South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday apologized for his short-lived declaration of martial law earlier in the week, as he now prepares for a parliamentary vote on whether to impeach him.
Yoon said in a televised address Saturday morning that he will evade legal or political responsibility for the declaration and vowed not to make another attempt to impose it, according to The Associated Press. The president, a conservative, said he would leave it to his party to offer a path forward amid the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.”
“The declaration of his martial law was made out of my desperation,” Yoon said. “But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot.”
In his martial law declaration on Tuesday, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” blocking state affairs and pledged to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.”
A National Assembly vote on an opposition-led motion to impeach Yoon is slated for Saturday afternoon. The opposition parties that jointly brought the impeachment motion hold 192 of the legislature’s 300 seats, meaning they need at least eight additional votes from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party to secure the needed two-thirds to pass the motion.
Yoon’s party called for his removal on Friday, although the party remained formally opposed to impeachment.
Opposition lawmakers say that Yoon’s declaration of martial law was a self-coup, so they drafted the impeachment motion on rebellion charges.
If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the second in command in the South Korean government, would take over his presidential responsibilities.
Should the president be removed, an election to replace him must be held within 60 days.
On Tuesday, special forces troops were observed encircling the parliament building and army helicopters were hovering over it. The military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn Yoon’s declaration of martial law, forcing him to lift it just hours after it was issued.
The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea.
Thousands of demonstrators have since protested in the streets of Seoul, waving banners, shouting slogans and singing along to K-pop songs with lyrics changed to demand Yoon’s removal.
Han said he had received intelligence that, during the period of martial law, Yoon ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities.”
After Yoon’s televised address, Han again called for the president to resign. Han said the president wasn’t in a state where he could normally carry out official duties.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol’s early resignation is inevitable,” Han told reporters.
Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that Yoon called after imposing martial law and ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians including Han, the main liberal opposition Democratic Party’s leader Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly speaker Woo Won Shik, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.
A Florida man is accused of breaking into a home where he was found plantless and holding a carpet cleaner, though he claims not to remember because he was on methamphetamine.
Austin Alexander Smith, 23, was charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling and was booked into the Polk County Jail.
According to Winter Haven Police, residents inside a home on 6th St SW in Winter Haven, Florida, were suddenly awakened on Thursday at about 1:36 a.m. to a loud bang at the front door.
The residents then discovered Smith in the living room wearing only a shirt but without pants or shoes while holding in his hand a carpet cleaner belonging to the residents.
One of them yelled at Smith, who then dropped the carpet cleaner and ran out the door.
Minutes later, police located a person matching Smith’s description walking in the area of Ave. M and 5th St. SW. The officers detained the suspect, and he was later identified by the resident as the suspect who broke into his home.
Smith had broken into the home by kicking in the door, police said.
The Broncos captured the Mountain West Conference title Friday night and earned their spot in the sport’s first 12-team playoff with a 21-7 victory over UNLV in the Mountain West championship game.
Star running back Ashton Jeanty ran for 209 yards and a touchdown in his sixth 200-plus-yard game this season.
With 2,497 rushing yards for the season, Jeanty is now fourth on the FBS all-time single-season rushing list behind only Barry Sanders (2,628 yards in 1988), Melvin Gordon (2,587 in 2014) and UCF’s Kevin Smith (2,567 in 2007). Jeanty also finishes the regular season with 29 rushing touchdowns.
Jeanty gave Boise State a tone-setting play with a 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, his 12th carry of 50 or more yards this season.
Boise State will hang on to or improve on its No. 10 ranking in the final College Football Playoff rankings that come out Sunday. That would almost certainly make the Broncos no worse than the fourth-best conference titlist and in line for a first-round bye.
The Big 12 title game on Saturday pits No. 15 Arizona State against No. 16 Iowa State.
The winner is in the playoff. But the only realistic route left for either team to earn a bye (and the extra $4 million that comes with it) would be to combine that win — preferably a convincing one — with a loss by the Atlantic Coast Conference leader, No. 8 SMU, which plays No. 17 Clemson.
The Big 12 commissioner and Iowa State’s athletic director are among those already crying foul. By the time the title games are over and the brackets are revealed, they won’t be the only ones.
Now the country will turn its attention to the other conference championship games as the first playoff picture of the expanded playoff era will shake out.
Oregon, top-ranked and the only undefeated team in the country, is in, too. But Saturday’s game against No. 3 Penn State is for the Big Ten title and a first-round bye.
