The worst record in the majors no longer belongs to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies (44-67) beat the San Diego Padres 4-2 on Saturday night and escaped the NL East cellar for the first time since May 27, with Florida's 7-2 loss to the Braves.

"We had the first draft pick and I screwed it up for us," interim manager Pete Mackanin said.

Mackanin was joking, but of late, Philadelphia hasn't been a convenient punch line, winning 15 of 20 games since the All-Star break, the best in the majors.

"It's fun to watch these guys," Mackanin said. "They are having a good time playing aggressive and they are pulling for each other. It is contagious."

Adam Morgan held down San Diego over six innings and Odubel Herrera had two hits and two RBIs to lead the Phillies.

Morgan (3-3) allowed two runs, one earned, and six hits, with a walk and four strikeouts.

"The second time around I was too fine and starting picking at the corners and fell behind guys," Morgan said. "And they took advantage of it."

Ken Giles pitched the ninth, earning his fifth save.

Tyson Ross (8-9), who had won three of his last four decisions, was charged with three runs and five hits in seven innings, as the Padres lost their fifth straight. Ross did retire the last 14 batters he faced.

"I just didn't come out making pitches in that first inning," Ross said. "A leadoff double and then trouble after that."

Padres interim manager Pat Murphy said Ross was hampered by the game's late start. It was delayed 20 minutes as the Padres Hall of Fame ceremony ran long.

"I think he was affected by the start time, he sat for a long time," Murphy said. "After that he rolled, he was his normal self."

The Phillies have been nothing like their normal selves of the first half. After setting a franchise-record with 62 losses before the All-Star break, Philadelphia is sizzling.

"It's been great," Morgan said. "There is a new guy coming up big every other day. It's fun and we got to keep it rolling."

Jedd Gyroko drove in Justin Upton with a single to pull within 3-2 in the sixth. Upton reached second on a two-out single and advanced on Herrera's error.

The Padres cut the deficit to 3-1 in the fourth. Yangervis Solarte opened with a single, took second on Derek Norris' hit and scored on Matt Kemp's single.

When Herrera bobbled the ball in center, Norris was thrown out trying to advance to third. Upton walked, but Morgan retired Gyorko and Yonder Alonso to limit the damage.

Philadelphia extended its lead to 3-0 in the third on Herrera's second RBI. He drove in Cesar Hernandez with a single, after Hernandez singled and stole second.

The Phillies scored twice in the first inning, thanks in part to their aggressive base running.

Chase Utley opened with a double, took third on a ground out and came in on Herrera's single.

Herrera stole second and advanced to third on shortstop Clint Barmes' throw to Alonso on Maikel Franco's grounder, just beating Alonso's relay to Solarte. Herrera gave the Phillies their second run when he scored on a wild pitch, even though the ball barely eluded Norris.

"(Herrera) plays like his hair is on fire," Mackanin said. "He scored on that wild pitch and everyone on our bench is saying, `no, no' and he beat it. He's still going to make some aggressive mistakes but he's playing hard."

A youth basketball team in Virginia was one step away from playing in a national championship -- but they were disqualified because one player is a girl.

The Charlottesville Cavaliers had won five games in a row at the National Travel Basketball Association’s annual tournament last weekend and were poised to advance when an official disqualified the team just hours before the tip.

According to tournament organizers, a new rule this season prohibits girls from playing with boys in the championships. League officials told the Cavaliers' coaches the presence of 10-year-old Kymora Johnson on the otherwise-all-boys' team disqualified them from the playoffs.

Kymora, who had played with the Cavaliers for four years and has played at the tournament before, was devastated. 

"What are we saying by saying that she can't play with the boys? Why not?" her mother, Jessica Thomas-Johnson, said.

Kymora wanted to be on a basketball team when she was just 5 years old, The Washington Post reported. Her family signed her up for an all-boys' team then because there were no girls' teams for her age group, according to the Post.

The Cavaliers may have been disqualified from the playoffs, but they still showed up -- wearing pink uniforms in silent protest of the no-girls-allowed policy.

The organizers of the tournament said in a statement they are "committed to offering equal competition opportunities to boys and girl" and will re-examine the association's policies to "ensure nothing similar happens in the future."

"I think the kids grounded the adults in this situation," said Thomas-Johnson. "I think the kids showed us, we're going to do what we know to be right."

Asked what's next, Kymora said she will keep playing on the team and go to the championships next year.

"We're going to make them change the rules," she said.

The families of two Florida boys who disappeared at sea announced Sunday they have ended their privately-led search for the teenagers, NBC affiliate WPTV reported.

According to a press release, the families called off their search at sunset on Saturday, Aug. 8. Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen went missing on July 24th, and were last seen leaving the Jupiter Inlet.

