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August 14: Mangione Plea and Trump’s Carrier Catapult Order
In federal court
Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to stalking resulting in death in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione admitted posing as an investor to learn details of a company conference, building a gun with a 3-D printer, and shooting Thompson in Manhattan on December 4, 2024. He was told he could face life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for December 18.
At the Pentagon
President Trump has directed the Navy to plan for replacing electromagnetic launch and elevator systems on the future USS Doris Miller with older steam-based technology. The order could require a major redesign of the partly built Ford-class carrier, cost billions, and add staffing demands while the Navy has roughly 20,000 unfilled fleet positions. Replacing newer systems with more labor-intensive ones is an unusually expensive way to make a ship less modern.
In surveillance policy
Flock Safety is recommending that police agencies retain automated license plate reader data for seven days rather than 30. The company also proposes case-code requirements, tighter limits on sharing data between agencies, and automatic suspensions for suspicious searches, after allegations of misuse and erroneous alerts across its network of more than 120,000 cameras.
In nuclear power
TerraPower, the Bill Gates-backed nuclear company, has signed agreements with Hyundai Engineering & Construction and SK Innovation for its Natrium reactor program. Hyundai could become contractor for up to eight 345-megawatt reactors in the United States, while SK Innovation will explore a commercial Natrium project in South Korea. TerraPower says its Wyoming demonstration plant is expected to be finished in 2030.
In Houston
Houston police shot a gunman they say fired at passing vehicles on Wayside Drive, wounding three people, including a mother and daughter traveling in the same car. The suspect was hospitalized after being shot multiple times. No officers were injured, and police and the Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting; authorities have not released a motive or the suspect’s identity.
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