Here's a look at top news and trending topics for today, Dec. 15:
Trump announcement
Donald Trump vowed Thursday that if he is elected president again, he would ban federal money from being used to label speech as misinformation or disinformation, fire federal officials who have engaged in what he characterized as "domestic censorship," and punish universities engaging in "censorship activities" with cuts to federal funding.
Trump proposed that certain federal and intelligence officials should be forced to wait seven years before working for certain tech companies to "confront the problems of major platforms being infiltrated by legions of former deep staters and intelligence officials."
Earlier Thursday, Trump launched a new "digital trading card" that showcases his "life & career." In a post to Truth Social, the former president said his debut non-fungible token, or NFT, was "very much like a baseball card," noting a cost of $99 each. At least one of the digital collectibles released by Trump portrayed him as a cartoon superhero, sporting a giant "T" on his chest and a gilded "Trump Champion" belt. The website where consumers can purchase the digital collectibles emphatically denies that any of the funds will go toward Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
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New Orleans tornado/Winter storm
The massive storm system that pulverized homes, killed three people in Louisiana and brought blizzard conditions to northern states will inflict a new wave of brutal weather starting Thursday.
Significant ice and heavy snow will smother parts of the Mid-Atlantic and New England, forecasters said.
Ice storm warnings are in effect for the central Appalachians of western Virginia, eastern West Virginia, the Maryland Panhandle and parts of central and western Pennsylvania -- where up to a quarter inch to a half inch of ice could stack up by Thursday evening.
Already, freezing rain and snow are covering parts of the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic. A quarter inch of ice was reported Thursday morning in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and Maryland, and about a tenth of an inch had built up in parts of Virginia.
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Atatiana Jefferson
A former Texas police officer was convicted of manslaughter Thursday for fatally shooting Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window of her home in 2019, a rare conviction of an officer for killing someone who was also armed with a gun.
Jurors also considered a murder charge against Aaron Dean but instead convicted him of manslaughter. The conviction comes more than three years after the white Fort Worth officer shot the 28-year-old Black woman while responding to a call about an open front door.
Dean, 38, faces up to 20 years in prison, with the sentencing phase of his trial set to begin Friday. He had faced up to life in prison if convicted of murder. Dean, who had been free on bond, was booked into the Tarrant County jail following the verdict.
Jurors deliberated for more than 13 hours over two days before finding him guilty of manslaughter.
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EU sanctions against Russia
Men involved in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot sentenced
Federal rate hike
