Notorious B.I.G. autopsy released

Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G., was shot and killed in Los Angeles The autopsy report shows Wallace suffered four gunshot wounds, one of which was fatal His killing remains unsolved despite investigations by Los Angeles police, FBI (CNN) -- The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office released the autopsy report on Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, on Friday, 15 years after the rapper was shot to death. The 23-page report offers fresh details about his death, which remains one of the city's best-known unsolved homicides. Wallace, 24, was shot and killed early on March 9, 1997, as he leaving a music industry party. He was riding in the front passenger seat of a Chevrolet Suburban when another vehicle pulled up beside his and someone opened fire. Wallace was shot four times, according to the autopsy report. The fatal bullet entered his right hip and ripped through several organs, including his liver, heart and lung. The other bullets struck Wallace in his left forearm, his back and his left thigh. He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he arrived in full cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m. At the time of his death, he had no drugs or alcohol in his system. Wallace was 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighed 395 pounds and had a tattoo on his right forearm that read: "The Lord is My Light and my Salvation ..." His slaying has long stumped investigators. Los Angeles police and the FBI both looked into the case but made no arrests. Wallace was killed just six months after his former friend and rap rival Tupac Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas, leading some to believe both shootings were tied to a so-called rap war between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop artists and their record companies. Shakur recorded for Marion "Suge" Knight's Los Angeles-based Death Row Records, while Wallace was signed with New York-based Bad Boy Entertainment. Shakur's killing is also unsolved.

Crashed WWII fighter pulled from Lake Michigan

View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com. By NBC News staff The light of day shone on a World War II fighter plane Friday for the first time in almost 68 years, when crews recovered the crashed aircraft from the waters of Lake Michigan. On Dec. 28, 1944, a FM-2 "Wildcat" Fighter aircraft crashed and sank during a training mission in Waukegan Harbor, NBCChicago.com reported. Engine failure was blamed, and the plane was left in about 200 feet of water, according to NBCChicago.com. Friday's recovery, which had an audience of nearly 100, was the first milestone toward getting the plane restored and eventually in a museum, the Chicago Tribune reported. A 78-year-old pilot from Mettawa, Ill. paid for the recovery, according to the newspaper. "It's a pretty inspiring thing," pilot Charles Greenhill told the Tribune. "You think you get used to it, but you don't." The plane is expected to be transported to Greenhill's Kenosha, Wis., hangar and then to Pensacola, Fla., where it'll undergo a full restoration -- which could take at least five years -- at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, the Tribune reported. It's hoped that the plane will permanently reside in a proposed museum on the former Naval Air Station Glenview site in Illinois, according to the newspaper. Courtesy NBCChicago.com Crews remove a FM-2 "Wildcat" Fighter aircraft on Friday that crashed during a training mission on Dec. 28, 1944, in Waukegan Harbor. Related: WWII veteran returns wedding photos 68 years later The "Wildcat" aircraft was one of the planes used to train Navy pilots during World War II, and they'd practice flying from the naval air station and from aircraft carriers, the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago reported. During the war, over 17,000 pilots trained over Lake Michigan, according to Rockford, Ill. NBC affiliate WREX. "This thing would've been a piece of junk," Greenhill told the Daily Herald. "Instead, it will become a piece of history that people will be able to see and appreciate." The recovery happened on a day of related significance: Friday was the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which claimed thousands of lives and launched the United States into World War II, according to The Associated Press. Related: Pearl Harbor dead remembered on 71st anniversary Related: NBC's George Lewis blogs about remembering Pearl Harbor More content from NBCNews.com: Woman survives six days in snow eating tomatoes Shark bait? Rotting whale on Malibu beach raises fear Mormon church website: 'Sexuality is not a choice' 7 dogs rescued as police bust dog fight Video: Deaf twins hear for the first time Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Lost Secret Service tapes probed

