Puppeteer Steve Whitmire on the "Today" show Thursday pushed back on allegations that he was difficult to work with and that he transformed Kermit the Frog into a negative personality during his more than 15-year tenure as the voice of the beloved character. 

Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson alleged this week that Whitemire turned the iconic children's character into "a bitter, angry, depressed victim."

On "Today," Whitemire responded, saying that's an "arrogance that’s not in my body."

As for the charge that he was difficult to work with, Whitmire said he was in talks to become a producer of the show and was "stunned" when he learned he was fired. 

"I offered notes, I don’t think that makes someone difficult," he said.

In response to a blog post last week, in which Whitmire said he had been “devastated” by his termination, Cheryl Henson reportedly posted on Facebook saying his story was “ridiculously self serving [sic].”

“Steve’s performance of Kermit has strayed far away from my father’s good hearted [sic], compassionate leader of the Muppets,” Henson, who is a Jim Henson Company board member, wrote. “Steve performed Kermit as a bitter, angry, depressed victim.”

Cheryl Henson went on to say that Whitmire's portrayal was no longer “funny or fun,” and that re-casting the character was long overdue. A screenshot of Henson's Facebook post was published by Deadline and NBC News could independently verify the writing.

When Cosmo DiNardo showed up to an open house at Holy Ghost Preparatory School, his alma mater, last October, school administrators noticed he was acting odd.

The event, designed to attract potential new students, did not include the 2015 graduate as part of the program.

School spokesman William Doherty wouldn't elaborate on what exactly transpired that Sunday other than saying, "the behavior was enough for us to be concerned."

When he was asked to leave, DiNardo became disruptive and police were called.

Doherty said the school filed a police report and called DiNardo's parents, Antonio and Sandra DiNardo, to let them know Cosmo was banned from the prep school's Bucks County campus.

The incident at Holy Ghost Prep coincides with a separate episode at a Montgomery County college that resulted in his banning from that institution.

The new information about DiNardo's past continues to paint a picture of a troubled young man who graduated to the murders of four men he admitted to shooting and burying on his family's sprawling rural estate in Solebury Township, according to authorities. Three of the bodies were doused in gasoline and lit on fire inside what was described in court documents as a "pig roaster."

DiNardo, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was involuntarily committed to a mental institution in the past. The circumstances surrounding that committal remain unclear. He was barred from having a firearm.

Last fall, the 20-year-old was banned from Arcadia University in Glenside, Montgomery County. He spent a semester at the school in the fall 2015 and tried to return the following fall, but school officials said he was not welcome.

A university spokesperson said DiNardo had verbal incidents with members of the university community and made some people uncomfortable. They added that the matter was considered a public safety issue.

DiNardo was informed he would be trespassing if he stepped foot on school grounds, a university spokesperson said. DiNardo and his parents were notified of his banning via a certified letter that was also sent to Cheltenham police.

About half a year after DiNardo was banned, he killed Jimi Taro Patrick, 19; Dean Finocchiaro, 19; Mark Sturgis, 22; and Tom Meo, 21, prosecutors said. DiNardo allegedly admitted to the killings in a confession last Thursday to avoid the death penalty.

Prosecutors said DiNardo's 20-year-old cousin, Sean Kratz, also participated in the murders. Both have been charged in the case. Kratz's attorney, Abby Leeds, told NBC10 Tuesday that her client is "presumed innocent."

Both remain jailed in Bucks County.

New York to Washington in 29 minutes? Elon Musk says it's possible and he has the government's approval to do it (though it's anyone's guess which government or how long it'd take to build). 

"Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins," the billionaire inventor and entrepreneur tweeted Thursday afternoon.

"City center to city center in each case, with up to a dozen or more entry/exit elevators in each city," he said in another tweet. The Boring Company is Musk's tunneling venture. 

It was not clear which government had given him the approval -- and Musk did not answer multiple tweets from people around the world asking him the same. 

"Still a lot of work needed to receive formal approval, but am optimistic that will occur rapidly," Musk said about an hour later. 

Representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation were not immediately available to respond to Musk's assertion; the federal government would presumably have some say over such a venture. 

Skeptics wasted no time in challenging Musk on the details, including the BBC's Silicon Valley reporter, who asked whether the CEO was announcing prematurely in a bid to drum up support.

"Support would be much appreciated!" he replied. 

In a later response to an inquisitive follower, Musk did say the work on the New York-to-Washington tunnel would run in parallel to an existing project to build tunnels in Los Angeles.

"Then prob LA-SF and a TX loop," he tweeted. He gave no estimate for how long any of these projects would take or what they might cost. 

Musk is best known for his electric car company Tesla and his space venture SpaceX, as well as co-founding PayPal.

The inventor first proposed the Hyperloop electromagnetic tube system in 2013. Earlier this year the California tech company Hyperloop One unveiled a plan for a NY-to-DC system.

Musk's system appeared to be different from theirs, though.

The City of Dallas named U. Renee Hall the next chief of the Dallas Police Department Wednesday. Hall, the daughter of a murdered Detroit police officer, is the first woman to hold the position in the department's 136-year history.

"I am honored to be chosen to lead the Dallas Police Department at this critical time in its history,” Hall said in a prepared statement. "I look forward to building on the successes of the past, preserving community trust and ensuring the safety of our officers and the entire Dallas community."

Her appointment means women of color now hold the top three law enforcement positions in Dallas County. Hall joins Sheriff Lupe Valdez, the first openly gay Latina to be elected Dallas County sheriff, and District Attorney Faith Johnson, the first black woman appointed to the position.

Before coming to Dallas, Hall spent more than two decades with the Detroit Police Department, most recently as deputy chief. Under Hall's leadership in Michigan, the city of Detroit experienced a 40-year low in homicides and double-digit reductions in violent crime for three consecutive years.

She is expected to begin work in Dallas on Sept. 5.

Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax said Wednesday Hall is a proven leader with a stellar background and a passion for public service.

"My belief is Renee Hall will be a dynamic chief and do great things in this community," Broadnax said. "She's going to have a great impact, not just on the police department, but the entire city."

City officials said that while Hall was in Detroit she "developed and implemented comprehensive community policing and mentor programs, forged partnerships and established trust within minority communities while also building strong relationships between officers of all ranks and community stakeholders." 

In an exclusive interview with NBC 5 Investigative reporter Scott Friedman, Hall said she will work to implement these same types of programs in Dallas. Among her objectives, she said, is having officers more involved in the community, doing service projects, feeding the homeless and working with teens, because "officers can't police a community they don't understand."

"What I've learned from being in the city of Detroit, as you know the city of Detroit went through bankruptcy, we went through pension reform, pay cuts for the officers — they even had holidays taken away, and morale was very low. We did have mass exodus, much like Dallas had, but when we got down to talking to the officers, officers don't necessarily leave just about money. It's not always monetary. They just need to have an environment where they have unwavering support from their leaders, creating an environment of excitement," Hall said.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings welcomed Hall to the city in a series of tweets where he said, "I knew we would get many great candidates, and we did because of the great opportunity. We needed an excellent leader and we got a proven one. I'm pleased with our choice."

"We’ve done our homework on her. We were told that she was very strong in the community that even as a chief level officer in the city of Detroit she gets out and engages the community and actually gets involved in police incidents and maintains a presence in the community,” said Thomas Glover, president of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas.

The city launched a nationwide search for a new police chief last fall after Chief David O. Brown abruptly announced his retirement. Brown, who grew up in Dallas and attended UT, had led the department for six years, but had spent decades on the force. His departure came only a few months after five law enforcement officers were ambushed and gunned down in downtown Dallas near the end of a peaceful protest.

Since Brown's departure on Oct. 22, the department has been led by interim Chief of Police David Pughes who said early on that he was not seeking to fill the position permanently.

During an event earlier this month in Dallas, Hall joined seven other finalists at City Hall to meet with stakeholders and greet the public. She said then she recognized the city's need to heal after the ambush attack last summer and that she could help do that.

"This job is about skill. It's about the ability to lead, boost morale and fight crime," Hall said. "To bring a city that needs to heal together as a whole. I bring that."

Hall, who was promoted to deputy chief in Detroit in May 2014, was one of two black women among the eight finalists for the job. She edged out five local finalists, four from within the Dallas Police Department, including Dallas Assistant Chief of Police Gary Tittle; Dallas Deputy Chief Malik Aziz; Dallas Deputy Chief Rick Watson and Grand Prairie Chief of Police Steve Dye.

Both Johnson and Valdez released statements of support following Wednesday's announcement.

“I want to welcome our new Chief of Police, Ulysha Renee Hall to Dallas ... it’s exciting that she will serve as the first female chief at the Dallas Police Department. I am proud that she is joining me and Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez on the growing list of females in top law enforcement positions in Dallas County," Johnson said. "There is much work to be done building bridges between law enforcement and our communities, and I am looking forward to all of us working together to ensure success."

"The Sheriff’s Department congratulates Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax on the selection of Dallas Police’s new chief.  It was a tough decision because any one of the seven candidates would have made an excellent chief. We welcome Chief U. Renee Hall and look forward to working with her. I am personally aware of the challenges that the first female chief will face. My staff and I stand ready to help in any way that we can," said Valdez.

Hall has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Grambling State University and Master’s degrees in Security Administration and Intelligence Analysis from the University of Detroit Mercy. A graduate of the FBI National Academy, she also completed the Police Executive Leadership Institute and is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, Hall was 6 months old when her 27-year-old father was gunned down while working a prostitution and gambling case. After failing to report in for 12 hours, his body was discovered only after a man reported finding a person had been shot in the chest. To date, his murder remains unsolved.

"I know what it's like to grow up without a parent who died at the hands of a violent crime. And I know what the citizens feel when their loved one has been taken away from them," she told NBC 5. "So it's important for me to make sure that those individual are brought to justice so there's closure in their lives. Because I never received that closure," she said.

She told The Dallas Morning News that closure was important to her family and that she believed she was finishing what her father started.

During a lighter moment with the media, Hall was asked Wednesday if she'd continue to support the Detroit Lions after moving to Dallas. She said though she was a lifelong Lions fan, she'd be wearing a Dallas Cowboys hat on Sundays -- except for when the Cowboys play the Lions. There will be no conflict this year unless the team's meet in the postseason -- the Cowboys and Lions are not scheduled to play in the 2017 season.

Hall is expected to begin work in Dallas on Sept. 5.

NBC 5's Ashleigh Barry, Ken Kalthoff, Scott Friedman and Eva Parks contributed to this report.

Coverage Note: Refresh this page for live coverage of the parole hearing Thursday at 10 a.m. PT

The rap sheet for inmate No. 1027820 at Nevada's Lovelock Correctional Center describes him only as a 70-year-old male, black, 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds with a medium build. His offenses include robbery and kidnapping, but no prior felonies.

Not a lot stands out, except a single word that jumps off the page under his known aliases: "Juice."

The nickname is a reminder of OJ Simpson's Hall of Fame football career, which vaulted him to stardom off the gridiron. Much of his life -- from electrifying runs as a USC Trojan to his days as a sports broadcaster, Hollywood movie actor, car rental company spokesman and defendant in the "trial of the century" -- has played out in the public spotlight, sometimes in dramatic fashion.

Simpson will be there again Thursday when he appears at 10 a.m. PT via live video feed before Nevada parole board members, who will decide whether to release him from prison as he nears the minimum of a nine-to-33-year sentence for an armed robbery and kidnapping. It was a botched attempt in 2007 to retrieve sports memorabilia from dealers at a Las Vegas hotel that landed Simpson, convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping, in prison.

"Assuming that he's behaved himself in prison, I don't think it will be out of line for him to get parole," said David Roger, the retired Clark County district attorney who convinced jurors to convict Simpson in the Las Vegas case 13 years to the day after he was acquitted of murder in the killings of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

In considering the case for parole, the commissioners will hear from Simpson, use a parole hearing report that has not been made public and refer to guidelines and risk assessment worksheets -- scorecards that rate the inmate on several factors. The board uses an 11-point risk assessment, on which Simpsons scores well, that offers a guideline for determining the danger an inmate poses to the public, if released.

