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  • A man with an ‘improvised’ bomb on a boat planned to take it airport, Florida police say

    Police in Massachusetts called Vero Beach police to tell them they had taken a call from a woman who told them her brother sent her a video from Florida that had him saying he had made a bomb and was going to “take it to the airport.”

  • Turkey says any U.S. recognition of Armenian 'genocide' would further harm ties

    ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that any move by U.S. President Joe Biden to recognise the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as a genocide will further harm already strained ties between the NATO allies. Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One, but contests the figures and denies that the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute a genocide. For decades, measures recognizing the Armenian genocide, stalled in the U.S. Congress and U.S. presidents have refrained from calling it that, stymied by concerns about relations with Turkey and intense lobbying by Ankara.

  • She Claimed Her 8-Year-old Granddaughter Ran Away. Then Cops Found a Body in Her Car.

    Gem County Sheriff's Office/Ada County Sheriff's OfficeConnie Ann Smith, of Emmett, Idaho, reported her 8-year-old granddaughter missing on April 12, telling police she’d run away.Three days later, little Taryn Summers was found—stuffed inside a garbage bag in the backseat of the grandma’s black Lexus, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Monday.Authorities have now charged Smith with failing to notify law enforcement of death and destruction of evidence. During her Monday afternoon arraignment, Gem County Prosecuting Attorney Erik Thompson called the case “egregious” and said additional charges could be filed soon.“This is a huge devastation and loss to my sister, my family, and I and we are completely heartbroken to lose a family member at such a young age and in such a tragic way. Taryn had a personality twice her size and was a very funny and smart little girl who could always make everyone laugh,” Jennifer Sexton, Summers’ aunt, wrote in a GoFundMe campaign. “Taryn is so loved and was a bright light taken in such an evil way from this world way too soon, and she will be greatly missed.”Did Bigfoot Murder Three People in the Woods of California?While authorities have only identified the child found inside Smith’s car as “TS,” family members have confirmed her identity. Last week, the Gem County Sheriff’s Office announced it had discovered a body believed to be Taryn’s, with details matching those in the affidavit. The affidavit also lists Smith as the grandmother and custodian of “TS,” and says Smith has a son whose last name is Summers. The 54-year-old is the owner of the property where the little girl was reportedly last seen.Authorities say that when officers arrived at Smith’s house after she’d reported Summers missing, they discovered a piece of the carpet had been cut out. Smith allegedly told police she’d removed the carpet and burned it after the had child “defecated” on it.The affidavit states that police ultimately learned that earlier in the day, Smith had been seen driving from a preschool with Summers sleeping in the backseat. Smith admitted the girl was still asleep when they arrived home and that she carried her into a bedroom.On April 14, police and Idaho state forensics investigators returned to search the home again—and found a “small brown spot” on the bedroom wall they believed to be blood.After several searches around Smith’s property, investigators gained access to Smith’s Lexus— after she initially told police she “did not know where the key (was) for the vehicle.”Inside, they found Summers’ body in a black trash bag on the floor. Investigators said the little girl had vomit on her shirt and in her hair. Smith was then arrested on April 15, according to online court records.“In reviewing the probable cause affidavit, the alleged conduct is disturbing,” Judge Tyler Smith said during Smith’s hearing on Monday, before ordering an $800,000 bond. “Report that the child was missing. Ultimately the discovery of the deceased child on the property, I believe two days later. The potential penalty, depending on the conclusion of the investigation could be severe.”Smith’s attorney did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.Authorities also noted that Summer was not the only relative connected to Smith who’s gone missing. The Gem County Sheriff’s Office said that 16-year-old Tristan Conner Sexton went missing in September 2020 and 14-year-old Taylor Summers disappeared in October. Both teens have since been located and were not in danger.All three children lived in Smith’s house after being moved from their mother’s house in 2019 after testing positive for hard drugs, according to EastIdahoNews. “Law enforcement has been in contact with Taylor and does not believe her to be in danger at this time. Family has been in contact with Tristan Sexton and law enforcement does not believe him to be in danger at this time,” Gem County Sheriff Donnie Wunder said on Thursday. “I want to thank everyone for their concern and support during the last few days.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Why at least 300,000 people in 33 states are losing unemployment benefits earlier than expected

    A key tool to provide jobless aid to long-term unemployed people is broken, causing some laid-off workers to have their benefits yanked.

  • A former HFPA president called Black Lives Matter a 'racist hate movement' and attacked one of its founders

    Former HFPA president and current member Philip Berk called BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors "the self-proclaimed 'trained Marxist.'"

  • A mom was found dead in a car, next to her sleeping toddler, at a South Florida hotel

    A 32-year-old mother was found dead early Tuesday next to her sleeping child inside a car in the parking lot of a Boynton Beach hotel.

  • European Soccer's American Owners Tried to Form a U.S.-Style 'Super League.' It Hasn't Gone Well

    The Super League leans heavy on American sports principles.

  • Watch loose dog win relay race at Utah high school track meet. ‘Best anchor leg ever’

    “I can’t believe I got beat by a dog,” the sprinter said.

  • Philippines' Duterte would send navy ships in South China Sea to assert claim over resources

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday he was prepared to send his military ships in the South China Sea to "stake a claim" over oil and mineral resources in the disputed part of the strategic waterway. With some critics complaining Duterte had gone soft by refusing to push Beijing to comply with an arbitration ruling, he said the public can be assured he would assert the country's claims to resources like oil and minerals in the South China Sea. Duterte has sought to build an alliance with China and has been reluctant to confront its leadership, having been promised billions of dollars of loans and investments, much of which have yet to materialise, frustrating nationalists.

  • Arkansas racing officials vote not to suspend Bob Baffert

    Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Tuesday successfully appealed his 15-day suspension to the Arkansas Racing Commission, allowing the six-time Kentucky Derby winner to resume preparations to run Medina Spirit in next weekend's Derby. Baffert was fined and suspended last year by Arkansas stewards for a pair of drug positives after Charlatan and Gamine tested positive for the painkiller lidocaine following their wins at Oaklawn Park on May 2. Charlatan won a division of the $1 million Arkansas Derby, while Gamine won another race.

  • The war against Russia's spies just cost Putin billions from a cancelled nuclear contract

    "Losing this many intelligence officers will reduce the amount of activity and capabilities of the Russians," said the central European official.

  • Prosecutors Say Floyd Died Because Chauvin’s ‘Heart Was Too Small’ as Case Heads to Jury

