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Bodies of married teachers found in their home after reported gunshots

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Quarter 3 was a historic quarter for Tesla. Model 3 was the best selling car in the US in terms of revenue and the 5th best selling car in terms of volume.

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tesla stuns by posting quarterly profit - cnn

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Tesla scores a profit, and Elon Musk keeps a promise

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Tesla turns a profit as it nears the end of a long, trying year.

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High levels of stress can lead to memory loss and shrinkage of the brain before the age of 50. During episodes of intense stress, the brain releases a hormone known for its role in our "fight of flight" response, which shuts down certain bodily functions which can threaten survival.

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stress might lead to memory loss and brain shrinkage - cnn

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Stress might lead to memory loss and brain shrinkage, study says

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A highly stressful life may lead to memory loss and brain shrinkage before you turn 50, a new study says.

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FDA approves flu pill

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The FDA has approved a new flu medication in the form of a one-time pill.

Interested in Flu Season?

Add Flu Season as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Flu Season news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

The medication, called XOFLUZA, was designed to make the flu shorter if taken within 48 hours of onset and can be prescribed to those 12 and older, according to the FDA.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

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FDA approves new flu medication in the form of a one-time pill

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The FDA has approved a new flu medication in the form of a one-time pill. Add Flu Season as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Flu Season news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

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Meghan Markle has noticeable wardrobe malfunction while arriving in Tonga. Her skirt was blown by wind and there was a tag still on it! "Even Duchesses can have slight fashion missteps"

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Whoops!

Even Duchesses can have slight fashion missteps. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry landed in Tonga on Thursday local time, and when the Duchess of Sussex stepped out at the Fua'amotu Airport she suffered a minor wardrobe malfunction.
Prince Harry Says 'Everyone Is Predicting' the Gender of His Royal Baby With Meghan Markle
It seems a tag was left on the skirt of her cherry red Self-Portrait dress. Thanks to some strong winds, the tag was visible as the Duchess exited the plane and was greeted in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, by Princess Angelika Latufuipeka.

Meghan Markle's Flower-Adorned Hairdo Holds Romantic Meaning for Prince Harry
In Meghan's defense, the look was her second of the day after she wowed in a teal Jason Wu number during her last event in Fiji earlier in the day.

After her arrival look, Markle changed into a third outfit -- a stunning white Theia Couture gown -- for an evening reception hosted by Tonga King Tupou and Queen Nanasopau'u.

The couple will remain in Tonga for a few days before returning to Australia over the weekend.
Meghan Markle Is a Vision in Teal As She and Prince Harry Attend Statue Unveiling in Fiji

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Meghan Markle has noticeable wardrobe malfunction while arriving in Tonga

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Whoops! Even Duchesses can have slight fashion missteps. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry landed in Tonga on Thursday local time, and when the Duchess of Sussex stepped out at the Fua'amotu Airport she suffered a minor wardrobe malfunction.

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Florida police arrest 2 girls who were allegedly plotting to kill classmates in ritual

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Two Florida middle school students were arrested on Tuesday after they allegedly planned to murder their classmates as a part of a violent satanic ritual that involved drinking their victims' blood, police said.

Authorities at Bartow Middle School in Bartow, Florida, said two girls -- ages 11 and 12 -- were about to carry out the deadly ritual on Tuesday afternoon. A staff member, however, caught them hiding in a school bathroom with several weapons, according to police.

Investigators said the girls had a goblet, knives and several other weapons. When asked to explain the items, the girls told the school principal they were planning to murder at least 15 classmates who entered the restroom as a part of the ritual, according to Bartow Police Chief Joe Hall.

They were allegedly waiting for "smaller kids" that they could easily overpower and kill, Hall told "Good Morning America."

ABC

"They had a strong belief in satanism and they believed the more people they killed the faster they would go to hell," Hall said. "They were looking for easy targets that they could attack with little or no resistance."

Authorities did not disclose many details about the juvenile suspects. But police said they'd been planning the ritual since the past weekend. They were both charged with conspiracy to commit murder and it was unclear if they had obtained lawyers.

