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A bridge along Interstate-5 in Washington State collapsed on Thursday evening, leaving at least two cars and some people submerged in water, according to Washington State Patrol.

It was unclear how many people were in the Skagit River, the waterway in northern Washington that the four-lane bridge crossed.

The incident happened around 7 p.m. local time, and traffic has been closed in both directions.

NBC Seattle affiliate KING5 reported that traffic was significantly backed up in both directions. I-5 is the main freeway that runs along the West Coast.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

Gina Cole / Skagit Valley Herald

North end of the I-5 bridge over Skagit River collapsed Thursday night.

Jurors in the high-profile Jodi Arias trial on Thursday failed to reach an agreement over whether she should receive the death penalty for killing her ex-boyfriend.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens called for a retrial in the penalty phase after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The new jury will be impaneled on July 18, unless the prosecutor decides to no longer seek the death penalty and agrees to a life sentence.

Stephens, visibly disappointed by the news that the marathon 5-month trial would need to continue further, told the jury, "This was not your typical trial. You were asked to perform some very difficult duties."

Earlier this month Arias was found guilty for the brutal murder of her former boyfriend, 30-year-old Travis Alexander. His body was found slumped in the shower of his Phoenix-area home in June 2008. He was stabbed 27 times, had his throat slashed and was shot in the face.

On Wednesday, jurors told the judge that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict, but Stephens directed the eight men and four women to continue deliberations.

Under Arizona law, if the new jury is seated and also cannot come to an agreement on sentencing, the judge would then decide whether Arias will spend life in prison or have the eligibility of parole after 25 years. A judge cannot sentence Arias to death.

After news of the hung jury, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said in a statement, "We appreciate the jury's work in the guilt and aggravation phases of the trial and now we will assess, based upon available information, what the next steps will be."

Arias has contradicted herself publicly, at first saying she wants to die and then pleading for her life.

Following the guilty verdict, the 32-year-old told a local radio station that she would rather die than spend the rest of her life in jail. She then took to the stand on Tuesday to plead with the jury to spare her life, saying she never meant to cause her victim's family pain and that she would contribute to society if her life was spared.

“This is the worst mistake of my life. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done,” Arias said. “To this day, I can hardly believe I was capable of such violence.”

Just hours after she took the stand, she told NBC's TODAY show, “What I receive will be what I deserve, I believe.”

Arias contended that she killed her former lover in self-defense in what was an abusive relationship defined by forced sex and violence. Prosecutors say Arias fell into a jealous rage after Alexander ended the relationship and revealed his involvement with another woman.

The trial and its lurid details of the former couple's sex life, along with Arias' revelations of an abusive childhood and previous romantic failures, captivated the country as it was played out live on television and the Internet.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said in a statement Thursday evening that Arias will no longer be permitted to do media interviews and will remain as a closed custody inmate in a county jail near Phoenix, Ariz.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ibragim Todashev is seen in a mug shot on May 4 after his arrest for aggravated battery in Orlando. Todashev, who was being questioned in Orlando by authorities in the Boston bombing probe, was fatally shot on May 22, when he initiated a violent confrontation, FBI officials said.

The father of the man who was  killed by FBI agents — after allegedly admitting he and Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev committed a triple homicide in 2011 — claims that his son is innocent and federal investigators made up their case against him.

Investigators say Ibragim Todashev told them on Wednesday that he and Tsarnaev killed three people in a Boston suburb two years ago in what sources say was a drug ripoff gone bad.

Law enforcement officials said that, while confessing to the slayings, Todashev was shot and killed after attacking an agent with a knife.

But Todashev's father, Abdul-Baki Todashev, told NBC News on Thursday that the FBI "made up their accusations" and that the American investigators are biased against Chechens.

"My son did not kill anybody ... they [the FBI] were eager to present my son as Tsarnaev’s friend. My son could never commit a crime, I know my son well," Abdul-Baki Todashev said in a phone interview from Chechnya.

Investigators questioned his 27-year-old son in Orlando, Fla. as part of the FBI’s effort to find anyone who had any contact with the Tsarnaev brothers. Todashev was not considered a suspect in the Boston bombings that killed three people and injured scores more last month.

What is still not clear is why Todashev would have implicated himself and Tsarnaev in the unsolved murders.

Investigators say he confessed to the agent in Florida that he played a role in a triple murder in which three men were discovered slain in an apartment in Waltham, Mass. Brendan Mess, 25; Raphael Teken, 37; and Eric Weissman, 31, were found with their throats cut in September of 2011, and their bodies were covered with marijuana. Law enforcement sources told NBC News Wednesday that the slayings were simply the result of a drug deal gone bad.

