Drone sightings have been reported in at least six states, including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Over 3,000 sightings have occurred since last month, with drones appearing near military installations and other sensitive areas. The White House, Pentagon, and FBI have stated there is no evidence of a threat, but officials are demanding more answers.
Officials are concerned because drones have been spotted near sensitive locations like the Navy weapons station in New Jersey and Picatinny Arsenal, where armament research is conducted. The drones are described as large, fast, and capable of outmaneuvering tactical drones used by law enforcement, raising questions about their origin and purpose.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect, may waive extradition to New York early next week to face murder charges. Evidence, including fingerprints and shell casings, links him to the crime scene. Mangione wrote a document criticizing UnitedHealthcare, suggesting a possible motive. He was found after a six-day manhunt, aided by a tip from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Nancy Pelosi injured her left leg in a fall while in Luxembourg with a congressional delegation marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. She is receiving treatment at a European hospital, though details about her injury have not been disclosed.
The Northeast is dealing with nearly four feet of snow from a blizzard, while the Midwest faces an ice storm with up to a quarter-inch of ice expected in areas like Iowa City. The Pacific Northwest is also experiencing heavy rain and snow, with winds reaching 100-120 mph near Lake Tahoe.
Secret Santa is an anonymous wealthy businessman who travels the country during the holidays, giving away $100,000 in $100 bills to those in need. This year, he visited flood-ravaged Avery County, North Carolina, offering financial assistance and emotional support to residents affected by Hurricane Helene. The tradition emphasizes kindness and hope.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), designated as a terrorist organization by many Western powers, has taken control of Damascus after ousting Assad. HTS leader Abu Muhammad Al Jilani has rebranded the group as moderate, promising to protect minorities. However, UN agencies have documented human rights abuses, and the Biden administration is considering recognizing the new government if it renounces terrorism and protects rights.
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What is that? Tonight, the mystery deepens as drones are now spotted in at least six states, some near military installations. I've never seen anything like it. It's just a drone on steroids. A new investigation as lawmakers demand answers. Nancy Pelosi is hospitalized after falling.
The new details about the 84-year-old's injury. Merry Christmas, babe. Merry Christmas. God bless you. And in a CBS News holiday tradition, we go on the road with a secret Santa dedicated to making spirits bright. When people go through tragedy, they can lose their house, all their belongings. But what they can't lose is hope. The CBS Evening News starts now.
Good evening. I'm Margaret Brennan. In for Nora tonight. We begin with the widening mystery surrounding a growing number of drone sightings, particularly in New Jersey, but also in the states of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and other eastern states. A Navy weapons station in New Jersey now confirms multiple cases of drones entering its airspace.
The Garden State's newly elected senator, Andy Kim, posted this new video of lights hovering near a reservoir in his state. And former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan posted this video today showing what appear to be large drones circling his house last night. The White House, Pentagon and FBI have all said while they do not know what these objects are, there's no evidence of a threat.
CBS's Tom Hanson has been searching the skies and looking for answers on the ground, and he leads us off from the Bronx. Good evening, Tom.
Margaret, good evening to you. We're standing outside of Yankee Stadium, where less than 24 hours ago, New Yorkers spotted yet another mysterious drone hovering over the South Bronx. Now, New York Governor Kathy Hochul says there's no evidence that shows that these drones are a threat to the public. But across the Hudson River, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey says he's taking his concerns straight to the president.
This is over my house right now. They appear only at night. Clusters of drones, some with colorful lights, as big as cars. Wait, literally there's one right above us? In New Jersey, unexplained drone activity was reported above this naval weapons station. While farther north, the FAA ordered temporary flight restrictions prohibiting drones over Picatinny Arsenal, where armament research is conducted, and Trump National Golf Club.
Since last month, more than 3,000 sightings have grown to at least six states across the East Coast, and so has the chorus of officials demanding answers. Senator Andy Kim spotted these over a park in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. I've never seen them before. They're just passing through. I'm just not getting the kind of...
communication and engagement when it comes to the investigation that's happening by the FBI, Homeland Security. So we need a lot more communication to the people of New Jersey. But the White House says many of the reports may have been planes, not drones. We have not been able to, and neither have state or local law enforcement authorities, corroborate any of the reported visual sightings.
