Category: News Daypop

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is stepping down from House Democratic leadership but will remain in Congress. The 82-year-old Pelosi made the announcement in a floor speech on Thursday, and received a standing ovation from her colleagues. Noting she will continue to represent her San Francisco, California district, Pelosi said: “I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress. The hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect.”  She later tweeted:  “Thank you all — and may God continue to bless the United States of America.”

Pelosi was the the first woman to hold House speakership, and is the Democratic Party’s longest-serving House leader. Her decision will have a major impact on Democrats in their new position as House minority. Republicans officially won majority control in the U.S. House, ending a four-year Democratic majority despite a strong midterm showing for the party. As of Thursday morning, Republicans had captured 218 seats in the chamber compared to Democrats 211.

The announcement comes weeks after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked in their family home in California, a crime believed to be politically motivated.  Pelosi had said the attack on her husband Paul would impact her decision to stay in House leadership post-midterms.

President Joe Biden said of Pelosi in a statement: “History will note she is the most consequential speaker of the House of Representatives in our history. There are countless examples of how she embodies the obligation of elected officials to uphold their oath to God and country to ensure our democracy delivers and remains a beacon to the world. In everything she does, she reflects a dignity in her actions and a dignity she sees in the lives of the people of this nation.”

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Gabby Petito’s family was awarded $3M after they filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the parents of Brian Laundrie, who they believe killed their 22-year-old daughter last year. Months after Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt filed a civil suit in Sarasota County (where Brian’s parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, reside), a settlement was announced on Thursday, signed by Sarasota County Circuit Judge Hunter W. Carroll.

The suit alleged that the Laundries hindered the search for Petito and knew that she “had been murdered by their son,” who later died by suicide. Patrick Reilly, an attorney for Petito’s family, said: “The Petito family lost their daughter, and they were also denied the opportunity to confront her killer. No amount of money is sufficient to compensate the Petito family for the loss of their daughter, Gabby, at the hands of Brian Laundrie.” Brian Laundrie did not have $3 million at the time of his death and the settlement amount is “an arbitrary number.” The money will go toward the Gabby Petito Foundation, which was established after her August 2021 death.

Petito and Laundrie were on a cross-country trip when she disappeared. The engaged couple left Blue Point, New York, on July 2, 2021, in a 2012 Ford Transit van and documented their journey on YouTube and Instagram. They traveled to Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming before Petito was reported missing. Reports of altercations began to surface including one incident where police in Moab, Utah, responded to a report of a “domestic problem” between the pair. Petito stopped communicating with her family, and Laundrie returned to Florida alone with the van, which was recovered by North Port police at the home the couple shared with his parents. Wanted for questioning in Petito’s disappearance,Laundrie then vanished and his body was found in Florida in October 2021, a month after Petito was found dead in Wyoming. A coroner ruled Petito’s death a homicide and said she died by “manual strangulation.” Officials have said that Laundrie died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and left a note saying he was responsible for his fiancée’s death.

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A vehicle struck a group of Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruits while they were out for a training run early Wednesday in Southern California. The recruits were in the midst of a training run in Whittier, Calif., when they were struck around 6:26 a.m. PST, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said in a post on Facebook.

California Highway Patrol Assistant Chief Charlie Sampson said about 75 recruits were running in formation northbound in the street when the southbound vehicle veered into the opposing lane and struck the victims. Those who were at the front of the formation could see the vehicle coming and were able to get out of the way, while those behind couldn’t see and took the brunt of the impact.

Authorities said 25 people were injured in the crash, including the driver, and that five recruits were in critical condition. In addition to the five who were critically injured, there were four with moderate injuries and 14 with minor injuries. Officials said Wednesday at a press conference that the driver — identified as a 22-year-old man from Diamond Bar, California — was going the wrong way on the road. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the driver passed a field sobriety test and “blew a 0.0 on a breathalyzer … So, the cause of the accident, motive, anything, is unknown at this time.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement: “Our hearts are with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s recruits injured this morning while training to serve their communities. Jennifer and I send our best wishes for their recovery and stand with their loved ones and colleagues at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department during this difficult time.”

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Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell defeated challenger Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and was re-elected as Senate minority leader Wednesday with a vote of 37-10.

