Author: CNN

CNN
 — 

Missouri carried out the first known US execution of an openly transgender person Tuesday when Amber McLaughlin, who was convicted of a 2003 murder and unsuccessfully sought clemency from the governor, was put to death by lethal injection.

“McLaughlin was pronounced dead at 6:51 p.m.,” the Missouri Department of Corrections said in a written statement.

“I am sorry for what I did,” wrote McLaughlin in her final statement, which was released by the department of corrections. “I am a loving & caring person.”

McLaughlin’s execution – the first in the US this year – is unusual: Executions of women in the United States are already rare. Prior to McLaughlin’s execution, just 17 had been put to death since 1976, when the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty after a brief suspension, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The non-profit organization confirmed McLaughlin is the first openly transgender person to be executed in the United States.

McLaughlin, 49, and her attorneys had petitioned Republican Gov. Mike Parson for clemency, asking him to commute her death sentence. Aside from the fact a jury could not agree on the death penalty, they say, McLaughlin has shown genuine remorse and has struggled with an intellectual disability, mental health issues and a history of childhood trauma.

But in a statement Tuesday, Parson’s office announced the execution would move forward as planned. The family and loved ones of her victim, Beverly Guenther, “deserve peace,” the statement said.

“The State of Missouri will carry out McLaughlin’s sentence according to the Court’s order,” Parson said, “and deliver justice.”

McLaughlin – listed in court documents as Scott McLaughlin – had not initiated a legal name change or transition and as a death-sentenced person, was kept at Potosi Correctional Center near St. Louis, which housed male inmates, McLaughlin’s federal public defender Larry Komp and the governor’s office have said.

McLaughlin was sentenced to death for Guenther’s November 2003 murder, according to court records.

The two were previously in a relationship, but they had separated by the time of the killing and Guenther had received an order of protection against McLaughlin after she was arrested for burglarizing Guenther’s home.

Several weeks later, while the order was in effect, McLaughlin waited for Guenther outside the victim’s workplace, court records say. McLaughlin repeatedly stabbed and raped Guenther, prosecutors argued at trial, pointing in part to blood spatters in the parking lot and in Guenther’s truck.

A jury convicted McLaughlin of first-degree murder, forcible rape and armed criminal action, court records show.

But when it came to a sentence, the jury was deadlocked.

Most US states with the death penalty require a jury to unanimously vote to recommend or impose the death penalty, but Missouri does not. According to state law, in cases where a jury is unable to agree on the death penalty, the judge decides between life imprisonment without parole or death. McLaughlin’s trial judge imposed the death penalty.

If Parson were to grant clemency, McLaughlin’s attorneys argued, he would not have subverted the will of the jury, since the jury could not agree on a capital sentence.

That, however, was just one of several grounds on which McLaughlin’s attorneys said Parson should grant her clemency, according to the petition submitted to the governor.

In addition to the issue of her deadlocked jury, McLaughlin’s attorneys pointed to her struggles with mental health, as well as a history of childhood trauma. McLaughlin has been “consistently diagnosed with borderline intellectual disability,” and “universally diagnosed with brain damage as well as fetal alcohol syndrome,” the petition said.

McLaughlin was “abandoned” by her mother and placed into the foster care system, and in one placement, had “feces thrust into her face,” according to the petition.

She later suffered more abuse and trauma, including being tased by her adoptive father, the petition said, and battled depression that led to “multiple suicide attempts.”

At trial, McLaughlin’s jury did not hear expert testimony about her mental state at the time of Guenther’s murder, the petition said. That testimony, her attorneys said, could have tipped the scales toward a life sentence by supporting the mitigating factors cited by the defense and rebutting the prosecution’s claim McLaughlin acted with depravity of mind – that her actions were particularly brutal or “wantonly vile” – the only aggravating factor the jury found.

A federal judge in 2016 vacated McLaughlin’s death sentence due to ineffective counsel, court records show, citing her trial attorneys’ failure to present that expert testimony. That ruling, however, was later overturned by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

McLaughlin’s execution “would highlight all the flaws of the justice system and would be a great injustice on a number of levels,” Komp, her attorney, told CNN previously.

