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Caesar’s closes tent
With over a million in additional monthly revenue, the city of Danville won the jackpot with its new casino. Meanwhile,…
Public meeting held for new Mayo River State Park
The first public meeting was held for the Mayo River State Park master plan this week. About 60 people attended.…
German Christmas market attack toll rises to 5 killed, 200 injured, minister says
(LONDON) — At least five people are now known to have been killed in the vehicle-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday, the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff told journalists on Saturday.
Haseloff said that at least 200 more people were injured when a car plowed into festive market-goers in the eastern German city, around 75 miles west of the capital Berlin.
A young child and an adult were among those killed in the attack, according to Haseloff. At least 15 of those injured were seriously hurt, according to a local official.
A suspect — a doctor from Saudi Arabia aged around 50 — was arrested, Haselhoff said. The man has lived in Germany since 2006. A rental car was used in the attack, the minister said.
The motive is unknown at this time, U.S. sources said. But U.S. law enforcement sources told ABC News that German authorities are treating the attack as a terrorist incident.
“We send our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured and to all those affected by this terrible incident,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“We stand in solidarity with the people of Germany in grieving the loss of life. The United States is ready to provide assistance as recovery efforts continue and authorities investigate this horrible incident,” Miller’s statement continued.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered his condolences to those affected. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” Scholz said in a statement. “We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours.”
Friday’s ramming incident came almost exactly eight years after a similar terror attack at a Christmas market in the German capital. On Dec. 19, 2016, a man drove a truck into a crowd at a market in Berlin, killing 13 and injuring dozens.
U.S. law enforcement officials have warned of similar vehicle-ramming attacks on American soil, particularly over the festive season.
A joint threat assessment about New Year’s Eve in New York City’s Times Square, for example, noted the use of vehicle-ramming alone or in conjunction with other tactics “has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors in the West.”
The NYPD, out of an abundance of caution, will surge resources to similar areas around the city, including Christmas markets, according to NYPD deputy commissioner for counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner.
“We know this is a very festive time, it is a busy time in the city, and we are going to make sure that all of our holiday markets, all of our holiday activities are protected by our counter weapons teams, by officers on patrol, all our counter-terrorism officers, our critical response command,” Weiner told ABC New York station WABC.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
What’s in the approved government funding bill
(WASHINGTON) — After days of heated negotiations on Capitol Hill and eleventh-hour interference from President-elect Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk, the House passed a funding bill to prevent a government shutdown Friday night, with the Senate following suit early Saturday morning.
The 118-page bill contains most of the provisions that were put in place in the bipartisan bill that was agreed to on Wednesday before it was killed after Musk criticized Republicans who supported it.
Trump also called for the bill to raise the debt limit ceiling. The federal government is not expected to hit its borrowing limit until sometime in the spring or winter of 2025, and Trump has stated his desire to have the issue dealt with while Joe Biden was president.
Under the proposal, which is awaiting Biden’s signature, the federal government would be funded until March 2025. It did not include a provision to raise the debt ceiling limit.
The bill did include $100 billion for disaster aid, $30 billion for farmers and a one-year extension of the farm bill, provisions that were under heavy debate prior to this week’s votes.
Some of the provisions that were in the bill earlier in the week were removed including $100 million for pediatric cancer research and a deal that would have transferred the land that holds RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia.
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FDA approves Eli Lilly’s obesity medication for obstructive sleep apnea
(NEW YORK) — The FDA has expanded the approval of Eli Lilly’s obesity medication Zepbound to include treating moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea for people with obesity — the first medication approved for the condition.
The new, expanded Zepbound approval means that insurance providers, including Medicare, will likely cover the medication for people with sleep apnea and obesity. Some insurance providers, including Medicare, do not offer reimbursement to treat obesity alone.
The new approval is for people with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea who are also living with obesity. Eli Lilly estimates that is about 15-20 million adults in the U.S.
Obstructive sleep apnea isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a serious medical condition that impairs breathing and sleep quality. Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea are linked. People tend to see their obstructive sleep apnea get better when they lose a significant amount of weight. It’s likely the weight loss associated with the medication is helping improve the sleep apnea.
Right now, there is no medicine to treat obstructive sleep apnea — it’s only treated with a positive airway pressure device.
In a study, people who took Zepbound had at least 25 fewer breathing interruptions per hour while they slept. They also lost an average of 20% of their body weight.
The study also followed people over a year, and found that up to half of the adults taking Zepbound no longer had obstructive sleep apnea symptoms at the end of the year.
Obstructive sleep apnea is more common in men than women. Up to 34% of U.S. men have OSA compared to 17% of U.S. women, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Common signs of sleep apnea include heavy snoring at night, long pauses in breathing while sleeping as well as excessive daytime sleepiness, forgetfulness and morning headaches. The symptoms of the disorder can lead to significant medical problems.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Jack Black, Paul Rudd to star in new ‘Anaconda’ film: ‘We’re making a movie!’
Jack Black and Paul Rudd will star in a new, reimagined Anaconda film.
The duo announced the news in a hilarious video on Friday, which features the two actors on a fun set enthusiastically talking about the new project.
“Hey, what’s up people, we’re making a movie,” Black says in the video.
“Guess what it is?” Rudd continues, before Black says, “Paul Rudd and Jack Black star in the Anaconda!'”
Black then says the film will have a big snake and that “it’s going to rip!”
