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Baby on board! Southwest flight diverted for
birth
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Baby's first flight took on a whole new meaning
when a woman gave birth aboard a Southwest
Airlines flight in midair Tuesday morning.
According to Southwest officials, the baby was
born shortly after Flight 623's 624 a.m. takeoff
with the assistance of a nurse and doctor
onboard. "All the passengers were awesome.
Everybody was clapping. The flight was then
diverted to Los Angeles International Airport
about 730 a.m. It was originally bound for
Phoenix from San Francisco. "About 50 minutes
prior to touchdown, we got a call from the flight
attendants in the back. The pilot said air
traffic control guided the plane to Los Angeles,
moving flights in front of them to open a clear
path. The plane was met by a Los Angeles Fire
Department emergency response team upon landing.
Mother and child were transported to a local
hospital and are "doing fine." "LAFD praises an
ER RN that assisted the mother in giving birth
prior to our arrival," said a spokesperson for
LAFD. After a two-and-a-half hour delay, the 111
other passengers aboard Flight 623 were able to
continue their journey to Phoenix aboard a new
aircraft.
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In Other News

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  the state's bid to challenge his sentence. The
  decision extends the legal battle over Pistorius'
  fate well into next year. Prosecutors had said
  Pistorius' sentence of five years in prison for
  shooting dead his girlfriend was nowhere near
  enough punishment. They also want the
  double-amputee track star to be convicted of a
  more serious charge. They had originally sought
  conviction on a charge of murder.
• After duking it out in 2012's often nasty
  presidential race, the campaign managers for Mitt
  Romney and President Barack Obama have joined
  forces. Jim Messina, who ran the president's
  re-election, and Matt Rhoades, a veteran of the
  Romney operation, are working behind the scenes
  of Washington's bid to host the 2024 Summer
  Olympics. The duo's specific project -- a small
  part of the overall mission -- is to convince the
  U.S. Olympic Committee, that yes, sometimes both
  parties can come together for a common purpose,
  and that Washington is not just a hotbed of
  partisan warfare all of the time. The committee
  will choose early next year which of the
  remaining four American cities will be the
  finalist to compete in 2017 to be the
  International Olympic Committee's choice for the
  2024 games.