Seventy-eight puppies in a van en route to pet stores in New Jersey and Pennsylvania survived a crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Wednesday morning, but two perished.

The two-vehicle crash, which left five people injured, happened around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday in the eastbound lanes of the Turnpike between the Willow Grove and Bensalem exits near mile-marker 346 in Lower Moreland Township, said Pennsylvania State Police.

The puppies were being transported from Ohio to various pet stores in New Jersey when the Ford E250 van they were in crashed into a Ford F350 pickup. Two pups died, but 78 survived, some with minor injuries and one with a broken leg.

Volunteers from the Southampton and Willow Grove fire companies responded for the auto rescue. They found much more.

"When we got on the scene that's when we realized there were so many puppies," said Southampton Fire Company No. 1 Chief Glenn McKenney.

Crews got all the puppies -- a handful that were running around -- off the road and got the people out of the damaged vehicles.

McKenney said once firefighters wrangled all the pups they put them on a flatbed trailer and played with the dogs to keep them occupied as they waited for the Bucks County SPCA to arrive. Most of the dogs went to the SPCA while 12 were released to the Puppy Hut pet store in New Jersey, said police.

Bucks County SPCA spokeswoman Annie Irwin, calling the situation a first in her 40 years with the agency, complemented firefighters for their hard work in wrangling the pups.

"I was so impressed with the firemen who responded to the call at 4:30 in the morning and rescued the puppies from the van and from the road," said Irwin.

A Pennsylvania state dog law enforcement officer issued violations for transporting underage puppies. The dogs' owner arrived from Ohio to claim the dogs and get them onto their final destinations. The pets were not immediately available for adoption.

Van driver Ronald Stephenson, 25, and his passenger, Forrest Sowards suffered minor injuries while the driver and passengers of the pickup suffered minor injuries, said police. The crash left traffic backed up on the Turnpike for some time.

Stephenson was cited for failing to maintain a safe distance when the pickup suddenly slowed in front of him.

Authorities say two boys rescued two young children from a burning mobile home in central Florida.

Ten-year-old Isiah Francis and 11-year-old Jeremiah Grimes rushed in to a neighbor's home around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Orange County after a fire broke out and rescued a 1-year-old and an 8-month-old.

Isiah and Jeremiah say the smoke inside the home was so thick they could barely see.

Fire officials say two other children, ages 2 and 5, who live in the home were injured. One was taken to the hospital via medical helicopter. They were both in critical but stable condition at Arnold Palmer Hospital.

Orange County Fire Rescue says a total of four children and one adult were in the home when the fire broke out.

The cause of the blaze hasn't been determined. 

A drought-mitigation plan that involved killing off grass at a park has some residents at odds with their Southern California city, as communities search for ways to address state-ordered cutbacks amid the state's four-year dry spell.

The residents are concerned about a chemical used to remove the grass, much of which will be replaced with wood chips. The herbicide RoundUp, a chemical the Conejo Recreation and Park District is using to kill off grass at Russell Park in Thousand Oaks, produced a strong odor.

"Everybody around here could smell it. It was terrible," said Linda Spencer, recalling the day in late May when she brought her dog to the park.

Parks officials said the chemical does not pose a health threat to park visitors.

"It is deemed safe, by our EPA, to walk on immediately after it's been sprayed," said Jim Freidl, general manager of the recreation and parks district.

Residents also are upset about what will replace giant areas of grass under the park’s shady trees, where parents watch sports and kids picnic. About 185,000 square feet of turf will be removed at the park, according to the parks district website.

"To tear this all out and replace it with wood chips, would be criminal," said Spencer.

Thousand Oaks resident John Wilcox and others started looking into drought mitigation at other parks in the district and discovered that some won't be getting any chemical spray.

"We went through every park in the whole city," Wilcox said. "Why should we be penalized?"

Conejo's general manager said desperate times call for desperate measures, and the state's water board ordered a 36 percent cut for the city's parks across the board. The parks district has turned off water for parts of nearly every park.

"This is not what we preferred to do, either," Freidl said.

Friedl said parks that were mostly sports parks were taking bigger hits, but he said he will meet with residents to consider alternatives to the wood chips.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story indicated Russell Park is in the San Fernando Valley. The park is located in the Conejo Valley.

AT&T Mobility LLC has been hit with a $100 million fine for offering consumers "unlimited" data, but then slowing their Internet speeds after they hit a certain amount.