If Penn State prevails, then there’s an argument that the Nittany Lions could end up with that top seed.
In the SEC, it’s No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia. Sadly, Bevo will not be in the building. The winner gets a bye and a championship. The loser should still be in, but if that loser is Georgia, the Dawgs could be on the road for the first round.
Depending on how the brackets shape up, these teams could face each other three times this season.
Barring something completely unexpected, it will take either a loss by SMU, a change of heart from the selection committee or both to knock Alabama out of the bracket. If the Tide make it, the Southeastern Conference will have four teams in the playoff.
Since the selection committee placed the Crimson Tide at No. 11 last week, one spot ahead of Miami, it looks very much like the Tide will stay ahead of the Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The way last week’s ranking shook out, that meant Alabama was in and Miami was out.
A handful of teams aren’t playing this weekend and don’t have much to worry about. No. 4 Notre Dame should get a home game.
No. 9 Indiana, one of four Big Ten teams projected to make the playoff, will probably be on the road.
In between, there is the matter of No. 6 Ohio State and No. 7 Tennessee. Last week’s projected bracket paired the 10-2 teams in a first-round game to be played at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio.
On Saturday, December 7, 2024, President-elect Donald J. Trump will attend the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. The visit to Paris marks his first foreign trip since winning the 2024 election.
“It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so.”
On April 15, 2019, a devastating fire ravaged the more than 860-year-old cathedral, destroying its roof and iconic spire. Standing in the smoke-filled air in front of the ruins that night, French President Emmanuel Macron made a promise many thought impossible: “We will rebuild Notre Dame. Because that’s what the French expect and because it is what our history deserves.”
Five years later, “Our Lady of Paris” is ready to open its doors once again. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of “compagnons” – workers and craftspeople – and the generous support of donors, what Macron termed “the project of the century” is now complete.
In the newly restored Notre Dame, stripped of centuries of dirt, dust and grime, stained glass windows gleam and marble statues sparkle. A golden phoenix surrounded by flaming feathers sits atop the new spire, symbolizing the cathedral’s rise from the ashes.
Philippe Jost, Macron’s appointed head of the reconstruction effort, told “60 Minutes” Notre Dame was restored with traditional materials alongside new fire safety features to ensure the world-renowned French landmark lasts at least another 860 years.
Some 2,000 artisans replaced 1,300 cubic meters of stone, hewed 1,500 oak pews, and cleaned and tuned 8,000 organ pipes. The restoration project cost an estimated $737 million and was supported by 340,000 donors from 150 countries.
Trump will attend the reopening event alongside nearly 50 heads of state and more than 150 Catholic bishops and priests from more than 100 parishes in the Diocese of Paris.
Though Pope Francis will not be in attendance, he previously remarked on the significance of the restoration and reopening of Notre Dame, calling it a “powerful and prophetic sign from the Lord.”
The celebration will begin with a solemn ceremony presided over by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich in which the doors of Notre Dame will be reopened, and the thunderous grand organ blessed and reawakened. The service will also include prayers, a blessing from the archbishop and the chanting of the Te Deum.
Additionally, choirs of the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris will perform during the service. The grand organ will be played by Olivier Latry, Vincent Dubois, Thierry Escaich and Thibault Fajole.
The consecration of the high altar and the inaugural Mass will take place on Sunday, followed by a “fraternal buffet” for those in need. Sunday’s Mass will begin an octave of reopening, wherein the public and the faithful are invited to visit the cathedral. With Notre Dame officially open to the public, celebratory events will continue throughout the rest of the year until the Feast of Pentecost in June 2025.
The restoration and reopening of Notre Dame marks a new chapter in the cathedral’s magnificence and history.
President-elect Donald Trump’s former lawyer and legal spokesperson, Alina Habba, told Fox News that billionaires like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will run the country like they run their businesses over the next four years.
The two billionaires have pledged to scale back spending and to cut bureaucratic red tape.
Habba joined Jesse Watters Primetime on Friday night, where she and host Jesse Watters discussed several topics, including President Joe Bidenpardoning his son Hunter Biden.
The attorney predicted more pardons would come to protect Democrats in the final few weeks before Trump is sworn in for a second term. She predicted under Trump’s watch, the country would run like the businesses of those he had aligned himself with.
On behalf of conservatives, Watters said, “We’re liking the cabinet. People are intrigued by it.” He continued:
It looks like you have one group that are, let’s just say they’re well-to-do, and they’ve been very successful and they’re looking to take this country into the next almost millennium. When you think about the kind of things they’re getting their hands on and then you have another crew, you can call them the Crusaders, they’re going to go in there and they’re going to knock some heads together and they’re going to bring out all of the scalawags and the evil doers to make sure we have a clean government again.
