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Oil Tumbles Amid OPEC Uncertainty

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Stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday, boosted by health-care companies like UnitedHealth Group, as investors digested falling oil prices ahead of a key OPEC meeting.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed about 25 points higher. CNBC reported. The S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent while the Nasdaq composite outperformed, closing 0.2 percent higher and hitting a new intraday high of 5,403.86.

In energy, oil prices fell sharply after it seemed like a deal to reduce oil production among OPEC nations was starting to fall apart ahead of their meeting Wednesday in Vienna.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.85, or 3.9 percent, to close at $45.23 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, tumbled $1.86, or 3.9 percent, to close at $46.38 a barrel in London, The Associated Press reported.



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Mom Waiting for Kids to Get Back from School Escapes Blast

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A mother waiting for her three children to return home from school in Orange County was briefly trapped in a house that exploded before she was able to escape with the family dog, officials and neighbors said. 

The blast on Walling Road in the Pine Island hamlet of Warwick rocked the neighborhood just before 4 p.m. Teusday. 

"It shook the entire house, the windows shook, I had things hanging on the wall that fell off my walls," said neighbor Noreen Quackenbush.

Her son Colby said, "It just looked like a really big fireplace, there was really nothing left. A lot of it was just obliterated. The grass was burnt." 

A neighbor who did not want to be identified said she was frightened for the family living in the house. 

"It was terrible, terrible, I started crying, I ran out of the house to go see her," the neighbor said. 

Noreen Quackenbush said, "I was worried about the three kids and her in the house, because I know she's home for them when they get off the bus." 

"As soon as we got down there, we saw that she was out, and they said the kids were still on the bus, they were on their way home and they were going to be re-routed to someone else's home," she said. 

The Orange County Emergency Service Deputy Commissioner said multiple fire departments responded to the explosion.

A police department in Bergen County, New Jersey, took to Facebook Tuesday night to rally support for the family, whom they call a "staple in Allendale for decades." 

The family's connection to the New Jersey borough, about 40 miles from Warwick, wasn't immediately clear, but the Allendale Police Department said the Kunisch family "serve a dinner and a cold beer close to home and always do it with a smile. They are community-oriented, providing a conduit for local organizations to fundraise for various organizations." 

"Their family has been in Allendale doing the right thing for the community, and now the community has a chance to pay that back," the police department wrote on Facebook, linking to a GoFundMe page for the family

A cause of the explosion is still being investigated. 


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2.5 Million Dehumidifiers Recalled Over Fire Risk

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About 2.5 million dehumidifiers were recalled following reports of 450 fires and $19 million in property damage, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday.

The recall by manufacturer Gree involves several models of dehumidifiers under 13 different brands, including Frigidaire, GE, and Kenmore.

The recall was first announced in September 2013, updated in October 2013 and expanded in January 2014. The company announced it again Tuesday morning.

This recall involves 20, 25, 30, 40, 45, 50, 65 and 70-pint dehumidifiers with brand names Danby, De’Longhi, Fedders, Fellini, Frigidaire, GE, Gree, Kenmore, Norpole, Premiere, Seabreeze, SoleusAir and SuperClima.

A full list of recalled model numbers and date codes are available here.

The dehumidifiers were sold at AAFES, HH Gregg, Home Depot, Kmart, Lowe’s, Menards, Mills Fleet Farm, Sam’s Club, Sears, Walmart and other stores nationwide and in Canada, and online at Amazon.com and Ebay.com, from January 2005 through August 2013 for between $110 and $400.

The brand name and the pint capacity are printed on the front of the dehumidifier. The model number and date code are printed on a sticker that could be found on the back, front or side of the unit.

The dehumidifiers are white, beige, gray or black plastic and measure between 19 and 24 inches tall, 13 and 15 inches wide, and 9 and 11 inches deep.

CPSC urged customers who have one of these units to immediately unplug and stop using it, and contact Gree for a full refund at 866-853-2802 or online at www.greeusa.com.