Secret Service information was left on D.C. subway system in 2008 Contractor was transporting the tapes Agency says the information was safeguarded Security expert questions how tapes were being transported Washington (CNN) -- It might remind you of the new smash-hit James Bond movie "Skyfall", in which the villains steal a device with top secret information on the identities of British agents. But in this case, sensitive data was left on a subway train. Law enforcement and congressional sources tell CNN a contractor working for the U.S. Secret Service accidentally left a pouch containing two computer backup tapes on a train in Washington's Metrorail subway system. The tapes contained very sensitive Secret Service personnel and investigative information, and if accessed could be highly damaging, according to sources. The contractor was transporting the pouch from Secret Service headquarters in Washington to a now-closed data facility in Maryland. The sources say the contractor got off a Metro train, and later realized the pouch had been left behind. The Secret Service and the Metro police were contacted, and an aggressive search took place. According to one source, the tapes have not been recovered. The incident occurred nearly five years ago, in February 2008. It is now the subject of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, according to a congressional source. That office would not comment on why the investigation is taking place now, or on any other aspect of the investigation. Eric O'Neill, a former FBI counterespionage agent, said, "Some of the information could cause lives to be at risk, if someone wanted to get at the families of a high-level government worker or someone they perceived as being someone who could work against, say, a terrorist cell." O'Neill is the agent who took down Robert Hanssen, an FBI official who spied for the Soviet Union and Russia in the 1980s and 1990s. The Secret Service says no lives were put at risk, and no fraud was committed as a result of the loss. But why would the agency put sensitive information on a removable set of tapes? "Part of the reason, I think ... is that in 2008 when this occurred, some of the information might have been on removable discs because that's how they transported information," O'Neill told CNN. "We've leapt forward in technology since then." The Secret Service issued a statement acknowledging the loss of information. "These back-up tapes were not marked or identified in any way and were protected by multiple layers of security.," it said. "They could not be accessed without the proper equipment, applications and encoding." There is conflicting information on whether the tapes were encrypted. O'Neill, a partner at the security firm The Georgetown Group, says even if they were, "this is 2008 encryption. And years later, our abilities to break encryption, our algorithms to do that, are much, much better. If those tapes were found, I'm sure they could be cracked in moments." A Secret Service official did not provide the name of the individual who left the tapes on the train, or the name of the contracting firm. The official would not comment on whether the individual was disciplined, and said he is not sure if the agency still does business with the firm. O'Neill has his own questions about the incident. "Why did a contractor have it?" he asks."Why wasn't it chained to his wrist with a handcuff in a case that he would, the second he stood up, think 'I need to grab it'?" Asked those questions by CNN, a Secret Service official did not answer directly, but instead referred to part of the agency's statement saying, "Subsequent to this incident the Secret Service instituted protocols to prevent this from happening again." CNN's Mike Ahlers and Carol Cratty contributed to this report.

