Category: San Diego

A former operating room director at Tri-City Medical Center was sentenced Monday to four years in state prison on burglary and sex crime-related charges, convicted of going to a staffer’s home intending to drug her with a surgical anesthetic and then sexually assault her. Gary Johnson, 63, was convicted by a Vista Superior Court jury in August on charges of residential burglary and attempted sexual assault of an unconscious person. The verdict followed about a day of deliberations. Judge Kelly Mok cited the “shocking and extremely serious set of facts” in sentencing Johnson, who must also register as a sex offender. On April 14, Johnson showed up at the woman’s Oceanside apartment carrying a condom, a key to her front door, a rag and a bottle of a general anesthetic used in surgeries, according to authorities and testimony. About 3 a.m., as the woman and her boyfriend watched television in the living room of her apartment, their attention was drawn to her patio. Her boyfriend opened the drapes and found a hooded man in dark clothes wearing gloves and a mask. As the intruder ran

By MATT BROWN WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, Pat Verhaeghe didn’t think highly of Donald Trump as a leader. Then Verhaeghe began seeing more of Trump’s campaign speeches online and his appearances at sporting events. There was even the former president’s pairing with Bryson DeChambeau as part of the pro golfer’s YouTube channel series to shoot an under-50 round of golf while engaging in chitchat with his partner. “I regret saying this, but a while ago I thought he was an idiot and that he wouldn’t be a good president,” said the 18-year-old first-time voter. “I think he’s a great guy now.” Verhaeghe isn’t alone among his friends in suburban Detroit or young men across America. Although much of the electorate shifted right to varying degrees in 2024, young men were one of the groups that swung sharply toward Trump. More than half of men under 30 supported Trump, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters, while Democrat Joe Biden had won a similar share of this group four years earlier. White men under 30 were solidly in Trump’s camp this

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s the final holiday stretch for President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, who has decked out the White House with some whimsical decorations to evoke the “peace and light” of the season. The festive display includes a towering Christmas tree surrounded by an amusement park-style carousel, brass-colored bells and sleigh bells lining a hallway, and a ceiling design that mimics snowfall. The first lady invited National Guard families to be among the first members of the public to see the decorations, which are based on the theme of “A Season of Peace and Light.” She also spoke at a separate event held to thank the volunteers who helped with the monumental job of decorating the interior and exterior of the White House. ‘Moana 2’ is officially the biggest Thanksgiving release ever: Which movie did it dethrone? “This would not be possible without your work,” she said. “It’s been incredible to watch all of you transform this space year after year, and you traded time with families for hours of gluing.” More than 300 volunteers spent the past week decorating the White House’s public spaces

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — One lucky person that bought a California Lottery ticket at a San Diego liquor store over Thanksgiving weekend is now $35,000 richer. Although there was no jackpot winner for the Saturday, Nov. 30 SuperLotto Plus drawing, one person did win $35,287 from a ticket bought at Keg & Bottle in the 3000 block of Mt. Acadia Boulevard in San Diego, according to the California Lottery’s website. These San Diego stores are the ‘luckiest’ for winning lottery tickets The lucky winner matched all five winning numbers to snag the second top prize — 10, 13, 23, 29, and 37, but was missing the Mega number that would have made the payout $44 million. Across the state, 14 people won $1,260. In total, there were 100,159 winners from Saturday’s drawing. A California woman was called into work on her day off. She left a lottery winner SuperLotto Plus is just $1 to play. Drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday. California Lottery says the odds to hit the jackpot for SuperLotto Plus are 1 in 41,416,353. The estimated jackpot is up to

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — It’s December which means Santa Claus is back in town! For many families, capturing a photo with Santa is a beloved holiday tradition and a way to help children believe in the magic of Christmas. Fortunately, Santa will be visiting various locations throughout San Diego County before he heads back to the North Pole. Below is a list of some places offering photos: Coastal Christmas The Del Mar Fairgrounds will transform into a winter wonderland featuring a holiday light trail, festive food and drinks and even igloo and fire pit reservations. Plus, Santa will be available for photos during the festival. The event runs Dec. 13-15, 20-23 and 26 at 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd. in Del Mar. Holidays at the Del Along with an ice skating rink by the sea and a light show spectacular, Hotel del Coronado is offering a meet-and-greet with Santa under a 25-foot Christmas tree. Each reservation includes one printed 5″x7″ photo with the opportunity to purchase more online. The photos with Santa take place Dec. 6-8, 13-15 and 18-24 on the Southpointe Lawn at Hotel

