GAUCHAR, India (AP) — Paramilitary soldiers on Wednesday recovered 20 bodies from a steep hillside in northern India where a helicopter crashed while on a mission to rescue people stranded in monsoon floods, the country's air force chief said.
The helicopter crashed late Tuesday when its rotor blades hit the hillside while returning with survivors of flooding and landslides that have killed more than 1,000 people and washed away thousands of homes, roads and bridges since mid-June in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
Soldiers using ropes reached the crash site early Wednesday and found the bodies of 20 people, including five air force crew members, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne told reporters.
The helicopter's cockpit voice recorder was recovered and an inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the crash, Browne said.
Some 45 aircraft have been used in rescue and relief operations, but intermittent rain and dense fog have dogged the efforts since Sunday.
Troops on Wednesday were trying to rescue about 5,000 people who remained stranded in the towns of Badrinath and Harsil 10 days after torrential rains triggered the flooding and landslides.
Browne visited the hill town of Gauchar, the center of the rescue and relief operations. He assured flood survivors that helicopters would rescue everyone stranded in Uttarakhand despite the bad weather.
About 92,000 people from hundreds of villages and towns hit by the floods have been rescued. Landslides and floods flattened entire towns, roads were washed away and communication links snapped, cutting off many people and necessitating air rescues.Hundreds of thousands of Hindus make the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage to four temple towns in Uttarakhand each year, usually returning home before monsoon rains in July make the mountainous area much more treacherous, but unprecedented heavy rains fell around mid-June this year and caught many by surprise.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, WBZ News Radio in Boston reported early Friday morning. Citing an unnamed source, WBZ News Radio reported that the NFL star would becharged with obstruction of justice but that the charge could be upgraded.
Also citing an unnamed source, Bob Ward of FOX 25 subsequently reported that a warrant has been issued for Hernandez's arrest in connection with the shooting death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd. Ward also reported that Hernandez faces an obstruction of justice charge.
WATCH FOX 25 NEWS VIDEO ABOVE
Citing unnamed police sources, ABC New also reported on Friday that a warrant had been issued on obstruction of justice charges based on the possible destruction of evidence by Hernandez. On Thursday, ABC News had reported that a security system in Hernandez's home had been intentionally damaged, citing an unnamed investigator. ABC News also reported that the emerging NFL star destroyed his cell phone before turning it over to police through his attorneys.
Sports Illustrated reported on Thursday that "Hernandez's arrest is likely" according to an unnamed source with knowledge of the investigation. At that time, it was unclear what Hernandez would be charged with.
Also on Thursday, an unnamed law enforcement source told The Boston Herald that no arrest warrant had yet been issued for Hernandez.
Citing a law enforcement official, FOX 25 in Boston reported on Wednesday that "Hernandez appears to be directly tied to the homicide." According to the FOX 25 report, Lloyd and two other men were at a bar on the night of the homicide. The four men reportedly left together but only three returned to Hernandez's home.Hernandez had been embroiled in a police investigation since the body of Floyd was discovered near his home in North Attleboro, Mass. on Monday. The family of Lloyd, a semi-pro football player, told The Associated Press that he had a connection to Hernandez but did not elaborate.
For the second season in a row, LeBron James and Heat are NBA champions. James poured in 37 points in the winner-take all 2013 NBA Finals finale as the Heat outlasted the San Antonio Spurs, 95-88.
"It took everything we had as a team, credit to the San Antonio Spurs," Dwyane Wade told Doris Burke of ESPN on the floor after the final buzzer had sounded on a thrilling Game 7. "They are an unbelievable team, unbelievable franchise. This was the hardest series we ever had to play but we're a resilient team and we did whatever it took."
What it took, was a classic performance from James, 23 points and 10 rebounds from Wade and an incredible effort from Shane Battier, who scored 18 points and shot 6-of-8 from beyond the arc in Game 7. Although Chris Bosh was held scoreless by the Spurs in Game 7, Battier and Mario Chalmers combined for 32 points.
"It's better to be timely than good," Battier quipped to Burke as confetti fell following the presentation of the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Prior to his stunning Game 7 performance, Battier had managed just 21 total points in the previous six games.
Despite the presence of a "Big Three" in each lineup, it was Chalmers who delivered one of the most devastating blows in the seventh round of the classic Finals bout. With time winding down in the third quarter and the Spurs holding a narrow 71-69 advantage, Chalmers gave the Heat the lead for good with a deep, three-point shot that just beat the buzzer.
