Breaking up is hard to do, but sending a text? That's another story.

Ending a relationship is no easy feat — even celebrities haven't yet mastered the etiquette. When a face-to-face conversation seems too much to bear, a new app lets you turn to your phone and let a few touch screen taps take care of your breakup burden.

The iPhone app Breakup Text asks users a series of simple questions about the relationship and generates a fitting breakup text, according to Laughing Squid.

Its creators, Jake Levine and Lauren Leto, initially launched the Breakup Text concept through a website that prompts visitors to fill in blanks with their significant other's name and phone number, plus a reason for needing to call it quits. Then the site, like the app, creates and sends the message.

Neither of the formats take itself too seriously, though, allowing users to select "I've been eaten by a bear" as a reason for breakup. (What? It could happen.)

Click through the gallery to see some of the text messages the app, $0.99 on iTunes, can produce.

A motor home caught on fire Monday afternoon on Interstate 15, according to California Highway Patrol.

The incident happened shortly before 3 p.m. on southbound I-15 near Poway Road and Rancho Penasquitos Road on the right shoulder of the road.

Firefighters extinguished the flames, though the motor home appeared to have severe damage. No injuries have been reported.

CHP has issued a SigAlert for southbound I-15 for slow traffic.

A construction worker died after falling 15-feet at a construction site in Little Italy on Monday.

The incident happened around 1 p.m. at a construction project on the intersection of Beech Street and Kettner Boulevard.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Several workers were installing a metal deck on the mezzanine level according to a company spokesperson.

"This is very devastating to all the workers and the family," said Mark Payne, VP Division Manager for Swinerton Builders.

Representatives from CAL/OSHA were at the site investigating the incident and interviewing workers to figure out what went wrong, Payne said.

"It's tragic," he said. "It's just a horrible situation." 

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The driver who struck and killed a skateboarder in Pacific Beach Monday night will not be cited according to officials.

The incident happened around 5:45 p.m. on Garnet Avenue near Lamont Street when the skater didn't stop in time for a red light, according to police.

Medics arrived on the scene for the 25-year-old male victim, but he was later declared deceased. Police said the skateboarder broke his neck.

The medical examiner's office has not identified the victim.

A SigAlert was issued and traffic was diverted to Lamont Street while officials investigated the scene.

The 19-year-old driver of the Jeep involved in the incident stopped and was not cited officials said.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner faces not one, but two recall efforts.

Special Section: Mayor Under Fire

Filner announced Friday he would enter into a two-week behavior rehabilitation treatment following allegations of sexual harassment made public by former allies more than two weeks ago then corroborated by seven women last week.

Activist Michael Pallamary, who has been talking about launching a recall effort for more than a week, published his intent in the San Diego Union-Tribune Sunday starting the clock. He later spoke at a news conference Monday afternoon, and spoke passionately about the recall.

"We have to rid our city of this man! He is committed to destroying this city day by day, hour by hour," said Pallamary. "I'm appealing to every one of you to come forward. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid of this man. The emperor is naked."

Read: Recall Notice of Intent

Filner has 14 days from the publication of Pallamary's notice of intent to file a response. After that, signatures can be gathered beginning Aug. 18. Any recall petitions for Pallamary's effort must be filed with the City Clerk's office by 5 p.m. Sept. 26.

More than 48 hours earlier, publisher Stampp Corbin had already advertised his intent to gather signatures for recall in the same newspaper.

While Corbin hasn’t granted NBC 7’s request for an interview, he did say he will file official paperwork Tuesday.

Pallamary also formerly asked Corbin to rescind his recall paperwork during a conference on Monday afternoon.

The two separate parties are vying for the chance to lead the way and the competition could be costly, according to attorney and NBC 7 legal analyst Dan Eaton.

“What you might see in these competing recall petitions, is a race to the city clerk's office followed by a race to the city courthouse,” Eaton said.