No suspects had been arrested in that case, and Waltham prosecutors said Thursday they still consider it an "open and active" investigation.

The parents of suspected marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have also maintained that their children are innocent. Though sources have told NBC News that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev scribbled his reasoning behind the bombing in a boat he was hiding in before his capture by police.

Abdul-Baki Todashev said he found out that his son was killed when a family member saw it on the Internet. He said his son and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were not close friends, but did say they were acquaintances that went to the same gym.

His son had a green card, he said, and recently had knee surgery that delayed a planned trip back to Russia.

"He told me that the state paid his medical insurance and that they did not want him to leave the country until he compensated (sic). But now I think may be FBI took his air ticket from him," Todashev said.

Less than a day after the shooting an FBI review team from Washington was on the ground in Florida to investigate the death, officials said. Witnesses in the room when the shooting occurred will be questioned, including two Massachusetts State Police troopers.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the federal magistrate judge handling the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev case rescheduled a probable cause hearing originally set for May 30 -- the next legal step -- for July 10th at 11 am.

The hearing was originally set for May 30th, but both prosecutors and defense lawyers asked for a delay, citing what they called "the complex factual and legal issues present in this case and the need for adequate time to obtain and review evidence."

NBC's Pete Williams contributed to this report

This story was originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 7:28 PM EDT

Joe Burbank / Pool via Reuters file

George Zimmerman, defendant in the killing of Trayvon Martin, stands in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Florida, with his attorney Mark O'Mara, right, for a pre-trial hearing on April 30.

By Elizabeth Chuck, Jamie Novogrod, and Tom Winter, NBC News

The defense team for George Zimmerman, the man charged with second-degree murder in the Florida shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, has released a trove of texts and photos from Martin's cell phone — but it's not clear whether they'll be admissible in trial.

The newly released evidence, posted to a website run by Zimmerman's defense team on Thursday, includes texts from Martin where he discusses being suspended from school and smoking marijuana. He also shows an interest in guns in several texts.

This comes just days before a key hearing next Tuesday that will determine the admissibility of certain evidence at the trial.

The 25 photos released by Zimmerman's team include some of Martin that have already circulated widely online, as well as some new ones, including one where Martin shows his gold teeth to the camera while sticking up his middle fingers, and a close-up picture of a gun that the defense says was taken from Martin's camera, although it's not evident from the photo who is holding the gun.

Martin, a black 17-year-old, was shot to death by Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Fla., in a case that set off racial tensions around the country.

Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer of white and Hispanic descent, has pleaded not guilty, claiming he shot Martin in their gated community after Martin attacked him.

In one of the text conversations, sent 12 days before his death, Martin tells a friend he has been suspended from school for fighting.

"Why you not in school?" a text he receives asks.

"Suspended."

"I thought you was going out with ur friend," the reply says.

"Naw my ol g say she dont want me home caus she think ima get in mo trouble," he texts back.

Martin's texts also indicate he may have been curious about guns.

"U gotta gun?" reads a text from Martin's phone, sent on Feb. 18, 2012, to a friend of his who was on the phone with him on the night of the shooting.

"You want a 22 revolver" asks someone in a text he receives that day.

Three days later, Martin mentioned a caliber of gun while asking a friend in another text, "U wanna share a .380 w.[redacted]?"

Other texts released allude to problems Martin was having at home and with authorities. 

"My mom just told me i gotta mov wit my dad," says one from Nov. 22, 2011. "She just kickd me out." 

Later that day, a text says, "Da police caught me outta skool." 

Marijuana references are scattered throughout the texts. Some of the newly released photos show Martin blowing smoke and what appear to be marijuana plants.

Jeff Deen, a former assistant state attorney in Florida and the head of a state agency that represents criminal defendants, said that strict rules having to do with character evidence will likely make Martin’s texts and photos inadmissible at trial.

“What does his mom saying he needs to live with his dad for a while say about why he was shot?  Nothing,” he said. “Generally, reputation evidence is not admissible in court.”

But Mark O'Mara, the lead defense attorney for Zimmerman, said he will try to use the new evidence during Zimmerman's trial on June 10.

But an attorney for Martin's family argued that the pretrial evidence release consisted of "irrelevant red herrings."

"Is the defense trying to prove Trayvon deserved to be killed by George Zimmerman because of the way he looked?" Benjamin Crump said in a statement on Thursday.

