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Lil Jon Says Trump Called Him 'Uncle Tom' on 'Apprentice'

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Rapper Lil Jon responded late Friday to a report from The Daily Beast that alleges GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump repeatedly called the star “Uncle Tom” when he was a contestant on Trump’s spinoff reality show, “Celebrity Apprentice.”

The rapper confirmed the report in a statement released on his Twitter account. Lil Jon said that he “addressed Mr. Trump immediately” once he caught word of the nickname, and he said that Trump did stop using the offensive slur, which refers to a black person who is submissive to white people.

The Daily Beast reported that several staffers who worked on Trump’s show, who spoke anonymously to the news outlet due to non-disclosure agreements, said that the then-"Apprentice" host began referring to the “Turn Down for What” singer as “Uncle Tom” during an episode in which Lil Jon donned an Uncle Sam costume for a promotion.

A Trump spokeswoman responded to The Daily Beast's initial request for comment by saying, “This is simply untrue.” That response was sent before Lil Jon's tweet.

NBC has reached out for comment as well. 

Producers reportedly tried to nip the nickname in the bud quickly, unnamed staffers said, in particular because talk-show host Arsenio Hall, who, like Lil Jon, is black, was guest starring on the episode. Hall reportedly let staff know that he had overheard Trump using the nickname and was offended.

The Daily Beast reported that it reached out to the Trump campaign for comment and received a brief statement from campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks, saying: “This is simply untrue.”



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Click to see dramatic game action photos from professional football, hockey, basketball, baseball and more.

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Trump Accuses Mexican Billionaire of Conspiring Against Him

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim was involved in the publication of New York Times articles about women who have come out and alleged Trump made unwanted sexual advances.

"The largest shareholder in the Times is Carlos Slim. Now Carlos Slim, as you know, comes from Mexico," he said Friday. "He's given many millions of dollars to the Clintons and their initiative. So Carlos Slim, largest donor of the paper, from Mexico."

In attacking Slim, the Republican presidential candidate is going back to his recurrent theme of condemning Mexico and Mexicans, a tactic that has played well to a base of supporters but has turned off a vast majority of Latinos —including Hispanic Republicans — and other more moderate voters.

New York Times publisher and chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. said in a statement that Slim "fully respects boundaries regarding the independence of our journalism. He has never sought to influence what we report."

Slim's spokesman said Slim "doesn't know anything about his [Trump's] personal life and to be honest, he doesn't care about his personal life," and that Slim is not involved in politics in Mexico, let alone in the U.S.



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Cats for Election Stress in Maine

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Americans are seriously stressed about the upcoming election, according to the American Psychological Association. According to a recent APA survey, more than half of adults in the U.S. are stressed about politics.

In Portland, Maine, some kittens are on stand-by to help people cope.

A presidential debate watch party next week on Congress Street in downtown Portland will feature nine therapy kittens from the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland.

“We’ll have cats in a separate room and we’ll rotate people out in groups,” said ARLGP spokesperson Jeana Roth. “We’ll give people a few minutes to play and snuggle.”

It’s one way to cope with a stressful election cycle.

The APA recommends anyone experiencing anxiety from the election try limiting media consumption, volunteering, and avoiding political conversations that could result in conflict.

“This is sort of an undeniable stressor,” said Robert Meyes, a psychotherapist in Portland. “I would suggest radical acceptance: things are the way they are.”

Meyes believes this election season has been particularly stressful because it has highlighted hot-button issues, such as race and the treatment of women.

He said limiting social media use can be a useful coping mechanism.

A Westbrook, Maine resident said it’s been helping him.

“During debates, just flat out no social media until the next morning,” Joshua Denk said. “I was just kind of taking in this fire hose of information and political back and forth, and I said, this is enough.”

Denk said it’s improved his mood and helped him focus on everyday tasks, and feels like he can spend more quality time with his family.

Tourists from Colorado visiting Maine Friday said their trip has helped them unplug, and forget about politics for a while.

“We went on vacation, turned off the TV, and kept our cocktails coming,” laughed Nancy Pokorny.



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A Quick and Dirty Guide to Polls for the 2016 Election

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This election, polls have been center stage and often come under fire.

Donald Trump has mentioned online polls, for example, only to have them be contested as falsified, irrelevant, unethical, or out-of-context. But even more respected polls have been all over the map, with most showing a Clinton lead but by vastly different margins.

What explains this variation? How are polls conducted, and what makes for a trustworthy survey? Here's a look into polling during the 2016 election season. 

But first, an introduction.

How Are Polls Conducted?
In 2016, most polls are done either online or over the phone. Pollsters use a sample size — a group meant to represent the larger population — to project how American citizens will vote in November. They come up with unique definitions of their populations: some survey registered voters, others likely voters, and others the adult population. "Likely voters" is an especially tricky category, as pollsters have to define what that means by measuring the enthusiasm of their respondents. 

