Lawyers for former House speaker Dennis Hastert are due in federal court in Chicago Thursday morning, amid growing signs that a plea deal with federal prosecutors is near, NBC News reported.

Hastert was indicted by a grand jury in May, accused of illegally evading federal bank transaction laws in making payments of nearly $2 million to a person identified in court documents only as "Person A."

Hastert was also charged with lying to federal agents about the payments. He pleaded not guilty and remains free on bond.

A man was shot dead by Israeli officers after rushing past a police checkpoint near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon, NBC News reported.

About a dozen shots were fired at the man, who appeared to be carrying a weapon, after he ran past officers who yelled at him to stop.

The incident, which was caught on camera by a NBC News crew, came as Israel introduced heightened security measures in a bid to quell deadly violence that has wracked the region in recent days.

Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Wednesday hurling stones at forces who responded with tear gas and stun grenades, The Associated Press reported.

Activists occupied Baltimore's City Hall on Wednesday night, demanding concessions from top officials, the Associated Press reported.

They called for police to avoid using military tactics and chanted the name of a black man who died after suffering an injured in police custody.

Members of the Baltimore Bloc began shouting from an upper gallery as a city council subcommittee prepared to vote to make interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis a permanent appointment.

"All night, all day, we will fight for Freddie Gray!" the activists chanted amid calls to postpone the vote. "No justice, no peace!" 

Two Palestinian suspects were arrested near a Tel Aviv-area mall on Thursday following a manhunt triggered by what Israeli officials said was a warning about an imminent terrorist attack, NBC News reported. 

The two were appended at an apartment in the city of Givatayim after a chase involving a helicopter and security forces, Tel Aviv police chief Shimon Aviv told the Voice of Israel radio station.

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri confirmed to NBC News that the two suspects had been transferred to Shin Bet, Israel's equivalent of the FBI, for interrogation.

The incident came against the backdrop of severely heightened tensions in Israel and the West Bank. In the past month, eight Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, and 31 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, just under half of whom were identified by Israel as attackers, according to The Associated Press.

The New York City woman whose lawsuit against her 12-year-old nephew in Connecticut thrust her into the national spotlight called the ordeal "heartbreaking" in an exclusive live interview with NBC's "Today" show Thursday morning.

Jennifer Connell sued her nephew, Sean Tarala, for $127,000 over an injury she suffered at his birthday party in Westport, Connecticut, four years ago. According to the suit, Connell fell and broke her wrist when she tried to catch Sean.

It took a six-member jury 25 minutes to reject the suit Tuesday, which was filed in Bridgeport Superior Court.

This morning, the "Today" show's Savannah Guthrie asked Connell what she wants people to understand about the case. 

"That we love each other very much and that this was simply a case of formality with an insurance claim," Connell explained.

Her attorneys told NBC Connecticut in a statement Tuesday their client was "forced to sue to get medical bills paid." They said Connell has undergone two painful surgeries and is facing a third, which insurance has not covered.

Connell called the media coverage of her lawsuit "a complete shock."

"It was amazing how I walked into court that morning and walked out all over social media," she told Guthrie. "It just spun and spun."

Connell said friends and family called to warn her against turning on the television or checking the Internet. Twitter posts branded Connell the "worst aunt ever," according to Guthrie.

"It was sort of heartbreaking and really painful, but also like walking into a film of someone else’s life and I hadn’t been briefed," Connell said. "So, I’ve just been in shock since that happened."

Guthrie also asked Sean, who appeared on "Today" alongside Connell, what he had to say about the ordeal.

"She would never do anything to hurt the family or myself and she loves us," Sean said of his aunt.

Connell told "Today" the idea of suing her nephew "sounded terrible" from the start, but legally, it was her only option.

"I’m no legal expert, but as I understand it, in Connecticut, it’s not possible to name an insurance company in a suit of a homeowner’s insurance case," she explained. "An individual has to be named, and in this case, because Sean and I had the fall together, I was informed Sean had to be named. I was never comfortable with that."

