The first people in line on Tuesday, I was told, started camping out on the sidewalk two days ago. Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, was due in court at 9AM ET for a hearing in one of three concurrent criminal cases against him. And this time everyone was prepared for the mayhem: the signs, the fans, the livestreamers, the protests, the media circus. That’s why the line started even earlier than last time — the people who really wanted to get in to see him knew that no time was too early.
Technology
Can Luigi Mangione get too big to jail?
Mangione is both ubiquitous and fleeting. The last time the public saw him (aside from a bizarre, unauthorized appearance in a men’s shirt listing on Shein) was in February at this same courthouse in Manhattan, when hundreds of members of the general public and media convened for a routine pretrial hearing. He exists in memes, in passing references, and in content moderation decisions, and he lives rent-free in the mind of Donald Trump — yet most people are likely not thinking or talking about Mangione day to day. They are reminded of him when new photos drop or when there are incremental updates in the cases against him. But the wall-to-wall coverage of the case has waned, and it’s the people who are the most tapped in that are working to keep interest in the case alive. Mangione and the larger discussions around healthcare reform are one item in a list of approximately 8,000 pressing topics swirling in the US. How do you keep attention and energy alive in an information ecosystem defined by its fragmentation?
Court officials and police seem to have learned their lesson from February: don’t let a million people inside
The hearing on Tuesday was much more eventful than the one in February: Mangione’s team successfully got two terrorism-related charges tossed in the New York case, a development that supporters of his are celebrating. Given the magnitude of the news, the tempered atmosphere — and the smaller crowds — was noticeable.
Court officials and police seem to have learned their lesson from February: don’t let a million people inside. Instead of admitting members of the public to a hallway outside the courtroom where they could set up camp, the court kept most on the sidewalk.
There are fewer people here than in February, but in some ways the supporters and frenzy are even more fervent. Mason Alexander, who told The Verge he’d been one of the few to make it inside the courtroom for the first hearing, arrived at 11PM the night before and was 25th in line, meaning he wouldn’t get a spot the second time. Some in line have numbers written on the backs of their hands, which I later am told are not part of any official numbering system from the courthouse but were the work of an attendee walking around with a marker, trying to bring order to the line.
“The case just resonated with me,” Alexander says, explaining why he showed up. “Obviously what he allegedly did isn’t something to be cheered about, but I think it was beneficial in the way that it put a spotlight on [the healthcare system issue] that I think is probably the most important in the country, and how much it affects everyday people. It got people talking.”
People Over Profit NYC, a grassroots healthcare reform group with a focus on Mangione’s case, again organized a rally outside. A giant homemade spinning wheel has slots reading “APPROVED” and “DENIED” — spin the wheel to learn the fate of your insurance claim. There are Luigi hats, keychains, DIY T-shirts, flyers about local healthcare legislation. When I arrive shortly after 8AM, reporters and news crews outnumber rally attendees — there are fewer people here, too, than six months ago.
A POPNYC rally attendee who asked to remain anonymous, citing the current political climate, says “protest fatigue” could be a reason attendance dipped (the early morning timeslot also may have contributed).
“I think people are just tired, and they just want to either ignore what’s going on or just give up,” the attendee says. “That’s why we’re out here, to let them know we’re still here. Even if you’re tired, we’ll still go on. And maybe they’ll join us next time.”
There’s also the unavoidable reality that the hearing is happening a week after right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk was killed at a public event in Utah. Though the two cases are not obviously connected, there’s been a swift and brutal crackdown from the American right wing, directed at anyone who is deemed to be “celebrating” Kirk’s murder. Private and in some cases innocuous social media posts are being used to report people to employers or dox them. It’s not surprising that Mangione supporters may be reluctant to be photographed at a rally for him.
