Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson was holding a news conference Thursday on the three missing women in Cleveland, Ohio found alive. Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus told investigators they were chained in the basement before ultimately being allowed to live on the second floor of Ariel Castro’s Cleveland home, NBC News reported. Castro was arraigned on kidnapping and rape charges Thursday. This livestream has concluded. Visit NBCNews.com for more coverage.
President Barack Obama was set to address students at Manor New Tech High School in Austin, Texas on Thursday. The president kicked off his "Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tours" in Austin where he was scheduled to visit high-tech facilities and promote his plans for education and research funding. This livestream has concluded. Visit NBCNews.com for more coverage.
An Arlington County, Va., District Court judge set a July 18 trial date for a lieutenant colonel who ran the U.S. Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office and was charged with sexual battery over the weekend.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, 41, maintained a stoic facial expression throughout his arraignment Thursday afternoon. He spoke only to answer that he does understand the charge against him.
Sheryl Shane, Krusinski's lawyer, pushed for a September trial date because the media attention focused on the case, but Judge Richard J. McCue rejected that argument and denied the request, News4's Mark Segraves reported.
Shane told the judge the case is not as cut-and-dry as prosecutors would have people believe. She also said the case will last longer than one day because of the number of witnesses she plans to call and she asked for time to hire a private investigator.
Police allowed Krusinski to leave the courthouse through a private exit to avoid the media, but he went back in the courthouse and told police he wanted to walk past the cameras again, Segraves reported. Mobbed by reporters, Krusinski remained silent.
Krusinski approached a woman in a parking lot in the Crystal City area and grabbed her breasts and buttocks about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, police said. He was drunk, according to the police report.
The victim fought him off — leaving scratches on his face — and called police.
Krusinski was from his post, which he'd held since February, pending the outcome of an investigation. An Air Force spokesperson told Segraves Krusinski remains on active duty and has been moved to a new position within the same organization.
The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Depending on the outcome of the trial, Krusinski could face military discipline, including court martial. That decision is up to the secretary of the Air Force and won't come until after the civilian trial.
Ever wanted to leave planet Earth behind for a one-way ticket to Mars? Here is your chance to apply for a mission that claims to make it possible.
More than 78,000 people have signed up for Mars One, a Dutch company’s project that aims to put four people on the Red Planet every two years, starting in April 2023.
Among those who applied to leave Earth behind forever are a self-described spacecraft engineer from MIT and an award-winning author of science fiction.
“Going to Mars would make me feel like I am a true 'Star Trek' officer,” said Michael Archavian, one of the many applicants. Archavian describes himself on his social media accounts as a former home health aide.
He said that if selected he would "do a lot of exploring, see the sites, stay up at night to see the dual moons.”
The project aims to be funded by a media event fashioned after a reality show and even “Big Brother” co-creator Paul Rome is on board. If it all sounds to good to be true, the company is also being backed by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Gerard’t Hooft.
"My first impression was that this is an extraordinary project by people with vision, imagination," Hooft said in a Mars One promotional video. "But my first reaction was I think like anyone who would be confronted by such an idea: this will never work."
Colonists would stay on the red planet for the rest of their lives, eliminating the challenge of returning them to Earth.
The Mars One project has already garnered applicants from over 120 countries -- all within two weeks of its 19-week application period. Most applicants are from the U.S. (17,324), followed by China (10,241) and the U.K. (3,581). Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Argentina and India also boasted a high number of applicants.
“This is turning out to be the most desired job in history,” said Bas Lansdorp, Mars One co-founder and CEO in a press statement. “These numbers put us right on track for our goal of half a million applicants.”
The application process forces would-be Mars pioneers to reflect on their life's purpose on Earth. They are required to explain their motivation to go to Mars in a one-minute video, some of which have been posted on YouTube. The application process extends until August 31 and charges a fee from $5 to $75, depending on the country.
For Andrew Rader, who said he has a PhD in long duration human spaceflight from MIT, going to Mars is “the next great leap for humanity.”
