Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges of murder and stalking in a packed federal courthouse in New York City, as crowds of supporters, onlookers, and the curious gathered outside. Lines to witness the 26 year old’s arraignment began forming as early as 5 p.m. Thursday evening, stretching around the courthouse entrance. Mangione stands accused of fatally ambushing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a husband and father of two, outside a Midtown hotel on December 4, 2024. According to investigators, Thompson was on his way to an investors’ conference when he was shot in the back on a busy…
Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso
The number of people injured in an explosion at a major southern Iranian port Saturday has risen sharply to 400, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for Iran’s National Emergency Organization, confirmed the updated toll. The blast occurred at Rajaei Port, located just outside the city of Bandar Abbas. Rajaei serves as a critical hub for the Islamic Republic, handling roughly 80 million tons of goods annually. Footage shared on social media showed thick black smoke rising from the port, while additional videos captured the aftermath, shattered windows and damaged buildings miles from the explosion’s epicenter.…
A former private equity executive and licensed attorney has been indicted on 116 counts following revelations that he transformed his luxury Midtown Manhattan apartment into a dungeon of sexual violence, complete with surveillance cameras, weapons, and torture tools. Ryan Hemphill, 43, appeared in court Thursday to face a sweeping array of charges including predatory sexual assault, rape, drug possession, and witness tampering. Prosecutors allege that between October and March, Hemphill lured at least six women, possibly many more into a brutal web of abuse involving waterboarding, electrocution, and psychological manipulation. Hemphill, once seen as a high-flying financier, now sits in…
A powerful car bomb ripped through a parked vehicle in Balashikha, a town east of Moscow, on Friday, killing Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, a senior figure in Russia’s military command. The explosion occurred near a residential building and has sparked a full-scale investigation into murder and explosives smuggling, according to the Russian Investigative Committee. General Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational directorate of the Russian military’s General Staff, was a key strategic figure with a prominent role in Moscow’s military operations. The Kremlin confirmed that President Vladimir Putin had promoted him to the rank of lieutenant general in 2021.…
Federal prosecutors announced Thursday their intent to seek the death penalty against 26 year old Luigi Mangione, who stands accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel last December. The filing comes just one day ahead of Mangione’s arraignment hearing, scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday in federal court. Mangione is charged with the fatal shooting of Thompson on December 4, 2024, as the healthcare executive was en route to an investors conference. He has been indicted on multiple charges, including two counts of stalking, unlawful use of a firearm, and murder committed with a firearm. In a…
The Trump administration has acknowledged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil in March without a warrant, a revelation now central to a legal battle that could determine whether the Syrian-born U.S. permanent resident will be deported. Khalil, a vocal participant in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, was arrested outside his New York City apartment where he lived with his pregnant, U.S. citizen wife by ICE agents who did not possess a judicial warrant. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, confirmed the warrantless nature of the arrest in a recent court…
A new Trump administration campaign designed to discourage illegal migration is drawing sharp criticism abroad and stirring controversy at home, as Mexico moves to ban what it calls foreign “propaganda” from its airwaves. Launched under the leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, the multimillion-dollar initiative is aimed at convincing undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to self-deport, while dissuading others from attempting illegal entry. Funded by U.S. taxpayers, the campaign’s estimated $200 million price tag over two years has sparked heated debate. Read also: Trump slams Zelensky for refusing to recognize Russian control of Crimea The ads marked by their…
A fresh wave of cartel-fueled chaos erupted across central Mexico on Wednesday, as heavily armed men torched cargo trucks and barricaded major highways in a violent display linked to the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The attacks, which took place along a key highway connecting Mexico City to Guadalajara, spilled over into the neighboring states of Michoacán and Guanajuato, with at least 18 similar incidents reported. Local police sources, speaking under condition of anonymity, said the violence was a direct retaliation by CJNG in response to a recent military operation in the area. Authorities moved swiftly to regain control,…
Two Swedish fighter jets operating under NATO command were scrambled Thursday to intercept a Russian reconnaissance aircraft nearing Polish airspace, in a move that underscores the escalating aerial tensions over the Baltic Sea. According to Sweden’s Armed Forces, the jets, deployed from the NATO airbase in Malbork, Poland, were sent to confront and escort away a Russian IL-20 “Coot” reconnaissance plane detected approaching the Polish border. “The plane was close to Polish airspace, so we went up to signal our presence, make a visual identification, and escort it out of the area,” Swedish Air Force spokeswoman Therese Åkerstedt told AFP.…
Two U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa are under investigation for separate rape allegations, Japanese police confirmed on Thursday, in a development likely to inflame already sensitive relations between the local community and American military forces. A local police official reported that the first Marine, in his 20s, is suspected of raping a Japanese woman within an American military base in March. He is also under suspicion for injuring a second woman who attempted to intervene during the alleged assault. The second Marine, also in his 20s, is accused of raping a Japanese woman on a U.S. base in January. Both…
