A man died Saturday morning when he lost control of his SUV and became wedged underneath a Los Angeles freeway ramp, officials said.

The crash happened just after 3 a.m. at the transition road from the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway to the eastbound San Bernardino (10) Freeway in Boyle Heights, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The SUV went up an embankment and under a bridge, according to the CHP. 

Video from the scene showed a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee smashed underneath the roadway.

The driver was trapped inside the car, and he died at the scene of the crash, CHP Officer Posada said.

The connector road from the northbound 5 Freeway to the eastbound 10 Freeway was closed Saturday morning.

A former U.S. Marine officer from Carlsbad, just north of San Diego, crushed the world record for the longest plank Saturday, raising money and awareness for wounded warriors in the process.

Former Marine officer and retired Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent George Hood, 57, spent a total of five hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds in the abdominal plank position at the Junior Seau Amphitheatre in Oceanside as he broke the Guinness World Record previously set at four hours and 26 minutes by Mao Weidong of Beijing, China, last September.

Before Weidong took the title, Hood held the planking record at four hours and one minute, which he set in June 2014.

The athlete and fitness professional’s planking feat – dubbed “The People’s Plank” – doubled as a fundraiser to benefit the Semper Fi Fund for injured U.S. service members, a charity that’s near and dear to Hood’s heart.

“There are injured Marines that come back from the fight, who have suffered life-altering injuries and the discomfort that I feel right now pales in comparison to that which they feel,” Hood told NBC San Diego while in mid-plank.

“So, we raise money to help them. We tend to forget about them sometimes. This helps raise awareness and draw attention to them – and I’m about that,” he added.

Hood said two of his sons are also Marine officers, so this event held extra special weight for him.

Hood – who is a personal trainer and group exercise instructor – said his longest plank while training for this challenge had clocked in at four hours and 33 minutes. In the end, he beat his own training time by more than 42 minutes on Saturday.

Hood spent nine months training for his record attempt all over the North County, including four to six hours of training per day and 30 hours of plank time each week. In all, he logged nearly 1,000 of plank time leading up to the record-breaking event, consistently training with 20 and 40-pound weghts on his back to build up his endurance and strength.

Hood had an entire crew there to help him achieve his goal, including friends who chatted with him while he planked and brought him visual distractions.

“They chat amongst themselves. They plant ideas and themes in my head that causes me to get distracted,” he explained. “They bring little gifts up here to the table that I can stare at and draw conclusions, and just study them. All that helps pass time.”

After his record-breaking endeavor, Hood planned to grab some lunch with his support team. Hood said he would likely burn about 2,000 calories planking for that many hours.

“I will lose some weight today and I will be very, very sore. But we will achieve our mission,” Hood said.

The former Marine hoped his event would inspire others to put fitness first and, most importantly, remind people of our U.S. service members who have given so much in the fight for freedom.

“Don’t forget our countless Marines and service members who’ve fought the good fight, those who haven’t come home, and those who are injured and living with that horror every single day,” he said. “Don’t forget about them.”

In addition to the plank record, Hood first attained Guinness World Record status in 1986 when he skipped rope for more than 13 hours. From 2007 to 2010, the athlete set three additional records for the spin cycling marathon.

Officials have spent nearly two years looking through archives, reports and even graves, searching for the remains of one soldier, a Medal of Honor recipient that was never properly buried. 

Nearly a century after his death, Sgt. Charles Schroeter, a Civil War-era soldier, will finally receive a proper military burial. 

Schroeter will be buried in July at Miramar National Cemetery, in a ceremony complete with full military honors and a mounted Army detachment from Fort Irwin.

“We wanted to honor him with all the proper military ceremonies he was due at Miramar,” said Bill Heard, a public information officer for the Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundation.

It was almost a century ago when Schroeter was cremated and placed in an unmarked grave with other soldiers at Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego, according to research done by Heard and others.

Schroeter received the medal, the United States' highest military honor, for his valor in battle against the Apaches in an 1869 Arizona fight, the Campaign of the Rocky Mesa.

As to how his cremated remains ended up where they did, however, “that is a mystery,” Heard said.

Ten years ago, the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation set about locating all the graves of Medal of Honor recipients. They found almost 500 graves, but not Schroeter’s remains, Heard said. 

Those involved in the search, including those at the Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundation, the San Diego History Center and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, spent nearly two years trying to decode the mystery.

