A Michigan state board has approved circulation of a petition to recall Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder — but not over the water crisis in Flint.

The petition approved Monday seeks to remove Snyder, a Republican, from office over his decision last year to take control of the state office to reform schools, which organizers say disregards local prerogatives, according to The Detroit News and The Associated Press.

The Board of State Canvassers, part of the secretary of state's office, rejected nine other recall petitions, six of them based on Snyder's widely criticized handling of lead from corroded pipes that began leaching into Flint homes following a cost-saving move to pump water from the Flint River.

The vote gives organizers 180 days to gather enough signatures to add a ballot measure later this year asking voters to oust Snyder, who has no intention of resigning, NBC News reported. 

A 25-year-old San Diego woman who had recently moved to Chicago was killed over the weekend when she was hit by a stray bullet outside her apartment in the city's Heart of Chicago neighborhood.

Aaren O’Connor was returning from work around 7:30 p.m. Friday and was sitting in her car when a stray bullet hit her in the back of the head, police said.

O’Connor’s roommate found her unresponsive in the vehicle and she was transported to John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County in critical condition. She later died Sunday, her family said.

“I knew right away that we lost our baby,” said her father David O’Connor. “It’s just absolutely the worst time of my life.”

O’Connor moved to Chicago a year and a half ago from San Diego to work at Tomy, a toy company with offices in suburban Oak Brook.

Her father said he was nervous about his daughter’s move from the beginning.

“I don’t want to say devastated but fearful because I knew the kind of things happening in Chicago,” David said.

Friends and colleagues in the Chicago area say they vow to continue O’Connor’s memory by giving at-risk kids in Chicago an outlet to keep them away from violence. Donations will fund an after-school program and scholarship in her name.

“We want to target people who want to travel abroad since we know that was something that was very passionate for her,” said her co-worker Sarah Moen.

After all, it was studying abroad that led to her love, friends and family said.

O’Connor’s move to Chicago also meant she would finally be with her long-distance boyfriend, who lived in suburban Elgin. The couple met while studying abroad in Japan and was looking forward to living together after years of long distance.

“When it really happens to you, it feels like a void,” said her boyfriend Carlos Sorto.

A GoFundMe page had been set up to help O’Connor’s family with the funeral costs and remaining donations will start the scholarship program in her memory.

“Our long-term goal is to develop an after school program at a community center in Aaren’s name where Chicago’s youth can come together to receive the caring and resources they need to choose a non-violent path and open their hearts to others,” the page reads. “Other suggestions to provide healing to our community in Aaren’s memory are welcome and encouraged. May she rest in peace.”
 

Sikh-American designer and actor Waris Ahluwalia said that his turban prevented him from boarding a plane in Mexico City.

The flight's final destination was New York City, where Ahluwalia is based, but attendants at the airport barred him from boarding his Aeroméxico flight, NBC News reported. Ahluwalia recalled the event on social media. 

"This morning in Mexico City I was told I could not board my @aeromexico flight to NYC because of my turban. #FearisanOpportunitytoEducate #humanrights #dignity #lovenotfear," Ahluwalia wrote in the caption of his photo.

In a statement released Monday by the Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund (SALDEF), the organization criticized the airline's actions, writing, "We are disappointed and concerned that Mr. Ahluwahlia was asked to remove his turban prior to boarding his flight. The turban is an integral part of a Sikh's identity and removal in public is akin to a strip search. The security personnel involved in this debacle owe Mr. Ahluwahlia an apology and must be trained in cultural and religious awareness."

Two commuter trains carrying a total of 150 people crashed head-on Tuesday morning in southern Germany, killing at least ten and injuring 81 others, police said, NBC News reported. 

Police spokeswoman Lisa Meier told NBC News that the death toll had climbed to 10 by late afternoon after one person injured in the crash died in the hospital.

The trains were traveling around a curve at around 60 mph on a single-track route when they collided and the the curve meant it was unlikely the train drivers saw each other, German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters. Officials said it was too soon to say what may have caused the crash but said .

