Three people, including two young boys, were shot in the District of Columbia while they were waiting in line at a summer lunch program, The Washington Post reported. 

Metro Police told the newspaper that the boys, ages 7 and 8, were among 30 children lined up for the lunch program when a gunman began shooting at another male outside a nearby apartment building around 12:30 p.m. 

The gunman and his intended target fled the scene.

A counselor, a man in his 40s who was with the boys, was hit in the thigh.

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The 7-year-old was shot in the back of his left shoulder and the 8-year-old was hit in the right ankle, The Post reported. 

One child was transported by helicopter to a hospital while the other two victims were taken by ambulance. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening, NBCWashington.com reported. 

The shooter's intended target fled in the children's direction when the shots were fired. 

Watch US News crime videos on msnbc.com

The Post reported the children were rushed into an apartment building across the street when the shooting began. 

One witness told NBCWashington.com that she heard 11 shots fired. 

Police are using a helicopter and K-9 units to search for the shooter, the station reported. 

They are also searching for the shooter's target, The Post reported. 

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U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Monday mandated new measures, including lie-detector tests, to prevent and detect unauthorized leaks of sensitive national security information to reporters.

The move is an attempt by Clapper to take the Central Intelligence Agency's strict policy regarding leaks of classified information and apply it to employees of the Intelligence Community.

The Intelligence Community is a coalition of 17 agencies and organizations within the executive branch, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of Energy, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office and the National Security Agency.

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Clapper's move comes in the wake of news reports derived from leaked information about U.S. involvement in cyberattacks on Iran and an alleged al-Qaida plot to bomb a U.S.-bound flight.

From now on, the polygraph test for anyone seeking a classified clearance for any intelligence service will include a specific question regarding contact with journalists and unauthorized leaks to the media.

In the event of a leak, anyone in the Intelligence Community who would have had access to the leaked information is subject to a polygraph test regarding that specific leak.

Anyone who fails could have their security clearance revoked and could be subject to a criminal investigation.

Anyone who refuses the polygraph would immediately have their security clearance revoked and could be subject to additional administrative action and a criminal investigation.

Also under consider are provisions that would require anyone with a security clearance within the Intelligence Community to report any substantive contact with members of the media or any arranged meeting or any encounter where business was discussed.

These new rules do not apply to U.S. military with security clearances not assigned to an intelligence agency, or to White House officials or members of Congress.

Clapper said the inspector general of the Intelligence Community will conduct independent investigations to ensure that unauthorized disclosure cases suitable for administrative investigations are not closed prematurely.

"These efforts will reinforce our professional values by sending a strong message that intelligence personnel always have, and always will, hold ourselves to the highest standard of professionalism," said Clapper. "It is my sincere hope that others across the government will follow our lead. It is the right thing to do on behalf of the American people and in the interest of our national security."

Senior U.S. officials tell NBC News that in the end, these new guideline may have little practical effect, since most of the leaks traditionally come from reporters’ sources who do not work directly for the intelligence community.

Two U.S. attorneys have been appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder to lead a Justice Department inquiry of the recent leaks.

Republicans have suggested the leaks were orchestrated to boost President Barack Obama's re-election bid.

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George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the killing of black teen Trayvon Martin, poses no threat to the community and should be released a second time on bail, his attorney said in a court motion released on Monday.

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Defense attorney Mark O’Mara asked that Zimmerman be granted bond as he awaits a trial in the 17-year-old Martin's shooting death during a confrontation in February in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. O’Mara says Zimmerman isn't a flight risk and stayed in touch with law enforcement during his initial release on bail.

A judge will consider the request at a second bond hearing Friday.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense.

 

Zimmerman recounts shooting Martin in vivid detail

The neighborhood watch volunteer was granted a $150,000 bond in April but it was revoked earlier this month after prosecutors accused Zimmerman and his wife of misleading the court about how much money they had raised from donations to a website created by Zimmerman. Prosecutors say the couple had raised at least $135,000 from the website.

During the hearing, Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, testified that the couple had limited funds to use for bail since she was a fulltime nursing student and he wasn't working. Zimmerman did nothing to correct her as she testified by telephone due to safety concerns. Prosecutors say jailhouse calls between Zimmerman and his wife a few days before the hearing show the neighborhood watch volunteer instructing his wife on how to transfer funds raised by the website to her account.

Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, was later charged with making a false statement.

"Mr. Zimmerman's failure to advise the court of the existence of the donated funds at the initial bail hearing was wrong and Mr. Zimmerman accepts responsibility for his part in allowing the court to be misled as to his true financial circumstances," O'Mara wrote in the motion.

Trayvon Martin killed by single gunshot fired from 'intermediate range,' autopsy shows 

Key events in the Trayvon Martin case 

4 months after Trayvon Martin shooting, Sanford police chief fired

O'Mara also will ask Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester to reconsider his decision to make public all of Zimmerman's jailhouse calls and the statement of an unnamed witness. O'Mara said most of the calls aren't subject to the state's public records laws and the witness statement is irrelevant and could prejudice a potential jury.

Attorneys for two sets of media groups, one of which includes NBC Universal (msnbc.com is a joint venture of NBC and Microsoft), filed motions Monday arguing there was no need for the judge to reconsider his decision.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down much of Arizona’s strict anti-illegal immigration law but upheld one of its most controversial provisions has some illegal aliens on edge. But will it prompt them to pack their bags and leave the state anytime soon?

Some may leave but more likely than not most will stay put, say immigration-rights activists and illegal immigrants contacted by msnbc.com.

“The main thing we’re focusing on is advocating for families not to flee Arizona, to stay here and help fight for their rights to be here,” said Opal Tometi, a member of the board of the Puente Movement, an Arizona-based immigrant rights group, and national organizer for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. 

