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GOP Focus Group Looks for Unconventional Leadership

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A focus group of Republican voters in Indianapolis say they feel betrayed by their elected officials in Washington, NBC News reported.

Pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the focus group, said there was unity among the participants over their criticism of those in Washington.

The group’s participants said one of the qualities they’re looking for in a presidential candidate is a lack of political experience.

Of the two unconventional GOP frontrunners - Donald Trump and Ben Carson - the group noted Carson’s calm demeanor makes him a more durable choice.



Photo Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Sean Rayford/Getty Images

UVA Student Files $3M Lawsuit in Violent Arrest Case

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A University of Virginia student who was arrested in a bloody encounter in March has filed a $3 million lawsuit against Virginia's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, NBC News reports.

Martese Johnson was arrested after being thrown to the ground by liquor control agents outside an Irish pub near campus on March 18. 

The suit lists the three agents involved in the arrest, who weren’t charged, as well as the department’s director.

Johnson's attorney, Daniel Watkins, told NBC affiliate WVIR that the suit "presents important issues." The suit also accused the department of failing to properly train its agents.

NYPD Officer Shot in Head, Dies

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A 33-year-old NYPD officer was killed in a confrontation with an armed suspect fleeing police on a pedestrian overpass over the FDR Drive in East Harlem Tuesday, officials say.

Randolph Holder was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital at 10:22 p.m., shortly after he was taken there in critical condition, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said in a news conference. His family was by his side.

Holder and other officers responded to a report of gunshots fired near East 102nd Street and 1st Avenue in Harlem at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Bratton said. A victim at the scene told responding officers his bicycle had been stolen at gunpoint.

Holder and other plainclothes officers encountered a man on a bike on a pedestrian overpass over the FDR Drive at East 120th Street, Bratton said. The man and police exchanged gunfire, and Holder was struck in the head.

He was taken to Harlem Hospital in very critical condition and died there.

Meanwhile, the suspect ran away northbound on the FDR Drive promenade along the East River, and he was apprehended by officers at 124th Street. He had a gunshot wound to the leg and was taken to Cornell Hospital, where he's expected to be released Wednesday morning and into police custody, according to Bratton.

Three others were taken into custody at East 111th Street and FDR Driver and are being questioned. At least one gun was recovered, sources said.

Holder, a native of Guyana, had five years on the job and worked in the anti-crime unit of PSA no. 5, a command that polices public housing developments in East Harlem and Harlem, according to Bratton.

His father and his grandfather were both police officers in Guyana, and Holder joined the NYPD after he moved here

"I extend our deepest condolences to his family," Bratton said, speaking on behalf of the NYPD, "especially to his father, who in his time of grief sought to comfort the officers from PSA 5. He was strong enough and brave enough to go in and address them. As they tried to comfort him, he in fact was comforting them."

Dozens of uniformed and plainclothes officers had lined the hallway at the hospital in the moments after Holder was taken there, while other officers held each other as they arrived.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the news conference, "This whole city is in mourning, mourning a man who gave his life as a guardian for all of us, and we're humbled by Officer Randolph Holder's example, example of service and courage and sacrifice."

"Our hearts are heavy and we offer our thoughts and our prayers to his family, who are experiencing unimaginable pain, as we saw earlier when we gathered with them," he said, calling Holder "an immigrant who wanted to give back to his city and to his country, who had an exemplary record as a police officer, who did everything the right way."

The FDR Drive remained closed in both directions between 96th Street and 125th Street early Wednesday. Drivers were urged to expect extensive delays and consider alternate routes.

Holder is the fourth NYPD officer killed in the line of duty in the last 11 months. Brian Moore, 25, was shot in the head while sitting in an unmarked patrol car in Queens last May; he was taken off life support two days later.;Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot in the head as they sat in their patrol car in Bedford-Stuyvesant in December 2014, days before Christmas. 



Photo Credit: NYPD

Toyota to Recall 6.5 Million Cars for Power Window Switch

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Toyota announced Wednesday it would recall 6.5 million vehicles globally to fix a defect in the power window switch, Reuters reported.

Toyota said modules in the power window master switch may have been lubricated inconsistently during the manufacturing process.

The glitch affects the Yaris/Vitz subcompact, Corolla, Camry and other models. The company said there have been no reports of crashes caused by the glitch.

