Gene J. Puskar / AP

Former Penn State assistant football coach Michael McQueary arrives Tuesday at the Centre County Courthouse to testify in Jerry Sandusky's child sexual abuse trial.

ANALYSIS

Jerry Sandusky's lawyers failed to blow holes in the testimony Tuesday of former Penn State assistant football coach Michael McQueary, allowing prosecutors to score a big win in their child sexual abuse case.

Beginning with its opening statement, the defense has tried to demonstrate that the alleged victims have been coached to implicate Sandusky and have financial motives to make up their stories. 

McQueary powerfully undermined that theory Tuesday. If he saw Sandusky in the shower with a young boy in a compromising position — and the jury will not doubt that he did after his testimony — then it seems much less likely that the young men were motivated by greed or prosecutorial influence. 

Ex-coach McQueary testifies 'no doubt' he saw Sandusky having sex with young boy

Full coverage of the Jerry Sandusky trial

Wes Oliver is a professor at Widener University who teaches criminal law and procedure. This fall he will join the faculty of the Duquesne University School of Law as a professor and director of the school's criminal justice program.

Rather than zero in on significant discrepancies in McQueary's accounts of when the incident occurred — given in previous testimony before a grand jury and in a hearing in December — the defense started off with a weak point: that McQueary previously claimed to have seen Sandusky and the boy in the shower two times rather than the three he described Tuesday — once in a mirror, again directly and a third time after he slammed a locker door to make it known that they were being observed.

Sandusky's lawyers also failed to confront McQueary about his reluctance to intervene in the situation.

McQueary has said he did not ask Sandusky what was going on and did not call the police the night of the incident. McQueary, in fact, volunteered the fact that he did not physically intervene during his cross-examination Tuesday, but the defense seemed almost oblivious to the gift McQueary handed them amid the devastating answers he provided to their other questions. 

When Sandusky's lawyers did get around to asking McQueary about the inconsistent dates he has offered in the past, their pattern of questions allowed him to give an easy explanation. 

Rather than confront McQueary directly with his testimony at a preliminary hearing during which he expressed absolute certainty about the date, the defense simply asked about his prior testimony in general. That let McQueary remind jurors that in interviews, he has also expressed uncertainty about whether the events occurred in 2001 or 2002 and declare that he did not dispute the prosecution's timeline of events. 

Perhaps most seriously, the defense failed to establish that McQueary could not have seen the most serious crimes he believes he saw because of the relative height of Sandusky and the young man he saw in the Penn State shower.

At a hearing in December involving perjury charges against former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and former senior vice president Gary Schultz, different lawyers skillfully pointed out that McQueary could not have seen any sex unless Sandusky had been holding the boy in the air. 

The failure of Sandusky's lawyers to address that testimony may lead the jury to conclude that Sandusky did engage in sex with the young man — even though at the end of the Curley-Schultz hearing, it seemed clear that McQueary's testimony was insufficient to prove that any sex occurred. 

Finally, the defense was unprepared for McQueary's cross-examination. Apparently expecting him to say yes, defense lawyer Karl Rominger asked McQueary whether he had played in a golf tournament run by Sandusky's foundation after having witnessed the alleged shower ecounter. But McQueary said he did not play, and Rominger was not ready with documentation to challenge him.

McQueary's account Tuesday had real problems, but it was not effectively challenged, and his testimony ended up being a slam dunk for the prosecution. 

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Wilfredo Lee / AP file

A wildlife biologist holds a small crocodile to release into a cooling canal in Homestead, Fla.

Looking for a job with a little adventure to it? Florida conservation officials are recruiting "crocodile response agents" to help corral the wayward reptiles. No experience required.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is planning to hire two to four more part-time agents — there is currently just one — to respond to calls when crocodiles stray onto human turf in the Florida Keys, the string of wetland islands at the southern tip of the state.

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Crocodile response agents "assist in handling human-American Crocodile conflicts," wrote Carli Segelson, spokesperson for the Florida commission’s south region, in an email response to msnbc.com questions. "Their duties include, site visits, captures, translocations, carcass recoveries, other duties as needed."

The agents apparently are part of an attempt to address an increasing number of crocodile sightings, and calm alarm caused when a 10-foot-long crocodile snatched a family dog near Key Largo in March. The crocodile drowned the pet — as they typically do before eating their prey — before locals chased down the creature and retreived the canine carcass, the Miami Herald reported.

The conservation commission’s challenge is not only to protect humans and their pets from crocodiles, but also to prevent harm to the crocodiles, which are slowly recovering from near extinction.

The saltwater-dwelling American crocodile was listed as endangered in 1975 when numbers dropped as low as 300. It is now considered threatened, numbering around 1,500, according to Segelson.

Florida and other parts of the Southeast U.S. also have a large population of the freshwater American alligator, a cousin of the crocodile, and they also make unwelcome appearances.

According to the conservation commission, learning to handle these reptiles is relatively easy. A crocodile response agent earns $25 an hours and works as needed. Experience is preferred but not required, and training is provided.

"There is inherent danger handling any live crocodilian," wrote Segelson. "However, our (agents) are taught safe handling and transport techniques to protect them and the crocodile from injury. Consequently, the danger is minimal."

Some residents along the shorelines and canals of the Keys are not happy about the re-emergence of the giant reptiles, which can grow up to 15 feet long.

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"Do we wait until a child gets hurt until we do something?" asked Councilman Dave Purdo at a village council meeting in Islamorada on May 30, according to a report by keysnews.com. "Is that what we're waiting for, until a child gets hurt?"

According to the report, state conservation biologist Lindsey Hord told the meeting there has never been a recorded crocodile attack on a human in all of Florida, but he acknowledged that crocodiles present a danger, especially to pets.

He urged people to take precautions such as fencing their dock areas, keeping children and pets away from canals and either not swimming at all or avoiding swimming at night. He also said fishermen should avoid dumping the waste from fish-cleaning along the banks because that tends to attract hungry crocodiles.

"What you are experiencing is the return of the crocodile to its historic range," Lindsey told the council, according to keysnews.com. "We can live with these things. It just requires acceptance of the fact that they are going to be here, and to accommodate that, taking some common sense safety steps."

