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2 hours ago
Tragedy in Oklahoma: "Horrific" Damage For Miles
AP
Rescue teams combed through flattened homes for survivors Tuesday and President Obama vowed to help victims get needed assistance "right away" after a massive tornado tore through the suburbs of Oklahoma City, killing at least 24 people, NBC News reported. Gov. Mary Fallin said there were 237 injuries "that we know of" and there were no firm numbers on those killed. "It’s horrific,” the governor earlier told "Today." “It looked like somebody set off something that destroyed structures. Not blocks, but miles.” 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 in heavily hit Moore, and where a teacher said she huddled with students in a bathroom when the storm struck. Forecasters said the tornado, with winds up to 200 mph, could be an EF4, the second-strongest category. The tornado tore a 20-mile path during its 40 minutes on the ground, while kicking up a cloud of debris perhaps two miles wide. "Our prayers are with the people of Oklahoma today," Obama said after having declared a major disaster for Oklahoma. He pledged to "back up those prayers with deeds."
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3 hours ago
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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14 minutes ago
Jodi Arias Pleads for Her Life
AP
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 saying 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.
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37 minutes ago
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.
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3 hours ago
More "Devastating" Tornadoes Possible 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.
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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33 minutes ago
Apple CEO: "We Pay All the Taxes We Owe"
AP
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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4 hours ago
Accused Fort Hood Shooter Paid $278K While Awaiting Trial
AP
Accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has been paid more than $278,000 since the November 2009 shooting that left 13 dead 32 injured, the Department of Defense confirmed to NBC 5 DFW. The Army said under the Military Code of Justice, Hasan’s salary cannot be suspended unless he is proven guilty. Meanwhile, more than three years after the Fort Hood mass shooting wounded soldiers are fighting to receive the same pay and medical benefits given to those wounded in combat. Click through for the full story.
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The 50th Super Bowl Goes to San Francisco Bay Area
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 3:25 AM
The whole city looks like a debris field.
22 minutes ago
Judge Agrees to Delay in Case of Boston Bombing Defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
AP
The judge overseeing the federal prosecution of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect in the Boston bombings, has agreed to delay the case for roughly a month, NBC News reported. A probable cause hearing scheduled for May 30 has been delayed until July 2 at the request of federal prosecutors and Tsarnaev's laywers. They asked Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler to reschedule, citing "the complex factual and legal issues present in this case and the need for adequate time to obtain and review evidence." After his capture, Tsarnaev spent six days in the hospital, where he was charge with using a weapon of mass destruction for the April 15 blast that killed three and injured more than 200 people at the Boston Marathon finish line.
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Miami Face Mauling Victim Releases Video Message
3 hours ago
During Tornado, Trapped Students Had Nowhere to Hide
When the sirens began wailing and teachers at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., heard that a huge tornado was heading toward them, there was nowhere to hide.
They crouched in hallways and bathrooms, waiting, hoping and praying. Then "the school started coming apart," one neighbor who sought shelter at the school told The Associated Press. A teacher told NBC station KFOR that she draped herself on top of six children in a bathroom to shelter them. The twister hit the school at about 200 mph at 3 p.m. local time, tearing off the roof and killing seven children. Officials said the children drowned in a pool of water. As of Tuesday morning, it is still unclear if any other children were killed or trapped alive.
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Quantico-Based FBI Agents Fell to Their Deaths
Dramatic Photos: Oklahoma Tornado Strike
A massive tornado touched down just south of Oklahoma City on Monday, ripping... See Full Gallery »
3 hours ago
How to Help Tornado Victims
AP
Local schools, churches and community organizations are coordinating food and shelter for displaced residents and accepting donations of food, blankets and other items in the wake of a massive tornado that struck Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon. The Red Cross has set up shelters in various communities. You can donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund here, and the organization also suggests giving blood at your local hospital or blood bank. You can also donate to the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief fund and donations will "go straight to help those in need providing tree removal services, laundry services and meals to victims of disasters." The Salvation Army is organizing disaster response units to serve hard-hit areas in central Oklahoma, including Moore, where it is sending mobile kitchens that can serve meals to 2,500 people a day, and to South Oklahoma City.
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