The day’s top national and international news
Principal of Tornado-Ravaged School Recalls Moment of Horror
The principal of Moore, Okla.'s Plaza Tower Elementary School, which ripped apart in Monday's twister, recalled hearing the monster storm approach in an exclusive interview with NBC's Rock Center. "I started to yell ... in God's name, go away, go away—and I yelled it four or five times," said Amy Simpson. "And then it was gone." On Thursday students and teachers reunited for the first time since the storm before the start of summer vacation. Seven students died when the storm flattened the school. The first funerals began Thursday. Two funerals will be held on Friday and one on Saturday, school officials in the town said.
Get More at NBC News 
Rebuilding Highlands
The carnage wrought by Sandy—up to eight feet of water inundated... See Full Gallery »
"Unusual Condition" Seen Before Metro-North Crash: NTSB
Slain Soldier's Wife Thought He Was Safe in U.K.
Rebecca Rigby, the widow of the British soldier hacked to death on a London street, thought he was safe in England after returning from active duty in Afghanistan. “You don’t expect it to happen when he’s in the U.K. You think they’re safe,” she said fighting back tears during a news conference. “You know it’s dangerous when they go somewhere like that [Afghanistan] … he’s walked up and down that road so many times before.” Lee Rigby, 25, known as “Riggers” to his friends, was killed in broad daylight on Wednesday as he walked in the southeast London neighborhood of Woolwich, near an army barracks. Two alleged attackers were later shot by officers and taken to a hospital where they were arrested.
Get More at NBC News
Okla. Gov. To Approve $45 Million Disaster Relief Transfer
AP
The governor of Oklahoma is set to approve the transfer of $45 million from the state's rainy day fund to assist with the recovery from Monday's deadly tornado. Officials speaking at a news conference Friday said that 3,100 people in Moore, Okla. have registered for assistance through FEMA and that $1.4 million is already being distributed to those who have applied for the federal help. The preliminary estimate of homes destroyed now stands at 1,150—a figure that does not account for damaged homes, officials said. Twenty-four people died and more than 200 were injured when the EF-4 storm cut through the town. The town of Moore will hold a public memorial service on Sunday evening to honor tornado victims. President Obama is scheduled to visit and survey the destruction earlier Sunday.
Get More at NBC News
5.7 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Northern California
A 5.7 earthquake struck in Northern California on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The epicenter of the quake was centered 6 miles west northwest of Greenville, and 26 miles southwest of Susanville, according to NBC News.
A 5.7 magnitude quake is considered moderate, but has the potential to cause considerable damage. There was no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Chief meteorologist Mark Finan at NBC affiliate KCRA said the quake was felt at the station's studios in downtown Sacramento, about 145 miles south of the epicenter.
Get More at NBC News
Scouts Vote to Accept Openly Gay Boys
AP
Anthony Weiner on Campaign Trail: "I'm Sorry"
NBC 4 New York
Passenger Jet Lands at Heathrow After Engine Fire
AP
At least one runway was closed at London’s Heathrow airport Friday after a British Airways aircraft made an emergency landing because of an engine fire, officials said.
Passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft using emergency chutes, the airport said, according to NBC News.
Significant delays and disruption were expected at Heathrow, which is one of the world’s busiest international airports.
Air traffic controllers said the airport was closed to all arrivals following the incident, which happened just after 8 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET).
British Airways said in a statement: "The BA762, Heathrow to Oslo service, returned back to Heathrow shortly after take-off due to a technical fault. The Airbus A319 aircraft was carrying 75 customers."
Get More at NBC News
Jurors Fail to Reach Verdict in Jodi Arias Trial
AP
Jurors in the high-profile Jodi Arias trial on Thursday failed to reach agreement over whether she should receive the death penalty for killing her ex-boyfriend, NBC News reported. 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. 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. Arias asked jurors to spare her life after initially saying she preferred to die. Arias said she deserves life in prison instead of the death penalty because she still has a lot to contribute to society.
