A fugitive who slipped his GPS monitor and escaped into Mexico was arrested in Tijuana Friday, accused of a violent home invasion in California’s Kern County.

Isaac Alawdi – a 32-year-old convicted sex offender – allegedly stabbed an elderly Vietnam veteran in the neck as he tried to get into a Bakersfield home in November 2012, according to local media reports.

He was charged with burglary in that case and released on a bond with a GPS monitor.

However, on June 6, 2013, Alawdi escaped the monitor and apparently ran to Mexico, U.S. Marshals say.

The suspect was arrested by Tijuana Police Friday after he showed them a fake Mexican ID card.

When Marshals informed Mexican officials of Alawdi’s fugitive status, they turned him over to U.S. Marshals’ custody Saturday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Alawdi was booked into the San Diego Central Jail on a charge of violation of parole. U.S. Marshals say he should appear in San Diego County court on Monday.

Thousands of Palestinian supporters gathered along Michigan Avenue Saturday to call for an end to the violence as fighting between Gaza and Israel continued Saturday.

Police estimate bout 8,000 demonstrators marched to Chicago's Federal Plaza calling for "peace with justice."

"My message is to stop the killing of Palestinians and to end the occupation," said Deena Kishawi, whose family is from Gaza.

Kishawi is attending college in Chicago, but said the crisis became even more personal for her after her cousin was killed in the conflict.

"My cousin was not a military person," she said. "He was a civilian and he died from an attack by Israel."

The protest comes as news that an attempted truce was rejected by Hamas officials Saturday.

Hamas militants fired three more rockets into Israel from Gaza Saturday, Israel's military said, after a Hamas official said the group rejected an Israeli proposal to extend a cease-fire by four more hours, NBC News reported.

The Palestinian death toll rose above 1,047, as 147 bodies were pulled from the rubble Saturday, Palestinian health official Asraf al-Kidra said. Israel has lost 40 soldiers and two civilians.

Among the Saturday protesters was Lynn Pollack, with the Jewish Voice for Peace, who said she is "horrified" by the violence taking place.

"I call on my fellow Jewish-Americans to stand up against what is happening and say you don't want it in your name," she said.

Saturday's protest is one of many to be held in Chicago over the last week.

A pro-Israel rally Tuesday turned into a face-off with Palestinian supporters.

About 500 demonstrators gathered in front of the office of the Consulate General of Israel, at 500 W. Madison St., in a call for peace. That country's military forces since July 8 have been fighting Hamas militants.

Across the street, about 100 people gathered to support the Palestinian people. Police kept the crowds separate but said one arrest was made.

The Palestinians say Israel is randomly deploying a wide array of modern weaponry against Gaza's 1.7 million people, inflicting a heavy civilian death toll and destroying large amounts of property there.

"We're not anti-Israel. We're not pro-Hamas. But we're pro-saving these children," said Sohni Singh, who stood with the rally organized by the Coalition for Justice in Palestine.

The U.S., Israel and the European Union all consider Hamas a terrorist organization. The United Nations does not.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday ordered all U.S. airline carriers to halt flights in and out of Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport because of a Hamas rocket attack nearby.

Israel and the U.S. back an unconditional cease-fire proposal that has been offered by Egypt, which would be followed by talks on a possible new border arrangement for Gaza. Israel and Egypt have severely restricted movement in and out of Gaza since Hamas seized the territory in 2007.

Profanity-filled protests broke out Saturday outside the Ramona main stage theater as demonstrators heckled controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a guest speaker at a Tea Party event.

Arpaio’s tough stance on the country's borders and non-conventional law enforcement gained praise among Tea Partiers, while gaining criticism from immigration rights activists.

"Most people support a path to legalization and yet a few racists like these and Joe Arpaio continue to succeed in getting more troops placed on the border," said protester Avery Wear.

Arpaio broke from an interview with NBC 7 to engage the demonstrations.

