CNN
 — 

The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in Manhattan remains in a Pennsylvania state prison, while a possible indictment looms in New York as a grand jury considers evidence on charges he faces there, including one count of murder.

Luigi Mangione, who faces a possible sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted on the charge of second-degree murder, is set to appear in a Pennsylvania court for a preliminary hearing next week on state charges following his December 9 arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona.

Mangione, 26, has been fighting extradition to New York after being accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Friday it is possible the suspect could soon waive his right to fight being handed over to New York authorities.

“Indications are that the defendant may waive, but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding, which my understanding from court officials in Pennsylvania cannot happen until Tuesday,” Bragg said. “So until that time, we’re going to continue to press forward on parallel paths and we’ll be ready whether he is going to waive extradition or whether he’s going to contest extradition.”

Here are the latest developments in the case:

Authorities tracked down Mangione in Altoona last week after being alerted he looked similar to the person who gunned down Thompson in front of a Midtown Manhattan hotel as the health care executive prepared to attend his company’s investors’ conference.

Mangione faces charges in both Pennsylvania and New York. He remains in custody in Pennsylvania Monday on charges related to a gun and fake ID police say they found at the time of his arrest.

In New York, prosecutors have charged him with one count of second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of second-degree possession of a forged document and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to online court documents.

Investigators in New York believe Mangione, a former high school valedictorian and Ivy League graduate born into a well-to-do family, appeared to be driven by anger against the health insurance industry and “corporate greed,” according to an NYPD intelligence report obtained by CNN.

Mangione is scheduled to appear at a hearing in Pennsylvania on December 30 in response to his petitions for writ of habeas corpus and imposition of bail, court documents from Thursday show. The habeas corpus petition is a key factor in whether Mangione can be extradited to New York.

Thomas Dickey, Mangione’s attorney in Pennsylvania, denied his client’s involvement in Thompson’s killing and said he anticipates a not guilty plea from Mangione to the charges he faces in New York.

Dickey also said Mangione, who was denied bail last Tuesday at an extradition hearing, plans to plead not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania.

Following Bragg’s comments on Mangione possibly backing down from the extradition fight, CNN has sought comment from Dickey regarding whether he and his client have changed their position on extradition.

New York authorities have executed as many as three search warrants as part of their investigation, including at least two warrants for a backpack found in Central Park and a burner phone discovered along Mangione’s believed getaway route away from the crime scene, sources told CNN.

The mounting evidence against the suspect accused of killing Thompson, authorities say, includes a 3D-printed gun they allege Mangione had when he was arrested, which matches three shell casings found at the crime scene.

Mangione’s fingerprints match those found on items near the scene, New York City’s police commissioner has said, and investigators discovered a three-page handwritten “claim of responsibility” and writings in a spiral notebook pointing to the suspect’s involvement, a law enforcement source briefed on the matter told CNN.

Three 9 mm shell casings from the crime scene had the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on them, according to NYPD’s Chief Detective Joseph Kenny. The words are similar to a title of a 2010 book critiquing the insurance industry.

Dickey has said he wants to see the ballistics and fingerprint evidence for himself.

“Those two sciences, in and of themselves, have come under some criticism in the past, relative to their credibility, their truthfulness, their accuracy, however you want to do it,” Dickey said on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” on Wednesday.

The office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is convening business leaders and law enforcement to discuss safety this week.

Kathryn Garcia, Hochul’s director of operations and infrastructure, will hold a call with several business leaders and law enforcement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the governor’s office told CNN.

Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization which represents New York City’s global business leaders and major employers, told CNN the call will include top State Police officials and counterterrorism law enforcement.

A source familiar with the planning told CNN the state is also considering setting up a hotline for CEOs so they can call to report security concerns or threats.

The hope is the call will “provide a forum for questions and sharing of best practices regarding threats to business leaders around the city,” Wylde said.

Approximately 200 people, mostly security people as well as some CEOs are expected to join, according to Wylde.

The call comes as C-suite leaders across the country are left shaken in the wake of Thompson’s killing and reassessing preparedness for potential threats.

The NYPD, in an intelligence report obtained by CNN last week, said it believed Thompson’s killing was a “symbolic takedown” and could inspire others to act violently toward business leaders.

CNN’s Jason Hanna, Karina Tsui, Steve Almasy, Andy Rose, Brynn Gingras, Michelle Watson, Bonney Kapp, Dakin Andone, Emma Tucker, Meg Tirrell and Jason Carroll contributed to this report.