The possible rush comes from San Diego's municipal code, which states that the process of recalling the mayor can start if no petition has been filed within the last 6 months, possibly giving the first filer the right to move forward.

Eaton says the law is not completely clear as to whether two recall efforts can occur at the same time.

“Whether that's acceptable legally, that's a question that ultimately may have to be resolved by the courts,” he explained.

Former California GOP Chairman Ron Nehring wants to see ramped-up pressure on Filner to resign instead of the long, complex process of recall.

"I think that based upon where were are now, for the good of the city we need a pathway that gets Mayor Filner out of office as quickly as possible and lets the voters come forward and elect a new mayor," Nehring.

It will be at least three weeks before people can sign petitions.

The city council needs to change the law to make parts of the recall process legal, changes which could be vetoed by the mayor.

If all necessary signatures are gathered within 30 to 60 days -- some say there's a slim chance of it happening -- a decision would follow.

The City Attorney's office is still researching how multiple recalls should be handled under the city charter.

Attorneys involved in a dog attack case say a $1.1 million settlement, announced Monday, is the largest of its kind in state history.

It was two summers ago when a 120-pound Bullmastiff named Kong escaped his chain link fence enclosure, barreled toward a group of teens and clutched then-15-year-old Jordyn Bankston in his massive jaws.

Ed Miller and another neighbor say the attack went on for about 10 minutes before the neighbor found a way to free the teen.

"He came over and slugged the dog a couple of times," Miller said Monday, recalling the neighbor's actions. "[Kong] would not release the child. He had a lit cigarette and he put it on the dog's nose and [the dog] finally released him."

Two years later, the 17-year-old is due to receive $1.125 million from the dog owner's insurance policy for injuries and ongoing trauma. Attorneys said Bankston still becomes anxious when he sees a dog or hears one bark.

"He ripped up his scalp, severely ripped up his shoulder and right arm, his thigh [resulting in] nasty scars that required some extensive plastic surgery," said attorney Patrick Salvi. "[It was] a very, very traumatic event."

Salvi said Kong's owner had a primary policy as well as an umbrella policy. That umbrella policy raised the settlement limit from $350,000 to one million dollars -- the largest in state history.

Prior to this case, the settlements in such cases ranged from $400,000 to $835,000. The last settlement of this kind came in 1990.

In Bankston's case, the dog was put down because the animal had attacked other people and animals.

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Work crews have begun demolishing and removing debris from homes destroyed by a natural gas explosion in South Philadelphia.

Demolition along the 400 block of Daly Street began at 9 a.m. Tuesday. An excavator and dumpster are already on site.

The brick rowhome at 428 Daly Street was reduced to a pile of rubble around 11 a.m. Monday after natural gas ignited as a contractor worked on a hot water heater in the basement of the home, according to Philadelphia Fire Department officials.

That contractor suffered serious burns to 22-percent of his body and is being treated at Temple University Hospital's Burn Center.

"They had the man out here for half-an hour. His skin was just coming off of him. It looked like a monster movie. He was burned really bad," witness Bashira Bey said.

The contractor was last listed in critical condition.

Rowhomes on either side of the explosion site, 426 and 430 Daly Street, were also severely damaged in the blast.

15-year-old Shaquorie Fields, who lives at 430 Daly Street, fell from her second floor bedroom into the kitchen below, according to her mother, Sekeya Fields. Luckily, she suffered only minor injuries.

“She was in her room and her room is on the second floor and when they dug her out, she was in the kitchen,” said Sekeya Fields, whose been living in the home for the past two years. “Everything’s gone. Everything we have is gone.”

In all, eight people were injured in the explosion -- including two infants. All have been released from the hospital except for the contractor.

At the height of the incident, as many as 70 homes were evacuated along Daly and near by Wolf Streets.

As of Tuesday, about a dozen families are being kept from their homes, according to Philadelphia Police.

The Philadelphia Fire Department, Philadelphia Gas Works and Occupational Health and Safety Administration are all investigating the incident.