For example, the assessment considers the age of the inmate's first arrest. Teens score the highest risk, inmates 24 and older are considered lower risk. The assessment also lists employment history, offense type, history of drug or alcohol abuse, gender, age and other factors.

Commission members also can consider letters in support or opposition of release and comments from Simpson's attorney. 

The board's ruling is expected Thursday in a departure from the usual process, in which announcements are made days or weeks after the hearing. If granted parole, Simpson's earliest possible release date is Oct. 1, but the board can impose conditions on his release. 

The 10- to 15-minute parole hearing will be Simpson's second since he was sent to the medium-level correctional facility about 450 miles north of Las Vegas, where the former USC and NFL running back was part of a strong-arm heist at The Palace Station Casino hotel off The Strip in September 2007. He was denied release in July 2013, but he was granted parole on some of the charges stemming from the holdup.

That and other factors bode well for Simpson, who turned 70 on July 9. Panel members will likely consider his age, the violent nature of the crime, his plans if released and criminal history -- Simpson doesn't have one. He has expressed regret and told previous panel members that he's tried to be a model inmate.

"He's really been a positive force in there. He's done a lot of good for a lot of people," Tom Scotto, a friend whose wedding Simpson was in Las Vegas to attend the weekend of the robbery, told the Associated Press. 

He leads a Baptist prayer group, mentors other inmates, works in the prison gym, coaches teams and serves as commissioner of the prison yard softball league, Scotto told the AP.

In an interview this week with NBC News, attorney F. Lee Bailey, who famously cross-examined then-LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman as part of the defense team during the murder trial, said Simpson appears poised for release. The two have not spoken since the night before the jury began deliberations in the armed robbery case, but Bailey said they've remained friends.

He was asked what's next, if Simpson is released from prison.

"I'm sure he'd like to play a little golf, and I'm sure he'd like to find some means of employment," Bailey said. "He still has a hard, core set of good friends and a couple of lawyers that still believe in him mightily, and I think he'll get substantial help in whatever direction he chooses to take."

Scotto told NBC News that it's likely Simpson would move back to Florida if he's released.

Scotto, Simpson's attorney and family members, including daughter Arnelle, are expected to be in the small prison conference room with Simpson during the videoconference hearing, the Associated Press reported. Bruce Fromong, one of the memorabilia dealers robbed in the Las Vegas hotel room, also told the AP he will attend in an effort to "be good for OJ."

Fromong said he forgave Simpson long ago.

Simpson and the 1995 murder trials became subjects of renewed focus last year with the release of the Oscar-winning "OJ: Made in America" and Emmy-winning "The People vs. OJ Simspon: American Crime Story."

A North County woman clings to life after being struck in the head more than 30 times with a pipe, police said. The woman’s son was taken into custody, accused of elder abuse and attempted murder.

The incident happened in Mira Mesa around 7 p.m. The victim, described by San Diego police as 81 years old, returned to her home on Capcano Road and found her 36-year-old son in the front yard.

When the son used a hose to squirt water on his mother, she told him to take his medication, according to police.

That’s when police say the man picked up two copper pipes and struck his mother in the head 10 times.

The woman ran inside to call 911 but the son took her mobile phone away, police said.

At that point, the son beat his mother approximately 25 more times in the head and then left the area, according to police.

The woman managed to call 911 from a house phone.

Police arrested the son at a nearby park and booked him on a charge of attempted murder.

The victim has serious, life-threatening injuries, police said.

Capcano Road is located west of Black Mountain Road and south of the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve.

A woman walking on the shoulder of Interstate 5 suddenly crossed the freeway and was struck by an oncoming car Wednesday.

California Highway Patrol officers said the woman was killed on impact and thrown hundreds of feet from the point of the collision.

The incident occurred just after 9 p.m. and involved a silver Honda SUV traveling on northbound I-5 near Old Town, south of Interstate 8.