“In the history of exploration, people have gone through a lot worse for a lot less,” Rader wrote in an e-mail. “I don't see a one-way mission to Mars as being fundamentally different from leaving England in 1790 to travel to Australia for six months on a rickety old sailing ship, facing dangers of storms, pirates, and shipwrecks, never to return or see your family again - and at least in this case, the food and communication with family will be better.”
American scientist and award-winning science fiction author David Brin explained that the mission’s purpose is to “promote thought, discussion and flat-out fun.” An applicant himself, Brin said he would “fight like hell to survive” and gather scientific data to help the next generation of colonists.
“And I'd write, using words to capture as much of the experience -- the Martian desolation in all of its stark beauty and promise - as possible,” he added.
While the idea of migrating to a whole new planet might scare some people, Francisco Jauregui from Mexico believes that Mars One is a mission he is “willing to die for.”
“My curiosity is way bigger than my fears,” said the 32-year-old, who currently works for a plastic containers factory. “Exploration is in human nature.”
Ashley Owl, a 21-year-old Cuban-American in Miami who volunteers at a hospital there, admitted that watching too many science fiction movies and TV shows had “desensitized” her to fear. “It just makes me to want to explore even more,” she said.
The announcement of the Mars One application flood came during an important week for Mars exploration enthusiasts. NASA officials, and various scientists and engineers met for the Humans 2 Mars summit in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. And famed Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin this week released his book “Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration,” which was co-authored with veteran space reporter Leonard David.
An Olympic sailor from the Swedish Artemis Racing team died Thursday when an America's Cup sailboat capsized during a training run in the San Francisco Bay, and another was reported injured.
America's Cup officials identified the deceased sailor as British-born Andrew "Bart" Simpson, someone the team is "immensely" sad about losing. The 36-year-old Olympic gold medalist was the team's strategist. He had won gold in China in 2008 and silver in 2012.
He joined the team, which docks in Alameda, in February, providing his crew with weather and tactics support, according to the America's Cup website.
Crews performed CPR on Simpson for about 20 minutes, after the 1 p.m. accident just north of Treasure Island, according to San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. But just after 2 p.m., fire paramedics stopped life-saving efforts. He had been in the water for about 10 minutes, probably trapped under the AC 72 vessel, Hayes-White said.
“It is with immense sadness that Artemis Racing confirms the tragic death of crew member Andrew 'Bart' Simpson today in San Francisco,” said an official America's Cup statement. “Simpson, however, was trapped underneath the boat and despite attempts to revive him, by doctors afloat and subsequently ashore, his life was lost."
"Andrew was an immensely popular and respected member of the sailing community, and his two Olympic medals were testament to his talent," the statement read. "His easy-going personality made him loved by many; always friendly, always smiling and always supportive of others."
“The entire Artemis Racing team is devastated by what happened,” said CEO Paul Cayard, himself a seven-time world sailing champion, a six-time America's Cup veteran and two-time Olympian. “Our heartfelt condolences are with Andrew's wife and family.”
Eleven other sailors were aboard the 72-foot long craft, and the other ten were taken to a support boat operated by Oracle Racing, which is defending the America's Cup title from 2010 in San Francisco this summer. One of those ten sailors was injured, but his condition was not considered life-threatening. Artemis Racing is the "challenger of record" for the 24th America's Cup.
This it is the third America's Cup training accident — though the first fatal one — in the last two years.
It's unknown why the boat capsized. Winds at the time show the average gusts to have been between 25 mph and 35 mph, waves between four to six feet high, and water temperatures about 55 degrees -- nothing out of the ordinary.
Sailing in the San Francisco Bay is both exhilerating and dangerous — mostly because of the winds.
"It has ideal winds," said Rich Jepsen, of OCSC Sailing in Berkeley. "But at that speed, there is no room for error." Seventy-two-foot catamarans like the Artemis can travel between 40 to 50 mph.
This is the third time over the last two years that a sailboat training for the America's Cup has capsized in San Francisco.
In October, a nearly $8-million, 72-foot catamaran used by Oracle Team USA capsized near the Golden Gate Bridge. No one was injured when that happened. But there was at least $2 million in damage to the wing of the AC 72 boat, a massive vessel with a 13,000-pound hull and a 131-foot mast.
