The Daily Moth 3-10-2025
It is Monday, March 10, 2025. Here are today’s top stories.
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Cause of death for Gene Hackman and wife revealed
New Mexico’s chief medical examiner revealed the cause of death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. They were found dead and decomposing in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on Feb. 26. Hackman’s body was in the mud room and Arakawa’s body was in a bathroom.
The medical examiner said Arakawa, who was 65, died from Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is a rare disease that is contracted by contact with mouse droppings. Hackman, who was 95, had heart disease and complications caused by Alzheimer’s disease and died from natural causes.
The medical examiner said it appears that Arakawa died first, likely around Feb. 11, and Hackman was alone at home for about a week. He had a pacemaker with it last showing activity on Feb. 18. Investigators said Hackman may have not known how to take care of himself and did not see that he communicated with anyone in his last days. He may not have understood that his wife died.
The couple had a dog that was found dead in a crate. I previously said it was a German shepherd breed, but that’s updated to say it’s an Australian Kelpie mixed-breed dog and it may have died from dehydration or starvation. The couple had two other dogs that were roaming around the house.
Hackman was a two-time Oscar winner who retired from acting and lived in Santa Fe during his last years. It’s tragic to think about their last days.
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Secret Service shoots man near White House
NBC News said the Secret Service shot an armed man near the White House on Sunday shortly after midnight.
The Secret Service said on Saturday, they received information that a suicidal individual was possibly traveling from Indiana to Washington, D.C. Agents saw a vehicle and an individual that matched the description of the person and when they approached him, he “brandished a firearm” and agents shot at him. The suspect is a 27-year-old man named Andrew Dawson. was taken to a hospital and as of this morning, his condition is unknown.
President Trump was in Florida during the incident and returned to the White House on Sunday night.
In separate news, CBS News said on Sunday, Air Force fighter jets intercepted a civilian aircraft that was flying in the temporarily restricted airspace near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump was playing golf at the time. The fighter jets (F-16s) had to deploy flares to get the attention of the civilian pilot.
CBS said there is a flight restriction of 30 nautical miles over Mar-a-Lago whenever the president is in residence. There have been more than 20 incidents of civilian pilots flying into the restricted airspace since Trump was inaugurated.
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Palestinian protester at Columbia arrested by ICE
The Washington Post reported that a Palestinian protest leader at Columbia University, who has a green card/student visa, was arrested by ICE agents on Saturday night. His name is Mahmoud Khalil.
The Post explained that President Trump has promised to deport international students who participated in “pro-jihadist protests” on college campuses and Columbia had one of the most active student protests last year over the war in Gaza.
Khalil’s attorney said ICE agents told him that his student visa was revoked and detained him despite him saying he had a green card (lawful permanent resident).
Khalil has a wife who is a U.S. citizen and is eight months pregnant and the attorney said she was threatened with arrest. She tried to visit Khalil at a detention facility in New Jersey, but found out that he was not there and may be currently in Louisiana.
The attorney said she has filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the validity of his arrest and detention. Other advocates said it’s unconstitutional to arrest someone for political speech.
Sec. of State Marco Rubio posted on X (Twitter) that the “administration would revoke visas and green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.” News reports said the federal government would use AI to scan tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts to cancel visas if they expressed support for Hamas or other terror groups.
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China begins tariffs on farm products from the U.S.
The New York Times said China began imposing tariffs today on many farm products from the U.S. in a retaliatory measure to President Trump’s tariffs of 20% on many Chinese imports.
China is imposing a 15% tariff on U.S. chicken, wheat and corn and a 10% tariff on U.S. soybeans, pork, beef, and fruit. China is the largest overseas market for U.S. farmers.
During President Trump’s first term, there was a similar U.S.-China trade war that caused farmers to lose a lot of their business. The Trump administration created a series of bailout programs for affected farmers totaling about $28 billion. Politico said that the fund is running low and Republicans may have to enact billions of dollars in new aid due to the current trade wars with China, Canada and Mexico.
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Deadly violence in Syria
BBC News reported that there was deadly violence in western Syria with clashes and massacres between those in the new government and those loyal to the ousted former President Bashar al-Assad that has killed over 800 people, possibly as high as 1,500 people.
BBC said people from al-Assad’s minority Alawite (Shiite Muslim) sect allegedly carried out a deadly ambush on a security patrol and gunmen loyal to the new Sunni Islamist-led government have been accused of carrying out revenge killings by shooting up civilians who lived in predominantly Alawite neighborhoods.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he’s taken control of the areas and would set up an independent committee to investigate the killings and would hold the perpetrators accountable. BBC said the new president has a major challenge in trying to control violent factions in Syria.
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Canada’s new prime minister: Mark Carney
The Liberal Party of Canada elected a new leader, Mark Carney, to replace Justin Trudeau as a party leader and the country’s prime minister when he is sworn in this week.
Carney said in his acceptance speech on Sunday night that “America is not Canada. And Canada never, ever will be part of America.”
The New York Times said Carney has deep experience in financial markets and steered the Bank of Canada through the 2008 global financial crisis and the Bank of England through Brexit.
The Times said Carney is expected to call federal elections soon and will go up against Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party.
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
Secret Service: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/secret-service-shoots-armed-man-confrontation-white-house-rcna195517
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-fighter-jets-scrambled-intercept-aircraft-mar-a-lago-again-norad/
Palestinian protester: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/09/columbia-arrest-mahmoud-khalil/
China tariffs: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/business/china-tariffs-us.html
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/03/trump-trade-farm-aid-bailout-00002333
Syria: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewk4rv9v17o
Canada: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/09/world/canada/mark-carney-liberal-election.html