Luigi Mangione’s attorneys plan to present ‘affirmative psychiatric defense’
Luigi Mangione appears at an evidence suppression hearing at Manhattan Supreme Court on May 18, 2026 in New York City. Mangione is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December 2024. (Photo by Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Attorneys for Luigi Mangione plan to present an “affirmative psychiatric defense” at his state trial, alleging he was suffering an “extreme emotional disturbance” at the time of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Judge Gregory Carro said at a hearing Wednesday.
Carro ordered Mangione’s attorneys to turn over his psychiatric records to prosecutors immediately.
Carro also agreed to dismiss one of the criminal counts related to possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine.
Prosecutors consented to drop the charge after a ruling earlier this year that prohibited them from using the magazine at trial because it was improperly searched by the officers who arrested Mangione in Pennsylvania.
Mangione pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges after he was arrested for allegedly gunning down Thompson, a husband and father of two, on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024.
Mangione’s state trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 8 and his federal trial is set for next year.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference on Aug. 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — In his first news conference since his narrow confirmation as attorney general, Todd Blanche reiterated Wednesday that the Justice Department’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” will not be revived — but suggested there could be other ways of compensating so-called “victims” of “weaponization.”
Blanche’s comments, during a press conference on an unrelated criminal fraud matter, came after President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office earlier this week that the Anti-Weaponization Fund’s future would be Blanche’s to decide.
The $1.776 billion fund was announced in May by the Justice Department to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration. Blanche affirmed in a written order prior to his confirmation as attorney general that the fund was dead, under pressure from two Republican senators whose support for his nomination hinged on whether he would make such a declaration.
“I keep on saying this over and over again, but I’m happy to say it one more time,” Blanche said at Wednesday’s press conference in response to a question from ABC News. “I have testified under oath that it’s dead. I have testified in front of the House where I wasn’t under oath where I said it was dead. I have answered questions after my hearing where I said that it was dead, I have rescinded the order that that set up the weaponization fund, which means that it does not exist.”
“I’m not sure how I can further say that the anti-weaponization fund doesn’t exist, or we use the word ‘dead,'” he added. “But if anybody has any ideas, we also have said under oath that if Congress would like to make it a law, that we would support that, as would the White House.”
At the same time, Blanche suggested the department would entertain other means to pay out so-called “victims” of “weaponization” under the Biden administration, as President Trump has repeatedly said he wants.
“The president feels very strongly, as do I, that there were people who were victims of a Department of Justice that was absolutely weaponized, and he feels very strongly that that he would want to — to make them whole, as do I, but it will not be through the Anti-Weaponization Fund,” Blanche said.
The fund was proposed in exchange for Trump agreeing to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims for $230 million related to the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate — sparking accusations by critics of self-dealing and a bipartisan uproar over the possible use of taxpayer money to pay rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Deputies served a search warrant at a property in the 500 block of East Branch Street in San Luis Obispo, Calif., May 5, 2026, in connection with the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart. (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office)
(SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.) — Nearly 30 years after 19-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared, California investigators conducted new search warrants as part of their ongoing probe into the location of her body.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that deputies executed a search warrant at the 500 block of East Branch Street.
The sheriff’s office declined to provide further details about the operation.
“The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to bringing Kristin home to her family. No further information is available,” it said in a statement.
Smart attended an off-campus party at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she was a freshman, on May 24, 1996, but never returned to her dormitory.
Investigators declared Smart legally dead in 2002 and the case remained cold until 17 years later, when the true crime podcast “Your Own Backyard” launched and helped investigators to get new witnesses and evidence.
In 2021, investigators arrested and charged Paul Flores, who was a student at the college at the time of Smart’s disappearance.
Detectives said that some classmates found Smart passed out during the early morning hours of May 25, 1996, and Flores appeared out of nowhere. He claimed to the other classmates that he knew where she lived and offered to help her to her dorm, detectives said.
Flores was interviewed by officers following Smart’s disappearance, but he was not charged.
In 2021, police searched the home belonging to Flores’ father, Ruben Flores, and allegedly found human blood and fibers in the dirt that matched the colors of the clothing Smart had been wearing when she went missing.
The Philadelphia Police Department is searching for the two suspects wanted in the murder of 22-year-old William “Billy” Schmidt on June 6, 2026. (Philadelphia Police Department)
Kaiseem Smith and Azzubair Outen-Fleming are wanted for murder and related offenses for the June 6 slaying of 22-year-old William “Billy” Schmidt, police announced on Tuesday.
Billy Schmidt had been watching the NBA Finals with his friends at a bar and was walking home when he was shot in the chest in an apparent robbery, according to police and his family.
Schmidt was studying digital journalism and media at Penn State World Campus, the university said.
He was set to graduate in December and hoped to work in sports broadcasting, his sister, Anna Schmidt, told ABC News.
She said her brother “was one of the nicest, most genuine and honestly, goofiest, people there is.”
Police ask anyone with information on the suspects’ whereabouts to call the department’s tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