Guthrie then asked Connell, looking back, how she feels about the experience and the attention it has garnered.

"I’m still in shock, but it’s not been a pleasant experience from the beginning, of course. I am just confused, but I just feel like perhaps it’s the way the legal system is set up, so that the insurance companies are not in the spotlight for stepping up and taking responsibility for handling claims on properties," Connell said.

The law firm representing her, Jainchill and Beckert, released the following statement to NBC Connecticut earlier this week:

"From the start, this was a case was about one thing: getting medical bills paid by homeowner’s insurance. Our client was never looking for money from her nephew or his family. It was about the insurance industry and being forced to sue to get medical bills paid. She suffered a horrific injury. She had two surgeries and is potentially facing a third. Prior to the trial, the insurance company offered her one dollar. Unfortunately, due to Connecticut law, the homeowner’s insurance company could not be identified as the defendant.

"Our client was very reluctant to pursue this case, but in the end she had no choice but to sue the minor defendant directly to get her bills paid. She didn’t want to do this anymore than anyone else would," the statement continues. "But her hand was forced by the insurance company. We are disappointed in the outcome, but we understand the verdict. Our client is being attacked on social media. Our client has been through enough."

A former commodore of the Coronado Yacht club was sentenced to prison for molesting a 10-year-old neighbor and a family member.

Thomas Garrett, 74, was arrested in 2012 and charged with forcible lewd act on a juvenile victim and one charge for a lewd act on a child. The child he was accused of molesting lived next door to him in Chula Vista.

In court Wednesday, Judge Theodore Weathers listened to Garrett and his wife's pleas for mercy before sentencing Garrett to 10 years in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.

Garrett, who is also a former firefighter, denied the allegations before pleading guilty to the charges. His defense team asked for the most lenient sentence - probation.

Garrett addressed the court, explaining to the judge how he hasn't seen his granddaughter in five years. His wife also spoke, saying "My husband is not a monster."

However, prosecutors argued for the maximum sentence - 10 years behind bars - because they said Garrett could not control his behavior around children.

Judge Weathers told the defendant, "molesting your granddaughter is incomprehensible."

A strange odor coming from an East County home Wednesday led to the discovery of two badly decomposed bodies, now identified as a staffer for the San Diego District Attorney's office and her granddaughter.

Family and neighbors confirmed that Marshelle Newby, 56, was found dead inside a home on Avoyer Place in the Casa de Oro community near La Mesa alongside her granddaughter.

Tanya Sierra, of the DA’s office, confirmed that Newby was a Criminal Legal Secretary for the DA’s office and had worked there for 23 years.

“Our office is grieving and our hearts go out to her family and friends,” Sierra said on behalf of the office.

At around 8 a.m. Wednesday, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer was flagged down by a Casa de Oro resident who reported a "weird smell" coming from a home in the 4100 block of Avoyer Place. Given the location, the CHP officer called for deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) to investigate.

SDSO Lt. John Maryon told NBC 7 two people were found dead inside the house. He said the SDSO homicide team was handling the investigation.

By 11:45 a.m., SDSO officials confirmed the bodies of two females were found on a bed inside the residence. At first, investigators said they could not determine the ages of the women due to the advanced decomposition of their bodies. Officials believe the bodies had been decomposing inside the house for at least one week.

Investigators said there was some kind of note found inside the home, but they would not elaborate on what the note said.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's office was called to the scene and the street was filled with law enforcement officials from multiple agencies for many hours.

Part of the home was roped off with yellow tape as officials launched their investigation. Some bystanders, possibly family members, were seen gathered in front of the home, visibly upset and shaken. Several of them were interviewed by detectives at the scene.

According to a memo sent to staffers at the DA’s office, Newby was “loved across the DA’s office” and was “known for her dedication to the needs of her granddaughter.”

The office described Newby as a friendly, welcoming person who often sparked up conversations in the elevator.

She was recently named “Support Staff Member of the Year,” an award that recognizes achievement by paralegal or support staff who has distinguished themselves through hard work and dedication.

