One of two socially conservative Michigan lawmakers embroiled in scandal over their extramarital affair and a cover-up attempt resigned early Friday morning rather than be expelled by his colleagues.

Republican Rep. Todd Courser announced his resignation, effective immediately, and was escorted out of the chamber. His decision came amid a marathon overnight session in the House over whether he and Rep. Cindy Gamrat should stay in their jobs.

"I just felt like it was the appropriate moment to do it," Courser told reporters. "I put everybody through a whole bunch — across the state, my own family, the constituents, the people in this room. ... Whether it was the third vote or the fourth vote or the fifth vote, they were going to eventually get me."

On Thursday, a special six-member House disciplinary committee recommended the expulsion of both legislators. But the full GOP-controlled chamber had been deadlocked for hours.

A TV camerawoman who was fired after being caught kicking and tripping migrants entering Hungary has apologized, saying that she was shocked by her own actions.

Petra Laszlo said she was "honestly really sorry" about the incident, she said in a letter written to a Hungarian newspaper.

Laszlo said she couldn’t see who was coming her way because she was holding the camera and believed she was “under attack”. Her only option was to save herself, she wrote in the letter.

Video of Laszlo went viral, showing her kicking at least one migrant in a group trying to break through police lines and tripping a man carrying a small child while also running from police captured the world's attention.

On Tuesday, Hungary's N1TV Internet channel announced Laszlo had been dismissed because she "behaved unacceptably."

The prison seamstress who pleaded guilty to helping two convicted killers escape a maximum-security prison in northern New York, sparking a three-week manhunt, said she got in over her head and didn't see a way out of the plot. 

"I was going through a point in my life — a lot of people go through depression. A lot of people go through that. And I just got in over my head. And I couldn't get out. And I couldn't tell anybody. I couldn't tell my husband. Couldn't tell my family. I couldn't tell my coworkers. I couldn't tell anybody. There's nobody you can tell," Joyce Mitchell told "Today's" Matt Lauer in an exclusive interview in Clinton County Jail, where she is awaiting sentencing.

Mitchell, who worked in the Clinton Correctional Facility tailor shop with the two inmates, Richard Matt and David Sweat, has pleaded guilty to first-degree promoting prison contraband, a felony, and fourth-degree criminal facilitation, a misdemeanor, for the help she gave the men, including smuggling hacksaw blades inside the prison in frozen hamburger meat. She could get up to seven years when she is sentenced.

Matt was shot dead June 26, and Sweat was shot and captured two days later near the Canadian border, ending a 23-day manhunt.

Asked whether Matt had "complete control" over her, Mitchell said, "Yes. He was good at that."

Mitchell also revealed how the prisoners got so close to her and addressed the rumors of intimate relationships with them. 

Lauer's interview with Mitchell will air in two parts on "Today," Monday and Friday, Sept. 14 and 18, and as a special two-hour Dateline Friday, Sept. 18 at 9 p.m. ET.

The Williams School in New London will be closed Friday while crews clean up after Thursday's flash flooding, according to an announcement posted on the school website.

The private school, which serves 260 students, is located on Mohegan Avenue on the Connecticut College campus in New London.

New London was among the towns hit hardest by flash flooding when storms brought downpours to eastern Connecticut on Thursday.

Wildwood Avenue in Madison is closed due to a fallen tree on electrical wires.

The road is shut down between Green Hill Road and Nortontown Road.

Eversource arrived just after 6:30 a.m.

Drivers can detour onto Green Hill or Nortontown roads.

The clouds and rain continue Friday morning after some storms rolled through the state yesterday, causing damage and bringing much cooler weather.

The skies will partially clear on Friday, with highs in the mid-70s to near-80s. By the evening it will be clear and cool with lows in the mid-50s.

The sun will give way to increasing clouds on Saturday with a possible shower by the evening and highs in the upper 80s.

Periods of rain is likely on Sunday and it will probably be cloudy and cool with highs in the lower 70s.

