San Diego Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani confirmed to NBC's San Diego station that the land purchase for a new joint stadium for the Chargers and Oakland Raiders football teams has not been finalized.

Fabiani confirmed this in an email late Friday, a day after the announcement of the joint stadium proposal in Carson.

“The project is subject to a binding purchase and sale agreement,” Fabiani wrote in the email. “All parties are bound by the agreement.” When NBC 7 first reached out to Fabiani he said, the "land has been purchased through a binding agreement with the seller."

Friday, the City of Carson and members of organized labor gathered to celebrate a proposed NFL stadium that may soon be shared by the Chargers and Raiders. The small community is home to the 168-acres of land, which Fabiani calls “Plan B” for a new stadium for the Chargers.

According to the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office, the owner of the land is Carson Marketplace, a company based in Newport Beach. The company has owned the land since May 2008.

In a press release, the seller of the property was identified as Starwood Capital Group, a company affiliated with Carson Marketplace. Tom Johnson, a spokesperson for the company, confirmed Starwood still owns the land. In an email he said, “we are excited by the prospects for the project."

Johnson added in an email the Chargers have control over the land.

Fabiani said the sale “is not contingent on anything” and “the buyer is obligated to buy. The seller is obligated to sell. Period.”

Both teams announced they plan to continue seeking public subsidies for new stadiums in their respective home markets, but they are pursuing the Carson proposal in case they are unable to finalize any deals. In San Diego, Mayor Kevin Faulconer - who recently named a special stadium advisory board - said he was unaware the Chargers and Raiders had been planning such a move.

A liquor store owner who was held at gunpoint for more than two hours by thieves at his home believes he was targeted by the same robbers before.

He told NBC4 he thinks the gunmen who robbed him late Thursday may have tried to break into his property in unincorporated Torrance on two previous occasions. They knew both his name, and about his business.

The owner, who was too afraid to speak on camera, said he did not go directly home after locking up his store in Hawthorne Thursday, and instead went to the Hustler Casino in Gardena. He thinks he was followed from there back to his gated community home.

Four gunmen, who wore gloves, ski masks and dark clothes, broke into his house  on the 1000 block of Park Circle Drive. They tied the shop owner and his wife up, then stole $2,000 in cash as well as jewelry.

While one robber stayed behind holding a gun to his head, the others broke into his store and stole tens of thousands of dollars. They even called the victim at his house and demanded to know where the safe was located. The family finally reported what had happened to police at 2:50 a.m. Friday. 

The owner's house and his store are well equipped with surveillance cameras, however the thieves disabled the cameras and took all the surveillance equipment.

Just hours after the incident he was back working at his shop, Mel and Leo's Liquor. Sympathetic customers said he had gone to great lengths to protect the business.

"They finally put barriers and bullet-proof glass and stuff like that," longtime customer Joseph Osborn said, "I was really praying that, hopefully, they were okay, him and his family. They're just phenomenal people, great people."

Hawthorne Police Department are working with Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigators to catch the criminals.

An adorable dog named Dante was released from prison Friday, but his time behind bars wasn’t for any crime. He was the first to graduate from a training program run by inmates.

Prisoners at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility have teamed up with Tender Loving Canines Assistance Dogs to prepare animal assistants for helping wounded veterans and people with autism.

Dante, a black Labrador retriever, spent the last four months learning tricks and skills from inmates. On Friday, he was awarded his official service dog vest and went home with Marlene Krpata, a retired Army captain.

Krpata told NBC 7 she’s seen an incredible change in Dante since he entered the program, called Prisoners Overcoming Obstacles and Creating Hope (POOCH).

"They made it so he doesn't give up on things,” she said. “Like when I was in my wheelchair, for him to get down and pick up things for me or to get them and put them up on counters, he's very adamant about getting it done.”

Not only can Dante assist with physical tasks, but emotional ones as well. Krpata suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, so when she feels increased anxiety, Dante is trained to help calm her down.

“So when I wake up thinking someone's in my house, and he's in there asleep, I know there's no one in my house, and it immediately allows me to calm down and bring my heart rate down,” said Krpata.

Officials with the correctional facility say the dog training benefits their inmates as well, reducing violence through the therapeutic benefits of having a dog around.

David Mix, who has been incarcerated for 20 years, would agree.

"Being incarcerated, there's so much going on with the negativity that surrounds an institution,” he said. “There's so much that we have to endure, so being able to have a pet while you're incarcerated? It doesn't get much better than that."

A self-proclaimed dog lover, Mix also volunteered for the program because he has a nephew who was diagnosed with autism, so he wanted to give back to someone like his relative.

