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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson killed in shooting outside of New York City hotel
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Kidnapped soccer star rescued after shootout between police and captors in Ecuador jungle
An Ecuadoran soccer star held hostage for three days has been rescued after a firefight between police and his captors in the jungle near Colombia.
Pedro Perlaza, 33, a defender with top-flight club Delfin, was freed along with another person, police announced Wednesday evening in a social media post.
He had been missing since Sunday evening.
In a social media post Thursday, police said three suspects had been arrested and that they had demanded $60,000 in exchange for their release.
A video released by police on Thursday showed the two men who were kidnapped — both barefoot — tearfully thanking their rescuers.
“They’ve been badly treated, but they’re alive,” Diego Velastegui, head of police in the northwestern port city of Esmeraldas, told reporters.
Police “were met by bullets from the criminals” near the coastal town of Atacames, he said. The kidnappers fled after officers returned fire. Velastegui said several of the kidnappers were wounded.
Perlaza had been held in a wooden shack built on stilts, tucked into a wooded area, according to an aerial photo released by authorities.
Perlaza was capped three times by the national team in 2020 and has spent his entire career with Ecuadoran clubs.
He was crowned champion in 2019 with Delfin and in 2022 with Aucas.
The ordeal comes just a few weeks after fellow Ecuador soccer player Marco Angulo died from injuries he sustained in a car crash.
In recent years, Ecuador has faced a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking.
The country’s homicide rate has risen from six per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 47 in 2023.
Kidnapping, extortion, murder and prison massacres are now commonplace, in a country once considered an island of tranquility in Latin America.
In September, the director of Ecuador’s biggest prison, Maria Daniela Icaza, was killed in an armed attack. The country’s penitentiaries have been under military control since January, when President Daniel Noboa declared a state of “internal armed conflict” after a brutal wave of violence, sparked by the jailbreak of a powerful crime boss.
In January, gunmen stormed and opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces. A prosecutor investigating the assault was later shot dead.
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NYC hostel at center of United Healthcare CEO shooting investigation: “The most significant clue to date”
NEW YORK — A New York City hostel is now the focal point of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder investigation.
That’s where the NYPD obtained photos of a person of interest, who let his guard — and his mask — down as he talked to a woman working at the front desk.
A high-ranking sources tell CBS News New York police interviewed the woman, and she told officers she asked to “see his pretty smile.”
“They were having a flirtatious moment and he pulls it down and he gives a big smile and that one informal moment between two human beings remains at this moment the most significant clue to date in this whole case,” former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said.
Sources say the man used a fake New Jersey ID with a phony name to check into the hostel at 891 Amsterdam Ave on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Detectives sealed off the room where he was staying and questioned other guests.
“We are fully cooperating with the NYPD and, as this is an active investigation, cannot comment at this time,” said a spokesperson for Hi New York Hostel.
Investigators believe the man may have arrived in New York City by bus as many as 10 days before the shooting.
Timeline of UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter’s movements
Police are still piecing together a timeline of the gunman’s steps. Video shows him walking out of a Midtown subway station at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, half an hour before the shooting.
Minutes later, he shows up at a nearby Starbucks, two blocks from the Hilton hotel.
Sources tell CBS News police believe the suspect bought a drink and a protein bar, paying in cash. The NYPD is now running forensic tests on a discarded coffee cup.
Then around 6:30 a.m., surveillance video obtained by The New York Times shows the suspect talking on a cellphone while walking toward the hotel.
Sixteen minutes later, Thompson was killed.
“Delay” and “deny” written on bullets
NYPD sources say the gunman used a B&T STATION SIX gun equipped with a silencer.
“In all of my years of law enforcement, I have never seen a silencer before. So that was really something that was shocking to us all,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
Investigators still have not found two of the most important pieces of evidence — the gun and the backpack.
Detectives are investigating whether the words “delay” and “deny,” found written in Sharpie on shell casings, shed light on a motive, possibly referencing a book called “Delay, Deny, Defend” that is critical of tactics allegedly used by insurers.
Investigators are searching Central Park, where they believe the suspect may have dumped his backpack. They’re also visiting gun dealers in Connecticut, trying to trace where the murder weapon was purchased, and running photos of the person of interest into facial recognition technologies.
“You can run it against their employee databases, there are databases for criminals, there are military databases, there are many places there are pictures,” CBS News law enforcement contributor Rich Esposito said.
The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward in the case. Police ask the public to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via their website. All calls are kept confidential.
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Don’t wait for the Geminid meteor shower peak. How and why you should watch early this year.
The Geminid meteor shower peak is more than a week away, but this year it might be a good idea to keep an eye out early, according to NASA.
The shower will peak from Friday Dec. 13 into early Saturday Dec. 14 — when the moon is nearly full, according to NASA. Illumination from the moon could make spotting the cosmic show a challenge during the peak, but bright meteors can be spotted the week before the peak.
Here’s what you should know about the Geminids meteor shower, including how to watch:
Where you can see the Geminids
Meteors from the Geminids will be visible throughout the sky and across the globe, according to NASA. They’re best viewed in an area far away from city and street lights.
Viewers — who should prepare for frigid temperatures — should lie flat on their backs with their feet facing south. Give your eyes a half hour to adjust to the dark.
The shower usually starts around 9 or 10 p.m. local time, with the meteors best viewed at night or in the pre-dawn hours.
EarthSky, an astronomy website published by experts in the field, suggests finding a way to block out the moon when watching for the Geminids.
“So with moonlit skies in 2024, you might only catch the brightest meteors,” according to EarthSky. “Luckily, many of the Geminids are bright meteors. Try blocking out the moon when watching for meteors.”
What are the Geminids?
Most meteor showers originate from comets, but the Geminids come from 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid. The Geminids first appeared in the mid-1800s. At the time, there were 10 to 20 meteors an hour, but the shower has grown bigger and meteors are now visible at a rate of 120 meteors an hour under perfect conditions.
While most meteors appear to be colorless or white, NASA scientists say the Geminids are bright, fast and usually yellow in color. They streak through the sky at a speed of 22 miles per second.
Meteors are space rocks that enter Earth’s atmosphere and heat up as they fall toward Earth, according to NASA. The streak of light is actually glowing, hot air.