Storefront and car windows were smashed in a destructive rampage that led to more than 30 reports of vandalism since the weekend in Long Beach.
On 15th Street, residents awoke Tuesday to find their vehicle windows shot out by someone who used a BB gun. Similar cases were reported around the East Division Naples area and other neighborhoods, including Belmont Shore.
"I was just going to sleep and I heard (the) loud roaring of of an engine going through the street," resident Jason Apple said, "(Then I) hear everyone talking in the middle of the night, (I) come outside and everybody's mad because their windows have been shot out."
It comes days after the windows and windshields of more than 20 vehicles in Torrance, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach were damaged. That incident happened in the early hours of Jan. 26. Long Beach PD spokeswoman Sgt. Megan Zabel said there is a possibility the cases are linked.
The vehicle involved in Monday night’s vandalism was described as a four-door black or blue Honda Civic with a spoiler and chrome tail pipes.
Any other victims or anyone with information is asked to contact Long Beach PD on 562-435-6711.
The state's monthly water-use report card released Tuesday shows that Californians have met the state's 20-percent water-use reduction goal for the first time.
The report, a monthly snapshot of how 400 local water agencies are doing when it comes to water conservation efforts across drought-stricken California, shows Californian's reduced water-use by 22 percent in December compared to December 2013.
The reduction might be due in large part to a rainy month. Officials at the State Water Resources Control Board said the extra rain minimized the need to water lawns.
"It reinforces what we thought all along that the extent of outdoor water use is a huge driver of water conservation and water use," board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said.
The State Water Resources Control Board began collecting and publicizing the water-use numbers as part of its ongoing conservation campaign as the state enters its fourth consecutive dry year. The board imposed restrictions on watering lawns and washing cars last summer after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency for the state in January 2014.
Brown asked residents to reduce water use by 20 percent, a goal that has been difficult to achieve. The closest Californians previously came to reaching that goal was in August, when water use dropped 11.6 percent compared with the previous year, according to the monthly surveys of water suppliers.
Dry conditions are still looming. Downtown San Francisco had no measurable rain in January for the first time in recorded history. A snow survey last week found the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which supply about a third of California's water, contained 12 percent of the normal water expected.
Springtime water runoff from melting snow in the Sierra range provides water for an estimated 25 million Californians.
The water board's mandatory water restrictions are set to expire in April. The board is also considering extending and expanding those rules later this month.
An actor who played a Power Ranger on TV will not face charges in the fatal stabbing of his roommate with a sword during a fight, prosecutors said.
Ricardo Medina, 36, was accused of getting into an argument with his roommate, Joshua Sutter, also 36, that turned physical at their home in the 38000 block of San Francisquito Canyon Road in Palmdale on Saturday, deputies said.
Sutter was stabbed to death at 3:45 p.m., after Medina and his girlfriend went into his bedroom and closed the door, authorities said. But Sutter forced the bedroom door open, deputies said.
Medina was accused of stabbing Sutter once in the abdomen with a sword, which had been kept next to the bedroom door, officials said.
After Sutter collapsed, Medina called 911, stayed at the scene and was arrested there, deputies said. He was booked on suspicion of murder at the sheriff's Palmdale station.
The "Power Rangers" series, featuring Japanese cartoon-like action, was criticized by some for its on-screen violence when it debuted on U.S. television.
Hip-hop mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was taken to a hospital after suffering a medical emergency in a courthouse lockup after pleading not guilty to murder and other charges in a hit-and-run case, officials said.
Knight faced charges in court on Tuesday of murder, attempted murder and hit-and-run in the death of a man last week at a Compton burger stand. Details regarding the medical condition, which a sheriff's deputy described as an "anxiety attack," were not immediately available.
Updates: Follow @PatrickNBCLA
An ambulance followed by sheriff's department vehicles transported Knight from the Compton courthouse. A law enforcement source told NBC4 that Knight was transported back to jail after his release from a hospital, but an official with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said he remained in the hospital at midday.
Attorney David Kenner spoke with Knight in the courthouse lockup.
"I saw him in the morning both before court and after court," said attorney Kenner. "He's doing fine."
Knight's next court date, a bail review hearing, is schedule for Feb. 9.
Prosecutors filed charges Monday against the 49-year-old Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records. He is accused of attempting to run down a friend and another man Thursday at a burger stand after an argument that began on a film set.
He pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to four felony counts, which include murder in the death of 55-year-old Terry Carter, "attempted, willful, deliberate and premeditated murder" involving 51-year-old victim Cle "Bone" Sloan, plus two charges of hit-and-run. Knight's attorney, James Blatt, said Knight accidentally ran over the men as he tried to escape a vicious attack.
Sloan's attorney, Michael Shapiro, was asked outside of court whether Knight had any reason to fear for his safety.
"It just seems to me that a 165-pound guy against a car, I don't think it's much of a fair fight," said Shapiro.
Knight turned himself in the following day at the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department West Hollywood Station. Because a conviction in the case could result in Knight's third serious felony under California's three strikes sentencing law, Knight could face up to life in prison if he's convicted.
Knight's $2 million bail was revoked Monday after a court commissioner agreed with authorities that he was a potential flight risk and could intimidate witnesses. The ruling came after homicide detectives told the bail commissioner that Knight could face a lengthy prison sentence because of a violent criminal past, said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokeswoman Nicole Nishida.
Knight had been out on bail in a separate robbery case when the men were hit.
Knight was at the center of one of the most notorious rap conflicts of the 1990s, pitting Tupac Shakur against Biggie Smalls in an East Coast-West Coast rivalry. Knight was sent to prison for nearly five years for badly beating a rival with Shakur at a Las Vegas hotel, just hours before Shakur was fatally shot while riding in Knight's car just east of the Strip in 1996.
In the current case, Knight struck two men with his pickup in a Compton burger stand parking lot. The collision killed his friend Carter, a founder and owner of Heavyweight Records who was viewed as a local father figure and tried to help mentor young men in the community, said Doug Young, a friend and hip-hop music promoter. Also injured in the collision was Sloan, an actor and film consultant.
Authorities said Knight visited the set for "Straight Outta Compton," a film about the rise of the rap group N.W.A., and argued with Sloan, who was working at the location on Thursday. Sheriff's deputies providing security asked Knight to leave.
A short time later, the argument resumed in a parking lot a few miles away where Knight and Sloan exchanged punches through a window of the pickup before the two men were run down, authorities said.
Blatt has said Knight was attacked by four people, including Sloan, as he pulled into the parking lot after Carter requested he show up for a meeting. Blatt said Knight hit the gas and fled in fear.
NBC4's Nyree Arabian and Tena Ezzeddine contributed to this report.
Deputies arrested a man in connection with the discovery of a woman's body found at a home in Mission Viejo, authorities said.
The person arrested is familiar with the victim, who is in her 60s, said Lt. Jeff Hallock, of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
The suspicious death was reported at a home at 27091 Pueblonuevo Drive in Mission Viejo.
Los Angeles has launched a new program to clear trash from streets and neighborhoods, but the elected official who sponsored the plan admits it's not enough to solve the city's growing garbage problem.
Councilman Gil Cedillo, District 1, championed a new $5 million plan, approved in October, aimed at cleanup up the piles of trash dumped on sidewalks and in alleys across the city.
The NBC4 I-Team has learned the program is funding just one 13-man crew, tasked with picking up garbage throughout the nearly 500-square-mile city.
NBC4 asked Cedillo: "Five million dollars is just not going to clean up Los Angeles. It's just a drop in the bucket. What are you going to say to those people?"
"You're right. It's not going to solve the problem," Cedillo said. "It's the start of the solution."
North Hollywood resident David Aswad has seen the trash accumulating in his neighborhood of 30 years — but has yet to see any sign of the new cleanup crew.
"I don't like to walk through this," Aswad said, as they strolled down Roscoe Boulevard, which was littered with car parts and an old mattress. "I don't think most people would. It's a quality-of-life issue. It's just an eyesore."
It's more than an "eyesore," according to a interior report recently commissioned by the City Administrator's office. The study found that only 35 percent of LA's streets are cleaned regularly. It noted that the "constant state of uncleanliness" is "threatening LA's image," making some areas appear "safe and ungoverned."
The I-Team rode along with the new trash crew as they tackled a garbage-filled alley in South Los Angeles. Supervisor Russell Zamora said the amount they have to pick up is daunting.
"On a daily basis, somewhere from 30 to 40 tons a day," Zamora said. "To get the whole city done, we'd probably have to do a crew ... at all the district yards on a daily basis."
Cedillo agreed much more needs to be done.