“It would continue the systemic failures that existed throughout Amber’s life where no interventions occurred to stop and intercede to protect her as a child and teen,” Komp said. “All that could go wrong did go wrong for her.”

CNN
 — 

The new House GOP majority is locked in a chaotic once-in-a-century fight to determine who will serve as the next speaker after Republican Kevin McCarthy failed to secure the necessary support to win in three rounds of voting on Tuesday. The House is now adjourned until Wednesday at noon as Republicans scramble to find a path forward.

McCarthy faces a small but determined contingent of hardline conservatives who are intent on denying him the votes to secure the gavel. The top House Republican has defiantly vowed to stay in the race as he continues his increasingly imperiled bid for speaker. But the longer the fight drags on, the more uncertainty there is over whether he can win. The last time an election for speaker went to multiple ballots was in 1923.

The contentious, drawn out fight threatens to deepen divides among House Republicans with McCarthy’s political career on the line. And the deal-making McCarthy has engaged in to try to win over critics may mean he has a weaker hand to play in his position of authority if he does become speaker.

For now, McCarthy remains adamant he will not give up, with people close to him summing up his mentality as this: “We’re going to war,” a senior GOP source tells CNN. “Never backing down.”

The conservatives opposing McCarthy are using the leverage they have in the razor-thin Republican majority to extract concessions as they threaten to deny the GOP leader critical votes. McCarthy has already given in to a number of their demands, including making it easier to topple the sitting speaker, but it is unclear whether his efforts will be enough.

To be elected speaker, a candidate needs to win a majority of members who vote for a specific person on the House floor. That amounts to 218 votes if no member skips the vote or votes “present.”

House Republicans hold 222 seats in the new Congress – so for McCarthy to reach 218, he would only be able to afford to lose four GOP votes.

The tally for the first ballot in the speaker vote was 203 for McCarthy, with 19 Republicans voting for other candidates.

The tally for the second ballot was 203 votes for McCarthy with 19 votes for GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. Jordan, to show that he is not vying for the job, nominated McCarthy ahead of the vote on the second ballot. That move did not deter McCarthy critics from voting for Jordan, however.

In the third round of voting, there were 202 votes for McCarthy and 20 votes for Jordan with Rep. Byron Donalds joining the 19 GOP lawmakers who had voted against McCarthy in the first two rounds.

A closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Capitol Hill grew tense and heated Tuesday morning as uncertainty grew over McCarthy’s fate.

McCarthy raised his voice and was animated as he teed off against his opponents and detailed concessions he has made, according to two sources. “I’ve earned this job,” he said.

After the far-right House Freedom Caucus denied his ascension to the speakership in 2015, McCarthy spent years courting the conservative wing of his party and worked hard to stay in former President Donald Trump’s good graces.

McCarthy has gotten some key backup from Trump, who publicly endorsed his speaker bid and encouraged others to support McCarthy. His congressional allies have also banded together in effort to act as a counterweight to his critics.

But when a red wave never materialized in the November midterms, the razor-thin majority that resulted for Republicans empowered a small band of conservatives – long distrustful of McCarthy – to make demands.

What has unfolded over the last two months is an all-out scramble for the speakership, which has taken the form of strategy sessions with close allies on and off Capitol Hill, intense negotiations over rules changes and non-stop phone calls with members.

McCarthy has been in deal-making mode, but if he does win the gavel, some of the concessions he has made may make it more difficult for him to stave off future challenge to his speakership.

In one change that could weaken his hand in the future, McCarthy has told lawmakers – as first reported by CNN – that he would support a threshold as low as five Republicans to trigger a vote on deposing the speaker, known as the “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair, a major concession for him and one that moderates worry will be used as a constant cudgel over his head.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments Tuesday.

CNN
 — 

Two major storm systems are threatening the US this week.

A massive, multi-hazard storm was barreling east across the country Tuesday, impacting much of the central and eastern US and threatening the South with strong tornadoes and flooding and parts of the Plains and Upper Midwest with ice and snow.

And as California recovers from the weekend’s deadly floods, a second storm system is coming onshore that’s threatening the state with powerful winds and more flooding, triggered by both the expected rainfall and the state’s already wet soil.

“Major wind and rain impacts are EXPECTED tomorrow into Thursday. Prepare now for flooding, downed trees and power outages,” the National Weather Service in San Francisco warned.

Meanwhile, the storm system that’s tracking east is pulling moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the South, where above-normal temperatures have set the stage for severe thunderstorms.

By Tuesday evening, several areas were reporting record-high temperatures. Mobile, Alabama, tied its daily high temperature for January 3 with a high of 79 degrees Fahrenheit, a record set in 1989. And Pensacola, Florida, broke its daily high record for January 3 with 81 degrees Fahrenheit, beating the prior record of 79 set three years ago.

Nearly 30 million people are under some sort of severe weather threat in the South, with the highest risk near the Gulf Coast. Southern Mississippi and Alabama were under a level 3 out of 5 “enhanced” risk for severe weather. Places like Montgomery, Mobile and Tuscaloosa could all see strong storms. A level 2 out of 5 “slight” risk of severe weather covered New Orleans, Atlanta, Birmingham and Baton Rouge.

On Tuesday evening, the weather service said it was monitoring two areas of thunderstorms that posed threats of wind and hail to the New Orleans area.

Tornado watches covered much of southern Alabama and Georgia Tuesday evening with additional storms developing in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Multiple waves of severe weather are possible in this region through the day, the Storm Prediction Center warned, “with the risk expected to persist well into the night across much of the area.”

Track the storm: Radar, weather alerts, travel delays and more

Strong tornadoes, large hail and wind gusts topping 70 mph are possible in the most extreme thunderstorms.

“Severe convection with all three modes (tornadoes, hail and damaging winds) is likely,” the National Weather Service office in Mobile warned.

Heavy rainfall associated with these thunderstorms could also trigger significant flash flooding across the South. Southern Alabama and western Georgia are under a level 3 out of 4 “moderate” risk of excessive rainfall. Portions of Southeast Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia are also under a level 2 out of 4 “slight” risk of excessive rainfall.

Rainfall totals could reach 2 to 4 inches across the South through Wednesday, while some areas could see up to 6 inches.

Since Monday night there have already been several tornado reports. One of the tornadoes that was reported was in Jonesboro, Louisiana, where large trees were knocked downed and damaged. The other was reported in Haywood, Tennessee.

Damage was also reported after a tornado in Jessieville, Arkansas. The National Weather Service confirmed there was an EF-1 tornado in the area that caused damage to several homes in town and the buildings of a local school.

“Damage was sustained to areas of (a) school due to trees, and power lines. The school was currently in session at the time, however all students have been accounted for and reports of no injury,” the Garland County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.

In Jackson Parish, Louisiana, residents were told to stay off the roads as the severe weather toppled trees and covered roadways with water. Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Department said tarps will be given out to those whose homes are damaged.

“We are trying to work to get to houses that are damaged and clear roads,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

As the risk persists, forecasters have been concerned about tornadoes forming at night, according to Brad Bryant of the National Weather Service office in Shreveport, Louisiana.

“You can’t see them coming. A lot of the time, people are asleep and not paying attention to the weather,” Bryant said. “Many areas around here don’t have good cell phone coverage and storm alerts are not as effective in those areas, especially once people are asleep.”

Anyone in areas at risk of tornadoes should seek safe shelter immediately, Bryant said.

“If you wait around for a warning to be issued, it is too late,” Bryant said Monday. “You need to have a safe shelter plan in place in advance of these storms.”

Damage reports were also coming from across northern Louisiana, including several transmission highline towers being damaged in the Haile community in Marion. One of the towers was knocked over and several others are damaged, according to the National Weather Service in Shreveport.

A wind gust of 81 mph was reported in Adair, Oklahoma – a gust equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.

As the South braced for floods and tornadoes, the storm brought snow, sleet and freezing rain across the Plains and Upper Midwest on Tuesday, significantly impacting travel.

Over 15 million people were under winter weather alerts from the Plains to the Great Lakes.

