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Father of Georgia school shooting suspect charged and Hunter Biden pleads guilty: Morning Rundown

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Father of Georgia school shooting suspect charged and Hunter Biden pleads guilty: Morning Rundown

The father of the teen suspect in a Georgia high school shooting has been arrested. Economists expect the latest U.S. jobs report to reflect an employment slowdown. And Hunter Biden pleads guilty in his federal tax case.  

Here’s what to know today.

Father of Georgia school shooting suspect gifted son an AR-15 style rifle, sources say 

The day after a shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia left four people dead and nine others injured, details about the 14-year-old suspect and his father began to emerge.

Two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said that Colin Gray, 54, bought his son, Colt Gray, an AR-15 style rifle as a gift, and that the older Gray gave his son the firearm at some point after the two had been interviewed by the FBI in connection with the teen’s threats to carry out a school shooting last year.

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Colin Gray was arrested yesterday on allegations that he allowed his son to possess a weapon. He was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

Colt Gray is scheduled to make his first court appearance this morning, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. He is being charged as an adult.

Law enforcement officials also said the teen suspect had shown interest in prior mass shootings, particularly the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The information came as a result of the searches conducted during the investigation into the shooting.

Investigative documents also reveal more about the probe into the suspect and his father in May 2023 and why the case was ultimately “cleared.”

Read the full story here.

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More coverage of the Apalachee High School shooting: 

  • What we know about the four people who were killed.
  • Students described the “haunting moment” when gunfire erupted.
  • A new panic alarm system saved countless lives during the shooting, officials and advocates say. 

Jobs report comes at a crucial moment

The U.S. jobs market is losing steam — and today, Americans will find out by how much. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will report jobs data, including the unemployment rate for August. Wall Street expects the report to show a gain of 161,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate slipping to 4.2%, according to Dow Jones. 

This month’s update is especially important. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates in the coming weeks. And economic issues are dominating the conversation as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump vie for voters’ support. 

Economists are hopeful the U.S. sees a “soft landing,” in which the economy slows but unemployment and inflation remain relatively low. However, there have been mixed signals.

Hunter Biden pleads guilty in surprise trial twist

Hunter Biden’s sentencing fate is now in the hands of a federal judge in Los Angeles after he pleaded guilty to all charges in the federal tax case against him. The move avoids a potentially embarrassing trial for Biden, the first offspring of a sitting president to stand trial on criminal charges.

Biden first attempted to enter what’s known as an Alford plea, where a defendant pleads guilty because of the strength of the case against them while maintaining their innocence. But Biden instead wound up taking an open plea, where a defendant pleads guilty to all the charges without an agreed-upon sentencing recommendation from prosecutors. Read more about the unexpected development in the case.

Politics in Brief 

2024 election: Ahead of next week’s presidential debate, an analysis of Kamala Harris’ past debate performances shows how she prepares and how she navigates criticism. On the campaign trail, both Harris and Donald Trump are putting their time, energy and cash on the difficult task of winning over the tiny fraction of voters who haven’t yet picked a side.

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Contested purchase: President Joe Biden is planning to announce that he will formally block Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, two people familiar with the matter said. Meanwhile, the political fight over the proposed sale is pitting some Pennsylvania steelworkers against each other — some from the same union.

Want more politics news? Sign up for From the Politics Desk to get exclusive reporting and analysis delivered to your inbox every weekday evening. Subscribe here.

Staff Pick: Ukrainians scramble to flee encroaching Russian attack

Carlos Huazano / NBC News

With Russian forces on the advance just five miles from the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovosk, holdout residents are saying goodbye to their homes, pets and a lifetime of possessions as they join the millions already displaced by the war. When it will be safe to return — or if there will be anything left to come back to — remains unclear. This sobering read from Richard Engel, Gabe Joselow and Victor Sema sheds light on the human realities at the center of a conflict that shows no sign of a resolution after two and a half years.

Nick Duffy, platforms editor


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NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Let’s talk about hair. If you’re the type who likes a low maintenance buzzed cut, consider one of these wet/dry head shavers recommended by barbers. Do you have long hair? One NBC Select reporter tried this buzzy new leave-in conditioner and highly recommends it.

Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.

Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.

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Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

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Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

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The New York Times sat down with President Trump in the Oval Office for an exclusive interview just hours after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis. Our White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs explains how the president reacted to the shooting.

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, Nikolay Nikolov and Coleman Lowndes

January 8, 2026

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Community reacts to ICE shooting in Minnesota. And, RFK Jr. unveils new food pyramid

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Community reacts to ICE shooting in Minnesota. And, RFK Jr. unveils new food pyramid

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today’s top stories

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman, yesterday. Multiple observers captured the shooting on video, and community members demanded accountability. Minnesota law enforcement officials and the FBI are investigating the fatal shooting, which the Trump administration says was an act of self-defense. Meanwhile, the mayor has accused the officer of reckless use of power and demanded that ICE get out of Minneapolis.

People demonstrate during a vigil at the site where a woman was shot and killed by an immigration officer earlier in the day in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 7, 2026. An immigration officer in Minneapolis shot dead a woman on Wednesday, triggering outrage from local leaders even as President Trump claimed the officer acted in self-defense. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey deemed the government’s allegation that the woman was attacking federal agents “bullshit,” and called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers conducting a second day of mass raids to leave Minneapolis.

Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images


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Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

  • 🎧 Caitlin Callenson recorded the shooting and says officers gave Good multiple conflicting instructions while she was in her vehicle. Callenson says Good was already unresponsive when officers pulled her from the car. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims the officer was struck by the vehicle and acted in self-defense. In the video NPR reviewed, the officer doesn’t seem to be hit and was seen walking after he fired the shots, NPR’s Meg Anderson tells Up First. Anderson says it has been mostly peaceful in Minneapolis, but there is a lot of anger and tension because protesters want ICE out of the city.

U.S. forces yesterday seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the north Atlantic between Iceland and Britain after a two-week chase. The tanker was originally headed to Venezuela, but it changed course to avoid the U.S. ships. This action comes as the Trump administration begins releasing new information about its plans for Venezuela’s oil industry.

  • 🎧 It has been a dramatic week for U.S. operations in Venezuela, NPR’s Greg Myre says, prompting critics to ask if a real plan for the road ahead exists. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded that the U.S. does have a strategy to stabilize Venezuela, and much of it seems to involve oil. Rubio said the U.S. would take control of up to 50 million barrels of oil from the country. Myre says the Trump administration appears to have a multipronged strategy that involves taking over the country’s oil, selling it on the world market and pressuring U.S. oil companies to enter Venezuela.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released new dietary guidelines for Americans yesterday that focus on promoting whole foods, proteins and healthy fats. The guidance, which he says aims to “revolutionize our food culture,” comes with a new food pyramid, which replaces the current MyPlate symbol.

  • 🎧 “I’m very disappointed in the new pyramid,” Christopher Gardner, a nutrition expert who was on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, tells NPR’s Allison Aubrey. Gardner says the new food structure, which features red meat and saturated fats at the top, contradicts decades of evidence and research. Poor eating habits and the standard American diet are widely considered to cause chronic disease. Aubrey says the new guidelines alone won’t change people’s eating habits, but they will be highly influential. This guidance will shape the offerings in school meals and on military bases, and determine what’s allowed in federal nutrition programs.

Special series

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Trump has tried to bury the truth of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. NPR built a visual archive of the attack on the Capitol, showing exactly what happened through the lenses of the people who were there. “Chapter 4: The investigation” shows how federal investigators found the rioters and built the largest criminal case in U.S. history.

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Political leaders, including Trump, called for rioters to face justice for their actions on Jan. 6. This request came because so few people were arrested during the attack. The extremists who led the riot remained free, and some threatened further violence. The government launched the largest federal investigation in American history, resulting in the arrest of over 1,500 individuals from all 50 states. The most serious cases were made by prosecutors against leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. For their roles in planning the attack against the U.S., some extremists were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Take a look at the Jan. 6 prosecutions by the numbers, including the highest sentence received.

To learn more, explore NPR’s database of federal criminal cases from Jan. 6. You can also see more of NPR’s reporting on the topic.

Deep dive

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump takes 325 milligrams of daily aspirin, which is four times the recommended 81 milligrams of low-dose aspirin used for cardiovascular disease prevention. The president revealed this detail in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published last week. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that anyone over 60 not start a daily dose of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease if they don’t already have an underlying problem. The group said it’s reasonable to stop preventive aspirin in people already taking it around age 75 years. Trump is 79. This is what you should know about aspirin and cardiac health:

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  • 💊 Doctors often prescribe the low dose of aspirin because there’s no benefit to taking a higher dose, according to a large study published in 2021.
  • 💊 Some people, including adults who have undergone heart bypass surgery and those who have had a heart attack, should take the advised dose of the drug for their entire life.
  • 💊 While safer than other blood thinners, the drug — even at low doses — raises the risk of bleeding in the stomach and brain. But these adverse events are unlikely to cause death.

3 things to know before you go

When an ant pupa has a deadly, incurable infection, it sends out a signal that tells worker ants to unpack it from its cocoon and disinfect it, a process that results in its death.

When an ant pupa has a deadly, incurable infection, it sends out a signal that tells worker ants to unpack it from its cocoon and disinfect it, a process that results in its death.

Christopher D. Pull/ISTA


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Christopher D. Pull/ISTA

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  1. Young, terminally ill ants will send out an altruistic “kill me” signal to worker ants, according to a study in the journal Nature Communications. With this strategy, the sick ants sacrifice themselves for the good of their colony.
  2. In this week’s Far-Flung Postcards series, you can spot a real, lone California sequoia tree in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris. Napoleon III transformed the park from a former landfill into one of the French capital’s greenest escapes.
  3. The ACLU and several authors have sued Utah over its “sensitive materials” book law, which has now banned 22 books in K-12 schools. Among the books on the ban list are The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. (via KUER)

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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Video: Minnesota Governor Condemns ICE Shooting

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Video: Minnesota Governor Condemns ICE Shooting

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Minnesota Governor Condemns ICE Shooting

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota slammed the fatal shooting of a woman by an immigration agent. President Trump said that the agents had acted in self-defense.

This morning, we learned that an ICE officer shot and killed someone in Minneapolis. We have been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety, that someone was going to get hurt. Just yesterday, I said exactly that. What we’re seeing is the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict. It’s governing by reality TV. And today, that recklessness cost someone their life.

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Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota slammed the fatal shooting of a woman by an immigration agent. President Trump said that the agents had acted in self-defense.

By Jiawei Wang

January 8, 2026

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