The assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked a surge of conspiracy theories online surrounding suspect Luigi Mangione and his possible motivations. Amateur sleuths have focused on cryptic symbols, video games, biblical references, and the number 286, which some believe holds the key to unraveling the mystery. Thompson was shot and killed outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan on December 7, 2024, as he was leaving a private dinner. Days later, authorities arrested Mangione, 26, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an extensive manhunt. He was recognized by a McDonald's employee, leading to his capture. Mangione's arrest ignited widespread interest online, with users diving deep into his digital footprint. They searched for clues in his social media presence and linked certain details from the crime scene to his online activities, fueling a variety of conspiracy theories. One of the most popular theories centers on the number 286, with many internet users speculating that the crime had symbolic underpinnings. Several apparent connections to the number 286 have led some to believe the figure holds hidden significance. The most discussed link is Mangione's use of the Pokémon character Breloom in his social media banner. Breloom, a grass-type Pokémon, is listed as #286 in the franchise's Pokédex. Internet users also noted that Mangione had exactly 286 posts on his X (formerly Twitter ) account, under the handle @PepMangione, before his arrest. Adding to the intrigue, Mangione was arrested 286 miles from the location of Thompson's murder. Some TikTok users have tied the number to the Bible's Proverbs 28:6, which reads, "Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways." #foryou #funny #funnyvideos #fyp #pov #foryoupage #fypシ #foryou Another unusual link comes from the world of healthcare billing. Denial code 286 is used when a healthcare claim is rejected due to failure to meet appeal deadlines. Given Mangione's alleged grievances with the healthcare system, some online sleuths believe the use of this specific number may have been intentional. Beyond the obsession with the number 286, Mangione's alleged actions and writings have offered possible clues into his state of mind. Cryptic messages found at the crime scene — the words "delay" and "deny" inscribed on bullet casings — have been seen as symbolic. Some have speculated that the phrases point to the title of the 2010 book "Delay, Deny, Defend," which argues that insurance companies boost profits by withholding payments for legitimate claims. Delay Deny Defend get your bag! #unitedhealthcare #ceo #book #insurance Police also reportedly recovered a three-page handwritten manifesto from Mangione's possessions. The document allegedly contained harsh criticisms of corporate healthcare executives, referring to them as "parasites [who] simply had it coming." According to New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the manifesto "speaks to both his motivation and mindset." Other posts attributed to Mangione on platforms like Goodreads suggest a fascination with revolutionary manifestos. For example, he allegedly reviewed Ted Kaczynski's "Industrial Society and Its Future" (commonly known as the Unabomber Manifesto) and reflected on its predictions about modern society. Meanwhile, some online users have questioned the FBI 's identification of Mangione, suggesting that his eyebrows do not match those of the suspect shown in NYPD-released images. These images, which show the alleged shooter smiling at a hostel clerk in the Upper West Side of New York, have prompted further scrutiny from conspiracy theorists. I think Luigi wasn't working alone. He isn't the sh00ter. #luigimangione #unitedhealthcareceo #brianthompsoncase His glabella, the space between the eyebrows is not matching, And, How Luigi Nicholas Mangione's unibrows grown in few days 😆☕. pic.twitter.com/pKcV6WC9N4 However, law enforcement officials have presented substantial evidence linking Mangione to the crime. At the time of his apprehension, he was carrying a firearm that matched the shell casings found at the crime scene. Additionally, the handwritten manifesto critical of the healthcare industry was discovered in his possession. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny noted that Mangione was not a client of UnitedHealthcare, suggesting that the company's prominence may have made Thompson a symbolic target.US to require passenger vehicles to sound alarms if rear passengers don't fasten their seat belts