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Nineteen members of a state commission are meeting Tuesday to discuss the issue – just a short distance from where 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by 28-year-old George Zimmerman.

It's believed Zimmerman’s defense attorney will rely of Florida’s controversial law to prove he did no wrong that February evening in Sanford.

Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sabrina Fulton, is among those arguing Florida’s law should be changed. But she's also made it a point to try to calm proponents of the Second Amendment, which protects the right of people to keep and bear arms, who feel any change to the law is an attack on their rights.

Shellie Zimmerman, wife of Trayvon Martin killer, arrested on perjury charge

"I grew up with a weapon in my house. My dad was a police officer. I have nothing against guns,” Fulton said on Tuesday.

She was among a group who presented the state commission with more than 300,000 signatures demanding the law be repealed.

"I have nothing against the law,” she said.  “It's how it's applied."

The Florida law was passed in 2005 and was signed into law by then-Gov. Jeb Bush. The law came into being in the wake of Hurricane Ivan – partly because of the case of James Workman.

Workman, a 77-year-old retiree at the time, and his wife, Kathryn, had survived Hurricane Ivan, but their house in Pensacola was badly damaged, so they were staying in a trailer nearby. In the middle of the night, a FEMA worker from North Carolina, Rodney Cox, mysteriously appeared in their RV. Workman shot and killed the intruder.

After months in legal limbo, no charges were filed against Workman. Lawmakers seized on his case as they pressed for the country’s first Stand Your Ground law.

See more msnbc.com coverage of the Trayvon Martin case

Workman, now 84, recently spoke to NBC News from his home in Pensacola and defended the controversial law.

"The law may not be perfect; I’m not saying it’s perfect.  But it’s a whole lot better than not having a law,” said Workman. "You got to have some way of protecting yourself.  I mean, I just – I don’t see anything wrong with that, at all."

Key events in the Trayvon Martin case

The commission will not affect a change to the law, but it plans to offer the results of its six statewide meetings to Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the state Legislature.

If the law were to be amended or revoked, it would not be until 2013, when the Legislature returns for its lawmaking session.

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Warren family

Jeffrey Warren found out on senior awards night that he was the winner of a scholarship meant for African-American students.

No big deal.

That's how 17-year-old Jeffrey Warren describes his decision to return a $1,000 college scholarship meant for black students.

“I just thought it was the right thing to do,” says Warren, who is white.

His decision is winning him praise for his character – and offers of alternate financial help.

A hush, followed by some giggles, enveloped the Martin Luther King High School gym in Riverside, Calif., when it was announced on senior awards night that Warren was the winner of the scholarship awarded by the local Martin Luther King Senior Citizens Club.

The $1,000 scholarship, one of two awarded annually by the seniors club, is meant for African-American students. Club members didn’t know Warren is white until he rose to receive the award.

“We just couldn’t believe it at the outset. It was really something. There was a mixed feeling in the crowd,” recalled Etta Brown, chairwoman of the club’s scholarship committee, of the May 22 ceremony.

“People were surprised. Laughter started to come up from crowd,” Warren said. “They still shook my hand, they still said ‘thank you.’”

After some contemplation, Warren and his parents decided to return the scholarship. They sent an email the next day informing the MLK senior citizens club of the decision.

Warren Family / Warren family

Jeffrey Warren and his mom Frances Warren on graduation night.

“They said they would accept it back. They were very nice about it. They thanked me for being generous and for being a great kid,” Warren told msnbc.com on Tuesday.

“Jeffrey and I wanted them to be happy,” Rod Warren, who teaches language arts at the high school, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise, which first reported on the episode. “The ladies were trying to do something really nice.”

The scholarship application itself stated only that African-Americans were “encouraged” to apply. Warren applied online and apparently never saw a separate letter sent to school counselors specifying that it was for black students.

Some club members felt Jeffrey should be allowed to keep the scholarship, Brown told msnbc.com. “It was a very thoughtful decision between his family and himself that they would not accept it,” she said.

“I think it says a lot for his character and it says a lot of the character for the family,” said King High School Principal Darel Hansen.

“This was not something the school or school district asked him to do. He in our opinion won the award in good faith though there was a mix-up.”

Jeffrey’s scholarship was later awarded to a runner-up -- a female African-American student.

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Organizations using private money, like the MLK seniors club, are allowed to set their own eligibility criteria for scholarships they grant.

Brown said the club’s scholarship committee will meet to revise the language on the application to clarify it's for African-American students so there’s no misunderstanding in the future.

Warren won’t be totally lacking in financial help for college. Rod Warren told the Press-Enterprise his son applied for 27 scholarships and also won three others, two for $2,000 each and another $500 scholarship.

Hansen told msnbc.com that since the story made local headlines, several people have contacted the school “asking where they could send a check to make a donation to Jeffrey.”

Several teachers also showed up at his graduation party at his home on Saturday and presented him with an envelope with $351 in cash donations collected from school staff.

Warren said he plans to attend San Diego State University in the fall where he will major in English or business, or both. He says he wants to teach, like his dad.

Brown thinks he has a bright future ahead.

“He’s a really neat student,” Brown said. “He deserved it (the scholarship). Martin Luther King would say he did everything right.”

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Seminole County Sheriff's Office

Shellie Zimmerman, wife of George Zimmerman, the man accused of shooting Trayvon Martin, is seen Tuesday in a police booking photo Sanford, Fla.

Updated: 1:32 a.m. ET: Shellie Zimmerman, wife of George Zimmerman, charged with murdering Trayvon Martin, was arrested Tuesday on one count of perjury, the Seminole County, Fla., Sheriff’s Department said.

Deputies arrested Shellie Zimmerman, 25,  about 3:30 p.m. ET, after they were advised by the office of State Attorney Angela Corey that a warrant had been issued.

She was booked into John E. Polk Correctional Facility and released on $1,000 bond, officials said.

George Zimmerman, 28, was charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 shooting of Martin. He pleaded not guilty. Police say that he claimed on the night of the shooting that he acted in self-defense.

See more msnbc.com coverage of the Trayvon Martin case 

His $150,000 bond was revoked after allegations that during an April 20 bail hearing he and Shellie Zimmerman misled the court about their finances, neglecting to disclose they had raised at least $135,000 in a PayPal account.

