iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 16/08/2026

Yesterday, Luigi Mangione managed to take some digs at the healthcare insurance industry while pleading guilty to stalking and killing Brian Thompson www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

“In November of 2024, I traveled from outside of New York State to Manhattan,” continued Mangione. “I then emailed UnitedHealthcare leadership posing as an investor at a firm managing over $50 billion in assets and requesting information about the conference. Unlike my previous interactions with insurers, I received an immediate response within an hour.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 14/08/2026

There were long press/public lines for Luigi Mangione’s federal hearing in NYC early this morning, where he’s expected to plea guilty to stalking United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson

A long line of press outside of federal court in NYC

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 13/08/2026

Another lawyer I spoke with had an interesting note, he said there's a chance Manhattan DA can try to go to trial on the firearms charge. Just depends if Seidemann wants to push or not / what Carro decides

Another lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous because he hadn’t been given permission by his company to speak on the record, says that it’s important to note that the Manhattan DA still has a legal argument that they can use to prosecute Mangione: Because Mangione faces a state weapons charge that is separate from second-degree murder, Seidemann can still potentially go to trial on the weapons charge alone, and try to ask for consecutive sentencing if Mangione is convicted. (The firearms charge carries a maximum of 15 years.) Seidemann also has the option to wait to make this decision until after he sees what the federal sentence is.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 13/08/2026

If, as part of a plea tomorrow, Luigi Mangione states he intended to and did kill Thompson, that could make a double jeopardy case stronger

Christian says the double jeopardy argument could be made stronger if, in a plea change, Mangione were to state he intended to and did kill Thompson.

“Those are the elements of murder in the second degree,” says Christina, “If I were the defense, I would argue it’s the same transaction, and factually, he’s pled to the same thing he’s being charged in state, therefore, the indictment should be dismissed.”

She says this was an argument former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s defense successfully made in 2019.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 13/08/2026

Some other things to note, IF a federal plea deal is reached that does not mean Mangione is going into court knowing what his federal sentencing will be

If Mangione does make a plea deal in his federal case, that doesn’t mean he will be able to negotiate what his sentencing will look like. “The [federal] prosecutors will recommend a certain sentence within the guidelines, and then the defense says we agree to that, but ultimately it’s going to be up to the judge,” says attorney Catherine Christian. Though she has not worked on this case, Christian was a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and is now a criminal defense lawyer. She explains that in federal court, defendants don’t necessarily know what the sentencing will be when a plea deal happens, because that is ultimately determined by the judge in the case, which for Mangione is Judge Margaret Garnett.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 06/03/2026

And then, of course, there's propaganda which has also been on the rise during the Trump administration.

‘War isn’t a video game’
Misinformation does not always rely solely on AI. Sometimes, for example, a screenshot from a video game can be circulated and shared as if it is a real photograph of destruction. And then there’s just outright propaganda, which has grown exponentially under Trump. During the ICE raids in Minnesota, the Trump administration relied on cruel memes and AI-generated images to try and sway public opinion. They even did their own version of a shallowfake, digitally altering a photograph of a woman being arrested to make it appear as if she was crying, when she was not.

Then came Iran. On March 4, the White House released a video on its official X account merging real clips of Iran missile strikes with footage from the Call of Duty video game. Halfway through, a choppy voiceover says, “We’re winning this fight.”

On March 5, the White House released another video, this time celebrating “justice the American way” with clips from movies and TV series like Braveheart, Breaking Bad, Iron Man, and Gladiator.

The war has already left more than 1,000 people dead, including more than 100 Iranian schoolgirls, according to Iran state media, and at least six American service members.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 06/03/2026

Look out for "shallowfakes," a more subtle manipulation being used to try and get past people's bullshit detectors.

These days, it’s not as simple as people getting fed deepfakes and being fooled. Political scientist Steven Feldstein says that as people have become savvier about AI, the disinformation content creators have also become more sophisticated in how they present things, resulting in a “shallowfake,” which is a more subtle manipulation.

