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The day’s top national and international news
3 hours ago
Courage Amid Chaos as Tornado Destroys School
AP
The powerful tornado that tore through Moore, Okla., on Monday hit hard Plaza Towers Elementary School, where children sheltered inside from the roaring gusts, even as the building began to come apart around them.
The winds and flying debris from the mile-wide tornado claimed at least two dozen lives, the Oklahoma medical examiner said on Tuesday, according to NBC News. Nine of those victims were children.
The seven students who were killed at Plaza Towers, a single-story cinder block building that was leveled in the storm, were found dead in a pool of water, authorities said. Another student died at Briarwood Elementary, less than two miles away.
School officials had long planned for a tornado, but they were not ready for such such a devastating one, with EF-5 category winds that topped 200 mph.
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6 minutes ago
Search, Rescue Winds Down a Day After Oklahoma Tornado
AP
After a tireless day of searching for survivors from Monday's massive tornado in Oklahoma, officials said the search and rescue operation would end by nightfall on Tuesday, NBC News reported. Moore's fire chief said at a news conference that crews will comb through the city at least three times before they're done.
President Obama vowed to help victims get needed assistance "right away" after the category EF-5 tornado tore through the suburbs of Oklahoma City, killing at least 24 people. Gov. Mary Fallin said there were 237 injuries "that we know of" and there were no firm numbers on those killed. The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office said that nine children were among 24 confirmed dead, revising down an earlier death toll more than twice as high. Seven of the dead were children who drowned at Plaza Towers Elementary School. Nine-year-old Plaza Tower student Ja'Nae Hornsby was the the first victim to be identified in the aftermath of the twister, followed by 65-year-old Hemant Bhonde, who was separated from his wife when the tornado struck. The tornado tore a 20-mile path during its 40 minutes on the ground, while kicking up a cloud of debris about two miles wide.
Get More at NBC News
Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 2:49 AM
Immigration Bill Approved by Senate Committee
AP
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-5 Tuesday night on a sweeping bill to overhaul the nation's immigration system, NBC News reported. Three Republicans -- Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Orrin Hatch of Utah -- joined the panel's 10 Democrats to vote in favor of the bill. Flake and Graham are both members of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" that originally drafted the 844-page immigration legislation. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mike Lee of Utah and Jeff Sessions of Alabama voted against the legislation. In an emotional moment shortly before the final passage of the bill, committee chairman Patrick Leahy announced that he would withhold a vote on an amendment that would give the spouses of LGBT individuals the same standing as heterosexual couples. The measure will now head to the Senate floor.
Get More at NBC News
Los Angeles Mayoral Race Too Close to Call
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Weiner Launches Mayoral Campaign, Asks for "Second Chance"
YouTube.com/AnthonyWeiner4Mayor
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 11:47 PM
9-Year-Old Among First Tornado Victims Identified
Courtesy Angela Hornsby
A 9-year-old girl is among the first of the Oklahoma tornado victims to be identified, NBC News reported. Third-grader Ja'Nae Hornsby, who was "always smiling" was one of the students who died when the tornado slammed into Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., on Monday afternoon. Grieving family members gathered Tuesday at a Baptist church in Oklahoma City to console each other after a night of anxious waiting ended with a devastating call from the medical examiner's office. Ja'Nae's father tried to race back home to pick her up from school and pick up his two-year-old from daycare as the twister bore down on the Moore suburb. By the time he got there, the school had been reduced to a pile of rubble and the parking lot was transformed into a triage area for surviving students. Click through to read more about the frantic search for Ja'Nae Hornsby.
Get More at NBC News
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 12:55 PM
WATCH: View of Tornado's Path of Destruction By Air
"Today's" Natalie Morales reports from a helicopter on the destruction left behind by a tornado that hit Moore, Okla., looking down on the rubble that used to be an elementary school.
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 11:50 PM
Jodi Arias Pleads for Jury to Spare Her Life
Convicted killer Jodi Arias asked jurors to spare her life instead of sentencing her to death for the brutal killing of her ex-boyfriend, saying that if she's allowed to live she could contribute to society. The former waitress called the killing of Travis Alexander "the worst mistake of my life." "To this day, I can hardly believe I was capable of such violence,” she said. Arias said that she would like to begin a prison recycling program and "start a book club" to help other women become literate. Arias said she "lacked perspective" when earlier she said that she would rather die than spend the rest of her life in prison. She asked jurors to spare her life on behalf of her family. “I’m asking you, please, please don’t do that to them,” she said. “I want everyone’s pain to stop.” After the statement the judge gave the jury final instructions before making their decision.