The order issued Tuesday by Assistant State Attorney John Guy charged Shellie Zimmerman with knowingly making false statements during the April hearing.

Speaking outside the Seminole County Jail late Tuesday evening, George Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mara said his client is worried about his wife after learning of the arrest.

“Now that she’s being charged with a crime he’s worried about her,” O’Mara said, adding that George Zimmerman is concerned because she is “out in the public eye.”

O’Mara also said that the prosecution surprised him with Tuesday’s arrest, complaining the surprise fell short of professional courtesy. “I didn’t actually get a phone call until after the arrest, and I had asked for one before that,” O’Mara said.

Also Tuesday, the court released Seminole County Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester’s order revoking George Zimmerman’s bond.

"There are several factors that weigh against his release ... Most importantly, though, is the fact that he has now demonstrated that he does not properly respect the law or the integrity of the judicial process."

Follow NBC's Jamie Novogrod on Twitter here.

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Michael Dwyer / AP

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, and his children turn away after paying their respects at the casket of Mary Richardson Kennedy in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Centerville, Mass., on May 19.

The family of the late Mary Richardson Kennedy is responding to explosive accusations about her behavior made by her husband and revealed in a court affidavit from the Kennedys’ divorce case.

In the September 2011 documents, obtained by Newsweek for a magazine article published Monday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed his wife beat him, threatened suicide in front of her children, ran over the family dog and drank until she passed out.

It asked a judge for an order of protection to keep her from physically attacking him, showing up uninvited at his homes and denigrating him to their children. Kennedy, son of Sen. Robert. F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, also asked that his wife be required to remain sober in front of their children.

 “Mary’s violence and physical abuse toward me began before we were married,” Robert Kennedy said in the affidavit. “She said she intended to kill herself unless I called off the divorce.”

The relatives of Mary Kennedy slammed Kennedy's account of their relationship, saying it is “full of vindictive lies” and a “brutal psychological weapon in the divorce case,” according to a statement released by Kerry Lawrence, the lawyer for Mary Kennedy and the Richardson family.

AP Photot / Westchester County District Attorney's Office, File

Mary Richardson Kennedy is shown in a police photo after she was arrested in a drunken driving case.

“This latest piling on is proof perfect of the unbelievable emotional and psychological abuse that Mary endured during the last years of her life, and now in death,” Lawrence said.

According to the court documents, Robert Kennedy said that just a year after the couple were separated, “Mary ran over and killed the dog, Porcia, in the driveway.” And when he went over to the house, “Mary was intoxicated. I opened the door and she leapt out of her bed and hit me with a roundhouse punch.”

Robert Kennedy also says Mary screamed at him in front of their son, saying, “everything he does is evil and a fraud. He is a philanderer, an adulterer, a sex addict.”

“She drank heavily,” Laurence Learner, a respected Kennedy biographer and author of the Newsweek article told NBC News. “Because of her drinking, her children were taken away from her. What was left? She had nothing. Her identity as a Kennedy was finished.”

A judge granted Robert Kennedy full but temporary custody of their four children.

Mary Kennedy hanged herself last month at the family’s estate in Bedford, N.Y. The divorce was pending. Robert Kennedy delivered the eulogy at her funeral. Her death followed two difficult years, during which her husband filed for divorce and she was charged twice with driving while intoxicated.

“Our hearts are breaking for what her children continue to witness,” the Richardson family statement said. “We hoped Mary could rest in peace.”

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Authorities in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday defended their hunt for Desmonte Leonard, the man charged with fatally shooting three people at a party near Auburn University, NBC station WSFA in Auburn reported.

"We have not rested, we will not rest," Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said at a news conference Tuesday. "If he's out there watching today, I implore him, this has gone on long enough."

On Monday and early Tuesday, police searched a house in Montgomery, using thermal imaging to see if anyone was in the attic. Police said they thought they heard someone coughing, but nothing was found, WSFA reported.

Dawson said authorities received a tip from someone who said they dropped Leonard off at the home, and then received a 911 call indicating that he was inside. He said the tips were independent from each other. 

Montgomery Police Chief Kevin Murphy told reporters that "whoever dropped him off knew they were a suspect and were aiding him." That person could possibly face charges Murphy said, WSFA reported. 

Dawson said that an earlier Reuters report that authorities searched the wrong house is false.

At the press conference, Dawson said police are still at the home. He reiterated that he believes the suspect is still in Montgomery, WSFA reported.  

He said that he spoke with Leonard's mother and that she told him if he contacted her she would alert the police. Dawson said that she is urging her son to turn himself in, WSFA reported.

Authorities noted that Leonard's face and name have been all over the news media since Saturday. 

 "Doesn't matter where he's at," Dawson told reporters. "We've got the FBI on this case and U.S. marshals." 

A reward for his capture is up to $30,000, thanks to commitments from Auburn University and the city of Montgomery, WSFA reported. 

"We're going to apprehend him sooner or later," Dawson said. "I implore him to turn himself in."

Leonard is charged with three counts of murder in a shooting during a pool party at the University Heights apartments Saturday in Auburn. He's accused of pulling out a gun after a fight broke out. Two of those killed were former Auburn football players. In addition, he's accused of wounding three others, one of whom is in critical condition with a head wound. The others have been released from the hospital. 

Dawson said he believes the fight was about a girl. 

Two men have been arrested in connection with the shooting. Gabriel Thomas, 41, was arrested Sunday and accused of giving false information to police, and Jeremy Thomas, 18, is accused of hindering prosecution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

Two of those killed, Edward Christian, 20, and Ladarious Phillips, 20, were students and former football players for the  Auburn Tigers. Christian played offensive lineman and Phillips was a backup fullback who gave up football in April, according to a coach. 

Also killed was DeMario Pitts, 20. 

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Two Border Patrol agents have been put on paid leave after audience members complained they engaged in a sex act while attending a Cirque du Soleil theater performance in San Diego County.

Kallie Helwig, 24, and Gerald Torello, 35, were in the audience watching the show under a circus tent at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on March 27. They were off-duty at the time and were not in uniform, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Spectators told sheriff’s deputies they saw the two touching each other inappropriately.