Monday will be mostly cloudy with highs in the upper-60s to mid-70s.

The sun returns on Tuesday with temperatures climbing to near-80s. Wednesday and Thursday will also carry sunny skies with highs in the lower-80s.

A suspect was injured in a police-involved shooting in Stratford.

Officers were serving a search warrant at 25 Yarwood Street in Stratford as part of a Narcotics, Vice and Intelligence Unit investigation at the time of a shooting involving a Stratford police officer just after 5 a.m., police said.

The suspect is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries.

The Stratford Police Department placed the officer involved in the shooting on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation. The officer's and suspect's identities haven't been released at this time.

The circumstances that led to the shooting are unknown and it's unclear how many parties fired shots.

Bridgeport State's Attorney's Office inspectors responded to the scene and state police have taken over the investigation.

Stratford police are also conducting an internal investigation.

A group of cloistered nuns has been working overtime in the kitchen to help Philadelphia church officials prepare for Pope Francis' visit, baking 100,000 communion hosts for his public Mass.

Religious sisters at the suburban Monastery of St. Clare put in extra shifts for about two months to fill the order, which represents a portion of the wafers that will be offered at the outdoor service on Sept. 27. Up to 1.5 million pilgrims are expected to attend.

"We're very excited," said Sister Anne Bartol. "It is a very special work for us, and we take very good care — extra care — with how we make them."

As an enclosed community, the Roman Catholic nuns known as Poor Clares don't leave the monastery except for medical reasons. They support themselves financially in part by making hosts, also called altar breads, for about 200 customers across the U.S. and Canada.

The three-hour baking sessions begin around 8:30 a.m. Flour and water are mixed into batter, which is then poured onto a griddle embossed with religious iconography. It bakes for a couple of minutes, emerging as a flat sheet stamped with designs.

After spending time in a humidifier to add moisture — otherwise the bread will shatter when cut — the sheets are placed in a machine that punches out dozens of disc-shaped wafers. The hosts are later inspected, counted, bagged, packaged and sent.

Sisters usually make about 125,000 wafers per month using their immaculate and affectionately nicknamed ovens Raphael, Maddalena, Vincent and Benny. (The humidifiers are Archangel and El Rey.) A bag of 500 small hosts costs about $5, plus shipping and handling.

It seems fitting the Poor Clares, an order founded more than 800 years ago, would be asked to help with the pontiff's visit. St. Clare was the first female follower of St. Francis of Assisi, the namesake of Pope Francis.

Though some nuns dedicate their lives to active ministry and charity work, Poor Clares lead what is known as the contemplative life. The 13 sisters who reside at the monastery in Langhorne, about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia, devote themselves to prayer.

Sister Jean Therese Rossignol entered the community two decades ago after having "always felt the desire to become a religious sister." She had previously worked in the business office of a Maine newspaper and later looked into life as a missionary in Africa. While there, she felt called to return to the U.S. to live a contemplative life.

Yet the Poor Clares aren't entirely secluded. They conduct business via email, maintain a website, and allow the public to visit their chapel. And the sisters say the Philadelphia archbishop has given them a temporary reprieve from their vow of enclosure, permitting them to attend the Mass where their bread will spiritually nourish the faithful.

"We're very much looking forward to being there, to seeing (Pope Francis) in person, and to being together with everyone," Rossignol said.

This story was originally posted on Sept. 8, 2011.

Adam Mayblum worked on the 87th floor of the north tower, just below where American Airlines Flight 11 struck, and he was one of the few who made it out.

• Rainbow Appears Over World Trade Center on Eve of 9/11 Anniversary

Shortly after he walked down all those flights of stairs, past firefighters going the other way, he wrote an email to family and friends describing his experience. It quickly went viral, and Mayblum's words resonated around the world as people were able to relive those moments he spent inside the tower.

• 'Dust Lady' of Iconic 9/11 Photo Dies: Family

NBC New York met up with Mayblum nearly 10 years later, and found how how his life has changed.

