One of Syria’s most notorious prisons houses evidence of the Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on dissidents. The suspect charged in the death of United Healthcare CEO is expected to plead not guilty. And inside was a man involved in the shadowy body trade in the United States.
Here’s what you need to know today.
Evidence of unspeakable atrocities and Israeli advances after Assad’s ouster
Saidnaya Military Prison is Syria’s most notorious concentration camp, a dungeon of small concrete cells known as a “human slaughterhouse.” Amnesty International said in a 2017 report that under the Assad family’s 50-year rule, prisoners were “regularly tortured with severe beatings and sexual violence” and that “total silence was enforced” to inflict psychological distress. “It has been done,” he claimed.
Days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Syrians are crowding into a prison in a rocky mountain on the outskirts of the capital Damascus. Using pry bars, pickaxes and their bare hands, they desperately searched to see if their loved ones were still alive. One woman interviewed by NBC News came looking for her son, who had been missing for 10 years. He was accused of being an extremist. She said he was a nurse. Evidence of barbaric conditions was everywhere, and one room contained an iron device, called an “execution press” by some, used to crush prisoners to death.
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While Syrians grapple with ending the regime, neighboring Israel has invaded Syrian territory in a new offensive. Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said he had ordered the military to establish a “barren defense zone” in southern Syria, as Israeli forces took control of the demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries.
Hundreds of airstrikes have been carried out against research centres, weapons depots and military infrastructure across Syria, and Israel claims to have destroyed the Syrian naval fleet. Israel says its action is aimed at preventing President Bashar al-Assad’s arsenal from falling into the hands of extremists, but Israel’s advances have raised fears of further instability.
More Syria coverage:
Russia is offering sanctuary to former leader Bashar al-Assad, the country’s foreign minister said in an exclusive interview.
Suspect in CEO shooting death expected to plead not guilty
Luigi Mangione, 26, who was charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has pleaded not guilty in Pennsylvania and is expected to give similar testimony on the murder charge in New York, his lawyer said. Ta. “Listen, I haven’t seen any evidence that he is the shooter,” Thomas Dickey, Mangione’s Pennsylvania attorney, told reporters.
At yesterday’s hearing, Mangione was denied bail and admitted to contest his extradition to New York. Upon arriving at the Blair County, Pennsylvania, courthouse, Mangione emerged from the sheriff’s car screaming and crashed into a wall. He then yelled at reporters: “This is completely out of line and an insult to the intelligence and lived experience of the American people!”
Meanwhile, investigators are learning more about the suspect through his writings and social media presence. They are also looking into whether there is a connection between the back injury Mangione sustained and Thompson’s murder. Here’s what else we know:
More about the suspect:
The brother of domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski, also known as the “Unabomber,” said he hopes Kaczynski is not a “key role model” for Mangione.
Republicans are undecided on how to promote President Trump’s 2025 policies
President-elect Donald Trump said he wants to move quickly to advance core parts of his agenda, including border security, energy policy and extending the 2017 tax cuts. But lawmakers are divided on whether Congressional Republicans should tackle his agenda all at once or in two smaller bills through a process called “reconciliation.”
Reconciliation would allow Republicans to pass major legislation without needing Democratic support. Nearly all Republicans would need to agree to pass the bill, which would win 53 seats in the Senate and 220 in the House next year.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune is pushing a two-bill strategy, with Republicans passing a bill that includes “things we know we can do quickly,” and then putting the rest together “later this year.” He argues that the issues should be addressed. Meanwhile, House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, the House’s top tax official, argues that splitting Trump’s agenda, particularly his tax policy, into two bills risks jeopardizing it. Read the full text here.
More news about Trump’s transition and politics:
President Trump has announced the appointment of Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle and longtime billionaire friend Tom Barrack as ambassadors to Greece and Turkey. The House Select Committee that investigated the assassination attempt on Trump has released its final report, which includes recommendations for the Secret Service. New York Attorney General Letitia James rejected Mr. Trump’s request to set aside a $486 million civil fraud judgment against him. Mitch McConnell said he is “feeling fine” after suffering minor injuries in a fall yesterday. A potentially significant political story is brewing in Michigan, and a gubernatorial candidate’s decision to run as an independent sends a message against the political establishment, writes Chuck Todd. Read the full analysis.
Body brokers thrive with little oversight
Obteen Nassiri needed a new job. After losing his chiropractor’s license for allegedly defrauding patients and defrauding insurance companies of millions of dollars, he jumped into America’s shadow body trade, an industry with virtually no guardrails or barriers to entry.
Nassiri’s new company, Med-Ed Labs, which operates out of a beige strip mall between tattoo parlors and psychics in Las Vegas, obtains bodies from funeral homes and medical schools and raises prices for groups seeking bodies for medical purposes. Then sell or lease. Training including the US military.
In just a few years, he built a nationwide network of suppliers and customers. He also left a trail of scandal, alleging ethical deficiencies, including complaints that he improperly handled bodies. Read the full text here.
read all about it
The Bureau of Labor Statistics today released the Consumer Price Index for November, with analysts expecting a 0.3% increase from the previous month. Stalled progress could determine whether the Fed cuts interest rates next month. A bankruptcy judge has rejected a bid by The Onion’s parent company to buy Alex Jones’ Infowars and far-right media empire, ruling that the auction process was unfair. The Franklin Fire in Malibu, California has burned approximately 3,000 acres and resulted in evacuation orders for approximately 20,000 people. A judge has blocked supermarket giant Kroger’s $25 billion bid to acquire rival Albertsons, saying the merger would harm customers. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home has been burglarized, adding to a recent string of break-ins targeting high-profile athletes.
Staff Pick: Small business owners deal with allegations of coronavirus loan failures
For millions of small businesses, federal loan programs have provided a lifeline to stay in business during the pandemic. But as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s coronavirus disaster loan repayment deadline approaches, some business owners told me their loans are being incorrectly marked as delinquent or sent to collections. .
An agency spokesperson said the agency has worked hard to be flexible and responsive to borrowers while responding to a record surge in disaster loans, and that its payment system is “functioning properly.” But several borrowers and the consultants they hired said the SBA’s own missteps, ranging from missed payments to fraudulent loan applications, led to months or more of frustration. As a result, one consultant said some clients are facing loss of Social Security benefits, refunds of withholdings and negative reports on their credit records. — Louis Kamb, FOIA reporter
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