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Six weeks before UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel in December, suspect Luigi Mangione mused about rebelling against “the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel” and said killing the executive “conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming,” prosecutors revealed Wednesday.The Manhattan district attorney’s office quoted extensively from Mangione’s handwritten diaryhighlighting his desire to kill an insurance honcho and praise for Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomberas they fight to uphold his state murder charges. They also cited a confession they say he penned “To the feds,” in which he wrote that “it had to be done.”Mangione’s lawyers want the state case thrown out, arguing in court papers that those charges and a parallel federal death penalty case amount to double jeopardy.They also want state terrorism charges dismissed, have asked for the federal case to go first and say prosecutors should be barred from using evidence collected during Mangione’s arrest, including a 9mm handgun, statements to police and the diary.Manhattan prosecutors contend that there are no double jeopardy issues because neither case has gone to trial and because the state and federal prosecutions involve different legal theories.His lawyers say that has created a “legal quagmire” that makes it “legally and logistically impossible to defend against them simultaneously.”The state charges, which carry a maximum of life in prison, allege that Mangione wanted to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population,” that is, insurance employees and investors. The federal charges allege that Mangione stalked an individual, Thompson, and do not involve terror allegations.Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty in both cases. No trial dates have been set.Mangione’s “intentions were obvious from his acts, but his writings serve to make those intentions explicit,” prosecutors said in Wednesday’s filing. The writings, which they sometimes described as a manifesto, “convey one clear message: that the murder of Brian Thompson was intended to bring about revolutionary change to the healthcare industry.”They quoted excerpts in which Mangione discussed options for the attack, such as bombing UnitedHealthcare’s headquarters, before deciding to target the company’s investor conference in Manhattan. He wrote about plans to “wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention” because it was “targeted, precise and doesn’t risk innocents.”UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, “literally extracts human life force for money,” Mangione wrote, envisioning the news headline, “Insurance CEO killed at annual investors conference.”The company has said he was never a client.Mangione is due back in state court June 26, when Judge Gregory Carro is expected to rule on his request for dismissal.His lawyers asked Tuesday for his handcuffs and bulletproof vest to be removed during the hearing. They called him a “a model prisoner, a model defendant” and said the security measures would suggest to potential jurors that he is dangerous. Carro has not ruled on that.Mangione’s next federal court date is Dec. 5, a day after the one-year anniversary of Thompson’s death.Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind as he arrived for the conference Dec. 4 at the New York Hilton Midtown. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) to the west, and he is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn.Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has called the ambush “a killing that was intended to evoke terror.”U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in April that she was directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for “an act of political violence” and a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”The killing and ensuing search for Mangione rattled the business community while galvanizing health insurance critics who rallied around him as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty bills. Supporters have flocked to his court appearances and flooded him with mail.Mangione “demonstrated in his manifesto that he was a revolutionary anarchist who would usher in a better healthcare system by killing the CEO” of one of the biggest U.S. companies, prosecutors wrote. “This brutal, cowardly murder was the mechanism that defendant chose to bring on that revolution.” Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Eager customers lined up outside electronics stores in Tokyo hours in advance to collect their preordered Nintendo Switch 2 video game consoles.The much anticipated Switch 2, being released around the world Thursday, is an upgrade to its eight-year-old predecessor with new social features meant to draw players into online gaming. Nintendo is counting on the Switch 2 to boost sagging sales.In the U.S., a chaotic preorder process in April left some fans frustrated after the consoles quickly sold out.In Japan, the new consoles were sold through a competitive lottery system that Nintendo said got about 2.2 million applications.Outside the official draw, some retailers offered their own lotteries to preorder the devices.Koji Takahashi was among those who missed out on the official draw but he was selected in the second round of a lottery held by a major electronics retailer in Japan.He was first in line waiting outside the store, arriving four hours ahead of its opening. He hoped to secure a limited supply of Nintendo accessories to buy along with his preordered Switch 2.“I feel very sorry for those who weren’t successful in the lottery. But I also had tough time getting this far, so I hope they forgive me!” Takahashi said.The new console comes with a larger and higher resolution screen than its predecessor, with improved processing power, offering smoother and more vivid graphics.Nintendo has said it expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles for the fiscal year through March 2026.The company has promised to roll out attractive software for the Switch 2 later this year, including “The Legend of Zelda” games, a Pokemon title and a Kirby game, as well as offerings from outside software companies.Nintendo is capitalizing on the launch with the opening of a store in San Francisco and the Super Nintendo World amusement facility in Orlando, Florida, both set for this month.The Switch 2’s rollout arrives at an uncertain time for much of the gaming industry due to new tariffs implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump.In the U.S., the Switch 2’s baseline launch price is $449.99significantly higher than the original Switch’s $299 price tag.U.S. preorders for the Switch 2 were delayed for several weeks so the company could assess the potential impact of tariffs. Ayaka McGill, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
