A delivery company employee who beheaded his boss and then tried to blow up an American-owned industrial gas plant in France this summer, has committed suicide in prison, French police confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday.

Yassin Salhi, 35, had hanged himself on Tuesday, according to France's national police.

Salhi was facing terrorism charges stemming from the brutal attack in June at an Air Products plant in Saint-Quentin Fallavier. French authorities alleged that Salhi, who had a history of radical Islamist ties, took a "selfie" with his victim's decapitated head and sent the image to a friend in Syria.

Lawyer Samia Maktouf, who represents victims of the recent Paris attacks, said Salhi death rules as a suicide will leave victims of terrorism feeling cheated.

Hillary Clinton directly responded to Donald Trump's recent use of a vulgar term to describe her, telling the Des Moines Register Tuesday night that she is no longer surprised by the GOP frontrunner's insults, NBC News reported.

"I really deplore the tone of his campaign, the inflammatory rhetoric that he is using to divide people, and his going after groups of people with hateful, incendiary rhetoric," she said in an interview. "Nothing really surprises me anymore. I don't know that he has any boundaries at all. His bigotry, his bluster, his bullying have become his campaign. And he has to keep sort of upping the stakes and going even further."

The Des Moines Register interview was Clinton's first direct response to Trump's comments.

A Southwest flight headed to Chicago experienced some maintenance issues Wednesday morning, the airlines stated, and landed safely back in Oakland where it had originated from four hours later.

The Southwest Flight 2547 landed back at Oakland International Airport shortly after 10 a.m. local time, according to FlightAware and NBC Bay Area's chopper overhead. Shortly beforehand, the plane descended to about 375 feet and flew by the tower in Oakland so air traffic controllers could visually inspect the landing gear.

NBC Bay Area caught up with the plane after it touched down, and spoke with passengers, many of whom seemed both shaken up and elated at the same time.

"We were all clapping and crying," said Ashley Stasio of San Francisco, who was on her way to visit her parents in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

She explained that passengers didn't realize what was going on for some time. "But three hours in," she said, "I knew something wasn't right."

Once the flight attendants and pilots told the people on board what was happening, and that they had to stay in the air to burn fuel, Stasio said that "people started to panic at the end. You never know if they are telling you the truth."

She said the woman next to her was crying, others were holding hands and scores of passengers were on their phones. "I'm sure they were sending messages to loved ones," Stasio said.

"I don't mean to sound dramatic," she added. "But it was scary."

FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the flight had to return to Oakland due to a "landing gear issue" and was burning off fuel over the Central Valley for several hours in the morning. The Southwest media team said in an email that the flight departed Oakland about 6 a.m. for Chicago Midway with 139 passengers onboard.

After takeoff, the captain in command made the decision to return to Oakland to check a maintenance item on the aircraft, Southwest said.

"Safety is of paramount importance," Southwest added in a statement. "We appreciate our customers’ patience while we work to get them to their final destinations for the holiday."

Firefighters responded with one truck and four engines to the airport in case the plane caught on fire when it landed, a fire dispatcher said.

Stasio said she's going to travel on Thursday to see her parents, as she's not ready to get on a plane so soon after what happened.

What's open on Christmas Day in San Diego? Here's a look:

All public building in Balboa Park will be closed Friday but some museums will be open.

If you're considering getting in a round of golf, be aware that municipal golf courses have holiday hours. The course in Mission Bay will close at 4 p.m. Friday and Torrey Pines and Balboa Park courses will close at 3 p.m.

Lake Miramar and Murray Lake will be open for some activities but closed for boating. All city reservoirs and Chollas Lake will be closed.

Robb Field Skate Park in Ocean Beach, Rancho Peñasquitos Skate Park, Carmel Valley Skate Park, Bill and Maxine Wilson Skate Park at 702 South 30th Strreet, and the Charles L. Lewis III Memorial Skate Park on Potomac Street will be open.

All city libraries, recreation centers and pools will be closed.

The Tecolote Nature Center and Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center will be closed.

And of course, the all-important question about parking. Will you get a ticket?

City officials say parking meters, time restrictions on parking on streets and yellow zones within San Diego city limits will not be enforced on Friday.

But think twice before parking in those red, white and blue zones - they are enforced every day.

If you're visiting the Port of San Diego, check signage. Rules may vary.

All Trolley lines will operate on a half-hour frequency.

There will be Sunday service on Rapid 201/202, 204, 215 and 235, urban and local bus routes, and Express Route 20.

