Grant Nelson, far left, in an undated photo posted by his family on Tuesday.
Todd Nelson / Via Facebook
A 16-year-old girl was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder for allegedly stabbing and hacking an Uber driver to death in suburban Chicago over Memorial Day weekend.
Prosecutors told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that the teenage girl hailed an Uber from a Walmart in Lincolnwood, Illinois, in the early hours of Tuesday. When she got in the car, she began stabbing the driver with a shoplifted machete and knife, prosecutors said.
The driver was identified as Grant Nelson, a 34-year-old resident of Wilmette, Illinois. He died of his wounds hours later, but was able to give police a description of his attacker.
The teen girl, identified as Eliza Wasni, was been charged as an adult.
Facebook
According to prosecutors, Wasni was seen walking through Walmart around 3 a.m. Tuesday before walking outside without paying for a machete or knife she was carrying.
Shortly after, Lincolnwood police officers responded to a report of a man "screaming for help." When they arrived, they found the bloody vehicle, as well as Nelson's open Uber car.
They eventually located Nelson, who provided a description of his attacker before being transported to Presence St. Francis Hospital, where he died of his wounds.
Nearby, police officers said they encountered a suspect who matched Nelson's description of his attacker, and who was in possession of weapons that appeared to match those used to stab the driver. The girl, who was hiding behind a building, initially did not comply with requests that she drop the weapons, prosectors said, but was taken into custody after being Tased by officers.
According to police, Wasni did not make a statement after she was taken into custody. Authorities have not provided any potential motives for the attack, although Nelson's relatives have told local media that they believe the killing was random.
Prosectors also said in court Wednesday that they believe the ride from Nelson was the third time Wasni used the Uber app Monday night.
Uber did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment. But in a statement to CBS News Chicago, the company said it was cooperating with police.
"We are heartbroken by the loss of one of our partners," Uber said in the statement. "Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time."
A defiant Hillary Clinton gave a candid, lengthy election post-mortem Wednesday, partly attributing her loss to a right-wing, pro-Donald Trump machine that manipulated social media and pushed false information.
But two examples she cited aren't entirely accurate.
Responding to a question Wednesday at the Recode Code Conference about Twitter's influence on the national discourse, Clinton accused the platform of letting false content run amok and enabling users and bots to spread fake stories and extremist narratives.
"I think [Twitter] has become victimized by deliberate efforts to shape the conversation and push it toward conspiracies, lies, false information," she said.
Clinton then alleged that President Trump has recently gained millions of Twitter followers, thanks to a massive bot army, a claim that has been debunked.
"Who is behind driving up Trump's Twitter followers by the millions? We know they're bots," she said. "Why? I assume there's a reason for everything. Is it to make him look more popular than he is? Is it to try to influence others on Twitter about what the messaging is so that people get caught up in it and lose sight of what they're trying to say?"
Multiple reports claiming that Trump gained millions of mostly bot followers over three days recently went viral, but a Twitter spokesperson told BuzzFeed News on Tuesday that it was not true.
Snapshots from archive.org show Trump's official account, @POTUS, had 18 million followers four days ago compared to 18.2 million on Wednesday.
BuzzFeed News
The same goes for his personal account, @realDonaldTrump, which had 30.7 million followers three days ago and 31 million on Wednesday.
As BuzzFeed News' Jane Lytvynenko notes, Trump is not the only one experiencing an influx of potential bots.
Other large accounts like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and even Justin Bieber also have many new followers that appear to be fake Twitter users.
Clinton also honed in on the power of "media forces on the Republican side," arguing that outlets like Fox News and Sinclair Broadcasting, a conservative media conglomerate, are beginning to influence the coverage of local stations across the country.
"You have Fox, but then you have Sinclair buying 140-plus local stations and they're beginning to call the shots on those local stations," she said, specifically pointing to a local NBC affiliate in Montana and how it covered newly-elected Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte's alleged attack on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs last week.
Clinton claimed the NBC affiliate in Montana, which Sinclair is in the process of purchasing, refused to "send footage of what happened" to NBC in New York after they called to request it.
"They said no, because that reporter was from a liberal paper and we don’t think it’s a story we want to be part of," Clinton said.
Clinton appeared to be referencing a New York Magazine article that reported KECI, the NBC affiliate in Montana, refused to cover the incident at the time, or share footage it had access to.
Clinton's synopsis, however, is not exactly true. The Montana TV station did not have footage of Gianforte body slamming Jacobs, but at the time, refused to cover the story and air audio of the scuffle. The station later apologized.
A source told the magazine that KECI news director Julie Weindel told NBC News “The person that tweeted [Jacobs] and was allegedly body slammed is a reporter for a politically biased publication. You are on your own for this.”
Weindel later told New York Magazine that those comments were taken out of context and they had been unable to verify the information.
“We were eventually able to confirm, and we did aggressively report the facts of the story, the investigation, and the assault citation, based on the sheriff’s information and press conference, which we covered and sent in its entirely to NBC and MSNBC immediately,” Weindel told the outlet.
A spokesperson for Clinton did not immediately return a BuzzFeed News request for comment.
So, in summary: Trump has not gained millions of new Twitter bot followers and a Montana TV station did not withhold footage from NBC News that might have incriminated a Republican lawmaker.
NBA star LeBron James on Wednesday addressed a racial slur that was found hours earlier tagged on the front gate of his Los Angeles home, telling reporters that "being black in America is tough" no matter how famous your are.
Los Angeles police told BuzzFeed News an investigation remains ongoing after the department received a call early Wednesday regarding vandalism at James' Brentwood house. When officers responded at 6:45 a.m., the slur had already been painted over, LAPD spokeswoman Irma Mota said.
Police did not disclose what the slur was, but a source told the Los Angeles Times it was the N-word.
Speaking at a news conference in the Bay Area, where his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, will play the Golden State Warriors in the first game of the NBA Finals, James said he was saddened that on the eve of one of the greatest sporting events, he was siting in front of the cameras discussing racial issues.
"No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough," James said. "We got a long way to go for us as a society, and for us as African Americans, until we feel equal in America."
Still, he added, if the vandalism incident keeps the conversation about racial problems going, he was at least "OK with that."
"It just goes to show that racism will always be part of the world, part of America," James said. "Hate in America, especially for African Americans, is living ever day, even though it is concealed most of the time.
"We know people hide their faces and will say things about you, and when they see you, they will smile in your face. It’s alive every single day."
Visitors were removed from a section of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, on Wednesday after a noose was found on the floor of one of the rooms, Smithsonian officials said.
It's the second time this week a noose has been discovered on the grounds of a Smithsonian museum.
The rope was found Wednesday by a tourist inside one of the museum's three history galleries, the Era of Segregation 1786-1968, Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas told BuzzFeed News.
"It was rather a small rope thing and not something that would set off the magnetometers," she said.
"Park Police removed it and we reopened the gallery about an hour later," she said.
Smithsonian Secretary David Skorton informed staffers of the discovery via email on Wednesday afternoon, calling it "deeply disturbing news." A copy of the email was obtained by BuzzFeed News.
"The Smithsonian family stands together in condemning this act of hatred and intolerance, especially repugnant in a museum that affirms and celebrates the American values of inclusion and diversity. We will not be intimidated," he wrote.
Nooses are often used to intimidate African Americans, evoking an era of lynching and subjugation.
"I don't know what to say," she said after Wednesday's discovery.
"We do consider this one to be different," she said. "In this case it's clearly a message to the museum."
US Park Police are now investigating both incidents, Skorton told staff. A Park Police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Counselors have been offered to staff members, Skorton said.
"Cowardly acts like these will not, for one moment, prevent us from the vital work we do," Skoton wrote to staff. "We will remain vigilant and, in spite of these deplorable acts, we will become a stronger institution for all Americans."
Of course, her adventurous lifestyle means she has a pretty epic Instagram and many amazing photos. Most of them featured her ex-boyfriend, who was her travel partner.
Unfortunately, the relationship recently came to a messy ending. She said her boyfriend was also her boss on the yacht, and fired her from her job.
"The breakup was rough because he was my travel partner for a year, we were together literally 24/7, and then he just fired me out of nowhere," she said.
Another unfortunate aspect of her breakup was that her ex was featured in many of the amazing photos from her travels. However, Baylee has come up with an amazing trick to keep sharing the pictures...can you spot it?
Baylee Woodward
Baylee made a few minor tweaks to the photos, so she could keep sharing them on social media. She cut and pasted Zac Efron's head on her ex's, and honestly, the pics look great.
Baylee said she decided to make the ~improvements~ so she could "look back at pictures and laugh at this whole situation."
"I wanted to post a throwback picture from one of the trips but the best ones are with him in it," she said. "I couldn't crop him out and blurring him would be ugly, so I was like, 'I'll just put someone else's face on it.' And when you think 'hot young guy' you think Zac Efron."
CNN has terminated its agreement with Kathy Griffin to co-host their annual New Year's Eve show, the network announced Wednesday, following the mass outrage at the comedian's photo of her holding a prop severed head of President Donald Trump.
"CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year's Eve program," the network announced via Twitter.
Reached by phone, a CNN spokesperson had no further comment.
On Tuesday, a CNN spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the network was disgusted and offended by the Griffin photo, and said they were evaluating her role at this year's New Year's Eve festivities.
Anderson Cooper, Griffin's friend with whom she co-hosted the New Year's Eve shows, also condemned the photo on Tuesday,
"For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate," Cooper tweeted.
Griffin apologized late Tuesday for posing with a bloodied Trump head during a photo shoot by photographer Tyler Shields.
"I am a comic. I crossed the line. I moved the line and then I crossed it," Griffin said in a video posted on Twitter. "I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn't funny."
But the picture still attracted widespread outrage among conservatives and liberals alike.
Democratic Senator Al Franken, a former member of Saturday Night Live, said he contacted Griffin on Tuesday and urged her to apologize.
"This was just so wrong-headed and I told her it was. And then soon after, she made a very fulsome apology and asked — begged for forgiveness," he told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.
On Wednesday morning, President Trump himself tweeted about the controversy:
The bathroom stool maker Squatty Potty also distanced itself from Griffin after the scandal, announcing Tuesday it had pulled a recent commercial "as well as other promotional and marketing content featuring Kathy Griffin."
