Nearly 4,000 firefighters were hoping to gain more ground Tuesday against the wildfire raging near Yosemite National Park, a blaze that over 11 days has scorched 280 square miles and destroyed a popular camp for San Francisco Bay Area residents.

The Rim Fire was 20 percent contained as of Tuesday morning. Since its started on Aug. 17, the fire has ripped through nearly 180,000 acres along the rims of the mountains in the Sierra Nevada, destroying 31 homes and 111 structures -- including Berkeley Tuolumne Camp, which has been run by the city of Berkeley since 1922.

It is now the 7th largest fire in state history, according to Cal Fire. (Open to see full list) It's now cost $20 million to fight the Rim Fire.

• MORE: Rim Fire Incident Command Page

"I have incredible faith in the firefighters," Sarah Whitney of Tuolumne City told NBC Bay Area on Tuesday. "They're walking around in their tactical unforms and dumping retardant...all that work, it's amazing."

Posters in towns and cities close to the fire thanking the crews for their work also was proof that the people were grateful for the nearly 3,800 firefighters protecting their homes and lives.

As flames lapped at the edge Hetch Hetchy Reservoir that supplies San Francisco, fears that the inferno could disrupt water or power to the city diminished.
 
"It looks great out there. No concerns,'' Glen Stratton, an operations section chief on the blaze, said of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. As a precaution, the San Francisco Public Utility Commission had started diverting water away from Yosemite to reservoirs in Alameda and San Mateo counties to 302 million gallons a day. Typically, the SFPUC divers 275 million gallons to those Bay Area counties.

As the fire moved east on Tuesday toward the O'Shaughnessy Dam, SFPUC officials noted some ash falling on the reservoir there. But they said the water quality is still OK because they draw water from much lower in the reservoir.

The weather pattern also seemed to be working to the firefighters' advantage on Tuesday. While the terrain of the Rim Fire has proved to be a monster for crews, temperatures dropped to about 61 degrees and the expected humidity is about 60 percent. There are also thunderstorms forecast ahead for the region, which meteorologists say chould help quell the fire, but also pose a potential concern for gusty winds.

Air quality warning for smoke continued on Tuesday for Tuolumne County and the Yosemite valley basin.

• MORE: Firefighters Attack 11 Major Wildfires in California

All this news is a marked change from when the fire broke out in the heart of the Stanislaus National Forest by Yosemite, when temperatures were in the high 80s and humidity was in the high teens.

Despite the intensity and size of the fire, U.S. Forest Service spokesman John Miller told NBC Bay Area that there have been only a few minor injuries, some heat-exhaustion and a separated shoulder.

• MORE: Campers Mourn Loss of Berkeley Tuolumne Camp

The biggest tragedy of the Rim Fire for many in the Bay Area was the loss of  Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp - an institution for thousands of Bay Area families -  which was totally destroyed sometime on Sunday.

"I'm just so sad on so many levels," said Janice Lin of Berkeley, who has been going to the camp with her children for years, including this summer. She spent the evening looking at photographs from her years at camp.

More than 250 people gathered Monday night in Berkeley for a memorial to honor the lost camp. Campers shared photos, memories and sang songs they learned at the family camp.

"It's kind of like a death in the family," said Harvey Kletz, a camper. "It's that much part of our family."

Ari and Rachael Nava of Santa Cruz started a Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp Photo Memorial on Sunday dedicated to the "years of joy and happiness that it has provided to generations of campers." The couple met at Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp when they were teenagers and are part of a family that has attended the camp for more than five decades.

( Interactive map of Rim Fire courtesy of Esri.com)

• PHOTOS: Rim Fire Burns in and Around Yosemite

• RAW VIDEO: Rim Fire Rages Near Yosemite National Park

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The family of Israel Hernandez, the teen who died after being shot with a Taser by an officer, will announce that they're suing the Miami Beach Police Department Tuesday, their attorneys said.

Attorneys and family members are holding a 2:30 p.m. news conference at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse to discuss the details of the lawsuit.

