Nation briefs 8/17/2015

3 die in midair plane collision

SAN DIEGO -- Three people died Sunday after the midair collision and crash of two small planes near an airport in southern San Diego County, authorities said. The collision occurred about 11 a.m. about 2 miles northeast of Brown Field Municipal Airport, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor. Three fatalities were reported, sheriff's Lt. Jim Bolwerk said. He did not have details on the victims but said they were apparently on board the planes. There were no reports of injuries on the ground. Both planes -- a twin-engine Sabreliner and a single-engine Cessna 172 -- were going to Brown Field at the time of the crash, Gregor said. Crews extinguished small fires sparked in dry brush at the crash site in a rural area, Bolwerk said.

Software update cited in flight delays

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration says a technical problem at an air-traffic control center in Virginia that caused hundreds of flights to be delayed or canceled possibly was caused by a software upgrade at a high-altitude radar facility. The FAA said Sunday the upgrade was designed to provide more tools for controllers, but authorities have disabled the new features while a systems contractor conducts an assessment. The agency said there were 492 delays and 476 cancellations related to the technical problem, which resulted in about 70 percent of normal Saturday air traffic at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, 72 percent at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and 88 percent at Dulles International Airport.

Over 60 gay couples wed in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Over 60 couples from around the region gathered in Puerto Rico's capital Sunday to exchange vows at a same-sex marriage ceremony, while a crowd of supporters snapped photos and cheered. The mass ceremony at a promenade in San Juan's colonial district took the same-sex couples through the traditional marriage vows and exchange of rings. The event follows the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in late June requiring every state to recognize same-sex marriages. The U.S. island's governor signed an executive order soon after that ruling to comply. Most of the couples were Puerto Ricans, but others from the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Venezuela also participated in the event.

Bush super PAC to spend $10M-plus

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The super PAC backing Republican Jeb Bush will spend at least $10 million on television time in the earliest voting presidential primary states, the first salvo in a TV ad campaign to support the former Florida governor's bid for the GOP nomination. Officials with Right to Rise USA say they will buy time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina TV markets and on cable television in the states. Ads are scheduled to begin in Iowa and New Hampshire on Sept. 15, in South Carolina a week later and run through the end of the year. The plan is the first evidence of Right to Rise USA's strategic spending of the roughly $100 million it had on hand last month.

-- From wire reports