The vehicles being recalled were produced between January 2005 and December 2010. About 2.7 million affected vehicles are in North America, Toyota said.
 



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U.S. Companies Slow to React to Hackers: Report

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Foreign countries are targeting U.S. companies, but few are taking threats seriously, NBC News reported.

A new report from cybersecurity research firms Ponemon Institute and CounterTack shows 75 percent of the IT practitioners surveyed said they aren’t ready, can’t detect or combat cyber attacks. Only half of those surveyed said they are taking precautions to prevent or deter attacks.

"The world has really changed," Larry Ponemon, the Institute's founder, told NBC News. "Companies are doing a good job — but attackers, and not just nation-states, but all attackers, they're becoming more sophisticated, strategic and just nastier. The gap is growing."

Cybersecurity researchers have traced many attacks to China — despite protestations by the country's president, Xi Jinping, that it does not engage in such behavior. North Korea, Iran, Russia and Syria have also been implicated in intrusions, NBC News reported.



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Pressure Mounts on Pitino Amid Ex-Escort's Claims

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Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino and his University of Louisville basketball program are under increasing pressure following claims that a former athletic staff member at the university paid for strippers to attend parties with high school basketball recruits, NBC News reported. 

Former escort Katina Powell claims in a new book there were more than 20 sex parties for basketball recruits on the University of Louisville campus between 2010 and 2014. 

She alleges Andre McGee, a former assistant coach, paid her and her escorts to help lure high school recruits to the school. McGee is on paid administrative leave while a review is conducted.

Pitino says he was unaware of the allegations. The university said in a statement, "the allegations have been taken very seriously. In no way would anyone at this institution condone the alleged activities. To preserve the integrity of the review process, the University will withhold comment on any details until the review is concluded."



Photo Credit: AP

Asteroid Nears Earth on Halloween

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If you were hoping something spooky would happen on Halloween, well, it just might.

According to NASA, an asteroid is expected to pass incredibly close to Earth on Halloween, marking the closest approach since 2006.

The asteroid, called 2015 TB145, is slated to come closest to Earth around 12:12 p.m. Central Time. The object could come as close as 1.3 lunar distances from Earth, or 310,000 miles, NASA predicts.

The asteroid is expected to travel at 35 kilometers per second, which officials called “unusually high.”

“The flyby presents a truly outstanding scientific opportunity to study the physical properties of this object,” NASA said in a release.

It was first discovered on Oct. 10 in what NASA officials called an “extremely eccentric and a high inclination orbit.”

The last approach closer than this was in July 2006, where an object came to 1.1 lunar distances away. The next time an object is expected to come this close to Earth is August 2027, when 1999 AN10 is expected to reach within 1 lunar distance.

While it won’t be visible to the naked eye, it can be seen through a small telescope.
 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Pilot Dies When F-18 Crashes Near U.S. Base in England

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An F-18 fighter jet crashed Wednesday after taking off from a U.S. Air Force base in England, killing the pilot, a spokeswoman from Cambridgeshire Police confirmed to NBC News.

The plane crashed after leaving from RAF Lakenheath, around 70 miles northeast of London, according to Senior Airman Amanda Sampson, a spokeswoman at the base. Lakenheath is the largest U.S. Air Force-operated base in England, NBC News reports.

The plane was an F-18C Hornet from Marine Attack Fighter Squadron 232 based in the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California, the Marine Corps said in a statement Wednesday.

Cambridgeshire Police said the pilot was killed and appears to have been the only person on board.



Photo Credit: AP

Restaurant Could Face Lawsuit

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At least two of the 80 people who fell violently ill in connection with a bacterial outbreak at a San Jose, California, restaurant are considering legal action, according to their attorney.

Fifteen of the 80 cases are confirmed to be Shigella, according to the Santa Clara County Health Department. The intestinal infection causes fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Twelve of the people who fell ill have been taken to the intensive care units of local hospitals, the health department said.

"You don't generally see 12 people, a dozen people, in ICU, even in some of the worst foodborne illness cases," said Bill Marler, a food safety lawyer who was contacted by two people looking to sue the restaurant after getting sick. "It's medical bills, it's wages lost, and then obviously you may have long-term complications," he added.

Officials have said the number of Shigella cases may grow because the bacteria is highly contagious. All have been linked to the Mariscos San Juan restaurant on 205 N. Fourth Street in San Jose.

