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.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 6:03 AM
Al Qaeda Supporters Fight with Police in Tunisia
AFP/Getty Images
Supporters of the stout Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia fought with Tunisian Police after their annual rally was banned by the government, according to Reuters. The ban put in place by the government, fearing that the rally would be potentially dangerous to society. The Interior Ministry said on Friday that the group, "which has shown distain for state institutions, incited violence against them and poses a threat to public security." The Islamist group, that openly backs al Qaeda, is thought of as the most extremist of the Islamist groups to form in Tunisia following a 2011 revolution that overthrew secular dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Tens of thousands of members were expected to attend the rally. Supporters threw rocks at police and the police responded by firing teargas at the protestors who numbered around 500. Military aircraft patrolled the air over the district.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 5:35 AM
More Young People Having Strokes, Study Says
A recent study in the journal Neurology found that the proportion of young people who are having strokes increased from one in eight stroke patients in the mid-90s to one in five in just over a decade.
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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.
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Monday, May 20, 2013 at 12:03 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 got 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.
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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.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 6:07 PM
Plains States on Edge Under Tornado Watches
Severe storm warnings have been issued for parts of Nebraska and Kansas, and the storm could spread to Oklahoma City by early Monday. Residents are bracing for heavy downpours and potentially strong winds.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 12:15 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.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 9:25 PM
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.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 11:34 AM
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.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 12:12 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.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 7:42 PM
Hundreds of Thousands Worth of Jewels Swiped from Cannes Hotel
AP
A trove of fantastically valuable jewelry that was to be lent to movie stars at the Cannes Film Festival was stolen from a hotel room on Friday, and a police source tells NBC News that the heist appears to be an inside job. The jewels were stored in a safe in a room at the Novotel Hotel rented by an American employee of Chopard, a Swiss luxury jeweler. The employee was not in her room at the time of the heist, which the French media say took place at around 5:00 a.m. local time. Although the heist was initially reported to have been of about $1 million worth of jewels, Le Figaro reported later that Chopard had valued them at between 200,000 and 300,000 euros. The film festival at the famous French Riveria town started on Wednesday and is scheduled to run until May 26.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 10:58 AM
Russia Sends Advanced Missiles to Assad in Syria
AP
Russia has sent antiship cruise missiles to Syria in a move that shows the depth of its support for President Bashar al-Assad's regime, The New York Times reported. Russia has previously provided a version of the missiles called Yakhonts to Syria, but those delivered recently are outfitted with powerful advanced radar, according to American officials familiar with the intelligence reports who spoke to the Times. Unlike Scud and other long-range missiles the Assad regime has used against rebels, the Yakhont missiles provide the Syrian military with a powerful weapon to combat international efforts to establish a naval embargo or no-fly zone. The missile delivery follows news that Russia and the U.S. are planning to meet at an international conference with the goal of ending a civil war in Syria that has killed more than 70,000 people.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 2:54 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.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 5:18 AM
Kidnap Suspect in Custody After Snatched Girl's Mom Rams Car
Albuquerque Police
A 31-year-old man has been charged with kidnapping and child abuse, one day after the snatched girl's mom chased down his car during a high-speed pursuit and rammed it with her own, police told NBC News. David Jesus Hernandez allegedly snatched a 4-year-old girl from the yard of her apartment complex Wednesday and forced her into his silver Buick. As the victim's mother chased him in her own car, Hernandez pushed the child out of his vehicle, according to authorities. The mother didn't notice and continued to chase the man, eventually ramming the Buick to a stop, after which Hernandez fled on foot. He turned himself in Thursday night.
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