911 Calls Released as Teen Shot With Taser is Laid to Rest

Miami Beach Police said officers found Hernandez, 18, graffiti tagging a building at 71st Street and Collins Avenue the morning of Aug. 6. Hernandez took off on foot once the officer approached him, police said.

Once the officers caught up to him at 71st Street and Harding Avenue, one of them used a Taser on the teen to help take him into custody, police said. While in custody, Hernandez went into medical duress and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he later died, police said.

Israel Hernandez's Family Grieves at Wake

The incident and Hernandez's cause of death is still under investigation and the officer who used the Taser on the teen, Jorge Mercado, has been placed on administrative leave, police said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has said it will review the police investigation into the teen's death.

Cop in Fatal Tasering Has Other Incidents in File

The death of the aspiring artist caused an outcry from his family and community members, who held a demonstration just days after the incident.

"We'll appreciate it very much if you can support [us], because art is nothing to be killed for," sister Offir Hernandez said at the time.

Miami Fraternal Order of Police President Sgt. Javier Ortiz said earlier this month that the FOP is standing by Officer Mercado in his actions.

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Start-up companies looking to get in on the state's new medical marijuana industry have been anxiously awaiting a decision by a special legislative committee.

State officials said 881 patients statewide have been certified to be able to use medical marijuana. 

The Department of Consumer Protection will begin the process of selecting three to 10 producers, and dispensary facilities, and said they expect to have between three and five, based upon the number of qualifying patients.  

Medical marijuana was approved by the state last year with the goal of helping patients who are suffering from debilitating conditions. Williams said what they produce will be safe.

State police are investigating an armed robbery at a pharmacy in Somers.

A man with a gun went into Somers Pharmacy, at 629 Main Street in Somers, at 4:15 p.m. on Friday and demanded prescription medication from the pharmacist, according to state police.  

He then fled from the drug store in a newer maroon Buick Lacrosse or similar-style vehicle, police said.

The man is around 5-feet-10 and weighs around  220 pounds, according to state police.

He was dressed in black, including a mask, when he entered the pharmacy and had a black jacket with distinctive black and white stripes on the collar, waistband and wristbands. 

Anyone with information or who witnessed the robbery should call Troop C Tolland at 860-896-3200.

Long Island’s longest barrier island lost more than half of its beaches and dunes when it was battered by Sandy last October, according to a federal study released Tuesday.

Fire Island, which runs along the southern coast of New York's Long Island from Babylon to Brookhaven, will be more vulnerable to future weather systems due to extensive damage wrought by last year’s historic storm, the report said.

Though damage to the island was immediately apparent -- the storm washed away 200 homes in the 32-mile island's Ocean Beach resort community -- the US Geological Survey’s study is the first to quantify coastal changes the storm caused.

"The beaches and dunes of the island were severely eroded during Sandy," said Cheryl Hapke, the study's lead author.

The island, a popular summer getaway, was breached in three places during the storm, causing widespread damage to the coastal infrastructure and homes, Hapke said. The storm flattened beaches and eroded the island's 15-foot dunes extensively, according to surveys immediately after the storm.

The storm's surge pushed sand into some homeowners' living rooms last fall, but the study showed that the majority of the beaches washed away by Sandy found their way offshore.

In all, 54 percent of the island's volume of dunes and beaches were washed away. Nearly half of Fire Island's dunes were also covered with water at some point during the storm.

Damage from Sandy left Fire Island more vulnerable to winter storms. Surveys conducted over the winter showed that in some areas, the beach shifted inland by as much as 189 feet. Some spots recovered early this spring, but only 18 percent of the island’s pre-Sandy volume has returned.

"The impact from Sandy was unprecedented in recent times," Hapke said. "It is important that efforts to rebuild the island be guided by science, which shows Sandy profoundly altered the shape and position of the barrier island, shifting it landward and redistributing large amounts of sand.”

Barrier islands typically form the first line of defense against major coastal storms like Sandy.

