Good morning. Here are some of the stories we’re following today:
1. Freddie Gray protests spread beyond Baltimore
Protests over the death of the 25-year-old black man stretched coast to coast late Wednesday, with thousands of people rallying from Seattle to Boston. More than 100 people were arrested in New York. In Denver, police said it used pepper spray and that 11 people were detained for offenses including resisting police, disobedience to lawful orders, obstructing roadways, and interference. Gray died after suffering a spinal cord injury this month while in police custody in Baltimore. Read more in NEWS.
2. Police won’t make Gray death report public
The Baltimore Police Department said Wednesday that its internal report into the death of Gray wouldn't be made public. Police Commissioner Anthony Batts had set a deadline of Friday to file the report with state investigators, raising hopes among activists and Gray's family that more details of his death would emerge. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported Wednesday that another prisoner claims he saw Gray intentionally hurting himself while in the back of a police van. Read more in NEWS.
3. Baltimore ball game played in empty park
After a riot in the city two days earlier, the Baltimore Orioles locked up their ballpark and played a game Wednesday with nobody in the stands. The low murmur of a weekday afternoon crowd was replaced with eerie silence. "Baseball history will be made here today," play-by-play broadcaster Gary Thorne said to the TV camera as he went on the air. Read more in NEWS.
4. Teen pulled alive from Nepal quake rubble
Crowds erupted in cheers on Thursday as a teen boy was found breathing in the rubble of a collapsed building five days after the nation's catastrophic earthquake. The dramatic rescue in Kathmandu — celebrated as a miracle by bystanders — came as the official death toll from Saturday's disaster rose above 5,500. The boy was pulled out of a small hole. Rescuers told NBC News the teen was conscious and talking. Read more in NEWS.
5. Bernie Sanders announces presidential run
Promising to fight what he deems "obscene levels" of income disparity and a campaign finance system that is a "real disgrace," the independent Vermont senator said Wednesday he will run for president as a Democrat. In an interview with The Associated Press, Sanders, 73, confirmed his plans to formally join the race Thursday as an alternative to Hillary Clinton. Read more in POLITICS.
6. Missing Nigerian girls not among the rescued
Nigeria's missing schoolgirls from the town of Chibok were not among the nearly 300 women rescued from Boko Haram this week, a government spokesman told NBC News on Thursday. The announcement from Nigeria's military that it had rescued 200 girls and 93 women from the Sambisa Forest raised hopes that the Chibok girls finally had been found. Read more in NEWS.
7. NFL draft day full of unpredictability
Some of the country's best college players will finally get their chance to go pro when the NFL kicks off the first draft round tonight from Roosevelt University in Chicago. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers pick first, and among the top prospects will be Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston (who has been under a cloud of controversy over rape allegations) and Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Read more at NBC SPORTS.
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