It’s hard enough to keep major events and causes in the news, but Mangione’s case has unique, complicating factors. The central character — who many see as sympathetic — is accused of stalking and shooting Thompson point-blank (Mangione has pleaded not guilty). UnitedHealth Group has waged an all-out attack on critics, targeting filmmakers, social media users, and news outlets. Tech companies are working to moderate Mangione-related content, though some supporters complain that their content and accounts are being taken down without explanation. There is also the general specter of violence that clouds current US political discourse. It’s never a good time to be an alleged assassin, but especially not now.
Part of what makes the Brian Thompson murder case so strange is the way most people consume and follow it: through the hundreds of photos and videos of Mangione looking “hot.” Mangione’s overlapping and high-stakes legal battle is relayed to the public via new photos of him; it obfuscates both the seriousness of the crime and charges, as well as the punishment he faces if convicted. There is a clear tonal disconnect in coverage of the case: the Daily Mail is both running stories about the “sick” fans that support him and posting 29-photo slideshows to TikTok that are a collection of Mangione’s face from every possible angle.
On Tuesday, Mangione wore a khaki prison outfit instead of street clothes. He was once again shackled at the ankles, wrists, and waist — something his attorneys have complained about. As we waited for him to enter, another reporter remarked that it felt a bit like a wedding: the press and two dozen or so members of the public kept glancing back at the slightest of noises, like we were waiting for a bride to walk down the aisle. A supporter who managed to get into the courtroom, who asked to be named as SAS, later told me she could hear his shackles before she saw him. Some online commenters described him as looking “pale,” “skinny,” and like he had been “crying a lot.” (I’m not really seeing this, personally.) After both hearings, there’s been a lot of reading into Mangione’s demeanor — but the truth is that the court dates have been exceedingly normal and professional. There is no deeper personality or psychology to be gleaned from being inside a room with him for 20 minutes.
The most significant development from Tuesday’s hearing brought good news for Mangione: Judge Gregory Carro, who is overseeing the New York state case against Mangione, dropped two major terrorism-related charges in what is seen as a major win for the defense. The state argued that Thompson’s murder was meant to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population,” but Carro found the claims to be “legally insufficient.” Carro says in essence that under New York law, the alleged “ideological” motive doesn’t fit the definition of terrorism.
As Carro announced that he was dropping the terrorism charges, a few supporters in the courtroom audibly reacted
“The court agrees with the defendant that the [state] appear[s] to conflate an ideological belief with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population,” Carro writes. “While the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC, and the health care industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to ‘intimidate and coerce a civilian population,’ and indeed, there was no evidence presented of such a goal.” Mangione still faces charges of second-degree murder in the New York state case.
As Carro announced that he was dropping the terrorism charges, a few supporters in the courtroom audibly reacted — a faint exclamation, maybe even a gentle clap, that drew a scolding from a guard.
On other motions, Mangione’s defense was less successful. Mangione is facing three concurrent cases: the one in New York, a separate state case in Pennsylvania, and a federal case. Mangione’s defense team has argued that the state and federal cases happening at the same time amounts to double jeopardy: the US Constitution bars defendants from being prosecuted for the same crime twice. Carro rejected the double jeopardy argument. Mangione’s lawyers have also argued that the federal case against him — which carries the possibility of the death penalty — should proceed before the state case. On Tuesday, Carro denied Mangione’s request to put the state case on hold. The next hearing in the state case is scheduled for December 1st. Mangione is due in court for the federal case a few days later.
Luigi Mangione’s fate and his public persona are inextricably linked. Widespread and sustained attention on his case depends on how often he can get in front of people through their digital feeds. The windows of opportunity to grab attention and deeper public engagement are limited because he is making public court appearances only once every several months. The public spectacle of the case is ever-present: Mangione’s attorneys have written at length objecting to him being shackled during court appearances that are then photographed and shared, saying they are “deeply prejudicial” and damaging to his right to a fair trial.
One avenue Mangione supporters have been pursuing is around jury nullification, when a jury acquits even if it believes a defendant committed a crime (in February, a truck with an LED billboard on the side showing jury nullification information circled the courthouse during the hearing). But even that relies on a massive public outreach campaign in an era of short attention spans and a fractured media ecosystem.