And low response rates make it difficult for pollsters to get a truly random sample, experts said. 

"No poll is perfect," said Andrew Gelman, political science and statistics professor at Columbia University. "Response rates are typically less than 10 percent. So every poll needs to adjust the sample to match the population in some way."

Because the polls aren’t random, biases based on the sample taint the data.

Polls often differ because their samples vary.

"Who responds to a poll changes from one day to a next," Gelman said. "Different people are home. Different people are likely to respond."

When one of the parties is especially mobilized, its candidate will often experience a bump in the polls that doesn’t necessarily represent a change in public opinion. For example, after the Republican National Convention, Trump saw a perceived increase in support, and Hillary’s lead jumped immediately after the DNC. 

Polling can also prove a self-determining process because if a candidate is thought to be winning, more of his or her followers will take the time to answer a survey, which changes the polling summary.

"Recently, there’s been a big shift towards Hillary Clinton in the polls, and I think that does represent a real shift in public opinion, and I think there are people who have changed their vote intention," Gelman said. "But also, now that the news is looking better for Clinton, I think more Clinton supporters are likely to respond to polls. And now that the news is not looking so good for Trump, I think Trump supporters are less likely to respond." 

Gelman said this year's elections have proved different than those from the past. With Trump’s leaked 2005 video footage about sexual assault and subsequent Republican fall-out, things are becoming increasingly unclear.

"It’s really very hard for me as a political scientist to try to identify how important things like a split of the Republican party would be because historically, when we’ve had these kinds of splits, it’s typically been when the economy was going so strongly that basically everybody wanted to stay with the incumbent," Gelman said. "All sorts of things could happen. Presumably the most likely thing is that Clinton will win by a little bit more than 4 percent, but not a landslide. But it’s just hard to know because this is not something that we’ve really seen before."

And now, a deeper look at 2016 polling data, broken into three types: aggregated predictions, statistically relevant polls and unscientific surveys.

1. Aggregated Predictions 
Aggregated predictions are not polls, but analysis of available polling data to predict who is most likely to win the election.

Example: FiveThirtyEight
How It's Done: Nate Silver aggregates polling data to predict the outcome of the elections based on a model set months before. He forecasts the probability that each candidate will win in November and offers three options to interpret his predictions.

"It’s one way of us telling readers, 'Hey, we don’t have all the answers on this. Here’s a couple of different ways you can do it,'" said Micah Cohen, politics editor at FiveThirtyEight.

As of Oct. 14, all three of FiveThirtyEight's models give Hillary Clinton more than an 80 percent chance of winning the election.

The three forecasts are based on all polling data that the FiveThirtyEight team considers legitimate. They've banned a few pollsters because of "really compelling evidence that they’re faking polls or that they’re doing something else really shady," according to Cohen.

But FiveThirtyEight doesn't treat all polls equally. Silver has rated each poll, and those with higher grades are weighted more in the model. Cohen explained that grades are based on "how accurate… the pollster (has) been in the past" and "how methodologically sound" the pollster is. Silver relies more heavily on state polls because historically they've been right more often. 

The model makes predictions based on likely voters, a category Silver lets the pollsters define for themselves.

Strengths: According to Cohen, "The most basic strength is it does in a systematic and unbiased way what everyone is doing anyway."

Decades before FiveThirtyEight was conceived in 2008, politically active citizens were still trying to combine and decipher polls to predict who would win elections. Silver’s model is impartial, and so it should be more on point than subjective interpretations.

Silver was one of the most accurate pollsters during the 2012 elections, predicting every state in the union correctly.

Weaknesses: Statistical models improve with more data. Because presidential elections only happen every four years, FiveThirtyEight doesn’t have a ton of historical data to determine its model.

"We don’t know that much about how presidential elections work, and so we’re kind of limited by the sample size," Cohen said.

And then there’s the fact that, like many analysts, Silver was blindsided by a Trump Republican nomination. As Gelman said, this isn’t your typical election, and the polling data might not play by the same rules that led to correct FiveThirtyEight predictions in 2008 and 2012. 

Similar resources: The Upshot by The New York Times

2. Statistically Relevant Polls 
The most common polls during election season are conducted by polling organizations, often with a media partner, to predict the outcome of a race. The polls have a stastical basis, and pollsters typically release details on methodology and an expected margin of error. 

Example: Marist Institute for Public Opinion Poll
How It’s Done: Marist conducts both state and national polls, with live callers phoning both mobile phones and land lines. Lee M. Miringoff, the institute’s director, said that his team is in the field nearly every day.

Used by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, the Marist poll earned an "A" on FiveThirtyEight’s pollster rankings, correctly predicting 88 percent of the 146 polls Silver’s team analyzed.

