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Tornadoes Tear Through Kansas, Oklahoma
AP
Tornadoes touched down in Kansas and Oklahoma after an extreme weather system tore through the area, The Associated Press reported. The weather system stretched from North Texas to Minnesota, also dealt out hail -- dime to softball sized -- as well as heavy rainfall. According to the Red Cross, there have been no confirmed fatalities. Residents in downtown Wichita, Kan., were told to seek shelter Sunday afternoon after a tornado was confirmed on the ground. Near Oklahoma City, a half-mile wide tornado was reported, prompting a stark alert from the Weather Service: "You could be killed if not underground or in a tornado shelter," the advisory said. Norman Emergency Management reports that approximately 30-40 homes have been damaged or destroyed.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 2:17 PM
Delays to Construction Projects Hit German Reputation for Efficiency
Germany's world-famous reputation for being efficient is in jeopardy after a catalog of problems are hampering major construction projects, NBC News reported. The construction of Berlin's main airport was suppose to be completed in time for an October 2011 opening, but it's not expected to be finished until 2014 at the earliest. Hamburg's billion-dollar concert hall is expected to open seven years late and ten times over budget. And in Stuttgart, protests over the demolition of an old train station have derailed planners, who came up with a final design that was more expensive and much the same. Click through to read more about Germany's construction fiascos
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 11:30 AM
White House Defends IRS Handling, McConnell Asserts "Culture of Intimidation"
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the IRS scandal reflects a "culture of intimidation" from the Obama administration, but he and Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) acknowledged that there is a lack of evidence that the IRS' targeting of conservatives was ordered by the White House. "I don't think we know what the facts are," McConnell said on "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "The investigation has just begun, so I'm not going to reach a conclusion about what we may find." Republicans have used the IRS controversy to gain political traction against the Obama administration, NBC's First Read team writes. But the White House has begun to push back with Obama's top adviser saying that the administration handled the IRS fiasco properly. "There is no question that Republicans are trying to make political hay here," Pfeiffer said on Sunday's show. Pfeiffer went on to say that Rep Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) was actually aware of the inspector general's investigation into the IRS abuses as early as last fall. Click through to read more.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 9:33 AM
Plains States Brace For Tornadoes
A severe weather outbreak is expected as the threat of tornadoes ramped up Sunday, and metropolitan areas from the Twin Cities of Minnesota to Dallas, Tex., were warned they could be affected.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 8:03 AM
Al Qaeda Supporters Fight with Police in Tunisia
AFP/Getty Images
Supporters of the stout Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia fought with Tunisian Police after their annual rally was banned by the government, according to Reuters. The ban put in place by the government, fearing that the rally would be potentially dangerous to society. The Interior Ministry said on Friday that the group, "which has shown distain for state institutions, incited violence against them and poses a threat to public security." The Islamist group, that openly backs al Qaeda, is thought of as the most extremist of the Islamist groups to form in Tunisia following a 2011 revolution that overthrew secular dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Tens of thousands of members were expected to attend the rally. Supporters threw rocks at police and the police responded by firing teargas at the protestors who numbered around 500. Military aircraft patrolled the air over the district.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 7:35 AM
More Young People Having Strokes, Study Says
A recent study in the journal Neurology found that the proportion of young people who are having strokes increased from one in eight stroke patients in the mid-90s to one in five in just over a decade.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 6:26 AM
President of Syria Says "No Dialogue with Terrorists"
AP
Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview that peace talks with Syria would not reduce terrorism in the country and that it is unrealistic to believe they will succeed, according to Reuters. The interview, published in Argentine newspaper Clarin on Saturday, reports Assad discussing interventions with Syria proposed by the United States and Russia. He said the talks are not likely to help the conflicted country that has been in a state of war for the past two years. "There is confusion in the world between a political solution and terrorism," Assad said. "They think a political conference will halt terrorists in the country. That is unrealistic." Assad also said he would not resign and that the opposition was too divided to negotiate any form of agreement. "No dialogue with terrorists," he said. Clips of the interview are posted on Clarin's website.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 5:11 AM
Congress Considers Making Cuts to Food Stamps
NBC10 Philadelphia
Almost 47 million people, or one out of every seven Americans, uses food stamps for some of their daily food consumption, according to the Department of Agriculture, NBC News reported. Heated battles are occurring on Capitol Hill over possible cuts to the food stamp program. However, ever since the financial collapse of 2008 the number of people relying on the program has risen almost 70 percent which has in turn caused costs to rise from $35 billion in 2007 to $80 billion last year. As the economy gets healthier, food stamp usage has not declined. Legislation now pushing through Congress would lower funding by billions of dollars to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps. Last week, a Senate committee approved a $4.1 billion cut from the program over a 10 year period and a House committee supported cuts five times as big.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 4:24 AM
