2 dead, dozens injured in suspected Christmas market terrorist attack
A festive Christmas market in Eastern Germany erupted into chaos after a car was driven into a group of people in the city of Magdeburg on Friday in a suspected terrorist attack.
Between 60 and 80 people have been injured, according to a spokesperson for the local rescue service, as reported by AFP as officials continue to investigate the incident.
Several of the injured are said to be in critical condition, and multiple reports citing the German public broadcaster MDR, said at least two people had been killed, one of the two reportedly a child.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller called the incident an “attack,” writing in a social media post: “We are horrified by the attack today in Magdeburg, Germany. We send our condolences to those affected and stand by our friend and Ally Germany.”
CARDINAL DOLAN: ‘LIGHT WILL PREVAIL’ AFTER TRAGEDY AT GERMAN CHRISTMAS MARKET
In an update on social media, the Magdeburg Police Department said in a translated post that the suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi doctor. They said their current assumption is that he was a “lone perpetrator.”
The BBC reported the driver drove some 400 meters across the market before he was subdued by police officers who pointed guns at him and reportedly yelled at him not to move.
FORMER CIA STATION CHIEF ON CAR INCIDENT AT CHRISTMAS MARKET: IF IT CAN HAPPEN IN GERMANY, IT CAN HAPPEN IN OTHER PLACES
The local police force took to X to confirm that, “Extensive police operations are currently taking place at the Magdeburg Christmas market.
“The Christmas market in the city center is closed,” it added. “Further reports will be made.”
German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, did not provide any updates, but in a message posted to X in German said, “The reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad is about to happen.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” he added. “We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours.”
WATCH:
The German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, assured market goers last month that though there were no indications of any danger in attending the Christmas markets, it was best to remain vigilant, reported the Independent.
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The incident involving a vehicle driving through a Christmas market echoed previous attacks carried out in Germany, including in 2016 when a truck drove through a holiday market in Berlin and killed 12 people, as well as injuring some 50 others, in what the White House at the time said it believed was a terrorist attack.
Biden reportedly considers commuting sentences for most prisoners on federal death row
As President Biden’s term comes to an end, he is reportedly considering commuting the sentences of most, if not all, of the 40 men on the federal government’s death row.
The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that the move would frustrate President-elect Trump’s plan to streamline executions as he takes office in January.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, who oversees federal prisons, recommended that Biden commute all but a handful of egregious sentences, the sources said.
The outlet reported that possible exceptions could include Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 2013 Boston Marathon bomber who killed three and wounded more than 250; Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people in the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh; and Dylann Roof, who in 2015 killed nine at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
TRUMP EXPECTED TO END BIDEN-ERA DEATH PENALTY PAUSE, EXPAND TO MORE FEDERAL INMATES
Those who could see their death sentences commuted to life in prison include an ex-Marine who killed two young girls and later a female naval officer, a Las Vegas man convicted of kidnapping and killing a 12-year-old girl, a Chicago podiatrist who fatally shot a patient to keep her from testifying in a Medicare fraud investigation and two men convicted in a kidnapping-for-ransom scheme that resulted in the killings of five Russian and Georgian immigrants.
TRUMP VOWS TO CREATE COMPENSATION FUND FOR VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME
The move came after Biden, a lifelong Catholic, spoke with Pope Francis Thursday. In his weekly prayer, Pope Francis asked for the commutation of America’s condemned inmates.
A decision from the president could come by Christmas, some of sources said. The outlet noted that the biggest question is the scope of the commutation of the death row inmates.
Biden is the first president to openly oppose capital punishment, and his 2020 campaign website declared he would “work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level and incentivize states to follow the federal government’s example.”
In January 2021, Biden initially considered an executive order, sources familiar with the matter told The Associated Press, but the White House did not issue one.
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Six months into the administration, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on federal capital punishment to study it further. The narrow action has meant there have been no federal executions under Biden.
Beloved party goods chain closing all of its stores after nearly 40 years
Party City is permanently shutting down.
CEO Barry Litwin said it was “necessary to commence a wind down process immediately” for the party supplies retailer, CNN reported Friday, citing comments from a Party City conference call with its corporate workers.
