Good morning. We’re covering the end of the rape trial that horrified France and the latest from Syria. Plus: Catch up on the year in viral moments.
51 guilty verdicts, and a message of hopeIn a packed courtroom in Avignon, France, all 51 of the men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot while she was unconscious were found guilty yesterday. The trial has convulsed France and transformed the woman at its center into a feminist icon for her bravery in allowing the case to be tried publicly. Her husband, Dominique Pelicot, 72, who admitted to drugging her for years, was the only defendant to get the maximum sentence: 20 years. The rest were given prison terms that mostly ranged from six to nine years. See details of the sentencing. After it was over, Gisèle Pelicot stepped outside the courthouse, where hundreds of her supporters cheered and held up signs of appreciation. She said she had never regretted her decision to make the trial public. “I am now confident in our ability to seize a future in which women and men can live in harmony, respect and mutual understanding,” she said. Catch up: Here is a timeline of events in the case, starting with the Pelicots’ marriage in 1973 and leading up to the arrests of 2020 and 2021. Analysis: Gisèle Pelicot’s image has become a symbol of female strength around the world, our chief fashion critic writes. From Opinion: The trial opened up an overdue conversation about sexual violence in a country where the response to the #MeToo movement was decidedly mixed, Megan Clement writes from Paris.
Thousands of U.S. troops are in SyriaTwo thousand American troops are in Syria, more than twice the number that officials had cited for months, according to Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. They are there on a “temporary” basis, he said, to support the “core official deployed forces” involved in a mission to keep Islamic State militants from taking advantage of Syria’s shifting situation. General Ryder said the troop increase was unrelated to the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad by rebels this month. Since the Assad government’s collapse, Israel and Turkey have launched military operations in Syria, and the U.S. has conducted dozens of strikes against Islamic State targets. See maps of Israel’s moves in Syria. In Homs: Syrians from this ancient city are returning home. Times correspondents spoke with some of them as they reacted to al-Assad’s fall. Russia: President Vladimir Putin blamed Iran for failing to stop the rebels, without mentioning Russia’s own decision not to help al-Assad. With its Syrian foothold in doubt, Russia has been sending cargo planes to Libya, where it also has a military presence. War in Gaza:
Federal charges for Luigi MangioneFederal prosecutors unsealed a murder case against Luigi Mangione, 26, who is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive on a Manhattan sidewalk this month. The federal criminal complaint includes one count of using a firearm to commit murder, along with two stalking counts and a firearms offense. Read the full complaint. The federal murder charge means that Mangione could receive the death penalty, which New York State does not impose. The Manhattan district attorney has filed state murder and terror charges against Mangione, which at most could result in a life sentence without parole.
When a podcast hosted by Kylie Kelce, a 32-year-old high school field hockey coach and the wife of the N.F.L. player Jason Kelce, unseated “The Joe Rogan Experience” as the top-ranked show in the U.S. this month, strong reactions followed. “Maybe it’s the promise that you’re not going to get lied to,” she said. Lives lived: Rick Kaufmann, a key figure in the art furniture movement (that is, furniture made by artists in single or limited editions), died last month at 77.
Viral moments of 2024Plenty of big news happened this year: wars, Donald Trump’s election and the Paris Olympics. But between these major flash points were hundreds of smaller moments that caught the internet’s attention. Memes ensued. While videos like “demure” and beloved animals like Moo Deng were virtually unavoidable, it’s possible that you didn’t hear about “yapping” or know that another Pygmy hippo, named Haggis, was also born this year. We’ve compiled the year’s best viral stories. We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
Cook: It’s the holidays. Make gingerbread cookies. Decorate: Load up this year’s Christmas tree with tinsel, ornaments and anything else that will fit on a branch. Watch: Pedro Almodóvar’s moving drama “The Room Next Door” is about friends facing mortality together. |