“According to the reporting party, they believed that the two folks, the suspects, were engaging in inappropriate behavior while sitting in stands with families around them,” sheriff’s Lt. Kenn Nelson told msnbc.com.

One witness told NBCSanDiego.com that the pair appeared to be engaging in oral sex. The witness, who asked not to be named, said she told the two to stop but they didn’t. She said two children turned around and also saw the couple in the compromising position. The male agent gave one of the children a high-five as this was happening, the witness said.

The couple eventually stopped when an usher approached, the witness said.

After the performance, as the crowd was exiting, Helwig allegedly punched one of the complaining patrons in the face, Nelson said.

"My vision went black, and that was the last thing I felt," the patron told NBC San Diego.

Watch US News crime videos on msnbc.com

Sheriff’s deputies arrived. Helwig was cited for misdemeanor battery. Torello was taken to the sheriff's substation in Encinitas, cited for public intoxication and released.

“This is not an everyday call,” Nelson said.

“This call was handled exactly as it would have been with any other citizen. The fact that these folks were with the Border Patrol had no influence on how the call was handled.”

The Customs and Border Patrol released the following statement about the incident:

“All Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner while on or off duty. CBP stresses honor and integrity in every aspect of our mission, and the overwhelming majority of CBP employees and officers perform their duties with honor and distinction, working tirelessly every day to keep our country safe. CBP takes every allegation of misconduct seriously and fully cooperates in the investigation of such allegations. Presently, the two employees in question have been assigned administrative duties.”

Both agents have been with the Customs and Border Patrol since 2008.

Helwig and Torello could not immediately be reached by telephone for comment on Tuesday.

Msnbc.com's James Eng and NBCSanDiego.com contributed to this report.

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LCWR, Tony Gentile / Reuters, file

Sister Janet Mock, executive director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), is among a delegation meeting Cardinal William Joseph Levada on Tuesday.

ROME - What do American nuns do when they are accused of being radical feminists? They respond as radical feminists might: by challenging the male authority face-to-face.  

Sister Pat Farrell, head of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the umbrella group that represents 80 percent of the U.S.'s 57,000 Catholic nuns, traveled to Rome to confront accusations that her organization promotes "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith." 

Farrell met American Cardinal William Levada, head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on Tuesday.  The gathering was aimed at reconciling their differences, but it has the potential to permanently alienate many American nuns from the Holy See. 

From the beginning, the meeting was fixing to be a titanic clash between strong-willed servants of God.  

On one side next to Farrell sat Sister Janet Mock, the group’s executive director.

Opposite them, Cardinal Levada was joined by Vatican-appointed Archbishop Peter Sartain, who has been named to oversee the overhaul of the the LCWR.  Sartain has been given the power to rewrite the group's statutes, its meeting agendas and liturgical texts. 

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Alessandro Speciale, the Vatican Correspondent for Religion News Service, said the discussions – held in private – were unlikely to have been amicable.

"It will (have been) a deaf argument," he told NBC News.  "They will both try to force their message across, but it's unlikely to be a friendly chat."  

Both sides emerged from Tuesday's meeting without giving much away. 

Farrell told journalists outside the Vatican she had an "open dialogue" with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and found the support in America "very affirming."

Likewise, the Vatican did not go into much detail on the meeting's outcome, but said the gathering had happened in an "atmosphere of openness and cordiality."  

Catholic nuns group 'stunned' by Vatican scolding for 'radical feminist' ideas

What is almost certain is that Farrell, a determined representative of thousands of American nuns, asked Levada to reconsider the damning assessment his office issued about her group. The report followed a two-year investigation into the nuns' outspoken social and political outreach, which has often differed from the Vatican's official position.

Tensions between the American nuns and the Vatican have been simmering for years, and stem from the open discussion among LCWR's members of sensitive issues such as gay marriage, contraception and on the ordination of women.

On April 18, the Vatican harshly criticized the group, and accused it in a statement of perpetuating "a distorted ecclesiological vision, and (having) scant regard for the role of the Magisterium as the guarantor of the authentic interpretation of the Church's Faith."

Magisterium, the official teaching authority of the Catholic Church, is made-up of the pope and bishops.  Ecclesiological refers to the nature and functions of the church.

Catholic heavyweights challenge Obama rule on contraception

The Vatican then appointed a trio of bishops to deal with the differences with the LCWR.  

The LCWR's official response came more than a month later, but it was just as strong-worded.

The nuns said that the Vatican's charges are based "on unsubstantiated accusations and the result of a flawed process that lacked transparency. Moreover, the sanctions imposed were disproportionate to the concerns raised and could compromise their ability to fulfill their mission. The report has furthermore caused scandal and pain throughout the church community, and created greater polarization."

Whatever happened behind closed doors at the Vatican on Tuesday, the meeting will eventually help the world's estimated 1.2 billion Catholics understand whether the Vatican and the American nuns can reach a compromise – or, as seems more likely, remain poles apart.  

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The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended a search for 21 people who abandoned ship after a reported explosion Monday on a yacht off the coast of central New Jersey, saying the incident was believed to be a hoax.

The FBI in New Jersey has opened an investigation to determine whether any federal laws were violated, according to NBCNewYork.com. It is being conducted jointly with the Coast Guard. 

The rescue mission was launched after authorities received an emergency radio transmission around 4:20 p.m. Monday from a boat identifying itself as Blind Date, according to a Coast Guard press release. The caller reported the yacht carrying 21 passengers, seven of whom were injured, sank about 17 nautical miles east of Sandy Hook, N.J., after an explosion destroyed the boat’s electronics and GPS. The caller said all passengers had made it on to life rafts.

The Coast Guard deployed two boat crews and four helicopters in Monday’s search. Response units from the New York City Police Department, Fire Department, the New Jersey State Police and the Nassau County Police Department were also on the scene.

Chip East/Reuters

CW3 Troy Loining of the U.S. Coast Guard speaks to journalists outside the gates of the Coast Guard station at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, Monday. The U.S. Coast Guard has found no debris or survivors from a reported explosion aboard Blind Date, a yacht 17.5 miles (28 km) off the New Jersey coast, raising the possibility that the incident could have been a hoax, spokesman Petty Officer Erik Swanson said on Monday.

