From NBC News

  • Senate passes bill renewing key FISA surveillance power moments after it expires

    WASHINGTON — The Senate voted to reauthorize a powerful surveillance tool the U.S. government describes as critical to combating terrorism, after defeating efforts by civil liberties advocates on the left and right to rein it in. The vote of 60-34 sends the bill to President Joe Biden, who has championed it. The legislation extends Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, for two more years. The final vote came after the Senate defeated six amendments from progressive...

  • HIGHLIGHTS: Mercer falls to SOCON Rival Wofford in 12 innings

    MACON, Georgia – (41NBC/WMGT) – The Mercer Bears (19-16) fell to SOCON rival Wofford College Terriers (26-10) in 12 innings by a final score of 9-2. Jackson Cherry kept his team in it by tying the game up at 1-1 with a solo home run in the bottom 8th, and again with a solo home run in the bottom 10th

  • Volkswagen workers in Tennessee vote to join UAW in historic win for union

    The United Auto Workers said late Friday that Volkswagen employees in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have overwhelmingly voted to join the union — marking a major milestone for the labor organization and its first successful organizing drive of an automaker outside of Detroit’s Big Three. Union organizing passed with 73% of the vote, or 2,628 workers, in support for the UAW, according to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversaw the election. A total of roughly 3,620, or about 84%, of the 4,326...

  • Trump vows to make his voice heard in court as first week of trial draws to a close. Here's what you missed on Day 4.

    Four days into the first criminal trial of a president, Donald Trump was showing signs of frustrations. He had listened to scores of New Yorkers express less-than-favorable opinions about him, was restricted in what he could say in court and had even been told to sit down by the judge. “Sir, can you please have a seat,” said Juan Merchan, the soft-spoken judge who is presiding over Trump’s hush money trial, when the former president thought Friday's proceedings were over and got up to leave. As...

  • Missing Baldwin County man's vehicle found in Elbert County, search for him continues

    BALDWIN COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Multiple law enforcement agencies are searching for Dawson Brandon Lee, a 24-year-old who was reported missing from Baldwin County on Wednesday. According to a Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post on Friday, his vehicle was found in Elbert County in the area of Cooter Creek Road and Lincolnton Highway. “He is presumed to be on

  • ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ breaks ‘Asian curse,’ crowning first Taiwanese American queen

    “RuPaul’s Drag Race” crowned its first Taiwanese American drag queen Friday, breaking what the winner recently called the competition series’ “Asian curse.” Nymphia Wind — known for her obsession with the color yellow and bananas, and for her couture-like design talent — snatched the crown from fellow finalists Plane Jane and Sapphira Cristál, becoming the winner of the Emmy-winning series’ 16th season. Native Hawaiian Sasha Colby won last season’s competition, while “Drag Race” fan favorite...

  • Charlottesville tiki torch carrier pleads guilty in Jan. 6 riot case

    A former Marine who carried a tiki torch ahead of a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., pleaded guilty Friday in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tyler Bradley Dykes, of Bluffton, S.C., pleaded guilty to two felony counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers who were protecting the Capitol. The crime carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years supervised release, according to the plea agreement....

  • USC cancels guest speakers, honorees at main commencement after valedictorian decision

    LOS ANGELES — Following the publicized decision to cancel a commencement speech by a Muslim valedictorian, the University of Southern California said Friday it will have no outside speakers or honorees at the main stage commencement event. “Given the highly publicized circumstances surrounding our main-stage commencement program, university leadership has decided it is best to release our outside speakers and honorees from attending this year’s ceremony,” USC said in a statement. University...

  • California teacher dies in 140-foot fall at Arizona hiking trail

    A California teacher died in a hiking accident on a steep and difficult mountain trail near Sedona, Arizona, this week, authorities said. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office identified the woman as Zaynab Joseph, 40, of California, who it said was staying with her family at an Airbnb in Sedona. Joseph was hiking with her husband and 1-year-old child on Bear Mountain, about 9 miles west of Sedona, when she fell on Monday morning, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. She fell down a 140-foot...

  • Iran and Israel's attacks, explained: Allies, leaders, nuclear capabilities and more

    Tensions between Israel and Iran have reached an unprecedented high in recent days. Last Saturday, Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones on Israel in response to an Israeli airstrike earlier this month that killed several Iranian military officers. Israel responded Friday with a targeted operation in Iran that was limited in scope, a source familiar with the matter said. As a conflict that could further destabilize the Middle East unfolds, here's what to know. Follow live updates after...

  • Ex-Philadelphia officer charged in 12-year-old's killing pleads guilty

    A former Philadelphia police officer who killed a 12-year-old boy and allegedly fired two of the shots during a foot chase after the boy had discarded his gun pleaded guilty to murder Friday, the prosecutors’ office said. Edsaul Mendoza, 28, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime in the March 1, 2022, death of Thomas “TJ” Siderio, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said. “Justice must be even-handed. Everyone must be accountable under the law,”...

  • Iran's foreign minister responds after Israel attacks on Iran

    In his first interview since Israel's attack, Iran's foreign minister downplayed the missile strike. Through an Iranian government interpreter, he told NBC News' Tom Llamas that Iran will not strike Israel again unless provoked.