Police initially said 150 people were injured in the crash, but that number was later revised down to 81 — including 18 people listed with "severe" injuries."

A San Diego businessman will spend nine months in prison for his part in a fake mortgage loan modification scheme that tricked more than 1,000 struggling homeowners.

Michael Nazarinia, 41, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and subscribing to a false tax return for his actions while working for Haffar & Associates, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Nazarinia and co-conspirators used telemarketing to convince customers they could help them avoid foreclosure. They tricked more than 1,000 people into signing up to pay more than $3.5 million in all, federal prosecutors said.

The business was owned by attorney Mohamed Haffar, who allowed those under him to use his bar license and law firm to pull off the scheme.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said Charles Rose, another defendant, managed a call center with about 30 telemarketers. Each would read from a script written by Rose to recruit new clients.

The telemarketers were told to make blatantly false claims, like “Haffar & Associates has a 98 percent success rate,” “we have never lost a home to foreclosure” and “we have a 100 percent money-back guarantee,” according to prosecutors.

However, Nazarinia admitted in his guilty plea that the business did not have anything close to a 98 percent success rate getting loan modifications. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Haffar & Associates did not have staff experienced enough to even complete the loan modifications.

Many of their customers, learning that the company was not doing its job, never received their requested refunds. Even as employees failed to get the loan modifications, the telemarketers were still on the phones, trying to get new clients, prosecutors said.

Nazarinia admitted to creating a fake lease agreement which was used to delay eviction for clients after Haffar & Associates failed to negotiate a modification. The defendant also said he filed a false 2010 income tax return, leaving out almost $100,000 in illegal income from the business.

Nazarinia was in charge of the “case managers,” who worked with the banks to submit and approve loan modifications. Investigators later discovered that although they were using Haffar’s legal authority, Haffar rarely gave input or direction on the managers’ legal services.

When Haffar & Associates stopped doing business, Rose and Nazarinia started another company that sold a product they said would “facilitate mortgage lenders’ review of homeowners applications for loan modifications,” said the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Rose admitted to making false statements to get clients to sign up and pay fees.

“Using the guise of a law office and a legal team, the defendants preyed upon financially desperate homeowners struggling to keep a roof over their head,” said Erick Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal, in a statement. “As today’s sentencing shows, those who find ways to profit by taking advantage of distressed homeowners and fail to report the income will be brought to justice.”

Along with Nazarinia, Rose and Haffar have both pleaded guilty in their scheme. Rose will be sentenced in April. Haffar was disbarred in 2012, was ordered to reimburse $192,000 to former clients and was sentenced to three months in prison in January 2015.

A fourth defendant, Stacy Tuers, admitted he knew the telemarketers were lying to potential customers but continued to sell Haffar’s loan modification services. Tuers pleaded guilty to tax charges in May 2015 and will be sentenced in March.
 

The country's first primary begins in New Hampshire on Tuesday and after the Iowa Caucuses, the results will play a critical factor in deciding who will be sent to the White House. 

Sen. Ted Cruz may have done well in Iowa but New Hampshire's evangelical voters, who largely supported Cruz in Iowa, aren't as numerous this time around, NBC News reported. 

Donald Trump leads in the New Hampshire polls and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio hopes to gain more points. 

For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton's camp increase their attacks on Bernie Sanders, who holds the lead in the polls. Bill Clinton was asked if he is worried that Hillary doesn't do well with younger voters and he replied, "No, it's all part of the strategy the Republicans have. Keep her tied up for a year."

Donald Trump became the first presidential contender in recent memory to use an epithet for female anatomy to describe a Republican rival on stage at a rally on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, NBC News reported. 

Addressing about 5,000 people at Manchester's Verizon Center on Monday Trump derided his opponents and contrasted his recent statements on bringing back waterboarding to those of Sen. Ted Cruz.