It was Heard’s job to do the research to connect the Medal of Honor recipient to the man buried in the unmarked grave. He spent two months of a nearly two year process researching the details of Schroeter’s life. In late April, he finally traced Schroeter’s past to Greenwood Cemetery, where Heard found the soldier's remains.

“We were a little shocked that the remains of a Medal of Honor recipient were in an unmarked crypt with a dozen or more containers of remains of other unclaimed persons,” he said.

A native of Germany, Schroeter immigrated to the U.S. and first enlisted in St. Louis, Missouri, at age 25.

He spent 25 years serving his adopted homeland, where he fought with the U.S. Cavalry’s 1st Division during the Civil War and, once that war ended, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment fighting in the Indian Wars.

Schroeter re-enlisted in the armed forces multiple times throughout his life, including in the Grand Army of the Republic and the Marine Corps, before his retirement as a sergeant.

He never married or had children but did live in San Diego, Heard said. When he died, Schroeter left behind $200 in life insurance. In those days, it was enough for a proper burial. That money was never used for a burial, Heard said.

Until April 21, his remains were stored at the Greenwood Cemetery in an unmarked grave. Though it is unclear when he was born, Heard said it was likely from 1834 to 1837. 

Schroeter, the first Medal of Honor recipient to be buried at Miramar National Cemetery, will be laid to rest on July 9, just days after his birthday on the fourth of July.

An earthquake struck early Sunday near the desert community of Borrego Springs, east of San Diego.

The 4.1 magnitude quake was recorded at 6:02 a.m. according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicenter was seven miles northeast of Borrego Springs, 38 miles southeast of Palm Springs and 48 miles northeast of Escondido.

The USGS received reports of people feeling the temblor from as far away as San Diego, Poway, Ramona and Julian.

A 92-year-old cancer survivor is seeking to become the oldest woman to finish a marathon.

Harriette Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina, is participating in the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego on Sunday.

"I have no idea if I'm going to be able to do it, but I'm going to try," Thompson said at a news conference on Friday.

This is her 16th time running it, and last year she set a record when she finished the race in 7 hours, 7 minutes and 42 seconds, beating the previous record for a woman 90 or older by more than an hour and a half.

Thompson is a two-time cancer survivor who dealt with the loss of her husband and a staph infection in her legs while training for this year's race.

A classically trained pianist who played three times at Carnegie Hall, Thompson says she mentally plays old piano pieces she had performed to help her get through the 26.2 miles.

"I just don't think of myself being that unusual," she said. "I have a lot of people saying what an inspiration I am. That's nice to hear, good for something at this age."

The oldest woman to complete a marathon was Gladys Burrill, who was 92 years and 19 days old when she finished the 2010 Honolulu Marathon.

Thompson is 92 years and 65 days old, according to race organizers.

Hartford police have obtained an arrest warrant for a man suspected of shooting a pastor who was putting flags out for Memorial Day, then shooting a 27-year-old man at another location 14 minutes later.

Aaron J. Taylor, 25, of Windsor, is wanted on attempted murder and assault charges in connection to both shootings and police are searching for him. They said to "use caution when dealing with Taylor as the firearm in this incident has not been recovered."

Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra said it will take a community effort to end the streak of violence in the capital city. 

"We’ve seen in the past that if we work together, work together strongly, that we can reduce violence in our communities," Segarra said. “.... If you see this person you’re to contact the police and not try to be a police officer or try to apprehend this person on your own, but we will benefit from the information of locating this individual.”

Taylor is suspected of shooting Rev. Dr. Augustus Sealy, 54, of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, outside the First Church of the Nazarene at 932 Capital Ave. just before 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 24, police said. The pastor was putting out flags for Memorial Day services on his fifth anniversary at the church, according to police. Sealy is still recovering from being shot twice in the right leg and once in the left shoulder. 

Robert Jones, 27, of Hartford, was shot at least six times at about 6:41 a.m. that Sunday at 402 Garden St. and police believe Taylor was the person who shot him. An ambulance brought Jones to the emergency room at Saint Francis Hospital, where he was later listed in serious, but stable condition.

Taylor was last seen driving a black Nissan Maxima and the marker plate is unknown, police said. He is also suspected in other crimes, but police did not release information on those other incidents. 

Surveillance video of Taylor buying a Red Bull at a Hartford convenience store helped police identify him as a suspect.

