The East County man whose homemade explosive device killed his longtime girlfriend has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from her death.

Richard Dale Fox, 41, admitted Monday to felony charges of explosion of a destructive device and possession of ingredients to make an explosive device, which carry a prison sentence between six and ten years.

Fox was originally charged with murder in the March 2012 death of Jeanette Ogara, 38, his girlfriend of 11 years.

In a jailhouse interview with NBC 7, Fox said the couple had been drinking at their Potrero mobile home when he decided to light off fireworks from his cannon-like device – something he had done a dozen times before.

• READ: Marine Who Knew Missing Military Wife Arrested

He cut off the tops of the fireworks, poured the powder into his 26-inch pipe and stuffed it down with a broom handle.

But when he placed it on the ground and the device exploded, shrapnel went shooting through the side of the couple’s trailer, hitting Ogara in her chest.

“I just wish that the damn thing had hit me instead of her,” Fox had told NBC 7. “I would have much rather died than her.”

The District Attorney’s Office decided there was no evidence that Fox intended to kill Ogara, so the murder charge was dropped.

The couple’s then-4-year-old daughter was inside the trailer with three friends at the time, but they were not injured. Ogara and Fox also have a 13-year-old daughter.

Fox is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 15.

The sexually violent predator nicknamed the “Bolder than Most” rapist has made a surprise decision to spend at least a year at a mental hospital, forgoing his release for the time being.

Alvin Quarles, 51, was slated for parole late last year after serving 25 years of a 50 year-sentence for four counts of rape, as well as charges of burglary and robbery.

However, when they heard about his early release, his victims and the District Attorney’s office filed a petition to have him civilly committed to a state mental facility.

Quarles’ trial over the issue was set to begin Tuesday, but last week, the convict decided to admit to the allegation that he is a sexually violent predator.

• READ: Marine Who Knew Missing Military Wife Arrested

Two of his victims told NBC 7 Monday they are happy he will not be set free, but they’re still frustrated that his release was an option at all.

"No community, no community should have to live with this -- knowing that someone has a history of doing this is there with the opportunity to do this again,” said victim Mary Taylor.

Deputy DA Wendy Patrick said this case is unique because the women who were victims of Quarles’ in the 80s are still willing to have an active role in the case.

“It's true that these cases are battles of the experts because of the person's state of mind, but it was great to see two women brave enough to come forward and be involved,” said Patrick.

Quarles will be able to ask for release after one year in the state mental hospital. His victims and the DA’s office said they will continue to fight to keep him in custody

Police say they’ve charged a 48-year-old man in the strangling deaths of two women whose naked bodies were found in the woods on Long Island more than 20 years ago after detectives linked his DNA to the decades-old crime scenes.

John Bittrolff was arrested at his home in Manorville early Monday on two counts of second-degree murder, Suffolk County police say.

He’s charged in the deaths of 31-year-old Rita Tangredi and 20-year-old Colleen McNamee, whose bodies were found naked in the woods in Suffolk County in the early 1990s. Both women had been beaten and strangled to death, police say.

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Tangredi, who had no known address when she died, was discovered in the woods near Esplanade Drive in East Patchogue on Nov. 2, 1993. McNamee was from Holbrook and was found in the woods near William Floyd Parkway in Shirley on Jan. 30, 1994.

Police say that detectives originally assigned to the cases collected DNA evidence that connected the killings, but it wasn’t until earlier this year that investigators linked the samples to a suspect. 

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Police called Monday’s arrest significant and said that Bittrolff could be connected to other deaths on Long Island dating back to the 1990s.

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Bittrolff is in police custody and will be arraigned Tuesday. It’s not clear if he has an attorney.

Police are asking anyone with information about Bittrolff’s activities in the early 1990s to call Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

 Nearly two weeks after the tragic shooting that killed six family members in Houston, San Marcos residents are remembering the parents who once lived in the North County by raising money for their only surviving daughter.

People flooded into the Chick-Fil-A restaurant at 587 Grand Avenue Monday, where 20 percent of today’s proceeds will go to funeral expenses for the Stay family and to support 15-year-old Cassidy, the only member of her family to escape the shooting alive.