Another source who knew Newby told NBC 7 she was “so nice and always talked to everyone.”

As of 3:30 p.m., the cause of death for both Newby and her granddaughter had not yet been determined. The SDSO said there were no signs of forced entry or a struggle at the home, and there are no outstanding suspects in the case.

The Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death in this case, officials said, pending autopsies.

The investigation is ongoing.

Twitter briefly went down for some desktop and mobile users on Thursday morning.

"Something is technically wrong," a message said on the website. "Thanks for noticing- we're going to fix it up and have things back to normal soon."

It's not clear what caused the brief outage. 

Warren Galvin never knew his uncle. George Nevin had already been dead seven years when Galvin was born in San Francisco’s Richmond District.

But all his life, Galvin heard the family whispers about Nevin’s demise at sea in 1920 on the Ituna fishing steamer — photos of his 23-year-old boyish face stranding him eternally as a young man.

This week’s discovery of the underwater remains of the Ituna off the coast of San Francisco by NOAA archaeologists set off a flood of nostalgia for Galvin.

“To have someone call and say ‘I’d like to talk to you about your uncle who died 90,95 years ago,’” Galvin said in his Castro Valley home, “that’s unbelievable.”

On the other end of that call was NOAA archaeologist Robert Schwemmer who along with fellow archaeologist James Delgado, is in the midst of a two-year project to catalog many of the estimated 400 ship and plane wrecks in the Gulf of Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

This week, the team’s research vessel pinpointed the Ituna shipwreck using sonar images that matched the Ituna’s unique ‘champagne glass’-shaped bow. Using a remotely operated underwater vehicle equipped with a camera, the expedition was able to probe the ship’s carcass — setting eyes on its brass helm, its original triple expansion engine and the bulging load of cement still in the hold.

“First time in 95 years anybody’s seen this wreck,” Schwemmer said, peering into a monitor filling with images of the ship’s bones.

After rambling through a series of jobs, the 23 year old Nevin had taken a job with the F.E. Booth sardine canning company — a path that would place him on the Ituna on its tragic last voyage.

“He was an ambitious young man,” Galvin said, “and seemed to be into the start of a very great career.”

Like Nevin, the Ituna was on a path of constant change and discovery. The ship was built as a luxury steam yacht in Glasgow, Scotland in 1886. It was later converted to a passenger ship, and finally turned into a steam fishing trawler based in San Francisco. It was fitted with a unique trawler system that hadn’t yet been used on the West Coast.

On March 13th, 1920 the ship and its crew of 14 set out from San Francisco for Reedsport, Oregon on a fishing expedition, hauling a delivery of cement and machinery. The ship was about 24 miles outside of San Francisco when it hit a vicious storm and went down in about ten minutes.

“They describe the seams opening up in the bow and the forward hull flooding,” Schwemmer said. “And then it was every man for the lifeboat.”

Twelve of the crew piled into a lifeboat and paddled through the stormy seas to the San Francisco light boat off the coastline where they were plucked to safety.

Nevin was aboard the ship, listed as a passenger. Before the accident, he had fallen seasick and retired to his bunk.

“He was either forgotten or they didn’t have time,” Galvin said.” He went down with the ship.”

Nevin and fireman George Orton were the lone casualties of the ship, believed to be entombed in their bunks.

“These guys who live on board, it’s their home,” Delgado said. “And for two of these guys it’s also their grave.”

Galvin said over the years he’d tried to learn the story of what had happened to his uncle, but finally gave up the cause in frustration at a lack of answers.

“Here’s a case of 95 years late,” Galvin said, “we’re talking about an individual that I thought 50 years ago, that’s the last I’d ever hear of him.”

Delgado and Schwemmer recorded data, measurements and a detailed record of the Ituna. Like many of the more significant sites discovered by the team, the ship may be nominated to the National Historic Register.

On the recent expedition, as the camera poked into the Ituna’s hold, past a schools of rock fish, revealing a broken dish, Schwemmer noted the ship was well intact for having spent 95 years at the bottom of the sea.