"We love our boys and want them home. Today, our hope becomes our prayer, that one day Perry and Austin will be returned to us. We thank everyone for their dedicated efforts and support," the families said.

The U.S. Coast Guard searched for a week, finding the boys' boat capsized in the ocean east of Daytona Beach.

The Coast Guard ended its search for the boys on July 31, while the families decided to continue their search privately.

A family spokesperson said Sunday, "Absent new information, continuing the search is not practical."

“We will never stop looking for our boys, Austin and Perry," the families said in a statement. "We want to thank the US Coast Guard and the many volunteers from Florida to Maine whose contributions were nothing short of extraordinary. We express a special debt of gratitude to the Palm Beach community for its generosity and outpouring of love and support. We ask that you join us in our prayer that one day Perry and Austin will be reunited with their families.”

The families are establishing a charitable foundation in honor of Austin and Perry, to promote youth boating education and include legislative action to enhance boater safety. A central focus will be preventing future incidents involving teenage boaters.

Two people and a dog were rescued from a sailboat that caught fire off the coast of Ocean City, New Jersey, Sunday morning.

Black smoke could be seen billowing from the vessel off Ocean City beaches as the fire burned.

Officials said a mayday call from the boat, which was about three miles east of Ocean City, came in at 10:49 a.m. and Coast Guard personnel from the Atlantic City station responded. Two people and a dog who were on the boat were rescued safely. The cause of the fire was under investigation Sunday afternoon.
 

GoFundMe made a generous donation to a suburban Chicago family who claimed the crowdfunding website previously did not make their donation page available to the public because the photo of their ill premature baby was deemed offensive.

A $10,000 donation appeared on the GoFundMe page for baby Jacob Hinks from "The GFM Team" on Sunday. The message with the donation read, "Sending Baby Jacob and the Hinks family healthy and safe wishes."

GoFundMe also featured baby Jacob's page on their homepage at www.gofundme.com.

"This campaign reflects the importance of friends and family, and sometimes even strangers, when families need help the most," Kelsea Little, GoFundMe's media director, said in a statement. "We are happy to help the Hinks family in their time of need, just as thousands of other people do every day on GoFundMe."

According to the Hinks family, Jacob's fundraising page was originally only accessible to those who had a direct link, making it difficult to raise the needed funds to help offset the mounting medical expenses that come with his condition.

Jacob was born 13 weeks early at just 1.5 pounds. His condition was initially listed as “grim,” but has since been upgraded to “guarded” following at least one surgery and numerous complications.

When the organizer of the page, a close family friend, contacted GoFundMe, he or she claimed the popular crowdfunding website said the photo of the baby was "graphic" and may be offensive to some viewers.

"They responded right away and said, 'Unfortunately, we never published it because your son's image (was) too graphic and too inappropriate for our viewers to look at," Jacob's mother, Christina Hinks, said.

Jacob's parents said they were heartbroken by the company's decision. They claimed Jacob had no open wounds in the photos, only tubes and wires. According to a post on the fundraising page, GoFundMe suggested using a photo of the baby and his parents side by side, but the Hinks say they only have one photo like this because Jacob has been too sick for them to hold him.

"Go Fund Me had requested that we put a more 'appropriate' picture of Jacob (less tubes, etc) because they have sensitive viewers," a post published Sunday reads. "This baby is FOR REAL."

Once the Hinks family changed the photo, the page went public and donations began to pour in.

A 21-year-old wildland firefighter was killed Saturday while helping to battle the so-called Sierra Fire near Lake Tahoe in Northern California, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

An agency statement indicated that Michael Hallenbeck was struck by a falling tree around 5:30 p.m. in a remote area between the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and the Eldorado National Forest.

Cheva Gabor, speaking on behalf of the U.S Forest Service, told NBC Bay Area that the firefighter was in the initial attack phase on Echo Summit when the accident occurred. 

The still unidentified firefighter — whose gender is also being withheld until next of kin have been notified —  succumbed to the injuries, Gabor said.

"We are very saddened this morning," she said. "When we have a loss like this, it's devastating."

A second firefighter, who was also injured during the same incident, was treated and released from a local hospital. Further details were not immediately available. 

Fire crews face a myriad "hazards" while doing their jobs, Gabor said, adding, "This is something we absolutely hate to see

Seventeen wildfires have scorched California homes and rural areas in recent weeks.

Saturday's death comes less than ten days after Black Hills National Forest Engine Capt. David Ruhl died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning while battling the Frog Fire in Modoc National Forest.
 

Two people were injured in San Ysidro Sunday morning when their car crashed into a palm tree on Camino Del La Plaza.

