A grand jury says “no.” Lindsey Graham says “No more.” And a group of Muslims says “No way.” It’s Tuesday, and here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door:
SANDRA BLAND
No indictment: Sandra Bland’s death was controversial, sparking conversation (and protests) about the role of race in policing. Bland, an African-American woman, was arrested in July for allegedly failing to use her turn signal. Three days later, she was dead in her jail cell. Did she hang herself with a plastic bag? Her family and others have never believed that. Now they have to deal with something else: a grand jury won’t return indictments related to her death, though it will reconvene in January to consider other charges. Reaction was swift: Bernie Sanders said she’d be alive if she had been a white woman.
PEDESTRIANS HIT
Tragedy on the Strip: Why was Lakeisha Holloway trying to sleep in her car Sunday night before police say she intentionally plowed it through a sidewalk full of people on the Las Vegas Strip? Police will try to add that piece to this deadly puzzle today. One person was killed and dozens injured in the incident. Holloway — who’s from the Portland, Oregon, area — faces a murder charge, among other things.
AFGHANISTAN
Americans killed: It was a deadly two days for Americans in Afghanistan. On Monday, six U.S. troops were killed in a suicide motorcycle bomb attack in Bagram. Their names haven’t been released, but we do know one of them was a New York City detective. On Sunday, an American woman was shot and killed while leaving a gym in Kabul. A mullah was arrested in that case.
CAMPAIGN 2016
Lindsey’s out; who’s next?: The undercard of these dual GOP debates just got a lot less interesting. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham dropped out of the presidential race yesterday, after he never climbed out of the single digits in the polls. All eyes are on the next potential dropout — that’s probably you, John Kasich — as the GOP prays that a smaller field of candidates will have a better shot at stopping the Trump train. Speaking of The Donald, he gets his own special section in Jake Tapper’s list of 2015’s biggest campaign whoppers.
KENYA
‘Leave them alone’: Al-Shabaab militants in Kenya have a tried and terrifying M.O.: Ambush a bus; find Christians; kill them. But not yesterday, when militants raided a bus headed for the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. A group of Kenyan Muslims, mostly women, stuck together and shielded the Christian passengers. They told the militants they were prepared to die together.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE…
More than 1 million migrants have entered Europe this year, the International Organization for Migration says. … The aunt of two children found dead in a California storage unit has been charged in their deaths, along with her teen companion. … Bill Cosby hits supermodel Beverly Johnson with a defamation suit. … The FDA lifts its ban on gay men donating blood.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
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Quote(s) of the day
“I hate some of these people, I hate ’em. I would never kill them. I would never do that”
A double shot of quotable Donald Trump: first saying that he wouldn’t execute the press that covers him …
“But she was going to beat (Obama). She was favored to win, and she got schlonged; she lost”
… and then getting downright vulgar to taunt Hillary Clinton on her 2008 primary loss to Barack Obama.
Keeping up with the Kardashian
Kim. Kim. Kim. How many times are you going to break the Internet? Fans shut down Apple’s app store yesterday, trying to download her new emoji app, named — what else? — Kimoji.
Simply red
Red-headed neo-Nazi Mark Colborne is headed to the slammer for his plot to kill Prince Charles and Prince William. Why? He wants a ginger monarch (i.e., Prince Harry) on the throne.
A saucy Santa
Spoiler alert: Santa Claus is real. He lives in Long Island and runs a BBQ shack.
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
Here’s what’s coming up later.
Court date
Arraignment starts this morning in the court-martial of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, accused of desertion and endangering the lives of fellow soldiers. He spent years in Taliban hands before he was swapped for five Taliban detainees last year.
After the mistrial
Will Baltimore police Officer William Porter be tried again in the Freddie Gray saga after last week’s mistrial? There’s a court hearing this morning that will deal with that.
Number of the day
$2.4 billion
That’s the jackpot in today’s “El Gordo” lottery — it means “the Fat One” in English — which is run out of Spain, but anyone in the world can buy a ticket online.
AND FINALLY …
Star Wars fever
Had enough of “Star Wars”? Of course not! Here are the casts from the first six movies singing the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive,” via the magic of editing.
