Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 8:33 AM
Attorney: Ariel Castro Loves his Daughter "Dearly"
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 9:59 AM
Report Questioning Salt Intake Riles Heart Experts
AP
A report released by the Institute of Medicine on Tuesday, which states that there isn't sufficient evidence that cutting sodium intake below 2,300 milligrams per day cuts the risk of heart disease, has angered the American Heart Association, NBC News reported. Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown said in a statement that the organization disagrees with the report's "key conclusions" and that the “report is missing a critical component -- a comprehensive review of well-established evidence which links too much sodium to high blood pressure and heart disease.” The report is based on the findings of a panel of experts who examined studies showing the medical effects of eating too much salt, as well as at studies that have been used to suggest that some people may suffer form eating too little salt. Dr. Brian Strom, a professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania, who chaired the panel said there was good evidence to lower excessive salt intake, but that there was no evidence to support recommendations of the current target of 1,500 milligrams a day.
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 9:05 AM
Military Faces Historic Tipping Point on Rape Epidemic
AP
The U.S. military seems increasingly incapable of stemming sexual misconduct, according to watchdogs, but with the second member of the military’s campaign to deal with sex abuse falling under investigation, the Pentagon might be forced to conduct a thorough reform long sought by victims of sexual assault, NBC’s First Read team writes. Critics blasted the Pentagon for maintaining an internal system of investigation that is ineffective and in desperate need of change, following revelations Tuesday that a U.S. Army sergeant who coordinated a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program at Fort Hood, Texas was under investigation for a host of sexual misconduct charges. "It is abundantly clear that the military cannot adequately handle its sexual violence crisis from within," said Anu Bhagwati, executive director of Service Women's Action Network and former Marine captain. On Thursday, Sent. Kirsten Gillibrand plans to introduce a bill that seeks to transfer sex crimes from the authority of military brass to independent military prosecutors, said her spokesman.
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 3:52 PM
Boston Marks 1 Month Since Marathon Bombings
AP
Victims of the Boston Marathon bombings and Boston police alike are trying to adjust to a "different normal," as one survivor put it, one month after the attacks killed three and wounded hundreds more. Many victims are recovering from multiple wounds, including severe burns, hearing loss, brain injuries and nerve and vascular damage. At least 15 underwent amputations, and some — like brothers Paul and J.P. Norden — have undergone multiple surgeries. Others are waiting for serious injuries to heal. "Their ultimate outcome may not be determined for several months or even a year," said the medical director of one medical center's amputee program. As victims struggled to return to some semblance of normal despite their injuries, Boston police were struggling to do the same. At 2:50 p.m. ET, the time the bombing occurred, they observed a moment of silence, removed the mourning bands from their badges and raised the flag over their headquarters for the first time since the attacks.
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 9:02 AM
Army Sex Abuse Prevention Officer Accused of Sex Abuse
A U.S. Army sergeant who coordinated a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program at Fort Hood, Texas, is being investigated for a host of sexual misconduct charges, officials said Tuesday — just days after similar accusations were made against an Air Force officer who held a similar post. A Pentagon source told NBC News that the soldier is accused of having forced at least one subordinate into prostitution and of having sexually assaulted two others. He has been suspended from his job pending the probe by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and his identity has not been released. The new investigation comes just days after an Air Force officer in charge of its own sexual assault prevention program was arrested just outside Washington, D.C., for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman. Both a Pentagon spokesman and lawmakers blasted the news of the Army probe so soon on the heels of that arrest. "To say this report is disturbing would be a gross understatement," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said.