"There was essentially no reaction from either of these two girls. They were not happy. They were not sad," Hall said. "I would describe them as carefree and nonchalant about the process."

Investigators said they recovered text messages in which the girls allegedly discussed the details of the attack. They intended to eat the victims' flesh, place their body parts by the school's front entrance and kill themselves once it was over, police said.

"I can't say that I've ever seen anything like this," Hall said. "The fact is that we had other students that heard a rumor and reported that information."

The school said it had beefed up security ahead of the horrifying discovery.

As a precautionary measure, extra law enforcement officers would be on campus this week.

There were no injuries reported as a result of the thwarted plot, officials said.

ABC News' Victor Oquendo contributed to this report.

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2 girls arrested for plot to kill classmates: Police

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Two Florida middle school students were arrested on Tuesday after they allegedly planned to murder their classmates as a part of a violent satanic ritual that involved drinking their victims' blood, police said. Authorities at Bartow Middle School in Bartow, Florida, said two girls -- ages 11 and 12 -- were about to carry out the deadly ritual on Tuesday afternoon.

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A women left her dog to a dog-sitter when she went out of town and she thought she lost him, but her roommate sold him for $200. After three years apart, she reunited with him on October 18th.

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When Kameroun Mares decided to adopt a new husky puppy in 2013, she did everything right.

She took him to the veterinarian's office to get his shots, licensed him with a national microchip company and registered him with her local humane society in San Diego, California.

Mares bought her pup, "Semper Fidelis," after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2004 and battling Type 1 diabetes, a result of her cancer. She had hoped the rambunctious dog would help combat her symptoms of depression and encourage her to exercise more -- something that would also help keep her hyperglycemia in check.

They shared many fond memories, including one Christmas where Mares dressed up as Santa and Semper played her reindeer.

In 2015, Mares moved across the country to Jacksonville, Florida, bringing her lovable pup with her. But when she discovered she wasn't medically insured in the Sunshine State, she was forced to make a return trip to California for her ongoing medical issues. She left Semper with both a pet sitter and her roommate in March 2016, believing her beloved dog would be in safe hands.

But, then, she received a call.

"I was told by my roommate Semper had escaped through the front door. I asked, 'Did he have a collar on?' My roommate said he didn't know," 26-year-old Mares told ABC News.

So she did what any responsible pet owner would do -- she called the microchip company, contacted the humane society, hung fliers, posted on Facebook, scoured Craigslist ads. She was limited in what she could do, though, being more than 2,300 miles away.

She returned home after her treatment, continuing the search but believing that eventually, someone would contact her about her lost dog.

"I just sat there, waiting. Waiting for a phone call," said Mares. "I waited and waited and waited."

"I did everything right. Where did I go wrong?" she added, imagining her dog starving on the streets or trapped in a ditch somewhere.

Eventually, Mares returned to California but maintained her connections with the lost dogs Facebook groups she had joined in the wake of Semper's disappearance.

In May 2017, a Jacksonville woman reached out to Mares on one of the groups, saying she found a husky that looked a lot like Semper, but upon further investigation, the microchips didn't match. The woman suggested that Mares should reach out to the microchip company just in case though.

"But my details are up to date. If any vet were to scan it, they would call me, right?" recalled Mares.

Just in case, she contacted the humane society that Semper was licensed with and lo and behold, there was an update to her dog's chip. In addition to her American Kennel Club registry, there was another company called "Pet Key" registered on her dog's same chip.

"It was registered April 11, 2016. Two weeks before I was told he was missing," said Mares, referring to when her roommate told her the dog had escaped.

"In reality, he was never missing. He was sold. He was stolen and sold from me [by my roommate] without my consent" for $200, she added. "I implore owners to be aware that this can and does happen."

ABC News reached out to Pet Key for comment, who confirmed that Semper's microchip was manufactured by Pet Key, and therefore, a veterinary's office likely scanned the microchip, saw the manufacturer and encouraged the person who bought Semper to register it with Pet Key.