Mix has been working with a dog named Saturn for about six and a half months. He said normally, it takes about two year to properly train a dog, but because the inmates are with theirs 24/7, they can cut that time in half.
"It's good too because once he learns a behavior, I sit back and I'm like, 'Wow, I got this dog to do that?' It's a blast,” he said.

Right now, POOCH is limited to the fire house branch of the prison, but officials are considering expanding it to the rest of the population.
 

Three days after NBC 4 New York aired the story of a mother's search for a precious necklace from her late teenage daughter, the missing item has miraculously been found and will be returned across the ocean back to Vicky Pyne in the U.K.

It was on Valentine's Day in Times Square that Pyne lost the necklace bearing the fingerprints of her daughters Milly and Alice, the 17-year-old girl who died of Hodgkin's lymphoma two years ago. Alice had made the necklace when she learned her cancer was terminal and given it to her mother before she died in January 2013. 

Pyne, who was visiting from England, was devastated. Alice's necklace had never left her neck since she first put it on. Pyne last remembered touching the fingerprint, as she often did to remember her daughter, at the Applebee's restaurant in Times Square. She continued shopping, walking to Herald Square, and didn't notice it missing until she got to her hotel. 

"I was absolutely horrified when I realized it was missing," she said.

She retraced her steps to no avail.

"I think my only worry was if a snowplow had plowed it up and dumped it in the Hudson or something," she said.

Pyne took to social media, hoping instead the priceless piece of jewelry was lost somewhere on the streets of New York City. 

As it turns out, that's exactly where Freddy and Emelie Ortiz found it. 

After NBC 4 New York aired her story Tuesday, the Yonkers family reached out to Pyne: her necklace had been found. 

Freddy Ortiz was walking with his family on 34th Street Saturday when his 18-month-old daughter kicked off her sock. When he bent down to fix the sock, he noticed a woman staring at a necklace on the pavement. When she kept walking, he decided it looked too important to just ignore. 

He and wife Emelie picked up the necklace and noticed the two girls' names. Coincidentally, they are also the parents of two daughters, as well as an older son. 

"I was going to leave it hanging somewhere, but something told me to just take it with me, and somebody will probably claim it one day," Ortiz told NBC 4 New York Friday. 

"Maybe something made our daughter take her sock off, made us stop right there in that spot," said Emelie Ortiz. 

The Ortiz family said they knew the necklace was Pyne's when they saw her story on NBC 4 New York's Facebook page. 

"Tuesday, I was looking at my Facebook page, and I noticed a necklace with a girl next to it, and I told my wife, 'Look, honey, it looks like the necklace I found,'" said Freddy Ortiz. 

Some 3,000 miles away, Vicky Pyne read an email from Emelie through tears. 

"I have some amazing news for you," the email began. 

"To see the photo of my necklace, I was just like, 'Oh, wow," Pyne told NBC 4 New York Friday from her home in Ulverston, Cumbria, adding that she felt "unbelievably emotional" and that it felt like getting a piece of her daughter back. 

Vicky hopes to meet the Ortiz family on her next trip back to New York. 

She posted an update expressing her thanks on Facebook: "Feeling emotional -- thanks to the most wonderful couple, Emilie and Freddie, along with John Chandler at NBC, Alice's fingerprint has been found in NYC!" 

In 2013, even as Alice wrote on her blog that cancer was gaining on her, the teen tirelessly campaigned to increase the number of potential bone marrow donors. Thousands registered as donors thanks to her push, which was the final task completed on a bucket list that captured the world’s attention.

Vicky Pyne recalled that Friday as she now waits for her necklace to arrive.

"I'd like to think somebody was looking out for us and they knew how important that necklace was between Alice and I. It means the world," she said. 

Customers getting their hair done at a beauty salon in Oakland were startled Friday when a driverless recycling truck crashed into the store.

A little before 11 a.m., A California Waste Solutions truck crossed Telegraph Avenue and slammed into the Glama Rama Salon & Gallery storefront.

Witnesses say the driver had stepped out of the truck when the brakes failed, making the truck roll. The truck barreled into Glama Rama Salon which was full of customers at the time.

According to the Mercury News, the truck rolled across the street after stopping at a fortune-teller's shop.

The investigation is still underway but it appears to police that the truck's brakes were set at the time of the indicent. No one was hurt in the crash.

Bad Hair Day? A garbage truck rams into the Glama Rama Salon in Oakland. Rama! Everyone's ok. pic.twitter.com/BkS0ip71oO

— Jodi Hernandez (@JodiHernandez01) February 20, 2015

NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez contributed reporting.