"I'm pleased, but I'm not pleased enough," he said. "We got to keep going back and doing it."
Back in North Hollywood, David Aswad wonders if anything will work. He asked the city to post a "No Dumping" sign, but was told it would do no good.
"The city official (didn't) seem to care too much about it. The perpetrators don't care what they do with their garbage," Aswad said. "I don't know what the answer is. I'd just like to see something done."
Residents who want to report illegal trash dumping in their neighborhood or find out how to get it picked up can submit an online request here or call 800-773-2489. Other information can be found by dialing 311.
A man killed by sheriff’s deputies in a high desert shootout was himself a former law enforcement officer and beloved friend and neighbor, leaving those who knew him shocked and in disbelief over the turn of events Monday night.
San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies responded to a call of shots fired at the Apple Valley home of former California Highway Patrol Officer Francis Murphy Rose III.
Investigators say Rose fired at deputies and a sheriff's helicopter before they fired back.
Rose was killed, leaving friends in shock Tuesday.
"As long as I've known him he's been respectful and nice," said Gloria Bradley, a close friend.
Rose, 42, was loved by many in the high desert, where he served and protected.
"Just a swell guy," said Michael Mazzola, who was friends with Rose for 25 years. "If you need something he'd be there for you. He'd come out and help or knew someone who could do it for you."
Bradley says Rose was patrolling Highway 40 two years ago when he pulled over a vehicle and was brutally attacked by the driver.
"Beat him down until he was in the hospital and they never caught the guy," Bradley said. "He had to retire out of highway patrol because of it, because he couldn't work anymore."
Friends say Rose suffered from severe back problems, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the beating.
Rose could be difficult at times, neighbors said.
"He tried to intimidate you and if he can't intimidate you he still demands his respect as a CHP officer," said neighbor Danny Farris.
Friends says Rose had been struggling with emotional turmoil and they are devastated over his death.
"Sad to see it happen and sorry to see him go," Mazzola said.
Potential presidential candidates and others are taking on the touchy topic of children and vaccinations, sparked again by the measles outbreak that started in Disneyland and has now infected nearly 70 people.
Republicans Chris Christie and Rand Paul stirred the debate over the outbreak by saying parents should have a choice, only to be countered by Democrat Hillary Clinton coming down on the side of vaccinations.
The New Jersey governor made the first comments during a visit to the United Kingdom on Monday, telling reporters the government needs to find a “balance” between parental choice and public health.
“We vaccinate ours [kids], and so, you know, that's the best expression I can give you of my opinion," Christie said. "You know, it's much more important what you think as a parent than what you think as a public official. And that's what we do. But I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well, so that's the balance that the government has to decide."
Later that morning, his office issued a statement that seemed to soften his comments, saying he believed that with a disease like measles there was no question that children should be vaccinated. Vaccines are an important public health protection, the statement said.
“At the same time different states require different degrees of vaccination, which is why he was calling for balance in which ones government should mandate,” it said.
The issue of vaccinations can be tricky going for politicians.
During the last presidential race, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry disavowed his earlier decision to require schoolgirls in Texas to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer. Merck & Co., the maker of the HPV vaccine Gardasil, was paying to try to make the vaccine mandatory across the country, but conservatives and parents groups objected, saying the demand could seem to condone premarital sex and interfere with the way they raised their children.
A recent Pew Research Center report found that differences between political parties over vaccinations were modest.
Sixty-five percent of Republicans, 76 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of independents said that children should be required to be vaccinated, according to the Pew Research Center. In 2009, there were no party differences.
Greater divisions were based on age. More than 68 percent of American adults overall say childhood vaccinations should be mandatory versus 30 percent who favor allowing parents to decide. But among 18- to 29-year-olds, the number on the side of parental choice rises to 41 percent. Only 20 percent of adults 65 and older agree.
During this latest tempest, Democrats immediately accused Christie of trying to appeal to what the spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, Mo Elleithee, called the "radical, conspiracy-theory base that's wagging the dog of today's Republican Party."
"But if he wants to actually be a leader, then he should stop bowing to junk science and take a cue from President Obama by showing leadership that promotes facts and keeps our children and our nation safe," Elleithee said.
President Barack Obama earlier urged Americans to vaccinate their children.
"The science is, you know, pretty indisputable," he said.
Paul, the senator from Kentucky who has appealed to libertarians, initially did not back down from his comments to CNBC linking vaccines to mental disorders, despite widespread criticism. He presented the decision of whether to vaccinate as one of personal freedom.
"I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines," he said on Monday.
Rand also said he thought that vaccines were a good thing but that parents “should have some input” on whether their children received them. On Laura Ingraham’s radio show, he said most vaccines should be voluntary.
But by late Tuesday, he also issued a statement clarifying his comments, noting he had not said that vaccines caused disorders. He supported vaccines, had gotten them himself and had had all of his children vaccinated, he said.
Democrat Hillary Clinton had jumped in on Monday, tweeting, “The science is clear. The earth is round, the sky is blue, and #vaccineswork. Let's protect all our kids. #GrandmothersKnowBest."
And Florida's Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Louisiana's Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal both came out strongly for vaccines on Tuesday.
Rubio said all children should be vaccinated, except those who needed medical exemptions.
"This is the most advanced country in the world," he said. "We have eradicated diseases that in the past have killed and permanently disabled people. My own grandfather was disabled by polio as a young child."
Jindal said he would not send his children to a school that did not require vaccinations.
"There is a lot of fear-mongering out there on this," he said. "I think it is irresponsible for leaders to undermine the public's confidence in vaccinations that have been tested and proven to protect public health. Science supports them, and they keep our children safe from potentially deadly but preventable diseases."
House Speaker John Boehner was asked on Tuesday whether parents should legally be required to vaccinate their children.
"I don't know if we need another law, but I do believe all children ought to be vaccinated," he said.
Meanwhile, members of parties came together over during a Congressional hearing over their concern about the outbreak.
“This is far too serious an issue to be treated as a political football,” Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee said. “People still die from measles.”
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A Pasadena homeowner said she learned how long and hard it was to kick out hostile renters after a 26-day ordeal.
She dealt with aggressive, thieving tenants who made her life increasingly costly and stressful.
Here's what you can do to try to avoid a similar situation in your own home:
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office said on Tuesday there is insufficient evidence to charge a 59-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder in the grisly case of a dismembered body found in a suitcase on a downtown street.
"We are very disturbed by the facts of this case and are working with the San Francisco Police Department to secure the evidence necessary to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law," Assistant District Attorney Alex Bastian said in a statement.
Officials said the medical examiner has yet to determine a cause of death or positively identify the victim.
"Given the current state of the evidence, there is insufficient evidence to charge this suspect with murder," Bastian said.
Mark Andrus, 59, was detained late Friday and later arrested and booked at the San Francisco County Jail. He was released from jail late Tuesday and was escorted by Jeff Adachi, his public defender.
Adachi said Andrus does not have a place to live so his office will be helping him find a place to stay.
"We will help place him in a hotel," Adachi said. "We will assist him with re-entry -- he's been in jail three to four days."
Officers on Friday night detained Andrus at the Sala Burton Manor apartment building, located at 430 Turk Street, less than a mile from where the suitcase with a headless human torso was found.
Police said they received a tip from an anonymous caller at 7:26 p.m. reporting that the person of interest in a photo SFPD released Friday was staying at the apartment building.
The suitcase was found on 11th Street near Market, just one block from Twitter's headquarters, on Wednesday afternoon. Police then made another gruesome discovery shortly after when they uncovered more body parts within a three-block radius.
The San Francisco Chief Medical Examiner's office confirmed Friday the human body parts are those of an unidentified light-skinned male.
Andrus' former roomate at a Jones Street hotel was 58-year-old Omar Shahwan, a light-skinned man who has been missing. Those who knew the men told NBC Bay Area they lived quietly and were good neighbors.
Prosecutors said the medical examiner is waiting for DNA test results to see if it is Shahwan's body that was found in the suitcase.
Police and the District Attorney's Office said they will continue to investigate the case and work to find information that proves a link between Andrus to the body in the suitcase.
NBC Bay Area's Jean Elle, Mark Matthews and Bay City News contributed to this report.
A black Labrador puppy was rescued from the frigid Mystic River in Arlington, Massachusetts, after breaking away from its owners on a walk to chase some swans onto thin ice Tuesday, police say.
A woman and her daughters were walking along the river with their puppy Lucy when the dog spotted swans in the river, broke away and ran onto the ice near the Mystic Valley Parkway and Medford Street, police said.
The dog fell through the ice into the river, and state police in Medford were around 4:35 p.m.
Arlington firefighters Chris Gibbons and Joseph Andrade donned "warm suits" to help rescue her. Gibbons found Lucy about 30 feet from the shore before he broke through the ice as well, and with Andrade's help, they brought the dog to safety.
Lucy had a checkup with Arlington EMS before happily being reunited with her owner.
The owner of a beloved pet iguana named Godzilla is pleading for her return after a thief was caught on camera swiping the reptile from a Southern California pet shop.
The 3-foot-long tamed iguana was taken from her outdoor enclosure in front of the Paramount Pet Entertainment store on Monday, the owner said.
Surveillance footage shows the thief reach and grab hold of the lizard inside its railed outdoor habitat. Godzilla can be seen whipping her tail during the struggle before the man calmly walks away with the animal and places it inside a vehicle.
"All I want is my iguana back," pet store owner Holly Cepeda told NBC4.
Godzilla was a gift from the breeder that the store uses, Cepeda said.
She is not kept in a cage and is allowed to roam freely around the store. Godzilla typically walks out the front door to the garden area to bask in the sun around 11 a.m. The theft happened around 12:30 p.m., Cepeda said.
The lizard is known as the pet store’s mascot and loved by the community. Although described as usually docile, Cepeda is unsure of how Godzilla will react to somebody else handling her.
The family pet maintains a special diet and without proper care the suspect "might just kill her."
"Please surrender her. All I care for is the iguana. I really want her back. She means so much to our family," Cepeda said.
The reptile thief caught on camera has dark hair and a widow’s peak hairline, officials said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Paramount sheriff’s station at 562-220-2002.
The mother of a mentally disabled woman claims a Southern California nonprofit was negligent in hiring a job coach who would eventually plead no contest to molesting her daughter.
Rosie Clinton said a moment in October 2010 changed the course of her daughter's life forever.
"This incident changed her whole persona," Clinton said of her now 43-year-old daughter, who four years ago had been getting services through PathPoint, Inc, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit agency specializing in helping disabled adults assimilate to ordinary life.
Clinton said the job coach assigned to her daughter was Olayinka Akinsowon, that he was supposed to help her to become more independent.
Instead, Clinton said her daughter regressed from the mind of a 12-year-old to the mind of an 8-year-old, losing all independence.
"She was able to shop, able to do anything, go to the movies," Clinton said. "But she started urinating the bed, she began to have nightmares. And I began to go in her room and she would attack me. It wasn't like her at all."
Surveillance video from the Best Buy store in Northridge shows Akinsowon behind Clinton's daughter rocking back and forth. Akinsowon would later plead no contest to molesting her, admitting he caressed her breasts and put his hands into her pants.
A Best Buy employee noticed the assault and called police.
Since then, Clinton has been engaged in a lawsuit claiming negligent hiring among other things against PathPoint. Attorney Vince Finaldi who represents the Clintons said the employee swore under oath that he warned PathPoint of a prior sexual misconduct allegation.
Pathpoint's attorney Tom Beach said the allegation that PathPoint knew in advance of a prior record for Akinsowon is a lie. He said the company reached out to three prior employers, one of which responded with detailed information.
He also said PathPoint did a criminal-background check with the Department of Justice that came back clear. He believes the company did everything it could to properly vet the employee.
"But even the best psychiatrists and psychologists today will tell you there is no litmus test to ID someone who could be inappropriate in the future," Beach said. "The best they can do is the Department of Justice research and employment references."
Clinton said the hardest part for her is believing her daughter can never again reach the ability to be independent.
"Who was protecting my child?" she said. "Nobody. And I was the last one to know."
Akinsowon served more than a year in prison and is currently listed as a sex offender on the Megan's Law website.
UPDATE: The NTSB has launched an investigation into the fatal crash. Click here for more.
Six people were killed when a Metro-North train packed with commuters from New York City hit a car on the railroad tracks in Westchester at the height of evening rush hour, sparking a fiery crash that's also injured at least 12 people, officials say.
The train out of Grand Central Terminal was going northbound on the Harlem line when it struck a Jeep Cherokee at the Commerce Street crossing in Valhalla at about 6:30 p.m., officials said.
The Jeep was stopped on the tracks when the railroad crossing gates came down on top of it, according to MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. The driver got out to look at the back of the car, then got back in and drove forward when the train struck the Jeep, pushing it about 10 train-car lengths up the track.