• 9/11 Anniversary Now a Public and Private Affair

You can read his email in full below. He titles it "The Price We Pay."

• D.C. Remembers 9/11 Victims 

My name is Adam Mayblum. I am alive today. I am committing this to “paper” so I never forget. SO WE NEVER FORGET. I am sure that this is one of thousands of stories that will emerge over the next several days and weeks.

I arrived as usual a little before 8am. My office was on the 87th floor of 1 World Trade Center, AKA: Tower 1, AKA: the North Tower. Most of my associates were in by 8:30m. We were standing around, joking around, eating breakfast, checking emails, and getting set for the day when the first plane hit just a few stories above us. I must stress that we did not know that it was a plane. The building lurched violently and shook as if it were an earthquake. People screamed. I watched out my window as the building seemed to move 10 to 20 feet in each direction. It rumbled and shook long enough for me to get my wits about myself and grab a co-worker and seek shelter under a doorway. Light fixtures and parts of the ceiling collapsed. The kitchen was destroyed. We were certain that it was a bomb. We looked out the windows. Reams of paper were flying everywhere, like a ticker tape parade. I looked down at the street. I could see people in Battery Park City looking up. Smoke started billowing in through the holes in the ceiling. I believe that there were 13 of us.

We did not panic. I can only assume that we thought that the worst was over. The building was standing and we were shaken but alive. We checked the halls. The smoke was thick and white and did not smell like I imagined smoke should smell. Not like your BBQ or your fireplace or even a bonfire. The phones were working. My wife had taken our 9 month old for his check up. I called my nanny at home and told her to page my wife, tell her that a bomb went off, I was ok, and on my way out. I grabbed my laptop. Took off my tee shirt and ripped it into 3 pieces. Soaked it in water. Gave 2 pieces to my friends. Tied my piece around my face to act as an air filter. And we all started moving to the staircase. One of my dearest friends said that he was staying until the police or firemen came to get him. In the halls there were tiny fires and sparks. The ceiling had collapsed in the men’s bathroom. It was gone along with anyone who may have been in there. We did not go in to look. We missed the staircase on the first run and had to double back. Once in the staircase we picked up fire extinguishers just incase. On the 85th floor a brave associate of mine and I headed back up to our office to drag out my partner who stayed behind. There was no air, just white smoke. We made the rounds through the office calling his name. No response. He must have succumbed to the smoke. We left defeated in our efforts and made our way back to the stairwell. We proceeded to the 78th floor where we had to change over to a different stairwell. 78 is the main junction to switch to the upper floors. I expected to see more people. There were some 50 to 60 more. Not enough. Wires and fires all over the place. Smoke too. A brave man was fighting a fire with the emergency hose. I stopped with to friends to make sure that everyone from our office was accounted for. We ushered them and confused people into the stairwell. In retrospect, I recall seeing Harry, my head trader, doing the same several yards behind me. I am only 35. I have known him for over 14 years. I headed into the stairwell with 2 friends.

We were moving down very orderly in Stair Case A. very slowly. No panic. At least not overt panic. My legs could not stop shaking. My heart was pounding. Some nervous jokes and laughter. I made a crack about ruining a brand new pair of Merrells. Even still, they were right, my feet felt great. We all laughed. We checked our cell phones. Surprisingly, there was a very good signal, but the Sprint network was jammed. I heard that the Blackberry 2 way email devices worked perfectly. On the phones, 1 out of 20 dial attempts got through. I knew I could not reach my wife so I called my parents. I told them what happened and that we were all okay and on the way down. Soon, my sister in law reached me. I told her we were fine and moving down. I believe that was about the 65th floor. We were bored and nervous. I called my friend Angel in San Francisco. I knew he would be watching. He was amazed I was on the phone. He told me to get out that there was another plane on its way. I did not know what he was talking about. By now the second plane had struck Tower 2. We were so deep into the middle of our building that we did not hear or feel anything. We had no idea what was really going on. We kept making way for wounded to go down ahead of us. Not many of them, just a few. No one seemed seriously wounded. Just some cuts and scrapes. Everyone cooperated. Everyone was a hero yesterday. No questions asked. I had co-workers in another office on the 77th floor. I tried dozens of times to get them on their cell phones or office lines. It was futile. Later I found that they were alive. One of the many miracles on a day of tragedy.