As I wrote in February, a cycle is beginning to take shape: One day Mangione is all we see on social media. The next he is gone. Rinse and repeat. While I was in court with my phone tucked away, friends texted me about new Luigi photos, just as they did six months ago. Is becoming a meme — no matter how beloved or reviled — enough to have your life spared? The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the culture couldn’t be more fickle.
0 Comments
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
Valve has some good news and bad news about Steam Controllers. The good news: if you make a reservation for a Steam Controller, the company will now show you one of three estimates of when you’ll be able to actually order your gamepad: by September 2026, by December 2026, or sometime in 2027. The bad news: any reservations made today “indicate a 2027 date for shipping,” Valve says.
“We have no plans to stop making Steam Controller,” according to Valve. “But as we look at the current demand compared to how many we know we can make by the end of the year, we want to manage expectations as much as we can with regards to when folks can expect to receive their order.”
Valve’s very good new Steam Controller went on sale in early May, and the initial rush led some people to run into frustrating problems with trying to check out ahead of the controllers eventually going out of stock. A few days later, the company announced that it would be implementing a reservations queue for interested buyers so they could get on a waitlist. If you’re on the waitlist, when you get notified that a Steam Controller is ready for you to buy, you have 72 hours to actually make the order.
“When we launched Steam Controller last month, we quickly saw that initial demand exceeded our expectations,” Valve says. “Switching to a reservation queue has (hopefully) cut down on the headaches on the customer side, and for us it’s also been helpful as we plan ahead and try to get as many out as quickly as we are able.”
All three of Valve’s big hardware products were delayed from a planned early 2026 launch because of the component crisis, Valve still hasn’t announced when the Steam Machine PC or Steam Frame VR headset might go on sale. However, just yesterday, Valve officially launched its big SteamOS 3.8 update with support for the Steam Machine. It’s also been importing a lot of hardware into the US as of late.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The next time you pull up to a McDonald’s drive-thru, the voice taking your order may not be human. McDonald’s is testing a new AI-powered system called ArchIQ at five U.S. locations. The company has not said where those restaurants are located. The voice assistant, nicknamed Archy, can take drive-thru orders and has shown it can handle both English and Spanish.
For anyone who has repeated “no pickles” into a speaker box more than once, this could sound helpful. However, if you remember McDonald’s last AI drive-thru experiment, you may also wonder whether your burger order could somehow turn into a bag full of surprise McNuggets.
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
- Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox.
- For simple, real-world ways to spot scams early and stay protected, visit CyberGuy.com – trusted by millions who watch CyberGuy on TV daily.
Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide free when you join.
WOULD YOU EAT AT A RESTAURANT RUN BY AI?
McDonald’s is testing an AI drive-thru system called ArchIQ at five U.S. restaurants. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
What is McDonald’s AI drive-thru?
ArchIQ is McDonald’s new AI system for restaurants. It can take drive-thru orders and also help with operations behind the scenes.
In a post on X, McFranchisee, an anonymous McDonald’s franchisee account, said the system is currently in five test stores and has processed more than one million transactions. The account also said about 90% of orders were completed without a human stepping in. That number sounds promising. Still, McDonald’s has not confirmed a nationwide launch date. For now, this remains a limited test.
The system also appears to connect with a bigger McDonald’s plan called “McDonald’s > NEXT.” CEO Chris Kempczinski described the strategy as a way to bring in more customers and improve restaurant productivity. The plan also includes menu changes, restaurant redesigns, technology upgrades and more focus on hospitality.
Why McDonald’s is testing AI ordering
Drive-thrus can get chaotic fast. Someone changes an order after the total appears. A child calls out from the back seat. Road noise makes the speaker hard to hear. Then the driver remembers the extra sauce after everything has already gone through. That is the type of pressure McDonald’s wants AI to handle.
If ArchIQ works well, it could help restaurants move cars through the line faster. It may also reduce mistakes during busy hours. Workers could then focus more on preparing food, handling payments and helping customers who need a real person.