On July 9, Stephen and Katie Stay and their children Bryan, 13, Emily, 9, Rebecca, 7, and Zach, 4, were shot execution-style in their Texas home. Police say the suspect is Ronald Lee Haskell, the ex-husband of Katie’s sister.

"Their murders were horrible and I'm just very sad for their family and that something like that can happen to somebody,” said Tamber Moles Garcia, who grew up with Katie and organized the Chick-Fil-A fundraiser.

She and other supporters donned teal clothes at the benefit to remember the family. It was the color the Stays wore in a family photo that has circulated throughout the country.

After the fundraiser ends around 7 p.m. Monday, friends of the family plan to gather at Double Peak Park to for a balloon releasing ceremony.

"I hope that we'll have some closure and be able to all gather together to think of the memories we had with Katie and help her daughter move on with her life with all the support that we can give from our community as well as their community,” said Moles Garcia.

Although Cassidy did survive the shooting, she did not come away unscathed. The bullet shot at her grazed her head, but she was able to call police and tell them her ex-uncle was planning to kill her grandparents as well, investigators say.

Inspired by her bravery, people around the country have donated to a Go Fund Me account in Cassidy’s honor.

The fund has raised more than $360,000.

At a memorial service, Cassidy said she knows her family is in a much better place and that she’ll “see them again one day.”

Students of a San Diego-area middle school may have been exposed to tuberculosis months ago, county health officials announced Monday.

Free tuberculosis screening will be held Wednesday for students of La Mesa Middle School on Park Avenue.

A person at the school recently started treatment for tuberculosis and may have exposed students from April 23 to June 13, county health officials said. No information was given as to the person's role at the school.

Symptoms of TB range from a cough that won’t go away and a fever to night sweats. There is medication that can treat the disease.

• Read: What It Costs to Smuggle Someone Into the U.S.

The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) reports that it is working with the school to alert people who may have been exposed.

So far this year, there have been 84 cases of TB reported in the county. That’s far below the number of 206 reported the previous year.

For more information on this potential exposure, call the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District at (619) 668-5700 or the County TB Control Program at (619) 692-8621.
 

Medics responded Monday afternoon and rescued a baby locked in a truck in Otay Mesa.

San Diego police received a report at 12:40 p.m. about a two-year-old locked in a truck outside a McDonald's in the area of Siempre Viva Road and Roll Drive.

Border patrol agents responded and shattered a window to free the baby, though it took 30 minutes to remove him.

The boy was checked out by paramedics and is doing OK. His mother did not speak English and declined to be interviewed by NBC 7.

The circumstances surrounding the baby being locked in the car were not immediately clear.

Witnesses said they didn't know why the baby was left in the hot truck. They said the mom had tried for 20 minutes to free him unsuccessfully.

A driver wanted for reckless driving in Orange County led officers on a 100-mph pursuit along Interstate 5 before crashing into a guardrail in the North County on Monday.

California Highway Patrol officers from the San Juan Capistrano area began pursuing a 2007 PT Cruiser around 2 p.m. southbound along I-5 from Orange County.

Officials said the driver, 37-year-old Robert George Baker III of Trabuco Canyon, was under suspicion of reckless driving and driving under the influence .

The driver failed to pull over, officials said, and led CHP officers south into San Diego County.

Oceanside CHP officers took over the pursuit once the driver reached Harbor Boulevard. They tried to lay a spike strip in front of the PT Cruiser to slow it down, but Baker saw the strip and swerved around it, CHP says.

As he neared Encinitas, the driver intentionally made a hard turn right while going about 70 mph, according to officials.

When he swerved, he clipped the front of a 2011 Toyota Camry. The driver, a 63-year-old woman from Carmel Valley, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Scripps Encinitas Hospital.

Instead of breaking through the barrier, Baker's car got stuck on top of the rail just north of Encinitas Boulevard and sparked a fire, which CHP officers quickly put out. Officers then placed the suspect under arrest.

Officials say Baker told them he crashed into the guardrail to try to end his life. He was injured in the crash and taken to Scripps La Jolla Hospital for treatment. 

Once he is released, officers say he will face felony charges for evading and crashing.

It's unclear if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.

