The House committee investigating the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. compound at Benghazi, Libya, has quietly shut down, more than five months after it released its findings — timing that Democrats said proved its only purpose was to embarrass Hillary Clinton, NBC News reported. 

Four Americans were killed in the attack in September 2012, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. Clinton was secretary of state at the time, and her use of a private email server emerged during investigations of the attack.

When it publicized its findings in June, the House Select Committee on Benghazi didn't specifically blame Clinton for what it described as bureaucratic miscues and interagency blunders that led to the Americans' deaths. 

But coming as Clinton was wrapping up the Democratic presidential nomination, the findings remained a hot-button issue through Election Day.

The United Nations has ended its campaign with Wonder Woman to promote gender equality after less than two months, DC Entertainment told NBC News on Monday — bringing to a close a venture that was loudly protested from the beginning.

DC Comics — the comics publishing division of DC Entertainment, which is part of Warner Bros. — announced plans in October for a campaign with the United Nations to promote women's advancement around the world well into 2017 — complete with a special edition of the comic book.

Courtney Simmons, a spokeswoman for DC Entertainment, said Monday that the company was "extremely pleased with the awareness" that the partnership brought to efforts to promote the rights and achievements of women and girls. Plans to release a Wonder Woman comic book next spring dedicated to the empowerment of woman and girls remain on course, she said. 

"Wonder Woman stands for peace, justice and equality, and for 75 years she has been a motivating force for many and will continue to be long after the conclusion of her U.N. honorary ambassadorship," Simmons said.

A Lufthansa flight was diverted to JFK Airport following a bomb threat, authorities said Monday night. 

Port Authority Spokesperson Steve Coleman said Lufthansa received the phone threat while Lufthansa Flight 441 was traveling from Houston to Frankfurt, Germany.

The pilot diverted to JFK and the plane landed safely, he said. Passengers were evacuating the aircraft at 9.30 p.m, and by 10 p.m. the aircraft was in a remote area being searched by a K-9 unit, government officials said. 

Officials searched the plane and Coleman said nothing suspicious was found. In a tweet early Tuesday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that a search of the plane yielded nothing. 

A senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News that 530 people were taken off the flight after the bomb threat was phoned in to their corporate office.

The pilot was notified of the threat and landed at JFK per standard procedure.

The law enforcement official said the Joint Terrorism Task Force was monitoring and re-screening the plane.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa tweeted that the flight was diverted "as a matter of precaution" and in coordination with relevant authorities and the pilot.

The plane left Houston at 4.10 p.m. and was due to arrive in Frankfurt Tuesday morning.

"Passengers disembarked and [Lufthansa] staff will take care of them. The aircraft will be searched," the airline said.

JFK airport said no other flights were impacted by the plane's grounding.

President-elect Donald Trump has made his pick for the leader of the Department of Energy: former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who famously once forgot that he wanted to abolish the Energy Department, sources told NBC News Monday night.

Perry, a rival of Trump's during the Republican presidential nominating campaign, met with Trump for about 90 minutes earlier in the day at Trump Tower in New York, NBC News reported. 

During Perry's first bid for the presidential nomination, in 2011, he famously stumbled through a primary debate, listing the three federal departments he'd eliminate if he were elected. However, he couldn't remember the Energy Department — the agency Trump now wants him to lead. The gaffe became known as Perry's "oops" moment.

As governor, Perry supported the oil industry. He now serves on the board of Energy Transfer Partners, the company constructing the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has dropped its reluctance to challenge the election results because Russia "certainly succeeded in interfering" with the electoral process, a top campaign official told MSNBC on Monday night.

"Hillary Clinton conceded the election, and that has not changed," Jennifer Palmieri, the Clinton campaign's top spokeswoman, told Rachel Maddow — in her first interview since the election.

Palmieri said calls to declassify U.S. intelligence on Russia's alleged connection to hacks of U.S. political institutions' email and computer systems were "compelling" enough for the campaign to break its silence and join the fray, NBC News reported.

