Happy Meal 'toy' was sold heroin in window at McDonald's, says police

WPXI TV

Police say heroin was sold in Happy Meal a McDonald's at a store in the Pittsburgh area.

By Gil Aegerter, writer, NBC News

A McDonalds worker is accused of putting something a little more in Happy Meals sold from a Pittsburgh auto: heroin.

Police said they arrested the wife of 26 years old on Wednesday after buying the drug in a McDonalds in the neighborhood of East Liberty, reported NBC WPXI of Pittsburgh station.

Here is how the operation, the Allegheny County Prosecutor told WPXI:

A customer who wanted to buy heroin would go to the speaker window and say, "I'd like to ask for a toy".The customer could then stop at the first window, pay and get a Happy Meal box containing heroin in small bags.The customer would leave without stopping in the second window.

Detectives said that what he did and arrested Shania Dennis in East Pittsburgh. The Prosecutor's Office said that detectives 10 bags of heroin in the Happy Meal box and found Dennis with over 50.

WPXI said he had the opportunity to ask Dennis if he was selling heroin. Your response? "No, I wasn't."

The station reported that it was not clear whether this case is related to the arrest this month of the worker another McDonalds accused of selling heroin in a parking lot in Murrysville, PA restaurant.

Feds to seek death penalty against accused Boston bomber Tsarnaev

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
FBI via Reuters

Boston Marathon Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is pictured in an undated FBI handout photo.

By Pete Williams, NBC News justice correspondent

The Justice Department has notified a federal judge that it intends to seek the death penalty if a jury convicts Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for last April’s bomb attacks at the Boston Marathon.

Tsarnaev is awaiting trial on charges that he and his brother built and planted two pressure-cooker bombs that killed three people and injured at least 260 others. He is also charged with killing an MIT campus police officer.

Liz Norden, the mother of Boston bombing victims, responds to news that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev if he is convicted.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement: “After consideration of the relevant facts, the applicable regulations and the submissions made by the defendant’s counsel, I have determined that the United States will seek the death penalty in this matter. The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision.”

Among the factors listed by the government were that the killings were intentional, resulted from acts calculated to cause grave risks to public safety, and were committed in a cruel manner. And prosecutors said the defendant has demonstrated no remorse.

“One way or another, based on the evidence, Tsarnaev will die in prison,” Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement. “In each milestone of this case — today’s announcement, the trial and every other significant step in the justice process — the people hurt by the Marathon bombings and the rest of us so shocked by it will relive that tragedy. The best we can do is remind each other that we are a stronger Commonwealth than ever, and that nothing can break that spirit.”

Liz Norden, the mother of two men who lost legs in the bombing, praised the decision.

"You know, it just makes me relieved that the attorney general believes that it was a terrorist attack or it's the death penalty and we support the decision," Norden told MSNBC's Craig Melvin. 

She noted that the Justice Department officials talked to victims' families before reaching the decision.

While most legal experts predicted the Justice Department would seek the death penalty, the decision will be somewhat controversial.

A poll conducted in September for the Boston Globe found that 57 percent of respondents favored a sentence of life without parole if Tsarnaev were to be convicted, while 33 percent thought death would be the appropriate punishment for the government to seek.

Dan Lampariello / Reuters

Explosion at the Boston Marathon, April 15, 2013.

Executions in the federal system are rare.  In the modern era of the death penalty, since the U.S. Supreme Court forced a change in sentencing laws in the mid-1970s, the federal government has carried out just three executions. 

Timothy McVeigh was put to death in 2001 for his role in bombing the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. The most recent federal execution was more than a decade ago.

The federal execution system has been put on hold by a court battle over the combination of drugs used to administer a lethal injection. One of the drugs is no longer available, forcing the Bureau of Prisons to consider alternatives. 

In the event of a conviction and a recommendation of a death sentence, the execution by lethal injection would be carried out at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind.

A trial date has not been set for Tsarnaev. His next hearing is Feb. 12.

Legal experts have said that seeking the death penalty against Tsarnaev could give him an incentive to plead guilty to avoid being put to death.

This story was originally published on Thu Jan 30, 2014 3:21 PM EST

Bug-ridden cruise ship returns to port — with sick bay overflowing

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
John Makely / NBC News

Passengers look out from the Explorers of the Sea as it returns to port.

John Makely / NBC News

The Explorer of the Seas heads to port in Bayonne, N.J. on Wednesday.