To see some video of the Team Oracle boat capsizing in October 2012, click here:
There was another accident in June 2011, with the same Oracle team.
Artemis has had technical problems, as well. Last fall, Artemis said the front beam of its AC72 catamaran was damaged during structural tests, delaying the boat's christening. A year ago, Artemis' AC72 wing sail sustained serious damage while it was being tested on a modified trimaran in Valencia, Spain.
The America's Cup race is scheduled to run from July through September, and the teams are training on the bay in specially made 72-foot catamarans.
Photos and updates were also available on the America's Cup website.To see the members of the Artemis Racing team, click here.
View more videos at: http://nbcbayarea.com.
NBC Bay Area's Kyle Bonagura, Tim Bollinger, Gonzalo Rojas, Jean Elle and Jeff Ranieri contributed to this report, as well as the Associated Press.
Fifty-five dead horses have been found buried on a Wisconsin farm, just weeks after the farm's owners were arrested and charged with animal abuse.
Authorities first searched the Pleasant Prairie farm on April 9 after police received an anonymous tip and discovered five dead horses in barn stalls as well as partially buried horse remains.
Starvation was a contributing factor in their deaths, police said.
Paula and David White, the owners of the farm located on the 1800 block of 128th Avenue, were arrested and charged with animal mistreatment and neglect.
Authorities returned to the farm three weeks later with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and another search warrant. During a three-day search, they found the carcasses of 55 horses, 12 goats and two cows in two separate gravesites. The house on the property was deemed uninhabitable.
Kenosha County police said this could be the worst case of horse abuse on record in the county.
Since the discovery, numerous live horses have been removed from the farm and are being sheltered with local rescue groups. Various types of live fowl, sheep, goats and a bull also were removed.
Police told the Associated Press they are urging neighbors to test their drinking water because they are concerned the carcasses were buried close enough to a stream to potentially contaminate drinking water.
Police are continuing their investigation and ask anyone with information about the situation to call the Pleasant Prairie Police Department at 262-694-7353 or Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 262-656-7333.
New details have surfaced about the marriage of Christian metal rocker Tim Lambesis, arrested for allegedly hiring an undercover officer to kill his estranged wife.
NBC 7: Local Musician Arrested in Murder-for-Hire Plot
Tim Lambesis is scheduled to appear in a Vista courtroom Thursday to enter his plea on two counts: soliciting to commit murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
His estranged wife, the target in the alleged murder-for-hire plot, is pictured on her Pinterest profile as a happy mother kissing her child. The couple has three children ages 4, 8 and 10.
Neighbors in her Del Mar neighborhood described her as sweet and polite and can't understand why anyone would want to harm her.
One woman said she’s hoping the young mother is okay, since she hasn't been seen in the last week.
“I'm sure she's probably in hiding. I would be if I were her. She's so sweet, so nice and with three
kids, then to have all this,” said CJ.
Neighbors say Meggan Lambesis moved to her father's vacation home with their three adopted children from Ethiopia last year when divorce proceedings began to end the couple’s marriage.
“I just can't imagine what she could have possibly done to make this guy set a hitman on her,” said a neighbor identified as CJ. “That's awful.”
A search of court records has determined that Lambesis' wife, Meggan, filed for divorce in North County last September.
In the divorce records obtained by the Associated Press, Meggan Lambesis claims her estranged husband had become "obsessed with bodybuilding" and was distracted with the children, even falling asleep once while watching them at the beach.
She also claimed he has spent thousands of dollars on tattoos.
As the front man for the metal band As I Lay Dying, Lambesis traveled six months out of the year according to court documents. He had also traveled across the country to visit a girlfriend documents show.
San Diego County sheriff’s deputies arrested Lambesis Tuesday at an Oceanside business.
Officials said they learned last Thursday that Lambesis had solicited someone to kill his wife, and that they immediately began an investigation.
