Executions in the United States are generally accompanied by an element of uncertainty, with the condemned prisoner filing 11th hour appeals all the way to the highest court in the land and sometimes winning a reprieve at the last minute, NBC News reported.

That's unlikely to be the case when Barney Fuller's date with death arrives Wednesday evening.

The 58-year-old Texas inmate — who admitted murdering neighbors Nathan and Annette Copeland in front of their kids after a long-running dispute — ordered his lawyer not to file challenges to his lethal injection.

In a letter to his attorney last year, Fuller, who has been on death row since 2004, said he he wasn't keeping track of the status of any proceedings.

If you are dreading all the prep work that is about to go into the holidays, maybe you need a quick break.

Perhaps that break will come in the form of a vacation – which is perfect because for three days, Southwest is having a huge sale offering seriously discounted plane rides, with many round-trip fares dipping below $100.

Flights start at $49 and go up to $129, depending on how far you want to travel.

The sale runs Tuesday through Thursday.

Craving a quick puddle-jumper flight to Vegas? Rates start at $49 one-way. Also in that $49 bracket are one-way trips to Phoenix, San Francisco, Oakland, and a few others. Fares starting at a mere $79 will get you a one-way trip to Denver, Dallas, Portland or Salt Lake City.

Check out the full list of cities and rules here.

There are a few catches though:

• No U.S. flights on Fridays and Sundays.
• Flights in the U.S. must be through Nov. 30 through Dec. 20 and Jan. 4 through Feb. 15.
• If you’re heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico, you can travel Nov. 30 through Dec. 8 and Jan. 17 through March 2.
• International flights must be through Nov. 30 to Dec. 13 and Jan. 10 to March 2.

If you have already bought some tickets, and want to check if you can get a deal, you can do so at this link.

A 25-year-old man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to torturing and killing nearly two dozen cats that he stole from the streets of a San Jose neighborhood.

Having pleaded guilty to 21 felony counts of animal cruelty, Robert Farmer, if convicted, faces more than 16 years in prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Ellis. 

Farmer and his attorney made the last minute decision in court, just before new evidence was set to be added in the cases again him. Details of Farmer's plea agreement weren't immediately known.

"As this sad case comes to a close, our thoughts are with the families who lost their beloved pets," Ellis said in a statement. "We intend to hold Mr. Farmer accountable for his perverse and violent acts.”

In court on Tuesday, Farmer displayed no emotion and didn't speak or apologize to the victims.

However, the pet owners are not relieved.

They do not plan to let Farmer off the hook just because he admitted he's guilty. In fact, many have taken to Facebook to urge the judge to sentence Farmer to life in prison, asking supporters to sign onto "Justice for our CATZ." So far, the group has 232 members. 

"Farmer just took our sense of safety because he took it from our front yard," said Miriam Petrova. 

Petrova's 17-year-old cat, named Go-Go, was one of Farmer's first victims.

"We never found Go-Go's body," she said.

Investigators said Farmer rounded up the cats, that were sometimes mutilated and abused, from Cambrian Park over two months last fall. Surveillance video captured Farmer in the act as he chased and picked up Go-Go, leading police to him. 

When police arrested Farmer as he slept in his car on Oct. 8, 2015, they also found a dead orange tabby in the car. Police also discovered other cat collars in the vehicle.

A year later, however, only four of the animal's bodies have been recovered.

Farmer was hit with additional charges in July.

The new charges stemmed from missing cats, and DNA of those cats allegedly found in Famer's car and clothing. The prosecutor called it the Jane Doe approach, where a body has not been found, but DNA links a suspect to a missing person who is presumed dead.

Farmer is expected back in court on Dec. 8.

Donald Trump's charitable foundation made many financial contributions to several conservative nonprofits that are important to winning the GOP nomination, NBC News reported.

The foundation, which Trump initially financed with his own money but has been funded by outside donors since 2008, gave $286,000 to these prominent groups, according to tax filings first reported by RealClearPolitics. The groups included Iowa's Family Leader, South Carolina Palmetto Family Council, the American Conservatives Union and Citizens United.

Together, the donations paint a picture of the wealthy businessman using charity-earmarked money to build relationships with conservative activists in early voting states.

The donations are the latest window into a foundation that is already being investigated for possible wrongdoing: The New York Attorney general sent a cease-and-desist letter to the foundation last week, saying it didn't have the proper certification to solicit donations in the state.