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The woman accused of drunkenly crashing into a golf cart, killing a bride, and seriously injuring members of the wedding party on Folly Beach last year was sentenced during a Monday afternoon hearing in Charleston for charges related to the incident. Jamie Lee Komoroski pleaded guilty to three counts of felony DUI and one count of reckless homicide resulting in death for the crash that killed 34-year-old Samantha Miller on her wedding night and critically injured her new husband, Aric Hutchinson. Judge Deadra Jefferson sentenced Komoroski to 10 years for the charge of reckless homicide, 15 years for two charges of felony DUI with great bodily injury, and 25 years for the charge of felony DUI with death to be served under the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Judge Jefferson ordered Komoroski to receive jail credit for time served, including her time on house arrest, and her sentence is set to run concurrently. Following the sentencing, Komoroski’s attorney, Chris Gramiccioni, said that although the sentencing was “at the top of the range,” they respected the sentence handed down. “Obviously, as you can

By TARA COPP and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is preparing to send Ukraine an additional $725 million in military assistance, including counter-drone systems and munitions for its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which could indicate more of the longer-range missiles are headed to the battlefield. Two U.S. officials did not confirm whether the munitions for the HIMARS are the coveted ATACMS — the Army Tactical Missile System — but Ukraine has been pressing for more of the longer-range missiles to strike additional targets inside Russia. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the announcement before it was made public. The package also includes more anti-personnel landmines that Ukraine is counting on to slow Russian and North Korean ground forces in the Kursk region.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hezbollah fired into a disputed border zone held by Israel on Monday, the militant group’s first attack since its ceasefire with Israel took hold last week, after Lebanon accused Israel of violating the truce more than 50 times in recent days. The Israeli military said two projectiles were launched toward Mount Dov, a disputed Israeli-held territory known as Shebaa Farms in Lebanon, where the borders of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel meet. Israel said the projectiles fell in open areas and no injuries were reported. Hezbollah said in a statement that it fired on an Israeli military position in the area as a “defensive and warning response” after what it called “repeated violations” of the ceasefire deal by Israel. It said complaints to mediators tasked with monitoring the ceasefire “were futile in stopping these violations.” The U.S.- and French-brokered ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday calling for a 60-day halt in fighting, aiming to end more than a year of exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel. Destroyed buildings in an area of the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon, located next to the Israeli-Lebanese border, as seen from

FALLBROOK, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Cal Fire crews fought a small vegetation fire that broke out in North County Monday morning, engulfing several piles of mulch. The fire was reported around 7:30 a.m. in the area of Rainbow Valley Road in the community of Rainbow. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Cal Fire said crews had contained the fire, which had the potential to grow up to 1 acre in size, at half an acre around 8:30 a.m. No structures were threatened by the fire, although a large plume of smoke could be seen from the Interstate 15. The cause of the fire has not been identified. Fire crews are anticipated to remain on scene for several hours, due to “extensive mop up.” Location of vegetation fire in Rainbow on Dec. 2, 2024. (Cal Fire) This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A beach hazard statement is in effect for San Diego’s coastal areas beginning Monday morning as astronomical high tides are expected to cause minor flooding. The notice went into effect at 6 a.m. and is anticipated to remain until at least noon on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. During this time, high tides are anticipated to reach six feet in height in some areas. Paired with above normal surf, NWS forecasters say some low-lying areas, like beach parking lots, may get some minor flooding. San Diego-area Coast Guard crew rescues woman from cruise ship Areas at the highest risk include the La Jolla Shores, Imperial Beach, Del Mar and Cardiff in San Diego County, as well as Newport Beach, Sunset Beach and Seal Beach in Orange County, per NWS. Peak tides in La Jolla, for example, are expected to reach 6.04 feet on Monday at 8:37 a.m. Further north in Newport Beach, a high tide of 6.10 feet is expected around 8:41 a.m. On Tuesday, NWS anticipates both areas’ high tide around 9:15 a.m. to fall slightly, coming

President Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter, is set to reverberate on Capitol Hill this week, as lawmakers react to the news after years of GOP investigations targeting the younger Biden’s business dealings. The president announced “a full and unconditional pardon” for Biden Sunday night, arguing in a lengthy statement that the charges brought against his son were fueled by politics. Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges and was found guilty of three felony gun charges. He was set to face sentencing this month. The pardon was a sharp reversal for Biden: The president and White House secretary in recent months had said that the president did not plan to pardon his son, reiterating that position even after President-elect Trump won the election. The grant of clemency is set to take up much of the oxygen on Capitol Hill this week, with the Senate returning to session on Monday and the House set to reconvene on Tuesday. Republicans ripped Biden’s decision immediately after the announcement, labeling the president a liar and contending that the pardon proves Hunter Biden is above the law.