Fans around the world discussed the arrest on social media displaying shock and sadness. The band reached out to their fans, releasing an official statement Wednesday night:
"As we post this, the legal process is taking its course and we have no more information than you do. There are many unanswered questions."
Lambesis is being held without bail in the Vista Detention Center. He declined our request for an interview.
As I Lay Dying is a mainstay of the San Diego Music Awards, nominated last year for Best Hard Rock Album for Decas, and winning for Best Hard Rock the year before that.
Investigators are searching for an unknown man allegedly involved in a series of commercial burglary scams across at least six supermarkets in San Diego.
According to Crime Stoppers and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the burglaries happened between Jan. 29 and Apr. 18 at different Albertsons grocery stores.
In each instance, investigators say the suspect’s M.O. is always the same and involves a $500 money order and apparently some sort of sleight of hand trick.
Here’s how the suspect’s scam works, according to deputies: The unknown man enters an Albertsons grocery store and approaches guest service cashiers to purchase a $500 money order.
The suspect hands the cashiers a stack of $20 bills totaling $480. When the cashiers count the money and it comes up short for the $500 money order, they return the cash to the suspect.
The man recounts the money and supposedly adds the missing money, handing the stack back to cashiers. Unbeknownst to cashiers, the suspect manages to discreetly pocket six to eight $20 bills from the stack before handing the money back.
Investigators say the cashiers fail to recount the money and give the suspect a $500 money order. The suspect leaves the store with the money order and the cash that he pocketed.
Officials say the suspect has successfully executed this same scam at six different Albertsons stores in El Cajon, Santee, Alpine, Lemon Grove and San Marcos over the course of about three months.
On Thursday, investigators released the man’s photo, as captured on surveillance tape during one of the burglaries. He’s described as a Hispanic or Middle Eastern man between 5-foot-8 and 6-foot, weighing between 190 and 220 pounds, with short, black hair. On the surveillance video, he was wearing a white dress shirt, dark slacks and wire-rimmed eyeglasses.
Officials are asking for the public’s help in identifying and locating the scammer. Anyone with information should call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.
A teenager was arrested after a fake report prompted a lockdown at Escondido High School on Thursday morning, according to police.
The initial report was from a passerby who said they saw an individual wearing a trench coat and carrying a weapon near the baseball field around 10 a.m. Police later investigated the incident and discovered a 17-year-old boy was responsible for the call and suspect he made a false report.
Police arrested the teenager shortly after 4 p.m. at his home without incident.
Students inside the building texted parents and friends saying that they were on lockdown inside their classrooms and were been told to hide under their desks. The school was on lockdown for more than an hour.
Officials searched the campus and rifle-toting law enforcement officers were searching cars one by one in the parking lot. K-9 units and an All Patrol Response vehicle was also at the scene, said Escondido PD Capt. Michael Loarie.
After searching the entire campus, police did not find anyone. Officials then lifted the lockdown.
Parents of students were seen lined up on the sidewalk outside the high school during the lockdown.
Principal Rich Watkins emailed parents, in part saying: "Our students and staff responded with incredible efficiency and the EPD arrived quickly to assess the situation."
Escondido Union High School District was among the 14 school districts across the county that responded to our survey: No safety drill reports are kept.
This means we have no way of knowing when the last time Escondido High practiced a lockdown.
A reminder, there is no law that says they have to document when they do a drill. But the Ed Code does say they have to practice twice a year as a high school. We just currently have no documentation to verify that they did the practice or when.
This info is available in NBC 7 Investigates Safety Drill Reports database.
View Escondido High School in a larger map
The City Council may not be buying it.
But Mayor Bob Filner isn't about to stop selling the idea that the city attorney's budget needs trimming.
In a monthly, on-the-record ‘availability’ with the news media during the noon hour Thursday, Filner rejected criticism that political spite is behind his call for a 3 percent cut in Jan Goldsmith's office spending as of July 1st.
Filner said his concern is fiscal accountability – and that he stands by his recommendation for reductions that would eliminate 13 positions from the city attorney’s staff.
He then challenged the glowing assessment Goldsmith gave the City Council Wednesday about his office's performance.
