• MSN
  • Hotmail
  • More
    • Autos
    • My MSN
    • Video
    • Careers & Jobs
    • Personals
    • Weather
    • Delish
    • Quotes
    • White Pages
    • Games
    • Real Estate
    • Wonderwall
    • Horoscopes
    • Shopping
    • Yellow Pages
    • Local Edition
    • Traffic
    • Feedback
    • Maps & Directions
    • Travel
    • Full MSN Index
  • Bing
  • NBCNews.com
  • TODAY
  • Nightly News
  • Rock Center
  • Meet the Press
  • Dateline
  • msnbc
  • Breaking News
  • Newsvine
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Travel
  • Local
  • Weather
Advertise | AdChoices
  • Recommended: More rough weather blanketed country on Tuesday
  • Recommended: Search and rescue winds down a day after deadly Oklahoma tornado
  • Recommended: What you're seeing: Videos, images from the ground
  • Recommended: Army general suspended from duties amid adultery investigation

NBC News reporters bring you compelling stories from across the nation. For more US news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

  • ↓ About this blog
  • ↓ Archives
    • Icons Email E-mail updates
    • Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter
    • Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS
  • 23
    Apr
    2013
    6:46am, EDT

    Teacher on FBI 10 Most Wanted list held in Nicaragua over child porn

    View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

    By Pat Collins and Matthew Stabley, NBCWashington.com

    One of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted fugitives -- Eric Justin Toth, a former D.C. teacher accused of producing and possessing child pornography -- was detained by police in Nicaragua, sources said.

    Toth was found over the weekend. He had rented a room in a small town near Managua, was using an assumed name and had a fake passport.

    Nicaraguan National Police Chief Aminta Granera said he would be deported immediately because he was in the country illegally, the Associated Press reported.

    Toth taught third grade at Beauvoir Elementary School on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral.

    On June 12, 2008, Beauvoir sent a letter to parents saying that a teacher was found in possession of a school-owned camera with inappropriate pictures of a boy. Sources said that pictures of at least three other boys being touched in inappropriate ways were on a thumb drive.

    At least one of the boys photographed is believed to be a Beauvoir student. According to police, Toth secretly recorded video of a young boy in a school bathroom.

    Read more stories at NBCWashington.com

    Toth was terminated and escorted off campus and has not been seen in the D.C. area since that day. When he went on the run, he changed his name and his look, authorities said.

    Beauvoir released the following statement:

    "We were informed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Department of Justice) that former teacher Eric Toth has been arrested.

    We commend the work of the Office of the U.S. Attorney and the FBI for their ongoing efforts to apprehend Mr. Toth. They have been tenacious and resolute in their quest to bring this case to justice."

    FBI agents tracked Toth to his parents’ home in Madison, Wis. Then in August 2008, his car was found in a parking garage at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

    A note in the car indicated that Toth was contemplating suicide and that his body would be found in a nearby lake, sources said. But investigators believed that was a ruse, police said, and no body was found.

    Toth was indicted on child pornography charges in December 2008.

    In June 2009, agents received a tip Toth was living and working at a homeless shelter in Phoenix. But when they got there, he was gone.

    He is also believed to have traveled to Virginia, Illinois and Indiana.

    Toth first entered Nicaragua on Oct. 24 and left Jan. 27, Granera said. He returned on Feb. 12 and that's when Nicaraguan police began keeping a close watch, the AP reported.

    Granera said he resisted arrest.

    Toth has been described as a computer “expert” and is believed to have an above-average understanding of the Internet and Internet security. According to the FBI, he has the ability to blend in to various socio-economic classes.

    Toth worked at Beauvoir for three years. He was known to tutor and babysit Beauvoir students, sources said. He also allegedly spent nights in the homes of young boys.

    During their search, the FBI warned Toth could try to get a job as a tutor both for money and for new victims.

    The FBI said it put Toth on the Ten Most Wanted list in April 2012 because there were no reliable clues as to his whereabouts and because his Internet skills and alleged penchant for grooming children made him especially dangerous.

    Toth is originally from Hammond, Ind., and is a graduate of Purdue University.

    Related:

    Dad denies using daughter in child-porn extortion plot after professor's suicide

    Priest jailed for 8 years after 5,000 child porn images found in church office

    Viewing child porn on the Web 'legal' in New York, state appeals court finds

    309 comments

    Nicaraguan National Police Chief Aminta Granera said he would be deported immediately because he was in the country illegally, the Associated Press reported Take note D.C. thats the way its said and done.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: fbi, nicaragua, us-news, child-porn, featured, crime-courts, eric-toth, nbcwashington, most-wanrted
  • 23
    Apr
    2013
    6:23am, EDT

    Shoplifter stuffed 102 bottles of nail polish into sweatshirt and pants, cops say

    By Ari Mason, NBCConnecticut.com

    A suspected shoplifter was arrested after trying to steal more than 100 bottles of nail polish from a local CVS, police said.

