Another fraternity is in trouble. Israel’s election is too close to call. And police raid the Houston home of real estate heir and murder suspect Robert Durst.
It’s Wednesday and here are the 5 things to know for your New Day.
PENN STATE FRATERNITY
Suspended: The Kappa Delta Rho fraternity at Penn State has been suspended for a year after members allegedly posted compromising photos of women on a private Facebook page. Many of the women are nude in the photos and were either asleep or passed out. Campus police are investigating but haven’t ID’d any suspects yet because the Facebook pages were, according to police, “sanitized” and “wiped clean.” Just last week a fraternity at the University of Oklahoma was shut down after members were caught on video singing a chant with racial slurs.
ISRAEL ELECTIONS
Too close: Will Benjamin Netanyahu keep his job as Prime Minister of Israel? He says he will, but exit polls released last night from Israeli media say the election is officially too close to call. Netanyahu declared victory, but his closest challenger — Isaac Herzog — said that the Prime Minister’s celebration was “premature.” Official results are not expected for a week. Efforts to create a coalition government will take even longer.
ROBERT DURST
Home search: An eventful four days for Robert Durst. On Saturday he was arrested. On Sunday HBO aired a documentary where it appears he confesses to murder. On Monday he was charged with first-degree murder. On Tuesday, the drama hit home. Police raided the millionaire real estate heir’s Houston condo yesterday, but it’s not yet known exactly what they were looking for. Durst’s lawyer called the search “ridiculous,” while Durst himself remained jailed in New Orleans on drug and weapons charges.
ISIS
A new recruit?: Did a U.S. Air Force vet really fly to Turkey to try and join ISIS? That’s what U.S. authorities alleged yesterday in a two-count indictment against Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh. The former avionics instrument system specialist flew to Turkey on January 10, but was denied entry by Turkish officials, who were certain that Pugh was seeking to cross the border into Syria. When he returned to the United States officials found Internet searches on his computer for crossing points on the Turkish-Syrian border, tampered electronic devices and a letter where he allegedly promised to “defend the Islamic States.” Pugh’s attorney said he will plead not guilty.
IRAN NUKE TALKS
Progress reported: A third day of negotiations yesterday in Lausanne, Switzerland, between Iran and six world powers reportedly resulted in the closing of some remaining gaps, but a deal is still a ways off, a U.S. official said. The negotiators are working to beat a deadline at the end of this month to create the framework for a deal and then have until July 1 to finalize it. Although Republicans in Congress have been vocal in expressing their wariness of any deal, a new CNN/ORC poll shows 68% of Americans support direct diplomatic negotiations with Iran.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of other things that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
Fire selfie: Dude, if you’re going to videotape a selfie in front of a dumpster fire (while firefighters are still fighting it) you’re pretty much asking for this.
‘Hear that bass mom?’: This toddler knows her old-school hip hop. Watch as she jams to LL Cool J’s “Going Back to Cali.”
Good to know: Did you know that you can make homemade microwave popcorn from scratch in a brown paper bag? Now you do.
Kid+dogs+laser: A toddler, laser pointer and three adorable dogs provide all the cuteness you need for today.
Combining forces: This is what happens when Jimmy Kimmel and Matthew McConaughey make a local TV commercial together.