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Manhattan murder mystery, bitcoin surge and chocolate benefits

 
Today's CRIME story

UnitedHealthcare CEO killed in 'brazen, targeted' hit

What happened
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down early yesterday outside the Manhattan hotel where the health insurance behemoth was holding its annual investor conference. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the shooting a "brazen, targeted attack."

Who said what
The gunman, captured on video wearing a face mask and hooded jacket, "appeared to wait for his intended target" for five minutes before stepping out from behind a car at 6:44 a.m. and firing at least three shots at Thompson, Tisch said. Judging by how he cleared a brief gun jam in the middle of shooting, the killer appeared "proficient in the use of firearms," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. The gunman fled on a bike and was last seen entering Central Park, a few blocks from the murder scene.

Police were conducting a massive search for the shooter and for clues to his motive. Thompson, 50, had "recently received several threats," The New York Times said, though "their source and precise nature was unclear." Thompson's wife, Paulette, told NBC News the threats may have been tied to "lack of coverage," but she didn't "know details." People in Thompson's "much-reviled industry" are "routinely inundated with lawsuits and complaints" from customers "enraged" about "denied medical coverage," The Wall Street Journal said. Shell casings at the scene were marked with the words "deny," "defend" and "depose," ABC News said, citing police sources.

What next?
New York has cameras everywhere and "investigatory capabilities" far "beyond most municipalities," Brittney Blair, a security expert at K2 Integrity, told the Times. There's "no magic button" to find the culprit, but "of all the places in this country to commit a crime like this, Manhattan would be the dead last location on my list."

 
 
Today's BUSINESS story

Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally

What happened
Bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time yesterday, hours after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Who said what
Yesterday's high-water mark — $103,713 for a single bitcoin — capped an "extraordinary rally since Election Day," when the world's largest cryptocurrency was trading at $69,374, The Wall Street Journal said. A "wave of campaign spending" by crypto firms helped send 298 pro-crypto lawmakers to Congress and Trump to the White House. Trump in turn promised to make the U.S. "the crypto capital of the planet" and create a "strategic reserve" of bitcoin.

The crypto industry wants legislative and regulatory changes that, "generally speaking, aim for an increased sense of legitimacy without too much red tape," The Associated Press said. Atkins, a former SEC commissioner, is expected to be much friendlier to the industry than outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

What next?
Bitcoin, worth about $5,000 in early 2020, "now stands as arguably the most successful investment product of the last 20 years," The New York Times said. It also "remains prone to extreme volatility," significantly "contributes to climate change" and has "long been used by scammers and thieves." But "who can prohibit it?" Russian President Vladimir Putin asked yesterday, according to Reuters. "No one."

 
 
Today's HEALTH Story

Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes risk

What happened
People who regularly eat dark chocolate have a significantly reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, researchers reported yesterday in the journal BMJ. The findings, based on the diets of about 192,000 U.S. adults over 34 years, found no diabetes protection from milk chocolate and a higher risk of weight gain.

Who said what
Study participants who ate at least five one-ounce servings of dark chocolate a week had a 21% lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes — but "we can't say for certain that eating dark chocolate will lower your risk," said co-author Binkai Liu, at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "We can say that eating it is associated with a lower risk."

Still, "at least three other large studies have found that eating chocolate is associated with a reduced likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes," heart disease and high blood pressure, The Washington Post said. Liu's team posited that's because dark chocolate — unlike milk chocolate — contains more than 50% flavonoid-rich cocoa.

What next?
Dark chocolate may not be a "magic bullet" against diabetes, study lead investigator Qi Sun, also at Harvard, told The New York Times. But the findings suggest a little bit, with 70% cocoa, can be part of a healthy diet.

 
 

It's not all bad

After a year spent traveling to thank 44 people who made a difference in his life, Walter Green launched the Say It Now movement, encouraging others to show their gratitude in the moment. Green believes in "living tributes," he told USA Today, and expressing appreciation when people "can still hear us" and "can still respond." Since 2022, the movement has inspired more than 2 million declarations of gratitude, and to spread the thanksgiving even further, the first national Say It Now Day is set for Dec. 17.

 
 
Under the radar

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Texas joined a rush of states that passed highly restrictive abortion laws. The state's near-total ban made performing an abortion a crime punishable by up to life in prison. Despite having exceptions in the case of life-saving care, the new legislation created a minefield of uncertainty for doctors and patients alike. As a result, some OB-GYNs are fleeing the state or retiring early, and potential residents are avoiding Texas altogether.

A recent survey from health-care consulting firm Manatt Health showed that the post-Roe Texas abortion laws are "stressing the state's already beleaguered OB-GYN workforce," said The Texas Tribune. By 2030, the state is expected to have "15% fewer OB-GYNs than is needed to keep up with demand." Many rural areas throughout the state have already begun to "feel the effects of these shortages." Over 45% of Texas counties are already considered "maternity-care deserts," meaning there is "no doctor to see during your pregnancy and nowhere to give birth."

Anitra Beasley, a Houston OB-GYN, said she and other doctors bring the fear of criminalization into the room with the patient. "It turns it into something that's about me and my risk instead of being about the patient and their situation," she told the Tribune. Despite spending time researching Texas' abortion restrictions, she remains uncertain about when the law would allow her to intervene to perform an abortion. "Patients don't want a confused doctor," she said.

 
 
On this day

December 5, 1848

President James K. Polk announced that gold had been discovered in California, prompting the start of the gold rush. The next year was the peak period for prospectors looking to strike it big. References to the gold rush, such as the San Francisco 49ers football team, remain commonplace in California.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

The unsolved murder of UnitedHealthcare's chief executive led most newspapers on Thursday, but world affairs get a prominent mention. "French government collapses with vote of no confidence," The Wall Street Journal says. The "French far right and far left unite" to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier, The New York Times says, and an "effort to expel leader builds in South Korea" as well. Donald Trump Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth's "history with alcohol shadows" confirmation bid, and South Dakota "flood victims" also consider Homeland Security nominee Gov. Kristi Noem a "dubious pick," The Washington Post says. "GOP senators walk fine line" between "vetting or playing ball" on Trump's controversial nominations, The Boston Globe says.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Privy pics

A camera that photographs poop could be headed to a toilet near you. The devices from Throne, a Texas startup, use artificial intelligence to inspect feces as a way of "determining things like gut health and hydration," TechCrunch said. Doctors trained the AI to look for "various signs of health found in waste matter," and an app delivers notifications, like the detection of elevated fiber intake. The camera is pointed down in the toilet bowl, Throne said, and images are anonymized.

 
 

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: Alex Kent / Getty Images; Paul Yeung / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Anastassia Laurent / iStock / Getty Images Plus; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images