In the news today: New York prosecutors file a murder charge against the suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing; thousands search for loved ones in a Syrian prison known as “the slaughterhouse”; and Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship as soon as he gets into office. Also, 10 TV shows worth watching before the new year. |
The suspect sought in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)
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Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing charged with murder in New York, court records show
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Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, was arrested Monday in the killing of Brian Thompson, who headed one of the United States’ largest medical insurance companies. Read more.
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The arrest came five days after UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was gunned down on a New York sidewalk. Credit for the arrest is shared with a Pennsylvania McDonald’s customer who noticed another patron who resembled the man in security-camera photos that New York police had publicized.
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New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Manhattan news conference that Mangione was carrying a gun like the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter had used to check into a New York hostel, along with a passport and other fraudulent IDs. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione also had a three-page, handwritten document that shows “some ill will toward corporate America.”
A law enforcement official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the document included a line in which Mangione claimed to have acted alone. “To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the document said, according to the official. It also had a line that said, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”
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Thousands scour Syria’s most horrific prison but find no sign of their loved ones
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After the fall of their longtime tormentor, former Syrian President Bashar Assad, the first place many rushed to was Saydnaya Prison, looking for signs of loved ones who disappeared years or even decades ago into the secretive, sprawling complex just outside Damascus. The prison is a place so notorious for its horrors that it was known as “the slaughterhouse.” Read more.
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On Monday, people opened the heavy iron doors lining the prison hallways to find cells inside empty. With sledgehammers, shovels and drills, men pounded holes in floors and walls, looking for what they believed were secret dungeons, or chasing sounds they thought they heard from underground. They found nothing. Insurgents freed dozens of people from Saydnaya on Sunday, when Damascus fell. Since then, almost no one has been found.
During Assad’s rule and particularly after the 2011 protests began, any hint of dissent could land someone in Saydnaya. Few ever emerged. In 2017, Amnesty International estimated that 10,000-20,000 people were being held there at the time “from every sector of society.” It said they were effectively slated for “extermination.” Around 150,000 people were detained or went missing in Syria since 2011 — and tens of thousands of them are believed to have gone through Saydnaya.
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Thousands were killed in frequent mass executions, Amnesty reported, citing testimony from freed prisoners and prison officials. Prisoners were subjected to constant torture, intense beatings and rape. Almost daily, guards did rounds of the cells to collect bodies of inmates who had died overnight from injuries, disease or starvation. Some inmates fell into psychosis and starved themselves, the human rights group said.
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Trump promises to end birthright citizenship
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President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship as soon as he gets into office to make good on campaign promises aiming to restrict immigration and redefining what it means to be American. But any efforts to halt the policy would face steep legal hurdles, including a legal challenge that it violates the Constitution. Read more.
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Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It’s been in place for decades and includes children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa. It’s not the practice of every country, and Trump and his supporters have argued that the system is being abused and that there should be tougher standards for becoming an American citizen. But others say this is a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which protects the rights of citizens. It would be extremely difficult to overturn and even if it’s possible, it’s a bad idea, they say.
Asked how he could get around the 14th Amendment with an executive action, Trump said: “Well, we’re going to have to get it changed. We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it.” He gave many more details in a 2023 post on his campaign website where he said he would issue an executive order the first day of his presidency, making it clear that federal agencies “require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to become automatic U.S. citizens.”
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This combination of photos shows promotional art for various TV series.
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10 new TV shows from 2024 that are worth watching before the new year
From "Nobody Wants This" to “ Shogun,” this year brought us new standout comedies, dramas, reality TV and remakes of old favorites that caught the attention of viewers, awards voters and the zeitgeist. In no particular order, we have a list of 10 new shows from 2024 to check out before the new year. |
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
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