The Honda driver was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries, CHP officers said.

Northbound I-5 was closed for a while during the investigation.

CHP officers said with the number of homeless people living along this stretch of I-5, they are seeing more incidents of people walking on the interstate.

The victim's identity was not released. 

San Diego police are investigating a hit-and-run collision involving a pedestrian struck by two vehicles near Alvarado Hospital.

A woman suffered life-threatening injuries while walking on Alvarado Road, east of College Avenue and south of Interstate 8 shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The victim, described by San Diego police as 44 years old, was first struck by an 2010 Nissan Frontier, according to San Diego police Officer John Buttle. 

That driver stopped after the crash. 

The woman had been walking down the middle of the street and was dressed in all black, so it was unclear if she had stepped into the pickup truck's path or its driver didn't see her in the roadway, according to the officer.

The impact of the crash threw the woman into the westbound lane, where evidence suggested she had been hit while on the ground by a second vehicle that did not stop, Buttle said. A description was not immediately available. 

The victim was taken to a hospital, according to the officer.

The Los Angeles County coroner says Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, who sold millions of albums with a unique mix of hard rock, hip-hop and rap, was found dead in his home near Los Angeles on Thursday. He was 41.

Coroner spokesman Brian Elias says they are investigating Bennington's death as an apparent suicide but no additional details were immediately available.

Bennington's body was discovered Thursday morning in the Palos Verdes Estates neighborhood of Los Angeles, TMZ first reported, citing law enforcement sources.

The singer, who sported piercings and tattoos, struggled with drug and alcohol addictions at various times during his life. He was married and is survived by six children.

He was reportedly also a good friend of late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who died by suicide in May at the age of 53.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department confirmed that they responded to a call for a hanging in Palos Verdes Estates at 8:59 a.m. Thursday and that an adult male was declared dead at the scene. They were not able to immediately identify the deceased. NBCLA is reaching out to Bennington's representation for comment.

No stranger to San Diego over the years, Bennington and Linkin Park were scheduled to headline Chula Vista's Mattress Firm Amphitheatre on Oct. 20, with hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg. The band's latest album, "One More Light," topped the Billboard charts earlier this year upon release.

SoundDiego has reached out to Live Nation San Diego for comment on the status of the planned Oct. 20 show. We will update this article as we hear back.

Mötley Crüe co-founder Nikki Sixx said on Twitter that he was in tears: “Chester just told me how happy he was…..He was such a sweet and talented man……I feel so sad for his family,band mates and fans,” Sixx tweeted.

NBCLA is also reaching out to Bennington's representation for comment.

If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting 'Home' to 741741.

The Metropolitan Transit System Board of Directors held a public hearing Thursday to discuss proposed changes to more than 60 bus routes in the region.

At the MTS headquarters, the community voiced their frustration and disappointment with the Transit Optimization Plan. Many people said they depend on the bus service for transportation.

In response, MTS officials said the plan would help improve efficiency and encourage more people to ride.

"They want more frequency and they want more direct routes," said MTS spokesperson Rob Schupp. "So a lot of these changes that we're proposing does exactly that."

Monique Bernard is disabled and uses a cane while walking. She said that she depends on bus route 18 to get to work.

"It's just not fair that they want to cut it out altogether due to low ridership," said Bernard. "I get the fact of low ridership but what about those of us who actually need that route."

Bernard said that moving the route will force her to walk to another bus stop miles away.

MTS officials said the proposed changes would add more buses to highly used routes to improve frequency times. Since ridership has declined, they must respond to the current $5 million budget deficit.

After the hearing, MTS staff said they will refine route change proposals and bring this back to the board in September for final approval. The changes will not be implemented until next year, possibly in January.

Schupp said it probably won't be implemented until June and September 2018. There will be another public comment hearing on Sept. 21.

Riders can submit comments online at the MTS website.

A man pleaded not guilty Thursday to assaulting an El Cajon police officer responding to a petty theft call on Fletcher Parkway.