"You know he's concerned about the answer because well, some people," Trump said pointing to a woman in the audience, "she just said a terrible thing. You know what she said? Shout it out 'cause I don't wanna."

Then he said it anyway: "She said, 'He's a p---y.'"

The crowd laughed and cheered and Trump faux-chastised the woman, saying, "That's terrible! Terrible."

A man was found "ablaze" outside Prince William's London home and died in the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to police, NBC News reported. 

London's Metropolitan Police said a hospital called shortly after midnight to report that a patient had gone missing. Officers launched a search but didn't find the patient, police said in a statement.

Three hours later, police responded to reports of a man "behaving suspiciously" outside the locked parks of Kensington Palace — where William and his wife live when they're in London.

The man, believed to be in his forties, was found "ablaze" by responding officers. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

A suburban Chicago father killed his wife and teenage son with autism before taking his own life inside their family home over the weekend, according to police.

Oak Forest police were told Margaret O’Leary Joost called in sick Friday to Advocate Christ Hospital, where she was a crisis worker, and didn’t show up again Monday.

A concerned co-worker went to the family's home on the 6600 block of Courtney Avenue and saw what appeared to be blood coming seeping out from the garage door, police said.

Authorities responded to the home around 8 p.m., forced their way inside and discovered what Oak Forest Police Chief Greg Anderson described to be a "gruesome scene."

The 55-year-old O'Leary and her 18-year-old son, Daniel Joost, were found dead lying in bed in their respective rooms, police said. Both victims had marks around their necks indicating they may have been strangled.

Authorities believe they were killed by father and husband David Joost, who was found hanging in the home’s garage with slit wrists. A car in the garage had also been left running, according to police.

The family is survived by a 20-year-old daughter, who was away at Millikin University in Decatur at the time of the deaths.

"We can't imagine what she has got to be going through," Anderson said.

Neighbors said they hadn’t seen any activity at the home since Saturday. Preliminary investigation found the double homicide and suicide was likely carried out late Friday or early Saturday, according to police. There was not a suicide note left at the scene or any calls to the home in the past, police said.

The deaths were a stunning, sad realization for others in the Oak Forest neighborhood like Bill O'Malley, who has lived next door to the family for years.

"They were nice people, friendly," O'Malley said. "The first people I met when I moved in."

Investigators said David Joost recently lost his job and was struggling financially. The son, Daniel Joost, was autistic and attended a nearby transition program through the South West Cooperative, police said.

"You'd just see him, he was always out barbecuing in the summers, in the flowers ... walking the dog," O’Malley said. "It's shocking. It’s kind of disturbing, really. You never really know what’s going on behind closed doors, I guess."

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office will conduct autopsies and will determine the official cause and manner of deaths.

A Connecticut state trooper was killed in a hunting accident in Texas over the weekend when he was struck by a bullet meant for a wild hog, authorities said.

Trooper Stephen Davis, of Hebron, was shot Saturday. Deputies from the sheriff’s office in Maverick County, Texas, responded to the Cinco Ranch just after 6:30 p.m. after receiving the report of an accidental shooting.

U.S. Border Patrol agents led deputies to Davis, who had been shot in the left side of his torso and was unresponsive in the brush, authorities said. Davis was pronounced dead at 7:22 p.m.

A man from Warren, Maine, told authorities he had shot at a wild hog and accidentally struck Davis, according to police.

Connecticut State Police issued a statement saying the family suffered a tremendous loss.

"The unexpected passing of TFC Davis is a loss for this agency," Dora Schriro, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said in a statement. "TFC Davis swore to serve and protect the public and he did so as a true professional, earning the respect of his peers."

Davis, a 27-year veteran of the state police, most recently served at Troop C in Tolland. He entered the State Police Academy on April 4, 1988, and graduated with the 98th Training Troop on Sept. 2, 1988.