Earlier Monday, Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, threw his support behind a request by 10 members of the Electoral College who asked National Intelligence Director James Clapper for an intelligence briefing before electors meet next week to certify Trump's election.

Former Jets and Ravens tight end Konrad Reuland died Monday after a weeks-long battle to survive following a brain aneurysm, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh announced at his post-game press conference. Reuland was 29. 

"We lost a Raven today,” Harbaugh said after his team's 20-23 loss to the Patriots Monday night. “I just want to offer our condolences to his family. We love Konrad Reuland. Every single guy in the locker room loves him and knows him." 

Reuland suffered a brain aneurysm Nov. 28 and had surgery the next day. He died in California. 

The former Stanford and Notre Dame ball player made his NFL debut as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011. Reuland then spent two years with the Jets, where he had 12 catches for 90 yards. 

Reuland played in four games for the Ravens last season, starting in one, though he didn't have a catch.

About eight million Cuisinart food processors are being recalled after dozens of reports of customers finding broken pieces of the blade in processed food, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Conair Corp., of Stamford, Connecticut, which is the owner of the Cuisinart brand, said it received 69 reports of consumers finding broken pieces of the blade in processed food, including 30 reports of mouth lacerations or tooth injuries.

The recall includes the riveted blades in Cuisinart food processors. The blades are silver-colored stainless steel and have a beige plastic center hub. Only food processors with four rivets in the blades are under recall.

The model numbers under recall, which can be found on the bottom of the food processors, include the following: CFP-9, CFP-11, DFP-7, DFP-11, DFP-14, DLC-5, DLC-7, DLC-8, DLC-10, DLC-XP, DLC-2007, DLC-2009, DLC-2011, DLC-2014, DLC-3011, DLC-3014, EV-7, EV-10, EV-11, EV-14, KFP-7 and MP-14.

Food processors were sold at department, gourmet and specialty stores nationwide, and on various websites from July 1996 to December 2015.

Consumers are urged to immediately stop using the food processor's riveted blade and to contact Cuisinart for a free replacement blade.

Cuisinart can be reached toll-free at 877-339-2534 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday or online at www.cuisinart.com. Click on "Product Recalls" at the bottom of the page for more information on the voluntary recall.

A woman was hauled off a flight in Detroit by her limbs Monday in an incident that was captured on cellphone video by other passengers.

Delta Flight 2083 was preparing to depart from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to travel to San Diego around 8 a.m. when officials say it was delayed due to a woman “not complying with boarding and baggage check procedures.”

Passengers say a woman had walked right past the gate agents at the terminal without showing a ticket or proper identification before seating herself on the plane, according to NBC affiliate WDIV-TV.  When Delta personnel found the woman and approached her, she refused to move or comply with the standard security procedures, authorities said.

Airport police were called in, and after repeatedly ignoring officers’ requests to leave aircraft, the woman was manually removed by local law enforcement, Delta spokesperson Anthony Black said.

Cellphone video captured from inside the cabin and provided by the Renés Points blog show the woman laying seemingly lifeless as she was dragged down the center aisle by her arms as multiple officers carried her from the back of the plane to the front exit:

Another woman was traveling with the unruly passenger at the time, WDIV-TV reports, and can be seen in the video voluntarily getting up and exiting behind her as she is hoisted away.

The passenger, whose identity has not been released, was taken into police custody, officials said. Charges were pending Tuesday morning.

Black said after the woman was removed the flight was able to continue without further incident, landing at its destination of San Diego International Airport after only a slight delay.

A major oil spill just 150 miles from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in North Dakota has validated the concerns of those who spoke out against the project for months, NBC News reported.

State officials estimate that more than 176,000 gallons of crude oil has leaked from the Belle Fourche Pipeline over the past week into the Ash Coulee Creek in western North Dakota. A landowner discovered the spill near the town of Belfield on Dec. 5, according to Bill Suess, an environmental scientist with the North Dakota Health Department.