A visual effects team is celebrating an Oscar nomination in the midst of all the troubles its industry is going through.

Digital Domain was nominated for its work in "X-Men: Days of Future Past." Its visual effects supervisor, Lou Pecora, said his family was delighted when they learned about the nomination.

"The kids woke up (like) what’s going on? Daddy’s been nominated for an Oscar. Oh, my God. What’s an Oscar?" Pecora said.

It comes at a tough time for the visual effects industry in the U.S., as jobs are being sent overseas where other countries may offer better tax incentives.

In 2013, a visual effects house, Rhythm and Hues, filed for bankruptcy shortly after winning an Oscar for "Life of Pi."

"It’s really heart breaking when one of them goes down," Pecora said.

He said he hopes a move by California lawmakers will keep the jobs local. Last year the lawmakers approved a bill to triple film and tax credit to $330 million.

Four cars were set on fire at a county jail and courthouse in Southern California early Saturday morning, authorities said.

A man who had threatened police was arrested on arson charges at the County of Ventura Government Center at 800 S. Victoria Avenue in the city of Ventura, according to Ventura County Sheriff's deputies.

The man claimed he had a bomb in a backpack, deputies said, and a bomb squad was brought to the center to inspect the area. His backpack was cleared, sheriff's Capt. Don Aguilar said.

"Anything that's left near those vehicles which were suspicious to us at the time is the reason why the bomb squad was here," Aguilar said.

The suspect arrested in connection with the fires was identified by deputies as 36-year-old Jeffrey Landis of Santa Monica.

Four of the cars set on fire were deemed a total loss, deputies said. One other car sustained moderate damage. Four of the cars involved belong to the county.

Officers leaving duty at the government center spotted the fire in the parking lot at about 4:30 a.m., Aguilar said. The vehicles on fire were unmarked, but Aguilar believed they belonged to the county.

Ventura County Superior Court, which was closed for the day, and a jail are located on the premises.

Landis had minor injuries, Aguilar said. He had not been immediately released from the jail at the government center.

Investigators examined the damaged vehicles, trying to figure out how the fire was started and whether it was random or if the cars were targeted.

"This is a very unusual, unique situation, especially for a government center," Aguilar said.

Landis was booked for arson and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $ 20,000.

NBC4's Oleevia Woo and Asher Klein contributed to this report.

A substitute high school custodian was arrested on suspicion that he planned to meet an underage student for sex, San Diego County Sheriff's officials said.

Detectives say Elias Morales II, a 21-year-old substitute custodian at the Grossmont Union High School District, began texting "inappropriately" with a 14-year-old student from El Capitan High School. 

When the school district notified law enforcement about this activity, sheriff's detectives and deputies posed as the student and started messaging Morales.

The custodian allegedly asked the student to skip class and meet him off-campus, and the detectives — speaking as the student — agreed to meet up for a sexual liaison.

When Morales drove to the planned Lakeside location Thursday, deputies arrested him.

Morales was booked into jail for communicating with a minor with intent to commit a specified sex act and appearing at an arranged meeting place for the purpose of committing lewd acts with a minor. He is being held on a $50,000 bail, and his arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 27.

GUHSD spokeswoman Catherine Martin confirmed Friday that Morales had been working throughout the district for the past three months. He, like all employees, was fingerprinted and underwent a Department of Justice and FBI background checks before he was hired. He met all the qualifications.

On Thursday, Morales was released from his job, Martin said. Because this is an ongoing investigation, district officials are limited as to what they can discuss.

"When concerns involving any adult on campus come before us, our normal procedure is to remove the adult from the situation and conduct a full investigation in cooperation with law enforcement," Martin said in a statement. "We take this particularly seriously when the actions could endanger students."

Detectives are trying to determine if there are more alleged victims. The sheriff's department says parents should check to see whom their kids are talking with over social media and through text messages.

If you know about this case or other suspected victims, call the sheriff's sexual assault unit at 858-974-2316 or after hours at 858-565-5200. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

A retired New York police officer killed two of his children Saturday before taking his own life, authorities said.

Glen Hochman, 52, of Harrison, New York, who recently retired from the police force, killed himself after killing his daughters, Alyssa and Deanna, they said.

"The White Plains Police Department is shocked and horrified by the news of this tragic event," said David Chong, White Plains public safety commissioner. "We can only pray for the Hochman family."

Hochman served the department for more than 22 years "with integrity," he said. He received a lifesaving award from the department last year, according to the public safety website.

