The day’s top national and international news
Monday, May 20, 2013 at 6:17 AM
North Korea Fires More Missiles, Condemns U.S and South
AP
North Korea fired two short-range missiles on Monday, making six launches in three days, Reuters reported. North Korea fired both missiles into the sea off the North's east coast, according to South Korean officials. The launches come after more than two months of threats from North Korea that it would wage a nuclear war against South Korea and the United States. The North Monday reiterated its condemnation of joint U.S. and South Korean military exercises, which ended in late April. "Our military is conducting these exercises in order to cope with the mounting war measures from the U.S. and South Korea, which is the legitimate right of any sovereign country," North Korea's KCNA news agency quoted the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea as saying.
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Woman Set on Fire at Convenience Store
Mayor: Fallen Firefighter Was "A Hero"
NBC 5 News/Dallas Fire Rescue
Monday, May 20, 2013 at 12:44 PM
Car Bomb Explosions in Baghdad Kill More Than 60
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Monday, May 20, 2013 at 10:09 AM
Competency Questions Pile Up for White House
AP
President Barack Obama got elected, in part, on pushing the competency of government, which makes the IRS scandal particularly challenging, according to NBC’s First Read team. Click through for First Read's take on which is worse politically, for the scandal to go all the way to the top or for it to be the result of bureaucratic incompetency.
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Slain Hofstra Student Mourned at Graduation
Cause of Quantico-Based FBI Agents' Deaths Still Unknown
Monday, May 20, 2013 at 6:45 AM
“Extremely Challenging” Commute Expected After Conn. Train Crash
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy warned of an “extremely challenging” commute Monday following Friday’s train crash and suggested that those planning to head into New York stay home instead. He said highways in southwest Connecticut could turn into a giant “parking lot” at rush hour should the 30,000 who normally take the train to the Big Apple drive instead, NBC News reported. Malloy said that residents should “plan for a week’s worth of disruptions” as authorities work to repair damage to the Metro-North commuter rail line. Seventy-two people were injured Friday after one train heading east from New York derailed then was struck by a westbound train outside Bridgeport.
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Extreme Weather: Tornado Season
2012 was the hottest, and some say most extreme, weather year in See Full Gallery »
Monday, May 20, 2013 at 6:26 AM
U.S. Diplomat in Spy Flap Leaves Moscow, Russian TV Reports
AP
The U.S. diplomat who Russia claimed tried to recruit one of its intelligence officials to spy for the CIA has left Moscow, according to NTV, a Russian TV station loyal to the government. The NTV broadcast appeared to show the U.S. embassy employee, Ryan Christian Fogle, moving through security at a Moscow airport on Sunday. His flight left on Sunday, according to The Associated Press and the BBC, although it was unclear where Fogle was heading. The U.S. Embassy has refused to comment on details of the case.
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Monday, May 20, 2013 at 11:11 AM
Arizona Killer Jodi Arias Set to Take Stand in Defense of Her Life
AP
Convicted killer Jodi Arias will take the stand on Monday to address the jury before they make a decision whether to sentence her to death or life in prison for the killing of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, NBC News reports. Last week, the jury ruled that Arias acted with extreme cruelty, making her eligible for the death penalty. Defense attorney Kirk Nurmi is attempting to secure a life sentence for his client. "When you understand who Ms. Arias is, you will understand that life is the appropriate sentence,” he told jurors at the start of the sentencing process last week. Arias was briefly placed on suicide watch after her conviction on May 8. In an interview with KSAZ-TV of Phoenix, Arias said she would "rather get death than life" and that death was the "ultimate freedom."
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Monday, May 20, 2013 at 3:30 AM
White House Defends IRS Handling, McConnell Claims "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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Hofstra Student Was Killed by Police Gunshot: Officials
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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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