A San Diego woman pleaded guilty Monday to child endangerment charges in the drowning deaths of her two toddlers.

Two-year-old Jason Bradford, Jr. and 16-month-old Harley Bradford drowned May 13, 2013 in a pool at a home in unincorporated La Mesa.

Their mother, Tassie Behrens, initially pleaded not guilty to felony child endangerment charges but changed her plea Monday in San Diego Superior Court.

Behrens, 28, will be sentenced Sept. 17 and faces a sentence that could range from probation to a maximum of seven years and four months in prison.

Once she discovered the children face down in her friend's pool, Behrens made several decisions that hampered officials.

Instead of calling 911, she and her friend drove the children to a fire station 15 minutes away. 

She also lied to investigators about where the children died to cover up a marijuana growing operation inside the home, officials said.

The friend who owned the La Mesa home - Larry Dangelo - pleaded guilty to manufacturing of hash oil. He will be sentenced to five years in prison on Sept. 23.

 

A former Qualcomm division president pleaded guilty Monday to insider trader and money laundering in San Diego federal court after making nearly a quarter of a million dollars from illicit transactions, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Jing Wang, 51, the company’s former president of Global Business Operations, was indicted last year for using his insider knowledge of Qualcomm’s acquisition of Atheros Communications for illegal profits.

Court documents say in early 2010, Wang bought $277,739 of Qualcomm stock before the company announced an unexpected dividend increase and stock repurchase program.

Toward the end of the same year, Qualcomm made a non-public offer to purchase Atheros, and just hours later, Wang purchased Atheros stock while in Hong Kong, according to the DOJ.

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In January 2011, he then ordered his former Merrill Lynch stock broker Gary Yin to sell Atheros stock in a brokerage account held in the name of Unicorn Global Enterprises, an offshore entity.

The DOJ says using the proceeds from the sold Atheros stock, Yin bought Qualcomm stock on Wang’s behalf the day before the company announced record earnings.

The money laundering charges against Wang stem from his transferring more than $525,000 in illegal profits from the Unicorn account to another brokerage account in the British Virgin Island for Clearview Resources Ltd.

In his plea agreement, Wang also admitted to obstruction justice by conspiring with Yin and his brother, Bing Wang, to make up evidence and concoct a false cover story that Bing Wang carried out the trades.

• READ: Trial Date Set for Ex-Navy SEAL Facing Theft Charges

Bing Wang has been charged in the scheme, and an international arrest warrant on him remains outstanding. Federal officials believe he is living in China.

Yin has pleaded guilty to conspiring with the Wang brothers to obstruct justice and launder money, according to the DOJ, and his sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15.

Two Qualcomm sales directors have been charged with insider trading in the Qualcomm-Atheros deal as well.

A San Diego teenager claims she was kicked out of a math and science camp this summer due to her disability.

Devyn Solo, 13, who was born with cystic fibrosis, was so excited to be selected for an American Association of University Women (AAWU) camp this summer – run by the nationwide women's organization.

Like many young teens, Devyn has high hopes for an extraordinary future, despite the disease that causes breathing and digestive difficulties. The cystic fibrosis forces thick mucus to build up in Devyn’s lungs and pancreas.

But two 20-minute, self-administered treatments daily with a nebulizer and a vibrating vest help Devyn go about her life like any 13-year-old girl.

Still, on her way to that extraordinary future, she ran into an unexpected roadblock.

“She was treated like she had some kind of contagious disease,” Devyn’s mother, Rosalind Solo, said.

AAUW promotes on its website that it has been empowering women and girls since 1881, but Solo and her family said their experience was just the opposite.

Rosalind said her daughter was kicked out of summer camp by co-director Rozanne Child because of Devyn's disability.

As promoted in a video posted on the AAUW website, Tech Trek is a camp for seventh grade girls, meant to encourage and empower them to take on the challenges of a math and science-based course of study.

The weeklong overnight camp took place last June on UC San Diego's campus.

“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor,” Devyn said.

Devyn received a certificate and camp invitation after meeting the requirements, which included a teacher nomination, an AAUW interview and a written essay. In the paper, Devyn wrote about her disability.

“I have cystic fibrosis, and through the scientific advances, they might one day find a cure,” Devyn wrote.

