Luigi Mangione, accused of the 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, will not face the death penalty if convicted, a federal judge ruled Friday, according to Time. The judge dismissed two of the most serious federal charges Mangione faced, including one that would have made him eligible for capital punishment.
The decision marks a legal victory for Mangione, 27, an Ivy League graduate. His lawyers previously succeeded in getting terrorism-related state charges against him dropped in September, Time reported. However, he still faces multiple charges at both the state and federal levels.
Mangione was arrested on Dec. 9, 2024, after allegedly shooting Thompson in Midtown Manhattan five days prior as the CEO was walking to a conference, according to Time. He was subsequently charged with numerous counts in New York and Pennsylvania.
In other news, researchers at the University of Maine and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are collaborating on a new method to dry non-aggregated cellulose nanofibers, Phys.org reported. This material could potentially replace plastics in various applications. The process involves using "mini tornadoes" to spin out the dried nanofibers, according to ORNL.
Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum in Davos highlighted the growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on the climate, Time noted. While AI was prominently featured, discussions also centered on the enormous electricity demands required to scale AI technologies. This necessitates significant investments in energy companies capable of providing power reliably and quickly, posing a challenge for climate goals.
In the realm of operating systems, the Genode OS Framework is presented as a toolkit for constructing highly secure, special-purpose operating systems, according to Hacker News. Genode is designed to scale from embedded systems with limited memory to dynamic general-purpose workloads. It utilizes a recursive system structure where each program operates within a dedicated sandbox, granted only necessary access rights and resources.
Finally, the entertainment world mourned the death of Catherine O'Hara, the comedy icon, who died on Friday at 71, Time reported. O'Hara was known for her roles as a "pretentious artiste," a "harried matriarch," and "Moira Goddamn Rose," among many others. Her performances were often characterized by histrionics, narcissism, and unfiltered expression.
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