“You want to get scared? You want to laugh? You want to celebrate with your friends? Or maybe you’re alone and sad and have nobody but just want to forget about that,” Rudd adds before sharing the film’s 2025 release date.
“Come see our movie, Anaconda!'” Black adds.
The duo end their video with Black asking Rudd if he saw the snake for the film yet before they head off screen to see it.
Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten wrote the script for the upcoming movie, and Gormican will be directing, according to a description of the film. Brad Fuller and Andrew Form also join the film as producers.
Details about the film’s plot are still under wraps.
The first Anaconda movie, an adventure horror film, was released in 1997 and was directed by Luis Llosa. It starred Jon Voight, Jennifer Lopez, Eric Stoltz, Ice Cube and Owen Wilson. The film followed a National Geographic film crew “taken hostage by a hunter who forces them along on his quest to capture the world’s largest and deadliest snake,” according to a description of the film.
Anaconda, starring Black and Rudd, will slither into theaters Dec. 25, 2025.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
At least 2 dead, nearly 70 injured when car plows into German Christmas market: Officials
(BERLIN) — A car plowed into people visiting a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring nearly 70 others, according to German officials.
German authorities are treating the incident as terrorism, U.S. law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Among those injured, at least 15 were seriously hurt, according to a local official.
People are still arriving at the hospital for treatment, a German security official said.
A suspect has been arrested in the attack that sent shoppers fleeing in panic, U.S. sources said.
The suspect is a doctor from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany since 2006, according to Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff. A rental car was used in the attack, according to Haseloff.
The motive is unknown at this time, U.S. sources said.
Extensive police operations are underway at the Magdeburg Christmas market, which is now closed, local police said.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. “We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours.”
Magdeburg is about a two-hour drive west of Berlin.
This incident comes nearly eight years to the day after a terror attack at a different German Christmas market. On Dec. 19, 2016, a man drove a truck into a crowd at a market in Berlin, killing 13 and injuring dozens.
The potential for vehicle-ramming attacks is an ongoing concern for U.S. law enforcement officials, especially ahead of New Year’s Eve. A joint threat assessment about New Year’s Eve in New York City’s Times Square noted the use of vehicle-ramming alone or in conjunction with other tactics “has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors in the West.”
he NYPD, out of an abundance of caution, will surge resources to similar areas around the city, including Christmas markets, according to NYPD deputy commissioner for counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner.
“We know this is a very festive time, it is a busy time in the city, and we are going to make sure that all of our holiday markets, all of our holiday activities are protected by our counter weapons teams, by officers on patrol, all our counter-terrorism officers, our critical response command,” Weiner told ABC New York station WABC.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
College student allegedly plotted ‘mass casualty attack’ targeting Jews
(VIRGINIA) — A Virginia college student is accused of plotting a “mass casualty attack” on the Consulate General of Israel in New York, according to court records.
The FBI arrested Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, 18, a student at George Mason University, this week in connection with the alleged plot targeting Jews, court records show.
The case began in May, when the Fairfax County Police Department informed the agency of an anonymous tip reporting an X account that engaged in “radical and terrorist-leaning behavior,” according to an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint and arrest warrant filed against Hassan in U.S. District Court in Virginia.
The account, which the FBI says it linked to Hassan, made posts in support of ISIS and al-Qaeda, according to the affidavit. Investigators say they also linked two other radical X accounts to Hassan, according to the affidavit.
An undercover FBI informant engaged with Hassan on one of the suspect’s X accounts in August, and the two communicated through various platforms for several months after the source pledged loyalty to Hassan, according to the affidavit.
Hassan was allegedly careful about covering his digital tracks, telling the informant that he “cannot be caught giving instructions about attack planning” because he “believed he was already being watched due to his past,” the affidavit stated. He was previously interviewed by the FBI in 2022 in part due to his “support for ISIS online,” according to the affidavit.
Hassan discussed with the source “how to travel to join ISIS” and shared ISIS propaganda, before allegedly recruiting the source in October to “conduct a mass casualty attack,” according to the affidavit.
Hassan allegedly sent the source a “pro-ISIS video that called for the killing of Jews” in mid-November, and in the ensuing weeks instructions on “how to prepare a martyrdom video” and bomb-making, according to the affidavit.
He allegedly picked the Consulate General of Israel as a target and continued to provide the source with support “regarding the manufacture and use of an explosive device and the planned attack,” the affidavit stated.
He also allegedly discussed conducting the attack with a firearm and provided instructions on how to buy a rifle to avoid being tracked down by authorities after the attack, according to the affidavit.
Hassan allegedly directed the source to make a video before the attack for ISIS media, and that if not martyred the source “will be famous,” according to the affidavit. He also allegedly instructed the source to livestream the attack so that he could “distribute it to the ISIS media department,” and discussed how to flee the country following the attack, according to the affidavit.
Hassan was arrested on Tuesday and charged with the distribution of information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction in furtherance of the commission of a federal crime of violence, court records show.
ABC News has reached out to his attorney for comment.
The suspect, a national of Egypt living in Falls Church, Virginia, was in removal proceedings with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the affidavit.
He did not live on campus at George Mason University and was barred from university property following his arrest, the school said.
“George Mason University continues to take enhanced precautions to maintain a safe and secure university community in light of the recent FBI arrest of one of its students,” the school said in a statement. “As criminal proceedings progress, the university will take appropriate action on student code of conduct violations.”
Hassan remains in custody at the Alexandria Adult Detention Center, the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office confirmed to ABC News. He has not yet entered a plea, court records show.
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