“While we respect an individual's right to express political views, we feel her choice to express those views violently was done in poor taste and does not reflect our company culture or brand identity,” said Dan Deceuster, drector of Ecommerce for Squatty Potty, in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
After Griffin's CNN agreement was terminated, network anchor Jake Tapper wrote these two tweets about the controversy:
A Griffin spokesperson told BuzzFeed News on Wednesday the comedian would not be doing interviews "at this time."
Photographer Tyler Shields, who spoke with BuzzFeed News on Tuesday to defend the artistic merit of the photo, did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. He has since deleted the photo from his website, per Griffin's request.
A Pennsylvania man in possession of illegal firearms and ammunition was arrested at the Trump International Hotel in DC — averting a "potential disaster," police said Wednesday.
Bryan Moles, 43, of Edinboro, Pa. was arrested from his hotel room in the early morning on charges of carrying a dangerous weapon, possession of firearms without a license, and illegal possession of ammunition.
Police recovered an AR-15 assault rifle and a Glock 23 handgun from Moles' vehicle at a parking garage, along with 30 rounds of 7.62-mm ammunition and 60 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition, according to an incident report provided to BuzzFeed News.
The assault rifle was in "plain view" of the vehicle while the handgun was recovered from the glovebox, the report said.
At around 12:30 am local time, DC police and Secret Service agents responded to a tip received by the Pennsylvania State Police that Moles was heading to DC with weapons in his vehicle, DC Police Chief Peter Newsham said at a press conference Wednesday.
Moles checked into the Trump International Hotel at around 1 am and was arrested shortly after without incident, "bringing this potentially tragic situation to a peaceful end," Newsham said.
He was interviewed and is "sharing information," the chief said.
Newsham said that police did not have enough information "at this point" to charge Moles with making threats. However, the chief said he was "very concerned" with this "peculiar circumstance."
"When you have someone armed with those type of weapons coming into this area, it's a serious concern," Newsham said. "We averted a potential disaster here in our nation's capital."
The tip from a concerned citizen indicated that Moles was headed to the Trump International Hotel, which is located five blocks away from the White House.
On a Facebook page that appeared to belong to Moles, a post written on Friday read, "If you had to choose between a Hilton Hotel and a Trump hotel, which would you choose and why?"
According to the Facebook page, Moles is a lead trainer and therapist at Boro K9 and Service, a "veteran-owned and operated" non-profit organization where dogs are provided to vets, first responders, and others with PTSD.
Newsham declined to confirm reports suggesting that Moles was a veteran and a Trump supporter.
The Secret Service said that it was investigating the incident. "At no time were any Secret Service protectees at risk," a spokesman said.
"We take very seriously when anyone threatens harm in our city," DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the press conference.
A spokesperson for the US attorney's office said that Moles would not be making a court appearance on Wednesday because he wasn't brought over to the courthouse in time.
The top federal prosecutor in New Jersey has launched an investigation into Bayonne officials denying a Muslim group's permit to build a mosque in the city earlier this year, BuzzFeed News has learned.
Matthew Reilly, a press officer at the US Attorney's Office in New Jersey, confirmed that an investigation has been opened, but declined to provide further details — such as a time frame or when the investigation began.
Muslims in Bayonne, which is just a few miles west of Manhattan, have sought an Islamic center and prayer hall for nearly two decades. For years they were praying in the cramped basement of an elementary school.
A flyer opposing the mosque.
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The public meetings have attracted national media attention after residents against the mosque could be seen with signs that said “Stop the Mosque” and “Save Bayonne.”
Since the first tense zoning board meeting January 2016, residents for and against the mosque clashed at the public hearings, including two earlier meetings this year, one of which lasted for over four hours.
The city's zoning board eventually denied the group, called Bayonne Muslims, a zoning variance that would allow for the project to go ahead, in March 2016.
Bayonne Muslims filed a federal lawsuit against the city on May 25, alleging anti-Muslim bias and that the city denied a variance that it had granted in the past for Christian churches.
At the first meeting, anti-mosque protesters held signs that read “If the Mosque Comes the Mayor Go’s,” while others just read “Trump.” Counter-protesters held “No to RACISM” and “Anti-Muslim Bigotry” signs.
The basement-turned-mosque space where local Muslims pray was vandalized last October, with “Fuck Muslims” and “Donald Trump” graffitied on the walls. A 20-year-old man was caught and eventually pleaded guilty to criminal mischief for the crime.
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Conversely, a woman alleged that she was threatened at her home last year for displaying the “Stop the Mosque” and “Save Bayonne” signs that could been seen around the city.
Immigration rights groups are accusing federal officials of issuing blanket bond denials to detainees as a way to send a clear message to others: the era of being allowed out while awaiting a deportation court hearing is over.
Maligned by critics for years as "catch-and-release," US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been clamping down on allowing detainees out while they await immigration court hearings, driving up the ranks of those in holding facilities, according to a letter sent to ICE Tuesday on behalf of more than 200 advocacy organizations.
They documented 805 cases at 37 immigration detention facilities of people they claim have been arbitrarily denied parole or bond since Jan. 20, said Christina Fialho, executive director of Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC).
“The 805 cases we documented are people we believe would have been granted parole or bond by [the Department of Homeland Security] under the Obama Administration,” Fialho said. “Many people who have been denied parole were given a cursory, at best, review of their case. Many received no explanation for the reasons why they were denied, even after attorneys tried to obtain more information from ICE.”
A razor wire fence surrounds the Adelanto immigration detention center, which is run by the Geo Group Inc.
Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Trump’s executive order on immigration had a chilling effect on parole and bonds issued by ICE, Fiahlo said. A February DHS memo called for an end to “catch-and-release” policies, increasing detention, and narrowing the circumstances under which someone can be paroled.
The letter said ICE field offices have told attorneys that their asylum-seeking clients, who passed credible fear interviews, have been denied parole because they couldn’t show humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit to being released.
Data analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University found that while the number of immigration cases under Trump weren’t much different compared to President Obama’s, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people detained by ICE.
Under Obama, 27% of people with immigration cases were detained, compared to Trump’s 61%. Many of them are held in detention facilities operated by private companies.
“What this means is that not only are more people being detained, but once they are detained, less people are being released,” Fiahlo said.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Customs and Border Protection Deputy Chief Ronald Vitiello.
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
Border Patrol Chief Ron Vitiello at a Senate hearing last week said ending the capture and release of undocumented immigrants while their court cases moved forward has been crucial to a drop in border apprehensions.
“The message is out, the executive order calls for the end of catch-and-release,” Vitiello said. “Our agents know and people who elect to cross the border know that when they get apprehended, if they request a deportation hearing, they’ll be held in custody until the hearing occurs.”
That wait can easily extend beyond a year.
ICE did not immediately return a request for comment.
However, Jamila Hammami, executive director of the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project, said people were not being granted bonds or given bonds they couldn’t afford even before Trump took office.
“The ability of anyone, not just an immigrant, to obtain a $20,000-bond is just not attainable,” Hammami said.
President Trump has been handing out his cell phone number to world leaders, urging them to call him directly on it, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, a breach of protocol that raises security concerns about the president's communications.
Among the world leaders who have been given the president's cell phone number are Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, according to the wire service. Trudeau is the only one who has spoken with Trump by cell phone so far, the report said.
Trump reportedly exchanged numbers with France's newly-elected President Emmanuel Macron as well. Macron spoke with Trump after his election victory, but French officials did not comment to the AP about whether the French leader planned to communicate with Trump on his cell phone.
The report comes just days after Trump wrapped up the first foreign trip of his presidency, which included stops at the Vatican, Israel, Saudi Arabia and attendance at the G-7 conference in Sicily with world leaders.
Trump's use of a cell phone for official communications raises concerns about the security of such calls, which are usually set up by White House staff on secure phone lines. Even if Trump is using a government-issued cell phone, the conversations could be open to surveillance, security experts told the AP.
"If you are speaking on an open line, then it's an open line, meaning those who have the ability to monitor those conversations are doing so," Derek Chollet, a former Pentagon advisor and National Security official told the AP.
The White House did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News requests for comment.
Even if the number is not used by world leaders, experts told the AP it could open the president to eavesdropping attempts by other nations.
"If you are Macron or the leader of any country and you get the cellphone number of the president of the United States, it's reasonable to assume that they'd hand it right over to their intel service," said Ashley Deeks, a law professor at the University of Virginia who previously worked as an assistant legal advisor for political-military affairs in the US State Department.
An exacerbated federal judge on Tuesday took the unusual step of slamming the Trump administration's push to deport a father back to Mexico, calling it as "inhumane" and "contrary to the values of this nation."
US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt in Hawaii said the court lacked the authority to block the March deportation order, paving the way for Andres Magana Ortiz's expulsion to Mexico.
Magana Ortiz came to the US illegally in 1989 when he was 15. The Hawaiian businessman was well established in the coffee farming industry and worked with the US Department of Agriculture in researching pests afflicting the island’s coffee crops, allowing the government to use his farm without charge to conduct a five-year study, the opinion states.
The 43-year-old undocumented immigrant has two driving under the influence convictions, the most recent one being 14 years ago. He was in the process of trying to obtain legal status through his wife when the federal government moved to deport him immediately.
“In doing so, the government forces us to participate in ripping apart a family,” Reinhardt wrote in his opinion. “Three United States-citizen children will now have to choose between their father and their country.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials did not immediately return a request for comment.
Reinhardt has a reputation for being the outspoken, politically divisive, and “reigning liberal lion” of the Ninth Circuit, according to Law360. Still, William Stock, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said this opinion stuck out for the judge's "calling out of the president in particular, and highlighting the inconsistency between the president's campaign rhetoric and this case."
"It would be more usual to speak of ‘the government's’ action in a particular case, rather than personalizing his opinion with the president himself," Stock told BuzzFeed News.
Reinhardt noted Trump signed a series of executive orders that did away with priorities that guided ICE and Border Patrol agents in determining who to deport, putting virtually anyone living illegally in the US at risk of deportation.
Now, he added, even officers of the law are being forced to comply, regardless of their personal beliefs.
"Magana Ortiz and his family are in truth not the only victims," Reinhardt wrote. "Among the others are judges who, forced to participate in such inhumane acts, suffer a loss of dignity and humanity as well. I concur as a judge, but as a citizen, I do not."
The man accused of killing an Army veteran and a recent college graduate on a Portland train shouting about patriotism, free speech, and the enemies of America in his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Jeremy Christian, a 35-year-old known locally as a white supremacist, was scheduled to be arraigned on charges that include aggravated murder. He charged in Friday's killings of 53-year-old Ricky John Best and 23-year-old Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, two men who stood up to Christian as he yelled at a Muslim teenager and her black friend.
As deputies led him into the courtroom, Christian began to rant.
"Free speech or die," he shouted. "This is America, get out if you don't like free speech."
He continued calling for death to the "enemies of America," including anti-fascists. Several men who appeared to be antifa protesters stood outside the hearing, and as a friend of Christian's from prison arrived, they chased him away.
As people outside the courtroom began to shout, deputies led Christian away through the secure back door. He did not make a plea, and the judge moved on to hear other cases.
In the audience was Micah Fletcher, who also tried to intervene in Friday's attack and was injured. Stitches and bruising were visible on his neck; Christian had slashed at all three men's throats, according to people at the scene.
Earlier Tuesday, the 21-year-old poet and student released a statement, ABC News reported.
"I want the Muslim community to know that they have a home here in Portland and are loved," he said. "I want to honor the families who lost their brave fathers, sons and brothers, and I want the media and the country to honor those families. I want to send my condolences and honor those families."
A post widely circulating around Facebook claimed a high school senior with Asperger's Syndrome was sexually assaulted by three three classmates in his Texas school's bathroom — though police said Tuesday that the incident did not meet the criteria for criminal charges.
According to the post, which claims to be written by the victim's cousin and has garnered more than 10,000 shares, two boys coerced a teen into pulling down his pants and exposing himself, while another male student stood guard at the bathroom door.
The post also said two boys "sexually manipulated" the teen and snapped pictures of his genitals and shared the picture on Twitter and Snapchat.
"Everyone in the school saw the picture," the post reads. "My cousin was scared for his life. People have taken advantage of his innocence and social awkwardness before, but this is the epitome of humiliation."
A spokesperson for the police department said authorities were made aware of an incident and that the department conducted an extensive investigation, which included interviews with the parties involved.
"Based on those interviews with all parties and other evidence that was reviewed it was determined that the incident in question did not meet the criteria for criminal charges," Coppell police said in a statement, without providing detail of what is alleged to have happened.
The teen and his parents were interviewed last week and understood that no criminal offense occurred based on the facts presented, police said.
The Coppell Independent School District issued a statement saying it is aware of a social media post circulating online.
"We would like to take the opportunity to assure our community that any and all allegations of sexual abuse/assault are taken seriously and investigations by Coppell ISD and the Coppell Police Department are being conducted in accordance to Board policy and the Student Code of Conduct," the statement reads. "Our number one priority is to provide a safe learning environment for all Coppell ISD students."
The original Facebook post detailing the incident slammed the school for not taking action against the alleged perpetrators.
"They're covering it up since those three boys are set to graduate next week and the school doesn't want to deal with it," the post reads.
Messages to Coppell High School's Board of Trustees were not immediately returned.
The photographer behind a controversial new picture of Kathy Griffin posing with the severed head of President Donald Trump — which has drawn widespread criticism — is defending his image as a valid form of artistic expression.
The photos were leaked to TMZ on Tuesday. "Trump's critics have skewered him for inciting violence with his speech. Did Kathy do the same?" TMZ wrote.
The picture set off a social media firestorm, with many condemning the image for its apparent display of violence against the President of the United States and lashing out at Griffin on her social channels.
"Trump is the social media president," photographer Tyler Shields told BuzzFeed News. "He is the most polarizing president we've ever had. With any type of person like that, art is going to be made about them."
"I like to make things and let people make up their own minds about it, but I understand with this that some people will praise it and some people will absolutely hate it," he said.
Shields, who is known for taking highly sexualized images of celebrities, said he photographed the comedian last week holding the bloodied prop, which he said was custom-made for the shoot.
He said the pair brainstormed several ideas for their photo shoot, after Griffin, whom he described as a friend, suggested she model for him again.
"I said, 'OK, how crazy do you want to get?'" Shields recalled. "And she was like, 'I'm ready and willing to push any or all boundaries. I'm down to get political, to get naked, to do whatever.'"
"I could never have done this photo with anyone else," he said, saying that Griffin was "such a polarizing figure" and was "fearless."
Representatives for Griffin did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in a behind-the-scenes video posted by the artist she said, "Tyler and I are not afraid to do images that make noise."
Shields said he communicated briefly with the star this morning to warn her the photos were set to come out. "She was like, 'I was born ready,'" he said.
The image was roundly denounced after its release, with many on social media noting the firestorm that would ensue were a conservative star to pose with a left-wing politician's head.
"You sick, disgusting person!" one person wrote on Griffin's Instagram account, which was flooded with negative comments. "Promoting murder is a new low even for liberals like you. You should be investigated. I'm a real American and you make me sick."
"Holding a head that's supposed to be Trump decapitated? Try doing that crap in any other country," wrote another person.
Conservatives and liberals also denounced Griffin on Twitter.
Griffin regularly co-hosts New Year's Eve celebrations on CNN with Anderson Cooper. A network spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
She also recently endorsed the Squatty Potty in a promotional video for the bathroom stool. Company CEO Robert Edwards also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Asked if he would ever photograph a conservative star holding the severed head of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, Shields indicated he hadn't considered it.
"For me, personally, that wasn't an image I ever thought about making," he said, saying such a photo didn't interest him and wasn't in line with his beliefs.
"I love the fact that I can make this image," he said. "Fortunately we still live in a world where I have the right to say what I want. A lot of people fought for that right.
"That being said, I really love Kathy and I hope they me visit her in Guantanamo."
It was important to Gerrell for people to know “a low income black man from Tacoma with a 5-year-old daughter” returned the money. He hopes this can help “reverse stereotypes.”
His mother died in December, and according to his older brother, Mario Small, it has hit McAllister especially hard.
He told BuzzFeed News he's been healing from the loss — but he's mostly focused on caring for his daughter.
Last Thursday, McAllister had a serendipitous encounter with a 30-year-old sales executive from Seattle named Melissa Trusler, and her dad, Alan. It all started with a mistaken Paypal payment.
Melissa Trusler
Trusler told BuzzFeed News her dad wanted to send her money as a 30th birthday gift to help her recoup the cost of a new couch she recently purchased.
So on Thursday morning, he sent Trusler $1,200 via PayPal using her phone number. However, her father had accidentally sent the amount to her old phone number.
That old number now belongs to McAllister in Tacoma.
Taliesin Namkai-Meche’s mother has called on President Trump to “take action” in condemning acts of violence “which result directly from hate speech & hate groups.”
On Friday, 23-year-old Taliesin Namkai-Meche was stabbed to death on a Portland train after trying to intervene when a man shouted hate speech towards two young women, one of whom was wearing a hijab, according to police.
Ricky John Best, a 53-year-old Army veteran and father of four, was also killed in the attack. Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, was stabbed but survived, and is now in recovery.
Over the weekend, neither President Trump nor the White House publicly mentioned the attack, which had garnered national headlines. An openletter from former CBS News anchor Dan Rather urging Trump to publicly honor the victims went viral.
On Monday, President Trump tweeted that the attacks were "unacceptable" from his @POTUS account.
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The letter was provided to BuzzFeed News by Namkai-Meche's brother, Chris Lejeune.
Read the full letter here:
Dear President Trump,
I’m writing to you today, Memorial Day, to share my heart after losing my son.
Taliesin died a hero, like many other Americans who have died defending freedom. He was just 23, a year out of college with a degree in economics, working, had just bought his first home and was thinking about starting a family. Our family grieves, but we are proud that through his selfless action he, along with the other two men, has changed the world, when in the face of hate he did not hesitate to act with love.
Two precious lives were lost this Memorial Day weekend in Portland and one more, nearly so. All three were strangers to each other, and to those they were defending. They fearlessly risked their lives for two young women who were threatened by an act of bigotry & terror. These brave men saw the immediate injustice and didn’t hesitate to act. They recognized the truth: we are more alike than we are different. To ride the train home without being assaulted because of the color of your skin or your religious beliefs, is an inalienable right.
You have said that you will be President for all Americans. So, I ask you Mr. President to take action at this time. Your words and actions are meaningful, here in America and throughout the world.
Please encourage all Americans to protect and watch out for one another. Please condemn any acts of violence, which result directly from hate speech & hate groups. I am praying you will use your leadership to do so.
It would deeply honor Taliesin’s sacrifice, which has been amplified by the millions of voices who have supported our family in response to this tragedy.
With Peace In My Heart,
Asha Deliverance
Namkai-Meche's mother first posted about her son's death on Saturday in now-viral Facebook post. "He was a hero and will remain a hero on the other side of the veil," she wrote.
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer who went viral last year for a terse CNN interview, has been contacted by congressional investigators probing Russian meddling in the presidential election, he told media.
Cohen first told ABC News that House and Senate investigators have asked him “to provide information and testimony" about contacts he has had with people connected to the Kremlin, but he had declined to comply.
"I declined the invitation to participate as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad, and not capable of being answered,” Cohen told ABC News.
Reached by phone twice on Tuesday, Cohen said he would call back soon, then hung up. He also did not immediately respond to an email.
However, he told CNN's Jim Acosta: "They have yet to produce one single piece of credible evidence that would corroborate the Russia narrative."
Senate Intelligence Committee members voted unanimously on Thursday to give Republican Chairman Richard Burr and Democratic Vice Chairman Mark Warner "blanket authority" to issue subpoenas in their probe, Burr told reporters.
Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, has refused to comply with a Senate subpoena, invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination.
Cohen's name appeared in the unverified dossier on Trump compiled by a former British intelligence agent and published by BuzzFeed News in January. The document alleged Cohen had traveled to Prague for a secret meeting with Russians, which he has repeatedly said is false.
After first tweeting a photograph of his passport cover as evidence he had never visited the Czech Republic, Cohen allowed BuzzFeed News to photograph the inside of his passport earlier this month. The passport shows Cohen has traveled the globe since 2009, the year the document was issued. However, there is no stamp showing Cohen visited the Czech Republic.
Cohen is also a familiar face to many because of the gruff and instantly viral interview he had with CNN's Brianna Keilar in August last year when Trump was low in the polls.
"Says who?" he repeatedly asked Keilar in response to her assertion that Trump's campaign was down.
"Polls. Most of them. All of them?" she answered.
"Says who?" Cohen repeated.
"Polls. I just told you. I answered your question."
In Italy over the weekend, US President Donald Trump took time to compliment foreign world leaders and reportedly referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "Justin from Canada".
Worshippers during a service at the Bernards Township Community Center in Basking Ridge, N.J. in 2017.
Julio Cortez / AP
A town in New Jersey has to pay an Islamic Society $3.25 million in a legal settlement after officials denied approval to build a mosque after 39 hearings that lasted for four years.
In two separate federal lawsuits filed in March and November of 2016, the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge and Department of Justice, respectively, accused Bernards Township — just 50-miles east of Manhattan — of violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
M. Ali Chaudry, of the Basking Ridge, N.J. mosque, speaks in 2015
Mel Evans / AP
The lawsuits accuse the town's planning board of having different zoning standards for a mosque compared to other houses of worship.
"What should have been a simple board approval for a permitted use devolved into a Kafkaesque process that spanned an unprecedented four years and included 39 public hearings," the March, 2016 lawsuit read.
As part of the settlement with the DOJ, the town has agreed to allow the Islamic society to construct a mosque on its property. The town also agreed to change ordinances to limit the zoning restrictions placed on all houses of worship. The payment includes damages and attorney fees.
"Municipalities around the country should pay close attention to what happened in Bernards Township," said Adeel Mangi, lead attorney for the Islamic Society, in a statement. "The American Muslim community has the legal resources, the allies, and the determination to stand up for its constitutional rights in court and will do so.” Mangi's also said it will donate $1.75 million in attorney fees to "to a variety of charitable and other worthy causes."
Dr. Mohammad Ali Chaudry, the plaintiff and president of ISBR, said he was “pleased by this resolution and hope to receive prompt approval to build our mosque." Dr. Choudry, who once served as mayor of Bernards Township, also said the mosque's "doors will be open to anyone interested in building bridges to promote harmony in the community and peace in the world.”
During the long application process, where each meeting was widely attended by the public and every aspect of the application scrutinized, the Islamic Society was also subject to incidents of vandalism and social media harassment, according to the group's lawsuit.
Some posts about the proposed mosque on on the internet were titled, "A mosque by any other name is still a potential terrorist indoctrination center."
ISBR lawsuit
The group also alleges their mailbox was vandalized and the group's name was changed to appear like "ISIS."
Residents complained that the proposed mosque would result in parking and traffic problems, while other said the mosque made them "nervous."
ISBR lawsuit
“Federal law requires towns to treat religious land use applications like any other land use application,” Acting US Attorney Fitzpatrick said. “Bernards Township made decisions that treated the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge differently than other houses of worship. The settlement announced today corrects those decisions and ensures that members of this religious community have the same ability to practice their faith as all other religions.”
The township also agreed that their elected leaders and other employees will undergo training on the requirements of RLUIPA. It has also agreed to publicize its non-discrimination policies and periodically report to the Justice Department on its compliance with the settlement agreement.
RULIPA was passed by Congress in 2000 and is designed to “protect individuals, houses of worship, and other religious institutions from discrimination in zoning and landmarking laws,” according to the Justice Department.
The town's planning board and committee both voted to settle the lawsuits at meetings last week, on May 23, 2016.
The Cleveland police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice has been fired by the department, officials announced Tuesday.
Timothy Loehmann’s termination is “effective immediately,” Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said at press conference announcing the results of the city’s investigation into the rookie cop who fatally shot Rice outside a park pavilion while responding to a call in November 2014 with partner, Cleveland police officer Frank Garmback.
Director of Public Safety for Cleveland also announced that Garmback will be suspended for 10 days and given additional training for his role in the deadly incident.
The decision to fire Loehmann and reprimand Garmback comes more than two years after Rice was killed.
“There's a 12 year old kid dead — people on both sides are going to say we didn't do enough or we did too much,” Williams said Tuesday. “We have to go through our process. We have to be fair and objective to our process.”
In 2015, a grand jury declined to criminally charge Loehmann in the Rice shooting.
This is part of a coordinated campaign to create fake accounts in an attempt to troll and discredit anti-fascists activists.
There's recently been a spike in the creation of fake Twitter accounts that claim to be linked to activists in the United States who call themselves anti-fascists or Antifa. Here's what some of the imposter bios look like:
Other accounts aren't as obvious about their trolling, making it more confusing for people.
The accounts are being set up a way to mock Antifa, and to discredit it by tweeting out hoaxes and offensive comments. The campaign has also in some cases spread to the streets.
BuzzFeed
Memorial Day provided an occasion for the fake @OfficialAntifa account to send out tweets that falsely claimed to show the group's desecration of military cemeteries.
None of the photos in the above tweet are from Memorial Day 2017, and none of them are related to Antifa campaigns. The "Fuck Militarism" graffiti was done in October 2015, and the image of the knocked-down crosses is from Memorial Day 2016 when a man drove his car through the cemetery. The third image of graves with swasticas spray-painted on them is from a cemetery in France in 2004 — and the graves belong to Muslim soldiers.
The same Twitter account sent another tweet with more images taken from unrelated incidents. As with the other tweet, it tagged fake Antifa accounts to suggest this was the result of coordinated action.
The photo of the "Tear It Down" graffiti is from North Carolina in 2015. The "Not Heroes" image is also from North Carolina, but was taken in 2016. In both cases, people spray-painted memorials to Confederate soldiers. The image of knocked-down crosses is from the same 2016 incident in Kentucky referenced in the above tweet.
Many replies to the tweets are from people who think the images show actual Antifa actions on Memorial Day. "At what point in time can they be considered domestic terrorists and can be taken dead or alive?" asked one person.
Hirschfield told BuzzFeed News that one of her friends had tweeted the meme a couple of weeks back, so she and another friend printed it and hung it up in the cafeteria while the underclassmen were taking their final exams.
Manuel Noriega, the former military dictator of Panama who was removed from power in a 1989 US invasion and jailed for decades, has died. He was 83.
The cause of death, which was announced on Twitter by Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, was not immediately known. Noriega was released from prison in January 2017 to undergo brain surgery, but his daughter said on March 7 that he had suffered a hemorrhage and was critically ill.
"The death of Manuel A. Noriega closes a chapter in our history; his daughters and his relatives deserve to bury him in peace," Varela wrote on Twitter.
Once a key US ally and an informant for the CIA, Noriega fell out of Washington's favor as he tightened his grip on power in Panama, brutally cracking down on activists and eliminating his political opponents. His eventual US indictment on drug trafficking charges gave President George H. W. Bush the political cover he needed to launch an invasion of Panama to oust Noriega, who would spend the next two decades imprisoned in the US, France, and Panama.
"The saga of Panama’s General Manuel Antonio Noriega represents one of the most serious foreign policy failures for the United States," a US Senate subcommittee declared in 1988. "Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Noriega was able to manipulate US policy toward his country, while skillfully accumulating near-absolute power in Panama.
"It is clear that each US government agency which had a relationship with Noriega turned a blind eye to his corruption and drug dealing," the committee wrote.
Noriega's 1990 mugshot.
Bettmann / Getty Images
Born Feb. 11, 1938, in Panama City, Noriega was recruited by the CIA when he was enrolled in a military school in Peru, and received training in psychological operations at Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina.
While serving in the Panamanian national guard, he was involved in a 1968 military coup that helped to oust President Arnulfo Arias and elevate Gen. Omar Torrijos to power. As a reward for his loyalty, Noriega swiftly rose through the ranks to serve as lieutenant colonel and the chief of military intelligence.
After Torrijos's mysterious death in a 1981 plane crash, Noriega was able to consolidate power by taking command of the national guard, unifying the different branches of the armed forces, and promoting himself to the rank of general. By the end of 1983, he was the country's de facto leader.
Noriega with then Vice President George Bush in Panama City in 1983.
Thames TV "This Week"/ ASSOCIATED PRESS
Despite Panama's reputation as a key player in the international drug trade, Noriega was able to please Washington by offering assistance during the Iran-Contra affair, in which senior Reagan administration officials, hoping to fund anti-government Contra fighters in Nicaragua, facilitated arms sales to Iran. In addition to supporting the Contras and allowing the US to set up "listening posts" in Panama, Reagan officials later said Noriega even offered to carry out assassinations.
But his brutality and criminal behavior eventually led to his undoing.
In 1987, Noriega's own second-in-command accused him of drug trafficking, rigging elections, and killing Hugo Spadafora, a guerrilla fighter and a vocal political opponent whose beheaded body was found in the Costa Rican countryside in 1985. Street protests demanding an investigation into the murder were swiftly crushed.
Noriega in 1988.
Carlos Guardia / ASSOCIATED PRESS
A federal grand jury in Miami indicted Noriega in 1988 on charges of drug trafficking, prompting President Ronald Reagan to impose sanctions and leading to a diplomatic crisis that was especially troublesome given Noriega's control of the Panama Canal, an important shipping route.
After a failed coup, Noriega was again accused of rigging a 1989 election and then using force to quash opposition protests.
When a US Marine was shot dead by Panamanian forces on Dec. 16, 1989, President George H.W. Bush ordered an American invasion four days later to remove Noriega from power and restore democracy as part of "Operation Just Cause."
"The Panamanian people want democracy, peace, and the chance for a better life in dignity and freedom," Bush said in a televised address. "The people of the United States seek only to support them in pursuit of these noble goals."
Noriega sought refuge in a Vatican embassy, leading the US to blast deafening rock music at the diplomatic outpost for 10 straight days until Noriega surrendered.
Drug Enforcement Agents help Noriega into a transport plane to Florida.
Charles M. Reger / AP
Spirited away to Miami, he was convicted of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering, and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
He was eventually extradited to France in 2010 and sentenced to more jail time on money laundering charges. However, Paris agreed the following year to send him back to Panama where he had been convicted in absentia of murdering political opponents, including Spadafora.
