan and SUV was reported around 2:30 p.m. on San Pasqual Valley Road near E. 17th Ave. Both vehicles had major front-end damage. When Escondido Fire Department and California Highway Patrol arrived on the scene, they found eight people had been injured. Paramedics took five of them, including two minors, to

Bicyclist critically injured in Oceanside hit-and-run

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — A bicyclist is in critical condition following a hit-and-run collision in Oceanside Sunday night, according to police. The driver remains at large. Officers with the Oceanside Police Department (OPD) responded to the collision near the intersection of State Route 76 and Singh Way around 11:35 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found a person with major injuries lying in the roadway next to passing cars. The victim was flown to a local trauma center and remains in critical condition as of 2:30 a.m. Monday morning. No additional details were immediately available about their identity. One killed in collision on northbound I-5 connecter to SR-163 According to OPD, officers discovered a bicycle with major damage near the SR-76 and College Boulevard intersection — about two miles down the road from where the pedestrian was found. Authorities believe the bicycle is related to the individual’s injuries. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene and remains at large. No description of their vehicle was provided by authorities, however, OPD said pieces of a silver Kia were recovered at the scene. The incident remains under

Pedestrian hit, killed by train in Del Mar

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A pedestrian was hit by a North County Transit District COASTER train in Del Mar on St. Patrick’s Day, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. The collision occurred just before 10 p.m. on Sunday along the train tracks just north of Torrey Pines State Beach. Deputies from the North Coastal Patrol Station and fire department personnel were dispatched to the scene shortly after. The pedestrian, described as a man of an unknown age, was declared dead on scene by medical personnel due to “obvious signs of death due to the injuries he sustained,” the department said. Several people injured in head-on crash on St. Patrick’s Day in Escondido No additional information about the pedestrian has been disclosed pending family notification. The manner and cause of death remains under investigation by the department’s Transit Enforcement Unit, which investigates all incidents that occur on NCTD property. A heavy police presence was in the area Sunday night while authorities remained on scene. COASTER service was briefly interrupted by the collision and subsequent investigation. Anyone with information about this case can call