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The NewsWorthy
Murder Manhunt Ends, Trump's Marijuana Order & TikTok Deal Done - Friday, December 19, 2025
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Today is Friday, December 19th. We'll tell you how the manhunt for a mass shooter finally ended and how investigators now say he kept killing while they were searching for him. Also, why a judge has now been convicted of a felony in an immigration case and how the Trump administration is effectively ending transgender care for minors. Plus, historic changes to America's marijuana rules, a conclusion to the years long TikTok saga and which college football teams are competing this weekend for a chance at playoff glory. Those stories and even more news to know coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy all the Days News in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. Investigators finally tracked down the man suspected in last weekend's mass shooting at Brown University and linked him to another murder in a different state. Remember the Rhode island campus shooting left two students dead and nine others injured. Then two days later, authorities say the same man killed an MIT professor in his Massachusetts home. And yesterday they found out the suspect had taken his own life. Investigators say their break in the case came from an anonymous Reddit post as well as details from a custodian at Brown. At this point, police still haven't said what his motivations were for the back to back shootings, but they did say he acted alone. He was a former Brown graduate student who went to the school about 25 years ago. And back in the 90s, he apparently studied in the same academic program in Portugal as the MIT professor. The suspected killer was a Portuguese national who came to the US through the Diversity Lottery Immigrant Visa Program in 2017 and was granted a green card. Now Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the US Will be pausing that program. A small private jet crashed and caught fire yesterday at a regional airport in North Carolina. Sadly, everyone on board was killed, including former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family. Biffle is considered one of NASCAR's 75 greatest drivers with more than 50 wins, including 19 at the Cup Series level. But NASCAR says he was more than just a racer, that he was a beloved member of the community who made a lasting impact on the sport. At this point, it's still not clear what caused the plane to crash. An investigation is now underway. A judge in Wisconsin has now been convicted for actions she took in her courtroom on behalf of an undocumented immigrant. This all started back in April when a migrant from Mexico was scheduled to appear before the judge on misdemeanor battery charges. When the judge heard federal immigration agents were there, she postponed the hearing and escorted the man out of a non public exit in her courtroom. Prosecutors say that's obstruction, but the defense team argued she was only following a policy that told staff to alert a supervisor if ICE agents were in the courthouse. Activists and some other judges have said the presence of ICE agents in court undermines trust in the legal system, but the Justice Department views courts as a reliable and safe venue to make arrests. The judge could now face up to five years in prison. So far, no sentencing date has been set. It's about to be a lot more difficult, if not impossible, for people younger than 18 to get transgender related medical care in the U.S. the U.S. health Department announced new rules meant to keep transgender children from getting things like puberty blockers, hormone therapy and, in rare cases, surgeries. Even in states where it's still legal, the Big One cuts off federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from any hospitals that offer transgender care to minors. Virtually every hospital in the country takes Medicare, and hospitals rely on it, so it will make a huge impact. In announcing the new measures, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Called transgender care malpractice, adding that procedures rob children of their futures. Other officials rejected the whole idea of being transgender, saying plainly men can never be women and women can never be men. But the American Academy of Pediatrics pushed back, saying those kinds of decisions should be made between patients, their families and their doctors, not politicians and government officials. Either way, the rules don't take effect until after a public comment period, and they're expected to face several legal challenges. This week, President Trump signed an order that's actually being praised by Democrats and criticized by his fellow Republicans. It tells US Attorney General Pam Bondi to move ahead with reclassifying marijuana, just as the Biden administration wanted. Marijuana has been designated as a Schedule 1 drug since 1970, alongside LSD and heroin. But if Bondi follows Trump's directive and the DEA also signs off, it will be downgraded to a Schedule 3 drug alongside testosterone and steroids, making it available with a prescription. Now, to be clear, even if marijuana does become a Schedule 3 drug, it would still be illegal under federal law without other changes by Congress. But here's what would change. The drug would be studied and researched so any concrete medical benefits could be identified. It would also open the door for pharmaceutical companies to get involved with sales and distribution in states where medical marijuana is legal. And for the already existing cannabis industry, the move would get rid of significant tax burdens. Supporters of the change say marijuana has therapeutic benefits that are backed by science and has less serious outcomes than other drugs. Others say it's important to do the research to know for sure. But critics include dozens of Republicans in Congress who wrote Trump yesterday asking him not to sign the order. They say it will, quote, send the wrong message to America's children, enable drug cartels, and make our roads more dangerous. Already, more than half of all states have legalized marijuana for some purpose over the last decade, and it's now believed to be the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the country. Country music star Jelly Roll is known for singing about second chances and and now he's getting one himself. The governor of Tennessee just pardoned Jelly Roll for his criminal past that included convictions of robbery and drug felonies. The singer, whose real name is Jason Deford, has spoken for years about his redemption arc, telling the world how he went from a life of crime to one of artistry and advocacy. Now, he says the pardon will make it easier for him to travel internationally for concert tours and to perform Christian missionary work. A pardon in Tennessee also allows for some civil rights to be restored, like the right to vote. More news still coming up, but first, a break for our sponsor. I've become more aware of how I feel these my energy, my sleep, my overall wellness and I love exploring things that support long term health in a meaningful, science backed way. That's why I'm excited about fatty 15. Fatty 15 is built around C15, the first essential fatty acid discovered in over 90 years, which is a breakthrough for aging and longevity. It was Originally identified by Dr. Stephanie Van Watson while working with the US Navy to help aging dolphins stay healthier longer and and now that research is helping humans too. Based on more than 100 studies, C15 strengthens