"It is a pet identifier. It's not a certificate of ownership. It's just to help pets going in the right direction -- vets, shelters, animal control, etcetera," Pet Key President Nick Acosta told ABC News.

Sometimes, pet ownership can change between family members or friends, but the microchip information isn't updated, Acosta explained.

"It's not for the microchip company to determine who the rightful owner is," Acosta added, saying that was up for the courts to decide in the case of Mares and Semper.

Currently, a single pet microchip can be registered with more than one company. To battle this, a microchip number can and should be checked against the registry at the American Animal Hospital Association, which reveals whether multiple companies are associated with a single chip.

With the aid of a private investigator and a lawyer, Mares was able to track down her dog and bring him home.

The pair were reunited Oct. 18, after nearly two and a half years apart.

"The huge wound in my heart can finally start healing," said Mares, who added her dog really lived up to his name.

"It's a Latin phrase, meaning always faithful. And Semper has always been faithful to me."

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Stolen dog reunited with San Diego owner nearly 3 years later

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When Kameroun Mares decided to adopt a new husky puppy in 2013, she did everything right. She took him to the veterinarian's office to get his shots, licensed him with a national microchip company and registered him with her local humane society in San Diego, California.

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Snap has been trying to tell everyone to vote with the midterm election.

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voting 2018: snapchat is trying to help potential voters get registered - cnn

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Snapchat is trying to help potential voters get registered

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An effort by Snapchat may have helped more than 400,000 people register to vote, though the exact number who did isn't yet known.

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Ford recalls millions of ford focus' because they might stall due to a fuel system problem

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Ford recalling 1.5 million Focus cars that might stall

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Two girls at the ages of 11 and 12 planned to kill 15 students.

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two florida middle school girls had knives

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Police: 2 Florida middle school girls waited in bathroom, planned to cut up classmates

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Two girls at a middle school in central Florida were waiting in a bathroom, planning to overpower 15 smaller students, kill them with knives and drink their blood, authorities said Wednesday.

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stress might lead to memory loss and brain shrinkage - cnn

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Stress might lead to memory loss and brain shrinkage, study says

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A highly stressful life may lead to memory loss and brain shrinkage before you turn 50, a new study says.

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Florida police arrest 2 girls who were allegedly plotting to kill classmates in ritual

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Two Florida middle school students were arrested on Tuesday after they allegedly planned to murder their classmates as a part of a violent satanic ritual that involved drinking their victims' blood, police said.

Authorities at Bartow Middle School in Bartow, Florida, said two girls -- ages 11 and 12 -- were about to carry out the deadly ritual on Tuesday afternoon. A staff member, however, caught them hiding in a school bathroom with several weapons, according to police.

Investigators said the girls had a goblet, knives and several other weapons. When asked to explain the items, the girls told the school principal they were planning to murder at least 15 classmates who entered the restroom as a part of the ritual, according to Bartow Police Chief Joe Hall.

They were allegedly waiting for "smaller kids" that they could easily overpower and kill, Hall told "Good Morning America."

ABC

"They had a strong belief in satanism and they believed the more people they killed the faster they would go to hell," Hall said. "They were looking for easy targets that they could attack with little or no resistance."

Authorities did not disclose many details about the juvenile suspects. But police said they'd been planning the ritual since the past weekend. They were both charged with conspiracy to commit murder and it was unclear if they had obtained lawyers.

"There was essentially no reaction from either of these two girls. They were not happy. They were not sad," Hall said. "I would describe them as carefree and nonchalant about the process."

Investigators said they recovered text messages in which the girls allegedly discussed the details of the attack. They intended to eat the victims' flesh, place their body parts by the school's front entrance and kill themselves once it was over, police said.

"I can't say that I've ever seen anything like this," Hall said. "The fact is that we had other students that heard a rumor and reported that information."

The school said it had beefed up security ahead of the horrifying discovery.

As a precautionary measure, extra law enforcement officers would be on campus this week.