“We had faith that something would happen and that God would have that justice and that God is the judge out there,” Sister Jocelyn Eaves, of the First Church of the Nazarene, said.  

Police said the motive for both crimes is unclear. Investigators said earlier this week that they are looking into whether the shooting of the pastor might have been a hate crime.

"I can tell you we do hear from residents that the church is very accepting and open to the LGBT community," Hartford police spokesman Deputy Chief Brian Foley previously said. "So there were some statements made at the scene that certainly keep the idea of it being a hate crime open to our investigators."

Eaves said that the survival of the pastor "is truly a miracle." Members of the church said they were not only praying for their pastor, but also for his shooter. 

“If we don’t do that, then the world will continually be corrupt and violence will continue," Eaves said. 

The warrant for Taylor carries charges of criminal attempt to commit murder and first-degree assault, as well as a $1.2 million court-set bond. He has a long criminal record, including carrying a pistol without a permit, escape and resisting arrest. 

The department asks anyone with information on the suspect to contact police.

You see it every day scrolling through social media: People venting about their lives and experiences, but one Illinois woman’s Facebook post from aboard a United Airlines flight has sparked a global debate.

Tahera Ahmad, a Muslim chaplain and director of interfaith engagement at Northwestern University, says she was 30,000 feet in the air when a request for a soda left her in “tears of humiliation from discrimination.”

“The flight attendant asked me what I would like to drink and I requested a can of Diet Coke,” Ahmad wrote on her Facebook page Friday. “She brought me a can that was open so I requested an unopened can due to hygienic reasons. She said no one has consumed from the drink, but I requested an unopened can.”

That is when Ahmad says the flight attendant responded that she could not give her an unopened can, adding, “So no Diet Coke for you.”

Just moments later, Ahmad says, the same flight attendant brought a male passenger seated beside her a beer – in an unopened can.

Ahmad asked the woman why she was refused an unopened can while others were clearly allowed, according to the post, in which the flight attendant responded they were unauthorized to give unopened cans to passengers on the plane because they may use it as a weapon.

“So I told her that she was clearly discriminating against me because she gave the man next to me an unopened can of beer,” Ahmad wrote. “She looked at his can, quickly grabbed it and opened it and said, ‘It’s so you don't use it as a weapon.’"

Speechless, Ahmad says she looked to her fellow passengers who witnessed the behavior for a source of support, but instead was greeted with more backlash.

“The man sitting in an aisle across from me yelled out to me, ‘You Moslem (sic), you need to shut the f- -k up.’" she wrote. “He then leaned over from his seat, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Yes, you know you would use it as a weapon, so shut the f--k up."

“I felt the hate in his voice and his raging eyes,” she wrote. “I can't help but cry on this plane because I thought people would defend me and say something. Some people just shook their heads in dismay.”

By Sunday afternoon, Ahmad’s Facebook post had garnered more than 7,600 shares and hundreds of comments blasting the airline for the described treatment, many of whom are calling to stand against the company with the hashtag #unitedfortahera.

Ahmad told NBC Chicago that since posting of her experiences there have been so many attempts to try to hack into her page that Facebook had to temporarily take down her account. As of 5 p.m. on Sunday her page was restored.

In response to her story, United Airlines released the following statement Saturday evening:

“The flight attendant onboard Shuttle America flight 3504 attempted several times to accommodate Ms. Ahmad's beverage request after a misunderstanding regarding a can of diet soda. The inflight crew met with Ms. Ahmad after the flight arrived in Washington to provide assistance and further discuss the matter. Additionally, we spoke with Ms. Ahmad this afternoon to get a better understanding of what occurred and to apologize for not delivering the service our customers expect when traveling with us. We look forward to having the opportunity to welcome Ms. Ahmad back.”

In a Sunday morning Facebook post, Ahmad expressed her disappointment in the airlines response.

“Unfortunately, United has dismissed my entire narrative and trivialized it to a can of soda,” she wrote.

United Airlines spokesman Charlie Hobart told NBC News that the company has "apologized for not providing the experience that our customers expect," adding that further questioning regarding the flight attendant in question and policies to be directed to Shuttle America, the airline operating Flight 3504. Shuttle America did not immediately respond to their requests for comment.

Ahmad, on the other hand wrote she wanted to make it clear her goal was not to punish the flight attendant involved.