The leak was contained within hours of its discovery, Wendy Owen, a spokeswoman for Casper, Wyoming-based True Cos., which operates the Belle Fourche pipeline, told CNBC.

A Baruch College student-athlete from upstate New York was arrested at Trump Tower with a knife, handcuffs, water gun and firecracker, NYPD officials said.

Alexander Wang, 19, was cuffed Monday night before he could get through security at the tower where the president-elect lives and works, according to the NYPD.

Police said that Wang, a track star from Poughquag in his sophomore year at Baruch, was also carrying a garrote, a small piece of wire or rope used to strangle a person. 

He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and posssession of fireworks. He had never been arrested in New York City before, NYPD officials said. 

Attorney information for the man wasn't immediately available.

According to Baruch's website, he's the MVP of the cross country team and is majoring in entrepreneurial management. His favorite slogan: "Let your will be done." 

Teammates described Wang as "a decent guy" who mostly keeps to himself. 

"He's on top of his studies; I see him on the track when we practice," said teammate Luis Aquino. "I try to stay on top of him but, you know, he's a beast."

"We're here for him," Aquino added. "He didn't tell us he had issues, but I wish he did. Baruch is a family." 

Baruch College said in a statement that it is cooperating with law enforcement. 

While the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is examining whether the "electrical system" could have been the cause of the deadly Oakland warehouse blaze, a special agent said the "analysis will continue."

"At this time, there is no final determination" as to what caused the deadliest blaze in 13 years to rip through an Oakland warehouse, killing 36 people, ATF Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder said Tuesday at a news conference.

Of course, Snyder added, the electrical system inside the artist's collective nicknamed the Ghost Shop will be looked at as a possible source of the blaze, just as other factors will be. ATF officials have said they ruled out arson and a refrigerator that were the focus of their attention last week.

As of Tuesday, Snyder said the ATF concluded the federal agency's part of the investigation. And now, she said, "all the findings" will be turned over to the Oakland Fire Department and the Almeda County District Attorney's office.

At the news conference, Almeda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley reiterated that her office continues to pour over interviews, evidence and other elements in what is now an "active" criminal investigation. Deputy District Attorney David Lim will be placed in charge.

O'Malley vowed to come up with a fair and just solution for the families who lost their loved ones in the Dec. 2 fire, which tore through the building at 1305 E. 31st Ave. at 11:30 p.m.

"We will identify what we can from the evidence presented," O'Malley said, noting her office has already conducted many interviews. "We will be thorough, methodical and calculated. We owe you nothing but than to do our very best."

The electronic dance party had attracted a gathering of artists and musicians inside the warehouse, which was illegally converted into an artist's enclave and living quarters. Artists have long complained that they can't afford the rents in the Bay Area, and have lived in illegal and unsafe quarters to be able to survive. 

The 36 victims ranged in age from 17 to 61.

Guests and neighbors who visited the warehouse over the years, owned by the Ng trust and run by a tenant named Derick Ion Almena, said it was full of art, wooden pieces, power strips, propane tanks and electrical wiring. The warehouse also had a makeshift staircase, which firefighters noted made exiting the party difficult for the guests. Some have told NBC Bay Area that they told Almena his living quarters were unsafe and that he should fix it; to which he only laughed.

In an interview with the "Today" show, Almena said that he is sorry for what happened, but would not say whether he thinks he should be held responsible for what happened.

More than 100 Red Cross volunteers were helping families of the victims and those displaced in the blaze. They said relatives of victims and those who may have lived at the Ghost Ship can call 510-595-4441.

Five people aboard a U.S. Marine Osprey were rescued Monday when the aircraft landed in shallow water off Okinawa, military officials reported.

The emergency landing was reported at 10 p.m. on December 13, 1st Lt. Joseph Butterfield, a spokesman at Marine Corps Base Camp Butler saidMarine Corps Base Camp Butler said. The cause of the incident was under investigation.

The MV-22 Osprey crew is part of Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

They were taken to a U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa aboard Camp Foster where they’re being treated for injuries, Butterfield said in a written statement.