“Do you want to hear my side?” Arpaio asked the demonstrator. “No, we know your side. It’s full of hate,” the demonstrator responded.

Arpaio finally addressed his audience inside as the protesters eventually left.

"That's why I crack down on that subject matter and crackdown on all the drugs coming into our country from Mexico and I do go public and talk about all the heat I'm taking just because I'm trying to my job." Arpaio said.

Arpaio has been elected sheriff of Maricopa County six times and has a reputation for believing in old-fashioned punishment. As head of the nation's third largest sheriff's office, he is known for his tent city, chain gangs and pink underwear provided to inmates. Years ago, when Arpaio learned that inmates were stealing jailhouse white boxers, he had all inmates' underwear dyed pink.

At Saturday’s speaking event, he even signed some onlookers’ pink underwear.

With fans growling for answers to Season 3 finale cliffhangers, producers of NBC’s “Grimm” didn’t let much slip about the future of everyone’s favorite Portland PD gang during their San Diego Comic-Con panel.

But they did reveal one detail: we haven’t seen the last of Capt. Sean Renard.

"I think we're going to try to find some sort of interesting way to bring him back to life," said Renard actor Sasha Roiz Saturday, dressed appropriately enough in "resurrection white," as moderator Mary McNamara pointed out.

Roiz joined fellow cast members and the show’s executive producers to discuss what led them to this point – and how they will move forward.

The Comic-Con event opened with an exclusive clip from the Wesen wedding of Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee Calvert (Bree Turner), with friends creating a playful “home video” to wish the happy(ish) couple well.

There we find Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) drunk and mournful about not being married, Nick (David Giuntoli) reflecting on that time he saw Monroe emerge from the shower au naturel, a diabolical Adalind (Claire Coffee) contemplating stealing the couple's first-born child, a thoroughly perplexed Hank (Russell Hornsby), Sgt. Drew Wu (Reggie Lee) bitterly munching on donuts without a wedding invite and a shirt-ripping moment of rage from Renard.

After the light-hearted clip, executive producers David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf and Norberto "Bert" Barba fielded questions about where they want to take the show in Season 4.

The answer: not even they know.

"We keep writing ourselves into corners and then we have to figure out how to get out of them," said Kouf.

This year, those corners were plentiful as Adalind lost her child, a fellow Grimm named Trubel came into Portland and Nick lost his powers.

Giuntoli confessed he hopes his character's Wesen-spotting powers are returned so he does not have to rely on Trubel to be his "seeing-eye Grimm." Still, the producers promised we will definitely be getting into more Trubel.

As for Adalind's plot, "there will be some baby seen, that's for sure," teased Greewalt.

But it remains to be seen if Juliette can forgive Nick for his unintentional affair with Adalind, though Tulloch joked that it would be hard to say no to his pretty face.

Starting with the first episode of the new season, show runners will continue to add to the list of some 80 Wesen creatures introduced thus far (for those having a hard time keeping track, there's an entire wiki devoted to the creepy crawlers of "Grimm").

"We're gonna see some great new ones next season," said Greenwalt, "and particularly coming in the first couple of episodes: a character who steals your identity but in a very disgusting way."

And as the season develops, we'll get some insight on those mysterious keys.

"We have another key this year, and year 5 for sure, and we will answer what those damn set of keys mean and what they lead to," said Greenwalt.

The panel also revealed some fun facts about the show's development:

• Juliette's character was initially written as a baker, not a veterinarian. "I was just imagining these scenes," said Tulloch. "I got a trainer that summer. For like two months, I was in such great shape, and I thought I was gonna throw muffins and sauce at everyone and be like this really bad ass baker." However, the writers quickly ran out of ideas for a baker plot, so they made her into a veterinarian, whose skills fit better with the "Scooby squad" -- Tulloch's term for the group.
   