    Marco Gonzalez, 42, entered the store in Middletown, Conn., on Thursday night and stuffed 102 bottles of nail polish into his sweatshirt and pants, police said.

    Police confronted him around 9 p.m. at the CVS on Washington Street.

    The nail polish bottles, made by Essie and Sally Hansen, cost $8.49 each. Altogether the nail polish totaled $865.98.

    More news from NBCConnecticut.com

    Gonzalez admitted that he was not planning to pay for the nail polish, police said.

    Gonzalez was transported to police headquarters, where he was charged with 5th-degree larceny. He was released on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court May 1.

    A CVS senior loss prevention officer said the store plans to press charges.

    82 comments

    Glad they nailed him.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: connecticut, theft, cvs, us-news, store, featured, shoplifter, nail-polish, crime-courts, nbcconnecticut
  • Updated
    22
    Apr
    2013
    11:25am, EDT

    5 killed, 13 hurt after SUV rolls over near Tucson

    KVOA

    Five people were killed late Saturday when an SUV crashed near Tucson, Arizona.

    By Peter Jeary, Senior Foreign Desk Editor, NBC News

    Five people were killed - including a young boy - and 13 injured late Saturday when an SUV rolled over southeast of Tucson, authorities said.

    Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said preliminary investigations suggested 18 people were traveling inside the Chevrolet Tahoe at the time of the accident at Interstate 10 and Arizona State Route 83.

    "Preliminary reports indicate that the driver of the Tahoe lost control on the exit ramp and rolled the vehicle resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries," according to a Customs and Border Protection statement.

    The fatalities included a young boy, NBC station KVOA reported.

    "You could see vehicle parts all over," Rincon Valley Fire District Assistant Chief Lee Bucklin told KVOA. "There were people thrown all over the place."

    Citing a statement from Customs and Border Protection, KVOA said Border Patrol agents had tried to stop the vehicle on westbound Interstate 10 around 11 p.m. local time on Saturday but the vehicle had kept going.

    This story was originally published on Mon Apr 22, 2013 5:57 AM EDT

    726 comments

    Not sure why this is national news, happens regularly in AZ, probably a couple times a month. Its a shame when they bring their kids, though. At least they didn't crash into anyone else, this time.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: arizona, crash, border-patrol, us-news, tucson, featured, updated, kvoa
  • 20
    Apr
    2013
    4:10pm, EDT

    Infrared police chopper images show Boston Marathon suspect hiding in boat

    Updated with video:

    The Massachusetts State Police has released this video showing aerial footage of the boat where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lay hidden during last night's standoff with police.

    Massachusetts State Police

    Massachusetts State Police

    Above: Infrared images released by the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing appear to show Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Friday, April 19, hiding in a Watertown, Mass., resident's boat in the resident's backyard. Below: A police vehicle uses a boom to inspect the boat.

    Related story: Secret weapon? How thermal imaging helped catch bomb suspect

    Massachusetts State Police

    Massachusetts State Police

    Slideshow: Search for suspects in Boston Marathon bombings

    Jared Wickerham / Getty Images

    Cheers filled the streets after a Boston Marathon bombing suspect was captured alive but wounded Friday night — following a daylong manhunt that shut down the city.

    Launch slideshow

     

    308 comments

    I hope wannabe terrorists get the message that U.S. citizens and law enforcement have the will, the way, the brains, and the balls to fight terrorism. This attack will be traced to its roots, no matter how shallow or deep they are.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: boston, us-news, massachusetts, boston-marathon, dzhokhar-tsarnaev
  • Updated
    18
    Apr
    2013
    11:30pm, EDT

    State of emergency in Illinois deadly storms rock Midwest

    Much of the Midwest has been affected by a big spring storm that left flooding in Illinois. Residents in Gurnee, Ill., said it's the worst flooding they've seen in a decade and officials are warning it could be a week or two before flood levels significantly drop.  NBC's John Yang report.

    By Jeff Black and Alastair Jamieson, NBC News

    A massive and deadly weather system carrying potentially severe thunderstorms, damaging winds and possibly even tornadoes was soaking the nation’s midsection on Thursday, with flash floods reported in Chicago and heavy rain expected to cause major flooding along the Mississippi River.

    The weather was said to be responsible for two deaths.

    Minnesota State Police say 16-year-old Jonathon Pohlen of Houlton, Wis., was killed Thursday afternoon when he lost control on snowy Interstate 94 in eastern Minnesota, crossed over the median and collided with a truck's trailer.

