- WorldThe Independent
Trump news – live: President and Epstein clashed over teen girl at Mar-a-Lago, new book says, as White House condemned for claiming Beirut blast was bomb attack
US president Donald Trump suggested a “bomb” was involved in a “terrible attack” on Beirut on Tuesday after a massive explosion shook the Lebanese capital. Citing US military officials as his source, Mr Trump also contradicted Lebanese reports which blamed the explosion on tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at a portside warehouse.Those comments were soon condemned, with one ex-national security official calling the president’s comments “wildly irresponsible” as Lebanese authorities continued to assess the situation, with at least 100 dead and thousands wounded.
- U.S.Yahoo News UK
Man found guilty of raping and murdering childhood friend who 'trusted' him
Wesley Streete had been asked to walk Keeley Bunker home after a night out.
- CelebrityE!
Kourtney Kardashian's Son Reign Disick Shaves His Head and She's "Not OK"
Kourtney Kardashian joked she's "not ok" after son Reign Disick cuts off all his hair in favor of a trimmer style. Nonetheless, the mom said she "loves" it.
- ScienceTechCrunch
Watch SpaceX's stunning Starship prototype 'hop' test flight and landing
SpaceX achieved a big win in their Starship spacecraft development program on Tuesday evening, flying the SN5 prototype of that future vehicle to a height of around 500 feet, propelled by a single Raptor engine. The test, which took place at SpaceX's rocket development and testing facility in Boca Chica, Texas, marks the first time that a full-scale Starship prototype has left the ground. The company released a video of the whole test, including footage captured both from a drone's-eye-view, as well as from a camera mounted on board Starship SN5, inside the fuselage and offering a look at the Raptor engine in action, as well as the landing legs activating in preparation for landing.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
Beirut Ignored Public Warning There Was a Russian ‘Bomb’ at the Port
Years before a devastating blast killed at least 100 people and injured more than 4,000 in Beirut Tuesday, a maritime analyst issued a public warning that a Russian “floating bomb” was languishing in the city’s docks.Maritime monitoring systems tracked the Rhosus into port in Beirut in September 2013. The ship, which was flagged in Moldova, listed its official cargo as “agricultural commodities.” The 2,750 metric ton cargo of ammonium nitrate would primarily be used for fertilizers or high power explosives. To put it in context, less than two metric tons of ammonium nitrate was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The Russian-owned cargo ship called into port in Beirut for reasons unknown, possibly after running into trouble at sea en route from Georgia to Mozambique. Beirut authorities blocked it from leaving and the dangerous cargo was offloaded and stored in Hanger 12 in the port a year later, according to the maritime monitoring website Fleetmon. The crew members were prohibited from disembarking due to immigration concerns. The status of the ship and its crew is yet unknown. Mikhail Voytenko, a Russian maritime analyst based in Thailand, warned in July 2014 that the ship, which he said was owned by a Russian operator, was effectively a “floating bomb.” Voytenko said the ship’s owners had abandoned the ship and its crew, and the Lebanese authorities had failed to protect the deadly cargo. “There are a lot of restrictions, regulations and rules to stick to when talking about storing explosives like ammonium but they just stored it in a warehouse and forgot about it,” he told The Daily Beast by phone from close to the Laem Chabang port in Thailand where he works.Voytenko said he had not immediately realized the massive explosion in Beirut was linked to his earlier warnings. “I didn't think anything at the time, because I didn't know this was the main suspect,” he said. “It happens, it happens, what can I say?”As well as the public warning, Lebanese officials had repeatedly ignored warnings by port authorities about the ammonium nitrate that sparked the devastating explosion.Badri Daher, the current head of Lebanon’s customs authority, told reporters on the scene that the explosion was linked to the ammonium nitrate. Several people in the open source intelligence community later tweeted photos of loosely packed bags of white powder, assumed to be the substance. The Daily Beast has not verified the authenticity of the photos.On June 27, 2014, Shafik Merhi, then head of the Lebanese Customs Authority wrote to Lebanese officials under the heading “urgent matters,” asking for help to secure the explosives, according to a copy of the letter shared on Twitter by human rights activist Wadih Al Asmar. Merhi then reportedly sent five more letters, in December 5, 2014, May 6, 2015, May 20, 2016, October 13, 2016, and October 27, 2017, pleading for help, according to Al Jazeera, which reports one as saying, “In view of the serious danger of keeping these goods in the hangar in unsuitable climatic conditions, we reaffirm our request to please request the marine agency to re-export these goods immediately to preserve the safety of the port and those working in it, or to look into agreeing to sell this amount.”Another letter, this time written by Daher, the incoming head of Lebanese Customs Authority reiterated the warning of “the danger of leaving these goods in the place they are, and to those working there.”Lebanon’s new prime minister Hassan Diab, who came to the job in January 2020, alluded to the theory that the devastation could have been avoided, promising that “all those responsible for this catastrophe will pay a price.”President Donald Trump referred to the explosion as an attack, though local authorities say it was likely set off by a welder working nearby. “I’ve met with some of our great generals and they just seem to feel that . . . this was not some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event,” Trump said at a White House briefing. “They seem to think it was an attack. It was a bomb of some kind.”On Wednesday, hundreds were still reported missing from the massive explosion, which generated seismic waves similar to a 3.3 magnitude earthquake. Beirut port, which is dubiously nicknamed the Cave of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves because of the alleged corruption tied to its management, has been under intense scrutiny in recent months after the October Revolution began last fall. 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.
- U.S.Yahoo Sports
Navy SEALs cut ties to national museum after Colin Kaepernick K-9 demonstration video
Dogs in a K-9 demonstration last year attacked a man wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey, who later joked about the former quarterback’s protests.
- LifestyleMarie Claire
Ryan Reynolds Says He and Blake Lively Are "Unreservedly Sorry" for Their Plantation Wedding
"Shame works in weird ways."
