Luigi Mangione fights to exclude evidence from his trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione has appeared in court seeking to bar evidence from his state trial over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Among the evidence the 27-year-old Mangione’s lawyers want to prevent the Manhattan district attorney’s office from presenting to jurors is a handgun that prosecutors say matches the one used in the Dec. 4, 2024, killing and a handwritten notebook in which they say Mangione described his intent to “wack” a health insurance executive. Court officials say the hearings could take more than a week, meaning they would extend through Thursday’s anniversary of the attack. Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the killing.

Calif. family was about to cut the cake when gunfire erupted at a toddler’s birthday party

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Family members were getting ready to cut the cake at a toddler’s birthday party when gunfire erupted inside a banquet hall packed with relatives and friends over the weekend in California. The birthday girl’s mother said Monday that at first she thought she was hearing the sound of balloons popping. Officials say three children ages 8, 9 and 14 and a 21-year-old man were killed and 11 others were wounded in the shooting in Stockton on Saturday. Authorities are urging witnesses to come forward as they search for a suspect. No one has been arrested in the shooting.

National Guard member shot in DC has shown positive signs, WV governor says

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s governor says a National Guard member from his state who was shot last week in an attack in Washington, D.C., remains in serious condition but has shown some positive signs. Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday that he was told 24-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe gave a thumbs-up that he could hear a nurse’s question and wiggled his toes. Morrisey says Wolfe is “still fighting for his life” as his family requests prayers. Another National Guard member, 20-year-old Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, died after the shooting. They were deployed under President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting plan.

White House says admiral ordered follow-on strike on alleged drug boat

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says that a Navy admiral ordered a second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and insists that a September attack that has come under bipartisan scrutiny was lawful. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a justification for the Sept. 2 strike on Monday after lawmakers from both parties announced support for congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack on the vessel.