AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EST
Gun found on suspect in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO matches shell casings at scene, police say
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) - The gun found on the man charged with killing United Healthcare´s CEO matched shell casings found at the site of the shooting, New York City´s police commissioner said Wednesday as authorities scrutinized evidence and the suspect's experiences with the victim's industry.
Luigi Mangione ´s fingerprints also matched a water bottle and a snack bar wrapper that police found near the scene in midtown Manhattan, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at an unrelated news conference. Police had said earlier that they believed the gunman bought the items at a nearby coffee shop while awaiting his target.
Mangione, 26, remained jailed without bail Wednesday in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested and initially charged with gun and forgery offenses. Manhattan prosecutors were working to bring him to New York to face a murder charge in the death of Brian Thompson, the leader of the United States´ biggest health insurer.
Mangione's lawyer has cautioned the public against prejudging the case.
While the case is in early stages, police believe the suspect may have been motivated by animus toward the health care industry.
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Arguments over whether Luigi Mangione is a 'hero' offer a glimpse into an unusual American moment
Is he a hero? A killer? Both?
About the same time the #FreeLuigi memes featuring the mustachioed plumber from "Super Mario Brothers" mushroomed online this week, commenters shared memes showing Tony Soprano pronouncing Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO in Manhattan, a hero. There were the posts lionizing Mangione´s physique and appearance, the ones speculating about who could play him on "Saturday Night Live," and the ones denouncing and even threatening people at a Pennsylvania McDonald´s for spotting him and calling police.
It was all too much for Pennsylvania's governor, a rising Democrat who was nearly the vice presidential nominee this year. Josh Shapiro - who was dealing with a case somewhere else that happened to land in his lap - decried what he saw as growing support for "vigilante justice."
As with so many American events at this moment in the 21st century, the curious case of Brian Thompson and Luigi Mangione has both captivated and polarized a media-saturated nation.
The saga offers a glimpse into how, in a connected world, so many different aspects of modern American life can be surreally linked - from public violence to politics, from health care to humor (or attempts at it).
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FBI Director Wray says he intends to resign before Trump takes office in January
WASHINGTON (AP) - FBI Director Christopher Wray told bureau workers Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden's term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job.
Wray said at a town hall meeting that he would be stepping down "after weeks of careful thought," roughly three years short of the completion of a 10-year term during which he tried to keep the FBI out of politics even as the bureau found itself entangled in a string of explosive investigations, including two that led to separate indictments of Trump last year as well as inquiries into Biden and his son.
"My goal is to keep the focus onour mission - the indispensable work you´re doing on behalf of the American people every day," Wray told agency employees. "In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work."
The intended resignation was not unexpected considering that Trump had settled on Patel to be director and had repeatedly aired his ire at Wray, whom he appointed during his first term. But his departure is nonetheless a reflection of how Trump's norm-breaking style has reshaped Washington, with the president-elect yet again flouting tradition by moving to replace an FBI director well before his term was up and Wray resigning to avert a collision with the incoming administration.
"It should go without saying, but I´ll say it anyway - this is not easy for me," Wray said. "I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people - but my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what´s right for the FBI."
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South Korean president says martial law was an act of governance and denies rebellion charges
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's president defended his martial law decree as an act of governance and denied rebellion charges Thursday, rejecting the opposition-led impeachment attempts against him and investigations into last week's move.
Yoon Suk Yeol's televised statement came hours before the main liberal opposition Democratic Party submits a new impeachment motion against Yoon. The opposition party plans to put the motion on a floor vote this Saturday.
Its earlier attempt to impeach Yoon fell through last Saturday, with ruling party lawmakers boycotting a vote at the National Assembly.
Yoon´s Dec. 3 martial law declaration, the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea, has generated political chaos and large protests calling for his ouster. The decree brought hundreds of armed troops attempting to encircle parliament and raiding the election commission, though no major violence or injuries occurred, and he was forced to lift it about six hours later.
"I will fight to the end, to prevent the forces and criminal groups that have been responsible for paralyzing the country´s government and disrupting the nation´s constitutional order from threatening the future of the Republic of Korea," Yoon said.
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North Carolina announces 5-year deal with Bill Belichick to take over as coach of the Tar Heels
Bill Belichick had seemingly been waiting for the right opportunity to return to an NFL sideline. Instead, the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach is headed to the college ranks to take over at North Carolina.
The school announced it had reached a five-year deal with Belichick on Wednesday night, roughly a week after Belichick´s name surfaced as an unlikely candidate to replace the program´s winningest all-time coach in Mack Brown. The deal requires approval by UNC trustees as well as the UNC public system´s governors; an introductory news conference has yet to be scheduled.
Moving on from the 73-year-old Brown to hire the 72-year-old Belichick means UNC is turning to a coach who has never worked at the college level, yet had incredible success in the NFL alongside quarterback Tom Brady throughout most of his 24-year tenure with the Patriots, which ended last season.
There´s also at least a small family tie to the UNC program for Belichick; his late father, Steve, was an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 1953-55.