---

Leticia Ramirez, a mother of three who lives in the Phoenix area and says she is undocumented, said the mixed Supreme Court ruling could make day-to-day life harder for her family but they plan to stay anyway.

“If we fight together it’s going to be better for us than just one person fighting  for all the community,” she said.

The Supreme Court struck down key provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070 but said the state could go forward with a much-debated portion requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop, detain or arrest for other reasons if they have “reasonable suspicion” that the person is in the country illegally. Even there, though, the justices said the "show me your papers” provision could be subject to additional legal challenges and advised states not to apply the law in such a sweeping way that it would become unconstitutional. They also said officers can't arrest people on minor immigration charges.

Gov. Brewer: 'Heart' of immigration law proven constitutional

Tometi said the provision requiring police to try to determine the immigration status of a person stopped for other reasons might deter some undocumented immigrants from coming to Arizona. But she says it’s unlikely to lead to full-scale departures from the state, especially for families that have been in Arizona illegally for years -- and even decades.

”I think that people will stay,” she said.

“What we’ve decided as a community in Arizona is that we’re going to do community organizing and defend our families, whether they’re documented or undocumented,” Tometi said. 

Both sides declare victory in court's immigration ruling

She said activists are establishing “barrio defense committees“-- volunteer neighborhood committees that provide a network of support services for people who might be swept up in detention or deportation proceedings.

Ramirez, who said she has been in the U.S. for 18 years, said the ruling will make routine day-to-day activities “difficult” for her family.

“We’re not going to be living a normal life anymore. We’ll be afraid when we get stopped,” she said.

“We’re not going to be able to take my kids to soccer practice, to soccer games, to movies, to the mall because I’m afraid we're going to be stopped. I don’t want to put my kids in that situation. A lot of people won’t even want to take their kids to school because they’re afraid of being stopped.”

She said while some illegal immigrants might leave, she’s determined to stay.

“Leaving Arizona leaving is not going to resolve anything,” Ramirez said. “I would say to my community: Stay so we can fight together. People want to raise their kids and have a family. They’re going to risk it.”

Read the Supreme Court decision on SB 1070

Fernando Lopez, 21, says he experienced the provision firsthand -- being arrested after an Arizona Highway patrolman asked for his papers. The Mexican national living in Phoenix is fighting deportation and says even if he hadn't been caught he'd still fight to stay in the U.S.

"My brother left two years ago when the law was passed," he told msnbc.com, but "running is not the solution."

"The least we can do is organize as a community," said Lopez, who does acknowledge it's easier for him to stay since he's not married and has no children. 

The Arizona DREAM Act Coalition, an organization of immigrant youth and their supporters, said the section that was upheld is "conducive to racially profiling citizens, legal residents and undocumented immigrants."

"We will continue to educate our community on how we can overcome the implementation of this section so the impact to the people in our state is minimized," the group said in a statement.

"We encourage the community to stand firm, to not panic, and to stay informed."

Natalie Cruz, 24, also plans to stay and hopes the DREAM Act will give her some protection while she studies in Phoenix. Among her family, one aunt said she'd return to Mexico if the court upheld the police provision, Cruz said, but others plan to stay.

That's not to say life will be the same. "It is going to change how I do things -- like driving," Cruz said.

Jim Gilchrist, founder and president of the Minuteman Project, a California-based group that advocates tough enforcement of immigration laws, says the Supreme Court opinion is unlikely to have a dramatic impact on illegal immigrants in Arizona.

While local police can inquire about the legal status of someone they stop for probable cause for something else, “that’s apparently all they can do,” Gilchrist said.

“It doesn’t put any serious teeth into enforcing immigration laws,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says even though the agency expects a lot more calls from Arizona police to check people's immigration status, deportations won't necessarily increase because federal officials are only targeting those who have been convicted of a felony or present a securty threat.

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By Jack Chesnutt
NBC News

FORT COLLINS, Colo. --  After two weeks of around-the-clock work, firefighters are starting to gain the upper hand on the High Park fire near Fort Collins, Colo. But even as some of the residents are allowed to return to their homes, there is another casualty from the 100-square-mile blaze: Northern Colorado’s annual influx of summer visitors seeking clean air and whitewater rivers.

Jim Clark, executive director of the Ft. Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau, can see a smoky haze over the Roosevelt National Forest from his location downtown.

“The bad news is...we’re known for our outdoor recreation," he said. "A lot of that at the present time is closed.”

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Clark’s office is handling many out-of-state calls from people who have questions about the smoke from the fire.  For the past several weeks the Colorado Department of Public Health has issued air quality health alerts because of the dense smoke along a 200-mile corridor from Colorado Springs in the south up to the Wyoming border. This week, the smoke has been less of an issue.

“We have lots of things for them in town -- breweries, shops ... everything is still open," Clark said. "But, there are some folks who would have visited us that probably will stay away.”

Over the weekend, new flames near Colorado Springs forced thousands to evacuate -- one of several fires emptying campgrounds and hotels across the parched state. 

Preston Harrington and Darrel Sellers, of Lake Charles, La., had planned to climb nearby Pikes Peak. Then they got evacuated from their hotel. 

"We're used to the hurricanes and evacuating and what not. And we come up here and expect good weather and since we've been here they've had hailstorms, and now forest fires -- it just reminds us of being back home," Harrington said. 

Bill Fee, shopkeeper at the Nature of Things Chainsaw Art in Manitou Springs, Colo., said it's devastating for local businesses, especially the weekend before the Fourth of July when they tend to have the most customers. 

"I do worry for Colorado this year for tourism through the whole entire state -- not just the small town of Manitou, which relies completely on tourism -- it affects [businesses] across the board."

Clark says it will be weeks or even months before any hard numbers are available to calculate the loss of visitors due to the fire.

