Category: National

(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione on Monday pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The 26-year-old Mangione entered the Manhattan courtroom in shackles and under heavy guard. He was dressed in civilian clothes, wearing a maroon sweater over a light-colored shirt.

He pleaded not guilty to 11 charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. Judge Gregory Carro presided over the arraignment.

A Manhattan grand jury upgraded charges against Mangione last week to include first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.

He is also charged in New York with two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the state charges.

There is also a federal case against Mangione. One of the charges, murder through use of a firearm, would make Mangione eligible for the death penalty if he’s convicted.

Both cases are in addition to the charges brought against Mangione in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested and where he faces charges including forgery and possession of an unlicensed firearm.

Mangione was transported to New York on Dec. 19 after waiving his right to an extradition hearing that morning in court in Blair County, Pennsylvania.

Upon his arrival in New York, Mangione was placed under arrest by federal authorities.

Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said Mangione would not initially contest pretrial detention, and he was taken into police custody.

Mangione then made his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court the same day, hours after the unsealing of a criminal complaint charging him with stalking and murdering Brian Thompson. He did not enter a plea.

Agnifilo said her client was prepared to appear in state court and said the federal charges were sprung on them.

“This is a highly unusual situation we find ourselves in,” Agnifilo said. “I have never seen anything like that.”

She said the theories of the two cases appear to be in conflict, noting the state case accused Mangione of terrorizing a group of people while the federal case accused him of stalking an individual.

The judge told the parties to confer.

Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, said this week that “the state case will proceed in parallel with any federal case.”

Mangione’s next scheduled court date for his federal case is Jan. 18.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 inmates on federal death row, the White House said Monday.

The move reduces the sentence for all but three of the 40 inmates on federal death row. Biden said that the commutations are “consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions,” with the exception of terrorism and hate-motivated mass killings.

The three people on the federal execution list who were not on Biden’s commutation list are Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing; Robert Bowers, who was convicted of the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue antisemitic attack; and Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black churchgoers in a racially motivated shooting in South Carolina.

According to the White House fact sheet about the move, the recipients of the commutations will have their sentences “reclassified from execution to life without the possibility of parole.”

“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden wrote in a statement about the commutations.

“But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level,” Biden added.

The White House fact sheet said that the move was an effort to prevent President-elect Donald Trump from “carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice.”

This decision comes after some notable figures and many activists called for Biden to take action. Pope Francis has called for the sentences of Americans on death row to be commuted during his Angelus address in October, the Vatican News Source reported.

“Today, I feel compelled to ask all of you to pray for the inmates on death row in the United States,” the Pope said at the time, according to the report. “Let us pray that their sentences may be commuted or changed. Let us think of these brothers and sisters of ours and ask the Lord for the grace to save them from death.”

Biden is a devout Catholic and is set next month to visit the Holy See during a trip to Italy, where he will also have an audience with the pope.

Activists have called for Biden to commute the sentence of many or all federal death row inmates for some time. More than 130 civil and human rights groups penned a letter to the president in early December calling on him to commute the sentences of “all individuals on federal death row.”

“The only irreversible action you can take to prevent President-elect Trump from renewing his execution spree, as he has vowed to do, is commuting the death sentences of those on federal death row now. Your ability to change the course of the death penalty in the United States will be a defining, legacy-building moment in American history,” the letter said.

It is also an issue of racial justice. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 38% of federal death row inmates are Black — compared to the 14% of total American population according to the Pew Research Center. About 56% of the 40 men on federal death row were men of color, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, a close confidant of Biden, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said that he had urged the president to take action, citing the unfairness in the justice system.

“There are some real questions about the fairness in the process of the death penalty in the United States,” Coons said.

He added, “And I don’t know what President Biden will ultimately do, but I think there are reasons, both in terms of racial justice, due process, and what it says domestically and to the world about our values if we were to go ahead and execute all of these individuals, rather than have them spend the rest of life in prison.”

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(KILLEEN, Texas) — Five people were hurt after a man fleeing troopers drove a truck “several hundred yards” through the entrance of a mall on Saturday in Killeen, Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

Four people were injured as the driver was “actively running people over” and a fifth later went to the hospital on their own, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Bryan Washko said during a news conference Saturday evening.

The man driving the truck was fatally shot after multiple law enforcement officers fired their weapons, including three who were off-duty, Washko said.

The victims’ ages ranged from 6 to 75, Washko said.

The suspect has not yet been identified.

The incident began unfolding about 5 p.m. local time when state troopers attempted to stop the suspect, who was driving a black pickup truck, on suspicion of possible DUI, Washko. The driver kept going, eventually entering the parking lot of the Killeen Mall, and then drove through glass doors of a JCPenney, striking multiple people, according to Washko.

Authorities are investigating whether it was an intentional act or whether the man drove into the mall entrance “out of desperation because he was being pursued,” Washko said.

“Thankfully he was stopped when he was, because it could have been so much worse,” Washko said. “This mall is pretty busy at this time of year.”

Initial calls for the incident reported an active shooter, but that did not turn out to be the case, he said.

Killeen, a city of nearly 160,000 residents, is located about 70 miles north of Austin.

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(NEW YORK) — The Mega Millions jackpot surged to $944 million on Saturday after no ticket matched the numbers drawn on Friday, the lottery said.

The winning numbers on Friday were 2, 20, 51, 56, 57 and gold Mega Ball 19.

The next drawing will be on Tuesday, Dec. 24.

The jackpot prize has a cash value of $429 million, which can be offered as a one-time lump sum payment, or an immediate payment followed by annual payments.

The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10.

The total of $862 million is the seventh-largest prize in Mega Millions history. The largest Mega Millions prize ever won was $1.6 billion on August 2023.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, according to Mega Millions.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 for one play.

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(VIRGINIA) — A Virginia college student is accused of plotting a “mass casualty attack” on the Consulate General of Israel in New York, according to court records.

The FBI arrested Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, 18, a student at George Mason University, this week in connection with the alleged plot targeting Jews, court records show.

The case began in May, when the Fairfax County Police Department informed the agency of an anonymous tip reporting an X account that engaged in “radical and terrorist-leaning behavior,” according to an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint and arrest warrant filed against Hassan in U.S. District Court in Virginia.

The account, which the FBI says it linked to Hassan, made posts in support of ISIS and al-Qaeda, according to the affidavit. Investigators say they also linked two other radical X accounts to Hassan, according to the affidavit.

An undercover FBI informant engaged with Hassan on one of the suspect’s X accounts in August, and the two communicated through various platforms for several months after the source pledged loyalty to Hassan, according to the affidavit.

Hassan was allegedly careful about covering his digital tracks, telling the informant that he “cannot be caught giving instructions about attack planning” because he “believed he was already being watched due to his past,” the affidavit stated. He was previously interviewed by the FBI in 2022 in part due to his “support for ISIS online,” according to the affidavit.

Hassan discussed with the source “how to travel to join ISIS” and shared ISIS propaganda, before allegedly recruiting the source in October to “conduct a mass casualty attack,” according to the affidavit.

Hassan allegedly sent the source a “pro-ISIS video that called for the killing of Jews” in mid-November, and in the ensuing weeks instructions on “how to prepare a martyrdom video” and bomb-making, according to the affidavit.

He allegedly picked the Consulate General of Israel as a target and continued to provide the source with support “regarding the manufacture and use of an explosive device and the planned attack,” the affidavit stated.

He also allegedly discussed conducting the attack with a firearm and provided instructions on how to buy a rifle to avoid being tracked down by authorities after the attack, according to the affidavit.

Hassan allegedly directed the source to make a video before the attack for ISIS media, and that if not martyred the source “will be famous,” according to the affidavit. He also allegedly instructed the source to livestream the attack so that he could “distribute it to the ISIS media department,” and discussed how to flee the country following the attack, according to the affidavit.

Hassan was arrested on Tuesday and charged with the distribution of information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction in furtherance of the commission of a federal crime of violence, court records show.

ABC News has reached out to his attorney for comment.

The suspect, a national of Egypt living in Falls Church, Virginia, was in removal proceedings with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the affidavit.

He did not live on campus at George Mason University and was barred from university property following his arrest, the school said.

“George Mason University continues to take enhanced precautions to maintain a safe and secure university community in light of the recent FBI arrest of one of its students,” the school said in a statement. “As criminal proceedings progress, the university will take appropriate action on student code of conduct violations.”

Hassan remains in custody at the Alexandria Adult Detention Center, the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office confirmed to ABC News. He has not yet entered a plea, court records show.

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(BERLIN) — A car plowed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday, injuring multiple victims and sending people fleeing in panic, according to police.