From: Revere High School
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2023
Good Afternoon.
We are writing to update the Revere High School community about a
physical altercation that occurred at the end of first lunch today (Friday
6/2/23).
Before the end of the first lunch, a verbal argument between students
became physical. Then friends of students in the argument joined
in. Many students gathered around and joined in the physical
conflict. Many others gathered around to record.
Administrators and multiple other adults got involved and were able to
separate the groups of students from one another, isolated to different
parts of the building. At the same time, the administration collaborated
with the Revere Police Department to ensure additional support and
presence, both in the building and at dismissal.
This situation is currently under investigation as there are many details
and facts to sort out. Appropriate disciplinary processes have already
been initiated for students identified to be involved. The investigation
(including a review of both RHS cameras, review of student-produced
videos and statements) will result in additional students facing school
discipline for their involvement.
There is a lot of misinformation currently on social media about this
incident. At the same time as this was unfolding, the RHS Main Office
began receiving multiple calls from concerned parents in response to a
social media post. This post alleged that a stabbing occurred at Revere
High School. There was no stabbing. No person in Revere High School
(student or adult) made any report of a stabbing. There was also no
weapon on any student involved in the cafeteria fight. I can promise you

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The Federal Reserve is set to take a more cautious approach to interest rate cuts on fears that the Trump administration’s policies will stoke higher inflation, according to academic economists polled by the Financial Times. 

The economists, who were surveyed between December 11 and 13, moved up their forecasts for the federal funds rate next year compared to the previous FT-Chicago Booth poll in September. The vast majority thought it would hover at 3.5 per cent or higher by the end of 2025, whereas most respondents in September said it would probably fall below 3.5 per cent by that point.

If the Fed follows through with a quarter-point cut at its meeting next week as expected the policy rate will stand at 4.25-4.5 per cent.

“Over the last few months, the downside risks to the labour market have become a little less bad and progress on inflation seems to have stalled a bit,” said Jonathan Wright, a former Fed economist now at Johns Hopkins University, who helped to design the survey.

“Inflation has come down more painlessly than I and most people had expected, but I think we may still be seeing that the last bit [getting to target] will be a little harder, and so that certainly is an unlikely environment for the Fed to be in a hurry to reduce rates,” said Wright.

Tara Sinclair, who previously worked at the Treasury department and is now a professor at George Washington University, said that could even translate to the Fed going on an extended pause after a December cut and holding interest rates steady for the remainder of next year.

“In my mind, they need to stay in restrictive territory all the way until it’s clear that inflation is back at their target,” she added.

Officials are plotting how quickly to get to a “neutral” policy rate that neither stimulates nor suppresses growth. They have openly discussed slowing the pace of cuts once they get closer to that level, although chair Jay Powell has conceded that policymakers lack clarity as to where that is.

“We’re pretty sure it’s below where we are now,” he told reporters in November.

Looming large over the policy outlook is the return of Donald Trump to the White House next month. Trump has vowed to enact sweeping tariffs and deport millions of Americans while also slashing taxes and regulations.

Just over 60 per cent of the economists polled in the survey, which was conducted in partnership with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, thought Trump’s plans would have a negative impact on US growth. Most are also bracing for higher inflation if his plans to enact universal tariffs and steep levies on China materialise.

These concerns are percolating at a time when worries about price pressures still linger.

Just over 80 per cent of the 47 economists polled said that inflation over the next year, as measured by the personal expenditures price index once food and energy prices are stripped out, would not dip below 2 per cent until January 2026 or later. In September, only about 35 per cent of polled respondents made the same estimate.

The median estimate of core PCE inflation over the next 12 months also rose to 2.5 per cent from 2.2 per cent compared to September’s survey.

Economists remained sanguine about the outlook for the economy, with the median estimate of real GDP growth rising to 2.3 per cent from 2 per cent in September. Concerns about a recession were also distant, with over half of respondents estimating that the next recession would start no earlier than the third quarter of 2026.

Yet over a longer horizon, Sinclair warned that Trump’s policies would start to bite.

“I think very clearly in the long run this combination of policies is not good,” she said.

The Fed may also struggle with how to navigate this period, the economists warned, with one bracing for a “confrontation” between the president-elect and Powell if the central bank is forced to keep rates elevated to counteract the impact of Trump’s policies.

Wright said the Fed would be “more twitchy” on inflation than in the past, given the post-pandemic surge in price pressures.

“Back in 2019, the Fed could afford to take a view of ‘we’re going to wait until we see the white of inflation’s eyes’”, he said. “I don’t think that’s the attitude that the Fed is going to have today.”