Mark Memmott

Update at 7 a.m. ET, May 31:

Since we first posted about the reports of what Syrian President Bashar Assad said regarding the delivery to his military of Russian anti-aircraft missiles, new reports have surfaced:

-- "Russian S-300 missiles unlikely to reach Syria for months." (Reuters)

-- ...

Unfortunately, the forecasts have been pretty accurate in recent days. The National Weather Service warned there would be more tornadoes and severe storms on Wednesday — and there were.

The Weather Channel says at least 19 tornadoes touched down Wednesday in four states (Texas, Kansas, Nebraska ...

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- FBI Pick Is A Republican With Deep Roots In Law Enforcement

-- New Data Confirm That Economy Isn't Growing As Fast As Hoped

-- VIDEO: Miranda Lambert's Tears At 'Healing In The Heartland'

-- China's 'Pipe ...

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday morning.

That basically confirms what the agency said a month ago, when it released its initial estimate for gross domestic product growth in the quarter. Then,

There were several emotional moments during Wednesday's nationally broadcast "Healing in the Heartland" benefit concert to raise money for victims of the May 20 tornado that devastated Moore, Okla., and nearby communities.

Singing star Miranda Lambert's tears, though, are worth some special attention. NBC News has ...

The newborn boy whose rescue from a sewer pipe in eastern China drew attention around the world earlier this week has been released from a hospital and is now in the care of his mother's family, according to media reports from Beijing.

There's also word that the mother ...

"Name any high office in federal law enforcement ... odds are Jim Comey's had it over the years."

That's some of what NPR's Carrie Johnson had to say early Thursday on Morning Edition about the man who she has been told, by two sources with knowledge of the ...

One year after Facebook's troubled initial public offering, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that it has "charged Nasdaq with securities laws violations resulting from its poor systems and decision-making ... [and that] Nasdaq has agreed to settle the SEC's charges by paying a $10 ...

It's not confirmed that he's dead. But if a suspected U.S. drone strike on Wednesday did kill Waliur Rehman, as Pakistani officials say it did, then a top Pakistani Taliban commander with a $5 million price on his head has been taken off the battlefield.

According

It was an "auntie" that left that lipstick mark on his collar, President Obama explained Tuesday evening at the start of a White House event marking Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

"I do not want to be in trouble with Michelle," he joked. And to the ...

Larry King, who signed off from CNN in December 2010, has signed on with the English-language arm of RT, the Russian TV channel that aims to cover "the major issues of our time for viewers wishing to question more and delivers stories often missed by the ...

On this, the 60th anniversary of the first successful summit of the world's tallest mountain, there's plenty of news about Mount Everest. Here are six stories we found interesting:

-- Nepalese climber Min Bahadur Sherchan, who at the age of 81 was trying to reclaim the title of ...

Tuesday's warnings about more severe weather and the likelihood of tornadoes across much of the nation's midsection proved accurate.

"Tornadoes were reported Tuesday afternoon and evening in north and central Kansas, including near Corning in Nemaha County and Culver in Ottawa County," The Kansas Cit Star ...

We need to update the news that a dozen Cleveland area restaurants said they would give Charles Ramsey "free burgers for life" because of the way he helped rescue three young women and a little girl from the home where police say they had been held ...

"A record 40 percent of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family," the Pew Research Center reported Wednesday as it released data that certainly won't surprise many Americans but will underscore ...

Rep. Michele Bachmann, a hero to many conservatives and tea party advocates who saw her fortunes rise and fall quickly in the 2012 race for the GOP presidential nomination, announced early Wednesday that she will not seek re-election to a fifth term in Congress.

The Minnesota Republican said ...

A 9-year relationship is ending between athletic apparel giant Nike and Livestrong, the cancer charity founded by cyclist Lance Armstrong before his career imploded because of evidence that he had been doping for more than a decade.

The Livestrong foundation confirmed Tuesday that its "partnership with Nike" is ...

Jury selection will begin June 10 in the trial of George Zimmerman, the Florida man accused of second-degree murder in the February 2012 death of African-American teenager Trayvon Martin.

Tuesday morning in Sanford, Fla., a judge ruled that both prosecutors and Zimmerman's defense team have had ...

As they battle the White Fire north of Santa Barbara that has covered more than 1,000 acres in less than a day, firefighters are contending with strong winds, low humidity, high temperatures and other dangerous conditions "like they'd normally see in August and September," our colleagues at Southern ...

This much is true: Many Canadians apparently think their government has embedded a maple-scented scratch-and-sniff patch in the nation's $100 bills.

According to CTV, "dozens of people" contacted the Bank of Canada after the polymer bills were introduced in 2011 to say they were sure there was something ...