Safe Room Program to Open Waitlists

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After a flurry of applications forced a North Texas agency to close a storm shelter rebate program, a new waiting list for applicants in multiple counties will roll out in the coming days.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) will open an online waitlist for Safe Room program rebates June 21-30.

All 16 counties in the NCTCOG region will have waitlists open in a rolled-out schedule. Once a waitlist has been opened for a specific county, it will not close.

To be placed on the waitlist, applicants will need to provide their name and address at www.nctsaferoom.com once the waitlist for their county opens. Those without Internet access can call 817-695-9235 and leave a voicemail with their name, phone number, address, and county. All submissions online or via phone will have a time and date stamp, according to the NCTCOG.

Please see the list below to see each county's open date and time.

• Collin Friday 06/21/13 7 p.m.
• Dallas Saturday 06/22/13 8 a.m.
• Denton Sunday 06/23/13 8 a.m.
• Ellis Monday 06/24/13 7 p.m.
• Erath Monday 06/24/13 7 p.m.
• Hood Tuesday 06/25/13 7 p.m.
• Hunt Tuesday 06/25/13 7 p.m.
• Johnson Wednesday 06/26/13 7 p.m.
• Kaufman Wednesday 06/26/13 7 p.m.
• Navarro Thursday 06/27/13 7 p.m.
• Palo Pinto Thursday 06/27/13 7 p.m.
• Parker Friday 06/28/13 7 p.m.
• Rockwall Friday 06/28/13 7 p.m.
• Somervell Saturday 06/29/13 8 a.m.
• Wise Saturday 06/29/13 8 a.m.
• Tarrant Sunday 06/30/13 8 a.m.

Safe Room rebate program officials said the waitlists will help the NCTCOG assess demand for the program and allow them to communicate the need to federal funding sources.

The NCTCOG said the Safe Room program is not retroactive, meaning applicants must be approved prior to an installation of a storm shelter.

Those who have already applied to the Safe Room program will be notified that their application has been received and do not need to apply again. Applicants that join the waitlist will be contacted by the NCTCOG after the program receives additional funding. Organizers say this process could take 3 to 18 months.

The Metro Safe Room Rebate Program is funded by a $1.395 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant.

The rebate program offers residents living or developing in North Texas counties a chance to qualify for half the cost of construction for an individual safe room, up to $3,000. But the rooms must be from a vendor approved by the National Storm Shelter Association or the American Tornado Shelter Association to qualify for reimbursement. NBC 5 Investigates first told you about the federal funding May 23.

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Irving Police Investigate Officer-Involved Shooting

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Irving Police Investigate Officer-Involved Shooting

Irving police are investigating a shootout between officers and a wanted man.

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Irving police are investigating a shootout between officers and a wanted man.

An Irving police representative said Wednesday that officers had received a call about a domestic dispute between a man and who officers believe is the man's wife.

Investigators said the man was threatening to shoot the woman and her children.

Officers obtained a description of the man's sport utility vehicle and, later that evening, spotted him driving in Irving. Officers attempted to pull the man over, but he took off, leading them on a short chase.

In the 600 block of Balleywood Road, the man pulled into a driveway and jumped out of the SUV with an assault rifle, police said. The man then started shooting, police said.

The officers fired back, hitting the man an unknown number of times.

Paramedics transported him to Parkland Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition Wednesday night.

The shootout unfolded in front of stunned neighbors. 

"Loose bullets everywhere, police got out, started shooting, one officer got out, got his shot gun, bent down, shot him.  He hit the floor, that's when the ambulance got here, picked him up and they put him in there," says witness Jennifer Marie Matamoros.  "From what I saw, the gentleman tried to run, but didn't get to escape, so that's when the policemen started shooting at him."

None of the officers were injured in the shooting.

"It's very crazy. My heart is still beating. I'm still scared even though it's not me. I'm just blessed to see no one else was hurt," says Matamoros.  "For me being a citizen of Irving, it's scary because you never know when something like this is going to happen and when your life is going to be in danger."

Police have not released the name of the gunman or the names of the officers that were involved in the shooting.

NBC 5's Kendra Lyn contributed to this report.

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"Doomsday Prepper" Arrested With Bomb Supplies

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Waxahachie Man Arrested with Bomb-Making Supplies

A Waxahachie man is behind bars after he was stopped for a Dallas traffic infraction and found to be carrying bomb making supplies in his car. The man told federal agents he is a "Doomsday Prepper."

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A Waxahachie, Texas, man was arrested in Dallas on Tuesday after bomb-making supplies were found in his car during a traffic stop.

Clayton Todd Earthman, 24, told federal agents he is a "Doomsday prepper."

