Pizza, pasta and other delicious cuisine are what usually draws San Diegans to Little Italy, but this weekend it’s stickball.

Little Italy is hosting its 18th Annual Labor Day Stickball Tournament, shutting down streets to cars and opening them up to uniformed stickball players from as far away as Puerto Rico.

Stickball is a modified version of baseball played in the street with the diamond closer resembling an acute triangle and bases and foul lines marked by manholes and street signs.

The tournament began on Saturday and will continue through Sunday until 5 p.m.

Games will be played on India Street from West Ash to West A Street, and on Columbia Street from West Beach Street to West Cedar Street.

More information can be found online here.

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight remained "vewy, vewy quiet" when a flight attendant delivered an "animated" landing announcement this week.

Zach Haumesser impersonated nearly a dozen characters from the classic Warner Bros. cartoon series "Looney Tunes" as the plane prepared to touch down in Chicago on Thursday.

Beginning with Elmer Fudd and then launching into an uncanny Bugs Bunny impression, Haumesser even gave a shout out to the Utah Valley University men's soccer team — who were on the plane — as the carrot-eating hare.

Daffy Duck asked passengers to remain clear of the "doorth" for their "thafety," while Yosemite Sam reminded them to "please, I say, please" check their connecting flights.

Haumesser also impersonated Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Pepe Le Pew and the Tasmanian Devil in his "Looney Tune" mash-up.

Co-worker Jordy Elizabeth captured the seamless routine on video, uploading it to Facebook with the caption, "This is just one of the million reasons why I LOVE my job."

By Sunday afternoon, the video had racked up more than 655 shares and over 110,000 views, while on YouTube, the video was viewed more than 1.4 million times in just two days. 

Of course, Porky Pig returned to close out the show with a "Th-th-th-that's all folks!" followed by a "Meep, meep" from the Road Runner.

Brock Turner, the former Stanford student convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman by a dumpster, left jail Friday after serving half of his six month sentence.

Due in part to his victim's fierce and powerful statement on the case, Turner became yet another symbol of relative impunity even after being convicted. "I want the judge to know that he ignited a tiny fire," the victim told Buzzfeed when her letter was published on the site.

It can seem like every few months, the country rediscovers the problem of sexual assault on college campuses, whether it's through documentaries like "The Hunting Ground," since-retracted articles in Rolling Stone, or Turner's case, NBC News reports.

Activists working on the ground to change policy say each headline helps build momentum, whether it's in campus systems or criminal ones. Fatima Goss Graves, senior vice president at the National Women's Law Center, said  "It continues to hold schools and policymakers accountable."

One of two bodies discovered by U.S. Border Patrol agents north of the international border in Imperial beach Saturday morning has been identified, officials confirmed.

The body was identified as Oscar Javier Andrade Aguirre, a 34-year-old man. His body was found washed up along the shore at Border Field State Beach. Officials said a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent was driving along the shore to respond to an unrelated drowning case when he found Aguirre's body.

Agent Eduardo Olmos, of U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector said the agents found two men dead along the shore. They also searched the water for other possible bodies, but none were found.

The San Diego Medical Examiner's (ME) office is working to identify the other dead body. A cause of death for Aguirre has yet to be determined.

No further information was available.

A blaze that burned 20 acres of vegetation in San Bernardino County was fully contained by Sunday afternoon, officials said.

The so-called Ken Fire in Devore burned east of the 15 Freeway between Blue Cut and Kenwood Avenue beginning around 10 p.m., officials said. 

The fire was spreading moderately and was 25 percent contained as of 1 a.m. Sunday.

The National Forest, San Bernardino County Fire and Cal Fire responded to the fire. 

It was not immediately clear if any structures were threatened by the fire. 

The fire forced a freeway closure on the northbound 15 Freeway at the 215 Freeway as it burned in a northeast direction, away from the mainline of the freeway. 

All roads were reopened as of Sunday evening. 

The Blue Cut Fire, which forced a closure of the Cajon Pass in August, forced thousands from their homes in the same area as the Ken Fire. 

The giant panda is no longer considered an endangered species, the Panda Conservationist Committee announced Sunday.

Giant pandas have been “downlisted” from endangered to vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

The announcement came at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which is the largest environmental decision-making forum in the world.

While threats to the survival of the species are still present, study findings show that protection policies put in place by the Chinese Government are working. Experts believe that nearly 2,000 giant pandas now exist in the wild, and believe that a majority of those pandas are adults.

The giant panda was categorized as endangered on the IUCN’s Red List for more than 20 years.