Rafting companies offer refunds

The losses have already started for Pat Legel, owner of Wanderlust Adventure Rafting in Bellevue, Colo. Legel has spent what should have been a busy start to the rafting season dusting off his rafts and life jackets. “This is historical. This is the longest we’ve been out of business.”

Legel’s company offers trips down the Cache la Poudre River, one of the most popular whitewater rivers in Colorado. The fire has cut off access to the river where it runs through the burn zone. Wanderlust is one of six local outfitters which have suspended rafting on the Poudre since June 9.

Legel said his heart goes out to the more than 200 residents who have lost their homes to the fire.  But, for his business, the hardest part is making the daily calls to customers to let them know the river canyon is closed and to arrange refunds on their rafting fees.

“It’ll be a survival season, if we can get back some time early July. If not, we’ll have to maybe lay some people off and get a loan to carry us through next year.”

Legel started the company in 1982. He’s now 65.

"I don’t think I will see the landscape along the river recover in my lifetime,” he said. 

Tourists changing plans

Jane Servi had house guests for the weekend at her Larimer County home and had to scramble to make new plans for weekend activities.  She was looking forward to showing the visitors from Boston a Colorado whitewater adventure. But her Poudre River rafting trip was one of hundreds cancelled by the fire. Eventually she found an alternative rafting location nearly 70 miles away. It was disappointing, she said, but she's more concerned "about the people who are up there whose houses have been destroyed, and people who have been displaced."

Last week "NBC Nightly News" found Grant Houx, owner of St. Peter’s Fly shop in Fort Collins, standing thigh-deep in the Poudre River about 10 miles downstream from the fire. He was whipping a seven-foot-long fly rod through air that tastes like smoke. The water runs clear and cool here, for now. But when late summer rains come, the soot, ash and charred underbrush from 70,000 scorched acres will wash down the Poudre and smaller streams like a black tide.  Not good for trout and other native fish.

“'Concern’ is one word. We don’t know exactly what the effects of that soot will be,” he said. 

Houx’s fishing guide service has had “a few” fire-related cancellations. He explains that fishing is still good on several other rivers in the area unaffected by the fire.

Fires of 2012 follow record year for Colorado tourism 

According to the Colorado Tourism Office, 59.7 million visitors came to the state in 2011. They spent $10.7 billion. Larimer County, where the High Park Fire continues to burn, represents 2.7 percent of statewide visitor spending.

Colorado Tourism Office chief Al White says statewide reservations are up “double-digits over last summer” but acknowledges the impact of the fires in northern Colorado and Fort Collins. The hope is that tourists understand that even a 100 square mile fire represents less than one tenth of one percent of the state of Colorado.

“The High Park fire is a tragedy, but there is still a lot to see and do in Colorado," White said. "And for now, people are still making plans to come here.”

NBC's Vicky Collins contributed to this report.

A gay sailor on a Navy nuclear submarine was hazed for months about his sexuality, including being called "Brokeback" in reference to the movie about homosexual cowboys, according to a news report.

The sailor endured the hazing, believing it would get better over time. But it eventually led him to contemplate suicide and he feared he could snap and hurt someone else or himself, he wrote in a note, The Associated Press reported, citing an investigative report it had obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

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The hazing occurred in 2011 aboard the Kings Bay, Ga.-based USS Florida. The vessel's top enlisted officer, Master Chief Machinist's Mate Charles Berry, was fired over the case due to dereliction of duty, the Navy said on March 30. In his role as chief of the boat, Berry had to consult the commanding officer of issues surrounding enlisted sailors.

The sailor who was targeted for abuse was well-liked, and his fellow sailors did not realize the toll that the remarks -- including being called a derogatory name for someone who is gay -- were having on him, AP reported.

While docked at the Diego Garcia port in the Indian Ocean, another man attempted to rape him and threatened him with a knife, the report said.

Several junior officers involved in the hazing were subject to disciplinary action, such as loss of pay and rank. There was a culture of hazing and sexual harassment on the vessel and not enough knowledge about Navy policies to prevent the abuse, the Navy report said.

"The Navy's standards for personal behavior are very high and it demands that sailors are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve," the Navy said in a March 30 statement. "When individuals fall short of this standard of professionalism and personal behavior, the Navy will take swift and decisive action to stop undesirable behavior, protect victims and hold accountable those who do not meet its standards." 

Hank Nuwer, who has done decades of research on hazing in schools and the military, said it was "a significant and positive response by the Navy in regard to requiring a chain of command to take responsibility in the event of a substantial hazing allegation."

However, he said, the Navy might consider moving up its timetable when an allegation of hazing is reported aboard such a vessel since victims were stuck in the close quarters with nowhere to go nor hide.

" ... getting a culture of change with regard to Navy hazing is going to take many years, if at all," he wrote in an email to msnbc.com. "Such 'traditions' as having Navy people crossing the equator or reaching a certain petty officer rank were winked on by Navy brass so long that completely eradicating hazing stands about as much a small chance as there is eradicating hazing in college fraternity life."

Msnbc.com's Miranda Leitsinger contributed to this report.

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• Video: Florida residents take golf carts to the streets

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At least 15 people were transported to the hospital Monday after a lightning strike at the Lake of Isles golf course in North Stonington, Conn.

Firefighters were called to the course just before 9:45 a.m. Strong storms moved across the state and into North Stonington Monday morning.

For more, visit NBCConnecticut.com.

The victims were workers at the course, fire officials said. Lake of Isles is owned by Foxwoods Casino. According to the Hartford Courant, the men were prepping the course for a tournament scheduled later on Monday.

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The victims took shelter in a shed on the course between the 4th and 13th holes, according to a spokesperson for Lake of Isles. None of the victims was directly struck by the lightning, the spokesperson said.