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By KENYA HUNTER, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — As she checked into a recent flight to Mexico for vacation, Teja Smith chuckled at the idea of joining another Women’s March on Washington . As a Black woman, she just couldn’t see herself helping to replicate the largest act of resistance against then-President Donald Trump’s first term in January 2017. Even in an election this year where Trump questioned his opponent’s race , held rallies featuring racist insults and falsely claimed Black migrants in Ohio were eating residents’ pets , he didn’t just win a second term. He became the first Republican in two decades to clinch the popular vote, although by a small margin. “It’s like the people have spoken and this is what America looks like,” said Smith, the Los Angeles-based founder of the advocacy social media agency, Get Social. “And there’s not too much more fighting that you’re going to be able to do without losing your own sanity.” After Trump was declared the winner over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris , many politically engaged Black women said they were so dismayed by the outcome that they were reassessing — but not completely abandoning — their enthusiasm for electoral politics and movement organizing. Black women often carry much of the work of getting out the vote in their communities. They had vigorously supported the historic candidacy of Harris, who would have been the first woman of Black and South Asian descent to win the presidency. Harris’ loss spurred a wave of Black women across social media resolving to prioritize themselves, before giving so much to a country that over and over has shown its indifference to their concerns. AP VoteCast , a survey of more than 120,000 voters, found that 6 in 10 Black women said the future of democracy in the United States was the single most important factor for their vote this year, a higher share than for other demographic groups. But now, with Trump set to return to office in two months, some Black women are renewing calls to emphasize rest, focus on mental health and become more selective about what fight they lend their organizing power to. “America is going to have to save herself,” said LaTosha Brown, the co-founder of the national voting rights group Black Voters Matter. She compared Black women’s presence in social justice movements as “core strategists and core organizers” to the North Star, known as the most consistent and dependable star in the galaxy because of its seemingly fixed position in the sky. People can rely on Black women to lead change, Brown said, but the next four years will look different. “That’s not a herculean task that’s for us. We don’t want that title. ... I have no goals to be a martyr for a nation that cares nothing about me,” she said. AP VoteCast paints a clear picture of Black women’s concerns. Black female voters were most likely to say that democracy was the single most important factor for their vote, compared to other motivators such as high prices or abortion. More than 7 in 10 Black female voters said they were “very concerned” that electing Trump would lead the nation toward authoritarianism, while only about 2 in 10 said this about Harris. About 9 in 10 Black female voters supported Harris in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, similar to the share that backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Trump received support from more than half of white voters, who made up the vast majority of his coalition in both years. Like voters overall, Black women were most likely to say the economy and jobs were the most important issues facing the country, with about one-third saying that. But they were more likely than many other groups to say that abortion and racism were the top issues, and much less likely than other groups to say immigration was the top issue. Despite those concerns, which were well-voiced by Black women throughout the campaign, increased support from young men of color and white women helped expand Trump’s lead and secured his victory. Politically engaged Black women said they don’t plan to continue positioning themselves in the vertebrae of the “backbone” of America’s democracy. The growing movement prompting Black women to withdraw is a shift from history, where they are often present and at the forefront of political and social change. One of the earliest examples is the women’s suffrage movement that led to ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution , which gave women the right to vote. Black women, however, were prevented from voting for decades afterward because of Jim Crow-era literacy tests, poll taxes and laws that blocked the grandchildren of slaves from voting. Most Black women couldn’t vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Black women were among the organizers and counted among the marchers brutalized on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, during the historic march in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery that preceded federal legislation. Decades later, Black women were prominent organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police and vigilantes. In his 2024 campaign, Trump called for leveraging federal money to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government programs and discussions of race, gender or sexual orientation in schools. His rhetoric on immigration, including false claims that Black Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating cats and dogs, drove support for his plan to deport millions of people . Related Articles Tenita Taylor, a Black