More than 100 people lined up on a downtown street, for a chance to buy a pair of Nike Lebron "Corks."

The specially-released shoe was for sale at shoe shop The Attic on 5th Street on Thursday afternoon.

Only nine pairs were available for purchase, so store manager Eric Bates had the crowd participate in a lottery system to pay for the limited-edition shoes. Nine lucky winners were able to buy the cork-made sneakers for $329.40 (including tax).

The cork is supposed to symbolize celebration, similar to basketball players opening a bottle of champagne after a victory.

Some people wanted the shoes to wear themselves, and others wanted them to resell for a higher price -- up to $1,500 on sites like eBay. But this particular shoe release drew out a large crowd of people who call themselves "Sneakerheads."

"You have people that have love for sneakers, you have people who, that's the cool thing that's what they want," said Karama "K.P." Croom, who didn't get a chance to buy the shoes. "You have people that see an opportunity to make money, so they get a pair so they can turn around and sell, so  you have all those things converging at the same time, and you get this."

A major streetside construction project in Solana Beach is impacting local shopkeepers, causing business for some to slow down significantly.

The project – which began in July 2012 and is the biggest of its kind in Solana Beach – includes a redesign of streets, sidewalks and parking areas along Pacific Coast Highway.

At this juncture, construction is entering its eighth month, and the project is estimated to be about 50 percent complete.

For many business owners in the construction zone, the project can’t be finished soon enough.

“People are avoiding this whole area right now,” one frustrated shopkeeper told NBC 7. “It’s been really terrible for business.”

“We’re struggling through it,” added another.

Though their business signs say “OPEN” and their business doors are wide open, for some shopkeepers, fewer and fewer customers are walking through those doors.

“We’ve definitely seen a fairly big drop in sales since the day they broke ground,” Travis Kaapke, store manager of the Surf Ride on Highway 101, told NBC 7.

Some managers and owners in the area said they’ve seen sales drop between 20 and 30 percent during this construction period.

For Charles Pinaby, manager of the Yummy Yogurt shop, that loss has been even higher.

“[We’re selling] 60 percent of what we usually do,” Pinaby told NBC 7.

Pre-construction, the yogurt flowed to customers. Now, the shop is empty, the yogurt business has dried up, and Pinaby said Yummy Yogurt has had to take out loans just to survive.

“We’ve had to let go two of our employees, so it’s just me, seven days a week. That’s how bad it’s become,” he lamented.

Some customers admit the construction has kept them from visiting their usual stops.

“It’s pretty obnoxious. I just go to other places now,” said Solana Beach resident Jeff Goldberg.

“I get coffee somewhere else now,” added another customer.

But, despite the slowdown in business, not all see the construction as a negative.

“It’s actually helped my business,” John Witherell of Shine Car Detail told NBC 7.

Witherell said traffic used to just fly by his shop but with the construction, traffic moves much slower, causing potential patrons to actually notice his business.

“[People are] stopping and looking around,” he added.

Meanwhile, the construction on Pacific Coast Highway has forced traffic into some nearby residential neighborhoods. That traffic has turned quiet neighborhoods into car city, especially during the busy weekday morning commute.

Solana Beach resident David Shulman told NBC 7 the traffic jams have gotten “pretty ridiculous” on his street, with some drivers going faster than usual because they’re frustrated and in a hurry.

But while many of those impacted by the ongoing construction are not enjoying the negative, short-term effects, most residents and shopkeepers agree that there are some great long-term benefits from the project to look forward to.

This includes improved parking, better sidewalks and a fresh, sparkling overall appearance.

“People just have to be patient and realize it will help the city immensely,” said Witherell.

“There is going to be some great landscape out front and a lot more parking,” added Kaapke.

Original estimates had the PCH construction project lasting for about 15 months. Now, there are hints that the project may be completed by this summer.

That early finish would be pretty great news for local businesses, so they can begin to get their boom back.
 

A young boy who was the victim of bullying has died, according to his family. Bailey O'Neill, who turned 12 on Saturday, was in a coma after suffering several seizures. His family told Katy Zachry, of NBC 10 Philadelphia, that he died at the hospital on Sunday. 

Bailey's family says he was jumped by two classmates during recess at Darby Township School, about 6 miles southwest of Philadelphia, last January and suffered a concussion as well as a broken nose as a result.  He then began to suffer seizures the next day, forcing doctors to put him into a medically induced coma. Joy Fecanin, the boy's grandmother, told the local NBC affiliate that he had to have a blood transfusion after getting pneumonia.