    REUTERS/Jane RosenbergAs Derek Chauvin’s murder trial comes to a close, both sides made their closing arguments on Monday, with prosecutors insisting the former Minneapolis cop’s fatal arrest of George Floyd wasn’t “policing” but “murder”—as his defense claimed he used “reasonable” force.Prosecutors on Monday detailed to jurors in Hennepin County court how Chauvin’s decision to press his knee into the 46-year-old Black man’s neck while he repeated that he could not breathe was unjustifiable and inhumane.“The truth of the matter is that the reason that George Floyd is dead is that Mr. Chauvin’s heart was too small,” special prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said Monday just before the case was sent to the 12-member jury.Prosecutor Steve Schleicher also insisted the officer “knew better; he just didn’t do better” during Floyd’s May 25 arrest over a fake $20 bill. “What [Chauvin] did is not policing. What [Chauvin] did is assault.”“That day, his badge wasn’t in the right place. He’s not on trial for who he was. He’s on trial for what he did,” Schleicher argued, adding that Chauvin “chose pride over policing.” During his closing argument—which lasted 2 hours and 47 minutes—defense attorney Eric Nelson argued that Chauvin was distracted while dealing with the growing anger from bystanders—and failed to notice that Floyd had stopped breathing. “A reasonable police officer will hear the frustration growing...the increase of the volume of the voices...will hear the name-calling...they’ll take that into their consideration,” Nelson said. “Officers are human beings capable of making mistakes in highly stressful situations.”“There is absolutely no evidence that Officer Chauvin intentionally, purposefully applied unlawful force,” Nelson claimed.Defense Expert Claims Exhaust From Cop Car Contributed to George Floyd’s DeathThe closing arguments come after four weeks of testimony in the watershed trial. During the trial, prosecutors have insisted to jurors that Chauvin, 45, “betrayed” his badge when he ignored Floyd’s dozens of pleas for help as he knelt on his neck for a total of “9 minutes and 29 seconds” over a suspected counterfeit $20 bill. During the arrest, Floyd cried out he could not breathe a staggering 27 times before losing consciousness.Chauvin “heard him and all he did was mock him, [saying] ‘It takes a lot of oxygen to complain,’” Schleicher said. “George Floyd struggled, desperate to breathe, to make enough room in his chest to breathe. But the force was too much. He was trapped, with the unyielding pavement beneath him, as unyielding as the men who held him down,” Schleicher said. “A grown man, crying out for his mother. A human being.”Prosecutors called 38 witnesses over 11 days. Among those were five current and former cops—as well as the Minneapolis police chief, who said Chauvin used excessive force in violation of his training and department protocol. Three medical experts concluded Floyd died of low oxygen, or asphyxia, from Chauvin’s actions during the arrest, while several bystanders, family members, and friends of Floyd gave days of emotional testimony.Schleicher insisted Monday that Floyd’s death “wasn’t a sudden cardiac arrhythmia, a heart attack, a drug overdose, a death from underlying conditions or an accident. It was an intentional act by Chauvin.”“The government put on a very strong case. I thought that the testimony of the chief and other officers that the force was not authorized or part of [the] training was very effective. It is rare to have testimony from police officers in these cases other than retained experts. The cross of the use-of-force witnesses was largely ineffective,” Jonathan Smith, the executive director of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, told The Daily Beast.Chauvin’s defense lawyer, however, argued that his client was simply doing what “he was trained to do throughout his 19-year career,” calling on seven witnesses in two days and focusing heavily on Floyd’s previous health issues and alternative explanations for his death. Chauvin declined to testify on his own defense, invoking his Fifth Amendment right. On Monday, Nelson compared criminal cases to baking chocolate cookies and emphasized the high standard of reasonable doubt. “Space aliens flew in and inhabited the body of Derek Chauvin and caused this death. That’s fanciful,” Nelson said.The defense attorney then focused on two key points: The state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Floyd died as a direct result of Chauvin’s actions and the ex-officer must have intentionally harmed him.“The use of force is an incredibly difficult analysis,” Nelson insisted, urging the jury to look at the totality of the incident and not just the nine minutes that Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck. “You can’t limit it to 9 minutes and 29 seconds, but it started nearly 17 minutes earlier.”The defense attorney argued that several factors could have contributed to Floyd’s death, including carbon monoxide poisoning from the police squad car or drug overdose.Smith, a former official in the Department of Justice’s civil-rights division who also led the independent investigation into Elijah McClain’s death at the hands of police in Colorado, said he believed Nelson’s defense was “more effective at trying to create confusion on the cause of death” than anything else.Defense Expert in Chauvin Trial: Knee on George Floyd Was ‘Justified,’ Caused No Pain“The controversy on whether Mr. Floyd had an enlarged heart and about carbon monoxide blood levels should have been avoidable for the prosecution, but it is unclear whether it will matter much in the end,” he said, before noting that conviction in police cases are rare. “Even in light of the very strong case by the state, it remains to be seen what the jury will do.”The idea of creating confusion in the courtroom also caused late drama in the case when prosecutors slammed the defense’s witnesses who seemed to suggest Floyd could have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.On Thursday, Martin Tobin, a renowned pulmonologist who testified that Floyd’s airflow was so restricted it was “as if a surgeon had gone in and removed” his lung, was called back to the stand at the last minute to rebut the bizarre idea the squad car’s exhaust contributing to Floyd’s death.The idea was brought forward by David Fowler, a forensic pathologist, without any data or test results. Tobin’s testimony also came after prosecutors said they got last-minute test results of “blood gas readings” that show Floyd’s carbon monoxide levels were normal.Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Floyd, also testified for the defense that the 46-year-old died of “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law-enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression” and that heart disease, fentanyl use, and methamphetamine were “other significant conditions.”“The defense seems to have put most of its marbles in that basket,” said Mike Lawlor, an associate professor at the University of New Haven and a former prosecutor, added about Floyd’s cause of death. He added to The Daily Beast that the defense’s “expert witnesses did not really undermine the state’s case–and “have bolstered it to some extent.”While the defense seemed focused on sowing doubt, prosecutors leaned heavily on emotional testimony and showing jurors the deep trauma that watching Floyd’s death caused so many people.“The most moving, and searing part of the trial were the eyewitnesses. Their testimony was compelling and impactful. The trauma that they experienced watching Mr. Floyd be killed and the helplessness they felt in being unable to stop Chauvin came through clearly,” Smith said.Among the group were an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter and EMT—who said she was ignored after repeatedly offering her assistance—as well as an MMA fighter who tried to explain that Chauvin’s chokehold was cutting off Floyd’s circulation. Several teenagers, and one 9-year-old girl, also testified how they begged the officers to stop as Floyd was “gasping for air.”“You could see his eyes slowly, you know, rolling back up and in his head, and him having his mouth open, wide open,” MMA fighter Donald Williams, who is heard in the viral video yelling at Chauvin to release Floyd, testified during the trial. Eventually, Williams said, Floyd began to “fade away, like a fish in a bag” before he lost consciousness.As prosecutors played the viral video to jurors on Monday, Chauvin kept his eyes down at the defense table.“George Floyd was not a threat to anyone,” Schleicher said Monday while lightly pounding his hand onto the lectern before insisting to jurors that “no courage was shown that day” while Floyd begged for his life in front of strangers. “George Floyd begged until he could speak no more and the defendant continued this assault.”“No courage was required, all that was required was a little compassion and none was shown on that day,” the prosecutor added. Throughout the trial, jurors also got a peek into how cracked the thin blue line really is in Minneapolis. In addition to Police Chief Medaria Arradondo’s sharp rebuke of Chauvin’s actions, several current and former police officials all disagreed with the use of force.‘Totally Unnecessary’: Cops Desert Derek Chauvin on the Witness Stand“Totally unnecessary. First of all, pulling him down to the ground face-down and putting your knee on a neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for,” Lt. Richard Zimmerman, the longest-serving officer in Chauvin’s old department, testified. “I saw no reason why the officers felt they were in danger. And that’s what they would have to feel to be able to use that kind of force.”The defense, however, tried to smooth over the clear signal that Chauvin has been abandoned by his former peers, bringing forward former cop Barry Vance Brodd, who insisted the former law enforcer’s knee restraint on Floyd was not a “use of force”—but a “control technique” because it caused him no pain.Lawlor added that while he believes that the prosecution did an “excellent job,” the defense did poke holes in the theory Chauvin inequitably caused Floyd’s death—but that the matter is now up to the jury. The sequestered jury will now decide whether Chauvin is guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.To do so, the 12-person jury will have to unanimously agree that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death, intentionally intended to commit harm, and acted unreasonably as a police officer by not adhering to the training of the Minneapolis Police Department.“It’s clear to me that Chauvin expects to be heading to prison at some point. How long he spends there is in the hands of this jury,” Lawlor said, adding that for the defense, “their only hope at this point [is] reasonable doubt.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Republicans go after Stacey Abrams at Senate hearing on voting rights

    Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee took aim at former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams on Tuesday during a hearing on voting rights.

  • Man chops down 27 trees in Missouri national forest to sell the timber, feds say

    The timber was worth an estimated $20,000.

  • Sen. Elizabeth Warren challenges her billionaire nemesis to critique wealth tax before Congress

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is calling on investor Leon Cooperman to come face her and other lawmakers in a Senate Finance Committee hearing next week. Cooperman, a billionaire investor and one of Warren's most prominent critics, is considering her invitation, which he received via a letter from Warren on Monday, reports CNBC. The subcommittee, chaired by Warren, has titled the April 27 hearing "Creating Opportunity Through a Fairer Tax System" in hopes of discussing the senator's wealth tax proposal. Warren and Cooperman clashed during Warren's presidential campaign as a wealth tax became a central pillar of her campaign. Warren's latest Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act proposal seeks to "level the playing field and narrow the racial wealth gap" through increased taxes for the top 0.05 percent, she says. With a net worth of over $2 billion, Cooperman would be affected by the bill, which proposes a 3 percent annual tax on wealth exceeding $1 billion. Cooperman previously argued Warren had no regard for the American Dream, and participated in an emotional 2019 interview with CNBC decrying her proposal and her "vilification of billionaires." In return, Warren's campaign created a mug with the tagline "BILLIONAIRE TEARS." Leon, you were able to succeed because of the opportunities this country gave you. Now why don't you pitch in a bit more so everyone else has a chance at the American dream, too? https://t.co/OODIM7RcRn — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) October 23, 2019 In a March 2021 interview, Cooperman told CNBC that if Warren's tax proposal passes, Americans should buy gold as a way of "hiding their wealth," and said while he believes the wealthy should pay more, Warren's strategy is an idea with "no merit." The saga may come to an end if Cooperman agrees to face lawmakers in the congressional hearing, where Warren plans to allow Cooperman to voice his concerns about her bill. Warren has requested he RSVP by Thursday. More stories from theweek.comThe new HBO show you won't be able to stop watchingDonald Trump's most dangerous political legacyFormer Trump aides are reportedly frustrated he didn't become vaccine 'salesman-in-chief' as planned

  • 'Clean up your mess, Kevin': Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries responds to Maxine Waters censure effort by telling GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to 'sit this one out'

    "Lauren Boebert is a mess. Matt Gaetz is a mess. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a mess," Jeffries said. "Clean up your mess, Kevin. Sit this one out."

  • For decades, US special-operations units copied the British, but now the tables are turning

    The changes are part of a strategic shift, meant to keep the British military relevant amid great-power competition.

  • Chase and Sadie: They married after his terminal cancer diagnosis. A year later, they spend their final moments together.

    As Chase Smith died, Sadie lay next to him. "I kissed his face and never let go until he entered the gates of heaven and took his last breath."

  • Pet wolf on walk near elementary school nets fine for Louisiana couple, officials say

    A concerned citizen “was worried about the safety of the schoolchildren” and contacted authorities.

  • Greek Church to allow worshippers at Easter Week services

    The powerful Church of Greece said Tuesday it would allow the faithful to take part in Orthodox Easter services next week but limit attendance and hold the services earlier in the day to conform with a government-imposed curfew. The decision comes despite Greece reporting a high number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and as the country's hospitals are struggling to treat unprecedented numbers of intubated patients. Orthodox Easter services were canceled last year, when Greece had much fewer confirmed cases.