--:-- Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, December 11th. Here's what we're covering.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In Syria, the end of Bashar al-Assad's regime has kicked off a desperate search. Families are hoping to find out what happened to their loved ones who disappeared while Assad was in power. For years, Assad used mass arrests, imprisonment, and torture to crush dissent. People were pulled off the streets or out of classrooms and never came home.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The whereabouts of more than 130,000 Syrians who were arrested is still unknown, according to a human rights group there. After Assad fled Syria on Sunday, people rushed to one of the country's most notorious prisons, a mountaintop complex called Sadnaya, to look for their relatives.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Rumors spread that there might be hidden underground cells, and they used shovels and excavators to tear up the floors and the walls in a frantic search. They didn't end up finding any secret rooms, but dozens of bodies were recovered at the complex. Yesterday, Times reporters were at a morgue in Damascus where they were taken.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Medical workers had started a social media channel where they were posting photos of the dead so they could be ID'd, And hundreds of people flooded into the building, tearing off tarps that covered the bodies to see who was underneath. Some of the bodies seemed to have signs of torture. Many of the faces were so gaunt that family members wondered aloud if they'd even be able to recognize them.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Meanwhile, the rebel alliance that's taken control of Syria has vowed to hunt down and punish senior members of the Assad regime who they say were responsible for torture and other abuses. They're working to consolidate power, even as other groups and neighboring countries are fighting for territory and control amid the chaos and uncertainty.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Israeli military says it's launched at least 350 airstrikes on Syria, taking out the country's entire navy and destroying fighter jets and air defense systems, saying they want to keep those weapons out of the hands of Islamist extremists. And in the north of Syria yesterday there was intense fighting between another faction of rebels supported by Turkey and Kurdish forces backed by the U
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO appeared in court in Pennsylvania yesterday for an extradition hearing. Prosecutors in New York have charged Luigi Mangione with murder and want him brought to the state. But Mangione is fighting that.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: That could keep him in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested, for weeks of legal back and forth. Listen, I haven't seen any evidence that says that he's a shooter. And remember, and this is not just a small thing, the fundamental concept of American justice is a presumption of innocence. And until you're proven guilty, you'll be unreasonable.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Mangione's lawyer spoke to reporters after the hearing, but waved off most questions. How do you end up in Altoona? I'm not going to talk about that. Has he been able to contact his family since... Yeah, I'm not going to get into that either.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: On the investigation front, the Times has obtained a copy of an internal NYPD report that details parts of the manifesto Mangione was found with when he was arrested. Police say Mangione described the health insurance industry as parasitic and said Mangione, quote, likely views himself as a hero of sorts who has finally decided to act upon such injustices.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: On social media, some people have echoed that idea, even celebrating Mangione as a vigilante, someone they think was fighting back against the for-profit health care system. Mangione's lawyer told CNN people have been reaching out to support him.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: I have received some emails. I have not seen them personally, but my understanding from my staff is people are doing that. That people are reaching out to you and offering to help pay for his legal bills? That's correct.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The biggest potential grocery store merger in U.S. history just took a double hit. Kroger has been trying to acquire its rival chain Albertsons for $25 billion. But both a federal judge and a Washington state judge moved to block the deal yesterday, one after the other.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: It a win for federal regulators who argued that the merger could cut down on competition hurting customers who might have fewer options They also argued it would hurt grocery store workers who could see their wages fall The companies, for their part, have argued they need to merge in order to compete against the likes of Walmart and Amazon.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Combining forces would give them some 5,000 stores across 48 states. And that still might happen. Yesterday's rulings have only paused the merger. The Federal Trade Commission will ultimately decide if it can go through.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The current head of the FTC, Lena Kahn, has aggressively challenged high-profile mergers. But the supermarket giants could get more friendly treatment soon. President-elect Trump just named his pick to lead the FTC, Andrew Ferguson, who's promised to ease up on policing these kinds of deals.
--:-- Mark Abramson: In Southern California, the Times is tracking the Franklin Fire, which has scorched more than 2,700 acres near Malibu since it started on Monday night. I have my N95 mask just to protect a little bit from all the smoke.
--:-- Mark Abramson: You can hear helicopters overhead. That's L.A. County fire about to drop water, signaling to crews nearby. Hundreds of firefighters have been working to put out the flames, and some residents who ignored evacuation orders used garden hoses to try and save their homes.
--:-- Mark Abramson: The fire started in the dry, scrub-filled canyons above Malibu, and it's been fueled by intense winds. As of early this morning, it was 0% contained, and a long stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway has been shut down.
--:-- Mark Abramson: Officials are hoping that as the wind lets up today, they'll be able to get control of the blaze. And finally, today, FIFA is set to announce the hosts for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups.
--:-- Mark Abramson: In a first for the soccer championship 2030 is expected to be held across a group of countries spread across three continents Spain Portugal Morocco Argentina Uruguay and Paraguay The pick for 2034, though, Saudi Arabia, is already stirring up controversy.
--:-- Mark Abramson: One of the biggest concerns is over the people who build the Saudi Arabia World Cup in 2034. The majority of stadiums are unbuilt, airports, roads, in fact, an entire new city is expected to be built. Much of that work will be done by thousands, if not millions, of migrant workers from some of the poorest countries on the planet.
--:-- Mark Abramson: My colleague Tarek Panja is covering the host city selection process. There were similar concerns around the 2022 World Cup, which was held in neighboring Qatar. Rights groups have said as many as thousands of workers were killed in the build-up to that World Cup, where a dozen new stadiums were built, roads and other infrastructure, similar to projects that are required in Saudi Arabia.
--:-- Mark Abramson: There are also broader human rights concerns about Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He's been praised in some parts of the world for reforms, liberalizations to Saudi society. But rights groups say that there are major concerns about the treatment of women, the fate of the LGBTQ community, as well as anyone who opposes the regime.
--:-- Mark Abramson: Saudi Arabia's response to these concerns has been to call much of the dialogue shallow and instead said the country is on the path towards change and events like the World Cup will only move those changes forward.
--:-- Mark Abramson: But obviously once Saudi Arabia is awarded the World Cup, the biggest sporting event on the planet, that will bring more scrutiny than it has likely faced before, both from the media and activist groups. scrutiny that will last at least a decade now for Saudi Arabia.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: For more about the World Cup selection process and how FIFA bent its own rules to choose Saudi Arabia, go to nytimes.com. Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, the Times' chief architecture critic tells the story of the remarkable reconstruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral. That's next in the New York Times audio app, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.
