10 things you need to know today: May 25, 2015

Beautiful Mind mathematician John Nash dies, Cleveland police arrest 71 protesters, and more

Protesters in Cleveland
(Image credit: (AP Photo/John Minchillo))

1. A Beautiful Mind mathematician John Nash killed in crash

Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John F. Nash Jr., who inspired the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind, died in a car crash over the weekend. He was 86. His wife, Alicia, also was killed. She was 82. They died after being ejected from a taxi when the driver lost control and slammed into a guard rail and another car. Nash revolutionized the field of game theory, and shared a 1994 Nobel in economics. The film he inspired traced his descent into mental illness, and his recovery.

The Washington Post

2. 71 protesters arrested after Cleveland officer's acquittal

Cleveland police arrested 71 people during protests over the acquittal of a white police officer, Michael Brelo, in the 2012 killing of two unarmed black people, authorities said Sunday. Officers "gave people the space and a safe environment" to protest peacefully on Saturday, and only intervened when some demonstrators got violent, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said. In the 2012 case, police opened fire on the victims' car after mistaking a car's backfiring for gunshots. Brelo climbed onto the car's hood and fired 15 times.

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Fox News The Guardian

3. 3 die in flooding caused by record rains in Texas and Oklahoma

Weekend flooding killed at least three people and left another eight missing in Oklahoma and Texas. The flooding damaged or destroyed at least 400 homes, and displaced more than 1,000 people. The Blanco River outside Austin in Hays County, Texas, rose to just over 40 feet — nearly six feet higher than the previous record. Runoff in some areas was peaking Monday. "Now is not the time to try to return to your homes," San Marcos Fire Marshal Ken Bell said Sunday.

NBC News CNN

4. Malaysia discovers migrant camps and graves

Malaysian authorities plan on Monday to exhume bodies found in 139 graves believed to hold human trafficking victims near the Thai border, national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said Monday. It is not clear how many bodies are in each grave. The graves were found in 28 illegal camps traffickers appeared to have used. The discoveries came as the Southeast Asian nations struggle to deal with a humanitarian crisis as thousands of migrants flee Bangladesh and Myanmar in overcrowded boats.

CNN

5. Israeli ex-premier Ehud Olmert sentenced to eight months in jail

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to eight months in prison on Monday on corruption charges. Olmert, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009, was convicted in March of taking envelopes stuffed with cash from American businessman Morris Talansky, a political supporter, from 1997 to 2005. Last year, Olmert was sentenced to six years for accepting bribes. He denies wrongdoing in both cases, and will remain free pending appeals.

The New York Times BBC News

6. Defense Secretary Carter says Iraqis lack 'will to fight' ISIS

Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Sunday said that Iraqi troops lost the city of Ramadi to the Islamic State because they lacked the "will to fight." Last weekend, ISIS captured Ramadi as Iraqi troops fled and left behind weapons provided by the U.S. Days later, ISIS overran the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra as well. "They were not outnumbered," Carter said in an interview that aired Sunday. "In fact, they vastly outnumbered the opposing force. And yet, they failed to fight."

The Associated Press The Washington Post

7. Pressure cooker found in 'suspicious' car near Capitol

A bomb squad detonated a pressure cooker that was found in a car near the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. A Capitol Police spokeswoman said officers found the pressure cooker and smelled gasoline in a "suspicious" unoccupied car found on a street on the National Mall. The vehicle's owner was arrested for operating a vehicle after revocation. Pressure cookers have been used to make bombs, including the ones used in the deadly April 2013 Boston Marathon attack.

The Associated Press

8. Obama marks what he calls first Memorial Day since end of Afghan war

President Obama is heading to Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to mark Memorial Day. Obama said the annual holiday honoring America's war dead was especially meaningful this year because it is "the first Memorial Day since our war ended in Afghanistan." Observances began a day early on Sunday, when thousands of motorcycle riders participated in the annual Rolling Thunder rally in Washington, D.C., to call attention to prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action.

Voice of America The Guardian

9. Montoya wins his second Indy 500

Juan Pablo Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. The Colombian race driver appeared to be out of the running early in the race, when another driver clipped the right rear wing of Montoya's car, sending him to the pits in 30th place. He fought his way back, holding off Will Power and Scott Dixon in the final five laps to win his second Indy 500 in only his third appearance in the storied race. His first win was in 2000, when he was a rookie.

CBS Sports

10. Comic actress Anne Meara dies at 85

Actress Anne Meara, the Emmy- and Tony-nominated mother of actor-director Ben Stiller, has died at age 85. Meara and her husband, Jerry Stiller, "were married for 61 years and worked together almost as long," the family said in a statement. In the 1960s and '70s, they appeared as the comedy team Stiller & Meara on The Ed Sullivan Show 36 times. Meara appeared in numerous films and television shows — including a recurring role on The King of Queens sitcom.

Boston Herald

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Harold Maass

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 launch of the U.S. print edition. Harold has worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, Fox News, and ABC News. For several years, he wrote a daily round-up of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and two sons.