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☆ Tesla driver who plunged his family off California cliff did so on purpose, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A California man intentionally drove a Tesla off a 250-foot cliff in an attempt to kill himself and his family, officials said Tuesday. The driver and his wife and children survived and were rescued Monday at Devil's Slide in San Mateo County, the California Highway Patrol said. Four people were rescued after a Tesla plunged over a cliff in Calif., on Monday. Brian Pottenger, incident commander for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said that witnesses called 911 after the crash around 10:50 a.m. The car was traveling south on State Route 1 when it went over the cliff at Devil’s Slide, south of the Tom Lantos Tunnels, and landed near the water’s edge, the fire department said.

☆ Transportation Department will be looking into Southwest flight cancellations, Buttigieg says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Southwest canceled more than 2,800 flights Monday — the day after Christmas — and around 2,600 Tuesday, according to tracking website FlightAware. Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said Southwest had not adequately prepared flights for the storm. Travelers wait in line near the Southwest Airlines ticketing counter at Nashville International Airport, in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday. Buttigieg said Southwest has pledged to take care of impacted customers, and that the Transportation Department will be holding the airline accountable for that. Another 2,478 Southwest flights scheduled for Wednesday have also been cancelled, according to FlightAware.

☆ Officials seeking surveillance video after 4 Washington substations were vandalized
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Authorities in Washington state were asking for surveillance or other video Tuesday as they investigate what has been called deliberate damage to power substations. The vandalism at four substations south and southeast of Tacoma on Christmas Day left more than 14,000 customers without power, officials said. The sheriff’s department has said a reason for the burglaries and vandalism incidents, one of which caused a fire, was unknown. Sheriff's department spokesman Sgt. The sheriff’s department asked Tuesday on social media that anyone with surveillance video at their home or business review the video.

On the busy day-after-Christmas travel day, Southwest Airlines canceled more than 2,700 flights, frustrating passengers across the country. Overall, around 3,900 flights were canceled within, into or out of the U.S. on Monday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Southwest had 2,893 flights canceled at one point Monday, or 70% of its schedule, according to the site. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday combined, over 8,200 flights into, out of or within the U.S. were canceled, according to FlightAware. The issue with Southwest flights also caught the attention of the Transportation Department, which called the airline's performance unacceptable.

He urged people from areas where conditions had improved not to travel to Buffalo to rescue family and friends. More than 20,000 of those customers were in Buffalo, Poloncarz said. “This will go down in history as the most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long, storied history of having battled many battles, many major storms,” she said on Sunday. At least 35 people have died in weather-related incidents across the United States, according to an NBC count of reports from officials. “We’ve had other storms, the storms just four weeks ago that dumped 7 feet of snow on the southtowns.

The co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the former CEO of Sam Bankman-Fried's hedge fund, Alameda Research, have pleaded guilty to fraud, a federal prosecutor in New York said Wednesday. The SEC complaint alleges that Wang "created FTX’s software code that allowed Alameda to divert FTX customer funds," and that Ellison used those funds for Alameda's trading. The SEC complaint alleges a complex scheme to trick both investors and customers into believing that FTX had strict and advance risk mitigation. "From the inception of FTX, Defendants and Bankman-Fried diverted FTX customer funds to Alameda, and continued to do so until FTX’s collapse in November 2022," the SEC complaint reads. “If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it,” he said.

Indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on Tuesday agreed to be extradited from the Bahamas to the United States, according to a Bahamian court official. The paperwork has been filed with the court, and Bankman-Fried will fly to the U.S. on Wednesday, said Doan Cleare, acting Commissioner of Corrections, Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Bankman-Fried, 30, is accused of misappropriating billions of dollars deposited in FTX, a huge cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in November. At one time FTX was reportedly valued at $32 billion and seen as the face of the industry. Once he’s back in the U.S., Bankman-Fried can request that he be released on a bail.

Two people were arrested at a New York City Council member's apartment building Monday after opponents of a drag reading event targeted it with messages the politician called “pure hate, unmasked,” officials said. A group had targeted the public reading event geared toward neurodiverse children at a library in Chelsea on Saturday, NBC New York reported. Our resolve is strengthened.”Earlier Monday, the hallways inside the building that houses Bottcher’s council district office were also vandalized, police said. Right-wing figures and influencers have targeted drag events, sometimes with incendiary rhetoric about “groomers." Bottcher, who was elected to represent District 3 in 2021 and took office in January, said after Saturday's event that reading helps children grow, and he thanked the drag reading event organizers.

☆ Man accused of attacking Dave Chappelle pleads no contest and is sentenced
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Andrew Blankstein | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES — The man accused of attacking comedian Dave Chappelle onstage in Los Angeles pleaded no contest and was sentenced to jail Wednesday, the prosecutor’s office confirmed. Isaiah Lee, 24, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of battery and entering a restricted area during a live event, and he was sentenced to 270 days in jail, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office said. Lee was accused of tackling Chappelle while he was onstage at the famous Hollywood Bowl during a performance on May 3. The weapon will be destroyed, according to the City Attorney’s Office, which prosecutes misdemeanor criminal cases. A no contest plea means a defendant doesn't admit guilt, but it results in a conviction.

