UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot dead in Midtown Manhattan, masked gunman at large
The scene of a shooting in Midtown NYC on Dec. 4, 2024. WABC
(NEW YORK) — Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed by a masked man near a Midtown Manhattan hotel early Wednesday, according to police sources.
The shooting appears to be targeted but police do not know why, sources said.
Thompson was not staying at the Hilton outside of which he was shot, sources said.
Thompson was in New York City for an investors conference and his schedule was widely known, police sources said.
The gunman, who was wearing a ski mask, fled down an alleyway near West 55th Street and remains at large, police said.
The suspect is described as a skinny man wearing all black who stands at about 6-foot-1, police said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(PHILADELPHIA, Pa.) — It was just a normal Friday evening for Philadelphia father Andre Howard and his 10-year-old son Trey Howard.
Andre Howard picked up Trey Howard and his two younger siblings from school and drove to a nearby Dunkin’.
“I promised him Tuesday that we would get donuts on Friday after school,” Andre Howard told ABC News.
However, as they were leaving the Dunkin’, about to turn on Cottman Avenue, Andre Howard said the family heard a loud bang, quickly accompanied by a “ball of fire” and black smoke. Little did they know, a medical transport jet had just crashed nearby.
Andre Howard attempted to reverse his truck, using the donut shop as a shield to stop flying debris. Then, he heard his son shout something from the backseat of the car.
“I hear my son telling his sister, ‘Get down, baby girl,'” Andre Howard said.
Trey Howard, who is in the fourth grade, used his body as a human shield to protect his younger sister from incoming debris, his father said.
“I turn around and he has metal out the side of his head,” Andre Howard said.
In efforts to protect his younger sister, Trey Howard was hit with a piece of plane debris or glass, with part of it sticking out of his head, his father said.
As Andre Howard attempted to move his son, the metal protruding from Trey Howard’s head fell out, causing blood to gush everywhere, he said. Andre Howard said he wrapped Trey Howard’s head with socks, while someone else lent a shirt — anything to stop the bleeding.
Andre Howard said he flagged down a police officer on the scene, who drove the family to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where Trey Howard underwent emergency brain surgery, and then was transferred to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Andre Howard said he was told there was a high likelihood his son wouldn’t survive.
However, after the procedure and a full weekend in the intensive care unit, Trey Howard was moved to a regular room on Monday and continues to recover from the harrowing event.
“Am I OK? No. Is his mother OK? No. Is his family OK? No. But we are going to be strong for him every step of this process to get him back to full strength,” Andre Howard said.
When Trey Howard was finally able to speak again, the first thing he asked was, ‘Daddy, did I save my sister?'”
Andre Howard said his son’s selfless act of bravery was “something that not a lot of grown men could do” and called his fourth grader his “superhero.”
The hospital is continuing to monitor Trey Howard’s skull, ensuring all of the debris has been removed, his father said. Until he is able to go home, Andre Howard said his son has been getting many visitors — including his teachers and Philadelphia 76ers player Tyrese Maxey.
“Thank God my son is still here. Thank God we didn’t go into the flame,” Andre Howard said. “I’m just happy he is here.”
The plane crash, which involved a medical transport jet, killed all six people on board, as well as one person on the ground. Officials are still investigating the cause of the crash.
(PETROLIA, Calif) — A 7.0 magnitude earthquake was reported off the coast of Northern California on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The epicenter is off the coast near Petrolia, in Humboldt County, the USGS said.
Also, a tsunami warning that had been issued for coastal areas in California and Oregon, including San Francisco, was canceled just before noon local time.
“The tsunami Warning is canceled for the coastal areas of California and Oregon,” the National Tsunami Warning Center wrote on X. “No tsunami danger presently exists for this area.”
The warning had been in effect from Davenport, California, to Douglas/Lane Line Oregon, the National Tsunami Warning Center said.
Police in Berkeley, California, had issued an evacuation order for parts of the city “due to a tsunami coming to West Berkeley.”
“People in the Tsunami Zone are in IMMEDIATE DANGER and MUST EVACUATE NOW,” the police department said. “Stay east of 7th St. This is a lawful order to leave now.”
The earthquake was reported at 10:44 a.m. local time, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center.
Subsequent earthquakes were reported in the region, including a 4.2 magnitude earthquake near Petrolia, according to the USGS.
Shake alerts in the USGS’s earthquake early warning system were delivered as far north as Lincoln City, Oregon, and as far south as Salinas, California, the agency said.
“System was activated and performed as designed. Still trying to ascertain how much warning people received,” the USGS said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said officials with the state’s Office of Emergency Services are “actively responding to the earthquakes this morning in Northern California.”
“Californians should follow guidance from local emergency responders,” he said on social media.
Regarding aftershocks, there is currently a 5% chance of a magnitude 6 or larger earthquake occurring in the next week, and a 34% chance of a magnitude 5 quake occurring in that time frame, the USGS said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Top white shoe law firm Sullivan & Cromwell will represent President Donald Trump as he appeals his criminal hush money conviction in New York, according to court filings Wednesday.
The new attorneys filed a notice of appeal Wednesday, signaling their intention to appeal Trump’s conviction to New York’s Appellate Division, First Department.
Among Trump’s new lawyers is firm co-chair Robert J. Giuffra.
“President Donald J. Trump’s appeal is important for the rule of law, New York’s reputation as a global business, financial and legal center, as well as for the presidency and all public officials,” Giuffra said in a statement. “The misuse of the criminal law by the Manhattan DA to target President Trump sets a dangerous precedent, and we look forward to the case being dismissed on appeal.”
The change in attorneys followed Trump’s naming of his former lead attorneys, Todd Blanche, Emil Bove and John Sauer, to top roles in the Justice Department.
Blanche has been nominated for deputy attorney general, Sauer as solicitor general, and Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general.
Sauer led Trump’s successful appeals, including at the U.S. Supreme Court, that led to the dismissals of federal prosecutions in Trump’s Jan. 6 and classified documents cases.
Blanche and Bove led the defense team at Trump’s criminal trial in New York that ended in Trump’s conviction last May on all 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
The judge in the case, Juan Merchan, sentenced Trump prior to his inauguration to an unconditional discharge, sparing Trump any prison time, fines or probation.