The defendant tried to speak at one point during the arraignment, but his public defender David Thompson cut off his microphone in a lightning-quick move.

Daniel Cook, 42, faces five felony counts of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest with force causing great bodily injury, robbery, possession of methamphetamine and being under the influence of that drug.

His bail was set at $500,000. Prosecutor Jeff Lazar said the bail was higher than the scheduled amount for these crimes.

This term was influenced by his prior criminal history, which includes an assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats and a robbery conviction, said Lazar.

On Wednesday, the arraignment was postponed when Cook refused to come out of his county jail cell. He was brought to court Thursday morning without further incidents.

At the time of the alleged assault, Cook was a suspect in a nearby robbery case at the Dollar Tree down the street. 

Cook started attacking an El Cajon police officer when confronted about the suspected theft. He repeatedly punched the officer in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Even when the officer, a 28-year veteran of the department, fell to the floor, Cook continued to attack him, said witnesses. After beating the officer, Cook fled the scene.

A Good Samaritan alerted police to the crime, grabbing the officer's walkie talkie and shouting for help.

Officers later apprehended Cook and he was booked into San Diego County Jail. The officer involved suffered serious head trauma and remains in the hospital.

Cook's readiness hearing is set for July 26 and his preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 2. If convicted, Cook faces 62 years to life in prison.

“I have all of my bills on auto-pay or they’re set up so I can just do them online through my bank,” said Dana Matonis. 

That’s why Dana said she was shocked when her son called to say the water department was shutting the water off at her Sabre Springs home due to delinquent payments. Dana said she never expected what happened next when she called the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department. 

“She said ‘I’m sorry to tell you this but when your account was initially set up, back in 2013, whoever set it up for you only set you up for sewer services,’” Dana said, “We have never billed you for water.” 

Dana said since day one of moving into her new home, she paid around $60 each month for what she thought was sewer and water service. Since she did not receive a paper statement, Dana said she had no way of catching the city’s mistake. 

A week after her initial call with the Public Utilities Department, Dana said she received a pile of bills in the mail, one for each month she lived in the home, going back to 2013. 

“The total at that time was over $8,000,” Dana said. 

Dana said the Public Utilities Department told her she must have a leak, due to a spike in her water usage that arose sometime in 2015. Having never seen a bill detailing her water usage before, she said she had no idea there was a leak. 

So, Dana estimated what she owed and sent the Public Utilities Department $700. But, instead of her next bill being lower, it was for over $9,000. Dana said she asked the department for help and after investigating her situation, she received a letter in the mail. 

“They said ‘We’ve reviewed your case and we will be making an adjustment to your bill,” Dana said, “We have decided to credit you $200.” 

Dana said she couldn’t believe she was paying for the mistake of someone at the Public Utilities Department who never properly set up her account in the first place. 

“I’m not asking them to give me anything, I’m not asking for special treatment, I just want them to do what’s right and what’s fair,” Dana said. 

Dana contacted NBC 7 Responds. We reviewed Dana’s bills, including the charges before and after the leak and took our findings to the city’s Public Utilities Department. Since March, the department had only offered Dana a $200 credit but a week after NBC 7 Responds got involved, Dana’s bill went from over $9,000 to just under $800. 

According to an email sent to Dana from a department billing manager, “the bills in question need to be adjusted based on our error and the resulting lack of reasonable notice about your usage.” 

In an email to NBC 7 Responds, Lee Ann Jones-Santos, the Assistant Director for the Public Utilities Department, said, “The Public Utilities Department worked with the customer on their unique situation to come to a positive resolution.”

A police officer repeatedly punched in the face by a suspect during a petty theft call in El Cajon has been identified. 

El Cajon Police Officer Jose Sioson was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon. According to the El Cajon Police Department (ECPD), Sioson is a 28-year veteran.

Sioson was punched and knocked to the ground while responding to a petty theft in progress at a Dollar Tree on Fletcher Parkway, near Johnson Avenue Monday morning. 

Officers followed the suspect, identified as 42-year-old Daniel Cook, into a KFC restaurant. When Sioson approached Cook, he punched the officer repeatedly and knocked him out.