On Sunday, the following message was posted on the Building Hope for Bailey Facebook Page:

I would like to thank everyone who has prayed and supported Bailey and his family!! Bailey has been the strongest toughest boy I know. He has fought this battle long and hard. There just wasn't a way to fix this. I wish I could say he will get better but I can't. Bailey has gone to be with God today :( I love you Jina Risoldi with all my heart and I will help you through this. Bailey I love you!!! Please keep Baileys family in your prayers!!!

While the students who jumped Bailey were suspended for two days, police have not yet revealed whether they will be criminally charged.

“I would like to see these kids punished,” said Fecanin when she spoke to Zachry last month. “Something has to be done. I don’t know what’s taking them so long.”

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan says investigators are trying to determine if the injuries Bailey received in the fight caused his seizures. Investigators interviewed kids and recess aides who were on the playground when the fight broke out.

“We can assure them that we are going to continue with our investigation,” said Whelan.

Bailey’s younger brother was taken out of the school because his parents were worried that he'd also be the victim of bullying.
 

A man was shot in the buttocks during an altercation at a bar in North Park early Sunday morning, San Diego police confirmed.

The shooting happened just after 1 a.m. at True North Tavern in the 3800 block of 30th Street.

Police say a 30-year-old man got into an argument with an unknown male suspect inside the bar. The suspect took out a gun and shot the victim in the butt.

The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment. His current condition is unknown.

Police were not able to locate the shooting suspect and say there is no suspect information to release at this time.

The incident is under investigation.

This isn’t the first time an altercation near this North Park bar has led to violence.

Last October, a man was stabbed in the cheek outside True North Tavern after getting into a verbal confrontation inside the bar with another patron. The fight spilled into the street and the victim in that fight sustained a six-inch laceration to the face.
 

Many South Park residents were without water service Sunday morning after a six-inch water main broke in the neighborhood.

Water officials say the main break happened at 31st and Hawthorn Streets at around 7 a.m., leaving the 3000 block of Hawthorn Street without water.

At least 15 structures in the area were left without service, water officials said.

Repairs are now underway and water officials expect to restore service to customers by 3:30 p.m.

Police provided traffic control in the area following the main break, as water gushed into portions of the surrounding streets causing some slight flooding.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

A man, woman and their two dogs were killed in a fiery collision in San Onofre Saturday night, California Highway Patrol officials confirmed.

The fatal crash happened around 10:40 p.m. on southbound Interstate 5, just north of the San Onofre Inspection Facility near Camp Pendleton.

CHP officials say a Silver Chevy Silverado truck occupied by the man, woman and dogs was traveling in the third lane at an unknown rate of speed when, for unknown reasons, the vehicle veered to the right, slammed into a pole and exploded.

The pole that the truck crashed into is a pre-pass scanner that allows commercial vehicles to bypass the scales at the inspection facility, CHP officials said.

A motorist that was changing a tire on his own car on the side of the road witnessed the crash and explosion.

The witness told CHP officials that the truck veered into the pole suddenly, and that he could hear the male driver yelling for help following the crash.

The witness said the driver was unable to get the door open before the truck became engulfed in flames.

Officials say the man, woman and two dogs inside the car died at the scene. Due to the severity of the fire and extensive damage to the truck, the charred remains of the victims have not yet been identified. The Medical Examiner's office is now working to positively identify the victims.

The deadly collision is under investigation. Officials will determine whether alcohol or drugs played a factor in the crash.
 

The NFL free agent signing period begins on March 12. The Chargers have a whole lot of tough decisions to make before then.

San Diego has 19 unrestricted free agents, 8 of them starters. New general manager Tom Telesco has to figure out who to keep, who to let walk, and who to bring in, and he doesn't have a whole lot of time to figure it out.

Each day we're going to take a look at one of the Bolts' main free agents to see if he will be around in 2013.

Let's start with the man who's recorded the 2nd-most sacks in Chargers history: OLB Shaun Phillips.

He's been the Bolts' most consistent pass rushing threat since Shawne Merriman got hurt in 2007. Phillips led the team with 9.5 sacks last year. He may still be catching up with quarterbacks, but the fear is time is catching up with him.

Phillips turns 32 in May. He played 852 snaps last year, that's a lot. Advanced football stats reveal Phillips only pressured opposing quarterbacks 39 times on more than 400 rush attempts. That means he was getting blocked at the line consistently.

