MSNBC: Top Stories

As many as a third of the people who were killed by Superstorm Sandy or its aftermath drowned, government health officials report. And nearly half of those who drowned had stayed behind despite evacuation orders, the team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.That means government warnings for people to get out a full day before the storm hit either didn’t sink in, or people willf...    

In a speech to the graduating class of 2013 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., President Barack Obama challenged the 1,047 graduates to “live with integrity” and help restore trust in a military that has been stained by recent charges of sexual assault, just as other American institutions have been shaken by misconduct. “We need your honor… we need values now more than ever,” he urged th...    

The Washington state bridge collapse that spilled two cars into the Skagit River could give Americans pause as they hit the roads for Memorial Day holiday travel.With good reason.This weekend, millions will cross 66,000 bridges that the federal government has deemed "structurally deficient," meaning key elements are in poor condition.The Federal Highway Administration hastens to note that label do...    

LONDON – The horrific public slaying of a soldier in London, five weeks after the Boston Marathon bombings, illustrates the possible emergence of a new terror trend towards unsophisticated attacks that are practically impossible to prevent, intelligence experts warned.Lee Rigby, a 25-year-old father who had served in Afghanistan, was killed in broad daylight Wednesday as he walked near an army bar...    

Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer and all it evokes: vacations, slower workweeks, casual dress codes, getting the pool ready and pulling out the outdoor furniture.It would seem an ideal time to take a break, but our ability to unplug and relax is under assault. A three-day weekend? We can barely get through three waking hours without working, new research shows. The average smartp...    

Nearly 30 New Jersey bars and restaurants have been accused of filling top-shelf liquor bottles with lower-quality hooch, including one establishment that allegedly passed off caramel-colored rubbing alcohol as scotch, state officials said Thursday.The rotgut roundup, dubbed “Operation Swill,” targeted 29 establishments and involved more than 100 investigators, Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa and ...    

LONDON -- The wife of a British soldier brutally murdered in broad daylight in London said on Friday that she thought he was safe in England after returning from active duty in Afghanistan.Several of Drummer Lee Rigby’s relatives made an emotional, tear-strewn appearance at a news conference Friday, as dramatic video footage emerged showing the moments that police shot two men later arrested over ...    

The friend of Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev who law enforcement forces said was shot and killed Wednesday after being questioned by the FBI about a brutal 2011 Boston-area homicide was a promising if somewhat forgettable mixed martial artist, fellow practitioners of the sport said.Chris Palmquist, who operates the official registry for amateur and professional MMA fighters, said Ibragim...    

A passenger jet heading from Pakistan to England was intercepted by U.K. fighter jets after an "angry passenger" made a bomb threat Friday, an airline official said.The Boeing 777 was forced to divert from Manchester airport to London Stansted after a disruptive passenger told a flight attendant he would set off a bomb, said a senior Pakistan International Airlines official who asked not to be ide...    

LONDON - Europe’s busiest airport was disrupted for several hours Friday after a British Airways plane made an emergency landing at Heathrow with a fire in at least one engine.Thousands of travelers were delayed or diverted to other London airports following the incident, shortly after 8 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET).All 75 passengers were safely evacuated from the Airbus A319 using emergency chutes...    

STOCKHOLM - Police in the Swedish capital are to seek reinforcements after youths again set cars ablaze and threw stones at police for a fifth night running, officials said on Friday.The unrest has led the United States embassy to warn U.S. citizens this week not to go to areas hit by rioting."I can confirm we have sent out a Warden message," embassy spokeswoman Danielle Harms said, referring to a...    

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Seen as a small step toward a greater goal or a wrong step for a century-old organization, a vote Thursday to lift a ban on gay youth in the Boy Scouts won't end the debate.Over 61 percent of Scouting's National Council of 1,232 delegates from across the country voted to lift the ban during the Boy Scouts of America’s annual national gathering. The policy change will go into ef...    

Dean and Melania St. Onge, who have been married for 25 years, were hiding in a closet with their dogs Pokie and Shaila as the tornado approached their house in Moore, Okla. They planned to ride out the storm, holding hands.They left the television blasting in the next room so they could hear the local newscasters' report on the weather. When a meteorologist said, “If you’re not underground now, y...    

The collapse of a bridge on a major West Coast highway could cost the state of Washington at least $47 million in lost economic output, as well lost jobs and tax revenues similar to the impact of a flood five years ago that also shut down another section of the road, officials said Friday.Brian Bonlender, Director of the State Department of Commerce said it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact...