December 9, 2024
McDonald’s Employee Succeeds Where NYPD Fails
Police have arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione for questioning, after receiving a tip from a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, PA, that a customer matched images of the shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. When apprehended, Mangione was reported by police as being in possession of a fake ID, a “ghost gun” with silencer, and a three-page handwritten manifesto. Charges have not yet been filed by authorities in New York, although Mangione will be facing gun charges in Altoona.
Pope Francis Calls for Biden to Clear Out Death Row
Pope Francis has made a heartfelt appeal to President Joe Biden, urging him to commute the sentences of the forty men currently on federal death row in the United States. During his Sunday prayer, the Pope, who has been a vocal death penalty opponent, emphasized the importance of mercy and the sanctity of human life, calling on the faithful to pray for the inmates, and for their sentences to be changed. President Biden, a Catholic, notably has the power to grant this sort of clemency before he leaves office next month.
The call for mercy has been echoed by various other human rights organizations and activists, who are urging the Biden administration to take decisive action. This is in light of the Trump administration’s execution of 13 people in rapid succession during his last year in office, killing more people in the federal system than under the previous 10 presidents combined. The rushed process, which happened despite objections from prosecutors and victims, involved killing people with intellectual disabilities, prevented defendants from presenting new, potentially exonerating evidence, and involved execution methods that have been described as “torturous”. There have been no federal executions since Trump left office in 2021.
Syrian Government Falls
Continuing on my broader-world topics from last time, after over a decade of civil war and international sanctions, Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria finally collapsed as rebel forces advanced into the capital of Damascus, leading to Assad fleeing the country. The Assad family has ruled Syria since 1970, but in recent years, a combination of economic decay, military disintegration, and over-reliance on foreign backers like Russia, China, and particularly Iran, led to the rise of rebellion.
The fall of Assad’s regime presents both challenges and opportunities. The Biden administration described this moment as a “historic opportunity” to support the establishment of a more democratic and stable Syria, but also a “moment of risk and uncertainty”. Reflecting that uncertainty, the U.S. military conducted air bombardments over the weekend of noted ISIS-related rebel camps throughout the country, due to concerns about the rise of radical elements within the rebel coalitions, and the potential for increased instability in the region. President-elect Donald Trump objected to any sort of intervention, posting on social media, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.” Depending on how things go over the next month, this could be seen as a swan song of sorts for President Biden — or a potential final boondoggle.
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