“Looking at Ituna,” he said, “we are looking at March 13th 1920.”

National City Police are searching for the men who pulled up to two victims sitting in a car and shot one of them to death.

On Oct. 11 at about 7:50 p.m., Juan Carlos Munoz and Carlos Medrano watched a gray or silver Nissan Altima drive up to them as they sat in a vehicle in the 1600 block of Prospect Street.

The passenger in the Altima got out, walked to Munoz in the driver's seat and asked where they were from, police say.

The suspect then pulled out a handgun and fired five rounds into the vehicle.

Four struck Munoz in his left shoulder, and one hit Medrano in his left thigh, according to police. The two men in the Altima then drove off eastbound on E. 16th Street.

Munoz later died, and Medrano is recovering from the nonlife-threatening wound.

The suspected shooter is described as a man in his 20s with a husky build and shaved head. The Altima is described as an early to late 2000s, 4-door model that is painted either gray or silver.

Both suspects are considered armed and dangerous. If you know anything about them, call the National City Police Department at 619-336-4411 or Crime Stoppers' anonymous tip line at 888-580-8477.

More than 70 years after his death, Adolf Hitler's notorious manifesto is set to go back on sale in German bookstores, NBC News reported. 

Historians are readying a new, annotated edition of the Nazi leader's "Mein Kampf" which will be released in January. The Munich-based Institute of Contemporary History (IFZ) — a government-funded research institution — plans to publish it once the copyright to the text expires at the end of the year.

It will feature a total of 3,700 comments providing analysis on its content — which doubles the number of pages of the original version. 

IFZ's Christian Hartmann told NBC News Hitler's "800-page book is in great parts anti-Semitic" and "full of allusions and assertions, which are difficult to understand in the 21st century," which is why every sentence will be explained and critically evaluated in the upcoming edition.

President Obama, elected to the White House seven years ago on a pledge to end America's war in Afghanistan, said Thursday that changing circumstances on the ground required U.S. troops to remain there beyond his presidency to combat Al Qaeda and train local security forces.

"While America's combat mission in Afghanistan may be over, our commitment to Afghanistan and its people endures," Obama said.

Thursday's announcement marks an abrupt turnaround from a plan he outlined last year, in which Obama envisioned keeping only a security force of 1,000 in Kabul.

The announcement followed a months-long review of America's battle against the Taliban which have made aggressive moves to retake territory, including an assault on the city of Kunduz last month that prompted U.S. airstrikes which mistakenly destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital.

Here’s a sweet distinction: San Diego has been ranked among the best cities in the U.S. for trick-or-treating this year, according to a so-called “Trick-or-Treat Index.”

Zillow, the online real estate database, has just released its 7th annual Trick-or-Treat Index, which names the 20 best cities in the nation for Halloween candy hunting based on where kids can snag the most candy in the quickest amount of time, in the safest areas.

Turns out, the 2015 index ranks San Diego the No. 8 best city for trick-or-treating.

According to Zillow, the top five local neighborhoods where kids can trick-or-treat are: Del Mar Heights; Carmel Valley; Loma Portal; Carmel Mountain; and Mission Hills.

The company says it used four equally-weighted data variables to compile the ranking: Zillow’s median home value, housing density, crime rates and population age.

Besides America’s Finest City, other cities that made the cut on the trick-or-treat list include San Francisco – which ranked No. 1 – followed, in order, by: San Jose; Los Angeles; Milwaukee; Phoenix; Chicago; Boston; Denver; and Sacramento. See the full ranking here.

The Solana Beach City Council voted Wednesday to ban Styrofoam at local restaurants in an effort to reduce products that hurt the environment.

Under the adopted ordinance, restaurants have six months to exhaust their supply of containers made of polystyrene, known better by the brand name Styrofoam.

Many local eatery owners attended the city council meeting Wednesday to voice their opposition, saying the switch to alternative containers will cost more money. According to the California Restaurant Association (CRA), a foam clamshell costs 8.5 cents, while a compostable clamshell made from sugar cane pulp will cost 29 cents.

They also argued that since most foam products are recyclable, the ban is unnecessary. The CRA suggested focusing on promoting recycling instead of a prohibition.

However, a council staff report cited a 2012 study that found the average cost between a polystyrene product and a non-foam alternative was one cent per unit.

According to the report, the Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey of 63 food and beverage establishments in the area. The survey found that 18 still use Styrofoam containers.

Staff also pointed out in the report that Waste Management — which provides residential, curbside services — does not have a Styrofoam recycling program, though there is a commercial city program in place.

The Surfrider Foundation told NBC 7 it is happy about the vote, calling it a big victory for oceans and beaches.

Wednesday’s was the first reading of the ordinance. A second reading for adoption will take place in the next month or so. If again approved, the ban will go into effect in 30 days.

Exceptions to the ban will include food or products prepared or packaged outside of Solana Beach and polystyrene coolers and ice chests. Restaurants that can prove “undue hardships” caused by the ban could also be exempt.

The Solana Beach looked at similar bans in other California cities, such as San Francisco, Santa Monica and Dana Point, to formulate their rules.

San Diego State University students were warned Thursday about an attempted robbery that occurred on campus.

A group of six men approached a student around midnight near the Education and Business Administration building on Aztec Circle Drive.

Campus police say the group – described as between the ages of 18 and 21 – initially asked the young man for his cell phone.

The suspects then physically assaulted the victim and took his cell phone and back pack, police said.

The suspects took off but ended up dropping the victim's belongings as they left.

Police say the main suspect was wearing a red shirt, beanie, cargo shorts and Nike sandals.

Anyone with information can contact the SDSU Police Department at their non-emergency number (619) 594-1991.
 

A veteran District Attorney legal secretary found dead next to her 16-year-old granddaughter would have done anything for the girl, the teen’s mother told NBC 7 Wednesday.

The remains of Marshelle Newby and her granddaughter Emily Newby were discovered in the same bed of a Casa de Oro home when neighbors reported a foul odor emanating from the house. Investigators estimated the two decomposing bodies had been dead for about a week.

Distraught over losing both her mother and her daughter, Misha Oldaker was able to answer just one question from NBC 7: what was Marshelle and Emily’s relationship like?

“She would do anything for her,” Misha said. “She loved her.”

Agnes Oldaker, Misha’s mother-in-law, explained that Marshelle had custody of her granddaughter, who has special needs. Living in Casper, Wyoming, Misha has not seen her daughter in 12 years.

Still, that did not stop the loss from hitting the mother very hard.

“She's not handling it very good,” Agnes said. “She was very upset; she was crying when she called me.”

San Diego County Sheriff’s detectives said there were no signs of forced entry, no signs of a struggle inside the house and no obvious signs of trauma on either body.

They found a note at the scene, but they did not say what was written in it.

Pamela Towler, one of two neighbors who found the bodies, said she became worried when she hadn’t heard from Marshelle in days. She went to check on them and caught an odorous smell coming from the house on Avoyer Place.

When she learned they had died, she was shocked.

“They were such joy,” Towler said. “Emily has special needs and Marshelle has raised her granddaughter as her own.”

The duo were inseparable in life and the best of friends, she said.

Towler explained that Marshelle had taken last week off of work, which might explain why it took so long to find them.

A small fire was sparked in the bathroom of a San Diego-area high school.

San Diego Fire-Rescue crews were called to Lincoln High School on Imperial Avenue at 10 a.m.

Fire officials say crews found the small fire inside a boy's bathroom.

A spokesperson for San Diego Unified School District said the fire alarm was activated in a restroom by a student who admitted to holding a lighter underneath a fire sprinkler.

The Metro Arson Strike Team also responded to the school.

SDFD officials did not release the cause of the fire but said four people were detained.
 

The family of Kathleen McCormack, the missing first wife of real estate heir Robert Durst, is working to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the troubled murder suspect, NBC News reported Thursday night. 

