CNN 5 Things

From CNN, I'm a Ifeoma Dike with the five things you need to know for Thursday, December 19th. The man accused of killing healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, made his first appearance in a New York federal court today after waiving his extradition in Pennsylvania. 26 year old Luigi Mangione is being held in the same federal prison in New York City as Sean "Diddy" Combs, according to a criminal complaint. Mangione faces four federal counts in connection with Thompson's death, including murder. Prosecutors say he could face the death penalty if he's convicted, though they haven't determined whether they'd seek it. His attorneys say they will not seek bail for now. Manhattan's district attorney's office says Mangione's New York state case, quote, will proceed in parallel with the federal case against him.

House Republicans have come up with a new proposal to avoid a shutdown by midnight Friday and meet President elect Donald Trump's 11th hour demands, according to five sources. The bill includes a three month extension to keep the government funded through March, keeps the debt limit suspended through January 2027, includes a farm bill extension and disaster relief, including aid for farmers. It's unclear if the proposal has the votes to pass. Lawmakers had to go back to the drawing board after Trump and his allies pushed back, tacking the debt limit issue into the mix and upending the progress they made earlier in the week. Trump says he supports the House GOP new proposal, but Democrats want to go back to the previous deal. As this plays out, House Speaker Mike Johnson could be in danger of losing the gavel if support from his party dwindles.

New details are emerging about the 15 year old girl who opened fire on a Christian school in Wisconsin, killing two people. Investigators are probing the possible links between the girl and a California man who they say was planning another mass attack. CNN's Natasha Chen has more.

'San Diego court documents show that this 20 year old man, Alexander Pufendorf, admitted to the FBI agents he was being interviewed by- that he told the Wisconsin shooter and Natalie Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun, that he would target a government building. But the documents don't say which building in particular. On Tuesday, there was a restraining order issued against Pufendorf to temporarily turn over his ammunition and guns. As they investigate the situation, the Carlsbad Police Department told CNN there's no threat to the city at this time. Directed our questions to federal authorities. Now, my colleagues Josh Campbell and Jake Hanna were not able to locate Pufendorf today in his neighborhood, but did speak to some neighbors, some who described him as reclusive, that his family had lived there for more than a dozen years. Now, while that's going on on the West Coast over in Wisconsin, the community is still just reeling from this tragedy.

Three sources told CNN Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are expected to recommend a government purge of spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that could include cutting entire divisions, including DEI in agencies across the government. One person familiar with Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency discussions said among the first recommendations for action could be revoking a number of executive orders President Joe Biden signed to expand workplace DEI protections, though DOGE has no statutory authority and is essentially a presidential advisory commission that can make recommendations to Congress and the White House. But there are indications that targeting DEI related initiatives will be a priority for Republicans looking to cut spending across Washington. Supporters of DEI programs worry about what this means for protections and opportunities for groups of people historically discriminated against. Coming up, Syria's transition continues.

'Hey, welcome back. Security forces from the ousted regime in Syria are handing in their weapons, according to video filmed by AFP. The footage shows officials informally interviewing the men and taking their mug shots as they hand in their weapons. The country's new leadership, led by the group HTC, has been working to transfer power peacefully and gain international legitimacy. Syrian rebel linked government leader Mohammad al-Bashir has been appointed as the country's caretaker prime minister for the next three months. That does it for us. Our next episode drops at 6 a.m. Eastern.