Additionally, Commander Kenneth Pierro of Coast Guard Sector New York said that more than 200 first responders had assembled at mass casualty stations, and officials said several good Samaritans had assisted authorities in the lengthy search, reported NBCNewYork.com.

But after hours of searching, rescue crews found no sign of any distress in the water, and it became clear there was no explosion.

“We believe it was a hoax,” said Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Troy Loining. “We didn’t find anything.”

Making a false distress call is a felony, with a maximum penalty of five to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and reimbursement to the Coast Guard for the cost of performing the search.

While no official cost estimates have been released, Coast Guard spokesperson Jetta Disco told msnbc.com that the price of covering the Coast Guard’s response in this rescue mission alone will be well over $100,000.

So far, no state or local agencies have received any missing person reports, according to NBCNewYork.com.

The Coast Guard and other state and local agencies responded last year to more than 60 suspected hoax calls in the northern Hudson River region, including one claiming a 33-foot sailboat was sinking, according to the Coast Guard press release. A 10-hour search costing almost $88,000 turned up no boaters, and an investigation was launched. No one has been prosecuted.  

“Sham sinkings, like bomb threats and other hoaxes, needlessly risk the lives of first responders and waste resources dedicated to keeping the public safe from harm," Rebekah Carmichael, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey, told NBCNewYork.com's Jonathan Dienst. "We are working with the Coast Guard and our other law enforcement partners who are looking into this matter, and urge anyone with leads to contact the Coast Guard or the New Jersey FBI immediately.” 

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Updated at 6:49 p.m. ET: Michael McQueary, a former assistant football coach at Penn State University, testified Tuesday that he had "no doubt" that he saw Jerry Sandusky having sex with a young boy in the team's showers.

McQueary, 37 — a key witness in Sandusky's child sexual abuse trial but one whose testimony has been characterized as varying and hard to reconcile — was on the prosecution's witness list but hadn't been expected to testify until Wednesday at the earliest.

Sandusky, 68, the former longtime defensive coordinator at Penn State, denies all 52 counts alleging that he abused 10 boys over 15 years. Two grand jury reports accused him of having used his connection to one of the nation's premier college football programs to "groom" the boys, whom he met through his Second Mile charity for troubled children, for sexual relationships.

McQueary — a graduate assistant coach at the time who later became a full-time staff member — testified that he had returned to the football team's facilities late on a Friday night to retrieve some tapes when he heard "showers running and smacking sounds — very much skin-on-skin smacking sounds."

Legal analysis: Sandusky defense fails to dent McQueary's damning testimony

Full coverage of the Jerry Sandusky trial

McQueary said he could see the shower area through a mirror. As he opened his locker, he said, he saw "Coach Sandusky standing behind a boy who is propped up behind the shower. The shower is running, and he is right up against" the back of the boy, who was propped up against the wall leaning on his hands.

Sandusky's arms were "wrapped around the boy's midsection in the very, very closest proximity that I thought you could be in," McQueary said.

McQueary slammed his locker shut "as loud as I could to make a loud sound," he said. "I made it in an attempt, I think, to say, 'OK, someone's here, break it up please.'"

When he went back to take a second look, "both individuals were separated," he said.

NBC: Former Penn State president could face charges in Sandusky case

Asked by Joseph McGettigan, the deputy state attorney general who is prosecuting the case, whether he believed Sandusky was engaging in anal sex with the boy, McQueary said: "I thought i saw that, yes. No doubt about that."

McQueary's account has been contested because he initially testified at a hearing last year that he believed the incident occurred in March 2002, while prosecutors say it actually occurred on Feb. 9, 2001 — more than a year earlier.

McQueary said Tuesday he may have been mistaken and that "I really do believe it was 2001," as the prosecution contends. Questioned intensely about the discrepancy under cross-examination, he said, "I have no problem saying that I'm not a perfect individual."

McQueary has also been criticized for not having done more to put a stop to Sandusky's alleged abuse. He defended himself on that count Tuesday, saying was shocked and "wasn't thinking 100 percent right."

"I'm used to pressure situations, and I can say that was more than my brain could handle at that time," he said.

McQueary said he told his father that night. The next day, he went to head coach Joe Paterno's home and "made sure Coach Joe knew it was sexual and it was wrong, and there was no doubt about that."

McQueary was blocked from telling the jury what Paterno — who died earlier this year — told him, because it would be hearsay.

Wesley Oliver, a Widener University law professor and legal analyst for NBC News and msnbc.com, said the defense tried to demonstrate in the first two days of testimony that the alleged victims have been coached to implicate Sandusky and have financial motives to make up their accounts.

But "if Mike McQueary saw Sandusky in the shower with a young boy in a compromising position — and the jury will not doubt that he did after Tuesday's testimony — then it seems much less likely that these young men are motivated by greed or prosecutorial influence," Oliver said.

Alleged victim tells of continued abuse
Sandusky's trial entered its second day Tuesday in Bellefonte, Pa., with testimony from the 18-year-old man identified in court papers as "Victim 1." The Central Mountain High School student said Sandusky began repeatedly sexually abusing him when he was in middle school..

Although Sandusky's accusers are being identified by name in court, NBC News and msnbc.com do not identify the victims of sexual assaults.

The young man testified that he stayed overnight at Sandusky's house more than 100 times in 2005 and 2006.

"At first, it was — he would kiss me on the forehead good night, and then it — then it came to him kissing me on the cheek, then rubbing my back, then pulling me on top of him and rubbing my back," the young man said, pausing a couple times to collect himself.

Eventually, the behavior progressed to "back massages, hand down the back of my shorts — the same thing, except this time he, he sat there and looked at me and said something along the lines of 'it's your turn,' and he, he made me, he made me put my mouth on his privates," the man continued, by now crying openly and wiping his face.

That started when he was "close to going onto 13," he said.

Once the young man entered high school, Sandusky — who volunteered as a football coach there — would sometimes have him pulled out class for visits in a school conference room, he said. On one occasion, he alleged, Sandusky even followed his school bus so he could intercept him on the way home to demand an explanation for why the young man was avoiding him.

The experience was so traumatic, he said, that "I acted out. I started wetting the bed. I got into fights with people and stuff I would never normally do."

