VIDEO: The aircraft flown by famed Alaska pilot Jim Tweto clipped a tree when it was taking off from a remote, off-airport, mountain ridgeline airstrip in June, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary investigative report released Tuesday. The crash took the lives of Tweto, of Unalakleet, and outdoor guide Shane Reynolds, of Orofino, Idaho. The crash happened at about 11:35 a.m., on June 16, near Shaktoolik. After clipping the tree, the left stabilizer of the aircraft, or its pitch control, was disabled. The aircraft crashed, uncontrolled after that. A guide, who was at the scene of the crash, said winds had been "gusting and changing a lot," that day. Others in the area had described winds as unusual. Tweto was known to have used the mountain airstrip many times before.  

At least one person was rescued Wednesday as firefighters battled a large fire that spread to multiple apartment buildings in Hollywood. The fire broke out around 5:21 p.m. at a building on 7764 W Hollywood Blvd., just east of Fairfax Avenue. Investigators said two vehicles were spotted burning in a carport. The fires then spread to two of three apartment buildings in the area. Steve Nelson, who manages a building across the street, reported seeing "cars exploding" in the back area. "It was pretty intense for all of us," he said. "The smoke ... you couldn't see." AIR7 HD captured a two-story building engulfed in flames. The Los Angeles Fire Department said the fire in that building caused severe damage to the attic and 16 apartment units on the second floor, including "structural compromise and partial collapse."  

VIDEO: When someone goes missing at one of the Triangle's many lakes, the search process can be long and put first responders at risk as well, but the Wake Forest Fire Department is using the help of an underwater drone to get the job done faster. Firefighter Korey Floyd said the department has been using the technology for two years and has assisted in searches across the state. "Without this, you have to wait for a dive team to come and with a dive team, you're limited on personnel and also the capability of what they can do," Floyd said. Earlier this week, the underwater drone helped recovered the body of a man who went missing after an accident during a severe thunderstorm on Falls Lake. Floyd said the drone allows for longer searches, in deeper water and more extreme temperatures.  

VIDEO: A local fire department has become the unintentional catalyst of conversation after changing their drug policy and allowing its firefighters to use CBD products. Despite CBD being legal in Indiana since March of 2018, the decision for White River Township Fire Department to change their policy to allow its staff to use CBD products has turned out to be quite controversial among Indiana's firefighting industry. The White River Township Fire Department runs like any other firehouse. Firefighters spend their time training, working on equipment around the firehouse and responding to emergencies. But when they go home, these firefighters are able to unwind from their long shift or treat side effects from their demanding job with CBD products.  

PHOTOS: The apocalyptic scene is still burned into Mike Buttery's memory 50 years later: Black smoke billowing from the top floor of the Military Personnel Records Center; bits of paper wafting through the air as dozens of firefighters tried desperately to stem the inferno. "They'd hit it (the paper) with the water, and the water would knock it back up in the air, and then it would float around some more out there," Buttery, then a janitor at the center, recalls of the wind-whipped paper swirling around the massive six-story building outside Saint Louis. As he watched from a safe remove, Buttery could only think of the millions of veterans — like himself — whose records were being consumed and "how in the world would they get their benefits."  

An expanding, intensifying heat wave prompted the National Weather Service to issue heat alerts for more than 112 million people on Thursday morning, with no letup in sight for some areas. Why it matters: The heat will topple longstanding records, especially in the Southwest, and the duration of this event that's set to continue well into next week increases public health dangers. The big picture: This heat wave is already notable for its scope, intensity and endurance. An area of high pressure aloft, also known as a heat dome, is moving into place over the Southwest, but will influence a much broader area. The Southwest will see the longest-lasting impacts, and parts of Texas are coming off their hottest June on record. Alerts are up from the Atlantic to Pacific coasts, and include nearly all of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, California and Arizona.