Police hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s masked killer after ‘brazen, targeted’ attack on NYC street
NEW YORK (AP) — A gunman killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO on Wednesday in a “brazen, targeted attack” outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding its investor conference, police said, setting off a massive search for the fleeing assailant hours before the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting nearby.
Brian Thompson, 50, was shot around 6:45 a.m. as he walked alone to the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel, police said. The shooter appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching Thompson from behind and opening fire, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Police had not yet established a motive.
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Tisch said, adding that the shooting “does not appear to be a random act of violence.”
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators shows someone emerging from behind a parked car, pointing a gun at Thompson’s back, then firing multiple times from several feet away. The gunman continues firing, interrupted by a brief gun jam, as Thompson stumbles forward and falls to the sidewalk. He then walks past Thompson and out of the frame.
“From watching the video, it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
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UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New York
NEW YORK (AP) — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S. but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected.
Then Wednesday’s targeted fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk thrust the executive and his business into the national spotlight.
Thompson, who was 50, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group Inc for 20 years and run the insurance arm since 2021 after running its Medicare and retirement business.
As CEO, Thompson led a firm that provides health coverage to more than 49 million Americans — more than the population of Spain. United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older. The company also sells individual insurance and administers health-insurance coverage for thousands of employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programs.
The business run by Thompson brought in $281 billion in revenue last year, making it the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company’s highest-paid executives.
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South Korea’s Yoon replaces defense chief as parliament is poised to vote on his impeachment
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president accepted the resignation of his defense minister Thursday as opposition parties moved to impeach both men over the stunning yet short-lived imposition of martial law that brought armed troops into Seoul streets.
The main opposition Democratic Party and other small opposition parties submitted a joint motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over his martial law declaration the previous night. Martial law lasted about six hours, as the National Assembly quickly voted to overrule the president, forcing his Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday.
On Thursday, Yoon’s office said he decided to replace Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun with Choi Byung Hyuk, a retired four-star general who is South Korea’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yoon’s office said.
Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho will be the acting minister until Choi assumes the job after a parliamentary hearing. The hearing is seen as a formality as the president holds the power to appoint ministers outside of the prime minister without the approval of lawmakers.
Yoon’s office didn’t provide any further comments by him. He hasn’t made any public appearances since he announced in a televised address that his government was lifting the martial law declaration.
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Bitcoin tops $100,000 as big rally sparked by Trump election win rolls on
NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin has topped the $100,000 mark as a massive rally in the world’s most popular cryptocurrency sparked by the election of Donald Trump rolls on.
The milestone comes just hours after the President-elect signaled a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry when he said he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to be the next chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bitcoin has soared to unprecedented heights since Trump won the election Nov. 5. The cryptocurrency has climbed dramatically from $69,374 on Election Day and rose as high as $103,713 Wednesday, according to CoinDesk. Just two years ago, bitcoin dropped below $17,000 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
How long bitcoin will stay above the $100,000 mark is uncertain. As with everything in the volatile cryptoverse, the future is impossible to predict. And while some are bullish on future gains, other experts continue to warn of investment risks.
Here’s what you need to know.
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Supreme Court seems likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on medical treatments for transgender minors
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hearing a high-profile culture-war clash, the Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
The justices’ decision, not expected for several months, could affect similar laws enacted by another 25 states and a range of other efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people, including which sports competitions they can join and which bathrooms they can use.
The case is being weighed by a conservative-dominated court after a presidential election in which Donald Trump and his allies promised to roll back protections for transgender people, showcasing the uneasy intersection between law, politics and individual rights.
The Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer warned a decision favorable to Tennessee also could be used to justify nationwide restrictions on transgender healthcare for minors.
In arguments that lasted more than two hours, five of the six conservative justices voiced varying degrees of skepticism of arguments made by the administration and Chase Strangio, the ACLU lawyer for Tennessee families challenging the ban.