There were no injuries reported as a result of the thwarted plot, officials said.

ABC News' Victor Oquendo contributed to this report.

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2 girls arrested for plot to kill classmates: Police

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Two Florida middle school students were arrested on Tuesday after they allegedly planned to murder their classmates as a part of a violent satanic ritual that involved drinking their victims' blood, police said. Authorities at Bartow Middle School in Bartow, Florida, said two girls -- ages 11 and 12 -- were about to carry out the deadly ritual on Tuesday afternoon.

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New York Times makes a fictional story about a Russian assassin who gunned down Trump with a Glock from his own Secret Service. The story was called "assassination fantasy."

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The New York Times is under fire for a fictional account of President Trump being gunned down by a Russian assassin with a Glock belonging to his own Secret Service in a short story dubbed "assassination fantasy" by critics.

The Times Book Review section noted that its puts a spotlight on "books and stories, but also on how the books being written and read reflect the world outside of books." Editors said that the Mueller probe and Trump's relationship with Putin is "one of the biggest stories out there," therefore the paper enlisted "today's most talented spy and crime novelists" to dream up possible outcomes.

One of the short stories on the Times' online Book Review page - to be published in Sunday's print edition - is titled, "How it Ends," by Zoe Sharp - a chilling story about a drunken Russian's plot to murder the president with a Makarov pistol. Sharp's particular story doesn't mention Trump by name, but it's no secret as the collection of stories is headlined, "Five novelists imagine Trump's next chapter."

"The Russian waited until they were a few steps past before he drew the gun. He sighted on the center of the president's back, and squeezed the trigger," Sharp wrote. "The Makarov misfired."

Then comes the twist in Sharp's fantasy, as the failed assassination attempt resulted in the disappointed Russian would-be-killer tasting failure and waiting for the Secret Service to intervene.

"He closed his eyes and waited to pay the cost. It did not come. He opened his eyes. The Secret Service agent stood before him, presenting his Glock, butt first," Sharp wrote. "'Here,' the agent said politely. 'Use mine...'"

The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called the story "absolutely abhorrent and disgraceful" during an appearance on "Fox & Friends" on Thursday.

Sharp also painted a vivid picture of a Russian assassin who was prepared to die after killing the president.

"Throughout his career, he would have spent these hours going over the plan, the escape route. This time, there was no escape route -- only honor. And death," she wrote after humanizing the fictional character by noting that he drank alone, showered, shaved and ate breakfast.

Media Research center analyst Clay Waters slammed the story as "disgusting" and labeled it "a Trump assassination fantasy" short story.

"The clincher is maximally offensive, with traitorous behavior by a Secret Service agent added to the assassination of an actual living president," Waters wrote.

Sharp took to Twitter to declare she was honored to be included in the prestigious paper -- but not everyone was impressed.

"With utmost sincerity: You need to ask @nytimes to take this down. Now," one user responded, while another reader fired back, 'This is disgraceful."

Others compared Sharp's story to something they would find in satirical newspaper The Onion and several critics mocked the author.

"If I thought you had any self-awareness, I'd suggest you feel ashamed for this. Sadly, I don't. And I'm fairly certain you wouldn't," one user responded to Sharp's tweet.

The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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New York Times under fire for 'fantasy' about Secret Service helping Russian assassin gun down Trump

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The New York Times is under fire for a fictional account of President Trump being gunned down by a Russian assassin with a Glock belonging to his own Secret Service in a short story dubbed "assassination fantasy" by critics.

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Police in Oregon found a gun and drugs in a to go box of food

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GRESHAM, OR (KPTV) - Gresham police found something extra in man's take-out order, and it wasn't more onion rings.

The Gresham Police Department tweeted out a photo showing the unusual way a person tried to hide the gun, but officers were not fooled.

Police said officers responded to a domestic disturbance call in the 3500 block of Northeast 17th at around 11 p.m. on Oct. 16. The caller reported that a man had a gun.

When officers arrived to the scene, they did not locate an assault victim. However, police said they found the gun and drugs.

What seemed like an ingenious place to hide a gun on a call didn't outsmart the cunning officer. The good guys won this hide and seek battle.For those wondering, while this is a great container for onion rings, french fries, and cajun tots, this is NOT proper firearm storage. pic.twitter.com/Pbvw3vk1qw
- Gresham Police Dept. (@GreshamPD) October 23, 2018

Maycol Ronahn Salinas, 25, was arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Jail on charges of delivery of cocaine, possession of a controlled substance, and an unclassified misdemeanor.

The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office later issued a no complaint on the three charges and requested additional investigative work to be done by the Gresham Police Department.
Copyright 2018 KPTV-KPDX Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Gresham police: Gun found in to-go box, man arrested on drug charges

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GRESHAM, OR (KPTV) - Gresham police found something extra in man's take-out order, and it wasn't more onion rings. The Gresham Police Department tweeted out a photo showing the unusual way a person tried to hide the gun, but officers were not fooled.

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Marijuana has been in the polls for the past decade yet this years midterms has some people marking the date to make a huge change for many different states including: Missouri, North Dakota, Utah, Michigan, Oklahoma, and a few more smaller laws. The change in Missouri would save 11M dollars and only cost around $700,000 and compared to the savings that is well worth it. Use of marijuana and sale as well as possession will be allowed and legal and the possession of up to 6 plants (according to what amendment is chosen).

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WASHINGTON - As polls show record support for marijuana legalization, advocates say the midterm elections could mark the point of no return for a movement that has been gathering steam for years.

"The train has left the station," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a leading marijuana reform advocate in Congress. "I see all the pieces coming together... It's the same arc we saw two generations ago with the prohibitions of alcohol."

Voters in four states will weigh in on ballot initiatives to legalize weed for recreational or medical use next month, while voters everywhere will consider giving more power to Democrats, who have increasingly campaigned on marijuana legalization and are likely to advance legislation on the issue if they win back power in Congress and state capitals.

It's been just six years since Colorado and Washington became the first states in the country to legalize marijuana, but in that short time span, seven other states and the District of Columbia have followed. Thirty states have legalized medical cannabis. The entire country of Canada legalized the drug last week.

Politically, the issue has gone from a risible sideshow to a mainstream plank with implications for racial justice and billions of dollars in tax revenue. "Politicians embraced it because it's actually good politics," said Blumenauer. "They can read the polls."

Two out of three Americans (66 percent) now support the legalization of marijuana, according to a new Gallup survey, including a majority of Republicans and, for the first time, a majority of voters over the age of 55. Not surprisingly, support is strongest among Democrats (75 percent) and young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 (78 percent).

But opponents say advocates are ignoring the backlash that rapid legalization has created, including from some surprising corners, like the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, which is set to announce Tuesday its opposition to a ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in Michigan, the most significant of this year's referendums.

Michigan already has a robust medical marijuana industry, but voters could decide to fully legalize the drug for recreational use on Nov. 6. A recent survey commissioned by The Detroit Free Press found 55 percent of voters supported the measure, compared to 41 percent who opposed it.

Meanwhile, North Dakota voters will also have a chance to legalize recreational marijuana in one of the most conservative states in the country, two years after 64 percent of voters approved its medical use during the 2016 election. Advocates are less hopeful about their prospects this year, though a pro-legalization group released a poll this weekend claiming a narrow 51 percent of likely voters approve of the measure.

Utah, a deep red state with some of the strictest alcohol rules in the country, is considering a medical marijuana initiative, which polls suggest is favored to succeed, even though most of the state's political and religious leaders oppose it.

At the same time, Missouri voters will consider three separate and competing medical marijuana ballot initiatives. The situation has frustrated advocates and could confuse voters, especially because it's unclear what will happen if they approve more than one next month.

Meanwhile, Vermont's state legislature earlier this year legalized cannabis, though not for commercial sale, and New York and New Jersey could be next, as lawmakers in both states are actively considering the issue.

