The News Not Noise Letter: Ivy League Assassin?
Who is the 26-year-old suspect in the CEO shooting? Plus: Donald Trump vows dramatic action from day one, what just happened in Syria, and managing news overload.
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Today a friend of mine shared that because she is a survivor of sexual assault, she has stopped watching and reading the news; it’s too upsetting to read about the Trump nominees accused of assault. Others tell me they feel numb observing our collective acceptance of radical proposals — like Trump’s plan to strip some American children of their citizenship.
When I launched News Not Noise I promised to bring you news that gives you information, not a panic attack. I’ve attempted to do that by reducing the language of outrage and panic, turning down partisanship, snark and cynicism, focusing on facts, sharing sources, and reminding you of the signs of progress in our world. I will continue to do that. But we are in a new moment that requires new strategies. So I’m experimenting. This week I’ll hold a discussion with Elise Loehnen on “Staying Grounded in a Changing World.” She will offer tools for negotiating differences of opinion and working with uncertainty. That’s Thursday on Substack Live at 4pm PT/7pm ET. Elise is the author of On Our Best Behavior, a New York Times bestseller, and of Pulling the Thread on Substack.
In today’s newsletter we bring you the arrest of a suspect in the CEO shooting; an explainer on Syria; news about Jay-Z; and what Trump vows to do in his first days in office. Finally, in the spirit of trying new things (let me know if you do or don’t like this) here’s a message to hold onto as you read the news: “My love and compassion create harmony in my life and in the world around me.”
Here are your headlines:
Gone to Collections: Police have arrested a suspect in the execution of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. He is being held without bail on five counts. The NYPD says a McDonald’s worker tipped off authorities when Mangione ate at an Altoona, Pennsylvania franchise, while traveling on a Greyhound bus. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said he had a 3D-printed ghost gun, fake ID, and handwritten manifesto in which he said of health insurance executives, “These parasites had it coming. I acted alone.”
Everyman: Mangione was valedictorian speaker of his all-boys private Baltimore high school. (In his speech, he warned his classmates that “a revolutionary near future” was imminent.) He graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school in Philadelphia, in 2020. He was a teaching assistant at Penn, and later a data engineer. He posted at least one shirtless photo, and his muscles have not gone unnoticed by the internet. His Instagram, which today appears to have been deleted, was inundated with supportive messages from fans.
Clear Motive: Mangione’s online history shows he frequently posted right-wing content on X; in a four-star review of the Unabomber’s manifesto, he wrote that sometimes, “violence is necessary to survive.” He apparently suffered back pain — at least, based on his Goodreads bookshelf and his profile on X, which features an x-ray of a back with metal rods or screws.
Read the Room: On Friday, UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty gave an address to the company that was leaked to the press, in which he argued that private insurers “guard against … unnecessary care.” A Gallup poll, conducted before the shooting, found that 62% of Americans believe the federal government should be responsible for ensuring everyone has health care coverage. It also found that support for the Affordable Care Act is near an all-time high.
You Know What They Say About Imitation: Meantime, the jacket the shooter was wearing is reportedly “flying off shelves,” and New Yorkers participated in a “UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin lookalike contest.” There’s no accounting for taste.
99 Problems, Now 100: A lawsuit alleges that Jay-Z (and Diddy) raped a 13-year-old girl at a post-awards show party in 2000. Jay-Z responded by suing the plaintiff’s lawyer, demanding her identity be revealed, and releasing a statement that called the lawsuit a “heinous” attempt at “blackmail.” The lawyer called Jay-Z’s counter-case “laughable.”
Not Guilty: Daniel Penny, the man involved in the death of Jordan Neely, has been found not guilty. Last year, Neely entered a New York City subway car and began shouting and making threats, when Penny, a passenger in that car, subdued him in a tight chokehold; police eventually arrived and attempted to revive Neely, but he was pronounced dead on the scene. Prosecutors argued that Penny killed Neely. However, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on manslaughter charges, and subsequently found Penny innocent of criminally negligent homicide.
A Dictator Falls, Finally: For the last fifty years, Bashar al-Assad, and his father before him, ruled Syria with iron fists. They brutally crushed dissent, executing or disappearing thousands of Syrians — taken into the bowels of one of over 100 “human slaughterhouses,” where they faced torture and worse. From 2011, Assad held on to power through a devastating civil war that led to the deaths of at least 500,000 people and drove millions from their homes and the country. Now Assad has fled the country to exile in Moscow and militias are posting astonishing videos showing them freeing prisoners who have been locked away, sometimes for decades. Syrians are celebrating by riding torn-down Assad statues, exploring his palace, and welcoming home friends and relatives who’d been “disappeared” for years. Here’s background:
Syrian Civil War: The 13-year civil war was one of the most complex in modern history, with many different insurgent groups rising and falling over time. On one side was Assad’s brutal government, backed with military and strategic support from Russia, Iran, and their proxies, notably Hezbollah. On the other side, a coalition of militias, including jihadists, moderates, and Kurdish rebels who received support from a US-led global coalition.
What Happened: Less than two weeks ago, a rebel group with ties to ISIS and Al Qaeda and backed by Turkey launched a shock offensive. With Hezbollah weakened by the battle against Israel, Russia distracted in Ukraine, Iran stretched thin, Assad’s regime crumbled with stunning speed. Now Western reporters — long banned from the country — are roaming around doing live reports and interviews.
Enemy of My Enemy: The White House today said it’s an “open question” who controls Syria right now. The rebel group that led the offensive against Assad is designated as a terror group by the US and the UK. The US State Department is advertising a $10 million reward for information about its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who has now granted an interview to CNN. In it, he sounds moderate — talking about striking deals with historically opposed groups and promising a relatively tolerant tone. Whether that bears fruit remains to be seen. Whoever rises will have a decisive role in shaping the future Middle East.
Trump Plans Big Moves: Trump gave an exclusive interview to Meet the Press and laid out precisely what he plans to do at the start of his term. He made plenty of misleading claims but the big news is… he wasn’t exaggerating when he promised sweeping changes that break with American norms.
Mass Deportation: Trump said he wants to deport all immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally except “Dreamers,” those brought here long ago as children. “We’re starting with the criminals,” Trump said, then “other people.” That’s over 11 million, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Stripping Citizenship: Trump said he’d take executive action on day one to end birthright citizenship.That’s political speak for stripping American citizens of their citizenship. Reminder: Children born in the US are citizens even if their parents aren’t. Trump put a soft spin on the move, saying that it’s intended to keep families together when deporting undocumented parents. “We don’t have to separate families,” Trump said. “The only way you don’t break up the family is you … send them all back.”
Constitutional Crisis: That would prompt intense legal
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