Phillips just finished up a 6-year, $31 million contract. It's unlikely he'll get another deal of that length. It's also unlikely he'll want less than that $5 million a year average. It's extremely unlikely the Chargers will want to give him that much, especially with youngsters like Melvin Ingram waiting in the wings.

Phillips has been a tremendous player on the field, and a wonderful presence in the locker room. But, it appears his time in San Diego has come to an end.

The Chargers will likely look at free agents like Ravens LB Paul Kruger and Cowboys LB Anthony Spencer, both younger and, at this stage of their careers, more effective players than Phillips.

A 46-year-old Austin man died while swimming in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon Sunday morning. Race organizers believes the man suffered a heart attack shortly after he entered the San Francisco Bay for the 1.5-mile swimming portion of the triathlon around 7:30 a.m., according a statement by Race Director Bill Burke.

Burke said that the race's water safety team saw the man in the water, and began CPR as they brought him to the shore. But rescuers were unable to revive him.

Burke said the man is the first person to die in the race's history.

The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon includes a 1.5-mile swim from Alcatraz Island to the shores of the St. Francis Yacht Club, an 18-mile bike ride, and an 8-mile run through San Francisco's Golden Gate Recreational Area.

At least two people were injured in a crash on eastbound Interstate 8 Sunday.

California Highway Patrol officials said the collision happened around 3 p.m. on the I-8 just east of Mission Gorge Road.

Three vehicles were said to be involved. Details on how the crash occurred have not yet been released.

CHP officials said firefighters were called to the scene to extricate at least one patient stuck inside a car. Crews used the Jaws of Life to facilitate the rescue, removing the roof from a vehicle.

A San Diego Fire dispatcher said one patient was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital with critical injuries, and another was transported to Mercy Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

NBC 7 news crews at the scene said CHP officials were caring for a small, uninjured boy who may have been involved in the crash. He was sitting in the back of a CHP car and appeared to be okay.

CHP officials issued a SigAlert for the area following the crash. The traffic alert was in effect for about 45 minutes.

Drivers on Florida’s Turnpike were doing double-takes Sunday as they saw a life-sized statue of an elephant on the move.

The tale of the elephant began at a southwest Miami-Dade home months ago when Reinol Fernandez put the statue he built in his front yard and was ordered by the county to remove it.

"He built this looking at a picture, it was a dream of his. I think he did a great job," his daughter Damaris Fernandez said. "I’m very proud of him, being his daughter and having seen how he can accomplish his dream.”

But the amateur sculptor had nowhere to move his statue. He was willing to donate the art, and his daughter contacted NBC 6, but every organization we called would only accept art from a renowned artist.

That was the case until there was a match many might say was made in heaven – when an organization called the Hidden Ark came knocking.

The Hidden Ark is the dream of four South Florida men who have begun building a 500-foot wooden replica of Noah's Ark in the hopes of turning it into a shelter for animals in Hialeah.

“The people at the Hidden Ark contacted us yesterday and presented the idea to my father of his elephant being placed on the park grounds,” Damaris Fernandez said.

Dutchman Launches Life-Sized Replica of Noah's Ark

Reniel Aguila, the ark's architectural engineer, said Sunday they were making their "first rescue," referring to the statue.

As the statue was being loaded onto a trailer to be transported, its creator got nostalgic.

"It hurts," Reinol Fernandez said.

He would have preferred to see it stay at home, his daughter explained.

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Methane gas from the sea floor caused a foul odor on Sunday that prompted nearly 100 emergency calls from residents reporting the stench from Santa Monica to West Los Angeles, officials said.

The odor, which smelled like sulfur, was first reported late Saturday, air quality officials said. The smell wafted in from the Santa Monica Bay.

Justin Walker, a Santa Monica Fire Department spokesman, said hazardous-materials crews found small increments of methane gas in the air at 8:30 a.m. 

The amount of methane in the air was not considered dangerous, Walker said, adding he's heard of this type of incident happening up to six times in the last four years.

Hazardous-materials crews were called out after dispatchers reported some 80 calls to 911 of residents reporting the stench.

Methane is usually released when the tectonic plates shift, Walker said. This shift was small and did not cause an earthquake, he said.

A cold weather front that moved in overnight and brought onshore winds with it caused the smell to waft inland, he said.

"The marine layer vacuumed it up because it had nowhere to go out," Walker said.

Inspectors from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Southern California's air pollution control agency, were also investigating.

Maria Carlito Covarrubias, writing on the NBC4 Facebook page, said she smelled the odor Saturday night at about 11:45 p.m.