Parts of Minnesota saw at least 10 inches of snow while portions of Nebraska and South Dakota recorded more than a foot of snow by Tuesday evening. Lake Andes, South Dakota, recorded 27 inches of snow by the evening, according to the weather service.

Roads were partially covered with ice and snow north of the Interstate 80 in Omaha, Nebraska, the weather service said, adding conditions “grow worse as you approach South Dakota.”

The weather service in Sioux Falls wrote on Tuesday evening that while the rate of snowfall had slowed, an additional two inches of snow were possible for parts of southeastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa, while parts of Minnesota could see up to four additional inches of snow.

“Winds speeds have decreased from previous forecasts, however blowing and drifting snow continue to be a problem, especially in rural areas,” the weather service said. “Many roads are drifted over with multiple vehicles stranded.”

In Wyoming, where some highways closed due to weather, transportation officials warned that as roads began to reopen, residents should be cautious for black ice and blowing or drifting snow.

Weather forecasters recommended that anyone needing to go out in the storm take caution. A vehicle winter emergency kit includes snacks and water, a battery-powered weather radio, flashlights and batteries, a first aid kit, a shovel and ice scraper, a jumper cable and other items.

Jerusalem
CNN
 — 

Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Tuesday visited the Jerusalem compound known as the Temple Mount by Jews and the Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary by Muslims, in a move that drew international condemnation.

Videos published on Israeli media showed Ben Gvir walking through the compound surrounded by Israeli police.

Tensions are high over the flashpoint complex, which is the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. It contains the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the site of the destroyed first and second Jewish Temples. Only Muslims are allowed to pray at the complex under a decades-old agreement; Ben Gvir believes that Jews should have the right to pray there, too.

Palestinians immediately objected to the visit.

“We strongly condemn extremist Ben Gvir’s storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and we consider it an unprecedented provocation and a serious threat,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We hold (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu responsible for its consequences on the conflict and the region.”

Ben Gvir entered the compound on Tuesday but not the Al-Aqsa Mosque building itself. The lawmaker’s visit was his first since he was sworn in last week as national security minister, in what is set to be the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. It is led by Netanyahu, who has returned for his sixth term as prime minister at the head of a coalition that includes several extremist parties.

Ben Gvir, the leader of the far-right Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party, has previously been convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism. As national security minister, he oversees police in Israel as well as some police activity in the occupied West Bank.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza, warned that Ben Gvir’s visit would be a “precursor for the ignition of the region” and it will be “pouring fuel over fire.”

“The Israeli government of which I am a member will not surrender to a vile murdering organization,” Ben Gvir responded in a tweet. “The Temple Mount is open to everyone and if Hamas thinks that if it threatens me it will deter me, let them understand that times have changed. There is a government in Jerusalem!”

Under the so-called status quo agreement dating back to Ottoman rule of Jerusalem, only Muslims are allowed to pray inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and non-Muslims are allowed to visit the complex only at certain times. Israel and other states agreed to maintain status quo access to these holy sites after Israel captured them in the 1967 war.

Some religious nationalist Jewish groups have been demanding access to the Temple Mount area for Jewish prayer. There have been several instances of Jewish visitors conducting prayers on the compound, sparking outrage from Muslim authorities and forced removals by Israeli police.

Visits by Israeli political figures have historically preceded periods of violence between Israel and Palestinians. The conservative Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon’s visit to the complex in September 2000 contributed to the start of the Second Intifada, a yearslong Palestinian uprising against Israel.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid criticized Netanyahu over the visit, calling him “weak” for entrusting the “most irresponsible man in the Middle East to the most explosive place in the Middle East.”

In a tweet, Lapid called the visit a “provocation that will lead to violence that will endanger human life and cost human lives,” and said that it’s time for Netanyahu to tell Ben Gvir, “you don’t go up to the Temple Mount because people will die.”

The visit also drew a chorus of international criticism.

The UAE “strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard by an Israeli minister under the protection of Israeli forces,” in a statement without mentioning Ben Gvir by name.

The Gulf nation has been attempting to maintain its support for the Palestinians while balancing its newly formed partnership with Israel. The country has issued past condemnations, particularly over events that raise tension over the holy sites in Jerusalem.

