Wednesday morning news: December 11, 2024

AUDIO: [Woman screams "ALLAHU ACKBAR!!!"]

Syria: future, White House remarks » A Syrian Muslim woman screams, "God is great!” and “Syria is back."

She was one of many still celebrating in the streets of Damascus … after the ouster of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad.

SOUND: [More celebrants]

The Biden administration says the U.S. government will recognize and support the new government in Syria, provided that it is committed to certain principles.

State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller:

MILLER: Respect for the rights of minorities, facilitation of humanitarian assistance. The prevention of Syria from being used as a base for terrorism or posing as a threat to its neighbors, securing and safely destroying any chemical weapons stockpiles.

Syria: Israeli operations » Those stockpiles of weapons — of all varieties have been of great concern to Israeli leaders who are not taking any chances.

SOUND: [Israeli rocket launches]

The Israeli military released video footage that it says shows missile strikes in Syria destroying Syrian military assets. Those strikes have targeted air bases, missile systems, and weapons stockpiles and have already destroyed Syria’s navy.

Israel says those operations are aimed at making sure assets don’t fall into the hands of extremist groups that could threaten Israel's security.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters:

KIRBY: These are exigent operations, uh, to eliminate, uh, what they believe are imminent threats to their security. Um, and, uh, you know, we certainly recognize that, uh, that they live in a tough neighborhood and that, uh, um, they have as always the right to, um, to defend themselves.

Israel has also moved ground forces into a buffer zone along Syria’s border with Israel to secure the area.

Netanyahu corruption trial » Meantime, Tel Aviv … 

SOUND: [Netanyahu trial demonstrations]

Supporters and detractors of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gathered outside a courthouse where he took the witness stand for the first time in his long-running trial on corruption charges.

Prosecutors have accused him of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate cases. Netanyahu vehemently denies wrongdoing, and has described the trial as a witch hunt and a political prosecution.

GOP cabinet meetings / Schumer on Rubio » In Washington, Republican senators met with President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for various cabinet positions on Tuesday.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune:

THUNE: One thing I can tell you coming out of that conference is Republicans united around making sure that President Trump's nominees are put in place and ready to roll up their sleeves and go to work.

Among those on hand for those meetings: FBI director nominee Kash Patel, defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth and Trump’s pick for national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard.

Some of the nominees will face stiff opposition from Democrats, and even some very tough questions from Republicans. But Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio, is not expected to be among them.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters:

SCHUMER:  I look forward to seeing Senator Rubio's hearing in the new year. I've worked closely with him in the past, we've had a good relationship. I think he's qualified for the role and I certainly don't start out with any negative disposition.

Nominees need 51 votes to be confirmed. Republicans will control 54 seats in the new Senate.

United Healthcare CEO shooter » A judge on Tuesday denied bail to the man accused of murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week in Manhattan.

26-year-old Luigi Mangione faces a weapons charge in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested this week. And prosecutors in New York want him extradited to face a murder charge.

His attorney Thomas Dickey told reporters:

DICKEY: We did not waive extradition. We are contesting extradition. We are going to fight this along the rules and with the constitutional protections that my client has, and that’s what we’re going to do.

But Blair County, Pennsylvania District Attorney Peter Weeks said yesterday …

WEEKS:  We're in the process now of securing a governor's warrant from the state of New York and we'll be prepared when the judge schedules the hearing to do what's necessary to get him back to New York.

And investigators have learned more about the suspect. They say he was raised in a wealthy Maryland family, graduated from an Ivy League school, and worked as a data engineer before last week’s attack.

In a statement, his family members said they were shocked and that everything they know about Mangioni’s alleged crimes has come from news outlets.

Malibu fire » In Southern California, a wind-driven wildfire has forced thousands of residents to flee their homes. The blaze, which was sparked on Monday has already consumed roughly 3,000 acres.

And Los Angeles County Police Chief Robert Luna is urging everyone in the area to stay alert.

LUNA:  Fires can be extremely unpredictable, and we highly encourage residents in the fire areas to be prepared to heed our evacuation warnings.

And LA County Fire Chief Anthony Maronne said Tuesday that the fire was not at all contained as of yet, with more than 700 firefighters trying to get a handle on it.

MARONNE: Because of the difficulties in this particular area, time is of the essence for us to grab ahold of the fire and start getting containment.

Authorities are not yet sure how the blaze was started.

Thousands of homes are under threat, but as of last night, there were no reports of any serious injuries.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: a new department is tasked with cutting government waste…but will need the government’s support to make it happen. Plus, one woman’s story of trying to stop a chemical abortion before it was too late.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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