Photo Credit: CPSA

Dramatic Images: Colombia Plane Crash

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Photo Credit: Aeronáutica Civil

Dissident Beaten, Jailed in Cuba for Refusing to Mourn Castro’s Death: Family

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The daughter of a Cuban dissident says her father was beaten and taken to jail for refusing to mourn the death of Fidel Castro.

Elizabeth Pacheco tells NBC 6 Cuban government security officers warned Eduardo Pacheco, who leads a gathering of the Movimento Recuperacion Democratico, that he could not host his monthly meeting with the opposition organization because he is supposed to be in mourning.

Cuba's government declared nine days of national mourning following Castro's death Nov. 25. The group meets with other Cuban dissidents on the last Monday of every month.

According to Pacheco, government security officers were monitoring her father's home Monday. When one of the group's member's arrived, an officer hurled a rock at her father as he opened the door.

"My dad opened the door of the house and they then hit him with a rock that fractured his nose," Pacheco said. "My mom says someone told her he can barely breathe."

She says several officers tackled her father and took him into custody. Her father's whereabouts are unknown.

Pacheco says her family is often the target of vandalism and Castro sympathizers even throw excrement at their home.

Pacheco also says Cubans are practically forced to board buses to attend Castro's memorial. She says though some have gone willingly, she believes many go out of fear of repercussions. The communist government still employs about 80 percent of the working people in Cuba despite the growth of the private sector under Castro's brother Raul Castro.



Photo Credit: Pacheco Family

Mnuchin, Ross Likely Trump's Picks for Treasury, Commerce

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Steven Mnuchin is expected to be named as president-elect Donald Trump’s top pick for Treasury secretary, said a source familiar with the White House transition. The official announcement is expected to come Wednesday.

Mnuchin was the national finance chairman for the Trump presidential campaign. As the New York Times reported, the financier with deep ties to both Wall Street and Hollywood began his career at Goldman Sachs, before heading to the West Coast to bankroll films such as “Avatar” and various “X-Men” installments. Mnuchin does not have any official government experience.

American investor Wilbur Ross is expected to be named as Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary, an announcement also expected Wednesday. 

A business leader and ardent Trump supporter, Ross made billions restructuring failed companies and was known for his work in the coal and steel companies, two industries that Trump promised to revive on the campaign trail.

Like Trump, Ross is a critic of free trade deals.

Both Mnuchin and Ross are longtime Democratic donors, but they each came out early in support of Trump during this election cycle, NBC News reports.

On Tuesday, Trump announced former labor secretary Elaine Chao as his top choice to lead the Transportation Department and Georgia Rep. Tom Price, a leading critic of Obamacare, as his top pick for Health and Human Services.



Photo Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Trump, Carrier Reach Deal to Keep 1K Jobs at Indy Plant

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United Technologies has reached an agreement with President-elect Donald Trump to keep close to 1,000 factory jobs at Carrier’s Indianapolis plant in the United States, the company confirmed Tuesday evening in a tweet.

A source tells CNBC's David Faber that Trump will visit Indiana Thursday for an event with Carrier to unveil the deal, which includes new inducements from the state. Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the former Indiana governor, who spear-headed the agreement, is also expected attend the event alongside company officials. 

Trump confirmed the meeting on Twitter late Tuesday, promising a "Great deal for workers!"

The details of the agreement were unclear.

In Feburary, the air conditioner-maker said it would close its Indianapolis plant and move 1,400 jobs to Mexico on a three-year timetable. United Technologies Electronic Controls also announced earlier this year that it planned to move its Huntington manufacturing operations to a new plant in Mexico, costing the northeastern Indiana city 700 jobs by 2018, The Associated Press reported. 

During the presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly cited the decision by Carrier and it's parent company, United Technologies, as an example of the types of "bad" trade deals brokered by Democrats that hurt U.S. workers. 

Trump vowed to pressure Carrier to stay in the U.S. if elected president, and last week said he was "making progress" on trying to get Carrier to stay in Indiana.