Jessica Dersham, a case worker with Clinton County Children and Youth Services, testified that in a meeting with Sandusky, who was accompanied by an attorney, the coach "admitted to blowing raspberries on his stomach, laying on him to crack his back" — which the young man said was a wrestler's way to loosen the back muscles — and "rubbing his back."

She said Sandusky couldn't recall whether his hand went under the boy's pants but insisted that he never had any sexual contact or "intent."

The trial, which opened Monday in Centre County Court, is the result of months of breathless coverage that led to the firing of Paterno, a college football legend who won more games than any other major college coach in history. Sandusky, who was at his side for many of those victories, was for many years presumed to be Paterno's heir apparent.

Accuser says Sandusky treated him like 'girlfriend' in graphic encounters

Paterno died in January, a few weeks after the Penn State Board of Trustees dismissed him for not having done enough to stop Sandusky's alleged abuse.

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• Suspected pair of lungs found on LA sidewalk

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LOS ANGELES — Authorities are investigating what appear to be a pair of lungs found on a sidewalk in South Los Angeles.

A woman called to report finding what she believed to be the organs at 8:30 p.m. (11:30 p.m. ET) Sunday in the 13100 block of Avalon Boulevard.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene, and the coroner's office was also called.

Additional testing will determine if the remains are in fact lungs and whether they are human, police said.

Read the original story at NBC33TV.com

Sgt. Robert Dean of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, told the Los Angeles Times: "We don't know what they are. It's really weird."

Ed Winter, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner's office, told the newspaper the possible organs were not attached to a body, and he found the situation "a little strange." He said it was unclear when the examination would be performed.

NBC33 is an affiliate of NBC News.

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MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. -- Residents in Middleborough have voted to make the foul-mouthed among them pay fines for swearing in public.

At a town meeting Monday night, residents voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a $20 fine on public profanity.

Officials insist the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teens and other young people in the downtown area and public parks.

I'm really happy about it," Mimi Duphily, a store owner and former town selectwoman, said after the vote. "I'm sure there's going to be some fallout, but I think what we did was necessary."

The measure could raise questions about First Amendment rights, but state law does allow towns to enforce local laws that give police the power to arrest anyone who "addresses another person with profane or obscene language" in a public place.

Matthew Segal, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot prohibit public speech just because it contains profanity.

The ordinance gives police discretion over whether to ticket someone if they believe the cursing ban has been violated.

Duphily, who runs an auto parts store, is among the downtown merchants who wanted take a stand against the kind of swearing that can make customers uncomfortable.

"They'll sit on the bench and yell back and forth to each other with the foulest language. It's just so inappropriate," she said.

Fined for free speech?
Middleborough, a town of about 20,000 residents perhaps best known for its rich cranberry bogs, has had a bylaw against public profanity since 1968. But because that bylaw essentially makes cursing a crime, it has rarely if ever been enforced, officials said, because it simply would not merit the time and expense to pursue a case through the courts.

The ordinance would decriminalize public profanity, allowing police to write tickets as they would for a traffic violation. It would also decriminalize certain types of disorderly conduct, public drinking and marijuana use, and dumping snow on a roadway.

Segal praised Middleborough for reconsidering its bylaw against public profanity, but said fining people for it isn't much better.

"Police officers who never enforced the bylaw might be tempted to issue these fines, and people might end up getting fined for constitutionally protected speech," he said.

Another local merchant, Robert Saquet, described himself as "ambivalent" about the no-swearing proposal, likening it to try to enforce a ban on the seven dirty words of George Carlin, a nod to a famous sketch by the late comedian.

"In view of words commonly used in movies and cable TV, it's kind of hard to define exactly what is obscene," said Paquet, who owns a downtown furniture store.

But Duphily said, "I don't care what you do in private. It's in public what bothers me."

The Boston Globe reported that Middleborough voters also approved a $50 fine for littering; a $50 fine for shoveling snow into the street; and a $300 fine for smoking marijuana in public.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The leader of a religious group accused of killing a woman and a 4-year-old boy pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in a Durham courtroom Monday, NBCRaleigh.com reported.

With his guilty plea, Peter Moses Jr., 28, will avoid the death penalty. The victims, Antoninetta McKoy, 28, and 4-year-old Jadon Higganbothan, lived with Moses and his religious group, the Black Hebrews, NBCRaleigh.com reported. The victims were not related.

The group believes they are directly descended from the ancient tribes of Israel, according to NBCRaleigh.com

Moses said he believed the Higganbothan was gay like his father, and that it was unacceptable to his religious beliefs, the station reported. The victims' bodies were discovered by a plumber in June 2011 in the back yard of Moses' mother's home after being reported missing in February.

Prosecutors said Moses shot Higganbothan in a garage in front of his mother. Officials believe McKoy was killed because she tried to escape the religious group and feared she would tell police about the murder, ABCRaleigh.com reported.

Read the original report from NBCRaleigh.com

When McKoy tried to escape, Moses instructed the other women in the group to shoot her after they beat her for hours, ABCRaleigh.com reported.

In addition to Moses, six others were indicted in the killings. They have not yet entered pleas.

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The accused founder and operator of a hardcore child porn distribution site was charged in a New Jersey court Monday on 32 counts of child exploitation, money laundering and related offenses after being extradited from Thailand, prosecutors announced.

Ukrainian citizen Maksym Shynkarenko, 33, was arrested in Thailand in 2009 for the material distributed internationally through an array of web sites which featured photographs and videos of children being sexually assaulted and abused.

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The extradition process was completed and he was moved to the United States over the weekend, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced in a statement on Monday.

"As the latest step in an investigation that has resulted in the convictions of more than 560 offenders from 47 states, Shynkarenko’s extradition from Thailand to a New Jersey courtroom is a milestone in one of our most important fights – keeping our children safe from harm," the statement said.

According to the indictment, a variety of web sites run by Shynkarenki, under names such as Illegal.cp, Hottest Child Porn Garden, Sick Child Room, Hualuma, and Real Child Porno offered  subscribers access to thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of boys and girls ranging from infants to teenagers.