The passenger, 25, was thrown from the car and suffered major head trauma. The driver broke his ankle in the incident.

Alcohol or drugs is suspected in the crash according to San Diego Police.

Both people were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The passenger was not wearing seatbelt.
 

An Alabama mayor said Sunday he was violently beaten with a sawed-off baseball bat outside his part-time barbershop job by his former radio talk show co-host, NBC News reported.

Larry Barton, who is about to run for his fifth term as mayor of Talladega, told NBC News from his hospital room that the attacker repeatedly hit him in his face, legs, and knees before he was able to grab the bat.

Barton recognized the man once he was able to pull his hood off of his face.

"If I hadn't been successful getting him off of me, he would've killed me," Barton said. 

A local teacher received a surprise Walmart shopping spree Thursday in Kearny Mesa.

Cynthia Arredondo, a kindergarten teacher at Willow Elementary School, wiped away tears after several Walmart employees and a representative with the San Ysidro Vanguard Foundation surprised her.

She received a $513 gift card and a basket of back to school supplies.

“I spend at least $300 on back to school,” Arredondo said. “I mean the school district gives us so much, but at the same time you always see these things that you say, 'Oh, I could use this. This is going to make me better; this is going to make my kids better.'”

Arredondo teaches in San Ysidro, where many of her students learn English as a second language, an added challenge to the many tasks of an early childhood education teacher. Some of her kids also have trouble affording their own supplies.

“In San Ysidro we do have some kids that don’t have any crayons or they don’t have those scissors or the glue sticks.”

Arredondo said she puts extra supplies in the classroom prize box, and rewards the kids with items on Fridays.

According to Walmart, teachers often spend around $500 of their own money on school supplies for their classroom.
 

At least one assailant opened fire near the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul early Monday, sparking a gunfight with police before fleeing the scene, NBC News reported.

A female suspect was shot by security services inside a nearby building and captured, police sources told NBC News. A male fled the scene, sources said. 

The shooting came hours after the U.S. military announced that a detachment of six F-16 fighter jets have arrived at Turkey's southern Incirlik Air Base to join the fight against ISIS militants.

Separately, an explosion at a police station in the Istanbul neighborhood of Sultanbeyli killed three people and injured at least 10, the Dogan news agency reported.

Zimbabwe has lifted a ban on big-game hunting just 10 days after the killing of Cecil the lion, officials told NBC News on Monday.

Hunting was suspended on Aug. 1 in the area surrounding Hwange National Park where Cecil was killed by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer, sparking international outcry.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said the moratorium had been axed across most of that area. The ban remains in place on farmland where Cecil died, as well as several other farms were officials allege animals were killed illegally, parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya-Moyo told NBC News.

Several streets in Mission Beach were closed for hours as officers investigated a hit-and-run involving a bicyclist. 

San Diego Police said the incident happened at approximately 9:50 a.m. on westbound West Mission Bay Drive and Gleason Road, where a car fled after it hit a bicyclist. 

A Good Samaritan followed the car and got a license plate, police said. 

The bicyclist was taken to the hospital for a shoulder injury but was later found to have suffered a brain bleed, a major injury. 

The streets reopened shortly after 12 p.m. 

No further information was immediately available. 

Blair Buswell has made busts for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for 32 years. With Junior Seau, he took just a little extra care.

“Knowing the story and how important he is,” said Buswell from his home in Utah, “yeah the pressure was on.”

Usually Blair sits his subjects down and measures them in person. For Junior, he had to find a different way.

“When I’m doing a posthumous I just have to get as many pictures as I can,” said Buswell, who received nearly 70 photos of Seau from the Hall of Fame, “all different ages, all different expressions.”

The one he landed on is the one he had the most of … the look that captures Junior’s on-field persona.

“Most of them were the intense look. So, majority ruled and I went with that expression.”

Even after three decades of making Hall of Fame busts, Seau presented a unique challenge.

“He’s the first Polynesian to go in (to the Pro Football Hall of Fame) and every ethnicity has its own structure and look. That’s what I didn’t have.”

To get the details just right, Buswell went to his roots. He was a running back for BYU and played with several Polynesian players (as well as quarterback Steve Young, and yes, Blair did make his old team mate’s Canton bust).

“One of my old team mates is coaching at BYU. He lined up a player or two for me to go measure and take pictures of.”

Buswell also blew up several of his pictures to life-sized proportions to help get the bust just right. Blaine has actually been a Seau fan for years. Each season he goes to the Pro Bowl to measure that year’s inductees, giving him about six months to complete them all. During those trips, he was often impressed by the great Chargers linebacker.

“I was just amazed at his ability, as big a guy as he was, and quick. He was a specimen. I was really impressed with him so I was a fan and I watched him from then on.”

