Monday, December 23, 2024
It is Monday, December 23, 2024. Here are today’s top stories.
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Congress avoids government shutdown
On Saturday, Congress managed to reach agreements on a funding bill and avoid a government shutdown. It keeps current funding levels through March 14 and includes $100 billion in disaster aid. It did not include a raising of the debt limit, which is what Donald Trump and Elon Musk wanted. President Biden said the agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything they wanted but it ensures the government can continue at full capacity.
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Woman in NYC subway set on fire
Police in New York City said in a subway car, a man set a woman’s blanket and clothes on fire with a lighter while she was sleeping or motionless on Sunday morning. When officers in the area smelled and saw smoke, they rushed to the woman, who was fully engulfed in flames. They extinguished the flames but the woman died. Cameras captured the suspect’s appearance and after police asked the public for help, he was found and arrested at another subway station about eight hours later. His name has not been released but officials said he is an immigrant from Guatemala. Officials said it was a brutal and depraved incident.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/22/us/nyc-subway-fire-woman-death/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clygk48nxgzo
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Gondola malfunction in Colorado
On Saturday a gondola malfunctioned at a ski resort in Colorado and left over 170 skiers and snowboarders stranded in the air. Staff spent about five hours lowering people down using ropes and pulleys. This happened at the Winter Park Resort. A resort spokesperson said staff are trained for emergency gondola rescues each year so they were prepared. Those who were stranded and rescued were given free lift passes for this year or next year and a $10 voucher. Winter Park said they would carry out repairs and replacements on the gondola.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/170-skiers-snowboarders-rescued-after-gondola-malfunction-colorado/story
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Five in Germany killed when car plows into Christmas market
On Friday night in Germany, a man plowed a SUV into an outdoor Christmas market that was packed with people. Tragically, five people, including a 9-year-old boy, were killed. Over 200 others were wounded.
German law enforcement arrested a 50-year-old suspect, Taleb A. He is a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who lived in Germany for almost 20 years. Authorities are trying to understand his motive and said he was not someone who is an Islamic extremist but the opposite — he frequently posted criticism of the German government for not doing enough to stop radical Islam.
The New York Times said there was a memorial set up to honor the victims and that there were several hundred people protesting the incident by chanting, “Deport! Deport!”
In 2016, there was a similar incident in Germany when a man drove a truck through a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and wounding many others. The driver was an ISIS supporter who died in a police shootout.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/22/world/europe/germany-christmas-market-attack.html
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Joe Biden commutes sentences of 37 on federal death row
President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 people who are on federal death row by changing their punishments to life imprisonment without parole. Biden said did this because he wants to stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level and doesn’t want the upcoming Trump administration to carry out executions.
Those getting commutations include Len Davis, a former New Orleans police officer who protected drug dealers and ordered a woman to be killed and Norris Holder, who robbed a bank that resulted in a security guard being killed.
The three people who didn’t have their sentences commuted are Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - one of the Boston marathon bombers, Dylann Roof - who killed nine Black church members, and Robert Bowers - who killed 11 at a synagogue.
This is yet another round of forgiveness from Biden, who gave clemency to 1,500 people a few weeks ago and pardoned his son, Hunter.
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Party City to close all stores by February
Party City announced it would close all of its 748 stores by the end of February. This will affect over 16,000 employees. CNN reported that CEO Barry Litwin told certain employees in a Friday meeting that it would be their last day working and that they would not receive severance pay or benefits after the company goes out of business. Party City is currently selling off its items at discounts. CNN explained that Party City had faced business struggles due to inflation and competition from Amazon, Temu, and other retailers such as Walmart or Target.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/20/business/party-city-shut-down/index.html
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.