“I simply did not expect United Airlines to dismiss the unwarranted and unfortunate rude behavior, discrimination and hateful words," she said in the post. "But rather acknowledge their accountability and role in the painful experience and share corrective measures within their training to prevent this from happening again regardless of their race, religion, gender, sex, or socioeconomic background.”

“I have dedicated my life to peace; in fact I was on this United flight to promote social justice activism, just and peaceful conversations between Israelis and Palestinians at Kids4Peace.” She wrote. “It is truly disheartening when the discrimination of Americans as myself who are working hard every day to promote dialogue and understanding is disregarded and trivialized.”

Some homeowners in Rancho Pensquitos are calling recent parking enforcement in their neighborhood borderline harassment.

Joseph Malabanan says parking can be a challenge on his street, but for him that’s not an excuse for the “out of control” parking tickets.

“There are laws that need to be enforced…but come on let’s not go over the top here!” he told NBC7.

Malabanan and his neighbors said that recently, they have had to be extra careful on how and where they park.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Malabanan says he parked in front of his driveway to help his father, who is disabled, get inside his home. Despite only being gone for 10 minutes and leaving the handicap sign hanging in his car, he says when he came back out, he found a ticket.

When he appealed and explained the situation to the city, he said, it did not change anything. He ended up having the pay the fine. 

“It's almost like a type of harassment,” Malabanan said.

He isn’t the only one who thinks so.

“After living here for 20 years and no tickets and all of a sudden they're enforcing everything on our street,” resident Barbara Barker said.

She remembers getting upset at authorities from the parking enforcement division when they ticketed a car for parking too close to a fire hydrant. It’s a difficult call since most fire hydrants in their neighborhood don’t have a painted red curb showing drivers where not to park.

But after that incident, Barker and others complained and asked the city paint the curb in front of the fire hydrant closest to their home, which they did.

All of that said, Malabanan and Barker both understand people with parking enforcement have a job to do and they support it. They also admit that people do sometimes park illegally.

Still, they feel the way it’s been recently is too picky.

“It’s not like we're complaining about the car being here,” Barker said. 

One person has died following a fiery crash late Saturday night in El Cajon, the California Highway Patrol said. 

The incident happened around 11 p.m. Saturday on the 10 block of El Cajon Boulevard in El Cajon, where a car went off the freeway. 

The car was engulfed in flames.

Police are trying to find the person who tied a dog to a pole and left her to die.

A woman called the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe, Pennsylvania, around 5 p.m. Saturday reporting she found a dog who was near death and hogtied to a pole in Pocono Country Place, Mount Pocono.

Police arrived at the scene and immediately took the dog, who officials believe is around four years old, to the veterinarian. The vet released the dog to AWSOM who named her "Baby Girl" and are helping with her recovery.

Officials say the dog has mange, a skin disease caused by parasitic mites, and swollen feet due to being tied up.

Officials are now searching for the dog’s owner. If you have any information, please call the Pocono Mountain Regional Police at 570-895-2400.
 

More heavy rain was expected across the tri-state area Monday amid a bout of wet weather that has already dumped sheets of water on the region, flooding some areas, stranding motorists on waterlogged highways and leaving thousands without power.

Flash flood watches remain in effect for the entire tri-state region through Tuesday evening as more heavy rain moves through, Storm Team 4 says.

Pockets of heavy rain were expected Monday afternoon and evening, along with isolated thunderstorms, which Storm Team 4 says could cause more flash flooding in areas already saturated by Sunday's deluge.

Flooding was reported Sunday in Newark and Hoboken, where several cars were seen stuck on flooded streets. Lightning was suspected as the cause of a house fire in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that killed a woman and her dog, authorities said. In Flanders, a lightning strike outside a bedroom damaged an apartment building and started a fire. No injuries were reported. 

The wet weather disrupted flights in and out of the region's major airports, stranding thousands of travelers including performers for the Broadway musicals "Aladdin" and "The Lion King."

As many as 10,000 homes and businesses lost power during the storm, which was blamed for several accidents, including one on the New Jersey Turnpike involving Giants punter Steve Weatherford. Weatherford was not injured, but he said his rental car was "totaled." 

In New York City, flooding closed the Long Island Expressway in both directions at Utopia Parkway in Queens and an entrance ramp on the Jackie Robinson Parkway at Union Turnpike. 

High water slowed traffic on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and delayed some Staten Island Railway service. 

The region should begin to dry out Tuesday, Storm Team 4 says. Temperatures return to the 70s amid mostly sunny skies Wednesday and stay that way through the remainder of the work week. After that, a high pressure system will bring cool, sunny conditions through the weekend.

Funeral services were held Monday for the Washington, D.C. family found brutally murdered in their mansion in the Woodley Park neighborhood of northwest D.C. 

Savvas Savopoulos, 46; his wife, 47-year-old Amy Savopoulos; and their 10-year-old son, Philip Savopoulos, were laid to rest at noon at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. 

The family was found dead in their burning home on May 14. A housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, was also killed. Daron Dylon Wint, who once worked for Savvas Savopoulos' company, has been arrested in the case.

Police believe the victims were kept bound and threatened overnight before they were killed.

Sometime that night, someone called Domino's from their house and ordered pizza. Sources say Wint's DNA was found on a pizza crust.

The next morning, someone delivered $40,000 in cash to the multimillion-dollar house. The cash was withdrawn from an account at American Iron Works, where Savvas Savopoulos served as CEO.

Sometime after the cash arrived, the home was set on fire, leading to the discovery of the bodies.

Police say blunt force and sharp force trauma killed the three adults, according to court documents. The boy died of thermal and sharp force injuries.

In an obituary published last week, the Savopoulos family was remember "for their devotion to family and charitable efforts for the less fortunate."

The obituary also called Savvas Savopoulos a martial arts and power boat enthusiast. Amy Savopoulos was remembered as "an active volunteer." The couple's son, Philip, a fourth-grader, wanted to be a professional Formula-1 racecar driver and had a "comprehensive knowledge of the NBA, its players and statistics.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has resigned amid a federal investigation into a no-bid contract awarded to one of her former employers.

According to reports, Byrd-Bennett sent a written note to the school board announcing her decision.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports Byrd-Bennett wrote she will "always be thankful for the opportunity to serve the children of Chicago." 

The CPS Board of Education President David Vitale confirmed the news, saying in a statement that the resignation took effect Monday. 

"Interim CEO Jesse Ruiz will continue in that role to advance the important work of the Chicago Public Schools on behalf of our students, families, and communities across the City of Chicago," Vitale said.

Byrd-Bennett could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement he was "saddened by the circumstances that have led to Barbara's resignation," and wished her well.

"As a city, our focus must remain on finishing the school year strong and tackling the billion dollar budget deficit that threatens the progress our students, teachers, principals and parents have made over the last several years," the statement read.

Byrd-Bennett's resignation comes during a federal probe of a $20.5 million no-bid principal training contract with the Wilmette-based SUPES Academy, which once employed Byrd-Bennett. The Chicago Board of Education has since suspended its agreement with the training company. 

The Chicago Teachers Union wished Byrd-Bennett well, but said the investigation sets a "horrible example" for students and educators.

"She leaves Chicago not only under a cloud of suspicion and organizational chaos, but also following one of the darkest hours in our city's history when she closed 50 public schools in a single year, the largest number in U.S. history," the CTU said in a statement. 

Byrd-Bennett took a leave of absense in mid-April as investigators worked to determine whether she received any kickbacks from the 2013 contract.

Her contract with CPS matured in June, and while she had the option to extend it for another year, Vitale said earlier that she had not yet exercised that option. 

Real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump has set a date for a "special announcement" regarding his decision of whether or not to run in 2016.

In a press release on Monday, Trump, a Republican, said will make the announcement as to whether or not he'll run in New York City on June 16 at the Trump Tower Atrium.

Trump has been making the rounds in New Hampshire, and is currently averaging 2.2 percent in the polls.

The mother of a woman arrested Friday for striking and running over a motorcyclist on a busy San Diego highway said Saturday her daughter is not a murderer.

"They made it sound like she viciously went after him," said Margie Jackson, the mother of Darla Renee Jackson. "Please, who does that? No. Not my daughter."

Imperial Beach resident Darla Renee Jackson, 26, was driving a black Nissan Altima northbound on Interstate 5 near E Street in Chula Vista at around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers said. 

"You say it's an accident? For sure," Margie said. "Police saying it's murder? Well, you have to know the facts." 

CHP officers said Jackson and a man on a red Ducati motorcycle got into some type of disagreement on the roadway.