More Stories on the South Philadelphia House Explosion

• Explosion Levels South Philadelphia Home, 8 Hurt
• Explosion Victim: "Please, Take My Baby!"
• Local Man an Unintended Hero at South Philly Home Explosion
• A Look Inside the Exploding Home

A brush fire is burning in San Miguel, according to fire officials.

The incident happened around 4 p.m. Monday east of 7100 San Miguel Rd., near the San Diego Gas & Electric substation.

Firefighters are working to extinguish the flames and have surrounded the blaze at 15 acres.

CAL Fire had several air crafts making water drops.

No homes were threatened, according to CAL Fire. Deputies also did not ordered any evacuations.

Check back for updates on this story.

A United Airlines employee and his wife are accused of stealing luggage of passengers diverted by the Asiana crash at the San Francisco International Airport.

Prosecutors in San Mateo County said Sean Sharif Crudup, 44, and a customer service representative at United, and his wife Raychas Elizabeth Thomas, 32, both of Richmond, were charged with grand theft and burglary.

Karen Guidotti, San Mateo County’s chief deputy district attorney, alleged the couple stole luggage of passengers who were supposed to fly into SFO  on July 8 but were diverted because of the Asiana Airlines crash two days earlier, which killed three and injured 182.

The couple's luggage arrived before they did. And when the couple - also, coincidentally from Richmond - went to pick up their bags, they weren't there, prosecutors said.

Guidotti said there is surveillance video that shows Crudup handing the stolen bags to his wife. She declined to provide a copy of the video to NBC Bay Area.

United said in a released statement they were assisting police. "We hold our employees to the highest standard and have zero tolerance for any theft. We are assisting the San Francisco Police Department in this investigation, and this employee has been held out of service," said United spokesman Luke Punzenberger.

MORE: Full Asiana Crash Coverage

Inside the bags were items from Nordstrom, which investigators say Thomas returned for some $5,000 at the Pleasanton department store. More property from the victims was found at their home, prosecutors said. Guidotti would not elaborate on the specific clothing items.

The victims who lost their luggage were a Richmond couple.

Crudup pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of grand theft and burglary and was being held at San Mateo County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail. Thomas posted $50,000 bail. Neither could be reached by phone for immediate comment on Monday.

The two are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 26.

A Swiss adventurer known as the "Jetman" made his first U.S. appearance this week.

The Swiss pilot, Yves Rossy, became the first man in aviation history to fly with a jet-propelled wing in 2006. The "Jetman" will appear from July 29 to Aug. 4 at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture event in Oshkosh, Wis. From Sept. 11 to 15, he is also scheduled to be at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev.

For one week each summer, EAA members and aviation enthusiasts topping more than 500,000 from more than 60 countries attend the AirVenture venue in Wisconsin, according the organization.

Rossy's jet-propelled wing, called the jetwing, consists of a small wing with four jet engines, allowing the military trained pilot to fly through the air at more than 150 mph. He uses a hand-held throttle to control the engines, but uses his body to maneuver the machine, according to The Wall Street Journal. Rossy usually launches from a helicopter and uses a parachute to land.

The "Jetman" has made successful flights over the English Channel, Swiss Alps and Rio de Janeiro since perfecting his flying machine in 2008, according to his website.

Rossy's jetwing machine won't be the only machine of its kind at the Oshkosh air show. A prototype flying car called the Terrafugia Transition will make its first airshow appearance at the Oshkosh venue, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Internal affairs investigators arrested a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Monday on suspicion of rape and other sex crimes, along with bribery of victims, authorities said.

Deputy Jose Rigaberto Sanchez, 28, faces 11 felony counts stemming from incidents when he was on duty in 2010, according to a Sheriff's Department statement. The patrol deputy, most recently stationed at the Palmdale station, has been on paid leave since someone reported the alleged crimes that year.

His paid leave ended Monday, the statement said.