All 15 were taken to the hospital to be evaluated.

A house in Stonington was also struck by lightning Monday morning.

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A North Carolina couple has been arrested for allegedly locking their 14-year-old son in a bedroom without food or water for days, NBC station WCNC in Charlotte reported. 

The station reported that Joy Evonne Skipper, 45, and Johnny Rufus Dickson, 41, have been charged with child abuse, inflicting serious bodily injury and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. 

The couple boarded up the windows to the bedroom the boy was staying in, WCNC reported. 

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The Associated Press reported that the boy tried to escape to beg for food from neighbors. 

When police found him he was dehydrated, but is expected to recover. 

Watch US News crime videos on msnbc.com

Skipper and Dickson were released Saturday on $15,000 and $25,000 bonds, WCNC reported. 

A mother in Kansas City, Mo., was also arrested and charged over the weekend after her 10-year-old daughter was found locked inside a closet. The girl weighed only 32 pounds.

She was charged with child abuse and assault. 

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Updated at 5:56 p.m. ET:-- Police in Mahwah, N.J., have identified the man found wandering naked and covered in mud through a forested area off Route 202 Sunday afternoon, officials said Monday.

According to NJ.com, Mahwah Police Chief James N. Batelli identified the man as 36-year-old Russell J. Cox of Ocean, N.J.

New Jersey police asked the public’s help in trying to identify the man, who police said was covered in mud and couldn’t provide any information about his identity or where he was coming from, NJ.com reported.

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The man had no signs of injuries, Batelli told msnbc.com, but had been taken to Bergen Regional Medical Center for an evaluation. Police found a pile of clothes nearby that may belong to the man and some paperwork from New York State, but no identifying documents were found.

Cox was released into the custody of a family member Monday afternoon, NJ.com reported.

"The family member was able to offer some insight into the actions of Mr. Cox which will be addressed by his family," Batelli told NJ.com.

Authorities still do not know how Cox ended up north of Ocean, N.J.

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Updated at 11:43 p.m. ET -- Tropical Storm Debby whipped Florida with bands of drenching rain Monday while its center was nearly stationary in the Gulf of Mexico. Its slow progress meant the most pressing threat from the storm was flooding, not wind.

Florida governor Rick Scott declared a statewide emergency, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for most of the state's Gulf Coast, as the storm parked offshore.

A tropical storm warning for the coast of Alabama was discontinued early Monday. Yet even with the storm's center far from land, it lashed Florida with heavy rains and spawned isolated tornadoes that killed at least one person. Another person was missing in rough surf off Alabama.

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Residents in several counties near the crook of Florida's elbow were urged to leave low-lying neighborhoods because of the threat of flooding.

Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are also evacuating more than 30 percent of production platforms and rigs that are in the path of Debby. The storm is moving slowly, allowing its clouds more time to unload rain.

The Coast Guard rescued a family Sunday, who were stranded on a small island on the northwestern Florida Gulf coast due to inclement weather caused by the storm.

Officials at the Coast Guard watch center in Mobile, Ala., received a call around 12:30 p.m. from a man reporting his family of five adults, four children and two dogs were stranded in a vacation house on Dog Island, south of Carrabelle, Fla.

Water was reportedly surrounding the house, and there was no way for them to evacuate to higher ground. The ship that brought them to the island would not return for them due to rough conditions.

Rescue crews from the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center deployed a helicopter to the family’s location. The crew hoisted and transported the family, including the dogs, to Carrabelle Airport. No injuries or medical concerns were reported. 

'Heavy rain'
High winds forced the closure of an interstate bridge that spans Tampa Bay and links St. Petersburg with areas to the southeast. In several locations, homes and businesses were damaged by high winds authorities believe were from tornadoes.

Practically parked off Florida's Gulf Coast since the weekend, Debby raked the Tampa Bay area with high wind and heavy rain Monday in a drenching that could top 2 feet over the next few days and has already led to flooding.

Weather.com severe weather expert Dr. Greg Forbes warned that Debby could spawn isolated tornadoes in Florida through Monday.

A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the Florida Gulf Coast from Mexico Beach in the Panhandle to Englewood, south of Sarasota.  "Storm surge flooding is also a significant threat along the Florida Panhandle coast and the western coast of Florida since Debby's circulation is embedded in a rather large wind field," Weather.com reported.

Forecasters said late Monday that the storm was still in the Gulf of Mexico, 35 miles south of Apalachicola, with sustained winds around 45 mph. It was moving northeast at 2 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. The forecast map indicated the storm could inch forward through the week, eventually coming ashore over the Panhandle. However, a storm's path is difficult to discern days in advance.

Underscoring the unpredictable nature of tropical storms, forecasters discontinued a tropical storm warning Sunday afternoon for Louisiana after forecast models indicated Debby wasn't likely to turn west. At one point, forecasters expected the storm to come ashore in that state.

"There are always going to be errors in making predictions. There is never going to be a perfect forecast," said Chris Landsea, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that several tornadoes moved through the area southeast of Tampa, damaging homes.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Nell Hays said a woman was found dead in a house in Venus that was destroyed in the storm. A child found in the same house was taken to the hospital. No further information was available on the child's condition or either person's age.

Marina's roof torn off
Authorities urged residents to leave low-lying neighborhoods in Franklin, Taylor and Wakulla counties because of flooding. Shelters were open in the area.

Wind tore the roof off a marina in St. Pete Beach, and a pier was heavily damaged, said Tom Iovino, a Pinellas County government spokesman. He said no injuries were reported.

In Orange Beach, Ala., a 32-year-old man disappeared Sunday in rough surf kicked up by the storm, a Coast Guard official said. Further information wasn't immediately available.