No service will be provided on Rapid Express 280 or 290 and Rapid 237, Sorrento Valley COASTER Connection, other Express bus routes, or the Vintage Trolley (Silver Line).

Rural Route 891 will not operate on Christmas but will instead operate on Monday, Dec. 28.

MTS Access subscriptions are canceled on Friday, Dec. 25. For detailed holiday service schedules visit the MTS website.

San Diego trash and recycling collection will be delayed on day. Those city residents who nomrlaly have service on Fridays will see collection occur on Saturday. Residents in other cities should check with their waste hauler for holiday service schedules.

City residents in need of help with domestic violence should call 911 and/or the Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-888-385-4657.

San Diego isn’t only America’s Finest City, it’s also one of the best cities in the United States to celebrate New Year’s Eve – at least according to one survey.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, recently compiled a list of the best and worst cities to celebrate New Year’s Eve, based on 17 key factors, including the average price of a ticket to a New Year’s Eve party to the forecasted precipitation, for that special night.

The study compared the 100 most populated cities in the U.S. and, as it turns out, San Diego ranks No. 4 among the best cities on the round-up – up there with the most fun and affordable places to ring in the New Year.

According to the rankings, San Diego landed an overall score of 70.43. This includes a No. 15 ranking in the “entertainment and food” category, No. 8 in the New Year’s Eve “costs” rank and No. 4 in the “safety and accessibility” category.

San Diego is also ranked No. 17 in the average price of wine, No. 8 in the price of a three-star hotel on New Year’s Eve and No. 23 in the number of music venues per capita. Our city is also No. 13 in the number of New Year’s Eve festivals, performances and galas per capita, according to the survey.

Other cities ranked among the best of the best places to celebrate New Year’s Eve include, in order: Orlando (No. 1); San Francisco (No. 2); Atlanta (No. 3); Scottsdale, Ariz. (No. 5). For the full list, click here.

According to WalletHub, 70 percent of Americans plan to celebrate New Year’s Eve in some way. More than 80 percent of consumers plan to spend less than $200 ringing in 2016, so amid the fun, some level of budgeting seems to be on the minds of revelers as well.
 

Sen. Ted Cruz blasted the Washington Post and launched a fundraising appeal in response to an online editorial cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes depicting his two young daughters as dancing monkeys, NBC News reported. 

"My daughters are not FAIR GAME," the Republican presidential candidate wrote in an email late Tuesday, seeking to raise $1 million in 24 hours. "I'm sickened...I knew I'd be facing attacks from day one of my campaign, but I never expected anything like this."

Cruz accused the "liberal media" of trying to attack and destroy him as well as his family and said in the email, "This is an emergency — all hands on deck. Click here to make an instant, emergency contribution and help me fight back."

The cartoon, which portrayed Cruz as a Santa suit-clad organ grinder, and his two daughters as dancing monkeys, was removed with an editor's note explaining it's the newspaper's policy to leave children out. 

Telnaes was unapologetic, posting a link on Twitter to a parody campaign ad released by Cruz's campaign which showed him reading Christmas stories to his daughters with titles such as "How Obamacare Stole Christmas" and "Rudolph the Underemployed Reindeer."

Residents across California and as far away as Las Vegas reported seeing a bright light in the sky Tuesday evening that an astronomer first called a "meteor" and a government official later clarified was some type of Russian space debris.

U.S. Strategic Command's Lt. Colonel Martin O'Donnell confirmed the news.

Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was tracking a Russian SL4 rocket body.

The debris re-entered the atmosphere over Arizona, according to U.S. Strategic Command. The rocket was launched Dec. 21.

The joint space operation center in the Vandenberg base tracks and identifies man-made objects.

Many people described the light as a fireball streaking across the sky.

"Big big #fireball moved in the sky very slow with a #streak over ventura," tweeted @issradio.

Brand Hunt wrote: "Weird flaming streak of debris in the sky south of Las Vegas just after 6PM. Anyone else see it?"

Bob Brown wrote: "Giant fireball in the sky over Las Vegas. Has Magical Forest visitors asking if it was part of the show. Ah NO!"

Twitter user @So Cal Scanner ‏saw it in Camarillo.

"Just witnessed a large fireball streak across the sky," he wrote. "Lasted for about 30 seconds then went behind clouds. Anyone else see it?"

Lindsey Stull wrote that she thought it looked like a comet or a star shoot across the sky and disintegrate in the air.

A Las Vegas resident who shot video of the phenomenon, Isabell Nungaray, said her 9-year-old son thought it might be Santa training new reindeer.

Last month, a missile launch caused a mysterious white, bluish light that streaked across the sky. It was lit up by the fading sunlight at dusk off the coast of California, putting on "a show" that could be seen from San Diego to the Bay Area.

Eater San Diego shares the top stories of the week from San Diego’s food and drink scene, including a photo gallery of new South Park stunner KINDRED – a vegan cocktail bar – plus, suggestions on where to celebrate New Year’s Eve and an update on the fate of local landmark, Albie's Beef Inn.

KINDRED Cocktail Bar Splashes Down in South Park
A new bar concept has touched down in South Park, combining chef-driven vegan food with a craft cocktail program that features Italian herbal liqueurs. Stylish and progressive, KINDRED spawned from a vegan pop-up and shares a designer with Little Italy's Ironside Fish & Oyster.

Where to Wine & Dine on New Year's Eve in San Diego
Book your seats now for where you'll be ushering in 2016. Some of San Diego's newest and hottest restaurants, including Bracero, Galaxy Taco and Juniper & Ivy, are offering celebratory multi-course dinners that include a complimentary glass of bubbly.

Albie's Beef Inn Shutters But Pledges to Return
San Diegans are already mourning the loss of the Albie's Beef Inn, which closes this week along with the adjacent Adam's Steak 'N Eggs after more than 50 years in business in Hotel Circle. But all hope is not lost, the owners of the iconic steakhouse tell Eater they intend to search for a new location and reopen.

Tajima Ramen Expands Into the East Village
Kearny Mesa-based Tajima just opened its fourth location in San Diego and is offering its signature ramen, from pork-based tonkotsu to vegan and curry variations, plus local craft beer and Japanese sake. The eatery is poised for expansion, adding a ramen bar on Adams Avenue in Spring 2016 and eyeing a spot in North County, too.

Filipino Fried Chicken Chain Planning San Diego Shops
A Filipino-based chain with more than 200 locations all over the world has announced plans to enter the San Diego market with at least three outposts. Max's Restaurants, which is famous for its fried chicken as well as authentic Filipino dishes, is scouting neighborhoods from Chula Vista and Mira Mesa to Escondido, and intends to open its first location by mid-2016.

Two Oceanside kids got a sweet surprise Monday night when their dad, a Marine Corps service member, returned home from deployment and made a cameo while they were meeting Santa.

Five-year-old Aubrey and 2-year-old Grayson were sitting on Santa’s lap at the Carlsbad Premium Outlets, when dad Chad Beckerleg walked through the door.

“Who is that?” Santa asked.

“Daddy,” Aubrey replied.

The two fell into their dad’s arms, giggling, as their mom, Alyssa Beckerleg looked on. Then, Grayson tugged at his mom to join them in a family group hug.

Chad traveled 20 hours on three planes to be home for Christmas, according to a mall spokeswoman.

Mom Alyssa said the kids were “shocked, excited and were convince that he rode in on Santa’s sleigh,” the spokeswoman said.

Investigators have identified four people killed Sunday in a rollover crash while driving home from a Christmas party.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office on Tuesday identified those who died as Irani Afrida Pasaribu, 40, of Highland; Dameria Pakpahan, 75, of Grand Terrace; Timothy Silalahi, 9, of and a family friend Ris Kartini Panjaitan, 65, of Indonesia.

The group's Toyota Sequoia rolled down an embankment near Nordahl Road off east State Route 78.

California Highway Patrol investigators say the Sequoia collided with a Chevy Sonic changing lanes before flying off the road.

Timothy’s mother and two sisters were also in the SUV. They've been hospitalized since the accident.

The driver of the Chevy Sonic was not hurt. Officers initially arrested him but have since let him go as they continue their investigation.

Alcohol, drugs and speed were not factors, CHP officials said.

A woman driving in the parking lot of a San Diego apartment complex accidentally struck and injured a 20-month-old boy as she backed into a parking stall Tuesday, police confirmed.

The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said the accident happened around 6:15 p.m. at a complex in the 4300 block of Home Ave. in City Heights.

According to investigators, a 36-year-old woman was trying to park her car. For unknown reasons, a toddler wandered into the parking lot and, as the woman backed her car into a stall, she hit the boy with her car.

Police said the toddler was driven to the hospital with his mother by the driver who hit him. The boy suffered serious injuries but is expected to survive, police said.

As of Wednesday morning, the child’s condition was unknown.

The collision is under investigation. Anyone with information on the case should contact Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

A 12-year-old boy accidentally shot a man in the leg at a Poway shooting range, San Diego County Sheriff's Deputies said. 

The incident occurred at 12:10 p.m. at the Poway Weapons and Gear Range on Danielson Street.

Officials say while doing target practice with a .22 caliber rifle, a 12-year-old boy was burned by hot bullet casing, causing him to drop the gun.

The rifle hit the ground and fired. The bullet hit a man in the leg, authorities say.

The victim was taken to the hospital for a non-life threatening injury, and the incident is still under investigation.

Pilot error caused a plane to crash on a Carlsbad beach on the Fourth of July injuring a boy, according to a government report released Wednesday.

Nicholas Baer, 12, was struck when the single engine plane crashed at Carlsbad State Beach on the Fourth of July.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that pilot Luke Kanagy didn't properly manage his fuel, and that the lack of fuel caused the engine to fail, bringing the plane down on the crowded beach.

Kanagy was towing an advertising banner over the beach when the plane went down.

The pilot wasn't injured but Baer suffered a concussion and underwent emergency brain surgery at Rady Children’s Hospital. He was released from the hospital less than a week later.

Baer's family filed a lawsuit against Air Ads, Inc., its owner James Oakley and pilot Luke William Kanagy.

The threat came in an Instagram comment, and read, "Watch out, I'm coming" -- followed by three emojis: a gun, a knife and a bomb.

And even though the sender appears to be a young student who was fed up with bullying, the threats are serious enough to have caught the eye of investigators in Fairfax, Virginia.

After a school resource officer spotted the threats, police filed a search warrant and traced the threats back to a girl at Sidney Lanier Middle School. The warrant says the comment threatened death or bodily injury to other students.

Among the posts posted by the made-up Instagram account was a "hate list" that named several middle-schoolers. The threats said an attack was planned for December 15, when students were still in school.

Police charged the student with a felony. They seized a cell phone from her home, including login information for social media accounts.

Her mom said she didn't believe her daughter would have carried out any of the threats. She was just sick of bullying.

“It was just too much, she couldn’t handle it anymore," said the mom. News4 is concealing her identity to conceal the identity of the girl, who is a juvenile.

"It wasn’t just one boy, it was a group of boys bothering her,” the mom said.

"As a mom, I don’t know what to tell you," added the mom, the worry for her daughter and frustration over what she did obvious in her voice. “She wasn’t thinking like an adult, you know we all make mistakes."

Threats are taken seriously by school authorities, who said that the number that they hear about is increasing.

Wedensday, Fairfax County issued a statement:

“Last week, FCPS became aware of a potential threat directed at Lanier Middle School that was posted on social media. Fairfax City Police identified and interviewed the individual who posted the threat and determined the threat was not credible. The Lanier community was also notified of the issue.

"The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority and we take all threats seriously. FCPS encourages all our students 'when they see something - to say something' and we work closely with law enforcement when such threats occur.

"Unfortunately, these kinds of anonymous threats can be concerning and disruptive even when they are not credible. We ask parents to speak with their children regarding the serious consequences that can result from the inappropriate use of social media."

With heavy hearts and tears in their eyes, service members from several U.S. Air Force units gathered at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan Wednesday for an emotional ceremony honoring six Airmen who lost their lives.

On Dec. 21, six Airmen from the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW) died during an improvised explosive attack near Bagram. The service members, who were supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, suffered critical wounds when their patrol was attacked by a suicide bomber, the Department of Defense (DoD) confirmed.

The DoD identified the fallen as:

Maj. Adrianna M. Vorderbruggen, 36, of Plymouth, Minnesota. She was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 9th Field Investigations Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Vorderbruggen was a trailblazer. Not long after the U.S. military repealed its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, she married her longtime partner and became one of the first American service members to be wed in a same-sex ceremony, NBC News reported. 

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Cinco, 28, of Mercedes, Texas. He was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 11th Field Investigations Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.

Staff Sgt. Peter W. Taub, 30, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 816, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.

Staff Sgt. Chester J. McBride, 30, of Statesboro, Georgia. He was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 405, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Technical Sgt. Joseph G. Lemm, 45, of Bronx, New York. He was assigned to the 105th Security Forces Squadron at Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York.