Photo after photo, the Library of Congress' new exhibit will take visitors back to Aug. 28, 1963 -- the day of the March on Washington. 

"A Day Like No Other" opens Wednesday and features 42 black-and-white photographs taken on that day.

The pictures were compiled using old newspapers and other media outlets like the Associated Press, the New York World-Telegram and more. Bob Adelman and Flip Schulke, who are well known for their coverage of the civil rights movement, also contributed to the collection.

• Reporter Shares March on Washington Experience 50 Years Later

The Library of Congress isn't the only D.C. museum featuring exhibits on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Several museums and cultural organizations have organized artifacts and art exhibits for visitors to learn about the march, the nation's conflict over civil rights and the tumult leading up to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream'' speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Here are highlights from other programs and exhibits on view in Washington for the anniversary:

• National Museum of American History: The "Changing America'' gallery explores the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, along with the March on Washington 100 years later. It includes artifacts and placards from the march. The museum also will host short performances near its display of part of the Greensboro, N.C., lunch counter, allowing visitors to take part in a training session for a sit-in based on a 1960s manual. On Aug. 28, the march anniversary, the museum will show footage of the historic march and host public programs to allow visitors to share their thoughts and memories.

• National Portrait Gallery: The new exhibit "One Life: Martin Luther King Jr.'' includes historic photographs, prints, paintings and memorabilia showing King's rise to prominence as a civil rights leader in the South, leading up to his memorable speech in Washington.

• Civil Rights Tour: The African American Civil War Museum has organized a tour of Washington's Civil War and Civil Rights sites to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the war and the 50th anniversary of the march. It includes a tour of U Street, once known as the "Black Broadway," and a stop at the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

• National Museum of Women in the Arts: The exhibit "American People, Black Light: Faith Ringgold's Paintings of the 1960s'' explores this prominent black artist's portrayal of racial inequality in the 1960s.

• Washington National Cathedral: The National Cathedral will host a special forum on Aug. 25 featuring audio excerpts from King's last Sunday sermon delivered at the church in 1968. The cathedral and other churches also will ring their bells at the moment of King's "Dream'' speech on Aug. 28 at 3 p.m. to honor the anniversary.

The second of two houses destroyed when a plane crashed down on Charter Oak Avenue in East Haven will be demolished tomorrow.

A plane from Tererboro Airport in New Jersey was coming in for a landing at Tweed-New Haven Airport just before 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 9 when it crashed into the houses at 64 and 68 Charter Oak Avenue.

That crash quickly turned to tragedy when it became clear that Sade Brantley, 13, and 1-year-old sister, Madisyn Mitchell, were inside their home at 64 Charter Oak Avenue and did not get out alive.

The pilot and his son were also killed in the crash. 

Mayor Joseph Maturo said he has met with Joanna Mitchell, the mother of Sade and Madisyn, for any last items she wanted out of her family’s home before it is razed.

Connecticut Tank Removal, Inc., based in Bridgeport, will raze the property and the demolition is slated to begin at 8 a.m. tomorrow.

“Although the homeowner’s insurance company has kept the Town abreast of its efforts to have the home taken down, the process has not moved as quickly as we would have liked.  As a result, I contacted CT DEEP and Governor Malloy’s office to request State assistance to have the home immediately taken down,” Maturo said.

Officials said the demolition will happen in two stages.

The top half, which was mostly unaffected by contaminants, will be disposed at one location. 

The lower half, which was contaminated by jet fuel, will be sent to a second location to be properly treated, according to the mayor’s office.

Staff from the State Emergency Response and Spill Prevention Division will assess the site before the National Transportation Safety Board performs a last review to complete its investigation, according to the mayor’s office.

After the assessments, soil and debris will be removed. 

“Especially over the past week, neighbors have contacted me and requested that I do something to speed up the demolition process.  Understanding their need for closure and the need for the property to be remediated before contaminants spread any further, I reached out to DEEP and secured the resources necessary to have the home demolished.  I am pleased that the entire demolition and remediation processes will be completed in less than 48 hours,” Maturo said.
 