By Henry Austin and Hasani Gittens, NBC News

They made it.

An illness-ridden cruise ship returned home Wednesday, an abbreviated end to a brutal voyage in which 600 passengers and crew were struck down by a fast-moving stomach bug.

The Royal Caribbean liner The Explorer of the Seas pulled into port in Bayonne, N.J., just after 1 p.m. The 10-day cruise was cut short after suspected norovirus left passengers and workers stricken with vomiting and diarrhea.

One woman aboard the ship yelled, "We made it!" as the ship docked. Other passengers, with blankets wrapped around them, stood on deck to watch the ship pull in. 

A Royal Caribbean cruise packed with sick passengers is due back in a N.J. port today. The cruise was cut short after more than 600 passengers and crew members fell ill. Experts believe it could be the Norovirus.

Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the ship during its port call in the U.S. Virgin Islands to investigate the illness but tests have not yet confirmed the cause. The cruise line said its doctors reported symptoms were consistent with norovirus.

The ship carrying 3,050 passengers and 1,165 crew members departed Tuesday from Cape Liberty, N.J. and had planned to stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

Some people on the ship recovered after illnesses in the first days of the cruise, but Royal Caribbean Cruise Line officials said Sunday that the disruptions caused by the wave of sickness meant they were “unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting,” and consultation with medical experts prompted an early return.

CNBC's Simon Hobbs speaks with Royal Caribbean Cruises Chairman & CEO Richard Fain about how he keeps his business afloat amid controversy.

Cruise officials said they will sanitize the ship again and that guests scheduled for the next trip on Explorer of the Seas could be confident that all measures had been taken to prevent future illness.  No one will be allowed aboard for a period of more than 24 hours as an extra precaution, the cruise line said.

The CDC said it recommended to Royal Caribbean that people who still have symptoms be housed in nearby hotels or seen at medical facilities before traveling home.

The cruise line said it is providing all guests a 50 percent refund of their cruise fares and an additional 50 percent future cruise credit. It's also reimbursing airline change fees and accommodations for guests who had to change plans for traveling home. 

The CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Richard Fain told CNBC in a Monday interview that it was “a very unfortunate incident,” adding their people had responded quickly and aggressively to the outbreak.

“We screen our passengers as best we can,” he said.  

Norovirus — once known as Norwalk virus — is highly contagious. It can be picked up from an infected person, contaminated food or water or by touching contaminated surfaces. Sometimes mistaken for the stomach flu, the virus causes bouts of vomiting and diarrhea for a few days. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Related: 

This story was originally published on Wed Jan 29, 2014 2:59 PM EST

Nine dead, including 8 children, in Kentucky house fire

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
WFIE

Nine people were killed early Thursday, Jan. 30, when fire tore through a house in Kentucky, authorities said.

By Elisha Fieldstadt, Staff Writer, NBC News

A mother and eight children were killed when a fire ignited by an electric heater tore through a Kentucky home on Thursday morning, authorities said.

Nine of an 11-member family were found dead in the house fire that erupted in a Muhlenberg County home in the middle of the night, said Trooper Stuart Recke, Kentucky State Police public affairs officer.

Two parents and their nine children lived in the single-story home, Recke said.

On Thursday afternoon, Kentucky State Police identified the mother as Larae Watson, 35, and the eight children killed: Madison, 15; Kaitlyn, 14; Morgan, 13; Emily, 9; Samuel, 8; Raegan, 6; Mark, 4 and Nathaniel, 4.

The father and another child escaped the fire and were flown to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville about 120 miles away for treatment, Recke said.

Leslie Hill, a Vanderbilt Medical Center spokeswoman, said Chad Watson, 36, and Kylie Watson, 11, were both in critical but stable condition.

More than 12 hours after the fire, investigators determined that an electric baseboard heater ignited a combustible material accidentally left too close to the heat source, Recke said.

The temperature in Muhlenberg County dropped to 1 degree overnight, while the region is accustomed to 35 degree temperatures in January, according to Weatherbase.com.

“We normally don’t have weather like that,” said Laura Bennett, who lives two doors down from the devastated house. “They said when they was trying to put the fire out, the water was turning to ice,” she added.

Bennett said the house had no more than three bedrooms and that the eleven family members were “piled up” in the limited space.

Harold McElvain, a former Muhlenberg County Sheriff who lives across the street, said the family was “a nice young family.”

