Wednesday, December 18, 2024
It is Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Here are today’s top stories.
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Luigi Mangione indicted with terrorism-related charges
Luigi Mangione, the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, was indicted with one count of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and one count of second-degree murder as an act of terrorism.
Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg said the CEO killing was “to evoke terror.”
Mangione is still in a Pennsylvania jail after his arrest at a McDonald’s. News reports said he may stop fighting against extradition and allow himself to be moved to New York in a few days.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/17/luigi-mangione-brian-thompson-murder-new-york-extradition.html
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Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Honda and Nissan are talking about possibly merging, and Mitsubishi could be a part of the deal. All three are Japanese automakers.
CNN Business explained that Honda and Nissan have faced business struggles, especially in the Chinese market because Chinese customers have started buying more popular Chinese-made cars like BYD.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/17/business/honda-nissan-merger-talks/index.html
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48 Catholic priests in Michigan accused of historic sexual misconduct
Michigan’s attorney general released an investigative report that accused 48 Catholic priests of sexual misconduct against children and adults since 1950. Most of the allegations took place in the 1970s and 1980s.
Eleven people have been charged and nine convicted, but many of those accused have already died or are immune from prosecution due to statute of limitations.
The A.G. report’s objective was to acknowledge that there were victims of the alleged crimes.
A top Michigan Catholic official said his heart breaks for all of those who have suffered and that these terrible things should never have happened.
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Wisconsin school shooter had tough home life
The Washington Post reported that the 15-year-old girl who carried out the school shooting in Wisconsin on Monday and then took her own life, Natalie Rupnow, had a tough and turbulent home life. Her parents divorced and remarried multiple times and she sometimes had to follow complicated custody agreements in which she would move between her parents’ homes every two or three days. Natalie was undergoing therapy and it was supposed to help her decide which parent she would spend weekends with.
The Post said Natalie’s father posted on Facebook in August a picture of Natalie at a firing range doing target practice. The father, Jeff, said they were enjoying their time at the gun club.
Police said there are always signs of a school shooting before it occurred and they are investigating Natalie’s social media activity and state of mind before the shooting. She may have written some kind of manifesto.
Police said they are investigating exactly how Natalie got ahold of the handgun she used in the shooting, but it appears that because her dad was in a gun club, it wouldn’t be hard for a 15-year-old to figure out how to take the gun.
The Post said Natalie is one of just nine female school shooters in the last 25 years and is one of the youngest shooters.
There was a vigil on Tuesday night in Madison for residents to gather together and mourn the incident, which left a student and a teacher deceased and several others injured.
One note — police corrected a previous statement that a 2nd grade student called 911 to report the shooting — it was actually a 2nd grade teacher who called.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/12/17/madison-wisconsin-school-shooter-natalie-rupnow/
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Tom Cruise receives top military honor
Actor Tom Cruise received a top military honor from the Navy to recognize his contribution to the US Navy through his film work in “Top Gun” and for inspiring people to serve in the Navy and Marine Corps.
The award is called the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award and it is the highest honor that a person outside of the Navy can receive.
Cruise said he’s happy to have inspired people and thanked the cast and crew that he got to work with on all of his film sets.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/17/entertainment/tom-cruise-top-gun-navy-award/index.html
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New York man discovers mastodon jaw in backyard
A man in Stockton, New York spotted two teeth on the ground near a plant in his backyard and with more digging, realized it was a large piece of a jaw. The homeowner said he decided to “call in the experts” and staff from the New York State Museum came in to look at the property. The teeth belonged to a full, well-preserved adult jaw of a mastodon, which is an ancient elephant-like species that walked on North America until they became extinct about 10,000 years ago. The excavation in the backyard also discovered fragments of rib and toe bones. The New York State Museum plans to use carbon dating and analysis methods to determine the animal’s age and put the bones on public display in 2025.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mastodon-jaw-found-new-york-homeowner-backyard/
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Supreme Court to hear case on TikTok ban
The Supreme Court said it would hear arguments on whether Congress’ upcoming ban on TikTok can be enforced. The arguments will happen on January 10. Right now, the only way for TikTok to avoid the ban is for its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its American division to a non-Chinese entity. TikTok has argued that the ban violates Americans’ First Amendment rights, but Congress said the ban is about national security concerns. The ultimate deadline for the ban is January 19. The Supreme Court could issue a ruling before that deadline.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/18/politics/supreme-court-tiktok-ban/index.html
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.