10 things you need to know today: May 5, 2015

ISIS claims responsibility for the Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest attack, Carly Fiorina joins the GOP presidential race, and more

Fiorina makes her entrance.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall))

1. Texas police identify alleged gunmen killed outside Muhammad cartoon contest

The Islamic State claimed responsibility Tuesday for the attack outside a contest in Texas involving caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, calling the two alleged gunmen "soldiers" and threatening more attacks. Texas authorities identified the men, who were shot dead by police, as Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi. They were roommates in Phoenix, and allegedly drove to the Dallas suburb of Garland armed with assault rifles to attack the event. Simpson was convicted in 2011 of lying to the FBI in a terrorism investigation.

CNN New York Daily News

2. Fiorina enters GOP presidential race, calling Hillary Clinton out of touch

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina formally launched a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday. Fiorina got started by criticizing Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton as a member of an out-of-touch political elite that has "disgusted" American voters. Fiorina's announcement came on the day former neurosurgeon Ben Carson formally joined the GOP field, which already includes senators Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is expected launch his campaign on Tuesday.

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The Hill Reuters

3. New York police officer dies two days after being shot

New York City police officer Brian Moore died on Monday, two days after he was shot in the head by a Queens gunman. Moore, 25, belonged to an elite plainclothes unit. He had pulled up in his unmarked sedan behind a man he and his partner saw adjusting his waistband in a suspicious way. The man wheeled and fired at the car, hitting Moore in the cheek. A suspect, Demetrius Blackwell, was arrested after a search of the neighborhood. Charges against Blackwell are now to be elevated to first-degree murder.

The New York Times

4. Hillary Clinton agrees to testify on Benghazi again

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has agreed to testify later this month at a House hearing on the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, one of her lawyers said Monday. Clinton, now the Democratic presidential frontrunner, has already testified to Congress, but the House Select Committee on Benghazi called her again following revelations about her use of a private email account. The lawyer said there was "no basis, logic, or precedent" for the committee to call her again, but that she would answer its questions.

Politico

5. Obama tapping Marine general as next Joint Chiefs chairman

President Obama reportedly plans to announce Tuesday that he is nominating Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford led the coalition in Afghanistan during a critical transition period in 2013 and 2014. He took over as commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps in October. The quick promotion won't be the first for the widely respected Dunford. He went from one-star general to four stars in about three years.

The Associated Press

6. Small tsunami reported in New Guinea after earthquake

A small tsunami was reported near the South Pacific island of New Guinea on Tuesday after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck. The three-foot tsunami was spotted in the harbor of Rabaul, near the powerful quake's epicenter. The earthquake knocked down power lines, cutting power to people in the Rabaul area, but there were few reports of damage to buildings other than cracks in some walls. No injuries were reported immediately following the quake.

The Associated Press

7. French far-right party suspends founder Le Pen

France's far-right National Front party suspended its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, on Tuesday and said it would strip him of his title of honorary chairman for repeating his description of Nazi gas chambers as a mere "detail" of World War II. Le Pen's daughter, Marine Le Pen, succeeded him as party chief in 2011 and chaired the executive committee that suspended him. The elder Le Pen responded by saying he is "ashamed" his daughter has his name, and hopes she loses her 2017 presidential bid.

Reuters

8. Tsarnaev cries as relatives testify on his behalf

Convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev dropped his stoic demeanor for the first time in his trial on Monday, when his aunt took the stand in the penalty phase that will determine whether he gets the death penalty. Tsarnaev, 21, appeared to cry as the mother's sister, Patimat Suleimanova, sobbed as she took the stand to testify on his behalf. A cousin said Tsarnaev was a "sunny child." The defense says Tsarnaev's radicalized older brother, Tamerlan, led him into the attack, which killed three and wounded 270. Prosecutors say the brothers were equal partners.

The Christian Science Monitor The Associated Press

9. Silicon Valley executive David Goldberg reportedly died from gym accident

SurveyMonkey CEO David Goldberg, the husband of Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, died on Friday at a private resort in Mexico from head trauma and blood loss after a gym accident, Mexican officials said Monday. Goldberg, 47, apparently collapsed, then "fell off the treadmill and cracked his head open," said a spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Mexico's Nayarit State, where Goldberg was vacationing with family and friends.

The New York Times

10. Royal family announces name of new princess

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their new princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, Kensington Palace said Monday. The duke, Prince William, and duchess, Kate Middleton, left the hospital with the baby on Saturday without revealing her name. Princess Charlotte is the fourth in line for the throne, after Prince Charles, Prince William, and her older brother, 21-month-old Prince George. Charlotte is the female form of Charles, the name of two former kings and her grandfather, the Prince of Wales.

BBC News

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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.