McConnell said at a news conference Wednesday that the Republican Party’s failure to pick up seats and win the majority in the Senate can be blamed on too much chaos and too much negativity by Republican candidates.  Said McConnell:  “Here’s the problem .. We underperformed among voters who did not like President Biden’s performance, among independents and among moderate Republicans who looked at us and concluded too much chaos, too much negativity, and we turned off a lot of these centrist voters, which is why I never predicted a red wave to begin with.”

McConnell’s secret ballot win over Scott happened after a motion by 16 GOP senators to delay the leadership election was defeated. GOP senators called for auditing the National Republican Senatorial Committee, after Sen. Scott accused former committee chair Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., of paying unauthorized and improper bonuses to committee staff in 2020. Citing a letter Scott sent to GOP senator’s seeking their votes, Scott reportedly said “it’s time for Senate Republican conference to be far more bold and resolute that we have been in the past.”

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Former President Donald Trump announced his third presidential run on Tuesday night from his Mar-a-Lago residence. Trump officially launched his campaign for president in 2024, filing papers with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday night in which he declared himself a candidate for the presidency, and established a new campaign committee.

Trump announced to a crowded ballroom: “In order to make America great again, I am announcing my candidacy for president of the United States. This will not be my campaign. This will be our campaign. This is a task for a great movement. This is not for any one individual. This is a job for tens of thousands of people working together.” Trump added: “We are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation for millions of Americans,” speaking about President Joe Biden’s first two years running the nation. “I will ensure Joe Biden does not receive four more years … This campaign will be about issues, vision and success, and we will not stop, we will not quit, until we’ve achieved the highest goals and made our country greater than it has ever been before.”

Trump’s presidential announcement comes after many in the Republican Party urged the former president to postpone his campaign until after next month’s Georgia Senate runoff. Trump also may have to contend with the possibility of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis challenging him for the nomination. The 44-year-old DeSantis easily won re-election last week, and has already begun to gain support among some Republican politicians, who were disappointed with the poor showing of many Trump-endorsed candidates in the midterm elections. The Florida governor has reportedly met with donors and started assembling his own presidential campaign to challenge Trump for the GOP nomination.

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The White House has asked Congress to approve $37.7 billion in additional aid for Ukraine. The request for Ukraine assistance includes $21.7 billion for military, intelligence and other defense support, $14.5 billion in humanitarian aid and to help keep the Ukrainian government functioning, $900 million for health care and support services for Ukrainians living in the U.S. and $626 million for nuclear security support to Ukraine and for modernizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. U.S. aid to Ukraine has already included tens of thousands of missiles and rockets for air defense and anti-armor systems, and more than 84 million rounds of ammunition, as well as drones, tanks, trucks, radars, body armor and other gear.

The White House has also requested a further $9.25 billion for COVID-19 response efforts. The coronavirus funding ask is considerably lower than the previous request of $22 billion, which reflects in part the changing nature of the virus and the continued effort to combat it. The request includes $2.5 billion for vaccines and therapeutics, $5 billion to support development of new vaccines, $750 million to support research into long COVID and $1 billion to combat the virus internationally.

Shalanda Young, the head of the White House budget office, wrote in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday: “Staying ahead of COVID-19. Supporting Ukraine’s fight to defend its sovereignty. Helping Americans who have borne the brunt of natural disasters. … I urge the Congress to address them as part of a comprehensive, bipartisan agreement in the weeks ahead.”

Congress has until Dec. 16 to agree on a budget or pass an interim measure to avoid a government shutdown.

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Police in Moscow, Idaho, have released the names of four University of Idaho students killed over the weekend in an apparent homicide. The victims are: Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee GonCalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho.

The four victims appeared to be friends based on their social media interactions and posted a photo with two other friends just hours before they were found dead on Sunday. According to University of Idaho President Scott Green, Mogen and Kernodle were in the same sorority; Goncalves was a member of a different sorority, and Chapin was a fraternity member (who had recently celebrated his birthday). Green said in a Monday statement that the students are “believed to be victims of homicide.”

The Moscow Police Department (MPD) responded on Sunday to reports of an unconscious person on King Road – near the university’s golf course and adjacent to Greek Row – just before noon, and found the four deceased students upon arrival. The MPD said in a Monday afternoon statement: “Details are limited in this investigation  Currently, there is no one in custody,” adding that the department and city are “deeply saddened for the families of these individuals, fellow students and friends, and [the] community during this time.”

