Man who shot train shaving video says he meant no harm

The commuter who filmed another man shaving on a commuter train heading out of New York City and posted the video on social media says he never intended any harm.

"I never intended any harm by taking or posting this video," Pete Bentivegna said in a tweet Tuesday. "There has been a lot of licensing interest and all proceeds will be going to support Anthony Torres and his family."

Bentivegna was on a Thursday evening New Jersey Transit train when he took the video of Torres, sitting in his seat, steadily swiping away at his lathered face and tossing the shaving cream from the razor onto the floor.

Anthony Torres poses for a photograph at his brother's home in Atco, N.J., Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Torres says he was the rider caught shaving on a New Jersey Transit train in a video that went viral. Torres said he was just trying to clean up after days spent in a homeless shelter. (AP PhotoMatt Rourke)

The self-grooming earned its share of negative comments on the internet, with insults like "slob," ''animal" and "nasty." Others humorously lauded his steady hand with a razor. A few cautioned against passing judgment and suggested people didn't know the whole story.

Torres told The Associated Press that the people judging him on social media don't know the struggle he's been through in his life.

"My life is all screwed up. That's the reason I was shaving on the train," he said.

Anthony Torres poses for a photograph at his brother's home in Atco, N.J., Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Torres says he was the rider caught shaving on a New Jersey Transit train in a video that went viral. Torres said he was just trying to clean up after days spent in a homeless shelter. (AP PhotoMatt Rourke)

Torres said he had been homeless and staying in a shelter in New York City. He said he left the shelter before having a chance to shower and clean up and wanted to look "presentable."

"I don't want to say that I'm homeless, let everybody know," he said. "That's why I was shaving."

Torres said he didn't realize he was being filmed on the train. When he found out the video was circulating on the internet, he was amazed and a little upset.

Anthony Torres poses for a photograph at his brother's home in Atco, N.J., Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Torres says he was the rider caught shaving on a New Jersey Transit train in a video that went viral. Torres said he was just trying to clean up after days spent in a homeless shelter. (AP PhotoMatt Rourke)

"I never thought it would go viral, people making fun of me," he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.

While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions during his confinement, the intelligence community has found “no smoking gun” that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death — which came soon before the Russian president's reelection — or directly ordered it, according to the official.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

Soon after Navalny’s death, U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin was ultimately responsible but did not accuse the Russian president of directly ordering it.

At the time, Biden said the U.S. did not know exactly what had happened to Navalny but that “there is no doubt” that his death “was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”

Navalny, 47, Russia’s best-known opposition politician and Putin’s most persistent foe, died Feb. 16 in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he rejected as politically motivated.

He had been behind bars since January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Russian officials have said only that Navalny died of natural causes and have vehemently denied involvement both in the poisoning and in his death.

In March, a month after Navalny’s death, Putin won a landslide reelection for a fifth term, an outcome that was never in doubt.

The Wall Street Journal first reported about the U.S. intelligence determination.

FILE - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking during his interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 18, 2017. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn't order the death of Navalny, the imprisoned opposition leader, in February of 2024. An official says the U.S. intelligence community has found "no smoking gun" that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death or directly ordered it. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)