Witnesses said even when Sioson fell to the floor, Cook continued to attack him.

Cook then fled the scene but was later arrested and booked into the San Diego County Jail.

A Good Samaritan rushed to help Sioson and alerted police.

Sioson suffered significant trauma to the head and was taken to the hospital.

Cook faces five felony counts of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest with force causing great bodily injury, robbery, possession of and being under the influence of methamphetamine.

He pleaded not guilty Thursday morning. His bail was set at $500,000.

Cook has a prior criminal history, which includes an assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats and a robbery conviction, according to prosecutors.

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

A man wanted on an outstanding federal warrant was arrested on multiple charges Thursday, after leading deputies on a brief pursuit through Campo.

Deputies also discovered bags of marijuana and a loaded submachine gun in his vehicle after he crashed at the end of the chase.

Eric Oxenham, 22, was already wanted for alien smuggling in an outstanding federal warrant. He is also facing charges for evading police, being a felon in possession of a firearm and other firearm-related offenses.

It happened in Campo, which is about 50 miles east of the City of San Diego.

The pursuit began when a deputy noticed Oxenham at Potrero Valley Road and Highway 94, due to his cracked windshield. His car was also missing registration tabs required by law.

When the deputy attempted to stop him, Oxenham drove off, rapidly speeding away on Potrero Valley Road.

The deputy pursued him for less than two miles, until the driver careened onto a side road and struck a fence post. The impact flipped the vehicle on its side.

Once the deputy got to the car, Oxenham climbed out of the driver's window and was taken into custody.

In his car, deputies found three gallon-sized bags of marijuana along with a loaded gun.

Young men and women who hope to become firefighters were asked to complete tough tasks Thursday at the 26th annual Cadet Academy.

The training sessions were held at the Naval Training Station in San Diego, said SDFD spokesperson Monica Munoz.

NBC 7 spoke with the Cadet Chief Daniel Warren, who said the program has done more for him than he ever could have imagined.

"Just being able to put in effort both on ride alongs and these academies and even at home," said Warren. "It increases my work ethic."

Two-hundred cadets have to complete many tests that require a lot of strength and hard work, including having to climb a ladder in full gear with the hose in less than three minutes.

Not only are these cadets working to climb ladders, but they are also preparing to climb the career ladder by getting some experience in their field. They start at the bottom and work their way up to getting hired.

The program runs throughout the year, but during the summer, cadets attend a special week long camp to get some hands on training.

Warren hopes he'll become a firefighter soon.

"Being able to help the community, I grew up in Rancho Penasquitos," said Warren. "I am a born and raised San Diego native, so the idea of being able to serve the community and the neighborhood I grew up in is amazing."

Cadets can also get certified to ride along with fire crews by completing the training.

The Cadet Academy is held twice a year. Usually, it's only a week long program, but this year the department has so many cadets that the program was broken up into two weeks, said Munoz.

There are about 80 firefighters in the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department who started out as cadets, said Munoz.

The program is for men and women, ages 16 to 21, who are interested in learning about careers in firefighting and emergency medical services.

The cast and writers behind the revived NBC time-traveling drama "Timeless" opened their panel at San Diego Comic-Con International by thanking the fans over and over for helping bring back a show they once thought was gone for good. 

"Here's the truth," said Executive Producer Eric Kripke. "You guys saved the show."

Thursday's Comic-Con panel came just two months after NBC axed the show and then, shockingly, brought it back to life a few days later. "Timeless" will return in 2018 for a 10-episode second season. 

The time-traveling drama follows Lucy (Abigail Spencer), Wyatt (Matt Lanter) and Rufus (Malcolm Barrett) as they try to catch a mysterious criminal who steals a top-secret, state-of-the-art time machine to change history.  

Kripke and co-executive producer Shawn Ryan said they had just begun to make peace with the fact that the show had been canceled when they got a call from NBC executives. 

“I got a call from NBC and they said we made a mistake and we’re picking up the show,” Kripke said.

Spencer said she was asleep the morning the show was renewed when she started getting loads of texts and emails. 

