South
Two Injured as Southwest Airlines Flight Dives to Avert ‘Midair Collision’
A Southwest Airlines flight on Friday was forced to swiftly descend over Hollywood Burbank Airport to avert a “midair collision,” according to passengers and the airline.
At least two flight attendants were injured in the maneuver on Flight 1496, which was bound for Las Vegas.
Flight passenger Steve Ulasewicz described feeling a “significant drop,” adding the pilot told the rattled flyers that the crew had to pull off the emergency move to “avoid a midair collision,” ABC News reported.
Southwest Airlines told Newsweek that the flight was forced to “climb and descend” over Burbank after receiving two “onboard traffic alerts.”
Why It Matters
The near miss is the latest in a series of global aviation incidents that have reignited debate over air traffic oversight, pilot training and reliance on automated warning systems.
On Monday, a plane landing in Mexico City almost crashed into a Delta Air Lines flight at Benito Juarez International Airport.
On January 29, a commercial jetliner and Army helicopter collided in Washington, D.C., killing 67 people. Two days later, a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia, killing all six people onboard and one person on the ground.
The deadly January crashes led President Donald Trump to announce plans to revamp the nation’s aging aviation safety infrastructure.
What To Know
Passenger and comedian Jimmy Dore said many onboard had been flung out of their seats and had “bumped their heads on the ceiling.”
After the sudden descent, the pilot informed passengers that the maneuver was ordered to avoid another aircraft, and that there had been a temporary loss of contact with air traffic control.
“Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us,” Dore added in a post on X. “Wow.”
Caitlin Burdi, a fellow passenger, described the “terrifying” moment the flight suddenly plummeted.
“It felt like the ride Tower of Terror, where we fell 20 to 30 feet,” she told Fox News Digital. “I just remember [the pilot] saying, ‘What just happened was we almost collided with another plane, and I had to make the emergency attempt to go under because we lost service with the air traffic controller.’”
Southwest Airlines told Newsweek that no injuries had been reported by customers, although the two flight attendants were being medically treated.
The flight was able to continue to its destination of Las Vegas, where it landed “uneventfully.”
“Southwest is engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] to further understand the circumstances,” an airline spokesperson said.
What People Are Saying
A Southwest Airlines spokesperson also told Newsweek: “We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and Flight Attendants in responding to this event. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
Burdi also told Fox News Digital: “The screaming, it was terrifying. We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash.”
A Hollywood Burbank Airport spokesperson told Newsweek:“There’s no evidence of any incident similar to what you’re describing happening in the immediate vicinity of our airport.”
What Happens Next
Southwest and FAA officials have launched an investigation into the cause and sequence of events that led to the emergency maneuver. They’re reviewing air traffic control communications, radar data and cockpit recordings. The ongoing probes will focus on determining whether procedural lapses or technical issues contributed to the risk of collision.
North Carolina
North Carolina man accused of shooting and killing another tourist inside of a Broward Airbnb, police say
A Fourth of July trip to South Florida ended in tragedy after a 21-year-old North Carolina man was shot and killed inside a Hollywood Airbnb, according to police.
Investigators say Jaydon Williams, 21, was shot multiple times early Saturday morning at a vacation rental in the 1900 block of Funston Street. Hollywood police have arrested 21-year-old Devian Blount, also of North Carolina, and charged him with first-degree murder.
Officers responded to the home around 1 a.m. Saturday, following reports of a shooting. They arrived to find Williams suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital, where he died.
According to the arrest report, Williams was on a FaceTime call with his girlfriend at the time of the shooting. She told investigators she heard someone accuse Williams of stealing, followed by a verbal argument and several gunshots.
The incident has left neighbors shaken in the typically quiet Hollywood community. While some residents noted they were aware that the home operated as a short-term rental, others expressed concerns about the property’s transient nature.
“That’s a bad idea to me to have an Airbnb in this neighborhood where so many people and kids live,” said neighbor Dorell Green. “Different types of people come and go. You don’t know who is coming or leaving.”
Ivette Santana, another resident, said her primary concern is the violence. “I don’t care about the Airbnb,” Santana said. “My problem is the shooting over there.”
Blount is being held without bond at the Broward County Jail.
CBS News Miami has contacted Airbnb to determine if the property remains in operation. We are also working to contact the property’s owners.
Oklahoma
NCAA Not Done with Kashie Natt, Oklahoma State After Legal Ruling
The NCAA is not done with Oklahoma State Guard Kashie Natt and his eligibility case, based on the organization’s statement on Tuesday.
On Monday, Natt received an ex parte ruling that kept the NCAA from enforcing its decision to cancel Natt’s waiver request to play in 2026-27. That ruling, from District Judge John Canavan, allows Natt to practice with the team, participate in all team activities and participate in any athletics-related benefits.
It also bars the NCAA from punishing Natt or Oklahoma State while the case is working its way through the court.
By its nature, an ex parte ruling is made after only hearing one side of the case. The NCAA posted a statement disagreeing with the ruling, including an explanation for why they canceled the waiver and will continue to pursue the case in court.
The NCAA’s Statement on Kashie Natt
The NCAA posted the statement to social media and was signed by the organization’s chief legal officer, Scott Bearby.
“The order in the Natt case, issued without the NCAA having any opportunity to respond and by a judge not even assigned to hear the case, is demonstrably flawed and the latest instance of an environment where litigation has become a tool to avoid playing by the rules that everyone has agreed to follow. The student-athlete at issue already benefited from the ‘Pavia waiver,’ which provided him the opportunity to play for a fifth season, and nobody, including the institution where he seeks to compete next year, has ever expressed any doubt that his collegiate career ended when the Pavia waiver expired. We will pursue all remedies to seek reversal of this decision, which contributes to the instability in college sports that only Congress can solve.”
The Pavia case, which was a suit called Pavia v. NCAA, was brought on behalf of Vanderbilt quarterback Deigo Pavia, who started his career in junior college. He received a preliminary injunction in 2025 after he challenged the NCAA’s system for junior college and NCAA eligibility, saying that his juco years counting toward his NCAA eligibility irreparably harmed his ability to leverage NIL.
The NCAA ultimately conceded and granted a blanket waiver that extended an extra year of eligibility to similar athletes. The NCAA believes that bucket includes Natt. He started his career five schools year ago at Southern University-Shreveport, a junior college. He followed that with three years at NAIA LSU-Alexandria and then one more year at Sam Houston.
Natt’s attorney, Darren Heitner, contends that Natt’s NCAA clock should have started when he began his career at LSU-Alexandria and therefore has one more year to play.
The case is still pending. A new court date has not been set yet.
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South-Carolina
Oh, Goodbye: Four-Star South Carolina RB Aiden Gibson Flips To Rutgers
Just a day after four-star PA wide receiver Khalil Taylor spurned Penn State for Nebraska, the Nittany Lions got more fantastic news as four-star South Carolina running back Aiden Gibson announced his decommitment from Penn State and flipped to Rutgers with the intention to enroll for the 2026 season.
Not really much to say here other than this sucks and there have just been too many losses for Penn State this cycle. No one is going to bat 1.000, but after a strong March and April that had the Nittany Lions positioned to sign a Top 15 class, they have managed to lose Jamir Dean to Georgia, Zach Gleason to West Virginia, DeShawn Hall to Auburn, Khalil Taylor to Nebraska, and now Aiden Gibson to Rutgers. The class is now ranked No. 22, behind the likes of Cal, Kentucky, and…Virginia Tech.
Gross. The 2028 class needs to be better.
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