A Tampa Bay-area deputy is recovering while a man is facing charges of DUI following a crash late Thursday night, according to a report from NBC affiliate WFLA.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, 24-year-old Yorgo Papagiani was driving a 2003 Cadillac when Deputy Brandon Lundy was right behind him in a marked Chevy Tahoe. When the light turned red, Parmigiani reportedly came to an abrupt stop.

The Deputy was unable to stop and rear-ended Papagiani's vehicle. Both men were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Investigators say Papagiani showed signs of impairment, and refused to take a blood test while at the hospital.

Once he was released, Papagiani was arrested and charged with DUI, driving with a suspended license, as well as marijuana possession and refusal to submit to a blood test.

He was released Friday on more than $10,000 bail. Jail records did not indicate an attorney.

Miami Dade Police are asking for the public's help to find a teenager missing since Wednesday.

Xena Hope, 14, was last seen on August 26th in the 20200 block of SW 127th Avenue.

Hope was last seen wearing a dark-colored school uniform polo shirt, tan shorts, and a pink book bag.

She is described as being 5'4", weighing 120 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Miami-Dade Police Department's Special Victims Bureau at (305) 418-7200, or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
 

As the whole country reflects on the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina a decade later, two Coast Guard rescue swimmers described seeing a submerged New Orleans and thousands in need of help.

Lt. Benjamin Berman and Aviation Survival Technician 1st Class Robert Williams, who are now stationed at the San Diego Coast Guard sector, said Friday that the images of destruction are still fresh in their minds.

"It was 10 years ago but there are constant reminders of it. Even just flying in the helicopter sometimes I'll just have memories while we are flying around," Williams said.

He was stationed at Corpus Christi, Texas, in 2005 and had only been a rescue swimmer for two years when he got the call for help.

Williams and his crew were on a helicopter bound for New Orleans an hour later. They arrived at night, and all he could see were flashlights dotting the ground. Before long, he realized those lights were held by people who needed rescue.

"It looked like a third-world country with people on rooftops and rivers flowing down places where cars should be driving, dogs swimming in the streets, people on top of cars floating down the streets, gas pipes that were broken and on fire," Williams said.

Berman lived in Mobile, Alabama, at the time. He flew in the first night Coast Guard crews came to the rescue, joining the branch's effort to save more than 33,500 people -- one of the largest rescue operations in Coast Guard history.

One disturbing sight that stuck with him, he said, was seeing a couple who died off Interstate 10, where he and his crew were trying to help survivors.

"That kind of affected me because they died together on the side of the freeway," he said. "It was kind of devastating. There was devastation everywhere of course, but walking up to that kind of devastation was pretty impactful."

Berman said he never forgets the anniversary of the day he was sent to New Orleans because he had to leave his 2-week old son. He now calls his boy his "Katrina baby."

Both Williams and Berman told NBC 7 in San Diego that they hope their efforts made an impact on survivors and that the people of New Orleans have come out stronger.

"It's sad though that a lot of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast has not recovered from Katrina, but I stand by them and hopefully they will come back around," Berman said.

Berman has returned every year since Hurricane Katrina, but Williams has not been back since the storm. He told NBC 7 he hopes to return soon.

I won't make this too long, I promise, but it's worth doing a small post-mortem on Erika.

All week I had been telling you how disorganized she was and how dry air and wind shear were impacting the storm. Erika was resilient due to her larger size, but in the end the mountains of Hispaniola finally disrupted the storm's circulation to the point of dissipation.

You also heard me talk a lot about the difference between computer forecast models and reality. I think this is an important take-away from this experience. Every one of those squiggly spaghetti models on the map were *projections* for a possible future scenario. Yes, there is powerful science in those models, and thousands of man-hours invested in refining them. But at the end of the day each one of those lines bringing a hurricane to the Bahamas or Florida was imaginary.