“Incredibly proud; I’m just really proud of her,” Rosalind said.

That is one reason why Devyn was devastated when she said the camp director called after one day to tell her cystic fibrosis is just too complicated for the program, according to Rosalind.

Child has been the camp’s co-director for a number of years. NBC 7 Investigates asked her about the complaint, and over the phone, she said, "AAUW President Alicia Hetman told me to remain quiet during the investigation.”

Alicia Hetman is no longer the California AAUW president, but the incident occurred on her watch. We asked Hetman if camp directors receive any training for working with disabled kids.

“Because [Devyn] has come to you, it has forced me to go to my insurance company and my insurance company has asked me not to answer any questions at this time,” Hetman told NBC 7 Investigates.

Devyn was beaming for the camera in pictures taken that first day of camp. She saw it as an opportunity to test her abilities against girls without her disability, but she never got the chance.

“I don't feel as confident with my cystic fibrosis because she kicked me out. I don't want to tell people anymore,” Devyn said.

The AAUW’s Media Manager Lisa Goodnight gave this statement to NBC 7 Investigates:

"Tech Trek at the University of California, San Diego, is a locally run program of AAUW of California. While we don't know the particulars of this situation at this time, we do know that AAUW of California has a 16-year reputation of providing excellent STEM programming to girls throughout the state.”

Disability Rights California Senior Attorney Ron Elsberry told NBC 7 the group is subject to an anti-discrimination law that requires organizations to make reasonable accommodations for disabled participants.
 

One Bay Area couple can now say for certain their house is covered by insurance.

A 4,000-square-foot Geico insurance banner being towed by a plane came loose and fell directly on their house Friday in Fremont.

"I heard a thump," says Sarah Clark, who was inside when banner landed on her home. "When I looked out the front gate I thought it was pouring rain because it kind of made it look that way. And it sounded like a windstorm, or maybe rain, but I knew it wasn't raining."

When Clark looked out her back door that's when she saw the massive sign.

• PHOTOS: Geico Banner Lands on Fremont Home

"I saw a gigantic piece of fabric over the gazebo and I was thinking it's a parachute or hot air balloon," Clark says. 

Ameer Hassan was driving on Interstate 880 just a few miles away when he saw the sign fall.

"I saw the banner flying sideways and I've never seen anything like that before," Hassan says. "I didn't know if it was heavy enough to destroy anything."

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The pilot of the plane says he was trying out a new rope that failed to hold the sign. The FAA is investigating the incident.

A Stanford graduate has created a device to make it easier for women to use the restroom outdoors.

Sara Grossman has launched a startup company for her invention, the "Stand Up," a package that allows women to use the restroom -- standing up.

Women interviewed Tuesday have mixed opinions on the device, with some saying they would never use it and others in favor of using it, especially during camping trips.

• Huge Geico Insurance Banner Falls on Fremont Home

The Stand Up is available online.

Investigators Tuesday were piecing together the events leading up to the separate killings of an 86-year-old grandmother and her 58-year-old son-in-law in Moreno Valley, and a shootout that wounded a deputy.

• Updated Article: Body Found During Moreno Valley Manhunt

Riverside County sheriff's officials said the investigation was "fluid," but confirmed that the woman was shot dead in an SUV at a gas station on Sunnymead Ranch Road and Old Lake Drive. A few miles south, a man was killed at a home on Delphinium Avenue near Kitching Street.

• Updates: Download the NBCLA app

About 2:40 p.m, roughly 30 minutes after the woman's killing, a deputy who was responding to a call about an assault with a deadly weapon became involved in a gun battle with a gunman wearing body armor and firing an AR-15 rifle, sheriff's officials said.

"A Moreno Valley officer that was involved in that shooting was in fact injured by gunfire, but is at home and recovering. Fortunately, his injuries were not life-threatening," Moreno Valley Police Chief Joel Ontiveros.

He was recovering at home after being treated at a hospital.

Sheriff's officials said all three incidents were related, but did not say how.

Residents were urged to stay inside their homes during a manhunt in a rural area near Pigeon Pass Road and Old Lake Drive (map) for at least two gunmen carrying assault rifles. A description was not available.

