Your 2 hourly digest for U.S. News

U.S. News Stories from NBC reporters around the country.

Jailed killer had dad, girlfriends cash unemployment checks Mar 4th 2012, 21:15 Los Angeles Times via Los Angeles County Sheriff Anthony Garcia By msnbc.com staff A convicted murderer awaiting trial in the Los Angeles County jail system had family cash $30,000 in unemployment checks, the Los Angeles Times reported. Anthony Garcia’s father and two girlfriends reportedly cashed those checks, $1,600 a month, and also deposited money in his jail account and that of other gang members. His father, Juan Garcia, 47, and girlfriends, Sandra Jaimez, 45, and Cynthia Limas, 25, were charged with unemployment fraud, the Times reported. The investigation into the benefits fraud lasted a year and a half, from October 2008 to March 2010. It is illegal to receive unemployment benefits while in jail, according to California's Employment Development Department, but it is unclear whether Garcia could be convicted of a fraud-related crime as the money was deposited into his account. Garcia was charged with the murder because he had a detailed murder scene inked on his chest. A detective investigating a 2004 murder case was looking through snapshots of tattooed gang members – who are photographed with their shirts off so that police may catalogue their tattoos – when he came across Garcia's tattoos. Garcia had been photographed after being picked up for a traffic stop. Garcia’s tattoo spans his chest and bears the words, “RIVERA KILLS” above a liquor store lined with Christmas lights. There, John Juarez, 23, was gunned down. Rivera is a reference to the gang, Rivera-13. Garcia was booked, and sheriff’s detectives disguised as gang members coaxed a confession out of Garcia in his cell. More content from msnbc.com and NBC News Women react to Limbaugh's apology Tot found in field after twister is in critical condition Body of boy found in shaft 30 feet below ground Media files: imagesizer?file=isolder8DD94155-2D8F-65B3-1660-BA8C735B74D1.jpg&width=400 (image/jpeg) Body of boy found 30 feet below in shaft Mar 4th 2012, 19:55 By msnbc.com staff Samuel Jones The body of child was found some 30 feet down a narrow shaft and is likely that of a 4-year-old missing since Saturday, officials in Carlsbad, N.M., said Sunday. Fire crews were working to retrieve the lifeless body but have to be careful to keep the walls from collapsing, NBC affiliate KOB TV reported. The Carlsbad Current-Argus reported that the shaft, which is just 14 inches wide and might be from an old well, is in the backyard of a home near where Samuel Jones, 4, vanished. The retrieval could take some time, with experts having to dig a slanted tunnel to try to reach the body. An Amber Alert was issued for the boy on Saturday after he went missing from his own backyard. Foul play isn't suspected but police are treating the case as a homicide as a precaution.. More content from msnbc.com and NBC News Limbaugh apologizes to student he called 'slut'   Tot found in field after twister is in critical condition Cops searching for stolen iPads find $34 million in meth Man created sculptures from endangered wildlife   Media files: 120304_samjones.photoblog400.jpg (image/jpeg) Toddler found after twister dies in hospital Mar 4th 2012, 17:15 Angel Babcock By msnbc.com staff Updated at 5:05 p.m. ET The 14-month-old girl found in a field after Friday's tornadoes passed away after being taken off life support on Sunday, her grandparents told NBC News. The grandparents and doctors had earlier decided to remove Angel Babcock from life support due to the severity of her injuries. Angel was found alive about 150 yards from where her family's home had stood. Her parents, Joe and Moriah Babcock, died instantly; so too did her brother Jaydon, 2 years, and sister Kendall, 2 months. Her grandfather Jack Brough on Saturday told the Louisville Courier-Journal that "she’s had a lot of injuries to her head. ... I’m just asking everyone to pray for my granddaughter and for my family." A neighbor said her boyfriend had tried to help the family leave their mobile home in New Pekin, Ind., for his larger one as the tornado bore down on Friday. The boyfriend, Jason Miller, said he saw Angel's family lying face down in their hallway, holding hands and praying. Before he could help them out, however, the tornado sucked him and the Babcocks out. Miller survived with several broken bones. TODAY's Lester Holt anchors team coverage of the aftermath of Friday's tornadoes Brough said he waited out the storm at his home, and then headed to his daughter's to see how they were. "As we got closer and closer, the whole area was flattened," he told the Courier-Journal. "I kept saying, ‘Oh my God! Oh my God!’ I was breathing so hard. I couldn’t see my daughter’s trailer for nothing. It was gone." Brough was then told of a little boy found in a field and a baby being carried away. He later learned the two were his grandchildren and went to a local hospital to identify them. There he was told that his daughter and her boyfriend were also dead.  'Total devastation' as cleanup begins How to help tornado victims "They wanted me to identify Moriah and Joe, but I just couldn’t do it," he said.  "She was always happy and loved life," Brough said of his daughter. "Her entire life was about Joe and her children. She loved her kids; she was always with them." NBC News producer Bob Vasilopoulos contributed to this report. More content from msnbc.com and NBC News Limbaugh apologizes to student he called 'slut' Cops searching for stolen iPads find $34 million in meth Man created sculptures from endangered wildlife   Media files: 120304-babcock-vmed-7a.photoblog400.jpg (image/jpeg) getMobileVideo?videoId=46619088

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions