10 things you need to know today: May 4, 2015

Police kill two gunmen outside Muhammad cartoon event, neurosurgeon Ben Carson declares he is running for president, and more

Texas police after the shooting.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/LM Otero))

1. Police kill two gunmen outside Muhammad cartoon event in Texas

Outside where the shooting took place.

(Image credit: Twitter.com/NBCDFW)

CNN Los Angeles Times

2. Carson, Fiorina, and Huckabee set to fill out the GOP's 2016 field

Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson are joining the GOP presidential race on Monday

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson effectively announced his bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination on a local TV show on Sunday. He wasn't the only new candidate on the block for long: On Monday morning, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced her candidacy, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is expected to follow suit on Tuesday. This will be Huckabee's second run for the GOP nomination, and the first bid by Carson and Fiorina. Neither Carson, who is black, nor Fiorina have ever held elected office, though Fiorina ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in California in 2010.

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The New York Times

3. National Guard begins withdrawing from Baltimore after curfew lifted

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

(Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Sunday lifted a curfew imposed last week to curb rioting over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died from injuries he suffered in police custody. Rawlings-Blake said the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, which took effect last Tuesday, had helped restore sufficient calm. Three thousand National Guard troops and 1,000 police officers from other Maryland towns are withdrawing over the next several days. "The city is safe," Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said.

The Washington Post Reuters

4. 101-year-old man pulled from earthquake rubble in Nepal

Japanese rescuers work in Nepal.

(Image credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

A rescue team saved a 101-year-old man who was buried alive after last week's devastating earthquake in Nepal, police outside Katmandu said Sunday. The man, Funchu Tamang, was found buried in the collapsed remains of his house in Nuwakot district's Kimtang village, 50 miles northwest of the capital. He was taken to a local hospital in stable condition. The official death toll from the quake has risen over 7,000, and Nepal's government said Sunday the toll was likely to climb "much higher."

AFP

5. Ethiopian-Israelis protesting police brutality clash with Tel Aviv police

Tel Aviv protesters.

(Image credit: Twitter.com/CNNBreakingNews)

Dozens of people were injured Sunday in a violent confrontation at a protest by thousands of Ethiopian-Israelis against police brutality in Tel Aviv. The demonstration started out peacefully, as protesters blocked city streets, but tensions rose when people began throwing stones. One group overturned a police car. Police used stun grenades and water cannons against the crowd. About 46 people — half of them police officers — were injured. At least 26 people were arrested.

The New York Times Haaretz

6. Oil prices hit 2015 high

Oil prices rose to a 2015 high on Monday, reaching nearly $67 a barrel. Brent crude prices jumped by 49 cents, hitting $66.95, after a private survey released Monday showed that activity at Chinese factories shrank at the fastest pace in a year in April. Prices then began fluctuating, easing back a bit as the morning went on. The slowdown in China added strength to expectations that Beijing would introduce new stimulus measures that would boost the world's second biggest economy and increase demand for fuel.

Reuters

7. San Francisco shaken by five minor earthquakes

At least five earthquakes — the strongest at 4.0 magnitude — hit the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday afternoon. The strongest hit near Concord, 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. It struck about 10 minutes after a 2.5-magnitude tremor jolted the same area, followed by tremors at magnitudes 2.7, 2.4, and 1.6 within 45 minutes. The quakes shook buildings but no injuries or damage were immediately reported. In the morning, a 3.9-magnitude quake struck in Los Angeles.

UPI

8. Smith College decides to admit transgender women

Smith College, a prestigious women's school, will begin accepting transgender women beginning in the fall, college President Kathleen McCartney and board chairwoman Elizabeth Mugar Eveillard announced over the weekend. Smith, the largest of the all-female Seven Sisters schools, previously only accepted students who had identified as female since birth, but the administrators said "concepts of female identity have evolved." Smith will not admit students who were born female but identify as male.

The Associated Press

9. Curry to get NBA MVP award

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry has been selected as the NBA's most valuable player, The Associated Press reported Sunday, citing an anonymous source familiar with the decision. Curry reportedly will receive the MVP award on Tuesday night, before the Game 2 in the Warriors' conference playoff semifinal against Memphis on Tuesday. Curry led the top-seeded Warriors to 67 wins — a franchise record — and beat his own record for three-pointers this season.

The Associated Press

10. Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn break up after dating for three years

Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn

(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Sports power couple Tiger Woods and U.S. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn have split up, they announced Sunday. "After nearly three years together, Tiger and I have mutually decided to end our relationship," Vonn said on her Facebook page. Woods, the once dominant professional golfer, confirmed the news on his website. "I have great admiration, respect and love for Lindsey and I'll always cherish our time together," he said. "She has been amazing with (daughter) Sam and (son) Charlie and my entire family."

Reuters

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.