Thursday morning news: December 5, 2024

South Korea » In South Korea …

SOUND: [South Korean demonstrators]

Protesters were out in force for a second day … marching to the presidential palace in Seoul. Demonstrators called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign …

And some members of parliament agreed.

SOUND: [Parliament announcement]

An official in parliament announcing a motion to impeach the president.

That came one day after Yoon declared emergency martial law … because, he said pro-communist forces sympathetic to North Korea had infiltrated parliament.

But lawmakers swifty voted 190-to-zero to force Yoon to rescind that declaration, and he did.

In Washington, Secretary of State Tony Blinken says the US government welcomes Yoons statement withdrawing the martial law order.

BLINKEN: In our judgement, any political disagreements need to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.

South Korean law says parliament must vote on the measure 2-3 days after it is offered.

French lawmakers oust prime minister » In France, lawmakers on Wednesday voted to oust the prime minister … in the first successful no-confidence vote in more than 60 years. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Right-wing and left-wing members of parliament joined together to vote on a no-confidence motion.

The vote came amid fierce opposition to Prime Minister Michel Barnier's proposed budget, which called for significant tax increases and spending cuts. Barnier argued the measures were needed to tackle France’s massive budget deficit …

… which is expected to exceed 6 percent of the country’s GDP … double the EU’s recommended ceiling of 3 percent.

The National Assembly approved the no-confidence motion by 331 votes. A minimum of 288 were needed.

Barnier was appointed in September … and becomes the shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern Republic.

President Emmanuel Macron is expected to address the nation today to outline next steps.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

NATO chief urges members to increase defense spending » With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in January. NATO chief Mark Rutte is again pushing for European countries to ramp up defense spending.

Each NATO member is expected to spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense. But some members aren’t even doing that.

Rutte says members must step up regardless of who’s in the White House.

RUTTE:  Not because of Trump, but I believe strongly, and I know many allies believe strongly, that 2 percent is simply not enough. It is simply not enough. If longer term we want to keep our deterrence at the level it is now.

Rutte said NATO’s in a solid position right now, but without greater defense spending. It may be much more vulnerable in the future.

During Donald Trump’s first term, NATO members under heavy pressure from the US president, significantly increased defense spending. And Trump recently threatened not to defend “delinquent” NATO member states.

White House counsel / Pete Hegseth » And Donald Trump’s embattled nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is vowing to fight on and make his case to the Senate … despite some accusations of misconduct … and a lot of negative press.

HEGSETH:  I owe an answer to the members of the United States Senate who are going to vote for a confirmation here. And my meetings with them have been fantastic. 

And indeed, if Republican senators have reservations about Hegseth, they’re not saying so publicly. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee:

BLACKBURN:  He was able to lay out what he would do to modernize the U.S. Department of Defense, what he would do to put equipment and artillery in the hands of the warfighter.

Hegseth has faced accusations of past sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse, though, his current colleagues at Fox News have recently come to his defense, vouching for his character.

Recent media reports claim that the president-elect’s transition team is now considering alternatives to Hegseth, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Hegseth said Donald Trump personally reiterated his support for him in a phone call on Wednesday.

United Healthcare murder » Investigators in New York City are still looking for answers after a masked assassin Wednesday gunned the CEO of United Healthcare in broad daylight on a Manhattan sidewalk.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny:

KENNY:  The shooter steps onto the sidewalk from behind the car, he ignores numerous other pedestrians, approaches the victim from behind and shoots him in the back. The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot. 

The suspect reportedly lied in wait for Brian Thompson outside a hotel. The shooting sparked a manhunt throughout New York City.

Mexican troops seize a record fentanyl haul » Mexican soldiers and marines have seized more than a ton of fentanyl pills in two raids in the northern state of Sinaloa in what officials are calling the biggest catch of the synthetic opioid in the country's history.

The raids came days after President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico unless they cracked down on the flow of migrants and drugs across the border.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: The U.S. Supreme Court considers a case pitting parental rights against what’s best for children. Plus later, an American doctor eases suffering in Gaza.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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