National & International News
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NBCNews.com
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 3:15 PM

Buzz Kill: Restaurants Fear New Booze Law

Getty Images The National Transportation Safety Board's proposed plan to toughen drunk driving laws has restaurateurs alarmed, NBC News reported. Social drinkers are likely to cut back when they dine out if the NTSB's new blood-alcohol level limit of 0.05 becomes law, according to Sarah Longwell, a spokesperson for the American Beverage Institute. "You basically take away a part of the experience of dining out. When you take that element away, you take away some of the magic, the ambiance of a night out," Longwell said. The new proposal announced on Tuesday is based on research that shows impairment begins with the first drink. “The research clearly shows that drivers with a BAC above 0.05 are impaired and at a significantly greater risk of being involved in a crash where someone is killed or injured,” NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said Tuesday. Click through to read more. Get More at NBC News

hero cop
22 minutes ago

Former Officer Accused of Rape, Held on $60M Bail

Former Officer Accused of Rape, Held on $60M BailPhiladelphia Police
A former Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero and given a seat next to the first lady at a speech by President Obama has been arrested and charged with raping two women and other crimes. Richard DeCoatsworth, 27, met one of the women two weeks ago and forced her into prostitution at a local hotel. Police say he also forced the women to use drugs and perform oral sex on him. DeCoatsworth was arrested and charged with rape, sexual assault, terroristic threats and related offenses. Police also confiscated drugs and guns from the home. DeCoatsworth was shot in the face back in 2007 when he was a rookie officer. After being shot, he managed to chase down the suspect for several blocks before collapsing. He called in enough information by radio that police were able to track down and arrest the suspect later the same day. His heroism earned him an invitation from Vice President Joe Biden to attend President Obama’s first congressional address at the U.S. capital in February of 2009. The officer sat with First Lady Michelle Obama during the address. He was also honored by his peers as a 2008 Top Cop. Read »
Cannes Film Festival
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 8:15 AM

Man Fires Pistol at Cannes Film Festival

AP A man at Cannes film festival was arrested after firing a starting pistol while a live TV broadcast was taking place, according to NBC News. French TV station Canal+ had been conducting an interview with actors Christoph Waltz and Daniel Auteuil in front of a crowd when the man fired two shots into the air. The actors ran for cover. "The bodyguards jumped over the barriers into the crowd and pulled him to the ground. The police arrived and told everyone to run because there was a grenade in his hand," spectator Arthur Laiguesse told Reuters. Police then arrested the man who had a knife and a dummy grenade. The festival has already seen a breach of security. Police claim that $1.4 million worth of Chopard jewelry intended for movie stars during the 12-day event had been stolen from a room at the Suite Novotel hotel overnight on Thursday. Get More at NBC News

Chicago Police
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 5:59 PM

12 Shot in Spate of Weekend Violence Across Chicago

12 Shot in Spate of Weekend Violence Across Chicago
Two people were fatally shot in the head and another shot dead in the chest in weekend violence that wounded at least nine others across Chicago, according to police. Last night’s first fatality took place at 7:24 p.m. Friday in the 7800 block of South Langely Avenue when a 17-year-old man was shot in the chest, according to Chicago police spokesperson. Less than an hour later, a 40-year-old man was shot in the head in the 200 block of North Mayfield Avenue, police said. The third fatality of the night took place around 3:50 a.m. Saturday in the 4800 block of West Iowa Street where a man was found dead with a gunshot wound. Click through to read about the gun violence that rocked Chicago on Friday night. Read »
NBCNews.com
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 2:34 PM

Powerball Jackpot Hits $600M

Connecticut Lottery The jackpot for Saturday’s Powerball drawing has risen to $600 million, a Powerball record and the second-largest pot in U.S. lottery history, NBC News reported. The record for the largest ever lottery jackpot is $656 million for a Mega Millions drawing in March 2012. That pot was split among holders of three winning tickets. The estimated lump sum cash prize for Saturday's Powerball drawing is $376.9 million before taxes. Powerball tickets are sold for $2 each in 43 states, Washington, DC, and the Virgin Islands. The big reveal is set for 10:59 p.m. ET on Saturday. Get More at NBC News