Watch: Chalmers Beats The Buzzer In The Third Quarter
"It feels great, a dream come true," Chalmers told Rachel Nichols of ESPN of his second championship in the champagne-soaked Heat locker room after the win. "We worked hard to get to this point. We had to leave it all on the court tonight."
Although the Heat never relinquished the lead after Chalmers' improbable, buzzer-beating bank shot, Tim Duncan and the Spurs relentlessly challenged down the stretch, withstanding nearly everything that the Heat could throw at them. Nearly. Having come within seconds of closing out their fifth title since selecting Duncan as the No. 1 overall selection in the 1997 NBA Draft in Game 6, the Spurs closed within two points in the final minute of regulation in Game 7. With the Heat clinging to a 90-88 lead and less than a minute to play, Duncan got the ball on the block. With Battier on his hip, the 37-year-old spun to his left and got off a point-blank, right-handed hook shot in the paint. Unlike so many of the shots during his illustrious career, it missed. Reacting quickly, Duncan got his right hand back on the ball, tipping it up toward the rim. He missed again.
"The obvious word is 'disappointing.' Tough end to the game," Duncan, who finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block, told reporters after the game, via ASAP Sports. "Made some bad decisions, missed some shots. I don't know what to say. Just give credit to the Miami Heat. LeBron was unbelievable. Dwyane was great. I just think they found a way to get it done. We stayed in the game. We gave ourselves opportunities to win the game, we just couldn't turn that corner. They made more plays down the stretch, bottom line"
WATCH: Tim Duncan's Late Miss In Game 7
Following a Heat timeout, James drained a 19-foot jump shot to push the lead back to two possessions. The Spurs would not score again. Miami closed out the series-clinching win with three free throws and the celebration at AmericanAirlines Arena was on (complete with Bosh champagne GIF). James would be named NBA Finals MVP for the second straight season and the Heat were the first back-to-back champions in the NBA since the Los Angeles Lakers won twice on the bounce in 2009 and 2010.
WATCH: LeBron James' Last Basket In Game 7
"I work on my game a lot throughout the offseason," James told Burke after the game, specifically addressing his superlative midrange game. Nine of James' 12 made field goals in Game 7 came outside the paint. "I put a lot of work into it and to be able to come out here and (have) the results happen out on the floor is the ultimate. The ultimate. I'm at a loss for words."
Jay-Z surprised fans on Sunday evening when he made the announcement that he will be releasing a new album called "Magna Carta Holy Grail" on July 4.
With weeks until the release of "Magna Carta Holy Grail," the news of the album came as a surprise. Jay-Z made the announcement in a video which rportedlyaired during the NBA finals and was posted to the rapper's website, Life + Times.
The video (shown above) offers seemingly candid footage of Jay-Z in a partnership with Samsung. The clip cuts to footage of the 43-year-old rapping, as he explains his vision for the project, saying, "It's this duality of how do you navigate your way through this whole this whole thing... through success, through failures, through all of this, and remain yourself." Keep an eye out for some famous faces including Rick Rubin and Pharrell Williams.
Samsung has set up an arrangement with Jay-Z for the upcoming album. The company has purchased one million copies of "Magna Carta Holy Grail" and will distribute them days before the album's July 4 release to users of the Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy S 4, and Galaxy Note II.
Born Shawn Carter, Jay-Z released his last solo studio album, "The Blueprint 3," in 2009. He released a live album, "Live In Brooklyn," in 2012, and a collaboration album with Kanye West, "Watch the Throne," in 2011. Jay-Z's upcoming partnership with Samsung reportedly earned the rapper $20 million.
ISTANBUL, June 17 (Reuters) - Turkish police detained 441 people in connection with clashes in Istanbul on Sunday between police and demonstrators protesting against the government, an official at the city's bar association said on Monday.
Throughout Sunday, police in Turkey's largest city fired water cannon and tear gas at thousands of anti-government demonstrators seeking to enter Istanbul's central Taksim Square. An official from the Ankara bar association said 56 people were detained in the capital.
The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, a community of 41,000 people about 10 miles south of the city. Block after block lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.
There's been another child-on-child shooting in America.
A 7-year-old boy was shot in his northeast Houston home on Tuesday -- and the gunman was apparently his younger brother, The Houston Chronicle reported..
According to ABC13.com, the boys were in the bathtub around 9 p.m. when their mother stepped away for a moment. Police say the 5-year-old brother then got out of the tub, found a .22 rifle and shot his older brother.
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The lead singer of Grammy-nominated heavy metal band As I Lay Dying was arrested Tuesday in Southern California as authorities said he tried to hire an undercover detective to kill his estranged wife.
