Good evening everybody in the news at 11 tonight San Diego police are on the scene of a violent assault at a downtown motel
But several brave citizens take the suspect down. I'm John Soderman have a story
There remains a large divide tonight over the proposed Z visas for illegal immigrants will have more on the battle
That's raging on both sides of the new plan
England's Prince Harry will not be serving alongside his fellow soldiers in Iraq and now the British military is putting its foot down
about the Prince's social life during that time and Donald Trump says I quit
The news at 11 starts right now
The KUSI news at 11 is live now
I'm Paul Bloom and I'm Kimberly Hunt. Thank you for joining us tonight
We begin now with breaking news out of Pacific Beach San Diego firefighters still at the scene investigating what they believe was an arson fire that broke out a short time ago
Five cars caught fire on Santa Fe Street near Damon Avenue just after 10 o'clock tonight
Firefighters were able to contain the blaze before it spread to nearby power lines
Where no injuries reported and no idea yet who might have caused it
In other news it was a sudden attack two women cornered in a downtown motel
But the man who tried to sexually assault them got more than he bargained for as citizens came to the rescue
KUSI's John Soderman live downtown with more on that story John
Paul while what happened today was undeniably horrible here at this motel the fact is there were some heroes involved
A most barbaric attack by a sexual assault suspect inside the lobby of this motel 6 on 2nd Avenue in downtown San Diego
Late Friday afternoon a suspect enters the lobby leaps over the counter and begins to sexually assault a female employee
Another female employee tries to intervene and the suspect goes after her as well
But as horrible as this incident was there was also some heroism involved that's because several citizens came to the victims rescue and courageously took the suspect down
They subdued the suspect they fought the suspect and got him into custody
One of the women escapes and notifies nearby business owners about what is happening in the lobby
They bravely confront the suspect and in a knock down drag out fight that spills into an adjacent lounge room take the suspect down until police arrive
The suspect is hurt so badly he has to be admitted to the hospital and the women while traumatized emotionally are also physically injured
It is an incident that leaves motel guests shaken
We didn't even know what was going on we had just heard I guess somebody was raped or something that's pretty scary to me
Earlier tonight I talked to the motel 6 headquarters in Texas and they assured me they're going to do everything to help these women get through this ordeal
Not just physically but of course emotionally we're coming to you live from downtown John Soderman KSI News
A San Diego man was sentenced to 50 years in prison today for shooting his own mother to death
42 year old Matthew Lari was convicted of first degree murder nearly a year ago for killing 55 year old Claudia Boomer at her Fallbrook home
Lowry had been fighting with her over the inheritance and the custody of his son in the weeks leading up to her murder
Continuing now with more local news today marks the two year anniversary of an unsolved murder in Spring Valley
The victim's family is pleading for someone to come forward with new information 37 year old Jim Slusser was last seen alive on May 18th 2005
Three days later Slusser's body was found in the bed of a burning pickup truck. The victim's stepfather spoke to KSI in 2005 about the tremendous pain the murder had caused
It's just absolutely devastating to our family to his sister his father my wife and myself all of his aunts and uncles it's just a devastating situation
There's no you can't describe what it does to you I just could not have imagined anything this horrible
Slusser's parents say their son was a good man and a good father who simply fell into the wrong crowd
They're asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-TIPS
A driver's temper caused a collision that backed up traffic for miles on Interstate 8 today
It happened about 2 o'clock this afternoon CHP officers say the driver of an SUV got angry at a woman on the entrance ramp to Highway 8 at Grossmont Blvd
So he slammed on his brakes in front of her and she rear ended her car in the SUV with enough impact to roll it over
Her sedan skidded onto the freeway and struck the side of a transit bus rupturing its gas tank
The woman and the SUV driver were both injured
Well they're old enough to risk their lives for their country but not old enough to drink alcohol
Tonight a new rule U.S. Marines have in effect as young as 18 years old now can drink alcohol on the base
KUSI's Sasha Foo has more on the issue that has everyone talking
Back from battle and ready to celebrate Marines under the age of 21 are now allowed to drink on base
If they can go overseas they can lose their lives you know what why can't they go on base and drink
The Marine Corps quietly lowered the base drinking age last month allowing its 18 to 20 year olds to drink during quote
Justified special circumstances and after what's called arduous military duty
A spokesperson for Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway says this change in policy doesn't mean a green light for unsupervised underage drinking
There's probably a ton of different stipulations involved with it
Eric Joseph is a 30 year old Marine Gunnery Sergeant who thinks the lower drinking age may keep Marines from reveling over the border in Tijuana
I think that it would definitely cut down on that definitely cut down from going down to Mexico
If they can old enough to get shot at to get killed for their country they should be able to drink
Mike Bentley a 22 year old Lance Corporal also thinks young Marines can handle their liquor responsibly
I most definitely think we can keep that restricted on to base
This again this is a health and safety issue it's not an age issue
But Pat Hodgkins with the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving says the new policy raises some serious questions
Such as how the military commanders will monitor their Marines safety
Before the drinking age was 21 when it was 18 driving crashes fatalities were significantly greater
So we want to make sure that anyone under the age 21 is protected and I would ask them how would they ensure their safety
Oceanside resident Lynn Johnson doesn't think anyone under the legal drinking age of 21 should be given license to drink
I feel the longer that a person stays away from alcohol the better
Bartender John Stevens has other ideas
I've stood out on that sidewalk and talked to Marines who've done three tours in Iraq and are 20 and they're not allowed in a bar
If it were his call Stevens says he'd serve anyone with a military ID
If somebody walked in here with a military ID 18 years old I have faith that that person has enough maturity
These kids have earned that right
Sasha Fu KUSI News
Construction of the Sun Road building in Kearney Mesa came to an abrupt halt today
Mayor Jerry Sanders ordered all work stopped because the Federal Aviation Administration calls the building an aviation hazard
KUSI Steve Bosch has the details
Building in question is the one you see behind me
Now in the spring of last year Sun Road was warned its 180 foot tall building was 20 feet higher than the FAA's height limit
Last summer Sun Road agreed to restrict that building to 160 feet
But then a month later it informed the FAA the building would be 180 feet and proceeded to add two floors
The city attorney sued
Last October the city issued a stop work order but eased it and allowed Sun Road to weatherize the top two floors
In December Jim Waring, the mayor's land use czar, said this is a fight between the FAA and Sun Road
The city should remain spectators not actors in this
Today the mayor became an actor
We allowed them to seal the building so that the weather didn't damage anything inside
Obviously in retrospect we probably should have stopped work on all of it immediately
The mayor sent letters to the FAA and Caltrans which also warned the city and Sun Road about the height limit
That he supports the city attorney's lawsuit against Sun Road
He ordered his chief operating officer to investigate the city's reaction or lack thereof to concerns about the height limit
And admitted mistakes were made
Mistakes were clearly made within my administration regarding this project
Once again I take responsibility for those
The city attorney filed suit last December to force Sun Road to comply with the FAA's height limit
He says the top two floors need to come down
You can see that there's still a substantial amount of construction remaining to complete the top 20 feet
And the mayor has now put a stop to that
The mayor said Sun Road by its actions has not been operating in good faith
It appears that Sun Road knew the FAA's admonitions last summer and intentionally ignored their direction to limit the building to 160 feet in height
Sanders also admitted there were failures on the city's part too
We made some errors that I made some errors in this and that's the reason I'm accepting responsibility
The mayor also says the city will abide by FAA regulations
I'm Steve Bosch, KUSI News
Earlier tonight on the KUSI News at 6 we spoke with a local pilot who's also an attorney, Gerald Blank
He says the current Sun Road building at 180 feet would lead to a disaster
The weather patterns that exist when you use that flight path are such that a pilot could come out of the clouds
And find himself facing that building head on and really being in a dangerous situation by building higher than they were
Mary Jura Sanders has also called for an investigation into the city's actions regarding that entire Sun Road building height
More anger tonight over the proposed path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants
We'll have more on the divide over those so-called Z visas
The Canadian Air Force suffered a tragic loss today during rehearsals for an air show
What witnesses saw as the snowbird crashed
And actress Elizabeth Taylor has a controversial piece of art in her collection
And now a court has told her if she's going to be allowed to keep it
I love Friday nights! It's the weekend baby!
You're goofing off and saying up late and we're here for you
And our weekend is right ahead
The KUAS-I-Sky-I-Chopper gets a nice close-up view of the Wave House out there at Mission Beach
That's interesting
Stay with us for San Diego's best 11 o'clock news
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You're watching the KUSI News at 11
Live from San Diego's more local news station, Paul Bloom, Kimberly Hunt, John Coleman Weather, Michael Turco and Paul Woody Sports
This is the KUSI News at 11
The Senate's new immigration reform bill is already facing bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill
Supporters call it a path to citizenship
But the Senate's new immigration reform bill is already facing bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill
Supporters call it a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants
Critics are calling it amnesty
The draft version of the new bill is hundreds of pages long and reads like a legal document
The White House is pressing Republicans to back the legislation
We have to solve the problem and we can't be sitting here for the next several years debating the word amnesty
But conservatives aren't lining up
Conservatives feel like they were betrayed
We've been talking for the past few years about comprehensive immigration reform
We've been talking about it not containing amnesty
In the draft legislation, illegal immigrants would be given immediate legal status through a Z visa
They can bring in their children, spouses and parents and eventually seek a green card and citizenship
A guest worker program allows an additional 400,000 low skilled workers into the U.S.
I'm not going to vote for any bill that's got amnesty in it
And this bill's got plenty of amnesty in it
It's not just Republicans voicing concerns
I intend to try to strike the guest worker or temporary worker provisions
We don't need millions of additional people coming into this country for low wages
And there are loopholes and waivers
For example, the Department of Homeland Security secretary can approve a waiver to allow illegal immigrants to bring in additional family members
Quote, for humanitarian purposes or to ensure family unity
For just about every rule there is a massive exception
The exception a lot of times is bigger than the rule
So yeah, there are loopholes everywhere you look in the bill
With a hefty document and little time for scrutiny
Many more loopholes may not be realized until after the vote
And on Monday the Senate will begin debating that bill
The House will come up with its own version during the summer
Chaos broke out in the streets of Gaza today
Palestinian security officials say an Israeli airstrike targeted a car traveling in northern Gaza City killing three people
As you can see a huge crowd of people jumped in to try to get the flames out
At least 11 other people were killed in earlier airstrikes from Israeli planes
Some officials are accusing Israel of taking advantage of six days of fighting
But Israel says it's just defending its citizens
An attack on a U.S. military base near Baghdad has left six insurgents dead
And in two separate attacks today five American soldiers were killed
Bringing the death toll of U.S. military members killed in the war to 3,408
Meantime the massive search continues for three missing U.S. soldiers
Believed to be captured by al-Qaeda insurgents
Military officials are hoping that local residents will lead them to the missing men
They disappeared following an early morning ambush one week ago
The White House rejected another Iraq war funding bill today
Democrats had offered to remove billions of dollars in domestic spending from that bill
But in return they wanted Mr. Bush to accept the timetable to pull troops out of Iraq
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she's disappointed by the outcome
So it is clear that the difference between the Democrats and the President is the issue of accountability
He will not accept any accountability or responsibility for what is happening there
President Bush has said he won't accept any timetables as part of a bill for funding the war
Britain's Prince Harry has been advised to behave himself for the next six months
The Prince was already told on Wednesday that he would not be going with his squadron to Iraq
And now British military leaders are advising him not to be seen in London nightclubs
While his fellow soldiers are in the war zone
They gave Harry a pep talk about why the public would find it unacceptable to see photos of him partying
The Prince apparently said that he fully understands
A Canadian Forces Snowbird jet crashed at a Montana air base killing the pilot
31-year-old Canadian Captain Sean McAfee was killed this afternoon
When his plane went down during an air show rehearsal
They were going right in front of us and the fifth one just pulled back
And he went right on top of everybody else and right when he did he went down
And the four kept going and then we just saw smoke and fire
And we thought it was like part of the routine or something and it wasn't
The cause of the crash is still unknown air show organizers are still unsure if the snowbirds will perform this weekend
For the first time in weeks gas prices are actually falling here in San Diego barely
The Utilities Consumer Action Network or UCAN says the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.49 in San Diego
That's a drop of about two cents from last week's record levels
A spokesman for UCAN credits a congressional investigation into gas prices for the slight drop
Sean Coleman's all gassed up for the weekend
It's like there are two San Diego's there's the one along the I-5 corridor to the shore
Where it stays cloudy all day long at least has the last four days
And then from the I-15 corridor to the east to the mountains and up to the desert
Everything turns sunny and bright and beautiful
And so you can go where you want and pick your weather if you like the gray head for the beach
If you like the sunshine head to the valleys or mountains
The K-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E weather cam at Lindbergh field at 11 o'clock finds cloudy overcast 61 degrees
The relative humidity is at 75% and da-BREEEEEEEE-EE-EE-EE-EE-EE-EE-EE is Southwest at five
These are the so-called high temps along the shore today
66 downtown for instance but it was up to a sunny 74 and Lakeside
And here you can see the satellite view of the clouds pulling back to the coast but hanging there all day
while the clouds really shrink to the north of us over Ventura and LA counties and
Gives you some kind of hope but if you look at the supercomputer
Forecast weather maps for tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening and Sunday noon
There's no change. So you just have to wait each day for the clouds to break and then you can celebrate
Now here is what most of the country is thinking about
Sunshine for the weekend and it is almost everywhere
There are some showers breaking out in the Rockies a little hint of a monsoon
Eastern Arizona and in New Mexico and to the east almost everybody is clear
But there will be a lot of clouds over New England and some rain was down to 27 in Presque Isle this morning
Up to 110 in Death Valley this afternoon and the heaviest rain was at Hyannis, Massachusetts
About two and a quarter inches the biggest storms are up in North Dakota
Some severe thunderstorms have been reported there tonight
Mike a
Was I forecast for sleep late Saturday?