Charges against the seven-year veteran of the department include: sexual penetration under the color of authority, soliciting a bribe from alleged victims and rape under fear or duress.

"On duty, the deputy allegedly was trying to elicit favors from individuals that he was threatening to arrest," said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore. He did not elaborate on what the favors included.

Sanchez also is accused of coercing a woman into having sex, threatening to arrest her if she didn't comply.

Investigators arrested Sanchez at 5:30 p.m. at his home, according to the statement. He was booked at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station and held on $1.4 million bail, according to sheriff's records.

The Sheriff's Department had turned over the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office in January 2011, according to the sheriff's statement. 

The statement said Sanchez's arrest followed a six-month internal affairs investigation. However, the department remained silent about what, if any, actions were taken in the two years between the District Attorney's office becoming involved and the six-month investigation that would have begun this year.

Sanchez was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The Sheriff's Department declined to release additional details or a booking photograph of the deputy.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has asked the city to cover his legal fees for a sexual harassment lawsuit, according to an agenda released by the city council.

Special Section: Mayor Under Fire

The city council will convene in a special closed session on Tuesday night to discuss whether or not to pay for legal fees in a sexual harassment claim filed by Filner’s former employee Irene McCormack Jackson.

Jackson publicly came forward last week and alleged that Filner told her to “work without panties” and detailed other alleged acts of sexual harassment. Jackson called her experience working for the mayor “the worst time of my entire working life.”

Prominent San Diego attorney Gloria Allred is representing Jackson, and filed the lawsuit last week. Read the complaint here

Filner has been accused of sexually harassing multiple women -- a total of seven women have publicly come forward claiming he acted inappropriately toward them.

The mayor has since apologized for "offending" women, and will enter intensive therapy for two weeks to "begin the process of addressing [his] behavior."

Filner has made the request that he should be defended under the city’s expense through a letter from his lawyer Harvey Berger. The letter stated that Filner should have the city pay for representation under California Government codes 825 and 995 – which deal with compensation and defense of public employees.

The San Diego City Attorney’s Office is advising the council during Tuesday night’s meeting.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith has said his office will not represent Filner, but he has not said whether or not the city will be responsible for his legal fees. It is not clear at this time how the council will act.

A break-in at a North County school overnight was the fourth in a string of school burglaries this month.

Sage Canyon School on Harvest Run Drive was burglarized overnight however officials would not reveal what was stolen.

The school's alarm first went off at 1:01 a.m.. When officers arrived at 1:19 a.m., they believe they interrupted the burglary as it was taking place.

At least three other schools in the North County have been burglarized. Rancho Diegueno Country School at 15663 Circo Diegueno Road in Del Mar was burglarized between July 1 to 4.

Someone broke into Ocean Air Elementary School at 11444 Canter Heights Drive in San Diego on July 8.

Officials are also investigating the theft of equipment at Solana Santa Fe Elementary School at 6570 El Apajo in Fairbanks Ranch on July 11.

In the three previous school burglaries, Apple computers were stolen. A map shows the proximity of the four crimes.

Officials aren’t saying if the recent burglaries are related.

In 2012, six schools in North County were targeted in similar burglaries, where thieves broke through windows and stole iPads.

The suspects – who were part of a gang – were eventually captured and arrested.

 

A child trapped between a wall and a golf cart in Escondido has died, officials said Tuesday.

The incident happened around 7 p.m. Monday at the Church of the Resurrection on 1445 Conway Drive.

Officials said some children were playing with a golf cart used by the staff when one of the children somehow began to drive the cart. The driver of the cart then pinned a child about 4 years old between the cart and the wall.

The adults inside the parish hall heard what was going on and immediately moved the cart backward to free the child.

The victim was taken to Escondido Police Department headquarters on Centre City Parkway where first aid was administered. Medics then transported the child to Palomar Hospital by Mercy Air Helicopter.

The child was then airlifted to Rady Childrens Hospital with serious injuries to his abdomen.

Monday evening, parishioner Robert Wetzel said he was troubled by the boy's injury.