Senior al-Qaida leader killed in drone strike in Pakistan

Flashpoint-intel.com Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdul Rehman Al-Hussainan, aka Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti, was reportedly killed in a drone strike while eating breakfast in Pakistan. By Robert Windrem NBC News A senior al-Qaida official and potential successor to the group's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed Friday morning in a Predator drone strike, according to reports on jihadi web forums and U.S. officials. Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdul Rehman Al-Hussainan, aka Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti, was killed in Pakistan while eating breakfast, according to the accounts.  The 46-year-old cleric was seen as part of the "very top tier" of al-Qaida's remaining leaders in the wake of the death of Osama bin Laden, according to one expert on the terror group. The news was first announced on an al-Qaida web forum early Friday. "We celebrate to you the news of the martyrdom of the working scholar Shaykh Khalid al-Hussainan (Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti) while eating his Suhoor (dawn time) meal, and we ask Allah to accept him in paradise," a post said. Evan Kohlmann, an NBC News counterterrorism analyst, said al-Hussainan was at the forefront of a new wave of al-Qaida leadership. "That's a big gap in the leadership," said Kohlmann, who is also a Justice Department consultant. "He was the last senior Al-Qaida leader in the Afghanistan-Pakistan area who was, one, from the Arabian Peninsula and, two, who had serious clerical credentials.  Now there is no obvious publicly recognizable candidate left to succeed Zawahiri." In recent years, al-Hussainan was seen in numerous al-Qaida videos offering religious training to the group's operatives. The videos were widely circulated by al-Shabab, al-Qaida's media wing. He also authored several books of religious thoughts. The U.S. killed three other up-and-coming members of the terror group's next generation leadership in the months after bin Laden was killed in a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs in May 2011. Ilyas Kashmiri, the leader of a Pakistani group associated with al-Qaeda was killed June 3. Atiyah Abd-al Rahman, bin Laden's chief of staff, was killed on Aug. 22 and Ayman al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen who was a leader of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed Sept. 30. US officials say that hints about their whereabouts were found in materials gathered by the Navy SEALs in the raid on bin Laden's compound. Al-Hussainan is the highest ranking al-Qaida official to be killed since those leaders were killed. Mike Leiter, the former director of the National Counter Terrorism Center and an NBC News analyst, said it's important to keep going after top officials to keep al-Qaida off balance. "We are taking out the generation following those left from the 9-11 era leadership," Leiter said. "If you can get into this level of leadership consistently, it becomes very difficult for al-Qaida in Pakistan to become a serious threat to the homeland." The fact that the attack was carried out by a Predator shows that the US intends to keep using the drones to kill al-Qaida, despite criticism from Pakistani officials and U.S. critics, said Roger Cressey, former deputy director of the White House counter terrorism center and an NBC News analyst.  "Anyone who believes that the drone program has run its course needs to know that people like al Kuwaiti are still out there," he said. Robert Windrem is a senior investigative producer for NBC News. More from Open Channel: Adelson, other big super PAC donors continued spending in race's final days Secret Service says it lost two computer backup tapes in 2008 'Jihad Jane' begins strange journey from abuse victim to wannabe terrorist Gang tactic -- shared 'community guns' -- challenges police, prosecutors New device lets crooks crack many hotel locks Cuban official accuses US of 'lying' about health of jailed American contractor Foreign tech companies pitched real-time spy gear to Iran Cuba pushes swap: its spies jailed in US for  American jailed in Havana   Follow Open Channel from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

MS-13 leader sentenced for crimes

Gang leader pleads guilty in federal court Dennis Gil-Bernandez gets 76 years Conspiracy led to murders, officials say Washington (CNN) -- A leader of the violent MS-13 gang in the Middle Atlantic region pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a conspiracy responsible for a long list of crimes, including murders, federal authorities announced Friday. Dennis Gil-Bernardez, a native of Honduras, was considered a key figure by federal officials who launched a major campaign to cripple the MS-13 organization in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. He received a 76-year sentence. Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, originated in Los Angeles 20 years ago among Salvadoran immigrants fleeing the country's civil war. The government says it has now grown to about 10,000 members in the United States. In October, the Obama administration named the organization a transnational criminal enterprise, with the goal of freezing millions of dollars in profits from drug and sex trafficking operations. Gil-Bernardez allegedly told authorities that the gang now has a presence in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The Gil-Bernardez plea Friday included the admission of two murders in Washington, D.C. A third man he severely wounded survived, authorities said. Gil-Bernandez admitted that, after consulting with a top MS-13 leader jailed in El Salvador, he ordered one of the murders to be done by a conspirator. The target of that brutal killing was found stabbed to death on a street in the nation's capital, officials said. Several MS-13 members were indicted in Washington in November 2011. Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer described the charges as "a chilling array of violent crimes, including shootings, stabbings, and kidnappings." Gil-Bernardez was previously convicted in Virginia of multiple shootings and sentenced to 80 years in prison.

