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Jam Master Jay Murder Verdict: Jury Finds Two Men Guilty in Run-DMC Star’s 2002 Killing

Yesterday, a federal court in New York delivered guilty verdicts to two individuals linked to the 2002 homicide of renowned hip-hop artist Jason Mizell, known professionally as Jam Master Jay. Mizell, a pivotal figure in Run-DMC, was tragically shot in his recording studio in Queens when he was just 37. Despite years of investigative dead-ends and scant evidence, the case saw significant breakthroughs in 2020, leading to these convictions.

Karl Jordan Jr., aged 40, and Ronald Washington, aged 59, were convicted of murder during a drug trafficking operation and on a firearm-related murder charge. It was revealed that Jordan, who had close personal ties to Mizell as his godson, and Washington, a long-time acquaintance, plotted against Mizell following a dispute over a large drug transaction estimated at nearly $200,000. Both men now face the possibility of life imprisonment. Additionally, a third accomplice, Jay Bryant, implicated through DNA evidence at the crime scene, is slated for trial in 2026.

Run-DMC's legacy, with Mizell as a cornerstone member, was instrumental in propelling hip-hop to widespread acclaim during the 1980s, collaborating with rock band Aerosmith and securing an influential contract with Adidas.

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Private lunar lander sends back first pics from its moon landing

The Odysseus lander, a pioneering commercial spacecraft developed by Intuitive Machines, ceased communications prematurely yesterday, signaling an abrupt end to its groundbreaking lunar mission. This mission marked the return of American-made spacecraft to the moon's surface after five decades, yet it appears to have fallen short of its full objectives due to an unexpected mishap upon landing near the moon's south pole.

Technical analysis suggests that during its descent, one of the lander's legs caught on the lunar terrain, causing the vessel to land at an angle. This unfortunate tilt likely misaligned its communication antennas and solar panels, compromising its ability to transmit data back to Earth. Despite this setback, the lander successfully transmitted some initial scientific data and captured imagery during its descent. However, the status of various scientific instruments from NASA onboard and the planned deployment of a detachable camera are still uncertain.

This mission represents an early step in a broader initiative of NASA-supported private lunar explorations, setting the stage for the upcoming Artemis missions aimed at returning astronauts to the lunar surface.

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Is a bump stock a “machine gun?” The U.S. Supreme Court takes up the question

The US Supreme Court is set to deliberate today on the legal status of bump stocks, devices that transform semi-automatic firearms into rapidly firing weapons with a single trigger pull.

The case, Garland v. Cargill, sees a firearms dealer contesting the 2018 prohibition of bump stocks. He argues that these devices do not render firearms capable of discharging multiple bullets "automatically" and with a "single function of the trigger" as defined under federal law, which proscribes machine guns. The dealer's argument hinges on the requirement for sustained manual pressure on the gun's fore-end to use a bump stock, claiming this action does not constitute automatic firing or a singular trigger function. Conversely, the government maintains that bump stocks enable rapid firing through the utilization of the weapon's recoil, permitting successive shots from merely one trigger pull.

This legal battle follows the 2018 decision by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to classify bump stocks as illegal, a measure enacted after their notorious use in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting tragedy. Post-ban, owners of the estimated 700,000 bump stocks in the US were mandated to either destroy or hand them over, aligning with the 1986 federal law banning the possession or manufacture of new machine guns.

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