The Jeep driver and five passengers on the train were killed in the crash, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news conference Tuesday night. The crash is the deadliest in the history of the Metro-North Railroad. Officials initally said six passengers had died, but MTA officials downgraded the death toll Wednesday morning.
"This is truly an ugly, brutal sight," Cuomo said. "The third rail of the track came up from the explosion and went right through the car, so it is truly a devastatingly ugly situation to see."
The rail did not hit any passengers, officials said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday it is launching a team to the crash site to investigate. Cuomo and MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast said an event recorder on the train will help piece together the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Chopper 4, first over the scene, showed a massive emergency response as the front train cars smoldered for hours, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air.
Six hundred and fifty people were on board train No. 659, which departed Grand Central at 5:45 p.m. The train made one stop at 125th Street in Harlem before it proceeded express toward Chappaqua, the MTA said.
Passengers' accounts of the crash varied according to where they were sitting along the train. Those in back reported only feeling only small "jolts" or "jerks" upon impact, while those sitting toward the front heard a loud explosion and saw smoke quickly filling their cars.
Jamie Wallace, who was sitting in the back of the second car, recalled how everyone escaped the train after the crash.
"We started to hear people further up toward the head of the second car start to panic a bit, and they were calling for a fire extinguisher," he said.
But as passengers rushed to help, "we could not get the head car doors open for some reason, it was jammed," he said. "We then were trying to break the glass to no avail."
"A number of us started smelling fumes from the car, the fuel, and we said, 'you know what, we need to get out.' The fire was starting to spread back toward the second car, and the second car finally did ignite," he said.
Another passenger named Fred was on the fourth train from the front. He hurt his fingers when he smashed his hand through emergency glass during the evacuation.
"The thing that precipitated people really starting to freak out and break the glass and open the door was there was a loud 'bam,' explosion-type thing, and once we jumped off the side, there was another explosion to a lesser degree," he said.
Neil Rader of Katonah was sitting in the middle-back of the train when he felt a "small jolt."
"It felt not even like a short stop, and then the train just completely stopped," he said.
He said passengers in his car also had to evacuate by breaking glass on the doors to get out. He said he saw 50 to 60 ambulances at the scene as he walked to a nearby gym, which was acting as a holding area for the escaped train riders.
"I've never seen anything quite like it," said Rader.
Stacey Eisner, an NBCUniversal News Group employee, was sitting in one of the rear two cars of the train, and said she felt the train "jerk" at some point. The conductor walked through the train to explain what had happened, and passengers were calm at first, but tension began to build when they learned the train had hit a car, she said.
About 10 to 15 minutes after the train "jerk," Eisner's train car was evacuated, with ladders used to get people out. People were taken either to a nearby rock-climbing gym called The Cliffs or allowed to walk to the Hawthorne Funeral Home, she said.
Ryan Cottrell, assistant director at The Cliffs, told NBC News that the passengers who were brought there appeared to be shaken up but generally OK. Staffers who saw the incident from the front door went to the scene to help bring passengers into the gym, where they were providing shelter and warmth until MTA buses arrive to transport commuters to Pleasantville, Cottrell said.
A few injured people were transported from the gym to the hospital, said Cottrell.
The train engineer was treated for his injuries at a hospital, but was not considered one of the casualties, Prendergast said.
The Taconic State Parkway, which runs parallel to the Metro-North tracks in the area, was closed in both directions in the town of Mount Pleasant as police, EMS and firefighters responded.
The Metro-North Harlem line will remain suspended Wednesday between Pleasantville and North White Plains. There will be limited bus/train service for Upper Harlem line customers beginning with morning rush hour service on Wednesday until further notice.
Normal train service remains between Grand Central and North White Plains, the MTA said.
Harlem line tickets will be cross-honored on the Hudson and New Haven lines. Up to 300 parking spaces at the Westchester County Center and up to 50 parking spaces at the North White Plains Station will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The collision comes a little more than a year after new Metro-North President Joseph Giuletti took over, with a vow to make safety the top priority.
Multiple derailments in 2013 and 2014 -- including one in December 2013 that killed four people when a fatigued engineer fell asleep at the controls -- had prompted a federal review in which investigators concluded that Metro-North sacrificed safety in 2013 to accommodate an obsession with on-time performance.
