Start your week smart: Tennessee tornadoes, UPenn president, Michigan school shooter, Trump gag order, sickle cell disease

By CNN Newsource

Published December 10, 2023 6:55 AM

By Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, CNN

(CNN) — Kids say the darnedest things, like “What is the atomic mass of Tennessine?” That question was posed by 6-year-old Declan Lopez, a kindergartner from New Jersey who is a member of Mensa, an international society for people with high intelligence quotients. Learn more about this pint-size genius — as well as the answer to the question — by clicking here.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• Crews are searching for survivors and surveying the damage after tornadoes and strong thunderstorms tore through Tennessee, overturning cars, ripping apart buildings and leaving at least six people dead. As Clarksville looked for survivors and possibly additional victims, the mayor declared a state of emergency.
• In a stunning downfall for the leader of one of the world’s most prestigious universities, Liz Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, stepped down from the helm of the Ivy League school following a torrent of criticism for her testimony about antisemitism on Capitol Hill. Board Chair Scott Bok also resigned.
• Teenager Ethan Crumbley was sentenced to life in prison without parole for gunning down four classmates and wounding six others and a teacher at Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021. Judge Kwamé Rowe noted that the “defendant in his own words” told the court “this is nobody’s fault but his own.”
• An appeals court has largely upheld the gag order against Donald Trump in the federal election subversion case but said the gag order does not apply to comments made about special counsel Jack Smith.
• The US Food and Drug Administration approved two gene-based treatments for sickle cell disease, including the first therapy that uses the gene-editing technique CRISPR, opening a new era of treatments for genetic conditions.

The week ahead

Monday
Former President Donald Trump is expected to take the stand as the last witness for the defense in his New York civil fraud trial. This will be Trump’s second trip to the witness stand as he was called by the New York attorney general’s office. The high-stakes civil case strikes at the heart of Trump’s brand: his real estate empire. New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Trump for $250 million and seeking to bar him from doing business in the state. Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump and his co-defendants were liable for fraud. Trump’s defense team has argued that there was no intent to defraud banks or insurers, in part because the Trump family relied on accountants and that any differences in values on the properties were not meaningful.

Elsewhere in Trump’s orbit, a jury trial is set to begin to determine how much Rudy Giuliani will have to pay two election workers he was found to be liable for defaming. Giuliani was sued as the head of Trump’s legal team and a proponent of a disinformation effort that slandered Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, causing them significant emotional distress. The judge has already found Giuliani liable for defamation, and the trial is to determine the monetary damages he must pay. Moss and Freeman are seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages from Giuliani. The trial is set to last four days.

Tuesday
CNN will host the first of two town halls in Iowa before the state’s Republican caucuses in mid-January. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will take the stage at 9 p.m. ET from Grand View University in Des Moines. CNN’s Jake Tapper will moderate.

Wednesday
CNN’s second town hall will feature entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The event — also at 9 p.m. ET — will be moderated by CNN’s Abby Phillip from Grand View University.

The Federal Reserve wraps up its last interest rate meeting of the year. No change is expected, and investors are already looking toward the possibility of rate cuts next year.

Saturday
December 16 is the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party — a landmark event on the path to the American Revolution.

One Thing: Young Thug on trial
In this week’s One Thing podcast, CNN’s Ryan Young explains why the RICO case against rapper Young Thug could have reverberations throughout the music industry and beyond. Listen here.

2023: The Year in Pictures

CNN Digital’s 2023: The Year in Pictures is an interactive photo gallery that will be updated weekly throughout December, so be sure to check back. (Editor’s note: Some of the images are graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.)

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
Jason Momoa, Amanda Seyfried, Sterling K. Brown and other celebs tonight will be celebrating 10 everyday people who make the world a better place. “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” starts at 8 p.m. ET. Based on your votes, one will be named the 2023 CNN Hero of the Year. Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s event and how you can help.

Wednesday is Taylor Swift’s 34th birthday. It’s also the day that “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film will be available to rent or buy on streaming services.

Part two of the final season of “The Crown” arrives Thursday on Netflix. The final episodes will cover the period up to 2005, including the courtship of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the marriage of then-Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

In theaters
“Wonka” stars Timothée Chalamet in a super-caloric origin story of the mythical candy-maker. CNN’s Brian Lowry calls it “a quirky, intermittently tasty confection” and says Chalamet “gives it his all, including plenty of not-bad/not-great singing. “Wonka” opens on Friday. It’s being released by Warner Bros., which like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
The golf world was rocked by the news that Jon Rahm, ranked No. 3 in the world and the reigning Masters champion, is leaving the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series. Rahm will make his debut with LIV Golf next season. As part of the three-year, $300 million deal, Rahm will have an ownership stake in a new LIV Golf team, according to ESPN.

In big baseball news, two-time American League MVP Shohei Ohtani agreed to a historic deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 10-year, $700 million contract is one of the richest in professional sports.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels took home the 2023 Heisman Trophy, the third player in school history to win college football’s top award.

Army defeated Navy 17-11, the Black Knights’ second win in a row against the Midshipmen and sixth in the last eight contests.

Tennis great Chris Evert announced she has been re-diagnosed with cancer and will not be part of ESPN’s coverage of the 2024 Australian Open.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s weekly news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! How will you fare?

Play me off …

‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’
Walk into any store this time of year and you are likely to hear this holiday classic playing. And now, 65 years after its release, the song has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time. That makes the song’s original performer, Brenda Lee, now 78, one of the oldest artists to ever top the chart. (Click here to view)

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