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The day’s top national and international news
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 12:25 AM
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 3:12 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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Husband's Body Parts Found in Home of Ex-Wife
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Pat Robertson Tells Wife of Cheating Husband that Men Tend to "Wander"
Getty
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 7:21 AM
Soldier Sentenced to Life for Killing 5 at Iraq Clinic
Army Sgt. John Russell was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole for the 2009 killings of five fellow service members at a combat stress clinic in Iraq, The Associated Press reported. Earlier this week, a military judge found Russell guilty of premeditated murder. The only other possible penalty for Russell would have been life in prison with the possibility of release. Russell, a 14-year veteran from Sherman, Texas, had previously pleaded guilty to unpremeditated murder so that prosecutors would take the death penalty off the table. The 2009 shooting was one of the worst instances of soldier-on-soldier violence in the Iraq war.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 10:42 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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Navy Leader Accused of Sending Inappropriate Texts
U.S. Navy
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 8:18 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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Birth of Anteater Has Zoo Staff Puzzled
AFP/Getty Images
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 10:45 AM
Drone Pilot Burnout Triggers Call for Recruiting Overhaul
US Navy
Those training to pilot drones drop out at a rate of 30 percent, compared to a burnout rate of 10 to 15 percent for pilots training to helm fighter jets like the F-16, according to research by Brad Hoagland, an Air Force colonel and visiting researcher at the Brookings Institution. Hoagland, a fighter-jet pilot and operations commander of 23 years himself, is calling for a review of drone pilot selection, especially as 500 more pilots are expected to join the ranks of the military’s 1,300 combat drone pilots in the next few years, NBC News reported. Click through to read about how drone pilots are selected now and what challenges they face.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 1:58 PM
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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Cause of West Fertilizer Blast Ruled "Undetermined"
Getty Images
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 2:16 AM
Uzbek Man Arrested in Idaho on Terror Charges
Getty Images
A man from Uzbekistan who was living in Boise, Idaho, was arrested Thursday and charged with plotting to support Islamist extremists there, according to federal prosecutors. Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, a truck driver, had acquired a fuse, explosive powders and other parts that could be used to make a hand grenade, they said. He had also distributed bomb-making instruction videos, but he had been closely monitored by federal agents, prosecutors said. According to officials, Kurbanov watched videos online on how to make bombs, then bought components and then reached out to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan for more information on how to make them. It was then that the FBI learned about him, they said, and they stressed that he had not yet plotted any attacks. The Associated Press reported that he would appear in federal court Friday morning.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 3:56 AM
2nd Top Official Out at IRS, Obama Names New Chief
AP
A second top official is out at the Internal Revenue Service, as the agency reels from a scandal over revelations that it gave special scrutiny to conservative groups applying for tax exemption. An internal memo said that Joseph Grant, commissioner of the IRS's tax-exempt and government entities division, will retire on June 3. That news came after President Barack Obama appointed a new acting IRS commissioner earlier Thursday, hours after he said he knew nothing about the actions within the agency until they were reported in the press. He named Daniel Werfel to fill the position vacated by Steven Miller, who resigned Wednesday on the Treasury's request. The president, however, declined to endorse appointing an independent counsel to investigate the controversy.
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