Staff Sgt. Louis M. Bonacasa, 31, of Coram, New York. He was assigned to the 105th Security Forces Squadron at Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York.

On its Facebook page, the 455th AEW posted powerful photos Wednesday of service members paying their respects to their fallen comrades, along with this quote from Chaplain (Lt. Col.) David Kelley, 455 AEW Wing Chaplain:

“And to us assembled here today, may we continue to carry the banner of freedom with the same honor and duty as our departed friends. Let us fly, fight and win ... together.”

One day earlier, this statement from Brig. Gen. David Julazadeh, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing commander, was released:

“This was a tragic loss for our Air Force family and all our mission partners here in Afghanistan. These amazing Airmen significantly improved the safety and security of US and Coalition forces across the country. I ask you to keep these heroes and their families in your thoughts through this holiday season.”

The 455th AEW is one of two Air Force wings in Afghanistan – the primary combat wing there. It supports members deployed throughout the country as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The commander is supported by a wing staff and oversees five Air Force groups located at Bagram Airfield and Kandahar Airfield, with additional detachments within Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Air Force. 
 

A San Diego-area high school football standout who moved on to play for The University of New Mexico Lobos was killed Monday in a car accident, the university announced.

Markel Byrd, 20, was headed home to San Diego for the holidays when his car suffered a blown tire on Interstate 40 near Gallup, New Mexico. Byrd and his girlfriend were both ejected from the vehicle, school official said. The sophomore was killed instantly. His girlfriend was taken to a nearby hospital where she was listed in critical condition, according to the university.

He was like a shining star, his mother Stephanie Threadgill told NBC 7.

“Markel was my everything. All you could ever hope for as a kid,” she said. “He was a good athlete, he was a Christian as well, just overall a good kid."

Byrd played both quarterback and defensive back when he attended Horizon Christian Academy in San Diego.

"This is an absolute tragedy. Markel Byrd was an outstanding person and student-athlete and we will miss him," Lobo Head Coach Bob Davie said in a news release. "I was with the family late Tuesday night and obviously they are devastated. Our thoughts and prayers go to them. Markel will forever be a member of our family."

He redshirted in 2013 and then played safety for the Lobos for the past two seasons. Lobos team officials say he tied for the team lead in interceptions this season.

No word on memorial service and funeral arrangements. An online fundraising page has been established to help with expenses.

Authorities are searching for a man accused of trying to lift personal information – including PIN codes – from an ATM by attaching a special device to the machine outside a bank in Santee.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO), on Nov. 27, a technician discovered a skimmer – a device that reads and stores credit card numbers and PINs on a memory card – attached to an ATM at a Mission Federal Credit Union located at 245 Town Center Parkway.

The discovery was made around 12:30 p.m. that day, though investigators believe the device was planted on the ATM approximately 30 minutes before it was found.

Deputies were alerted and were able to recover the memory card and skimmer from the ATM.

SDSO officials say no credit card or ATM card information was stolen from the machine, though investigators say criminals often use skimmers in an attempt to steal personal information in order to then make fraudulent purchases.

On Wednesday, the sheriff’s department released two clear images of a man suspected of putting the skimmer on the ATM. In the photos, the man is wearing a hooded sweatshirt and is standing in front of the ATM.

The suspect remains outstanding. Anyone with information on his identity or whereabouts is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

San Diego police say they took an intoxicated suspect into custody after he prompted a SWAT standoff in North Park Wednesday night.

Police say gunshots went off at a home in the 3400 block of Nile Street at about 7:15 p.m.

No one was hit, but the suspect refused to come out of the home.

The suspect was seen talking on the phone as negotiations began and the SWAT team surrounded the home.

Houses along Nile Street and Myrtle Avenue were evacuated, and other residents were told to shelter in place. Neighbors reported their home had been hit by errant gunfire.

At about 11:15 p.m., the drunk suspect came out of the house and surrendered without incident, police say. Everyone was then allowed back into their homes. 

It's unclear if officers found a gun or what charges the man will be facing. 

Two migrant workers from Myanmar were sentenced to death on Thursday after a Thai court found them guilty for the 2014 murders of two British tourists, NBC News reported.

Backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found dead on a beach on Koh Tao in September 2014.

Police arrested Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, saying they had confessed to the crimes, according to Reuters. Both later retracted, saying their confession was made under duress.

The court’s verdict comes after allegations of police incompetence, mishandling of evidence and torture of the suspects, according to Reuters.