Dog
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 11:34 AM

Deaf Dog Stolen, Held For Ransom: Family

Deaf Dog Stolen, Held For Ransom: FamilyTricia O'Kelley
Dognappers captured a deaf 11-year-old mini Yorkie from a yard in Hollywood and are demanding $1,000 from his owners, according to NBC Los Angeles. Walter, the dog, weighs around 5 pounds and was last seen Thursday afternoon. A blocked number called the cellphone of the dog's owners that night. The cellphone number was listed on the dog's ID tags. The man said he wanted $1,000 for the dog's return. The dognappers asked that the owners make fake fliers offering the money as a reward and meet them at a Chevron station with the money. While in the process of posting the fliers the man called again and claimed the police were called, and said he was keeping the dog. The dog has a condition that causes his trachea to collapse. The LAPD Hollywood Division is handling the case. Read »
attifa brown
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 8:17 AM

Mom Accused of Attacking Daughter's Bully

Mom Accused of Attacking Daughter's BullyNBC10.com
A Philadelphia mom was arrested inside her daughter's school after police say she assaulted an 11-year-old student. Attifa Brown says she was upset her daughter was being bullied at school, but denies ever hitting the child. Police say there is a videotape of the incident that happened yesterday around 10:00 a.m. inside A.B. Anderson Elementary School in Cobbs Creek. "The tape showed this lady over my daughter for minutes, poking her in the face, pulling her hair and beating her," said Bobby Webster, mother of the 11-year-old victim. School officials are also looking to find out how Brown was able to walk into the school without signing in or without being questioned. Brown is facing a long list of charges, including ones for terroristic threats, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and defiant trespass. Read »
child
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 12:49 AM

Child Left in Car in School Parking Lot Dies

Child Left in Car in School Parking Lot DiesGetty Images and Dallas Police
A 1-year-old child is dead after being left alone in a vehicle that sat in an elementary school parking lot, according to NBC Dallas Fort-Worth. Vibha Marks, the mother of the child, has been arrested for abandoning the child with a serious bodily injury. Police claim that someone found the child in the unattended car in the faculty parking lot and broke into the vehicle. The person removed the child from the car and attempted CPR. The incident was called to the school and emergency workers transported the child to Baylor Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. Read »
kai hatchet wielding hitchhiker
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 10:58 PM

"Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker" Turned in by Barista

Authorities say the internet celebrity known as "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker" was turned in to Philadelphia police by a coffee barista who recognized him as being a man wanted for murder in New Jersey. Union County Prosecutor Ted Romankow told NBC 4 New York on Friday that Caleb Lawrence McGillvary was buying coffee in a Philadelphia Starbucks Thursday evening when a worker recognized him and notified her supervisor. The supervisor called police, and officers arrived and found McGillvary, who is accused of killing Joseph Galfy, a lawyer from Clark, N.J. Galfy was found in his home on Monday, dead of blunt force trauma. Prosecutors say Galfy met McGillvary in Times Square Saturday night, and brought him back to his house to spend the night. They say they believe the two men had a sexual encounter. McGillvary gained internet notoriety earlier this year when he was hitchhiking with a man who allegedly attempted to run over a utility worker. Read »
best news pics
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 11:12 PM
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By An Phung

Top News Photos of the Week

View weekly updates on the very best photos in domestic and foreign news. See Full Gallery »

NBCNews.com
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 5:54 PM

IRS Chief: "Foolish Mistakes" Behind Scandal


Outgoing IRS chief Steven Miller Friday blamed "foolish mistakes" for the agency's targeting of conservative and Tea Party groups for additional scrutiny over an 18-month period beginning in March 2010, and he said that he did not believe partisanship played any role in the controversy. "As acting commissioner I want to apologize on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service for the mistakes that we made and the poor service that we provided," Miller said at the outset of a House Ways and Means Committee hearing. J. Russell George, the Treasury Department inspector general whose report unearthed the IRS controversy, also testified that there was no evidence government workers targeted conservatives for partisan reasons. The answers did not satisfy Republicans, who spent much of the hearing trying to advance a narrative of a "culture of intimidation" of Obama administration ideological opponents. More congressional hearings are planned for next week. Get More at NBC News

oj simpson
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 8:17 AM

Attorney: OJ Simpson Knew About Guns in Raid

Attorney: OJ Simpson Knew About Guns in RaidGetty
The attorney who represented OJ Simpson in a trial stemming from a bizarre 2007 Las Vegas hotel room raid testified Friday that he advised Simpson to call police after the former NFL Hall of Fame player mentioned plans to retrieve sports memorabilia. Attorney Yale Galanter added that Simpson confided to him that he knew two individuals in the group involved in the raid -- intended to retrieve sports memorabilia from a dealer -- had guns. Galanter's advice to Simpson -- who was sentenced to prison after the 2008 trial -- and the steakhouse meeting before the raid have been key parts of this week's hearing in Las Vegas. The ex-USC Trojan wants a judge to throw out the robbery-kidnapping convictions on the claim that Galanter failed to disclose that he knew about the hotel room raid in advance, told Simpson it was legal and provided bad advice at trial. Read »
bee
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 11:00 PM

Texas Man Survives More Than 200 Bee Stings

Texas Man Survives More Than 200 Bee StingsTerry Patton
An elderly South Texas man has survived more than 200 bee stings when he was swarmed while mowing some grass. A spokeswoman for Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen says 76-year-old Tiburcio Ramirez of San Benito was in good condition Friday. The victim's daughter, Claina Gonzalez, told the Valley Morning Star that Ramirez was attacked Thursday morning. Officials estimate the man was stung at least 220 times. Emergency personnel used soapy water on Ramirez to help get rid of the bees before transporting him to a hospital. Gonzalez says her mother was stung dozens of times trying to help. She declined treatment. Gonzalez says the family dog died of bee stings in the same attack. The daughter lives in another house on the property where the bee attacks happened. Read »
NBCNews.com
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 12:25 AM

Judge Blocks Ark. Abortion Law: "Likely Unconstitutional"

Shutterstock Not so fast, Arkansas. That was effectively what a federal judge told the state Friday, two months after its legislature enacted one of the toughest abortion bans in the nation. At the hearing in Little Rock, U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright deemed the law, which would ban abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, "more than likely unconstitutional" and barred its implementation while a lawsuit challenging it wends its way through the judicial process. That conclusion mirrored the one drawn by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, who had called the measure "blatantly unconstitutional" and had said it would be "very costly to the taxpayers of our state" to adopt and defend it in court. The GOP-led Legislature had overruled his veto to pass the bill anyway, however. On Friday, Judge Wright said that the new law would abortions before generally accepted fetal viability, usually around 24 weeks — a standard the Supreme Court has adopted as its guideline, too. Get More at NBC News

NBCNews.com
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 3:12 PM

How to Tell If the IRS Is Eyeing You

AP Are you self employed, a millionaire or someone who would claim a deduction for donating a car or large quantity of clothing to charity? If so be prepared that you may draw the attention of the Internal Revenue Service, CNBC reported. In 2010, about one in 100 Americans were audited, according to IRS data. But those making $1 million or more were more than 12 times more likely to draw scrutiny, perhaps because the IRS has a greater chance of recovery from wealthier taxpayers. Lately, the IRS has scoured social media to look for discussions about underpayment or nonpayment of taxes. Click through for more on what draws IRS attention. Get More at NBC News

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