"Right now all of the cases are directly from the restaurant," said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County Public Health director. "But there is a possibility there could be more who did not eat there because of secondary spread."

Marler's firm also represented 16 families who contracted Shigella in 2000. During that outbreak, more than 100 people fell ill and one died after eating at the Viva Mexico restaurant in Redwood City. The restaurant has since shut down.

In that case, the families split a settlement of $1 million.

Records show Mariscos San Juan in San Jose was cited for a violation two months ago after inspectors found the restaurant did not have the documents to prove employees had proper food handling training.

Santa Clara County food inspection reports show the seafood restaurant had its permit suspended on Sunday.

Shigella can mostly be treated with antibiotics, though some strains are proving resistant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC tracked 1,633 cases of Shigellosis in California in 2014, up from 949 cases in 2011.

Within the Bay Area, San Francisco had 278 cases of Shigella last year, while Santa Clara and Alameda counties each had 81, the CDC reports.

There are three Mariscos San Juan restaurants in San Jose. The original restaurant on Willow Street had its permit suspended in August, county records show. The second restaurant, on Senter Road, has not been cited this year. The third, located at 205 N. Fourth Street, has been linked to the Shigellosis outbreak.

To report a case of Shigella, click here or call 408-885-4214.

NBC Bay Area's Kris Sanchez, Lisa Fernandez, Marianne Favro and Terry McSweeney contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: NBC Bay Area

Drug Firms Reap Billions by Paying Rivals: Critics

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Sharp overnight increases in the cost of prescription drugs are not the only pharmaceutical industry practice that adds billions of dollars to the price that consumers pay for their medicines.

Pharmaceutical companies also use "reverse settlement payments," or "pay-to-delay" deals, financial arrangements that allow drug manufacturers in some instances to pay competitors not to manufacture generic versions of their products, thereby ensuring that they maintain patent protection for as long as possible, NBC News reported.

Critics say that unlike the steep drug price increases that have received wide media attention, reverse settlements have drawn little scrutiny.

Regulators and courts are struggling to figure out when the agreements cross the murky legal line laid down by the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago. But in the meantime, the deals have cost consumers billions of dollars over the past 22 years, according to a 2009 study of the practice.



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Poll: Americans Unsatisfied With Clinton's Benghazi Response

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By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, Americans say they're unsatisfied with Hillary Clinton's response to the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, according to results from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

But a plurality of respondents believe that the congressional investigation into the attack is unfair and politically motivated, NBC News reported.

And the public is essentially divided over the importance of Clinton's private email server, with 47 percent of Americans saying it's an important factor in deciding their vote, and another 44 percent saying it isn't important.

These findings come ahead of Clinton's testimony Thursday before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, where the 2012 terrorist attack, Clinton's private email server and allegations (even from fellow Republicans) that the committee was established to hurt Clinton's presidential campaign will all be subjects of discussion.



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Assad Travels to Moscow to Visit Putin

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Syrian President Bashar Assad traveled to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin in his first known trip abroad since the war broke out in his country in 2011, Syrian and Russian media reported Wednesday.

Assad met with Putin on Tuesday to talk about continuing military operations in Syria to wipe out terrorism, a statement posted to the Syrian presidency’s official Facebook page said.

Assad thanked Putin for his support, according to a transcript of their meeting published on the Kremlin website.

Syria’s conflict began in March 2001 after the government used violence to crackdown on largely peaceful protests against Assad’s rule.



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DA: Men Charged in Rape Blogged About Crime

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Three San Diego men are criminally charged, accused of raping an unconscious and intoxicated woman they met in the Gaslamp Quarter. A complaint filed by the District Attorney’s office alleges two of the men later bragged about the sexual assault in an online post.

The men recalled the events in a post on a locally-operated website that claims to teach men how to meet, seduce and sleep with women in one night.

Jason M. Berlin, 27, Jonas Isaac Dick, 26, and Alexander Markham Smith, 26, are charged each with one count of rape of an intoxicated person and one count of rape of an unconscious person.

Court documents obtained exclusively by NBC 7 allege, around October 13-14, 2013, the men met the victim in the Gaslamp Quarter.

She was heavily intoxicated and agreed to go back to one of their residences located in the Gaslamp.

