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Rueben Bain’s short arms and tragic car accident history contributed to his NFL Draft slide
Everybody knew about the tragic auto accident and the follow-up a year later, but when it came to Rueben Bain’s draft status, people said, “No worries.” His arms are short, but he’s really good, so the refrain remained: “No worries.”
Why then did Rueben Bain slide to the middle of the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday?
Whoever said neither issue would cause Bain to fall out of the Top 10 was obviously wrong.
He fell to the No. 15 overall selection held by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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And judging by Bain’s demeanor during his post-draft interview on ESPN, he wasn’t thrilled about it.
“I know I’m the best in the country, I’m sure,” an unsmiling Bain told ESPN’s Laura Rutledge after his selection. “That’s how I think of myself.
“I’m telling you I can do anything I put my mind to because of my mindset. I know when I get to this next level I’m going to pop it. “
The Buccaneers selected Bain to be their outside rusher complement to Vita Vea on the interior.
The Bucs thus get the ACC defensive player of the year and a consensus All-American.
But they also get a player that multiple other pass-rush needy teams passed up. The New York Jets took TCU’s David Bailey with the No. 2 overall selection and the New York Giants picked Arvell Reese in the No. 5 slot.
Bain was not only the 15th player taken overall but the third edge defender. That’s considered great by any standard. But it’s a disappointment to Bain and changes the narrative on him somewhat.
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“He’s got to prove himself and beat the odds and prove he can get it done in the NFL,” draft guru Mel Kiper said on national TV.
Interestingly, most of the coverage of Bain’s slide focused on the short length of his arms.
Melvin Ingram once upon a time measured in with arms the spanned 31 1/2 inches. And although that is considered short, Ingram turned into a good player. He played 12 seasons and made three Pro Bowls.
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But Bain’s arms measured in at 30 7/8 inches, and that is extremely short. Indeed, it is the third-shortest arm length of any DE ever to participate in the combine.
So, is that the reason Bain dropped out of the Top 10?
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Or is it his driving troubles and the manner in which he addressed those with teams?
Bain, you should know, was driving in March of 2024 when he hit another car on South Florida’s I-95 in the 4 a.m. hour and set off a chain reaction — hitting an eastside concrete wall and then careening all the way across the highway to the westside concrete barrier — that eventually left passenger Destiny Betts in a coma.
Betts, who had not been wearing a seatbelt, died three months later from complications of her blunt force trauma injuries.
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Bain was charged but cleared of careless driving because, in part, the traffic homicide investigator said he received the final report after Bain had already paid his citation.
NFL teams were aware of all this, plus an ensuing accident the player had in October 2025, for which he was also charged with careless driving.
To make matters more dicey, Bain declined to be fully transparent about the accidents with some NFL teams he met with starting at the NFL combine. That disappointed at least one team, an evaluator on that team told OutKick.
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Bain also declined to discuss the matter on Wednesday in front of reporters.
The Buccaneers, however, feel good about Bain, his short arms and his questionable driving.
“We’ve known about this a long time,” said general manager Jason Licht. “I know it just came out a couple of weeks ago. It was a very tragic accident. Tragic experience for the family. And it’s something you never want to see happen.
“But he’s a good person who was involved in something that, you know, none of us ever want to be involved in and never want any of our loved ones involved in. But he loves football. He loves football.”
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Mississippi middle schoolers stop runaway bus after driver loses consciousness from asthma attack
A group of Mississippi middle school students jumped into action this week to stop a school bus after the driver lost consciousness on a highway, preventing a potential crash.
About 40 students from Hancock Middle School were on board when their driver, Leah Taylor, 46, suffered an asthma attack shortly after leaving campus, according to The Associated Press.
Taylor attempted to grab her medication but passed out before she could reach it.
Without hesitation, the students sprang into action to keep the bus from crashing.
Sixth grader Jackson Casnave, 12, who was sitting behind the driver, noticed the bus begin to swerve. He rushed forward to grab the wheel and called for help.
“I didn’t have time to process my emotions,” Casnave said. “I just wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt.”
Darrius Clark, who is also 12, then hit the brakes, and the students steered the bus to a median and brought it to a stop.
Clark’s sister, Kayleigh, 13, called 911, later saying she struggled to hear the operator over the screams from classmates.
“I was scared, but also I had to help,” Kayleigh said.
Eighth grader Destiny Cornelius, 15, saw the driver holding a nebulizer and helped administer the medication, while 13-year-old McKenzy Finch assisted.
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Finch also noticed the driver’s phone ringing and alerted the district’s transportation team about what had happened.
Taylor, who has since made a full recovery, praised the students for their actions.
“I’m grateful for my students,” Taylor said. “They’re the ones that saved my life and everybody else’s on that bus.”
The students were honored at a school pep rally Friday and are set to receive a celebratory lunch next week, The AP reported.