• Mitchell never expected his character Monroe to have a love interest. "There was talk of like, 'Hey, we're going to find you a love interest,'" said Mitchell. "And I don't know how many of you know what my resume looked like before this show, but love interest was not a phrase that was often bandied about in reference to things I was doing." He was thrilled to find out his better half would be played by Turner. But while things came together fairly simply for Monroe and Rosalee, Mitchell predicted things will not be as easy for the two next season.
   
• If you become perplexed about how to pronounced the difficult, German-based names of the Wesen, the cast is right there with you. They all agreed it usually comes down to "how would Silas say it?"
   
• The character of Drew Wu was not originally written into the show. Lee came before the producers to audition for a separate role, and they liked his acting and comedic timing so well they wrote a character for him.

To get the answers to many questions left unanswered and teased by the Comic-Con panel, Season 4 of "Grimm" premieres October 24 on NBC.

Comic-Con brings some of the most recognized comic book artists to San Diego. This year, a truly jaw-dropping artist and writer is Larime Taylor, who uses his mouth instead of his hands to create his masterpieces.

“I was born with Arthrogryposis,” Taylor, of Top Cow Productions, explained. “It basically affects the development of the joints in utero, meaning your arms and legs don’t develop properly. So I draw with my mouth.”

Taylor has been drawing with his mouth since he was a child. He says he discovered his talent when he used to draw for fun as a kid, just like everyone else.

From the start, his unique ability has never failed to bring in a crowd of enthusiastic spectators, which Taylor said helped inspire him to pursue art as a career.

“People generally tend to be surprised,” Taylor noted. “If I draw here at the booth, a crowd will form and people will start to watch and I like that. But it does seem to catch people off guard.”

Refusing to let his disability limit his talent and his passion, Taylor perfected his craft amidst the challenges. He said that because of his disability, he did not have the luxury of learning in conventional ways.

Unlike most artists, Taylor could not look at a model standing in front of him while simultaneously drawing, which posed great challenges in his art education.

“When I draw my face is two inches from the paper,” Taylor said. “I learned by basically reading ‘How to Draw’ books.”

But Taylor embraced the challenge. He found ways to produce quality work, eventually creating his own comic book series, “A Voice in the Dark.”

For a while, Taylor became the master of pen and paper. He reached artistic abilities paralleling those of many other comic book artists, but this was no easy task. Taylor was forced to draw in uncomfortable, hunched positions while he continually shifted the paper and switched pens.

Five years ago, he was given a Wacom Cintiq tablet. With the tablet, Taylor has moved into the digital age and he is able to now draw with much greater ease. He said the technology changed his work, his career and his life.

“It’s digital, so I draw directly on the computer screen now,” he explained. “That tablet made it possible for me to do what I want to do.”

Taylor works with Top Cow Productions, a company that publishes his comic book series. Taylor’s publisher, Matt Hawkins, believes that Taylor’s addition to Top Cow has only been a benefit to the company and that his disability has in no way limited his abilities.

“We never really factored that negatively,” Hawkins said. “If anything, it was just a triumph of spirit. It was almost encouraging. It was a plus for us because the work was good and the story was great.”

Taylor’s employment means more to him than a successful contract and a rewarding paycheck.

“I can be self-sufficient—I have a possible career,” Taylor said. “I have something that I can do in life that will help me pay the bills and get somewhere. I may have a future.”

But Taylor hopes that his story of success touches the lives of more than those he works with. He shares his journey in hopes that others with disabilities will see potential to rise above their challenges.

“If me having done this makes it easier for them because I’ve opened some doors, great,” Taylor said. “Do whatever you can. Whatever your skill is, figure out a way to do it in a way that helps you. Don’t shy away from that.”

To view Larime Taylor’s work, visit his personal website or you can search for his comic on the Top Cow website.
 

A Philadelphia man is on life support after police say he shot and killed his son, critically injured his girlfriend and then turned the gun on himself.

Investigators say 26-year-old Shyema Washington and her 5-year-old son were attending a family member's birthday party at an apartment complex on the 1100 block of Haverford Road in Ridley Township Saturday night.