Allysa Hochman, a senior at Harrison High School, and her younger sister were victims of an "incomprehensible tragedy," according to a statement released by Superintendent of Schools Louis N. Wool.

He added that the school would open at noon and have grief counseling available for students and staff.

Further details were unavailable.

One person was taken to the hospital after a 34-foot boat caught fire in the Newport Bay on Saturday evening, fire officials said.

Newport Beach Fire Department officials did not immediately say how that person was injured in connection with the fire. The victim was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center with unknown injuries.

Firefighters battled the flames on the boat, which was in a slip in the area of East Coast Highway and Bayside Drive.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.
 

Golden Globe-winning actress and "Jane the Virgin" star Gina Rodriguez joins Cafecito at Olvera Street in Los Angeles to talk about her humble beginnings, her family’s strong influence and why she’s always believed it’s a great time to be a Latina.

The proud Puerto-Rican from Chicago also shared his thoughts on overcoming fear and advice for people who are chasing their dreams.

For more information on Gina Rodriguez and her upcoming roles and projects, visit hereisgina.com and follow her on Twitter @HereIsGina.

Previous interviews on Cafecito:

• William Levy
• Danny Trejo
• Thalia
• Kate Del Castillo
  
• Michael Pena
• Robert Rodriguez
• Gabriel Iglesias
• Becky G: Part 1, Part 2
• Guillermo del Toro
• Rosie Perez
• John Leguizamo
• Eva Longoria
• Demi Lovato
• Cheech Marin
• Zoe Saldana
  

Producer/Host: Feliciano Garcia
Video Editor: Brian Caraveo
Director of Photography: Brian Caraveo
Camera: Steven Diaz and Lorena Tapiero
Music: RoYal Z for Humbled Soul Productions
Special thanks to El Pueblo Historical Monument

Downed power lines forced the closure of a stretch of the 710 Freeway in Alhambra on Saturday night, police said.

Both sides of the freeway were closed between Valley Boulevard and the 10 Freeway, according to the Alhambra Police Department.

Refresh this page for updates on this developing story.
 

Sheriff’s deputies fired tear gas into a man’s Santa Monica hideout, forcing him out and bringing an hours-long standoff to an end Saturday.

The man was wanted in connection with a murder investigation that took place in South Los Angeles on Feb. 10, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials.

The standoff began about 12:30 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 800 block of Ocean Park Avenue, officials said. A helicopter hovered low over a building as deputies demanded that he surrender, according to a video sent to NBC4 by a viewer.

Footage showed a circling helicopter, while a voice told the barricaded man that he was "completely surrounded."

"We were a little scared," said Barry Thurston Jr., who was evacuated along with other residents."He can’t get to us from where we are, but he’s upstairs, supposedly."

After hours of trying to convince the man to surrender, sheriff’s SWAT team members shot tear gas into the location, officials said. When the man came out, they sent a K-9 to grab hold of him.

The man, who was not identified, was arrested without incident, officials said.

He was treated at the scene for unspecified injuries to his left foot.

NBC4's Jane Yamamoto contributed to this report.

An escaped dog seen being dragged down the hallway of an animal shelter in a viral video has ignited a firestorm in Southern California, with viewers upset by the perceived indifference of shelter staff.

The dog who was so reluctant to follow its handler down the hallway at the Hesperia Animal Shelter is named Mia. She's five or six years old, and escaped from her home in Hesperia last week, according to her owner, Tracie Carpenter.

Carpenter only saw the video, posted to a private Facebook group, after a friend notified her to it. It shows Mia struggling against her leash as she is dragged the length of a hallway, apparently while other workers look on.

Carpenter was incensed.

"The fact that there's three people in the video watching the dog being (dragged) by it's neck all the way down the hallway -- and nobody said anything -- is beyond frustrating," Carpenter said.

Mia had escaped from home and was picked up after a few days by shelter workers, Carpenter said. A neighbor saw Mia get picked up, so Carpenter called the shelter, which kept the dog overnight so it could spay her. Mia was picked up on Friday, Feb. 12.

In a post on the Hesperia Animal Shelter's Facebook page Thursday, officials said city management is investigating what happened, and offered "our sincerest apologies."

"Shelter animals, as well as members of the community, deserve better and we vow to do better," the post said.

But commenters in the hundreds remained angry at the staff for ignoring that the dog was being dragged.

"She's got both hands behind her back like she's pulling a wagon," dog trainer Charlie Brugnola told the Victorville Daily Press.

The Hesperia City Council is planning on holding a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday so residents can voice any concerns about the video.

The city is encouraging anyone with concerns to email socialmedia@cityofhesperia.us.