Watters asked Habba if she was impressed by what she had seen. She replied:
It’s absolutely what it is. If you look at the fact that we have billionaires who have created companies now helping to clean up a bad economy, clean up a government where we don’t have efficient spending and run the country like they run their businesses, much like Donald Trump. That’s why he’s a billionaire.
Was an insurance CEO assassinated over denied claims?
Good afternoon from Reykjavik. Today’s blog is late because I wanted to see some of Iceland while the sun was still out. There are only five hours of sunlight at this time of year in Reykjavik.
I don’t cheer over someone’s death, though there are times when I don’t mourn. This isn’t one of them.
I feel bad for Brian Thompson, who was the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest private insurer in the nation, who was shot IN THE BACK outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown New York City this Wednesday. I know that neighborhood. I have stayed in a hotel just a few blocks over. No motive for the shooting has been cited yet though there were cryptic messages on shell casings saying “deny,” “defend,” and “depose,” words used by opponents of the insurance industry. The words are also in the title of a book, Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.
Thompson had a wife and two sons.
Many speculate this was a former employee or policyholder, or close to a policyholder, who shot Thompson.
This was a preplanned killing as surveillance shows that the suspect waited outside for Thompson who was s speaking at an investors conference. The killer targeted Thompson and knew who he was. Thompson’s wife said they have been receiving death threats.
A lot of people on social media are cheering for the assassin, with many describing him as “hot” and offering their homes to hide in as police pursue him. The lack of sympathy and mockery comes from the fact that UnitedHealthcare denies 32 percent of all in-network claims relating to individual health insurance plans, which is twice the industry average.
Others posted headlines reporting that UnitedHealthcare has used an allegedly faulty AI program to deny claims.
University of Virginia historian David Austin Walsh posted on X/Twitter, “It’s actually kind of touching that the one thing that can bring together our fractious and disunited country is celebrating the assassination of a health insurance CEO,” I wouldn’t say it’s touching.
A lawsuit was filed this year against UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, naming Thompson and colleagues with accusations they sold $120 million of their UnitedHealth shares after learning of a U.S. Justice Department antitrust investigation of the company, but before the probe became public. Thompson’s salary was $10 million a year.
Most of the comments have been nonpartisan except for a Fox News host claiming the cops are too busy to find Thompson’s assassin because they’re too busy dealing with “illegal immigrants,” or the guy on Bluesky who called me a “libtard low testosterone soy beta male” and “typical soft coward white dude for Harris.” That’s the second time over the past week I’ve been called “libtard.” I thought they stopped using it, which mocks the handicapped, after learning it’s an immediate loss in any debate. Maybe Trump’s victory (sic) brought it back.
President-elect Trump expressed public support for embattled defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth Friday, and the nominee said he had a “substantive conversation” with Sen. Joni Ernst.
Hegseth, a former National Guard officer, has been meeting with Republican senators this week to rally support as allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking have surfaced. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Ernst has not committed to voting for Hegseth.
“Looks like Pete is doing well now,” Trump told Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” Friday. “I mean, people were a little bit concerned. He’s a young guy with a tremendous track record, actually. Went to Princeton, went to Harvard. He was a good student at both, but he loves the military. And I think people are starting to see it. So, we’ll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others.”
Trump confirmed he still has confidence in Hegseth.
“He’s a very smart guy,” Trump said. “I’ve known him through Fox, but I’ve known him for a long time. I mean, he’s basically a military guy. I mean, every time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military.”
Trump said that while he didn’t have assurances from senators that his nomination would be confirmed, he believes he will get it through.
“I’ve had a lot of senators calling me up saying he’s fantastic,” Trump said.
Asked by Welker about the allegations of excessive drinking, Trump said, “Well, I’ve spoken to people that know him very well, and they say he does not have a drinking problem.”
Trump also supported Hegseth on Truth Social on Friday, writing, “Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep. He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind. He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that.”
Hegseth wrote on his X account Friday: “I just had another substantive conversation with Senator Ernst, I appreciate her sincere commitment to defense policy, and I look forward to meeting with her again next week.”
Ernst also called their meeting “constructive” on her account, adding that the two plan to meet again next week.