Female Politician Killed in Pakistan
AP
A senior female politician from a reformist party in Pakistan was killed by gunmen Saturday night, according to Reuters. It is not clear who shot Zohra Shahid Hussain of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party as of yet. The PTI endeavors to lessen endemic corruption in the country. PTI leader Imran Khan immediately blamed the killing on the Muttahida Quami Movement. The MQM has a grip on politics in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi. He also said police claimed two gunmen shot Hussain dead outside her home. The death is the latest act of violence to occur around the election campaign in which Nawaz Sharif claimed victory. Around 150 were killed leading up to the elections last week. Results are still pending from constituencies that have been accused of rigging votes. The death of Shahid Hussain occurred hours before a re-polling took place in an area accused of fraudulent voting.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 8:07 PM
Plains States on Edge Under Tornado Watches
Severe storm warnings have been issued for parts of Nebraska and Kansas, and the storm could spread to Oklahoma City by early Monday. Residents are bracing for heavy downpours and potentially strong winds.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 2:15 PM
Buzz Kill: Restaurants Fear New Booze Law
Getty Images
The National Transportation Safety Board's proposed plan to toughen drunk driving laws has restaurateurs alarmed, NBC News reported. Social drinkers are likely to cut back when they dine out if the NTSB's new blood-alcohol level limit of 0.05 becomes law, according to Sarah Longwell, a spokesperson for the American Beverage Institute. "You basically take away a part of the experience of dining out. When you take that element away, you take away some of the magic, the ambiance of a night out," Longwell said. The new proposal announced on Tuesday is based on research that shows impairment begins with the first drink. “The research clearly shows that drivers with a BAC above 0.05 are impaired and at a significantly greater risk of being involved in a crash where someone is killed or injured,” NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said Tuesday. Click through to read more.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 11:25 PM
Judge Blocks Ark. Abortion Law: "Likely Unconstitutional"
Shutterstock
Not so fast, Arkansas. That was effectively what a federal judge told the state Friday, two months after its legislature enacted one of the toughest abortion bans in the nation. At the hearing in Little Rock, U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright deemed the law, which would ban abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, "more than likely unconstitutional" and barred its implementation while a lawsuit challenging it wends its way through the judicial process. That conclusion mirrored the one drawn by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, who had called the measure "blatantly unconstitutional" and had said it would be "very costly to the taxpayers of our state" to adopt and defend it in court. The GOP-led Legislature had overruled his veto to pass the bill anyway, however. On Friday, Judge Wright said that the new law would abortions before generally accepted fetal viability, usually around 24 weeks — a standard the Supreme Court has adopted as its guideline, too.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 1:34 PM
Powerball Jackpot Hits $600M
Connecticut Lottery
The jackpot for Saturday’s Powerball drawing has risen to $600 million, a Powerball record and the second-largest pot in U.S. lottery history, NBC News reported. The record for the largest ever lottery jackpot is $656 million for a Mega Millions drawing in March 2012. That pot was split among holders of three winning tickets. The estimated lump sum cash prize for Saturday's Powerball drawing is $376.9 million before taxes. Powerball tickets are sold for $2 each in 43 states, Washington, DC, and the Virgin Islands. The big reveal is set for 10:59 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 2:12 PM
How to Tell If the IRS Is Eyeing You
AP
Are you self employed, a millionaire or someone who would claim a deduction for donating a car or large quantity of clothing to charity? If so be prepared that you may draw the attention of the Internal Revenue Service, CNBC reported. In 2010, about one in 100 Americans were audited, according to IRS data. But those making $1 million or more were more than 12 times more likely to draw scrutiny, perhaps because the IRS has a greater chance of recovery from wealthier taxpayers. Lately, the IRS has scoured social media to look for discussions about underpayment or nonpayment of taxes. Click through for more on what draws IRS attention.
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Friday, May 17, 2013 at 9:42 PM
Hundreds of Thousands Worth of Jewels Swiped from Cannes Hotel
AP
A trove of fantastically valuable jewelry that was to be lent to movie stars at the Cannes Film Festival was stolen from a hotel room on Friday, and a police source tells NBC News that the heist appears to be an inside job. The jewels were stored in a safe in a room at the Novotel Hotel rented by an American employee of Chopard, a Swiss luxury jeweler. The employee was not in her room at the time of the heist, which the French media say took place at around 5:00 a.m. local time. Although the heist was initially reported to have been of about $1 million worth of jewels, Le Figaro reported later that Chopard had valued them at between 200,000 and 300,000 euros. The film festival at the famous French Riveria town started on Wednesday and is scheduled to run until May 26.
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