Ten days ago, in a separate incident, an MV-22 Osprey made a precautionary emergency landing east of San Diego, near Mount Laguna. 

The unplanned landing happened during routine training while the crew was flying approximately 30 miles east of the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

In this incident, the Osprey landed in an open field in the Cleveland National Forest.  There were no reports of injuries or damage to the aircraft.

The head of a West Virginia nonprofit whose racist social media post about first lady Michelle Obama drew demands that she be fired is expected to return to work next week, NBC News reported.

Pamela Taylor, the director of the nonprofit Clay County Development Corp., was suspended after her Facebook post last month was screenshotted and went viral: "It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House," she wrote. "I'm tired of seeing a Ape in heels."

The controversial message also ensnared Clay County's mayor, Beverly Whaling, when she replied, "Just made my day Pam" — a comment that led her to resign.

A man found dead inside a Sunset Cliffs home was identified Tuesday as the founder of CorePower Yoga and business entrepreneur Trevor Tice.

Tice, 48, was found dead Monday inside a multi-million dollar home along the coast west of downtown San Diego, according to homicide investigators.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the company was deeply saddened by the news.

"Our community is grieving this tragic loss and honoring Trevor’s tremendous legacy," CorePower Yoga spokesperson Christine Turner said.

SDPD officers were called to the home on Cornish Drive as part of a welfare check, homicide investigators confirmed.

Due to suspicious circumstances surrounding Tice's death, homicide detectives were called to the scene and are investigating the incident.

Tice founded CorePower Yoga in 2002 starting with just a few studios and growing it into a company which now includes more than 160 yoga studios across the U.S.

He reportedly removed himself from day-to-day operations within the company earlier this year.

"CorePower is a manifestation of the best Trevor brought to the world: boundless energy, an electric smile, an immutable desire to improve," CEO Eric Kufel said in an email to employees.

"I believe Trevor contributed more to the world than most dare to dream-- and the world will forever be a more joyful, more peaceful, and fundamentally better place because Trevor Tice was part of it," Kufel said.

NBC 7 spoke with one of Tice's students who told us she has been going to the Point Loma location since it opened. 

Ori Ostrowiak says Tice built the buisness from scratch but it wasn't without a struggle.

"In 2008, I did the teacher training and I could see he was under a lot of stress. He was running a yoga business but he was stressed out from the business standpoint. Then all of a sudden, it just mushroomed and took off," Ostrowiak said of the business.

"One day I brought my two little daughters in, Audrey and Maxine, they were about 5 and 6, and he let them use his computer," she added. "They were struggling with it for a little bit and he stopped what he was doing and tried to help them. You would never know he was the big shot in the business. He was so sweet to my daughters, and I thought he was a really good guy. He was very, very charismatic."

Ostrowiak says she is still in shock after learning of his death.

Tice graduated with a degree in Business from the University of Colorado and was a yoga practitioner and teacher, according to a CorePower Yoga media kit.

The Sunset Cliffs home was purchased in January 2016 for $3 million. Neighbors told NBC 7 there has been a lot of activity at the home recently with people appearing to be doing work on the home. 

Walmart has removed a mug from its website after numerous shoppers reported it as “appalling” and “offensive.”

The black and white coffee mug was posted to the retail giant’s site with the message “Got Retard?” on it.

After numerous complaints, and a Change.org petition asking the company to stop selling the mug, Walmart said it had the item from a third-party seller “removed from the site as soon as we were informed.” 

“This item violated our policy and we quickly removed it,” Walmart said in a statement on Twitter. “It’s unacceptable a seller put it on our Marketplace.” 

A similar version of the mug also appeared on Amazon.com, but has since been removed from the site as well. Amazon said in a statement Tuesday the item is "not listed for sale on Amazon."

The National Down Syndrome Society thanked the retailers for “discontinuing sales immediately.”