“Everybody loved the kids,” McElvain said.

Timothy D. Easley / AP

Members of the Kentucky State Fire Marshall's office look over the remains of a house fire in Muhlenberg County, Ky., Thursday Jan. 30, 2014.

Bennett said that Samuel was playing at her house on Wednesday night with her 8-year-old daughter.

“He went home, and then 10 hours later he’s gone.”

A neighbor called the fire department around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, Recke said, adding that firefighters have reported the house was “fully engulfed” when they arrive minutes later.

Crews put the fire out within an hour, Recke said. Still, “as I’m facing the house, the right side of the house is basically gone,” he added.

Recke said no other property was damaged in the neighborhood, which is about 150 miles southwest of Louisville.

Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., expressed his sympathies to the family and community from the senate floor on Thursday afternoon. “The entire Commonwealth stands beside Muhlenberg County right now, and we’ll do whatever we can to help you recover from this horrific loss.”

Nine people, including eight children, are feared dead after a fire ripped through a home in Greenville, Kentucky. NBC News' Frances Kuo reports.

This story was originally published on Thu Jan 30, 2014 4:24 PM EST

Crewman lost overboard from cruise ship

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

The Coast Guard is searching for a crew member of a cruise ship who fell overboard off the eastern coast of Mexico.

The crewman, identified as Inyoman Bagiada, 45, went overboard from the Celebrity Constellation at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard said. 

The Constellation, a 965-foot ship with the capacity to host more than 2,100 passengers, was returning from Cozumel, Mexico, to Port Everglades, Fla., after a five-day cruise. The incident occurred in the Yucatan Channel, between Mexico and Cuba.

The Coast Guard launched an HC-130 maritime search and rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater, Fla., and the Charles David Jr., a 154-foot fast response cutter based in Key West, Fla., to lead the search.

Some Boston Marathon survivors support death penalty decision

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Liz Norden, the mother of Boston bombing victims, responds to news that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev if he is convicted.

By Miranda Leitsinger, Staff Writer, NBC News

The federal government’s decision to seek the death penalty against the man accused of setting off two bombs with his brother at the Boston Marathon last year, killing three people and injuring 275 others, was met with support Thursday by some survivors and their families — but also left others, who are continuing to recover, at a “loss of words.”

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is awaiting trial on charges that he and his brother, Tamerlan, built and planted the pressure-cooker bombs at the marathon finish line last April 15. Tamerlan died in the ensuing manhunt for the pair.

Liz Norden, whose sons Paul and J.P. both lost a leg in the bombing, said she backed the decision, announced by Attorney General Eric Holder.

“I felt it was very important that all the options are on the table for the jurors to decide, so I support it,” she told MSNBC.

But Rebekah Gregory, 26, who was seriously injured in the bombing along with her son, her fiancé and his sister, told NBC News she was at a “loss for words” over the decision.

Gregory, of Richmond, Texas, has been fighting to keep her left leg since the attack.

“I don’t even know how I feel about that. We’ve tried not to be involved in it as much as possible because I feel like he has already taken up enough of our time as it is. I don’t know what justice is in this situation. No matter if he is dead or alive, it doesn’t change anything for us,” she said, later adding: “He’ll get his judgment on Judgment Day, that’s how I feel.”

Norden said her sons had declined to meet with the Justice Department last summer about the attacks.

“Their only focus and main focus was on their recovery. They don't feel that whatever happens is going to change what happened to them,” she said, noting they’ve “come to terms” with what happened and are “moving on.”

“They're totally focusing on themselves getting better,” she said. “They’re very strong.”

Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Chinese national Lu Lingzi, 23, were killed in the bombings. Tsarnaev is also accused in the shooting death of MIT campus police officer, Sean Collier, 27.

A Richard's family spokesman said the family did not want to comment. Messages left seeking reaction from several survivors were not immediately returned.

Among the factors listed by the government in its decision were that the killings were intentional, resulted from acts calculated to cause grave risks to public safety, and were committed in a cruel manner. And prosecutors said the defendant has demonstrated no remorse.

While most legal experts predicted the Justice Department would seek the death penalty, the decision was expected to be somewhat controversial.

The ACLU of Massachusetts said it was “disappointed” with the decision.

“The ACLU opposes the death penalty in all cases, because it is discriminatory and arbitrary, and because it inherently violates the Constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment,” the group’s executive director, Carol Rose, said in a statement.

"In this case, it is important to keep in mind that the people of Massachusetts, through their elected representatives, have repeatedly rejected the death penalty. Even shortly after the horrible Boston Marathon bombing, a Boston Globe poll found that the people of Boston said two-to-one that they would prefer a sentence of life without parole for Tsarnaev, if he is convicted.”

A poll conducted in September for the Boston Globe found that 57 percent of respondents favored a sentence of life without parole if Tsarnaev were to be convicted, while 33 percent thought death would be the appropriate punishment for the government to seek.

NBC News’ Pete Williams contributed to this report.

South struggles back to normal as officials point fingers after snowstorm

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Christopher Aluka Berry / Christopher Aluka Berry / Reuters

Georgia National Guardsman Command Sgt. Maj. Buddy Grisham (C) is joined by fellow troops as they help people get their stranded cars out of the snow in Atlanta, Georgia January 29, 2014. A rare ice storm turned Atlanta into a slippery mess on Wednesday, stranding thousands for hours on frozen roadways and raising questions about how city leaders prepared for and handled the cold snap that slammed the U.S. South.

By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Thursday took responsibility Thursday for the state’s slow response to a snowstorm that left people stranded for more than 24 hours on gridlocked interstates, and his top emergency management official said flatly: “I got this one wrong.”

Deal pledged to reporters that the state would be more aggressive in responding to future weather threats.

“I’m not going to look for a scapegoat,” he said. “I am the governor. The buck stops with me. I accept the responsibility for it, but I also accept the responsibility of being able to make corrective actions as they come into the future.”

He added: “We will take those weather warnings more seriously.”

Facing criticism over the city's response to an unusual winter storm, Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed said that while they did not have the experience to deal with the unusual weather, their efforts have made 80 percent of the city's roads passable.

Charley English, head of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said he had made a mistake by activating the state’s emergency response center six hours too late, long after the National Weather Service upgraded its winter storm alert for Atlanta on Tuesday morning.

“I made a terrible mistake, and I put the governor in an awful position,” he said.

Thousands of people were stuck, without food and water, on the interstates in and around Atlanta after the storm struck on Tuesday afternoon. Thousands of schoolchildren were also marooned overnight in their schools or on buses trapped on the road.

In Atlanta on Thursday, the National Guard helped people retrieve abandoned cars that littered the Atlanta interstates. Meanwhile, the mayor and governor struggled with the political fallout.

Mayor Kasim Reed assured people on Tuesday, in a message on Twitter before the snow began to fall: “Atlanta, we are ready for the snow.”

On Thursday, he acknowledged that authorities made a mistake by not staggering their orders for people to go home — schools first, then private businesses, then government employees. Instead, hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the interstates at the same time.

But Reed suggested, in a pair of interviews on NBC’s TODAY and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” that he was being unfairly blamed for traffic that clogged highways outside the city limits.

“I think we need to work much harder on coordination,” he said on MSNBC. But he stressed: “The highways are not the responsibility of the city.”

It was the latest episode of finger-pointing after the storm. On Wednesday, the governor infuriated meteorologists by calling the storm “unexpected” and saying that nobody “could have predicted “the degree and magnitude of the problem.”

In fact, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm alert for Atlanta at 3:38 a.m. on Tuesday, 12 hours before the worst of the traffic set in.

Daniel Shirey / Getty Images

Atlanta student David Hunter and his mother Demetra Dobbins walk up an exit ramp along I-75 North on Wednesday.

Cities in the North are much more accustomed to snowstorms, and in places like New York, powerful mayors have the single-handed authority to order salt-spreaders and plows onto the streets.

But the Atlanta area, as frustrated experts pointed out, is a patchwork of regional governments that often don’t get along with each other.

It also has a deeply ingrained car culture and a mass transit system that serves only a fraction of the metro area’s 5.5 million people. In 2012 voters across the region defeated a one-penny sales tax that would have strengthened regional transit.

After a snowstorm hobbled Atlanta in 2011, Reed, the Atlanta mayor, wrote in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had learned an important lesson about collaboration and cooperation.

“We will work faster and smarter to deliver the kind of response that our residents demand and deserve,” he wrote.

Asked on “Morning Joe” why authorities had not worked better together this time, he said: “I think that we all have responsibility.”

Related:

This story was originally published on Thu Jan 30, 2014 2:46 PM EST