    The National Weather Service in Chanhassen says the storm could dump up to a foot of snow in northeastern Minnesota by Friday.

    Meanwhile, flash floods are being blamed for the death of an 80-year-old motorist south of St. Louis.

    Police in De Soto say the woman's car was swept Thursday off Highway E into Joachim Creek.

    And flooding in the Chicago area — with more than 4 inches of rain reported — closed major expressways and led the evacuations of residents stuck in flooded homes, apartments and a hospital.

    /

    Firefighter Jason Kelley and police officer Shannon Vandenheuvel carry children from Barbara Jones' partially submerged car in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday.

    The deluge caused a water main break on Chicago's South Side and the gushing water opened up a sinkhole that swallowed three cars.

    Parts of the Edens and Eisenhower expressways in Lake County, Ill., were closed in both directions at one point during the day, NBCChicago.com reported.  

    Gov. Pat Quinn declared a state of emergency across Illinois as thousands of people struggled with flood damage even as another wave of wet weather was on the way.

    Quinn said a hospital in Morris, Ill., had to be evacuated and two trailer parks severely flooded. Residents living in The Towers at Four Lakes, a large apartment complex in a suburban area west of Chicago, were rescued from their flooded homes by boat, the DuPage County Sheriff's office said.

    NewsNation's Tamron Hall reports on the massive storm which called flash flooding in Chicago.

    Ajay Jha his wife Alo and daughter Aditi had to be evacuated through an open window of their home in Lisle by boat after a branch of the DuPage River overflowed.

    "We lost everything" Ajay told the Chicago Tribune. “You can’t stop mother nature. We’re just happy we are safe.”

    Illinois' governor warned people of the hazards of travel.

    "Heavy rainfall over the past few days has created dangerous flooding in areas across the state," Quinn said, NBCChicago.com reported. "Everyone should stay home and off the roads if possible. To ensure safety as these storms continue, people should be alert and avoid flooded areas."

    Residents were told to tune in to local TV and radio stations for updated information about any closed roadways or evacuations.

    Heavy rain caused a sinkhole in Chicago that swallowed three cars. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    More than 500 flights were canceled at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport due to the extreme weather, and some trains were delayed. Air travelers were urged to check airline websites or call to confirm whether flights were still planned.

    In Midland, Mich., Northwood University canceled classes for the rest of the week because of flooding problems, NBC station WDIV reported.

    The Weather Channel's Greg Forbes, a severe weather expert, categorized the storm as a “major/massive flood event” for the Midwest.

    Flood watches and warnings were posted on Thursday stretching from northeastern Oklahoma to much of Missouri, northern and central Illinois, southern and central Wisconsin, and parts of Lower Michigan, Weather.com said.

    Flood warnings were issued in some cases for areas already swamped by melting snow.


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    Seventeen gauges placed along the Mississippi River to monitor the rising water already showed major flooding, Forbes said, and the water was predicted to rise in the next 24 hours in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan.

    Indeed, the band of predicted extreme weather stretched from northern Michigan to Houston and the Texas coastal area.

    States along the Eastern Seaboard were set for heavy rain on Friday, Weather.com reported. The tornado risk, however, was expected to diminish as the storm moved east. Still, heavy rain was likely in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area as well as the Atlantic Coast.

    A forecast issued late Wednesday by the National Weather Service showed a 40 percent chance that the Red River will top the 2009 record of just under 41 feet.

    Fargo City Administrator Pat Zavoral said he's confident the area will be protected. He said a forecast closer to 44 feet would have made things "a little dicey."

    The Associated Press contributed to this story

    Related:

    Wild spring weather snarls parts of country

    This story was originally published on Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:31 PM EDT

    163 comments

    Flood warnings are in effect across several Midwestern states through Thursday night after a severe weather system brought storms and torrential rain, in some cases battering areas already swamped by melting snow.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: weather, flood, rain, storms, tornadoes, us-news, featured, severe-weather, updated
  • Updated
    19
    Apr
    2013
    8:36am, EDT

    'Our hearts are broken': Texas town grieves in wake of devastating blast

    Authorities in the small community of West, Texas, which was stunned by a massive explosion in a fertilizer plant on Wednesday, are searching for survivors and clues about what caused the blast, believed to be an accident.

    By M. Alex Johnson, John Newland and Tracy Connor, NBC News
    Searches resumed at a fertilizer plant early Friday after residents of the Texas town devastated by an explosion gathered to mourn their community's losses.

    A non-denominational service was held at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church on Thursday night. The Rev. Ed Karasek said that the town "will never be the same, but we will persevere."

    He added: "Our hearts are hurting, our hearts are broken."