"If so, this stereotypical and closed-minded thinking is the same mindset that caused George Zimmerman to get out of his car and pursue Trayvon, an unarmed kid who he didn't know. The pretrial release of these irrelevant red herrings is a desperate and pathetic attempt by the defense to pollute and sway the jury pool."

Martin’s death spurred a national conversation about guns and Florida’s expansive “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law, which allows people to use deadly force if they believe they are in danger of being injured or killed.  In April, Zimmerman waived his right to a pre-trial “Stand Your Ground” immunity hearing, guaranteeing his June trial before a jury.

On Thursday evening, Zimmerman's defense team also filed a request for a delay in the trial.

Editor's note: George Zimmerman has sued NBCUniversal for defamation, and the company has strongly denied his allegations.

Following the Boy Scouts of America's vote on Thursday to end its policy banning gay kids and teens from joining the organization while continuing to bar adult gays from serving as Scout leaders, reaction poured in from across the Internet. Here's a sampling. 

Related:

This story was originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 6:21 PM EDT

A 15-year-old in Utah was arrested Thursday in the deaths of his two younger brothers, ages 4 and 10, police said.

Authorities are treating the case as a double homicide, NBC affiliate KSL reported.

The victims are said to have suffered injuries "consistent with penetrating knife wounds," Davis County Sheriff Todd Richardson told KSL.

"As a result of our investigation, this morning we have taken the 15-year-old juvenile into custody," Sergeant Susan Poulsen of the Sheriff's Office, adding that prosecutors were expected to formally charge the boy on Monday. "We believe he acted alone."

The boys' mother discovered her 4-year-old son dead on the floor Wednesday afternoon upon returning to her West Point home from a dance recital with her three other children, KSL reported. Police later found the second body.

The 15-year-old, who is not being identified because he is a minor, was found late that night wandering the streets about five miles away. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation and minor injuries, officials said.

According to KSL, the teenager has made headlines before, when he ran away from home in 2011. He was eventually found about four miles away.

Ann Durrwachter, a neighbor whose son attends school with the teenager, told KSL the boy was a "model student."

"From what I understand, he's a model student, from what I've heard. I've never had any complaints about him or his family. I always figured him as model 15-year-old that every mom dreamed of having. He was just carefree almost. He just kind of did his own thing as most boys do."

The boys' father is on active military duty. Four of the couple's children were adopted, including the two victims, The Associated Press reported. The 15-year-old is the couple's biological child.

The gruesome act has left the quiet community in shock.

"West Point is just a quiet area. Not that many people even know it exists," Durrwachter told KSL, adding that the family was kind and loving.

"They were definitely a very positive family," she told KSL. "Sweet, sweet family. Our kids played together. They walked up and down our streets, rode bikes."

The arrest comes amid heightened national attention to violence by children following the high profile stabbing death last month of an 8-year-old California girl, Leila Fowler. Her 12-year-old brother has been charged with second-degree murder in her death.

Reuters contributed to this report

Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

Lightning strikes during a thunderstorm as tornado survivors search for salvagable items at their devastated home on May 23, in Moore, Okla.

The decimated city of Moore, Okla., will hold a public memorial service Sunday evening, six days after a tornado killed 24 people, injured 377 and destroyed hundreds of homes.

Gov. Mary Fallin said the prayer service at the First Baptist Church will be "open to all," though it was unclear if President Barack Obama, who is visiting Oklahoma that day, will attend.

The gathering will be the first opportunity for the suburb of 56,000 to mourn and take stock as a community since the twister came through with apocalyptic force on Monday afternoon, wrecking houses, businesses, schools and lives.

The landscape of the community will be scarred for some time, but the mood in Moore seemed to be shifting from awe and disbelief to resolve to carry on.

"We will rebuild and we will reopen and we will have school in August," vowed city school superintendent Susan Pierce, even as she wept while talking about the first funeral of a student held Thursday.

"I've never been more proud to be a member of a community," said Pierce, who has lived in Moore since 1960.

Officials praised citizens of the town for pulling together to help those who had lost everything.

More than 20 Red Cross vehicles were handing out meals and offering mental health counseling Thursday. Diana Mitchell, a retired nurse from Enid, Okla., who has been working in health care for 42 years, was manning one of the trucks.

"My husband decided we needed something to do," she said with a smile.

And cemeteries that had asked for assistance removing debris in time for the Memorial Day weekend were stunned when 1,500 people showed up to help.

On a street near the a hospital that had been destroyed, volunteers were cleaning up the home of a neighbor they barely know.