☆ Child among 2 dead after tornadoes, storms tear through swaths of Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Kathryn-Prociv.Jpg | Kathryn Prociv | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A tornado touched down south of Shreveport, damaging several homes and knocking down trees and power lines, according to the sheriff's office. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said there may have been 12 tornadoes, which will be confirmed by storm surveys. The severe weather in Texas occurred as a major winter storm was also pummeling Louisiana, with more than 10 million people under winter weather warnings or advisories across the Rockies and the northern Plains states. High winds toppled big-rig trucks Tuesday morning in Parker and Wise counties in Texas, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. George Frey / AFP - Getty ImagesWestbound Interstate 70 was closed near the Kansas-Colorado border because of fear of dangerous winter weather, officials in both states said.

WNBA star Brittney Griner arrived back in the United States early Friday after being freed from Russian custody, bringing a nearly yearlong ordeal to an end. Eric Gay / APIn earlier video, Russian media had showed Griner crossing paths with Bout after walking off a Russian plane in Abu Dhabi, where she was met by a U.S. official during the exchange. President Joe Biden, who said he approved the deal that saw Griner freed, said Thursday that she had been "held under intolerable circumstances." In a written statement Thursday night, the Griner family thanked Biden, his administration and others for their efforts. Whelan’s family said they had been told by the Biden administration in advance that he would not be part of the prisoner swap Thursday that freed Griner.

☆ No evidence found in excavation at Iowa site after woman claimed father was a serial killer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A three-day search in southwestern Iowa that followed a woman’s claims that her late father was a serial killer has turned up no evidence, state officials said Thursday. The excavation was at the property in Thurman, in Fremont County, where the woman claimed the bodies were buried, said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. “After exhaustive efforts, no evidence or other items of concern were recovered,” the state Department of Public Safety, of which the division is a part, said in a statement. Lucy Studey has claimed that her late father, Donald Dean Studey, was a serial killer who buried bodies around his property in Thurman, according to Newsweek, which first reported the story. The recent excavation included “an array of experts representing several disciplines and significant assets to excavate, collect and examine soil samples from a site identified by a reporting party," the public safety department said.

A bomb threat case against the suspect in the Club Q shooting went nowhere last year because the relatives declined to testify, Colorado authorities said Thursday. “The only way that it [the bomb threat case] would have prevented the [Club Q] tragedy is if the witnesses actually were present at trial, testified and somebody was convicted," Allen told reporters. That day, Aldrich’s grandmother said they had been living in fear, according to the affidavit. "It would not have prevented the Club Q shooting." Two weapons were seized from Aldrich at the time of the bomb threat arrest, Allen said.

☆ FedEx driver allegedly told investigators Texas girl was still alive after he struck her with vehicle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Antonio Planas | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A FedEx driver panicked after striking a 7-year-old girl in Texas with his work van and threw her in the truck, where he killed her, authorities said. Horner allegedly told investigators the child was not seriously injured when he accidentally backed the truck into her. Horner also told investigators he even spoke to the girl in his van where she told him her name, the affidavit said. Investigators also learned the FedEx truck was equipped with cameras that captured one-minute clips, the affidavit said. Horner, after allegedly admitting he killed the girl, also allegedly told investigators where to find her.

LOS ANGELES — A Tennessee rapper who boasted about committing Covid-19 relief fraud in a music video was sentenced to over six years in prison Wednesday, prosecutors said. Baines, 33, bragged about the fraud in videos on YouTube and Instagram, according to court documents. In addition to the prison sentence, Baines was also ordered to pay $704,760 in restitution. Congress approved massive financial resources to help people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which shut down large parts of the economy. The U.S. Labor Department’s inspector general’s office has estimated that $872.5 billion in pandemic unemployment insurance funding — and at least $163 billion in pandemic unemployment insurance benefits — could have been paid improperly, some of it through fraud.

☆ Club Q shooting suspect opened fire immediately, claimed to have been awake for days, affidavit says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The suspect accused of killing five people in an attack on a Colorado LGBTQ club opened fire almost immediately after arriving and later claimed to not have slept for days, police said in an affidavit released Wednesday. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, was charged Tuesday with 305 criminal counts, including murder and hate crimes, in the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs just before midnight Nov. 19. Aldrich was taken down by bystanders, stopping the attack, officials and witnesses have said. A further 17 people were injured by gunfire, and five others had physical injuries from other causes, officials have said. The charges against Aldrich include first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and bias-motivated crimes.

☆ Power company on 'final push' to restore electricity after gunfire led to massive outages in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Cooper's office, Moore County and Duke Energy, officials said Wednesday. At its peak, around 45,000 Moore County customers were left without power, Duke Energy said. Duke Energy said the vandalism destroyed large and vital pieces of equipment, which needed to be replaced. The restoration of power led officials on Wednesday to announce that the curfew will be lifted at 5 a.m. Thursday. There have been no confirmed deaths due to the power outage, Moore County Director of Public Safety Bryan Phillips said.