While speaking Friday with Party City staff, Litwin reportedly said Party City’s “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome” the issues it has been facing and that the company has “done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome.”
Party City corporate employees will lose their jobs after Friday, according to the outlet. The company is reportedly eyeing widespread store closures at the beginning of February.
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Party City’s retail footprint in North America included over 700 company-owned and franchised stores as of late October, according to a press release published that month.
Difficulties from inflation, debt and other factors reportedly hurt the company. FOX Business reached out to Party City for comment on its reported plans to permanently close.
This reportedly comes nearly four decades after the company launched and about 14 months after it exited bankruptcy.
AMERICAN FREIGHT CLOSING ALL STORES AMID PARENT COMPANY’S BANKRUPTCY FILING
When Party City completed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process last year, it said it had “substantially strengthened its capital structure by eliminating nearly $1 billion in debt, enhanced its liquidity, and optimized its Party City store portfolio by having negotiated improved lease terms and exited less productive stores.”
It converted that debt to equity shares that would be owned by its lenders.
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Party City was removed from the New York Stock Exchange in January 2023 due to the bankruptcy process. Prior to that, it had traded on the exchange for about eight years.
Speculation about the retailer weighing whether to file for bankruptcy again surfaced last week.
While all corporate-owned stores are shutting down, a few dozen independently-owned Party City locations will remain in operation.
“Local Party City franchisees are not affected by the bankruptcy,” Mitesh Patel, a franchisee from the Austin, Texas, area told FOX Business. “There are a total of 29 franchise stores who will have their stores open and ready to continue serving their local communities.”
US Navy veteran suing CNN scores another victory ahead of defamation trial
U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young scored another victory on Friday ahead of his high-profile defamation trial against CNN, as a Florida judge ruled that the network’s expert witness cannot testify that he suffered zero lost income or profits as a result of the segment at the center of the case.
Young alleges that CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited via a “black market” when helping people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration’s military withdrawal from the country in 2021. The veteran believes CNN “destroyed his reputation and business” during a segment that year on Jake Tapper’s program “The Lead,” which was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN’s website.
Young’s legal team argued that Brian Buss, who CNN wanted to use as an expert, should not be able to testify “on the basis of his qualifications and methodology and that his opinion is cumulative of another retained expert” of CNN, according to a court filing obtained by Fox News Digital.
U.S. NAVY VETERAN SUING CNN LANDS KEY LEGAL VICTORIES AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES DEFAMATION TRIAL
CNN pushed back, arguing that Buss’ “qualifications and methodology were sound, his opinions are proper and that his testimony is not cumulative of another expert’s opinion,” according to Judge William Henry.
Judge Henry cited Florida standards that expert opinion and testimony “must be relevant and reliable,” and noted that Buss was retained by CNN to “to opine regarding Young’s lost income/profits and mitigation of damages, and as a rebuttal witness to Plaintiffs’ expert.”
“In formulating his opinions, Mr. Buss reviewed documentation produced by Plaintiffs regarding past income, including tax returns, employment contracts, bank statements and other financial reports and records, along with deposition testimony,” Judge Henry wrote.
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Judge Henry added that Buss opined after analyzing these items that Young “did not experience a decline in personal income or business profits as a result of Defendant’s publications,” “any loss of income was the result of an employment contract ending and Plaintiffs not seeking additional employment,” Young “did not invest in new business activities after the publications” and “any financial losses experienced by Plaintiffs are likely the result of factors other than the publications.”
“Plaintiffs primarily attack Mr. Buss’ ability to testify on the grounds that he improperly opined regarding causation of damages, positing that Mr. Buss should just have assumed liability and thereafter rendered a lost income/profit calculation,” Judge Henry wrote.
Meanwhile, CNN argued that damages necessarily must have “some ‘connexity’ between the defendant’s conduct and the claimant’s damages,” according to the judge.
“What naturally would flow from this case law are three things: first, Plaintiffs need to present testimony and evidence that ties the alleged wrong to the damages being claimed; second, any expert testifying must be competent to render their opinions, whether it is on calculation of damages or causation; and third, causation can be presented through one or multiple witnesses or other evidence,” Judge Henry wrote.