Another Facebook user, Summers McKay, said she called her building manager because she was worried that the smell was a gas leak.

More Local News

• Bomb Threat Prompts Hospital Evacuation
• 8 Vie for Los Angeles Mayor in Upcoming City Primary
• Chihuahuas Ditched at Humane Society
• Man Dies During Triathlon

When the driver in a highway crash couldn’t be found Sunday, emergency crews searched on the ground and from the air for almost an hour.

A pickup truck landed about 40 feet down an embankment along northbound Interstate 5 at the East Mission Bay onramp around 8:30 p.m.

The vehicle landed on its side against a chain link fence.

At first San Diego Fire Rescue crews thought the driver may have been trapped.

But when they searched the area, they were not able to find anyone.

Emergency personnel used a helicopter to search the area with heat-detecting equipment for more than hour before calling off the search.

Officials said no one else was injured during the incident.
 

Last week’s story about a mother who agreed to let the public name her baby in exchange for $5,000 was an elaborate hoax, NBC's blog TODAY Moms has learned.

Read the full TODAY Moms story|Read the original story

The woman who claimed she won a website’s online contest for moms willing to let others vote on a baby’s name was actually an actress, the blog TODAY Moms reported, “hired by the website’s founder to drum up publicity.”

The TODAY blog attributed the confession to Natasha Lloyd, the actress who posed as contest winner Natasha Hill, and the owner of the website, Lacey Moler.

Last week, dozens of news outlets, including NBC4 and NBCLA.com, reported the story after Moler and Lloyd gave extremely detailed interviews about the contest and Lloyd’s apparently fictional baby.

The pair even emailed photos that they said were of the fictional mom, Natasha Hill.

TODAY Moms said some of the details used to trick reporters included:

• A claim that the baby was due in September

• Details about other baby names the mom was considering

• A long discussion with Moler about how she and her staff chose Hill (Lloyd) as the winner

• The false claim that 80 women entered the contest, with details about their essays and descriptions of what they would do with the money

The hoax began to unravel after TODAY Moms received a tip raising questions about the story’s veracity.
 

The San Diego Padres might have an easier time hitting a home run this season.

Construction is underway in Petco Park to shorten the outfield fences by about 10 feet -- in addition to a few more changes. The most dramatic alteration will be in left center, where the fence will go from 402 feet to 390 feet.

The visitor bullpen will also change locations, moving it behind the home bullpen. Plus the out-of-town scoreboard on the right field wall will be relocated to a new spot above right field.

The construction began last October and will be ready by Opening Day on April 9 when the Padres face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

An 18-year-old who appears to be much younger than her age faces a host of criminal charges for her alleged role in a violent cross-county crime spree that lasted three days in October.

Cindy Altamirano Garcia was arrested October 31 after a gun battle with San Diego police in Barrio Logan.

Garcia, prosecutors allege, outfitted herself in body armor and carried a semiautomatic firearm alongside her husband Philip Hernandez, 40.

Hernandez, a former Riverside firefighter, was killed in the shootout.

Read: Timeline of Violent Crime Spree

Details behind how the teenager and the much-older Hernandez became romantically involved were revealed at a pre-trial hearing Monday.

The former firefighter gave Garcia $600 a month and promised to send her to photography school in Greece in exchange for sex one investigator testified.

Detective Timothy Cornwell interviewed Garcia – then 17 - at an apartment in Blythe, Calif.

Garcia had called Blythe police asking for help to get away from Hernandez and get back to her home in National City he testified.

The couple first met when Garcia became friends with Hernandez’ teenaged daughter. While sleeping over her friend’s home, she awoke to find Hernandez undressing her, touching her and asking for sex Cornwell testified.

After initially saying no, Garcia told the detective that she decided to agree to sex for the money Hernandez was offering.

She eventually told her story to Cornwell because Hernandez was becoming possessive and talking about marriage and she wanted to go home.

Hernandez told the detective the sex was consensual and described the relationship as an arranged marriage according to Cornwell.

The detective eventually called Garcia’s mother to come and pick up her daughter.

Undercover police detective John Clarke testified how he happened to see the couple at a Chula Vista grocery store. He said the two people appeared to be very affectionate. Prosecutors presented an image from the store’s surveillance camera showing what appeared to be Garcia and Hernandez in an embrace.

Clarke testified the teenager did not appear to resist the affection in any way.

When Clarke later saw a wanted poster featuring Hernandez, he contacted homicide investigators.

