Nevada
Man Says He Got Tigers From Joe Exotic. Now, an Arrest
A Nevada man has been arrested after cops raided his home and seized seven tigers—some of whom he says he got from reality-TV star Joe Exotic—that he says were his “emotional support animals.” NBC News reports the raid went down on Wednesday in Pahrump, where 71-year-old Karl Mitchell was detained on suspicion of resisting arrest. Police there say Mitchell didn’t have the proper permit that Nye County requires to own the tigers, and that he had breached other rules over the years.
“He has been seen walking the tigers loose around the property, off the property in the desert,” Sheriff Joe McGill tells KSNV, adding that the probe into Mitchell began several months ago. “There have been social media posts from him with people interacting with the cats, which is also in violation.” Mitchell, for his part, says he’s a veteran with PTSD—and his partner did produce a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs that appeared to show that was the case—and that he’d saved some of the tigers in his charge from the Tiger King star.
A VA rep tells the New York Times they’re looking into Mitchell’s emotional support claim, but Joe Exotic (real name: Joseph Maldonado-Passage) is pushing back on the other part of Mitchell’s narrative. “None of these tigers came from me,” Maldonado-Passage said in a recent interview from prison, where he’s serving a 21-year sentence for a failed murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin. The USDA, meanwhile, says Mitchell violated multiple cease-and-desist orders over the years to not exhibit the tigers and has been hit with almost $70,000 worth of fines.
story continues below
“They give me calmness, peace,” Mitchell tells the Times. “They are our whole life, and they’re our children.” Mitchell, who was arrested after deputies say he wouldn’t hand over the keys to the tiger cages during the raid, also caught a gun possession charge and was released from custody that same evening on $6,000 bail. He’s next set to appear in court on May 15. McGill says other charges may arise, especially as some of the tigers seemed to be underweight and allegedly had water dishes filled with algae. The tigers were reportedly transported to a sanctuary in Arkansas. (More emotional support animal stories.)
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A deadly crash has closed all lanes at I-15 and Charleston Boulevard, police say.
Nevada State Police posted on social media after 7 p.m. about the crash. Police say drivers in the area should use other routes.
Police have not immediately shared details about the victim or if other people are involved. It’s not yet confirmed if impairment is suspected.
This is a developing story. Check back later for details.
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
This story was co-published with Public Domain.
Karen Budd-Falen, a top official at the Department of Interior, has financial ties to the controversial Thacker Pass lithium mine in northern Nevada — a project that the Trump administration worked to fast-track during its first term. In recent months, the administration took an equity stake in the mine and the mine’s parent company.
After an unexplained delay, Public Domain and High Country News obtained Budd-Falen’s financial disclosure earlier this month, which details her family’s extensive land holdings. Among them is Home Ranch LLC, a Nevada ranching operation valued at over $1 million. Nevada’s business search database shows a Home Ranch LLC that listed Frank Falen as the manager in February 2022. Frank Falen is also the name of Karen Budd Falen’s husband.
In November 2018, not long after Karen Budd-Falen joined the first Trump administration as a top legal official at the Interior Department, Home Ranch LLC agreed to sell water rights to Lithium Nevada Corporation, the company developing the Thacker Pass mine, for an undisclosed amount of money, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Frank Falen is listed on the document.
A Home Ranch also appears in planning documents that Lithium Nevada submitted to federal regulators during Trump’s first term. A monitoring plan for Thacker Pass, dated July 2021, notes that the company intended to use existing stock water wells owned by Home Ranch LLC to “monitor potential drawdown impacts” from its mining operations.
The water purchase agreement and other records raise questions about potential conflicts of interest. Budd-Falen was appointed in March as associate deputy secretary to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum — a position that does not require Senate confirmation. She also served as a high-ranking legal official at the Interior Department during President Trump’s first term.
It was during that earlier government stint that her official calendar lists a November 6, 2019 meeting in which Budd-Falen was scheduled to have “lunch with Lithium Nevada.”