There, according to court records, the woman’s friend found the victim unconscious, face down on a bed and surrounded by vomit with two of the defendants nude around her.

The friend dragged the woman from the room and the two reported what happened to San Diego Police, according to the complaint.

According to a police investigator, “The next day Smith blogged about the incident, touting his sexual prowess. Berlin confessed to engaging in sex with a female who moments before vomited. He chronicled the incident with great detail implicating himself, Smith and Dick.”

The complaint alleges both Dick and Berlin blogged about the attack and posted them on the website Efficient Pickup.

Video of other people on the website claim the site is a legend in the dating pick up community.

Two people, not involved in the criminal case, can be heard saying on the website, “Pretty much every day we go out, we meet, seduce and bring home a very attractive girl that same night.”

The website indicates its office is located on Market Street in the East Village.

Investigators say Dick and Smith were listed as “instructors” on the site.

Police claim they found “hundreds of pornographic photographs and videos…several of nude women asleep or unconscious” on Smith’s phone.

NBC 7 reached out to the attorneys representing the three defendants. None of them wanted to comment. They said their clients have pleaded not guilty. Requests for comment were also sent to the website identified by investigators, but no reply has been received.

Defendant Jonas Dick is currently in custody. The other two defendants are currently out on bail, according to court records.

A jury trial is scheduled for January 4.
 

Presidential Candidates Aren't Very Popular: Poll

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Beyond the horserace numbers, the approval ratings, and opinions about the Benghazi committee testimony on Thursday, maybe the biggest finding in the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll is how the American electorate -- at large -- doesn't care for the 2016 field.

Every major candidate in the poll, including non-candidate Joe Biden, gets a majority of voters saying they are uncertain/pessimistic about their ability to do a good job as president vs. optimistic/satisfied.

According to the pollsters, there is no precedent for that level of negativity for the entire field in the history of the NBC/WSJ poll on this question.

"We don't like our candidates very much," co-pollster Bill McInturff (R) said in summing up the finding here. "There is no single candidate who got a net-positive rating [on this question]. There is simply no precedent for that." Click through to see the numbers. 



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One of SD's Worst Roads Gets Much Needed Fix

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City crews fixed one of San Diego’s worst roads Tuesday as part of Mayor Kevin Faulconer's goal to repair 1,000 miles of streets over the next five years.

People living on Allied Road between Greenbriar Avenue and Mission Gorge Road say they’ve been asking the city to fix the street for years. It finally happened Tuesday in just a matter of hours.

By 7 a.m., city crews were breaking up the street. The nearly half mile stretch has been causing problems over the last several years for drivers and homeowners like Chuck Marcom, 32-year resident of the area.

“Before? It was hell on wheels! Terrible,” Marcom remembered.

Others describe it as driving through the mountains. Deanna Carlock said she’s been waiting six years for this day.

“People would come visit us all the time and the first thing they said when they came into our house was, ‘What’s wrong with your street?’ So we were super embarrassed,” she said.

Their solution for a time was just to drive very slowly over the broken street. For her and other neighbors, the repairs couldn’t have come soon enough.

Earlier this year, Faulconer announced a plan to fix nearly a third of San Diego’s roadways over the next five years.

The mayor was on Allied Road Tuesday for the finishing touches.

“Street repairs, street repairs and more street repairs,” he said when asked about his biggest infrastructure priorities.

Faulconer has pledged 50 percent of all new city revenue will go to neighborhood infrastructure. This year, $74 million is already budgeted for street repairs.

“This is where our dollar should be going: to make sure streets are smooth,” Faulconer said.

By 3 p.m., the street that’s haunted drivers for years in Allied Gardens is a smooth ride for residents.

“I’m very happy it’s being done…I just hope it’s doesn’t crumble back off again like it did before,” said Marcom.

It’s still a rough road ahead for other parts of the city. Allied Road is just a few blocks of 300 miles the city wants to fix this year.
 


Police Leaders Join Forces to Reduce Mass Incarceration

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A coalition of 130 police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors has banded together to reduce the number of people in American prisons. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy are among the group, which is backed by organizations as diverse as the NAACP and the conservative Koch Industries.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama will meet with some members of the new organization, Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration, described in its own press release as "a surprising new voice" on the issue of mass incarceration.

In a mission statement posted on its website, the group said that stopping crime and keeping people out of jail are not mutually exclusive.