“Rather than present something that would look completely false, [they] present shades of the truth, manipulate what’s there,” says Feldstein. Meaning content creators provide details and nuance that’s good enough to get past people’s bullshit detectors, but could still be misconstruing reality to represent a specific viewpoint. This can happen by only slightly manipulating images, like a real Iraqi airport photo which depicted smoke over a U.S. military base in Iraq, but on March 1 was changed using AI to show a giant fireball explosion. Or it could be sharing an image out of context, like using an old photo and saying it just occurred.

“You’re seeing that happen in increasing levels,” says Feldstein, author of The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance. “It’s become very sophisticated and also a critical part of geopolitics.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 27/02/2026

Issues come with making financial support a popularity contest Using technology for medical crowdfunding amplifies social biases. I spoke with a public health researcher who found evidence that the more marginalized identities someone holds, the less likely they are to get donations.

In May 2023, Davis released the results of a study about racial and gender disparities among medical crowdfunding campaigns that were “highly successful,” defined as raising more than $100,000. They found that the more marginalized identities someone holds, the less likely they are to get donations. Men were more likely to have highly successful campaigns than women, and 80 percent of these campaigns were for white people.

White men had the highest median amount raised at $186,180, which was $30,000 to 50,000 more than other race and gender groups. Of campaigns making at least $100,000, only 0.06 percent were represented by Black women, almost none of which made anywhere near their goal.

Davis worries people might see campaigns like Van Der Beek’s raising so much money quickly and think that crowdfunding will solve their medical issues, too.

“The reality is, it’s a small amount of people who are actually finding success in paying for care through these websites,” Davis says.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 07/02/2026

“The only reason the federal government sought the death penalty is because of politics. Because the federal administration is desperate to protect corporate executives." - Richard Schoenstein

Trial lawyer and legal analyst Richard Schoenstein says, in his opinion, Mangione has a strong double jeopardy argument should a second case go to trial after a conviction. But he also says he’s disappointed about the fact that the federal and state prosecutors didn’t coordinate about which trial should go first, which has the more significant penalty, better evidence, chance of getting a conviction, and who did the investigation.

“It’s absurd that they’re fighting about who goes first, and that is only because we’re in a world where politics rules prosecutor’s offices,” says Schoenstein. “The only reason the federal government sought the death penalty is because of politics. Because the federal administration is desperate to protect corporate executives. So if you kill one, you’re going to get the death penalty.” (The federal charges that would have carried a possibility of the death penalty were dropped on Jan. 30.)

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 07/02/2026

If the crimes are considered “substantially different” and are distinguishable from one another, even if they come from the same act, they can still both be prosecuted.

“It’s not double jeopardy,” says attorney Catherine Christian, of Mangione’s two cases. Christian worked as a prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and is now a criminal defense lawyer. “But I would argue it too, if I was them.”

Christian says if she were Mangione’s defense attorney and he was convicted in state court, she’d immediately try to get the federal indictment dismissed. “I’d say, this is ridiculous, to go a block down [to federal court] and have this whole trial over again — which essentially is true, it would be — but it’s completely different charges. The same witnesses, the same criminal transaction, basically the same trial, but the crimes he’s being charged with federally just have different elements.”

New York defense attorney Lance Clarke agrees with Christian’s assessment of Mangione’s federal and state cases not amounting to double jeopardy even though they seem similar.

“Both cases arise from the same underlying events, but they are not identical,” says Clarke. “If the action itself is being litigated in both forms, but for different crimes, unfortunately that’s ok.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 13/01/2026

“It parallels the same exact intention of physical rape and sexual assault, [which] is about power, domination, and humiliation. Deepfakes are absolutely a way of digitizing violent humiliation against other people.” - @aoc.bsky.social

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was in a car talking with her staffers about legislation and casually scrolling through her X mentions when she saw the photo. It was the end of February, and after spending most of the week in D.C., she was looking forward to flying down to Orlando to see her mom after a work event. But everything left her mind once she saw the picture: a digitally altered image of someone forcing her to put her mouth on their genitals. Adrenaline coursed through her, and her first thought was “I need to get this off my screen.” She closed out of it, shaken.