“For instance, if Plaintiffs had a company they contracted with that canceled the contract because of the publications, the causation element of that portion of lost income would come from a lay witness from that company saying it canceled because of the publication as opposed to any expert,” he continued. “In this case, Mr. Buss would be competent to perform a calculation of lost profits or income. And the items he looked at for this purpose are generally the types of information used to formulate such an opinion. To some extent, his decision to exclude certain items from the calculation… would appropriately be within his purview. Likewise, Mr. Buss could reasonably opine regarding efforts Plaintiffs made (or lack thereof) to obtain work after the publications such that they did not mitigate their damages.”
However, Judge Henry ruled that “Buss goes too far in ultimately opining that Defendant’s publications had no effect on Plaintiffs’ income.”
“While he could certainly talk about the expiring contract and lack on recurring revenue, his ultimate conclusion was essentially ‘Plaintiffs did not provide proof that no one would talk to him or hire him because of the publications, and therefore he lost no income because of the publications,’” Judge Henry wrote.
DEFAMATION LAWSUIT AGAINST CNN COULD EXPOSE COMPANY’S FINANCIAL SECRETS AS COURT SEEKS TO EXPOSE NET WORTH
“If he was performing forensic consulting work or acting as a certified financial analyst for a business in a private setting, this type of conclusion may be appropriate. However, for purposes of rendering such opinion, which in essence was that ‘I do not believe Plaintiffs that no one would talk to them because they have shown me that people wouldn’t,’ that does not pass evidentiary muster,” he continued. “For this purpose, he would be acting as the arbiter of truthfulness and credibility, which is the jury’s job and not something for which Mr. Buss is qualified.”
The judge decided “Buss can testify as to what he reviewed, what the documentation demonstrated in terms of pre-publication income and prospects of ongoing revenues, what items of revenue were not recurring or future expected income, and what Plaintiffs did or did not do to obtain income after the date of the publications” but “concluding that Plaintiffs suffered zero lost income/profits as a result of the publications is too speculative and beyond Mr. Buss’ qualifications for the reasons discussed above.”
Judge Henry added: “However, concluding that Plaintiffs suffered zero lost income/profits as a result of the publications is too speculative and beyond Mr. Buss’ qualifications for the reasons discussed above.”
Judge Henry previously denied CNN’s motion for summary judgment, allowing Young to “proceed with his claim for punitive damages” and declaring the court found he “did not take money from Afghans.”
The civil trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 6 in front of Judge Henry in the Circuit Court for Bay County, Florida.
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Trump steps in as Biden administration tries to hold border wall material fire sale
President-elect Trump filed an amicus brief late Thursday in support of a legal effort by Texas and Missouri to “immediately” stop the Biden administration’s sale of border wall materials, saying the action is “possibly criminal.”
Texas and Missouri filed a motion earlier this week in a district court in the southern district of Texas to hold a status conference to determine if the government is in breach of the court’s permanent injunction from earlier this year. That injunction barred the Biden administration from using funds obligated for wall construction for anything other than that purpose.
‘PATTERN OF DISREGARD’: RED STATES SEEK COURT ACTION AGAINST BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘SHAMEFUL’ BORDER WALL DISPOSAL
“The Court should issue an order directing the Defendants to immediately stop any ongoing sale of border-barrier materials to private parties pending the Court’s review of Defendant’s conduct, and the Court should swiftly conduct a searching examination of the Government’s conduct, by formal discovery if necessary, to examine the Government’s compliance with the law, the Constitution, and the Court’s injunction,” Trump’s amicus brief states.
The Biden administration has been auctioning off border wall parts since at least 2023, with parts listed for sale on auction marketplaces, after it abruptly shut down most border wall construction in 2021.
Those auctions have continued, with border officials telling Fox that auctions now occur weekly and have been for some time. However, the practice made news last week, when The Daily Wire published video showing parts being transported and cited Border Patrol agents who said the goal was to clear them out before Christmas.