    Officials have said as many as 15 people may have died and more than 160 others were injured in the blast, which occurred just before 8 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) Wednesday in the farming town of West a few miles north of Waco.

    "The area around the site is just total devastation," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said at a news conference Thursday night. He said an apartment complex that was flattened "looks like it was a bombing site of an explosion the kind that you see in Baghdad."

    Police initially said between five and 15 people may have been killed, and Mayor Tommy Muska, a member of the town's Fire Department, told NBC News that he feared those numbers could double. But state officials said it was too soon to say how many had died.

    View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

    Despite the lack of official confirmation, The Associated Press reported that the names of the dead were becoming known in the town of 2,800.

    "Word gets around quick in a small town," said local resident Brenda Covey, 46. 

    Earlier, Sgt. Jason Reyes of the Texas Department of Public Safety said he could confirm that "we do have fatalities," but he refused to give any numbers.

    "You've got to understand, we are still in a search-and-rescue mode right now," he said.

    Tommy Muska, a volunteer firefighter and the mayor of West, Texas, which was rocked by an explosion at a fertilizer plant on Wednesday, talks about the search for survivors and how the town will move forward.

    Matt Cawthon, chief deputy sheriff of McLennan County, said Thursday afternoon that the presence of dangerous chemicals at West Fertilizer Co., including ammonium nitrate, was significantly slowing the investigation.

    Agents from the state Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were combing the scene "to determine just how dangerous it is for our first responders," he said.

    The cause of the fire and explosion remained undetermined, but there was no indication of criminal activity, Waco police Sgt. William Patrick Swanton said. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was sending the same National Response Team that worked this week's explosion at the Boston Marathon to lead the Texas investigation. 

    "We do not know the number of any fatalities. We do not know where the fire started. We do not know the cause," Assistant State Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner said.

    Dozens of homes wrecked
    The blast, which shook the ground with the force of a magnitude-2.1 earthquake, all but obliterated a five- to six-block radius around the plant, where two massive tanks held highly pressurized anhydrous ammonia. It wrecked about 50 to 75 homes and a middle school. A 50-unit apartment complex had its walls torn off and its roof peeled back.

    Slideshow: Fertilizer plant explosion in Texas

    Rod Aydelotte / AP

    The huge blast rocked a small Texas town Wednesday, April 16, killing at least five people and destroying nearby homes.

    Launch slideshow

    "It just sucked you in and just threw you to the ground," resident Crystal Jerigan told TODAY, describing how she grabbed her two daughters out of a car and dived through the front door of their house.

    "It was very difficult coming into work knowing my family may be coming into the hospital," Melissa James, a social worker at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, said Thursday. Her relatives suffered only minor injuries.

    The blast could be felt for miles.

    Sammy Chavez of West, who ran to the West Rest Haven nursing home despite being injured, told NBC 5 of Dallas that he found a surreal scene.

    "I just saw the explosion, and then after that I took off running, and then I saw the West home, and people you know were buried under the West home. The West home was gone," Chavez said. "It was gone. The school's gone. The apartments are gone. It's horrible."

    Mariah Garcia/photo via NBCDFW.com

    Smoke rises from the scene of a fertilizer plant explosion near Waco, Texas, on Wednesday, April 17..

    Derrick Hurtt was in his truck, recording the fire from about 300 yards, when the flames erupted with a blinding flash, followed by a towering pillar of smoke.

    He caught the explosion on his camera, along with the panicked screams of his daughter Khloey, who begged him to drive away.

    "I'm pretty sure it lifted the truck off the ground. It just blew me over on top of her," Hurtt said on TODAY. "It all happened so quick that things kind of went black for a moment."

    'It is devastated'
    West has only about 2,700 residents, but the affected area is a densely populated neighborhood, and "it is devastated," Cawthon said.

    But while the toll is "immense," said Abbott, the attorney general, "the other thing we clearly saw in touring around West is the clear sign of hope. You can see hope in the eyes of the rescue workers. ... You can see already the beginnings of the community working to piece itself back together."

    State officials said the plant had been at the site since 1962. Its state authorization lapsed at some point, but after a 2006 complaint about a smell of ammonia in the air, it came back into compliance, and there have been no more issues.

    Satellite view showing the location of West Fertilizer Co. in West, Texas.

    Police said that soon after the blast there was one possible report of a looting incident but that it was "not rampant," and no one was being allowed into the search area.

    There were also reports of price gouging, said Abbott, who promised that profiteers "will be facing a lawsuit by the Texas attorney general."

    In a statement, President Barack Obama thanked first responders, pledged support and offered prayers.

    "A tight-knit community has been shaken, and good, hard-working people have lost their lives," Obama said.