As of Sunday, 23 percent of oil and gas production in the region had been suspended, according to a government hurricane response team. Employees have been evacuated from 13 drilling rigs and 61 production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm was not expected to result in higher oil and gas prices.

"It's largely a non-event for oil," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.

Weather.com, msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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FONTANA, Calif. -- A Southern California high school teacher was arrested on suspicion of directing students to assault at least one other student in a classroom hazing incident, police said Sunday.

Emmanuel Delarosa, 27, along with four students were arrested Saturday after a student who said he was a victim of the hazing contacted school police, Fontana police Sgt. Robert Morris said.

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Investigators alleged that Delarosa, a summer school teacher at A.B. Miller High School, knew about the hazing — and in at least one instance directed some students to carry out the hazing to curb behavior problems in the classroom, Morris said.

Police: High school cheerleaders suspended for hazing incident in Utah

He declined to describe the nature of the hazing, citing the ongoing investigation.

At least one student suffered minor injuries, Morris said.

NBC Los Angeles reported that several students has been interviewed by detectives.

Jail records show that an 18-year-old student arrested in the case faces charges of assault, child cruelty and attempted sodomy. Fernando Manuel Salgado was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

5 found duct-taped: Boston University students under investigation

The names of the other three male students were not released because they are minors. Police said they were arrested for investigation of assault and child endangerment.

Delarosa was booked for investigation of child endangerment and released on bail.

The Associated Press and NBC Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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DENVER -- A Denver police officer trying to break up a confrontation was shot and killed Sunday at a city park where hundreds of families had gathered for a free weekly jazz concert before gunfire erupted and sent hundreds fleeing.

The officer, who was shot in the head, was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said. The Denver Post reported that one person has been taken into custody but added they had not been confirmed as a suspect.

NBC News station KUSA reported that officers were seen searching a dumpster near a lake on Sunday night.

According to the newspaper, the slain officer was a single mother who was originally from Detroit. She was a seven-year veteran of the police force, the Post reported.

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At least three shots were fired shortly after the jazz band playing on a lake-side pavilion stage finished, sending waves of people running through park grounds where some concert-goers who were initially unaware of the shooting remained seated on picnic blankets and lawn chairs.

'We will not surrender'
More than 1,000 people were at the City Park Jazz concert, the fourth of 10 shows scheduled for this summer in the annual series that draws families and people of all backgrounds to one of the city's more popular summer events. The mayor said late Sunday that the concerts should continue.

"We will not surrender what we consider special in this city to anyone," Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said. 

Nakira Doss, a jazz singer herself, said she hopes the series continues. The 28-year-old mother was at the show Sunday and sitting near the stage with her children, ages 4, 5 and 7, when she heard at least two shots. As people ran past, she said told her children to "get on the ground" and then she laid herself over them.

"I'm trying to show them music, but at what cost," she said, nodding toward her own children.

City Park is one Denver's most famous and sprawls across several hundred acres east of downtown. It holds the Denver Zoo, Museum of Nature and Science, as well as ponds, trails and recreational fields.

Yellow tape
Samuel Bell, 19, of Denver, said he was in the parking lot looking for a space for his scooter, which police later cordoned off with yellow tape. He said he heard several shots.

"We just arrived at the park. It was crowded, it was looking fun," Bell said. "And then 'pa- pa-pa-pa' outta nowhere.

"We just ducked," Bell said. "We pulled off in enough time to get away. It was crazy."

He said he saw police officers administering CPR. He estimated he was about 10 to 20 feet away from where the officer was shot.

NBC News station KUSA, msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Lonesome George, the giant tortoise who became the face of the Galapagos Islands conservation effort, was found dead in his corral Sunday morning, according to a statement by the Galapagos National Park Service. He was believed to be more than 100 years old and weighed 200 pounds.

He is the last known Pinta Island giant tortoise, and his death likely marks the complete extinction of his subspecies.

Fausto Llerena, Lonesome George’s longtime caretaker, discovered the tortoise stretched out, leaning toward his watering hole. The cause of death remains undetermined and the tortoise’s body is being held in a cold chamber to avoid decomposition before officials conduct a necropsy, the park said.

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For years, Lonesome George’s minders tried to encourage him to procreate, even offering $10,000 for a pure Pinta Island tortoise. The reward went unclaimed, and park conservationists brought in four female tortoises of similar species, but their eggs proved infertile.

Sveva Grigioni, a 26-year-old Swiss zoology graduate student, nobly contributed to the effort by attempting to manually stimulate George, according to “Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of a Conservation Icon,” a book by Henry Nicholls about the famous tortoise.

Grigioni’s work wasn’t completely for naught, as George started showing interest in the females in his corral.

“He started to try copulation but it was like he didn’t really know how,” Grigioni told Nicholls, according to a book review in the Guardian of London.

The giant tortoise is native to several of the Galapagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago west of the Ecuadoran mainland. Lonesome George was the last known individual of the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni).

A scientist studying snails spotted the tortoise later known as Lonesome on Pinta Island in 1971. The tortoise was brought to the Darwin research station the following year.

He was named Lonesome George (or Solitario Jorge) for George Gobel, the television star who played, according to a 2007 in The New York Times, the role of a “hapless, hen-pecked husband."

Some 20,000 giant tortoises of different subspecies still live on the Galapagos, according to Reuters.

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From San Francisco to New York and cities and towns in-between, revelers crowded streets and sidewalks Sunday for annual gay pride parades.

The sidewalks of downtown San Francisco were filled with colorful participants and spectators as the city marked its 42nd year celebrating the lesbian, gay and transgender community.  Organizers said more than 200 floats, vehicles and marching bands are taking part. The city's mayor, Ed Lee, was to address the crowd at the city's Civic Center.

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Organizers say San Francisco's events are the largest LGBT gathering in the nation.