Tim Lambesis, 32, was arrested at a retail business in Oceanside, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.
The statement said detectives received information Thursday that Lambesis had solicited someone to kill his wife, who lives in nearby Encinitas. A task force from several law enforcement agencies quickly launched an investigation that led to the arrest.
The department would give no further details on the investigation.
As I Lay Dying formed in San Diego in 2000 and has released six albums including 2007's "An Ocean Between Us," which reached No. 8 on Billboard's charts. A track from the album was nominated for a Grammy for top metal performance.
It was not clear whether Lambesis had hired an attorney, and a phone message seeking comment left at a number listed in his name was not immediately returned.
According to its website, the band is scheduled to tour the country with several other metal acts starting later this month.
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status and moved them from their position on the country's east coast, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, after weeks of concern that Pyongyang had been poised for a test-launch.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned North Korea last month that it would be a "huge mistake" to launch the medium-range missiles, but the prospects of a test had put Seoul, Washington and Toyko on edge.
One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, cautioned that the missiles were still mobile and the fact that they had been moved was no guarantee they would not be set up elsewhere and fired at some point.
"It is premature to celebrate it as good news," said another U.S. official, Daniel Russel, the senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council.
However, a third U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States did not believe the missiles had gone to an alternate launch site and that they were now believed to be in a non-operational location.
The Musudan missiles have a range of roughly 3,000 to 3,500 kilometers (1,900 to 2,200 miles). A possible test launch, depending its trajectory, could have dramatically escalated tensions on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea's move coincided with preparations by President Barack Obama to meet South Korean President Park Guen-hye at the White House on Tuesday, where they will hold talks and have a working lunch followed by a joint news conference.
Pentagon spokesman George Little declined to comment on the status of the North Korean missiles.
"I wouldn't again comment on intelligence. But what we have seen recently is a 'provocation pause.' And we think that's obviously beneficial to efforts to ensure we have peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," Little told reporters.
The heightened tensions, including North Korean threats to attack U.S. bases in the Pacific, coincided with U.S.-South Korean military drills that Pyongyang had branded "a rehearsal for invasion." Those drills ended on April 30.
In a rare show of force during the drills, two nuclear-capable, bat-winged B-2 stealth bombers flew 37 1/2 hours from their U.S. base to drop dummy munitions on a South Korean range, and then returned home.
Asked what may have contributed to Pyonyang's latest move, Little noted various possibilities, including the fact that, North Korea's previous cycles of provocation had ended after a while.
He also noted that the Chinese government had made some helpful statements.
"We do think they (China) probably - again I can't speak for them - they probably heard very loudly from us and from others the need to ratchet it back and lower the temperature," Little said.
The White House's Russel told reporters it was too early to determine whether North Korea's apparent move away from a launch was an encouraging development.
"It's premature to make a judgment about whether the North Koreans' provocation cycle is going up, down or zigzagging," he said. "The decision to launch or not launch missiles, to conduct a provocation or to stand down or defer it, is a decision that rests with the North Koreans."
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Police in Alabama are asking for the public's help in finding the gunman who fatally shot a woman who was holding her 10-day old son.
Birmingham Police Sgt. Johnny Williams says the victim, identified as 24-year-old Sherri Williams, was holding her baby and standing in the doorway of an apartment in the Gate City neighborhood when shots rang out Monday afternoon.
Officials say two men at a nearby store got into a fight. One of the men chased the other down the street and fired a gun as he ran.
Authorities say Williams was hit by a stray bullet and was pronounced dead at the scene.
SEOUL, April 20 (Reuters) - North Korea reiterated on Saturday that it would not give up its nuclear weapons, rejecting a U.S. condition for talks although it said it was willing to discuss disarmament.
North Korea, in a sign of a possible end to weeks of heightened hostility on the Korean peninsula, offered the United States and South Korea a list of conditions on Thursday for talks, including the lifting of U.N. sanctions.
But the United States said it was awaiting "clear signals" that North Korea would halt its nuclear weapons activities.
"The U.S. should not think about the denuclearisation on the peninsula before the world is denuclearised," the North's state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary.
"There may be talks between the DPRK and the U.S. for disarmament but no talks on denuclearisation," it said. North Korea's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
North Korea signed a denuclearisation-for-aid deal in 2005 but later backed out of that pact. It now says its nuclear arms are a "treasured sword" that it will never give up.
It conducted its third nuclear test in February.
