Biden gives life in prison to 37 of 40 federal death row inmates before Trump can resume executions
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday announced that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office.
The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities.
The decision leaves three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history.
“I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” Biden said in a statement. “Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole. These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”
Reaction was strong, both for and against. A Trump spokesperson called the decision “abhorrent.”
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House Ethics Committee accuses Gaetz of paying for sex, including with 17-year-old girl
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee on Monday accused Matt Gaetz of “regularly” paying for sex, including once with a 17-year-old girl, and purchasing and using illicit drugs as a member of Congress, as lawmakers released the conclusions of a nearly four-year investigation that helped sink his nomination for attorney general.
The 37-page report by the bipartisan panel includes explicit details of sex-filled parties and vacations that Gaetz, now 42, took part in from 2017 to 2020 while the Republican represented Florida's western Panhandle.
Congressional investigators concluded that Gaetz violated multiple state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office, though not federal sex trafficking laws. They also found that Gaetz “knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct” the committee's work.
“The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report said.
Before the report came out, Gaetz denied any wrongdoing and criticized the committee's process.
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Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder and weapons charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO's death
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty on Monday to state murder and terror charges while his attorney complained that comments coming from New York’s mayor would make it tough to receive a fair trial.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was shackled and seated in a Manhattan court when he leaned over to a microphone to enter his plea. The Manhattan district attorney charged him last week with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism.
Mangione's initial appearance in New York’s state trial court was preempted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting. The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
One of Mangione’s attorneys told a judge that the “warring jurisdictions" had turned Mangione into a “human ping-pong ball” and that New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other government officials had made him a political pawn, robbing him of his rights as a defendant and tainting the jury pool.
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Man faces murder charges in the death of a woman who was lit on fire in New York City subway
A man is facing murder and arson charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames, police said Monday.
The suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, was taken into custody hours after the woman died on Sunday morning.
Zapeta, 33, is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally after he had been previously removed in 2018, said Jeff Carter, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Surveillance video showed the suspect approach the woman, who was sitting motionless and may have been sleeping, on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn and set her clothing on fire, police said.
The woman's clothing "“became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds,” said Jessica Tisch, the New York City police commissioner, while the suspect remained at the scene, watching her burn from a bench on the subway platform as police and a transit worker extinguished the flames.
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Middle East latest: Israeli's defense minister acknowledges it killed Hamas leader
Israel’s defense minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated Hamas’ top leader last summer and is threatening to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen.
The comments by Israel Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has acknowledged killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July. Israel was widely believed to be behind the blast and leaders have previously hinted at its involvement.
In a speech Monday, Katz said the Houthis would meet a similar fate as the other members of an Iranian-led alliance in the region, including Haniyeh. He also noted that Israel has killed other leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria’s Bashar Assad and destroyed Iran’s anti-aircraft systems.
“We will strike (the Houthis’) strategic infrastructure and cut off the head of the leadership,” he said.
“Just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa,” he said, referring to Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed in previous Israeli attacks.
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Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — First it was Canada, then the Panama Canal. Now, Donald Trump again wants Greenland.
The president-elect is renewing unsuccessful calls he made during his first term for the U.S. to buy Greenland from Denmark, adding to the list of allied countries with which he's picking fights even before taking office on Jan. 20.
In a Sunday announcement naming his ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote that, “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
Trump again having designs on Greenland comes after the president-elect suggested over the weekend that the U.S. could retake control of the Panama Canal if something isn't done to ease rising shipping costs required for using the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
He's also been suggesting that Canada become the 51st U.S. state and referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”
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Nissan and Honda to attempt a merger that would create the world's No. 3 automaker
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have announced plans to work toward a merger that would form the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels.
The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors Corp. also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses.
Automakers in Japan have lagged behind their big rivals in electric vehicles and are trying to cut costs and make up for lost time as newcomers like China's BYD and EV market leader Tesla devour market share.
Honda's president, Toshihiro Mibe, said Honda and Nissan will attempt to unify their operations under a joint holding company. Honda will lead the new management, retaining the principles and brands of each company. They aim to have a formal merger agreement by June and to complete the deal and list the holding company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by August 2026, he said.
No dollar value was given and the formal talks are just starting, Mibe said.
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Magdeburg mourns Christmas market attack victims as fears swirl of deeper German social divisions
MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Mourners laid flowers near the scene of the deadly Christmas market attack on Monday as investigators puzzled over the motive of the suspect and his previous encounters with authorities were scrutinized, while fears swirled that the rampage could deepen divisions in German society.
The Johanniskirche, a church a short walk from the scene of the attack, has become a central place of mourning since the suspect drove a car into the busy market on Friday evening, killing five people. A carpet of flowers now covers the broad sidewalk in front of the church.
Prosecutors said the number of injured has risen to as many as 235 as more people have reported to hospitals and doctors, but it's possible there was some double-counting.
Authorities have identified the suspect as a Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had received permanent residency. They say he doesn't fit the usual profile of perpetrators of extremist attacks. The man described himself as an ex-Muslim who was highly critical of Islam, and on social media expressed support for the far-right.
A picture has emerged of someone who had come to authorities’ attention for threatening behavior and been the subject of tipoffs, but wasn't known to have committed any violence. The interior minister of Saxony-Anhalt state, Tamara Zieschang, told lawmakers Monday that police had contacted him in September 2023 and again in October this year, but didn't comment publicly on why, German news agency dpa reported.
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How faith communities can be welcoming of believers with disabilities this holiday season and beyond
The Rev. Shannon Blosser sees how his son loves church — the music, the singing, the communion. But the United Methodist pastor said his family hasn’t always felt like 11-year-old Noah, who is autistic, has been welcome.
At one point, Blosser’s wife and the couple’s two sons stopped attending in-person services at a church where he served. “If we felt more supported, we probably would have pushed through.”
Many people with disabilities, advocates and families want more religious congregations to know that there are ways to be accommodating and inclusive of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities this holiday season — and year round — and to fully embrace them and their families.
“They just have to have the willingness to be the church that sees the image of God in every child and every adult,” said Blosser, who now serves two small West Virginia congregations that have been supportive of his family’s needs.
Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, one of the congregations, is hosting a “Calm Christmas,” a sensory-friendly celebration and worship, where music will come from a guitar, rather than a piano, and candles will be swapped for glow sticks to avoid any dangers. There are fidget toys and a “visual schedule” to help those needing images and graphics to better process the sequence of events.
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Tennessee and Auburn remain 1-2 in AP Top 25 poll featuring 10 SEC teams
Tennessee and Auburn remained Nos. 1-2 atop The Associated Press men's college basketball poll. It's a fitting spot for a pair of Southeastern Conference teams considering the league put 10 teams into Monday's AP Top 25.
The Volunteers (11-0) and Tigers (11-1) spent a third straight week in the same position, and it marked a fourth consecutive week for Auburn sitting at No. 2. They were part of a top 10 that featured the same top-10 programs, though slightly reshuffled with Kentucky tumbling six spots to No. 10 after a loss to Ohio State.
The poll also featured four additions that previously had been ranked this season, including No. 19 Mississippi State and No. 23 Arkansas to add to the SEC's season-long hauls.
The SEC thrice had as many as nine ranked teams this season, including in the preseason poll. This is the first time since at least the start of the 2012-13 season that one league had 10 ranked teams.
Iowa State was third, followed by Duke and Alabama to round out the top five. Florida, Kansas, Marquette and Oregon followed, with those teams all moving up one spot given the Wildcats' fall to 10th.
The Associated Press