Police say the boy's father and Washington's boyfriend Tyrell Styles, 26, of Philadelphia arrived at the party to pick up his son around 11:30 p.m. Washington went inside the apartment to get her son, according to investigators. When she came back outside, Styles allegedly pulled out a Ruger 9 mm and opened fire.

Washington was struck once in the mouth, twice in the buttocks and once in the midsection. Styles then allegedly pointed the gun at his own son and fired two shots. The boy was struck once in the forehead and once in the ankle. Styles then fled the scene in a white Pontiac Grand Prix, according to police.

Responding officers chased after Styles, leading to a collision on Chester Pike and Oak Avenue in which two other drivers suffered minor injuries. Police say Styles continued to drive off until he arrived at a dead end on the 300 block of Brainerd Boulevard in Sharon Hill. As officers got out of their cars to approach him, investigators say Styles turned the gun on himself and fired one shot.

The 5-year-old boy was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. Washington was also taken to Crozer-Chester where she is currently in critical condition.

Styles was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is currently on life support.

According to police, Styles and Washington were undergoing domestic issues prior to the shooting. They also say Styles legally owned the gun he used in the shooting. 

A live-streaming, high-definition "turtle webcam" positioned on a beach in the Florida Keys has recorded the hatch of about 100 baby loggerhead sea turtles.

The webcam has been focused on the nest in the Lower Keys for almost two weeks. Friday evening, the 3-inch-long babies erupted from a hole, came out en masse and headed to the Atlantic Ocean under dim moonlight.

The camera uses infrared lighting so hatchlings won't be confused by artificial light and will go to sea — guided by moonlight reflecting on the water -- instead of pushing further onto land.

"This webcam is high-definition, the first time ever used (to record a turtle hatch), and also an infrared IR-emitting light that is so important because it does not disturb any of the activities of the turtle trying to find the ambient light of the moon," said Harry Appel, president of the Keys-based Save-a-Turtle organization, that helped to coordinate the webcam in partnership with the Florida Keys tourism council that funded the effort.

The webcam is part of ongoing efforts in the Keys to raise awareness of sea turtles and the need to protect them.

"It's so important here in the Keys to protect these nests and these turtles," Appel said. "They've been around for millions, maybe hundreds of millions, of years."

Loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill and Kemp's ridley sea turtles nest on beaches in the Keys and other parts of Florida, and inhabit Florida and Keys waters. All five species are considered either threatened or endangered.

The webcam was approved by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

To view the webcam and recording of the turtles hatching, visit www.fla-keys.com/turtlecam.

Editor's Note: NBC Chicago includes shootings that took place between 6 p.m. Friday and 12 a.m. Monday in the weekend violence report.

Shootings Saturday and Sunday increased the total number of people shot in Chicago over the weekend to 23.

Casualties over the weekend include a 13-year-old boy who was shot and killed at about 6 p.m. Friday in the 700 block of South California Avenue. Six others were also wounded in a shooting that witnesses say was a drive-by.

"As a result again of guns being introduced into what otherwise would have been a fist fight, we have seven kids shot ... and one of theme dead," Chicago Police superintendent Garry McCarthy said Sunday.

"At the end of the day if we stem the flow of guns coming in and we put people in jail for possession of firearms, we'll see the murder rate and violent in this city plummet."

A 3-year-old was also critically wounded Friday night when he was shot at about 10:15 p.m. in the 4400 block of South Sacramento Avenue. The bullet struck the young boy in his abdomen and exited through his hip, officials said. Police say the child's mother's boyfriend was the intended target.

Eight beachgoers were hospitalized, two with critical injuries, after a lightning strike in Venice and a man was reportedly struck by a bolt in Avalon, fire officials said.

• Updates: Download the NBCLA app

Firefighters responded around 2:20 p.m. Sunday to reports of injuries stemming from a lightning strike in the 3500 block of South Ocean Front Walk, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Thirteen people were checked out by firefighters at the scene. Eight of them were taken to the hospital, including seven adults and a teenager, the LAFD said.