In New York, nearly 2 million marchers followed the lavender line painted on Fifth Avenue, marking the first anniversary of the state's same-sex marriage law.

Throngs of spectators crowded along the sidewalks, waving rainbow-colored flags as participants, including Cyndi Lauper as grand marshal, went by. The parade was held one year to the day of same-sex marriage being legalized in New York state.

The city's first married gay couple, Connie Kopelov and Phyllis Siegel, were also grand marshalls at the parade.

Among those participating were Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who was accompanied by her wife. Quinn and her longtime partner were married last month.

Bloomberg had a message to the rest of America: "The government should get out of your personal life."

"New York is a place where you can do whatever you want to do," he said, before stepping off onto the parade route.

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Each year since 1970, the parade has had a different theme. This time, it's called "Share the Love." Organizers say they want other states to pass legislation that allows same-sex marriage, which is already legal in six states and the District of Columbia.

More than 300 groups marched down Fifth Avenue to the Stonewall Inn, the site of the 1969 Stonewall riots, which is widely considered the start of the national gay rights movement.

In Chicago, organizers, working with the city, decided to extend the path of the march in the hopes of spreading out the huge crowds. More than 750,000 people were expected to descend on the area to take part in the revelry.

NY GOP lawmakers targeted for gay marriage supportGov. Pat Quinn led the march. Just before things got started, he talked to reporters about the importance of equality -- particularly when it comes to marriage.

 

"I think marriage equality is something we're going to get in Illinois," Quinn said. "It's going to maybe take a little while, but I think it's important to move forward."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel marched as well, shaking hands and calling it a "landmark year" for gay and lesbian rights, thanks to President Obama signing hate crimes legislation, repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and speaking out in favor of marriage equality.

For the first time, out, active-duty members of the military marched in the pride parade, with no fear of losing their jobs.

"It's a great opportunity and a great event to come out here and actually show who we are, being in the military and gay and out," said Richard Dumbrique, a member of Gay, Lesbian, and Supporting Sailors, or GLASS.

Hundreds of thousands of people were expected at Seattle's Pride Parade. The event hosted by Seattle Out and Proud featured 180 groups. Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire was parade marshal.

Information from The Associated Press, NBCChicago.com, NBCNewYork.com and KING5.com is included in this story.

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Two trains collided Sunday near the Oklahoma Panhandle town of Goodwell, sparking a diesel fire and forcing the closure of a stretch of highway. Three people were missing.

The accident happened shortly after 10 a.m. on tracks about two miles east of Goodwell. A westbound train consisting of three locomotives and 80 rail cars collided with an eastbound intermodal train consisting of four locomotives and 108 rail cars, Union Pacific Railroad spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza told msnbc.com.

One conductor and one engineer were aboard each of the trains. The conductor of the westbound train escaped but the other three crewmembers were unaccounted for, Espinoza said.

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The collision ignited a diesel fuel blaze that sent a huge plume of black smoke billowing into the air.

"Firefighters are on scene trying to put the fire out. We are doing everything we can to find the other three crew members," she said.

The westbound train was carrying finished automobiles and the eastbound train had mixed freight. The two lead locomotives of the first train and the first locomotive on the second train caught fire, Espinoza said.

There was one container on the intermodal train that was filled with a potentially hazardous resin solution but it was not on fire, Espinoza said. "However, we are pouring water in the container as a precaution," she said.

The conductor who survived was not hurt but was "very shaken up," Espinoza said. "We have people making sure he’s OK and trying to get some information from him," she added.

The Guymon Police Department issued this statement on its Facebook page:

Emergency Alert: Train accident east of Goodwell on Hwy 54 has potential for explosion, is not stable, Hwy 54 closed, as well as County roads nearby. DO NOT attempt to visit site. Everyone can view local media Facebook sites for immediate updates. Please allow emergency responders to handle the accident swiftly without interruption.

Goodwell is about 270 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

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WASHINGTON -- The congressman heading an investigation into a botched gun-trafficking case said on Sunday he had no evidence the White House was involved in a cover-up about the operation or in providing misleading information to Congress.

However, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa said documents the White House was shielding under an executive privilege claim would shed more light on how much high-level officials knew about a misleading Feb. 4, 2011, letter to Congress denying that guns had been allowed to "walk" into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

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Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have suggested that some sort of a cover-up of information explained why it took until December 2011 for the Justice Department to formally withdraw the letter about the case, which was named "Operation Fast and Furious."

The House is set to vote this week on contempt of Congress charges against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the top U.S. law enforcement official, for withholding access to some of those documents.

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, was asked whether he had evidence of a White House cover-up.

"No, we don't," Issa said.

"I hope they don't get involved," Issa said. "I hope this stays at Justice. And I hope that Justice cooperates, because ultimately, Justice lied to the American people on February 4th and didn't make it right for 10 months."

Congressional investigators say the documents will shed light on who in the Justice Department knew the letter was misleading and why it took so long to withdraw it. 

Democrats have accused Issa of going on a fishing expedition and note that the Justice Department has already turned over thousands of pages of documents relating to the botched operation, in which guns were allowed to be transported into Mexico.

Two of the weapons were later found at the scene of U.S. border patrol agent Brian Terry's murder in late 2010.

Terry's grieving family has demanded more information about who knew about the "Fast and Furious" operation.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, told "Fox News Sunday" that he too wants to satisfy the Terry family's need for information and said the dispute over documents could be worked out.

"It's just a matter of sitting down and talking it over. We can get those documents and get this matter resolved," Cummings said.

Asked if the House would seek to hold Holder in contempt if there was no deal over the documents, Issa said: "Yes, I believe they will, both Republicans and Democrats will vote that."

It could take months to enforce a contempt citation as both sides are likely to turn to the federal courts to resolve the dispute between the White House and Congress.

