| Jason Coffman, the father of one of the victims of the Thousand Oaks massacre that left 12 victims dead, shared the horror of losing his son in an interview with NBC4. “I was woken up at my house by some knocking on my door. Some girls that were there said there was a mass shooting at Borderline where my son was and he didn’t come out,” Coffman said, speaking at the family unification center while waiting for news. At about 10 a.m. PT, Coffman received confirmation that his 22-year-old son, Cody, was one of the victims. Cody was preparing to enlist in the military, the grieving dad said. “I’m gonna cry,” he said. “It’s tough to know that there’s people out there that are here to ruin others families, ruin lives.” He told reporters that Cody left “a legacy of love (and) laughter.” He later told another outlet that his last words to his son had been “I love you.” California Lutheran University has also confirmed that 23-year-old Justin Meek, a recent graduate, was among those killed in the shooting, according to KQED. |
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| A former Marine Corps radio operator was one of the 12 people killed Wednesday night when a Marine veteran shot up a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, Task and Purpose reports. Dan Manrique—a 33-year-old veteran and head of the Ventura County chapter of veterans non-profit Team Red, White & Blue—was reportedly killed when 29-year-old Ian David Long opened fire inside Borderline Grill & Bar. Manrique’s childhood friend, Jacklyn Pieper, told the website that Manrique was meeting a group of friends at the bar when “all hell broke loose” inside. “His whole plan was to see the world and get leadership experience, and he was able to do that in those four years [in the Corps],” Pieper told the website. “Everything he did was selfless.” Manrique was reportedly deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, serving with the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. The website reports he was an “active member” of his local veterans community. “He was all about giving back to the veterans community and creating that community,” Pieper said. “His whole life was based around helping others.” |
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| Fox News on Thuesday issued a condemnation of the protests targeting its host Tucker Carlson’s home in Northwest D.C. According to reports, antifa group Smash Racism D.C. demonstrated outside Carlson’s family home Wednesday evening, protesting his xenophobic and white-nationalist-friendly rhetoric and allegedly damaging the front door. “The incident that took place at Tucker’s home last night was reprehensible. The violent threats and intimidation tactics toward him and his family are completely unacceptable,” the network said in a statement from its CEO Suzanne Scott and president Jay Wallace. “We as a nation have become far too intolerant of different points of view. Recent events across our country clearly highlight the need for a more civil, respectful, and inclusive national conversation. Those of us in the media and in politics bear a special obligation to all Americans, to find common ground.” |
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| Sister, Sister star Tamera Mowry-Housley and her husband confirmed Thursday afternoon that their 22-year-old niece Alaina Housley was killed in the Borderline bar shooting. “Our hearts are broken,” a statement from the couple reads. “Alaina was an incredible young woman with so much life ahead of her and we are devastated that her life was cut short in this manner.” Earlier in the day, Mowry-Housley had been frantically searching on Twitter for information about her niece, a Pepperdine freshman who was at the Borderline Bar & Grill last night when a gunman opened fire. Twelve victims were killed in the shooting, and multiple people were injured. Mowry-Housley first responded to a tweet by her niece’s suitemate, who was searching for Alaina. According to other tweets by the suitemate, several girls from Alaina’s residence hall went to Borderline Wednesday evening to line dance. Mowry-Housley is married to former Fox News correspondent Adam Housley. |
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| Apple took over the tech world with their launch of AirPods, but the price is a gut check for anyone that wanted to take part in it. But, now you can get wireless, Bluetooth headphones of your own for just $30. These Air Buds promise crisp audio for up to 2.5 hours at a time, plus you can recharge them up to 10 times before you have to plug the case in to pump the juice. Air Buds are sweatproof, ergonomic, and will work to make and answer phone calls on the go. At just $29.99, they're a fraction of what you'd pay for other wireless ear buds, so it's basically a no-brainer. Get Bluetooth 4.2 tech without the bulk of traditional, wired Bluetooth headphones. Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales. |
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| The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday announced new sanctions over Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. The list includes Russian and Ukrainian individuals and entities believed to be involved with the Kremlin’s efforts in Crimea. “The United States is leveraging new authorities to target Russian actors for serious human rights abuses in parts of Ukraine that the United States government has determined are forcibly occupied or otherwise controlled by the Russian government, and other reprehensible acts in furtherance of the Kremlin’s malign agenda,” said Sigal Mandelker, the under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. The announcement comes ahead of a potential meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin when they travel to France next weekend for Armistice Day celebrations. |
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| More than 60,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors have been killed or injured in post-9/11 wars, according to a Thursday report from Brown University’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs. That tally only includes casualties that occurred during wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan—and does not include indirect deaths like starvation or lack of medicine—meaning that the true total is likely much higher. Overall, the report notes, wars in those three countries have caused between 480,000 and 507,000 deaths on all sides of the conflicts, about half of which occurred in Iraq alone. “This update just scratches the surface of the human consequences of 17 years of war,” the report notes. “Too often, legislators, NGOs, and the news media that try to track the consequences of the wars are inhibited by governments determined to paint a rosy picture of perfect execution and progress. The US has made some effort to increase transparency, but there are a number of areas—the number of civilians killed and injured, and the number of US military and veteran suicides, for instance—where greater transparency would lead to greater accountability and could lead to better policy.” |
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| Federal charges have been filed against the captain of a Missouri duck boat that capsized in a lake last July, killing 17 people, according to an Associated Press report. An indictment filed Thursday charges Kenneth Scott McKee, 51, with “17 counts of misconduct, negligence or inattention to duty by a ship’s officer resulting in death.” Federal prosecutors claim McKee did not tell duck boat passengers to “put on their flotation devices or prepare to abandon ship” when a “sudden and severe storm” swept through as they were cruising on Table Rock Lake. The indictment also alleges that McKee blocked the boat’s exits by lowering plastic side curtains. Several lawsuits have reportedly been filed against boat operator Ripley Entertainment and others involved in the manufacturing and operation of the boats. One Indiana family lost nine relatives in the tragedy. |
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| House Democrats will likely reinstate a special committee focusing on climate change that was shuttered by Republicans in 2011, according to a Thursday report from Bloomberg News. Nancy Pelosi, who will likely be re-elected as speaker of the House, will reportedly work to bring back the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which was originally formed 11 years ago. Although the committee likely won’t be able to draft legislation itself, it could help Democrats make climate change a more prominent legislative issue. In the past, Bloomberg notes, its work helped establish a foundation for 2009 cap-and-trade legislation. “They can only do messaging,” an environmental policy expert told Bloomberg, but the “committee can have as many messaging hearings as their little hearts desire.” |
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| Congressional Democrats took their first step Thursday to investigate the Trump administration for firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, something they fear will herald the suppression of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of President Trump’s ties to Russia. The likely incoming House Democratic chairs of the intelligence, judiciary, oversight committees, joined by Senate Judiciary ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein, formally requested the preservation of “all documents, records, memoranda, correspondence and other communication” relevant to “the work of the Office of the Special Counsel” or Sessions’ Wednesday afternoon firing. Reps. Adam Schiff, Jerrold Nadler, Elijah Cummings, and Sen. Feinstein sent letters requesting the document preservation to the White House counsel, the new acting attorney general Matt Whitaker, FBI director Christopher Wray, U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York Robert Khuzami. Less obviously, they sent the same request to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, CIA Director Gina Haspel, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig and National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone. “We remind you that concealing, removing or destroying such documents may constitute a crime,” the Democrats wrote to the various Trump administration recipients. —Spencer Ackerman |
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