It’s Wednesday. Christmas is two weeks from today!! 🎅🎄 Everybody in the holiday spirit? Here’s what’s happening today: - Some of the reactions to UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s death have been controversial.
- Suspect Luigi Mangione interrupted his own defense attorney in court.
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Trump selected Kimberly Guilfoyle as his Greece ambassador.
- A judge blocked The Onion's purchase of Alex Jones's Info Wars.
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. |
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🏥 The Talk of Social Media |
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Brian Thompson’s death tapped into something controversial:
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© Benjamin B. Braun/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP |
The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked a dark debate online. Some social media users are sympathetic — and even come across as supportive — of the suspected shooter because of deep frustrations with the U.S. health care system.
The debate has spurred enough traction for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) to weigh in, sharply pushing back on the emerging storyline. “In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: He is no hero,” Shapiro told reporters, while acknowledging frustrations with the health care system. Related read, via The New York Times: ‘Reaction to C.E.O. Killing Exposes Frustrations With Health System’ An example of the glee I’ve seen about Thompson’s death: I’ve seen many tongue-in-cheek references to condolences being “out of network” or “requiring prior authorization.”
The Hill’s Niall Stanage wrote his column today on the social media reaction to Thompson’s murder, including an X post floating the suspect as Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” which received more than 14,000 likes.
Plus, via CNN: ' 'My empathy is out of network': Internet reacts to health exec's killing with hate’
Who is the alleged killer?: 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was recognized and arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s. He has been charged with the murder of the health care executive. What we know about Mangione 📹 Watch an interview with the McDonald’s customer who spotted Mangione
CNN spoke with people who knew Mangione. They said they did not see this coming and are left in shock.
Tidbit about the suspect in court: NewsNation’s Alex Caprariello was in the courtroom with the suspect. He described Mangione's demeanor and how he interrupted his own defense attorney. 📹 Watch Caprariello’s segment — it’s fascinating.
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Expect a massive overhaul in immigration:
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President-elect Trump is planning to completely reshape the U.S.’s immigration policies as soon as he takes office. The Hill’s Brett Samuels explores what exactly that could mean. In Congress: Trump allies will push for Capitol Hill Republicans to prioritize passing border security measures and use the budget reconciliation package to change immigration law. In the White House: Most of the changes would likely happen through executive action. What’s different from 2016: Trump has a clearer picture of what he wants to do. He is expected to carry out mass deportations, attempt to end birthright citizenship and resume construction of a southern border wall. Read more on how this could play out: ‘Trump ready to ‘seal’ border from immigrants on Day 1’ |
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➤ WHAT IF TRUMP PARDONS JAN. 6 RIOTERS?:
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Senate Republicans say they won’t fight Trump if he decides to pardon those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton.
Why this is significant: Senators and House lawmakers watched firsthand as a violent pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol during the certification of the 2020 election results. This is personal for them. But they have decided to stand down and let Trump pardon whomever he wants without any pushback. |
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Not *that* Ron Johnson: Trump named former Ambassador to El Salvador, Ron Johnson, as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Btw, That is not Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
Guilfoyle to Greece: Trump selected former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle as the U.S. ambassador to Greece. Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Guilfoyle and Donald Trump Jr., who had been in a years-long relationship, broke up.
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Inflation ticked up a bit:
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“Inflation picked up slightly in November, according to data released Wednesday by the Labor Department, but likely not by enough to derail the Federal Reserve’s plans for another rate cut,” reports The Hill’s Sylvan Lane.
Details: “Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in November and 2.7 percent over the past 12 months, according to new Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released Wednesday. The monthly inflation rate and annual inflation rate each rose by 0.1 percentage points from their October levels, in line with consensus estimates from economists.” |
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A judge blocked The Onion buying Infowars: |
“A federal bankruptcy judge denied the sale of Alex Jones’s Infowars to The Onion on Wednesday, citing a lack of transparency in the auction process as reason for rejection,” reports The Hill’s Ashleigh Fields.
From the judge, per The Washington Post: “I don’t think anyone acted in bad faith here. I think everyone was trying to buy an asset and put their best foot forward and play by the rules.” |
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The Supreme Court dismissed Nvidia’s appeal: |
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal from Nvidia in a securities lawsuit against the chipmaking giant, allowing the case to move forward,” reports The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Miranda Nazzaro.
Timing: “It marks the second time the court has done so in recent weeks. The justices last month similarly dismissed Facebook’s appeal in a securities lawsuit against the company.” (The Hill) |
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Trump lawyers are facing new felony charges over 2020: |
“Wisconsin state prosecutors filed 10 additional felony charges against two of President-elect Trump’s lawyers and one of his aides, who in 2020 allegedly advised Trump to falsely claim he won the state’s election as part of a ‘fake elector’ scheme,” reports The Hill’s Lauren Irwin.
Details: “The new charges, prosecutors say, are for using forgery to attempt to defraud the 10 Republican electors who voted for Trump in 2020. Each charge against the men carries a fine of $10,000 and six years in prison.” (The Hill) |
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This is probably Bernie’s last term: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told Politico that this may be his last term in the Senate. “I’m 83 now. I’ll be 89 when I get out of here. You can do the figuring. I don’t know, but I would assume, probably, yes,” he responded when asked if this would be his last term.
That was spooky: The fog on Capitol Hill yesterday was so eerie. Check out these photos. And this video. 👻 |
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- The Wall Street Journal: An Embattled Eric Adams Warms Up to Donald Trump
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The New York Times: Prince William’s Chat With Trump Shows Why Royals May Be Potent Diplomatic Tool
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The Nation: No, Kamala Harris Staffers Did Not Run a “Flawless” Campaign
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The Hill: Increased Christianity in schools opens the door to Satanic Temple education programs
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Vox: A far-right publication just got tricked into publishing Communist Manifesto excerpts
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🍝 Celebrate: Today is National Noodle Ring Day.
🎙️ A new podcast on the block: Kylie Kelce, the wife of former NFL player Jason Kelce, started a new podcast called “Not Gonna Lie.” On Apple Music, it soared to No. 1, beating Joe Rogan’s show and The New York Times’s “The Daily” as the top podcast. 🎙️ The podcast
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☀️🌑 What would things look like without daylight saving time?: Incoming Trump advisers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have floated doing away with daylight saving time. The Washington Post plays out what this would look like in the U.S. “Would you be okay if the sun rose before 4 a.m., or after 10? Not changing clocks means we’d have to live with the extremes,” The Washington Post wrote on Bluesky.
🎭 The best comedy of 2024: “Jon Stewart made 'The Daily Show' must-see TV again, Theo Von had a memorable moment with Donald Trump, and Nikki Glaser broke through.” Read The New York Times’s list of the best comedy this year
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The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington. (all times Eastern) |
- 11:30 a.m.: Biden and first lady Jill Biden delivered remarks and hosted the first-ever White House Conference on Women’s Health Research. 💻 Livestream
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Noon: A Senate cloture vote on a nomination. 📆 Today’s agenda
- 3:30 p.m.: Biden and Harris receive the President’s Daily Brief.
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4 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆 Today’s agenda
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Dec. 20: Government funding expires.
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