A petition was filed to give James McCormack, the brother of Durst's first wife, authority over his sister's estate, according to a file obtained by NBC News.

"The reason James McCormack wishes to be appointed administrator at this time is to commence a possible wrongful death action against the decedent's husband, Robert Durst," Alex Spiro, McCormack's lawyer, wrote in the petition filed in Surrogate's Court of New York County on Thursday.

In 1981, Kathleen McCormack accused Durst of physical abuse and filed for a divorce. In 1982, Durst was suspected in McCormack's disappearance but was never charged due to lack of evidence. His wife's body was never found but she was legally declared dead in 2001, according to NBC News.

Durst, an estranged member of the family that runs 1 World Trade Center in New York, faces a murder trial in California in the death of his friend and onetime spokeswoman Susan Berman in 2000. 

Last March, Durst was detained at a hotel in Louisiana on the night before the finale of a six-part HBO documentary about him, the disappearance of McCormack in 1982, Berman's death and the death and dismemberment of a neighbor, Morris Black, in Galveston in 2001.

In the finale of the documentary, "The Jinx: The Life and Death of Robert Durst," the real estate heir is wearing a hot mic when he says: "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

Durst is still in a Louisiana lockup awaiting trial Jan. 11 on a federal charge that he illegally possessed a .38-caliber revolver after being convicted of a felony.

"Anybody can file a lawsuit, but you have no evidence and there is no evidence," Durst's defense attorney, Dick DeGuerin told NBC News about the petition filed by McCormack's brother. "There's a craftily edited television show and there's nothing else."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The final agreements and permits for an $80 million civic renewal project in downtown's Little Italy are about to be signed and stamped at city hall.

The project’s showpiece is Piazza Famiglia, a 10,000 square-foot public gathering space on a closed-off stretch of West Date Street, which will be overlooked by two mid-rise business and residential buildings.

"I believe it will open up this area so that people will congregate,” said Marisa Quinzii, who lives and works in Little Italy. “We have these narrow sidewalks here. I believe the park will help disperse some traffic and will be good for the community."

The residential elements of the project include 125 apartments, two dozen of them set aside as affordable units.

All you can see there right now is a giant crater and construction crane, but the venture is said to be on schedule to open next year.

It's one more encouraging sign of progress and gentrification in a long-neglected stretch of San Diego's urban core that first took root in the 1880s -- only to be cut in half when Interstate 5 was built in the 1960s.

Proof in print?

Last year Forbes magazine listed Little Italy as one of the nation's "top ten neighborhoods for Millennials."

Tourists interviewed by NBC 7 Thursday said Piazza Famiglia figures to add significantly to the area's magnetism.

"Not only for San Diego, to bring people in to see what San Diego has to offer,” said Jennifer Baralli, who lives near Chicago’s Little Italy, “but most importantly to provide jobs and tourism for the local businesses that have been here for a very long time.”

The piazza carries a building cost of $1.6 million.

The city will subsidize the developer $1 million, in order to acquire a prime public park asset at a major discount from current price tags for park space.
 

Several people in North Texas caught a rare sight Tuesday: a white deer with a full rack of antlers taking a walk through town.

Denton resident Henry Evans said he was driving in the Southridge Drive area when he spotted the large animal walking down the road.

Following it with camera in hand, Evans was able to snap a few close-up photos as the buck walked through a construction site, shocking workers Mark Martin and Brandon Barker.

"I was just kind of stunned, you know, what is that doing out here?" said Barker on Thursday. "We're like in the city almost and you've got this white deer running around. I couldn't believe it."

Barker and Martin watched the buck cross busy Teasley Lane and eventually disappear into the woods at South Lakes Park.

Game Wardens with Texas Parks and Wildlife tell our partners at the Denton Record Chronicle that it is not an albino, but a white fallow buck, which is a species of deer in the area.

Still, they are rarely seen hanging around the busy city and suburban areas like Denton.

The images quickly made rounds online throughout the week, prompting others to report sightings of the animal roaming the area that day.