    Michelle Acevedo, Gabe Gutierrez, Edgar Zuniga Jr. and Matthew DeLuca of NBC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Related:

    Texas fertilizer plant also stored explosive chemical used in Oklahoma City bomb

    Mayor of Texas town rocked by explosion: 'We're going to fight back'

    'The whole street is gone': Bloodied eyewitnesses describe Texas explosion horror

    West Fertilizer had few violations, was pillar of community

    Texas fertilizer tragedy: How to help

    This story was originally published on Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:56 PM EDT

    2224 comments

    Hope all are well!

    Show more
    Explore related topics: texas, fire, explosion, us-news, breaking-news, featured, waco, fertilizer, updated
  • 18
    Apr
    2013
    10:42am, EDT

    Sinkhole swallows three cars on Chicago's South Side

    Courtesy of Nancy Loo / WGN

    A sinkhole in Chicago at 96th and Houston.

    By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

    A driver was hospitalized Thursday after a large sinkhole opened up in the middle of the street and swallowed three cars on Chicago's South Side, police said.

    One man was hospitalized as the road collapsed beneath him. Heavy rainfall forced road closures around Chicago.

    The injured man was driving when the road buckled and caved in at 9600 South Houston Avenue near the Chicago Skyway, Chicago Police Department spokesman Mike Sullivan told NBCChicago.com.

    He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Sullivan said.

    Two cars were inside the hole when fire crews arrived. A third car, which was parked, slid into the hole after first responders got to the scene, NBCChicago.com reported.

    The sinkhole is the result of a water main that broke in the area and is gushing water, Tom LaPorte, a spokesman for the Water Department, told the Chicago Tribune.

    LaPorte said intense rain could have aggravated the cast iron water main that dates back to 1915.

    Slideshow: Striking sinkholes: Earth opens up

    Luis Echeverria / AP

    A look at some of the most amazing sinkholes around the world.

    Launch slideshow

    Related: 

    Massive sinkhole swallows Florida man

    New video shows inside of deadly sinkhole

    Wild spring weather snarls parts of country

     

    197 comments

    Now if only the ground would open up and swallow some of Chicago's gun-toting gang-bangers!

    Show more
    Explore related topics: weather, chicago, storms, us-news, featured, motoring, sinkhole
  • Updated
    18
    Apr
    2013
    9:42am, EDT

    'The whole street is gone': Bloodied eyewitnesses describe Texas explosion horror

    A survivor of the West, Texas plant explosion describes the blast and what he saw and experienced as he escaped the area.

    By Alastair Jamieson and Matthew DeLuca NBC News

    Shocked and bloodied eyewitnesses in the small Texas town of West described the overwhelming power of a Texas fertilizer plant explosion that killed between 5 and 15 people, injured scores more and caused extensive damage to dozens of local homes, a nursing home, and a middle school.

    “The school’s gone, the apartments are gone,” resident Sammy Chavez, wearing a blood-soaked t-shirt, told reporters. He was sitting in his truck watching the fire when the sudden, ear-shattering blast sent shards of glass spinning through the air. “It’s just horrible.”

    Other residents of the town of 2,700 ran from their homes after the blast filled the sky with a massive fireball around 8 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

    Crystal Jerigan rushed outside her home about 15 blocks from the blazing West Fertilizer Company plant after hearing the sirens of emergency responders. She was in the driveway with her two daughters preparing to flee when the plant exploded.

    “About the time that I got to the car, you could hear the boom and within seconds, it just sucked you in and just threw you to the ground,” Jerigan told TODAY.

    Crystal Ledane shares the dramatic story and her concern for neighbors after her home was damaged by fertilizer plant explosion.

    Another local resident, Derrick Hurtt, who was sitting in his truck with his daughter Khloey taping the burning plant, caught the moment of the blast on camera. He estimated he was at least 300 yards from the plant, but that was still too close.

    In his video, Hurtt can be heard asking his daughter if she is OK.

    “Please get out of here, please get out of here, dad please get out of here,” the young girl can be heard saying. “I can’t hear anything.”

    “I’m pretty sure it lifted the truck off the ground,” Hurtt said on TODAY. “It just blew me over on top of her. It all happened so quick that things just kind of went black for a moment.”

    Another bloodied, shaken resident, identified as local EMS doctor George Smith, told reporters: “There was just a major, major explosion. The windows came in on me, the roof came in on me, the ceiling came in. We lost all communication when the power went out.”

    “The whole street is gone,” he added.

    Even standing several blocks from the plant, residents said they were knocked back by the terrific shock that radiated from the plant explosion.

    “A nearby nursing home is really bad, there’s an apartment complex and the school that caught fire,” Crystal Anthony, who serves on the town’s school board of trustees, told the Waco Tribune-Herald. “We’ve been moving patients out of the nursing home and taking them to the football field and gymnastics building on Davis Street.”