• Photos: Moreno Valley Manhunt

Dozens of searchers in protective gear and toting assault rifles canvassed the area into the night.

"There are one or more suspects that remain outstanding and we hope to have them in custody soon," Ontiveros said.

Earlier, aerial footage showed SWAT members carrying someone down a hillside as others huddled around an armored vehicle parked along a dirt road.

Other deputies had their guns drawn as they surrounded a home perched on a hill.

Pigeon Pass Road and Old Lake Drive were shut down during the investigation.

The slain woman’s son, Randy Green, identified her as Wilma Patterson (pictured right). Green identified the man killed in the home as his brother-in-law, Derek Hardy.

"It's ridiculous and I don't know if this is connected. I don't know what's going on right now, we're clueless," he said.

Green said his mother "cared for everybody," gave away bicycles to neighborhood children and dreamed of opening a homeless shelter. She battled lupus and cancer.

He described his brother-in-law as a "good family man."

"All I know is that my mom is sitting over there dead, shot and it's going to spear me for the rest of my life and change the family, you know? Where do we go from here?" Green said.

Witnesses in the area of the gas station said they heard eight or nine shots fired, many of them striking the white SUV carrying Patterson. The driver side of the windshield was shattered by gunfire.

Robert Kovacik contributed to this report.

For those attending 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International, navigating downtown is a major part of the plan. So, whether you’re driving or taking public transit, here’s some information to get you there.

Given the scope of this massive pop culture event, taking the trolley may be your best option. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) will provide trolley service downtown, as usual, via its Green, Blue and Orange lines. Two stops on the Green Line – Convention Center and Gaslamp Quarter – are just steps away from the San Diego Convention Center.

MTS said trains are scheduled to travel to the Convention Center every seven-and-a-half minutes all day long, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., throughout Comic-Con weekend.

This year, MTS has launched a free “mTicket” app for smartphones that allows Comic-Con attendees to buy their trolley passes ahead of time and have their ticket ready to go on their phones. This way, attendees can avoid waiting in one less line at trolley stops.

For the full MTS Comic-Con 2014 trolley schedule, click here.

Meanwhile, attendees who plan to drive and park downtown may be able to snag a spot in one of Ace Parking’s many lots, including: Tailgate Park; Campus Lot; Triangle Lot; MTS Lot; 707 Broadway; Hilton Bayfront Garage; Convention Center; Padres Parkade; Diamond View Towers; Horton Plaza; and Gaslamp City Square.

Online sales for parking permits have already closed but attendees can still try their luck at the lots. Remember, downtown parking will be pricey, between $20 and $35 or more per vehicle, per day.

Meanwhile, Comic-Con will also offer a 24-hour free shuttle service to and from the Convention Center that stops at 60 locations in downtown, Mission Valley and hotels near San Diego International Airport, on Shelter Island and Harbor Island.

The shuttle service begins Wednesday from 3 p.m. to midnight and then starts its 24-hour service at 4:30 a.m. Thursday, running continuously through 7 p.m. Sunday. For shuttle frequency information, click here.

Once you’re downtown, your best bet is to walk around the Gaslamp Quarter if you plan to visit areas outside of the Convention Center. There will be taxis all over the place, but hailing a cab amid the Comic-Con crowds may require some superhero strength and determination.

Good luck out there!

A registered sex offender was arrested Monday after he allegedly forced himself on a woman, kissing and fondling her at her home in Jacumba, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department confirmed.

Deputies said John Wilson Kreischer, 68, was taken into custody on charges of burglary and sexual battery after he allegedly entered the home of a 70-year-old woman late Monday morning.

The victim told investigators Kreischer kissed and touched her for several minutes before he left her home. The woman contacted deputies and Kreischer was arrested shortly thereafter.

According to investigators, Kreischer is currently on California State parole stemming from a 2009 arrest for failing to register as a sex offender.

His criminal record cites his prior offenses, including rape with force and threat, lewd acts with a child under 14 and assault with an intent to commit a specified sex offense.

He was released in 2013 and is on GPS monitoring as a condition of his parole. The sheriff’s department said Kreischer has previously registered in the City of San Diego and as a transient in Lemon Grove.

