Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He admitted to following Thompson to an investor conference in 2024 and shooting him on a New York City street. The 28-year-old Mangione acknowledged his actions Friday at a hastily scheduled hearing in Manhattan. At sentencing, he faces life in prison. His lawyers are now seeking to dismiss a separate New York state murder case on double jeopardy grounds. The case has become a fulcrum for debate about the healthcare industry and made Mangione a cause célèbre for some of its critics.
Hawaii's Big Island under rare hurricane landfall threat as Tropical Storm Lala strengthens
HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Lala is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches Hawaii's Big Island. The National Hurricane Center predicts that it could be at hurricane status by early Saturday. If it makes landfall as a hurricane, it would be the first to do so since 1871. Forecasters issued a hurricane warning for the island on Friday. Officials and residents prepared for potential impacts including heavy rain and strong winds. Some areas could see up to 25 inches of rain. Shelters have been opened, and various events canceled.
Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's coast, killing at least 20 and toppling buildings
MAUMERE, Indonesia (AP) — A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake has struck off the coast of Indonesia, damaging buildings and homes, killing at least 20 people and causing panic in a region prone to deadly quakes. Authorities say six people were injured and two are missing after a landslide triggered by the quake. Authorities earlier issued a tsunami warning for parts of eastern Indonesia, prompting residents to flee coastal areas, but the alert was lifted after no significant sea-level changes were detected. Patients were evacuated from several hospitals as a precaution, while strong shaking caused panic across Flores island. Witnesses reported collapsed buildings, including structures at a port terminal and a Catholic seminary. Indonesia is highly prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon kills 7 people, Lebanese state media say
BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon has killed seven people and wounded three. The strike targeted a home near the village of Ansar early Saturday. This is one of the deadliest attacks since a truce between Israel and Hezbollah began on June 20. Despite the truce, Israel's military continues almost daily attacks. Earlier this month, two Israeli soldiers died in an explosion in southern Lebanon. Israel and the Lebanese government have held seven rounds of talks. Hezbollah has refused direct talks and wasn’t party to the deal.
Trump asks Supreme Court to let White House ballroom construction continue during appeal
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the White House to continue construction on its $400 million ballroom project while it appeals a lower court’s order to halt the work. Chief Justice John Roberts has set a deadline of Tuesday for a response by plaintiffs challenging the ballroom project. Trump’s solicitor general on Friday petitioned the high court to suspend last week's decision by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The divided panel ruled last week the Republican president must stop the White House ballroom’s construction because Congress has not approved the project.
Suspect arrested in World War II Memorial vandalism in Washington
WASHINGTON (AP) — A suspect has been arrested and will be charged in connection with the vandalism of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. Melissa L. Farris will be charged with “Depredation Against Property of the United States and Destruction of Veterans’ Memorials," according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who announced the arrest on Friday on her X account. The offenses carry penalties of up to ten years in prison. The Memorial, one of the most popular in Washington, was vandalized with bubbles filling a fountain and “Clean hands dirty $” written in red paint. The vandalism comes weeks after President Donald Trump said the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was deliberately damaged.
Army temporarily halts Apache helicopter training missions after Texas crash that killed 2
The U.S. Army temporarily halted all Apache helicopter training missions after a fatal crash in Texas earlier this week killed two soldiers. The Army said the stand-down announced Friday will remain in effect until investigators have a better understanding of the cause of the accident. The Army is investigating the crash that happened Wednesday outside of Salado, Texas, which is not far from Fort Hood. The Apache attack helicopter had been a core part of the Army’s fleet ever since the first one was delivered in 1984. More than 5,000 Apaches have been deployed by the U.S. military and its allies over the decades.
Exhausted health workers in Congo struggle to keep up as Ebola outpaces contact tracing
NIZI, Congo (AP) — Gédéon Banga Ngbape and his team of community health workers are laboring tirelessly in eastern Congo to track the country’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak. They investigate alerts and try to get symptomatic individuals into care. However, the surveillance system is struggling. Between 60% and 70% of new cases are found in people not previously monitored. The outbreak has killed over 2,100 people out of more than 4,500 cases. Challenges include unpaid health workers, misinformation and insecurity. In Nizi, Ngbape’s team faces enormous difficulties, but they remain committed to saving lives despite exhaustion and limited resources.
There’s a reason why Israel has done little to rein in settler violence. It’s not just Netanyahu
A dayslong standoff in the occupied West Bank points to Israel's reluctance to rein in settler violence against Palestinians. Many of Israel's political leaders have criticized the violence. But most support the larger settlement enterprise aimed at cementing control over the West Bank and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the most settler-friendly government in Israel's history and it has eased military restrictions on them. But the settlements, considered illegal by much of the international community, have grown under all of his predecessors.
Trump focuses on violent crime reduction as he boosts GOP candidates at New York police academy
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) — President Donald Trump has highlighted his record on crime and safety during a visit to New York, pivoting to one of his strongest issues as he looks to boost Republicans in battleground races ahead of the November midterms. Trump was visiting the Nassau County police academy on Friday in suburban Long Island. But despite the setting and an array of uniformed local police officers behind him on stage, the event was overwhelmingly a political one, with Trump lashing Democrats and promoting his record and his party’s candidates. The new FBI statistics released Friday showed the homicide rate in the United States dropped to the lowest it’s been in 75 years. The report on 2025 crime statistics also showed that overall violent crime dropped 9.3% last year.