Davis served as a Tolland Resident Trooper, a DARE instructor and field training officer for new troopers. He was actively involved with the Troop C Explorer Post and earned a Medal for Lifesaving award.

"TFC Davis was truly passionate about being a Trooper and his attention to detail was superb. Stephen was a true professional and a well-respected member of this department," Troop C commanding officer Lt. Scott Smith said in a statement. 

Cinco Ranch is about 20 miles west of Houston, Texas.

A man who pleaded guilty to fatally hitting and killing a pedestrian in Lakeside was sentenced to 6 years in state prison, the San Diego County District Attorney announced. 

 Joel Joseph Silva, 33, of Julian fatally struck 34-year-old Kimberly Eakin as she walked along Woodside Avenue in Lakeside November 29, 2015. 

Several days later, Silva pleaded guilty to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving under the influence of drugs causing great bodily injury.

At the time of the crash, authorities say they found at least five bottles of prescription drugs in the car. Silva was arrested after officials administered field sobriety tests.

Silva told authorities he fell asleep at the wheel and woke up after the accident.
 

National City police arrested two teenagers and found a handgun after officials locked down Sweetwater Union High School Monday afternoon.

A teacher, who did not want to be identified, said an email from the principal informed them that a man was seen with a gun. As a precaution, administrators decided to lock down the campus at about 3:45 p.m., which still had between 600 to 800 students there for after-school activities.

According to the teacher, a staff member was trying to prevent a fight between students, protecting one teen from another.

The student being protected told the staff member that the agressive teen "was carrying," the teacher told NBC 7. Once the lockdown was announced, the teen who allegedly had a weapon bolted from campus.

Police said a 16-year-old teen lifted up his shirt and showed off the butt of a handgun. A 17-year-old was also involved; both are former students of Sweetwater Union High.

Officers caught up with the teens down the street from the school and discovered a handgun in a vehicle tied to the suspects. Both were taken into custody.

The lockdown was lifted by 4:30 p.m. The high school is located in National City on Highland Avenue.

One soccer player said he was on the field when the lockdown was ordered.

"They took us off the field and just told us that it was on lockdown because they put it on the speakers of the school," said the player. The team was ushered into a storage unit until the lockdown was lifted.

No further information was immediately available.

California Assemblyman Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside) announced Monday he is dropping out of the U.S. Senate race.

Chavez, a Republican who represents northern coastal San Diego County, made the announcement during a live GOP debate on KOGO-AM in San Diego.

"I think the best role I can fill for the Republican Party and moving the agenda forward, which I've been involved in since 2001, is to run for my Assembly seat in the 76th,” Chavez said. “I'm not going to be running for the United States Senate, and I'll be leaving the field right now."

With that, he walked directly off the stage and out of the room.

As he said, the retired U.S. Marine colonel will be campaigning for re-election to his own seat in the state legislature. Chavez said he discussed the decision with his family and prayed before breaking the news.

The Sacramento Bee reported Monday that Chavez has run into fundraising troubles. He took in about $105,000 last year but closed 2015 with just $369 on hand and about $43,000 in debts, he told the paper.

Tom Del Beccaro and Duf Sundheim are now the only two GOP candidates vying for a chance to reach the general election. Both men have previously served as the chairman of the California Republican Party.

State Attorney General Kamala Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) are running as the Democratic candidates. In California, the two candidates with the highest number of votes in the primary move onto the November ballot, no matter which party they represent.

The Senate seat is open after Sen. Barbara Boxer announced her intention to retire after this term.

Federal transportation officials might soon be looking into a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that ran into high winds and rough seas in the Atlantic Ocean over the weekend.

Sen. Bill Nelson has called for the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the voyage that forced frightened passengers into their cabins overnight Sunday as their belongings flew about, waves rose as high as 30 feet, and winds howled outside.

"The thing about this storm was that it was forecast for days. So why in the world would a cruise ship with thousands of passengers go sailing right into it?" Nelson said Monday on the Senate floor, according to a news release from his office.

The National Weather Service's Ocean Prediction Center had issued an alert for a strong storm four days in advance, Susan Buchanan with the weather service said. The first warning was issued Saturday for possible hurricane-force winds in the area the ship was scheduled to sail through.

Royal Caribbean announced Monday that the ship was turning around and sailing back to its home port in New Jersey. No injuries were reported, and the ship suffered only minor damage.

"I was shaking all over," passenger Shara Strand of New York City wrote to The Associated Press via Facebook on Monday. "Panic attack, things like that. ... I've been on over 20 cruises, I've been through a hurricane, it was never like this. Never."

Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Lairson says she and her father, Sam, could feel the ship, Anthem of the Seas, begin to sway by 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The captain directed passengers to their cabins. There, the Lairsons heard glasses shatter in the bathroom, and they put their belongings in drawers and closets to prevent them from flying across the room. They ventured to the balcony, where Sam Lairson shot video of wave after wave rising below.

"The winds were so strong that I thought the phone would blow from my hands," Sam Lairson, of Ocean City, New Jersey, said in an email. "After that we had to keep the doors to the balconies sealed."

The ship — with more than 4,500 guests and 1,600 crew members — sailed Saturday from Cape Liberty, New Jersey. It was scheduled to arrive for a stop at Port Canaveral, Florida, at noon Monday, then move on to other stops in the Caribbean. But Royal Caribbean said on its corporate Twitter account that the ship would turn around and sail back to Cape Liberty.

"This decision was made for guests' comfort due to weather forecasts that would continue to affect the ship's itinerary," Royal Caribbean tweeted.

Guests will get a full refund and a certificate toward a future cruise. Passengers onboard buzzed happily about that news, Strand said. Gabriella Lairson said that by early Monday morning, people were out and about on the ship, checking out the minor damage in some public areas.

Lairson praised the crew and captain.

"They did everything they could to make us feel comfortable," she wrote to the AP on Facebook. She said she and her father were a little disappointed the ship was turning around, but she called it "the best thing for the safety of everyone."

Fellow passenger Jacob Ibrag agreed.

"I can't wait to get home and kiss the ground," said Ibrag, who saw water flowing down stairs and helped some people who were stuck in an elevator Sunday as he made his way to his cabin per the captain's orders.

The 25-year-old from Queens, New York, then stayed in his cabin until noon Monday, at one point filling his backpack with essentials in case of an evacuation.

Robert Huschka, the executive editor of the Detroit Free Press, was onboard and started tweeting when the inclement weather hit. He told USA Today the ordeal was "truly terrifying." He described the cruise director nervously giving updates, and he later posted photos of shattered glass panels on a pool deck.

But Huschka was among passengers who found a silver lining in the storm. On Monday, he posted: "The good news? They never lost the Super Bowl signal. Perfect TV picture throughout storm!''

Royal Caribbean gave guests free Internet access and a complimentary cocktail hour, spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said in an email.

"Feeling better after the happy hour they just put on for the guests," Sam Lairson joked.

And despite her own worries, Strand said her daughter, 8-month-old Alexa, slept through the entire episode.  

A gas station canopy collapsed on two cars in Torrance, California, Monday while maintenance workers were on the roof, checking it out for potential problems.

"I heard a noise, something like an earthquake? I ran to the window. And seen that the roof had collapsed!" Giselle Vasquez, who works next door at Green Clean Car Wash, said.

No one was seriously injured, including the drivers of the car and the crews on the roof, fire officials on scene said. 

The roof collapsed at a Chevron station at 3960 Artesia Boulevard at 2:50 p.m.

Two maintenance workers were on the roof over the gas pumps when they noticed cracks.

As they were getting off of the awning, the roof failed.

One managed to scramble away while the other rode the roof to the ground. He suffered minor injuries, and a "few scratches."

