CEO shooting arrest: Prosecutors in New York have charged 26-year-old Luigi Mangione with the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Mangione was picked up in Altoona, Pennsylvania, yesterday and was being held without bail on gun and forgery charges. A customer and employee at a McDonald’s in Altoona spotted Mangione and recognized him from photos distributed by the New York City Police Department during the manhunt for Thompson’s killer. Mangione was carrying a ghost gun made on a 3D printer and a forged New Jersey driver license. Â
Greene: The FBI has joined the investigation into a bomb threat against Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and the death of a women whose car was in an accident with a police car responding to Greene’s home in Rome, Georgia. The police officer was injured. An email saying that there was a pipe bomb in Greene’s mailbox was sent to local police. The email was traced to a computer address in Russia.
Chemicals: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued rules that will ban two chemicals that have been shown to cause cancer and other damage to humans. The rules affect use of the chemicals trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). TCE will be banned over time with the vast majority of identified risks eliminated within one year. The EPA is banning manufacture, processing and distribution in commerce of PCE for all consumer uses and many commercial uses, while allowing some workplace uses to continue but only if robust controls can be implemented.
Syria: The U.N. has called for a halt to Israeli attacks on Syrian military installations inside of the county following the downfall of Syrian Dictator al-Assad. Israel destroyed a number of Syrian Navy ships at a base in Latakia in western Syria. Israeli troops were reported to have crossed the buffer zone, entered Syria and were reported to be setting up sites to protect Israel’s borders. Civilians continued to celebrate the ousting of al-Assad by firing guns into the air and tearing down posters and statues of al-Assad.
Netanyahu: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified today in his corruption trial in Tel Aviv. He blasted the Israeli news media for being leftists that have been against him because he has not supported establishment of a separate Palestinian state on land belonging to Israel. He characterized himself as being a defender of Israeli security. He denied charges of corruption that include bribery.
Fire: A wildfire was rapidly spreading near downtown Malibu, California, this morning. About 6,000 people were ordered evacuated as an estimated 2,000 buildings were threatened. Low humidity and high winds were aiding spread of the fire. The California Highway Patrol closed portions of the Pacific Coast Highway. Classes at Pepperdine University and the Malibu public schools were canceled for today.