"The tipping point probably passed one or two election cycles ago," said Tom Angell, an advocate and journalist who founded the news site Marijuana Moment. "It keeps becoming more and more apparent that it will be impossible for prohibitionists to reverse our gains. And as a result, more mainstream politicians are getting on board."

Progressive Democrats like Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Texas Senate candidate Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, have adopted marijuana legalization as a central plank of their campaigns by tying the issue to criminal justice reform, citing the disproportionate number of African-Americans arrested for the drug even though usage is common among whites.

In one of the biggest applause lines of his stump speech, O'Rourke - a longtime advocate of marijuana reform dating back to his days on the El Paso City Council - asks supporters who will be the last person of color incarcerated for possessing something that is now legal for medical use in a majority of states.

But a growing number of more mainstream Democrats have adopted the policy too, like J.B. Pritzker, the billionaire hotel magnate running for governor of Illinois, and Michigan gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer, who beat a progressive Bernie Sanders-style challenger in the Democratic primary.

"Democrats have really jumped on this as a way of galvanizing their voters," said Michael Collins, the interim director of the pro-legalization group Drug Policy Action. "If you're on the more moderate side of the party and you want to show your progressive bona fides, you go to marijuana, because it's not as controversial an issue as, say eliminating ICE," the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency.

That's quite a shift from just a few years ago, Collins said. "I remember not even being able to get meetings in the Senate," he said.

It can also be a windfall for states who need to meet spending demands, but are loathe to raise taxes.

Democrat Phil Murphy, elected governor of New Jersey last year, made marijuana legalization a top priority, hiring as his chief of staff the former head of a marijuana business organization and including an estimated $60 million in new tax revenue from marijuana in his first state budget proposal.

But Kevin Sabet, a former adviser to the Obama administration on drug policy who runs a group that opposes marijuana legalization, says advocates are overstating the inevitability of their side.

"I don't think this is a done deal at all," he said, noting that his group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, has raised more money this year than any year in its history. "Ironically, the more legalization rolls out, as recklessly as it is, the more support we get."

Polls showing sky-high support for legalization can be misleading, Sabet argues, because they use vague wording that can lead respondents to conflate decriminalization with a full-blown recreational system that allows for storefront dispensaries.

Some of the most vocal opposition, he said, has come from African-American organizations, who express concern that the commercialization of the marijuana industry has primarily benefited white entrepreneurs even though communities of color have borne the brunt of the drug war.

"This really isn't about social justice, it's about a few rich white guys getting rich," Sabet said, noting that the black caucus in the New Jersey state legislature has helped stall Murphy's legalization effort in New Jersey.

Proponents acknowledge the racial disparities in the marijuana industry, and some, like Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous, the former head of the NAACP, has advocated a legalization regime that would benefit black and brown weed entrepreneurs.

Either way, if Democrats win back the House, advocates say Congress could advance a number of reform bills that have been blocked by the Republican majority.

Some, like a bill to exempt states that have legalized marijuana from federal restrictions and another to allow marijuana businesses to use banks, have numerous Republican co-sponsors and could pass both chambers of Congress today - if only leaders allowed lawmakers to vote on them, advocates say.

"There's legislation teed up and ready to go," said Blumenauer, who wrote a memo to Democratic leaders laying out an agenda he hopes they will adopt if the party regains power. "These are things that will not get in the way of other work we have to do."

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Marijuana midterms: Why legal weed advocates think 'all the pieces are coming together' this year

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WASHINGTON - As polls show record support for marijuana legalization, advocates say the midterm elections could mark the point of no return for a movement that has been gathering steam for years. "The train has left the station," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a leading marijuana reform advocate in Congress.

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8 million people have already voted in the midterms, which is a lot more than the amount that had in 2016.

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Less than two weeks out from Election Day, more than 8 million people nationwide have voted early in the 2018 midterms.

The current nationwide total of early or absentee ballots counted - 8,156,995 - exceeds the 2016 total from two weeks before Election Day (Oct. 26, 2016) by over 200,000, according to data provided by TargetSmart and independently analyzed by the NBC News Data Analytics Lab.