The test triggered new U.N. sanctions which in turn led to a dramatic intensification of North Korea's threats of nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited China, South Korea and Japan this month for talks on North Korea and stressed his interest in a diplomatic solution to the tension on the peninsula.
He later told a U.S. Senate hearing that North Korea's list of conditions was "at least a beginning gambit", but added that it was "not acceptable, obviously, and we have to go further".
The Rodong Sinmun said U.S. talk of dialogue was "nothing but rhetoric".
North Korea has a long record of making threats to secure concessions from the United States and South Korea, only to repeat the process later. Both the United States and the South have said in recent days that the cycle must cease. (Reporting by Robert Birsel; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Thursday it would be inaccurate to suggest that North Korea has proven it has the ability to launch a nuclear-armed missile.
Reacting to the release of a defense intelligence assessment saying North Korea could launch a nuclear missile, Pentagon spokesman George Little said "it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced in the passage." (Reporting By David Alexander; Editing by Paul Simao)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A second white supremacist prison gang member whose name surfaced during an investigation into the slaying of Colorado's prisons chief was arrested Thursday evening, authorities said.
Colorado Springs authorities arrested Thomas Guolee, 31, around 5:30 p.m., according to El Paso County sheriff's officials. He was being held without bond for a parole violation.
Investigators have said Guolee isn't a suspect in the shooting death of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements, but his name and that of fellow 211 Crew member James Lohr came up during the investigation. Authorities last week issued an alert for law-enforcement officers to look out for both men, who had outstanding warrants unrelated to Clements' death.
Lohr, 47, was arrested April 5 in Colorado Springs after a short chase and is now being held on charges including vehicular eluding. His bond has been set at $250,000.
Parolee Evan Ebel is the only suspect that has been named in the deaths of Clements, who was shot when he answered his front door March 19, and of Nathan Leon, a father of three who was shot while working as a pizza deliveryman March 17. Ebel later died in a shootout with Texas authorities.
Authorities haven't released details of how Guolee and Lohr came up in the investigation into Clements' death, but they believe Lohr was in contact with Ebel days before the killings.
Guolee's mother, who had urged her son to turn himself in, told The Denver Post she was relieved by his arrest. "My heart was just breaking because I thought I'd be getting a call that he was dead," Deborah Eck told the newspaper.
President Barack Obama hosted a night of "Memphis soul" music at the White House on Tuesday, where he welcomed a slew of A-list performers.
Obama opened the evening's festivities by asking, "Let's face it, who does not love this music?"
"Memphis soul," as its known, is described as a mix of soul, gospel and blues. Obama said the unique blend of musical styles created in segregated Tennessee in the 1960s was special because it "played an important part in our history." He also noted the music sought to bridge racial divides and "create a little harmony with harmony."
The president, along with First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha, welcomed singers Ben Harper, Booker T. Jones, Justin Timberlake, Queen Latifah and Cyndi Lauper, among others.
The event marked the 10th concert for the "In Performance at the White House" series.
Prior to the concert, the first lady and several performers conducted a workshop with students from various schools and organizations. She explained to the students that she played the piano when she was young and wished she had stuck with it. She also noted that studying music is beneficial for many reasons.
"The discipline, the patience, the diligence I learned through the study of music, those are all skills that I apply every single day in my life," she said. "I applied them as a student, as a lawyer, as a first lady, and definitely as a mother."
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland's already-strong gun laws will become among the strictest in the nation with a measure passed by the General Assembly Thursday, sending the bill to the Democratic governor who proposed the legislation in the aftermath of December's massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.
The state Senate voted 28-19 for final passage, agreeing to a number of changes the House of Delegates approved Wednesday.
The measure would require people who buy a handgun to submit fingerprints to state police, bans 45 types of assault weapons, and limits gun magazines to 10 bullets. It also addresses firearms access for the mentally ill.
"Together, with a strong coalition of advocates, and the people of Maryland who overwhelmingly support policies to reduce gun violence, we've chosen to take action by advancing strategies that work to save lives," Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement after the vote.
Maryland will become the first state in nearly 20 years to require potential handgun buyers to submit fingerprints to state police. Only five other states have a similar requirement: Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.
Gun control advocates say the fingerprinting requirement will help keep guns away from criminals, because it will make people reluctant to buy firearms for those who are not allowed to have them. Opponents say the bill erodes Second Amendment rights and ultimately penalizes law-abiding citizens without focusing on lawbreakers.
Although the measure bans 45 types of assault weapons, people who own them now will be able to keep them. People who order the weapons before Oct. 1, when the law would take effect, also would be able to keep them.
People who have been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility won't be allowed to have a gun.
