What to Know
- The raucous campaigner in President-elect Trump came out as he kicked off his "Thank You Tour" rally in Ohio and made a cabinet announcement
- The terror attack in San Bernardino, California, happened one year ago today and remembrances are planned
- Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, had to be evacuated from the South Pole after he fell ill there
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Trump Kicks off “Thank You Tour”
President-elect Donald Trump took a victory lap on Thursday, appearing in Indiana to salute workers at a factory that he made a campaign promise to save. The Midwest swing is the first time Trump, who has shown an early inclination to revel in the role of showman-in-chief, has barnstormed across the country since the campaign. Trump used the air-conditioning company Carrier's decision to keep an Indianapolis plant open as a backdrop to push his pro-business and trade reform agenda. As Trump touted the Carrier victory, workers at another of the company's Indiana plants said they're still losing their jobs. Trump also traveled to Ohio, the first stop in a battleground “Thank You Tour.” It was his first major public appearance since Election Day and he held court in front of thousands of adoring fans. From the stage, he announced that he will be offering the post of Defense Secretary to retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis.
1 Year Since San Bernardino Attack
On Friday, community members in California will gather to remember the 14 people killed and 22 wounded in the terror attack in San Bernardino one year ago. The hardscrabble city of 216,000 people east of Los Angeles is preparing to mark the anniversary of the Dec. 2 attack by husband-and-wife assailants on a holiday luncheon for county health employees. The husband of one of the victims described raising their son as a single parent and how the attack changed his life. "I think when you've been through something like that, it changes the way you think," James Godoy said.
Engineer in Crash Sues Metro-North
Local
The engineer who nodded off at the controls of a Metro-North train just before it derailed in the Bronx in 2013, killing four people and injuring more than 70 others, is suing the railroad for $10 million. Attorneys for William Rockefeller filed the suit in federal court on Thursday morning, alleging that the railroad acted negligently by not providing mechanisms that would automatically slow trains as they approached a dangerous curve near the Spuyten Duyvil station or an alerter to keep an engineer in the control cab alert before the Dec. 1, 2013, crash.
Buzz Aldrin Evacuated From South Pole
An ailing Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, was evacuated from the South Pole to New Zealand where he was in a hospital on Friday in stable condition. Aldrin, 86, was visiting Antarctica as a tourist when he fell ill. Tour company White Desert said Aldrin has fluid in his lungs, but was responding well to antibiotics. Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first men on the moon, on July 20, 1969. Armstrong died in 2012.
Nestle to Cut Sugar in Candy
Kitkat and Aero bar maker Nestle said it has found a new way to reduce sugar by up to 40 percent without affecting the taste of its products. Nestle said the process works by changing the structure of sugar particles so each dissolves faster on the tongue. The chocolate maker said it would begin to use the new sugar in 2018.
Obamas Light Christmas Tree
Barack Obama and Michelle Obama lit the National Christmas Tree for the last time as president and first lady Thursday. The 94th annual National Christmas Tree Lighting took place on the Ellipse at the White House Thursday evening. The first couple and daughter Sasha took the stage to light the tree after a musical performance by Kelly Clarkson. Check out these national Christmas trees from over the years.
More Holiday News
The slow recovery of the U.S. economy is continuing to keep the cost of Christmas — or at least the gifts listed in "The Twelve Days of Christmas" — from spiraling out of control. The price of two turtle doves jumped from $290 to $375 this year, but nine of the other 12 gifts listed in the carol stayed the same price or became cheaper, including a partridge in a pear tree, according to the 33rd annual PNC Wealth Management Christmas Price Index released Thursday. And it looks like American pets behaved well this year. Americans are expected to spend a “furtune” on their four-legged friends over the holiday season. In other holiday news, the Mall of America welcomed its first black Santa Claus since opening in the early 1990s.
