Monday morning news: December 23, 2024

U.S. pilots shot down via friendly fire over Red Sea » Two American Navy pilots have survived a friendly fire shootdown over the Red Sea.

The U.S. military says the USS Gettysburg mistakenly fired upon and hit the F/A-18 Sunday, with both pilots aboard the plane. They ejected and are okay, though one has minor injuries.

The U.S. has stepped up its military presence in the area over the past year, conducting airstrikes to counter attacks on commercial ships by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in nearby Yemen.

SAREE: [Speaking Arabic]

That’s Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, claiming responsibility for Sunday’s shootdown, saying, without evidence, that Houthi forces “foiled a U.S.-UK attack on Yemen.” Saree has made several false claims about striking U.S. military assets in the past.

The Pentagon won’t say what the shot-down pilots’ mission was or how their plane could’ve been mistaken for an enemy aircraft or missile.

Israel, Hamas closing in on ceasefire as Gaza strike kills 22 » Leaders on both sides of America’s political aisle are hopeful Israel and the terror group Hamas are closer to a ceasefire than they’ve been in months. Last week, both Israel and Hamas expressed optimism that a deal could be reached soon to free the hostages and end the fighting in Gaza.

President-elect Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Congressman Michael Waltz, told Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures…

WALTZ: We are cautiously optimistic. The deal-making is happening right now as we speak.

People involved in the talks say the two sides are trying to work through key sticking points.

In the meantime, the fighting continues in Gaza where Israeli airstrikes killed at least 22 people over the weekend, according to Palestinian health officials.

U.S. special envoy in Syria for Austin Tice search » A top envoy from the White House is in Syria keeping the search for the missing American journalist Austin Tice on the radar of the country’s new leaders.

Tice disappeared in Syria 12 years ago. The Biden Administration says it’s committed to bringing him home after rebels overthrew Syria’s totalitarian leader, Bashar al-Assad, this month.

U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens tells CBS’s Face the Nation…

CARSTENS: “We have to help, or rather, work with, our interim authority’s officials to make sure that we do a good search so that I can one day look Debra Tice in the eyes and tell them that our search has been exhaustive.”

Debra Tice is Austin’s mother. The White House says it believes Austin Tice is still alive, but hasn’t elaborated.

German Christmas market suspect made previous online threats » The man accused of ramming his car into a Christmas market, killing at least 5 people and hurting 200 more in Germany last week, had been making increasingly hostile online comments and threats.

German leaders say they’d received and followed up on several tips, including via social media, that Taleb al Abdulmohsen was expressing radical views. CNN reports Germany also received warnings from officials in the suspect’s native country, Saudi Arabia.

Counterterrorism analyst Dr. Hans Jakob Schindler says when troubling online comments emerge, governments need more direct help from social media platforms…

SCHINDLER: “Whatever how many resources German or other security forces have in Europe, they will never be able to police the entire internet. We need those companies to help the security forces [with] highlighting radicalization processes that they enable with their algorithms that lead to violence.”

The suspect, a 50-year-old psychiatrist who’d lived in Germany since 2006, had expressed dissatisfaction with the country’s treatment of refugees. In May, he posted on X that “German terrorism will be brought to justice. It’s very likely that I will die this year in order to bring justice.”

Trump gives first major post-election speech » President-elect Trump is floating the idea of the U.S. taking back control of the Panama Canal.

Should that happen, Trump says…

TRUMP: This complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop (cheering). It’s going to stop.

Those comments came Sunday at Trump’s first major rally since winning back the presidency.

He says the U.S. is being charged excessive rates to use the passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Panama’s president rejected Trump’s comments as an affront to Panamanian sovereignty.

The U.S. and Panama jointly administered the canal from the late 1970s to 1999, when Panama took over control.

During his speech at a Turning Point USA event in Arizona, Trump also pledged to seal the U.S. borders, create a booming economy, and quickly settle wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Mangione to be arraigned in NYC Monday » The accused killer in this month’s fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson faces arraignment on state charges in New York today. That means the state will officially inform Luigi Mangione of the charges he faces, including first-degree murder as an act of terrorism.

He’s also facing federal charges. Those carry possible punishments of life in prison or the death penalty.

Investigators say a notebook found on Mangione contained threats against the health insurance industry and outlined plans to target a CEO. Former FBI Agent Peter Licata…

LICATA: We always talk about motive, opportunity, means. All three of those elements are addressed and captured in the criminal complaint as well as his notebook and they seem to match up.

Mangione remains in a federal detention facility. His trial on the state charges is expected to happen before his federal trial.

I'm Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: the Supreme Court considers a case, when legal deadlines fall on weekends or holidays. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat with David Bahnsen.

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