While images of wildfires capture their ferocity, data can provide insight into how bad a fire season is.Such is the case with two graphics, powered by satellite data, that showcase a Canadian wildfire season off to a wildand scarystart.Twice a day a NASA satellite sends images to the ground, giving a real-time view of where fires are burning. This is especially useful for remote areas where no sensors are stationed. As of Tuesday that satellite had picked up four times as many fire hot spots across Canada than is typical for early June. That’s more than any year since the satellite began transmitting in 2012, except 2023, according to data from Global Forest Watch.Though the satellite has recorded thousands of hot spots so far this year, that does not mean there are actually that many active fires. Each hot spot could be detected repeatedly over the course of days. And because each detection is about the size of 26 football fields, it can represent part of a much larger blaze, said James MacCarthy, wildfire research manager at Global Forest Watch.Based on data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, about 200 fires are actively burning in Canada and have consumed about 7,700 square miles (19,900 square kilometers) of terrain, most of it in the last week. [Screenshot: CIFFC] Only 2023 saw such high numbers so early in Canada’s fire season, which runs from April through October. That year wildfires burned a record 67,000 square milesmore than twice the surface area of Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes.Taken together, the hot spots and acres burned mean 2025 is the second-worst start to the season in years.“A warm and dry finish to May and early June has created a significant fire season,” said Liam Buchart, a fire weather specialist with the Canadian Forest Service.The weather conditions are made more likely by climate change and encourage wildfires to start. That means even though 90% of wildfires in Manitoba this year have been human-caused, according to the provincial government, climate change helps enable their spread.“Climate change is creating the conditions that make it more likely that human-caused fires are going to spread, or even start,” MacCarthy said. “It might be a human starting it, but it’s going to spread quickly because now there’s hot and dry conditions that are occurring more frequently and more intensely than they have in the past.”The hot and dry weather is likely to to continue for at least the next week across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, according to Natural Resources Canada. The agency’s forecasts also call for “a warmer and drier than normal July and August for large portions of Canada,” Buchart said.“The remainder of the fire season looks to remain above normal, especially over the northern prairie provinces and southern British Columbia,” he said. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. M.K. Wildeman, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
A typical EV charger in the U.S. is a bulky, 6-foot-tall box in a parking lot. In Germany, a startup is rolling out a new type of charger that looks very different: Called the Curb Charger, it fits seamlessly inside a curb at the edge of a street. The Curb Charger upgrades existing urban infrastructure and adds hardly any additional street furniture to cities, says Felix Stracke, vice president of new mobility at Rheinmetall, the company that designed the charger. (Rheinmetalls primary business is defense manufacturingthe $80 billion company is the largest arms manufacturer in Germanybut it diversified into EV charging when it saw the opportunity for growth.) For an apartment dweller who parks their car on the street, having curbside charging suddenly makes it much easier to own an EV. Instead of driving to a store and waiting while the car charges, its possible to plug in overnight or when the car would otherwise be parked for hours. It also makes slow charging feasible, which helps EV batteries last longer and is less of a strain on the grid. [Photo: Rheinmetall] Larger chargers dont necessarily fit well on a curb. On a narrow sidewalk, they can take up too much space; they’re at more risk of vandalism; they can also block views and change the visual identity of a historic neighborhood. But the scaled-down design of the new chargers is nearly invisible. That invisibility is also a challenge, since drivers can’t quickly spot a charger. But an app can be deployed to direct someone to the nearest charging point. Other companies have taken different approaches to curbside charging, including making chargers that double as streetlights or packaging them in a sleek box that looks better than a conventional charger and is easier to install. [Photo: Rheinmetall] The Curb Charger sits inside a case that’s exactly the same size as a standard German curb. (The size can be adjusted for other locations.) It’s strong enough that a heavy truck can drive over it, and its waterproof, so the system can keep working in heavy rain. Drivers activate it through an app or by scanning a QR code. It does require that drivers have their own charging cord, though that’s standard in Europe. Rheinmetall says the equipment doesn’t cost more than a conventional charging station, and the small size means that installation can be simpler and cost less. If a charger needs repair, the charging module can be swapped out, making maintenance less expensive as well. When streets have major repairs, they could potentially be rebuilt with the hollow curb cases, ready to add the charging equipment as needed. In a yearlong pilot in the city of Cologne, the chargers were used nearly 3,000 times through all weather conditions, staying online 99% of the time. Users gave them high ratings. Now, Rheinmetall is scaling up production and beginning new installations in other cities.