(NewsNation) — Missing Maui woman Hannah Kobayashi purposefully skipped her connecting flight at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 8, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. Kobayashi disappeared and stopped contacting her family just days after missing a connecting flight from Maui to New York at LAX, which “the investigation determined was intentional,” McDonnell said at a Nov. 26 Board of Police Commissioners meeting. Loved ones flew to California to form a search party following cryptic texts and radio silence from Kobayashi, with volunteers joining the mission as the case grows nationally. Hannah Kobayashi: Timeline of Hawaiian woman’s disappearance Searching for Hannah Kobayashi During the search, her father, Ryan Kobayashi, was found dead in a parking lot near LAX on Nov. 24. In a statement posted on Facebook by the RAD Movement, a nonprofit organization that works to find people, the organization said the 58-year-old “tragically took his own life.” The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office and LAPD confirmed his identity. Volunteers put up flyers of missing Maui woman Hannah Kobayashi outside Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 21, 2024. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles

By The Associated Press Travelers heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday set a record on Sunday, as airport officers screened more than 3 million people. The Transportation Security Administration said Monday that it handled 3.09 million travelers, breaking the previous record by about 74,000. That mark was set on July 7, also a Sunday after a holiday. Hundreds of thousands of travelers were delayed or had their flights canceled. Airlines canceled about 120 U.S. flights — not an unusually high number — and more than 6,800 flights were delayed, according to FlightAware. The largest numbers of delays were at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The TSA had predicted that Thanksgiving week air travel would rise 6% over the same days last year, fitting a pattern of record travel in 2024.

LONDON (AP) — Many of us have felt it, and now it’s official: “brain rot” is the Oxford dictionaries’ word of the year. Oxford University Press said Monday that the evocative phrase “gained new prominence in 2024,” with its frequency of use increasing 230% from the year before. Oxford defines brain rot as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” The word of the year is intended to be “a word or expression that reflects a defining theme from the past 12 months.” “Brain rot” was chosen by a combination of public vote and language analysis by Oxford lexicographers. It beat five other finalists: demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy and lore. While it may seem a modern phenomenon, the first recorded use of “brain rot” was by Henry David Thoreau in his 1854 ode to the natural world, “Walden.” Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl said that in its modern sense, “’brain rot’ speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and

Throughout the year-plus that La Mesa City Councilmember Colin Parent was running for a seat in the California Assembly, he was also soliciting donations to the nonprofit that employs him. According to records at the La Mesa City Clerk’s Office, Parent disclosed hundreds of thousands of dollars in what are called behested payments — donations that individuals and companies make to charities at the request, or behest, of elected officials. The funds were directed to Circulate San Diego, a nonprofit research and advocacy firm committed to promoting public transit, bike lanes and other mobility causes. Parent is the chief executive officer of the tax-exempt organization. The La Mesa council member successfully sought more than $235,000 in donations to Circulate since the beginning of last year, records show. Many of the donations came from real estate interests and government agencies that serve La Mesa. Parent, who lost the Nov. 5 race for the 79th Assembly District to LaShae Sharp-Collins, said he was careful to abide by all of the rules regulating behested payments. “The California Fair Political Practices Commission has published clear and unambiguous guidance that

The Outdoor Hospitality Industry has once again named Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve the “Large Park of the Year” in the parks and campgrounds category and also awarded the facility its “Plan-It Green Park of the Year” award. The 190‐acre park was recognized for its amenities, its guests’ experiences and its conservation efforts. On the day before Thanksgiving, the park’s campground was more than 90% filled with families taking advantage of the school break and continuing a tradition of enjoying the holiday with a cookout by the lake. But even on its busiest days — the park attracts 160,000 visitors each year — the grounds are tranquil and largely still, with the sound of geese occasionally echoing across the water. “You’d be amazed at how quiet it gets,” said Santee Lakes Parks & Recreation Director Cory Kading. The park has 290 spots for RVs and 10 for tents and 10 cabins, including three on the water where people can fish from their porch. The camping sites are larger than in most parks, and the 2,000 trees of 53 varieties on the property add to the feeling