Extensive police operations are underway at the Magdeburg Christmas market, which is now closed, police said.

Magdeburg is about a two-hour drive west of Berlin.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(BELLVILLE, Texas) — A family in Austin County, Texas, is anxiously waiting for the return of their 3-year-old kangaroo after the marsupial pushed a gate open and hopped a fence.

The 5-foot-tall kangaroo, named Rowdy, was last seen early Wednesday morning on Pyka Road near Interstate 10 in Austin County, according to the kangaroo’s owner.

Local radio DJ Dana Tyson said she saw the kangaroo while heading to work, she told Houston ABC News affiliate KTRK.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think a kangaroo would jump in front of my car,” Tyson told KTRK.

Tyson recorded the kangaroo on camera and said she later found out a nearby resident, Marsha Matus, was missing one.

Matus said she is anxious for Rowdy’s safe return because she knows he is scared.

“He is our baby. He is not your stereotypical kangaroo. He is our pet,” Matus told KTRK.

Rowdy is one of three kangaroos owned by Matus, she said. After Rowdy got out of the pen, she said he jumped the perimeter fence and ran off. Daphne, another pet kangaroo, only got as far as the yard. And Rocky, the youngest kangaroo, who is still a baby, remained inside the house.

Matus said she loves her kangaroos and she even has kangaroo signs, yard art and a personalized license plate that reads “Roo Mom.”

“They’re unique,” she said. “I’m worried to death.”

On Thursday night, Matus told KTRK a stranger even drove down to help Matus search for Rowdy using his drone that is equipped with thermal imaging. Matus and her husband also used their drone to try and find Rowdy.

In a post on Facebook, Matus says Rowdy spends his days laying down and resting because kangaroos are nocturnal. She urges that if anyone sees him that they call the Austin County Sheriff’s Office.

“Please if you spot him anywhere you can contact myself, Austin Co Sheriff’s office or DPS,” Matus posted on Facebook. “He will not go to anyone, he will not harm anyone or anyone’s pets. He knows my voice and will come to me.”

Matus hopes Rowdy is safe and that he can make it back home.

“I just hope he’s safe because I know he’s scared. I just want him home.”

ABC News reached out to the Austin County Sheriff’s Office for comment and did not receive a response.

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(NEW YORK) — A captain in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps faces federal murder and terrorism charges in New York, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday that charges Mohammad Reza Nouri with orchestrating the murder of an American citizen to avenge the drone strike killing of a top Iranian general.

Stephen Troell, a 45-year-old American living in Baghdad, was killed in front of his wife in November 2022 after federal prosecutors said Nouri gathered intelligence on Troell’s daily routine, procured weapons and housed the operatives who carried out the murder.

“We allege that Mohammad Reza Nouri, an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the murder of Stephen Troell, an American citizen living in Iraq, carrying out the Iranian Regime’s efforts to take vengeance for the death of Qasim Soleimani,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the charges. “Stephen should still be alive today, and the Justice Department will work relentlessly to ensure accountability for his murder.”

The U.S. has said Iran sought revenge for the January 2020 death of Soleimani in an American drone strike in Baghdad.

In November 2022, the Iranian regime struck in Iraq. A group of operatives working on behalf of the IRGC brutally murdered Troell in Baghdad, where he worked at an English language institute, as Troell was driving home with his wife after work.

Nouri, 36, allegedly “played a key role in the IRGC’s targeting and ultimate murder of Troell,” whom Nouri appears to have believed was working as an American or Israeli intelligence officer.

According to the complaint, Nouri accumulated data including Troell’s date of birth, coordinates of his residence, occupation, work schedule, telephone number, wife’s name, and children’s names, among other information. In the weeks leading up to the murder, he allegedly coordinated with one of his co-conspirators to procure firearms and a vehicle for use in the attack.

Troell was driving home from work with his wife when heavily armed gunmen in two cars forced the couple to stop shortly before they reached their residence, blocked any possible escape route, approached Troell on the driver’s side, and, using an assault weapon, shot and killed Troell as his wife witnessed the attack in the passenger seat.

Less than a half hour after the attack, Nouri sent an encrypted messages inquiring about the wellbeing of the operatives tasked with carrying out the hit, allegedly asking, “The guys are fine?” and “They are doing well?”

In March 2023, Iraqi authorities arrested Nouri and he was subsequently convicted by an Iraqi court for his role in Troell’s murder. He remains in custody in Iraq.