“There’s a shock to seeing images of yourself that someone could think are real,” the congresswoman tells me. It’s a few days after she saw the disturbing deepfake, and we’re waiting for our food in a corner booth of a retro-style diner in Queens, New York, near her neighborhood. She’s friendly and animated throughout our conversation, maintaining eye contact and passionately responding to my questions. When she tells me this story, though, she slows down, takes more pauses and plays with the delicate rings on her right hand. “As a survivor of physical sexual assault, it adds a level of dysregulation,” she says. “It resurfaces trauma, while I’m trying to — in the middle of a fucking meeting.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 01/12/2025

The supporters who have been sleeping outside of the courthouse for Luigi Mangione’s pre-trial hearing today made wristbands and bracelets for each other to mark their place in line

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 01/12/2025

Here are some of the handouts supporters are giving people in front of the courthouse: Luigi holiday bookmarks

Luigi Mangione holiday bookmarks for Luigi’s legal defense fund bookshop org

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 03/09/2025

Before calling New Orleans "quite bad" and threatening to send the National Guard here, Trump once called it a "sexy city" and hyped up a Trump Tower NOLA (which never happened despite post-Katrina promises) @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Screenshot of Donald Trump in a masquerade mask to promote Trump Tower New Orleans with the caption "live it yourself"

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 30/08/2025

Also… please don’t miss the intro website Trump Tower New Orleans had. It featured Trump, Don Jr. and Ivanka in masquerade masks. Just in case you need a pick-me up today for whatever reason.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 06/06/2025

Even Louisiana state lawmakers are confused about the legality of mifepristone and misoprostol, as was shown recently while talking about new legislation that would allow families to sue over suspected abortions. (HB575 is a bill to keep an eye on as it heads to state senate.)

Even among state lawmakers who approved the law, confusion reigns.

At a Louisiana House committee hearing last month, Rep. Lauren Ventrella, R-Greenwell Springs, said that last year “we made it illegal to prescribe” mifepristone and misoprostol. However, both can still be legally prescribed by health care providers with the proper licensing for Schedule IV drugs. When the law reclassifying the medication passed, its supporters repeatedly stated they were not restricting access to the medication for people who needed it for reasons outside of abortion.

When Ventrella misspoke, she was introducing House Bill 575, which would allow families to sue over suspected abortions. Attorney General Liz Murrill has referred to the law as “another tool in the toolbox” that could be used against out-of-state doctors who prescribe abortion medication to patients in Louisiana.

Murrill is currently prosecuting at least two cases involving a New York doctor who allegedly prescribed medications to pregnant women in Louisiana. So far, New York’s shield laws, which protects abortion providers, have held up against states that have tried to prosecute doctors.

Ventrella’s bill awaits Senate floor action with less than a week remaining in the legislative session.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 06/06/2025

One mother who miscarried said: "I was denied misoprostol, essentially leaving me with my dead baby inside of me even longer because the pharmacist said he couldn’t give it to me. It was more horrific than it needed to be.”

In another instance, a pharmacist refused to fill a prescription for misoprostol ahead of an IUD insertion, telling the patient “he thought she was going to use it for an abortion,” wrote the doctor.

There were also multiple accounts of misoprostol being prescribed for miscarriages, but pharmacists delayed filling prescriptions until they spoke to the doctor on the phone. In one instance, the mother who miscarried filed a complaint with the city health department.

“I was denied misoprostol, essentially leaving me with my dead baby inside of me even longer because the pharmacist said he couldn’t give it to me,” the mother wrote. “It was more horrific than it needed to be.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 06/06/2025

The political assault on the medications continues to ramp up on the state & national level. La. doctors detail challenges accessing misoprostol for their patients. One OB had to manually dilate their patient's cervix because they couldn't get misoprostol for a hysteroscopy

The New Orleans Health Department has been tracking complaints from health care providers and patients who have struggled with misoprostol access since October. The medical professionals and patients were provided anonymity to encourage feedback.

One doctor wrote they had trouble accessing the drug to provide to a patient going through a hysteroscopy, a medical procedure in which the doctor examines a woman’s uterus using a thin, lighted tube.

“I was unable to get misoprostol in pre-op for [a] patient undergoing hysteroscope,” the provider wrote. “Therefore [I] had to manually dilate [the] cervix multiple times causing unnecessary harm to the patient.”

Another doctor said they couldn’t complete a biopsy, so they prescribed misoprostol to a patient in order to try the procedure again after softening her cervix. The doctor included the patient’s diagnosis of abnormal bleeding on the prescription, and that the patient was not pregnant. The pharmacy refused to fill the prescription until the doctor got on the phone to confirm the medication was not being used to end a pregnancy.