On the 53rd floor we came across a very heavyset man sitting on the stairs. I asked if he needed help or was he just resting. He needed help. I knew I would have trouble carrying him because I have a very bad back. But my friend and I offered anyway. We told him he could lean on us. He hesitated, I don’t know why. I said do you want to come or do you want us to send help for you. He chose for help. I told him he was on the 53rd floor in Stairwell A and that’s what I would tell the rescue workers. He said okay and we left.

On the 44th floor my phone rang again. It was my parents. They were hysterical. I said relax, I’m fine. My father said get out, there is third plane coming. I still did not understand. I was kind of angry. What did my parents think? Like I needed some other reason to get going? I couldn’t move the thousand people in front of me any faster. I know they love me, but no one inside understood what the situation really was. My parents did. Starting around this floor the firemen, policemen, WTC K-9 units without the dogs, anyone with a badge, started coming up as we were heading down. I stopped a lot of them and told them about the man on 53 and my friend on 87. I later felt terrible about this. They headed up to find those people and met death instead.

On the 33rd floor I spoke with a man who somehow new most of the details. He said 2 small planes hit the building. Now we all started talking about which terrorist group it was. Was it an internal organization or an external one? The overwhelming but uninformed opinion was Islamic Fanatics. Regardless, we now knew that it was not a bomb and there were potentially more planes coming. We understood.

On the 3r floor the lights went out and we heard & felt this rumbling coming towards us from above. I thought the staircase was collapsing upon itself. It was 10am now and that was Tower 2 collapsing next door. We did not know that. Someone had a flashlight. We passed it forward and left the stairwell and headed down a dark and cramped corridor to an exit. We could not see at all. I recommended that everyone place a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them and call out if they hit an obstacle so others would know to avoid it. They did. It worked perfectly. We reached another stairwell and saw a female officer emerge soaking wet and covered in soot. She said we could not go that way it was blocked. Go up to 4 and use the other exit. Just as we started up she said it was ok to go down instead. There was water everywhere. I called out for hands on shoulders again and she said that was a great idea. She stayed behind instructing people to do that. I do not know what happened to her.

We emerged into an enormous room. It was light but filled with smoke. I commented to a friend that it must be under construction. Then we realized where we were. It was the second floor. The one that overlooks the lobby. We were ushered out into the courtyard, the one where the fountain used to be. My first thought was of a TV movie I saw once about nuclear winter and fallout. I could not understand where all of the debris came from. There was at least five inches of this gray pasty dusty drywall soot on the ground as well as a thickness of it in the air. Twisted steel and wires. I heard there were bodies and body parts as well, but I did not look. It was bad enough. We hid under the remaining overhangs and moved out to the street. We were told to keep walking towards Houston Street. The odd thing is that there were very few rescue workers around. Less than five. They all must have been trapped under the debris when Tower 2 fell. We did not know that and could not understand where all of that debris came from. It was just my friend Kern and I now. We were hugging but sad. We felt certain that most of our friends ahead of us died and we knew no one behind us.

We came upon a post office several blocks away. We stopped and looked up. Our building, exactly where our office is (was), was engulfed in flame and smoke. A postal worker said
that Tower 2 had fallen down. I looked again and sure enough it was gone. My heart was racing. We kept trying to call our families. I could not get in touch with my wife. Finally I got through to my parents. Relived is not the word to explain their feelings. They got through to my wife, thank G-d and let her know I was alive. We sat down. A girl on a bike offered us some water. Just as she took the cap off her bottle we heard a rumble. We looked up and our building, Tower 1 collapsed. I did not note the time but I am told it was 10:30am. We had been out less than 15 minutes.