Trump’s amicus brief states that if officials in the Biden administration are “deliberately selling off border-wall materials at a major financial loss to the Government to obstruct the pro-wall policy of Congress and President Trump, such conduct likely constitutes a criminal act, such as a conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
“At the very least, the reported conduct raises troubling concerns of potentially criminal behavior,” the filing states.
GOP SENATOR MOVES TO BLOCK FEDS FROM DISPOSING OF BORDER WALL MATERIALS AMID AUCTION BACKLASH
A Defense official told Fox News last week that the Pentagon has been disposing of excess wall construction in accordance with the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which required the Defense secretary to submit a plan to use, transfer or donate all remaining wall material purchased with Pentagon funds. That plan was submitted in March.
The official said border states, including Texas, were first offered that material for purchase before auction. The official also said the materials no longer belong to the U.S. government, adding the Defense Department has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of it.
“Through our reutilization, transfer and donation process, nearly 60% of those materials were transferred to authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California,” the official said. “The remaining 40% was sold to GovPlanet under a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024. The material currently being sold through GovPlanet online auctions no longer belongs to the U.S. Government, and DOD has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of material it no longer owns.”
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However, those statements have not stopped the outrage from Republicans, who see the auctions as a move to stop the Trump administration from building the wall. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., introduced legislation this week to put a halt to the auctions.
Trump, meanwhile, said on Monday he had been working with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and others to acquire the materials.
“What they’re doing is really an act, it’s almost a criminal act,” he said. “They know we’re going to use it, and if we don’t have it, we’re going to have to rebuild it. And it’ll cost double what it cost years ago, and that’s hundreds of millions of dollars because you’re talking about a lot of, a lot of wall.”
Paxton said in a statement that Texas is going to court to “prevent any border security materials from being unlawfully sold and to find out the truth about what the federal government may be doing to subvert border wall construction.”
‘STANDING BY TO HELP’: RED STATE REVEALS PLAN TO PURCHASE AUCTIONED BORDER WALL MATERIALS TO STORE FOR TRUMP
“President Trump has an overwhelming mandate from the American people to build the wall and I will do everything in my power to prevent any acts of sabotage by the outgoing administration,” he said.
Texas has said it intends to do all it can to help the incoming administration build the wall at the southern border when Trump enters office.
“The Biden Administration’s latest attempt to block Texas and President-Elect Donald Trump’s efforts to secure the southern border is downright shameful and demonstrates a continued pattern of disregard for the safety of Texas and American families in favor of increasingly disastrous open border policies,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Officials said this week they intend to purchase the auctioned off materials, and Buckingham said she intends to store it on state land for the new administration.
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“I made a promise to use every tool at my disposal from the GLO to secure our border and protect Texans,” Buckingham said in the statement to Fox. “That is why I have offered state leaders and President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to store any wall panels his incoming administration may acquire on state land. I will never give up the fight to secure our porous southern border and protect our sons and daughters from violent, criminal illegal immigrants.”
Security guards tackle two women to the ground during Knicks-Timberwolves game
Two NBA fans did their part to boost the league’s declining ratings.
During the New York Knicks’ blowout win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday night, two women were tackled to the ground by security after they ran onto the court.
The bizarre incident happened with just under three minutes remaining in the second quarter and was captured by the TNT broadcast.
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Video shows the women running down from the stands.
One is captured before barely stepping foot on the court, while the other made it to the middle of the court before being taken down. The latter was carried off the court by several security guards.
One image shared on social media showed Karl-Anthony Towns, who dropped 32 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in his return to Minnesota, staring one of the women down as he stood over her.
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It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the women to storm the court, but the incident happened as the league deals with declining viewer ratings.
Ratings for NBA games on ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV were down 25% through Saturday, according to Sports Media Watch.
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla even recently admitted he would “rather watch something else” when asked about the ratings decline.
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Mazzulla played his part in Thursday night’s entertainment when, in Chicago, he launched into an angry tirade directed at referees.
Music legend gives heartbreaking update on deteriorating health
Phil Collins is speaking out about the “shock” of no longer being able to play the drums.
The singer-songwriter and musician, who began playing professionally in the late ’60s, is the subject of a new documentary from Drumeo called “Phil Collins: Drummer First.” Filmed in late 2022, the documentary covers Collins’ lifelong love of music, including his decision to give up performing.
“It’s still kind of sinking in a bit,” he admitted of his 2022 retirement. “I’ve spent all my life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock.”
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Collins, 73, shared in the documentary that he received his first drum as a gift when he was only 3 years old, and said that he instinctively took to it. As he grew older, he continued playing, and he spent decades recording and touring after joining Genesis in 1970. As time went on, the physical strain of playing turned out to be too much.
“The drumming has taken a toll on my hands, legs,” he admitted.
Nic Collins, his son and a drummer in his own right, explained that back in the ‘70s and ’80s, musicians felt like they were “invincible,” citing The Who and Led Zeppelin as examples of other rock acts that pushed themselves hard for the sake of a good show.
“So, I think that’s really what it is with my dad, this kind of sense of ‘You’re a drummer, you’re invincible, you just do what you do,’ but you don’t know it’s going to take a toll in the long run,” he said.
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Nic described back problems that Collins has had for years, some of which he attributes to aging, but said the problems have been exacerbated by drumming and “bad posture.” Nic also said that his father has “drop foot,” also known as “foot drop,” which has left Collins with “no sensation” in one of his feet.
That’s why Collins now walks with a cane, and a big part of why he can no longer play drums — he can’t use that foot to control the pedals.
“If I can’t do what I did as well as I did it, I’d rather relax and not do anything,” Collins said in the documentary. “If I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks, then I will have a crack at it.”
He added, “I just feel like I’ve used up my air miles.”
In 2009, Collins told the Daily Mail that he had to stop playing drums then, explaining, “My vertebrae have been crushing my spinal cord because of the position I drum in. It comes from years of playing. I can’t even hold the sticks properly without it being painful. I even used to tape the sticks to my hands to get through.”
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Leland Sklar, a prolific musician who worked with Collins on his solo music, said, “All of us, in our heart of heart fantasies, always hope we’ll get that call and [hear Collins] say, ‘Let’s just do one more. Just one more time.'”
On March 26, 2022, Collins performed his last show in London at the O2 arena.
“Tonight is a very special night. Of course, we’re playing in London. It’s the last stop of our tour, and it’s the last show for Genesis,” he said during the concert. “It’s difficult for us to believe that you still came out to see it. I guess after tonight we’ve all got to get real jobs.”
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‘Home Alone’ star gives fans a look at his quiet farm life away from the hustle and bustle
Though he stars in one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time, Daniel Stern — who is best known for playing one of the Wet Bandits, Marv, in the classic 1990 holiday film “Home Alone” — prefers a quiet life away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood.
Earlier this week, Stern, who spends most of his time raising cattle and creating sculptures at his farm in Ventura, California, gave fans a sneak peek at what life has been like since stepping back from the entertainment industry.
“Hello, as you will come to discover, I live on a farm, and we grow tangerines here,” Stern said in a TikTok video that has since gained a lot of attention.
MACAULAY CULKIN FROM ‘HOME ALONE’ TO HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME
“I juice them up and then freeze them and give them away to my friends,” he continued before giving viewers a glimpse of his work station.
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Not only does Stern tend to his citrus and cattle, he is also a distinguished artist.
In another video, Stern showed off an impressive sculpture he has been working on that portrays a woman lying on a chair.
“Incredible work of art! Had no idea you were a sculptor,” one fan commented.
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“So Marv is now a sculptor and farmer. Living the dream,” another wrote.
Earlier this year, Stern, who released a memoir titled “Home and Alone” in May, opened up about his successful work in the industry.
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“I almost blew it a couple times,” he told the Los Angeles Times of certain career moves.
In fact, Stern, who starred alongside Joe Pesci and Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” said he almost lost out on playing Marv as a result of “the stupidest decisions in my showbusiness life.”
Stern said he initially backed out of the deal due to disagreements in the contract. The role was recast, but after a couple of days of rehearsals, the producers urged him to come back.
For that, he is eternally grateful.
“How many people in the world are stopped by perfect strangers who tell them, ‘I love you. My family loves you. You bring us joy. You are a part of our family holiday tradition,’ and all of the other wonderful things people say to me all the time?” Stern told the Times.
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