Mangione hires prime lawyer, South Korea’s president impeached, no solutions for thriller drones: Weekend Rundown

Luigi Mangione disappeared for months earlier than CEO taking pictures

Earlier than UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed, Luigi Mangione went darkish for months and family members desperately tried to search out him, reaching out to former classmates and posting pleas on social media.

Since his arrest, mates have been struggling to make sense of the information. “He was the sort of individual that you’d know was going to do nice issues,” one stated. “It is simply completely heartbreaking to assume that he might have been an murderer and heartbreaking to know that his life is actually eternally over or altered in unimaginable methods.”

Mangione has retained a distinguished New York legal professional to signify him on costs in Thompson’s homicide. Karen Friedman Agnifilo was the chief assistant district legal professional within the Manhattan district legal professional’s workplace for seven years.

The week that modified Syria

For greater than a decade, Syria was synonymous with warfare, brutality and the household dynasty visiting that violence by itself folks. Then, in a relative eyeblink, all the things modified.

It was one week in the past that President Bashar al-Assad fled the nation as rebels entered Damascus. Syrians have since torn down statues of Assad and ripped again the veil from his murderous regime.

Hundreds of individuals have been free of torturous prisons, whereas 1000’s extra have been left looking the infamous websites for his or her family members. And the determined hunt for lacking American Austin Tice uncovered one other American, a pilgrim named Travis Timmerman, in one among many outstanding developments.

Debra Tice, the mom of the journalist who has been lacking since he was detained in Syria in 2012, stated Sunday on NBC Information’ “Meet the Press” that Timmerman’s discovery was “virtually like having a rehearsal … of what it’s going to essentially really feel like when it’s Austin strolling free.”

One week after the autumn of Assad, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has confirmed the U.S. has made direct contact with Syria’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which the U.S. nonetheless formally considers a terrorist group, because it transitions from a militant insurgency towards a extra professional governing authority.

South Korean president impeached

Lawmakers voted Saturday to question South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed try and impose martial legislation.

The movement held that Yoon’s declaration was unconstitutional and unlawful as a result of there have been no indicators of nationwide emergency and since he uncared for to observe procedural guidelines. The vote was 204 to 85.

“That is solely the start,” stated Park Chan-dae, ground chief for the principle opposition Democratic Get together. “We are going to conduct an intensive investigation of individuals concerned with the martial legislation.”

Yoon was instantly suspended from state duties after the vote, with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo serving as performing president. Yoon will stay within the presidential residence till a ruling by the Constitutional Court docket, which has six months to determine whether or not to uphold the impeachment movement.

No solutions for thriller drones as officers request assist

Confusion and frustration over mysterious drone sightings alongside the East Coast are reaching a boiling level, and in New York, they even pressured a quick shutdown of runways at New York Stewart Worldwide Airport on Friday.

“This has gone too far,” Gov. Kathy Hochul stated in a press release. She stated she directed the New York State Intelligence Heart to actively examine the drone sightings and coordinate with federal legislation enforcement companies to handle the drones.

Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., requested that a drone detection system be despatched to New York and New Jersey. “A number of drones flying collectively can confuse a standard radar system, and that is why, once more, this new expertise can actually get us the solutions that we’d like,” he advised reporters Sunday.

In Seaside Heights, New Jersey, NBC Information had direct entry to surveillance efforts by native officers and witnessed a number of fast-flying objects Friday that seemed to be transferring a lot quicker than industrial planes on the police thermal cameras.

After a couple of month of reported sightings, there nonetheless have not been any clear solutions. “Realistically, as soon as we discover out the place they’re coming from or the place they are going, we’ll have a greater thought of who’s doing it,” a detective stated.

Meet the Press

In an interview with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a prime Trump ally, plainly stated “no” when he was requested whether or not he agrees with President-elect Donald Trump’s declare that members of the Home Jan. 6 Committee ought to go to jail.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., described the risk to jail the committee members as “an outrageous assertion” and stated President Joe Biden ought to think about pre-emptive pardons for the seven Home Democrats and two Home Republicans, then-Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

“That is what authoritarianism is all about. It’s what dictatorship is all about,” Sanders stated.

You’ll be able to watch the total interview right here.

Politics briefly

Pelosi recovering: Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the previous Home speaker, underwent hip substitute surgical procedure in Germany after she sustained an harm in Luxembourg throughout a congressional journey.

Trump settlement: ABC Information pays $15 million to Trump’s presidential basis as a part of a authorized settlement, closing out a defamation case Trump introduced over feedback by anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Pardon issues: As Trump prepares to challenge pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, allies and critics alike have considerations that he has not adopted the main points of the sprawling investigation into the Capitol assault.

Tradition warrior tapped: Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican lawyer identified for championing conservative causes and the GOP nationwide committeewoman for California, has been put ahead to guide the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division. 

Democrat displays on loss: Sen. Bob Casey, one of many longest-serving senators in Pennsylvania’s historical past, narrowly misplaced his race, and he thinks it is partly due to how “robust” a candidate Trump was.

A field workplace shock

The re-release of “Interstellar” in IMAX has given Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic one other large field workplace success a decade after it debuted. The movie, starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, generated $4.5 million throughout 166 screens final weekend, with all IMAX screenings promoting out.

Nolan has amassed a fervent fan base over time, and a few moviegoers who missed “Interstellar” in theaters the primary time have been excited to get the total cinematic expertise.

“A buddy advised me I am unable to expertise it on a TV display or a laptop computer display,” one stated. “It simply doesn’t examine.”

In case you missed it

• An Israeli strike in Gaza final week leveled properties, decreased streets to rubble and killed at the least 36 folks. Survivors are reeling from the devastation and lives that had been torn aside.
• A California couple had been fatally shot whereas on trip in Mexico, native authorities stated.
• Jamie Foxx was injured when somebody threw a glass that struck him in his mouth, his consultant stated. There are stories Foxx was concerned in a combat at a restaurant in Beverly Hills, California.
• A Village Voice photographer who captured a number of of an important moments in LGBTQ historical past, together with the Stonewall rebellion, is having his work exhibited on the New York Historic Society.
• It’s known as Fartcoin. It’s completely ineffective. So why has it tripled in worth over the previous week to a market capitalization of greater than $700 million?
• Three canine attacked their proprietor at a San Diego park Friday, killing him and injuring one other individual, authorities stated.
• Lawmakers in Iraq are proposing amendments to the nation’s legal guidelines that might enable marriage for ladies as younger as 9. A survivor says the amendments would gasoline rape and little one abuse.
• 5 folks in Scotts Valley, California, a small metropolis about 6 miles north of Santa Cruz, had been injured when a twister tossed and moved automobiles they had been in.