The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that the company misled consumers into buying plans they believed would give them unlimited ability to send and receive data, including Web browsing, GPS navigation and streaming videos. But the FCC said that once the consumer receached a certain level, that data would be slowed down significantly, at speeds lower than advertised.

AT&T said it will "vigorously dispute" the allegations.

"The FCC has specifically identified this practice as a legitimate and reasonable way to manage network resources for the benefit of all customers, and has known for years that all of the major carriers use it," the company said in a statement released to reporters. "We have been fully transparent with our customers, providing notice in multiple ways and going well beyond the FCC's disclosure requirements."

The hefty fine by the FCC comes on the heels of a federal lawsuit filed against the company last fall. The Federal Trade Commission, which enforces rules against deceptive advertising, said it wants to refund customers who were offered the unlimited data packages, only to be given slower data speeds than advertised. That lawsuit is still working its way through a federal court in California.

Earlier this year, the FTC accused TracFone Wireless of similar tactics. TracFone agreed to settle the case for $40 million.

The FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested a 21-year-old Staten Island man who allegedly repeatedly tried to stab an FBI agent with a kitchen knife Wednesday as officers attempted to search his home in connection with an ongoing ISIS-related investigation involving a Queens college student arrested over the weekend, according to court documents.

Fareed Mumuni was charged Wednesday with attempting to murder an FBI agent, though no serious injuries were reported in the scuffle, conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and trying to assist the terror group in carrying out an attack in the New York area, according to the complaint.

After his arrest, Mumuni allegedly told investigators he had pledged his allegiance to ISIS and that he planned to travel overseas to join the group. If he wasn't able to join ISIS overseas, he allegedly planned to attack law enforcement officers at home, and was coordinating that plan with others. 

Mumuni's alleged conspirators include Munther Omar Saleh, the 20-year-old college student from Queens arrested over the weekend for allegedly scouting possible targets for an ISIS-inspired attack. Court documents say Saleh also charged law enforcement officers with a knife when he saw them conducting surveillance of him and another alleged conspirator Saturday. No one was hurt.

Saleh allegedly named Mumuni as a co-conspirator when he agreed to speak with investigators following his arrest, court documents indicate. Investigators began reviewing cellphone records between the duo, and found discussions about attacking law enforcement.

In one conversation, Saleh allegedly told Mumuni to use a bomb, then to fight, later clarifying he should detonate an explosive, then run over law enforcement officers with a vehicle, gather up their weapons and use them to shoot at other victims, court papers say.   

Court documents indicate Saleh allegedly emailed himself information about how to build a pressure cooker bomb like the ones used in the 2013 Boston Marathon attack; he and another man also allegedly searched for items like an LED light, lava lamp, chemistry model, propane and other components that authorities say could be used in the creation of explosive devices. While Saleh allegedly was running the "op," as he described it to a confidential informant, authorities allege Mumuni helped him in his alleged efforts to carry out an attack on behalf of ISIS.

The two were seen meeting on several occasions since May; during one meeting, Saleh contacted Mumuni to tell him he had money and wanted to meet, stating that he had money that "talks," possibly referring to funding for an illegal transaction, the complaint alleges. Saleh eluded surveillance teams on the way to a meeting with Mumuni on Staten Island.

Saleh and Mumuni also met in lower Manhattan late last month. On June 1, Saleh and another alleged co-conspirator allegedly talked about how the meeting with Mumuni went. Saleh allegedly said it was "awesome" and "motivating."

When Saleh told Mumuni 11 days later, "I decided to tell my parents 'i will be gone in much less than a year, in sha Allah, you have two choices, either you let me go to Darul Islam or you watch me kill nonMuslims here," Mumuni replied, "May Allah make it easy for you," court documents say. 

Authorities went to Mumuni's home Wednesday to execute a search warrant in the case when Mumuni allegedly attacked them. Court papers say the suspect's mother and sister opened the door to let law enforcement officers in, and when they entered, Mumuni walked down the main staircase.

Officers ordered him to move to a couch in the living room and Mumuni refused, then allegedly lunged at the agents with a kitchen knife. He repeatedly tried to stab one officer as others attempted to restrain him, court papers say. None of the stabs penetrated the agent's body armor. 

After Mumuni's arrest, his mother allowed agents to search his car, where investigators found a bag containing another large kitchen knife, court papers say. After his arrest, he allegedly told FBI agents Wednesday's attack on the officers was premeditated and that he kept the knife used to attack the agent wrapped in a T-shirt in his bed for just such an occasion. He said he also stowed the knife found in his mother's car for a potential encounter with law enforcement, the complaint says.

Court papers say Mumuni also admitted to talking about building a pressure cooker bomb with Saleh.

Mumuni appeared briefly in federal court in Brooklyn; he was appointed an attorney, Anthony Ricco, who denied his client pledged allegiance to ISIS. Ricco said Mumuni would plead not guilty at an appropriate time. He said Mumuni is a religious man who had a job before Wednesday. The lawyer also said Mumuni and Saleh know each other, but he declined to elaborate on their relationship.

Ricco said Mumuni's mother and cousins, who were in court Wednesday, were surprised by the charges. They did not comment as they left court. The young man's uncle, who was also in court, said he didn't believe the charges. He said Mumuni attends the College of Staten Island and works as a home health aide on the weekends. The uncle described Mumuni as a good kid.

A neighbor who witnessed the arrest was Mumuni was cooperative when he was arrested by authorities; he was led out of his home wearing a bathrobe and shackles. The neighbor reiterated the uncle's statements that Mumuni is a good kid, saying he was always offering to shovel and carry groceries. The neighbor said he doesn't believe the allegations "for a minute." 

Mumuni was held without bail. He faces 20 years in prison if convicted of the charge of attempting to murder a federal officer.

Saleh appeared in court Saturday when the complaint against him was unsealed. The name of his attorney wasn't available, but his family denied the allegations Wednesday. 

Lady Liberty is celebrating a big anniversary.

On June 17, 1885 -- 130 years ago -- the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York harbor. A gift of friendship from France to commemorate the ideals shared by French and American governments, the statue arrived in New York harbor in more than 300 pieces, according to the National Parks Service.

The copper statue was assembled over the course of several months on what was then called Bedloe’s Island, according to the National Parks Service, before being commemorated on October 28, 1886.

The artist who designed the statue, Auguste Bartholdi, said he chose to put the statue on what is now known as Liberty island because of its location in the busy harbor.

“It is, indeed, the New World, which appears in its majestic expanse, with ardor of its glowing life. Yes, in this very place shall be raised the Statue of Liberty,” he wrote.

In the 129 years since its dedication the statue has been dedicated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a National Monument and a New York City landmark. It’s visited by millions of people worldwide every year and is one of the most iconic and symbolic sites in the nation.

It was closed for more than a year after being damaged by Sandy in 2012, but has since reopened.

Google commemorated the anniversary Wednesday by replacing its logo with a doodle of the statue arriving in the harbor.

A former commodore of the Coronado Yacht club appeared in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing on charges he allegedly molested his 10-year-old neighbor and a family member.

Thomas Garrett, 73, was arrested in 2012 and charged with forcible lewd act on a juvenile victim and one charge for a lewd act on a child. The child he is accused of molesting lives next door to him in Chula Vista.

In 2013, six charges were filed against him involving the same alleged victim, including a charge that carries a maximum of term of life in prison. 

Garrett is now facing additional charges involving a second alleged victim who is a family member. The alleged abuse happened when the victim was between the ages of five and eight years old. 

At the preliminary hearing Wednesday for his retrial, a judge will decide if there is enough evidence for Garrett to stand trial again.

A judge previously threw out an original case's conviction and ordered a new trial due to jury misconduct. 

The alleged 10-year-old victim came forward to her mother in 2012 with the accusations.

Garrett, who is also a former firefighter, has denied all allegations and his attorney says there is no physical evidence. He is currently out on bail.

The mother of one of the alleged victim has tried to obtain a restraining order against him, but wasn't approved because a criminal protective order is already in place stating Garrett can't come within 100 yards of the alleged victim.

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife are giving $5 million to a scholarship fund for undocumented immigrant students. 

The Facebook CEO and his wife Priscilla Chan announced their donation to TheDream.Us in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

"America was founded as a nation of immigrants. We ought to welcome smart and hardworking young people from every nation, and to help everyone in our society achieve their full potential," he wrote. "If we help more young immigrants climb the ladder to new opportunities, then our country will make greater progress."

Zuckerberg is among Silicon Valley's most philanthropic people. In 2013, the Facebook CEO and his wife Priscilla Chan donated $1 billion, according to reports.

He came out as an advocate for immigration reform in 2013 when he spoke publicly for the first time on the issue.

"Someone did a study and it showed half of tech companies are founded by immigrants," he said. "These are issues that don’t just touch our industry, but really touch the whole country."

A new plan may change the way airplanes and other air traffic arrives at the San Diego International Airport.

As part of a proposal to improve the flow of air traffic into Southern Californian airports, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is looking to change air traffic procedures to a satellite-based system.

In lieu of this change, the U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA will be holding a meeting in San Diego about the Draft Environmental Assessment for the Southern California Metroplex project.

“Public engagement and participation in the Southern California Metroplex process is critical,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We take public input very seriously, and we strongly encourage people, agencies and officials to learn about, and weigh in on, this proposal.”

The Metroplex proposal, which encompases several Southern California airports, is meant to increase the efficiency of the way planes come in to those airports primarily by switching them over to the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System, NextGen.

“Many of the current air traffic procedures in Southern California are decades old,” the release said. 

The procedures in place are safe, but rely on ground-based navigation aids instead of satellite-based procedures. Those aids limit the possible flight paths coming into the airport.

Satellite-based procedures, on the other hand, let planes take a more direct route, altitude and spped coming in. The project will also expand how many entry and exit points planes have when coming in and out of the plane, creating more on- and off-ramps in the sky.

The San Diego meeting will be held on June 22 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Logan Heights Library, located at 567 S. 28th Street in San Diego. In advance of the process, residents can leave comments here. 
 

A 59-year-old Fallbrook woman was killed in a head-on crash Tuesday evening after police say her BMW SUV crossed over the double yellow line and into another vehicle, carrying a pregnant woman.

The collision happened in the area just east of the Melba Bishop Park and Recreation Center around 6:15 p.m. Oceanside police say the driver crashed into a Toyota RAV 4 traveling westbound on North River Road near Stallion Drive.

The driver of the BMW was entrapped in the SUV and was unresponsive when officials arrived. Despite lifesaving efforts by firefighters, the woman in the BMW was pronounced dead at the scene.

“We don’t know if she was reaching for something or driving too fast. It’s too early to say,” said Oceanside Police Sgt. Ignacio Lopez.

The driver of the RAV 4, Whitney Sundseth, 23, was airlifted to Scripps Memorial Hospital as a precaution because she is 9 weeks pregnant, according to Lopez. She was later released, police said.

The impact of the crash caused the RAV 4 to spin and ultimately end up facing eastbound on the roadway. A pickup truck traveling behind the vehicle was unable to avoid the RAV 4 and struck it head-on. The driver of the truck was not injured, police said.

None of the vehicles had any passengers.

Oceanside Police don’t suspect alcohol was involved, but the cause of the fatal collision remains under investigation.

Officers closed down North River Road in both directions for a time, issuing a Sig Alert as they investigated the crash.
The name of the driver who died has not yet been released.
 

A man who watched his friend die in a motorcycle crash and was arrested for interfering with rescue efforts now plans to sue the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

After the department rejected his claim, Jon Regenhardt told NBC 7 Tuesday he will file a lawsuit against the agency through his attorney, Steve Estey, hoping to get the deputy who arrested him fired.

His reasons date back to Oct. 5, 2014, when his best friend, 25-year-old Navid Zamani, was fatally wounded in a motorcycle crash on State Route 94 in Dulzura when he collided with a pickup truck.

“I lost my heart. I lost my soul. I lost my best friend,” said Regenhardt.

Zamani died at the scene from his injuries. The driver of the truck was not injured.

Regenhardt was riding ahead of Zamani and immediately rushed to his aid after the crash.

“I knew right away, I just had to do everything I could to know that I tried and know that I didn’t fail trying,” he said.

He tried comforting Zamani in his final moments by rubbing his leg and staying close to his friend, Regenhardt told NBC 7.

But according to an arrest report, Regenhardt was interfering with EMTs and paramedics’ rescue efforts. The report claims that Regenhardt bumped into EMT firefighters that were trying to resuscitate Zamani.

It also states that when officers tried to make him leave the area, Regenhardt became actively resistant and refused commands to step back from the victim.

Photos taken at the time show a struggle between Regenhardt and deputies. He was eventually handcuffed and cited for interfering.

“What we have here is a total lack of compassion. Jon was there comforting his dying friend and it really didn’t need to lead to what the sheriff did,” said Regenhardt’s attorney Estey.

The original charges against Regenhardt have been dropped, but he wants to move forward with his lawsuit, filing it within the next two months. According to Estey, their goal is for the sheriff to look at the case and order additional training for deputies.

Regenhardt said he’s determined to take get some kind of result from his legal efforts. He hopes the officer who dealt with him on Oct. 5 loses his badge.

“I’m alive so I can pursue this. The next person won’t be able to, and he’s going to get away with killing someone on the next one,” Regenhardt said.

NBC 7 reached out to the sheriff’s department and the county for a comment on this story. They cannot comment on pending litigation, but a spokesperson pointed out that the claim filed against them was rejected, and no official lawsuit has been filed yet.

A 24-year-old man died Tuesday after hiking a forest trail near Julian, San Diego County Sheriff's officials said.

A 911 call from the man's group reported he had fainted from possible heat exhaustion as they hiked in the Cleveland National Forest's Cedar Creek area. The hikers had plenty of water, but the man was soon unconscious.

A rescue helicopter found the group on the trail and airlifted the victim as the crew tried to revive him.

The man died before he could reach the hospital, according to the sheriff's department. The name of the victim has not been released.

A veteran New Jersey police officer awarded earlier this year for saving people from a burning building has been arrested for allegedly killing a 23-year-old father in a hit-and-run when he was off-duty Tuesday, authorities say. 

Jose Urena, a seven-year officer with the Paterson Police Department, was charged with leaving the scene of Tuesday's accident near North Fourth and Temple streets in the city. 

Police say they got a call about the accident around 8:25 p.m. and found Jaquill Fields, of Paterson, in the street. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died of his injuries, authorities said. 

Accident reconstruction crews and officials with the prosecutor's homicide unit investigated, and Urena was arrested. He has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation. 

Fields' family described him as a "great guy" who loved to laugh and adored his 2-year-old son. They said they want justice for his death, and that they hoped the officer wouldn't get special treatment because of his standing in the community. 

"I just hope he gets no slack because he's an officer," said Fields' aunt, Kim Mottley. "He's still a human being." 

"It hurts. And to know there was an off-duty officer and he couldn't even stop," she said. 

Urena pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday and bail was set at $50,000. His attorney, Patrick Casserta, said he had no comment on the charges at this time. 

Fields' brother Yason Fields attended the arraignment to face the man accused of leaving his brother to die on the sidewalk.

"I hope he rots in hell," he said. "He's going to pay for his actions."  

In January, Urena received a life-saving award from the Paterson Police Department for saving several people from a burning building in the city last June. 

A 10-year-old boy was bitten by a shark at Daytona Beach Shores in Florida Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

The boy, who was visiting from Georgia, suffered minor lacerations after he was bitten on the calf just after 1 p.m., Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue spokeswoman Tamra Marris said.

He was treated and released at the scene.

The boy was in chest deep water when the incident occurred, Marris said. A lifeguard who was in the area responded.

Marris said the beaches would stay open.

It was the fourth reported shark bite in Volusia County this year, according to WESH.

Last week, a 10-year-old boy was bitten by a shark at Cocoa Beach in Brevard County.

A 5K through the empty fairgrounds, a huge beer festival, some mixed martial arts and lots and lots of live music mark this weekend at the San Diego County Fair. Here are the highlights:

Saturday, June 20

San Diego County Fair 5K
8 a.m. to 10 a.m., throughout the fairgrounds
This all-ages 5K gives participants the chance to run, skip and stroll their ways through the fairgrounds before the big daily crowds arrive. A ticket to the race ($49) includes a 5K shirt, two admission tickets to the fair (one for now, one for later), a free beer or beverage and a $10 discount to the San Diego International Beer Festival starting at 11 a.m. Kids ages 5 and under can participate in the fun for free. Space is limited and as of Wednesday afternoon, the race was 95 percent sold out, so hurry and grab your ticket.

San Diego International Beer Festival
Five Sessions (Friday through Sunday; times vary) Del Mar Arena
This massive beer fest goes down at the Del Mar Arena inside the fairgrounds from Friday through Sunday with five different sessions. Saturday’s sessions run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Sunday session is 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees can enjoy unlimited 1-ounce samples of more than 400 beers including award-winning local craft brews and suds from around the globe. General admission tickets cost $62 per person, while VIP tickets cost $105. For more on this brew fest, click here.

DeStorm Power
7 p.m., Paddock Stage
This YouTube sensation hits the stage as part of the fair’s new “YouTube Concert Series” highlighting viral artists who have risen to fame via social media. DeStorm Power is a hip-hop and comedy star known for his ability to create a song from any subject. He has an audience of 1.7 million YouTube subscribers and more than three million Vine followers, and is American Music Awards and YouTube Music Awards winner. This show is free with paid admission into the fair. There’s also a meet and greet session for a limited number of fans that costs $60 per person, not including fair admission.

Clare Bowen & Charles Esten
7:30 p.m., Heineken Grand Stage
Two stars of the hit TV show, “Nashville,” will take to the stage together in this concert at the fair. Paid fair admission is required to attend this concert. Unreserved areas (the 3rd and 5th level seats and standing room in front of the stage) are included with fair admission. Reserved seats (2nd and 4th levels, and Terrace) range from $24 to $36 for children, adults and seniors.

Mike Tompkins
7:30 p.m., Paddock Stage
Also part of the “YouTube Concert Series” at the fair, a cappella producer and artist Mike Tompkins will take his viral act live and show off his pop music remix skills. He currently has more than 200 million views on his online videos. This show is free with fair admission. Tompkins will also host a meet and greet with fans for $60 per person before his performance.

Billy Idolized
9 p.m., Coors Light Rock-On Stage
“Dancing With Myself.” “Rebel Yell.” “White Wedding.” This 21+ Billy Idol tribute show has it all and is free with fair admission Saturday night. The “Billy Idolized” band, of San Diego, is the ultimate tribute to the 1980s superstar – hair, hits and dance moves included.

Sunday, June 21

Grupo Intocable
7:30 p.m., Heineken Grandstand Stage
This Tejano-Norteño musical group from Zapata rose to fame in the 1990s with Norteño folk rhythms and pop balladry. Unreserved seats (3rd and 5th levels) are free with paid fair admission. Reserved seats (2nd and 4th levels, and Terrace) range in price from $24 to $36. Standing Room tickets on the floor cost between $28 and $34 for kids, seniors and adults.

SummerFist Mixed Martial Arts
11 a.m.; 1 p.m.; 3 p.m.; 5 p.m., Paddock Green
Mixed martial arts action hits the Paddock Green on Father’s Day. Two 20-minute bouts will be contested during each of the four sessions. This event is free with paid fair admission.

World Tour: Legends of Rock
9 p.m., Coors Light Rock-On Stage
This 21+ show features a tribute band rocking out the most high-energy, legendary anthems of all time from the 1980s. The members of the band have toured with the best, too, including icons like Guns N Roses, AC/DC, Tom Petty and REO Speedwagon, just to name a few. This show is free with paid fair admission. Rock on!

The FAA is investigating whether garbled transmissions and too-similar flight numbers may have led to a close call at Chicago’s Midway Airport.

Just before 7:40 (8:40 p.m. ET) Tuesday evening, a Southwest Airlines flight bound for Tulsa was cleared for takeoff on Runway 31-Center. As that plane began its roll, the FAA says controllers noticed that a Delta flight, departing Chicago for Atlanta, had begun rolling on Runway 4-Right without clearance. Both aircrafts were heading for the same intersection.

"The controller alerted the Delta crew to stop immediately,” the FAA said in a statement. "The Southwest crew chose to stop as well. Each aircraft halted more than 2,000 feet from the runway intersection."

Tower tapes available from LiveAtc.net suggested nothing was amiss as the Southwest flight was given its takeoff clearance. But because of garble on the frequency, the air traffic controller handling the flight repeated his instruction.

"Did you call Southwest 3828?" he says. "Verify no delay, left at two-five-zero. Three one center, clear for takeoff."

Shortly after that, the frightening moment when the controller saw two planes heading for the same intersection.

"Stop, stop, stop!" he is heard shouting on the control tower frequency. And shortly afterward, when both planes had halted their takeoff rolls, the Southwest captain inquires about who broke the rules.

"Were we the ones cleared for takeoff?" he asks.

"Yes sir you were," the controller responds. "You were the ones who were doing what you were supposed to be doing."

The Southwest pilot asks, "That Delta took our…Delta was rolling also?"