The MTA says it has made dozens of recommended changes, but big-ticket items like automated train control could still be months or even years away. It appears too early to tell whether safety controls could have prevented Tuesday's collision.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, a vocal advocate for improved safety on the Metro-North, said in a statement he's spoken to Prendergast, who said that "a full and thorough investigation has already begun."
"At this early stage, it is premature to point any fingers of blame, but there are many important questions that must be answered in the coming days," Schumer said.
Metro-North has established a family assistance center at the Mount Pleasant Town Hall at 1 Town Hall Plaza in Valhalla and a phone hotline at 1-800-METRO-INFO (800-638-7646).
Federal prosecutors announced the arrest of a former high-ranking Defense Department civilian in the international Navy bribery scandal involving the military contractor known as “Fat Leonard.”
Paul Simpkins, a 60-year-old former senior contracting officer for the U.S. Navy, was arrested and charged Tuesday in Virginia on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery.
A criminal complaint alleges Simpkins accepted several hundred thousand dollars in cash and wire transfers, travel, hotel rooms, entertainment expenses and prostitutes from Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), the Singapore-based company led by Leonard Glenn Francis, known in military circles as Fat Leonard.
Francis pleaded guilty last month to giving military officials prostitutes, travel and cash in exchange for classified information that allowed his company to overbill the U.S. government by more than $20 million.
Simpkins worked as a supervisory contract special for the Navy in Singapore in 2005 and became a manager at the Department of Defense’s Office of Small Business Programs in 2007.
The complaint says in early 2006, Simpkins and Francis met several times at a Singapore hotel, where Francis hand-delivered $150,000 in cash. He also wired money to Simpkin’s wife’s bank account, and Simpkins allegedly used the email account of his mistress to give Francis his wife’s banking information.
In return, Simpkins is accused of helping steer Navy contracts in Francis’ direction. The complaint says he interceded on GDMA’s behalf in contract disputes, even overruling his subordinate’s recommendation that the company’s contract not be renewed due to “many exceedingly high cost” items.
According to the court document, Simpkins also told Navy officials in Hong Kong to stop using meters to measure how much liquid waste GDMA removed from Navy ships under its contract. If the meters had been used, they would have calculated the actual amount of waste to ensure the company was not overbilling the government, prosecutors say.
After Francis complained some Navy personnel were asking questions about his billing, Simpkins is suspected of telling a Navy official not to review GDMA invoices from a Hong Kong port visit.
“As we've mentioned previously, the GDMA investigation is far from over,” said Director Andrew L. Traver of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). “NCIS will follow the evidence wherever it leads, to bring to justice those who were involved in perpetrating this massive fraud on the Department of the Navy and the American taxpayer. Active leads remain and NCIS will stay on the case until our work is done.”
U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy says the government wants Simpkins to be transferred to San Diego to face charges in the Southern District of California, so he will appear at a detention hearing in Virginia Wednesday. Simpkins faces five years in prison if he is found guilty.
The NCIS and Defense Department Investigative Service are continuing the investigation and hinted more arrests were to come after Francis turned in his guilty plea. He and six others, including high-ranking Navy officers and Francis’ own cousin, have admitted to their part in the scheme.
Thieves ransacked a church in Reseda and stole money that was to be used to fund a children's camp.
The burglars made off with $1,200, credit cards, laptops and even the keys to the church van following the raid at Metro Valley Church, which occured between the late hours or Monday and early Tuesday.
The cash that was taken had been set aside to fund a retreat for single mothers, and to pay for a camp that would help under-privileged teenagers. Only the sanctuary itself was left untouched during the raid, with the theives gaining access after breaking a window.
"(They) broke things and stole things... I know there's people that steal out there but when you steal from God's property that's kind of theft on a whole new level." Pastor Brian Cashman
And he was stunned at the lack of respect the thieves had shown in committing the crime.
"You would think God's property would be respected on some different level, Pastor Cashman said, I mean, most of the people (do), most of the time, but some people don't really have that kind of conscience where they have that level of respect for other people's property, or Gods property for that matter."
Parishioners have rallied together following the incident, and have vowed to both repair the damage and replenish the lost funds.
"We're already committed, so one way or another we're going to make it happen. Whether we need to Get donations or fundraise, we will make it happen," church member Mary Gallardo said.
Church leaders hope the community will turn in those responsible for the crime. Anyone who may have seen suspicious activity overnight near Vanowen Street and White Oak Avenue have been asked to contact police.