Good morning, and happy Thursday. Here are six of the top stories we are following this morning at NBC News:
1. Student in Pennsylvania stabbing frenzy charged as adult
Alex Hribal, 16, is accused of stabbing or slashing 20 students and one adult at his high school in Murrsyville on Wednesday morning. The motive is unclear, but authorities plan to charge the troubled teen as an adult. The charges will include four counts of attempted homicide and 21 counts of aggravated assault. Read more in NEWS.
2. Australian ship picks up possible pings in jet search
A narrower search area — coupled with potentially more underwater signals — has officials optimistic that they can find the missing Malaysia Airlines jet. It’s been more than a month since Flight 370 vanished from Kuala Lumpur somewhere over the southern Indian Ocean. Still, even with the search zone scaled down to 22,000 square miles from 46,000 square miles, the nearly 3-mile-depth of the ocean where the plane likely crashed is daunting. Read more in NEWS.
3. Pistorius trial: You never told her you loved her
The prosecutor in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius continued to grill the South African sprinter on the stand, accusing him of being selfish and asking him why he never told girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp that he loved her. Pistorius, who is charged with premeditated murder in her death, said they were in the “foundation phase of their relationship,” adding: “I never got the opportunity to tell Reeva that I love her.” Read more in NEWS.
4. Cops search for driver in deadly Fla. day care crash
Florida police are hunting for the driver of a Dodge Durango who fled the scene Wednesday after hitting another car. That second vehicle hit into the KinderCare building in Winter Park, killing a 4-year-old girl and injuring 14 other people. Read more in NEWS.
5. Survivor in Washington mudslide: ‘I’ll never go back’
As the death toll ticked up to 36 in the deadly March 22 mudslide, at least one survivor has vowed not to return to the disaster site in rural Oso. Amanda Skorjanc, 25, suffered broken bones and fractures as she shielded her 5-month-old son from the crush of debris. The boy survived. “Oso is home, but I’ll never go back,” Skorjanc said. Read more in NEWS.
6. More parents choosing to fund retirement over kids’ college
When it comes to their cash, more parents are saving for their own retirements versus the children’s college years, according to a survey released today by student loan giant Sallie Mae. The survey found that on average, 53 percent of a family’s savings are allocated toward retirement, compared with an average of just 10 percent for college. Read more in BUSINESS.
… What’s trending today?
Whoops! Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus bared her back for the cover of Rolling Stone but the giant tattoo of the U.S. Constitution features one glaring mistake: It’s signed by John Hancock.
Hancock, of course, signed the Declaration of Independence.
The Constitution Center in Philadelphia caught the error, and the “Veep” actress on Twitter blamed the signing snafu on one of her show’s characters.