“Upon learning of the offensive language used in products sold by Walmart and Amazon, NDSS reached out to both retailers to discuss the offensive items being sold on their websites and asked that they immediately disconitnue the sale of those products, which they both have done,” the group said in a statement. “NDSS strongly condemns the use of the ‘r word.’ As the leading human rights organization for all people with Down syndrome, we maintain a zero tolerance policy for this type of mockery and offense.”

GiGi’s Playhouse Inc. in suburban Chicago, a group dedicated to increasing “positive awareness of Down syndrome,” also thanked the companies for removing the product.

“Walmart, we would like to thank you for taking down your product, the despicable, offensive mug with the R-word prominently displayed on it, but not before many people were hurt,” the group wrote on Facebook.

Still, the group has asked both Walmart and Amazon.com “What can we do to ensure this doesn’t happen again?”

Walmart describes its Marketplace program on its website as a way for "strategic business partners" to sell products alongside Walmart products.

"Our sellers are selected based on reputation, sales projections and alignment with Walmart's values," Walmart's website says.

A request for comment on how the mug made it onto the company's marketplace was not immediately answered.

Amazon also did not respond to a request for comment about how the mug was listed on the site. According to the company's website, registered sellers can list their products to the Amazon Marketplace catalog.

The NBC4 I-Team in Los Angeles has obtained police body cam video — never before seen publicly — that shows cops allowing a canine to bite a naked, unarmed man, including for over 40 seconds after officers had him pinned to the ground.

Attorneys who’ve seen the video say it amounts to excessive force, and raises questions for all police departments about how they use canines.

The initial police call came out around 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday in August 2015. Patrol officers with the San Diego Police Department were asked to check on the welfare of a naked man screaming and running through a canyon in University City, a San Diego suburb near La Jolla, according to police reports obtained by the NBC4 I-Team.

It took some time for the officers to locate the man hiding in a rustic canyon area surrounded by homes and a high school. Officers believed the man was under the influence of a controlled substance, which the man later admitted to NBC4 was true. 

An 80-year-old man who once testified that he was shot eight times by Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger has been charged in the 25-year-old murder of an armored truck guard.

Ralph DeMasi of Amesbury, Massachusetts, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon and charged with armed robbery and the murder of Edward P. Morlock Sr. of Athol on May 18, 1991, in the foyer of a Shaw's Supermarket in Worcester, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office.

DeMasi allegedly escaped the robbery and shooting in a waiting car, which was abandoned around the corner. The suspects then switched to a second vehicle.

Three other men believed to have participated in the robbery and murder have died in the intervening years.

DeMasi testified in Bulger's 2013 trial that he was riding in a car with another man in 1973 when a car pulled up alongside and Bulger began firing at them. The other man was hit 17 times and died instantly. DeMasi sustained eight bullet wounds.

"Car pulled up alongside, opened up," he said afterward. "When it was over there were over 100 bullets in the car."

DeMasi was compelled to testify against Bulger, fresh off a 21-1/2-year prison sentence for an armored car robbery in Newburyport.

The 87-year-old Bulger was a fugitive for 17 years until his arrest in 2011. A jury convicted him in 2013 for playing a role in 11 murders and many other crimes.

DeMasi's arrest on Tuesday was the result of new information uncovered during an investigation by Worcester Police, the FBI and the district attorney's office.

"I have seen first-hand the hard work and dedication that has gone into this case," Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent said. "Hopefully, this arrest brings some measure of closure to the family of Edward Murlock."

Morlock's widow, Jeannette, said Tuesday she has mixed emotions over the arrest.

"I'm happy yet sad because it's Christmas and I'm going back on memories and those were very painful times for me. My husband got killed 25 years ago and he was not ordered to work. He filled in for someone else so they could get married and he did it for extra money because he was the saver," Morlock said.

Morlock said if convicted, she wants DeMasi to be put away for good or executed for the pain he has caused her for the last 25 years.

"Put him away again so he can never hurt anybody. Because he has ruined my life," Morlock said.

DeMasi is expected to be arraigned around 11 a.m. Wednesday in Worcester Superior Court.