A new poll released on Oct. 10 had Clinton up by 14 points in a two-party race and leading Trump by 11 points when third and fourth party candidates were introduced.

Each poll starts with a sample size of approximately 1,100 adults 18 and older. For national polls, Miringoff determines how many voters to call in each state from the state’s population and relative weight in the election. His probability model is based on likely voters, so first he must find out if the person on the line is registered to vote. Then, he asks a series of questions to gauge how likely they are to cast a ballot. Even if someone is unlikely to vote, they’re included in the model — their vote just weighs less. 

"In polling, not all opinions are created equally," Miringoff said. "The ones who are going to vote are the ones you are most interested in finding out about."

Miringoff can ensure that his data is fitting with the U.S.’ demography by comparing census calculations with his own. He emphasized that the polls represent how the American people feel in the moment. A poll before and after one of the debates might not look the same.

"It’s all about timing. When you’re dealing with an election, it’s a moving target," he said. "This campaign has been one of ups and downs at different times, usually after an important event."

Strengths: By using two different methods — landlines and cellphones — Miringoff offsets bias from both (though not bias from only using calling). Younger people are more likely to pick up their iPhones, whereas older voters might still have a landline, so Marist’s polling takes into account different demographics based on the media they use. The team is also able to take note of how many people own cell phones versus landlines in each state and distribute polling to reflect that — one state may be 80 percent cells and 20 percent landlines, while another is 60 percent and 40 percent.

Weaknesses: The model takes time and costs money. A post-debate poll, for example, might last four days. Meanwhile, some pollsters are releasing data the night of the debate. Miringoff said that those polls will be skewed, as most responses will come from those impassioned to weigh in after 10:30 p.m. on the East Coast. But they’re fast.

Also, refusal rate (which includes people who aren’t home or whose numbers don’t work) is pretty high. These days, it’s hard to get someone to agree to take a survey over the phone. “Clearly it’s become a more difficult process,” Miringoff said.

Similar resources: Quinnipiac University, Gallup, CBS News/New York Times 

Example: UPI/CVoter Poll
How It’s Done: The UPI/CVoter poll is one of two mainstream polls that has often predicted a Trump victory or shown a nearly tied election (the other is the University of Southern California/ Los Angeles Times poll). Both polls use last vote recall, where pollsters ask respondents who they voted for in the last presidential election to gauge how many voters are switching parties or won’t vote at all after participating in the last election. According to Yashwant Deshmukh of CVoter, last vote recall accounts for the Trump lead in his past predictions. However, UPI’s latest data shows Clinton with a comfortable lead

CVoter has a "C+" on Silver’s pollster ratings. 

After using a phone model in 2012, CVoter has moved online for 2016, experimenting with multiple platforms (like SurveyMonkey, Google, etc.) to garner about 250 responses per day. Internet users are incentivized to answer. Boosters focus on specific demographics — for example, one survey is in Spanish, exclusively targeting Latino voters. 

CVoter measures likely voters by simply asking, "How likely are you to vote?" Its cut-off model removes unlikely and undecided voters from the equation. Like Marist, CVoter polls nationally based on population per state. 

Strengths: It’s fast. UPI can update predictions with the data from 250 responses every day.

Weaknesses: Because the poll is online and compensated in some way, it’s tainted with participation bias — tendencies that skew the data.

"It is not a random probability sample," Deshmukh said. "Nobody claims that."

Deshmukh conceded that he’s "not a big fan of online samples," and if possible, he would have chosen a calling model with both landlines and mobiles. However, using automated dialers to call cells is illegal in the United States, and hand-dialing each number would make the process too expensive, he said. 

Also, there’s a reason why most pollsters don’t use last vote recall — it relies on people remembering actions from four years ago, and respondents may misreport.

Deshmukh did not directly address his company's "C+" rating on FiveThirtyEight.

Similar resources: YouGov, Reuters/Ipsos, Google Consumer Surveys

3. Unscientific Surveys
Unscientific surveys are Internet-based polls that ask the user - anyone who comes to the site - to indicate their preference. They can quickly get feedback on a real-time event, such as a debate or a political convention. 

Example: The First Debate

The day after the first 2016 presidential debate, Trump tweeted out that his "movement" had won the night before. He included an image with 10 polls all showing him as the victor. However, national polls conducted during the week following the debate implied a bump in Clinton's overall popularity. 

So why did 10 polls indicate that she had lost the debate?

Websites like Drudge Report and CNBC launched surveys to try to monitor how each candidate performed. They were unscientific, in that they didn't use any controls. Forget categories like "likely" or "registered" voters -- anyone from around the world could respond, and if someone used proxies, the user could get into the survey multiple times. Also, as Miringoff noted, the East Coast respondents would only be those who were fired up and and would not be representative of national opinion. 

Strengths: Unscientific polls yield nearly immediate results. As Gelman said, “People want to click every day, so you have to have something new."

Weaknesses: There is absolutely no evidence that they're believable.  

What It All Means
According to Cohen, data from the last 15 presidential campaigns indicate that polls don't move much between October and Election Day. So based on current polls, the U.S. is is more likely to elect its first female president on Nov. 8. 

But the final tally will probably be close, Gelman said. In the end, what matters is which "likely voters" turn up to the voting booths. 

“There is evidence that there’s higher turnout in close elections," Gelman said.

And polls are subject to human error and can be wrong, as Cohen pointed out. 

“These are tools built by very fallible people,” he said. 



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How Michelle Obama Is Redefining the Role of First Lady

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First lady Michelle Obama's stump speech for Hillary Clinton on Thursday won widespread praise for running Donald Trump's rhetoric about women through the mud, with one magazine calling it "this election's most important speech."

NBC News reports that, despite initally being considered a potential liability for her husband, Obama now polls as one of the most beloved and trusted figures in the United States.

Her involvement in the 2016 campaign marks a departure from some recent first ladies, like Laura Bush and Nancy Reagan, yet her reported reluctance to become a political spouse separates her from Hillary Clinton.

"There has never been anything quite like this," said author Kate Andersen Brower, who was "stunned" by how emotional Obama's speech was and expects Obama to leave a big mark on the position for years to come. 



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CIA Preps Possible Cyber Strike Against Russia: Sources

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The Obama administration is contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert action against Russia in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.

Current and former officials with direct knowledge of the situation say the CIA has been asked to deliver options to the White House for a wide-ranging "clandestine" cyber operation designed to harass and "embarrass" the Kremlin leadership.

The sources did not elaborate on the exact measures the CIA was considering, but said the agency had already begun opening cyber doors, selecting targets and making other preparations for an operation. Former intelligence officers told NBC News that the agency had gathered reams of documents that could expose unsavory tactics by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Vice President Joe Biden told "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd on Friday that "we're sending a message" to Putin and that "it will be at the time of our choosing, and under the circumstances that will have the greatest impact."



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Ex-'Apprentice' Contestant: Trump Kissed, Grabbed Me

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While Donald Trump defiantly denied claims of sexual misbehavior Friday at a campaign rally in North Carolina, a former "Apprentice" contestant came forward with new allegations, detailing how the Republican presidential nominee “victimized her with inappropriate sexual conduct."

During a tearful press conference in Los Angeles with her attorney, Gloria Allred, Summer Zervos accused Trump of sexually assaulting her when she sought his help nine years ago.

Zervos, who competed in season 5 of the NBC reality show, said she reached out to Trump for career advice after being kicked off "The Apprentice" in hopes of working for the Trump Organization.

The alleged meetings, which Trump denies ever happened, add to a growing list of accusations against the Republican presidential nominee, who is claiming he's the subject of a coordinated smear campaign. As of Friday, NBC News counts 12 instances of public sexual misconduct allegations, including groping, sexual assault and walking in on young pageant contestants.

Zervos described a meeting in 2007 at Trump's Manhattan office, where the businessman agreed to meet her while she was in the city for a social obligation. Trump greeted her with a kiss on the lips and another when they parted ways, she said.

"I was surprised, but felt that perhaps that was just his form of greeting," Zervos said.

During their meeting, Trump allegedly praised Zervos for how she handled herself on the show and told her he would "love to have me work for him." Trump then suggested meeting in Los Angeles to discuss employment opportunities, Zervos said.

Days later, Trump was in California and called Zervos to meet for dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where "he called me his 'O.C. Angel,'" she said.

At the hotel, Zervos alleges, Trump attempted to make a sexual advance on her, and she rebuffed him.

"I stood up and he came to me and started kissing me opened mouthed as he was pulling me towards him,'" she recounted. "I walked away and I sat down in a chair. He was on a love seat across from me and I made an attempt at conversation. He then asked me to sit next to him. I complied. He then grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me again very aggressively and placed his hand on my breast. I pulled back and walked to another part of the room. He then walked up, grabbed my hand and walked me into the bedroom. I walked out. He then turned me around and said, 'lets lay down and watch some telly telly.'"

Zervos said she pushed Trump away and attempted to make it clear that she was not interested. He responded by thrusting his genitals at her. 

According to Zervos, when dinner arrived, the conversation only involved business and real estate talk, and that they met the next morning at his golf course in Palos Verdes.

"I wondered if the sexual behavior was some kind of test and whether or not I had passed,” Zervos said.

After the encounter, Zervos still sought employment with the Trump Organization, she said, and believed she was not offered a job there because she had denied his advances.

"When I contacted Mr. Trump he asked me to send him a letter setting forth the jobs within his organization that I felt that I was well suited for, which I did," she said, noting that he gave her the "run around" before finally telling her "that he could not afford to hire me as he was laying off thousands of employees."

Zervos was the second woman to come forward to accuse Trump of unwanted sexual advances on Friday alone, but said she was unaware of other allegations against Trump until recent reports surfaced.

"You do not have the right to treat women as sexual objects just because you are a star," she said.

Trump released a statement after Zervos's news conference saying the actions she accuses him of are "not how I’ve conducted my life," and denying ever meeting her at a hotel.

"I vaguely remember Ms. Zervos as one of the many contestants on The Apprentice over the years. To be clear, I never met her at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately a decade ago," he said, going on to claim it was unethical for the press to give an unvetted claim of sexual misconduct so much airtime.

Later Friday, Trump's campaign released comments from a cousin of Zervos claiming that the accuser often praised Trump after appearing on his show and invited Trump to her restaurant earlier this year. Zevros "wishes she could still be on reality TV, and in an effort to get that back she's saying all of these negative things about Mr. Trump," the campaign quoted her cousin, John Barry, as saying.

The string of allegations, which the GOP candidate has denied, follows the release last week of a tape of Trump bragging about kissing and groping women without their consent during a 2005 interview with former “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush that was caught on a hot microphone.

NBC News has not confirmed any of the allegations made against Trump.

Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, on Friday promised the campaign would soon release evidence against the women that would show Trump's innocence.

"It's coming in, frankly, probably in a matter of hours," Pence said Friday morning on NBC's "Today" show. He added, "It's astonishing to see the enormous coverage of these, of these really unfounded allegations, unestablished allegations, compared to an avalanche of emails coming out of Hillary Clinton's years as secretary of state."

Allred fired back at critics who attempt to discredit victims for not coming out sooner, noting accusers "may have thought they would not be believed against what they thought would most likely be a complete denial by a rich, powerful celebrity. Some may have feared the wrath and retaliation of Mr. Trump and some of his supporters. Some may have though they were the only ones who were victimized."

The famed civil rights lawyer isn't the only one. The hashtag #WhyWomenDontReport started to trend on Thursday, as Twitter users responded to the Trump campaign’s attempts to dismiss the latest accusations of sexual assault by questioning their timing, so close to the election.

"Access Hollywood" and "The Apprentice" are owned and distributed by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News, MSNBC and this station.



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SF Officer Shot, Suspect in Custody

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A man suspected of opening fire at a San Francisco police officer, who a department spokesman deemed "very, very lucky" to survive, was taken into custody on Friday night.

Officers responded to a report of a mentally disturbed person in front of a GameStop at Lakeshore Plaza around 8:15 p.m., officer Carlos Manfredi said. 

When they approached him, however, the suspect, who police did not know was armed, turned around and fired several times at the officers. A bullet hit one of the officers in the head, taking him down near Sloat Boulevard and Everglade Drive, Manfredi said. 

The wounded officer's partners began to run in the suspect's direction, only to realize that their colleague had been struck and was lying on the ground. They ran back to help the still unidentified officer, who was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital.

Witnesses recalled hearing three shots and said the officer appeared alert as emergency responders treated him. Police said the officer is in critical but stable condition.

"We are very fortunate" that he did not suffer life-threatening injuries, Manfredi said. "Half an inch closer and we would be telling a different story right now."

Meanwhile, police called for citywide assistance and launched a massive manhunt to find and apprehend the suspect, who had run into and taken cover in Stern Grove park. 

Officers circulated a surveillance photo of the man, who they said was in his late 20s, had curly hair and was dressed in a gray hoodie. 

San Francisco police and California Highway Patrol officers closed the park and set up a perimeter when the suspect popped out of bushes and fled on foot. Officers shot at him, said Manfredi, who could not confirm how many rounds had been fired. 

The suspect fell onto the ground but continued to move. His handgun was "present" and being held "close to his chest," Manfredi said.

Police tweeted at about 9:30 p.m. that they "had the suspect contained" and had used a flash bang in an attempt to detain him.

They followed that with a tweet around 9:45 p.m. saying the suspect had been taken into custody by a SWAT team. 

The man refused all commands to give up his weapon and surrender peacefully so police officers were forced to use a distraction tactic to "get close to the suspect and make the arrest and gain compliance," according to Manfredi.

The suspect, who was reportedly detained near 28th Avenue and Vicente Street, was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, which was briefly placed on lock down Friday night. Police did not confirm what condition he was in.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee was also at the hospital to visit the officer who was shot.

"He was able to speak to me," Lee said. "In fact he was calling me 'Mr. Mayor' and I told him, 'You just got shot, son. You don’t have to have that kind of respect for me.' But he was alert and he knew what happened."

The officer was taken into the Intensive Care Unit, said Lee, without commenting further on his condition. 

"I just wanted to be there and thank him for being on the spot and trying to stop the suspect," he said. 

Lee said he was accompanied by police commissioners, who, like him, are solely focused on helping the officer get back on his feet.

"I want him to really recover from this," Lee said, acknowledging that the officer can avail of top-notch medical treatment at San Francisco General Hospital.

"I have very great hope," he said.

Streets in the Sunset and Taraval districts were closed during the shooting and ensuing manhunt, snarling traffic. Police also urged residents to shelter in place.

An investigation is ongoing.



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Trump Street Sign Stolen in Chicago

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Embattled Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s honorary Chicago street sign was reported stolen, police confirmed Friday.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and aldermen had recently proposed taking down the "Honorary Trump Plaza" sign in the 400 block of North Wabash Avenue—but Chicago police say a member of Trump Hotel and Tower security told them it was stolen sometime between Oct. 10 and Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m.

Emanuel, speaking Thursday outside Trump Tower with Illinois Democratic lawmakers as part of a “Get Out The Vote” initiative as Election Day encroaches, acknowledged the missing sign. At the time it had reportedly been taken down by the city’s Department of Transportation.

“I understand why they wanted to take that sign down,” Emanuel said Thursday. “It didn’t speak to the values of the city that he was expressing, but more importantly than a symbolic action—the best way to make sure it’s not a symbolic action, but a real action—is to make sure that you turn out the vote in your respective communities.”

Department of Transportation officials were not immediately available for comment.

Emanuel has said he supports Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and has said that he thinks Trump is "wrong for America," criticizing the candidate’s proposal to use stop-and-frisk tactics to fight crime in Chicago.

Trump has also recently dismissed a slew of allegations of sexual assault, calling them a "coordinated and vicious attack" from the media and Clinton campaign.

During a press conference on Oct. 5 after a City Council meeting, Emanuel voiced his support of a proposed ordinance to remove the street sign.

"We'll put the sign back up when he releases his tax returns," Emanuel said at the time.

No one was in custody Friday and Area North detectives were investigating.

Severe Weather Pounds Oregon Coastal Community

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The Pacific Northwest is in for a second round of high winds and heavy rain this weekend, the remnants of a Pacific typhoon, as residents of one Oregon community are cleaning up after a tornado touched down. NBC's Kurt Gregory reports.

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3 Killed, at Least 12 Wounded in Shooting at Los Angeles Party

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Three men were killed and 12 were wounded in a shooting at a house party in the West Adams neighborhood of South Los Angeles early Saturday morning.

When officers responded to the shooting at around 12:30 a.m. in the 2800 block of Rimpau Boulevard, around 50 people were running from the scene that was described as "chaotic," said Sgt. Frank Preciado of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police said an argument broke out at the party, where as many as three people left the residence, came back with firearms, and started shooting.

Two people were questioned then released, police said.

The home was being used as a "makeshift restaurant without permits," and was filled with people doing "everything from eating to playing dominos and listening to music," when the argument happened, Preciado said. 

"This is one of the most horrific crime scenes I've seen in a while," Preciado said, adding that the neighborhood is relatively quiet.

Police recovered several guns inside the property, while shell casings lined front yards and a trail of blood was left on the street.

At least 12 other people were injured, police said. Some of them are in critical condition and some of them have minor injuries. The Los Angeles Fire Department treated victims at the scene.

Descriptions of the shooters were not immediately available.

Security video from a nearby business shows a white BMW park on Rimpau Boulevard at 12:07 a.m.

The video shows two men entering the vehicle 25 minutes later and taking off down Jefferson, but it is unclear what, if any, connection to the shooting the men may have.

One neighbor said she was "very grateful" to be uninjured after discovering bullet holes in her wall and front window.



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Elderly California Ice Cream Vendor Beaten, Robbed

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A 71-year-old grandfather, who sells paletas from his ice cream cart seven days a week, was left battered and bruised after being beaten and robbed of his money by two men armed with brass knuckles earlier this week.

Juan Martinez earns a living pushing an ice cream cart up and down Vanowen Street in North Hollywood for eight hours a day, seven days a week. He was working Tuesday when he says two young men beat him, knocked him to the ground and stole his money.

"They don't have a heart," said Martinez's daughter, Laura Rodriguez. "He's 71 years old. He doesn't deserve that."

Martinez, a father of seven and grandfather of seven, says no one stopped to help him and he doesn't have a cellphone to call for help, so he had no choice but to walk a mile back to his home, leaving behind a trail of blood from his fractured nose and cuts on his face.

"He makes maybe $30-40 a day so they stole $80, something that isn't worth his life," Rodriguez said. "They could've killed him."