“I am working hard, even on Thanksgiving, trying to get Carrier A.C. Company to stay in the U.S. (Indiana). MAKING PROGRESS - Will know soon!” Trump tweeted.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called on Trump to use United Technologies' defense contracts with the U.S. government as leverage in negotiations, urging his supporters and Trump's Rust Belt base to hold the president-elect accountable "to make sure that he keeps this promise." 

"I call on Mr. Trump to make it clear to the CEO of United Technologies that if his firm wants to receive another defense contract from the taxpayers of this country, it must not move these plants to Mexico," Sanders wrote in a statement on Saturday.

The Hartford, Connecticut-based company saw $6.8 billion in federal government contracts in 2015, $6.7 billion of which came through the Department of Defense. Its Pratt & Whitney division supplies the engines for several planes and fighters for the Air Force, the New York Times reported.



Photo Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Calif. Jail Escapee Caught

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One of the two inmates who broke out of jail in Santa Clara County, California, using bedsheets to rappel down to the ground the day before Thanksgiving was caught — after he fell out of the attic — at his sister's  house in Antioch.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Undersheriff Carl Neusel said that 26-year-old Laron Desean Campbell was hiding out his sister's attic when he "crashed through the ceiling" and was arrested on Tuesday about 10 p.m. by the U.S. Marshals Service and Antioch police. NBC News was the first to break news of Campbell's arrest.

A tip led authorities there, Neusel said, and some of $20,000 reward money will be shared with the person or people who helped the sheriff's office, he said. He said he wasn't sure how the money would be divided at this point.

Campbell's sister, Marcaysha Alexander, 24, was also taken into custody on allegations of harboring her brother. Jail records showed on Wednesday that she was being held in the women's correctional facility of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. Neither brother nor sister responded for interview requests through the jail on Wednesday.

One fugitive, Rogelio Chavez, 33, of San Jose, is still outstanding from the Thanksgiving eve main jail escape. And Neusel said "no stone will go unturned" in trying to find him. Chavez has the letter B tattooed on the left side of his neck and a wavy line tattooed over his left eye. Chavez had been in jail since Aug. 17 on various charges including burglary, extortion, false imprisonment, resisting arrest, and firearms violations.

Neusel said the cutting tools used to saw off the jail window bars have not been found, but preliminary findings revealed that jail staff committed “no significant policy violations,” Neusel said.

He noted that the jail is old — the part where the escape happened was built in the 1950s — and his administration is “eagerly” awaiting the construction of a new facility approved by the county board of supervisors.

Cameras, which are currently nonexistent in this part of the jail, would have recorded the men’s escape are part of the new renovation plan, he said.

The news of at least one fugitive's arrest brought relief to Cassidy Ahern, who said she witnessed Campbell's takedown from where she was standing at the Twin Creek Apartments on James Donlon Boulevard.

"I was on my balcony," she said. "I was hanging out with my friends and we saw all the lights out there and we went down to see what was going on.  I mean, we didn’t go super close, because after you see all the people out there you want to stay away.”

The capture of Campbell on Tuesday night came hours after Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies swarmed an east San Jose neighborhood in the afternoon looking for one of the inmates— it wasn't immediately clear if that search was for Campbell or Chavez. On Sunday, deputies swarmed a Gilroy Days Inn, hoping to find Chavez, which they didn't.

Campbell and Chavez made national news on Nov. 23 about 11 p.m., when they made a daring escape from Santa Clara County Main Jail, using bedsheets to rappel down their second-story jail cell window. Campbell had been held since February 2015 on various charges including robbery, false imprisonment, criminal threats and firearms violations. As of Wednesday morning, Campbell had not yet been charged for the jail escape.

Ahern, who saw Campbell being taken into custody, said she wishes the whole ordeal would be over.

“I mean it’s kind of scary," she said, "I mean, when you’re just sitting outside and you don’t expect that kind of thing to happen with all the officers and cop cars and it’s kind of nerve wracking.”