Egypt’s foreign ministry “warned of the negative repercussions of such measures on security and stability” and called “on all parties to exercise restraint and responsibility and refrain from any measures that would inflame the situation.”

Jordan condemned Ben Gvir’s visit in the “strongest” terms, calling it “a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law, and of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its sanctities.”

Jordan’s monarchy has been the custodian of Jerusalem’s holy sites since 1924 and sees itself as the guarantor of the religious rights of Muslims and Christians in the city.

The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also issued a statement holding Israel responsible for the repercussions of “aggression” against Palestinian people.

A US embassy spokesperson said: “Ambassador (Tom) Nides has been very clear in conversations with the Israeli government on the issue of preserving the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites. Actions that prevent that are unacceptable.”

The British consulate in Jerusalem said in a statement on Facebook that it was “concerned” by Ben Gvir’s visit and said it “remains committed to the status quo.”

In a tweet about the site Tuesday evening, Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, warned against “actions that could increase tensions.”

The leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said the visit will not only cause unrest in Palestinian territories “but may ignite the entire region.” In a televised speech Tuesday, Hassan Nasrallah also stated Hezbollah doesn’t fear Israel’s new right-wing government. “It’s composed of freaks and crazy people,” he said.

Netanyahu insisted Tuesday that his government was not seeking to change the rules at the site. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is committed to strictly maintaining the status quo, without changes, on the Temple Mount,” a statement from his office said.

“We will not be dictated to by Hamas. Under the status quo, ministers have gone up to the Temple Mount in recent years, including Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan; therefore, the claim that a change has been made in the status quo is without foundation.”

CNN
 — 

Former NFL player and ESPN analyst Ryan Clark described Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin’s collapse on the field as football’s “extremely ugly” side.

Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed during the Bills’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday. His heartbeat was restored on the field, according to the Bills, and he remains in a “critical condition” at a Cincinnati hospital.

“Tonight, we got to see a side of football that is extremely ugly, Clark told ESPN. “A side of football that no one ever wants to see or never wants to admit exists.”

The game was later postponed with players from both teams visibly distraught following the incident.

“This is about Damar Hamlin. It was about a young man at 24-year-old living his dream … and now he fights for his life,” added Clark

Within 10 seconds of Hamlin’s collapse, Bills team trainers were treating him. An ambulance was on the field in less than five minutes, footage shows, and he was given CPR, according to an ESPN broadcast.

“When Damar Hamlin falls to the turf, and when you see the medical staff rush to the field, and both teams are on the field, you realize this isn’t normal. You realize this isn’t just football,” Clark, who himself once collapsed during a game in 2007 while he was playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, told ESPN.

Clark had a complication with a sickle cell trait and had to be rushed to hospital. He eventually had his spleen and gall bladder removed, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season before making a full recovery. He went on to become an analyst for ESPN on the NFL and MMA.

“I dealt with this before, and I watched my teammates, for days, come to my hospital bed and just cry. I had them call me and tell me that they didn’t think I was gonna make it,” Clark recalled on ESPN’s live broadcast.

“And now this team has to deal with that, and they have no answers.”

Clark finished by calling on everyone in the football fraternity, pundits and fans alike, to have more compassion for the players putting themselves at risk for others’ entertainment.

“And so the next time that we get upset at our favorite fantasy player, or we’re upset that the guy on our team doesn’t make the play, and we’re saying he’s worthless and we’re saying ‘you get to make all this money,’ we should remember that these guys are putting their lives on the line to live this dream.”

Clark’s analysis of what happened to Hamlin has been widely praised on social media.

“Blown away by how good Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Clark are handling this. Not exactly an easy assignment, and they’re shining. Perspective, class, honesty, emotion, all of it,” sports writer Jason Mackey wrote on Twitter, while former sports writer Matt Lindner said the two hosts’ handling of the coverage will be “taught in journalism classes for years to come.”

Meanwhile, former NFL player Dante Stallworth told CNN’s Jim Sciutto that the NFL is a “brutal sport.”

“I think people forget that,” said Dante Stallworth, who noted that Hamlin’s “mother was there witnessing this with her own eyes.”