After the two drivers transitioned from I-5 to eastbound State Route 54 and passed National City Boulevard, Jackson hit the Ducati from behind and ran over the rider, CHP officers said.

The motorcyclist — identified by friends as 39-year-old Zachary Buob — died about an hour later at a hospital. A Santee resident, Buob was an active duty Chief Petty Officer in the Navy's special operations.

Jackson was arrested and now faces one count of murder in what officers are calling a road rage incident. She was booked into Las Colinas Detention and Re-entry Facility and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Margie said she was not with her daughter duing THursday's deadly wreck, but said she has spoken with her and says she is not a killer. 

"He kicked her car like five miles back and he was driving crazily, trying to cut lanes, and when he kicked her car she wanted to get a license plate number," Margie said. "So that's what she tried to do and it was definitely an accident."

Margie said her daughter is a loving mother of a little three-year-old and is sad and lonely, thinking about her daughter. 

Describing the victim, friend Kathryn Cramer said Buob served in the military for more than 20 years and completed many tours overseas.

"He was so strong but his heart was so sweet," she said in an email. "He was truly one of the 'good guys' and my heart is broken. My prayers are with his Mom and Dad and family. He loved them so much."

Another good friend, Tim James, told NBC 7 Buob worked as an elite special boat operator, but motorcycles and trucks were his passion — only overshadowed by his love for family and friends.

"Zach was energetic, intelligent and a superb leader. He would light up any room he entered with his friendliness and wittiness...a heart of gold," said James in an email.

Investigators are in the process of tracking down drivers who may have witnessed the act of road rage from start to finish. Anyone who may have seen anything involving these two vehicles should contact the CHP investigator at (619) 220-5492.

CHP Officer Jake Sanchez warned drivers Friday to not let road rage ever escalate to such a deadly point. He warned drivers not to pick fights with others on the roadway because you don't know what that person may be going through or if that person could be capable of something like this.

When Alicja Bator, a devout Catholic who once considered becoming a nun, was going through a divorce, she felt profound loss, as if someone close to her had died. She met her ex-husband when she was 18 and got married at 24 in a New Jersey church. Seven years and three children later, she filed for divorce. 

“It’s extremely draining and it created a huge guilt in my heart and soul,” said Bator, 37. “I was married before God and to have it fall apart was very difficult."

Bator is one of 11 million U.S. Catholics to have divorced, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. The divorce rate of U.S. adults is 36 percent, higher than the 28 percent rate among Catholics. 

The Catholic Church, however, doesn't recognize divorce, because it considers marriage permanent. Millions of Catholics in the U.S. who remarried outside the church without first obtaining an annulment — a declaration by the church that their marriage was never valid — are banned from receiving Holy Communion, one of the most important rituals of their faith. Considered adulterers by the church, and feeling like outcasts, many have drifted away from the fold, often attending Protestant churches, instead, where they can receive Communion. The Vatican is paying close attention to their plight: Pope Francis last year revived the debate on how the church could integrate the divorced and civilly remarried in the life of the church. 

Confusion About What Annulment Means

An annulment declares that a marriage thought to be binding according to the church fell short of at least one of the five essential elements required by church law. Those elements include that a man and woman be free to marry, be faithful and open to having children. Once a Church Tribunal — a type of Catholic Church court — grants an annulment, the person is free to remarry and participate fully in church life.  

Many divorced Catholics, however, don’t even know an annulment is an option. Those who do are confused about the process, according to church officials. They also feel there aren’t enough support groups and programs in their parishes to help them deal with the trauma of divorce, something church officials also recognize. Out of the 30 million Catholics in the U.S., 4.5 million have divorced and remarried outside the church without an annulment, according CARA.

“Mostly, people wrongly rely on their own limited understanding to assume they could never get an annulment, so they leave the church,” said Rose Sweet, a Catholic author who created “The Catholic’s Divorce Survival Guide,” a DVD series. Well-meaning pastors can even give false information unintentionally, she said. 

Sweet said the church’s approach toward divorced Catholics ranges from “warm reception and support to outright shunning.”

Bator has been divorced for four years but she’s yet to apply for an annulment. She says it has been difficult to reconcile divorce with her faith and she admits she doesn’t fully understand what an annulment offers. She say she filled out an annulment form several months after her divorce but she hasn’t followed through.

“Maybe if I meet a man who truly loves me and would consider getting married then I would go forward with an annulment,” she said.

Catholics who apply for an annulment say the process can be healing, but it can take anywhere from a year to more than two years. The length of time varies by diocese.

Debate Over How to Integrate Divorced Catholics

In October 2014 Pope Francis called a meeting of Catholic bishops, known as synod, to discuss family issues. A second Vatican synod is set to gather this October after the pope returns from his historic visit to the U.S. Bishops are expected to decide whether to recommend changes to how the Catholic church should integrated the divorced, then it will be up to the pope on whether to take any action.

The pope, who will attend the Meeting of World Families in Philadelphia in September, has said the church should make it easier for some divorced Catholics to remarry and receive other sacraments so they can fully participate in the church life.

According to Edward Kurtz, the archbishop of Louisville and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the report issued at the conclusion of the first synod last year looked at a range of areas for reform.

Some bishops want the church to make it easier for a divorced person to receive Communion even if they remarry outside of the church. The pope has indicated, however, that “Communion alone is no solution. The solution is integration.”

According to Archbishop Kurtz, the idea that had the greatest consensus at the synod was removing annulment fees, he said, which average $500, depending on the diocese.

Sweet said the church should ensure that an advocate assigned to help a person seeking annulment doesn’t just assist with paperwork, but also provides spiritual support.

“In many parishes there is no one there to hold their hand, no one one to listen to their story, no outreach. It’s a mechanical process that is cold and sterile,” Sweet said. “But there are parishes where people go through the process and end up with deeper faith.”

Jim Glaser, a registered dietitian, was told it would take two to three years to get an annulment in his diocese in Tucson, Arizona. He said it was “discouraging,” but he was determined to do it.

“It’s not great to hear that it is going to take up to three years for the church to examine testimony from witnesses and make a decision on whether a person’s marriage is valid or not,” said Glaser, 58, who became a single father of five after his divorce in 2011. 

His ex-wife, who applied for an annulment in San Diego, was able to get it in less than 18 months. Glaser participated in the process. He also spoke with priests and a deacon about his divorce and connected with Sweet. He said all parishes should offer some sort of program to help guide the divorced and let them feel like they are still welcomed in the church, despite their failure in marriage.

Divorce Ministries a Well-Kept Secret

Catholic divorce ministries are active across the U.S., but unlike marriage ministries, which offer preparation for couples getting married, divorce ministries are not required by the church. In parishes where they operate, they are often a well-kept secret, even some divorce ministry leaders admit. 

Sweet, who will lead a panel on divorce at the World Meeting of Families, created her "Divorce Survival Guide” after going through her own divorce in the 1990s. She said she had been unable to find content that would provide healing while being faithful to the Catholic Church’s teachings.

Over 400 parishes have purchased her program so far and are using it in their support groups, according to Sweet. 

Father Stephen Porter, who’s featured in the guide, offers the divorce survival program at his parish in Rialto, California. He started the support group after realizing that there were people who were “lost and confused and sometimes angry” about their divorce.

His parish also waived annulment fees, and he credits Pope Francis for the move. 

“One of the things I think Pope Francis is trying to do is take away the stigma of divorce and help divorced Catholics not to think of themselves as second class citizens, second class Catholics because their marriage failed,” Father Porter said. “He’s also saying to us priests ‘come on, love, don’t judge, don’t evaluate, just love people where they are.’"

Family and friends gathered to remember a National City man less than a week after he died in a motorcycle crash.

Bryce Maldonado, 24, was seconds away from home Tuesday when he was struck by a car.

He was riding his motorcycle north on 47th Street when a car driving south turned onto Magnus Way, colliding into him.

At the corner where the crash happened, flowers, candles and notes were left behind for Maldonado. Loved ones say he left behind only good memories.

“I wish I could do anything to get him back,” says long-time friend Hernan Gamino. “Someone really close to you is gone forever.”

He and dozens of others were raising money for Maldonado’s family during this difficult time.

Sister-in-law Jennifer Maldonado says the family was in shock after hearing the news.

She says Maldonado had only recently started riding a motorcycle. “We still think that he's going to walk into the house with this big smile like he always did,” she said.

Friends and family remember him as a loving son, brother, uncle and friend. He was someone who always had a smile on his face.

“I really don’t have anything bad to say about my friend. He's one of the best people I've ever met in my life…just sucks it had to be him,” Gamino says.