In the virtual world of the models, Erika wasn't as disorganized as she was in real life. I don't think the models ever resolved the low-level swirl of a circulation that was frequently detached from the robust thunderstorm activity (and at times mid-level circulation) off to the southeast. Some global models like the GFS, ECMWF and Japanese did perform better than others because a lot of times they correctly forecasted dissipation of Erika over the Greater Antilles. But they weren't consistent in this forecast. Overall, the models erred in the short-term trajectory forecast (a LOT), and consequently they erred in the longer term trajectory forecast (a LOT), and they erred in the intensity forecast (a LOT). As a consequence, the National Hurricane Center erred in their forecast (a lot more than usual) too.

It's time every generation of operational meteorologists reassess and revisit old-school methods of forecasting. Models are ONE tool in the shed, not a crutch. Observing present trends via our many remote-sensing and in-situ platforms CAN help improve short and long term forecasts. Yes, tropical cyclones are notoriously finicky -- I also have made mistakes. But the human element must remain part of the equation so as to better serve our audience. Otherwise, we might as well leave the drawing of a "cone of possibilities" to an algorithm based solely on the consensus of the models. And, in my opinion, such "cone" should never be extended to 7-days.

Meanwhile Florida readies for significant rain from Erika's remnants while she crosses over the Gulf of Mexico. Several inches of precipitation could cause flooding. In addition there is a slight risk of tornadoes, and minor coastal flooding could occur due to the onshore wind flow.

Pulling up to Jerry Reed's house in St. Roch neighborhood is like stepping back in time to August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina ripped through the area, devastating everything in its path. The house appears very much the same today as then, a decade after the storm, NBC News reported.

The home's foundations are unearthed, its vinyl siding peels along ragged lines that demarcate clearly how high the floodwaters rose. "Ten years after the storm, I didn't ever think it would still be — this bad," said a somber Reed as he reflected on the 10th anniversary of one of the most powerful natural disasters to ever strike a major American city.

Reed, 66, is a Vietnam War veteran who fought for his country and won the Silver Star but feels he has been forgotten here at home. He is just one of thousands of homeowners in and around New Orleans who is unable to pay for damages that remain from Hurricane Katrina.

Police are on the hunt for a hit-and-run driver who critically injured a bicyclist in Fort Lauderdale Saturday morning.

Fort Lauderdale Police said 39-year-old James Ortibez was riding his bicycle in the 900 block of NW 13th Street around 1:30 a.m. when a car traveling in the same direction struck him.

The left front bumper of the car made contact with Ortibez's bicycle, causing him to be ejected onto the road.

The driver continued driving westbound without stopping to render aid or call police.

Ortibez was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center as a trauma alert. He is listed in critical condition.

Police are searching for a 2009 - 2012 model 4-door gold Volkswagen CC.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS (8477).

A 62-year-old woman who vanished while hiking in California was found alive Saturday — more than a week after she was separated from the group she was traveling with, police said, NBC News reported. 

Miyuki Harwood was spotted by members of a search and rescue team not far from where she went missing near the Courtright Reservoir, about 100 miles east of Fresno, according to the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.

Police said Harwood was hurt, but they do not yet know the extent of her injuries. She was brought by helicopter to a nearby hospital, police said.

Harwood was last seen on Aug. 20 with a hiking group from the Sierra Club, based near Sacramento

A 30-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the "execution-style" shooting of a deputy at a suburban Houston gas station, authorities announced Saturday afternoon, NBC News reported.

Shannon J. Miles, 30, was arrested for the murder of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren H. Goforth, 47, who was pumping gas about 8:30 p.m. Friday when he was shot from behind. 

"We haven't been able to exact any details regarding a motive," Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman told reporters, calling Goforth's death a "senseless and cowardly act."

In an emotional news conference hours before Miles' arrest was announced, a visibly angry Hickman told reporters that "dangerous rhetoric" against law enforcement had "gotten out of control."

"We've heard black lives matter — all lives matter," he said. "Well, cops' lives matter, too."

A group of kayakers captured their heart-pounding close encounter with a hammerhead shark off the San Diego coast Saturday — a sighting that prompted lifeguards to close down crowded beaches nearby.

Their incredible video shows the 8- to 10-foot shark circling and swimming under the watercraft off La Jolla Shores. Stalking the kayakers, the hammerhead followed them back to the beach as they paddled away, according to San Diego Lifeguards.

When officials saw the footage and noted the shark was exhibiting "aggressive behavior," they took immediate action.

They decided to clear the waters between La Jolla Cove and Scripps Pier, announcing the closure over loud speakers to thousands packed onto the sand. The beach will be closed for the rest of the day, according to Lifeguard Lt. Andy Lerum.

"What we're going to do is evaluate tomorrow morning," he said at a news briefing Saturday afternoon. "If there's no other shark sighting by then, we'll probably lift the closure and open it as an advisory for the full 24-hour period."

People swimming near the shark were able to climb onto other kayaks and get safely to shore.

The animal was last seen just outside the surf line at the foot of Avenida De La Playa, at the south part of La Jolla Shores.

Lifeguard crews in boats and a helicopter soon began searching the waters for shark, but no more sightings have been reported. Officials say if they find it, they will track it and make sure it leaves the area before the waters are reopened.

The closure was a disappointment to many beachgoers, who sought the cool water on the unusually hot Saturday.

"They were just going to shut it down temporarily, but then they decided to shut it down for the entire day," said Gil Durazo, at La Jolla with his two sons. "So we kind of stuck it out for a little while but then decided, you know, we've been here long enough, we're just going to head home and jump in the pool for a little while."

Lifeguards say they brought the kayakers' footage to Dr. Andy Nosal, a marine biologist at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. He said based on the size, species and behavior of the shark, lifeguards were right to close the beach.

"It's not uncommon for these types of sharks to be seen far off shore, but it's uncommon to see it so close to a popular beach like La Jolla Shores," said Lerum.

According to the lieutenant, a similar closure happened in La Jolla a couple years ago when a great white shark came concerningly close to the shore.

As for why the hammerhead was acting aggressively toward the kayakers, Lerum's best guess is food.

"Well sharks are very instinctive," he said. "Usually what causes them to act aggressively is their desire to eat, and so there may have been food in the area that we don't know of." He was not sure if the kayakers had fish on board.

Hammerheads rarely present a threat to humans, experts say. In fact, since scientists began keeping records in the 1950s, there have been just 32 documented hammerhead shark attacks, according to Mike Price, an assistant curator of fishes at SeaWorld.

However, a hammerhead bit into a local diver's hand earlier this month about 100 miles off San Diego's coast.

One P.F. Chang's kitchen worker was stabbed to death Saturday, allegedly by another, at the restaurant in Peabody, Massachusetts.

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said 53-year-old Jaquan Huston used a knife to stab his 38-year-old coworker at the restaurant, located at the Northshore Mall.

Police responded just after 5:30 p.m. The victim was rushed to Salem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, Blodgett said.

Huston was arrested at his home in Salem. He is scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges Monday.

"This was an isolated incident," said Blodgett. "It's a very difficult, sad situation."

Other staff members and witnesses are being interviewed as the investigation continues.

Two men and a woman were found shot to death inside a home in eastern Tennessee Saturday night, according to the local sheriff's office, NBC News reported. A child was also found inside the home with gunshot wounds and transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The alleged gunman was found "a short time" after authorities responded to the scene and he was taken into custody, according to a statement from the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office. The suspect had also been shot, but his wounds were not life threatening, the statement added.

Sheriff Wayne Anderson told local TV station WCYB that it appeared the suspect, who was not identified, was related to those living inside the home. 

"He made it up here where they live...and he just started shooting everybody," Anderson said.

President Barack Obama heads to Alaska Monday for a historic Arctic tour aimed at drawing attention to climate change, NBC News reported.

The three-day tour will include trips to a receding glacier and to coastal communities where he will talk to villagers about erosion threatening their shoreline and livelihood. 