According to the attorney general's statement the initial page of  the site called Illegal.cp offered subscribers this advice: Upon accessing the "Illegal.CP" website, the initial: "Our site is considered to be illegal in all countries.... Even if you ever have problems with police, you can always say that someone had stolen the information from your credit card and used it. It is very difficult to establish that you were the person to pay."

Month-long ICE crackdown nets 190 child porn suspects; 18 victims rescued

From as early as December 2003 through July 2008, Shynkarenko and co-conspirators earned hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling access to child pornography, the court document said.

The indictment alleges that Shynkarenko and co-conspirators developed elaborate systems to appear as legal merchants and conceal their identity from credit card companies and law enforcement, and then deposited their earnings in banks around the world, including New Jersey, Latvia, Estonia, and the Ukraine.

The investigation, which started in 2005, was a joint effort of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and Homeland Security Investigation unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Attorney General Fishman.

It said that if convicted, Shynkarenko faces a statutory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years on each of 15 counts of transportation and shipment of child pornography, and additional penalties on the other charges.

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The English teacher behind a viral video defended his speech to Wellesley High School seniors, saying it was not meant to belittle students, but to exhort the Class of 2012 to pursue distinctive lives.

"These kids were headed out the door, we were about to release them into the wild, and I wanted to give them something that they would bring with them and might prove helpful," David McCullough Jr. told NBC’s Nightly News on Monday. "It's also what I've been saying for 26 years in the classroom, so there was essentially nothing new in my message."

McCullough, who readily admits he doesn't have a Facebook account, said he wasn’t ready for worldwide reaction after a video of his unusual speech went viral last week.

The educator also called the graduating students "pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble wrapped... nudged, cajoled ... feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie." 

'You are not special,' English teacher tells graduating Mass. students

McCullough rattled off statistics, saying numbers were stacking up against the graduating class. He said half of the class would be divorced and life wasn’t going to revolve around their every whim.

He told NBC News it was important for teens to embrace failure rather than always striving to avoid it. Creativity, he added, should be for the good of others because "selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself."

"I really was speaking just to those 400 something kids, and I, perhaps naively, had no idea that the entire electronic world was eavesdropping, and that's part of what has been so startling to me about the reaction," he told NBC.

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Violent crime rates in the U.S. are reaching historic lows, according to new FBI data released Monday.

Instances of murder declined overall by 1.9 percent from 2010 figures, while rape, robbery and aggravated assault declined by 4 percent nationwide, according to records from more than 14,000 law-enforcement agencies around the country, FBI spokesman Bill Carter told msnbc.com.

The number of property crimes also registered a 0.8-percent drop, motor-vehicle thefts declined by 3.3 percent, and arson was down by 5 percent.

Although the findings, released in the FBI’s Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, represent a seemingly small decline in crime overall, they aren’t just a blip. Rather, criminologists say, the decline is part of larger downward trend and the result of a series of changes that have contributed to a more peaceful society.

“This is actually a pretty significant drop, which is fascinating because we’d normally expect crime to go up when we’re in an economic downturn,” Gary LaFree, a criminology professor at the University of Maryland, told msnbc.com, adding that the U.S. is experiencing the lowest crime levels since World War II.

According to FBI analysis, the homicide drop would mean that nearly 280 fewer Americans were murdered last year, which would be the lowest homicide death toll since the mid-1950s.

LaFree said a combination of factors – from a weak economy and an aging population to increased immigration and a more robust police presence across the country – have contributed to the drop.

“One of the responses of society is to pull together when there’s a huge crisis and a feeling of great difficulty,” LaFree said, adding that the economic climate may have contributed to this peaceful trend.

Additionally, with the current U.S. median age at 37.2 years, older than ever before, the aging population is another possible cause, LaFree said. “There is some truth to the fact that younger people commit more crimes,” he said.

“We also have a record number of immigrants, and contrary to popular belief,” LaFree said, “immigrants have lower crime rates than the rest of society.”

But some argue the data may not signify such remarkable changes.

“Year-to-year changes are notoriously volatile, especially for lesser-volume crimes like murder,” James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston, wrote in his blog. “They must be viewed with caution, avoiding the temptation to make too much out of rather little.”

Fox said it’s possible the long-term downturn in crime has slowed and even bottomed out.

Still, LaFree argued there’s a reason the numbers indicate what they do.

“Compared to years ago, “There’s nothing that’s ripping apart the fabric of society in a political sense,” LaFree said.

The mass protests during the Vietnam War and the beginnings of crack cocaine epidemic contributed to more violent crimes in the past, LaFree said. He said he thinks there are fewer problems as extreme as either of those in society today.  

As for the serious crimes that do occur, there exists a strong deterrence factor in the prison system, despite debates about its effectiveness, he said.

But more importantly, LaFree said, there has been a “quiet revolution” in law-enforcement policy over the past few years.

“Police departments have become much more proactive across the country,” Lafree said. “They used to deploy resources to handle crime, but now they’re much more likely to target problems beforehand and emphasize a solution.”

Fox, however, warned against resting on news that could be seen as too positive.

“With rates relatively low, this is not the time to diminish crime fighting-efforts,” he said. “If we naively presume that the crime problem has been solved (as opposed to just controlled for the time being), the crime rate could easily rebound.”

The FBI's final crime figures will be released this fall.

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Dave Martin / AP

Law enforcement officials use a body sensing device to search a home in Montgomery, Ala., Monday, June 11, 2012. Authorities searching for the man charged with fatally shooting three people near Auburn University swarmed the house Monday where they believe he's hiding, firing tear gas and sending a tactical team on cautious forays inside.

Updated at 5:30 a.m. ET: Authorities in Montgomery left a home early Tuesday where they believed the man charged with fatally shooting three people near Auburn University might have been hiding.

Law enforcement swarmed the scene Monday afternoon and spent hours firing tear gas, using thermal imaging and sending tactical teams on forays inside the house as they searched for Desmonte Leonard. They hadn't brought anyone out of the home by the time they held a briefing just after midnight.

And around 2:25 a.m. (3:25 a.m. ET) Tuesday, an Associated Press photographer on the scene saw all law enforcement agents that had been there leave without comment. It wasn't immediately clear why they left. There was no activity around the house. 