State police have charged a Hartford woman in connection with a crash that killed an Ashford woman over Labor Day weekend last year.

Giselle Garcia, 32, has been charged in a head-on collision that happened on Interstate 84 West in Vernon early on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012.

Police said Garcia was driving a 2004 Infinity G53 that collided with a vehicle operated by Jeanne
Krapf, 52, of Ashford under the Exit 65 overpass, police said.

Krapf was pronounced dead at the scene.

Garcia was transported to Hartford Hospital via Life Star.

State Police Troops H and C said they received multiple calls to report a wrong-way driver in the HOV lane on I-84 Westbound in Vernon, police said.

Garcia was charged with operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving the wrong way on a divided highway and second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle.

She turned herself in on a warrant today and was taken into custody. She was released on a $25,000 cash bond and is due in Rockville Superior Court on Sept. 11.

Police are searching for the driver of an SUV who took off after hitting a man on a bicycle in Hebron on Friday.

John Schaeffler, 42, was riding his bike along the shoulder of London Road around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, when he was hit from behind, according to state police.

Schaeffler was rushed to Hartford Hospital with serious injuries. He has a fractured neck, fractured pelvis and damage to internal organs, according to a Facebook post by his wife, Melanie Schaeffler.

The SUV that struck Schaeffler left behind a broken piece of plastic with a Ford etching on it, police said. Investigators determined the plastic is from a 2012-2014 Ford Explorer.

The vehicle involved would have damage to the right side of the grille and the right headlight, according to police.

Anyone with information about the incident or the SUV is asked to call State Police Trooper DeCarll at 860-537-7500.

A ferry carrying hundreds of passengers to the Statue of Liberty made a hard landing at Liberty Island Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

None of the passengers required medical attention, though several did suffer minor injuries, according to the Coast Guard.

The ferry named the Miss New Jersey made the hard landing into a pier off the island at around 4 p.m. The boat did not take on water and all of the nearly 500 passengers were accounted for, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard was responding with a team to investigate.

No word yet on what caused the ferry, which is operated by Statue Cruises, to make the hard landing.

Check back for more details on this developing story.

There was a steady stream of students at McLean High School on Tuesday afternoon, picking up class schedules for the new school year -- but at a funeral home in nearby Vienna, sadness darkened the upcoming year as other classmates said goodbye to a friend.

They were attending the visitation for 16-year-old Emylee Lonczak, whose body was found by Fairfax County Police last Friday between the fences of two homes in an affluent Vienna neighborhood.

Lonczak's parents had reported her missing a week ago, saying she may have run away. A tip led police to the area Friday, where they made the troubling discovery. They say a criminal investigation is underway.

Students say they, too, have questions about how their classmate died -- but their focus now is mostly dealing with the sudden loss.

"It's really shocking, especially because everybody really knew her and liked her a lot.... Losing a friend at school [is] really hurting everyone," said senior Zach Glenn.

Parents of McLean High students were notified of the death in a letter from the principal. One mom, Lisa Ohm, summed up the feelings of many parents: "It's a dark cloud."

Residents of the Vienna neighborhood where Lonczak's body was discovered watched as police spent almost 12 hours at the scene.

A man who lives in one of the homes next to the scene told News4 that police visited his house.

"I can certainly understand why people should be concerned," said Bud Walker, of Fairfax County police. "This is not obviously something that happens in everyone's neighborhood. What I can say is that everything that is involved in this case has been identified by the police."

However, authorities have released few details in the case.

Those who knew Lonczak better are also reflecting on her outgoing personality.

A fellow junior carpooled with her to soccer and worked with her on the yearbook. "She was really funny and really kind... also pretty good at soccer," the girl said.

Lonczak would have been a junior this fall. She is survived by her parents and six brothers, including a twin who also attends McLean High.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Missing 16-Year-Old Virginia Girl's Body Found in Affluent Fairfax County Neighborhood

A Plainville man got quite a surprise when a fire extinguisher crashed through the roof of his house Tuesday afternoon.

