Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters

0:02Charges in the murder of a healthcare CEO include the word terrorism. In its most basic terms, this was a killing that is intended to evoke terror. What do police say about the online celebration of the murder? I'm Michelle Martin, that's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. The Federal Reserve considers one last cut in interest rates for the year. The strength we're currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully. Many people will be watching the Fed in the months ahead. President-elect Trump has talked of policies that economists associate with inflation.

0:36Also, we explore something rare about a school shooting in Wisconsin. The shooter was a girl. What does this teach us about the profile of people who commit such acts? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

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2:19When does a murder also qualify as an act of terrorism? Prosecutors in New York City used that word as they wrote out the charges against Luigi Mangione. He was indicted yesterday for murder after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. NPR's Sarah Ventry is covering the aftermath of this story in New York. Good morning. Good morning. Okay, why call it terrorism? Well, understandably, there have been a lot of questions related to that. Here's Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had to say at a press conference yesterday. In its most basic terms, this was a killing that was intended to evoke terror.

2:55And we've seen that reaction. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch also spoke at the press conference, and she was very concerned about the reaction to Thompson's killing. She says that social media, quote, erupted with praise, and she really wanted to emphasize that there was nothing to celebrate here. In the nearly two weeks since Mr. Thompson's killing, we have seen a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder. And any attempt to rationalize this is vile, reckless, and offensive to our deeply held principles of justice. But it keeps going on. Is this right? There's been crowdfunding for Luigi Mangione's defense?

3:38Yeah, there has been. There's been a lot of reporting about how the site GoFundMe has taken down fundraisers for Mangione. but other sites have raised quite a bit of money. One site says it has raised almost$150 ,000 as of this morning. And on that site, people posted comments about how they feel that the health care industry has let the American public down. Okay. So that is the way that some people see this. Prosecutors see this as terrorism. What else do the charges say? Well, they were filed in the New York State Supreme Court, and they include one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of murder in the second degree.

4:16If he's found guilty, he could face life without the possibility of parole. Now, the other eight charges are related to criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument. That was a New Jersey driver's license that was allegedly used to check into a hostel in New York. I reached out to Mangione's attorney in New York, but she declined to comment. NPR also reached out to United Health Group for comment. And the company said, quote, this is an important step forward for seeking justice in the murder of our colleague Brian Thompson. We will work with law enforcement authorities to help bring closure for Brian's family, friends and colleagues.

4:50OK, so the suspect is not yet in New York. He's being held in Pennsylvania. How does he end up getting brought across state lines? OK, so tomorrow there's going to be a preliminary hearing that is scheduled for him in Pennsylvania. That's for his Pennsylvania charges. Those include forgery, carrying a firearm without a license and giving false identification to law enforcement. Now, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said that immediately following that preliminary hearing, there's going to be an extradition hearing so that he can be brought to New York. He had previously been fighting that extradition, but Bragg said they have indications that Mangione may waive that hearing, in which case he would be brought to New York immediately.

5:29Okay. NPR's Sarah Ventry will continue following the story, whatever happens. Thanks so much, Sarah. Thank you.

5:42The cost of borrowing money to buy a car or grow a business could get a little bit cheaper this afternoon. Yes, the Federal Reserve is holding its last meeting of the year, and policymakers are expected to lower their benchmark interest rate. The move comes at a time of declining but still sticky inflation and uncertainty about the incoming Trump administration. NPR's Scott Horsley is covering this as always. Scott, good morning. Good morning, Steve. Okay, so I know that Fed governors tend to signal, try to not surprise people and signal what they may be doing. So what do you expect the Fed to do?

6:15Well, policymakers are expected to lower their benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point this afternoon. That'd be the third rate cut since September. And it would leave interest rates a full percentage point lower than they were back in the summer. Okay, and I guess we should just remember here, interest rates are linked with inflation. That's the main tool the Fed has for battling inflation. They went up because inflation went up. Now interest rates are going down. Does that mean the battle against inflation is over? No. Inflation has come down a lot in the last couple of years, but it's still higher than the Fed would like.

6:46And in fact, some of the progress we've been seeing on prices appears to have stalled in the last few months. Fed Governor Chris Waller gave a speech earlier this month where he talked about just how stubborn inflation has proven to be. I feel like an MMA fighter who keeps getting inflation in a chokehold, waiting for it to tap out, yet it keeps slipping out of my grasp. at the last minute. Waller insisted, though, he and his colleagues are not going to let inflation out of the octagon until prices are completely under control. I appreciate the metaphor. Thank you for extending it. But if inflation is that stubborn, why would the Fed cut interest rates again?

7:21Well, it's a balancing act. You know, high interest rates do help curb inflation, but they can also be a drag on the economy. So the Fed is trying to strike a balance here. Markets are betting the Fed is going to lower interest rates today. And then after that, Maybe take a break and see how things play out. Oftentimes, the Fed doesn't have that luxury when it's faced with a sudden collapse in the economy like the pandemic or the housing crisis. But we're not dealing with a crisis like that right now. You know, the overall economy is still strong. The job market is holding up pretty well. So Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said he and his colleagues can afford to take their time.

7:56The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates. the strength we're currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully. One thing a lot of people will be watching this afternoon is the forecast that Fed policymakers offer about where they think interest rates are going to go next year. Back in September, they were projecting that rates would fall by another full percentage point in 2025. We'll see if they dial that back. When you say the word forecast, of course, we're talking about a change in presidential administrations, a big change in some big economic policies or policies that relate to the economy.

8:31How is the Fed preparing for that? Carefully. Economists say some of the president-elect's policies, like tariffs and mass deportations, could actually make inflation worse. Powell has said it's too early to make any predictions about that. Keep in mind, Trump was often critical of Powell the last time he was in the White House. So Powell has tried hard not to provoke the incoming president, but he's also insisted Trump doesn't have the authority to fire him. And when Trump was asked about that on Meet the press, he appeared to accept that Powell's going to stick around for a while. Will you try to replace Jerome Powell?

9:02No, I don't think so. I don't see it. Now, Powell's term as chairman expires, though, in 2026. And at that point, Trump may have the opportunity to install a more malleable leader at the central bank. I suppose by then we'll have some idea of what economic effect Trump's policies will have had, which ones he succeeded in imposing, how he did that, and what the effect is on inflation. We'll be watching. NPR, Scott Horsley, thanks. You're welcome.

9:32The identity of a school shooter in Wisconsin is forcing us to think about what kinds of people would do something like this. And that's because of her gender. Police say the person responsible was a 15-year-old girl. She shot and killed two people and then herself. NPR's Katie Aredle covers mental health and joins us. Hi there. Hi, Steve. How unusual is it to have a female shooter? Very. You know, the federal government does not track school shootings, but a number of journalistic and research organizations have stepped in with their own data collection on this topic. One of those is the Violence Prevention Project Research Center at Hamlin University in Minnesota.

10:12Researchers there have been tracking every homicide that has occurred in the last 25 years at a school, and there have been a small number of school shootings committed by girls. Most of those have been individual homicides. I talked to the executive director at this organization. Her name is Jillian Peterson. She said she was quite surprised when she found out the shooter at the school in Wisconsin was a girl. Across the board, she says troubled males are just more likely to perpetuate something like this. So more violence, more substance use, more anger. Females are more likely to internalize those feelings.

10:46So more depression, more anxiety, more self-harm. Okay, more likely, meaning you might have boys who respond like this, you might have girls who respond like this, but it's just that females are less likely to lash out this way? That's right. You know, Peterson points out that the age of the shooter, 15, is typical for this profile. That's a sensitive time in adolescence where executive function is not very well developed for girls or boys. Obviously, there's a lot we still don't know about the situation, and it's captured the public's attention. But Peterson says it will be important in the coming days and weeks to ask the same questions that we would of any school shooting.

11:26We tend to grab onto these ones that feel sort of unique and that don't fit the profile. And I think what I'm hoping will emerge is a deeper understanding of sort of her trajectory and her pathway, right? Like how she got the guns, why she was feeling this way. Did she have a history of suicidality? Did she tell other people she was planning this? So it's really kind of the same prevention strategies that you need in place. more so than, right, like the profile of the person that you need to be worried about. I appreciate that. She's saying don't stereotype somebody. Look at what's going on with the individual.

11:56But with that said, does this change anything in terms of red flags to look for? You know, there are patterns of behavior around mass shootings. Often in retrospect, when a tragedy like this happens, those might seem obvious. And people question why they were missed. But the vast majority of troubled adolescents don't commit mass shootings. Prevention strategies around individuals are certainly important, especially given they can often overlap with suicide prevention strategies. But some experts say it's dangerous to become too attached to any one narrative about who commits these kinds of acts.

12:32Another expert I talked to is Jonathan Metzl. He studies gun violence at Vanderbilt University. He said the shooter's gender is not the most salient fact in this circumstance. It's not surprising to me that given the increasing availability of guns and the fact that we have so many mass shootings in this country, that we're, I think, going to increasingly see different kinds of people commit these kinds of shootings and other shootings. Over 30 ,000 children go to a school that's been affected by gun violence this year. That's according to the Washington Post database called School Shooting Tracker.

13:08Experts say given the breadth of this epidemic, our preconceived narratives are just not always going to be accurate. Katia, thanks so much. You're welcome, Steve. That's NPR's Katia Riddle. And if you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call or text 988. That's 988 to reach the suicide and crisis lifeline.

13:32And that's it first for this Wednesday, December 18th. I'm Steve Inskey. And I'm Michelle Martin. You can listen to this podcast sponsor-free while financially supporting public media with Up First Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org. That's P-L-U-S dot N-P-R dot org. That's a lot of spelling. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Kevin Drew, Rafael Nam, Diane Weber, H.J. Mai, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.

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