Judge scolds DOJ over public statements in UnitedHealthcare CEO murder case

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge warns Justice Department officials they could face sanctions for public comments about Luigi Mangione’s prosecution. Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Judge Margaret M. Garnett on Wednesday said at least two senior Justice Department officials likely broke court rules governing the conduct of lawyers by reposting comments President Donald Trump made about Mangione. Defense lawyers say these comments have prejudiced the case. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and stalking. The judge asks the department to explain the violations and warns of possible sanctions. A Justice Department spokesperson declined comment.

Federal prosecutor says Travis Decker, wanted in the deaths of 3 daughters, is dead

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to drop the arrest warrant for a former soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters because the U.S. Marshal’s Service has declared the man dead. Authorities in Washington state found remains believed to belong to Travis Decker in a remote wooded area last week. Investigators are still waiting for DNA results to confirm the identity. Law enforcement teams had searched for more than three months for Decker. The bodies of his daughters were found in early June along with his truck at a campground outside of Leavenworth.

An aggressive squirrel seeking food has sent at least 2 people to the ER in Calif. city

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Residents of a San Francisco Bay Area city are on the lookout for an aggressive squirrel that has sent at least two people to the emergency room for medical treatment. Joan Heblack told ABC affiliate KGO-TV that she was walking in the Lucas Valley neighborhood of San Rafael when a squirrel seemingly came out of nowhere and attacked her leg, clawing and biting. “It clamped onto my leg. The tail was flying up here. I was like, ‘Get it off me, get off me!’,” Heblack said. Isabel Campoy also said she was attacked while walking in the same area. The squirrel launched itself from the ground to her face and wound up on her arm, leaving it bloody, she said.

Sexually transmitted disease cases fall, but not syphilis in newborns

NEW YORK (AP) — New government data shows another decline in sexually transmitted disease rates for U.S. adults, but also a continued rise in syphilis in newborns. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday posted the provisional data for 2024. It shows a third consecutive year of decline in gonorrhea cases. It also shows a second consecutive year of fewer adult cases of chlamydia and the most infectious forms of syphilis. But health officials have not yet been able to turn around the rise in congenital syphilis cases, in which infected moms pass the disease on to their babies. Those cases were up by less than 2% from 2023. But health experts say no cases should be happening.