Monday Scoop: Life Sentence

The UAE still believes Matthew Hedges is a secret service operative. (image: Guardian video)

The big story…

British Academic in the UAE Sentenced to Life for Espionage, Then Pardoned

Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old PhD student from the U.K., was sentenced to life in prison last week for spying in the United Arab Emirates where he was pursuing research. The UAE believed, and seemingly still believes, that Hedges was a secret service operative for MI6 who conspired to steal the country’s national security secrets, the topic of his doctoral research. Hedges was jailed for months, most of which was spent in solitary confinement, but  received a presidential pardon on Monday. However, it appears that the UAE still believes that Hedges is a British intelligence agent as the country has shown videos of the doctoral student’s supposed confession.

At the border…

Tijuana Declares ‘Humanitarian Crisis,’ Border Agents Fire Tear Gas

With almost 5,000 Central American migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, the mayor of Tijuana has declared a humanitarian crisis, asking the United Nations for help. The migrants now face months of living in a makeshift shelter in a Tijuana sports complex as the U.S. processes thousands of asylum requests. During protests at the border yesterday, many migrants attempted to clear the fence dividing the two countries. U.S. border agents fired tear gas at the group. Mexico’s Interior Ministry has said that it will immediately deport the 500 migrants who attempted to “violently” enter the U.S.

In national news…

Papadopoulos Ordered to Report to Prison

Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos will start a 14-day prison sentence on Monday for lying to federal officials looking into the Russian probe. The judge who sentenced him denied Papadopoulos’ requests to pause his sentence, saying he failed to file any court appeals within the allotted window.

At Michigan State University…

Michigan State University Ex-President Charged in Larry Nassar Case

MSU’s former president has been charged with lying to law enforcement officials during the Larry Nassar investigation. Read more in Tamia Heard’s report for CMN.

At Dartmouth…

Dartmouth Accused of Allowing Sexual Misconduct in $70 Million Lawsuit

Seven women are suing their alma mater for perpetuating a culture of sexual harrassment and assault at the Ivy League school. Read more in Grace Cooper’s report for CMN.

In space…

NASA’s InSight Lander to Land on Mars Today

At 3 p.m. EST today the InSight Lander will enter Mars’ atmosphere. NASA will be watching and hoping that the 1,500-pound robot that cost $1 billion and 10 years of research becomes the country’s eighth successful landing on the red planet. And you can too.

In health…

Experimental Alzheimer’s Vaccine Shows Promising Results

A new Alzheimer’s disease vaccine is showing good results in animal testing and will hopefully be making its way to human trials soon. Researchers say that if this vaccine really works, it could cut the number of dementia cases in half.

In bad news…

Sea Turtles Wash Up on Cape Cod Shore

Over 200 sea turtles washed up on the shores of Cape Cod, Mass. All of the turtles were cold-stunned by the low temperature of the water, leaving 173 dead while 54 survived. On the other side of the world more than 140 pilot whales were stranded and died on a beach in New Zealand.

In good news…

Record Number of Female Rhodes Scholars

This year’s class of 32 Rhodes Scholars includes 21 women — a record number.

Trending today…

Lion King Teaser Trailer

The new Lion King trailer has a lot of people talking…or crying.

New Lion King trailer is amazing. I’m billing @Disney for the therapy I’m going to need. As if watching a cartoon Musfasa dying wasn’t traumatic enough, now I can see the light drain from his eyes in IMAX 3D. #TheLionKing

— Jack Whitehall (@jackwhitehall) November 23, 2018

Last but not least…

All the Holiday Music Feels

It is now the holiday season and CMN’s music writers are here weigh in on the good, bad and ugly of holiday tunes.

Today’s Morning Scoop was made possible by Tamia Heard, Grace Cooper, Natalia Kolenko, and the CMN Staff. Cyber Monday is expected to be the biggest yet with a predicted $7.8 billion in sales. Happy shopping!