“This could lead to a delay in diagnosis of cancer,” the doctor wrote.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 05/06/2025

An October entry says: “The problem with most revolutionary acts is that the message is lost on normies." It mentions Unabomber Ted Kaczynski: "By committing indiscriminate atrocities — he becomes a monster, which makes his ideas those of a monster, no matter how true."

The writer goes on to say “Ted K.”, presumably the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, made some “good points on the future of humanity, but to make his point he indiscriminately mailbombs innocents.”

“By committing indiscriminate atrocities — he becomes a monster, which makes his ideas those of a monster, no matter how true. He crosses the line from revolutionary anarchist to terrorist — the worst thing a person can be.” As the entry continues, the writer talks about how rebelling against the “deadly, greed-fueled health insurance cartel” shouldn’t involve bombing the headquarters because that might make it seem like “the unjustified anger of someone who simply got sick/had bad luck and took their frustration out on the insurance industry, while recklessly endangering countless employees.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 05/06/2025

The Manhattan DA provided images of what they say are handwritten notes Luigi Mangione wrote in the months leading up to the assassination of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson. rollingstone.com/culture/cult... @rollingstone.com

An entry from the notebook in question, dated Aug. 15, 2024, states the writer was in San Francisco for a month at the time. “I finally feel confident about what I will do,” the entry says. “The details are coming together. And I don’t feel any doubt about whether it’s right or justified. I’m glad — in a way — that I’ve procrastinated [because] it allowed me to learn more about UHC. [Indecipherable] would have been an unjustified catastrophe that would be perceived mostly as sick, but more importantly unhelpful. Would do nothing to spread awareness/improve people’s lives.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 03/06/2025

Mangione's lawyers request is for his hand shackles to be removed, not his leg shackles. Their argument is that Mangione has not shown himself to be a security or flight risk and he's often visited (unshackled) in a large open room with children present.

Mr. Mangione has been held in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center

("MDC") located in Brooklyn, New York, since December 19, 2024. During the 167 days in pre-
trial detention, Mr. Mangione has not been a security or flight risk requiring special, restricted or

different treatment than any other general MDC inmate. He has never been cited by officers for
misconduct, nor has he ever been punished or restricted; he has not exhibited any uncooperative
behavior and has not been placed in any specially restricted location such as the Special Housing
Unit ( also known as "the SHU"). In fact, he has been assigned to a work detail and is in the general
population. To further illustrate this point, counsel visits Mr. Mangione nearly daily in the common
visitor area at the MDC-a large open room with rows of small plastic chairs and no barriers
between people or groups, where unshackled inmates meet with their families and where visitors
and lawyers walk freely to buy food from vending machines and heat their food in a microwave.
There are often dozens of people (including young children, babies, family members and others)
sitting arms-length apart in the same large area as a completely unshackled Mr. Mangione. In other
words, Mr. Mangione is treated just like any other pre-trial detainee, not like someone who is a
heightened security or flight risk.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 03/06/2025

The lawyers mention that a photograph of Mangione's shackled ankles garnered more than 36 million views at his Feb. 21 appearance

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 03/06/2025

Luigi Mangione's lawyers request to remove bulletproof vest and hand shackles ahead of his appearance on June 26 at state court. "To counsel's knowledge, there have been no threats to Mr. Mangione's safety, and the only one wishing to execute him is the federal government."

before this Court, and there is no reason for him to be wearing one now. To counsel's knowledge,
there have been no threats to Mr. Mangione's safety, and the only one wishing to execute him is
the federal government. Wearing a bulletproof vest therefore serves no other purpose than to
prejudice Mr. Mangione in the media and before future potential jurors.
Each time Mr. Mangione has appeared in federal court (both in December 2024 and more
recently in April 2025), he was wearing neither a bulletproof vest nor arm restraints of any sort,
only leg shackles-which is what we are requesting here. Notably, counsel did not even have to
request that Mr. Mangione appear with his hands unrestrained, as the U.S. Marshals Service
removed his restraints on their own as is standard. There is no justification to treat Mr. Mangione's
security protocol differently in state court than in the more serious federal court case where he
faces potential execution. That Mr. Mangione's state court appearances have cameras in the
courtroom (as opposed to federal court) does not suddenly turn Mr. Mangione into more of security
threat that requires shackles and a bulletproof vest in the courtroom, especially given that the state
and federal cases involve identical allegations.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 30/05/2025

"If the president is in any way confused about his responsibility, he should resign. Trump wants to transform the definition of what it means to be an American — from upholding the Constitution and our freedoms — to a pledge of loyalty to him." - @aoc.bsky.social

Photograph of President Trump in the oval office

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 30/05/2025

I asked @aoc.bsky.social about the Trump administration deporting U.S. citizen children with cancer: "If this president is breaking the Constitution and if he’s starting to deport and force out U.S. citizens from this country, that, to me, is shut-it-down territory." @rollingstone.com

Switching to immigration, I’ve been reporting on U.S.-citizen children who are being illegally removed from the country, one of whom was a four-year-old boy in active treatment for metastatic cancer. He’s the second U.S.-citizen child with cancer that President Trump has deported. How do you think the public should be responding to this?
Listen, I come from a background of organizing. If this president is breaking the Constitution and if he’s starting to deport and force out U.S. citizens from this country, that, to me, is shut-it-down territory. We’ve seen collective action happen before, and mass civil resistance is one of the critical pieces that we have, and it requires both, right? We need Democrats that are willing to stand up and brawl and not be afraid to fight on these issues, and we need mass collectives of people organizing in the streets. I believe that it’s always been that combination that is able to stop the encroachment of authoritarianism and fascism.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 10/05/2025

We spoke about the dreaded disappearing ellipsis — that feeling when you can see someone typing and then it stops. "At any age, that ellipsis will kick your butt," Akil said laughing.

In true Blume style, Akil also incorporated a central issue affecting people today — technology.

“The phone is a big character in the show, because there’s a lot of duality to the phone,” she says.

Throughout the series, the characters use phones to connect and disconnect via blocked messages, lost voicemails and unfinished texts. In the premiere, the drama revolves around the dreaded disappearing ellipsis — that feeling when you can see someone typing and then it stops.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 10/05/2025

"I posit that the Black boy is the most vulnerable [person in society]," Akil told me. "Mentally, emotionally, physically." She developed the adaptation in 2020.

Akil’s “Forever,” set in 2018 Los Angeles, stars Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone as the teenage leads — though the roles are gender-swapped from the novel. In 2020, while Akil was developing the adaptation, she tried to think of who the most vulnerable person is in society.

“I posit that the Black boy is the most vulnerable,” she says. “My muse is my oldest son, and through the portal of him I got to go into the generation and just really start to look at what was going on.”

While working on the project, she realized there are few depictions of boys and young men whose story is anchored in love, rather than relegating love to a side plot. “Mentally, emotionally, physically — they too deserve to fall in love and be desired and have someone fall in love with them,” she says. “And for Keisha — his honesty was attractive to her. How often do we ever really see that level of vulnerability be the leading guy?”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 30/04/2025

In the case of the other family, where the mom was pregnant, a judge has issued a clarification of the May 16 hearing about what happened. He revealed he received the case one minute before the plane carrying the families reached El Paso on the way to Honduras.

The other mother who was deported is currently pregnant. She brought her two-year-old U.S. citizen daughter known as VML, and her older sibling, with her to what she thought was a routine check-in on April 22. Three days later, all three of them were on a plane to Honduras, landing before a judge could hear the court case attempting to delay their removal. In both situations, attorneys say they were working on alternate lawful custodians to take care of the children.

Yesterday, a federal judge in Louisiana, Terry Doughty, issued an order clarifying the scope of an upcoming hearing on May 16 where he will determine whether VML’s mother consented to her daughter’s removal. In the order, it’s revealed that the case was assigned to him at 8:14AM on April 25, and the court immediately began considering the petition. A minute later, the plane carrying VML from Alexandria, Louisiana, reached El Paso, preparing for its final leg to Honduras.

“The court sought to call VML’s mother to have her attest that she consented to her child being removed with her,” wrote Doughty. “That didn’t happen. Now we are here.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 30/04/2025

This family had an immigration attorney present when they arrived at the check-in and she says officials refused to let her attend with her client. By the next morning, the family was in Honduras

New Orleans attorney Erin Hebert, from Ware Immigration Law, said the child’s mother was told to bring him and his seven-year-old sister to a check-in in order to copy their passports. The children were dressed in their school uniforms and expected to return to class after what they thought would be a routine appointment. Instead, ICE officials refused to let Hebert come in with the family.

“They refused to allow me to go back into the appointment,” Hebert tells Rolling Stone. “I want to be clear — they sequestered her from me.”

Hebert said she sat in the waiting room until somebody came out and told her all three of them had been detained. “When I demanded information about where they’d been taken, where they were going, they refused to tell me,” she says. Hebert sprung into action to try and file court motions to delay the deportation but by the next morning, the family was already in Honduras. The children left in their school uniforms, without any of their belongings. The child with cancer did not have his medication with him.

“This is a U.S. citizen child with a serious medical condition,” says Hebert. “I can’t think of a more vulnerable position to be in than that child. I am not easily shocked by the injustices that I have seen in my career, but this shocked me.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 30/04/2025

DHS identified the mothers who were deported and continued doubling down on their claim they chose to bring their children with them. Attorneys for both moms vehemently deny this, and say the families are seeking medical care in the aftermath

“By naming these families publicly, DHS isn’t just trying to deflect rightful blame – it’s exposing these families to real danger,” Mich Gonzalez, one of the family’s attorneys, tells Rolling Stone.

In a press release issued Wednesday morning, the National Immigration Project of National Lawyers Guild stated, “This is not just a violation of trust; it is a reckless act that puts real lives at risk and underlines the lack of concern for the safety and welfare of these children and their families…. The mothers were forcibly deported, and their U.S. citizen children were taken with them under duress. No safe or practical alternative was provided to allow the children to remain in their country of birth.”

Gonzalez, who co-founded Sanctuary of the South, says the families are “still navigating how to seek medical care to address the impacts to their physical and mental health following this ordeal.” In addition to one of the mother’s seeking perinatal care and one of the children’s treatment for cancer, Gonzalez says the impact of the event itself and the ensuing aftermath has the families fearing for their safety.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 25/04/2025

Death Penalty Action executive director Abraham Bonowitz released a statement calling it a “hypocritical political stunt” by Bondi.

Screengrab of: “This is yet another disturbing reminder that our society values certain lives more than others,” said Bonowitz. “Just in recent months, another individual who many would classify as “the worst of the worst,” who killed multiple people in a mass shooting in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, was appropriately punished without the death penalty. While we do not condone the murder of Brian Thompson, his life did not matter more than the lives of regular people who were simply out ‘shopping while Brown.’”

“We urge the Attorney General to rescind her call for the death penalty,” he continued. “Should Luigi Mangione be found guilty after a fair trial, we demand that the Trump Administration pursue an alternative punishment, one that can hold him accountable without killing him.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 07/04/2025

Rep. Josh Carlson (R) proposes replacing the word “intentionally” with “knowingly” and removes “physical” to describe the use of force or intimidation. The bill details 18 examples of force, control or intimidation and removes references to outpatient abortion facilities.

Some of the examples of coercion are specific, such as kidnapping or blackmail, but others leave wide room for interpretation.

One example says “restraint of speech or communication with others” can count as intimidation or control, including “interference with the use of mail, telephone, or money.” Another cites “isolation of an individual from others” or “exploitation of needs for food, shelter, safety, affection, or intimate or marital relationships.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 07/04/2025

The teams that focused on preventing domestic abuse and sexual assault were both entirely dismantled. Survivors are the ones that are going to be impacted the most by these layoffs.

Intimate partner violence, for example, primarily affects women, and the Intimate Partner Violence Prevention team was dismantled. The team worked with state and local domestic violence coalitions to put prevention strategies in place. All of the employees working on rape prevention education were also placed on leave. They’d funded and evaluated programs aimed at reducing sexual violence, especially in communities with marginalized individuals. They provided funding to state coalitions which distributed the money to rape crisis centers and local organizations and educated communities on resources they had available.