Critics noted that Maryland already has strong laws, including universal background checks and a seven-day waiting period to buy a gun. The state doesn't even have a loophole allowing for private sales at gun shows without the same background check that licensed dealers are required to obtain, said Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-Howard.
"We have those protections, and what we're doing here is basically saying to folks who are concerned about their Second Amendment rights is, you know, `We don't care,'" Kittleman said.
But Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who spoke of his own gun collection, noted that people will be able to keep the guns they have, even the assault weapons under the ban.
"It doesn't affect a single gun that anybody has," Miller, D-Calvert, said, noting shotguns and rifles are not affected.
Also on Thursday, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed into law sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre there.
The White House said Vice President Joe Biden called O'Malley and officials in Connecticut to thank them for working to pass gun laws. Biden has been leading President Barack Obama's efforts to urge Congress to pass federal laws to reduce gun violence.
O'Malley, who is weighing a presidential bid in 2016, proposed the Maryland bill in January. Some Republican critics contend the bill is more about building O'Malley's resume than public safety.
"This may be great for political aspirations, for presidential aspirations, to pound your chest. But honestly, after 12 weeks of work, the bill that's on the floor today will not improve safety of the citizens of Maryland one bit," said Sen. E.J. Pipkin, R-Cecil.
But Sen. Brian Frosh, D-Montgomery, disagreed.
"This bill will do something very important. This bill will save lives," Frosh said.
Another provision requires someone to report a lost or stolen firearm, another effort to keep guns out of the hands of people who are not allowed to have them. The measure also calls for $25 million to be made available for schools to invest in security such as locks, cameras and buzzer entrance systems.
O'Malley included $4.6 million in a supplemental budget this week to implement the bill. The money would pay for employees at a state police center to enforce the law.
Maryland's legislative session is scheduled to end at midnight Monday.
MUMBAI, India — A building being constructed illegally in a suburb of India's financial capital collapsed into a mound of steel and concrete, killing at least 41 people and injuring more than 50 others, authorities said Friday.
The building in the Mumbai suburb of Thane caved in Thursday evening, police said. Rescue workers with sledgehammers, gasoline-powered saws and hydraulic jacks were struggling to break through the tower of rubble in their search for possible survivors. Six bulldozers were brought to the scene.
"There may be (a) possibility people have been trapped inside right now," local police commissioner K.P. Raghuvanshi said Friday.
More than 20 people remained missing and three floors of the building remained to be searched, said R.S. Rajesh, an official with the National Disaster Response Force who was at the scene.
`'All the three floors are sandwiched ... so it's is very difficult for us," he said, adding that rescuers were continuing to pull survivors from the wreckage.
The dead included at least 11 children, police said.
At least four floors of the planned eight-story building had been completed and were occupied. Workers had finished three more floors and were adding the eighth when it collapsed, police Inspector Digamber Jangale said. Some of the dead were construction workers staying in the building as they worked on it, Jangale said.
The building did not have the necessary clearances from local authorities, he said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the structure to collapse, but Raghuvanshi said the building structure was weak. Police were searching for the builders to arrest them, he said.
`'The inquiry is ongoing. We are all busy with the rescue operation; our priority now is to rescue as many as possible," he said.
Police with rescue dogs were searching the building, which appeared to have buckled and collapsed upon itself. Rescuers and nearby residents stood on the remains of the roof trying to get to people trapped inside. Residents carried the injured to ambulances and one man carried a small child caked white with dust from the wreckage.
Raghuvanshi said rescue workers had saved 15 people from the wreckage.
Building collapses are common in India as builders try to cut corners by using poor quality materials, and multi-storied structures are built with inadequate supervision. The massive demand for housing around India's cities and pervasive corruption allow builders to add unauthorized floors or build entirely illegal buildings.
Officials said the neighborhood where the building collapsed was part of a belt of illegal structures that had sprung up in the area in recent years.
`'There are lot of people involved (in illegal construction) – builders, government machinery, police, municipal corporation – everybody is involved in this process," G.S. Khairnar, a former top Mumbai official, told CNN-IBN television.
A local resident, who did not give his name, said the site was meant to hold a smaller structure and accused officials of turning a blind eye to the problem.
"They made an eight-story building of what was supposed to be a four-story building. People from the municipality used to visit the building but the builder still continued to add floors," he said.
In one of the worst recent collapses, nearly 70 people were killed in November 2010 when an apartment building in a congested New Delhi neighborhood crumpled. That building was two floors higher than legally allowed and its foundation appeared to have been weakened by water damage.
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