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Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
It’s Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019. Let’s start here.
1. ‘Targeted attack’
Authorities in New Jersey are now calling Tuesday’s shooting rampage inside a Jersey City kosher supermarket a “targeted attack.”
“We haven’t heard from law enforcement definitively one way or the other whether these suspects were out targeting Jews generally,” ABC News Senior Investigative Reporter Aaron Katersky tells “Start Here” today. “We do know that law enforcement believes they are members of the Black Israelites, which the FBI believes to be a domestic terror group … and that may be driving this toward a case of domestic terrorism.”
Three civilians and Jersey City detective Joseph Seals were killed in the attack. The suspects, identified as 50-year-old Francine Graham and 47-year-old David Anderson, also died in the gun battle and sources told ABC News that Anderson recently made anti-Semitic posts online.
2. UK election
Voters in the U.K. head to the polls today for an election that could have major implications for Brexit.
ABC News’ Marcus Wilford, who runs the London bureau, breaks down the stakes on the podcast: “It decides the future of Boris Johnson. If he gets elected prime minister, he brings through Brexit relatively quickly, but if he doesn’t — Boris is cast into the political wilderness and either way, the country and its future change course.”
3. Weinstein settlement
Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has reached a settlement with dozens of his accusers worth $47 million in total.
Under the terms of the deal, insurers of the bankrupt Weinstein Company would fund the payout, according to ABC News’ Eva Pilgrim: “[Weinstein] doesn’t have to admit to any wrongdoing in this civil settlement and he’s actually not even paying out of his own pocket this money.”
The settlement is separate from his criminal case, which will go to trial in January. The two women who are the alleged victims in the criminal case are not parties to the settlement.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty in his criminal case and has consistently denied “any allegations of non-consensual sex” with anyone.
“Start Here,” ABC News’ flagship podcast, offers a straightforward look at the day’s top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or the ABC News app. Follow @StartHereABC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for exclusive content and show updates.
Elsewhere:
‘Great to come in’: As he gears up for an impeachment trial in the Senate, President Donald Trump is considering expanding his legal team and bringing on controversial attorney and professor Alan Dershowitz, multiple sources told ABC News.
‘No set of conditions’: Federal prosecutors in New York have asked a judge to revoke bail for Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, who is accused of making false pretrial statements regarding his assets and income.
‘A smear campaign’: Trump’s health secretary and his top Medicare administrator have been summoned to the White House for a meeting after heated tensions between the two high-ranking officials boiled over amid a string of embarrassing media leaks, according to several sources.
From our friends at FiveThirtyEight:
FiveThirtyEight’s Perry Bacon Jr. takes a look at which senators are likely to vote for Trump’s removal.
Doff your cap:
While some Christmas lists are filled with gadgets and toys, one Texas man wanted only one thing for the holidays.
Johnny Gondesen, 83, of Cypress, Texas, wrote and recorded a Christmas song in 1965 with his band. The song, called “Christmas Is Here,” never got any radio play — so all Gondesen wanted was to hear it on the radio.
With the help of his family, his recording reached 104.1 KRBE in Houston, which, 54 years after the song was written, invited Gondesen, now a great-grandfather, to hear his song played live on the station this month.
“It’s happened! How do you feel?” the hosts asked him after the song was played.
“I feel wonderful,” Gondesen said.
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