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U.S. Steel shares plummet amid questions over the fate of its merger with Nippon Steel

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Pittsburgh-area union members throw support behind Harris as she opposes sale of U.S. Steel


Pittsburgh-area union members throw support behind Harris as she opposes sale of U.S. Steel

02:45

U.S. Steel shares plunged on Wednesday as Wall Street questioned whether its $14.1 billion deal with Japan’s Nippon Steel is at risk of derailing.

Shares of U.S. Steel plunged as much as 25% in afternoon trading after the Washington Post reported President Joe Biden is preparing to formally block the proposed acquisition. As of 2:35 p.m., shares of U.S. Steel were down $7.12, or 20%, to $28.48. 

At an afternoon briefing, a White House official downplayed the Washington Post report, which cited three people familiar with the president’s plans. In a statement, the White House cited a process of review by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, or CFIUS, a panel chaired by the Treasury Secretary. 

“CFIUS hasn’t transmitted a recommendation to the President, and that’s the next step in this process,” a White House official stated.

—This is a developing story and will be updated.



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U.S. “fondness for tall SUVs and pickups” compounding risks for pedestrians in crashes, IIHS study finds

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Researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety who looked back at data on more than 200 vehicle-pedestrian crashes in the U.S. say Americans’ preference for large, tall vehicles is compounding the risks of serious injury to pedestrians associated with higher-speed crashes. The authors of the IIHS study conclude that the size of many American vehicles means serious pedestrian injuries are more likely in crashes when compared to the expected risks on the roads in Europe, where vehicles are generally smaller. 

IIHS researchers analyzed 202 crashes involving a vehicle and at least one pedestrian aged 16 or older between 2015 and 2022 in four states, “to generate an estimate for the link between injury outcomes and impact speed,” with information about the front-end height of the vehicles being used additionally “to examine the moderating effect of” the vehicle’s size on the outcome for the pedestrians.

“A small increase in crash speed can really ramp up the danger to a pedestrian. Our fondness for tall SUVs and pickups in the U.S. has intensified that effect,” IIHS President David Harkey was quoted as saying about the study’s findings.

Pickup Truck Strikes Pedestrian in Woodside
A member of the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad gathers evidence at the scene of a crash in which a pickup truck struck a pedestrian, sending the victim to the hospital in critical condition, March 9, 2024.

Jeff Bachner/NY Daily News/Getty


While it was already understood that more speed at the point of impact increases risks to pedestrians struck by vehicles, the IIHS said the new study was carried out to provide, “an updated estimate of pedestrian injury risk at different severity levels” based on the evolving design of vehicles on U.S. roads today.

“As expected, impact speed strongly predicted injury risk, and hood leading edge height significantly increased the risk of pedestrian injury overall as well as the potency of impact speed for serious injuries,” the IIHS said.

While the study found no significant change in risk to pedestrians based on the weight of the vehicles involved, the IIHS said that, “in general, higher vehicle front ends increased the likelihood of both moderate and serious pedestrian injuries.”

For example, it said that when a median-height pickup, with a front end about 13 inches higher than most cars, hits a pedestrian at 27 mph, there’s a 83% chance of moderate injury and a 62% chance of serious injury, compared to 60% and a 30% respectively if the vehicle involved in the crash is a median-height car.

“Although SUVs are a growing share of the market in Europe, the passenger vehicle fleet there has long been dominated by cars. In contrast, the majority of passenger vehicles on U.S. roads today are SUVs or pickups,” IIHS senior statistician Sam Monfort, the lead author of the study, was quoted as saying by the institute. “These choices have very real consequences for pedestrian safety.”

“Speed increases have a more pronounced effect when taller vehicles are involved” in a crash, the organization said. “For example, as crash speed increases from 15 mph to 35 mph, the risk of a serious injury goes from 9% to 52% when a median-height car is involved. With a median [height] pickup, the risk shoots up from 11% to 91%.”


Why pedestrian deaths are rising in the U.S.

04:43

Previous research by the IIHS published in 2022 found that drivers of bigger vehicles were more likely to hit pedestrians while making turns than drivers of cars, and another IIHS study published last year that pickups, SUVs and vans with hoods higher than 40 inches at the front edge were about 45% more likely to cause pedestrian fatalities in crashes than cars and other vehicles with lower, sloping hoods.

Despite the concern over the impact of larger vehicles in U.S. pedestrian crashes, however, data showed 2023 saw the first overall year-on-year decline in pedestrian deaths from vehicle accidents in about four years, since the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of pedestrians killed on U.S. roads in 2023 dropped 5.4% compared to the previous year — which saw a 40-year high — but it was still 14.1% higher than the number of deaths recorded in 2019, before the pandemic, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.



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Evacuations ordered as large brush fire breaks out in Malibu in the midst of red flag warnings

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A large brush fire is burning in Malibu Canyon near Pepperdine University, prompting some evacuations for residents. 

The blaze, dubbed the Franklin Fire, was first reported a little after 10:45 p.m. near S. Malibu Canyon Road and Station Boundary just south of the Piuma area, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. 

