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.
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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."
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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.
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WATCH: Officials Look for Temporary Fix After Bridge Collapse
AP
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said federal officials are looking for a possible replacement for a bridge that collapsed along Interstate-5 in Washington State, the main freeway that runs up and down the West Coast between the Canadian and Mexican borders. If a bridge is found, a temporary fix could be in place in weeks, said Inslee at a press conference Thursday. If one can't be quickly secured, he said it could be months before a replacement can be built. Three people were rescued from a rushing river after the collapsed, plunging two cars into the water below, according to Washington State Patrol. Dan Sligh, one of the three people rescued, told NBC affiliate KING 5 News that he thought his life was over when he felt the water rushing into his car. "When you looked at all the carnage of the metal and stuff around you, I assumed that was it at that point." His wife and another rescued man were hospitalized with hypothermia. The 57-year-old bridge fell into the Skagit River around 7 p.m. local time after a truck slammed into part of it. Officials are investigating the incident.
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Cruise Industry Announces Passenger Bill of Rights
AP
The cruise industry said Wednesday that it's adopting a passenger bill of rights that guarantees the "safety, comfort and care" of guests, The Associated Press reported.
The bill of rights promises full refunds for trips that are canceled due to mechanical failure, and a backup power source on every ship to keep emergency systems running in the event of a main generator failure.
The announcement by the Cruise Lines International Association, which represents 25 major companies including Carnival and Royal Caribbean comes in the aftermath of the Carnival Triumph debacle. The ship drifted for several days earlier this year without power as passengers endured filthy conditions.
Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA, said the idea for the bill of rights came about in response to demands from U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that the industry guarantee passengers minimum standards and protections while on a ship, including sanitary conditions, back-up power, medical care and refunds in the event of a power failure.
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Zimmerman Defense Team Releases Texts From Trayvon Martin's Phone
NBC 6 South Florida
The defense team for George Zimmerman, the man charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, has released a trove of texts and photos from Martin's cell phone, NBC News reported. The newly released evidence, posted to a website run by Zimmerman's defense team on Thursday, includes texts from Martin where he discusses being suspended from school and smoking marijuana. He also shows an interest in guns in several texts. The defense team also filed a motion on Thursday to request a delay in the start of Zimmerman's trial, citing a need for more time to review a witness' qualifications, NBC Miami reported. The evidence comes days before a hearing scheduled next Tuesday that will determine the admissibility of certain evidence in the trial. Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, shot Martin, a black 17-year-old, on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Fla., in a case that set off racial tensions around the country.Click through to read more about Martin's text messages.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast to be "Extremely Active"
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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.
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U.K. Officials Identify Slain London Soldier
The British soldier hacked to death on a London street in a suspected terror attack was a drummer in a military band who had served in Afghanistan, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Thursday, NBC News reported. 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. Rigby was “a loving father” to his two-year-old son, the statement said. He was deployed in Helmand province, Afghanistan, and had previously helped guard the U.K.’s royal palaces. Two alleged attackers were later shot by officers and taken to a hospital where they were arrested. One of the men was confronted at the scene by a woman who said she decided to engage him to protect the crowd that was beginning to gather, NBC News reported. “He was obviously a bit excited and the thing was to talk to him,” said Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, 48.
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Colo. Gov. Blasted for Death-Row Reprieve
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s decision to block the execution of a man convicted of killing four people at a Chuck E. Cheese in Aurora, Colo., two decades ago has infuriated some victims' relatives and law-enforcement officials, NBC News reported. The Democrat said he would not sign a death warrant for Nathan Dunlap as long as he's in office even though he declined to back a repeal of capital punishment two months ago. Dunlap, who killed the restaurant workers after he was fired, was scheduled for an Aug. 18 execution. "What he did was horrific," said former Aurora Police Officer Dan Jones. "And now 20 years later...the governor passes the buck." Hickenlooper said he did not support a bill to repeal capital punishment because he did not want to force that decision on his constituents. At the same time, he said, he could not let Dunlap be put to death when studies show execution is not a deterrent to crime. The governor is running for re-election, and his critics accused him of trying to have it both ways on a divisive issue.
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WATCH: Okla. Officials Hold News Conference on Tornado
AP
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and other local and state officials are holding a news conference to discuss recovery efforts in Moore.
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Wall Street Rises Midday After Global Sell Off
AP
Stocks made a rebound during midday trading on Thursday after a slow morning as global markets were roiled by uncertainty about when the U.S. Federal Reserve may pull back on its $85 billion a month bond purchases and by weaker-than-expected manufacturing report out of China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is slightly higher, as Hewlett-Packard rises 14 percent after a strong earnings report. The S&P 500and the Nasdaq are still lower but well off their worst levels, CNBC reported. In his Congressional testimony Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated the central bank's intention to "maintain highly accommodative monetary policy as long as needed," according to CNBC. He added that any near-term decision on scaling back bond purchases depended on an improvement in jobs data. Newest figures out of the Labor Department on Thursday show that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits is down by 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, falling below the 350,000 mark that economists normally view as a sign of an improving job market, according to Reuters.
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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.
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