☆ FedEx driver kidnapped 7-year-old Texas girl who was found dead Friday, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A FedEx contract driver in Texas was arrested Friday and accused of kidnapping and murder in the death of a 7-year-old girl who went missing two days earlier, officials said. The driver, Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, has been arrested on charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, Akin said. Athena arrived home from school Wednesday afternoon like she normally does and around 6:40 p.m. her stepmother reported the child missing, Akin has said. Horner delivered a package at the home around the time she was discovered missing, Akin said Friday night. Police investigate the disappearance of 7-year-old Athena Strand in Paradise, Texas, on Thursday.

☆ Texas man charged with threatening Boston doctor who provides transgender care
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Texas man was arrested Friday and charged with threatening to kill a Boston doctor who provides care to transgender people, federal prosecutors said. The threats on Aug. 31 targeting a doctor affiliated with a Boston healthcare education center came after “inaccurate information spread online” about Boston Children’s Hospital and transgender care, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said. Boston’s Children Hospital is home to the Gender Multispecialty Service, which provides care to transgender and gender-diverse adolescents. Several children’s hospitals, most notably Boston Children’s, were targeted by of a far-right harassment campaign, led by led by anti-trans influencers with millions of collective followers. The FBI in court documents called it a sustained campaign that falsely alleged pedophilia or "grooming" against Boston Children's Hospital, and there have been death threats and threats of mass casualty attacks.

After making antisemitic comments and praising Hitler on Thursday, the rapper Ye has been suspended from Twitter. The account for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, read as "account suspended" early Friday. Twitter owner Elon Musk said it would be suspended after a post on Ye's account Thursday night showed an image that appeared to show a swastika inside a Star of David. Account will be suspended.”Ye's Twitter account has been restricted before over antisemitic comments, but he returned to the platform in November. To the now blocked post featuring the Star of David, Musk wrote: “This is not.”

The police chief of Tampa, Florida, has apologized and is asking for a disciplinary review of herself after she flashed her badge to get out of a stop for traveling in a golf cart without a license plate, officials said Thursday. Chief Mary O’Connor, who was appointed in February, was a passenger in a golf cart driven by her husband, police said in a statement. Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor in a golf cart driven by her husband in Oldsmar, northwest of Tampa, on Nov. 12. Tampa PD via YouTubeThe video shows O’Connor ask the deputy whether his body camera is on, and when he responds that it is, she says, “I’m the police chief in Tampa." I’m hoping that you’ll just let us go tonight,” O’Connor says as she opens her badge case and hands it to her husband, the video shows.

☆ Former San Antonio officer indicted in shooting of teenager outside McDonald’s
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A former San Antonio police officer who shot a teenager in a McDonald’s parking lot in October was indicted on assault and attempted murder charges, prosecutors said Thursday. Of the charges, the aggravated assault counts are the most serious and carry up to life in prison if convicted. Brennand allegedly shot Cantu, 17, after he ordered the teenager, who was eating a hamburger, out of a vehicle. Brennand was arrested in October on two counts of aggravated assault by public servant. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Cantu family, said Thursday’s indictment was a significant step toward justice.

☆ 'Four beautiful kids': Community remembers slain University of Idaho students at vigil
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Fighting back tears, parents of slain University of Idaho students shared moments of laughter and sorrow Wednesday as students and faculty members gathered for a vigil for the four lives lost. We’re going to figure this stuff out,” Steven Goncalves, Kaylee’s father, said at the ceremony at the university in Moscow, Idaho. The unsolved killings have put some students at the university, in a city of around 25,000, and the community on edge. "That’s the only thing that’s going to heal us. That’s the only thing that’s going to heal you."

A Texas woman who helped mutilate and conceal the body of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén pleaded guilty to federal charges Tuesday, prosecutors said. Cecily Aguilar, 24, helped the man who killed Guillén dispose of her body and lied to investigators, the U.S. attorney’s office for Western Texas said in a statement. Aguilar pleaded guilty Tuesday to a count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of false statement or representation, the U.S. attorney’s office said. If she is convicted, Aguilar faces up to 30 years in prison, but a judge will consider federal sentencing guidelines, the U.S. attorney's office said. Guillén's family said they were taken aback by Aguilar's decision to plead guilty.

A Missouri inmate convicted of ambushing and killing a St. Louis area police officer he blamed for the death of his younger brother was executed Tuesday, officials said. Kevin Johnson, 37, was put to death by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre. The execution began at 7:29 p.m., and Johnson was pronounced dead at 7:40 p.m., said Karen Pojmann, spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Corrections. “We miss Bill every day of our lives.”Khorry Ramey with her father, Kevin Johnson, and her son, Kiaus. via ACLUOn July 5, 2005, police were searching for Johnson, who was on probation for assaulting his girlfriend.

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