“They look at players more as commodities sometimes – especially with fantasy football,” added Stallworth. “Sometimes we forget the human side, that these players are actually human beings and they have families and they have wives and kids.”

Stallworth also praised the decision to call off the game, something that he said would not have happened in his day.

“Five, 10 years ago the game probably would have resumed,” he said. “Half the players on the field were crying, Bengals players were crying … To see the players’ reactions, even though we couldn’t see what was going on, that told me the story of everything happening on the field.”

CNN
 — 

The year has only just started but already Europe has broken an alarming number of weather records as extreme heat spread across the continent.

On New Year’s Day, at least eight European countries recorded their warmest January day ever: Liechtenstein, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands, Belarus, Lithuania, Denmark and Latvia, according to the climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, who tracks extreme temperatures across the globe.

It’s “the most extreme heat wave in European history,” Herrera told CNN, based on how far above normal temperatures rose.

Cities that would often be covered in snow instead saw temperatures spike to levels usually seen in summer. “The real ‘monster’ part of this warm spell was December 31 to January 1,” Herrera told CNN.

On January 1, Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, recorded a peak of 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit), the Czech town of Javornik reached 19.6 degrees Celsius (67.3 Fahrenheit), and Jodłownik, a village in Poland, recorded a peak of 19 degrees Celsius (66.2 Fahrenheit).

Ukraine also recorded its highest temperature in January outside of Crimea.

When you consider how far above normal temperatures climbed, the current weather event is even more extreme than the heat waves that scorched much of Europe last summer, said Herrera. And not only is the heat unusually intense, it also spans a large area, from Europe’s borders with Asia to northern Spain.

“For the first time, a heat wave in Europe can rival the most intense ever recorded in North America,” said Herrera.

The driving force behind the exceptional heat was a warm air mass from the west coast of Africa, which moved across Europe, bringing unseasonably warm conditions, according to the UK Met Office.

While meteorologists say it’s too early to confidently attribute this extreme heat to climate change, scientists have warned that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more intense.

“The increases in average global temperatures caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels make it more likely that temperature records will be broken,” said Rebecca Oakes, a climate scientist at the Met Office.

The record-breaking temperatures have alarmed meteorologists, but they have also had the effect of helping to ease the energy crisis that has gripped the continent.

Natural gas prices in Europe soared since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as President Vladimir Putin restricted supply to the continent, and many countries reduced their imports from Russia. But this unprecedented wave of warm weather has meant a lower demand for gas, contributing to natural gas prices slumping to their lowest level since Russia launched its invasion in February last year, according to data from Refinitiv.

In Ukraine, the unseasonably warm weather has also helped.

“Due to warm weather, [energy] consumption in Ukraine is reduced,” the country’s state-owned electricity operator Ukrenergo announced Tuesday. Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian government, tweeted on New Year’s Day: “Putin wanted to freeze Ukrainian allies and defeat Ukraine. Instead, even the weather is on our side.”

But while the warm weather may provide some relief, meteorologists warn this spell offers a glimpse of a concerning future.

Europe has entered “uncharted territory,” said Herrera. “It is one thing to beat even a century old record by few decimals, it is another one to shatter about 5,000 records in two days, in some cases with margin of more than 5 degrees Celsius.”

CNN
 — 

Soccer great Pelé was laid to rest on Tuesday after thousands lined the streets in the city of Santos to view his funeral procession.

The procession had started at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium, home of Pelé’s former club Santos, and his coffin was carried through the streets of Santos, including the street where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.

It continued to the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery, where a private funeral would be held for family members.

The three-time World Cup winner died on Thursday at the age of 82 from multiple organ failure due to the progression of colon cancer.

Tributes from around the world have poured in ever since, with people of all ages flocking to his 24-hour public wake, which began on Monday at Santos’ 16,000-seater stadium, popularly known as “Vila Belmiro.”

More than 230,000 people, many wearing Brazil’s iconic yellow jersey, had attended the wake, according to Santos.

The doors to the stadium closed with thousands of mourners still in line and people were turned away, according to CNN teams on the ground.