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(Delphi, Ind.) — Convicted Delphi, Indiana, killer Richard Allen was sentenced on Friday to 130 years in prison for the 2017 murders of two teenage girls as the victims’ families spoke out in court.

Allen was given 65 years for each murder, to run consecutively.

Last month, a jury found Allen guilty on all charges in the double homicide: felony murder for the killing of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams while attempting to commit kidnapping; felony murder for the killing of 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German while attempting to commit kidnapping; murder for knowingly killing Abby; and murder for knowingly killing Libby.

A gag order prevented the families of Abby and Libby from commenting during or after Allen’s trial.

Libby’s grandmother, Becky Patty, broke her silence on Friday, saying at sentencing, “I can never change my choice to let Libby and Abby go to the trails that day.”

“I hope he lives with the same fear he caused Abby and Libby in the last hour of their lives,” she said.

“You could’ve taken accountability,” Libby’s grandfather, Mike Patty, said to Allen. “You need to stand up and not appeal.”

Abby’s grandmother, Diane Erskin, said, “This is a day of great sadness for our family. We won’t be going home to celebrate with champagne.”

Nearly eight years since her granddaughter’s murder, Erskin said, “I’ve watched her friends graduate college and wonder how many great grandkids were murdered that day, too.”

Erskin said Abby’s last words in Libby’s phone were “don’t leave me up here,” so the grieving grandmother didn’t let herself leave the trial even during tough testimony.

The families, law enforcement and prosecutors are expected to address the public at a post-sentencing news conference on Friday.

Abby and Libby were walking along a Delphi hiking trail when they were attacked on Feb. 13, 2017. Their throats were slit and their bodies were dumped in the nearby woods.

Moments before the murders, Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat showing her on the Monon High Bridge. After crossing the bridge, the girls saw a man behind them — who became known as “bridge guy” — and Libby started a recording on her phone, according to prosecutors.

As police looked for the suspect, they released footage from Libby’s phone to the public: a grainy image of “bridge guy” and an audio clip of him telling the girls to go “down the hill.”

Allen, a husband and father who worked at the local CVS, was arrested in 2022.

“He developed photos with no remorse and he didn’t blink,” Becky Patty said in court on Friday.

Allen admitted to police he was on the trail that day, but he denied being involved in the crime.

The prosecution’s key physical evidence was a .40-caliber unspent round discovered by the girls’ bodies. Police analysis determined that unspent round was cycled through Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226, prosecutors said.

Another major focus of the trial was Allen’s multiple confessions in jail and his mental health at the time. The defense argued Allen was in a psychotic state when he confessed numerous times to his psychologist, corrections officers and his wife.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(CHICAGO) — Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport issued a ground stop on Friday, pausing departures amid snowy and icy conditions.

The stop came as the clipper system that brought heavy snow and airport delays to the Upper Midwest on Thursday is moving on Friday morning through the Illinois city.

Up to 10 inches of snow fell in the Upper Midwest on Thursday. Ten states are now on snow alert, stretching from Wisconsin down through the mountains of North Carolina.

 A band of moderate snow with low visibility is moving into Chicago just in time for their morning commute.

A dusting to 1 inch is possible, just enough to make the roads very slick and dangerous in the city.

Also this morning, snow is moving through Michigan and Ohio and on its way to the Northeast.

This afternoon and evening the rain and snow will move into the I-95 corridor making roads slick.

Rain and snow will continue for the I-95 corridor into early Saturday morning.

Most areas will see only a dusting, the same as Chicago, but this could be enough to make roads dangerously slick, as temps fall to near freezing.

Locally about 3 to 6 inches of snow are possible in the mountains of West Virginia and into western NY, and northern New England.

Locally more than a foot possible in the highest elevations.

Christmas Eve rain or snow in the Northeast?

Another storm system is expected for Christmas Eve in the Northeast, with rain and snow possible.

Rain and snow could fall along the I-95 corridor on Tuesday, Christmas Eve.

With this storm, the highest chance for accumulating snow will be in upstate NY and in New England. It is too early to say how much snow is possible.

An arctic plunge will move into the Northeast this weekend, as temperatures fall into the teens and single digits Saturday night into Sunday.

Wind chills could be below zero for inland areas and in the single digits even for coastal major cities.

Looking ahead, warmer weather is forecast after Christmas for the Northeast and most of eastern U.S.

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