Luigi Mangione plea discussion expected Friday in federal case: Sources
Luigi Mangione attends a pretrial appearance at Manhattan Criminal Court on Aug. 11, 2026, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Prosecutors and defense lawyers in Luigi Mangione‘s federal case are expected to discuss a possible plea deal during a conference scheduled for federal court on Friday, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers are not commenting.
Negotiations for a possible guilty plea had also occurred prior to a hearing in June, sources said, though a deal was not reached.
If Mangione ends up pleading guilty to federal charges in connection with the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have said they are prepared to lobby the federal judge presiding over the case for a stiff sentence.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges stemming from the assassination-style killing and is scheduled to stand trial beginning Sept. 8 in New York State Supreme Court and Jan. 5 in Manhattan federal court.
In its letter, the district attorney’s office said it is aware of public reporting by ABC News and other outlets about Mangione’s earlier contemplation of a guilty plea in the federal case.
“If a proposed federal guilty plea would operate to defeat a just outcome in the state prosecution, the People could advise the federal district court if that consequence, and the court should consider that fact in deciding whether to accept the plea, as well as any opposition by the victim’s family to such a resolution,” the letter said.
A tropical depression that formed in the Gulf off the west coast of Florida, July 19, 2026, is expected to become Tropical Storm Bertha. (Sadik Demiroz/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A tropical storm watch is in effect Monday for parts of the Gulf Coast after a tropical depression formed over the weekend and is expected to become Tropical Storm Bertha late Monday or Monday night.
The National Hurricane Center said it is closely monitoring what is currently Tropical Depression Two, which formed Sunday.
The tropical storm watch has been issued from the Florida panhandle to the southeast Louisiana coast, including Panama City and Pensacola, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and Gulfport, Mississippi.
Tropical storm conditions, including strong winds and rain, are possible in the watch area by late Monday.
As of 11 a.m. ET Monday the tropical depression was a weak and disorganized system centered about 120 miles south of Panama City and drifting northwest at 3 mph with maximum sustained winds of about 35 mph. A tropical storm is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph to 73 mph.
After the depression becomes a storm, it’s expected to slowly strengthen over the next few days and move mostly parallel to or along the Gulf Coast. The latest forecast puts the system near or south of New Orleans by Wednesday.
The storm could impact the Louisiana coast and the areas of southeast Texas on Wednesday and into Thursday. Tropical storm conditions will be possible from New Orleans to Houston.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible across Florida on Monday and into Monday night, mostly along the Gulf Coast and panhandle.
A possible storm surge of 1 to 3 feet could impact the area from Indian Pass, Florida, located about two hours southwest of Tallahassee, to the Chassahowitzka River, about 90 minutes north of Clearwater on the Gulf coast. The rough surf could produce life-threatening rip currents.
From Monday evening through Wednesday, thunderstorm activity is expected to shift toward southern Alabama and Mississippi. Widespread rainfall of 2 to 4 inches is expected in the area along the Gulf Coast through Friday, with isolated totals up to 8 inches possible.
Racks of servers are seen inside Google’s AI datacenter in Jackson County, Alabama. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — In the foothills of the Appalachians, where a coal plant once operated, now sits a massive data center operated by Google — and it’s about to get even bigger.
This week the tech giant announced a $1.5 billion expansion of its Jackson County, Alabama site. The company gave ABC News a rare exclusive look inside the campus — including its high-security server room — as public backlash grows against the buildout of data centers nationwide.
“There’s a lot of negative sentiment,” Thomas Gamble, the Southern Corridor Area Manager for Google Data Centers, told ABC News. “As we’re building, we’re trying to figure out the best, most efficient use of all the power, the water, any of the systems we can.”
Gamble, who grew up just five miles from the sprawling campus, said that the company pays for 100% of the power it uses at the facility, where corridors stacked with servers feed global demand for the company’s offerings, from maps to email to video streaming.
“We’re just a lot of servers storing information, just like books are in your library,” Gamble said.
Google is one of several big tech companies that has signed on to a voluntary “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” pushed by the Trump administration that seeks to protect American households from paying more for electricity costs associated with the construction of new data centers.
But the public remains skeptical. A Gallup poll conducted this spring found that 71% of Americans oppose the construction of AI data centers in their area, citing concerns about quality of life, the economy, local resources, pollution, water usage, electricity bills, and AI in general.
Of the poll respondents who said they would be in favor of a data center in their area, two-thirds cited local economic benefits as the reason.
ABC News has observed this debate play out in contentious town halls across the country, where impassioned residents and local leaders wrestle over the presence of these facilities, which developers say deliver hundreds of jobs and renewed investment in regions that may be otherwise neglected.
Lawmakers in at least 14 states are now considering slowing or banning the development of data centers. Proposed moratoriums in these states all target new facilities, and in some cases, include requirements to study the impacts of data centers.
Opponents of data centers argue that moratoriums will allow additional time to explore their effects on local communities, while proponents argue the moratoriums will hamper AI development and hurt local economies.
The map below shows states that have recently considered moratoriums, and the status of bills that include language on data center development. Click on or scroll over any of the shaded states for details on the bills.
Back in Jackson County, Chamber of Commerce president Rick Roden says Google’s data center has made him more excited about the future than he’s ever been.
“This changes our history, this changes our future, and we’re now known as a technology area,” he told ABC News. “We know that that’s going to open doors that we would have never had open before, just because we landed Google.”
(ALASKA) — No deaths have been reported after a United States Coast Guard helicopter crashed during a training flight in Alaska, the Coast Guard said Monday.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter carrying four people crashed near Harbor Mountain in Sitka, near Juneau, according to the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District. The incident was reported shortly after 10 a.m. local time.
The four crew members were transported to an area hospital, according to the Coast Guard, which did not release any details on their condition.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, the Coast Guard said.
“The safety, well-being, and rescue of our crew members is our absolute, immediate priority,” the Coast Guard said. “A formal investigation will be conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding the event.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