We were mourning our lost friends, particularly the one who stayed in the office as we were now sure that he had perished. We started walking towards Union Square. I was going to Beth Israel Medical Center to be looked at. We stopped to hear the President speaking on the radio. My phone rang. It was my wife. I think I fell to my knees crying. The she told me the most incredible thing. My partner who had stayed behind called her. He was alive and well. I guess we just lost him in the commotion. We started jumping and hugging and shouting. I told my wife that my brother had arranged for a hotel in midtown. He can be very resourceful in that way. I told her I would call her from there. My brother and I managed to get a gypsy cab to take us home to Westchester instead. I cried on my son and held my wife until I fell asleep.

As it turns out my partner, the one who I thought had stayed behind was behind us with Harry Ramos, our head trader. This is now second hand information. They came upon Victor, the heavyset man on the 53rd floor. They helped him. He could barely move. My partner bravely/stupidly tested the elevator on the 52nd floor. He rode it down to the sky lobby on 44. The doors opened, it was fine. He rode it back up and got Harry and Victor. I don’t yet know if anyone else joined them. Once on 44 they made their way back into the stairwell. Someplace around the 39th to 36th floors they felt the same rumble I felt on the 3rd floor. It was 10am and Tower 2 was coming down. They had about 30 minutes to get out. Victor said he could no longer move. They offered to have him lead on them. He said he couldn’t do it. My partner hollered at him to sit on his butt and schooch down the steps. He said he was not capable of doing it. Harry told my partner to go ahead of them. Harry had once had a heart attack and was worried about this mans heart. It was his nature to be this way. He was/is one of the kindest people I know. He would not leave a man behind. My partner went ahead and made it out. He said he was out maybe 10 minutes before the building came down. This means that Harry had maybe 25 minutes to move Victor 36 floors.

I guess they moved 1 floor every 1.5 minutes. Just a guess. This means Harry wad around the 20th floor when the building collapsed. As of now 12 of 13 people are accounted for. As of 6pm yesterday his wife had not heard from him. I fear that Harry is lost. However, a short while ago I heard that he may be alive. Apparently there is a web site with survivor names on it and his name appears there. Unfortunately, Ramos is not an uncommon name in New York. Pray for him and all those like him.

With regards to the firemen heading upstairs, I realize that they were going up anyway. But, it hurts to know that I may have made them move quicker to find my friend. Rationally, I know this is not true and that I am not the responsible one. The responsible ones are in hiding somewhere on this planet and damn them for making me feel like this. But they should know that they failed in terrorizing us. We were calm. Those men and women that went up were heroes in the face of it all. They must have known what was going on and they did their jobs. Ordinary people were heroes too. Today the images that people around the world equate with power and democracy are gone but “America” is not an image it is a concept. That concept is only strengthened by our pulling together as a team. If you want to kill us, leave us alone because we will do it by ourselves. If you want to make us stronger, attack and we unite. This is the ultimate failure of terrorism against The United States and the ultimate price we pay to be free, to decide where we want to work, what we want to eat, and when & where we want to go on vacation. The very moment the first plane was hijacked, democracy won.

Hartford police have charged a fourth person suspected of involvement in a shooting in May that injured one man and damaged houses and cars early on the morning of Tuesday, May 12. One of the suspects is still at large.

Police initially arrested two suspected shooters and were looking for a third involved. The investigation revealed a fourth suspected shooter, Glen Asberry, 24, of Hartford, who was also hit with gunfire, police said. Officers arrested Asberry Thursday on multiple charges including attempted assault with a firearm after police obtained a warrant on Sept. 8.

Police previously arrested Kenneth Jewell, 24, of Hartford, and Shawn Robinson, 24, of East Hartford, on gun and assault charges, but another suspect, Carlton Forbes, 22, of Hartford, remains at large.