    Other residents speculated about the cause of the explosion that wiped out homes and killed friends in the town about 20 miles north of Waco.

    “It was a small fire and then water got sprayed on the ammonium nitrate, and it exploded just like the Oklahoma City bomb,” local hotel clerk Jason Shelton told the Dallas Morning News. “I live about a thousand feet from it and it blew my screen door off and my back windows. There’s houses leveled that were right next to it.”

    “That whole side of town looks like a disaster,” Bill Manolakis told the paper. “Who in their right mind sticks a damn plant next to houses?”

    Bill Bohannan was visiting his parents in one of the houses near the plant, and witnessed the devastating explosion.

    “I said, ‘This thing is going to blow,’” as he hurried his parents into the car, Bohannan told the Waco Tribune-Herald. “I was standing next to my car with my fiancée, waiting for my parents to come out and [the plant] exploded. It knocked us into the car.”

    “Every house within about four blocks is blown apart,” Bohannan said.

    Related:

    Hundreds injured in explosion at Texas fertilizer plant

    This story was originally published on Thu Apr 18, 2013 4:14 AM EDT

    143 comments

    Evening. I will not say good, it is far from it. Once again we are stunned with what has happened to our friends across the Pacific. We can't believe this, so soon after Boston. All I wish for is, the missing people are found safe and well. To the souls that are lost, may you go in peace. To those w …

    Show more
    Explore related topics: texas, explosion, blast, west, us-news, featured, waco, fertilizer, updated, eyewitness
  • 17
    Apr
    2013
    10:07am, EDT

    Anatomy of a bombing: Photos show battery, wires used in device

    Elise Amendola / AP

    Two men in hazardous materials suits put numbers on the shattered glass and debris as they investigate the scene at the first bombing on Boylston Street in Boston on April 16, 2013 near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

    From a blood-covered zipper pull to a dented blue-and-silver battery, the Boston Marathon bombing site has yielded important forensic evidence that authorities will use to profile and track suspects.

    New photos of the crime scene where white-suited FBI specialists are gathering evidence are testament to the power of the two bombs, which twisted a metal pressure cooker apart and sprayed debris on rooftops.

    The force of Monday’s blast killed three people and tore off the limbs of other victims, but dozens of clues were left behind.

    Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston via Reuters

    Boston Marathon bomb scene pictures taken by investigators show the remains of an explosive device. The photos were produced by the Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston, provided to Reuters April 16, 2013 by a U.S. government official who declined to be identified.

    There are orange and black wires marked with manufacturer details, half-inch nails known as brads, a made-in-China battery emblazoned “3000,” a green circuit board less than 2-inches long, and a shredded nylon bag.

    Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston via Reuters

    Separately, they look like pieces of junk you might find in a work shed. Together, they are road map to terror and tragedy.

    Investigators, led by the FBI through the Joint Terrorism Task Force, are already analyzing each fragment. No detail – not even the insignia on the zipper pull that could be from the bomber’s bag – will escape attention.

    Authorities will try to figure out where the components were bought and compare them to devices used in other attacks. Ultimately, they hope the clues will lead them to the person or group that built, planted and detonated the bombs at the finish line of the iconic race.

    One thing is already clear.

    “They functioned as designed,” one official told NBC News.

    “It appeared to be built from scratch but with a sophisticated triggering mechanism. And frankly, at the end of the day, all bombs are crude devices, and it is the way they are triggered that can be sophisticated.”  

    Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston via Reuters

    Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston via Reuters

    Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston via Reuters

    Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston via Reuters

    Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston via Reuters

    Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston via Reuters

    Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston via Reuters

    Related:

    • Life disrupted: Eerie scenes after Boston Marathon bombings
    • Marathon's deadly moments captured from office building above finish line
    • Video -- Former ATF agent: ‘These are hellish’ devices
    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    311 comments

    Excuse me ....but since when are crime scene photos released to the media ? I cannot remember a time....especially this soon.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: boston, us-news, evidence, featured, boston-marathon, boston-marathon-tragedy
  • 17
    Apr
    2013
    10:46am, EDT

    Marathon's deadly moments captured from office building above finish line

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    An amateur photographer who works in a downtown Boston office captured grim photos of the moment when the bombs went off as the marathon was finishing on Monday.

    "I went to the window and I was looking in the direction of the finish line. I saw simultaneously a runner go down, a huge explosion, and then a deafening roar," Benjamin Thorndike said. "I had my camera in my hand, and I just pushed the rapid-shutter button down and just took 25 pictures over the course of what felt like a long time, but I think it was only 15 or 20 seconds."

    None of the people in Thorndike's photos have been identified.

