10 things you need to know today: May 15, 2015

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1. Legendary bluesman B.B. King dies at 89
2. U.S. Marine helicopter wreckage found in Nepal
3. Eighth victim found at Philadelphia Amtrak crash site
4. Jeb Bush clarifies Iraq war stance, saying he would not have invaded
5. Man detained for flying toy drone near White House
6. Feingold announces attempt to reclaim his old Senate seat
7. John Bolton says he will not run for president
8. Obama reassures Persian Gulf states upset over Iran nuclear talks
9. Burundi coup leaders arrested
10. Brady appeals NFL suspension

published 15 May 2015

1. Legendary bluesman B.B. King dies at 89

Blues icon B.B. King, widely considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, died Thursday in Las Vegas. He was 89. King worked as a sharecropper in Mississippi as a boy, then rose to fame after teaching himself how to play the guitar. He made more than 40 studio albums, winning 15 Grammy awards and earning a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He toured relentlessly into his 80s, bringing the blues into the mainstream with his pain-filled voice, and the wailing of his Gibson guitar, nicknamed Lucille.

The Nepalese army has found the wreckage of a U.S. Marine helicopter that went missing on an earthquake relief flight in a mountainous area east of Kathmandu, Nepal's defense secretary, Ishwori Prasad Paudyal, said Friday. Three charred bodies were pulled from the remains of the UH-1Y Huey helicopter, which had six U.S. Marines and two Nepalese soldiers on board. Paudyal said there appeared to be no survivors. The helicopter was found near the epicenter of Tuesday's quake, which killed 117 people.

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A recovery crew on Thursday pulled the body of an eighth victim from the wreckage of the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia this week. No more passengers or crew members are missing. National Transportation Safety Board investigators determined that the train sped up a minute before the crash, going from 70 mph to just over 100 mph as it approached the curve where it derailed. Amtrak said it was just months away from installing automatic speed-control equipment that could have prevented the accident.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, a likely 2016 GOP presidential candidate, clarified his position on the 2003 Iraq invasion, saying Thursday that he "would not have gone into Iraq" knowing what we know now. Bush's GOP rivals criticized him for telling Fox News' Megyn Kelly earlier this week that he would have authorized the invasion launched by his brother, then-president George W. Bush. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said "of course" he would not have invaded if he had known the intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction — "the entire predicate of the war" — was wrong.

A man was detained Thursday for flying a foot-wide toy quadcopter drone above Lafayette Park near the White House. Police inspected the craft and deemed it to be safe, but Park Police said the man still would be charged with violating a federal order. A day earlier, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a campaign to remind the public that the airspace within a 15-mile radius of Reagan National Airport is a "No Drone Zone." A month ago, a Florida man caused a security scare by flying a gyrocopter onto the lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin announced Thursday that he would run in 2016 to win back the Senate seat he lost to Ron Johnson (R) in 2010. Feingold, 62, served three Senate terms before his defeat, then served as a State Department envoy to Africa's Great Lakes region until earlier this year. Feingold said he wanted to restore the Senate's "bipartisanship and honesty." Johnson said he welcomed the challenge, accusing Feingold of helping to create a "debt-ridden, tax-eating" government.

Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton announced Thursday that he would not run for the Republican presidential nomination. Bolton had been considering a campaign focusing on national security. He said he would continue to play a role in the race through his PAC and super PAC. "I believe I can make the strongest contribution to our future by continuing as a clear and consistent advocate for a strong Reaganite foreign policy that values peace through strength," he said.

President Obama on Thursday promised Persian Gulf allies new support against threats from Iran. At a Camp David summit, Obama reaffirmed America's "ironclad" commitment to the security of the region, but stopped short of offering a formal defense pact. Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations have expressed concern that Obama's push for a nuclear deal with Iran that includes the lifting of economic sanctions will help Tehran expand its influence in the region.

Authorities in Burundi on Friday arrested three military generals who led a coup attempt. The army general who announced the coup by radio on Wednesday — Godefroid Niyombare — was among those arrested, an aide to President Pierre Nkurunziza said. The coup attempt came after weeks of protests over Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term in June. He was attending a summit with East African leaders in Tanzania when the rebellion started.

The NFL Players' Association filed an appeal Thursday on behalf of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who received a four-game suspension as punishment for his role in the "Deflategate" scandal in a January conference championship game. The organization also requested a neutral arbitrator to hear the appeal, saying the league had a "history of inconsistency and arbitrary decisions in disciplinary matters." An investigation concluded that Brady probably knew his team's staff was under-inflating balls, which makes them easier to throw and catch in bad weather.

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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.