Happening Today: 2 Charged in Grad's Slaying, Trump Transition, Volkswagen Job Cuts, Google's ‘Death Sentence'

What to Know

  • Two men have been charged in the slaying of a Hofstra grad whose body was found in NJ this week; one of them has a criminal record
  • Donald Trump is continuing his transition to the presidency as President Obama meets with leaders in Europe
  • Volkswagen said it will shed 30,000 jobs to cut costs in the wake of its diesel emissions scandal

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2 Charged in Slaying of Hofstra Grad

Two men have been arraigned in the case of missing Hofstra grad Joey Comunale, who was stabbed 15 times in the chest in a luxury Manhattan apartment and then buried in a shallow grave in New Jersey. James Rackover, 25, and Lawrence Dilione, 28, both face charges of second-degree murder, concealment of a corpse and tampering with evidence. It recently came to light that Rackover was born James Beaudoin in Florida and has a criminal record. He changed his last name to Rackover after meeting New York jeweler-to-the-stars Jeffery Rackover, who took him in as a son, according to a friend of the jeweler.

Trump Continues Transition, Obama in Europe

Trump Tower, always a popular spot for visitors, has become even more of a spectacle since Election Day, with the selfie stick-toting thatch of gawkers mixing with, and sometimes posing with, the heavily armed police. Officials are mulling how to effectively secure the stretch of Fifth Avenue outside of Donald Trump’s home, as well as surrounding streets. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he believes Donald Trump is a leader in whom he can have “great confidence” after meeting with the president-elect Thursday. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama joined the leaders of key European countries in Germany on Friday to discuss an array of security and economic challenges facing the trans-Atlantic partners as the U.S. prepares for Trump to take office in January.

More Trump News

In other Trump news, a Chinese businessman who produces high-tech toilets under the Trump Toilet name said that it's all just a coincidence. CEO Zhong Jiye said he made his trademark application more than a decade ago "without knowing the existence of the person Trump.” In Chinese, the company name means "innovate universally." Meanwhile, the man who appeared in a video and said he didn't regret using a pick ax and sledgehammer to destroy Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been charged with a felony.

Volkswagen Cuts Thousands of Jobs

Automaker Volkswagen says it will shed 30,000 jobs to cut costs as it tries to recover from its diesel emissions scandal and invests more in electric-powered vehicles and digital services. Company officials said at a news conference in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Friday that 23,000 of the job cuts will come in Germany. It said the measures will save some 3.7 billion euros a year from 2020.

Google in the News

Developers at Jigsaw, Google's think-tank, are two months into a pilot project called Redirect, which aims to push web users searching for jihadist information toward content designed to counter the slick tools of terrorist recruitment, NBC News reported. Through Redirect, someone searching for details about life as an ISIS fighter might be offered links to independently produced videos that detail the hardships and dangers of going to fight. Meanwhile, some Google users who have violated the company’s policies say they’ve been cut you off from their Gmail account, online photos and other vital digital services. "This is like a digital death sentence,” one man said.

Cookie Dunking Record

A 24-year-old man broke a Guinness World Record when he bungee jumped 240 feet and dunked a cookie in a cup of tea. Watch the video of the bungee dunk.

Kidman on Fallon

Jimmy Fallon kept getting distracted by Nicole Kidman on the “Tonight Show.” Fallon’s infatuation eventually led to Kidman’s husband Keith Urban serenading her on stage.

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