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Luigi Mangione: Guilty plea expected to be announced Friday in federal case, sources say

August 13, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — It’s expected that a guilty plea will be announced in connection with the federal prosecution of Luigi Mangione during a conference scheduled for federal court Friday, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The sources caution that plans for the guilty plea are not final at this point and will not be official until announced at the hearing, which is set for 11 a.m. Friday. The situation is fluid and Mangione could conceivably decide against pleading guilty between now and Friday.

Neither the prosecution nor defense teams are commenting on the situation.

Mangione is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, in Midtown Manhattan, and he was captured in Pennsylvania after a five-day manhunt. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that Mangione was indicted on first degree murder charges on Dec. 17, 2024, and federal prosecutors announced separate charges of stalking and murder on Dec. 19, 2024.

Mangione pleaded not guilty in the separate state and federal cases.

The charges in both cases have narrowed over the last year. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett in January threw out the federal murder and firearm charges, which would have made the death penalty an option if convicted. Judge Gregory Carro last September dismissed the first-degree murder and terrorism charges in the state case.

In the state case, Judge Gregory Carro last September dismissed the first-degree murder and terrorism charges. In the state case, Mangione is still charged with murder in the second-degree, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second-degree, and multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree, third-degree and fourth-degree.

Mangione is scheduled to stand trial in the state case beginning Sept. 8. His federal trial was set for Jan. 5.

Luigi Mangione: Guilty plea expected to be announced Friday in federal case, sources say

August 13, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Neither the prosecution nor defense teams are commenting on the situation.

Mangione pleaded not guilty in the separate state and federal cases.

Mangione is scheduled to stand trial in the state case beginning Sept. 8. His federal trial was set for Jan. 5.

Judge to press DOJ to explain Epstein files redactions, withheld materials related to Trump

August 13, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Thursday is set to press lawyers with the Department of Justice to explain why some materials from the Epstein files were withheld from the public.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan scheduled the hearing in a lawsuit filed by an independent journalist who sued over what she alleged were improper redactions and withheld materials from the files on Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender.

In June, Sullivan concluded that the redactions and withheld materials violated the Epstein Files Transparency Act. He ordered the DOJ to either turn over the materials or explain why the materials needed to be withheld.

“The Attorney General has conceded that he is in violation of the Act,” Sullivan wrote in his ruling.

In recent weeks, the DOJ has sought to justify the redactions, rather than turn over the materials. Unsatisfied with some of those reasons, Judge Sullivan set Thursday’s hearing to press DOJ lawyers about the release of the Epstein files.

Specifically, the judge said the DOJ has not provided documentation to prove that redactions were made to some files because “[lawyers for] victims or potential victims … have contacted the government and requested that the persons be treated as victims.”

He also raised concerns that the DOJ withheld handwritten notes from an interview with a woman who made unsubstantiated allegations against President Donald Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing.

The DOJ has argued that the handwritten notes are “substantially similar to” the FBI reports of the interviews that were publicly released, and that the notes risk exposing victim information. However, Sullivan noted the Epstein Files Transparency Act does not have an exception for “substantially similar” or duplicative documents, and that the DOJ has released similar versions of other documents.

“The Defendant shall be prepared to explain why the handwritten notes cannot be redacted manually, or why the redactions cannot be accomplished in another way,” Sullivan wrote.

The DOJ has argued that all the redactions were lawful and asked to delay the case for two months.

“The Department has not knowingly violated, nor has it ever acknowledged violating, the EFTA as it continues working to comply with statutory requirements,” DOJ lawyers argued in a court filing.

Powerball player in Illinois wins $1 billion jackpot

August 13, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Powerball player in Illinois wins billion jackpot

Powerball player in Illinois wins $1 billion jackpot — Powerball lottery tickets (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

A Powerball ticket sold in Illinois matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, winning an estimated $1.04 billion jackpot, according to the lottery organization.

The winning numbers were 4, 26, 66, 67, 69 and red Powerball 9.

It’s the largest Powerball jackpot so far this year, and the eight-largest Powerball jackpot in the game’s history.

The winner can top for the annuitized prize paid out over 29 years or a lump cash payment of $450.5 million. Both prizes are before taxes.

Wednesday’s drawing was the 44th consecutive drawing since the last jackpot win on May 2.

Last year, there were two Powerball jackpots that hit more than $1 billion, including $1.8 billion jackpot won on Christmas Eve that was the biggest U.S. lottery prize ever.

A $1.787 billion Powerball jackpot won in September 2025 by two tickets in Missouri and Texas was the third-largest prize in U.S. lottery history.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Nick Reiner indicted on charges alleging he murdered parents Rob and Michele Reiner

August 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Nick Reiner has been indicted on charges alleging he murdered his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, by means of lying in wait, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

The indictment, which was returned on July 20 and unsealed Wednesday, charges Reiner with two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Reiner also faces a special allegation that he used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife, the office said.