“Pete Hegseth and I will continue our constructive conversations as we move forward together in this process. We plan to meet again next week. At a minimum, we agree that he deserves the opportunity to lay out his vision for our warfighters at a fair hearing,” she said.
Vice President-elect JD Vance also told reporters Friday that Hegseth has the incoming administration’s full support and won’t face a “sham hearing before the American media.”
“Pete Hegseth is going to get his hearing before the Senate Armed Forces Committee, not a sham hearing before the American media,” Vance told reporters while in North Carolina. “We believe Pete Hegseth is the right guy to lead the Department of Defense. That’s why Trump nominated him. We’re not abandoning this nomination.
“I fully support Pete. I think Pete’s going to get confirmed, and we are completely behind him. I have talked to Joni [Ernst]. I’ve talked to a number of my colleagues about this nomination and about other nominations. All I’m asking is people actually allow the Senate nomination process to work. We do not determine important government officials based on anonymous sourcing from the American media.”
Jamie Foxx will be addressing his mysterious health scare from last year in his upcoming special, “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…”
The Netflix special, filmed in Atlanta in October, featured a live audience. One audience member, Demecos Chambers, told Fox News Digital Foxx’s medical scare that rocked headlines in April 2023 was a serious situation.
Chambers said Foxx described that he was “on the brink of death” after passing out and going into a coma that lasted several weeks.
“His health was failing terribly bad, like Jamie was on the brink of death. His vitals were all down. Everything was going down. It got to the point where the doctors and everybody was telling the family like, ‘Look, he might not make it to pull out of this,’” Chambers told Fox News Digital.
At the time of the medical scare, Foxx was in Georgia working alongside Cameron Diaz for the upcoming Netflix film, “Back in Action.”
WATCH: Netflix special attendee says Jamie Foxx’s health scare occurred because his ‘body just gave up’
“It was life-threatening, and it didn’t relate to anything with drugs. And it was serious. I don’t want to spoil it for everyone, but I do want to say that it was something that, literally he talks about the experience of when he was working on set in Atlanta, passed out, he woke up and thought he was like, ‘Oh, I just, you know, blacked out or just blacked out for a minute and woke up.’
“But he’s like he woke up in a hospital bed … like, ‘Wow, I must be here for a couple hours.’ They was like, ‘No Jamie, you’ve been here for weeks. You were in a coma,” Chambers said.
Chambers said one of Foxx’s daughters visited Foxx while he was in a coma and strummed a guitar for him. The actor is father to Corinne and Anelise.
“And it was getting to a point where, so his daughter started coming in to the hospital and playing this song on his guitar. That’s like this cherished song between him and her.
“And ever since she started doing that, his vitals and everything started to pick up while he’s in his coma. So, the doctors can’t explain. Nobody can explain what’s going on. And even the daughter isn’t really cognizant [of] what’s going on. She’s just there to support her dad in a way that she knows fit. And, so, they’re saying the more she plays, the better and better he starts to recover from this coma until finally he wakes up,” Chambers said, without revealing which daughter he was referring to.
WATCH: Netflix special attendee says Jamie Foxx took a selfie in the hospital which made fans think he was ‘cloned’
Chambers said Foxx told the audience that doctors informed him he had a “30% likelihood of surviving.” Chambers also shared that Foxx brought out the medical staff and the rehabilitation staff at the end of the show.
Chambers explained the since-deleted selfie Foxx uploaded to social media of himself in the hospital. According to the event attendee, Foxx uploaded the “pale” looking selfie to assure fans he was OK.
“So, he decided, while being in his induced drugged up state in the hospital, he decided to go into the hospital bathroom and take a selfie and post a selfie,” Chambers said.
“So, he posted a selfie. He’s really looking pale. You know, he’s on all these drugs and everything, and he posted online, like, ‘Hey guys, I’m fine.’ And he looks like a very, very pale version of himself. And everybody’s like, ‘Oh my God, they cloned Jamie Fox. He’s White now,'” he joked.
Although Foxx is recounting a very serious medical scare, Chambers noted that some of the Netflix special is funny.
“So, he talks about that story. And so the whole thing is like it’s really it is a very heartfelt, very serious, very funny story. But, at the same time, it shows how even much of a comedian life can be,” he said.
Netflix had no comment for Fox News Digital. Foxx’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
WATCH: Jamie Foxx says he was in coma, ‘on the brink of death’ during mysterious health scare in new special: insider
In October, Foxx took the stage for the first time since his health scare for “One More Chance: An Evening with Jamie Foxx.”
