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Mangione terrorism, Honda merger talks and a policy 'Christmas tree'

 
Today's CRIME story

Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorism

What happened
New York prosecutors yesterday announced new charges against Luigi Mangione, including first-degree murder "in furtherance of an act of terrorism" tied to the fatal shooting of United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel. The 10 other charges against Mangione, 26, include second-degree murder as an act of terrorism, second-degree murder and weapons charges.

Who said what
The Dec. 4 murder of Thomason, 50, "was not an ordinary killing," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told reporters, explaining the indictment. "This was a killing that was intended to evoke terror. And we've seen that reaction." First-degree murder in New York "only applies to a narrow list of aggravating circumstances," including terrorism, murder-for hire or killing a judge, cop or first responder, CNN said.

Thompson's murder "kindled a fiery outpouring of resentment toward U.S. health insurance companies," The Associated Press said, and "rattled C-suites, as 'wanted' posters with other health care executives' names and faces appeared on New York streets and some social media users extolled Mangione's deed as payback" for denied coverage, large bills and long delays in treatment. UnitedHealthcare said Mangione, who underwent major back surgery, was never a client.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch criticized the "shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder."

What next?
A conviction on the most serious charges could land Mangione in prison for life without parole. He has an extradition hearing scheduled for Thursday in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested at a McDonald's. Despite earlier indications, Mangione won't fight extradition to New York, his lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo told CNN.

 
 
Today's BUSINESS story

Honda and Nissan in merger talks

What happened
Honda and Nissan said today they are exploring merging their companies, deepening a collaboration between Japan's No. 2 and No. 3 automakers that started in March. Both companies are losing ground in China, the world's largest auto market, and struggling to keep up with Tesla and China's BYD in the global race to produce affordable electric vehicles.

Who said what
In a joint statement, Honda and Nissan said they were "considering various possibilities for future collaboration, but no decisions have been made." A combined Honda-Nissan would be the world's third-largest automaker by production, sales and market capitalization, after Toyota and Volkswagen.

A merger would allow Honda and Nissan to "seek synergies in purchasing and technology development, but it would also present challenges for two companies with different cultures and partly overlapping vehicle lineups," The Wall Street Journal said. Honda "has long pursued a go-it-alone approach," The New York Times said, but the high investment costs in pivoting to battery-powered vehicles has "led it to seek partnerships."

What next?
Nissan and Honda were "expected to sign a memorandum of understanding within the next week to formally begin discussions of partnership-broadening steps," the Times said, "including the details of a potential merger."

 
 
Today's POLITICs Story

Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdown

What happened
Congressional leaders yesterday unveiled a bipartisan stopgap spending bill that would fund the government through March 14, averting a partial government shutdown starting at midnight on Friday. The legislation includes $100.4 billion in hurricane and disaster relief, $10 billion in direct economic assistance to farmers and an "array of unrelated policy measures on health, energy, digital privacy and other matters," The New York Times said.

Who said what
The package "ignited a firestorm among some Republicans, who complained about its 'Christmas tree' nature," The Wall Street Journal said. Conservative anger over the "dreaded end-of-year 'Christmas tree,' decorated with lawmakers' pet projects," could still "endanger any agreement" and "imperil" Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) bid to retain his gavel in the narrowly divided House, The Washington Post said.

"It's not a Christmas tree," Johnson said yesterday. The spending bill was, until recently, "very simple, very clean," but "we have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits." Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the legislation was "free of cuts and poison pills."

What next?
House Republicans "generally give lawmakers 72 hours to review text of the legislation," which would push a final vote to Friday, The Associated Press said. "The Senate is not known for acting speedily," but lawmakers are "anxious" to flee Washington until January.

 
 

It's not all bad

USO volunteers across the country are making it easier for soldiers in basic training to make it home for the holidays. On Dec. 19, the USO will be on hand to pass out snacks, water and travel care packages as tens of thousands of young service members arrive at the airport for their flights home. This is a "time-honored tradition," said Mary Lou Austin, executive director for USO Georgia, with some volunteers spending up to 15 hours a day preparing for the event.

 
 
Under the radar

Scientists have long agreed that early humans mated with Neanderthals, but a pair of studies published last week in the journals Science and Nature have shed light on when this DNA mixing occurred. It turns out the commingling happened more recently than scientists once thought.

In the Science paper, researchers determined that "Neanderthals and humans interbred for 7,000 years starting about 50,500 years ago," said The Washington Post. Researchers in the Nature study discovered a "new line of evidence by sequencing the oldest human genomes yet, bringing to life a 45,000-year-old human family."

Combining data from both studies, scientists concluded that early humans and Neanderthals reached their peak interbreeding period around 47,000 years ago. These were not "exceptional trysts but a way of life," said the Post.

An estimated 1% to 3% of people have DNA that can be linked to Neanderthals, and the studies also shed light on these genes. Some, like "those related to the immune system, were beneficial to humans as they lived through the last ice age," and "they continue to confer benefits today," said CNN.

This updated timeline for Neanderthal–modern human interbreeding narrows the "possible range of time when humans spread to places like present-day China and Australia," said NBC News. These findings "line up with archaeological evidence that suggests Neanderthals and humans overlapped in geography as humans traveled out of Africa."

The new studies are "much more of a direct estimate compared to the previous inference," genomicist Joshua Akey said to NPR.

 
 
On this day

December 18, 1997

Kim Dae-jung was elected president of South Korea, making him the country's first opposition candidate to win the office. While Kim's presidency was widely praised for advancing peace, more recent South Korean presidents haven't fared as well; current President Yoon Suk Yeol was recently impeached over his attempt to enact martial law.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

Elon Musk "flouted security rules" at SpaceX, "faces reviews" over possible risk to "state secrets," The New York Times says on Wednesday's front page. "Trump voters cheer his team of 'fighters,'" including Musk, USA Today says. "Trump suit targets top Iowa pollster and newspapers," the Los Angeles Times says, though "a legal expert gave the litigation little chance of succeeding." "Trump loses bid to dismiss hush money guilty verdict," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says, but there was "no controversy" this year when Georgia "electors cast votes for Trump," helping make him the official president-elect. "Trump's team united by criticism of Covid steps," The Boston Globe says. 

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Fake it till you break it

A Wisconsin man allegedly faked a kayaking accident in order to start a new life away from his wife and kids, police said. Ryan Borgwardt disappeared in August following a kayaking excursion. Investigators, suspecting he left to meet a woman, sent an email to Bordgwardt. He responded, law enforcement officials said, sharing that he staged his death, used an e-bike to flee to Canada and then flew to the country of Georgia. Borgwardt is now back in Wisconsin, where he faces charges of obstructing an officer.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Jeff Swensen / Getty Images; Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images