After prosecutors’ lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch and kill” tabloid schemes, defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial are poised Friday to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election. David Pecker will return to the witness stand for the fourth day as defense attorneys try to poke holes in the testimony of the former National Enquirer publisher, who has described helping bury embarrassing stories Trump feared could hurt his campaign. It will cap a consequential w ..read more

U.S. health and agriculture officials are ramping up testing and tracking of bird flu in dairy cows in an urgent effort to understand — and stop — the growing outbreak. So far, the risk to humans remains low, officials said, but scientists are wary that the virus could change to spread more easily among people. The virus, known as Type A H5N1, has been detected in nearly three dozen dairy herds in eight states. Inactive viral remnants have been found in grocery store milk. Tests also show the virus is spreading between cows, including those that don’t show symptoms, and between cows and birds ..read more

NBC 7 obtained drone footage showing the views in Oceanside on Thursday afternoon as a massive plume of black smoke filled the sky, stemming from a fire that erupted near the western end of the city’s iconic pier. “I was actually working at my studio down the street, and I just saw the smoke,” Miah Idema told NBC 7. “I literally just got my drone up in the office, flew it out my back window, and I was here in 20 seconds.” More coverage on Oceanside Pier fire: OCEANSIDE 6 hours ago Massive blaze burns at iconic Oceanside Pier OCEANSIDE 4 hours ago PHOTOS: Fire erupts on Oceanside Pier ..read more

An East Village “open-air drug market” that prosecutors say operated under gang control is the subject of grand jury indictments returned this week against 51 people for crimes ranging from drug sales to weapons offenses. The charges stem from an investigation into the area surrounding 16th and K streets, where officials say police were called to respond around 56,000 times over a period of two years, nearly 6,200 of which were for “violent acts” such as shootings, stabbings and assaults. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, which announced the indictments on Thursday, said gang me ..read more

Firefighters were called out Thursday afternoon to battle a blaze at the far end of the Oceanside Pier. The fire was reported shortly after 3 p.m., officials said. A massive plume of smoke has filled the sky, and there are two fire-fighting boats on scene shooting water cannons at the structure at the end of the pier. A lone pickup truck, possibly a lifeguard vehicle, sits at the foot of pier, with a long fire hose, possibly two, running the length of the pier. It appears that a pair of other vehicles are at the far end, flashers lit up. Although smoke is obscuring the scene, the fire is burin ..read more

Genetic researchers studying variations in personalities may have answered an age-old question: Why are some people able to successfully navigate a cocktail party while others struggle to make the smallest of small talk? While not able to apply their research to all party animals, the theory that researchers at UC San Diego’s Sanford Stem Cell Institute are working on begins with a rare genetic condition called Williams syndrome, which is caused by the “deletion of about 25 genes in the 7q11.23 chromosomal region,’ ” according to a news release the university sent out, “and which is sometimes ..read more

The City Heights Community Development Corporation and city leaders broke ground Wednesday on a $98 million housing development intended to provide 115 units of affordable housing and 13,000 square feet of commercial space. The Cuatro at City Heights, being constructed in partnership with Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, will be built on four scattered vacant plots at the 40th Street intersections of El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue. The transit-oriented, affordable rental apartments are slated for families with low income and veterans experiencing homelessness. The develo ..read more

A man gunned down a young couple and a toddler in Normal Heights nearly 25 years ago over about $30 worth of methamphetamine, a prosecutor argued Wednesday, while a defense attorney said there was no evidence his client committed the shooting outside of the word of untrustworthy witnesses. Sergio Lopez Contreras, 45, is charged with first-degree murder for the Sept. 4, 2000, shootings of Michael Plummer, 20; Plummer’s girlfriend, Adah Pearson, 18; and Plummer’s nephew, Julio Rangel Jr., who was about 22 months old. Prosecutors argue the shooting, which took place at an apartment on Bancroft St ..read more

A ticket with five numbers, but missing the Mega number, in Wednesday evening’s SuperLotto Plus drawing was sold at a liquor store in El Cajon and is worth $38,218, the California Lottery announced. There were no tickets sold with all six numbers, pushing the estimated jackpot for Saturday’s drawing to $30 million. The numbers drawn Wednesday night were 13, 14, 27, 38, 45 and the Mega number was 23. The jackpot was $29 million. The drawing was the 23rd since the last time a ticket with all six numbers was sold. The odds of matching all five numbers and the Mega number is 1 in 41,416,353, accor ..read more

Southwest is weighing changes to boarding and seating. The carrier stands out from other large airlines with its open seating plan. Meanwhile rivals like Delta and United have touted high revenue growth for premium seating. Southwest Airlines is weighing changes to its cabin that could involve abandoning its single-class, open-seating system to drive up revenue, CEO Bob Jordan told CNBC on Thursday. The changes would mark a massive shift for the carrier that has stood apart from rivals for decades with its simpler business model. “We’re looking into new initiatives, things like the way we se ..read more