BBC News Briefing

23 December, 2024

Julia has shoulder-length dark hair and is wearing a blue sweater.

Julia O'Driscoll

Hello. Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for a top job in Donald Trump's cabinet last month after lengthy debate over a congressional report into allegations of misconduct. That report was published earlier today – catch up on its findings and the reaction below. Our correspondent Bethany Bell is in Magdeburg, as the German city – and the far right – responds to Friday's attack on a Christmas market. And Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder. Plus, dig into the mystery of Stonehenge's long-lost stones.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Gaetz paid for sex and drugs while in office, ethics report says

Matt Gaetz stands in front of a blue banner with white stars across it. He has short dark hair and wears a white shirt and black suit jacket.

The committee's report accuses Gaetz of being 'uncooperative' throughout its review. Credit: Reuters

The 37-page House Ethics Committee report states that between 2017 and 2020, Gaetz paid "tens of thousands of dollars" across at least 20 occasions that the committee determined "were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use". It also says there is "substantial evidence" the former congressman engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl and used illicit drugs while in office. Gaetz, who was at one point Donald Trump's nominee to lead the US justice department, has repeatedly denied all allegations against him and rejected the report's findings earlier today.

Get the latest

GET UP TO SPEED

Joe Biden speaks into a microphone, standing in front of a blue backdrop. He has short grey hair and wears a navy suit.

Biden commutes most federal death sentences

The president has changed the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates weeks before Donald Trump's inauguration.

Find out more

Two men stand either side of Luigi Mangione, who is handcuffed as they walk through a court corridor. Mangione wears a maroon blazer and white shirt.

Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder

The suspect accused of killing healthcare CEO Brian Thompson is facing 11 state criminal counts in New York.

What happened in court

A group of men carry the coffin of a Hezbollah member who was killed in a pager blast. THe coffin is covered in a yellow nad green cloth.

How ex-agents say pager attacks were carried out

Ex-Israeli intelligence agents told US CBS News how Mossad duped Hezbollah into buying rigged devices years before blasts.

What they revealed

Close-up of Prince Charles standing in front of a Christmas tree covered with gold lights. He wears a blue suit jacket, white shirt and light blue tie.

King's speech recorded at former hospital chapel

For the first time in more than a decade, the Christmas message was filmed at a place that isn't in a royal palace or estate.

Here's why

AT THE SCENE

Magdeburg, Germany

Attack offers far right fertile ground

Wooden Christmas stalls at a market in Germany. A man is adjusting the shutters on one, and a woman in a red jacket stands next to him. The stalls are closed, and are covered in green, gold and red decorations.

Five people were killed and hundreds more injured when a car sped through the market. Credit: Getty Images

The attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg has brought debates around security and immigration to the fore, ahead of federal elections on 23 February. The suspect, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, voiced support on social media for the far-right Alternative for Germany party. The AfD has not commented on those posts – and the party is planning a procession of mourning in Magdeburg later on Monday, with national party leader Alice Weidel attending.

Bethany has light brown hair and wears a dark shirt.

Bethany Bell

Despite the suspect's many statements expressing hostility to Islam, the head of the AfD in Sachsen-Anhalt, Martin Reichardt, said in a statement "the attack in Magdeburg shows that Germany is being drawn into political and religious fanaticism that has its origins in another world".

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Stallholders at the Christmas market have now been allowed to come back, to throw away old food and remove their equipment and stocks. None that I approached wanted to speak to the BBC. It's all too raw. There has also been hostility towards journalists over the past few days, especially after some 2,000 people joined a protest by the far right in Magdeburg on Saturday night. The BBC team joined mourners gathered in Cathedral Square. One woman struck a note of caution. There are "some Nazis here, who don't like journalists", she said. "Please be careful."

Keep reading

Attack suspect: What we know about Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, the 50-year-old Saudi-born man being held by police over Friday's attack.

An aerial view of the Stonehenge's stone circle covered in snow.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Long-lost megaliths

Stonehenge's famous silhouette would have looked very different 4,500 years ago.

Here's how

And finally... in Guatemala

A firefighter in Guatemala City has put his own spin on Father Christmas's gift delivery. Sporting red robes and a white beard, 78-year-old Hector Chacon abseiled 70m down a bridge to greet dozens of children waiting for him below, something he has done for the past 27 years. Take a look.

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– Julia

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