Tom Orvis called 911 after hearing an explosion outside his home at 15 Bartlett Street around 3:30 p.m. When he went outside, he found a six-inch hole in his roof.

According to fire officials, the fire extinguisher came from the J.W. Green Company, a metal factory about a quarter mile from Orvis's home. The company was crushing the still-pressurized fire extinguisher, which caused it to launch into the air and land on the house.

Orvis was shaken up, but not injured.

Police and fire officials are investigating the incident.

No criminal charges will be filed in the New Milford gas explosion that killed a 47-year-old man and critically injured his son and the homeowner last year.

State and local agencies have completed their investigation and ruled the incident an accident.

Anthony Fratino III, 47, and his then-9-year-old son were at John Wilkinson’s home at 109 Sunny Valley Road in Milford, trying to fix a propane leak, on the evening of Aug. 29, 2012.

At 6:42 p.m., there was a catastrophic explosion.  

Frantino was killed. His son, Nicholas, and Wilkinson survived, but were both badly injured.

Nicholas was transported to a hospital in Boston after the explosion.

Wilkinson was treated at the burn unit in Bridgeport.

His pregnant wife and two children were at a neighbor's house when the explosion happened because Wilkinson had told them to leave the house when he smelled gas, investigators said at the time.

On Tuesday morning, state police released the findings of the New Milford fire marshal’s office, along with New Milford police, the state fire marshal’s office and the state police fire and explosion investigation unit.

Investigators determined that an abandoned liquid propane gas dryer had been removed from the house around nine years earlier and an abandoned LP gas line had not been properly capped.

Contractors inadvertently opened the gas line valve while installing a hot water heater and upgrading the piping system, which sent gas into the basement, investigators determined.

As the home owner and contractor investigated, “an unidentified ignition source initiated the catastrophic explosion," according to investigators.

Police said the investigation is now closed. 

New Milford is a tight-knight community and residents gathered after the tragedy to honor the victims and hold fundraisers to help their families.

In September, Wilkinson shared his story of that evening and his journey to recover.

The first weeks of college are a nerve-wracking time for nearly all students, but imagine trying to find your way around campus and meeting all your professors at age 11.

Carson Huey-You is the youngest person to ever attend Texas Christian University.

He was reading chapter books by the time he was 2 years old. He was in high school at age 5, and he graduated from Accommodated Learning Academy in Grapevine with a 4.0 grade point average and a 1770 SAT score.

Huey-You's feet barely touched the ground when he played Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" during his admissions interview.

Dean of Admissions Ray Brown said he knew he wanted Huey-You to be a Horned Frog, but it wasn't easy.

"He was completely off the grid when it came to even the most basic of things, like completing an application or completing a financial aid form," he said. "Because of his date of birth, those forms would not accept his application."

As a TCU student, he will spend a lot of his time in the technology building, as he studies to become a quantum physicist.

Huey-You's mother is by his side every day as he attends calculus, physics, history and religion classes on the Fort Worth campus.

"It's just really fun to have her around," Huey-You said.

Despite the age difference, he chats with fellow students, as well.

"I've actually managed to make a few friends here," he said.

In spite of intelligence far beyond his years, Huey-You is a normal kid.

He likes playing video games. His favorite movie is "Star Wars," and he loves the "Chronicles of Narnia" book series. He also said he sometimes gets in trouble for wrestling a little too hard with his brother.

Huey-You plans to earn a doctorate before he's even 20.

Decades ago, a northern Virginia woman left home against her parents' wishes to become a freedom fighter. Now Joan Mulholland is known not only as a trailblazer but as the go-to person when it comes to artifacts from the Civil Rights Movement.

A stroll through Mulholland's Arlington home is a freedom ride through American history.

But Mulholland's collection of Civil Rights treasures also play a big part in her own history. She was a non-violent fighter for equality.

Mulholland proudly showed off her sentencing papers, requiring her to spend two months in prison for riding a freedom bus into Jackson, Miss.