    Courtesy Ben Thorndike

    Courtesy Ben Thorndike

    Courtesy Ben Thorndike

    Courtesy Ben Thorndike

    Courtesy Ben Thorndike

    Courtesy Ben Thorndike

    Courtesy Ben Thorndike

    Courtesy Ben Thorndike

    Hear Thorndike describe the experience in his own words, and watch the pictures in a video sequence, here.

    Related content:

    • As Boston bombing photos and videos pour in, where do investigators begin?
    • Slideshow: Aftermath and reaction following Boston bombings
    • Anatomy of a bombing: Photos show battery, wires used in device

    118 comments

    The person who did this would not be so close to the explosion.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: marathon, boston, us-news, boston-marathon-tragedy
  • 17
    Apr
    2013
    8:20am, EDT

    Philadelphia dad accused of beating 3-month-old son to death

    View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

    By David Chang, NBC10.com

    A Philadelphia father has been accused of beating his 3-month-old son to death.

    Samuel Cabrera, 27, was arrested and charged with murder.

    Cabrera’s neighbor, Rashawn Reddick, didn’t hold back her disgust when she learned of the accusations.

     “It makes me sick to my stomach,” she said. “A 3-month-old innocent baby. It makes me want to cry.”

    Last Tuesday, 3-month-old Samuel Cabrera Jr., of the 600 block of North 63rd Street, was rushed to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in critical condition.

    Doctors say the baby had suffered two broken bones, a ruptured spleen and liver and that all of his abdominal organs had been crushed. The child later died from his injuries.

    When Cabrera and the child’s mother were questioned, sources close to the investigation say the couple gave conflicting stories.

    The mother allegedly told detectives they found the baby pale and unconscious. She claimed that the baby became bruised after she and Cabrera pounded on his chest while performing CPR.

    More news from NBC10.com

    Cabrera allegedly told police however that he was trying to knock the family dog off the bed and accidentally hit the baby.

    Sources told NBC10's Nefertiti Jaquez that Cabrera eventually confessed to killing his own child. He was arrested and charged with murder.

    Cabrera's 15-month-old daughter as well as three other children his partner had from a previous relationship also lived with the couple, according to sources close to the investigation. All of the children are currently living with relatives.

    Officials also say they spotted bruises on the 15-month-old girl and are trying to determine whether Cabrera also abused her.

    The mother has not been charged. Cabrera is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 1.

    441 comments

    There are no words to express what I feel about this. If this man is found guilty of his babies murder I WILL offer to inject the lethal injection, 6weeks after his conviction. He deserves no more than that. I don't understand the mother at all. Why was she not charged? You can't tell me she didn't  …

    Show more
    Explore related topics: child, father, philadelphia, beat, us-news, featured, crime-courts, nbcphiladelphia, samuel-cabrera
  • 17
    Apr
    2013
    6:35am, EDT

    NYC art dealer, suspected Russian mobster indicted over celebrity gambling rings

    Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, seen here in 2002, is accused of running a sports-betting ring that catered to Russian oligarchs in the former Soviet Union, and laundered proceeds through Cyprus banks to the United States.

    By Chris Francescani, Reuters

    NEW YORK - Federal authorities have charged a prominent New York art dealer and one of Russia's top reputed mobsters with operating high-stakes gambling rings in New York and Los Angeles that catered to billionaires, bank executives, movie stars and professional athletes.

    Among 34 people indicted are suspected Russian organized crime figure Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who was charged in 2002 with plotting to rig sports events at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Tokhtakhounov remains outside of the United States, and that case has not gone to trial.

    Also charged was Hillel "Helly" Nahmad, a leading international art dealer and the owner of an exclusive art gallery that bears his name inside Midtown Manhattan's posh Carlyle Hotel.

    The gallery was raided on Tuesday as part of the investigation, authorities said.

    According to an 83-page indictment unsealed on Tuesday, Tokhtakhounov ran a sports-betting ring that catered to Russian oligarchs in the former Soviet Union, and laundered proceeds through Cyprus banks to the United States.

    A second, related operation in New York and Los Angeles allegedly served wealthy U.S. clients including Hollywood celebrities, Wall Street executives and professional athletes, authorities said.

    That operation was allegedly run by Nahmad, who was expected to surrender on Tuesday in Los Angeles, a spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.

    Tokhtakhounov, according to court documents, used his reputation as a mobster to "resolve disputes with clients of high-stakes illegal gambling operation with implicit and sometimes explicit threats of violence and economic harm."

    Tokhtakhounov was indicted by federal authorities in New York in 2002 on charges that he plotted to rig the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics pairs figure skating and ice dancing competitions.

    He was arrested that year in Italy, whose highest appeals court ruled in 2003 against extraditing him to the United States. He was released by the Italian court.