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 6:56 AM
New Controversies Threaten Obama's 2nd-Term Agenda
AP
Lingering questions about the reaction to the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. Revelations that the Justice Department seized phone records from Associated Press journalists. And now a still-simmering scandal at the IRS that an audit found the agency hasn't taken sufficient steps to correct. That spate of political obstacles could threaten the sweeping political agenda President Barack Obama began his second term with grand plans to implement, NBC News reported. Already his gun control proposals have been foiled by Senate Republicans, and some Democrats are worried about what Obama might be able to accomplish. "If I were in the opposing party, and the White House were having this kind of week, I’d be smiling," one Democratic strategist told NBC News. But Obama vowed at a fundraiser Monday, "I am persistent. And I am staying at it." And one ally said he thought some pundits might be "panicking too quickly." Indeed, immigration reform is still making its way through Congress with support from some in the GOP.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 9:00 PM
Audit: IRS Still Hasn't Fixed Tea Party Scandal Problems
Lackluster management let IRS workers single out conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for extra review, and the agency still hasn't resolved its own mishandling of the scandal, a report drafted by a Treasury Department inspector and obtained by NBC News found. President Barack Obama called the report's findings "intolerable and inexcusable" and said he had directed the Treasury to hold those responsible accountable. "The IRS must apply the law in a fair and impartial way, and its employees must act with utmost integrity. This report shows that some of its employees failed that test," Obama said Tuesday night. The report found that mismanagement led the IRS to ask some groups, like those with "tea party" in their names, for unnecessary information and delayed processing some of their requests for more than a year on average. Those and other criteria used by the IRS to single out some groups gave "the appearance that the IRS is not impartial," the audit report found. The IRS acknowledged mistakes and blamed "front line career employees" with "a desire for efficiency," not a political bias.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 10:20 PM
Minnesota Gov. Signs Law Legalizing Gay Marriage
Getty
Minnesota became the 12th state to legalize gay marriage when the governor signed a measure into law Tuesday. Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bill a day after it passed the Democrat-controlled state Senate by a vote of 37 to 30, after the House approved it last week. The passage makes Minnesota not only the 12th state nationwide to let gay couples marry but also the first state in the Midwest to do so without a court ruling. The promise of Minnesota's passage had been hailed by gay marriage advocates as a crucial moment in gathering momentum for the cause, with other Midwestern states like Illinois poised to take up gay marriage bills of their own. The move came after Minnesota spent much of 2012 debating an amendment to their state Constitution to define marriage as between men and women — a debate that one gay marriage supporter said had "backfired" on opponents after voters ushered in Democratic majorities to both Legislature chambers in November.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 9:09 PM
NTSB Wants to Lower Legal Alcohol Limit for Drivers
The legal limit for drivers' blood-alcohol levels could drop by almost a third if the National Transportation Safety Board gets its way. The safety agency wants states to lower the limit from .08 to .05 — the legal limit in most of Europe and South America — in an effort to combat drunk driving deaths. Voting to recommend that all 50 states lower the levels, the NTSB said that nearly 10,000 people die and 170,000 are injured in alcohol-related traffic incidents each year and that roughly 4 million people admit every year to driving while under the influence. It said nearly 1,000 lives could be saved each year by dropping the legal limit to .05 — a level at which the risk of having an accident increases by 39 percent, compared to more than 100 percent at the .08 level. When Australia dropped its BAC level from .08 to .05, provinces reported a 5 to 18 percent drop in traffic fatalities. But a drinking trade group blasted the recommendation, saying lowering the limit would "criminalize perfectly responsible behavior."
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 11:27 PM
AP, DOJ Clash over Leak That Led to Records Seizure
Justice Department and Associated Press officials clashed Tuesday over leaked classified information that led the government to seize AP phone records, with Attorney General Eric Holder saying it “put the American people at risk” and the news organization’s chief executive insisting it delayed publishing its story until it was assured “national security concerns had passed.” The clashing came as new details emerged about negotiations between the AP and U.S. officials over the unauthorized release of classified information on a foiled bomb plot in Yemen, information that apparently triggered the investigation, according to NBC News. The Associated Press had said Monday that the feds had secretly seized phone records of its reporters and editors in a leaks probe. Holder told reporters that he had testified to a congressional committee last year over the leaks probe and had recused himself to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. Holder said it was "certainly not the policy of this administration" to target reporters. Prior to the publication of the story on the bomb plot, there were extensive negotiations among AP, White House and CIA officials, but the agreement broke down.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 11:04 PM
More Women Opting for Preventive Mastectomy, But Should They Be?