Hartford police said that Forbes should both be considered armed and dangerous because the weapons involved have not been recovered.

Police received reports of several gunshots coming from the rear of the Ranch House at 3281 Main Street around 12:30 a.m. on May 12 and encountered a chaotic scene.

A 24-year-old man suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the head and four vehicles, a house and the back of 3281 Main Street were damaged by gunfire.

Investigators found 29 shell casings from multiple different caliber guns, as well as other ballistic evidence. They initially thought there were three shooters, but have since identified Asberry as a fourth, police said.

Hartford police charged Asberry with criminal attempt at first-degree assault, carrying a pistol without a permit, criminal possession of a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm and first-degree reckless endangerment. Police apprehended Asberry on Thursday and the court set his cash bond at $75,000.

Forbes is facing charges of first-degree assault with a firearm, first-degree conspiracy assault, carrying a pistol without a permit, unlawful discharge of a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm and first-degree reckless endangerment. Forbes is aware there is a warrant out for his arrest, but he is still on the run from police, according to the Hartford Police Department. The search for Forbes is ongoing, police said.

Jewell was previously charged with first-degree assault with a firearm, conspiracy assault in the first degree, carrying a pistol without a permit, unlawful discharge of a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm and first-degree reckless endangerment.

Robinson was previously charged with first-degree assault with a firearm, first-degree conspiracy assault, carrying a pistol without a permit, unlawful discharge of a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm and first-degree reckless endangerment.

The case remains under investigation.

A suspected drug dealer fleeing police pushed a state trooper off a roof during a chase and struggle with law enforcement, state police said.

State police arrested Aurelius Piper, 26, of Killingly, late Thursday night on multiple charges including possession of narcotics and assault on a police officer.

A narcotics investigation revealed that Piper, known as AD on the street, was selling crack cocaine out of his home at 53 D Water Street in Killingly, state police said.

A trooper in Troop D's Quality of Life Task Force and a resident trooper staking out his home at about 10:58 p.m. on Thursday saw him leaving and walking toward Main Street. Troopers approached him to execute a warrant to search him and his home, identifying them as state troopers with a search warrant, but Piper took off to evade capture, state police said.

Pipe jumped on a minivan parked at Sunnyside Farms and then climbed on the roof of the building, state police said. A Killingly resident trooper chased him up there and a struggle ensued. Piper pushed the trooper off the roof, state police said. The trooper hit a metal platform and steel pole on the way down and landed on the pavement.

Piper slid off the roof and brawled with other state police on scene, state police said.

A state police German shepherd named Dutch apprehended him and troopers were able to handcuff Piper during a brief struggle, state police said.

State police executed the search warrant, finding crack cocaine packaged for sale and synthetic marijuana, also known as K2, in his pants pocket, state police said. Troopers found more crack cocaine packaged to be sold in his home.

The Killingly resident trooper was taken to William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich to be treated for minor injuries.

State police brought him to Troop D barracks in Danielson for booking and charged him with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of narcotics with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school zone, assault on a police officer, interfering with a police officer, second-degree reckless endangerment and breach of peace.

State police held Piper in custody on a $150,000 cash/surety bond and he is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

State police ask anyone with information on the illegal sale of narcotics or synthetic marijuana in the "Quiet Corner" of the state to call Troop D's Quality of Life Task Force anonymous tips hotline at 860-779-4950 or message the task force on Facebook.

Towns are cleaning up after storms that rolled through the state Thursday left behind some damage.

The pavement of Mullen Hill Road in Waterford crumbled due to the storm. Neighbors said water ate away at the street and a man hole cover blew off, creating what looked like a geyser in Waterford.

"I walked out the school bus was almost stopped and I'm trying to see what was going on and I saw the water spraying into the air," Stanley Rider, of Waterford, said.

The road remains closed as the town waits for crews to repair the road.

From Waterford to New London, there was significant flash flooding.

"The road turned into water and I couldn’t even tell until I was in the water," Christy Lounsbury, of New London, said.

The water drowned cars and closed streets, leaving many drivers stranded who then needed to be rescued.

"There’s water rushing around my ankles," Lounsbury said. "Just shock and disbelief that the water was so deep I mean my car was floating."

Debris remains on some of the roads, so be cautious when driving on your commute.

A bomb threat forced a United Airlines flight headed to San Francisco from Germany to circle back to Frankfurt Airport on the 14th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Despite the scare, all the passengers were safe and put up in hotels by the airline.

German federal police said in an email on Friday that the flight was "recalled due to a concrete bomb threat to ensure the safety of the passengers and the people at the airport." The federal police carried out security checks of the aircraft, the passengers and the passengers' luggage but found nothing. No further details were provided.

United's website stated earlier in the day that Flight 902 was "canceled due to security disruptions." One of the passengers texted her sister in San Jose that she was told there was some sort of "threat."

Passengers aboard the plane told NBC Bay Area they weren't given any information about the specific nature of the threat.

"The flight originally took off OK ... About half an hour into the flight the captain said over the intercom the German police wanted the flight to return," Isaac C, who was returning home to San Francisco from vacation, told NBC Bay Area in an interview from Frankfurt. "We were worried — our immediate thought was that SFO was a major international destination and today was 9/11."

In a statement, United Airlines said the flight "returned to Frankfurt shortly after take-off at the direction of German authorities." The plane "landed safely" at 3:39 p.m. German time. According to United there were 333 passengers and 18 crew members on the Boeing 747.

Once the plane returned to Germany, passengers were thoroughly checked through X-ray machines and sent off with handfuls of Snickers and drinks to nearby hotels.

Isaac C. posted an Instagram video of the passengers getting off the plane at Frankfurt, where about two dozen police officers and fire trucks were waiting. The German police made an announcement that there was a threat to the plane, Isaac said. "Some passengers were saying there was a bomb threat," he said. "Nobody that we saw was arrested — about half way through the security search, they paused and sped it up."

"They did a wipe test on every item, checked small electronic cables wires, opened up all our clothing — they were looking for chemicals and strange wiring," he said. “I felt I was getting a Thai massage.”

Passengers will be taking a shuttle back to the airport from their hotel tomorrow morning. "I am ok with being delayed a day if it meant everybody is safe," Isaac C said.

The flight was scheduled to return to SFO at 4:20 p.m. on Friday — 14 years after terrorists attacked the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City by airplane on Sept. 11, 2011. One of those planes was a United flight. Another United flight crashed into a field in Shanksfield, Penn. In all, almost 3,000 people died that day.[[326716511, C]]

“I didn’t really realize it was 9/11 until we heard the captain,” Rob Tobias of Sunnyvale, Calif. told NBC Bay Area In a phone interview from a Frankfurt hotel. "Then I thought, ‘Wow, something is up.’ And those tragic events came to mind. I’ll never forget that day. And I won’t forget today, either.”
[[326708981, C]]

 

Just got deplaned by 2 dozen police and fire trucks after being in air for half an hour. #neverforget

A video posted by @iiiccc on Sep 11, 2015 at 7:14am PDT

NBC Bay Area's Gonzalo Rojas contributed to this report.

At least 107 people were killed and another 239 were injured when a crane crashed in Mecca's Grand Mosque on Friday, Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense authority said on its Twitter account. 

Pictures circulating on social media showed pilgrims in bloodied robes and masses of debris from a part of the crane that seemed to have crashed through a ceiling, NBC News reported. 

Mecca is Islam's holiest site. Pilgrims from around the world have been converging on the city and the mosque for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which takes place this month.

The refugee who was tripped by a camera operator while carrying his son across a field in Hungary has been identified as Osama Abdul Mohsen, a soccer coach who was forced to flee after his hometown was destroyed in the civil war, NBC News reported.

Mohsen's oldest son, Almuhannad, told NBC News he has not seen his father or 7-year-old brother in 10 days. But the 19-year-old says he has seen the "difficult" footage of N1TV's Petra Laszlo tripping his dad earlier this week.

"I could not imagine the painful reality they experienced in those moments,” he wrote from Turkey.

Almuhannad is currently in Turkey with his mother and 13-year-old sister. 

Vernon police have obtained an arrest warrant for a man suspected of robbing a grocery store in town at gunpoint, prompting an elementary school to go into secure in place mode.

Sturbridge, Massachusetts police arrested Aric Hale, 31, on drug and motor vehicle charges in their jurisdiction early Sept. 11. Working with Sturbridge and West Hartford police, Vernon police obtain information to secure a warrant for his rest in the armed robbery of Nature's Grocer.

Vernon police also  obtained a warrant for his suspected getaway driver, Alexis Grensavitch, 29, of Rutland, Massachusetts, for involvement in the robbery, police said.

Both Hale and Grensavitch are scheduled to appear at Dudley District Court in Massachusetts on fugitive from justice charges.

Police are working to extradite both suspects to Connecticut.

Vernon police said a man in a baseball cap entered the 81 East Street shop in Vernon around 10:45 a.m. Thursday and handed the clerk a note demanding money.

He implied he had a handgun but did not display a weapon, according to police.

The Northeast School was put in "secure school mode" for about 35 minutes while police responded. During secure school mode, no one is let in or out of a school, but classes go on as per usual. If there are any gym classes outside, students are taken to an undisclosed secure place.

The warrants charge Hale with first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and sixth-degree larceny and Grensavitch with conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and criminal liability for first-degree robbery.

Route 22 (Notch Hill Road) is closed in North Branford due to a crash.

A tri-axle truck and another vehicle collided on Notch Hill Road, causing injuries, according to the North Branford Fire Department.

The extent of the injuries and amount of people hurt is unknown.

The road is closed between Route 1 and Route 80 (Foxon Road).

President Obama was in Fort Meade, Maryland, Friday to mark the 14th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks with a "troop talk."

The president thanked military members and their families for their service and sacrifice before taking questions both from service members present at the event, and online via Facebook, Twitter and Skype and satellite, according to Pentagon Spokesman Peter Cook.

Obama reassured the troops that the U.S. must work to make sure that the men and women in uniform have the strategy and resources they need to succeed, noting that the U.S. is still an indispensable force for good around the world.

The president says the country still faces significant threats, including from the Islamic State group forces in the Middle East.

Fort George G. Meade, a sprawling military installation between Washington and Baltimore, is home to the National Security Agency. About 11,000 military personnel and 29,000 civilian employees work on the property. 

The Associate Press contributed to this report.

West Haven police tracked a cell phone in a vehicle stolen at a gas station to find it and arrest the car thief, police said.

Jose Flecha, 45, of New Haven, is facing multiple charges including larceny and engaging police in a pursuit.

Police responded at about 11:10 a.m. Friday  to the Shell gas station at 444 Sawmill Road after receiving a report that a vehicle was stolen. Flecha stole a Dodge Durango with the keys in the ignition and took off southbound on Interstate 95.

But the owner had left his cell phone in the car, so police could track the car's every move using an app tracking the phone's location.

West Haven police caught up with the suspect in the area of Boston Post Road and Campbell Avenue, deploying "stop sticks" to deflate the tires, police said. The driver kept going through with police hot on his tail onto Columbus Avenue in New Haven, stopping by Columbus auto body and ditching the car as he fled police. Officers chased after him on foot and apprehended him.

Police identified him as Flecha and arrested him. They charged him with larceny, engaging officers in a pursuit, interfering with police and multiple motor vehicle charges.

Officers held him on a bond.

Route 30 is closed at the intersection of Route 74 after an RV caught fire on the road, according to Tolland public safety officials.

Authorities said the fire appears to have been electric.

The road is closed in the area.