 

ROOF COLLAPSE CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Two maintenance workers were on the awning of a gas station when it gave way, and one literally rode the roof to the ground. The roof landed on two cars at pumps. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. Get updates on the NBC4 News at 11.

A video posted by NBC4 Southern California (@nbcla) on Feb 8, 2016 at 9:05pm PST

Both drivers were inside the gas station -- not at the gas pumps -- when the roof failed, according to a G&M Oil spokesperson. 

"There was no indication there were any issues with it. We regularly do maintenance at our sites. This was just routine," Julie Jackson, General Manager of G&M Oil, said.

There were no gas leaks, Torrance Fire said.

The Chevron station was roped off following the collapse.

A man suspected of driving under the influence crashed his truck and led police on a pursuit in Golden Hill overnight, officials confirmed.

According to authorities, the man crashed his red truck on westbound State Route 94 at around 1:30 a.m. but, instead of pulling over, he fled the scene of the crash, dragging some traffic cones with him.

A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer responded to reports of the crash. The driver failed to pull over for the officer and a chase ensued. Eventually, the driver pulled over on westbound SR-94 at 28th Street.

Officers gave the man a sobriety screening along the side of the highway and he was taken into custody on suspicion of DUI.

No one else was in the suspect’s truck at the time of the chase, and no injuries were reported. Further details were not immediately released.
 

San Francisco lawyers are taking the U.S. government to court over the issue of unaccompanied minors and demanding a level playing field before the government decides who can stay in this country and who will be deported.

Some attorneys argue the government is violating the due process clause of the constitution when dealing with unaccompanied minors — children seeking asylum from violence and poverty in their Latin American home countries.

"Most of these people are seeking asylum because they're fleeing difficult situations," said Carol Bisharat with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights of San Francisco.

The group alleges the federal government is rushing cases through the court system without giving the children adequate time to prepare their arguments as to why they cannot go back home.

The United States Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Sometimes the unaccompanied minors, who are unable to hire a lawyer, have to make their case on their own against government lawyers. According to the lawyer's committee, eight out of every nine minors end up being deported.

The lawyers, in response, filed a claim, which would force the government to release any document defining the policies for dealing with these cases.

They said the government seems to be ruling on such cases arbitrarily, with decisions varying from case to case.

"We want equal information as the government has," said Travis Silva with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights. "We want an equal playing field for our clients."

Members of the lawyer's committee said they want to know what they are up against when representing these children in court. The group hopes the lawsuit will lead to answers.

"We're asking the court to force the government to this information over as soon as possible," Silva said.

A man and his dog were sent to the hospital with serious bite wounds after another dog attacked them Sunday.

Todd Atwood walks his dog down a Bird Rock sidewalk every day. Just before the Super Bowl on Sunday he noticed a blue van with its doors open. Seconds later a stocky dog jumped out and attacked them.

"I dove on both animals trying to separate them and as I was doing that I was eventually able to pull the attacking dog who still had my dog by the head, was able to pull her off, and rolled around and then she rebit my dog's ear,” Atwood explained.

Atwood’s sweet-natured labradoodle fell to her back in shock. Atwood thought Olive, who is eight years old, was dead at first.

His arms were scraped, and he also suffered deep puncture wounds from bites to his upper thighs.

The attacking dog's owner wrestled his dog away and threw it in his van and immediately grabbed a pen and paper to write down his information.

Atwood said he figured the man was working on the remodel of the house where he was parked and took him at his word.

It wasn’t until later after going to the emergency room himself and getting Olive in for emergency surgery that he realized none of the information matched up.

"I felt powerless and vulnerable and I'm listening to him be compassionate to me and act like he cares at all about the wellbeing and then like a sociopath he writes out all this information quickly that's just nonsense,” Atwood told NBC 7.

Atwood said the neighborhood is full of families with kids and dogs.

“This situation could happen to someone else. It could be much, much worse, and that's terrifying.

The attacking dog's owner was driving a blue 1980 van.

Anyone with information should call animal control.