Issa suggested a deal could be worked out with administration officials, to cancel, or at least delay, next week's vote.

"If we get documents that ... cast some doubt or allow us to understand this, we'll at least delay contempt and continue the process," Issa said in an interview with ABC's "This Week" news show. "We only broke off negotiations when we got a flat refusal to give us information needed for our investigation."

House Republicans advanced the contempt resolution after negotiations with Holder broke down last week. Holder had offered to brief congressional investigators and provide access to some documents to satisfy a congressional subpoena. Issa rejected the offer.

The school bus driver beaten into a coma by another motorist earlier this month has died, NBC 4 New York has learned.

Juan DelValle's devastated family, who had stood watch by his bedside since the assault, made the decision to take him off life support Friday evening, a hospital spokesperson told NBC 4 New York.

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He died at 6:19 p.m., his sister said.

DelValle was severely injured June 11 when he was knocked to the pavement following a minor traffic accident in the Bronx, according to authorities.

The 65-year-old brother, father and grandfather was attempting to navigate a school bus through a narrow and crowded Anthony Avenue and clipped a mirror on a double-parked car, authorities said.

When DelValle exited the bus to survey the damage, the driver of the car allegedly began yelling at him. Surveillance video captured the car driver then punching DelValle so forcefully he was sent flying backward before his head slammed on the road.

The other driver fled the scene. He was later arrested.

See original story, video on NBCNewYork.com

DelValle never regained consciousness. His family says a funeral will be held in about two weeks after the medical examiner completes an autopsy.

DelValle had been driving a school bus for 10 years and was preparing to retire at the end of this school year, according to his sister. He'd already submitted his papers.

Atlantic Express, the bus company DelValle worked for, said it was deeply saddened by his death, calling him a gentle man who did his job professionally, with great dedication and compassion.

"The career of a school bus driver is a demanding one with great responsibility, but it should never be one where hard-working, honorable people are subjected to vicious and senseless violence," the company said in a statement.

"We must all stand together to ensure that violence against school bus drivers will not be tolerated and demand the maximum sentence against the perpetrator of this heartless crime which was witnessed by special education students."

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One year after New York lawmakers voted to make same-sex marriage legal in the state, opponents of gay marriage are pledging to unseat the Republicans whose support was key to the law's passage, saying they want to send a message to other legislators that there are “consequences” to their votes.

The National Organization for Marriage, which opposes gay marriage, says it is funneling $2 million into the state to oust three state senators who voted to support the legislation. All three, Sens. Roy McDonald, Stephen Saland and Mark Grisanti, are facing primary challenges. A fourth GOP senator, Jim Alesi, already has said he won’t seek a ninth term due to local opposition over his pro-gay marriage stance.

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Alesi, 64, and his three fellow GOP senators joined 29 Democrats on June 24, 2011, to give the bill a 33-29 victory. Though Alesi told msnbc.com he was sad to leave office, he said the vote on gay marriage was "irrevocable" and decried the actions of NOM as "purely revenge" and "blind hatred."

"The focal point of running against good candidates (his three fellow GOP senators) ... is nothing more than a bag of rocks that they’re carrying around and they’ll have to carry them for a long, long time because marriage isn’t going anywhere, it’s here,” he said.

Brian Brown, executive director of NOM, doesn't shy away from the fact his group is hoping to intimidate wavering lawmakers into opposing gay marriage.

“The message is clear, that supporting same-sex marriage is a losing issue, not a winning issue,” Brown told msnbc.com. “You could lose your career over supporting same-sex marriage.”

He also doesn't buy the argument that gay marriage is a settled issue in New York, even though a May 2012 poll by Quinnipac University found the state's voters support same-sex marriage 54 to 37 percent.

"If we don’t get a vote this year, we’re going to work to get one next year. We’re not going away," Brown said. "I think it’s just wishful thinking to say that once you have same-sex marriage the fight’s over. It’s not."

Toward that end, NOM has spent $400,000 on issue ads, billboards, automated calls and direct mail as well as made direct donations through its New York PAC. It is planning to spend another $1.6 million to try to unseat McDonald, Saland and Grisanti as a result of their gay marriage votes.

Both McDonald and Saland face opponents strongly opposed to gay marriage, and their contests could turn on the issue. Grisanti also has faced criticism for his marriage vote, but his Republican opponent, Kevin Stocker, won't say where he stands on the issue. Instead, Stocker argues the issue should have been put before voters, not enacted by the legislature, according to capitoltonight.com's "State of Politics" blog.

“NOM is trying to use the choke point of a Republican primary to punish people who voted … the other way,” said Bruce Gyory, a political consultant in New York who supports gay marriage but did not work on the issue for either side. “NOM’s strategy is to try to take advantage of the more conservative factor …  that exists in Republican primaries and use that as an example to say to legislators in other states, ‘Don’t you dare vote for this because you’ll lose.'"

But Gyory, an adjunct professor of political science at Albany-SUNY, believes that if the New York lawmakers can escape their primaries, their support for gay marriage could work to their advantage.

"If you put it up to a general election test in these areas it would probably play to the benefit of these legislators rather than to their political detriment.”

Alesi said NOM and the money it is pouring into the state was not a factor in his decision not to seek re-election. He said they were “nowhere on the radar” in Rochester except for a billboard they put up in a remote part of his district. He also denied that a controversial local lawsuit over a personal injury factored into his decision. What it came down to, Alesi said, is that he had a strong Republican challenger, and had determined a bloody primary wouldn’t be worth ultimately losing a Republican-held seat to a Democrat.

“As much as I could easily have won in the general election, I thought it would be very difficult to get through a primary … where I’d have to challenge my own party,” Alesi said.

