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Up to 13,000 Homes Damaged as Okla. Turns to Recovery
The tornado that zeroed in on Moore, Okla., decimating two elementary schools and the local hospital also destroyed or damaged 12,000 to 13,000 homes, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. The cleanup of debris was beginning Wednesday as rescue teams wound up their search, NBC News reported. Cornett said 33,000 people were affected by the twister and he put the monetary damage estimate at between $1.5 billion to $2 billion. President Obama vowed to help victims get needed assistance "right away" and is scheduled to travel to Moore on Sunday to survey the damage. Authorities said 24 people were killed by the twister, nine of them children. Six people, all adults, remained unaccounted for, said Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management Director Albert Ashwood. They might have just "walked off" their properties or could still be in the rubble, he said.
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Arias Jury in Deadlock: "What If We Can't Reach a Decision?"
The Arizona jury deliberating whether Jodi Arias should face the death penalty or life in prison for the murder of her ex-boyfriend was in a deadlock on Wednesday as jurors questioned the judge about what to do if they can't reach a decision. Judge Sherry Stephens gave the jurors further instructions and sent them back to the jury room to resume deliberations, NBC News reported. A new jury would be enlisted if the current jury is unable to reach a decision. Arias is now asking jurors to spare her life after initially saying she preferred to die. “What I receive will be what I deserve, I believe,’’ Arias said in interview which aired on the "Today" show Wednesday. Arias said she deserves life in prison instead of the death penalty because she still has a lot to contribute to society. She also said she feels betrayed by the jury’s verdict, which her attorneys plan to appeal. Asked in the "Today" interview about people who feel that the only way for Travis Alexander to get justice is for Arias to get the death penalty, the former waitress replied, "That's not justice. That's revenge."
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IRS Official: "I've Done Nothing Wrong"
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Members of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday expressed anger and bewilderment that IRS leaders had not told Congress sooner that the tax agency had improperly singled out conservatives groups seeking tax-exempt status, NBC News reported. The lawmakers voiced outrage that Douglas Shulman, the commissioner of the IRS during much of the abuses, did not tell lawmakers that an internal agency investigation had suggested improper action. "You misled Congress. Make no question about it … When you learned there was a list, you did nothing," said Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass. Earlier in the day, the committee dismissed the IRS official in charge of the division accused of wrongdoing, after she invoked her Fifth Amendment rights and refused to testify. Lois Lerner refused to answer lawmakers’ questions but denied having done anything wrong before invoking her rights, NBC News reported. “I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations,” she said at the hearing.
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Youngest Victims of Tornado Were 4 and 7 Months Old
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The youngest victims of the tornado that leveled Moore, Oklahoma, on Monday were two infant girls, four-month-old Case Futrell and seven-month-old Sydnee Vargys, according to the Oklahoma medical examiner’s report. Both children died of blunt force trauma to the head. Case's mother, Megan Futrell, 29, died along with her son when a 7-Eleven, where they sought shelter, collapsed under the force of tornado winds. Karrina Vargyas, 4, was on the list of victims, but it was not immediately clear what her relationship to Sydnee was. Ten of the 24 people on the medical examiner's victims' list were children, seven of whom were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore. Six of the children were listed as 9 years old, and one was 8 years old. Among them was third-grader Ja'Nae Hornsbyand. Five of the eight- and nine-year-olds died of "mechanical asphyxia," which Okla. Gov. Mary Fallin's office said referred to "suffocation ... not drowning," despite previous reports that the seven children who died at the school had drowned in the building.
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Costa Concordia Captain Charged with Manslaughter
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The captain of the Costa Concordia -- the cruise ship that ran aground in Italy in January 2012 -- will be tried for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while the vessel's 4,200 passengers and crew were still on board, NBC News reported. Captain Francesco Schettino will be the only defendant in the trial, which is scheduled to begin on July 9 in the Tuscan city of Grosseto. Schettino's lawyers tried to convince the judge to drop the charge of abandonment of ship, but the judge ruled that there was enough evidence to suggest the captain left the ship voluntarily hours before the last passenger was rescued, rather than falling off the ship like he originally claimed. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
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LA Selects Garcetti as Next Mayor
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Weiner Launches Mayoral Bid, Asks for "Second Chance"
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Boy Scout Leaders to Vote on Lifting Gay Ban
Jersey Shore's LBI Fights "Perception Problem"
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Cancer Hats Get Sisters Booted From Mall
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Wandering Bear Surprises Horses in Corral
Immigration Bill Approved by Senate Committee
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The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-5 Tuesday night on a sweeping bill to overhaul the nation's immigration system, NBC News reported. Three Republicans -- Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Orrin Hatch of Utah -- joined the panel's 10 Democrats to vote in favor of the bill. Flake and Graham are both members of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" that originally drafted the 844-page immigration legislation. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mike Lee of Utah and Jeff Sessions of Alabama voted against the legislation. In an emotional moment shortly before the final passage of the bill, committee chairman Patrick Leahy announced that he would withhold a vote on an amendment that would give the spouses of LGBT individuals the same standing as heterosexual couples. The measure will now head to the Senate floor.
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Tornado Victims Face Wreckage as Cleanup Gets Underway
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Sweden Stunned by Third Night of Unrest
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Hundreds of youths rioted in suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden, on Tuesday night, setting fire to cars and attacking police and rescue services, Reuters reported. It was the third night of unrest, mainly in the suburbs where many immigrants live. The disorder, in one of Europe’s richest capitals, has fueled a debate about how Sweden is dealing with youth unemployment and an influx of immigrants. The riots appear to have been sparked by the police killing of a 69-year-old man wielding a machete, which prompted accusations of police brutality. A spokesman for Stockholm police said Wednesday that around 30 cars were set on fire and eight people had been arrested Tuesday night. After decades of practicing the "Swedish model" of generous welfare benefits, the country has been reducing the role of the state since the 1990s, spurring a rapid growth in inequality.
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