Nick Reiner, 32, pleaded not guilty to the indictment on Wednesday. He remains held on no bond and is next scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 15.

Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14, 2025. The night before their deaths, Nick Reiner — who had been living on his parents’ property at the time — got into an argument with Rob Reiner at a holiday party and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News in December.

Nick Reiner was arrested and initially charged with two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, as well as faced a special allegation that he used a dangerous and deadly weapon.

The indictment, which added a special allegation of lying in wait, means the case will no longer have a preliminary hearing that had been scheduled to occur in the coming weeks.

“This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “The indictment unsealed today also adds a special circumstance allegation that the defendant committed the murders by means of lying in wait. We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice.”

If convicted as charged, Reiner faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole. The district attorney’s office said it has not yet made a decision on whether to seek the death penalty.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Blanche, newly confirmed as AG, says ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ still dead

August 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — In his first news conference since his narrow confirmation as attorney general, Todd Blanche reiterated Wednesday that the Justice Department’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” will not be revived — but suggested there could be other ways of compensating so-called “victims” of “weaponization.”

Blanche’s comments, during a press conference on an unrelated criminal fraud matter, came after President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office earlier this week that the Anti-Weaponization Fund’s future would be Blanche’s to decide.

The $1.776 billion fund was announced in May by the Justice Department to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration. Blanche affirmed in a written order prior to his confirmation as attorney general that the fund was dead, under pressure from two Republican senators whose support for his nomination hinged on whether he would make such a declaration.

“I keep on saying this over and over again, but I’m happy to say it one more time,” Blanche said at Wednesday’s press conference in response to a question from ABC News. “I have testified under oath that it’s dead. I have testified in front of the House where I wasn’t under oath where I said it was dead. I have answered questions after my hearing where I said that it was dead, I have rescinded the order that that set up the weaponization fund, which means that it does not exist.”

“I’m not sure how I can further say that the anti-weaponization fund doesn’t exist, or we use the word ‘dead,'” he added. “But if anybody has any ideas, we also have said under oath that if Congress would like to make it a law, that we would support that, as would the White House.”

At the same time, Blanche suggested the department would entertain other means to pay out so-called “victims” of “weaponization” under the Biden administration, as President Trump has repeatedly said he wants.

“The president feels very strongly, as do I, that there were people who were victims of a Department of Justice that was absolutely weaponized, and he feels very strongly that that he would want to — to make them whole, as do I, but it will not be through the Anti-Weaponization Fund,” Blanche said.

The fund was proposed in exchange for Trump agreeing to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims for $230 million related to the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate — sparking accusations by critics of self-dealing and a bipartisan uproar over the possible use of taxpayer money to pay rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Inflation eases slightly: How price increases break down

August 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Inflation eased slightly in July but price increases stayed above the pace recorded before a surge in fuel prices set off by the Iran war. The reading matched economists’ expectations.

Prices rose 3.4% in July compared to a year earlier, marking a slight cooldown from an annual inflation rate of 3.5% in the prior month, federal government data released on Wednesday morning showed.

Inflation stands more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.

In July, prices rose for medical care, airline fares, communication, education and recreation, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

The prices of meat and milk each climbed more than 5% over the year ending in July, clocking in well above the overall inflation rate.

Egg prices, by contrast, plummeted more than 25% over the previous year, indicating continued recovery from a shortage caused by an outbreak of bird flu.

Energy prices, meanwhile, climbed nearly 15% over the year ending in July. Shelter prices — made up primarily of monthly rents and an equivalent cost assigned to home owners — jumped 3.2% over that period, registering slightly below the overall inflation rate.

The reading arrived days after government data showed unexpected job losses last month, suggesting strain on the economy as a months-long bout of elevated price hikes weighed on shoppers.

The Iran war drove up gasoline prices and catapulted inflation to a three-year high in May. A preliminary peace agreement in June offered up some relief, but a burst of on-again, off-again fighting over ensuing weeks caused crude prices to climb.

Global oil prices stood at about $89 a gallon on Wednesday morning, keeping them well above pre-war levels.

The national average price of a gallon of gas registered at $4.03 on Wednesday, AAA data showed, marking a 35% rise since the outbreak of war in late February.

A prolonged bout of elevated inflation has raised the chances of an interest rate hike, futures markets show. Investors peg the odds of a quarter-point rate hike next month at nearly 50%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

The odds of a rate increase have ticked lower since last week, however, when a lackluster jobs report showed the labor market had shifted into reverse.

The U.S. lost 23,000 jobs in July, according to the federal government’s monthly jobs report, which marked a decline from 57,000 jobs added in June.

The unemployment rate fell slightly from 4.2% in June to 4.1% in July. Unemployment remains low by historical standards.

A government report issued last week showed a steeper slowdown in gross domestic product than expected over three months ending in June, indicating softness in the underlying economy over the early months of the war.

The Fed could raise interest rates in an effort to cool off prices, but the move risks an economic slowdown that may pinch hiring.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who took the helm of the central bank this summer, has repeatedly vowed to dial back inflation.