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Memphis police use excessive force and discriminate against Black people, Justice Department finds
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people, according to the findings of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation launched after the beating death of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop in 2023.
A report released Wednesday marked the conclusion of the investigation that began six months after Nichols was kicked, punched and hit with a police baton as five officers tried to arrest him after he fled a traffic stop.
The report says that “Memphis police officers regularly violate the rights of the people they are sworn to serve.”
“The people of Memphis deserve a police department and city that protects their civil and constitutional rights, garners trust and keeps them safe,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in an emailed statement.
The city said in a letter released earlier Wednesday that it would not agree to negotiate federal oversight of its police department until it could review and challenge results of the investigation.
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Hegseth fights to save Pentagon nomination as sources say Trump considers DeSantis
WASHINGTON (AP) — A defiant Pete Hegseth fought to save his nomination to be Donald Trump’s defense secretary Wednesday as the president-elect considered possible replacements in the face of growing questions about the former Fox News host’s personal conduct and ability to win Senate confirmation.
Hegseth met with legislators on Capitol Hill, conducted a radio interview and released an opinion article denying allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking. He insisted he was “not backing down one bit,” said Trump was still supporting him and planned to return Thursday for more meetings with lawmakers. But the president-elect’s team was looking at alternatives, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump himself remained quiet about Hegseth while issuing a flurry of statements on social media Wednesday about other nominees and his news coverage.
Hegseth, in an exchange with reporters, said he’d meet with Trump “anytime he’d like.”
Trump’s team was pleased with how things went Wednesday as Hegseth met with lawmakers, according to a person familiar with their thinking, and they are continuing to stand behind him for now — all while Trump considers back-up options.
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Amnesty International says genocide is occurring in Gaza, an accusation Israel rejects
CAIRO (AP) — Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.
The human rights group released a report Thursday in the Middle East that said such actions could not be justified by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, which ignited the war, or the presence of militants in civilian areas. Amnesty said the United States and other allies of Israel could be complicit in genocide, and called on them to halt arms shipments.
“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now,” Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said in the report.
Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” It is challenging such allegations at the International Court of Justice, and it has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister committed war crimes in Gaza.
“The deplorable and fanatical organization Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report that is entirely false and based on lies,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Israel accused Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate Israel, of carrying out a genocidal massacre in the attack that triggered the war, and said it is defending itself in accordance with international law.
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Police say searchers don’t expect to find woman in Pennsylvania sinkhole alive
UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — The search for a woman who is believed to have fallen into a sinkhole in western Pennsylvania has become a recovery effort after two treacherous days of digging through mud and rock produced no signs of life, authorities said Wednesday.
The crew working to find 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard packed up Wednesday evening and planned to return Thursday morning.
Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Trooper Steve Limani said during a news conference that authorities no longer believe they will find Pollard alive, but that work to find her remains continues.
“We’ve had no signs of any form of life or anything” to make rescuers think they should “continue to try and push and rush and push the envelope, to be aggressive with the potential of risking harm to other people,” Limani said. He noted that oxygen levels below ground were insufficient.
Emergency crews and others have been trying to locate Pollard for two days. Her relatives reported her missing early Tuesday, and her vehicle with her unharmed 5-year-old granddaughter inside was found about two hours later, near what is thought to be a freshly opened sinkhole above a long closed, crumbling mine.
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2 children, ages 5 and 6, wounded and gunman dead after shooting at Northern California school
PALERMO, Calif. (AP) — Two children were wounded Wednesday in a shooting at a tiny religious K-8 school in Northern California and deputies arrived to find the gunman on the ground near the playground, dead after apparently shooting himself, sheriff’s officials said.
The children, boys aged 5 and 6, were hospitalized in “extremely critical condition,” officials said.
The shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m. at the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists, a private school in Palermo with fewer than three dozen students. Palermo has about 5,500 people and is about 65 miles (104 km) north of Sacramento.
It was the the latest among dozens of school shootings across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas. The shootings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms.
But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws. Firearms were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues.
The Associated Press
