What to Know
- At least 13 people, including a police officer and a gunman, are dead after a mass shooting inside a bar in Southern California, police say
- A surgeon removed a woman's healthy kidney while she was undergoing back surgery because he believed the vital organ was a cancerous tumor
- Craig Carton, the former sports talk show host who was arrested for allegedly carrying out a fake ticket scam, has been found guilty
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At Least 13 Killed, Including Gunman and Sheriff's Sergeant, in Bar Shooting
A man fired a gun at a bar in a city in Ventura County, California, leaving 11 college night revelers dead and fatally wounding a sheriff's sergeant who responded to the emergency before the gunman was reported dead. The incident happened during a college night at the Borderline Bar & Grill at 99 Rolling Oaks Drive in Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles west of Los Angeles, said Capt. Garo Karedjian, a spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff's Office. Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said his agency received multiple calls of shots being fired at the bar. Minutes later, sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus and a California Highway Patrol officer went in to respond to the gunshots. Helus was a 29-year veteran and was looking to retire, Dean said. Deputies found 11 dead victims inside. Multiple others were reported injured. No details were immediately available on the conditions of the victims and officials had no information about the gunman. There was no word on what motivated the shooting.
White House Suspends CNN's Acosta After Trump Confrontation
The White House suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, "That's enough!" and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of "placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern," calling it "absolutely unacceptable." The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. "Pardon me, ma'am," he told her.
Trump Ousts AG Sessions, Shaking Up Mueller Probe
Local
Attorney General Jeff Sessions was pushed out after enduring more than a year of blistering and personal attacks from President Trump, who inserted in his place a Republican Party loyalist with authority to oversee the remainder of the special counsel's Russia investigation. The move has potentially ominous implications for special counsel Robert Mueller's probe given that the new acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, until now Sessions' chief of staff, has questioned the inquiry's scope and spoke publicly before joining the Justice Department about ways an attorney general could theoretically stymie the investigation. Congressional Democrats, concerned about protecting Mueller, called on Whitaker to recuse himself from overseeing the investigation in its final but potentially explosive stages. That duty has belonged to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller and closely monitors his work.
Surgeon Mistakes Woman's Kidney for Tumor During Surgery, Removes It
A Florida surgeon removed a woman's healthy kidney while she was undergoing back surgery because he believed the vital organ was a cancerous tumor. The Palm Beach Post reported Maureen Pacheco has sued Ramon Vazquez and two other surgeons for malpractice. Vazquez was responsible for cutting Pacheco open in 2016 so two orthopedic surgeons, Dr. John Britt and Dr. Jeffrey Kugler, could perform the back operation. Pacheco's attorney, Donald J. Ward, says she didn't get a say in the removal. The lawsuit was settled in September. Vazquez's attorney Mark Mittelmark says the blame lies with Wellington Regional Medical Center, which didn't tell his client that Pacheco had a pelvic kidney. The Florida Department of Health has filed an administrative complaint with the Board of Medicine against Vazquez.
Craig Carton Found Guilty On All Counts in Ticket Scam Trial
Craig Carton, the former morning sports talk show host who was arrested for allegedly carrying out a multimillion-dollar fake ticket scam, has been found guilty on all counts. Carton said he was disappointed with the verdict, though he respected it. "I need to let it sink in now," Carton said. "I'm going to go home and hug my kids and let my lawyers deal with the rest of it." His lawyers said they planned to appeal the Manhattan federal court jury verdict. Sentencing was set for Feb. 27 on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud. The verdict came after five hours of deliberations. Carton, 49, of Manhattan, was ex-NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason's on-air partner for years on WFAN's "Boomer and Carton" show. He left the program after his arrest last year.
'Breaking Bad' Film in Development
"Breaking Bad" the movie is breaking ground in Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to the Albuquerque Journal, the project is being developed under the name “Greenbrier” and production will begin in mid-November and shoot through early February. This will mark the first project for Vince Gilligan, who created "Breaking Bad" and co-created the spinoff, “Better Call Saul” — after signing a three-year deal with Sony Pictures Television in July. The New Mexico State Film Office would not confirm or deny to NBC News that the project was a “Breaking Bad” film. But sources close to the project told the newspaper it is in production.
