Politics

Oklahoma State Bureau of InvestigationA fifth suspect has been arrested in connection with the deaths of two women who went missing last month and were later found buried in a rural Oklahoma cattle pasture.The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced it picked up 31-year-old Paul Grice on Wednesday, who was booked into the Texas County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree. He and four others are accused of killing 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley, who disappeared on March 30.The two were driving to pick up Butler’s two kids for a weekly visit amid an intense custody battle between Butler and the youngsters’ grandmother, 54-year-old Tifany Machel Adams, when they were ambushed and murdered, according to police.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesA corporate restructuring attorney at a high-powered New York City law firm is suing his ex-boyfriend for allegedly dognapping his beloved miniature poodle and holding her hostage at an apartment in Midtown Manhattan, plunging him into a grievous state of emotional distress.In a six-figure civil lawsuit obtained by The Daily Beast, Akin Gump associate Taylor Leighton says he wants back his pet—who is named for onetime child actress Raven-Symoné and a member of The Real Housewives of New York City cast—plus more than $200,000 in damages.“Raven is more than a dog to me,” Leighton wrote in an affidavit submitted alongside a complaint filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court. “I consider her to be my child. As an illustration to this Court of my love for Raven, I planned an extravagant first birthday party for her in the apartment. I spent several days planning and decorating, including blowing up hundreds of balloons and placing decals on the wall to give Raven a special day. Defendant, of course, participated in the festivities but it was me who took the lead on all planning and implementation.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Reuters/David Dee DelgadoNEW YORK — House Speaker (R-LA) Mike Johnson trekked to Columbia University’s New York City campus on Wednesday—and was immediately greeted with a chorus of boos.The crowd loudly heckled and booed Johnson as he approached a podium and launched into his speech, railing against “antisemites” who “gnash their teeth and demand to wipe the State of Israel off the map and attack our innocent Jewish students.”Moments after making that declaration, a loud chant broke out of “we can’t hear you,” to which Johnson responded, “Enjoy your free speech.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty ImagesSeveral pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested by law enforcement on Wednesday at the University of Texas at Austin, as they gathered to oppose Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza, with more arrests likely to follow.Local police, alongside state troopers in riot gear, were dispatched to the South Lawn at UT Austin, where hundreds of students gathered to call on the school to cut ties with weapons manufacturers that have continued to arm Israel. At least 10 protesters have already been arrested by police after they were told to disperse, according to the Texas Tribune. Troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety threatened to arrest any protesters who remained on the South Lawn for trespassing, according to KXAN’s Ryan Chandler. The arrests quickly turned violent, with one video of the protest showing police pushing into the crowd of protesters, shoving them to the ground, and handcuffing them.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Christopher LohThe World Bank has decided to pull funding for a controversial tourism project following accusations it has led to extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and the sexual abuse of local villagers in Tanzania.Launched in 2017, the program aimed to improve the management of natural resources and tourism in Southern Tanzania, including Ruaha National Park (RUNAPA), which has been tied to a cascade of human rights abuses, according to the Oakland Institute, a California-based advocacy group.The World Bank has already disbursed $100 million of the $150 million project, known as REGROW, according to The Oakland Institute.Read more at The Daily Beast.