“These citizens are awesome. I mean they’ve lost everything but they’ve still got a sense of humor,” said Moore deputy city manager Stan Drake.

Officials were also focusing on the strides made in the chaotic post-storm days: Since Monday's twister hit, 2,200 people have registered for help with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state legislature has released $45 million in aid, and six people who were thought to be missing have been found.

One of them had put a note on their door that said, "Tornado's coming. I've left."

Batten down the hatches.

Forecasters said Wednesday that the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is likely to be "above normal and possibly extremely active," predicting three to six major hurricanes this season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its outlook that it forecast seven to 11 Atlantic hurricanes for the 2013 season, which officially begins on June 1.

"NOAA predicts an above normal and possibly an extremely active hurricane season with a range of 13 to 20 named storms," seven to 11 of which are forecast to turn into hurricanes and three to six of which are forecast to turn into major hurricanes, said Kathryn Sullivan, acting NOAA administrator.

Major hurricanes are defined as Category 3 or above, with winds of more than 110 mph.

The last time a major hurricane made landfall in the U.S. was Wilma, in 2005, according to the Associated Press. The seven-year landfall drought is the longest in the U.S. on record, The AP reports.

Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to tropical storm status just before it made landfall in New Jersey last October. Sandy caused $50 billion in damage.

NASA via Getty Images file

In this handout satellite image provided by NASA, Hurricane Sandy off the East Coast as it moves north on Oct. 28, 2012 in the Atlantic Ocean.

The numbers for 2013 are above the seasonal average of 12 named storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. Last year was the third-busiest storm season on record.

NOAA's seasonal hurricane outlook does not predict how many storms will hit land or where the storms will strike; it only provides an overview of the season.

"With the devastation of Sandy fresh in our minds, and another active season predicted, everyone at NOAA is committed to providing life-saving forecasts in the face of these storms and ensuring that Americans are prepared and ready ahead of time," Sullivan said.

Several climate factors are contributing to the upcoming season being busier, forecasters said.

"These factors include a continuation of the climate pattern that has been responsible for the ongoing era of high activity in the Atlantic that began in 1995; warmer than average sea-surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea; and near-normal, year-average seasonal temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which means El Nino ... is not expected to develop and suppress hurricane formation this hurricane season," Sullivan said.

Atlantic hurricane season lasts for six months, typically peaking between late August and mid-October.

"This year, oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the Atlantic basin are expected to produce more and stronger hurricanes," said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. "These conditions include weaker wind shear, warmer Atlantic waters and conducive winds patterns coming from Africa."

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Anonymous / AP

Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born Yemeni cleric and recruiter for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen, in an October 2008 photo.

Now that the U.S. government has publicly acknowledged that it launched a drone strike that killed U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen two years ago, a federal judge has asked the Justice Department to explain what effect the admission will have on a lawsuit filed by al-Awlaki’s father.

In an order issued late Wednesday, Judge Rosemary Collyer ordered the Justice Department to file a memo stating how Attorney General Eric Holder’s confirmation Wednesday that the government had targeted and killed al-Awlaki “affects the legal issues in the case.”

Earlier, a letter that Holder sent to Congress confirmed that the U.S. had targeted al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born radical cleric who died in a Sept. 30, 2011, drone strike. The letter also acknowledged that the U.S. had killed three other Americans in drone strikes, including “Inspire” magazine editor Samir Khan, who died in the same Sept. 30 attack, al-Awlaki’s son, Abdulrahman, and Jude Kenan Mohammed. Abdulrahman al-Awlaki died in an October 2011 Yemen drone strike, while Mohammed was killed in Pakistan in November  2011.

Anwar al-Awlaki’s father, Nasser, a citizen and resident of Yemen, is suing the U.S. government over the killing of his son and grandson. Samir Khan’s mother, a U.S. citizen, has joined the lawsuit.

The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to throw the case out, mainly on the grounds that the courts have no role in passing judgment on what is essentially a military and foreign policy decision to target someone overseas.  But the government also argues that the targeted killing program is classified.

"Plaintiffs' allegations that Department of Defense and CIA officials targeted al-Awlaki and then 'authorized and directed' a series of missile strikes in Yemen,” says the government, “are claims which ... would 'inevitably require an inquiry into classified information.'"

A hearing on the government's request to dismiss the lawsuit is scheduled for June 19.

More from Open Channel:

• Texas blast shows failure of emergency planning law, analysis shows
• In first public acknowledgement, Holder says 4 Americans died in US drone strikes
• Why aren't there more storm shelters in Oklahoma?

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