'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini dies at 51

Posted less than an hour ago by Anna Chan

Actor James Gandolfini, who rose to fame as mob boss Tony Soprano on the hit HBO drama "The Sopranos," has died of a possible heart attack, the network has confirmed to NBC News. He was 51.According to HBO, the actor was vacationing in Rome; some reports say he was in Sicily to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival.Gandolfini had appeared in numerous films before landing the role of Soprano, but ...

This is your brain on happy: Machine can read your emotions

Posted less than an hour ago by Maggie Fox, NBC News

Researchers have figured out how to read your mind and tell whether you are feeling sad, angry or disgusted all by looking at a brain scan.The experiment, using 10 acting students, showed people have remarkably similar brain activity when experiencing the same emotions. And a computer could predict how someone was feeling just by looking at the scan.The findings could be used to help treat patie...

Naval Academy files sex assault charges against three football players

Posted today at 5:20pm by By Jim Miklaszewski, Courtney Kube And Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News

Three male Naval Academy midshipmen have been charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a female midshipman last year and with making a false official statement.The woman told investigators that she was assaulted by the men all Academy football players at the time at an off-campus party in April 2012. On Wednesday, the academy announced the accused men were charged with making a false officia...

'Modern-day slavery': State Dept. says millions of human trafficking victims go unidentified

Posted today at 5:15pm by Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

Nine 7-Eleven store owners and managers who authorities say ran a modern-day plantation system, employing dozens of immigrant workers at New York and Virginia convenience stores, were just one thread in a vast human trafficking and forced labor web that stretches around the world and into American homes.Investigators filed indictments earlier this week against the eight men and one woman who wer...

Stocks skid 200 points as Fed hints at stimulus slowdown

Posted today at 4:42pm by JeeYeon Park

Stocks accelerated their selloff in the final hour of trading on Wednesday to close over 200 points lower, after the Federal Reserve said it will maintain its bond-buying program, although Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the FOMC plans to moderate purchases later this year. "They don't tie themselves officially into anything but it's clearly what they're going to do," said Jim Paulsen, ch...