National & International News
The day’s top national and international news
NBCNews.com
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 9:30 AM

White House Defends IRS Handling, McConnell Asserts "Culture of Intimidation"


Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the IRS scandal reflects a "culture of intimidation" from the Obama administration, but he and Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) acknowledged that there is a lack of evidence that the IRS' targeting of conservatives was ordered by the White House. "I don't think we know what the facts are," McConnell said on "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "The investigation has just begun, so I'm not going to reach a conclusion about what we may find." Republicans have used the IRS controversy to gain political traction against the Obama administration, NBC's First Read team writes. But the White House has begun to push back with Obama's top adviser saying that the administration handled the IRS fiasco properly. "There is no question that Republicans are trying to make political hay here," Pfeiffer said on Sunday's show. Pfeiffer went on to say that Rep Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) was actually aware of the inspector general's investigation into the IRS abuses as early as last fall. Click through to read more. Get More at NBC News

NBCNEWS.COM
3 minutes ago

Tornadoes Tear Through Kansas, Oklahoma

AP Tornadoes touched down in Kansas and Oklahoma after an extreme weather system tore through the area, The Associated Press reported. The weather system stretched from North Texas to Minnesota, also dealt out hail -- dime to softball sized -- as well as heavy rainfall. Residents in downtown Wichita, Kan., were told to seek shelter Sunday afternoon after a tornado was confirmed on the ground. Near Oklahoma City, a half-mile wide tornado was reported, prompting a stark alert from the Weather Service: "You could be killed if not underground or in a tornado shelter," the advisory said. Watch live coverage from KFOR as tornadoes reportedly move through Oklahoma. Get More at NBC News

Connecticut
4 hours ago

Clean-Up Begins at the Connecticut Train Crash Site

Clean-Up Begins at the Connecticut Train Crash SiteAP
The MTA says that the clean-up process has begun at the Metro-North Railroad crash site after Friday's rush hour derailment in Connecticut that injured 72 people. The National Transportation Safety Board authorized the removal of rail cars from the crash site on Saturday night, allowing the investigation and clean-up process to proceed. All rail cars were removed by Sunday afternoon and taken to the Bridgeport railyard, according to the NTSB. "Our crews will essentially be rebuilding two thousand feet of damaged track, and overhead wires and signal system," said Metro-North Railroad President Howard Permut. Crews will work around-the-clock over multiple days to rebuild, which means disruption to the New Haven line will persist in the coming week, Permut said. Investigators are looking into a broken part of the rail that underwent repairs last month, but have not determined whether it was a pre-existing fracture or if it occurred as a result of the accident, according to NTSB spokesperson Earl Weener, who spoke at a news conference on Saturday afternoon. The board said the FBI has ruled out foul play in the investigation. The trains were traveling at approximately 70 mph at the time of the crash, which is the posted speed limit, according to the NTSB. Read »
Powerball
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 4:20 AM

Winning $590.5 Million Powerball Ticket Sold in Florida

Winning $590.5 Million Powerball Ticket Sold in FloridaGetty Images
A Powerball ticket sold in Florida Saturday evening matched all six numbers drawn, according to the Powerball website. The winning numbers in Saturday's $600 million Powerball drawing were: 22, 10, 13, 14, 52 with a Powerball of 11. The jackpot was a record for Powerball and the second largest U.S. lottery pot in history. The lump sum cash prize is an estimated $376.9 million before taxes. The odd of winning the big prize were pretty small -- 1 in 175.2 million -- but that didn't discourage Americans across the country from purchasing about 80 percent of all possible combinations, NBC News reported. Read »
Amtrak
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 11:12 AM

Amtrak Train Derails in Chicago, Leads to Delays, Cancellations

Amtrak Train Derails in Chicago, Leads to Delays, CancellationsStephanie Shostok
An Amtrak train traveling from New Orleans to Chicago derailed Sunday with at least 197 passengers on board, according to officials. The City of New Orleans train No. 58 was scheduled to arrive in Chicago, but derailed at 9:30 a.m. CDT just outside Chicago’s Union Station on 16th Street, officials said. Shuttle buses transported passengers to Union Station and no injuries have been reported, authorities said. Amtrak officials said the wheels of the train "lost contact with the tracks," but no further details were immediately available Sunday morning. Check back for updates on this developing story. Read »
hofstra university shot killed home invasion
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 10:11 AM

Hofstra Student Was Killed by Police Gunshot: Officials

Hofstra Student Was Killed by Police Gunshot: OfficialsFacebook/NBC 4 New York
The 21-year-old Hofstra student who was killed during a Long Island home invasion was shot dead by a police officer as the gunman had her in a headlock and was trying to drag her out of the house, officials said Saturday. Nassau County Police said at a news conference that the student, Andrea Rebello, was killed by police. An officer shot eight rounds, seven of which hit the suspect Dalton Smith, 30, and one that hit Rebello in the head, police said. Read »
NBCNews.com
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 7:33 AM

Plains States Brace For Tornadoes


A severe weather outbreak is expected as the threat of tornadoes ramped up Sunday, and metropolitan areas from the Twin Cities of Minnesota to Dallas, Tex., were warned they could be affected. Get More at NBC News

