National & International News
The day’s top national and international news
NBCNews.com
8 minutes ago

Pakistan Airways Plane Intercepted in U.K., 2 Arrested

Getty Images for NASCAR Police in the U.K. have arrested two men aboard a Pakistan Airways passenger plane that was diverted to London's Stansted airport. Essex police said in a statement that the men were removed from the plane "on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft." An airlines official described the incident to NBC News as a bomb threat. Fighter jets from Britain's Royal Air Force intercepted the Boeing 777, which was traveling from Lahore to Manchester, England earlier Friday, NBC News reported. The British Ministry of Defence said in a statement that typhoon aircraft were launched to "investigate an incident involving a civilian aircraft within U.K. airspace" after the plane sent an emergency radar signal to air traffic controllers. Stansted airport tweeted that it "is open and operating as normal." Get More at NBC News

NBCNews.com
31 minutes ago

WATCH: Obama Speaks at Naval Academy

AP President Barack Obama is set to deliver the commencement address at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Get More at NBC News

NBCNews.com
3 hours ago

Dramatic Rescue Saves Drivers After Wash. Bridge Collapse


Three people were rescued from a rushing river after a bridge collapsed along Interstate-5 in Washington State on Thursday evening, plunging two cars into the water below, according to Washington State Patrol. Dan Sligh, one of the three people rescued, told NBC affiliate KING 5 News that he thought his life was over when he felt the water rushing into his car. "When you looked at all the carnage of the metal and stuff around you, I assumed that was it at that point." His wife and another rescued man were hospitalized with hypothermia. Authorities say they have no reason to believe any others are still in the river, NBC News reported. The 57-year-old bridge fell into the Skagit River around 7 p.m. local time after a truck slammed into part of it, disconnecting traffic along the state's major freeway into Canada. Officials are investigating the incident and say it could be months before the bridge is repaired. Get More at NBC News

jersey shore
22 minutes ago

Christie Co-Hosts "Today" to Promote Post-Sandy NJ Shore

Christie Co-Hosts AP
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has cut a ribbon to symbolically reopen the state's shore for the summer season, seven months after being devastated by Sandy. He appeared live on NBC's "Today" show to do the cutting Friday in Seaside Heights. The ribbon was five-miles long, stretching through parts of what's known as the northern barrier island in Ocean County. Several New Jersey beach communities have annual beach ribbon cuttings, announcing they are back in business. But this year's ceremonies are more poignant seven months after a storm that did an estimated $37 billion of damage in the state. Read »
NBCNews.com
2 hours ago

Principal of Tornado-Ravaged School Recalls Moment of Horror


The principal of Moore, Okla.'s Plaza Tower Elementary School, which ripped apart in Monday's twister, recalled hearing the monster storm approach in an exclusive interview with NBC's Rock Center. "I started to yell ... in God's name, go away, go away—and I yelled it four or five times," said Amy Simpson. "And then it was gone." On Thursday students and teachers reunited for the first time since the storm before the start of summer vacation. Seven students died when the storm flattened the school. The first funerals began Thursday. Get More at NBC News

anthony weiner running for mayor
3 hours ago

Anthony Weiner on Campaign Trail: "I'm Sorry"

Anthony Weiner on Campaign Trail: NBC 4 New York
Anthony Weiner set out to reintroduce himself to New York City voters on Thursday as he embarked on a mayoral bid after leaving Congress in a sexting scandal, NBC 4 New York reported. He found a much more supportive reception in his first day of campaigning than he did from the state's top Democrat, who bluntly criticized his candidacy a day earlier. At a Democratic political forum in the Bronx in which he faced some of his political opponents for the first time, Weiner was greeted with warm applause after delivering a speech that included an apology. "I'm sorry," he told the forum. "You put a great deal of hope and confidence in me, and I did some very embarrassing things." Earlier, residents greeted the Democratic candidate at a Harlem subway station with handshakes and plenty of concerns — about teacher contracts, manufacturing jobs, the problems of the mentally ill and other public issues. Read »
NBCNews.com
Friday, May 24, 2013 at 1:38 AM

5.7 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Northern California

A 5.7 earthquake struck in Northern California on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The epicenter of the quake was centered 6 miles west northwest of Greenville, and 26 miles southwest of Susanville, according to NBC News. A 5.7 magnitude quake is considered moderate, but has the potential to cause considerable damage. There was no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Chief meteorologist Mark Finan at NBC affiliate KCRA said the quake was felt at the station's studios in downtown Sacramento, about 145 miles south of the epicenter. Get More at NBC News

boy scouts
3 hours ago

Scouts Vote to Accept Openly Gay Boys

Scouts Vote to Accept Openly Gay BoysAP
The Boy Scouts of America threw open its ranks Thursday to gay Scouts but not gay Scout leaders -- a fiercely contested compromise that some warned could fracture the organization and lead to mass defections of members and donors. Of the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council who cast ballots, 61 percent supported the proposal drafted by the governing Executive Committee. The policy change takes effect Jan. 1. "Within our movement everyone agrees on one thing, no matter how you feel about this issue, kids are better off in scouting. Our vision is to serve every kid. We want every kid to have a place where they can grow," said Wayne Perry, BSA National President. Under the proposal drafted by the Scouts' governing board, gay adults will remain barred from serving as Scout leaders. Of the more than 200,000 leaders, parents and youth members who responded, 61 percent supported the current policy of excluding gays, while 34 percent opposed it. However, most parents of young Scouts, as well as youth members themselves, opposed the ban. Read »
Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 2:35 PM
NBCNews.com
48 minutes ago

Widow of U.K. Soldier: "We'll Miss Him Terribly"


Rebecca Rigby, the widow of the British soldier hacked to death on a London street, fought back tears to talk about the "devoted father" of two she never expected to die while on U.K. soil. Lee Rigby, 25, known as “Riggers” to his friends, was killed in broad daylight on Wednesday as he walked in the southeast London neighborhood of Woolwich, near an army barracks. Two alleged attackers were later shot by officers and taken to a hospital where they were arrested. Get More at NBC News

NBCNews.com
3 hours ago

Passenger Jet Lands at Heathrow After Engine Fire

AP At least one runway was closed at London’s Heathrow airport Friday after a British Airways aircraft made an emergency landing because of an engine fire, officials said. Passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft using emergency chutes, the airport said, according to NBC News. Significant delays and disruption were expected at Heathrow, which is one of the world’s busiest international airports. Air traffic controllers said the airport was closed to all arrivals following the incident, which happened just after 8 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET). British Airways said in a statement: "The BA762, Heathrow to Oslo service, returned back to Heathrow shortly after take-off due to a technical fault. The Airbus A319 aircraft was carrying 75 customers." Get More at NBC News

NBCNews.com
Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 10:14 PM

Jurors Fail to Reach Verdict in Jodi Arias Trial

AP Jurors in the high-profile Jodi Arias trial on Thursday failed to reach agreement over whether she should receive the death penalty for killing her ex-boyfriend, NBC News reported. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens called for a retrial in the penalty phase after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The new jury will be impaneled on July 18. Earlier this month Arias was found guilty for the brutal murder of her former boyfriend, 30-year-old Travis Alexander. His body was found slumped in the shower of his Phoenix-area home in June 2008. He was stabbed 27 times, had his throat slashed and was shot in the face. Arias asked jurors to spare her life after initially saying she preferred to die. Arias said she deserves life in prison instead of the death penalty because she still has a lot to contribute to society. Get More at NBC News

Sandy
Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 5:18 PM

Jersey Shore Towns to Vacationers: We’re Still Here

Jersey Shore Towns to Vacationers: We’re Still HereRyan Morrill/The SandPaper
More than six months after Sandy, many repeat summer renters have not yet booked homes on Long Beach Island, N.J. over fears of damage from the storm. Realtors and homeowners, who typically have the bulk of their summer properties booked up by Memorial Day, say they’re seeing more rental vacancies than usual for this time of year. They worry the storm damage got more attention than the cleanup and that summer renters, one of the main economic drivers of LBI—an island with one and a half times as many seasonal second homes as permanent residents—will take their vacations and money somewhere else. “People think we’re Seaside Heights and we’re not,” says Joe Mancini, the mayor of Long Beach, the island’s largest township. He, like others on LBI, believe that images of lingering damage in Seaside and Mantoloking, LBI’s neighbors to the north, have sowed the flawed notion that the entire Jersey shore is still damaged. “This was a horrific storm,” Mancini adds, “but we were aggressive in cleaning it up.” Read »
NBCNews.com
3 hours ago

Obama Defends Drones, Lays Out Plan for Closing Gitmo


In a speech outlining the future of his counter-terrorism policy, President Obama laid out new rules Thursday for drone strikes and offered steps to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Obama said drone attacks will be restricted to known terrorists under new rules he signed this week. "Before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured – the highest standard we can set,” he said. He defended the use of drones saying that “the terrorists we are after target civilians, and the death toll from their acts of terrorism against Muslims dwarfs any estimate of civilian casualties from drone strikes.” The president said he has tried to close Guantanamo and announced that he's lifting the 2009 ban on transfers of detainees to Yemen and appointing a new envoy at the State Department and Defense Department whose role will be to transfer detainees from the prison to third countries. The speech came a day after the administration publicly acknowledged for the first time that drone strikes have killed four Americans overseas since 2009, NBC News reported. Get More at NBC News

Sandy
45 minutes ago

N.J. Shore Town Destroyed by Sandy Confronts an Uncertain Future

N.J. Shore Town Destroyed by Sandy Confronts an Uncertain FutureGetty Images
It’s hard to relax in Highlands, a small but proud middle-class town at the northern tip of the Jersey Shore. The borough of 28,000, at the junction of the Shrewsbury River and Sandy Hook Bay, is undergoing a profound transformation that won’t end with the physical rebuilding. The unprecedented damage wrought by Sandy—up to eight feet of water inundated downtown—has prompted what might best be described as an existential crisis, with residents, business owners and public officials confronting daunting questions about the kind of place Highlands will be for those who remain, and how it will survive. Read »
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