In a single day, more than 4,650 migrants were rescued off the Libyan coast, after using the relatively calm weather to head toward the Italian coast, Italy's coast guard said Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The rescue missions, which took place on Tuesday, bring the total number of migrants to reach Italy since the start of the year to approximately 142,000. Around 3,100 have died trying to reach Europe this year, including 28 people on Tuesday.

The majority of people fleeing are from Africa, including Nigeria, Eritrea, Guinea, Gambia, Sudan, Ivory Coast and Somalia. European law states that migrants must stay in the country that they initially arrive in and Italy has been struggling to manage the growing numbers.

About 2.8 million units of craft paints have been recalled due to risk of exposure to harmful bacteria.

Sargent Art recalled 13 types of arts and crafts tempera and finger paints sold nationwide at Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and their website, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The affected bottles were produced between May of 2015 and June of 2016. Click here for a full list of colors and sizes of paints included in the recall.

Exposure to certain bacteria can have adverse health effects on those with compromised immune systems. Those with healthy immune systems are typically not affected by the bacteria.

Anyone with the recalled supplies should contact Sargent Art for a full refund.

For more information, visit www.recallrtr.com/pidilite or call Sargent Art at 800-827-8081 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

Anyone who uses a landline in the city of San Diego and the South Bay area may be affected by two proposals put forth by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Tuesday to create new phone numbers.

The CPUC says 619 area code numbers are running out, so new landline customers will get a different area code. Existing customers will keep their current numbers.

As of now, there are two proposals:

• Option 1: Add a new area code to the region that is currently 619
• Option 2: Merge the regions using 619 and 858 area code.

"It didn't really matter all that much,” said Mission Valley resident Brooke Palmer. “I don't know. I really don't have an opinion on that."

Ocean Beach resident Dan Dennison told NBC 7 the changes don’t really affect him.

"It doesn't make much difference to me,” Dennison said. “It's happening all around the country so I think this is an issue that people just have to deal with."

San Diegans who rely on their mobile phones for communication say they not too worried because either proposal will not affect them. But if you decide to add a landline in the future, both proposals would impact you.

For option 1, if you decide to add a landline after the changes are put in place, you will be given a number with the new area code, which has not been decided yet. For option 2: If you add a landline, you will be given a number with the 858 area code.

However, both options would require customers to dial +1 and the area code, if calling a number that has a different area code, even if it’s your next-door neighbor.

A community meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the La Colonia Community Center in Solana Beach to address any questions or concerns.

The sister of a San Diego-area man found dead in Allied Gardens says she is convinced someone killed her baby brother. 

Aaron Randall Miller, 28, was found dead Monday on the 5100 block of Greenbrier Avenue, behind the Allied Gardens Recreation Center and near a local school, according to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD). Though police did not find immediate signs of obvious trauma on Miller's body, they found a potential wound to his torso. 

Authorities are waiting on the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office to determine the cause of death. The death is being investigated as suspicious and SDPD's homicide unit is handling the investigation. 

Pilar Kilgore, the victim's sister, told NBC 7 that Miller was in the community at a friend's house Sunday night. Miller was working on a car he had just bought, trying to get it running.

Kilgore said he left the house around 1:30 a.m. Monday, and no one heard from him after that.

She says she believes he would have been in touch with his girlfriend after he left his friend's house, if he had been able to. 

Police discovered his body in the park at approximately 7 a.m., just hours later. 

Kilgore said her brother was someone who always made people laugh. He had a good heart, but started getting in trouble when he was a kid; growing up, he had a difficult childhood, she said. 

"He never really had a chance to go anywhere or do anything or become anything because he didn't have anyone to teach him how or show him how," Kilgore said. "He just did the best he could."

She said her family loves him and misses him. The death came as a shock to them.

"It was very sudden," Kilgore said. "Something that I wasn't expecting. My family wasn't. It was very shocking."

Miller has a criminal history, some of which includes charges of felony possession of stolen property and felony grand theft auto.

His sister says just because he had a criminal history does not mean he deserved to die. 

As the investigation continues, police said there may be surveillance video that could become useful in their investigation. They also recovered the victim's cell phone as evidence. 

Anyone with information is asked to call SDPD or Crime Stoppers at (888)580-8477.

A woman's body was found in the water near Liberty Station in San Diego on Tuesday, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed.

Police say they received reports of a woman in a channel near the shoreline at Farragut Road at approximately 4:27 p.m., near NTC Park.

The body was pulled out of the water.

An investigator on scene told NBC 7 that it appeared the woman had been dead for some time because her body was badly decomposed.

The Medical Examiner's office is performing an autopsy.

No other information was immediately available.

A Southwest Airlines passenger says a flight was evacuated Wednesday morning after the crew reported smoke in the cabin coming from a mobile phone.

The crew on-board the Boeing 737 noticed the smoke while parked at a gate Louisville International Airport at about 9:20 a.m., about 10 minutes before they were to depart for Baltimore, the FAA confirms.

WAVE 3 News in Louisville reported a passenger said the smoke came from a Samsung Galaxy device.

"I was sitting at the front of the plane and I noticed a flight attendant coming quickly down the aisle saying, 'There's smoke on the plane," said passenger Misty Whitaker. "'Leave all of your bags on the plane and come forward in an orderly fashion.' They said it was a Samsung Galaxy. The last they told us while we were waiting was that the fire had burned through the carpet."

WAVE 3 reported all 75 passengers and crew of SWA Flight 994 to Baltimore were evacuated without incident.

A statement from Dallas-based Southwest Airlines confirmed the smoke came from a passenger's electronic device, which they believed to be a Samsung.

Southwest said all passengers were being rebooked on other flights.

In September, the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission urged all consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note7 to power them down and stop charging or using the device after a number of the devices caught fire during charging or normal use.

In a statement Wednesday, Southwest encouraged all travelers to comply with the FAA Pack Safe guidelines -- which stipulate a product subject to a safety recall related to a hazardous material (battery) must not be carried aboard an aircraft or in baggage unless the recalled product/component has been replaced or repaired or otherwise made safe per manufacturer/vendor instructions.

Check back and refresh this page for the latest update. As this story is developing, elements may change.

San Diego philanthropists Gary and Mary West announced the grand opening of a nonprofit community center offering low-income senior citizens dental treatment in coordination with nutrition, case management and wellness services.

The 1,400-square-foot Gary and Mary West Senior Dental Center is located on the second floor of the existing the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center at 1525 Fourth Ave. in downtown San Diego.

Many of the services offered at the new center are expected to be reimbursed by Denti-Cal, the dental component of Medi-Cal. Others will be provided on a sliding fee scale.

As part of the center’s focus on comprehensive care, patients will receive a comprehensive geriatric assessment by Serving Seniors, a San Diego nonprofit that provides seniors with meals, affordable housing, health education, support services and lifelong learning opportunities.

In addition, the Gary and Mary West Health Institute, a research organization, plans to study outcomes of the dental center’s coordinated care approach. Ideally, this will lead to data supporting replication of the model elsewhere.

Dental and oral care has been cited as a problem area for senior citizens. The lack of such treatment was listed as the biggest of eight health-related concerns in San Diego County’s 2012 Survey of Older Americans.

Initial assessments of 300 people who visited the West Senior Wellness Center suggest half had trouble eating, more than a third reported dental pain and one-quarter had not seen a dentist in more than five years.

“If we don’t do something to improve access for seniors, more and more older Americans will seek treatment in emergency rooms rather than in dental offices or clinics,” Gary West said in an Oct. 5 news release announcing the new center’s opening.

The center was funded by more than $2 million in grants from the Wests, as well as money from the California Wellness Foundation and San Diego County’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Program. The Wests have offered up to $250,000 in additional funding through matching grants.

In the fiscal year 2016, from Oct. 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2016, the U.S. welcomed a record number of Muslim refugees, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the State Department's Refugee Processing Center, NBC News reported.

Of the 85,000 refugees who entered the country, 38,901, or 46 percent, were Muslim, Pew found. Similarly, 44 percent of refugees were Christian. This was the first time in a decade that there was a larger percentage of Muslim refugees than Christian. More than half of the refugees originated from Syria and Somalia.

The Obama administration set the goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the fiscal year, and its goal was met by the end of August. The administration has faced opposition from a number of states that fear the admittance of refugees could spur terroristic ties.

Ramona High School was briefly placed on lockdown Wednesday morning following reports of a suspicious person near the campus.

Just after 10:30 a.m., the Ramona City Unified School District's office confirmed the school had been placed on lockdown.

Officials with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) said a "person of dubious character" was reportedly spotted in the vicinity of the school. That person has now been found, the SDSO said.

Officials said the lockdown would soon be lifted. The brief order was issued for the high school only, officials said, not the middle school next door.

The school is located at 1401 Hanson Ln.

No other information was immediately available.