"It's hard. I don't know my emotions now because it just happened but I'll have trouble going to sleep tonight," Wetzel said.

Escondido police said traffic officers were called to the scene to investigate this accident.

A passenger booked on a Delta flight to New York City left four of his seven bags in Seattle after he was told he'd have to pay $1,400 in baggage fees, according to law enforcement officials.

Law enforcement officers met and questioned the man when the plane landed at Kennedy Airport Tuesday because of the abandoned bags.

Authorities in Seattle closed the ticket counter and called the bomb squad to investigate what appeared to be wires sticking out of some of the luggage. It was later determined the bags contained personal items.

The man was released after he was questioned in New York.

--Jay Blackman contributed to this story

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A San Diego area school superintendent under a criminal indictment kept sending email instructions to his staff despite the school board ordering him to stop.

Former San Ysidro Superintendent Manuel Paul continued emailing staff and issuing directives on how to run the district after he was placed on paid administrative leave Jan. 16 and after the board accepted his resignation April 4.

Emails obtained under the California Public Records Act show the former schools chief made staffing decisions about new hires; accepted an April 4 invitation to represent the San Ysidro school district at a June 20 meeting of area superintendents, and wrote letters of recommendation for departing employees.

The communications were dispatched from the Paul’s district email account, after the board asked him to leave.

Paul, 62, was placed on paid administrative leave on Jan. 16. In December, he was criminally indicted by the San Diego County Grand Jury on four felony and two misdemeanor charges related to accepting meals over the legal limit from contractors and not properly reporting those meals on state-mandated forms. He also admitted in a June deposition to accepting a couple thousand dollars in cash from a contractor who was seeking work with the district. He said the money was for campaign signs for board members.

The cash exchange took place in Paul’s black Mercedes Benz parked late at night outside the Chula Vista Butcher Shop, a restaurant that has since changed ownership and been renamed. The issue was first reported by NBC7 Investigates.

Board President Jason Wells said the trustees initially asked Paul, who ran the district for seven years, to remain available should questions about district business arise.

“There wasn’t a firing at that time. We expected him to be available should staff need information or documentation and he knew where it was,” Wells said. “Our request for him to be available was understood to be – if staff needed something then … we would contact him to request the information, not necessarily that he would broadcast or offer information to the district.”

But, the board soon discovered the communications were not what they considered in-line with district policy.

For example, on Jan. 22, Paul instructed a personnel technician to make sure a new hire received her fingerprint clearance and started work the next day.

On Jan. 29, Wells wrote a letter to Paul instructing him that he should “refrain from issuing any directives or requests to any District employee or representative.” The letter also asked Paul to not act as a representative of the district at any functions.

But Paul continued emailing instructions to staff, even after the board accepted his resignation on April 4.

For example, on April 11, Paul told former Human Resources Director Jason Romero to talk to area principals about buying signage to display their rank as a “California Distinguished School.”

“Absolutely boss will do!” Romero wrote back.

Many of Paul’s emails simply praised staff for accomplishments and honors.

However, former teacher Josie Hamada said even the positive emails made staff uncomfortable because they weren’t sure who was in charge.

She said teachers got the impression that Paul was continuing to contact staff as a means of reminding them he was still involved in district business.

“That’s the interpretation that the teachers got. Paul was saying ‘I’m still here. I’m not gone. And I’m still in charge,’” Hamada said.

Paul and his criminal defense attorney did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

See a timeline of the communications here.
 

Employees are having a hard time with the reality of losing their jobs in the closure of the San Onofre power plant. Nearly 900 employees will be laid off by Labor Day, and as the plant prepares to close, another 200 will be let go next year.

"It was a shock," said Dan Dominguez, longtime employee and nuclear reactor operator. "Thirty-one years and then it's over and done with."

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station has not produced electricity since January 2012, when a water leak was discovered in the tubes of the steam generators.