“The committee remains resolute — you’ve heard this before — that we will deliver price stability,” Warsh told reporters in Washington, D.C., last month.

Luigi Mangione plea discussion expected Friday in federal case: Sources

August 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Prosecutors and defense lawyers in Luigi Mangione‘s federal case are expected to discuss a possible plea deal during a conference scheduled for federal court on Friday, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers are not commenting.

Negotiations for a possible guilty plea had also occurred prior to a hearing in June, sources said, though a deal was not reached.

If Mangione ends up pleading guilty to federal charges in connection with the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have said they are prepared to lobby the federal judge presiding over the case for a stiff sentence.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges stemming from the assassination-style killing and is scheduled to stand trial beginning Sept. 8 in New York State Supreme Court and Jan. 5 in Manhattan federal court.

In its letter, the district attorney’s office said it is aware of public reporting by ABC News and other outlets about Mangione’s earlier contemplation of a guilty plea in the federal case.

“If a proposed federal guilty plea would operate to defeat a just outcome in the state prosecution, the People could advise the federal district court if that consequence, and the court should consider that fact in deciding whether to accept the plea, as well as any opposition by the victim’s family to such a resolution,” the letter said.

Federal court blocks another part of Trump mail-in voting executive order

August 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal district court in Massachusetts on Tuesday issued a temporary order blocking the U.S. Postal Service from implementing President Donald Trump’s 2026 executive order on mail-in voting.

The same court in June blocked other portions of Trump’s order in 23 states and Washington, D.C., related to the Department of Homeland Security’s compilation of a federal voter citizenship list and requirement that states submit voter registration lists to the USPS, in addition to printing ballots that can be easily tracked.

Both injunctions apply only to the Nov. 3 midterm elections as litigation continues. Both indicated that the administration likely exceeded its authority in attempting to impose election requirements on states, which have the primary responsibility under law for regulating voting.

Both cases are likely to be addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court very soon. The court will essentially decide whether Trump can implement the order for the November elections.

The issue of standing remains a key question in both cases. The administration alleges that neither the states nor the coalition of nonpartisan voting rights groups has suffered concrete injury from the executive order that would allow them to challenge it.

The Trump administration has already appealed the states’ case to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking permission to move forward. That decision could come down at any time, as soon as this week.

Luigi Mangione jury to be anonymous due to risk of harassment, intimidation, judge rules

August 11, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The jurors in accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione‘s state murder trial will be kept anonymous over concerns that they may be subject to “harassment, intimidation, or improper outside influence” if their identifying information is publicly released, according to the judge.

Judge Gregory Carro said Tuesday that only prosecutors and defense lawyers will have access to the jurors’ names and addresses.

Jury selection starts on Sept. 8.

Carro justified his decision in part by noting that individuals identifying themselves as Mangione’s supporters have “engaged in inflammatory and hostile public statements outside the courthouse and announced their intention to attend jury selection to attempt to speak to prospective jurors.”

“Given the extraordinary public attention and the documented instances of threatening or hostile behavior by individuals outside the courthouse, the court finds that disclosure of juror names to the public poses an unjustifiable risk of interference with the administration of justice,” Carro wrote in an order. “Restricting public disclosure of juror names while making the names available to the parties and counsel is an appropriate and necessary safeguard.”

Defense lawyers opposed withholding the names of jurors, arguing that prosecutors failed to demonstrate an “actual threat to the safety or integrity of the jury” and alleged that the concerns raised by prosecutors were “speculative” and “hypothetical.”

“They have identified no specific facts demonstrating that any actual, existing threat to the safety or integrity of the jury presently exists,” Mangione’s lawyers wrote.

Carro disagreed, writing that prosecutors have demonstrated that individuals related to the case have been subject to threats and harassment.

“The court finds that these circumstances create a realistic and substantial risk that prospective and sworn jurors could be subject to harassment, intimidation, or improper outside influence, and that disclosure of their identifying information would meaningfully increase that risk,” Carro wrote.

Prosecutors allege Mangione gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in an assassination-style killing on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024. Mangione has pleaded not guilty in separate state and federal cases, and faces the possibility of life in prison if he’s convicted in his state murder case.

Carro’s written order came hours after Mangione appeared in a packed courtroom for a pretrial conference, possibly the last time the accused killer will be seen in public before jury selection begins.

The last two rows of the courtroom were filled with about 20 Mangione supporters, some wearing shirts declaring his innocence or calling for expanded courtroom access.

At the hearing, Carro shot down the defense’s claims that access to the trial was limited or that prosecutors were involved in dictating the coverage plans.

He said this was not the court’s “first rodeo” when it comes to high-profile cases.

“There has never been a discussion or decision by this court to exclude the public for these proceedings, and quite the opposite is true,” the judge said, adding that there will be an overflow room for the trial.

Carro noted that more than 80 media organizations have signaled plans to cover the trial.

“There will be less room for the public because of that, but there will be room for the public,” he said.

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