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Mitt Romney Praises President-elect Trump After Dinner

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Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney offered effusive praise for President-elect Donald Trump's "impressive" transition effort and "message of inclusion" following their dinner together Tuesday night — a striking change of heart by a man who once called Donald Trump "a phony, a fraud." 

The dinner was Romney's second meeting with Trump as part of the president-elect's interview process for deciding who to nominate as Secretary of State, NBC News reported. Romney remains a top contender, along with longtime Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Bob Corker and several others. Trump also met with Corker on Tuesday at Trump Tower.

Speaking to reporters gathered at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Manhattan, Romney gushed about the "wonderful" evening he had with the president-elect, where they were joined by incoming Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus as they dined on steak, frog legs and scallops. 

Romney described the dinner's conversation as "enlightening and interesting and engaging," before going on to praise the president-elect for besting him in the race for the White House.



Photo Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

'This Is a Fire for the History Books': Tennessee Fire Chief

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Evacuees forced from their homes and businesses by rapidly spreading wildfires in East Tennessee Monday night are getting their first look at the damage left behind.

Thief Jacks 86-Pound Bucket of Gold Flakes Worth $1.6M: NYPD

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A quick-moving crook capitalized on a 20-second window of distraction by armored truck guards in bustling midtown Manhattan to steal a bucket of gold flakes worth nearly $1.6 million, surveillance video obtained exclusively by NBC 4 New York shows. 

The theft happened in broad daylight on a September afternoon on West 48th Street. Surveillance video shows a man loitering, keeping watch on an armored truck.

Then one guard leaves to make a pickup, and the other guard heads to the front seat to grab his cellphone. Those 20 seconds were long enough for the thief to strike. He goes to grab the 86-pound bucket and makes a run for it, though he clearly has difficulty maneuvering it.

"I think he just saw an opportunity, took the pail and walked off," said NYPD Det. Martin Pastor, who's overseeing the investigation. Police believe the man had no clue what was inside the bucket. 

The video shows the thief setting down the heavy bucket, putting it on his shoulder, then taking a breather. He takes another few steps and pauses again. The normally 10-minute walk takes him an hour. He then jumps into a van at 49th Street and Third Avenue. 

Police believe the man is hiding out in the Orlando or Miami area with the bucket of gold -- something Pastor believes the thief never knew until he opened it up.

"I think when the lucky charm opened up the bucket, he seen the rainbow and seen the gold." 



Photo Credit: NBC 4 NY

5 Killed After Severe Storms Hit Alabama, Tennessee

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Severe storms killed five people in Alabama and Tennessee overnight, and big parts of the Southeast were set to stay under a tornado watch until noon Wednesday, NBC News reported. 

In northeastern Alabama, a tornado killed at least three people early Wednesday, authorities said, all in one home. Two people were later confirmed dead in Tennessee.

Three other people were also critically injured in Alabama after a day care center was "completely destroyed" in Ider in DeKalb County, according to the National Weather Service and local sheriff's office.

Images on social media showed a tornado in Atlanta Wednesday, and the National Weather Service said it was investigating damage associated with a tornado warning.



Photo Credit: Jake Berent, WAFF
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Dad Searches for Missing Family in Deadly Tenn. Wildfires

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A Tennessee father was searching for his family Wednesday as firefighters continued to battle the state's historic wildfires for a third day, NBC News reported.

The last time Michael Reed heard from with his wife, Constance, and his daughters, Lily, 9, and Chloe, 12, they told him they could see flames across the street from their home in the resort town of Gatlinburg. Reed told them to call 911 and by the time he reached his house, the entire street had been engulfed in flames.

His only hope was that his wife and two daughters got out alive. Reed has been waiting at a local evacuation center in nearby Pigeon Forge hoping for an update.

Since Monday, wildfires have whipped through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Four people have been killed, about four dozen have been injured, about 14,000 have been forced to flee their homes and more than 10,000 have been left without power.

Gov. Bill Haslam called it the worst fire the state has seen in 100 years.



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Saudi Prince: It's Time to Let Women Drive

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A member of the Saudi royal family issued a public call for women to be allowed to drive in the conservative kingdom, calling the longstanding ban "unjust."