In June, word came that the power switch would be turned off permanently when Edison announced it couldn’t afford to keep the plant open and replace the electricity needed to provide power to 1.5 million customers.

Timeline: Shutdown of San Onofre

"Edison kept saying they planned to restart unit two, so when they told us in June they were closing, it was a shock," employee Sharon Anstaett said.

While nuclear activists applauded the plan to close, 1500 plant workers learned that 900 of them would be laid off by Labor Day.

One such worker is Rob Howard, whose life is at risk of being uprooted if he wants to stay in this field.

"The reactor operator piece is so specialized, if I want to do it again, I have to start from the bottom," Howard said.

Howard said he would have to relocate if he wanted to remain in the industry, but he would still risk whether his license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would transfer to another plant.

The defueling process at the plant started earlier this month, and Edison officials said they will focus on storing the spent fuel.

As the plant prepares to close, another 200 people will be laid off next year. Company officials have held job fairs at the plant in hopes of easing the workers' transitions, but workers say the toughest part is the uncertainty of not knowing whether their jobs will last six weeks or six years.

"We're all going to have our last day there," Anstaett said. "We just don't know when."

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Law enforcement officers from various agencies surrounded a home in National City to serve a search warrant in an ongoing illegal drug smuggling operation early Tuesday.

At least half a dozen officers or federal agents dressed in camouflage uniforms with helmets and Kevlar vests were staged outside a multi-unit home at K and E. 9th Streets with drawn rifles at 6:25 a.m.

There was also a SWAT vehicle with Homeland Security logo on the side parked near the home’s driveway.

Several K-9 teams were on scene along with an animal control officer.

A spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) told NBC 7 the police activity was tied to a drug smuggling investigation involving all types of narcotics - marijuana, heroin and cocaine - coming into the U.S. from Mexico.

Two men and one woman were handcuffed by agents. The HSI spokesperson did not reveal if the people taken into custody will face charges in connection with the illegal drug activity.

ICE spokesperson Lauren Mack confirmed the police activity was part of a Homeland Security Investigation.

Mack initially told NBC 7 that four people were taken into custody and will face drug charges in state court. However, Mack later modified that number as one person arrested and facing charges. The other three people detained were the suspect's roommates, Mack said.

National City police patrol cars were also on scene. A spokesperson for the National City Police Department would not confirm their officers were involved or provide details of the incident. At 7:50 a.m., National City issued an advisory to the media describing a a narcotics search warrant.

About a dozen community activists condemned the actions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents after a confrontation with protestors captured on video.

Video shot Sunday at the U.S.-Mexico border is the subject of allegations being made against the federal agents by San Diego Dream Team, a local immigrant-led community group. 

What started as a protest over the possibility of adding more border security ended with what protesters are calling unprovoked violence.

"As I looked around I saw people being dragged by their feet," Alondra Garcia explained the shoving match that broke out at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Sunday afternoon. "I saw this gate being pushed into my face."

At one point, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers can be seen forcefully pushing a temporary metal fence into the crowd to move the protesters back.

The video released by the protesters does not show how the altercation started.

Garcia claims they had planned for a peaceful demonstration.

"I feared for my safety," she said.

On Monday, some of the people involved made claims that what happened in that video is not unusual behavior by officers at the border, but did not give specific examples.

"We're doing this because we just want our community to know that we know what happens," said Liz Arizona, San Diego Dream Team member.

"I can only imagine the violence that youth, women and children experience at the hands of these men when no one else is watching."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Sunday's protesters were "in an area blocking the exit to the pedestrian building", and that "These protesters did not request or obtain a permit required for access to the facility" according to a written release.

Alondra Garcia claims they were not blocking traffic, and were never asked to move until they were forced.

"So, obviously they should've given us a warning like if you guys don't step back we will use force to push you back. There was no warning," Garcia said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not say if the officers warned the protesters before trying to move them back.

The statement did say anyone who feels they were treated unprofessionally can file a formal complaint with the agency.