Hard Numbers: Mayorkas impeachment fails, Haley loses Nevada, School shooter’s mom found guilty, Kenyan cult leader charged with child murder

Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas takes his seat to testify before a Senate hearing on the department's budget request on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 26, 2021.
Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas takes his seat to testify before a Senate hearing on the department's budget request on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 26, 2021.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

214: House Republicans on Tuesday tried and failed to make Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached in 148 years – an effort that was tied to one of the most divisive issues in Washington: border security. Four Republican lawmakers went against their party and helped Democrats sink the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in a 214-216 vote. Congressional Republicans are also moving to sink bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening border security because Donald Trump warned it could help Democrats in the 2024 election.

26: Nikki Haley was the only major candidate to take part in Nevada's GOP primary and still lost due to Donald Trump supporters choosing the "None of these Candidates" option instead. Haley decided not to campaign in the state, focusing instead on her home state South Carolina, and delegate-rich California. On Thursday, Donald Trump will run unopposed by any major candidate in the state GOP caucus, which will earn him the state's 26 delegates once he wins. To understand why Nevada Republicans voted in a primary AND a caucus this year, read our quick explainer.

4: For the first time, a US parent has been held criminally responsible in connection with a school shooting committed by their child. Jennifer Crumbley on Tuesday was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter. Her son, Ethan Crumbley, shot and killed four fellow students at Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021 using a gun gifted to him by his parents just days before (he’s serving a life sentence). James Crumbley, the father, is also facing charges, and his trial is set to begin in March.

191:Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, the leader of a Christian doomsday cult in Kenya, on Tuesday was charged along with 29 other people in the deaths of 191 children – whose bodies were found in mass graves in a forest. Mackenzie – founder and leader of the Good News International Ministry – is accused of convincing his followers to starve themselves and their children to achieve salvation and meet Jesus Christ. He pleaded not guilty. Hundreds of his followers have been found dead, and many others are missing.

More from GZERO Media

A man rides a scooter past a giant screen showing news footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting, in Beijing, China December 9, 2024.
REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

China’s Politburo — the top leadership cabinet — said Monday it would take “more proactive” fiscal measures and loosen up its monetary policy in 2025 as it aims to boost domestic consumption.

HTS leader Ahmed Al-Shara, aka Abu Muhammad Al-Golani, overlooks Damascus, Syria, after the overthrow of Bashar Assad on Dec. 8, 2024.

Balkis Press/ABACAPRESS.COM via Reuters

The Shura Council of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, has appointed Mohammed al-Bashir as interim PM of its proposed 18-month transitional government of Syria. What will his appointment mean for Syria, how are the Kurds faring amid the chaos, and why is Israel making moves inside Syria?

While many investors took a ‘wait-and-see’ approach in the lead up to the election, as the results sets in, investors and businesses are evaluating how recent political shifts will impact market conditions and capital flows in the months ahead. With the election now behind us, will the next administration drive a transaction revival and support new investment opportunities? Analyze election impacts to markets and industries with insights from leading experts on the issues that matter most with Beyond the Ballot, brought to you by RBC Capital Markets.

Jess Frampton

In addition to multiple ongoing conflicts, a year of electoral instability, and pandemic hangovers, the return of Donald Trump as the US president injects further unpredictability into the geopolitics.

KYIV, UKRAINE - DECEMBER 9, 2024 - Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva (L to R) attend a meeting with German Chancellor candidate, leader of the Christian Democratic Union Friedrich Merz, Kyiv, capital of Ukraine.
Photo by Ukrinform/Ukrinform/Sipa USA via reuters

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.

- YouTube

What will President-Elect Donald Trump’s election win mean for the US economy? After years of inflation and stagnating wage growth, millions of voters elected Trump off the back of his promise to usher in a “golden age of America.” Trump has vowed to raise tariffs, slash business regulation, and deport millions of undocumented immigrants, policies he says will put Americans first. But what will that mean practically for workers and consumers? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer is joined by Oren Cass, the founder and chief economist of the conservative think tank American Compass, who thinks Trump’s tariff plan will be a step in the right direction.

This week, in GZERO Daily, we will be rolling out our top political game changers of the year. Stay tuned, and check back here on Friday for our Top 10.

Syrian refugees in Ankara, Turkey, celebrate the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, 2024.

Diego Cupolo/NurPhoto via Reuters

The toppling of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria could significantly impact the future of Syrian refugees, in both neighboring states and beyond.

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with US President-elect Donald Trump as he arrives for a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of ceremonies to mark the reopening of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, in Paris, on Dec. 7, 2024.
REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

Forget the Eras Tour: From Paris to New York City, US President-elect Donald Trump had a whirlwind weekend.