Ghost gun revelations and social media scrutiny surround the high-profile murder case of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO
(Slightly) new name, who dis? I didn’t catch enough sun in Florida to get a proper tan, but I am bringing a fresh look to the newsletter. All your favorite parts are still here, just with an updated feel. Like that friend who suddenly has a great hairline a few months after their trip to Turkey.
In today’s big story, Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old charged with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, made a vocal first appearance in court.
What’s on deck
- Markets: Microsoft investors take a pass on holding bitcoin on the balance sheet.
- Tech: Amazon’s pharmacy business is quietly crushing it.
- Business: It turns out taking it easy during retirement isn’t all that easy.
But first, all rise.
The big story
Heading to the courtroom
The case against the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is coming into focus.
Luigi Mangione appeared in a Pennsylvania court Tuesday for a hearing about his extradition to New York, where he faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of Thompson last week.
The high-profile case already included fireworks, as Mangione shouted at the press while being escorted into the local courthouse. Although it wasn’t entirely intelligible, Mangione called something “completely out of touch” and “an insult to the American people.” There was also a reference to a “lived experience.”
Mangione brought some of that fight into the courtroom, as his lawyer, Thomas Dickey, said he was contesting his extradition to NY. Doing so won’t ultimately stop him from being brought back to New York to be arraigned, but it could delay the process by weeks.
A key piece of the case will likely be a “ghost gun” — or untraceable firearm that can be assembled at home — that police say they found on Mangione. Joseph Kenny, the New York Police Department’s chief of detectives, previously told reporters the gun could have been made on a 3D printer.
Shares in health insurers have also taken a dip as the market wonders if Thompson’s death will lead to wider scrutiny of the industry.
One thing that does seem clear is the gap between how much health insurance companies spend on executive security compared to their Big Tech peers.
In the meantime, details on Mangione continue to emerge.
A review of Mangione’s deleted X posts by B-17offers a look inside the 26-year-old’s mind.
His deleted social media posts show skepticism toward doctors, President-elect Donald Trump, and President Biden. One repost also suggests he supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
It’s just some of the vast online trail the Ivy League graduate created. An app founder who talked about AI on X, Mangione attended elite schools and wrote a favorable review of the Unabomber Manifesto.
3 things in markets
- Microsoft shareholders shut down a bitcoin investing bid. A think tank proposal called for Microsoft to evaluate the benefits of adding bitcoin to its corporate balance sheet. But investors shut the proposal down, saying it prefers to stick with less volatile assets.
- The market’s green flags could actually be red ones for 2025. Contrarian investor Edward Yardeni explains why seemingly strong market indicators, like an elevated Bull/Bear ratio and the S&P 500 trading above its 200-day moving average, might lead to a pullback.
- Speaking of cautious outlooks… Some Wall Street forecasters see the stock market’s good times hitting a wall in 2025. Whether it’s concerns over consumer spending waning or a feeling that stocks are just too pricey, some experts see a market correction coming early next year.
3 things in tech
- Amazon Pharmacy’s potential sales boom. A record 45% of Amazon’s customers are “very interested” in buying medications from its pharmacy business, an Evercore analysis found. As shopper interest skyrockets, Amazon Pharmacy’s revenue is expected to reach $2 billion this year, according to the report.
- YouTube star Marques Brownlee has some questions for OpenAI. The AI giant recently released Sora, an AI video generator, to help creators like popular tech reviewer Brownlee. But Brownlee didn’t sugarcoat his skepticism in his review of the AI tool and wanted to know if OpenAI used his videos to train Sora without his knowledge.
- Google’s Gemini woes. As Google pours money into AI, the tech giant is hoping products like Gemini for Google Workspace will turn the investment into revenue. However, according to internal documents reviewed by B-17, Workspace’s Gemini tools trailed its key rivals when it came to brand familiarity and usage.
3 things in business
Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons was blocked by a federal judge.
- Kroger’s $25 billion acquisition is not to be. Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons was blocked by a federal judge, who agreed with the FTC that the merger would weaken competition for US grocery shoppers. It would be the largest supermarket merger in history, but the ruling could ultimately sink the deal.
- Ball is not life, after all. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was widely criticized by Wall Street after losing NBA rights to competitors. But WBD is doing just fine, securing higher rates for most of its TV networks from Charter and Comcast, the two largest cable providers in the US, people familiar with the terms of the deals told B-17. (NBA execs, on the other hand, are fighting an early-season ratings slump with an NBA Cup they hope will reignite interest.)
- America is doing retirement all wrong. Plenty of older Americans envision themselves strolling through golf courses, lounging by pools, or binge-watching TV shows in retirement. But research suggests a life of pure leisure doesn’t make you happier or healthier. In fact, it may even prevent you from living longer.