    According to court papers, Tokhtakhounov earned $10 million in 2011 alone as head of the gambling ring.

    He is known in Russia as a "vory v zakone," or a "vor," a Russian term that translates to "Thief-in-Law" and refers to the highest echelon of Russian organized crime figures, according to prosecutors.

    A number of defendants in the case, of whom 30 were in custody, were expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan later on Tuesday.

    Michael Fineman, an attorney for defendant Vadim Trincher, 52, declined to comment after court.

    Dana Cole, an attorney for Molly Bloom, who was arrested in Los Angeles and faces bookmaking charges only, said a judge released his client on Tuesday afternoon into the custody of her mother. She is scheduled to appear again in a New York federal courtroom on Friday.

    Cole said that while he did not want to "minimize the seriousness" of the charges, "this is not the crime of the century."

    Tokhtakhounov and three other indicted suspects - Abraham Mosseri, Donald McCalmont, and William Edler - remain at large and are wanted by federal officials, said Kelly Langmesser, a spokesman for the New York field office of the FBI.

    None of the rich and famous clients of the alleged ring were charged or named by authorities on Tuesday. A person who answered the phone at the Nahmad Gallery in New York declined to comment on the indictments. 

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

    89 comments

    and why weren't the rich and famous charged with illeagal gambling??? oh yea...because they are rich and famous...what a country the USA is...money talks...and thank you Italy for letting the Russian go...how much did you take to make that ruling???

    Show more
    Explore related topics: fbi, russia, art, new-york, mobster, dealer, gambling, us-news, featured, crime-courts
Newer postsOlder posts

Browse

  • featured,
  • crime,
  • military,
  • weather,
  • california,
  • updated,
  • florida,
  • environment,
  • us-news,
  • new-york,
  • shooting,
  • texas,
  • education,
  • chicago,
  • police,
  • gulf-oil-spill,
  • kari-huus,
  • nbcnewyork,
  • los-angeles,
  • murder,
  • new-jersey,
  • guns,
  • obama,
  • afghanistan,
  • colorado,
  • sandy,
  • nbclosangeles,
  • trayvon-martin,
  • barack-obama,
  • crime-and-courts,
  • politics,
  • gay,
  • veterans,
  • connecticut,
  • fire,
  • arizona,
  • crime-courts,
  • religion,
  • boston-marathon-tragedy
Also
Advertise | AdChoices

Elizabeth Chuck

reporter for NBCNews.com based in 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Elizabeth Chuck Blogroll

  • Alpha Channel

Archives

  • 2013
    • May (318)
    • April (608)
    • March (548)
    • February (510)
    • January (563)
  • 2012
    • December (457)
    • November (460)
    • October (477)
    • September (432)
    • August (525)
    • July (519)
    • June (508)
    • May (566)
    • April (538)
    • March (576)
    • February (471)
    • January (417)
  • 2011
    • December (455)
    • November (190)
    • October (9)
    • September (3)
    • August (51)
    • July (8)
    • June (3)
    • May (12)
    • April (5)
    • March (3)
    • February (1)
    • January (8)
  • 2010
    • December (5)
    • November (1)
    • October (2)
    • September (28)
    • August (40)
    • July (35)
    • June (177)
    • May (50)
    • April (9)
    • March (2)
    • February (2)
    • January (4)
  • 2009
    • December (5)
    • November (5)
    • October (2)
    • September (11)
    • August (4)
    • July (12)
    • June (1)
    • May (1)
    • April (1)
    • March (3)
    • February (3)
    • January (2)
  • 2008
    • December (3)
    • November (2)
    • October (6)
    • September (30)
    • August (26)
    • July (10)
    • June (4)
    • May (8)
    • April (13)
    • March (9)
    • February (7)
    • January (6)
  • 2007
    • December (10)
    • November (6)
    • October (22)
    • September (11)

Most Commented

  • Obama calls IRS flap 'inexcusable,' announces resignation of acting IRS chief (3714)
  • Benghazi, IRS, AP: A guide to the 3 storms confronting the White House (2544)
  • Majority of Colorado sheriffs file suit against new gun laws (1949)
  • At least 51 killed, including 20 children, as tornado tears through Oklahoma (1801)
  • Judge blocks Arkansas' tough new abortion law (1879)
  • AP CEO calls records seizure unconstitutional (997)
  • Character witness for Jodi Arias pulls out, citing threats and inner turmoil (913)

Other blogs

  • The Body Odd
  • Cosmic Log
  • Red Tape Chronicles
  • PhotoBlog
  • Open Channel

NBCNews.com top stories

3147,10
© 2013 NBCNews.com
  • US news on NBCNews.com
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Site map
  • Careers
  • Closed captioning
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertise