The San Diego Union-Tribune

All the rain that has led to swollen rivers and flooding in parts of San Diego and large portions of Southern California has coincided with multiple snowstorms that blew across the Sierra Nevada in the northern half of the state. That may translate to a second consecutive year of robust output from the state's hydroelectric power plants, which would help bolster the electric grid this summer. But officials at the California Independent System Operator, which manages the power system for about 80 percent of the state, aren't celebrating yet. "It's always encouraging to have a wet winter and a g......

TIJUANA, Mexico — Rising Mexican corridos singer Jesús Cárdenas, better known as Chuy Montana, was shot to death Wednesday on a stretch of the Rosarito to Tijuana highway, according to multiple reports. The body was found handcuffed with gunshot wounds at the roadside, Tijuana’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Fernando Sánchez said Thursday to local media. Police believe he was kidnapped before the murder. Sánchez said police later confirmed that the victim was a singer. The news site Punto Norte and others reported that the victim was Cárdenas. A spokesperson with the Baja Califo......

SAN DIEGO — Five Marines aboard the helicopter that went down in East County mountains amid a vicious winter storm this week died in the crash, military officials confirmed Thursday. The crew and their CH-53E Super Stallion was last heard from around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday while flying from Creech Air Force Base just outside Las Vegas to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, officials said. At the time, snow, rain and strong winds were pelting the aircraft's last known location near Pine Valley. "It is with a heavy heart and profound sadness that I share the loss of five outstanding Marines from 3rd M......

A former San Diego-area U.S. Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to bribery and drug charges, admitting that he was paid at least $110,000 to use his position to help smuggle drugs and undocumented immigrants across the border from Mexico. Hector Hernandez, 55, pleaded guilty to one count each of attempted distribution of methamphetamine and receiving a bribe by a public official, according to his plea agreement. As part of his deal, prosecutors dropped a second bribery charge. Hernandez agreed as part of the plea deal to forfeit $110,000 in drug trafficking and briber......

SAN DIEGO — A recently censured San Diego Superior Court judge who was accused earlier this month of making "racist and insensitive comments" both in his courtroom and in a private meeting with two chief public defenders has denied those allegations, writing in a court filing that some of his comments were taken out of context and others were simply not true. The denials were part of a filing in which Judge Howard Shore declined to recuse himself from hearing a motion in a homicide case. A deputy public defender had sought to disqualify Shore from the case, citing both his alleged "dishonesty ......