Marquez, Pacquiao are forever linked

Fourth fight in Pacquiao-Marquez battle will give one a chance to proclaim himself the winner The first three fights resulted in a draw and two close wins for Manny Pacquiao Boxers will fight Saturday night in a non-title battle in Las Vegas CNN will air the fourth and final installment of HBO's 24/7 Pacquaio-Marquez 4 at midnight on Friday (CNN) -- Ali-Frazier. Leonard-Duran. Gatti-Ward. Zale-Graziano. Most of boxing's great rivalries produced three memorable fights, trilogies of spectacular action. They were entertaining fights that demanded sequels, then sequels that demanded sequels. Rare is the case when it takes a fourth fight to satisfy the fighters, the fans and the press. Boxers often have other rivals to battle, and younger fighters come along deserving their shots. Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez went head-to-head for the first time in the featherweight division in 2004, a controversial bout which ended as a draw. The result stood, despite one judge admitting he had made a mistake when scoring a round 10-7 to Pacquiao rather than 10-6. They stepped back into the ring in a super featherweight fight in 2008, pictured above. Pacquiao was given the fight and subsequently took Marquez's super featherweight title, with a knockdown in the third round proving the difference after all other rounds were scored equal. Controversy once again reigned when the two fought for a third time in in a welterweight bout in November 2011. Pacquiao was awarded another points win, a decision greeted by boos from the Las Vegas crowd. Pacquiao's homeland has been decimated by Typhoon Bopha, which has taken 418 lives. Pacquiao, who represents the Sarangani province in the country's congress, said he will do anything he can to help the victims of the natural disaster. Pacquiao vs. Marquez Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez Pacquiao: I want to knock out doubters Manny Pacquiao's greatest hits Juan Manuel Marquez's greatest hits But for Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) and Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs), their legacies require one more battle in the ring, a fourth fight that will give one a chance to finally hear his name pronounced the winner and a match that could allow the other to push aside the controversial decisions of the past. That comes Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas when the two meet in a non-title fight. Pacquiao has, in the eyes of the judges, won two of the previous matches. The first was ruled a tie. He believes he won all three. Marquez fervently believes he won all three. Public sentiment and the opinion of sports media fall mostly in the middle. Roach: Beaten Marquez deserves fourth Pacquaio fight What everyone agrees on is that the fights have been great. Pacquiao comes hard after Marquez, who counterpunches superbly. Pacquiao has knocked Marquez down four times, three of which came in the first round of the first fight. Had the referee stopped the fight, as they often do after a boxer falls three times, the trilogy would have been a quick one-night stand, or one-night fall, as it were. Now the two fighters are forever linked. Marquez, 39, thinks that even though they are fierce rivals now, that might change. He told reporters they might even become friends. "Because of the great rivalry we had in the ring. I have nothing against him except for the decisions," Marquez, who is Mexican, said, according to an interpreter. "I don't see why we can't have a personal relationship and not just a professional relationship." But on HBO's 24/7 documentary series, he admits there is some animosity, at least on his part. "As professionals, we respect each other," Marquez said. "But after everything that's happened, it's starting to get personal. It's heavier. There's more anger. That's how the fourth fight will be." The soft-spoken Pacquiao, a Filipino legend, always carefully chooses his words. "I never hate my opponent outside of the ring," he said. "It is just my job to fight, and there is nothing personal. I guess we are kind of friends because I look at all of my opponents as a friend." Pacquiao's last fight gave him a taste of what Marquez has felt during the reading of the scorecards for their battles. It appeared Pacquiao dominated Timothy Bradley in a 12-round welterweight title fight in June, but he lost the decision on two of the three judges' scorecards. Naturally everyone predicted a fall rematch, but it didn't materialize. It has a lot to do with money, as Marquez is a better name on the marquee and Saturday's fight stands to draw more viewers to pay per view. According to Yahoo Sports, Pacquiao stands to make at least $8 million guaranteed and as much as $30 million if the pay-per-view sells well. Marquez is guaranteed $3 million, Yahoo reported. Pacquiao, 33, is more diplomatic about why he is fighting Marquez instead of Bradley. "I am giving him a chance. I am giving him a chance to prove he can win the fight because he thought he has won all three and he keeps talking about it," he said. "So it is very important to me to win this fight, especially since Marquez really wanted this fight." 'Pacman' loss leaves Philippines fans stunned Some people have speculated that despite two previous wins, Pacquiao might need a clear victory over Marquez this time to avoid the judges rewarding him for past perceived injustice. Pacquiao's long-time trainer Freddie Roach has even said that they can't win if they don't get a knockout. At a press conference announcing the fight, Pacquiao used his thumb to scratch into the tablecloth, "We need to win by knockout" for Roach to see. "I said, 'Yes, we do,'" Roach said. "That is the best news I've seen yet. Usually it's God will decide or it'll be a close fight or I'm not going to predict anything. "And the thing is, who is going to give Manny Pacquiao the fourth fight if it's another close call?" Marquez said he also feels the need to knockout his opponent to clearly win. He won't change his style, but he said he will fight "with intelligence" and more aggression, Marquez said. Roach said his fighter will make sure the pace is more up-tempo. "I think it's going to be a sensational fight. Juan is the most difficult fighter that Manny Pacquiao has ever faced," Marquez's trainer, Nacho Beristain, said.

Advocates hope for Supreme Court clarity on same-sex marriage

By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News The Supreme Court's decision to review two landmark cases that deal with same-sex marriage could determine the future of gay rights in all 50 states. NBC's Pete Williams reports. Updated at 5:50 p.m. ET: The Supreme Court's announcement Friday that it will take up two same-sex marriage cases this term gave advocates on both sides something to cheer about. The court picked cases involving two measures that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman: the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law, and California's Proposition 8, a ballot initiative approved by state voters in 2008. Nearly two decades of legal skirmishing over the question has left supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage alike hoping for clarity from the Supreme Court, which has never before considered the topic. Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook. "We are delighted that the nation's highest court will decide whether to uphold the will of more than 7 million Californians who voted to preserve the unique definition of marriage as only between one man and one woman," said Andy Pugno, general counsel of Protect Marriage, which sponsored Proposition 8 and petitioned the court for a hearing after it was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal court. US Supreme Court to take up same-sex marriage issue "Arguing this case before the Supreme Court finally gives us a chance at a fair hearing, something that hasn't been afforded to the people since we began this fight," Pugno said. At the same time, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who opposed enactment of the initiative, also welcomed the news, saying that "for justice to prevail, Proposition 8 must be invalidated so that gay and lesbian families are finally treated with equality and dignity." Rick Jacobs, founder of Courage Campaign, a California group that campaigned vigorously against Proposition 8, said the Supreme Court hearing would hasten the day when the law would "catch up with the American public." Supreme Court to hear gay marriage cases: Your view "Sooner than later, no one will care about loving gay and lesbian couples marrying any more than they care about their straight counterparts doing so," Jacobs said in a statement. "Each day of delay brings more suffering and hardship." Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com Shannon Stapleton / Reuters Edith Windsor challenged the Defense of Marriage Act after she received a $363,000 estate tax bill when her spouse died in 2009. The case challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, which President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1996, was brought by Edie Windsor, 83, of New York, who was assessed a $363,000 estate tax bill after Thea Spyer, her partner of 44 years, died in 2009.  The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, made it illegal for the State of New York to recognize the women's marriage in Canada. If Spyer had been married to a man, the estate she left Windsor wouldn't have been liable for taxes. "When Thea and I met nearly 50 years ago, we never could have dreamed that the story of our life together would be before the Supreme Court as an example of why gay married couples should be treated equally and not like second-class citizens," Windsor said Friday.  "While Thea is no longer alive, I know how proud she would have been to see this day," she added. "The truth is, I never expected any less from my country." Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said the cases "present the Supreme Court with a monumental opportunity to affirm our Constitution's promises of liberty, equality and human dignity." "The journey is not finished, for as long as DOMA remains intact, then true equality remains out of reach," she said. "The clock is ticking on DOMA — it's time the Supreme Court strike down DOMA and Proposition 8, once and for all." But Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian advocacy group, said he was confident that the court "will recognize that DOMA is supported by numerous legitimate legislative purposes — all of which are consistent with our principles of federalism." "The argument that the authors of our Constitution created or even implied a 'right' to redefine 'marriage' lies outside our constitutional law," Perkins said. "Additionally, we believe that the people's vote on Proposition 8 should be respected." The court has never before waded into the highly contentious issue of same-sex marriage. "This is a monumental action by the Supreme Court, because we know they're going to say something about gay marriage for the first time ever," said Tom Goldstein, publisher of the closely watched SCOTUSBlog. (SCOTUS is shorthand for Supreme Court of the United States.) Arguments are expected in March, with rulings likely by June. More content from NBCNews.com: Woman survives six days in snow eating tomatoes Shark bait? Rotting whale on Malibu beach raises fear Mormon church website: 'Sexuality is not a choice' 7 dogs rescued as police bust dog fight Video: Deaf twins hear for the first time Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook