‘Malibu sniper’ convicted of murdering California dad shot dead in camping tent
A man has been convicted in the murder of a scientist shot dead on a family camping trip while sharing a tent with his young daughters in a California state park. Anthony Rauda, 46, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Tristan Beaudette, 35, who was fatally shot in June 2018 at Malibu Creek State Park. He was also convicted of multiple burglaries and three counts of attempted murder: two counts related to opening fire in the direction of Beaudette’s daughters and a third related to shooting a Tesla driver, the Los Angeles Times reported. The defendant, who has been convicted of attacking two sheriff’s deputies since his arrest in late 2018, declined attendance at trial but will be present for sentencing next month. Prosecutors painted a picture of Rauda’s “pattern of stalking and preying upon campers.” He had been charged with seven other counts of attempted murder but was acquitted this month after he could not be definitively tied to the scenes. Mr Beaudette had been sleeping in a tent with his daughters, aged two and four, in the early morning hours of 22 June 2018. when he was fatally shot in the head. During the trial, his brother-in-law emotionally described awaking to hear one of his niece’s crying and saying “Wet, wet,” ABC7 reported. He attempted to wake up his brother but found his own hand “covered in blood,” realising in shock that he should remove Mr Beaudette’s girls from the tent. “I noticed there was nothing in his eyes,” he said of his brother-in-law. Mr Beaudette, a research scientist from Irvine, “was the last of 11 people Rauda was accused of shooting at over the course of two years,” the LA Times reported. In several instances, Rauda shot at moving vehicles or at campers in hammocks, wounding people on more than one occasion, prosecutors said. “Most of the early attacks involved the use of what prosecutors described as an ‘improvised shotgun’ filled with pellets that did not cause anyone life-threatening injuries,” the paper reported, but the defendant “at some point upgraded to a sawed-off rifle, the weapon used in each of the counts he was convicted of Friday.” Prosecutors said that Rauda sought to kill victims in creative ways during his spree. “He’s actively trying to do something that you know would cause death when he researches how to blow up a car by shooting out a gas tank, and then you see that he shoots at a BMW,” LA County Deputy District Attorney Antonella Nistorescu said in closing arguments, according to the LA Times. Rauda is due in court on 7 June for sentencing. Mr Beaudette, who met his wife in high school, had been planning to move with his family to the Bay Area the week following the shooting. His widow, Erica Wu, filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s department, State Parks and others following her husband’s murder, alleging authorities had failed to adequately warn the public at shootings in the area where Mr Beaudette was ultimately killed – but a judge in 2021 ruled against her. Read More British man left in Sudan shot by sniper before wife dies of starvation Mother-of-six killed in road-rage incident after driver shot into her moving car Family speak out after scientist dad shot dead on California camping trip with daughters, 2 and 4 On 1st anniversary of Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, Biden will push for more gun control
2023-05-28 02:16
Trump spokeswoman appears to mock Pete Buttigieg’s military service over Memorial Day weekend
In a Twitter spat between spokespeople for the top two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, the military service of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared to be used as a cudgel against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington tweeted on Saturday: “Ron ‘Dee-Santis’ has run for 4 different offices in the past 7 years. That’s not someone who’s in it for the country, it’s someone who’s in it for himself.” The “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account then responded, saying that “the Trump campaign said @RonDeSantis is ‘not someone who’s in it for the country.’” “Here’s our response,” they added, sharing images of Mr DeSantis in his Navy uniform and from his time serving in Iraq, a clear dig at former President Donald Trump, who avoided joining the military by claiming that he had medical issues that prevented him from serving. Ms Harrington then replied by only posting an image of the transportation secretary in his military gear, seemingly in an attempt to denigrate the service of both Mr Buttigieg and Mr DeSantis. Mr Buttigieg served as an intelligence officer with the US Naval Reserve and was deployed to Afghanistan for seven months. The response prompted criticism from Twitter users, who slammed the spokeswoman for appearing to use the Democrat’s military service to criticise Mr Trump’s main rival for the GOP nomination over Memorial Day weekend. “Great way to dump on veterans and people in uniform... You nailed this one Liz,” one Twitter user said. “Let’s mock vets over Memorial Day weekend. I’m sure that is a great strategy,” another added, to which a third referenced Mr Trump’s criticism of late Arizona Senator John McCain, who spent five years in captivity in Vietnam. Mr Trump once said he only liked soldiers who “weren’t captured”. “The official Trump campaign chooses Memorial Day weekend to tweet that men and women who served in uniform should be viewed with suspicion,” Donny Ferguson added. “‘Serving your country is dishonorable because libs do it’ is an interesting campaign message,” one Twitter user said. “Why would the spokeswoman for Cadet Bone Spurs think she’s in any position to talk?” another account holder added, referencing Mr Trump’s draft dodging excuse. Read More Ron DeSantis news – live: Don Jr shares AI-doctored clip of The Office showing DeSantis wearing woman’s suit Donald Trump Jr shares doctored Office clip showing Ron DeSantis wearing a woman’s suit Prosecutors have recording of Trump speaking to witness in hush money criminal case Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
2023-05-28 02:15
New Iowa law restricts gender identity education, bans books with sexual content
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a sweeping bill into law Friday that will restrict education about gender identity and sexual orientation and ban books with certain sexual content from school libraries, as well as require schools to notify parents if their child asks to use a new name or pronoun.
2023-05-28 01:56
US-Led Pacific Group Reaches Deal on Supply Chain Resilience
Fourteen countries in US-led Indo-Pacific trade talks agreed on supply chain coordination, the most substantial progress so far
2023-05-28 01:50
Truce reduces fighting in Sudan, but little relief for humanitarian crisis
By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir DUBAI/CAIRO Khartoum was calmer on Saturday as a seven-day ceasefire appeared to
2023-05-28 01:30
Scientists might have discovered a simple way to stop the ageing process
The feeling of hunger could be a simple way to stop the ageing process, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Michigan tricked fruit flies into feeling hungry which resulted in the insects living longer – even when they eat their calorie intake. The study - published in Science - suggests that the perception of insatiable hunger alone can generate the anti-aging effects of intermittent fasting. (And since it’s the perception rather than actual hunger, it means the bugs don’t actually have to starve). Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "We've sort of divorced [the life extending effects of diet restriction] from all of the nutritional manipulations of the diet that researchers had worked on for many years to say they're not required," physiologist Scott Pletcher said, as per Michigan Medicine. "The perception of not enough food is sufficient." You may have heard the term intermittent fasting before, as it is a popular diet fad that consists of going for extended periods of time without eating, followed by a period of eating normally, according to Bupa. Despite its popularity, evidence supporting its benefits is limited in terms of research on humans. Perhaps you’re thinking… why fruit flies? Well, the insects actually share 75 percent of the same disease-related genes as us, while also sharing similar qualities to mammals in terms of their metabolisms and brains, according to Science Alert. In the research, branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) essential nutrients that appear to trigger feelings of fullness in flies when consumed, were used. The fruit flies maintained their hunger through getting fed snacks low in BCAA and their hunger was noticed through how much the insects ate from a buffet of food hours after eating the snack. More food was consumed by flies who earlier ate a low-BCAA snack, and they choose protein over carbs, focusing on what their hungry bodies needed. From learning this, the team directly activated the neurons in fruit flies that trigger hunger responses, they found these hunger-stimulated flies also lived longer. "Demonstration of the sufficiency of hunger to extend life span reveals that motivational states alone can be deterministic drivers of ageing," Pletcher and colleagues wrote in the findings. Along with fruit flies, rodents have also been part of the study and both seems to suggest calorie restriction can extend life and is good for our health too. Though of course, more extensive research is required to see whether or not this is also the case with humans. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-05-28 01:27
Ukraine war: Russian Ambassador Andrei Kelin issues warning of escalation in Ukraine
Andrei Kelin tells Laura Kuenssberg Russia has "enormous resources" but UK and US weapons are to blame.
2023-05-28 01:22
Anger, sleep issues, depression: How PTSD took control of this soldier's life
Kyle Prellberg served two combat tours as a sniper for the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, he was wounded by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade that struck his vehicle, and he was sent home to the US. That's when the war inside his head began.
2023-05-28 01:18
Utah toddler hit in the head by a stray bullet while playing in a fenced area of day care, police say
A 2-year-old boy is recovering at a Utah hospital after being hit in the head by a stray bullet while playing with other children outside in the fenced area of a day care, police said.
2023-05-28 00:50
New bill to build Athletics stadium on Las Vegas Strip caps Nevada's cost at $380 million
The Oakland Athletics are asking Nevada for $380 million for a 30,000-seat, $1.5 billion retractable roof stadium on the Las Vegas Strip
2023-05-28 00:18
Donald Trump Jr shares doctored Office clip showing Ron DeSantis wearing a woman’s suit
Donald Trump Jr has shared a seemingly AI-generated clip of Ron DeSantis edited into the role of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott in The Office in a clip in which the character is mocked for wearing a woman’s suit. “Imagine when next time it’s not an obvious spoof from The Office but an attempt to depict itself as legitimate and much more nefarious,” CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted. “Don Jr among others has shared this video. I don’t think any of us are ready for this next election online,” Alex Thompson of Axios said. Democratic consultant Tim Hogan added that “Folks, we simply are not ready for the 2024 GOP primary memes”. “Rhonda Santis is a perfect drag name, just saying,” Mr Hogan tweeted. Philip Germain at the Lincoln Project added: “I am once again asking for Steve Carrell to play DeSantis on SNL.” “I for one welcome the onslaught of election-season deepfakes,” Jesse Walker of Reason magazine wrote. As the mockery continued of Mr DeSantis’s glitch-ridden campaign launch, the Florida governor began to push back. He slammed his main rival for the 2024 GOP nomination, former President Donald Trump, claiming he “is a different guy” than when he first ran for president. Mr Trump is leading all other Republican candidates for the party’s presidential nomination, with Mr DeSantis running in second place, according to polls. Mr DeSantis officially embarked on his own bid for the White House earlier this week in a chaotic Twitter Spaces event with billionaire Elon Musk. The governor told radio host Matt Murphy that he was running to the right of Mr Trump and portrayed himself as more conservative, according to USA Today. “It seems like he’s running to the left and I have always been somebody that’s just been moored in conservative principles,” said Mr DeSantis. “So these will be interesting debates to have, but I can tell you, you don’t win nationally by moving to the left, you win nationally by standing for bold policy. We showed that in Florida. I never watered down anything I did.” And Mr DeSantis claimed that Mr Trump is not the same person who first ran for office. “I don’t know what happened to Donald Trump – this is a different guy today than when he was running in 2015 and 2016 and I think the direction that he’s going with his campaign is the wrong direction,” Mr DeSantis said. And he attacked Mr Trump over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic while in office. “I think [Trump] did great for three years, but when he turned the country over to Fauci in March of 2020 that destroyed millions of people’s lives,” Mr DeSantis said on a podcast. “And in Florida, we were one of the few that stood up, cut against the grain, took incoming fire from media, bureaucracy, the left, even a lot of Republicans, had school open, preserved businesses.” Read More Florida mom who tried to ban Amanda Gorman’s book has ties to far-right groups DeSantis accuses Trump of ‘moving to the left’ as he tells ex-president: ‘You’ve changed’ Ron DeSantis news – live: Don Jr shares AI-doctored clip of The Office showing DeSantis wearing woman’s suit Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
2023-05-27 23:55
Bulgarian Government Deal Hits the Rocks Over Leaked Wiretaps
Bulgaria’s long-awaited coalition deal may face collapse, prolonging a years-long political crisis, as the Balkan country’s biggest party
2023-05-27 23:48