CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell, 12/17/24
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This was a killing that was intended to evoke terror. Tonight, new charges against the alleged CEO killer, including murder as an act of terrorism, the breaking news, plus the message from New York City law enforcement. There is no heroism in what Mangione did. The search for answers after a 15-year-old girl opened fire in her Wisconsin school. Identifying a motive is our top priority.

Our look at fluoride in America's drinking water, as Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services wants the mineral removed nationwide. Fluoridating water can prevent up to 40% of tooth decay. And why millions of Americans are being denied parts of their Social Security benefits, and for some, delaying retirement. This money has been stolen from all of us for all these years. The CBS Evening News starts now. ♪♪

Good evening, I'm Nora O'Donnell and thank you for joining us. We begin with the new charges in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. A Manhattan grand jury has now indicted the 26-year-old suspect accused of shooting and killing Thompson on charges including first-degree murder.

New York's district attorney says Luigi Mangione, quote, intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation. The suspect now being held in Pennsylvania may be moved to New York City to face the new felony charges as early as Thursday. CBS's Lilia Luciano leads us off tonight with the new details.

- Luigi Mangione is facing 11 charges in New York tonight in connection with the murder of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, two weeks ago. Among them, first degree murder in the furtherance of terrorism. Could you describe just how rare it is for your office to charge with first degree murder?

They are reserved for the most abhorrent conduct, killing a police officer, serial killing. And the terrorism is one subsection of that. Ricky Kleeman is a criminal defense attorney.

This charge of murder in the first degree under these circumstances as an act of terrorism is highly unusual. What you have is an action that is designed to coerce and intimidate

the civilian population. Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania last Monday. Police there say he had a ghost gun that New York investigators claim matches shell casings found at the crime scene. Mangione is being represented by high-profile prosecutor turned defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifillo. Before she was representing Mangione, Agnifillo discussed a potential defense strategy. It looks to me like this...

There might be an "I'm not guilty by reason of insanity" defense that they're going to be thinking about because the evidence is going to be so overwhelming that he did what he did. Do you see insanity as a wise defense? The only viable defense in this case is an insanity defense.

DA Bragg also said that when the NYPD reached out to Mangione's mother regarding a missing persons report she had filed in San Francisco days before the shooting, that she didn't say she believed her son was the person in the images of the person of interest, but that it might be something she could see him doing. Nora? Lilia Luciano with those new details. Thank you.

The police chief in Madison, Wisconsin says identifying a motive is a top priority following yesterday's deadly shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin. Two students are in critical condition tonight. Another student and a teacher were killed before police say the 15-year-old female shooter took her own life. CBS's Charlie DeMar is on the ground speaking to parents about the terrifying moments. The past 24 hours have been a flurry of emotion,

Sadness, anger, disappointment, grief. Madison Police provided few details but now say a combination of factors may have led 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow to kill a classmate, a teacher, and wound six others before taking her own life. There are always signs of a school shooting before it occurred. We're looking into her online activity.

anyone who may have known her or knew what she was feeling or going through at that time. Investigators are making a public appeal for information after searching the shooter's home. They're also analyzing social media posts. CBS News has learned that the ATF has traced the weapon, but it's still not clear how Repnow obtained the gun.

Outside the Abundant Life Christian School, there's a growing memorial where we met a group of bus drivers. For Megan Mojica, Monday's shooting brought back memories of the attack five years ago at a high school in nearby Waukesha, where her son attended. He was a victim of that shooting. He had the gun pointed at his face.

So when I was seeing everything go on here, it brought me right back to that day. Her son survived that shooting. Today, families in Madison are taking stock. Reverend Kellen Lewis. Not knowing if my kids are alive or not, I just...

He has four children attending the school and last night. Hugging them a little bit extra tight, giving them a kiss, letting them know I love them. And, you know, it's tough. It makes you appreciate your kids. But man, my heart goes out to those that they don't have their kids to hug anymore.

Police now say that initial call to 911 came from a second grade teacher and not a student. While there are no school resource officers or metal detectors at the school, we are told that there are cameras throughout. And parents who we've had the opportunity to speak with, they say they feel both safe and confident sending their kids back to school. Nora. Praying for those victims. All right, Charlie, tomorrow. Thank you.

Now, the latest on the drone mystery in the Northeast. Top government officials insisted today there is no imminent threat to public safety. Two House Democrats who attended a top secret briefing say they were told none of the unusual sightings were related to federal government operations and there's zero evidence that any laws were broken. The FBI says it's received more than 6,000 tips in recent weeks.

Ukraine says it pulled off a high-level assassination today in the heart of Russia, taking out a top Russian general who was accused of overseeing the use of chemical weapons. He was killed outside a Moscow apartment building with a bomb hidden inside an electric scooter. The U.S. says it had no prior knowledge of the attack. CBS's Haley Ott has video of the bold and brutal execution.

Calm on the streets of Moscow as Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his aide leave an apartment building. Then an explosion captured in this dashcam video from a bomb hidden in a scooter by the door, killing the head of Russia's chemical weapons unit and his assistant.

It's the highest profile assassination of a Russian military official outside the battlefield since the start of the war in Ukraine. Russian authorities have called it terrorism, pledging retaliation.

Ukrainian security sources said it was a special operation they carried out against a legitimate target. Kirillov has been sanctioned over his alleged use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine. And only yesterday was charged in absentia there, with Ukrainian security services saying they've recorded nearly 5,000 uses of chemical weapons by Russia since the war began.

For Russians far away from the front line, the attack in the heart of Moscow brings the battle uncomfortably close. It was very scary and not typical for around here, one woman says. Everything that shifts the war closer to ordinary Russians helps Ukraine. So the fact that this is carried out in Moscow, in the capital of Russia itself, is just another indication that Russia cannot pretend to its people forever that the war is not going to come home to them. Hayley Ott, CBS News, London.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was back on Capitol Hill today, hoping to convince senators to support his nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services. And he's also called for removing fluoride from America's drinking water. That's jump-started a debate that many thought had been settled decades ago. CBS's Meg Oliver looks at the concerns and benefits of fluoridation.

Good morning. You want to give high fives? Zoe Smith was just four years old when she had surgery to extract her four front teeth. Mom, Eva Treisman, said Smith had a healthy diet, but didn't use toothpaste with fluoride when brushing. They just started to decay about a year and a half, two years in, and there was nothing it seemed that we could do.

Children with developmental disabilities like Smith are more susceptible to dental problems for a variety of reasons. She also lives in a town without fluoride in the water. We see incredibly high rates of tooth decay.

Dr. Mary Beth Giacona is a pediatric dentist at Rutgers School Dentistry in Newark. She says having fluoride in water is one of the tools that can help prevent cavities. Our patients are not getting any fluoridated water. Fluoridating water can prevent up to 40% of tooth decay.

As of 2022, roughly three-quarters of Americans on public water systems drink fluoridated water. New Jersey ranks second to last on that list. Tim Eustace is the executive director of the North Jersey Water Supply Commission. His job is to take minerals out of drinking water and says we shouldn't be putting more in. The better idea is to provide toothpaste, toothbrushes,

neonatal and prenatal vitamins because that's the specific target audience that they're looking for. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump's pick for HHS secretary, has claimed fluoride is associated with cancer and IQ loss. I think fluoride is a poisoned drug.

The CDC has called fluoridation of drinking water one of the great public health achievements of the 20th century. I was a product of the fluoride generation, born in the 70s, and I have no cavities. So for teeth, I'm thinking that that's probably, fluoride's a good thing. And something that will be up for debate. Meg Oliver, CBS News, Newark, New Jersey.

More bad news today for the two Boeing Starliner astronauts who've had to stay at the International Space Station a lot longer than expected. CBS's Manuel Borges joins us now. Manny, good to see you. So they're not going to come home until late March at the earliest now?

That's right, Nora. This mission was supposed to go just over a week, but now it's become at least a 10-month stay. The astronauts on board, Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams, launched on the Starliner on June 5th. They were supposed to return 10 days later, but their flight back to Earth

has been repeatedly delayed as NASA was troubleshooting issues like helium leaks and the overheating thrusters on the Boeing Starliner. NASA ultimately decided to return Starliner without its crew and have the astronauts fly home on a SpaceX Dragon in February, but now that has been pushed back. So Manny, I have to ask you, what is the problem now?

So here's the thing. Their ride back home, it is already on the International Space Station. But the new issue is with a different SpaceX Dragon that is supposed to deliver the astronauts that will replace them. NASA says SpaceX needs more time to get that spacecraft ready for flight, pushing that launch back.

to late March. NASA does not want Wilmore and Williams to leave until the new crew arrives, so the International Space Station was recently restocked with everything the crew needs, including water, clothing, and oxygen. And, Nora, the space agency adds that, quote-unquote, special items to help celebrate the holidays are also on board. I hope so. We are thinking of those astronauts. Manny, thank you.

Millions of Americans are banking on a Senate vote to help them through their golden years. An update on Social Security next. Social Security money is on the line for millions of Americans tonight. The Senate is working on a bill to provide full benefits to some former public sector employees who have been shut out of the program. The measure has already passed in the House. CBS's Katie Weiss reports from Louisiana.

For 33 years, Evelyn Paternostro worked as a teacher and public school principal in Louisiana. Now, at 84 years old, she works here three days a week as a cashier. You know, people at the store ask me all the time, are you doing this for fun?

Why aren't you retired? After her husband died, she was denied his Social Security because of her public pension plan. I was stunned, I was hurt, and I was mad. Paternostro supports repealing the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset, two federal policies meant to make Social Security fair. But instead, she says...

penalizes people who contributed to state government pension programs that did not withhold Social Security, leaving 2.8 million Americans with smaller checks or none at all. So how much would you have made in Social Security checks every month? $2,500. And how much would that have been over these last 10 years? I think $300,000.

That's a lot of money. The provisions are also causing another type of heartache. I got a letter from Social Security and that I owe them a little bit more than $13,000. In Illinois, retired school psychologist Dee Dee Rule says the Fed started reducing her benefits by nearly $300 a month.

Our analysis of federal data found these policies are one of the most common reasons for Social Security overpayments, totaling more than $450 million. I have been trying to appeal it through their process, and I've

been denied at every level. But critics say if the rules are repealed through the passing of the Social Security Fairness Act, it could drain the Social Security Fund faster. To Paternostro, that's money she feels she's owed. This money has been stolen from all of us for all these years. Katie Weiss, CBS News, New Orleans. We'll update you on that story. Eye on America is next, looking at America's loneliness crisis, particularly among men.

When an emergency strikes, every second counts. For Doctors Without Borders teams around the world, seconds can often mean the difference between life and death. So we don't waste a single one. Every second and every dollar is a critical resource. That means more vaccines given, more wounds bandaged, more surgeries performed, and more life-saving research done. We're counting on your support. Make a life-saving donation today at doctorswithoutborders.org.

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up during inflation, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing. Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium Wireless. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch.

$45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes each detail. Our Eye on America tonight focuses on something felt by many, but discussed by few, loneliness. While one in two adults say they're lonely, men often have a tougher time dealing with what the surge in general now calls a national epidemic. Here's CBS's Mark Strassman.

- God gave us a whole lot more testosterone than the other half of the world. We should enjoy it. - This is Everyman, a guys-only weekend getaway in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.

How you doing? Good to see you. No drinking, no drugs, no phones. Roughly 50 men placing a premium on authenticity, opening up about struggles men often bury, like loneliness. We can just be raw and real with each other. We met Brad from Idaho, Johns from Connecticut, Dan lives in Maine. Have any of you struggled with loneliness?

Yeah, I would say I'm struggling with it right now. And what does that loneliness feel like to you? Maybe fragility or insecurity. Does it hit you a lot? It's low-level consistent. Loneliness is a poverty of the spirit. What about you?

Loneliness an issue? I don't resonate with loneliness as much as I do my need for belonging. Absolutely, I have experienced loneliness in the past. If you weren't working at it, would loneliness come back to bite you? I would be back where I was two years ago, which is when I'm home, I'm not present. But it's not just regular guys exploring isolation. From Lenny Kravitz to Joe Rogan,

To Dwayne Johnson. I know what it's like to be depressed. Loneliness, multitude of things. Even the most macho celebrities now talk about the richness of vulnerability. As men, we've traditionally been put in a box and given a very small range to express our emotions. Everyman co-founder, Lucas Crump. There are a lot of men that are walking around, not necessarily overtly a loner, but feeling very lonely.

Loneliness can be rough on a man's health. It carries the same physical risks as smoking up to 15 cigarettes or having six alcoholic drinks every day. Think about that and this. Roughly one in seven men say they have no close friendships. Since we moved to Maine, making really close friends has been strangely hard.

In this crisis of connection, one of the everyman messages, whatever you're feeling, share it. Hey, I'm having a hard time in my marriage. And that's not something guys usually talk about. So you ask everybody, you're like, who else? And all the hands go up. It's like, I'm not alone. Their spouses or partners often encourage them to come here. And there's something about letting our guard down and having fun with other guys. It's hard to replace. It's a lot of work.

Can be. But it can be fun at the same time. Absolutely. Connection. It's like building a fire. Keeping it alive takes work, but the warmth is well worth it. Is that going to work? For Eye on America, Mark Strassman in Sheffield, Massachusetts. It's an important topic. Heart of America is next.

Even if you think it's a bit overhyped, AI is suddenly everywhere, from self-driving cars to molecular medicine to business efficiency. If it's not in your industry yet, it's coming fast. But AI needs a lot of speed and computing power, so how do you compete without costs spiraling out of control? Time to upgrade to the next generation of the cloud.

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In tonight's Heart of America, a special honor for some of the most memorable movies of all time.

Dirty Dancing is one of 25 films just added to the Library of Congress film registry. The movies date all the way back to an 1895 film produced by Thomas Edison Studio. The newest on today's list is The Social Network from 2010. The library selects movies that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant to be preserved forever. The movies that have stood the test of time. They are tonight's Heart of America.

Just love the movies. And that's tonight's CBS Evening News. I'm Nora O'Donnell. Thanks for watching. We'll see you right back here tomorrow. Good night.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show American Scandal. We bring to light some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history: presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, along with six other astronauts, but less than two minutes after liftoff.

The Challenger explodes. And in the tragedy's aftermath, investigators uncover a series of preventable failures by NASA and its contractors that led to the disaster. Follow American Scandal on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondery+. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial today.

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 LA 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.

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