• Two killed, homes destroyed in huge Indianapolis explosion

    Matt Kryger / The Indianapolis Star via AP

    Firefighters work the scene where an explosion has killed two people and damaged more than a dozen homes in the Richmond Hill subdivision, late Saturday, Nov. 10, in Indianapolis, Ind.

    "Multiple houses engulfed in flames. Even the police officers that got to the scene before I did were not sure what happened. Kind of a surreal scene, even for police officers," Marion County Sheriff John Layton told the station.

    The cause of the explosion and fires wasn't immediately clear, but Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard dismissed reports of a possible plane crash as he arrived at the scene. Fire officials said separately that investigators would be checking whether natural gas was possibly involved but they had no further details on what was behind the blast that sent tall flames skyward.

    -- Reported by NBC News staff and wire reports

    Read the full story.

    Matt Kryger / The Indianapolis Star via AP

    Matt Kryger / The Indianapolis Star via AP

    An Indianapolis neighborhood is still off limits while police try to figure what caused a horrific explosion that killed two people and prompted nearly 200 residents to flee their homes. NBC's Ron Allen reports.

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  • The faces of Super Bowl's super fans

    Mark Humphrey / AP

    Football fan Michael Hopson is dressed as "Super Fan" as he walks in Super Bowl Village on Feb. 3 in Indianapolis, Ind. The New England Patriots are scheduled to face the New York Giants in NFL football Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5.

    Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Ind. is still days away, but according to estimates, more than 150,000 fans visited the Super Bowl Village, one of the city's signature events on Thursday. And the crowds are continuing to grow.

    The New England Patriots and the New York Giants kick off at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, on Sunday Feb. 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Live coverage will begin on nbcsports.com at 2:30 p.m.

    Chris Trotman / Getty Images

    Football fan Mary Steinkraus from Wisconsin walks around the Super Bowl XLVI NFL Experience outside the Indiana Convention Center on Feb. 3 in Indianapolis. The New England Patriots will play the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday Feb. 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

    Matt Slocum / AP

    Bianca Jacobs of Indianapolis poses with the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the NFL Experience during Super Bowl festivities on Feb. 3, in Indianapolis.

    Chris Trotman / Getty Images

    Fans interact with a traffic police officer near the Super Bowl XLVI NFL Experience at the Indiana Convention Center on Feb. 3 in Indianapolis.

    Chris Trotman / Getty Images

    A young fan runs through an NFL simulation tunnel at the Super Bowl XLVI NFL Experience at the Indiana Convention Center on Feb. 3 in Indianapolis.

    Mike Segar / Reuters

    Fans ride on a zip line in downtown Indianapolis Feb. 3, ahead of the Sunday's Super Bowl.

    TODAY's Matt Lauer says that Al Roker is a "zip-lining expert" after he zoomed through downtown Indianapolis, the site of Sunday's Super Bowl game.

  • Feds seize nearly $5M in phony Super Bowl swag

    By Jim Seida

    This was the result of a four-month investigation in Indianapolis.  According to AP, agents targeted stores, flea markets and street vendors that allegedly sold counterfeit game-related sportswear. Fake jerseys, ball caps, T-shirts, jackets and other souvenirs were among the 42,000 items confiscated in Operation Fake Sweep.

    Julio Cortez / AP

    Andrew McLees, special agent in charge with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, points toward a bad stitching job on a counterfeit NFL football jersey during a news conference, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Newark, N.J.

    Authorities put the total take at more than $4.8 million, up from $3.7 million last year.

    The government also is seizing more than 300 websites alleged to have illegally streamed live sporting telecasts over the Internet or sold counterfeit sports merchandise. Also seized were counterfeit Major League Baseball, NBA and NHL items worth about $1.6 million.

    Julio Cortez / AP

    McLees talks about counterfeit NFL football merchandise seized during the news conference, The seizure comes amid an important week in football as the New England Patriots and the New York Giants face off in Super Bowl XLVI Feb. 5.

    Full Super Bowl coverage on nbcsports.com

  • Darron Cummings / AP

    Police arrest a man after he drove his vehicle to the top of the steps of the Indiana War Memorial and then set a fire on the steps, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, in Indianapolis. The standoff lasted about an hour.

    Man drives Jeep up steps of War Memorial

    WTHR-TV reports:

    Police say a man wearing an American flag drove a Jeep up the steps of the War Memorial Tuesday. A small fire was reported on the steps.

    The man was taken into custody about half an hour after incident began. He was being checked out by medics.

    Indianapolis firefighters responded and put the fire out. Several police cars were also at the scene.

    The man was naked from the waist up and wrapped in a flag, yelling at police. He apparently drove his Jeep to the top of the steps.

  • Stage rigging collapses at Indiana State Fair

    Matt Kryger / The Star

    The overhead stage rigging collapses into the crowd in front of the stage at the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand at the Indiana State Fair. The collapse occurred before Sugarland took the stage.

     WTHR-TV reports:
    Dave Lindquist, music journalist for The Indianapolis Star, reported on Twitter, "Tragedy at fair concert. Entire stage collapses on track." He also wrote that "perhaps a dozen injured people have been removed from track on stretcher-type boards."

    Read more here.

  • The world watches the royal wedding

    Nic Bothma / EPA

    South Africa: Women watch the royal wedding on a television in a shack in the Redhill informal shack settlement outside Cape Town.

    Matthias Schrader / AP

    Germany: Royal enthusiasts in a cinema in Munich watch the wedding.

    Darron Cummings / AP

    Indianapolis, Ind.: Jen Barnette right, along with friends watch the wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton.

    How did you celebrate the royal wedding? See more photos of people watching around the world in our slideshow.

    If you just can't get enough, you can find more coverage on our blog, The Windsor Knot.

    And more photo coverage in our slideshows:

    Royal fans flock the streets of London.

    Royal security.
    Preparations for the royal wedding.
    Wacky royal wedding memorabilia.
    The royal guestlist - who's coming to the wedding?
    A royal courtship.
    History of British royal weddings.
    Kate Middleton's style.
    Crown jewels.