Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, the 48-year-old gunman who killed two Brown University students and wounded nine others, was found dead on Thursday in a Salem, New Hampshire storage facility. Valente took his own life, ending a five-day manhunt. Police say Valente also murdered MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at his Brookline home Monday night. (Story URL)
The Department Of Health & Human Services will move to end transition-related care for minors. The proposal would withdraw federal funding from hospitals providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgeries to minors. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said doctors “provide needless and irreversible sex-rejecting procedures,” calling them a violation of medical ethics. (Story URL)
Trump Media said Thursday it will merge with California-based TAE Technologies in a $6 billion all-stock deal. The merger will form the first publicly traded fusion energy company and is expected to close by mid-2026. Shareholders from each company will own about 50% of the new firm. Trump Media, which runs Truth Social, is majority-owned by President Trump. (Story URL)
Consumer prices increased less than expected in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The consumer price index rose 2.7% over the past year, below Wall Street’s 3.1% forecast. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, climbed 2.6%, short of the 3% estimate. Economists urged caution in interpreting the results, while investors looked for clues on future Fed moves. (Story URL)
President Trump signed an executive order expediting moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law, alongside prescription drugs like Tylenol with codeine. White House officials said the move aims to expand medical research on marijuana and CBD. Marijuana possession remains illegal under federal law. Congress would need to act to change that status. (Story URL)