ArchIQ also appears to have a management role. In the same X post, McFranchisee described Archy as a tool that could alert managers to bottlenecks or other issues before they slow down operations.
STARBUCKS USES CHATGPT TO SUGGEST DRINKS BASED ON MOOD AS EXPERT WARNS OF HIDDEN DOWNSIDES
The AI assistant, nicknamed Archy, can take drive-thru orders and may also help managers spot restaurant slowdowns. (McFranchisee)
McDonald’s tried AI drive-thru ordering before
This new test follows McDonald’s earlier AI drive-thru experiment with IBM. That program involved more than 100 restaurants. McDonald’s ended the test in 2024 after customers complained about order accuracy. Some mistakes also went viral, creating an embarrassing moment for McDonald’s and raising questions about whether the technology was ready for the drive-thru. Customers reported wrong items, strange quantities and other order mix-ups. That history is why this new test will get extra attention.
This time, McDonald’s is working with Google technology. McFranchisee also claimed every McDonald’s in the U.S. is getting Google Edge Cloud hardware in anticipation of the rollout. McDonald’s seems to believe the newer system can perform better than the last one. The real test will come when regular customers use it during real drive-thru rushes.
How McDonald’s AI drive-thru could help customers
If McDonald’s gets this right, the most obvious benefit is speed. An AI ordering system does not get tired during a long shift. It may also help more customers order in the language they prefer. That could make a busy drive-thru feel less frustrating, especially during breakfast or late-night hours.
The system may also ask clearer follow-up questions and catch missing details before the order reaches the kitchen. That would be a win for customers who want to get in, get their food and get on with the day.
The biggest problem with AI drive-thru orders
The biggest concern is accuracy. AI can still misunderstand people. That gets frustrating fast when you are trying to grab lunch between errands or get your kids fed from the back seat. A wrong order wastes time. It also puts workers in the position of fixing a mistake the machine made.
There is also the customer service side. Some people like hearing a real person at the speaker. Others may find an AI voice cold or annoying, especially if the system gets confused.
Then there is the privacy question. If an AI system takes your order, customers may wonder what gets collected, how long it is kept and who can access it. McDonald’s has not publicly explained those specifics for this current ArchIQ test.
ALEXA+ LETS YOU ORDER FOOD LIKE A REAL CONVERSATION
A drive-thru menu board stands outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Hercules, Calif., on Oct. 23, 2024, amid an E. coli outbreak linked to onions in Quarter Pounder sandwiches that has sickened dozens and killed one person across the U.S. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
How to avoid AI drive-thru mistakes
Before you leave the drive-thru, take a moment to check the order screen. Make sure the items match what you said. Listen when the system repeats your order. Keep your receipt until you confirm the food is right.
Also, avoid sharing extra personal details at the speaker box. Your order should only require your food choices and payment.
If the AI gets confused, ask for a crew member. You do not need to keep going back and forth with a machine over fries.
What this means for you
For now, you probably will not notice a change at your local McDonald’s. The ArchIQ test appears limited to five U.S. restaurants, and the company has not said when it could expand.
Still, this gives customers a preview of where fast food may be heading. AI could soon play a bigger role in how restaurants take orders and manage the kitchen. That may speed up the line, though it could also make the experience feel less personal.
Watch the CyberGuy Live replay: Lock Down Your Phone in 30 Minutes
Your phone holds your email, passwords, photos, banking apps and personal data. In this free CyberGuy Live replay, Kurt the CyberGuy walks you step by step through simple phone security fixes you can do at your own pace. You’ll learn how to improve your privacy settings, spot the latest phone scams, use trusted security tools and walk away with a simple checklist to stay protected. Watch the replay and get our checklist here: CyberGuyLive.com
Kurt’s key takeaways
McDonald’s clearly wants AI to play a bigger role in its restaurants. From a business point of view, the idea makes sense. Shorter drive-thru lines could help franchisees and customers. Better restaurant data could also help managers fix problems faster. But I still want the human backup. Food orders can be messy because people are messy. We change our minds. We talk over each other. We forget the extra ketchup until the last second. AI may handle much of that one day. For now, I would treat it like any busy drive-thru interaction. Speak clearly. Check the order. Do not pull away until you know your food is right.