That hasn't convinced the Sheriff's Department in Ocean County, New Jersey. We went along with their drone unit as they conducted their own investigation. If they didn't put their lights on, they'd be looking, right? Right. And they put their lights on so they might be the same. Their tactical drones easily outmaneuvered by the mysterious objects in the sky. That drone...
Spent away at reportedly 60 miles an hour. Our drones all go 40. And it went 60 and show lights. You know, the thing is, it's troublesome. Sam Vinograd used to run counter drone policy at the Department of Homeland Security. Panic among the public, from my perspective, does impose a public safety threat. And the longer these drone sightings continue, the longer the public doesn't have answers.
And tonight, President-elect Donald Trump is weighing in as well. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote to the federal government, and I quote, let the public know and now, otherwise he called for the drones to be shot down. Margaret. Tom, thank you.
Well, the man suspected of murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO in Manhattan could be leaving a Pennsylvania prison sooner than expected. As we learn new details on the timeline of the manhunt, CBS's Lilia Luciano reports. Luigi Mangione could be days away from coming to New York to face a murder charge. The defendant may waive, but
That waiver is not complete until the court proceeding. Mangione's defense declined to respond to CBS News today citing attorney-client privilege. But a growing pile of evidence has already made its way to a Manhattan grand jury, which NYPD investigators say places Mangione at the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered.
We were able to match that gun to the three shell casings that we found in Midtown at the scene of the homicide. We were also able at our crime lab to match the person of interest's fingerprints.
It took police six days to find Mangione, but on day two of the manhunt, the San Francisco Chronicle reports police there alerted the FBI after noticing a resemblance between the person of interest and a man who had been reported missing in November by his mother. That man was Mangione. Tonight, the FBI New York's field office confirmed to CBS News that the agency passed that tip to the NYPD and it was investigated.
United Healthcare says Mangione was never a client, but police are zeroing in on a motive, saying Mangione wrote in a three-page document, these parasites simply had it coming, and named United Healthcare as the fifth largest corporation in the U.S. R.J. Martin was a close friend of Mangione's in Hawaii. Did he ever talk to you about healthcare?
Surprisingly, I don't recall any deep conversations specifically regarding health care. We definitely talked about systems and politics and, you know, dysfunction. And as we continue to wait for an indictment, as you heard, the Manhattan district attorney said that Mangione may waive his extradition, but that that process couldn't begin until Tuesday pending some court proceedings in Pennsylvania. But so far, there are no hearings on the books on that. Margaret.
Lilia Luciana in New York City. Thank you. Congresswoman and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is recovering in a European hospital tonight after she injured her left leg in a fall. The 84-year-old is in Luxembourg with a congressional delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.
You can see her on the right side of your screen in this photo taken right before her fall. Pelosi's office did not provide details about her injury, but said she is receiving excellent treatment.
Now to the Trump transition. With 38 days until Donald Trump is sworn into office, big donations are coming in for his inauguration celebrations. And it's not just money that's getting attention, but also who the president-elect will be spending the weekend with. CBS's Nicole Killian explains.
Tonight, a ton of tech cash for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. The incoming president secured a $1 million pledge from CEO Sam Altman of artificial intelligence company OpenAI, matching donations from Amazon and Meta.
We're talking about relatively modest contributions to the inauguration. And I don't think they're going to displace Elon Musk as the first buddy, as he has joked about being. Max Chavkin is a senior reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek. A lot of these guys want things to be
things from the Trump administration or are looking to get them to make changes to policies that were underway during the Biden years. You know, in the case of open AI, you have potentially significant AI regulations coming down the pipe. The contributions come as the president elect prepares to spend Saturday at the Army Navy game in Maryland with Elon Musk and other business and political leaders.
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance also invited Daniel Penny, who a New York jury acquitted this week in the death of a homeless man, Jordan Neely, on a New York City subway train. Vance defended Penny in a post on X. I'm grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he's able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage. Trump's pick for defense, Secretary Pete Hegseth, is also expected in the President-elect's box at the game.