In 2019, Lithium Nevada, a subsidiary of the Canadian mining firm Lithium Americas, was seeking speedy approval for its Thacker Pass mine in northern Nevada. In the waning days of the first Trump administration it received just that. In January 2021, the Bureau of Land Management approved the mine project, which includes some 5,700 acres of public land.
The $2.2 billion, open-pit mine project has drawn fierce opposition from area tribes and environmentalists, who argue it threatens water resources, endangered species and sacred cultural sites. Thacker Pass, known as Peehee Mu’huh to the Paiute Shoshone people, was the site of an 1865 massacre of at least 31 Paiute people.
Budd-Falen was being considered to lead the BLM during Trump’s first term, but turned down the director job when she learned that she and her husband would have to sell their interests in their family ranches to avoid conflicts of interest, she told The Fence Post in 2018.
Since returning to power, Trump and his team have again worked to move the project forward, as part of a broader push to boost critical mineral mining in the U.S. In September, the Trump administration struck a deal with Lithium Americas to take a 5% equity stake in both the Thacker Pass mine and the company, in exchange for the release of loan money from the Department of Energy.
Budd-Falen has largely worked behind the scenes at the Interior Department. Little is known about what issues she has focused on since returning to the sprawling agency. Notably, Interior officials have yet to release her ethics agreement, which would detail any companies or projects that are off limits.
“Did she have any oversight of the environmental review process regarding Thacker Pass? It is a big question,” said Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, a water conservation group in Nevada. “If she didn’t recuse herself, it would fly in the face of the impartial decisionmaking that Americans expect from government officials.”
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
SPARKS, Nev. (BRAIN) — Bicycle Technologies International relocated its warehouse and service operations to a new distribution center with a footprint 50% larger than its previous location about a half mile away.
The facility increases BTI’s inventory capacity, and accelerates order fulfillment for its dealer network. It also expands BTI’s suspension service workspace. All the daily cutoff times will remain unchanged for shops, and the facility is fully operational and shipping packages.
“Our new Sparks distribution center represents a major investment in the future of our company and in the success of our retailer partners,” said Preston Martin, BTI co-founder. “The expanded footprint is timely given that BTI will be introducing more top brands in 2026.”
The company is headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and continues to ship from there as well.
BTI said more stock at the new facility means fewer split shipments from multiple locations, reducing the average carbon footprint per order.
Supplementing the building’s skylights and office windows, BTI upgraded all lighting to LEDs with occupancy sensors that save energy by turning off lights in vacant areas. The Sparks’ staff can utilize BTI’s Green Machine benefit that pays employees cash to ride, walk, or take public transit to work.
BTI’s new address is 740 E Glendale Ave., Sparks, Nevada, 89431.
Falcons-Buccaneers on ‘Thursday Night Football’: What We Learned from Atlanta’s 29-28 win
Minneapolis council’s costly encampment response plan passes, likely to be vetoed
Indy DPW drivers prepping for the ‘snow fight’ with 12-hour shifts
Fowler makes 36 saves in NHL debut, Canadiens defeat Penguins | NHL.com
Augusta homeless task force holds last meeting of 2025, sets goals for next year
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Video: Hiker Rescued From Quicksand in Arches National Park
The Speaker’s Lobby: What Congress’ December script means for healthcare next year
Coalition of the Willing calls for transatlantic unity for Ukraine
In a setback for Trump, Indiana lawmakers defeat redistricting plan
House Dem to force Trump impeachment vote on 2 articles
-
Alaska6 days agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Politics1 week agoTrump rips Somali community as federal agents reportedly eye Minnesota enforcement sweep
-
Ohio1 week agoWho do the Ohio State Buckeyes hire as the next offensive coordinator?
-
Texas6 days agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
News1 week agoTrump threatens strikes on any country he claims makes drugs for US
-
World1 week agoHonduras election council member accuses colleague of ‘intimidation’
-
Washington3 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa5 days agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire