In our Friday news roundup, South Korea’s parliament impeached acting President Han Duck-soo after he refused to appoint three judges to the court reviewing his predecessor’s impeachment, the White House believes Russian defense systems may be to blame for a plane crash, and Palestinian health officials say Israeli soldiers raided one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza.
Lisa Desjardins We begin the day’s other headlines with South Korea’s deepening political crisis.
The country’s parliament has voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo. Today’s vote marks the country’s second impeachment in just two weeks.
It comes after Han declined to appoint three judges to the court overseeing his predecessor’s previous impeachment proceedings. President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on December 14 due to his decision to declare martial law earlier this month.
That decision sparked a chain of events that has left the country in disarray, leaving Choi Sang-mok, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, in charge.
The White House now says it sees evidence that a Russian air defense system may be to blame for an Azerbaijani airliner crash this week, echoing preliminary findings by Azeri officials.
The plane was on its way from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to the Russian republic of Chechnya when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while landing.
The first funeral for one of the 38 people killed in Azerbaijan was held today; 29 others survived with injuries. According to Russian officials, the flight was unable to land at its intended destination due to fog and the threat of a Ukrainian drone strike.
In the Middle East, Palestinian health officials report that Israeli soldiers raided and burned one of the last functioning hospitals in Northern Gaza today, forcing many staff members and patients to flee. The Kamal Adwan Hospital is located in Beit Lahia, where Israeli soldiers have been fighting and attacking Hamas militants.
This video shows the hospital earlier this month. Israel claims militants used it as a base. Staff members deny this, claiming that Israeli strikes have hit the hospital several times recently.
In Northern Gaza, US officials confirmed they pushed for the retraction of a recent famine warning for the region. This week, the US-funded Famine Early Warning System issued a report blaming Israel for a “near-total blockade of food and water.”
The US ambassador to Israel criticized the report, claiming it failed to account for rapidly changing conditions on the ground and contained out-of-date data.
The United States Agency for International Development, which funds the group, stated that it discovered discrepancies in the data and requested additional review.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s main international airport reopened today following Israeli airstrikes on it. The attack yesterday was reported to have killed at least three people. Israel claims it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who had been firing projectiles at it for several days.
The head of the World Health Organization was about to board a flight when the missiles hit. One member of his plane’s crew sustained injuries.
Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, rocket sirens sounded earlier this morning as the Houthis responded to Israel’s attacks. The Israeli military stated that it intercepted a missile fired by the group.
In New York, word has spread of an indictment in a disturbing crime, the death of a woman who was set on fire and burned to death in a subway last weekend.
Sebastian Zapeta identified himself in photos and surveillance video of the incident while being questioned, according to police. Prosecutors allege that he set fire to the woman at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on Sunday morning and then watched her burn.
Zapeta was charged with multiple counts of murder as well as arson. Prosecutors said the charges were the most severe they could bring.
Eric Gonzalez, Brooklyn, New York District Attorney: Murder in the first degree can result in life without parole. It is the most serious statute under New York law. And my office is very confident in the evidence in this case and our ability to hold Zapeta accountable for his despicable actions.
Lisa Desjardins: According to federal officials, the 33-year-old is from Guatemala and entered the United States illegally. He remains incarcerated. The victim has yet to be identified.
Stocks fell on Wall Street today, bringing the holiday-shortened week to a close. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 300 points, ending a five-session winning streak. The Nasdaq fell nearly 300 points during the day. The S&P 500 also closed in negative territory.
And we have two deaths to report this evening.
Greg Gumbel, the first and most famous sports anchor, died. According to a statement released by his employer, CBS, his family says he leaves behind a legacy of love, inspiration, and dedication to over 50 years in the sports broadcasting industry, and his iconic voice will never be forgotten.
Gumbel was best known for his work as a play-by-play announcer and studio host during his career, which included a stint at NBC. He covered basketball, the NFL, and the Olympics, among other topics. Greg Gumbel was 78.
And the oldest living survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has died. Warren Upton was 22 years old and stationed aboard the USS Utah on that fateful morning of December 7, 1941. Years later, Upton told the Associated Press that he first felt the torpedo strike while shaving. He swam ashore to safety.
His death leaves only 15 military personnel alive out of an estimated 87,000 who were present that day. Warren Upton had lived to the age of 105.