It was this sighting that ultimately led to Hernandez being shot and killed in a shootout with police at the intersection of Cesar Chavez Parkway and Harbor Drive on Halloween.

A man who sold a former police cruiser to Hernandez just five days before he went on a crime spree testified that Hernandez seemed like he was bent on a suicide mission.

Saul Cervantes compared Hernandez's behavior to the "9-11" suicide hijackers, as he "peeled out of the parking lot" in the car he and Cindy Garcia had just bought for $3100.

Garcia now faces a host of charges including five counts of attempted murder on a peace officer, five counts of assaulting a peace officer, arson, carjacking, robbery, making a criminal threat and conspiracy to commit a crime.

In the latter charge, Garcia is accused of waiting in a vehicle outside the downtown headquarters of the San Diego Police Department “in order to kill a police officer” according to court documents filed in the case.

The couple’s crime spree began with a car fire in 2600 block of East Mission Bay Drive. An hour later, a man was shot in Hillcrest in the1200 block of Upas Street.

Then, around 9 a.m., a man was robbed in Mission Valley East. Hours later, veteran off-duty SDPD officer Les Stewart was robbed and shot in the head while using an ATM in Escondido.

A carjacking at a Sam’s Club in Oak Park followed. Later in Chula Vista, the stolen car was found on fire.

In a jailhouse interview, Garcia told NBC 7 San Diego that she had grown to love Hernandez.

She also said the two were found to be wearing body armor at the time of the gun battle because they knew police were out to get them.

Watch: Garcia's Jailhouse Interview

Hernandez, once employed by the Riverside Fire Department from July 2002 to July 2012, had a criminal record.

After he failed to show up for a Riverside court appearance, a warrant was issued and he was arrested in Mission Valley in October.

Officials believe the couple had plans to kidnap and hold an individual for ransom before placing the person in a car and burning it.

A North County attorney faces multiple criminal charges in connection with a crash that killed a nanny and seriously injured a toddler officials announced Monday.

Monserrat Mendez, 41, was killed when an SUV ran a red light at the intersection of Camino Del Sur and Via Verrazzano on Feb. 1.

Mendez was pushing a 14-month-old toddler in a stroller at the time of the crash. Mendez suffered critical injuries and later died at the hospital.

The toddler was hospitalized in intensive care for several days for injuries including shattered spleen, fractured femur, pelvic fracture, broken rib, broken leg and skull fracture.

After a month-long investigation by San Diego police, the SUV driver, Christine Padilla of Del Sur, faces charges of vehicular manslaughter, failure to stop at a red light and failure to yield to a pedestrian within a crosswalk .

After the crash, NBC 7 San Diego ran a check on the vehicle’s license plate and learned the car was registered to a Jeffrey Padilla who lives near the scene of the accident.

A man who identified himself as a Mr. Padilla answered the door of the home and said his wife was too distraught to issue a statement.

“Please, she’s gone through enough,” Padilla said at the time. “There’s no way we can give a statement right now. We have a one-day-old baby.”

Padilla answered the door at the same address Monday night holding a baby. She refused comment.

Her Linkedin profile lists her as a contract attorney who graduated from USD School of Law in 2005 and San Diego State University in 2001 with a BA in Psychology.

Her arraignment date is set for March 18 at 12:30 p.m.

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted Tuesday to approve President Barack Obama's pick to lead the CIA after winning a behind-the-scenes battle with the White House over access to a series of top-secret legal opinions that justify the use of lethal drone strikes against terror suspects, including American citizens.

John Brennan's installation at the spy agency has been delayed as Senate Democrats and Republicans have pressed the Obama administration to allow a review of the classified documents prepared by the Justice Department. The senators have argued they can't perform adequate oversight without reviewing the contents of the opinions, but the White House had resisted requests for full disclosure.

The intelligence committee's chairwoman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement Tuesday that the committee voted 12-3 to send Brennan's nomination to the full Senate for confirmation. The panel's deliberations were held behind closed doors. Feinstein did not identify the senators who voted against Brennan.

For more politics coverage, click on NBCNews.com

Although Brennan has made it out of the committee, Republicans have threatened to hold up his nomination unless the White House supplies them with classified information, including emails among top U.S. national security officials, detailing the Obama administration's actions immediately following the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed during the raid.

Feinstein said the full Senate should act quickly confirm Brennan, who spent 25 years at the CIA before becoming Obama's top counterterrorism and homeland security adviser in the White House.

"He draws on a deep well of experience — 25 years as a CIA analyst, chief of station, manager, head of counterterrorism efforts and White House homeland security adviser," Feinstein said of Brennan.

