Stay updated with breaking news from Paige hopkins. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
good morning. i m paige hopkins. we begin with breaking news in california. a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck about 50 miles off the coast near the border with oregon. it happened just after 9:00 p.m. local time. there are no reports of damage and no threat of a tsunami. the u.s. geological survey says more than 300 people reported feeling that jolt. this is the same area hit by a damaging 6.5 magnitude quake back in 2010. three days later and still no word on what happened to that missing malaysian jet. a senior u.s. official tells nbc news that no terror group has claimed responsibility. and that no electronic chatter has been detected. just a short while ago, officials dismissed reports that one of the plane s yellow lifer rafts had been spotted in the ocean. nbc s kur simmons is in kuala lumpur. keir, what is the latest? reporter: there is real tension here with journalists and we believe some of the families of those who are missing staying at this hot ....
anticipates closing arguments starting today with deliberations beginning friday afternoon. nbc s sarah dallof is live for us outside the courthouse in sanford, florida. sarah, good morning. reporter: good morning, paige. a lot of big developments yesterday, but the main headline, george zimmerman will not testify. the defense would call robert zimmerman sr., your honor. after four days of testimony, attorneys for george zimmerman who pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder wrapped up their case with zimmerman s father. one last witness testifying the screams on the 911 call. i told them absolutely it s my son, george. i am asking your client questions. please, mr. west. reporter: it was a day sprinkled with heated exchanges between the defense and judge deborah nelson, specifically when the judge asked zimmerman if he would be taking the stand. i object to the court inquiring to mr. zimmerman about his decision whether to testify your objection is ....
next few days. you can blame if on a perfect storm of rising oil prices and the peak driving season. but that s not the only thing shooting up. the stock market got some extra fuel surging to all time highs. the dow was up 169 points at 15,460. and the s&p 500 rose 22 points to 1,675. the record highs are in response to words from the federal reserve that it will continue its bond buying program. the prosecution has now made its closing arguments in the closely watched and highly charged trial of george zimmerman. zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder of trayvon martin, but that charge became an issue in court on thursday as the jury is now allowed to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter. parents of the defendant and the dead teenager were all in court together for the first time since opening statements. the jury could have this case as soon as today. ron mott reports from sanford, florida. a teenager is dead. he is dead through no fault of his o ....
i m paige hopkins. while many of us are preparing for the weekend, firefighters in northern california are battling a rapidly growing wildfire near yosemite national park. it s called the rim fire and it grew exponentially overnight now covering about 54,000 acres up from 16,000. and just 24 hours earlier, highway 120 year yosemite was shut down but the park itself remains open and mostly smoke-free. on thursday, governor jerry brown issued a state of emergency and that declaration frees up money and resources for the 1800 firefighters on the ground. so far nine structures have been damaged. 2500 remain threatened. now overseas to syria where more horrific images are emerging of what syrian rebels are calling a mass chemical attack. but the claims still not verified. if these reports are true it would be an outrageous and flagrant escalation of use of chemical weapons by the regime. so our focus is on nailing down the facts. the vicious civil war is now in its thi ....
a rapidly growing wildfire near yosemite national park. it is called the rim fire, and it grew overnight covering about 64,000 acres up from 16,000 just 24 hours earlier. the park remains open and mostly smoke-free. on thursday, governor jerry brown issued a state of emergency. the declaration frees up money and resources for the 1800 firefighters on the ground. so far, nine structures have been damaged, 2,500 remain threatened. let s take to you syria where more horrific images are servicing from what syrian rebels are calling a mass chemical attack but the claims are still not verified. if these reports are true, it would be an outrageous and flag grant escalation of use of chemical weapons by the regime, so our source is on nailing down the facts. more than 100,000 are dead and nearly 2 million refugees from that. nbc s yousef gamal el-din is in cairo. yousef, what s the latest there? reporter: the betty, the numbers are shocking the community and there s cer ....