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Six days after the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel and subsequent manhunt for a suspect, a 26-year-old man, Luigi Mangione, was charged with murder in the case, appearing in court on Tuesday for the first time.

Mangione was arrested Monday as he sat in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 300 miles from New York. Police say he had numerous fake IDs on him, as well as a gun they described as a homemade “ghost gun” and silencer. Now, a judge will decide whether he will be extradited to New York to face prosecution and whether he’ll be granted bail.

The killing of a health insurance executive and the arrest of a young Ivy League graduate with a prolific online trail have captivated Americans this past week. Some observers disillusioned by the insurance industry’s profit-seeking model have cast Thompson as a corporate marauder whose business decisions had left sick people vulnerable and without care; the suspect, Mangione, as a selfless hero; and violence as a kind of revolutionary act.   

That reaction, in turn, has raised a broad array of questions about our collective sense of empathy. As Vox’s Aja Romano and Sigal Samuel wrote this weekend: “Disregarding human dignity by committing or cheering on an act of violence can’t be the answer.”

But the case has provided an illuminating moment for the public to discuss their grievances with the health insurance system, and just what conditions might radicalize a young man and motivate him to kill. 

As Aja and Sigal write, the “system [Thompson] was a key part of frequently operated with little compassion for the humans at the other end of his decisions, and the responses that default to jokes about being ‘out of network’ underscore that.”

Vox is covering this complicated story from a variety of angles, looking at everything from how this case marks a grim milestone for ghost guns, which have proliferated in recent years, to why UnitedHealthcare and other insurers have so incensed the American public. Read on: 

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America’s public housing system was designed to fail: More than 2 million people live in public housing in the United States, despite the system’s inefficiencies and instability. The US system has faced decades of self-sabotage, while other countries have reliably operated mixed-income housing developments without segregating poor people from the middle class.

Why do people think Republicans are better for the economy? Republicans have a history of branding themselves as a pro-business party that will eliminate excess, while Democrats run on strengthening regulations and proposals such as raising the minimum wage. But voters get concerned that those policies will hinder business. Here’s what the numbers say about which party provides a better economy.

Everybody loves MAHA — because nobody knows what it really is: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign resonates with voters across the political spectrum. Many sympathize with his comments on the drug industry, and a growing number share his negative views on vaccine mandates. But MAHA’s slippery mission allows people to project their own health priorities onto its vague platform.

The Supreme Court on the Israel-Palestine conflict: The Supreme Court will get involved in a longstanding dispute between the families of Americans killed in Israel and the government of some parts of Palestine. Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization is unlikely to have an impact on the broader conflict between Israel and Palestine, but the case could reshape rules governing who can be sued, and where, in the United States.

The EPA bans two cancer-causing chemicals: The US Environmental Protection Agency has banned the use of trichloroethylene, known as TCE, a chemical used in manufacturing, and perchloroethylene, known as PCE, a solvent used in dry cleaning, manufacturing, and car repair. Activists have been speaking out about their effects for decades. [CNN]

Sora, the AI video tool, is here: OpenAI’s video-generation model is rolling out in the US and several other countries. While it’s the next frontier for artificial intelligence, critics are worried it could spark a possible rise in deepfakes. [NBC News]

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—senior reporter Sigal Samuel on the problem with trying to optimize morality. You can read more about the ethical philosophies around moral perfectionism here.

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Today’s edition was produced and edited by senior editor Lavanya Ramanathan, with contributions from staff editor Melinda Fakuade. We'll see you tomorrow!

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