Nation and world news in brief for December 24
Ford, GM donate $1M, contribute vehicles to Trump’s inauguration
DETROIT (Reuters) — U.S. automakers Ford Motor and General Motors will donate $1 million each, along with vehicles, to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s January inauguration, company spokespersons said on Monday.
Policies on tariffs and electric vehicles under consideration by the incoming administration would affect Detroit carmakers such as Ford, which is struggling to ramp up and sell its battery-powered models.
Republican Trump has proposed broad tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as killing an EV tax credit that benefits Ford.
Ford CEO Jim Farley told reporters this month he was optimistic Trump would be open to hearing the company’s perspectives on these actions.
General Motors also said on Monday it is donating $1 million to the event and will provide vehicles.
Other large companies, including Amazon and Meta Platforms, have also donated to the inauguration.
Trump raised a record $106.7 million for his 2017 festivities.
Democratic President Joe Biden raised $61.8 million for his 2021 inauguration, with contributions from companies including Pfizer, AT&T and Boeing.
Trial for suspect in Trump assassination attempt delayed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A U.S. judge on Monday delayed a trial for the suspect in the second assassination attempt of President-elect Donald Trump until September 2025, according to a court order.
Lawyers for the suspect, Ryan Routh, sought a delay of the scheduled Feb. 10 trial date, citing the large volume of evidence in the case.
Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to a delay, but called the defense request for a postponement until December 2025 “excessive.” Cannon scheduled the case to go before a jury beginning Sept. 8, 2025.
Trump transition team plans immediate WHO withdrawal, expert says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Members of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team are laying the groundwork for the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization on the first day of his second term, according to a health law expert familiar with the discussions.
“I have it on good authority that he plans to withdraw, probably on Day One or very early in his administration,” said Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law.
The Financial Times was first to report on the plans, citing two experts. The second expert, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha, was not immediately available for comment.
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder of health insurance CEO
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally gunning down health insurance executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street, pleaded not guilty on Monday to New York state murder charges that brand him a terrorist.
Mangione, 26, was escorted into Judge Gregory Carro’s 13th-floor courtroom in the New York state criminal courthouse in lower Manhattan with a court officer on each arm.
Mangione leaned into a microphone and said “not guilty” when Carro asked how he pleaded to the 11-count indictment charging him with murder as an act of terrorism and weapons offenses.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Number injured in Magdeburg attack rises to 235, prosecutors say
MAGDEBURG, Germany (TNS) — The number of people injured in the car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the central German city of Magdeburg has risen to 235, prosecutors say.
Five people were killed, including a nine-year-old boy and four women aged between 45 and 75, when a man drove a car through the crowd at the Christmas market on Friday evening.
Authorities had previously reported that 200 people were injured in the incident.
The suspect, a Saudi national identified only as Taleb A according to German privacy laws, has been living in Germany since 2006 and was granted political refugee status in 2016.