One program that was funded was a hotspot mapping app called “Like a Girl.” If girls and women don’t feel safe in a neighborhood they can mark the spot on the map and then that data can be used to target high-impact areas and see if there are improvements that can be made to the area, like adding streetlights or using other proven ways of reducing violence.

“This will close a lot of doors for sexual assault survivors that relied on these programs,” says a health scientist on the violence prevention team who asked to remain anonymous.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 07/04/2025

Louisiana OB-GYN Dr. Nicole Freehill is extremely worried about all of the CDC cuts, particularly to IVF research: "If this administration is so pro-life, why are they cutting this?"

Freehill also says she was concerned about how cuts to the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) team will affect fertility research. “That’s an ever-changing field, trying to find the best techniques to help patients get pregnant and stay pregnant,” she says. “A lot of these patients have tried for years, they want to be parents. If this administration is so pro-life, why are they cutting this?”

Among the employees who were cut were researchers who studied contraception, abortion, and fertility. For example, staffers would investigate success rates of IVF across clinics nationwide. The CDC is one of the only federal agencies tracking success rates and overseeing fertility clinics. The IVF cuts were especially ironic, considering Trump recently declared himself the “fertilization president’ at a Women’s History Month event at the White House on March 26 when talking about the executive order he signed pledging to expand access to fertility treatment.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 07/04/2025

The entire Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) team was laid off. That program was developed to identify women and infants at high risk of health problems, with the goal of reducing infant mortality and morbidity.

“We cannot understand factors associated with poor pregnancy outcomes without surveillance like PRAMs,” Taylor says. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of all high-income countries, and experts fear that reducing research on prevention will make things even worse. “If we don’t understand those factors, U.S. maternal morbidity and mortality will continue to worsen. This means more women will die.”

“Black women in America are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, we know this in large part because of the data collected and analyzed by the CDC,” says Jennifer Driver, who runs the reproductive rights council at the State Innovation Exchange, a strategy center collaborating with state lawmakers on progressive public policy.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 02/04/2025

"Without the support staff, we can't do our science" one principal investigator and neuroscientist at NIH tells me.

A tenured principal investigator at NIH who leads a neuroscience lab tells Rolling Stone that the layoffs have completely shaken up the agency. “Even though the surface message is that they’re keeping the scientists, without the support staff, we can’t do our science,” they say.

“People today feel devastated and hopeless,” says the neuroscientist, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job. “When the HHS Secretary talked about the need to invest in science and medicine, it felt like they wanted us to be able to achieve our mission. But what’s happening today — we feel like the rug’s being swept out from under us, and we don’t know who’s not going to be safe tomorrow.”

Several senior leaders at both the CDC and NIH were reassigned from HHS to Indian Health Services (IHS), which provides medical resources to Native American Tribes, multiple sources confirmed. The positions could require relocating to more rural locations like Alaska, Montana, and New Mexico. Because the jobs are far away from their homes, some officials saw it as a way to force them out. They were also concerned that if they rejected the reassignment, this could risk them losing their pensions.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 02/04/2025

Also gutted? Two of the three branches of the CDC's Division of Reproductive Health.

“You don’t expect your whole program to be wiped out,” a staffer in the reproductive health division tells Rolling Stone. “It’s heartbreaking.”

For example, the team that worked on the contraception guidelines all received emails that they were let go today. The guidelines are used as a standard of care by OB-GYNs, midwives, and primary care doctors.

“Without CDC’s contraception guidelines, more women will die as pregnancy is the most dangerous thing a 20 or 30 year old will do in the U.S.,” adds the staffer.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 02/04/2025

“The amount of knowledge that is being purged today at CDC is just tragic," said one CDC staffer. Another told @swin24.bsky.social: "Shitshow is an understatement."

Samantha, who worked at the CDC’s Division of Environmental Health and Science Practice (DEHSP), says her entire division was eliminated. That includes the Asthma and Air Quality Branch, the Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch, the Climate and Health Activity branch, and the Water Food and Environmental Health Services, among others. Approximately 2,400 employees have been impacted in the CDC.

“They are firing whole organizational units,” says Samantha. “These are people that have 30 years of service, people with children, veterans, there was no thought put into trying to retain people that have institutional knowledge.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 01/04/2025

Karen Friedman Agnifilo says, "This is a corrupt web of government dysfunction and one-upmanship. Luigi is caught in a high-stakes game of tug-of-war between state and federal prosecutors, except the trophy is a young man’s life.” Full statement:

On Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione’s legal team, led by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, responded in a statement.