Nationally (among all states with early voting activity so far), Republican-affiliated voters make up 44 percent of the early voting electorate and Democratic-affiliated voters make up 40 percent of the early voting electorate.

Republicans are outpacing Democrats nationally, a change compared to two weeks out from Election Day in 2016 when Democrats were outpacing Republicans.

On Oct. 25, 2016, Democratic-affiliated voters made up 45 percent of the total early voting electorate and Republican-affiliated voters made up 38 percent of the total early voting electorate.

While the initial early vote numbers could be interpreted as a good sign for Republicans, they should be approached with caution.

For example, not much early and absentee vote has been reported yet in some Democratic strongholds, such as the West Coast.

Similarly, the 2016 comparisons provide some context but comparing the current election to previous cycles can never be an apples-to-apples comparison.

The candidates running, voting rules and changes in get-out-the-vote efforts are among the many caveats that should be considered when interpreting the data.
Data analysis conducted by the NBC News Data Analytics Lab. Voter file data, collected by TargetSmart, contains information on most voters' turnout history and selected demographic information.

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Over 8 million people have voted early, outpacing 2016, NBC News finds

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Less than two weeks out from Election Day, more than 8 million people nationwide have voted early in the 2018 midterms. The current nationwide total of early or absentee ballots counted - 8,156,995 - exceeds the 2016 total from two weeks before Election Day (Oct.

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Two women found in Hudson River bound together

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After two women were found dead floating along the Hudson River off of Manhattan's Upper West Side Wednesday, authorities are releasing composite sketches in the hopes of identifying them.

The unknown women -- believed to be in their 20s -- were bound together with duct tape, according to police.

The working belief among investigators is the women wanted to end their own lives, taped themselves together and jumped into the water, according to police source.

A medical examiner will determine their causes of death, police said.

The bodies were spotted near 68 Street and Riverside Park Wednesday afternoon by a passerby who called 911, the New York Police Department said.

The women, who were laying on rocks near the river, had no obvious signs of trauma, the responding officers said.

The bodies are believed to have washed ashore with the tide and stayed when the tide went out, according to police.

Both women are described as being 25 to 30 years old. Each have a medium build, medium skin tone and shoulder-length dark curly hair, police said.

Both women stand at about 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-6 and were wearing a black jacket with fur trim and black leggings, police said.

Anyone with information is urged to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

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Police looking to identify women found dead, bound together in Hudson River

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After two women were found dead floating along the Hudson River off of Manhattan's Upper West Side Wednesday, authorities are releasing composite sketches in the hopes of identifying them. The unknown women -- believed to be in their 20s -- were bound together with duct tape, according to...

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Young girl gored in the leg by deer in London park after getting to close taking pictures.

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A young girl was hospitalized after she was gored by a male deer Wednesday at a park in London, officials said.

The girl, believed to be around seven years old, sustained a leg injury after being attacked at Bushy Park, the BBC reported. A park spokesperson said the girl's family was "standing very close to the stag and taking photos."

Bill Swan, the assistant manager of the park, called the incident "unfortunate," but said it was a warning for those who get too close to stags.
MOTHER OF FIVE WHO 'DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A TRACE' IS BEING INVESTIGATED AS 'POTENTIAL MURDER' VICTIM
"This distressing incident is an unfortunate but powerful warning to everyone why it is dangerous to approach stags during the autumn rutting season, and at any time, in fact," Swan said. "Stags are wild animals, and they are especially unpredictable at this time of year, and can act defensively if they are aggravated or feel cornered,"

Swan said the park had warning signs for visitors informing them to keep about 165 feet from the deer to avoid such incidents.

The park contains about 300 wild deer, according to the BBC.

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Young girl gored by deer in London park, officials say

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A young girl was hospitalized after she was gored by a male deer Wednesday at a park in London, officials said. The girl, believed to be around seven years old, sustained a leg injury after being attacked at Bushy Park, the BBC reported.