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal took to Twitter late Tuesday, writing in Arabic and English: "Stop the debate: Time for women to drive." His tweet included a link to an opinion article arguing for the change that cited economic, social and religious considerations.

Alwaleed does not hold a formal position in the Saudi government but is an influential and wealthy business magnate. The billionaire leads the Riyadh-based investment firm Kingdom Holding Company, which holds stakes in several Western companies, including Twitter, Citigroup and Euro Disney theme park.

"Preventing a woman from driving a car is today an issue of rights similar to the one that forbade her from receiving an education or having an independent identity," Alwaleed said.

"They are all unjust acts by a traditional society, far more restrictive than what is lawfully allowed by the precepts of religion."

He also detailed the economic costs of women having to rely on private drivers or taxis, since public transit is not a viable alternative in the kingdom. Not only is the expenditure a financial burden to families who have seen revenues diminish in today's economy, Alwaleed argues, but using foreign drivers drains billions of dollars from the Saudi economy, he said.

Saudi Arabia follows an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam. It is the only country in the world that does not allow women to drive, and women's rights activists have been detained for defying the ban.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: AP

3 Die Post-Calif. Thanksgiving Meal

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Parishioners sent up prayers for the three people who died and the 14 others who were sickened following a Thanksgiving dinner put on by a Brentwood church.

Golden Hills Community Church Senior Pastor Larry Adams said the parish in Brentwood, California has been serving holiday meals for decades and was deeply saddened by the tragic turn at a charitable event that turned accidentally deadly.

"No one's ever gotten sick in more than 30 years," he said. 

Last week's deaths were "more than heartbreaking," Adams said. But in the aftermath, he said, his concern is "not us or our reputation. It's people."

There were still many unanswered questions than answers on Tuesday, a day after Contra Costa County health officials announced that eight people were taken to Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch on Friday and Saturday after eating the church-hosted turkey- and stuffing-meal at the American Legion Hall in Antioch.

Health officials initially said five people had been sickened, but that number rose to 14 Tuesday evening. The Contra Costa County Coroner’s office has not yet identified the three who died.

The three people who died came to the event from two assisted living facilities, Minerva’s Place and Minerva’s Place IV, according to the Department of Social Services. No one would speak to a reporter at one of the facilities, but health inspectors were seen walking into one of the residences.

Contra Costa County Public Health Dr. Louise McNitt said at a Monday news conference that there was no concrete evidence yet that a food-borne illness sickened the people, but "that's usually what it is." She said norovirus had been ruled out. A total of 835 people ate the meal.

All the patients ate food from the same holiday event, health officials said Tuesday. Investigators said they were busy collecting biological samples for testing at county and state public health labs.

Adams said he is anxiously awaiting the test results to come back: "First of all, we don't even know that our dinner was the source of the problem. But that doesn't matter because precious people died. So we're concerned about that -- no matter what the source -- which is why we're trying so hard ... to help County Health find the source because if it was from us, we want to fix it. And if it wasn't from us, then we still want to help the people who hurt."

Seattle-based food expert attorney William Marler said he suspects, from what he’s heard and read, that the most likely culprit is a bacteria called Clostridium perfringens, which is often mistaken for the 24-hour flu. The majority of outbreaks are associated with undercooked meats, often cooked in large quantities and which sit out for long periods of time. It’s rarely fatal, but it can be.

“It’s not unusual for just a few people to get sick out of hundreds,” Marler said in an email to NBC Bay Area. “They may have been the only ones that ate the tainted portion or perhaps had underlying health issues that made them more vulnerable.”

Marler said it reminds him of a case in Iowa years ago where only a few people got sick and one died during a Thanksgiving dinner for the elderly.

On Monday, Dr. Marilyn Underwood, environmental health director for Contra Costa County Health Services, said she did not know who was responsible for preparing the food, but they did say some of the food was brought in from other facilities and some was prepared at the hall. She added that after interviewing the food handlers about food safety techniques, "they all sounded very appropriate."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 6 Americans — or 48 million — gets sick every year from food-borne illnesses, commonly referred to as food poisoning.

NBC Bay Area's Stephen Ellison, Sharon Katsuda, Gonzo Rojas and Terry McSweeney  contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: NBC Bay Area

Ohio State Attacker Visited DC

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Days before an 18-year-old man plowed his car into pedestrians and stabbed people on the Ohio State University campus, he visited Washington, D.C., and bought a knife, sources tell NBC News and NBC 4 New York.

Abdul Razak Ali Artan visited D.C. late last week and bought a knife at a Home Depot store there, law enforcement officials said. 

Investigators said they do not know if Artan was planning an attack in D.C.

"It's a mystery at this point. Was he planning to do something here? Was it something else? We simply don't know," one official said.

D.C. has one Home Depot store, located on the 900 block of Rhode Island Avenue NE. A man there who said he was a manager said he had not been contacted by law enforcement officials. 

Officials have said Artan bought another knife at a Walmart store in Columbus Monday morning, before he began the attack at Ohio State shortly before 10 a.m.

Officials said they do not know which knife he used in the attack that injured 11 people.

The FBI said Wednesday that it "appears" Artan was inspired by radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, but cautioned that that conclusion was based on a Facebook post he wrote. 

"We don't yet know if he watched propaganda videos," one official said.

The effort to go through Artan's social media pages and electronic devices is in the early stages.

Stay with News4 for more details this developing story.



Photo Credit: Columbus State Community College / YouTube

No Kidding: Duck Costume Cures This Goat's Anxiety

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A six-month-old goat is only able to deal with its anxiety when it puts on a fluffy duck onesie, the "Today" show reported.

Partially blind and with other neurological issues, Polly has a team of caretakers near her New Jersey home who found the solution for some of her most anxious moments.

Leanne Lauricella, the founder of special needs goat rescue Goats of Anarchy, said she originally bought the costume for Halloween but quickly realized the calming effect it had on Polly.

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Polly has several other costumes, like a unicorn onesie and a peapod onesie, which have been posted on Goats of Anarchy's Twitter. But it's the duck costume that works, thanks to its "hugging" quality, the rescue workers believe. 

"While I don't parade her around town in her duck costume, I do bring it out when she needs it," Lauricella told "Today."



Photo Credit: Courtesy Goats of Anarchy
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Cirque Du Soleil Worker Dies

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A technician died Tuesday night after an industrial accident during the set-up for the Cirque du Soleil show at AT&T Park in San Francisco, police said, marking the third death for the worldwide acrobatic show since 2009, according to reports and federal records.

At about 6:45 p.m., San Francisco police responded to Lot A at Mission Rock and Third Street on reports of an industrial accident at the Cirque du Soleil Luzia tent, police said.

The employee was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said. He died later.

The worker, who had not been identified pending notification of family, was struck by a lift, according to a Cirque du Soleil official.

Tuesday night's scheduled show was canceled. Emilia Flockhart told NBC Bay Area that "people were of course disappointed, but the atmosphere was generally OK and met with understanding." She said she bought tickets for next Tuesday's show instead.

Cirque du Soleil released a statement about the death late Tuesday night.

"It is with immense sadness that we report a fatal accident that occurred on November 29, during the preset of the show Luzia in San Francisco," the statement reads. "One of our employees, a technician on the show, was struck by a lift and passed away from his injuries. We cannot confirm our employee’s identity at this time as his family has yet to be reached. We are currently gathering more information about this tragic accident and will update you with more details as soon as we are in a position to do so."

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration records, Cirque du Soleil, a Montreal-based company that bills itself as the "largest theatrical producer in the world," has four violations, including one death, cited in the last five years within the United States.

The most notable was on June 29, 2013, when Sarah Guillot-Guyard died during a show in Las Vegas. She had fallen 94 feet in front of spectators after the wire attached to her safety harness shredded during the production, Ka. She was the second death during a Cirque show.