The defense designate tried to change the trajectory of his embattled nomination with visits to several swing senators under mounting pressure to back his bid. Alaska's Lisa Murkowski suggested it's a veiled threat. The approach is going to be everybody toe the line. Don't get on Santa's naughty list here because we will primary you.
The president-elect continues his courtship with the tech sector. The New York Times reports he's having dinner tonight at Mar-a-Lago with Apple's Tim Cook. Margaret. Nicole Killian in West Palm Beach. Thank you. Well, now to Syria, where the search continues for American journalist Austin Tice. He vanished there more than 12 years ago, and the FBI has released this age progression image showing what Tice might look like now.
Meanwhile, Travis Timmerman, the Missouri man who turned up in Syria this week, was flown to Jordan today after Syrian rebels handed him off to U.S. forces. While many in Syria and around the world are celebrating the ousting of dictator Bashar al-Assad, there is concern about Syria's future. CBS's Imtiaz Tayyab is there.
This is Idlib, the de facto capital of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Its fighters, Syria's new rulers in waiting. In the city center, the revolutionary flag, a symbol of victory. In 2016, when Bashar al-Assad's regime forced a rebel retreat, many of those fighters and their families came here, already one of the country's most conservative corners.
Most global Western powers, including the U.S., have designated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization. But with the group having now ousted Assad and in control of Damascus, the question these leaders now have is, should they recognize the group?
HTS's leader Abu Muhammad Al Jilani has a $10 million US bounty on his head. He's tried to rebrand the group as moderate by cutting ties with Al Qaeda and promising to protect minorities.
But HTS rules Idlib with an iron fist. UN agencies have documented repeated rights abuses here. We met with this group of HTS fighters who insist they will be just. Do you want revenge against people who supported Assad and his regime? All the people who were working under Assad are completely safe, he says. But those who tortured the Syrian people in the past, they will be held accountable.
they will be tried in special courts. Earlier this week, in video verified by CBS News, bodies of suspected Assad officials can be seen being whipped and dragged through the streets. HTS denies the apparent lynching.
Still, residents of Idlib say Syria's new power brokers in Damascus are not to be feared. I was born and raised in Idlib, she says. Since the beginning of the revolution, we have not had any terrorism and we have not had any problem with any sect.
And the Biden administration has said it will consider recognizing the new Syrian government if it renounces terrorism and protects the rights of women and minorities. But incoming Trump officials say, quote, the jury is still out on HTS. Margaret. NTS, thank you.
The UN is trying to surge humanitarian assistance, including food, into Syria to reach nearly 3 million people in need of help. For Sunday's Face the Nation, I spoke with Cindy McCain, the head of the UN World Food Program, who told us from Syria, took us from Syria to famine in Sudan and talked about Gaza. She said it's important the world pay attention to those who are going hungry.
Food security is national security. Don't ever forget that. Because if people are insecure from a food reality, they're not going to behave well. They start to migrate. Wars begin that way. Conflict is a part of all of this. The countries that are affected right now and the big ones that we look to are all affected because of conflict. We'll hear more from Cindy McCain this weekend, and I'll also speak to incoming Trump National Security Advisor Mike Walz. Tune in Sunday for Face the Nation.
People in the Northeast already digging out of several feet of snow face another chilling challenge. More on that and your forecast coming up.
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Nearly four feet of snow has buried some Great Lakes communities tonight. Some drivers endured blizzard conditions and zero visibility. And in the Midwest, an ice storm could make travel there dangerous. CBS's Lonnie Quinn joins us now. Good evening to you, Lonnie.
Well, good evening, Margaret. You know, the best I can tell you for the folks there up around the Great Lakes, we have turned the snowblower off. This is the current lake effect situation. I mean, you're done with it. You get a little break. Who's not getting a break? And you mentioned this as well. The Midwest or the midsection of the country, you're looking at Iowa with that ice storm. And if you look at what the National Weather Service is saying, let's pan up here. We have an ice storm warning around Iowa City, about a quarter of an inch of ice from tonight into tomorrow morning coats everything. Tough to get around with something like that.