Would you trust an AI voice to take your McDonald’s order, or do you still want a real person on the other end of the speaker? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
- Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox.
- For simple, real-world ways to spot scams early and stay protected, visit CyberGuy.com – trusted by millions who watch CyberGuy on TV daily.
- Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide free when you join.
Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Midjourney CEO David Holz just showed off the company’s first hardware product and plans to build a San Francisco spa, which he admitted is a bit different from the “cat pictures” produced by its AI image generator. Dubbed The Midjourney Scanner, it’s an ultrasound-based full-body scanner that uses a ring of sensors to capture vertical slices of the inside of your body, looking at the composition of your muscle, fat, bone, and organs to start. Holz said ideally, you could do this once a year or every single day, as it “aims for image quality comparable to MRI in many ways.”
He mentioned that one way he’d like to use it would be to see how his body changes in response to diet and workout changes, saying, “I’m not the most measured man on Earth yet, you know, but maybe I want to have that daily [measurable information].” A set of job listings advertises the company’s goal as trying to “build and launch the world’s first full-body ultrasound CT scanner, ultimately bringing safe, fast, and high fidelity preventative scanning to billions via a magical spa experience.”
The Midjourney Scanner was developed in a partnership with ultrasound tech company Butterfly Network, which said it uses “40 Butterfly Ultrasound-on-Chip imaging modules per system.”
The scanning process starts with stepping onto a platform that drops down into the water on rails through a ring of thousands of transducers that create ultrasonic waves. It then records the ripples passing through your body to analyze them and create detailed 3D images. The scan takes about 60 seconds. Holz said about a dozen people have been scanned so far.
It starts by stepping into a shallow pool of golden light. You then begin to descend into the water. Your body passes through a ring of underwater sensors, each acting like a dolphin, using its echolocation. The sensors send ultrasonic sound waves through your body from every angle. With enough waves, and enough angles, we form an image of what’s happening inside your body.
It combines those sensors with two petaflops of processing power. But after watching the livestreamed reveal, I’m still unclear on what Midjourney’s AI image generation tech exactly has to do with the Midjourney Medical effort, beyond an alternative business for otherwise-unused AI compute.
Holz hopes to put 10 of the scanners into a Midjourney Spa location in San Francisco’s Union Square that will open before the end of 2027 and offered to scan the hands of attendees at its launch event. The Midjourney Spa will have a gym, saunas, and cold plunges to go along with the hot tub–equipped scanning rooms where visitors will get into the water to be scanned.
He did mention that various medical applications would require FDA clearances, but for now, Midjourney Medical says it’s working on “body composition maps” that don’t require the same level of clearance as diagnostic imaging. It also says the “library of scans” users create can be shared with doctors, AI health tools, or others, and that, “We take data privacy seriously — more details on our data policies will come as we get closer to launch.”
Holz suggested that eventually these scans could become better than an MRI, without radiation, powerful magnets, or other complicating factors, to get a look at what’s going on inside people’s bodies “real fast.” In response to a question, he imagined a future where the FDA had a class of devices to look at “weird” things and allowed people to “just try to get as much data as we can.”
-
News25 minutes agoLuigi Mangione’s lawyers withdraw plans for psychiatric defense
-
New York2 hours agoVideo: Knicks Fans Celebrate With Ticker-Tape Parade
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoArmed, dangerous CHP pursuit suspect tied to double homicide in Pomona
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoFirst responders honored after rescuing 12 people from capsized sailboats near Belle Isle
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoOakland man faces hate crime charges for Castro District attack
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoAt least 4 injured after vehicle drives into Dallas crowd, driver arrested
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMiami Central students prepare for life changing trip to Zimbabwe amid funding challenges
-
Boston, MA3 hours agoGiannis to Boston is a possibility. Should the Knicks be worried?