Brennan so far has escaped the harsh treatment that former Sen. Chuck Hagel, the president's choice to lead the Defense Department, received from Senate Republicans even though Brennan is one of Obama's most important national security aides and the White House official who oversees the drone program.

Brennan also served as a senior CIA official during President George W. Bush's administration when waterboarding and other forms of "enhanced interrogation" and detention practices were adopted. Brennan has publicly denounced the use of these tactics, but the cloud hasn't gone completely away.

Brennan's stance on waterboarding and torture is inconsistent, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has said. Although Brennan has decried these methods, he also has said they saved lives, according to McCain, who said he is awaiting an explanation from Brennan. McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are also leading the charge for the Benghazi records.

"All we want is the answers," McCain said Monday. "I'm not threatening anything. I just think we deserve the answers."

Senate Republicans put Hagel through a bruising confirmation process. They labeled their former Republican colleague as a political turncoat for attacking the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq, and cast him as hostile toward Israel, soft on Iran and unqualified for the job.

In attacking Hagel, who served two terms from Nebraska, the GOP settled old political scores and won points with its conservative base by challenging Obama's nominee so aggressively. The Senate confirmed Hagel last week to replace Leon Panetta as defense secretary on a 58-41 vote, with four Republicans joining the Democrats in backing the contentious choice.

Criticism of Brennan, by contrast, has been less intense. He was grilled for more than three hours during his Feb. 7 confirmation hearing before the Intelligence Committee, but also won praise from several lawmakers as the best qualified candidate to lead the CIA. Brennan, 57, is a veteran of more than three decades of intelligence work.

Former Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., who spent eight years on the House Intelligence Committee, said she expects Brennan to be confirmed by a comfortable margin. Senate Republicans took Hagel's nomination personally, she said, and they're unlikely to take a similar approach with Brennan.

"I don't think they're going to try the same play twice and really seriously wound Obama's national security team at a time when it's very important that we project strength," said Harman, president of the Wilson Center in Washington.

Brennan vigorously defended the use of drone strikes during his confirmation hearing. He declined to say whether he believes waterboarding, which simulates drowning, amounted to torture. But he called the practice "reprehensible" and said it should never be done again. Obama ordered waterboarding banned shortly after taking office.

Drone strikes are employed only as a "last resort," Brennan told the committee. But he also said he had no qualms about going after U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in September 2011. A drone strike in Yemen killed al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, both U.S. citizens. A drone strike two weeks later killed al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son, a Denver native.

Graham, one of Hagel's most acerbic critics, said last month that the Obama administration deserved an "A-plus" for its drone program and he rejected an idea floated by Feinstein and other senators to establish a special court system to regulate drone strikes.

"I'm 100 percent behind the administration," Graham said. "I think their program has been legal, ethical and wise."

But Graham, along with McCain, said the failure to turn over the Benghazi records is a dealbreaker. Graham said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he and McCain "are hell-bent on making sure the American people understand this debacle called Benghazi."

Brennan spent 25 years at the CIA before moving in 2003 from his job as deputy executive director of the agency to run the Terrorist Threat Integration Center. He later worked as interim director of the center's successor organization, the National Counterterrorism Center.

When Bush's second term began in 2005, Brennan left government to work for a company that provides counterterror analysis to federal agencies. After Obama took office in 2009, he returned to the federal payroll as the president's top counterterrorism adviser in the White House.

If confirmed by the full Senate, Brennan would replace Michael Morell, the CIA's deputy director who has been acting director since David Petraeus resigned in November after acknowledging an affair with his biographer.

A 7-year-old Maryland boy is expected back in class Tuesday after being suspended over a breakfast pastry.

The student at Park Elementary School in Glen Burnie, Md., called his dad to pick him up because school officials said he chewed a strawberry breakfast pastry into a gun shape and then pointed it at another child and said, "Bang, bang."

The boy's dad, B.J. Welch, told the Washington Post that it was harmless and just a boy doing what kids do. He said his son meant to chew the pastry into a mountain shape but it turned out to look more like a gun.

The boy was punished Friday with one day of suspension and one day of in-school suspension.

The school sent home a letter to parents saying, "During breakfast this morning, one of our students used food to make inappropriate gestures that disrupted the class. While no physical threats were made and no one was harmed, the student had to be removed from the classroom."

Parents should talk to their children if they're troubled by the incident, the school said, and the school counselor will be available for any student who needs to talk.