A team of scientists discovered tens of thousands of barrels containing what is believed to be chemical waste

The discovery of tens of thousands of underwater barrels containing what scientists believe to be chemical waste has raised alarm and reopened scrutiny into a history of toxic dumping that persisted off the California coast into the 1970s.

A team of scientists announced this week that they had found more than 25,000 containers, many of which they believe to be DDT waste, which has been linked to cancer and disease in humans and mass die-off events in the natural world. The barrels cover a seafloor area double the size of Manhattan off the coast of the Santa Catalina Island, near Los Angeles.

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A hundred days into his first term, it is clear that Joe Biden is a much different kind of president than his predecessor. But even as new political eras are born, public opinion shifts, and leaders come and go, one thing remains constant at The Daily Beast: our commitment to uncovering the truth.

Since the early days of his campaign, and now administration, we have worked tirelessly to hold Biden and his people accountable, expose behind-the-scenes hypocrisy, and call out the promises left unfulfilled—giving credit where it was due along the way. For the Presidency’s first big milestone, we took some time to reflect on the highs and lows, and what they might mean for the days ahead. Read on for the 100-word insights from your favorite Daily Beast editors, writers, and columnists—and if you want to support this kind of work through the next 100 days (and beyond), please consider becoming a Beast Inside member.

Molly Jong-Fast, Editor-At-Large:

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The disaster happened early Friday at a Jewish religious gathering for Lag BaOmer in northern Israel. Scores of people were injured.

(Image credit: AP)

Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

A lawyer for former New York City mayor and Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said the Justice Department revealed on a Thursday conference call that the feds had penetrated Giuliani’s iCloud long before Wednesday’s search warrants were executed.

“I was told about it today in a conference call with the [U.S.] Attorney’s office,” attorney Robert Costello, a longtime friend of Giuliani’s, told The Daily Beast on Thursday night. “They told me they obtained a ‘covert warrant’ for Giuliani’s iCloud account in ‘late 2019.’ They have reviewed this information for a year and a half without telling us or [fellow Trump-aligned attorney] Victoria Toensing.”

During an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show on Thursday night, Giuliani himself briefly referenced the warrant to search his iCloud account. “In the middle of the impeachment defense, they invaded, without telling me, my iCloud,” the Trump confidant said. “They took documents that are privileged. And then they unilaterally decided what they could read and not read. So the prosecutors at the Justice Department spied on me.”

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Reuters

At least 44 people died and dozens more were injured after a massive stampede at a religious festival in northern Israel on Thursday night. Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had gathered for the holiday of Lag b’Omer, taking part in the biggest event since the coronavirus pandemic began.

But within an instant, the religious celebration turned into a scene of absolute horror.

“I had just sat down to eat when I heard the screams. We rushed to help, and then we saw the bodies. At the start it was about 10. Now, there’s many more,” a witness, Avi, told Haaretz.

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Daily death tolls have dropped, but experts are wary of another surge. President Jair Bolsonaro, amid a Senate probe into the country's pandemic response, continues to attack health measures.

(Image credit: Michael Dantas/AFP via Getty Images)

Constitutional questions have dominated the Scottish election campaign. As voters go to the polls next week, Libby Brooks assesses whether they will give the SNP a majority and a mandate for a new independence referendum

Nicola Sturgeon has said that next week’s election in Scotland is the most important in the country’s history. The SNP is once again promising to hold a referendum on independence if it wins a majority in the Scottish parliament.

The Guardian’s Scotland correspondent, Libby Brooks, tells Rachel Humphreys that the pandemic has cast a long shadow over the campaign, with very little door-knocking or in-person campaigning.

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Fox News

Appearing on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight for his first television interview since the dramatic FBI raid of his home and office, Rudy Giuliani claimed on Thursday that the search warrant to seize his electronic devices was “completely illegal” because everything was already “on the iCloud.”

That was hardly the only eyebrow-raising remark the former Trump attorney made in the off-the-wall conversation with host Tucker Carlson.

Despite the New York Times reporting that one of the warrants served by feds sought evidence related to Giuliani’s role in the ouster of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, the ex-New York City mayor downplayed any potential criminal exposure he now finds himself in.

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During a more than 10-minute back and forth with Erin Burnett on CNN on Thursday evening, Andrew Giuliani would not entirely rule out the “theoretical” possibility that his father, Rudy Giuliani, might turn on former President Donald Trump amidst a federal investigation into his dealings with Ukraine.

At one point, Burnett asked the younger Giuliani, who trended on Twitter earlier in the week after viewers noticed a resemblance to some of Will Ferrell’s more belligerent characters, to respond to comments from Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen.

“I think Donald understands that Rudy will provide whatever information that he has to the [Southern District of New York],” Cohen said, “because Rudy has no interest in going to prison and spending the golden years of his life behind bars. That I’m certain of.”

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Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos via Getty

A confession letter written by Joel Greenberg in the final months of the Trump presidency claims that he and close associate Rep. Matt Gaetz paid for sex with multiple women—as well as a girl who was 17 at the time.

“On more than one occasion, this individual was involved in sexual activities with several of the other girls, the congressman from Florida’s 1st Congressional District and myself,” Greenberg wrote in reference to the 17-year-old.

“From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the individual who was not yet 18. I did see the acts occur firsthand and Venmo transactions, Cash App or other payments were made to these girls on behalf of the Congressman.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Tens of thousands of people had gathered at the foot of Mount Meron to celebrate Lag BaOmer, a Jewish holiday honoring Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd century sage and mystic who is buried there.

A nurse at the forefront of the battle against India's deadly second Covid wave shares her story.

A coalition is calling for action from governments as victims describe crippling cyber-attacks.

The 16-year-old's albinism led to her being abandoned as a baby but she is now a successful model.

A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.

Photos of England's popular coastal communities seen from the air during the 20th Century.

The BBC talks to the volunteers running free workshops to help consumers fix broken gadgets.

A teacher returns to a village in St Vincent's restricted, volcano-damaged 'red zone'.

Australians in India are the latest group to feel abandoned by their government amid virus fears.

Local residents tested out the 500m walkway, which spans a gorge in Portugal's Arouca Geopark.