"I was asleep and woke up to hundreds of emails," Spencer recalled at the Comic-Con panel, laughing about how unbelievable it seemed to her at the time. She thought it was a joke at the time, she said. 

The cast and executive producers of the show said they owed it all to the fans of the show, those sitting in the audience at the Comic-Con panel and those not in the room. 

"The point of the panel is to celebrate you for saving the show so I think you deserve a round of applause," Kripke said.

Fans will have to wait months to get a glimpse of season two, but Kripke and Ryan teased some of what fans can expect in the second season, including digging deeper into each character.

Lucy's mother, the center of the first season's shocking finale, will likely take center stage in the second season as "one of the major big bads in season two," Kripke said. 

Now that Rittenhouse has the time machine in their possession, fans can expect a unique team to fight a common enemy. 

The team hopes to further explore the characters as they battle the common enemy, including the newfound Lucy and Wyatt relationship. 

The show, which shot in Vancouver for the first season, will shoot its second season in Los Angeles. The change will allow the writers to tell stories they would otherwise have not been able to tell, Ryan said. 

"We definitely have some ideas, nothing sort of set in stone," Ryan said. 

The second season may also draw inspiration and ideas from the current political climate, Kripke said. The show's overall message of inclusion and diversity is something Kripke is proud of, he said, and he hopes to continue on that path.

"The thing that we really found this year, that we really love about the show is we really are very proud that we were able to tell these very positive, really inclusive stories about history," Kripke said. "Stories about women and stories about minorities and stories about gay people — that everyone contributes to the history of this country."

Kripke backed away from political statements as the crowd broke out in applause, saying that he wanted the show to have a strong message of inclusion in the current political climate.

"History is for everybody, and America is for everybody," he said.

The executive producers closed out the panel by emphasizing that the work in spreading the word is not done. 

"We're going to be airing in 2018, and that's a lot of time off the air," Kripke said. "Bring new people to the show. The more you can bring people into the time team and we can enlist you all as time team members, the better we'll be."

The cast agreed.

"Clearly," Spencer said. "We can't do it without you. We need you."

"Timeless" will return to NBC in 2018. 

The San Diego Police Department’s Robbery Unit and San Diego Crime Stoppers are searching for a man suspected of robbing a Domino’s Pizza in Pacific Beach.

On Thursday at approximately 11:35 a.m. police said a man robbed the Domino’s Pizza store at 2015 Garnet Avenue.

The man displayed a black semi-automatic handgun at his waistband and demanded the cashier give him money from the cash register, according to a police statement.

The cashier gave an undisclosed amount of money and the suspect left the store, walking south onto Morrel Street.

The suspect is described as Hispanic, in his late 20’s or 30’s and approximately 5’9. He was also described as unshaven with slight acne scarring on his face.

He was last seen wearing a grey baseball cap, black jeans and beige boots or tennis shoes.

The man is also suspected of other armed robberies in the area, according to a statement.

SD Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case.

Anyone with more information on the robbery or suspect is asked to call the SDPD Robbery Unit at (619) 531-2299 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous hotline at (888) 580-8477. Anonymous emails can be sent via sdcrimestoppers.org.

If you didn't get a ticket to the convention center at Comic-Con 2017, don't worry. There are plenty of things to do in the Gaslamp District outside.

NBC has a special automation booth based on a new show premiering Monday called Midnight Texas.

The booth is free to enter and is located next to the Tin Fish restaurant on Sixth Avenue.

Inside the exhibit, witches, werewolves and other supernatural beings come to life as holograms, thanks to augmented reality. The spooky feature might have a long line, but it's worth the wait.

There is also a pinball lounge in the Marriott Hotel, where anyone can come and play Star Wars themed pinball games for free.

At the Omni Hotel, virtual reality has taken over. There are plenty of booths on the second floor of the hotel featuring virtual reality headsets, virtual driving courses, and a green screen with a trampoline, where programmers can turn you into a video game character.   

And then of course, there is people watching. Wonder Woman is a popular costume this year after the popular movie recently released.