In particular, the organization said, locking up too many people for drug and nonviolent offenses can "kick-start a cycle of incarceration that turns first-time offenders into repeat offenders." 



Photo Credit: Getty

Netanyahu: Palestinian Gave Hitler Idea to Exterminate Jews

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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked an uproar for suggesting that a Palestinian gave Adolf Hitler the idea to exterminate 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, NBC News reported. 

In a speech to Jewish leaders on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that the Mufti of Jerusalem in the World War II era — Haj Amin al-Husseini — had a "central role" in having Hitler adopt the Final Solution. 

"He flew to Berlin. Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews," Netanyahu said. According to Netanyahu, Hitler asked the mufti what he should do. "He said, 'Burn them,'" Netanyahu said. 

Contained within a broader speech alleging Palestinian incitement and against the bloody backdrop of recent violence against Israelis, Tuesday's remarks hit a fresh nerve. Politicians and historians condemned the comments. Chief historian of the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, Dina Porat, told NBC News that Netanyahu's claims were simply "not correct."



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Vatican Slams Report Pope Has Curable Brain Tumor

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The Vatican on Wednesday firmly denied an Italian newspaper report that Pope Francis has a brain tumor, calling the article "inexcusable and unconscionable," NBC News reported. 

Quotidiano Nazionale published a front-page story Wednesday headlined "The Pope is Sick." The article alleged the 78-year-old pontiff was diagnosed with "a small dark spot on the brain," which was curable without surgery, according to a translation by Reuters.

The Vatican has issued a series of denials. On Wednesday, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the pope was "in good health" and called the paper's story as "unfounded information."



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Sources ID Suspect in NYPD Death

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A 30-year-old wanted criminal with 18 prior arrests, mostly for drug offenses, and 12 prior incarcerations allegedly shot a 33-year-old NYPD officer in the front of the head as he encountered the officer, who was responding to a report of gunfire near the FDR Drive in East Harlem, authorities say.

Tyrone Howard, also known as "Peanut," was allegedly part of a group that had engaged in a gun battle on an overpass near East 102nd Street and First Avenue around 8:30 p.m Tuesday. Officers on nearby rooftops who witnessed the gun battle radioed for backup and NYPD officer Randolph Holder and his partner were among those who responded, authorities said.

Howard fled the site of the gun battle, stole a man's bicycle at gunpoint near 126th Street and started riding that bicycle near the promenade, authorities allege. As Holder and his partner scoured the area for potential suspects, they encountered and followed three individuals but soon realized those individuals had nothing to do with the gun battle and continued heading down a walkway.

As they walked down that path, Howard approached the duo on his bicycle, authorities say. According to Bill Aubry, Manhattan chief of detectives, Howard saw the officers, put down his bike, pulled out a gun and fired once, striking Holder in the front of the head. Howard then headed toward Holder's partner, who pulled out his own weapon and fired at Howard, striking him twice, including once in the leg. Howard fled north on the promenade and was apprehended by other officers.

According to law enforcement sources, Howard had three current warrants out for his arrest, including one on a second-degree assault charge. Authorities say they were looking for him in connection with a Sept. 1 shooting at the East River Houses. Police sources call Howard a "major drug player" and say he knew police were looking for him. He was most recently arrested in October 2014 on a drug-related offense and was jailed from that time through February of this year.

"The perpetrator involved here was obviously a hardened, violent criminal who should not have been allowed on the streets," Mayor de Blasio said Wednesday as he called for criminal justice reform.

Holder was taken to Harlem Hospital in very critical condition Tuesday night and later pronounced dead. Dozens of Holder's fellow officers stood outside the hospital and saluted as the ambulance carrying their fallen colleague left. Afterward, many embraced one another.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, reflecting on the deadly police shootings he has seen over the course of his career, says coping with the losses never gets easier.

"It never gets easier. I'll be very frank with you -- it gets worse each time," Bratton said Wednesday, reflecting on the police deaths he's seen over the last 45 years. "Last night was one of those nights -- it was not easy to do."

Bratton spoke about a time in the 1970s when dozens of officers went down every year.

"The challenge for all of us is in the midst of all of our well-intended efforts to deal with racial issues, to deal with criminal issues, narcotics issues, is that we don't let the insanity again take hold of us," Bratton said. 

Howard was released from the hospital into police custody Wednesday, according to Bratton. Aubry said he was expected to be placed in lineups later in the day in connection with the gun battle and the bike theft. He said there was significant video and DNA evidence as well as surveillance video at the scene and authorities were working with prosecutors to establish grounds for a murder charge.

There was no immediate information on whether Howard had an attorney.

At least one gun was recovered at the scene of the gun battle, law enforcement sources said, and authorities believe at least three weapons were used. Police say the murder weapon has not yet been recovered, but that witnesses saw the suspect toss something toward the river as he ran from the officers. They believe the gun is in the water, and NYPD officials say they're confident the weapon will be recovered since the river is shallow at the edge.

The FDR Drive remained closed in both directions between 96th Street and 125th Street for more than 12 hours before it was reopened shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday as investigators scoured the scene.

At a news briefing Wednesday, de Blasio said the tragic shooting should underscore a desperate need for stricter gun laws.

"Our officers do so much every day to protect us and yet they grapple every day with an unrelenting flow of firearms into this city from the outside," de Blasio said.

Holder, a native of Guyana, had five years on the job and worked in the anti-crime unit of PSA no. 5, a command that polices public housing developments in East Harlem and Harlem, according to Bratton.

His father and his grandfather were both police officers in Guyana, and Holder joined the NYPD after he moved to New York.

Speaking outside his home Wednesday, Holder's father said his son has always wanted to be a policeman. He described his son as an easygoing, loving young man who did his duties diligently and with pride.

He also said he had just taken the detective's exam and was looking to move up in the force.

"In each job I think there's danger, no matter the type of work you're doing. There's some kind of risk involved," Randolph Holder Sr. said. "If I had known that was the last time, I would have told him not to go out for duty. If I had known ... stay home."

De Blasio said Holder had an "exemplary record" as a police officer. He ordered all flags in the city be lowered to half-staff in Holder's honor and called for solidarity in the wake of this tragedy.

"Our hearts are heavy and we offer our thoughts and our prayers to his family, who are experiencing unimaginable pain, as we saw earlier when we gathered with them," he said Tuesday, calling Holder "an immigrant who wanted to give back to his city and to his country, who had an exemplary record as a police officer, who did everything the right way."

Bratton especially offered condolences to Holder's father, "who in his time of grief sought to comfort the officers from PSA 5. He was strong enough and brave enough to go in and address them. As they tried to comfort him, he in fact was comforting them."

Holder is the fourth NYPD officer killed in the line of duty in the last 11 months. Brian Moore, 25, was shot in the head while sitting in an unmarked patrol car in Queens last May; he was taken off life support two days later. Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot in the head as they sat in their patrol car in Bedford-Stuyvesant in December 2014, days before Christmas.

"New York City police officers every day go out and carry themselves like superheroes but the reality is when we're attacked we bleed, when we bleed we die and when we die we cry," Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said.



Photo Credit: AP/NBC 4 New York

Driver Tweets Photo of Teen's Body

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After a deadly crash in Jacksonville, a young driver tweeted, "I jus (sic) killed a man" and shared a graphic image of the 16-year-old's body, leaving the teen's mother devastated and demanding answers.

Trevius Williams was crossing the street around 8:30 p.m. Sunday in the 9300 block of Lem Turner Road in Jacksonville, Florida, when the driver struck him. He died at the scene.

The driver tweeted a photo of Williams' body, which was shared multiple times on social media. Coles told NBC affiliate FCN she was notified by family members that photos of her dead son's body were circulating online.

Williams' mother, Connie Coles, told FCN she does not understand how the driver who fatally struck her son has not been arrested and charged in his death.

Hours before Sunday's deadly crash, the 19-year-old driver tweeted song lyrics that said, "I drunk so much ** lean I feel like I'm off a NyQuil," FCN reports.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office confirmed that the tweets originated from the driver. The Twitter account has since been deactivated.

JSO said the driver showed no signs of impairment and was not tested for drugs or alcohol at the scene, FCN reports. According to detectives, the driver cooperated with responding officers.

For Williams' mother, that isn't enough.

"I'm angry because detectives told me that there's no alcohol or drugs involved," Coles told FCN of the findings. "How would you know if he wasn't tested?"

JSO said the investigation into Williams' death is ongoing and could not confirm whether the driver is facing any charges, according to FCN.



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