Fire crews say a small brush fire at the Sandburg Elementary School in Mira Mesa appears to have been intentionally set, in a suspected arson case.

A jogger noticed the small fire burning in the garden area of the school at about 5:20 a.m. early Wednesday, on the 11230 block of Avenida Del Gato.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) quickly arrived on scene and extinguished the flames. No one was hurt by the small fire. Crews spent a long time mopping the area, to prevent any threat of more fires being sparked.

Students at Sandburg Elementary school were not impacted by the fire, and classes started on their normal schedule at 7:45 a.m.

Investigators are working to figure out what caused the fire, that fire crews say was set on purpose.

No further information was currently available.

It's been one month since a 15-year-old girl was gunned down at an Oceanside Park. While detectives continue to investigate who is responsible, neighborhood youth programs work to rebuild a community all too familiar to violent tragedies.

The Oceanside Reach project is one such program and its building stands feet away from where Anabell Flores was shot and killed on September 3.

“You lose a lot of sleep working at this job,” program supervisor Salvador Roman said thinking back on the incident. “Because it’s not just something that happened at work. You take it home, you take it personal. And it’s just a loss for you and it's a loss for the whole community.”

Roman says they work with kids from 6th grade all the way up to 12th grade, helping them with things like school. But most importantly, the program focuses on preventing drug use, teen pregnancy, violence and gang activity.

“Just something to do on my free time to keep me off the streets,” high school student Anthony Barba said.

Just after 2:30 a.m. on September 3, officers made a heart-wrenching discovery on the playground at Joe Balderama park—Flores lying on her back with at least one gunshot wound.

“It made me feel sad because someone from the same neighborhood as me,” Barba said. “It just happened to them. Like just know a different path leads to a different ending.”

Barba, 15, grew up in a broken home without a father. Like many other kids in his neighborhood, he didn't know where his life was headed before he got involved in the Reach program.

“It just kind of opened my eyes to reality and what the dangers are. If I wasn't coming here you would probably see me out on the street or hanging out with different people. But now that I’m here it gives me something to do,” he told NBC 7.

“They look up to us,” Roman said, referring to the teenagers in the program. “They see us as a mother, a father, brother, sister, someone they can look up to. And that's huge. That's important for our youth.”

Roman says they can’t force teens to join because it’s a drop-in center.

“All we can do is let them know anytime they need help, they can come in.”

Now, one month after Flores’ death, the memories of it and other tragic deaths in their neighborhood linger in the minds and hearts of staff and kids.

“It was something hard for them to kind of bear,” Ramon said.

He told NBC 7 that he and students would often see Flores hanging out at the park where she died.

“They didn't even know how to tell me. They couldn't even speak about it. They were so in shock because she was so young and she was someone that was there with them yesterday.”

Still, kids like Barba have hoped for change and a better life. Barba’s hard work has already paid off earning him a scholarship to help him finish high school and continue his education at college

“It gives me hope. It’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Barba said. “It’s what separates me from everything else. Just helps me rise above.”

A temporary fire station closure in Chula Vista has some neighbors concerned over the effects on response times during emergencies.

Station 9 is also posing some major health concerns for firefighters—a sign, warning of asbestos is now posted near the back door.

But this is not the first time the station has been closed down.

"We've had asbestos, we've had sewer backups, we've had times where we've had to close the station down and remove the companies; so it's been an ongoing issue and now it's just more and more frequent," said Darrell Roberts, President of Chula Vista Firefighters.

In the meantime, other stations have been responding to calls Station 9 would normally go to, making the response time longer—especially for the surrounding area.

"This specific area because of the geographic layout, there's a lot of hills, there's a lot of terrain, which slows the response times down. So that's why it is so critical and we were so upset to lose this engine company," Roberts said.

Resident Margarita Tamayo-Palestino told NBC 7 that she is also concerned with the closure.

"I have a kid who has a peanut allergy. Yes, I have her EpiPen but I would need immediate attention if things got really bad, so this is a little scary," Tamayo-Palestino said.

She said she is also worried about being notified of the closure adding that if this happens again, she hopes the city will post social media sites to keep residents informed.

"They had the courtesy to do that, to let us know that they're closing some busy street on Olympic, but something like this; why wouldn't they let us know?" she said.

NBC 7 reached out to the City of Chula Vista about the building concerns but have not heard back yet. The city did send out a notification on Tuesday night that Station 9 is now open.

But firefighters will not be able to stay inside for some time. Instead, they're staying in campers in the back parking lot.