our cells. In fact, when our cells don't have enough C15, they can become fragile and age faster. And when our cells age, our bodies age too. In fact, fatty 15 is said to have three times more cellular benefits than omega 3 or fish oil, all without a fishy aftertaste or any aftertaste at all. And I really appreciate that part. Fatty 15 is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels to help you live healthier longer. You can get an additional 15% off their 90 day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.comnewsworthy and using the code newsworthy at checkout. Now back to the news. The shortest day of the year is almost here. The winter solstice is coming up this Sunday. The solstice marks the official start of winter and everyone who lives north of the equator, including the entire US and 90% of the world's population will see daylight shorter than 12 hours. For anyone living in the Southern Hemisphere, it's the start of summer and the longest day of the year. Many ancient cultures celebrated the winter solstice, and some still honor those traditions. One of the most famous events takes place at Stonehenge in England. Here in the US There are smaller celebrations, mostly hosted by local groups who gather at parks, beaches and hilltops. Then, starting Monday, each day will bring a bit more daylight in the Northern Hemisphere until the summer solstice. So there are literally brighter days ahead. The latest inflation data shows some unexpected improvement. Specifically, the government found prices increased 2.7% as compared to the year before. So it shows prices going up still, but not as much as what earlier data had been showing, though. Here's the thing. Many economists quickly warned the numbers in this latest report were suspect because they were delayed and likely distorted by the government shutdown. And in recent surveys, Americans widely report not seeing any letup in high prices. The Federal Reserve will have one more inflation report before its next meeting, and that one is expected to be much more important in helping policymakers decide what's next for the economy. I spoke much more about the current state of the economy and what we can expect for the year ahead with the chief economist at Moody's Analytics. You can hear that full interview tomorrow on our special Edition Saturday episode the TikTok sale is finally happening. The platform officially signed a binding agreement to divest the American part of its business to a joint venture owned by mostly Americans. That venture will now be responsible for U.S. data protection and content moderation. It will have to make sure content in the US Is not being manipulated by Chinese authorities and Americans. Data will be stored locally in a system run by Oracle, but ByteDance will keep managing things like advertising and marketing. All that to say TikTok won't be going anywhere, and the 170 million American TikTok users are not expected to notice any difference now that everyone has signed off. The agreement is set to close next month. It's been nearly 55 years since the Kennedy center opened in Washington, D.C. and now the cultural institution is being called something else. The new board voted to rename it the Trump Kennedy center, saying it reflects improvements President Trump has made from its reconstruction to its reputation. Remember, President Trump fired members of the old board, saying they didn't share his vision for a golden age in arts and culture. He installed himself as a chair earlier this year and picked new members like his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, second lady Usha Vance and Fox News host Laura Ingraham. They all support the new name, but some members of the Kennedy family aren't happy with the change to what they consider to be a living memorial to a fallen president. They say President Trump stands in opposition to the values of former President jfk, so their names should not be used in conjunction with one another. Some also question whether the change is legal, since the original law specifically prohibited renaming the building without an act of Congress. For now, though, it seems the center is moving ahead. Already, the new name is on the website, complete with a new logo. The first round of the College Football Playoff kicks off tonight. It all starts with Oklahoma versus Alabama. Tomorrow it's a tripleheader with Texas A and M versus Miami, Ole Miss versus Tulane and Oregon versus James Madison. But we'll have to wait a little while longer to see the top four teams play this year. They're Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech. Their first postseason games will be at the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose bowl and Sugar bowl on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Once it gets to the national championship game, the betting favorite is Ohio State. Indiana is another top contender, but of course there could always be an upset. A national champion will be crowned on January 19th in Miami Gardens, Florida. That's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Feel Good Friday when we bring you one extra feel good or positive news story before the weekend. But first, a quick moment to thank our sponsor. I might not be able to control when my kiddo gets up too early in the morning, but the one thing I can control is how comfortable and cozy I feel when I get into bed and and the quality of sleep I get. And for me, that includes wearing skims pajamas. They're the best. I really feel like I sleep better when I feel good in the fabrics that I'm wearing. Plus, with the cute holiday patterns available right now, I feel more intentional and put together walking downstairs in my cute holiday PJs to our decorations already filling the living room and this latest set from Skims I got. The Skims Sleep set is the softest pair of pajamas I have ever owned. It's such a good feeling to be in my new Skims sleep set around the house, cuddled up with a cup of hot tea or even hot cocoa in the evenings. And it'll be so fun to have these as we wake up for the holidays later this month. You'll find me in these PJs all season long. Shop my favorite pajamas@skiMs.com and after you place your order, be sure to let them know we sent you select podcast in the survey and be sure to select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. And if you're looking for the perfect gifts for everyone on your list, the Skims Holiday Shop is now open@skims.com now back to Feel Good Friday so many kids in an Oklahoma City suburb are a little warmer these days, thanks to their bus driver. This year, Tina Hutcherson decided to knit hats for all the students on her route. She told a local news outlet she didn't want any of them to be without, and she saw this as the perfect opportunity since her daughter just gifted her a new knitting machine for her birthday. Hutcherson started off giving hats to the youngest kids who were so happy with their gifts they gave her homemade thank you cards. Then she just kept going. With a goal to make hats for more than 100 kids, Hutcherson lets the kids pick what colors they want and even makes the hats reversible. She's inspired others to start knitting too, with volunteers helping her make scarves and jackets. Hutcherson says it's about keeping the kids warm, but even more so, it's about keeping them feeling loved and cared for. Thank you so much for listening today. We'll be back tomorrow with our special edition Saturday episode. Then we'll have all the news you need to start the week on Monday. For now, have a great weekend.