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E-Commerce
Sports-bar chain Hooters has abruptly closed a number of locations across multiple states as its bankruptcy process continues. The restaurant closures come just over two months after Hooters of America, LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. At the time, the company did not announce any closures but said it was reviewing its “operational footprint.” Heres what you need to know about the latest Hooters restaurant closures. Which Hooters locations have closed? At least 23 Hooters restaurants appear to have recently closed, according to a Fast Company review of pre-recorded phone messages and Google listings. The locations have also been removed from the store locator tool on the Hooters website. The list was reported earlier by USA Today. The closures impact Hooters’ locations in at least 12 states. Florida Sanford Orlando (Kirkman Road) Kissimmee (Osceola Parkway) Melbourne (Babcock Street) Georgia Atlanta (Peachtree Road) Douglasville (Douglas Blvd) Duluth (Gwinnett Drive) Valdosta Indiana Indianapolis (US-31) Illinois Rockford Kentucky Newport Michigan Flint (Miller Road) Taylor Missouri St. Louis (7th Street) North Carolina Charlotte (South Blvd) South Carolina Columbia Rock Hill Tennessee Murfreesboro Memphis (Peabody Pl) Nashville (Largo Drive) Texas Grapevine Houston (Farm to Market 1960 Road) San Marcos USA Today has also noted that two additional storesFort Smith, Arkansas, and Madison, Wisconsinhave been delisted from the Hooters website, suggesting their closures. What has Hooters said about the restaurant closures? Fast Company has reached out to Hooters of America for comment on the reported closures and to ask for a full list and closure dates. We will update this post if we hear back. In a statement to USA Today, the company said that the closures were of company-owned stores and were a “difficult decision. ‘Here to stay’ When it announced its bankruptcy in March 2025, Hooters of America published an FAQ about the restructuring, with one point stating that Hooters was here to stay.” However, as Fast Company reported at the time, the companys press release on the matter left open the possibility that Hooters of America may indeed shutter locations as the bankruptcy process continued. As part of the Companys broader business transformation and planning, Hooters is evaluating the Companys operational footprint as part of its financial restructuring process to position itself to invest its resources in its strongest assets moving forward, the company stated in the release. It now appears that the company has indeed evaluated its operational footprint and has decided it is necessary for some stores to close. Why did Hooters file for bankruptcy? Its important to note that while in March there were 410 Hooters restaurants in 38 states and 24 countries, they arent all owned by the same company. In America, many are owned by Hooters of America, which also owns the Hooters brand. However, the remainder of the locations in America are operated by franchisees, including Hooters Inc., which is one of the largest franchisees of the Hooters brand. Hooters Inc. is owned by the brand’s original co-founders. It’s Hooters of America that sought bankruptcy protection and not Hooters Inc. or any other Hooters franchisee. As part of its bankruptcy process, Hooters of America plans to divest its ownership of physical Hooters stores and sell many of them to existing franchisees. Hooters of America, LLC will then continue to operate as essentially a licensing company. It will strictly license its restaurants to franchisees and will cease operating locations directly. Hooters transition from a partially directly owned restaurant chain to an entirely franchise-owned model comes after Hooters of America has faced struggles for years. Many restaurant chains, including Red Lobster, Tijuana Flats, Buca di Beppo, and Roti, have turned to bankruptcy as they have faced similar struggles. Those struggles include higher costs due to inflationary pressures as well as reduced foot traffic from cost-conscious consumers cutting back on discretionary spending, such as dining out. Hooters of America, LLC says it expects its bankruptcy proceeding to wrap up this summer. On June 10, the company will attend a conditional disclosure statement hearing and will face several additional hearings throughout the summer until August.
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E-Commerce
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