Huge crowds then lined the streets, waving flags and applauding as the Brazilian’s coffin passed by.

Pelé’s sister, Lucia, was seen tearfully waving from a balcony at crowds who had gathered outside her mother’s house. The coffin then arrived at the cemetery.

Brazilian president Lula da Silva arrived at the wake on Tuesday morning with police security “very much” reinforced to accommodate the President’s presence, Santos told CNN.

“Pele is incomparable, as a soccer player and as a human being,” Lula said Tuesday, per Reuters.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino also traveled to Brazil to pay his respects on Monday.

“Pelé is eternal,” Infantino told reporters, per Reuters. “FIFA will certainly honor the ‘king’ as he deserves.

“We have asked all football associations in the world to pay a minute of silence before every game and will also ask them, 211 countries, to name a stadium after Pelé. Future generations must know and remember who Pelé was.”

For more than 60 years, the name Pelé has been synonymous with football. He played in four World Cups and is the only player in history to win three, but his legacy stretched far beyond his trophy haul and remarkable goalscoring record.

“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” Pelé famously said.

Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history and Brazil held three days of national mourning following his death.

New York
CNN
 — 

Tesla shares plunged more than 12% in trading Tuesday, as weaker than expected global sales caused the company’s massive slide in its share price that began last year to continue.

Tesla reported record 2022 sales of 1.3 million vehicles, up 40% from the 2021 total, but well below the 50% growth target the company set early in the year. While it had already warned it would miss that aggressive full-year target, its fourth quarter sales of 405,278 cars was far weaker than feared. It represented growth of only 31% from a year earlier, and was well below the median estimate of 431,000 according to analysts polled by Refinitiv.

The 12.2% drop in Tesla

(TSLA) shares in Tuesday trading was the worst day for Tesla

(TSLA) shares in more than two years. The company’s shares ended 2022 down 65% for the year, greatly cutting into Musk’s net worth and knocking him out of his position as the world’s richest person. It was the worst year ever for Tesla

(TSLA) shares, which gained 743% in 2020 and another 50% in 2021.

The drop in sales came despite the company’s two price cuts in December for US buyers who completed their purchase by year end. The fact that global sales were well short of the 439,000 cars it built in the period raised new concerns about weakening demand for Tesla cars in the face of numerous headwinds. These include higher interest rates, increased EV competition from established automakers along with upstart EV makers, and backlash against Tesla CEO Elon Musk since his controversial takeover of Twitter early in the quarter.

“Demand overall is starting to crack a bit for Tesla and the company will need to adjust and cut prices more especially in China, which remains the key to the growth story,” said Dan Ives, tech analyst for Wedbush Securities. “The Cinderella ride is over for Tesla.”

– CNN’s David Goldman contributed to this report

London
CNN
 — 

European and Asian stocks pushed higher on the first major trading day of 2023 as investors try to look beyond a gloomy outlook for the world economy, China’s worst Covid outbreak and stubbornly high inflation in Europe.

But after a positive start, Wall Street succumbed to fear again. US stocks opened higher but the rally was short lived. The Dow ended the day with a loss of about 13 points, essentially unchanged. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.8%. Stocks did close well off their lows from earlier in the session, though.

Shares of Tesla plunged 12% after the electric car giant reported weaker than expected global sales for the fourth quarter. Apple sank about 4%, leaving its market cap below $2 trillion. An impressive number, for sure, but about

$1 trillion less than its valuation at this time last year.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 index rose 1.2%, off earlier highs but extending strong gains posted Monday when Chinese and US markets were closed. Germany’s DAX rose 0.8%, while France’s CAC gained 0.4%.

US markets are waiting for the first major economic news of the year, due later this week. A key report on manufacturing, new data on labor market openings and the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting are due out Wednesday. The monthly jobs report for December will be released Friday.

Investors in Europe were buoyed by survey data, released Monday, showing that supply chain and inflation pressures were easing slightly for manufacturers in the economies that use the euro currency.

Shortages of parts in Germany, the biggest economy in Europe, have also abated, according to data released by the Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) on Tuesday. Inflation in the country continues to trend downwards. Data published Tuesday by the German Federal Statistics Office showed that consumer prices rose 8.6% in December, compared with 10% the previous month, and 10.4% in October.

London’s FTSE 100 index clocked up gains of 2.3% in morning trading, before easing slightly to stand 1.4% higher.

Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg bank, struck a cautiously optimistic note about the year ahead.

“Unless a major new geopolitical shock intervenes, the new year could be far less unsettled than 2022. Especially for Europe, the outlook continues to become substantially less negative,” he wrote in note Tuesday.

In Asia, markets ended the day firmly in positive territory, recovering from early losses.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped by as much as 2% after a closely watched private survey showed China’s economy ended last year with a slump in factory activity. But the index soon reversed course to gain 1.8% by the close, as hopes for the reopening of the city’s border with mainland China on January 8 boosted stocks.

Stocks in mainland China also had a choppy first-day trading. The Shanghai Composite opened lower, but then clawed back losses to close 0.9% higher.

Investors spent 2022 on a rollercoaster, with $33 trillion wiped off global equity markets. Many suffered deep losses last year as central banks hiked interest rates at an unprecedented clip in a bid to control surging inflation.

The S&P 500 lost 19.4% over the past 12 months — its worst year since 2008 — despite hitting an all-time high last January. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index fell 12.9%, its steepest annual loss since 2018. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 15.5%, its weakest performance since 2011.

Predicting the state of markets is notoriously tricky — and often downright wrong — but it looks likely that many of last year’s economic headwinds will stick around, and some could get even worse.

Kristalina Georgieva, head of the International Monetary Fund, warned in an interview with CBS that aired on Sunday that 2023 will be tougher on the global economy than 2022 was.

Georgieva said that the world’s three biggest economies, the United States, the European Union and China, are all “slowing down simultaneously,” and the IMF expected “one third of the world economy to be in recession” this year.

“Almost everyone is going into 2023 with a healthy dose of trepidation,” Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a Tuesday note.

“The outlook is understandably gloomy and will remain so unless something significant changes, either on the war in Ukraine or inflation,” he added.

Investors can expect the world’s central banks to continue hiking interest rates to tame historic levels of inflation, despite signs that price rises globally have started to cool, in part due to a drop in energy prices.

Both the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve have said they plan to continue to raise the cost of borrowing in the near term, a move that typically hurts companies’ profits — and their investors.

China is also unpredictable. While investors are broadly happy that the country ditched its strict zero-Covid policy last month — promising to lift demand across the world’s second-biggest economy — rocketing numbers of cases and a potential contraction in the early part of 2023 could limit gains.

— Paul LaMonica, Julia Horowitz and Laura He contributed reporting.

CNN
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Two men were arrested on New Year’s Eve for allegedly shutting down four Washington state power substations in late December that led to power outages for thousands across Pierce County.

Matthew Greenwood and Jeremy Crahan have been charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities and Greenwood faces a separate charge of possessing illegal short-barreled rifles.

According to court documents, Greenwood, 32, and Crahan, 40, plotted to knock out power from four substations. While power was out in the first two facilities, the pair broke into a local business to steal from the cash register, Greenwood allegedly told investigators after his arrest.

Greenwood got into the substations by cutting through fences and locks, prosecutors say, and tampered electrical breakers and with something called the “bank high-side switch.” For all but one attack, Crahan allegedly stayed outside and acted as a getaway driver.

The two cut off power to thousands of locals and caused at least $3 million worth of damage, according to charging documents.

Investigators identified Greenwood and Crahan almost immediately after the attacks took place by using cell phone data that allegedly showed both men in the vicinity of all four substations, according to court documents. Surveillance images cited in the court documents also showed images of one of the men and of the getaway car.

When Greenwood was arrested in a trailer Saturday, law enforcement also found two short-barrel rifles, which they say Greenwood did not legally own.

The two face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted of conspiring to attack energy facilities. No defense lawyers were listed on the public docket as of Tuesday.

Though investigators have repeatedly warned in recent months of a rise in threats to critical infrastructure by anti-government groups and domestic extremists, prosecutors did not highlight any association between the two defendants in this case and any such organization.