A driver of party bus ran over and dragged a man hundreds of feet in Southern California early Saturday, leaving the victim severely injured in what investigators are calling a hit-and-run.

The victim, identified by family members as Efren Virgen Jr., was walking on Fairford Avenue and Ratliffe Street (map) about 2:30 a.m. when he was struck by the bus, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials said.

A witness said he saw flashing neon lights inside the bus and music coming from inside.

The 26-year-old victim was dragged for more than 200 feet, officials said. He was hospitalized at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, where he was in intensive care.

Family members said Virgen is a father of two daughters.

The black bus was last seen turning westbound on Foster Road, officials said.

"I think from the evidence at the scene, it would be pretty obvious that the bus driver had to know something was going," Det. Carl Anna said.

A neighbor said cars often speed on the street where the crash took place.

Sheriff's investigators were asking witnesses to come forward, including anyone who may have been on the bus at the time.

Anyone with information was asked to call the Norwalk Sheriff's Station at 562-863-8711.

An 80-year-old driver crashed into a pizza parlor in Fountain Valley on Saturday, hurting an employee inside, police said.

The man was trying to park, but instead accelerated into the store front of Nick's Pizza D'Oro on Slater Avenue, police said.

An employee was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, police said.

It was not immediately clear if the driver was hurt.

Police said alcohol or drugs did not appear to be a factor in the crash, which was reported about 4:15 p.m.
 

Donations have poured in for a group of nuns who work and live in a West Side church that lost heat during this week's subzero temperatures.

More than $160,000 has been raised so far to help the nuns of the Fraternite Notre Dame order, which is located in the Austin neighborhood. During the record-breaking cold weather this week, both of the church's massive boilers stopped working, leaving the nuns without heat.

To cope with the cold, the nuns have been sleeping around electric space heaters.

A Go Fund Me page was set up for the nuns with an initial goal of raising $40,000 to pay for temporary equipment to heat the building until the spring. The page now shows more than $67,000 in donations.

A heating company temporarily fixed the problem for free, but the nuns could be left in the cold again without a more permanent fix.

A permanent solution for the building's heating problems is to buy new boilers and invest in proper insulation in the building, which is more than 100 years old. The total cost for this permanent fix is $200,000.

To donate to their cause, visit http://www.gofundme.com/k5vh0k.

Police are searching for the gunman who killed a man in a quiet Orange County suburb Saturday night.

The man, 33, was found with multiple gunshot wounds at the intersection of San Gabriel Street and Holly Avenue in Fountain Valley at about 7 p.m. Saturday, according to information released by the Fountain Valley Police Department Sunday.

Police were called to the intersection over an assault, where they discoverd the wounded man. He was taken to a hospital, where he died of his injuries, said police, who haven't released information about his identity.

Lt. Matt Sheppard described the area he was found as a nice neighborhood.

It was unknown if the shooting was gang related, Sheppard said. No witnesses have come forward, but anyone with information can call 714-593-4485.

A deadly crash that injured at least five people, including an elderly woman, and shut down the 10 Freeway in the Inland Empire was still under investigation Sunday morning.

One person died in the multi-vehicle crash, which occurred at about 12:45 a.m. near the Mountain View Avenue in Loma Linda, according to California Highway Patrol officers. An unregistered firearm was found at the scene, next to one of the vehicles.

Officers didn't give details about the person who was killed in the crash, the cause of which remains under investigation.

The freeway was closed for about half an hour, with all lanes reopened at 3 a.m., according to the CHP.

Officers didn't know if the gun was loaded, or if it was involved with the crash.

A $442 million project is underway to replace a famous but earthquake-prone bridge near downtown Los Angeles, officials said.

The existing Sixth Street Viaduct, perhaps most recognizable from a climactic race in "Grease,"  will be replaced with "a state of the art iconic bridge" as part of the Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project, according to the project’s Facebook page.

"Unfortunately, this iconic Sixth Street Bridge is fatally damaged," LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said when he broke ground on the new project Friday, Feb. 20.

The viaduct linking the LA Arts District and Boyle Heights is in need of replacement because it can’t withstand a major earthquake, officials said. It's one of 14 historic Los Angeles River crossing structures, according to the website.

Garcetti called the current bridge, which has stood since 1932, "an architectural marvel and a testament to the vision and determination of this city," but he said the project is a chance "to build a modern landmark" that can better handle the area's traffic needs.

The new viaduct will include features such as wider sidewalks, river access and roadway shoulders, according to the website. Designed by architect Michael Maltzan, the bridge is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.