resident of Atlanta who supported Trump this year, said she was initially excited about Harris’ candidacy. But after thinking about how high her grocery bills have been, she feels that voting for Trump in hopes of finally getting lower prices was a form of self-prioritization. “People say, ‘Well, that’s selfish, it was gonna be better for the greater good,”’ she said. “I’m a mother of five kids. ... The things that (Democrats) do either affect the rich or the poor.” Some of Trump’s plans affect people in Olivia Gordon’s immediate community, which is why she struggled to get behind the “Black women rest” wave. Gordon, a New York-based lawyer who supported the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s presidential nominee, Claudia de la Cruz, worries about who may be left behind if the 92% of Black women voters who backed Harris simply stopped advocating. “We’re talking millions of Black women here. If millions of Black women take a step back, it absolutely leaves holes, but for other Black women,” she said. “I think we sometimes are in the bubble of if it’s not in your immediate circle, maybe it doesn’t apply to you. And I truly implore people to understand that it does.” Nicole Lewis, an Alabama-based therapist who specializes in treating Black women’s stress, said she’s aware that Black women withdrawing from social impact movements could have a fallout. But she also hopes that it forces a reckoning for the nation to understand the consequences of not standing in solidarity with Black women. “It could impact things negatively because there isn’t that voice from the most empathetic group,” she said. “I also think it’s going to give other groups an opportunity to step up. ... My hope is that they do show up for themselves and everyone else.” Brown said a reckoning might be exactly what the country needs, but it’s a reckoning for everyone else. Black women, she said, did their job when they supported Harris in droves in hopes they could thwart the massive changes expected under Trump. “This ain’t our reckoning,” she said. “I don’t feel no guilt.” AP polling editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux and Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Coming off what was likely a week's worth of intense practices, No. 10 Kansas returns home for a matchup with North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence, Kan. The Jayhawks (7-2) lost back-to-back games versus unranked opponents, the first time in school history that they have done that while ranked No. 1. Now they have to regroup to face the Wolfpack (7-3). Kansas lost its first two games of the season emphatically: 76-63 at Creighton on Dec. 4 and 76-67 at Missouri last Sunday. Coach Bill Self, who has only lost three straight games four times in his 21-year career at Kansas, was pretty succinct about his team's play following the loss to Missouri. "I think it was probably a combination of them being good and us not being good," he said. "I don't know that I could give them 100 percent credit, but that's what happens in sports. When the other team is doing things to hurt you, and you don't attack it well, they guard you the same way. "A lot of times you just roll it straight because of just not being as prepared or ready. I think it was a combination of both. I would err on the side of giving them more credit, because if I just say we sucked, that would take credit from them. We did suck, but it was in large part them." The Jayhawks still have a balanced and experienced attack, led by seniors Hunter Dickinson (15.0 points per game), Zeke Mayo (10.9), Dajuan Harris Jr. (10.7) and KJ Adams Jr. (9.8). Their biggest problem against Missouri was the 22 turnovers. "It's been a crap week for all of us," Self said on his weekly radio show Tuesday. "But hopefully we get an opportunity to bounce back. "I'm not going to make any excuses. If you don't perform the way we didn't perform, there certainly can be some valuable things to learn from that hopefully will give us a chance to win the war and not just the battle." NC State has won back-to-back games, including the ACC opener against Florida State on Dec. 7. In their last game, the Wolfpack handled Coppin State 66-56 on Tuesday. That's not to say NC State coach Kevin Keatts was impressed. "I thought we did a terrible job at the end of shot clocks when they were going to take a bunch of bad shots but we fouled them," Keatts said. "That being said, you can learn a lot from a win instead of a loss. "We compete hard every day, and our energy is always high. With this group, I'm trying to get everyone to be consistent." The Wolfpack has a trio of double-digit scorers, led by Marcus Hill (13.0 ppg). Jayden Taylor adds 12.5 and Dontrez Styles chips in 10.6. Ben Middlebrooks (9.2) and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (8.7) round out the top five. Huntley-Hatfield (5.6 rebounds per game) and Styles (4.6) also lead a balanced rebounding attack. The Jayhawks have won 12 straight games in the series with North Carolina State. --Field Level Media
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