"All I've seen in recent months since I've been there are losses in court -- in fact, lectures from the judge on how incompetent the representation has been," the mayor told reporters. "I haven't seen the kind of high-quality efficiency that's being claimed.”
Filner broke his media silence about last month’s accusations by Goldsmith's executive assistant, Andrew Jones, that Filner told him to "go sit in the back of the room" during a closed-door session with the City Council -- a remark Jones felt had racial implications.
The mayor denied saying that, insisting he said, quote: "Sit down until you're recognized ..." – meaning, before taking the microphone.
Filner also dismissed Goldsmith's apparent concerns that Filner's legal adviser, attorney Lee Burdick, has been practicing law in technical violation of the City Charter.
He said the city attorney “makes too many mistakes” to trust his opinion alone: "He's interfering in the policy-making of the city, rather than being the legal adviser to the city … I think he's overstepped the line."
Goldsmith did not immediately reply to NBC 7’s request for a response to Filner's remarks, perhaps deciding not to dignify them with a response.
He told the Council Wednesday that he believes his relationship with the mayor could still "evolve" into something workable.
A meteorite has hit another house in Connecticut just 19 days after one landed on a home in Wolcott, less than a mile away.
In fact, all but one of the six reported meteorite falls in Connecticut over the past 200 years have landed in towns beginning with the letter "W," according to the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.
Two of the six landed in Wethersfield, separated by 11 years, and struck houses only a mile-and-a-half apart.
The most recent meteorite was found in Waterbury and scientists say it is likely that these incidents are connected.
Jay Langlois, of Red Maple Lane in Waterbury, didn't hear or see the rock fall from the sky, but noticed his broken gutter behind his house spewing water.
"The other day, because of the rain, I saw all this water coming out of my gutter," he said.
He didn't know it at the time, but a meteorite had crashed down and landed on his lawn.
The rock, about the same shape and size of an avocado, was still intact. It weighs 1.6 pounds and measures 2 inches by 2.5 inches by 4 inches.
Langlois said he's still in shock.
"That's just crazy. It's just unbelievable," Langlois said.
At first he thought his kids had thrown a firecracker at his gutter, but later his wife found the rock on the lawn.
Langlois contacted the same Yale University expert who confirmed the meteorite that crashed through a house in Wolcott on April 19.
Dr. Stefan Nicolescu, the collections manager for the Mineralogy Division at the Yale Peabody Museum, confirmed a meteorite landed on Langlois' home.
According to Nicolescu, the Waterbury meteorite is likely related to the one in Wolcott. He hopes to run additional tests of the two.
"What makes it really intriguing is the fact that this one hit the house as well," said Nicolescu.
The first recorded meteorite in the New World fell in Weston, Conn. in 1807, according to the Peabody Museum Web site.
Two meteorites also fell in Wethersfield, hitting two houses a mile and a half apart over an 11-year span.
A surfer who was found dead near Tourmaline Surf Park Wednesday night was apparently bitten by a shark after he drowned, according to officials.
Marine biologist Dr. Andy Nosal from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography was able to look at the photos from the body and said it appeared the victim died of drowning.
“The bites that were observed on the body when it washed ashore were inflicted postmortem,” he said.
Nosal said the body sustained heavy trauma and the bite marks were definitely from a shark, but not a large one.
“It’s probably not a great white, most likely it was a sevengill shark which is very common in the kelp forest between La Jolla Cove and Pacific Beach where this occurred,” he said.
Sevengill sharks are the largest local predators to live off the coast of San Diego and are known to eat fish, seals and other marine mammals. They can grow up to 9 feet long.
The kelp forest off the coast likely provides sevengills with a lot of food, and divers have seen an uptick of them in recent years.
“The number of sevengills has really increased in this area, the scuba divers love them,” said Nosal.
He warned that people should not provoke them, though they are usually harmless to humans. Scuba divers are frequently in the water with the animals and have no problems with them.
“But they need to be respected,” said Nosal. “Just because they are big and can be potentially dangerous.”
It will take some time to figure out exactly what kind of shark it was that bit the surfer after drowning, but if it was a sevengill or several sevengills Nosal said he wouldn’t be surprised.
“Sharks are known to be scavengers,” he said. “They’re always going to go for the easier meal given the choice.”
England’s Prince Harry is spending most of his week in the U.S. meeting wounded warriors and honoring military families. On Friday he was scheduled to pay a visit to the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
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SHINGLETOWN, Calif. (AP) -- Sheriff's deputies discovered the truck of a man suspected of fatally shooting his wife and two young daughters at their rural Northern California home, but he's armed and dangerous and still on the loose, authorities said.
Humboldt County Sheriff's officials received 911 calls late Wednesday afternoon reporting that Shane Franklin Miller, 45, wanted in the killings in Shingletown, was driving the truck in a rural area near Petrolia, about 40 miles south of Eureka, Lt. Steve Knight said. Deputies found the truck after converging on the area, but Miller wasn't there.
The truck was found about 200 miles from the site of the slayings, which is in Shasta County.
"There is a manhunt for him right now," Shasta County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Kent said earlier Wednesday. "He's a prime suspect. We're not looking for anybody else."
Miller is believed to be heavily armed and extremely dangerous, authorities said. He has been in trouble with the law before.
In 2002, Miller was charged in San Francisco with making and selling marijuana for distribution, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a machine gun and money laundering, The Record Searchlight reported. He pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, according to court records.
Kent said Shasta County Sheriff's deputies received a call from Miller's house around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday.
When they arrived, they found the bodies of Miller's wife, Sandy, 34, and two daughters, Shelby, 8, and Shasta, 4.
All three had been shot multiple times, Kent said.
Kent said investigators had not determined who placed the call, but he said it was from one of the victims as the shooting was in progress.
Authorities have not recovered the gun, or guns, believed to have been used in the shooting, but Kent said more weapons were found in the house.
"We found several different types of weapons, ammunition in the house, so he may be heavily fortified at this time," Kent told The Associated Press.
Miller may be heading to a cabin in coastal Humboldt County, where authorities have said several weapons may be stored.
Initially, authorities believed the cabin was in Ferndale, about 180 miles west of Shingletown, a drive of nearly four hours over rural highways.
But Kent said Wednesday evening he could not confirm the location, and Ferndale Police Chief Bret Smith said there was a residence in nearby Petrolia, not Ferndale, where Miller has stayed in the past.
The two-story house where the shooting took place is nestled among pine trees, with a detached garage and shed in the back. The Redding Searchlight reported that horses and llamas graze on the property.
Investigators had not determined a motive for the shooting, but Kent noted deputies had gone to the home last month on a domestic dispute call.
Schools in the rural community of about 2,000 people about 230 miles northeast of San Francisco were locked down during the day Wednesday, and a forest harvest demonstration for local schools set for Wednesday and Thursday was rescheduled for next week.
Miller's two daughters both attended school in the Black Butte Union Elementary School District, superintendent Don Aust, told The Record Searchlight.
The girls' parents pulled Shelby out of the elementary school and Shasta out of the preschool programs around three to four weeks ago, Aust said.
A longtime resident of Altadena got a surprise Thursday when he found a black bear calmly eating trash out his backyard.
No stranger to bear country, Al Stepens said the sighting of the small-ish ursine was a first for him.
"I’ve seen evidence of them, but that’s the first one I actually met," said Stephens, who has lived in the home in the 2800 block of North Holliston Avenue (map) since 1999.
Residents of the foothill community in Los Angeles County see bears not infrequently, and Stephens said he doesn’t mind.
"This is their habitat. We’re visiting, really," Stephens said. "They really. truly own it."
An NBC4 cameraman caught the light-colored bear digging through Stephens’ trash after knocking the plastic can over. The bear, looking up occasionally at the camera, seemed to eat a decent-sized meal.
Stephens said he doesn’t plan to store his trash differently. He did check for a “mama bear” before taking cell phone video of the bear in his backyard, which appeared to be fairly young.