"I am excited for the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill," Belichick said in a statement. "I grew up around college football with my dad and treasured those times. I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill.
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Donald Trump will ring the New York Stock Exchange bell as he's named Time's Person of the Year
NEW YORK (AP) - Donald Trump used his image as a successful New York businessman to become a celebrity, a reality television star and eventually the president. Now he will get to revel in one of the most visible symbols of success in the city when he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday as he's also named Time Magazine's Person of the Year.
Trump is expected to be on Wall Street to mark the ceremonial start of the day's trading, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. He will also be announced Thursday as Time's 2024 Person of the Year, according to a person familiar with the selection. The people who confirmed the stock exchange appearance and Time award were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
It will be a notable moment of twin recognitions for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who at times has treated the stock market as a measure of public approval and has long-prized signifiers of his success in New York's business world and his appearances on the covers of magazines - especially Time.
Trump was named the magazine's Person of the Year in 2016, when he was first elected to the White House. He had already been listed as a finalist for this year's award alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate, the Princess of Wales.
Time declined to confirm the selection ahead of Thursday morning's announcement.
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Homeland Security shares new details of mysterious drone flights over New Jersey
The large mysterious drones reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.
In a post on the social media platform X, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia described the drones as up to 6 feet in diameter and sometimes traveling with their lights switched off. The Morris County Republican was among several state and local lawmakers who met with state police and Homeland Security officials to discuss the spate of sightings that range from the New York City area through New Jersey and westward into parts of Pennsylvania, including over Philadelphia.
The devices do not appear to be being flown by hobbyists, Fantasia wrote.
Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights started last month and have raised growing concern among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility; and over President-elect Donald Trump´s golf course in Bedminster. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use, but they are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.
Most, but not all, of the drones spotted in New Jersey were larger than those typically used by hobbyists.
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Hannah Kobayashi, missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance prompted a massive search, is found safe
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hannah Kobayashi, the missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance prompted a massive search and a missing persons investigation in Los Angeles, has been found safe, police said Wednesday.
Kobayashi vanished last month in Los Angeles. She missed her connecting flight and planned to explore the city the next day, but subsequent text messages to her family - and an inability to then reach her - alarmed them so much that they later reported her missing.
Other details about her disappearance, as well as where and how she was found, were not immediately available Wednesday, but police previously said she was "voluntarily missing" and had gone on her own will across the border into Mexico.
"We are happy to learn that Hannah has been found safe," the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement. "Now that we have this new information, this has become a private matter and we will wrap up our investigation."
Kobayashi's mother and sister, in a statement through their lawyer, were the first to announce Wednesday that she had been found safe.
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Atmospheric river brings weather whiplash to East Coast as bomb cyclone develops
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The U.S. East Coast began a whiplash-inducing stretch of weather Wednesday with a deluge of rain, rapid snowmelt and powerful gusts, creating dangerous conditions, due in part to an atmospheric river and developing bomb cyclone.
Ski resort operators in the Northeast watched their snow turn to mush with a deluge of rain and unseasonably high temperatures - followed by damaging winds - all in the same day, part of a powerful storm system that stretched from Florida to Maine.
Utilities braced for widespread power outages with winds projected to exceed 60 mph (97 kph) through late Wednesday. Isolated severe thunderstorms were possible southward into portions of Florida. Elsewhere, heavy lake effect snow was expected through Thursday in parts of Michigan, along the Lake Michigan shoreline, and dangerous cold enveloped parts of the Upper Midwest.
A key driver in the weather was an atmospheric river, which is a long band of water vapor that can transport moisture from the tropics to more northern areas, said Derek Schroeter, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. New England was bearing the brunt as the storm tapped moisture from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the U.S. Southeast, and transported it to places like Maine, he said.
Forecasters also said the storm had the potential to include a process that meteorologists call bombogenesis, or a "bomb cyclone." That´s a rapid intensification of a cyclone in a short period of time, and it has the ability to bring severe rainfall.
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Syrians flock to morgues looking for loved ones who perished in Assad's prisons
DAMASCUS (AP) - Mohammad Chaeeb spoke softly into his phone, telling a relative the grim news: He found his brother at the morgue.
"I saw him and said my goodbyes," he said. His gaze lingered on the blackened body of Sami Chaeeb, whose teeth were bared and whose eye sockets were empty. It looked as if he had died screaming. "He doesn´t look normal. He doesn´t even have eyes."
The dead man was jailed five months ago, disappearing into a dark prison system under the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. His body is just one of many found in Syrian detention centers and prisons since Assad's government fell last weekend.
Some of the prisoners died just weeks ago. Others perished months earlier. Syrians across the world are now circulating images of the bodies in hope of seeing slain loved ones whose fate had been a mystery.
At the morgue visited by The Associated Press on Wednesday in Damascus, families flocked to a wall where some of the pictures were pinned in a haunting gallery of the dead. Relatives desperately scanned the images for a recognizable face.