"Yep, he took your call sign," the controller says. "Somebody kept stepping on you. I couldn't figure out who it was. That’s why I reiterated that it was you that I was clearing for takeoff."

Earlier, as both aircraft were departing the gate, a ground controller warned both to be aware of their similar flight numbers.

"Delta 1328, be advised similar call sign on frequency is Southwest 3828," she advises. Then moments later, she tells the Southwest captain, "Be advised similar call sign on frequency, is Delta 1328."

Both captains acknowledged the warning.

In a statement, Delta Airlines said it was cooperating fully with the FAA’s investigation. Southwest emphasized in their own statement that safety is the airline’s number one priority, as they lauded the controller’s professionalism.

"After being cleared for takeoff at MDW on the evening of Tuesday, June 16, the pilots of Southwest flight 3828 followed FAA Air Traffic Control instructions and safely aborted takeoff," the statement said. "Then the pilots proceeded to taxi off of the runway to complete required checklist items, and returned to the terminal to complete other necessary reports and tasks related to the event."

Both flights eventually continued on to their destinations without incident.

There’s no better place than San Diego for a beer festival and this weekend, a massive brew bash is going down at the San Diego County Fair pouring samples of more than 400 beers.

The San Diego International Beer Festival (SDIBF) is happening Friday through Sunday at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The event is broken up into five different sessions for beer lovers to take part in: Noon to 4 p.m. Friday; 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 11a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

General admission tickets to each session cost $62 per person. This includes a souvenir tasting glass that can be filled with unlimited 1-ounce samplings during the event, plus admission into the fair.

VIP tickets, at $105 a pop, include unlimited 6-ounce sampling, plus access to a special lounge area and VIP food stations for unlimited grazing for the first two hours of each session. As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, the only VIP tickets left available for purchase were for the Friday sessions and Sunday session.

The hundreds of beers on tap at the fest are from all over the world and include varieties of ale, cider, porter, stout, mead and more.

Local craft breweries will showcase their best brews as well, including Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, Green Flash Brewing Co., AleSmith Brewing Company and Pizza Port, among many others. To check out the full list of breweries participating in the fest, click here.

Besides a bounty of sudsy samples, the beer festival will also include live, educational demos on the “Beer Stage,” including a chocolate and beer pairing demo and a class about pairing beer with cheese. There are also demos on beer and donut pairings, beer and pretzel pairings and beer and tapas pairings. Essentially, beer goes with just about anything.

The fest culminates with the SDIBF Beer Competition in which breweries from all over the world submit their finest creations as they vie for the coveted “Best in Show” and “Champion Brewery” awards.

This marks the 9th year of the SDIBF. Organizers say more than 11,000 beer lovers attended the five-session fest last year.
 

Residents in the 6700 block of Friars Road in Mission Valley say they are fed up with overnight construction noise caused by SDG&E crews.

“We’ve been notified by crews here, not by the City of San Diego, that they’re going to do this at nine at night to five in the morning,” said a main in cellphone video recording the construction.

“The jackhammering is like it’s literally in your house,” said Ferne Redford who lives in Mission Greens Condominiums located across the street.

SDG&E acknowledges it’s putting residents in the area through a lot. It initially requested the work be done during the day. In a statement to NBC 7, a spokesman wrote:

“We are currently working to pressure test sections of our natural gas pipelines on Friars Road. We requested permission from the City to conduct this safety testing during the day. The City, however, authorized us to work only at night out of concern for traffic on Friars Road during the day. We appreciate that neighbors are frustrated with the noise associated with the construction and have a dedicated manager responding to their concerns.”

Michael Blalok also lives near the construction site. He was a longtime civil engineer and says he understands the city’s and SDG&E’s decision to work at night.

“It really can’t be helped if you want to be honest about it. You have high volumes of traffic [on Friars Road] particularly in the mornings and the evenings, people going to work and all that kind of stuff. And you have a lot of elderly people walking on the sidewalk, walking their dogs,” he said.

According to signs near the site, construction will continue until July 30. SDG&E says the noise should be intermittent. The company has information online about its pipeline safety enhancement plan and associated projects: sdge.com/pipelinesafety.
 

A woman was arrested and charged with murder Tuesday night after she led police to the lifeless body of her mother inside a Carmel Valley home, the San Diego Police Department confirmed.

Just before 10:30 p.m., police and paramedics were called to a house in the 3700 block of Carmel View Road for a welfare check on a 73-year-old resident. The caller feared the woman was in distress and in need of help.

