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Iranian President Dies In Crash

Iranian President Dies In Crash

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
May 20, 2024

Good morning and happy Monday. A rare deepwater fish washed up on shore for the first time ever over the weekend in Oregon. It's not exactly a looker. Have a great start to your week!

In Today’s Brief

Idaho: Fatal van wreck
Zelensky: No Olympics truce
RFK Jr. Big bucks on ballots
Boeing: Golden parachute
Dabney Coleman: Dead at 92

... and more

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Top Tips

1) 'No survivors'

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash.

The news: Raisi and several officials were in a chopper that went down in Iran's mountainous northwest region yesterday. Cold weather and dense fog hampered rescue missions before aerial monitoring pinpointed the crash location; a Turkish drone is believed to have picked up the wreckage's heat signal. State media reported "no survivors" around 11:30 p.m. ET last night when search teams arrived at the scene.
Go deeper: Iran's president has limited power; Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sets the country's policies. But the office is still considered significant. Raisi has held it since 2021 and is more of a hardliner than his predecessor, Hassan Rouhani. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was also involved in the crash. Mohammad Mokhber will be acting president.
Big picture: Raisi was considered a potential candidate to succeed Khamenei due to his background as a cleric and judge. His apparent death will have a domestic impact -- most Iranian presidents have had their own style -- but the decision-maker remains in place. All indications are the crash was caused by weather; there has been no suggestion of foul play or political assassination.

2) Plot thwarted

The Democratic Republic of Congo says it foiled a coup attempt.

The news: Gunfire broke out in Kinshasa early yesterday morning when armed attackers attempted to overthrow President Felix Tshisekedi. There was also an assault on the home of top parliament official Vital Kamerhe. Two guards and an assailant were killed there; the presidential offices were also reportedly occupied.
Alleged suspects: A DRC army spokesman claimed Christian Malanga, an exiled Congolese opposition politician who resided in the U.S., led the coup and was killed in the process. The army also said about 50 people were arrested, including three U.S. citizens. The coup came on the heels of a controversially postponed parliamentary election.
Big picture: Tshisekedi took office in 2018 in the DRC's first-ever peaceful transition of power. But he won re-election with close to 80% of the vote in a disputed contest last December after the country, Africa's second-largest, experienced political violence with about 20 deaths in the run-up to voting.

3) Major mayhem

Xander Schauffele won the PGA Championship, but the professional golf weekend was dominated by the stunning arrest of the world's top player.

What happened: A course worker at Louisville's Valhalla Golf Club was fatally hit by a bus early Friday morning. The accident snarled traffic near the course; No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler was then taken into custody after an incident where he was trying to cut through a road block -- which golfers were reportedly told to do -- right in front of an ESPN reporter.
The fallout: Scheffler was booked, hit with a litany of charges -- including second-degree assault of a police officer -- and then released. He made it back to the course to compete in the tournament's second round and finished in a tie for eighth place. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg conceded the cop involved in the incident did not have his body cam on; Scheffler said it was a misunderstanding that escalated and he expects it will be resolved. But the charges remain active.
The winner: Schauffle shot a six-under 65 in Sunday's final round to capture his first major tournament title. He finished the weekend 21 shots under par, the lowest winning score in major history. Bryson DeChambeau was second at 20-under; Viktor Hovland was third at 18-under.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

Six people died in an Idaho car accident that involved a large passenger van. Ten other people were injured; a pickup truck crossed the center line around 5:30 a.m. local time Saturday and hit the van head-on (More)
The cargo ship that crashed into and collapsed the Francis Scott Key bridge will be moved this month. The Dali will shift to a local marine terminal in Baltimore as investigations; the vessel is nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower (More)
Paul Pelosi's attacker was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. David DePape bludgeoned former Speaker of the House Nany Pelosi's husband with a hammer during a break-in (More)

World News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected a truce with Russia during the Paris Olympics. French President Emmanuel Macron made the request; Zelensky said any pause in fighting would be exploited by the Kremlin (More)
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has threatened to resign. Gantz, a political opponent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will quit government next month without a plan to install new Palestinian leadership in Gaza (More)
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico's prognosis has improved after surgeries following a survived assassination attempt. Fico was shot four times in the stomach and arm; he will remain hospitalized for at least several more days (More)

Campaign News

Independent vice presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan donated $8M to her campaign. The funds will fuel running mate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s efforts to gain ballot access in all 50 states (More)
President Joe Biden's commencement address at Morehead College in Atlanta was largely uneventful. There were few disruptions despite calls on campus for the address to be canceled in protest of Biden's support of Israel in its war in Gaza (More)
Former President Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial could end this week. The prosecution is wrapping up its case and the defense has not committed to calling any witnesses, including Trump (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed mixed on Friday. The Dow Jones closed at a record high for its fifth straight winning week (Dow +0.34%, Nasdaq -0.07%, S&P 500 +0.12%).
Outgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will receive a $33M pay package for 2023. The deal was approved by shareholders despite the aeronautical manufacturer's disastrous run of safety incidents and negative headlines (More)
Disneyland's character workers have unionized. The group of 1.7K talents at the Anaheim park voted to organize with Actors’ Equity Association in a NRLB vote; character workers at Walt Disney World in Orlando were already unionized (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Dabney Coleman died at 92. The Emmy Award-winning actor was best known for starring as villainous boss Franklin Hart Jr. in 9 to 5; he also had roles in Tootsie, WarGames and other films and television shows (More)
Manchester City wrapped up its fourth straight Premier League championship with a final weekend victory over West Ham. Arsenal finished second by two table points; Liverpool was third (More)
A New Mexico judge expressed skepticism about the Alec Baldwin Rust manslaughter case. A trial is scheduled for July in Santa Fe; the judge's questions for the prosecution suggested she could throw out the charges (More)

Quick Hitters

Feel Good: Someone placed an order for 16 pizzas at a local restaurant near Toledo and never showed. Another small business owner picked up the tab to pay it forward.
Take Note: Not every adrenaline rush is created equally. Some are good for you, but some are not.
Weird Crime: Some poor guy in Saskatchewan said he got a $580 ticket for using his cell phone while in the drive-through line at McDonald's. The cops have a different version though.
Deep Dive: There is a lot of talk about the apocalypse these days, both religiously and secularly.
Life Hack: Summer is right around the corner and temperatures are beginning to rise. Here is how you can keep your car cool without overloading your air conditioning.
OPTIMIZE ME: Researchers “found convincing evidence that higher intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease-related death, a 48% to 53% higher risk of anxiety and common mental disorders, and a 12% greater risk of type 2 diabetes”

Want more health and wellness news? Subscribe to our brand new newsletter, Optimize Me, and start living a healthier life through diet, exercise, sleep, and mindfulness:

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Looking Ahead …

Over 300 security officials from every country participating in this summer's Euro 2024 men's soccer tournament will help safeguard the event. A command center is being built in host country Germany to monitor every game.