The manhunt for the gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City goes on. A study suggests there are millions of psychiatric disorders linked to exposure to lead in gasoline. And Rockefeller Center gets in the holiday spirit with its annual Christmas tree lighting.
Here’s what to know today.
Manhunt continues for shooter in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
The manhunt for the person who fatally shot the CEO of UnitedHealthcare is still going on. Police in New York released images of the man being sought in the killing of Brian Thompson that show him wearing a black jacket with a mask obscuring half of his face. He was last seen in Central Park after fleeing the scene on an e-bike.
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Police said it appeared to be a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack,” outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan. Thompson, 50, was on his way to speak at UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference when the gunman approached from behind and “fired several rounds,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Security video from the incident showed the shooting play out.
Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny reiterated that the attack was targeted, but police do not know the motive of the shooting. Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, said her husband had been receiving threats. Despite the known threats against him, Thompson did not travel with a security detail.
Shell casings found at the scene had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them, a senior law enforcement official said.
Here’s what else we know.
Kash Patel’s past comments loom over FBI candidacy
A 2023 podcast interview with Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, and fellow Trump loyalist Steve Bannon is in the spotlight. In the recording, Patel said he would “come after people in the media,” specifically those who “lied” and “helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.” He added, “whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.”
The comments are now getting critical looks from politicians on both sides of the aisle. Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he would ask Patel to “clarify” some of his past remarks. “I don’t know how much of it was rhetorical and how much of it was serious,” Cornyn said. Meanwhile, Democratic senators see Patel’s comments as a major red flag. Patel has laughed off the notion that he was hellbent on attacking reporters.
The question of whether Patel will really “come after” journalists is likely to become a central point of contention if he comes up for Senate confirmation. Critics also fear that Patel’s fierce loyalty to Trump and his history of embracing conspiracy theories will influence his actions at the FBI.
Read more Trump transition and politics news
- Pete Hegseth brushed aside suggestions that he should withdraw his bid for defense secretary and said Trump told him to “keep going, keep fighting.”
- Kelly Loeffler, a former Republican senator from Georgia, was named Trump’s pick to lead the Small Business Administration.
- Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur who has paid for commercial flights to space twice, is Trump’s pick to lead NASA.
- Peter Navarro, who served a four-month prison sentence for defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee, was selected to be Trump’s top trade adviser.
- The incoming Trump administration is preparing a list of countries which it may deport migrants to when their home countries refuse to accept them, sources said, meaning thousands of them could be permanently displaced in places where they don’t know anyone, or the language.
- Trump’s attorneys asked a Georgia appeals court to dismiss the state election interference case against him, citing presidential immunity.
- The judge in Hunter Biden’s California tax fraud case said President Joe Biden is attempting to “rewrite history” by stating the reasons for his pardon.
- Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of a challenge to Tennessee’s ban on gender transition treatments for minors. Outside the Supreme Court, transgender people, their families and allies — some who traveled from hundreds of miles away — rallied in support of trans rights .
A link between lead in gasoline and mental health disorders
Exposure to lead in gasoline resulted in an estimated 151 million excess cases of psychiatric disorders over the last 75 years, a new study found. The results, published this week in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, says that lead exposure from car exhaust during children’s early development has made generations of Americans more depressed, anxious, inattentive and hyperactive. Lead exposure from gas also lowered people’s capacity for impulse control and made them more neurotic, the study said.
Researchers found that lead-associated mental health and personality differences were most pronounced for people born between 1966 and 1986, coinciding with peak use of leaded gasoline in the mid-1960s and 1970s. Lead was banned from automobile fuel in 1996. The study adds to years of research showing the harmful effects of lead exposure.
Rockefeller Center tree lights up the holiday season
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Rockefeller Center, which celebrated its tree lighting with a star-studded show last night. Kelly Clarkson hosted the annual ceremony, which featured performances from the Backstreet Boys, Thalia, Dan + Shay, Jennifer Hudson and more. As if the night couldn’t get more festive, snow started falling during the special event. New York Mayor Eric Adams and Chuck Scarborough, an NBC New York anchor who recently announced his retirement after more than 50 years, were there to help light the tree. See more highlights from the night.
Read All About It
- The price of bitcoin hit $100,000 for the first time as demand for the cryptocurrency has soared since Trump’s election win.
- Two sailors assigned to the USS George Washington died within days of each other shortly after the aircraft carrier arrived in Japan, officials and family members said. Two years ago, the George Washington was beset by a spate of suicides.
- Two children were shot and a gunman is dead after he opened fire at a California elementary school.
- An unidentified illness with flu-like symptoms has killed dozens of people and sickened hundreds more in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- France’s prime minister is expected to resign from his post after lawmakers passed a no-confidence measure against him and his Cabinet, likely thrusting the country into a period of political uncertainty.
Staff Pick: Some migrant deaths on the border aren’t being recorded
In the unforgiving Arizona desert, the searing heat or the frigid temperatures can be deadly for thousands of people who cross the border. Our Noticias Telemundo colleague Albinson Linares interviewed a pastor who leads a group that fans into the desert regularly to try and rescue those who need help or recover the bodies of those who succumbed to the elements. He also reports on a new study examining why there are discrepancies in the numbers of migrant deaths reported by county and federal agencies — and why none of these figures fully captures the number of people who are dying. — Sandra Lilley, NBC Latino editorial director
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
It’s time for holiday shopping, and NBC Select can make it easier for you. Our editors put together a series of gift guides for nearly any scenario you can think of. First up: 41+ gifts for mom that she’ll genuinely love. And we didn’t forget the fathers. Here are 23+ gifts for dads who say they “don’t need anything.”
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