"It was following Gandhi," Mulholland said. "Fill the jails, make it so inconvenient and expensive for them, and keep that publicity ruling that they would decide to obey the Supreme Court ruling."

When talking about her role in the movement to students, Mulholland is often met with skepticism. She says people don't associate her face with the push for Civil Rights.

"No, I think I'm an exception to the rule," she said. "But there were an awful lot of white folks in the south who were glad to see change come, but [they] were afraid for themselves and their families to speak out."

Mulholland wasn't afraid, not of her family nor society. She's pictured in several iconic images of the movement. One photo shows her at a Jackson lunch counter sit-in. She's covered in sugar and sits with her back to a hate-filled crowd.

Asked if it was a humiliating moment or a proud moment, Mulholland answered, "It's a 'survive it' moment."

Mulholland was arrested about a half dozen times. Her time in prison overlapped with the Rev. Reginald Green's. He was also arrested in Jackson on the day before Mulholland.

"Same jail, same time," said Rev. Green. "In fact, Joan stayed a little longer than I did, I think. She stayed to go back to school from jail."

Today, Rev. Green lives just a few miles from Mulholland across the border in D.C. He praises her role as a fellow freedom rider.

"Had it just been a movement where it was just African-Americans trying to do this on their own without that kind of ... involvement, I don't think it would have had the success," Rev. Green said.

On the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, Mulholland reflected on her own connection to Dr. Martin Luther King -- her fearless efforts to help see his dream, her dream, become reality.

"We're going to die, eventually," Mulholland said. "It may as well be a death that makes a difference."

A man was arrested in Hamden today after allegedly breaking into the home of a 60-year-old disabled woman and stealing her purse while she watched from her wheelchair.

Leeander Brown, 46, of Chestnut Street in Bridgeport, reportedly entered a home on Whitney Avenue through the back door and made off with the resident’s purse, police said.

The resident, who was home at the time, is confined to a wheelchair, according to police.

Brown fled on foot and was found walking southbound on Whitney Avenue, carrying the purse, police said.

He was arrested and charged with third-degree burglary and sixth-degree larceny.

Brown is being held on a $10,000 bond and is due in court in Meriden on Sept. 3.

The Arlington, Va., parking garage made famous by the Watergate scandal could become history itself.

The Wilson Boulevard building where reporter Bob Woodward met his source called “Deep Throat” is set to be torn down, according to ArlNow.com.

Builders plan to redevelop the Clarendon office complex into a new mixed development of condos, shops and offices, the report reveals.

It was only in 2005 that FBI official Mark Felt revealed he was “Deep Throat” and revealed the location of the garage. Felt died in 2008.

Information revealed by Felt at the Arlington garage led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Arlington County put a historical marker at the garage two years ago.

There’s no date set for the garage’s demolition.

Arlington County must first review the redevelopment plan, according to ArlNow.com. That could take up to four years.

By Tuesday night, the roof a Plainville home was all patched up and the neighborhood back to normal, but just a few hours earlier, it was a very different scene.

"I was standing in my kitchen, and I heard this big noise. And the whole house shook," said Tom Orvis of 15 Bartlett Street. "I came outside, and I saw pieces of roofing all over the front of my lawn."

Orvis looked up and saw a chunk of his roof missing. Fire officials said an industrial accident caused a pressurized fire extinguisher to fly nearly a quarter mile through the woods and bounce off Orvis' roof.

In its wake, the extinguisher left a six-inch hole in the roof and damaged Orvis' front lawn.

"I saw part of it," Orvis said. "It looked like half of a tank of some kind, and it was found 150 yards down the street."

According to Plainville police, the extinguisher came from JW Green Company, a scrap metal recycling facility on nearby South Washington Street.

JW Green employee Leigh Marshall said one of the company's shears accidentally cut a pressurized carbon dioxide fire extinguisher, splitting it in half. One piece fell to the ground, and the other the hit the Bartlett Street home.