Morning clouds will break inland and cling on at the coast. I'm not too hopeful for any sunshine at the beach
69 Lindbergh 80 El Cajon
78 and gorgeous Julian
99 dry heat at Borrego Springs
Sunday should be a little sunnier a little earlier at most spots and next week
Looks as though the marine layer will begin to ease up
But don't count on too much
I've been disappointed all week and I don't want to set myself up to be disappointed next week. I'm already edgy really
But I'm also giddy because it's Friday
All right interesting combination. Yeah, we'll see in a few minutes. Thanks John a judge has ruled that actress Elizabeth Taylor
Can keep a Van Gogh painting that may have been taken by the Nazis during World War two
The 75 year old Taylor bought the painting called view of the asylum and chapel at San Remy
at South of B's auction in London in
1963 the family says that they once owned it are descendants of a woman who fled Germany in 1939
They had sued Elizabeth Taylor and said that it should be returned to them
But the judge ruled they had waited too long to claim the painting
His reality show popularized the phrase you're fired
But Donald Trump said that he quits from the apprentice Trump issued a statement on Friday saying that he is moving on from the apprentice
To a major new TV venture the apprentice which made Trump a television star has aired in 21 different countries
But the show received low ratings this season Trump did not say what his next venture would be but television executives say that
It's something that apprentice fans would tune in for
Some Washington lawmakers are looking into whether the Food and Drug Administration is doing enough to protect Americans
Still ahead what they're proposing to ward off any future food contamination
In light of current gas prices you might see this as the glass half empty
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With four-wheel independent suspension and a 24-valve double overhead cam it has the agility of a sports car without actually being one
The 275 horsepower FX the SUV inspired by sports car design from infinity now lease an infinity FX 35 for $349 a month
KSI news brought to you by infinity a tiny creature is wreaking havoc on the San Diego City School District it's called a fairy shrimp and groups of them are on the endangered species list their habitat is located at the site of a much needed elementary school
The fairy shrimp have delayed construction for at least three more years sock elementary was scheduled open last year but the district has just informed parents and community members it will be 2010 at the earliest
We've heard the community loud and clear that they want to be able to have their children or grandchildren in the community and that's what we're going to do
We've heard the community loud and clear that they want to be able to have their children or grandchildren in the case of some that have been there for 20 years of tennis school
The district is working with both the city and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service a new habitat may be created nearby for those endangered shrimp a meeting will be held next Monday at the Miramisa library to discuss the issue
Some lawmakers are questioning whether the Food and Drug Administration is doing enough to keep contaminated foreign food out of America a law requiring country of origin labels has been pushed back twice and is still not in effect and now some states are taking on their own
Kitty Pilgrim reports
Chinese additives tainted spinach E. coli contamination but the current FDA commissioner says the inspection system is adequate
I disagree that our food system is broken
The chairman of the committee questioning the competency of the agency
In all these cases we know that incompetent government can have deadly consequences
In recent years the budget has been cut the FDA staff reduced and few officials stay at the job at the troubled agency
The turnover and the short term commissioners in recent years has been scandalous
But some of the congressional panel questioned the money solves all approach to increasing the agencies one and a half billion dollar budget
And I believe that unless we devise a system where people individually are held responsible at every step of the way for a certain level of performance that no amount of money is going to create the kind of system you're talking about
One problem much of the imported food is eaten in a raw or fresh state increasing the risk of potential contamination
China with few internal safety checks on its own food supply is the third largest food exporter to the United States
And with FDA inspections on less than 2% of imports some companies ignore rules and hope they don't get caught
Within the FDA food safety gets less attention than drug approvals
Food safety has been a second tier priority within the FDA
The volume of imports keeps growing doubling since the year 2000 and some domestic producers only get an FDA visit once every 5 to 10 years
Kitty Pilgrim CNN
Now we have sports and Paul Rudy is just a hard working man
Putting it all together
The