All of the victims were in or near the water when lighting struck.

In Avalon, the lightning strike victim was preliminarily identified as a 57-year-old man.

Monsoon conditions moving in from Arizona were expected to bring small amounts of rain -- up to a quarter-inch -- all throughout Los Angeles County through the evening, according to David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

“There is that potential for brief heavy amounts,” Sweet said of the rain. “In most places it will be small.”

In Avalon, about two-thirds of an inch was recorded in about 30 minutes, weather officials said. One man was apparently injured in a lightning strike and minor flooding reported in the area, according to wire reports.

After a cloudy night, the sun was expected to be out again Monday. Temperatures were expected in the mid to upper 70s inland areas and 80s and 90s inland.

Weather officials said the rainfall was too localized to make any dent in the state's ongoing drought crisis.

After Amy and Ian said "I do," they never thought their wedding photo shoot would go viral.

"It just started taking on a life of its own," said the groom's mother, Suzanne Hicks. " It was like a domino effect."

The groom, originally from South Florida, and his bride from Michigan wed during Memorial Day weekend in Detroit. The couple and their bridal party quickly gained fame after a photo of them went viral, accompanied by a message snapshot where a woman texted a wedding photo shoot invite to the wrong person. The stranger then responded, "We Still Coming".

"The 'we still coming' text message was like a hoax, it was fake. Somebody somehow got a hold of this picture -- we don't know where or how -- and they put this fake text with it," said Hicks.

Although the text is fake, there is a real story behind the photo. The best man says they stopped at Michigan Central Station to take wedding pictures and upon arriving a rap group named 7262 was filming a music video at the same spot.

"We were in a good mood, we were all celebrating the wedding and we went over there to say what's up," said Mike Maloney, the best man. "They said they were filming. We said let's hear the song and then one thing led to another, we made friends with them, started dancing with them, and the next thing we know we're on all these internet sites."

Since its July 1st upload, 7262's "Anthem" video already has nearly 200,000 views. The best man says it was an unexpected collaboration; however, they were practicing their moves prior to the video anyway.

"I mean, we were definitely ready to dance cause we were there for a wedding. So we were ready to dance for the reception so we were already working on our moves before that," said Maloney.

A motorcyclist has died after colliding with an SUV in San Marcos early Sunday morning.

San Diego County Sheriff's Officials say the motorcyclist was riding on Las Flores Drive when he was struck by a Toyota 4Runner that was heading westbound on S. Santa Fe Avenue around 1:20 a.m.

The motorcyclist flew off his bike, continued down the road and hit the south curb of S. Santa Fe Avenue. 

When deputies arrived, they found the 30-year-old motorcyclist dead at the scene.

The driver of the Toyota tried to flee down the road, but deputies later located him at the intersection of Bosstick Boulevard and S. Santa Fe Avenue, according to sheriff's officials. 

The suspect has since been arrested for felony hit-and-run, gross vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence. 

If you witnessed the crash, San Marcos deputies ask that you call 760-510-5042.

Passersby were hit by a car Saturday evening while the annual Comic-Con Zombie Walk took over downtown San Diego, the San Diego Police Department confirmed, and the whole incident was caught on cell phone video.

Police said a deaf family with small children in the black Honda Accord was stopped near 2nd and Island avenues just after 5:30 p.m., waiting for participants of the Zombie Walk to cross.

After several minutes the 48-year-old father slowly rolled forward, trying to get out of the area.

According to the SDPD, several people from the crowd of zombies allegedly surrounded the car and began punching it. Police said the car windshield was shattered by the crowd.

The family was frightened, police said, so the father drove forward again. As he drove, he struck a 64-year-old woman with the side of his car.

In a video posted to YouTube, you can see the woman in a pink shirt -- who was not part of the zombie march -- falling under the car and sustaining a serious arm injury.