The Arctic trip — the first ever by a sitting U.S. president — comes ahead of a major international summit in Paris at the end of the year, where he will push for a global deal to flight climate change.

Such an agreement, environmental policy experts say, could help secure his legacy as the first U.S. president to address global climate change in a substantive way.

Seven people were killed and more than 200 injured in a giant fire that tore through an oil workers' residential compound in Saudi Arabia Sunday, The Associated Press reported.

Officials said that residents of "various nationalities" were affected by the early morning blaze, which broke out in the basement of the Radium compound in the eastern city of Khobar.

The compound is used by the state oil giant Saudi Aramco, which oversees petroleum production in the country, and was the site of a 1996 truck bombing at a dormitory for U.S. Air Force personnel that killed 19 Americans and wounded 372.

The family of Alison Parker, the TV reporter shot to death during a live report Wednesday morning in Virginia, is asking that people donate to memorial scholarship funds and charities in her name to honor the young journalist.

Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, both journalists at WDBJ7 in Roanoke, both died when police say a disgruntled former employee shot them during a live report about tourism. A third person, a woman Parker was interviewing, was injured in the shooting but survived. The suspected gunman later fatally shot himself as police closed in on him.

Parker's family is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the following scholarship funds or organizations:

Alison B. Parker Memorial Fund at James Madison University
James Madison University, 220 University Blvd., Office of Annual Giving MSC 3603, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Alison Bailey Parker Memorial Scholarship
Patrick Henry Community College Foundation, 645 Patriot Ave., Martinsvile, VA 24112

Valley Stars and Salvation Army of Roanoke

A public celebration of Parker's life is expected to be held at a later date after a private memorial service. A viewing for Ward is set for tomorrow, and a service for him will be held Tuesday morning in Roanoke.

Pope Francis asked the faithful Sunday to work together to prevent crimes against people who are forced to flee their home countries in search of a better life, NBC News reported.

The pontiff made his remarks and urged prayers at St. Peter's Square in Rome three days after the decomposed bodies of 71 refugees were discovered in a truck on a highway in Austria.

Francis prayed for God "to help us to cooperate effectively to prevent these crimes, which offend the entire human family." The pope prayed specifically for the 71 refugees — including four children — found in the truck.

Authorities are investigating after a small plane crashed in northwest Broward County Sunday morning, injuring two people on-board.

The accident happened near the Florida Everglades, north of the Sawgrass Expressway near the border of Palm Beach county.

According to Broward Sheriff's Office Fire Rescue. Kenneth McKenzie, 52, and Sonia McKenzie, 50, took off from the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. Soon after takeoff, they noticed a drop in oil and the engine died. They crashed in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, just west of the end of Loxahatchee Road in the Parkland area.

Fire Rescue officials said Kenneth McKenzie was airlifted to Broward Health North Medical Center, and then taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Burn Center with severe burns. Sonia McKenzie was transported by ground to Broward Health North.

.@browardsheriff #AirRescue @BrowardHealth North w/1st #trauma alert from #Everglades #planecrash #breakingnews pic.twitter.com/j8Mm1HYI7Y

— PIO-1 Mike Jachles (@BSOPIO) August 30, 2015

@BrowardSheriff #AirRescue o/s small plane down #Everglades 1 mi N bend in Sawgrass Expy 2 pts minor burns #breakingnews

— PIO-1 Mike Jachles (@BSOPIO) August 30, 2015

Tracking of the tropics is considerably more accurate now than in 1970, the National Hurricane Center said.

The National Weather Service has become steadily more accurate as it's tracked tropical storm systems over the past 45 years, according to a graphic released by the service.

In 1970, its 72-hour forecast had an approximate error of 450 nautical miles. That figure has dropped down to about 100 nautical miles, according to the NWS graphic.

The 96-hour and 120-hour forecasting tracks are fairly recent additions to the tools used by the National Hurricane Center, only coming into service in the early 2000s.