The first person to die on Cirque's watch was in 2009, the Guardian reported, when Ukrainian acrobat Oleksandr Zhurov, 24, died during a Montreal, Quebec rehearsal.

And just three days ago in Brisbane, Australia, acrobat Lisa Skinner was hospitalized, when she lost her grip on a ring during a "Kooza" performance, according to Courier Mail.

The other U.S. violations OSHA has on record occurred in Florida in October, and two others in Nevada, in 2013 and 2014.

Cirque du Soleil had zero violations in California over the last five years, according to OSHA records.



Photo Credit: NBC Bay Area

Rapper Kanye West Released From Hospital

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Rapper Kanye West has been released from the hospital following a more than week-long stay, E! News confirmed Wednesday.

He was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital Nov. 21 for exhaustion.

West was under observation at a Los Angeles hospital after he abruptly canceled the remaining dates of his national tour.

The admission followed a week of bizarre incidents during which the provocative rapper publicly railed against fellow music stars Beyoncé and Jay Z and retroactively endorsed President-elect Donald Trump.

It's hardly the first time West has found himself in hot water for combative, self-aggrandizing behavior.

The artist known for hits such as "Gold Digger" and "Jesus Walks" once famously interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, insisting that her award should have gone to Beyoncé. Last year, he declared that he would run for president in 2020.

E! News is owned by NBC's parent company, NBC Universal. 



Photo Credit: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

Attorney Brings Wine, Ascot to Anti-Trump Graffiti Party

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Police say a Philadelphia assistant city solicitor was involved in anti-Donald Trump graffiti that was spray painted on a grocery store in the Chestnut Hill section of Philly.

On November 25 at 12:10 a.m. two men were captured on surveillance video vandalizing the Fresh Market at 8200 Germantown Avenue. The video shows one of the men spray painting the words ‘F*** Trump’ on the building while the other appears to take pictures or video. One of the men in the surveillance video also holds a glass of wine.

The two men then left the area on foot on Germantown Avenue. Investigators say the estimated damage the vandalism caused is between $3,000 and $10,000.

Police say Duncan Lloyd, an assistant city solicitor in the city of Philadelphia Law Department, is one of the men in the video though they have not yet confirmed whether he was the man who spray painted the building or the man who recorded the vandalism.

“We received a variety of tips,” said Northwest Detectives Captain Malachi Jones. “We’re talking to a variety of people and trying to bring this thing to rest.”

Craig Straw, the First Deputy City Solicitor, told NBC10 the Law Department is aware of what their employee is accused of doing.

“To my knowledge, Mr. Lloyd has already contacted the Philadelphia Police and is cooperating with them,” Straw wrote in a statement. “We will decide on a course of action once we obtain more information about the investigation. We do not condone this type of behavior from our employees.”

Joe DeFelice, the chairman of the Philadelphia Republican Party, said that Lloyd should be fired for his actions.

“If the image of an upper-middle class city attorney clad in a blazer and sipping wine while vandalizing an upscale grocery store with an anti-Trump message strikes you as perhaps the most bourgeois sight imaginable, that’s because it is,” DeFelice wrote. “Nothing can better represent the hysterical pearl-clutching of the 'progressive' elite in response to this earth-shattering election, when residents of Chestnut Hill and similar neighborhoods across the country discovered – gasp – that other people have a voice too. The assistant city solicitor in question had ostensibly taken the law into his own hands, since a democratic election didn’t yield his preferred outcome.”

“For somebody with extensive legal training to feel entitled to vandalize a newly opened super-market strikes us at the Philadelphia Republican Party as an astonishing feat of idiocy. Did the extra glass of Shiraz give him some sort of delusional confidence that there are no cameras on Germantown Ave? The taxpayers should be entrusting exactly none of our faith into this man. He should be fired from our city’s law department immediately.”

Police continue to investigate the incident. If you have any information, please call the Northwest Detective Division at 215-686-3353/3354.



Photo Credit: Philadelphia Police
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