5 things to know for your New Day – Monday, April 27

CNN  — 

Knife questions in the Freddie Gray case, severe weather hits the Midwest and it’s election time in the UK.

Smile. It’s Friday. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.

FREDDIE GRAY

The knife: Was Freddie Gray’s knife legal? That’s the latest flashpoint in the case that has gripped the nation’s attention the past few weeks. When she announced charges last week, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said the knife was legal under Maryland law, meaning his subsequent arrest was illegal. But police argue otherwise, and attorneys for two of the officers charged in the case have filed motions to inspect the knife he was carrying when he was arrested. Court documents say it was a “spring-assisted, one-hand-operated knife.” Mosby has said the knife was not a switchblade, which are illegal in Maryland. The law is even stricter in Baltimore, where it’s “also illegal to have a spring-action knife,” said a defense attorney.

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Survivors huddled in the streets fearing aftershocks
01:20 - Source: CNN

MOUNT EVEREST

Americans killed: Saturday’s earthquake and avalanche killed at least 17 people on Mount Everest, including at least three Americans. Dan Fredinburg, a Google executive from the Bay Area, had been posting updates about his adventures in Nepal. Then his sister took over his account and told the world the bad news. Eve Girawong, a mountaineer and base camp medic from New Jersey, also died on the mountain. Her family said she was doing what she loved most – “helping others.” Tom Taplin, a filmmaker from Santa Monica, California, was making a documentary on Everest climbers, when wind stirred by the avalanche caused him to take a fall, CNN affiliate KABC reported.

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Everest avalanche caught on camera hitting climbers
02:09 - Source: CNN

SEVERE WEATHER

Spring storms: A rough evening and night in the Midwest, as severe storms ripped through the region yesterday bringing tornadoes, flooding and heavy winds. The storm hit parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Tornado damage was reported southwest of Oklahoma City, and the city’s main airport was shut down. At least 13 people were hurt when a tornado hit a mobile home park. Oklahoma City’s main threat last night was flash floods as residents reported washed-out roads. A semitrailer was blown over and parts of an exterior wall of a hotel in Norman was ripped off.

Baltimore protesters smash cars
Baltimore protesters damage cars,12 arrested
01:49 - Source: CNN

POLICE UNDER FIRE

New lawsuit: Four black parole officers sue an upstate New York city and police department, accusing its white officers of racial profiling and violating their civil rights during a traffic stop last year. The black officers – all with New York State Parole – said white officers from the Ramapo Police Department drew their weapons, physically assaulted them and continued to detain them even after they were identified as parole officers. A Ramapo city official said the police officers’ actions were justified and the parole officers hadn’t notified the city they would be in town. Most of the arrest was captured on dashcam video.

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Voices of Aurora: Coping with grief, conquering life
04:13 - Source: CNN

SYRIA

Rebel training: It’s controversial, but it’s about to begin. The Pentagon, as soon as this week, will begin to train moderate Syrian rebels at locations in Turkey and Jordan to fight ISIS. The first of 400 U.S. military trainers have arrived in both countries, and some 400 out of 3,000 rebels interested in the training have passed an initial security screening. The rebels will be trained on small arms, radios, medical gear and battlefield tactics. The controversy comes in the risk that some of the fighters may decide to take their weapons and training and go fight the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – not the goal of the training. Some rebels leaders say the number of fighters trained is too low and the fighters need more sophisticated weaponry. But U.S. officials are hesitant to give rebels heavier weapons, fearing they could end up in the hands of terror groups.

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Sailor: 'It's the closest to death I've ever come'
01:07 - Source: WALA

Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a few others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.

Pitch perfect: If you’ve played “Mortal Kombat” before, you’re heard this song. But NOT like this.

Cop rock: Police officers sing pop songs in their squad car. Sounds like a new series.

Pass the salt: Darn kids won’t put the phone down at dinnertime? Try this.

Girl fight: Her name is Evnik; she’s Russian, and she probably can kick your tail.

Goldfinger: Turn your Apple Watch into gold (kinda).

Yes, we know we don’t have any cute, furry animals in the buzzies today. We’ll try to have some tomorrow.