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A water-dropping helicopter battling the Franklin Fire in Malibu on Dec. 10, 2024.

KCAL News


As of 11:45 p.m., crews reported that the fire had already engulfed about 100 acres. While there were no structures damaged, some were threatened, according to firefighters.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were working to evacuate residents living in zone MAL-C112, which includes the area east of Malibu Canyon Road and South of Piuma Road as well as the Serra Retreat. More information on evacuations is available on the Malibu city website

Multiple water-dropping aircraft were called to the scene as crews deemed the blaze a Third Alarm incident. 

It’s unclear how the fire started. 

California Highway Patrol officers closed Malibu Canyon from Mulholland Drive to Pacific Coast Highway as the firefight continued. 

Pepperdine school officials released a statement to note that they were closely monitoring the fire. 

“The fire is not currently affecting any University campus,” the statement said. “The Malibu Campus and local area may experience some power outages related to this incident.”

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An aerial look at the Franklin Fire burning in Malibu. 

KCAL News


Weather officials raised concerns over fire danger that would impact most of Southern California to start the way. Unusually low humidity paired with a powerful Santa Ana winds movement created dangerous conditions, which led them to issue a “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning.”

In response, SoCal Edison has already warned tens of thousands of residents living throughout Los Angeles County that their service may be shut off if the winds intensify. 

Conditions bore similarities to the weather when the Mountain Fire erupted in Ventura County in early November. That blaze torched nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed more than 200 structures. 

This is a developing story. Check back for details. 



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Luigi Mangione, suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killing, charged in NYC, court documents say

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NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, the suspected in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel, is now charged with murder, according to court documents.

The New York City Police Department and Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday the 26-year-old was taken into custody earlier in the day on forgery and illegal gun charges in Pennsylvania. At the time, he was still considered a person of interest in the case. 

“He matches the description of the identification we’ve been looking for, he’s also in possession of several items that we believe will connect him to this incident,” Adams said Monday. “How did we do it? Good old fashioned police work.”

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said a tipster called police after seeing a man who looked like the person of interest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. 

“The suspect was in a McDonald’s and was recognized by an employee who then called local police. Responding officers questioned the suspect, who was acting suspiciously and was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport,” she said. “Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder. They also recovered clothing, including a mask, consistent with those warn by our wanted individual.”

“Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” Tisch added.

NYPD officials described the weapon as a possible “ghost gun,” and said the written document was three pages long.

Tisch said Mangione was also found in possession of the same fake New Jersey ID the person of interest used to check into a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where he was seen in surveillance images without a mask. He was later seen at the Port Authority bus terminal in Washington Heights and was believed to have boarded a bus there after the shooting.

UnitedHealthcare CEO shot and killed in Manhattan

US-CRIME-HEALTH
Crime Scene Unit police photograph the scene where CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson, 50, was shot as he entered the New York Hilton early on Dec. 4, 2024 in Manhattan. 

BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images/United Health Group


Thompson, 50, was gunned down by a masked shooter on Dec. 4 outside the Hilton Midtown hotel, where UnitedHealthcare was set to hold its annual investors conference

The NYPD called it a “premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack,” and launched an intense manhunt. Police offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, and the FBI later upped the ante to $50,000.

Investigators quickly began piecing together a timeline of the shooting, including the suspect’s movements and escape route. The next day, police released images of a person wanted for questioning, as they zeroed in on the hostel where he was staying.

fan-430am-pkg-unitedhea-wcbscc8r-hi-res-still.jpg
Surveillance photos show a person who police said they want to question in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

NYPD


Police had numerous clues early on in the investigation. They were able to trace the suspect’s movements prior to the shooting and his escape by bicycle through Central Park. 

Investigators spent days searching the park and found a backpack containing a jacket and Monopoly money, but it did not have the murder weapon. Dive teams in scuba gear continued to comb a pond near the park’s Bethesda Fountain for the gun.

UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting manhunt widens beyond New York City as police find backpack believed to be suspect's
A backpack found in New York City’s Central Park on Dec. 6, 2024, that investigators believe may have belonged to the suspected gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. 

CBS News


Police also found expended shells at the scene that had “delay” and “deny” meticulously written on them. Investigators believe those words were related to a reference made by critics of the health insurance industry

Officers also recovered a cellphone from the scene, as well as a water bottle and a candy bar wrapper they believe the suspect left at a Starbucks prior to the shooting.

Meanwhile, investigators have been probing every aspect of Thompson’s life to try to find a motive. 

“They’re going to look at the business end, you have a company that’s laid people off. They’re going to look at the personal stories, and they’re going to focus on letters, desperate people who were denied care or tests or something that could’ve saved a life or who blame the company,” said former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller.  

Thompson, a married father of two, had been in New York City for two days before he was murdered. His wife, Paulette, spoke about the family’s loss. 

“Brian was a wonderful person with a big heart and who lived life to the fullest,” she said. “He will be greatly missed by everybody. Our hearts are broken and we are completely devastated by this news.”

Check back soon for the latest updates on this developing story. 

contributed to this report.



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