"Doomsday Preppers" is a reality TV show on the National Geographic Channel that details the lives of people who are heavily armed in preparation for major natural disasters or national conflicts. Earthman is not listed as a participant in the TV show on the National Geographic Channel website.

Earthman was pulled over Tuesday afternoon after running a stop sign at the corner of Hilltop Street and Lovett Avenue in East Dallas, according to a federal complaint.

The complaint said police officers saw a Glock .357 pistol in plain view on the floor of Earthman's car.

Officers ordered him out of the vehicle, right in front of Maria Macedo's home.

Her grandson, Jonathan Macedo, said she has seen other police activity in the neighborhood but noticed the large number of officers at this arrest.

"Anybody can stop them, but she was scared about this," he said.

Witnesses said agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrived with a large van to seize items from Earthman's car.

Juanita Holgin said she watched from her front porch.

"And they had all the doors and hood and stuff open, [and] they were taking all kinds of stuff out of the car," she said.

According to an ATF complaint against Earthman, agents found "large amounts of chemicals, supplies and literature suspected to be for bomb making purposes" and "handwritten notes describing now to build various explosive devices and booby traps."

The complaint said Earthman told the agents he had "used methamphetamine approximately three days prior."

Records show Earthman has a 2008 conviction for marijuana possession. The complaint said Earthman told the agents he is using methadone to quit using heroin, which he used for about a year.

According to the complaint, Earthman allowed agents to search his Waxahachie home, where they found more guns and explosive evidence.

The home is many miles away from the East Dallas Street where Earthman was arrested.

"I take care of my grandkids here," Holgin said. "There are a lot of kids here. This is just a family-oriented neighborhood, so I have no idea what he would be doing here."

ATF representatives did not respond to requests for additional information about the case and a Dallas police representative could find no Dallas police reports on the arrest.

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Baylor, Scott & White to Merge

Baylor Health Care System

Baylor Medical Center at Irving.

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Two major North Texas health care providers are planning to join forces.

Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare have signed an agreement to form a new company that will combine hospitals and service companies.

"We were confident our cultures would be a good match. Our work together over the past few months has only cemented that belief," said Robert Pryor, MD, president and CEO, Scott & White Healthcare in a press release. "We share common values, most notably a commitment to teamwork and delivering the highest quality patient-centered care. With those intact, we have a strong foundation for success."

The deal will create a new parent organization, Baylor Scott & White Health, plus a service company, Baylor Scott & White Health Service, with leaders from both systems.

The parent company will be headquartered in Dallas, while the service company will be based in Temple. Both companies plan to employ people in both cities.

When finalized, the deal would create a $7.7 billion organization with a combined 43 hospitals. Additionally, the deal would include over 500 patient care sites, 34,000 employees, and more than 6,000 affiliated physicians.

The merger is pending approval from regulatory bodies, but is expected to close in 2013.

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Tollway Crash Slows Morning Traffic

Keaton Fox, NBC 5

A crash on the Dallas North Tollway snarled morning traffic in Plano.

Tollway Crash Slows Morning Traffic

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A crash on the Dallas North Tollway in Plano snarled morning traffic there in both directions Thursday.

A silver Infiniti was heading northbound on the tollway just before the exit for Parker Road when the driver clipped a box truck causing the truck to roll on its side, according to Department of Public Safety Trooper Lonnie Haschel. 

The driver of the Infiniti fled the scene on foot, Haschel said.

The truck driver was taken to Presbyterian Hospital in Plano with non-life threatening injuries.

When the truck rolled, it hit the center median, causing lanes in both directions to be closed. That had traffic backed up in both directions for miles.

Most of the crash was cleared around 7 a.m., but crews said the inside lanes would remain closed while NTTA crews inspected the center median for damage.

The search for the driver of the car is ongoing.

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Facebook to Unveil "New Product," Possibly Video App

Facebook will reportedly add a video feature to Instagram, to more directly compete with Twitter's Vine. Scott McGrew and Marla Tellez report.

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Facebook could be getting into the video sharing app game.

Sources are telling several media outlets that Facebook on Thursday will announce that its popular photo-sharing app Instagram will begin to let people take short videos, much like Twitter's Vine program.

TechCrunch reported the news, while hedging that the information could also be a big off.

The official announcement on Facebook's "new product" will be announced at the Menlo Park headquarters and livestreamed here at 10 a.m. PST.

If the news is true, TechCruch said it would make sense as a direct response to the rising popularity of video-sharing services like Twitter's Vine. Viddy, Cinemagram and Socialcam also sometimes get described as "Instragram for video" apps.

The Vine app — which lets users take six seconds of video footage on an iOS or Android handset and then share those clips to Vine's own network, Twitter or Facebook — has shot up in popularity since going live in January, TechCrunch reported.

Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion last year.

Thursday's announcement comes after Facebook announced a new hashtag feature on June 12.

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Priest Targets Drug Dealers, Gets "Watch Your Back" Note

NBC 4 New York

A Manhattan priest who was tired of neighborhood drug dealers and urged his parishioners during a sermon to take action got a threatening letter in the mail days later. Andrew Siff reports.

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A Manhattan priest who was tired of neighborhood drug dealers and urged his parishioners during a sermon to take action got a threatening letter in the mail days later.

"Watch your back," read the letter to the Rev. Boniface Ramsey, at St. Joseph's of Yorkville on the Upper East Side.

The priest showed the letter to the NYPD, and police have added patrols near his 87th Street and First Avenue location, which is not far from Gracie Mansion, the historical mayoral residence.

"I feel really safe," Ramsey told NBC 4 New York. "I feel really protected by God. I feel that the parishioners are behind me."

Ramsey's battle against criminal activity in the neighborhood got immediate attention from his congregation. He gathered 600 signatures from locals, aimed at getting more police to combat loitering, drunkenness and suspected drug activity on the corner of the intersection just yards from the church.

"I've seen the people that use the drugs," said Allen Rogers, a retired police officer who has lived down the block for more than 40 years."Why should anybody make a threatening letter against a person that's trying to do what's right?"

Since Ramsey received the letter, an NYPD community affairs officer has been in touch with either the priest or the principal at St. Joseph's "on a daily basis," said Sgt. Brendan Ryan. 

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Tickets Released for Dealey Plaza Kennedy Observance

AP

Seen through the limousine's windshield as it proceeds along Elm Street past the Texas School Book Depository, President John F. Kennedy appears to raise his hand toward his head within seconds of being fatally shot in Dallas, Nov 22, 1963. Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy holds the President's forearm in an effort to aid him. Gov. John Connally of Texas, who was in the front seat, was also shot. (AP Photo/James W. (Ike) Altgens)

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Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings unveiled details on releasing tickets for a special observance in Dealey Plaza on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The City of Dallas said 5,000 tickets will be released for the ceremony, with half going to locals using a randomized computer selection process. The other half of the allotted tickets will go to government and city leaders, public outside the DFW area, and media entities.

Those who wish to attend will need to request tickets through a secured website which goes live at 11 a.m. June 20. Click here to visit that site.

Mayor Rawlings said the registration is not a simple process and that those registering will be screened by the Dallas Police Department before receiving a ticket to the event.

Remote sites will be set up nearby Dealey Plaza so those who are unable to attend the event can see the ceremony.

The registration process for tickets ends on July 31st.

NBC 5's Ken Kalthoff and Kendra Lyn contributed to this story.

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Senate Committee to Hold Hearing on West Explosion

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United States Senator from California Barbara Boxer

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A Senate committee is set to hold a hearing on the events that led up to the fertilizer plant explosion in West, TX in April.

Senators will review reports from the Enviromental Protection Agency and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in connection with the blast that killed 15 people.

"This is going to be very interesting. We'll find out why they think this happened,"  California Senator Barbara Boxer, who chairs the Enviromental and Public Works Committee, told a newspaper.

Federal and state investigators have ruled the cause of the deadly blast as "undetermined."

Texas State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy said a ruling of undetermined is made when the cause "cannot be proven to an acceptable level of certainty."

"This could be due to insufficient information or if multiple causes could not be eliminated," he said.

In May, the chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board sent a letter to Boxer contending that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives effectively barred a the safety panel from the site of the plant blast.

The hearing is set for June 27.

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Glenn Beck's Mercury Radio Buying Las Colinas Studio

Mercury Studios

The Studios at Las Colinas, now to be known as Mercury Studios.

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Glenn Beck's Mercury Radio Arts says they are purchasing The Studios at Las Colinas, where they have been renting space since 2012.

According to a report in TheBlaze on Wednesday, Beck's news and entertainment web site, the 72,000-square-foot facility will be renamed Mercury Studios.

Beck's team currently produces six hours of live programming every day from the facility for The Blaze, which in addition to being a web site is also his TV network.   Joel Cheatwood, president and chief content officer of TheBlaze, said they have recently built up capacity at the facility to produce over 43 hours of original programming per week.

"We are proud to call Texas our home and be part of the local community in Irving. We are building a world-class facility that provides TheBlaze with the highest quality talent and top of the line production capabilities so American stories can be told to viewers across the country," Beck is quoted as saying in TheBlaze.

In the past, the facility has been the production location for several popular television shows and movies, such as Robocop, JFK, Prison Break and Walker Texas Ranger, TheBlaze reported.

A sale price for the facility has not been disclosed.

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