“What they did took courage,” the school’s principal, Dr. Melissa Saucier, said. “They didn’t wait for somebody to step in, they stepped up themselves, and that says a lot about their character.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Secret Service in line of fire at WHCA shooting still unpaid due to Dem-led shutdown
A shooting near President Donald Trump and several Cabinet members Saturday night is putting a spotlight on the Secret Service’s funding shortfall amid an ongoing standoff in Congress.
A gunman opened fire outside the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., where celebrities, members of the press and administration officials had gathered, prompting a swift security response. The suspect is in custody and has not been identified. One Secret Service agent was reportedly shot in their protective vest but is uninjured.
The incident unfolded near a security screening area, prompting a rapid response from Secret Service agents and law enforcement.
The shooting comes amid a more than 60-day funding stalemate in Congress over the Department of Homeland Security — a lapse driven by Democrats blocking funding bills and rejecting multiple GOP-backed proposals to reopen the department.
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The funding standoff centers on disputes over immigration enforcement policy and has raised concerns about resources for agencies including the Secret Service, FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting the president, vice president, their families and other senior U.S. officials, along with visiting heads of state, has faced growing demands in recent years.
The incident adds to a growing list of threats against Trump, including two confirmed assassination attempts and a recent incident involving an armed intruder at Mar-a-Lago.
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Senate Democrats declined to fund DHS through regular appropriations earlier this year following a deadly January incident involving immigration officers, triggering a funding lapse that has now stretched beyond 60 days. Negotiations remain stalled. Democrats are seeking changes to DHS operations, while Republicans are relying on alternative funding to continue enforcement.
Republicans are also considering funding the department for the remainder of Trump’s term through budget reconciliation, the same process used for immigration funding last year.
The shooting also comes as the Secret Service faces increasing pressure during a high-threat election cycle.
Last week, Secret Service Director Sean Curran warned lawmakers the agency is not adequately staffed to handle the demands of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the 2028 Olympics and the 2028 presidential cycle, underscoring mounting concerns about staffing and resources.
As more details emerge from the investigation into this latest shooting, questions continue to mount over whether the Secret Service has the resources needed to handle an increasingly complex threat environment.
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Trump praises press after WHCD shooting, says unity at dinner was ‘beautiful’
President Donald Trump gave rare praise to the press in the aftermath of shots fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night that led to the evening’s rescheduling.
“This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press, and in a certain way it did, because the fact that they just unified,” Trump said at a White House press briefing. “I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing to see.”
Trump’s comments came after he confirmed that the dinner would be canceled in accordance with security protocol despite how he “fought like hell” to have it continue. He reiterated his intention to have the event rescheduled within the next month.
An assailant rushed security at the Washington Hilton Saturday night, shooting a Secret Service officer, who was hit in his bulletproof vest and survived. The suspect was apprehended and has been charged with multiple felonies. The gunfire led to Trump and the Cabinet at the dinner being evacuated, and the dinner will be rescheduled.
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Adding to the strangeness of the scene at the White House, Trump and many of the White House figures and reporters in the room were still wearing tuxedos and dresses after coming from the black tie dinner.
“I think it’s very important that I say, though, and I told the representatives of the evening they did such a beautiful job. It was such a beautiful evening. And again, they’re talking about free speech in our Constitution. That’s what it’s all about, not just White House correspondents. It was really based on free speech in our Constitution. But I said very importantly that we’ll do it again within the next 30 days. And we’ll make it bigger and better and even nicer. So I just want to thank everybody that was involved. I also want to thank the press, the media. You’ve been very responsible in your coverage. I will say I’ve been seeing what’s been out, and you’ve been very responsible,” Trump said.
Trump also took questions from members of the press. The first was from White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang, where he took the opportunity to compliment the CBS correspondent for the evening.
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“I just want to say you did a fantastic job. What a beautiful evening. And we’re going to reschedule. And after that, it’s very tough for her to ask a killer question, but you have done a fantastic job,” Trump said.
Jiang asked Trump his thoughts in the moment as the chaos unfolded, given his experience with assassination attempts. Trump said it was always a shocking event, no matter when it happened.
Trump also shared an image of the suspect being arrested from his Truth Social account.
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Trump, first lady Melania Trump and the rest of the president’s Cabinet were rushed from the head table after shots rang out. The site of the Washington Hilton was also the location of the assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Trump announced last month that he accepted the invitation to attend this year’s dinner, explaining that the country’s 250th anniversary influenced his decision.
Trump’s attendance marked the first time he had been present at the event as president in either term. Trump previously attended the dinner as a private citizen in 2011, when he was famously roasted by then-President Barack Obama.
Trump faced two assassination attempts in 2024, including one in Pennsylvania when an assailant’s bullet grazed his ear.
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