On Thursday, Martinez spent the day cleaning the blood off his cart, but he wanted to be back on the street selling ice cream — something he has done ever since he came to the U.S. from Mexico 30 years ago. He said he needs to earn money to support himself and his family, including his wife, who also works as a street vendor.

Martinez says he will work until the day he dies or until he can no longer walk. His daughter-in-law started a gofundme page to help Martinez retire. Contributions can be made here.

The assailants are described as two men in their 20s.



Photo Credit: KNBC-TV

Colin Kaepernick Gets Starting Nod at Quarterback for 49ers

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San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly announced Tuesday that Colin Kaepernick has been handed the reins to the team's offense, taking over for Blaine Gabbert at starting quarterback.

The decision comes amid the squad's four-game slump and less-than-stellar 1-4 start to the season.

"We're going to make a move at quarterback, and we're going to start Colin this week," Kelly told reporters during a morning news conference. "(We're) going to give him an opportunity to run with the ones. I believe you've got to do it at the beginning of the week just because of how reps are distributed."

Gabbert, who took over for Kaepernick midway through last season, had struggled to generate much offensive momentum and find sustained consistency with his receivers through five contests in 2016. Gabbert's 69.6 quarterback rating ranks 30th in the league, and the team is second-to-last in passing yards per game.

"We've had a couple of days to digest everything from where we are, and I think offensively we need to be better and just make a move," Kelly said. "It's not Blaine's fault. I think as a group, offensively, we need to be better in a lot of ways."

Kaepernick, who hasn't started under center since Nov. 1, 2015, against the then-St. Louis Rams, will get his first crack at resurrecting San Francisco's season this Sunday in Buffalo.

No. 7 burst onto the football scene in 2012, utilizing his dynamic run-and-pass skill set to pilot the 49ers to the Super Bowl. But the quarterback's efficiency slowly trailed off, and nagging injuries eventually landed Kaepernick on the bench.

However in August, Kaepernick recaptured national headlines after choosing to take a seat on the bench while the national anthem played before a preseason game. He has been sitting or taking a knee as a sign of civil protest over what he sees as police brutality and the unfair treatment of people of color.

Despite the protests and the recently reported contract extension talks surrounding Kaepernick, Kelly told reporters that Tuesday's announcement was not political. It was simply a  "a football decision," Kelly said.

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That decision did not sit too well with Gabbert.

"It sucks," he told reporters. "I don't like it. I don't like not playing. I'm very forward about that. But, at the same time, I'm going to work the same way I've always worked the three years I've been here. Put my best foot forward. Still continue to prepare. I'm not going to slack on the film work just because I'm not playing."

The quarterback swap has generated a range of opinions and responses from social media users. Some are cheering the decision to bring their favorite QB back. Others wish he'd remain seated.



Photo Credit: Getty Images
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NY Driver Tries to Pass School Bus, Immediately Crashes

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An upstate New York man crashed into a concrete barrier and turned his car on its side Tuesday after he tried to pass a school bus on the right. 

An impatient BMW driver was caught on video trying to pass a school bus at the intersection of Broadway and I-787 in Albany, according to NJ.com. The dash cam of a driver who slowed down to allow the school bus to merge in front of him caught the incident on camera.

In a fit of road rage, the BMW tries to pass the bus, then crashed into an orange barrel and concrete barrier immediately after. The car rests on two wheels against the barrier as the driver exits the vehicle, appearing unharmed, video shows. 

"I thought there was another lane!" the driver can be heard saying in frustration.

No serious injuries were reported, though Albany police say three children on the bus were taken to the hospital as a precaution. 

The driver received a ticket for unsafe passing.


These 9 States Will Vote on Legalizing Pot in November

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Nine states have marijuana measures on the ballot this November, and chances are good that many will pass — giving pot advocates high hopes that the federal government will eventually lift its nationwide ban, NBC News reported. 

In five states — Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada — voters will decide on legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. 

In four others — Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota — voters will weigh in on medical marijuana, which is already legal in nearly half the country.



Photo Credit: AP

American Kidnapped in Niger: US Embassy

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A U.S. citizen was kidnapped by "unknown group of assailants" Friday in the West African nation of Niger, according to the U.S. Embassy, NBC news reported.

The American was kidnapped in the region of Tahoua, which border's the countries of Mali and Nigeria. No other details, including the identity of the victim, were released.

The Associated Press reported the hostage was a longtime American aid worker. NBC News was not able immediately confirm that.

Daouda Maiga, governor of Mali's Menaka region, which borders Niger, told the AP that several armed men burst into the aid worker's house and took him after killing two others at the scene.

Foreigners have been kidnapped in Niger before for ransom, but this is believed to be the first time an American national has been taken hostage there, according to news agency Agence France-Presse.