Get More at NBC News
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 7:08 PM
Along the lines of literacy, I’d like to start a book club or a reading group, something that brings people together in a positive and constructive way.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 12:01 AM
More Rough Weather Hit Country Tuesday
About 9.5 million people remained under the threat of more "large and devastating" tornadoes Tuesday as the storm system that devastated the suburbs of Oklahoma City moved east, forecasters warned. A tornado watch was issued for Dallas-Fort Worth as well as all of north and central Texas until 8:00 p.m. ET. Tornado watches were also issued for a large portion of the south including Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee until 11:00 p.m. ET.
Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said early Tuesday that the threat area appeared to be east and south of Oklahoma City.
"Tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail are possible throughout the threat area," Roth said.
He added that cities including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Shreveport, Texarkana and Little Rock were among the cities "close to the the larger tornado threat." The National Weather Service said storms were expected Tuesday "from the Great Lakes across the Mississippi River Valley and into central Texas."
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 6:57 PM
Army General Suspended from Duties Amid Adultery Investigation
U.S. Army
An army general being investigated for adultery and for being involved in a physical altercation has been suspended, NBC News reported. Army Brigadier General Bryan T. Roberts, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Training Center in Fort Jackson, S.C. was allegedly involved in an altercation with an unidentified woman and is being investigated for reportedly having an affair with her, a U.S. military official told NBC News. The two were apparently making up after an argument when Robert allegedly bit the woman's lip, prompting her to seek medical help. While the investigation is ongoing, Brig. Gen. Peggy Combs, Commandant of the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, will serve as the interim commander.
Get More at NBC News
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 10:24 PM
IRS Official Asserts Fifth Amendment Right at House Hearing
AP
A top IRS official scheduled to testify on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee has asserted her fifth amendment right and refuses to answer questions, NBC News reported. Lois Lerner, head of the IRS unit that handles tax-exempt organizations, won't answer questions on what she knows about the targeting of conservative groups or about why she failed to alert Congress that such targeting was happening, according to a letter from her lawyer. Her lawyer wrote, "She has not committed any crime or made any misrepresentation, but under the circumstances she has no choice but to take this course." Some members of Congress have called for Lerner's termination and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) accused her of giving false and misleading testimony to Congress.
Get More at NBC News
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 6:22 PM
Senators Demand Answers from IRS Officials
U.S. Senators from both sides of the aisle demanded answers as to why action was not taken sooner to stop the IRS' practice of targeting conservative groups, NBC News reported. Senate Democratic leader Max Baucus (D-Mont.) -- who demand to know why those at the top of the tax agency did not take action -- called the conduct "outrageous" and "unacceptable." Former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, the Bush-era appointee who served during much of the time that the IRS targeting of conservatives took place, testified Tuesday that he was not aware of all the facts surrounding the abuses until earlier this month. Steven Miller, the acting IRS commissioner who resigned last week amid outrage over the scandal, also testified before the Senate Finance Committee. He said he was responsible for having another IRS official, Lois Lerner, answer a planted question at an American Bar Association panel discussion to publicly reveal the targeting of Tea Party groups and other conservatives, NBC News reported. Miller said his original plan for was the IRS to simultaneously brief Capitol Hill about the forthcoming inspector’s general report that detailed the abuses. “Obviously, the entire thing was an incredibly bad idea,” Miller said.
Get More at NBC News
2 Separate Attacks Target Gays Hours After Rally
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 6:22 PM
Apple CEO: "We Pay All the Taxes We Owe"
Apple CEO Tim Cook was grilled before a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing Tuesday after the subcommittee found that Apple had avoided paying taxes on billions in profits by keeping them parked in Irish subsidiaries. "We pay all the taxes we owe — every single dollar," Cook told lawmakers. "We don't depend on tax gimmicks." He stressed that Apple is the nation's largest corporate taxpayer and that he supports an overhaul of the U.S. tax code. Subcommittee staffers said before the hearing that Apple was not breaking any laws, Reuters reported. But committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan urged closing "unjustified tax loopholes" that had allowed Apple to avoided $9 billion in U.S. taxes in 2012. Sen. John McCain added that Apple's tax strategy reflected "a flawed corporate system." Apple's main subsidiary in Ireland, "Apple Operations International," has not paid any corporate income taxes in the last five years, the subcommittee's report found.
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NBCNews.com
- Chaos and courage as tornado wrecks elementary schools
- 'Tornado Mom' Stephanie Decker to Okla. victims: 'You will rebuild and get through this'
- More storms on the way, tornadoes possible across swath of US
- 9-year-old from Plaza Towers school among first tornado victims identified
- 'I hope I get a second chance': Anthony Weiner launches bid to become NYC mayor
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