Authorities do not believe there is an active threat to the community, and are expected to release more information regarding the students’ deaths at a later time. Police investigating the incident are asking anyone with information to contact the Moscow Police Department at 208-882-COPS (2677).

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Authorities announced Monday that a University of Virginia student is in custody after the killing of three of the school’s football players in a shooting Sunday night, which injured 2 others. The school’s president confirmed Monday that the suspect, identified by authorities as student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., was in custody.

UVA President Jim Ryan revealed during a press conference the deceased victims identities: Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry. Two other students, one in critical condition and one in good condition, were wounded in the shooting and were receiving treatment. Chandler was a second-year student, Davis was a third-year student and Perry was a fourth-year student. Ryan told reporters: “This is a sad, shocking and tragic day for our UVA community… The entire university community is grieving this morning. My heart is broken for the victims and their families and for all those who knew and loved them, and they are all in my prayers.”

Police responded to a call of shots fired at approximately 10:30 p.m. Sunday night, and Ryan said that the shooting took place near a campus parking garage on a bus full of students returning from a play in Washington, D.C.  During Ryan’s press conference, Tim Longo, the university’s police chief, received word of the suspect’s apprehension. The 22-year-old suspect was taken into custody without incident shortly before 11 a.m. southeast of Charlottesville in Henrico County, Virginia.  Longo said the suspect was charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony.

Virginia’s elected leaders reacted to the shooting on social media: Gov. Glenn Youngkin tweeted: “We had a horrific tragedy overnight at UVA, lives were lost and families changed forever. Due to the diligence and commitment of our law enforcement, the suspect is in custody. While there are still many details to uncover, let us lift up the entire community in prayer.”  Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said in a series of tweets: “Very grateful to law enforcement for their heroic work to apprehend the suspect. I continue to keep the UVA community in my prayers on this tragic day,” and later added: “Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry. Today, we honor their memories after their lives were tragically cut short. I’m keeping their loved ones in my prayers.”

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Police confirmed that one person was killed and one was injured in a shooting during a Florida high school football playoff game Saturday in Orlando, Florida. Witnesses told authorities gunshots were heard in the parking lot of Jones High School, located near Camping World Stadium.

Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith told reporters: “There were two different groups, two different people at the event and got into whatever altercation they did. It’s part of our investigation to find out exactly what happened. We know shots rang out, two people were hit and fell.”

Smith said that both of the people involved are adults, adding that one died in the shooting while the other was taken to a hospital. Four juveniles have been taken into custody and police are still trying to identify the shooters.

Jones football coach Elijah Williams told the Orlando Sentinel: “It’s just an unfortunate situation… It’s real senseless. At that point we just wanted to keep both teams safe, our kids safe.”

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Officials said on Sunday that the death toll has risen to six after a mid-air plane crash at an air show in Dallas.  Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a statement: “According to our Dallas County Medical Examiner, there are a total of 6 fatalities from yesterday’s Wings over Dallas air show incident. Authorities will continue working today on the investigation and identification of the deceased. Please pray for their families and all involved.”

The two aircraft were both vintage collections from the Commemorative Air Force and were part of an air show that was being held at Dallas Executive Airport. Details of the crash (caught on video) remain unknown. The B-17, nicknamed “Texas Raiders,” was one of about 45 complete surviving examples of the model, only nine of which were airworthy. The other aircraft was a P-63 which was even more rare. Only 14 are known to have survived.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson tweeted, “As many of you have now seen, we have had a terrible tragedy in our city today during an airshow. Many details remain unknown or unconfirmed at this time. The @NTSB has taken command of the crash scene with @DallasPD and @DallasFireRes_q continuing to provide support. The videos are heartbreaking. Please, say a prayer for the souls who took to the sky to entertain and educate our families today.”

The Allied Pilots Association said in a statement that two of the victims were former members and identified them as Terry Barker and Len Root: “We are saddened to report that former APA members CA Terry Barker and CA Len Root were among the crew members lost on B-17 Flying Fortress during the Wings Over Dallas airshow today. Our hearts go out to their families, friends, and colleagues past and present.”

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/killed-vintage-aircraft-collide-dallas-air-show-93213570

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