“By seeking to murder Luigi Mangione, the Justice Department has moved from the dysfunctional to the barbaric,” said Agnifilo. “Their decision to execute Luigi is political and goes against the recommendation of the local federal prosecutors, the law, and historical precedent. While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the pre-meditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi. By doing this, they are defending the broken, immoral, and murderous healthcare industry that continues to terrorize the American people. We are prepared to fight these federal charges, brought by a lawless Justice Department, as well as the New York State charges, and the Pennsylvania charges, and anything else they want to pile on Luigi. This is a corrupt web of government dysfunction and one-upmanship. Luigi is caught in a high-stakes game of tug-of-war between state and federal prosecutors, except the trophy is a young man’s life.”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 07/03/2025

"Several recent articles have contained explicit misinformation about our client and the case. In response, we are exercising our right to correct these inaccuracies and provide the public with truthful information." -Mangione's legal team

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 07/03/2025

Luigi Mangione's legal team updated his website with handwritten notes from Mangione and an appendix he made of the mail he's received while at MDC www.luigimangioneinfo.com/pages/faq/

Luigi Mangione's handwritten appendix of mail he's received while incarcerated

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 23/02/2025

Mardi Gras throws this year are … interesting

Mardi Gras beads and football and stuffies alongside two Bibles

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 21/02/2025

Outside of the courthouse Free Luigi is written repeatedly in chalk on the ground and a truck is driving around displaying images of people reportedly denied healthcare

A black truck depicts a photo of a couple and says Tracy Pike died of cancer after being denied healthcare

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 15/02/2025

Mangione’s supporters have sent him numerous letters, photos, and books. “He is very appreciative, but kindly asks that people temporarily refrain from sending more books,” the legal team writes in the FAQs.

At any given time, Mangione is only permitted to possess five books, a photo album, and 25 pictures, although wardens can adjust these limits at their discretion. In addition to asking for a hold on books, Mangione requested that people send no more than five photos at a time. The legal team reminds senders that every photo is screened and reviewed by law enforcement.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 15/02/2025

Meanwhile, Friday night in New Orleans, Luigi Mangione's face made an appearance at the Krewe Boheme parade

Photo of a red and white poster depicting Luigi Mangione with the text Everybody Loves Luigi

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 15/02/2025

Mangione's legal team say they launched a website to keep people informed "due to the extraordinary volume of inquiries and outpouring of support." Supporters have raised nearly $400K to contribute to his legal expenses.

Due to the extraordinary volume of inquiries and outpouring of support, this site was created and is maintained by Luigi Mangione’s New York legal defense team to provide answers to frequently asked questions, accurate information about his cases, and dispel misinformation. The intent is to share factual information regarding the unprecedented, multiple prosecutions against him.

Here is a message from Luigi:

"I am overwhelmed by - and grateful for - everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support. Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe. While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future." -Luigi Mangione

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 31/01/2025

Excited to see my misoprostol reporting project with @lailluminator.com highlighted in @pulitzercenter.bsky.social annual report report.pulitzercenter.org/annual-repor...

The first story published by our inaugural cohort of StoryReach U.S. Fellows is already making waves with Louisiana state officials. Louisiana-based Fellow Lorena O'Neil broke a story about the potential maternal health threats of a new state law that classifies two vital pregnancy care drugs as controlled dangerous substances. Her articles were cited multiple times in a lawsuit filed against Louisiana over the new controlled substances law this past November.

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 20/01/2025

Sending all my love to the family and loved ones of Cecile Richards, she was a force for reproductive rights and a beloved honorary New Orleanian.

Statement from Cecile Richards family announcing she passed away this morning

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 13/01/2025

“They could have it in stock, but there is an internal policy in that pharmacy that says you better call the physician and make sure it’s not for an abortion. That’s not part of the law. They don’t call your doctor every time you get a percocet or valium prescription”

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Lorena O’Neil @lorenaoneil.com · 04/01/2025

High on the list of things we don’t need — domestic abuse movie merch

A black tote back with lavender flowers and white text reading It Ends With Us

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