“God is good…. As I post these pictures, my heart and my soul is filled with nothing but pure joy…on October 3 fourth and fifth I had an opportunity to tell my side of the story and there was no better place than Atlanta, Georgia,” the “Django Unchained” actor wrote on Instagram.
“When people ask me is this a stand up comedy show I say no it’s an artistic explanation. Of some thing that went terribly wrong, but thanks to the great people in Atlanta especially piedmont hospital you enabled me to come back and be on stage and do what I love to do the most…”
The Oscar-winning actor chatted with concerned fans in July outside a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, where he attempted to provide answers about what happened when he had a “medical complication.”
WATCH: Jamie Foxx discusses mysterious 2023 hospitalization which started with a ‘bad headache’
“Look, April 11 last year, bad headache, asked my boy for an Advil,” Foxx said before snapping his fingers. “I was gone for 20 days.
“I don’t remember anything,” Jamie told the fans at the restaurant. “So they told me — I’m in Atlanta — they told me, my sister and my daughter, they took me to the first doctor and they said … ‘Nah,’ gave me a cortisone shot.
“The next doctor said, ‘Something’s going on up there.’ I won’t say it on camera. I won’t say it on camera. But it was,” Foxx said as he nodded his head in deep thought.
“Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery,” she wrote on social media at the time. “We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy during this time.”
Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
“In terms of this fight specifically, I will say the following: It was sanctioned by the athletic commission. Our partner was Netflix, who is the biggest media company in America and is a public entity. There was professional sports betting on the event,” co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said.
“So, if you were to rig such competition, it is a federal crime. And myself, Jake Paul, Mike Tyson, executives from Netflix would all be going to jail. They would be risking their entire company, and we would be risking our entire lives to do that. It is preposterous that people even suggest that this was in any way anything other than a professional fight. … That was not the case in any Jake fight, let alone this one.
“This was 100% real from beginning to end,” he added. “It was so real that the guy had an ulcer, and we took a five-month break to give him time to heal the ulcer to be able to perform at his best level. If it was staged, why did we even postpone it? We could have just moved forward with the date: ‘Oh, you have an ulcer, you’re not going to hit each other. It’s going to be fine.’ What are people talking about?”
Paul is 11-1 in his career, including six knockouts.
An alternative healer who advocated “slapping therapy” to treat a range of maladies was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for the death of a 71-year-old diabetic woman who stopped taking insulin during one of his workshops.
Hongchi Xiao, 61, was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence for failing to get medical help for Danielle Carr-Gomm as she howled in pain and frothed at the mouth during the fourth day of a workshop in October 2016.
Xiao, of Cloudbreak, California, promoted paida lajin therapy, getting patients to slap themselves repeatedly to release “poisonous waste” from the body. The technique has its roots in Chinese medicine, but critics say it has no scientific basis and patients often end up with bruises, bleeding — or worse.
Carr-Gomm was one of two of Xiao’s patients who died.
He was extradited from Australia, where he had been convicted of manslaughter after a 6-year-old boy died when his parents withdrew his insulin medication after attending one of his workshops in Sydney.
“I consider you dangerous even though you do not share the characteristics of most other dangerous offenders,” Justice Robert Bright said during sentencing at Winchester Crown Court.
“You knew from late in the afternoon of day one of the fact that Danielle Carr-Gomm had stopped taking her insulin,” the judge said. “Furthermore, you made it clear to her you supported this.”
Bright said Xiao only made a “token effort” to get Carr-Gomm to take her insulin once it was too late and had shown no sign of remorse as he continued to promote paida lajin in prison.
Carr-Gomm was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1999 and was desperate to find a cure that didn’t involve injecting herself with needles, her son, Matthew, said.
She sought out alternative treatments and had attended a previous workshop by Xiao in Bulgaria a few months before her death in which she also became seriously ill after ceasing her medication.
However, she recorded a video testimonial, calling Xiao a “messenger sent by God” who was “starting a revolution to put the power back in the hands of the people to cure themselves and to change the whole system of healthcare.”
Xiao had congratulated Carr-Gomm when she told other participants at the English retreat that she had stopped taking her insulin.
By day three, Carr-Gomm was “vomiting, tired and weak, and by the evening she was howling in pain and unable to respond to questions,” prosecutor Duncan Atkinson said.
A chef who wanted to call an ambulance said she deferred to those with holistic healing experience.
“Those who had received and accepted the defendant’s teachings misinterpreted Mrs. Carr-Gomm’s condition as a healing crisis,” Atkinson said.
