Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain — who united musicians from diverse cultures and by doing so, shaped modern world music — died on Sunday in San Francisco. He was 73.
In a statement, his family said the cause of death was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
"His prolific work as a teacher, mentor and educator has left an indelible mark on countless musicians. He hoped to inspire the next generation to go further. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as a cultural ambassador and one of the greatest musicians of all time," his family added. Hussain's career spanned over five decades, during which he was revered as both a national treasure in India and admired worldwide.
A prominent attorney who once served as a Manhattan chief assistant district attorney will represent Luigi Mangione as he faces murder charges in New York for the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo is currently working at Agnifilo Intrater, which specializes in "complex and sensitive criminal matters," according to its website.
The law group confirmed on Saturday that Mangione retained Friedman Agnifilo, adding that she "will not be making any statements at this time."
Mangione, 26, is scheduled to appear in a preliminary hearing in Pennsylvania on Dec. 23 regarding charges related to a 3D-printed gun and fake ID. He is currently being held without bail. Earlier this week, Mangione contested](https://www.npr.org/2024/12/10/nx-s1-5223368/luigi-mangione-united-healthcare-ceo-ghost-gun)) extradition to New York, where he faces murder charges. An online fundraiser made to help with Mangione's legal fees has so far raised over $97,000.
The journey of a young Missouri man freed from a Syrian prison when the regime fell earlier this month began with a wilderness religious pilgrimage earlier this year and ended on a remote desert highway. That is where he was handed over to U.S. custody on Friday.
A U.S. fighter jet flew overhead as the American man walked with an official from Syria's interim government to meet U.S. special forces positioned in front of MRAP armored vehicles on the deserted highway.
The former lawyer and writer is known as Pete Timmerman to Missouri authorities who were searching for him. But he just calls himself Travis.
An American man who identified himself as Pete Travis Timmerman was found in a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus by local residents on Thursday.
Timmerman was last seen in Budapest, Hungary, in early June. On Thursday, he told reporters in Damascus that he had been on a pilgrimage and was detained earlier this year after crossing into Syria on foot from Lebanon.
His resurfacing in Damascus ends months of uncertainty and worry for his family.
"That's what my daughter said, it's a Christmas miracle," his mother, Stacey Collins Gardiner, told NPR.
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday announced he would resign from the bureau at the end of the Biden administration next month, with more than two years remaining on his term in office.
"My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you're doing on behalf of the American people every day," he told employees at an FBI town hall, according to an excerpt the FBI shared with reporters. "In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work."
The Justice Department's internal watchdog found no evidence of political motivation by federal prosecutors who subpoenaed the communication records of two Democratic members of Congress, congressional staffers as well as reporters as part of leak investigations during the first Trump administration.
But a new report from Inspector General Michael Horowitz's office said the watchdog did find the leak investigations targeted a far larger number of congressional staffers than previously known: 43 individuals, almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.
The report on the leak investigations by the Justice Department during Donald Trump's first term in office come just weeks ahead of his return to the White House.
The Supreme Court has declined to review an elite public school admissions process based on zip codes. The court's action was the second time the justices declined to intervene in an admissions program based on geography since their 2023 ruling invalidating affirmative action in higher education.
Monday's case involved the 2021 overhaul of the admission criteria for Boston's three competitive "exam schools." Instead of relying on standardized tests, as the school committee had done in the past, the committee instead reserved seats for students with the highest GPA in each Boston neighborhood. The number of seats depended on the neighborhood's population of school-age children.
President-elect Donald Trump doubled down on levying tariffs in his first days in office, minimizing his prior emphasis on retribution against his perceived enemies, in his first network interview since he won the election.
Trump spoke on NBC News' Meet The Press with Kristen Welker about his vows to implement his top campaign promises — deporting all those in the U.S. illegally, pardoning Jan. 6 rioters and extending major tax cuts.
Trump also promised he won't restrict access to abortion pills and hopes to find a legislative solution that keeps "Dreamers" in the country legally. Dreamers are undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children who have legal status under an executive action from former President Barack Obama.
When asked about going after President Joe Biden after inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump said he won't focus on the "past."
"Retribution will be through success," Trump told Welker. "I'm looking to get — bring prices down. Because … I won on the border, and I won on groceries."
The bells of Notre Dame Cathedral rang on Saturday evening in Paris for the first time since a fire devastated the Paris landmark in 2019.
Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich began the ceremony by knocking three times on the cathedral's door with his staff, called a crozier, which was made from one of the burned beams of the cathedral's roof.
The ceremony to mark the cathedral's return to religious services was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and hundreds of dignitaries, including U.S. President-elect Donald Trump,](https://www.npr.org/2024/12/07/g-s1-37279/trump-travel-paris-notre-dame-reopening-meet-macron),) first lady Jill Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the U.K.'s Prince William.
The cathedral's restoration and return to service after five years has been a success for Macron, who has had recent political difficulties.](https://www.npr.org/2024/12/05/nx-s1-5217601/france-germany-europe-politics).)
The masked assailant who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this week likely left New York City, authorities said Friday afternoon.
"We have reason to believe he is no longer in New York City," New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN.](https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/06/us/video/new-york-city-manhunt-unitedhealthcare-ceo-killing-shimon-prokupecz-intv-digvid).)
New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators have been conducting a "very extensive video canvas" which included the area of Wednesday morning's shooting in Midtown to uptown Manhattan.
In the same interview with CNN, Kenny said the suspect was last seen taking a taxi to 178th street and Broadway, which is the site of the George Washington Bridge Bus Station. The terminal is used by commuters traveling to New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., as well as upstate New York.