He said some of his supporters encouraged him to leave the Republican Party so his marriage vote wouldn't be such a factor, but he didn't want to do it.

“I thought also that it was very important if I were going to run for re-election that I would do it as a Republican because I was a Republican when I voted for marriage equality, and at the time, I said that I think it’s important for other legislatures and other states to know that Republicans can vote for things like marriage equality," he said, noting that he had said from early on, "Republicans can vote for this and go on with their political lives.”

To that end, The New York Times reported that billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer will give $1 million to begin a “super PAC” called American Unity PAC with several other Republicans. It will provide support to Republican candidates who favor same-sex marriage. Singer helped amass some $250,000 for each of the Republican New York state senators after NOM announced its efforts.

The New York primaries are in June and in September, and it remains to be seen how the three lawmakers will fare. But Alesi said he is fine with how everything turned out after his marriage vote, even though it is largely responsible for the end of his senate career

"I took the greatest vote I could have taken ... I firmly and truly believe in equality," he said, remembering that at the time of the vote he told himself, "If this is what the price is, it’s fine with me, because I can’t imagine having the opportunity to do anything this historic and this personally fulfilling again ever in my career ... I am leaving very peacefully."

A young girl died and her mother and sister were injured in a hit-and-run collision in Santa Ana, California, police said Saturday.

The suspected driver was arrested a few blocks away when a witness driving behind blocked the car in, pinning the suspect until police could arrive, according to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. He called the witness' response a "heroic action."

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The driver, Jessica Louise Cowan of Frazier Park, was being held at Santa Ana jail on suspicion of felony hit and run, as well as driving under the influence, Bertagna said. She may also face vehicular manslaughter charges, Bertagna said.

A preliminary field sobriety test led police to believe she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Bertagna said.

More details, including video, at NBC4 News

In video shot at the scene on Saturday morning Cowan is seen handcuffed and being placed into a patrol car. Her 2002 silver Lexus sedan had a smashed windshield and dented hood and front bumper.

The mother, a 45-year-old Latina, and her two daughters, ages 5 and 6, were crossing in the cross walk at 17th and Spurgeon streets when a small silver car ran a red light "at a high rate of speed" and collided with all three victims, Bertagna said. The victims had the right of way.

The victims were pushed 60 to 70 feet down the road, he added. A pair of children's shoes could be seen left in the roadway in video from the scene.

"The suspect in this case showed no regard for the actions they did," Bertagna said. "This is horrific."

The 5-year-old was killed, while her 6-year-old sister and mother were in critical condition with head trauma, Bertagna said.

They live close to the scene of the collision, he said. A crowd of relatives could be seen at the collision site.

The incident was reported to police at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET.

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A small plane crashed soon after taking off from a private airstrip in Oregon timber country Saturday and killed all four people on board, authorities said. 

The small plane went down around 3:10 p.m. in a rural area west of Eugene, according to the Lane County Sheriff's Office.

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Citing witness reports, authorities said the plane began to lose altitude shortly after take-off and hit a large tree that Lane County District No. 1 Fire Chief Terry Ney said tore off a wing of the aircraft. 

The single-engine Cessna landed upside down, Ney said. Fire authorities pronounced the four people inside the aircraft dead at the scene. 

Details about the victims and their names were being held pending notification of next of kin. 

The National Transportation Safety Board was en route Saturday to investigate the crash while the sheriff's office helped secure the scene. 

Lane County records show the airstrip where the plane took off is owned by Conrad Magnuson and known as Crow-Mag Airport, according to a report by Mark Baker in the Eugene Register-Guard.

The newspaper said Magnuson declined to be interviewed when approached at his home.

 “It’s going to take heavy tools to get them out of there,” Lane County District No. 1 Fire Chief Terry Ney said of the victims. The small plane “for whatever reason didn’t clear the woods,” Ney said.

Nearby resident Debbie Parker told the newspaper she had just gotten home Saturday afternoon and was unloading groceries when she heard the plane overhead.

“Didn’t sound real strong,” Parker said, sitting on her deck. “And then I heard it crash.”

Some people associated with the nearby Oregon Country Fair property came by Saturday and thought the crash victims might be associated with the fair, she added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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CHICAGO -- Firefighter John Francis Minich died after saving many lives from a burning building 60 years ago, but until Saturday there was nothing to mark his grave site.

“One of the lives saved that day [was] my mother, pregnant with me,” said Debbie McCann, who discovered Minich’s unmarked grave and brought it to the attention of officials.

The Chicago Fire Department along with the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 joined with McCann Saturday afternoon to honor the anniversary of Minich’s death with a permanent grave marker.

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See the original report at NBCChicago.com

His name is etched in granite at the Stockyard memorial and his badge is mounted on the Wall of Honor at the Quinn Fire Academy in memory of his heroic actions. However, there was nothing to honor the hero in the All Saints Cemetery, where his body was laid to rest.

“This was something that had to be made right,” said Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 President Tom Ryan. “He gave his life and made the ultimate sacrifice for the people he served, and that needed to be recognized.”

McCann’s mother was one of 12 people Minich rescued during an arson fire on Oct. 25, 1952. After carrying the pregnant mother to safety, he took off his crucifix and put it in her hand, said McCann, who considered him her guardian angel.

Shortly after the rescue he collapsed and was taken to the hospital, where he died. Doctors described the cause of death as a heart attack and smoke inhalation. Minich was 43 years old.

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McCann began searching for her guardian angel and tracked down his grave site at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, only to discover there was no marker in place for this hero. She then worked with the cemetery’s field manager John Stewart to correct the oversight.

“She went to great lengths to contact our office,” said Ryan. “She originally planned to pay for the headstone on her own.”

Ryan said he told her it was not necessary and motions were put in place for the permanent marker that now marks the place of a Chicago hero and guardian angel.

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