Angelina Jolie's preventive double mastectomy has brought renewed attention to the controversial procedure, according to NBC News. Women opting for preventive mastectomies increased by an estimated 50 percent in recent years, and while surveys show that they're happy with their decisions, some doctors are puzzled because it's a major surgery with no 100 percent guarantee. Also, other options like pills and careful monitoring are available to women who are at risk. The number of women choosing to be tested have also increased as genetic tests for breast cancer risks have become more prevalent, according to Dr. Todd Tuttle, chief of surgical oncology at the University of Minnesota. Tuttle has looked at how many women chose to have both breasts removed when cancer was found in one breast. Although the risk of developing cancer in the healthy breast is fairly low, many women choose to have both breasts removed when a tumor develops in one.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 9:27 AM
Rumsfeld: I Listed Pros and Cons Before Iraq
Donald Rumsfeld talks about his new book and the controversial decisions he made as George W. Bush’s former defense secretary. He also says he believes there was an Obama administration cover-up on the Benghazi attack.
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 1:14 AM
Russia Expels U.S. Diplomat It Says Spied for CIA
Russia has detained a U.S. diplomat suspected of trying to recruit a Russian intelligence official to work for the CIA, Russia said Tuesday. The man, whom Russia identified as Ryan Christopher Fogle, was ordered expelled Tuesday after being arrested. The U.S. State Department said only that a U.S. Embassy officer in Moscow had been detained and released. The Russian Federal Security Service, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, circulated photos of the man to the Russian media and said one of the photos were of items that were found in his possession, including two wigs, a torch, a compass and a wad of €500 bills. Russia said the diplomat's alleged efforts were provocative and in the spirit of the Cold War — but the the U.S. said it didn't expect the detention to affect U.S.-Russian relations, seen as key to efforts to end the conflict in Syria and investigate the Boston Marathon bombings.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 8:57 AM
Meet Kenneth Feinberg, the Man Who Puts a Price on Pain
AP
Attorney Kenneth Feinberg has long been the go-to person to help families divvy up funds in the wake of national tragedies. Since his first big break in 1984 -- when he was appointed to distribute settlement money to Vietnam veterans who sued the makers of Agent Orange -- he has managed compensation for other high profile cases including families affected by 9/11, the Aurora movie theater massacre and the Virginia Tech shooting. Feinberg has been commuting from his Maryland home to Boston for his latest pro bono project: helping One Fund distribute money to the victims of the Boston bombing. Feinberg has the difficult job of calculating what each person is entitled to by factoring in details like numbers of limbs lost, the extent of injuries and each person's earning capabilities. But while placing a price tag on pain and injuries may seem heartless, those who work with him say Feinberg has a knack for bringing sensitivity to his job. "He's the umpire, the mediator, the resolver," said John C. Coffee Jr., a law professor at Columbia University in New York who has known Feinberg for about 20 years. "He can listen, and he's a people person."
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 7:15 AM
Plague of Locusts Swarms Israel Desert
Israel’s Negev Desert has been infested with huge swarms of newly hatched locusts that are devouring everything in their path and threatening crops and farms, NBC News reported. Millions locusts in the desert sand, which locals say is the worst infestation in decades, set Israel’s Agriculture Ministry into immediate action to spray pesticides before they can inflict more damage. “They are easy targets now, but in two or three days when their wings develop, it will be disaster,” said Lior Katari, one of the Agriculture Ministry’s coordinators. Teams of exterminators are moving to various locations across the desert as they receive constant updates from colleagues in helicopters and on the ground. Scientists say adult locusts likely originated in Sudan, crossed from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula into Israel, where they mated and laid billions of eggs in the sand, which are now hatching.
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