"It was something that wasn't seen by the operator when he was cutting some beams," said  Marshall. "The fire extinguisher was hidden behind it, and the operator was about 30 feet away from what he's cutting. So he can't see everything."

Orvis said he was skeptical about that explanation.

"I'm baffled by that," said Orvis. "Don't they have any kind of safety to prevent that from happening?"

But Marshall said it's more common than you might think, despite the precautions workers take.

"Things happen like this, unfortunately," said Marshall. "We try to be careful, and we generally are. This doesn't happen that often, and when it does we try to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Orvis and Marshall both said they are thankful the flying extinguisher didn't cause more significant damage, or worse, injure someone.

Orvis said JW Green reached out to him and apologized for what happened and said they would cover the cost of repairs.

Multiple sharks were swimming in the water off Southern California Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of yards away from swimmers and surfers.

Photos: Sharks Spotted Near Swimmers

The often-feared fish were spotted off the Manhattan Beach coast at Rosecrans Avenue, just south of LAX. NewsChopper 4 reported seeing at least three sharks within 150 yards of beachgoers in the water.

Since mid-July, some 50 beachgoers have reported seeing sharks in the northern portion of Manhattan Beach, according to LA County Lifeguard Capt. Kyle Daniels.

Daniels said the beachgoers may be seeing the same few sharks, but the frequency of reports is up. He said there are typically about a dozen reports within the same time frame.

The sharks have been seen north of the Manhattan Beach Pier to El Port, a popular surf spot, Daniels said.

In the past month, Peter Wallerstein, with Marine Animal Rescue, said he's seen several sea lions wash up alive along the Manhattan Beach coast with their tails and rear flippers bitten off.

Wallerstein said the bites were obviously inflicted by sharks, but added that he hadn't seen any bitten sea lions this week.

Lifeguards said it's common for sharks, especially juveniles, to be in the Santa Monica Bay region in late August. It's a time when the young sharks learn how to hunt for sea life.

It wasn't clear what type of sharks were spotted Tuesday, though experts said they be Mako sharks between 4 and 11 feet long.

No beachers have been closed and no swimmers or surfers have been attacked, Daniels said.

Lifeguards are monitoring the situation and said if they have reason to believe the sharks are aggressive or swimmers are in danger, they will move beachgoers out of the water.

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Fred Stobaugh, 96, remembered laying eyes on the prettiest girl he ever saw: It was 1938, and she was a car hop named Lorraine at an A&W Rootbeer stand in East Peoria, Ill.

Two years later, she was his wife. They remained together until Lorraine's death this year.

"She gave me 75 years of her life," Stobaugh said in an online documentary.

It was this love story that transformed Stobaugh - not a musician by any means - into a chart-topping songwriter and Internet star.

Soon after Lorraine died, Green Shoe Studio, an Illinois-based music studio, held an online contest for singer-songwriters. Studio employees were sorting through uploaded videos when they received a manila envelope.

Inside were heartfelt lyrics that Stobaugh wrote about the love of his life, titled "Sweet Lorraine."

"Oh sweet Lorraine, I wish we could do all the good times over again," the song starts. "Oh sweet Lorraine, life only goes around once, but never again. ... The memories always linger on. Oh sweet Lorraine, I don't want to move on. ... that's why I wrote this song."

The studio said the lyrics didn't meet the submission criteria for the singer-songwriter contest. But it did him one better - the studio had professional musicians work with Stobaugh to transform the lyrics into a song.

The studio created a documentary video telling Stobaugh's story and posted it online.

The video showed the moment Stobaugh first listened to the finished song. When the song was over, Stobaugh visibly trembled, held his hand over his mouth and stared off into the distance.

"Wonderful," he said.

The song has since gone on to top the iTunes downloads in the Singer/Songwriter category, according to Green Shoe Studio.

"It was a wonderful 75 years," he said. I often think they're kind of unreal - dreaming, or something. But it was real. That's all I can say. It was real."

"I really, really miss her," he said. "It just don't seem right."

The song can be purchased on iTunes or Google Play.

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