Leonard is charged with three counts of capital murder in a shooting Saturday night during a pool party at University Heights apartments. He's also accused of wounding three others. The dead included two former Auburn football players. 

Earlier the tactical team searched the lower portions of the house and made deliberate moves into the attic where Leonard was believed to be hiding, Montgomery Public Safety Director Chris Murphy told the AP. The attic is cramped, complicating investigators' efforts.

Montgomery Police Sgt. Regina Duckett said coughing and movement was heard inside.

"We are having to slowly put our people up there and do an inch-by-inch search," Murphy said during a briefing several hours after police surrounded the house.

Police had hoped to flush out the person with tear gas and verbal commands, but sent in the tactical team after getting no response.

"This is a pretty driven person. He's got nothing to lose," Murphy said. "You cannot rush it."

Murphy said investigators believe he's likely covered in insulation and suffering effects from the tear gas.

Dave Martin / AP

Police officers with automatic weapons stand outside a home in Montgomery, Ala. on Monday. They believe the man suspected in the Auburn shootings entered the home.

"He's got to be in a lot of pain," he said.

On Monday, police received two 911 calls that Leonard had entered the house but did not have "unequivocal confirmation," said Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange.

"Whoever is in there doesn't want to come out," Strange said.

'Massacre for no reason'
Police have arrested two men in connection with the shooting: Jeremy Thomas, 18, is being questioned for hindering prosecution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, and Gabriel Thomas, 41, was arrested late Sunday for allegedly providing false information to police.

Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said nine police agencies are involved in the search for Leonard.

The shooting occurred before midnight on Saturday at the University Heights apartments, a large complex near campus favored by Auburn University's students and athletes.

Leonard is suspected of pulling a gun after a fight broke out, shooting six, Dawson said at a news conference on Sunday. He apparently fled in a white Chevrolet Caprice, which he later ditched.

Todd J. Van Emst / Auburn University via AP file

Edward Christian, 20, left, an Auburn University student and former football player, was fatally shot at a pool party about two miles from the university on Saturday night. Eric Mack, 20, center, was treated and released; Ladarious Phillips, 20, a student and former offensive fullback for the football team, was also killed.

Montgomery police had previously arrested Leonard in 2008 for carrying a gun without a license, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.

When police arrived at the scene, Edward Christian, 20, was found dead on the sidewalk. Christian was a student and former offensive lineman for the Auburn Tigers football team.

Ladarious Phillips and DeMario Pitts, both 20, were transported to the hospital, where they later died. Phillips was a student and former backup fullback who gave up football in April, according to his coach. Pitts lived in Auburn.

Turquorius Vines, who was at the party, told the Journal-Constitution the fight erupted because of a girl.

The night, he said, "went from us chilling with all these females to a massacre for no reason at all. It happened so quick, in about a second."

For Vines, the shooting has left him reeling.

"It's like I lost a lung," he said. "I don't know how I'm going to survive this."

Among the wounded, John Robertson, 20, remained in critical condition on Monday after being shot in the head. Xavier Moss, 19, was released from the hospital after the shooting. Eric Mack, 20, an offensive lineman who was shot in the buttocks, was released late Sunday afternoon.

Mack is a junior offensive lineman from St. Matthews, S.C. He played in five games last season. Coach Gene Chizik said on Sunday that Mack was expected to make a full recovery.

Police Chief Tommy Dawson said he believed the shooting was "a fight that obviously got out of hand."

The shooting has shaken Auburn, a city of 53,000 that revolves around the football team. The Auburn Tigers have won two national championships, most recently in 2011 against the University of Oregon. Cam Newton, a quarterback, won the coveted Heisman Trophy that year.   

The Associated Press and msnbc.com's Isolde Raftery, Mark Stevenson and Marian Smith contributed to this report.

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The contentious issue of whether to allow pickup trucks to be parked overnight on city streets and private driveways in Coral Gables, Fla., will likely be decided by voters in November. 

City commissioners in Coral Gables have tentatively agreed to place of the referendum on the ballot, The Miami Herald reported. They will meet next month to hash out the final language for a vote in November.

The city ordinance, which has been around since 1960, prohibits trucks, trailers, commercial vehicles and recreational vehicles from parking on city streets or other public places from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. The law, when it was first conceived, was intended for commercial trucks and to preserve the affluent city's character and aesthetics.

The city's Planning and Zoning Board had recommended several changes in the ordinance to the commission, such as allowing noncommercial pickups to park in private driveways as long as the bed is covered and the truck is backed in. Parking on city streets would still be prohibited. 

The commission voted last week to let the public decide. 

"This law has been misunderstood since it came on the books," commission member Maria Anderson told msnbc.com. "We allow Hummers and dilapidated vehicles, but not trucks."

If noncommercial trucks are allowed to park in driveways, another issue would be to define which pickups are considered commercial and which ones are not.

"A Ford F-150 is obviously a noncommercial vehicle," commission member Frank C. Quesada told msnbc.com. "We just don't want the large, overbearing monster trucks."

The law has had its share of detractors. In 2003 Lowell Kuvin sued the city after he was cited for parking his Ford F-150 on a residential street. The law was upheld in 2011 when the Florida Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

Commission member Rafael Cabrera Jr., who favors the ordinance, said the changes recommended by the city zoning board were not good modifications and would harm the city's appearance. 

"It's totally aesthetic," Cabrera told msnbc.com. "We're known for our strict zoning laws. People forget that you can put it (a pickup truck) away in your garage."

Residents on both sides want the commission to vote on the issue instead of placing it on a ballot, but so far the commissioners haven't been able to come to an agreement. 

"I believe the public process has been had. There's been ample opportunity for the public to weigh in," Anderson said. "This is just a way of passing the buck."

Ari Victoriano collected more than 2,000 signatures to get the ordinance changed. She said she was upset with Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason for pushing for a referendum.

“I’m perplexed and confused,” she told The Herald. “For a whole year they shepherded us and counseled us and told us what we needed to do, and we did everything and he bailed on us. It’s all political. It came down to fear, no courage.” 

Quesada, who supports changes in the ordinance, said that it keeps the city's character intact.

"It's a community standards issue," he said. "People move to Coral Gables because they love the character, they love the aesthetics." 

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