These alleged sex charges are under investigation. Kreischer was booked into San Diego Central Jail and is set to appear in court Wednesday.

Anyone with information on Kreischer should contact the sheriff’s department at (858) 565-5200 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
 

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is using its power to keep Comic-Con attendees from visiting SeaWorld San Diego.

A provocative advertisement was posted this week near baggage claim in Terminal 2 at the San Diego International Airport, according to Bluewater Productions, who produced the ad for PETA. The 20-foot comic book-style cartoon shows SeaWorld’s CEO caught in the mouth of an orca whale and reads “he will let you go if you let him go.”

The $24,000 ad campaign is PETA’s latest attack against SeaWorld for keeping killer whales in captivity. The anti-SeaWorld movement ignited when the film “Blackfish” was released last year.

In a statement Tuesday, SeaWorld Public Relations Director Dave Koontz called the ad “tasteless” and said SeaWorld actually makes a difference in animals’ lives, not PETA:

Even by PETA’s standards, this ad is as offensive as it is tasteless. PETA isn’t concerned with actually helping animals. They are a radical organization that continues to spend its money on publicity stunts like the profane Jason Biggs video and advertising campaigns like this for the sole purpose of promoting their agenda. The truth is that our killer whales are healthy and happy, and thrive in our care. The real animal welfare organization is SeaWorld, not PETA, and our trainers, aviculturists, animal-care staff and veterinarians are the true advocates for animals. We encourage people to get the facts on our commitment to the animals in our care at seaworld.com/truth and seaworldcares.com.

• Read: Device Helps Women Use Restroom - Standing Up

SeaWorld has its own advertisements in both terminals at Lindbergh Field.

PETA sued after the airport’s advertising vendor refused an anti-SeaWorld ad earlier this year. The ad showed actress Kathy Najimy from the HBO show” Veep” saying, “Welcome to San Diego! If you love animals like I do, please avoid SeaWorld.''

The ad was displayed at the airport for four weeks at a cost of $17,500.

Comic-Con runs July 24 to 27 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Just days after a congressional staffer was arrested for allegedly bringing a gun into the Cannon House Office Building, a second man has been arrested for the same offense, police said.

U.S. Capitol Police told News4 that officers discovered a 9mm Ruger handgun during an administrative search at the entrance to Cannon's rotunda. It happened around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday.

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Ronald William Prestage has been charged with carrying a pistol without a license, said police spokesperson Shennell Antrobus. 

Prestage is not a congressional staffer. RollCall.com reported that he is a veterinarian and farm operator who is also president-elect of the National Pork Producers Council. He may have been on Capitol Hill to lobby on agriculture issues, the site reportedm.

He has a concealed carry permit in South Carolina, according to records, reported RollCall.com.

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Prestage's arrest came five days after Ryan Shucard, the press secretary for Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, was taken into custody and charged with carrying a pistol without a license, a felony.

"It was a total accident," Shucard told News4's Darcy Spencer Friday afternoon.

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Earlier this week, he pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Bill Tighe, the congressman's chief of staff, said Shucard has been placed on unpaid leave.

A motorcyclist was struck and killed on Interstate 15 in north San Diego Tuesday and California Highway Patrol officials are now searching for the hit-and-run driver involved in the crash.

According to the CHP, the fatal collision happened around 5:40 p.m. on northbound I-15, north of State Route 76.

Investigators said a 28-year-old San Diego man was riding his 2011 Yamaha R-1 motorcycle and, as he attempted to split traffic between two lanes, was struck by a cream-colored sedan changing lanes.

The impact caused the motorcyclist to be ejected onto the roadway, where he was then struck by a box truck, investigators said. The motorcyclist sustained fatal injuries.

CHP officials said the sedan involved in the crash fled the scene. Investigators said the vehicle should have damage on the passenger’s side door near the front. Some blue paint may have also transferred onto the sedan as a result of the crash

Investigators said the driver was described as a man in his 30s. He had a passenger in his car described as a man with blond hair and a red goatee.

The hit-and-run remains under investigation. Anyone with information should contact the CHP Oceanside office at (760) 757-1675 or the CHP Communications Center at (858) 637-3800.

The victim's name was not immediately released.
 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all United States flights to Tel Aviv for 24 hours on Tuesday and the halt directly impacted one San Diego family who got stuck in Israel.

The FAA grounded all U.S. flights in response to a rocket strike near the main airport. When the federal mandate came, the Spiegel family knew it’d be a while before they were able to return home to San Diego.

In a phone interview, Avi Spiegel – a University of San Diego assistant professor – told NBC 7 that he, his wife and 6-year-old daughter were stranded in Tel Aviv after two of their flights were canceled.

Spiegel was wrapping up a research trip with his family in tow when they heard the news. They were supposed to fly home Tuesday on US Airways but on their way to the airport the family learned all U.S. airline carriers had grounded their flights to Tel Aviv.

Spiegel said he tried booking a flight on a European carrier, but they were grounded too. He spent hours on hold with various airline companies trying to rebook his flight to no avail.

The USD professor said the ordeal has been hectic and frightening. He said he wouldn’t have taken the trip if he had known his family would end up in a war zone.

"It's chaotic. One of the airlines said, ‘Listen, we’d like to help you, but we're simultaneously trying to get our own people out. We have passengers, we have crews, we have pilots,’” Spiegel explained.

“I'm talking to the airline the same time a siren is going off – the app on my phone tells me when sirens go off. It's alarming,” he continued.

Spiegel said the only upside to this is that hotel rooms are easy to come by since there are not many tourists currently in the area.

Still, for now, he has no idea when his family will be able to return home.

"The [odds] don't sound hopeful. The last word from the airlines was that they're showing nothing – no flights even offering tomorrow,” said Spiegel. “The earliest they could get us on a flight was Friday so we're just continuing to check back and get back as soon as we can."

US Airways and Delta, among many U.S. airlines, announced they had canceled all flights to Israel Tuesday. Delta released the following statement:

Delta has suspended service until further notice to and from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv and its New York-JFK hub. Delta, in coordination with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, is doing so to ensure the safety and security of our customers and employees.

Delta flight 468, a Boeing 747 from JFK with 273 passengers and 17 crew, diverted to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Tuesday after reports of a rocket or associated debris near the airport in Tel Aviv. Delta is working to re-accommodate these customers.

Delta continues to work closely with U.S. and other government resources to monitor the situation. A customer waiver for travel to Tel Aviv is in effect and published on delta.com.

According to the Associated Press, an Israeli police spokesman said a rocket fell three miles from the airport earlier in the day, but said he was not aware of any immediate situation at the time the Delta flight was diverted.

More than 600 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began, and another 3,700 have been wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Twenty-seven Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the operation, which has included attacks on nearly 3,000 targets in Gaza, according to the Israeli army.

The Padres’ latest call-up is more than just your typical minor-league prospect, and he might make things a little bit more interesting in the clubhouse.

Jeff Francoeur, 30, is expected to join the team in Chicago on Wednesday after his promotion from the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. He takes the place of Cameron Maybin, who was suspended for 25 games on Tuesday for violating the league's drug policy.

The outfielder is a major league veteran, having played in parts of nine seasons with the Braves (2005-09), Mets ('09-10), Rangers ('10), Royals ('11-13) and Giants ('13).

The man they call Frenchy is also the victim of a couple of recent pranks that were recorded by his Chihuahuas teammates and include current Padres Carlos Quentin, Brooks Conrad and Kevin Quackenbush.

• Read: Padres Outfielder Suspended 25 Games

In the first one, the rest of the team convinces Francoeur that teammate Jorge Reyes is deaf – a ruse that went on for more than a month. That video has more than 1 million views on YouTube.

In the second video, posted recently, teammates lock Francoeur in the bathroom, forcing him to crawl through the ceiling in order to escape.

Needless to say, the addition should liven things up during an otherwise dismal season.

As for his on-field acumen, Francoeur has a .268 career batting average. He won a Gold Glove in 2007 while with Atlanta, also driving in more than 100 runs in both ’06 and ’07.

He hit .294 with 15 home runs and 60 RBIs for El Paso this season.

Francoeur was released by the Cleveland Indians before the start of the season and signed a minor-league deal with the Padres in March.