Photo Credit: Google Maps

Truck Flies Off Bridge, Killing 4

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At least four people were killed and several others were injured Saturday when a truck traveling on the Coronado Bay Bridge in San Diego veered off the road and flew 60 feet off the bridge, landing on a crowd gathered at a park below.

The crash happened just after 3:30 p.m. PT off the bridge and near the 1900 block of Julian Avenue. California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Jake Sanchez said the person behind the wheel of the pickup truck, suspected of driving under the influence, hit a guard rail, rolled and landed on a crowd of people at Chicano Park. The park sits below the entrance of the bridge from Interstate 5, in Barrio Logan.

Among the four people killed were a man, 62, and a woman, 50, from Chandler, Arizona, and a man, 59, and a woman, 49, from Hacienda Heights in Los Angeles County.

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One witness told NBC 7 he heard truck screeching as it plowed into the park below.

“I [saw] that truck come flying off the ramp here and onto the people that were underneath them. I was that close to them,” he said. “It’s terrible.”

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Another witness, Dolores D'Angelo, was attending the festival at Chicano Park, where she was scheduled to perform with a band. Suddenly, she saw debris and dust flying off the bridge, then saw parts of the car scattered everywhere.

"Pieces of car parts were flying all over the place. When we got up, we turned around, everybody started running over there because we realized, there were people sitting there – there were people sitting right there," D'Angelo described.

"We were trying to get in to see if we could maybe lift up the car, move the car out of the way to see if we could get the people out. There were so many people crowded by then,” she added. “I was trying to call 911 and I think I called it like four times and I don’t know that I ever hit ‘send’ properly because I got really nervous; I got really scared.”

"I saw a car flying through the air, right off the bridge. It looked like -- I couldn't see anybody driving the car. It looked like as if Superman had thrown a car right off the bridge. It was just flying down," D'Angelo added.

The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) and CHP confirmed that at least four people were killed in the crash. Police said two others suffered major injuries and at least seven other people suffered minor injuries.

The driver, identified as 24-year-old Richard Anthony Sepolio, is alive, police said, but critically injured. He was hospitalized and arrested on suspicion of DUI, Sanchez said. He has been charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury or death and other charges related to significant injury of others.

According to CHP, Sepolio is an active duty service member with the Navy stationed in Coronado.

As dozens of first responders filled the park, medics began treating those with minor injuries at the scene and rushing those with critical injuries to UC San Diego Medical Center, Scripps Mercy Hospital and Sharp Coronado.

Debris was strewn about the crash site; blood could be seen on the sidewalks.

"It's horrible, it's horrific," said Sanchez, describing the scene. "There's people down below, bodies -- just innocent people that are just down here having a good time and now they're gone. We feel for their families."

Southbound Interstate 5 leading to the Coronado Bridge was shut down to traffic immediately following the deadly crash; both inbound and outbound traffic on the Coronado Bridge was also shut down.

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By 4:40 p.m., the Coronado Police Department confirmed that the roads were reopening and traffic was moving once again, slowly.

Police said there were more than 100 people at Chicano Park at the time of the deadly crash, as a festival was taking place.

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Chicano Park was celebrating the La Raza Run, a motorcycle festival that had live music, food, art exhibits and a tribute to fallen riders.

Chicano Park is in Barrio Logan, a predominantly Mexican-American community located about 4.5 miles southeast of downtown San Diego. The park is known for its vast collection of colorful outdoor murals and artwork dedicated to the cultural heritage of the community.

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Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego
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Northwest Braces for Worse After Twisters Slam Oregon

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The Pacific Northwest was bracing for more dangerous weather Saturday, a day after storms slammed the region and touched off two tornadoes, NBC News reported.

Forecasters warned residents from Northern California to British Columbia to prepare for the second blast powered by the remnants of a Pacific typhoon. What could be one of the top 10 strongest windstorms ever recorded in the region was set to bring blinding rain, floods and huge waves.

The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for the Greater Portland area from Saturday at 11 a.m. PT Saturday until 12 a.m. Sunday.



Photo Credit: AP

US Navy Destroyer Fired On Again Off Yemen Coast: Officials

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At least one missile was fired on U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mason in international waters off Yemen’s coast, but the ship deployed countermeasures and was not struck, U.S. officials told NBC News Saturday.

The incident, which occurred late Saturday or early Sunday local time, is the latest in a string of recent missile attacks on the destroyer from rebel-held areas of Yemen.

Two attacks earlier in the week prompted the U.S. military to launch cruise missiles, which destroyed three radar sites. A Defense Department official said this week that those who fire on U.S. vessels do so at their peril.

The two-year-long conflict in Yemen has resulted in more than 4,000 civilian deaths, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Monday.



Photo Credit: Blake Midnight, AP
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