The zombie crowd then chased the driver on foot as the family drove toward a police officer down the street, officials said. The driver stopped when he arrived at the location of the police officers.

Officials said the victim was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. She’s expected to recover.

Two other people were also left with minor injuries. 

The car's driver has been cited, but he will not be criminally charged. The incident remains under investigation by police. 

However, witnesses in the crowd give a very different account. 

After watching the scene, Sean Foley told NBC 7 the Honda driver started honking incessantly as he was stuck behind the several pedicabs and vehicles leading up to the parade on 2nd Avenue. 

When he started inching forward, a parade watcher sat on his hood, Foley said. As the driver continued to accelerate, others stood in front of the car. 

"People began shouting for him to stop so as not to run through a parade that included [sic] children and babies in strollers at which point he floored his car through the crowd," Foley wrote in an email.

Diana Jackson, who said she was about 10 people away, told NBC 7 on Facebook that the driver took off with such aggression "that his tires squealed."

Counter to police information, Foley said the driver's window was broken after he hit people, not before. 

"The only reason he was surrounded by a crowd who was angry was because he was pushing his car through a crowd that was trying to watch the parade," said Foley.

Foley said the woman who suffered the arm injury was run over by both the front and back wheels. 

According to the Twitter page for the SDZombieWalk, participants of the event had nothing to do with the incident. Many tweeted that they were stunned by the turn of events at the walk and wished a speedy recovery to woman injured in the incident.

Organizers released another video that shows "no zombies touching the car that we can see" and nobody beating the car, according to ZombieWalk's post on its Facebook page.

Thunder was cracking along San Diego’s coast Sunday, threatening rain across the county.

Several storms developed from downtown to North County beginning around 8:30 a.m.

According to NBC 7 Meteorologist Greg Bledsoe, the thunderstorms were caused by the stream of monsoonal moisture that’s been flowing up from the south over the past few days.

Bledsoe said it is unusual to see summer thunderstorms drift as far west as the coast. Usually during this time of year, San Diego County only feels more humidity with a chance for thunderstorms over the mountains and inland valleys.

A number of power outages have been reported from Point Loma to Encinitas, according to the SDG&E outage map, though it's unclear if those outages are due to weather.

As of noon Sunday, 483 customers are without power in the Encinitas area, 688 in the Torrey Pines and University City areas and 157 in the Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliffs and Point Loma region. 

Joe Ruvido, a San Diego resident for over 24 years, shared with NBC 7 on Twitter that he “can’t ever recall a t-storm like this along the coast!”

• San Diego's Most Accurate Forecast

So far, the amount of rainfall recorded has been minimal.

Solana Beach was the only weather station reporting any measureable rainfall with a little more than a tenth of an inch as of 10:00 a.m.

Multiple NBC 7 viewers have reported heavy rain and lighting in Del Mar, Carlsbad, Mission Valley, Hillcrest and Pacific Beach. Light showers briefly moved over downtown around 8:30 a.m.

Lynda Mantle sent NBC 7 an update on Facebook this morning about the thunderstorm in Solana Beach. She said it was “pouring and the thunder shook my apartment! The lightning looks like it’s right here too.”

• Get Severe Weather Alerts

Bledsoe said the chance for thunderstorms will continue throughout Sunday and actually increase a little later this afternoon as the weather heats up.

On Monday, there will be a slight chance for more thunderstorms, but the rest of the week looks drier as the moisture tapers off.

Share your pictures and videos of the storm with us on our Facebook page or tweet them using the hashtag #NBC7. You can also upload them online here. 

Police arrested an Uber driver a woman accused of sexually assaulting her earlier this month.

Police charged 31-year-old Reshad Chakari of Alexandria, Virginia, with second-degree sexual abuse.

On July 20, police went to the 1400 block of Rhode Island Avenue NW where a 25-year-old woman reported that an Uber driver sexually assaulted her. She had several drinks at a nightclub while celebrating her birthday and passed out in the car, News4's Darcy Spencer reported. According to the police report, the woman said Chakari touched her while she was sleeping in the car.