Buswell does the work in water-based clay then has them casted in to bronze. He always strives for accuracy and honesty. With Seau, it looks like he got it just right.

“I hope it was received well.”

Seau and his 2015 classmates earned the final spot in The Hall of Fame Gallery (the name of the iconic room where all the bronze busts call home). There’s no more room inside. For the next few years the classes will have to go on the walls outside the room as the Hall looks at ways to expand.

An attacker has stabbed two people to death at an IKEA store in central Sweden, police said Monday.

A third person was seriously injured in the attack in Vasteras, about 60 miles from Stockholm, Vastmanland Police said. 

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, but police did not give any indication of a possible motive. 

IKEA confirmed that three people were stabbed in a "tragic incident." "At this time, our thoughts go to the victims and their families," the company said in a statement. 

If Donald Trump's comments about Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly are hurting his standing in the Republican primary, it's not showing in the numbers.

According to the latest NBC News Online Poll conducted by SurveyMonkey, Trump is at the top of the list of GOP candidates that Republican primary voters would cast a ballot for if the primary were being held right now.

None of that stopped Trump from coming in at the top of the poll with 23 percent. Sen. Ted Cruz was next on the list with 13 percent.

The overnight poll was conducted for 24 hours from Friday evening into Saturday. During that period, Donald Trump stayed in the headlines due to his negative comments about Kelly and was dis-invited from a major conservative gathering in Atlanta.

Interstate 5 will be reduced to one lane in each direction near Oceanside this week according to Caltrans.

Lane closures began Sunday and will last through Thursday from 8:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. with I-5 reduced to one lane after 11 p.m.

The on and off ramps at Las Pulgas will also be closed.

Ramps will intermittently close at Basilone and Cristianitos roads.

Workers are leveling pavement surfaces and replacing portions of the highway shoulder as part of the Ocean View Rehab Project.
 

A 20-year-old New Jersey man has been charged on terror-related counts for allegedly trying to help organize a "small army" of ISIS fighters in New York and the Garden State and for traveling overseas with the intent to join the terror group, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Nader Saadeh, who lived in Rutherford until he left the country May 5, allegedly to join ISIS, was arrested Monday on charges of conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the terrorist organization, federal officials said. He was previously taken into custody in Jordan.

Saadeh's brother, Alaa, along with at least three others in New York and New Jersey, were arrested in recent months in connection with the alleged ISIS cell.

The FBI said Nader Saadeh posted anti-American messages online beginning in 2012 and repeatedly viewed ISIS videos. The agency said he praised the burning alive of a captured Jordanian pilot by ISIS fighters and said that, as well as the murders of several staff members of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this year were justified.

Investigators said Saadeh began rallying friends to join the terror group in the last two years. An informant helped the FBI in the investigation.

According to the informant, Saadeh had become a radicalized ISIS supporter by April and planned to travel overseas to join them. He flew out of John F. Kennedy International Airport on May 5, allegedly for that purpose. Emails sent to him from his family members overseas, including his mother, pleaded with him not to join ISIS, according to federal officials.

Saadeh's brother, who was arrested in late June, told authorities an alleged conspirator from Queens gave Saadeh an ISIS contact near the Turkey/Syria border who could facilitate his travel once overseas, federal officials said.

Officials said there was no specific plot, although some suspects arrested earlier this year were allegedly scouting New York City landmarks as possible targets, including the George Washington Bridge.

Saadeh is expected to appear in federal court in Newark Monday afternoon on the charges, which each carry up to 20 years in prison.

Information on an attorney for him wasn't immediately available.

El Cajon's original firehouse now sits at the back of Fire Station 9 on North Marshal Avenue. 

Its been there since the early 1980s, and that's about how long the El Cajon Firemen's Association has been trying to find a permanent place for it, a place where the public can visit it. 

The firehouse was built in 1892. 

Former El Cajon Fire Chief Ed Jarrell says the biggest challenge for the building is finding available land to put it on. 

"For something to be around this long, and to have survived this long, it's had several times in its life where it was going to be dismantled and done away with, it's got a life, and it's going to continue, and it's just waiting for that perfect time, and that perfect scenario, where it can come back to life for the city," Jarrell told NBC7. 

Right now, leftover lumber taken from railroad cars sits inside the old firehouse, left behind from when the building used to sit near railroad tracks. An old hose reel that was once used for fires also sits inside. 

He said it would take $20,000 to $30,000 to restore the wood structure to current fire and building code standards. 

The 1892 firehouse was originally a converted lumber yard office. In the past it has also been used as a tailor shop, a sanitarium and even as a garage for former El Cajon City Council Member Al van Zanten.