Get More at NBC News
Obama Defends Drones, Lays Out Plan for Closing Gitmo
In a speech outlining the future of his counter-terrorism policy, President Obama laid out new rules Thursday for drone strikes and offered steps to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Obama said drone attacks will be restricted to known terrorists under new rules he signed this week. "Before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured – the highest standard we can set,” he said. He defended the use of drones saying that “the terrorists we are after target civilians, and the death toll from their acts of terrorism against Muslims dwarfs any estimate of civilian casualties from drone strikes.” The president said he has tried to close Guantanamo and announced that he's lifting the 2009 ban on transfers of detainees to Yemen and appointing a new envoy at the State Department and Defense Department whose role will be to transfer detainees from the prison to third countries. The speech came a day after the administration publicly acknowledged for the first time that drone strikes have killed four Americans overseas since 2009, NBC News reported.
Get More at NBC News
IRS Official Placed on Leave
AP
Lois Lerner, the IRS official who oversees the agency’s division in charge of tax-exempt organizations, has been placed on administrative leave, a source told NBC News on Thursday. The IRS has selected Ken Corbin as acting director during Lerner's absence.
Lerner, whose responsibility for the targeting of conservative groups at the IRS has become a point of scrutiny in the controversy, had come under bipartisan fire. Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., wrote acting IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel earlier on Thursday seeking Lerner’s suspension.
Lerner had appeared before a House committee on Wednesday, but invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, and declined to testify.
Get More at NBC News
Holder Approved Search Warrant for Fox News Reporter, Official Says
AP
Attorney General Eric Holder approved a search warrant that authorized the seizure of Fox News reporter James Rosen's emails, a law enforcement official told NBC News. Rosen was the target of a search warrant that allowed Justice Department investigators to secretly seize his private emails after an FBI agent said he had "asked, solicited and encouraged a source to disclose sensitive United States internal documents and intelligence information." The revelation about Holder's role in the investigation came as President Barack Obama said, in a major speech about counterterrorism, that the attorney general had agreed to review the Justice Department's guidelines on investigations that involve journalists. Obama's comments came in the wake of criticism that erupted over a separate investigation of the Justice Department's seizure of phone records from The Associated Press.
Get More at NBC News
2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast to be "Extremely Active"
Getty Images
Forecasters said on Wednesday that the 2013 hurricane season is going to be "extremely active," NBC News reported. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting 13 to 20 named storms, seven to 11 hurricanes with three to six forecast to turn into major hurricanes during this Atlantic hurricane season, which officially begins on June 1. Major hurricanes are defined as Category 3 or higher with wind speeds of more than 110 mph. The numbers for the 2013 season are above the seasonal average of 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. The last major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. was Wilma in 2005. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to a tropical storm before it touched down in New Jersey last October.
Get More at NBC News
advertisement
NBCNews.com
- Bridge collapse could cost Washington state millions, jobs
- How the smartphone killed the three-day weekend
- Bittersweet victory for gay adults kicked out of Scouting
- 'Like a Hollywood movie': Driver survives I-5 bridge collapse into Wash. river
- Millions of Americans will cross 'structurally deficient' bridges this weekend
NBCNews.com on your phone
NBCNews.com on Facebook
NBCNews.com on Twitter
Most Popular
- Christie Co-Hosts "Today" to Promote Post-Sandy NJ Shore
- Scouts Vote to Accept Openly Gay Boys
- Victim in Fatal Maryland Garage Collapse Identified
- Bronx "Ghetto Tours" Halted Amid Residents' Outrage
- Jersey Shore's LBI Fights "Perception Problem"
Photos & Videos
advertisement
news
Kenyan Woman Claims She Was Kept as Domestic Slave- Police: Metro Worker Sold Stolen Defibrillators Online
- Officials Look for Temporary Fix After Bridge Collapse
- First Lady, Kerry Washington Visit Savoy School
- Smallest Apartment in DC has Amenities Galore
- Toronto Mayor Finally Denies Use of Crack Cocaine
