Luigi Mangione set to appear in court in New York state case on Friday
(Photo by Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione is set to return to a New York City courtroom on Friday for a brief appearance in his state murder case.
The afternoon appearance in Manhattan’s State Supreme Court marks Mangione’s first hearing since his arraignment on the state charges in late December 2024, when he appeared in a maroon sweater and pleaded not guilty to murder charges that include an enhancement for terrorism.
The judge is expected to ask the parties for an update on the exchange of evidence and, perhaps, set a trial date.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the state charges.
He remains in custody at a federal detention center in Brooklyn.
Mangione, 26, also faces federal charges, including one that could yield the death penalty, but he has not yet been indicted by a federal grand jury. His next date in federal court is in mid-March.
The suspect is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in front of the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024, as the CEO headed to an investors conference, in an act that prosecutors said was premeditated, targeted and “intended to evoke terror.”
His defense team has alleged the case was being politicized and has vowed to fight the state and federal charges.
The New York state and federal cases are in addition to the charges brought against Mangione in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested following a dayslong manhunt and faces charges including forgery and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Mangione made his first formal statement Friday since his arrest on a website launched by his New York defense team, in which he thanked his supporters.
“I am overwhelmed by — and grateful for — everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support,” he said in the statement. “Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe. While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive.”
Image from the NTSB investigation of the Jan. 5 accident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on a Boeing 737-9 MAX. Captured on Jan. 7. Via NTSB Flickr
(NEW YORK) — One year after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines jet, Boeing said it is “on track with progress showing tangible improvements” in its efforts turn the struggling aerospace giant around and produce safe airplanes.
Boeing shared an update on Friday morning about the company’s safety and quality plan, which it had developed shortly after the Alaska Airlines incident in January 2024.
The plan was a key part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s increased oversight, featuring dedicated efforts to address the company’s systemic safety and quality-control issues.
The FAA said that this was “not a one-year project” in its assessment of the progress that Boeing has made to date.
In its update, Boeing highlighted several key improvements it has made including: reducing defects in 737 fuselage assembly at Spirit AeroSystems by increasing inspection points and introducing a customer quality approval process; addressing more than 70% of action items in commercial airplane production based on employee feedback during quality stand-down sessions; and applying “move ready” criteria across final assembly for the 737 and 787, as well as parts of the 767 and the 777, to manage traveled work and mitigate risks.
The plane maker also reported adding hundreds of hours of new curriculum to quality and safety training programs for its employees. It has introduced new random quality audits of documented removals in high frequency areas to ensure process compliance. Additionally, the company said it has mapped and prepared thousands of governance documents and work instructions for revision.
The company added that it has invested in its Speak Up program to strengthen confidentiality and keep employees informed about the status and resolution of their reports. This comes after numerous Boeing whistleblowers have raised concerns in recent years about the company’s safety and workplace culture practices.
On Jan. 5, 2024, a defective door plug on an Alaska Airlines plane opened up mid-flight, depressurizing the cabin and exposing passengers to open air thousands of feet above the ground.
No one was seriously injured and the plane safely made an emergency landing.
Reflecting on Boeing’s progress one year later, FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said in a blog post that the company is “working to make progress executing its comprehensive plan in the areas of safety, quality improvement, and effective employee engagement and training.”
“We’re actively monitoring the results and keeping a close eye on work at key Boeing facilities,” Whitaker said.
He outlined the company’s progress, saying: “FAA safety experts continually review the effectiveness of the changes; senior FAA leaders meet with Boeing weekly to review their performance metrics, progress, and any challenges they’re facing; we have conducted an unprecedented number of unannounced audits; and we conduct monthly status reviews with Boeing executives to monitor progress.”
“Our enhanced oversight is here to stay,” Whitaker added.
“But this is not a one-year project,” Whitaker continued, emphasizing that Boeing must prioritize safety over profits. He said the effort will “require sustained effort and commitment from Boeing, and unwavering scrutiny on our part.”
He also reiterated the agency’s support toward the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of last year’s Alaska Airlines incident.
(GEORGIA) — Donald Trump’s Georgia election interference case should be dismissed because a sitting president is immune from criminal prosecution, the president-elect’s lawyer told a Georgia appeals court on Wednesday.
“A sitting president is completely immune from indictment or any criminal process, state or federal,” Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow wrote in a five-page notice filed on Wednesday.
Sadow asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to direct the trial judge overseeing the case to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that local prosecutors are prohibited from interfering with a president’s official duties.
“This is particularly true where, as here, there is compelling evidence of local bias and political prejudice against the President by the local prosecutor, who not only answers to a tiny segment of the American electorate but is acting in clear opposition to the will of the citizens of Georgia as reflected by the recent election results,” Sadow argued.
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty last year to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Four defendants subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.
The case has been on pause after Trump and his co-defendants launched an effort to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis disqualified from the case over her relationship with a fellow prosecutor. Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee declined to disqualify Willis, but the case has been paused as Trump and his co-defendants appeal the decision.
An oral argument before the Georgia Court of Appeals was initially scheduled for Dec. 5, but was unexpectedly canceled last month without explanation.
Sadow asked the same appeals court to direct McAfee to dismiss the indictment against Trump on the grounds that the prosecution is unconstitutional.
In a similar filing, Trump on Tuesday asked that his criminal hush money case in New York be immediately dismissed because the prosecution disrupts the president-elect’s transition and “threatens the functioning of the federal government.”
A federal judge last week threw out Trump’s federal election interference case after special counsel Jack Smith moved to the dismiss the case due to the Justice Department’s standing policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.
A federal appeals court also dropped Trump from the government’s ongoing appeal of Smith’s classified documents case based on the same policy.
(LOS ANGELES) — In an area famous for natural disasters, survivors of multiple massive wildfires in Los Angeles County described apocalyptic scenes and the horror of trying to outrun flames stoked by hurricane-like winds.
At least five wildfires continued to burn out of control Wednesday evening, consuming nearly 27,000 acres combined and destroying more than 1,000 homes, including multimillion-dollar mansions, in some of the priciest enclaves in America. More than 100,000 people were under mandatory evacuation.
At least five people were killed in one of the fires, officials said.
“It’s astounding what’s happening,” President Joe Biden said during a news conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, during which he announced that he had signed an emergency disaster declaration.
6 blazes burning at once
The blazes began around 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday with the Palisades Fire and the Hurst Fire erupting around the same time miles apart, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Palisades Fire — burning in Pacific Palisades, about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles along the Pacific Ocean — had consumed nearly 16,000 acres by Wednesday evening, CalFire reported. The Hurst Fire near San Fernando, about 22 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, had burned over 800 acres.
The Eaton Fire, the second-largest fire in the area, ignited just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday and was fanned by strong Santa Ana winds that reached 98 mph in some areas, had grown to 10,600 acres, torching homes in Pasadena and Altadena, both about 11 miles east of downtown L.A. Five residents perished in the Eaton Fire, but officials did not disclose details of how they died.
A fourth blaze burning in Los Angeles County, the Woodley Fire, erupted at about 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday near Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley and quickly spread to 30 acres. As of about 6 p.m. local time, the flames were considered “under control,” according to LA Mayor Karen Bass.
On Wednesday afternoon, a fifth fire broke out in Los Angeles County near Palmdale, about 40 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The Lidia Fire spread to over 300 acres in the remaining hours of the evening, according to CalFire, but it was reported as 40% contained by midnight Wednesday.
Another fire erupted just before 6 p.m. PT in the Hollywood Hills and quickly grew to take up 50 acres in Runyon Canyon. The Sunset Fire’s rapid spread led to evacuation orders in the early evening as the flames and smoke encroached on the dense residential area, close to numerous LA landmarks.
The Palisades Fire had by then spread to Malibu Beach, where a lifeguard station went up in flames and homes along the Pacific Coast Highway were also blazing like a string of Roman candles.
‘Not prepared for this type of widespread disaster’
In the tony business district of Pacific Palisades, shop after shop was on fire, including the community’s largest supermarket. The Getty Villa, a museum filled with more than 125,000 priceless artifacts, was also being threatened as flames engulfed the hillside it is perched on.
ABC News reporters on the scene describe horrific scenes of destruction and chaos as everything appeared to be on fire at once, including luxury homes, trash bins, lines of palm trees and numerous vehicles. The fires were accompanied by an eerie soundtrack of blazes popping, broken gas lines hissing, buildings collapsing and winds roaring.
The devastation came even as fire departments in the area prepared for potential fires over the weekend, placing equipment and personnel in areas vulnerable to fires after the National Weather Service forecast high-risk fire danger due to a Santa Ana wind event that became the worst in more than a decade.
“No, L.A. County and all 29 fire departments in our country are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster,” said Chief Jim McDonnell of the Los Angeles Police Department, adding that there were not enough firefighters to address all the fires burning in L.A. County.
Chief Kristine Crowl of the Los Angeles Fire Department said that in her 25 years as a firefighter she had never experienced a disaster as far-reaching as the one that has now enveloped one of the most densely populated areas of the nation, home to more than 10 million people.
The wind, fires and terrain filled with bone-dry vegetation from lack of rain in the area had formed a perfect storm for the disaster, Crowl said.
“The fire is being fueled by a combination of strong winds and surrounding topography, which is making it extremely challenging for our personnel that are assigned to this incident,” Crowl said.
The conflagrations caused officials to close several iconic landmarks around Los Angeles, including access to the Hollywood sign, the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Park and the Griffith Observatory.
‘Everything was on fire’
Nearly 1.2 million customers were also without power midday on Wednesday due to burning trees falling on powerlines or Southern California Edison shutting down power in an attempt to prevent the fires from spreading, officials of the utility company said.
That number was closer to 400,000 by midnight, according to Poweroutage.us.
After signing the emergency declaration, Biden said he was sending in federal assistance to help suppress the fires, including 10 Navy helicopters.
The president also said fire crews from Oregon, Washington, Arizona and elsewhere were headed to Los Angeles County to help.
Actor Steve Guttenberg told ABC’s “Good Morning America,” that at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, it was a typically beautiful, sunny Southern California day. But 90 minutes later, he said, “Everything was black and the fire was raging.”
“Everything was on fire on both sides,” Guttenberg said of his path to safety. “I couldn’t see more than three feet in front of my car. The smoke was so thick. It looked like a volcano was on the sides of the hills, and all of a sudden people were just fleeing. It was two miles of cars packed.”
Los Angeles County’s famed Sunset Boulevard, which runs through Pacific Palisades, was lined with cars Wednesday as desperate residents rushed to get out of harm’s way. But firefighters said people, apparently fearful of getting trapped by the flames while sitting in a traffic jam, abandoned their cars on Sunset Boulevard, prompting fire crews to use a bulldozer to push vehicles out of the way and clear a path for first responders.
Pacific Palisades resident Tricia Rakusin told ABC News on Wednesday that when the fire started she began hosing down her home and the trees and shrubbery around it, but soon realized she and her family had to evacuate after she seeing flames creeping up to her residence.
She said she fled down Sunset Boulevard only to get stuck in traffic.
“I’ve never been so petrified,” Rakusin said. “It’s absolutely unreal. We have never experienced anything like this in this area.”
Rakusin’s husband, Kenny, said that their home insurance carrier recently dropped them and other residents in the area because of the fire risks.
“We don’t know whether our house is standing or not, but if it’s not standing, I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said.