NBCNews.com
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 2:24 AM

Female Politician Killed in Pakistan

AP A senior female politician from a reformist party in Pakistan was killed by gunmen Saturday night, according to Reuters. It is not clear who shot Zohra Shahid Hussain of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party as of yet. The PTI endeavors to lessen endemic corruption in the country. PTI leader Imran Khan immediately blamed the killing on the Muttahida Quami Movement. The MQM has a grip on politics in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi. He also said police claimed two gunmen shot Hussain dead outside her home. The death is the latest act of violence to occur around the election campaign in which Nawaz Sharif claimed victory. Around 150 were killed leading up to the elections last week. Results are still pending from constituencies that have been accused of rigging votes. The death of Shahid Hussain occurred hours before a re-polling took place in an area accused of fraudulent voting. Get More at NBC News

Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 3:52 PM
 

I get paid to spoil dreams.  

— Oxbow trainer D. Wayne Lukas after his horse won the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
girl on bus stray bullet
2 minutes ago

Girl, 14, Killed by Stray Bullet While Riding New York City Bus

Girl, 14, Killed by Stray Bullet While Riding New York City BusNBC 4 New York/Facebook
A 14-year-old girl riding a city bus in Queens, New York Saturday on her way home from a sweet 16 party was shot in the head and killed by a stray bullet from gunfire on the street, police said. Police identified the victim Sunday as Daja Robinson of South Jamaica. Robinson was sitting about three rows from the back of the Q6 bus at about 8:45 p.m. near Sutphin and Rockaway boulevards in South Jamaica when the shot came through the bus and killed her. The shots were fired towards the bus while it was moving, according to police. Investigators recovered nine bullet shell casings. Read »
yahoo tumblr
5 hours ago

Yahoo Board Approves $1.1B Acquisition of Tumblr

Yahoo Board Approves $1.1B Acquisition of TumblrAP IMAGES FOR IDA IRELAND
Yahoo's board of directors met Sunday and approved a $1.1 billion acquisition of online content-sharing site Tumblr, according to The Wall Street Journal's All Things D. Yahoo will pay cash for the blogging site, All Things D reported. Neither firms have released official statements, but the deal could be announced Monday. In an invitation sent Friday, Yahoo promised to unveil "something special'' Monday evening in New York. The event is being held in a Times Squares lounge located about two miles from Tumblr's headquarters. Yahoo has only said that Mayer will be on hand to unveil something related to a product. A company spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the potential Tumblr acquisition. Buying Tumblr would fulfill Mayer's goal of reaching a wider audience on smartphones and tablet computers. Read »
NBCNews.com
6 hours ago

Delays to Construction Projects Hit German Reputation for Efficiency


Germany's world-famous reputation for being efficient is in jeopardy after a catalog of problems are hampering major construction projects, NBC News reported. The construction of Berlin's main airport was suppose to be completed in time for an October 2011 opening, but it's not expected to be finished until 2014 at the earliest. Hamburg's billion-dollar concert hall is expected to open seven years late and ten times over budget. And in Stuttgart, protests over the demolition of an old train station have derailed planners, who came up with a final design that was more expensive and much the same. Click through to read more about Germany's construction fiascos Get More at NBC News

NBCNews.com
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 4:26 AM

President of Syria Says "No Dialogue with Terrorists"

AP Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview that peace talks with Syria would not reduce terrorism in the country and that it is unrealistic to believe they will succeed, according to Reuters. The interview, published in Argentine newspaper Clarin on Saturday, reports Assad discussing interventions with Syria proposed by the United States and Russia. He said the talks are not likely to help the conflicted country that has been in a state of war for the past two years. "There is confusion in the world between a political solution and terrorism," Assad said. "They think a political conference will halt terrorists in the country. That is unrealistic." Assad also said he would not resign and that the opposition was too divided to negotiate any form of agreement. "No dialogue with terrorists," he said. Clips of the interview are posted on Clarin's website. Get More at NBC News

NBCNews.com
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 3:11 AM

Congress Considers Making Cuts to Food Stamps

NBC10 Philadelphia Almost 47 million people, or one out of every seven Americans, uses food stamps for some of their daily food consumption, according to the Department of Agriculture, NBC News reported. Heated battles are occurring on Capitol Hill over possible cuts to the food stamp program. However, ever since the financial collapse of 2008 the number of people relying on the program has risen almost 70 percent which has in turn caused costs to rise from $35 billion in 2007 to $80 billion last year. As the economy gets healthier, food stamp usage has not declined. Legislation now pushing through Congress would lower funding by billions of dollars to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps. Last week, a Senate committee approved a $4.1 billion cut from the program over a 10 year period and a House committee supported cuts five times as big. Get More at NBC News

Dog
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 8:59 AM

Dognapped Yorkie Found Safe Near Home

Dognapped Yorkie Found Safe Near Home
A deaf 11-year-old mini Yorkie that was snatched by dognappers who demanded $1,000 from his owners was safely dropped off near his owner's home on Saturday, according to NBC Los Angeles. Someone driving a white car with tinted windows dropped off the dog named Walter. A woman who had been walking her own dog spotted Walter and called his owners with the number listed on his dog tag. Walter was last seen Thursday afternoon before he was stolen. Read »
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