This is a huge storm that just came on shore for the Pacific Northwest. About an inch to two inches of rain for the coast, but as it pushes into the mountain, you then convert an inch of rain to 10, maybe even 15 inches of snow. That's about two feet of snow around Lake Tahoe combined with winds, get this, 100 to 120 miles per hour, cat three strength winds. You've also got waves possibly on Lake Tahoe, two to five feet. I don't know if they do it, Margaret, but you put your wetsuit on and you surf on Lake Tahoe. It's all yours. - Lonnie Gwynn, thank you.
It was a terrifying moment on a flight out of New York City after a bird struck one of the plane's engines. Thankfully, none of the nearly 200 people on board were hurt. Details tonight from CBS's Mark Strassman.
High drama after takeoff at New York's LaGuardia Airport. That flash you're seeing is a bird strike. Here it is again in slow motion. It knocked out one of the two American Airlines jet engines. An emergency landing at New York's JFK Airport kept everyone safe. Pilots are definitely trained to fly on a single engine. Back in 2009, the miracle on the Hudson involved a bird strike and a U.S. Airways plane taking the same route
as the American Airlines jet. All 155 people were rescued. Pilot Sully Sullenberger became an instant aviation hero.
Here's a bird strike on a U.S. Navy training jet, another in Chicago, also involving a military plane. More than 19,000 bird strikes were reported across the U.S. last year at more than 700 airports. Is there anything in your view that should be done to help mitigate the threat? But birds are still flying, and they will always be flying, and airplanes will always be flying. So the trick is to keep those two separated.
One more reason why bird strikes are so potentially worrisome. Last year, nearly 90% of them involved commercial aircraft. Margaret? Incredible. Well, CBS's Steve Hartman is on the road. And next has our favorite, Secret Santa. This portion of the CBS Evening News is sponsored by Voltaren, the joy of movement.
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Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to rocketmoney.com slash wondery today. That's rocketmoney.com slash wondery. Rocketmoney.com slash wondery. Tonight, we continue a CBS Evening News holiday tradition 19 years running. Here's CBS's Steve Hartman on the road with a special visit from a secret Santa.
Some people were skeptical at first of the stranger who rolled into flood ravaged Avery County, North Carolina this week, claiming to be some kind of Santa. You
You don't have a beard. No. Where's your reindeer? Reindeer? Yet he persisted. You live around here? Approaching people in parking lots and gas stations and even motel rooms where those displaced by Hurricane Helene are still sheltering. How are you? Three months after the storm. You probably don't know me. No. How could she? He is Secret Santa. Why did you want to come here?
I think when people go through tragedy, they can lose their house, all their belongings. But what they can't lose is hope. And maybe we can give a little hope.
300 secret Santa dollars. Oh my gosh! Every year, around the holidays... I need this so bad. Did that help? This anonymous wealthy businessman travels the country. You're welcome. He gives away about $100,000 worth of $100 bills to both random strangers and people he seeks out, knowing their need.
400 of these secret Santa dollars. Thank you. Jamie Gwynn was living here with his wife Melissa when a mudslide ripped the garage off their house. I grabbed ahold of her and I said, well, at least we got each other. We can fix the house. And it kept them in 10 minutes. And I remember just getting crushed. A second mudslide took the whole house and Melissa. You haven't really lost her because she's with you.
And she's smiling down on you right now. And it's those words of comfort, the hugs, God bless you, and the hope that really seem to move people much more than the money itself. That's the gift. That's the gift that you haven't been forgotten about, that we do know you're there, and we do care. Thank you. You're welcome. Secret Santa always says that kindness is the bridge between all people.
A bridge that can't be burned, bombed, or washed away in a flood. Always there, just waiting for us to cross. Maybe this will make your Christmas just a little bit better. Steve Hartman, on the road, in Avery County, North Carolina. Merry Christmas. And that is tonight's CBS Evening News. For Nora O'Donnell, I'm Margaret Brennan. We'll see you Sunday morning on Face the Nation. Good night.
If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.
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They say Hollywood is where dreams are made, a seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Radin was found dead in a canyon near L.A. in 1983, there were many questions surrounding his death. The last person seen with him was Lainey Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer.
who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together, they were trying to break into the movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder.
Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Cotton Club Murder early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+.