D.C. Council member Mary Cheh said she wants to make sure these drivers are not preying on women. While Uber is required to perform background checks on drivers, that may not be enough, Cheh said. She said installing panic buttons in cars could help.

"Rider safety is Uber's #1 priority. We take reports like this seriously and are treating the matter with the utmost urgency and care," said Taylor Bennett, spokesperson for Uber Technologies. "It is also our policy to immediately suspend a driver’s account following any serious allegations, which we have done. We stand ready to assist authorities in any investigation.”

Stay with News4 and NBCWashington for more on this developing story.

A relief group official says two American aid workers have tested positive for the Ebola virus while working to combat an outbreak of the deadly disease at a hospital in Liberia.

Ken Isaacs, a vice president of Samaritan's Purse, told The Associated Press on Sunday that 33-year-old Dr. Kent Brantly was stable and in very serious condition.

Brantly is the medical director for the group's Ebola care center on the outskirts of the Liberian capital of Monrovia and has been diagnosed with the very disease he was trying to help fight.

Isaacs identified the second American, Nancy Writebol, as a worker with an allied aid group SIM, or Serving in Mission, which runs the hospital. He said she was in stable and serious condition.

He said both Americans have since been isolated and are under intensive treatment.

Friends of Brantly told NBC 5 he is not only  a great person but is also a great doctor.

“Kent is a humble family man, soft-spoken yet deep thoughts and very intelligent,” said Jason Brewington, a friend and colleague from John Peter Smith Hospital.

Brewington helped supervise Brantly during his four–year residency in maternal health and family medicine at JPS Hospital in Fort Worth. But, their story doesn’t start there. The men’s wives were friends years before the Brantlys moved to North Texas. Brewington describes his friend as man devoted to the Lord.

“In this case when you’re called to do something, to go somewhere, you have two options — either to answer that call or not,” Brewington said.

Brantly, a father of two, answered. Brewington said he worked on various missions all across the world but most recently worked in Haiti, Nigeria and Tanzania.  

“He and his wife, I think before they even met, knew they wanted to do missions, and they have always lived their lives with that in mind at some point they would be on the mission field in a hospital doing what no one else wants to do,” Brewington said.

“That’s a calling not everyone has — it’s a passion that not everyone has and I’m glad to be a part of Kent and Amber’s family in that regard.”

At the Southside Church of Christ where the Brantly Family are members, Brantly has been added to the prayer list.

“When we heard about the fact that he had come down with the virus we were all very touched, and one of the first things that we do is get him on a prayer list because we believe the avenue for this healing of this particular virus, which there is no cure for, is God," said Keith Crow, member of Southside Church of Christ.

"God is going to have to pull him through it."

A mother who was recently reunited with her missing teen daughter after nine months says she was overcome with emotion when the 15-year-old returned home just over a week ago.

“We just stood there, looking at each other, and then we hugged and I just said ‘thank God you’re home. Thank God you’re home',” Zenya Hernandez said in an exclusive interview with “Today."

Abigail Hernandez was returning home from school when she disappeared last October. Her family believes she was abducted by a stranger.

While the Hernandez family and the police are still searching for answers to what led to the teen's disappearance, her mother dispelled rumors that her daughter was pregnant or ran away. Zenya Hernandez said that when Abigail returned home on July 20, she had lost a significant amount of weight and appeared pale. 

“She had a look in her eyes I have never ever seen before. And that’s something that’s haunting me, and I think it will haunt me for the rest of my life,” Hernandez said.

The Hernandez family released a statement Monday morning on their web site BringAbbyHome.com with more details about their daughter's recovery.

"Right now, Abby is resting, extremely tired and in deteriorated health, and has lost a lot of weight. She is working to build her strength back and we hope soon she will be back on solid foods," the family said.
According to "Today," Abigail released a statement thanking those who aided in the search for her.

“My gratitude is beyond words. It’s an incredible feeling to be home, and I believe in my heart that your hopes and prayers played a major role in my release," the statement read.

Details remain confidential during the investigation into Abigail’s disappearance and nine-month absence, but New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph Foster said in a statement that law enforcement officers are working to obtain satisfactory answers. Authorities have issued a call for help in identifying a man they believe may have been connected to the disappearance.

“I feel like they just took and ripped something out of our souls.” Abigail’s mother said. “And just as I swore I’ll find her, I’ll find the person, I’ll find out what happened.”

Kevin Bacon's "Six Degrees" world got even bigger Sunday at Comic-Con.

During a Sunday panel for his Fox show "The Following," a fan brought up the pop culture game known as "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," whose premise is anyone in Hollywood can be linked to the actor. She wondered if by talking to him she could then be a part of his universe.

Bacon said that technically you need to be in a movie with him to be connected in the "Six Degrees" world.

The actor then stood up and took a video of the crowd in the San Diego Convention Center's 6,500-seat Hall H.

He also got laughs when a young girl told him she loved him in the 2011 movie "Crazy Stupid Love."

"Thank you for loving me for such a long time, I guarantee you that I have socks that are older than you, but time is relative," Bacon said.

In "The Following," Bacon plays an FBI agent who hunts down killers. He spent the first two seasons tracking a psychotic murderer, played by James Purefoy, who manipulated others to follow his lead.

Show creator Kevin Williamson said at the panel that he was looking at season 3 as a reset.

To do that, the show needed "a bigger, badder, more complicated villain," show runner Jennifer Johnson teased. "It will take a few episodes before you start to understand what that means. We're going to throw the title of the show on its head."

The audience also got to see an alternate ending of the season 2 finale, where Purefoy's character is shot. In the version that aired, he was arrested.

Two U.S. marshals and an NYPD detective were shot Monday afternoon when a gun battle erupted in a Greenwich Village smokeshop as the officers tried to apprehend an accused child molester, authorities said. The suspect was killed in the shootout.

The officers were shot shortly after 1 p.m. in Smoking Culture, a smokeshop on West Fourth Street, where officers were acting on tip that the fugitive was working there. The NYPD detective entered the store between Jones and Cornelia streets and confirmed that suspect was alone.  When the detective returned with U.S. Marshals to make an arrest, the suspect, Charles Mozdir, immediately opened fire with a. 32-caliber revolver. 

"Mozdir fired upon the officers are very close range and the officers returned fire," Police Commissioner William Bratton said during an update from Bellevue Hospital.

The NYPD detective was shot twice in the stomach below his bulletproof vest. The detective was in critical but stable condition. One marshal was shot in the leg and the other was hit in the elbow, the official said. All of the officers were in good spirits, Bratton said.

Bratton said the vest may have saved the officer's life, preventing a bullet that would have struck his torso. 

Mozdir is accused of sexually assaulting a boy while babysitting him in Coronado, California, near San Diego. The 32-year-old was recently profiled on "The Hunt with John Walsh," an "America's Most Wanted"-type show on CNN. 

Mozdir was wanted on a $1 million warrant. He was charged with multiple counts of committing forcible lewd acts on a child and attempting to dissuade a witness. He skipped an April court appearance in California and his car was found in Georgia two months later. The trail went cold after that until officers acted on information that he might be in New York City.

His weapon was recovered at the scene. Mozdir had 20 more rounds in his pockets, police said. 

Fire ripped through a brewery in San Diego's Sorrento Valley neighborhood Sunday night.

Thick smoke could be seen billowing from Wet 'N Reckless Brewing around 8 p.m. The brewery is located in an industrial park at Mesa Rim Road and Mesa Ridge Road.

The business owner told fire officials he was welding when the fire started. The fire crept into neighboring businesses, according to officials.

No injuries were reported. There is no word yet how much damage was caused.

Check back for updates.