“While we do not believe the giant panda is completely safe, our IUCN Red List evaluation highlights how far we have come in panda conservation,” said Ron Swaisgood, director of applied animal ecology at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. “This iconic species, which is the poster child of endangered species globally, no longer qualifies as endangered. All the trends support this conclusion: Habitat is increasing and the population is growing.”

Local researchers from San Diego Zoo Global had a hand in the initial research that helped the Chinese government set effective conservation policies.

In 1996, the Zoo introduced Bai Yun, a female giant panda, to the public as part of its historic giant panda breeding program. Bai Yun became the first giant panda outside of China to give birth in 1999 and is considered the most successful breeding female outside of China, according to San Diego Zoo Global. She has since given birth to six cubs; Hua Mei (1999), Mei Sheng (2003), Su Lin (2005), Zhen Zhen (2007), Yun Zi (2009) and Xiao Liwu (2012).

Throughout her life, Bai Yun has helped researchers learn more about panda behavior, pregnancy, maternal care, genetics and the ecological needs of wild pandas.

Bai Yun, now 24 years old, and her 4-year-old son Xiao Liwu still live at the Zoo and are featured in Panda Canyon, while the Zoo’s third giant panda, Gao Gao, is being monitored at the Zoo’s Giant Panda Research Station. All three giant pandas are on loan from the People’s Republic of China.

Meanwhile, IUCN has downgraded the status of the eastern gorilla on its Red List from vulnerable to critically endangered. The IUCN sites illegal hunting in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the reason for its reclassification. 

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has released statistics on the number of DUI-related arrests and deaths in San Diego County over the Labor Day weekend, as local police ramp up DUI enforcement.

Last year there were 53 DUI arrests in San Diego County. So far there's been 51 DUI arrests during the 2016 Labor Day weekend, CHP officials said. Compared to two DUI fatalities in 2015, there's been zero deaths in San Diego County this year.

Statewide, there were 737 DUI arrests and 13 DUI-related deaths across California for the 2015 Labor Day weekend, CHP officials said. This year marks a slight decrease in drunk driving deaths, with 734 DUI arrests and 10 fatalities.

There appears to be a slight dip in the numbers since last year, but this may change on Monday. Law enforcement plans to ramp up its presence this holiday weekend to arrest anyone who chooses to drink and drive.

El Cajon Police will conduct a DUI checkpoint between the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Sunday evening and Monday early morning.

Two of Donald Trump's most high-profile critics spoke at a convention in a Chicago suburb on Saturday, urging American Muslims to vote for what they believe is right without mentioning the Republican nominee by name.

Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star parents of fallen U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, made national headlines in an emotional speech at the Democratic National Convention this July as Khizr spoke out against Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country.

On Saturday night, both Khizr and Ghazala addressed the Islamic Society of North America's 53rd Annual Convention at Rosemont's Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, imploring activism in the Muslim community. 

"You are all my children and I feel very close to you because you have shown me lots of love and respect," Ghazala Khan said in her brief remarks.

Trump criticized the Khan family following their widely lauded DNC appearance, where Khizr offered to lend his copy of the Constitution to the nominee.

"I still carry the Constitution," he noted Saturday, clutching the pocket U.S. Constitution he brandished during his DNC speech. 

Trump also suggested Ghazala was silent while Khizr spoke because she may not have been allowed to talk during her husband’s speech.

In response, Ghazala wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post, saying it was too difficult for her to speak because she cannot be in the same room as photos of her son. The backlash against Trump is often credited with knocking him down in the polls after the convention.

"May Allah give you a power to fight against yourself, bring all the goodness of your heart out and give to others. You will receive more — look at me, I am big example for that," she continued in her remarks Saturday.

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson also spoke at the event, becoming the first sitting Cabinet member and the highest-ranking U.S. government official to ever address the convention, the largest gathering of Muslims in the United States.

Khizr Khan's speech was in part a call to action, as he requested "three favors" of the attendees.

"I ask you today to stand up, stand up in the name of your creator to clean that smear of violence from the name of Islam," he said. "And through you, I ask 1.6 billion Muslims that have been quiet today — no more, no more, no more, it ended today."

He asked those listening to participate in democracy.

"This generation, all of us, are banner-bearer of the message of Islam, universal message of Islam, which is peace," he said. "Register, vote, let your voice be heard so that tomorrow, our future generation, our children don’t have to hear this ugly political rhetoric that we have heard. Enough."

Khan's third request was that everyone protect and care for newly-arriving immigrant families.

"Be their mentor, and be their caretaker, and be their brother and sister in time of need," he said.

Ghazala described how their lives have changed since the DNC: "Everywhere I go, people's eyes full of tears, and their faces full of love."

"We take solace in this, that somehow we have started a conversation for the better of our country, for the better of our nation," Khizr added.

The much-maligned cruise ship that was damaged in rough waters earlier this year appears to be sailing near some of the stormiest sections of Hermine Sunday evening.

Several vacationers posted videos and photos to social media showing rolling seas and steely gray skies from aboard the Anthem of the Seas on Sunday afternoon.

"Ready to get away from Hermine #seasick #stuck in cabin," Louise Hardag tweeted.

The Bermuda-bound cruise ship left Bayonne, New Jersey, on Friday and was reported a few hundred miles off the East Coast Sunday night, southeast of Cape Cod, according to ship tracking site Cruisemapper. At least one other cruise ship was also in the area. 

Robert McHugh of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, posted a video of pounding waves on social media. He's traveling with dozens of family members for a wedding in Bermuda. He said a majority of his relatives were getting motion sickness. 

"The seas were churning up a little bit," McHugh said in a Skype interview. "There were a lot of people who weren't feeling well."

The motion of unsettled sea was rough enough that passengers had to hold onto handrails as they navigated the ship. 

"When you're walking down the hallway, the ship is lifting up and dropping down," McHugh said. 

Royal Carribbean, which owns and operates the ship, said in a statement that the boat is safely sailing to Bermuda in winds of about 40 mph — the minimum wind speed threshold for a tropical storm — and was more than 140 miles from the center of the storm. 

"Earlier today, our captain informed guests that we had experienced higher winds and gusts for a 2-3 hour period," the cruise liner said. "We'll continue to share weather information with our guests throughout their trip."

In an unfortunate twist of fate, passengers Deena Abbate and Steve Matyasovsky were onboard the same ship in February when it encountered a raging tempest. They received a refund and a credit towards their next trip, which happened to be this weekend's cruise during Hermine. 

"I guess it is pretty funny that here we are again," Abbate said.

"We booked this a long time ago, and who knew," Matyasovsky said.

While Hermine was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm after it made landfall in Florida, forecasters expected it to strengthen as it went out to sea Sunday night, and it could turn back into a hurricane.

Sunday's storm appears to be the latest in a string of incidents involving the ship this year. 

In June, an 8-year-old boy drowned while in one of the Anthem's pools, and in February, it sailed into another Atlantic storm that tossed passengers and furniture about the vessel. Passengers described that voyage as "a cruise from hell."

Friends and family held an emergency fundraiser in Encinitas to help the family of a boy who was hit in his stroller by a drunk driver six years ago.

The Baby Izaiah Car Wash emergency fundraiser was held from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday morning on 1004 N El Camino Real.

"It's tough getting through this because I have to see my son in the hospital again. Seeing him in there, is not seeing him at his best," Jacob Wallis said, the father of Baby Izaiah.

Izaiah Wallis, the little boy who was disabled by a drunk driver in 2010, has gone through over half a dozen surgeries, thousands of hours of therapy and testing, and spent several months in the hospital. Altogether, his medical expenses have easily risen over a million dollars.

Wallis says the boy is still continuing to make progress.

"I know what he can be and see how happy of a kid he really is," Wallis said.

All of the proceeds from the emergency fundraiser will go to the Wallis family, as they continue to pay off medical expenses for Izaiah's care. Those who would like to make a donation, can do so through the Passion4Kids organization on Baby Izaiah's webpage.

The key word for 2016 poll-watchers this week has been "tightening," as a series of national and state polls have shown Donald Trump drawing nearer to Hillary Clinton, NBC News reported.

But look at the numbers closer and any tightening looks more like a mini-Clinton swoon than a mini-Trump boom.

Comparing polls from the same organizations over recent weeks shows that Clinton's numbers are almost universally down, in some cases by noteworthy amounts. But Trump's numbers have not seen equal increases. In fact, in some cases his numbers are down as well, just not as much as Clinton's.

Welcome to the 2016 election, where many voters are none too pleased with their choices and looking for options. And that could mean a very good year for third-party candidates.

Authorities were still searching Sunday for a brazen and possibly murderous escape artist who slipped out of a Nevada interrogation room Friday, NBC News reported.

The white Ford pickup that police said Alonso Perez, 25, used once he fled police custody was discovered Saturday without the suspect, leaving the murder victim's sister angrily wondering how such an escape could even happen and the police in a desperate hunt for their man.

"I can understand their frustration — we're just as frustrated ourselves," North Las Vegas police spokesman Aaron Patty told NBC News. "But the bigger focus is: We have a homicide suspect on the loose."

Police apprehended Perez Friday and transported him to an interview room in the department's detective bureau, where he was secured with metal bracelets. After a couple of hours, NBC affiliate KSNV reported, an investigator stepped out, when Perez twisted his handcuffs until they snapped, Patty said.

Two women who were killed in a traffic collision in San Carlos early Friday were identified, officials confirmed.

Clarina Rabe Chu, one of the victims, was an 88-year-old Filipino woman who lived in San Diego, according to San Diego Police. 

The other woman killed in the crash was Marjorie Bialk, a 76-year-old White woman who resided in San Diego. She was driving a Toyota Camry north on Park Ridge Boulevard through the intersection at Navajo Park and Park Ridge Boulevard.

That's when Chu, driving a Prius, ran a red light and fatally smashed into the Camry, according to San Diego Police.

Neither of the victims in the fatal crash had criminal records, said SDPD officers. The incident was located near Patrick Henry High School.

Both women were taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital where they died from their injuries.

Tropical cyclone Hermine slowed its movement in the Atlantic on Sunday night and was preparing to park for a while off the Northeast coast, promising hammer-like waves, floods and beach erosion through Labor Day and beyond, NBC News reported.

Hermine has been moving east since it battered Florida and the Carolinas on its way up the coast beginning Friday. But updated National Weather Service projections indicated that its eastward motion is ending and that it's likely to slowly veer northwestward through Tuesday — that is, back toward the Northeast coast.

"I certainly would not suggest going in the water the next couple of days," said Ari Sarsalari, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel. "The storm surge is not as bad as expected, but the rip currents are going to be really bad."

Catholic parishes around San Diego are celebrating the canonization of Mother Teresa at the Vatican Sunday.

Pope Francis officially declared Mother Teresa a saint Sunday morning in Saint Peter’s Square.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is honoring Mother Teresa locally with a celebration mass at Saint Jude Shrine of the West parish in Southcrest on Sunday at 5.p.m.

Teresa established a contemplative house at the parish during a visit to San Diego in 1992.

Bishop McElroy will lead the bilingual mass.

The mass will begin with members of Missionaries of Charity, an order established my Teresa in 1950, escorting a statue of Mother Teresa into the church for blessing.

More information is available here.

After making an initial round of cuts on Saturday, the Chargers finally finalized their (almost) final 53-man roster on Sunday. San Diego claimed a trio of players off waivers, released three more, and signed six to their practice squad.

New to the Bolts are CB Pierre Desir (Browns), DT Caraun Reid (Lions) and RB Andre Williams (Giants). They will take the place of CB Stevie Williams, TE Asante Cleveland and LB Chris Landrum, who were all waived.

Desir is a big corner, standing 6’2” and weighing 206 pounds. He was a 4th round pick in 2014 and appeared in 19 games in two years with the Browns. In 2015 he started six games and had five pass defenses.

Reid was a 5th round selection and played 26 games in two years with the Lions. He’s also 6’2” but weighs 100 pounds more than Desir does. He backed up Ndamukong Suh as a rookie and Haloti Ngata last year so he learned under two of the best interior linemen in the game. Plus, he went to Princeton so if the Bolts get in to an Academic Decathlon they’ll have a leg up.

Williams, a 5’11”, 230-pound back, is now the 5th RB on the Chargers roster. He scored seven touchdowns as a rookie but lost his starting job last year to Rashad Jennings. In 2013 as a senior at Boston College Williams won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back. That means the Bolts have two of the last three Doak Walker winners on their roster (Melvin Gordon won it the year after Williams).

The Chargers also solidified six spots on their practice squad, singing WR Dom Williams, OLB Ben Gardner, S Adrian McDonald, CB Trevor Williams (they were all in San Diego for Training Camp), DT Kalub Eulls (Saints) and OT Austin Sheperd (Vikings). The Bolts can have 10 on their practice squad and plan to sign four more players.

One of those spots could go to the player they cut when Joey Bosa is ready to be added to the mix. The Chargers have 54 men on the roster at the moment because they have a special exception for their first round Draft pick. As it stands now the Chargers full roster breaks down like this:

Quarterback (2)

Philip Rivers
Kellen Clemens

Running Back (5)

Melvin Gordon
Danny Woodhead
Andre Williams
Derek Watt
Kenneth Farrow

Wide Receiver (5)

Keenan Allen
Travis Benjamin
Dontrelle Inman
Tyrell Williams
Isaiah Burse

Tight End (3)

Antonio Gates
Hunter Henry
Sean McGrath

Offensive Line (10)

King Dunlap
Orlando Franklin
Matt Slauson
D.J. Fluker
Joe Barksdale
Max Tuerk
Spencer Pulley
Chris Hairston
Kenny Wiggins
Tyreek Burwell

Defensive Line (7)

Corey Liuget
Brandon Mebane
Caraun Reid
Ryan Carrethers
Tenny Palepoi
Darius Philon
Joey Bosa

Linebacker (9)

Denzel Perryman
Manti Te’o
Melvin Ingram
Kyle Emanuel
Jerry Attaochu
Jatavis Brown
Josh Perry
Nick Dzubnar
Tourek Williams

Cornerback (5)

Jason Verrett
Brandon Flowers
Casey Hayward
Craig Mager
Pierre Desir

Safety (5)

Jahleel Addae
Dwight Lowery
Dexter McCoil
Darrell Stuckey
Adrian Phillips

Specialist (3)

Josh Lambo
Drew Kaser
Mike Windt

Two undrafted rookies, Pulley and Farrow, made the 53-man roster (three if you include McCoil) out of camp. Also, all of their NFL Draft picks except one, 7th rounder Donavon Clark, made the team. Clark was lost of the season to a torn ACL in the second preseason game.

That means the 2016 Chargers currently have 10 rookies on the roster and 22 players who are in either their first or second season, making them one of the youngest teams in the NFL.

Two illegal immagrants are in the hospital, and three more are in custody after a high-speed pursuit with state and federal law enforcement ended in a crash.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents attempted a traffic stop on a 2002 Ford Focus on northbound State Route 125 near Otay Mesa Road at around 11:20 p.m. Saturday night, and engaged in a pursuit after the car refused to stop.

California highway Patrol and CBP air support was requested.

After a 10-minute pursuit, the sedan crashed and rolled over several times near East H Street.

The driver of the vehicle, a U.S. citizen, was taken to an area hospital along with two other passengers who were determined to be Mexican Nationals.

The three other passengers involved, also Mexican Nationals, were given medical attention and taken into custody by CBP.

It is still unclear which port of entry the group entered the U.S. through.

One man was stabbed after an argument broke out at a beach in Mission Bay on Saturday.

According to the San Diego Police Department, a group of people were at the beach at 1700 East Mission Bay Drive when an argument broke out just before midnight.

A 25-year-old male was stabbed in his right side just below his chest by an unknown suspect described as a “chubby” Hispanic male. The suspect was last seen running northbound on East Mission Bay Drive.

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital and was treated for nonlife-threatening injuries.

SDPD Northern Division Detectives are investigating.

For the first time since 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick whipped up a national firestorm by sitting down during the national anthem, President Barack Obama weighed in on the controversy, using the international stage of the G20 Summit in China to address the situation.

And he sided with Kaepernick's stance. Or lack of it.

"He’s exercising his constitutional right to make a statement," Obama told a bank of reporters on Monday, noting that Kaepernick is among many sports figures who have used their positions to effect change.

Obama added that he suspects that Kaepernick will "refine how he's thinking about it," and "maybe some critics will see he has a point around justice and equality. Sometimes it's messy. But that’s how democracy works."

Laurie Valdez, a Santa Clara resident who lost her partner during a 2014 shooting involving the San Jose State University Police Department, praises Kaepernick for his stance and believes that the quarterback has stirred the pot of a national conversation that needs to be addressed.

"If he has that platform, he can use it to help us make change happen quick," she said. "Hopefully the other athletes will follow."

Since losing her partner Antonio Lopez in 2014, Valdez has been pressing the San Jose Police Department to implement more training and education for its officers.

"We're trying to help so no other family goes through this," Valdez said.

All the debate stems from Kaepernick's decision to not stand during the national anthem out of his sense of injustices in the United States against people of color.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after a preseason game at Levi's Stadium last month. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

The biracial player specifically took aim at police in describing what he said is too much brutality meted out against African Americans in this country. He's also been spotted wearing anti-police socks at practices. In turn, some police officers have demanded an apology from Kaepernick. And in Santa Clara, where police escort the 49ers, the union wrote a letter saying their members might boycott the games, NBC Bay Area first reported.

Obama noted that the flag holds symbolic importance to many Americans, especially for those men and women in uniform, and said that it may be a "tough thing for them to get past to what his concerns are."

But Obama added that he believes Kaepernick "cares about some real legitimate issues" and that "he's generated some more conversation around topics that need to be talked about."

What Obama credited Kaepernick most for is his "active citizenry." He said that he’d "rather have young people who are engaged in the argument than people who are just sitting on the sidelines and not paying attention at all."

The president's statements were in stark contrast with how Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump bashed Kaepernick on a Seattle radio station, saying "maybe he should find a new country that works for him." To date, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has not weighed in on Kaepernick's stance.

NBC Bay Area's Michelle Roberts contributed to this report.