When officers arrived, there was no response at the front door. Police said they heard a woman talking and a dog barking from inside the home.

When they opened the door, officers found 51-year-old Lara Epstein standing in the living room. Epstein then directed officers to the body of her dead 73-year-old mother inside the home.

Homicide investigators said the victim had suffered massive blunt force trauma to her body, including some lacerations.

After questioning Epstein, police arrested her on suspicion of murder. No further details of the crime – or a motive – were released by authorities.

Epstein was booked into the LCDRF Las Colinas Detention and Re-entry Facility on one count of first-degree murder. She’s scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

As of Wednesday morning, police had not released the victim’s name, pending notification of family members.

Police officers taped off the home and stayed there overnight waiting on a search warrant so they could go inside. By 6 a.m., they had obtained the warrant and were searching the house for evidence.

Officials said there was a lot of trace evidence to sift through inside the home, including DNA and fingerprints, so a criminal analyst was called in. Investigators were expected to spend all day searching the home.

SDPD Lt. Paul Rorrison said the suspect and victim are related and later confirmed the victim was the suspect's mother.

He said the victim lived with other in the home, but police are still trying to determine if Epstein lived there as well.

Lt. Rorrison said Epstein was calm and rambling on when police encountered her at the residence. She made some statements that led police to take her into custody, he said.

There were no witnesses in the homicide and investigators said it appears no one heard any suspicious noise coming from the home either. Neighbors said they did not know the victim, as the residents kept mostly to themselves.

An autopsy has been scheduled for Thursday morning, police said. There are no outstanding suspects, Lt. Rorrison added.

A day after Chargers' special counsel nixed the idea of a December ballot measure for the stadium, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer called on the team to "prove they want to stay in their hometown."

At a press conference Wednesday, City and County leaders said their door was wide open for discussion, even as the Chargers appeared to criticize current stadium plans. 

"If San Diego if their first choice, we need them to reengage," Faulconer said. "It's time for Chargers ownership to show San Diego they want to stay in their hometown."

The remarks come a day after Chargers' special counsel Mark Fabiani's claim that a "legally defensible" stadium measure on a December ballot would be impossible, comments made after Faulconer called a two-hour meeting with the Chargers Tuesday morning "a productive exchange." 

Officials also laid out a timeline for environmental approval for the stadium in Mission Valley that would put the issue to an anticipated special election on January 12, 2016. A downtown stadium is not off the table, officials said, but if the Chargers do decide to go with the idea, the timeline would increase and the costs would increase by at least $150 million. 

"The Ownership of the Chargers wants to stay here, but we won't be part of a half-baked legal strategy put together by the city," Fabiani said in response to the city Wednesday. "They can criticize us all they want."

"They tell us we'd be nuts to go along with this,"Fabiani said. 

Faulconer also said the Chargers have declined to discuss financial terms and accused them of working on a plan to move to Los Angeles while San Diego officials worked to keep them here. Jason Roe, the mayor's political consultant, issued a statement voicing frustration with the matter.

"For the first time in seven months of incredibly hard work from the City, County, and CSAG, the Chargers did something honest - walk away from the table," said Roe. "The truth is, they never were at the table. They’ve mislead the fans and our elected and civic leaders by saying they wanted to remain in San Diego when in fact they initiated the process of relocation to LA a year ago. And throughout this process they’ve not done one single tangible thing toward a solution but instead put up phony roadblocks to success. Charger fans deserve better."

Goldsmith said environmental approval would be possible so quickly because they do not have to reinvent the wheel and the experts know the environmental impact because it is a replacement stadium. 

While Fabiani thanked the city and county team for their work Tuesday in trying to get the stadium ballot measure before voters this year, he went on to say it can't happen.

"Based on all of this work and discussion, the Chargers have concluded that it is not possible to place a ballot measure before voters in December 2015 in a legally defensible manner given the requirements of the State’s election law and the California Environmental Quality Act," said Fabiani's statement. "The various options that we have explored with the City’s experts all lead to the same result: Significant time-consuming litigation founded on multiple legal challenges, followed by a high risk of eventual defeat in the courts."

Fabiani wrote that the team is still committed to maintaining an open line of communication with the local government negotiators leading up to the NFL owners' special meeting in August. "That meeting may provide important information about what is likely to occur during the remainder of 2015," the counsel said.