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Another ethnic group chieftain in BARMM shot dead

MAX KLEINEN-UNSPLASH

COTABATO CITY — Another chieftain of an indigenous non-Moro group died in a gun attack in Datu Hoffer, Maguindanao del Sur last weekend,

The slain chieftain is the 83rd influential tribesman killed in similar atrocities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) since 2019.

The slain 40-year-old Baywan L. Angan of Central Mindanao’s Dulangan Manobo community was popular for his extensive involvement in the settlement of conflicts between tribe members and intruders grabbing agricultural lands in their ancestral domains in the borders of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao del Sur provinces.

Brig. Gen. Romeo J. Macapaz, director of the Police Regional Office in BARMM, told reporters on Wednesday that Mr. Angan was shot dead by armed men right in their family yard in Barangay Mantao in Datu Hoffer in Maguindanao del Sur.

Mr. Angan was a former member of the barangay council in Mantao, according to local officials and leaders of the Teduray tribe in the municipality.

Residents of Barangay Mantao had told reporters that Mr. Angan, known to them as a non-violent tribal leader, was unarmed when he was killed by men with assault rifles while his arms were raised, pleading for his life.

A Teduray member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro regional parliament, Froilyn Tenorio Mendoza, had condemned the brutal killing of Mr. Angan and called on the police to put a closure to the incident.

Records obtained from Army and police units in Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur provinces, both in the Bangsamoro region, and in Sultan Kudarat in Region 12, indicate that Mr. Angan is the 83rd leader of an indigenous tribe killed in wanton gun attacks in the autonomous region since since 2019. — John Felix M. Unson

Over P5-M cannabis torched in Benguet, Kalinga

ELSA OLOFSSON-UNSPLASH

LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET Dedicated anti-narcotics operatives of the Cordillera police command torched down P5.2 million worth of cannabis (marijuana) in a series of operations in Benguet and Kalinga provinces on Tuesday.

According to Cordillera police director Brig. Gen. David K. Peredo, 9,890 pieces of fully grown marijuana plants (FGMJP), 800 marijuana seedlings, and 20,000 grams of dried marijuana stalks, leaves, and fruiting tops, reaching P4.4 million were discovered in remote hinterland barangays Kayapa in Bakun and Tacadang in Kibungan, both in Benguet.

While policemen joined by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera operatives also swooped down on 4,000 pieces of harvestable marijuana shrubs valued at P800,000 in remote barangay Ngibat, in Tinglayan, Kalinga on that same day.

Mr. Peredo assured that all the discovered marijuana shrubs were uprooted and burned onsite.

He added that operatives are into deep probing other marijuana plantation sites elsewhere in the highland Cordillera region with the promise to apprehend those responsible behind the illicit cannabis farming. Artemio A. Dumlao

Tigresses force rubber match at UAAP women’s basketball finals

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS TIGRESSES — PHILIPPINE STAR/RUSSELL PALMA

Games on Sunday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
10 a.m. – UST vs UE (JHS Boys’ Game 2)
1 p.m. – NU vs UST (Women’s Game 3)

REIGNING champion University of Santo Tomas denied National University (NU) a dream 16-0 perfect campaign with a herculean 78-68 win in Game 2 to force a winner-take-all setto in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Tigresses did not just lick the wounds of their heartbreaking 72-71 defeat in Game 1 but dealt the first — and biggest — scratch on the Lady Bulldogs this season behind a scintillating 24-9 start en route to the massive triumph.

Brigette Santos erupted for a career-best 27 points on 11-of-21 clip laced by two rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead the pack as the Tigresses kept their title retention bid flickering.

It was Ms. Santos who drained the go-ahead basket in Game 1 to give Santo Tomas a momentary lead only for NU to snatch the game on rookie Cielo Pagdulagan’s game-winner to extend an unbeaten run to 15 games.

Santo Tomas took its turn this time around in banking on a first-year player in the biggest stage with Karylle Sierba tying her career-high of 18 points on four triples to complement ace Kent Pastrana’s 11 points.

Agatha Bron added eight while Angelika Soriano and Nicole Danganan chipped in six each for the wards of coach Haydee Ong, who unseated the Lady Bulldogs from their seven-year reign last season in Game 3.

“It’s one hell of a game from Brigette and Karylle,” said Ms. Ong.

Santo Tomas also seized command of Game 1 right out of the gates but lost steam down the stretch and relinquished a 14-point lead as outright finalist NU stayed unbeaten via escape act to shore up its revenge tour.

The Tigresses were pushed to the brink of a history repeat after the Bulldogs, as expected, stormed back to snatch a 43-39 lead early in the second half.

But Santo Tomas learned its lessons hard, running away from a deadlock at 57 midway through the payoff period behind a 19-8 rally capped by Ms. Danganan’s triple.

Overall, the Tigresses outscored the Lady Bulldogs, 30-19, when it mattered the most in the final quarter to drag them to a last dance on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Ms. Pagdulagan (16), Camille Clarin (12), Karl Ann Pingol (11) and Angel Surada (10) had their numbers but the Lady Bulldogs fell short from reclaiming their lost queendom right there and then with a foiled perfect run.

In junior high school basketball, Jhon Canapi rifled in 30 points on five triples to go along with an assist, six rebounds and three steals as Santo Tomas drubbed University of the East, 98-84, to take Game 1 of the similar best-of-three series.

Meanwhile, Ateneo’s Kacey dela Rosa captured her second straight Most Valuable Player award to join an elite group of back-to-back winners in history.

Ms. Dela Rosa dominated the entire competition with league-best averages of 22.1 points, 16 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 2.3 assists for 96.286 statistical points.

Joining Ms. Dela Rosa in the Mythical Five were Santo Tomas’ Kent Pastrana, Louna Ozar of University of the Philippines, Sarah Makanjuola of Ateneo, and NU’s Angel Surada. — John Bryan Ulanday


The Scores:

UST 78 – Santos 27, Sierba 18, Pastrana 11, Bron 8, Soriano 6, Danganan 6, Maglupay 2, Tacatac 0, Ambos 0, Serrano 0.

NU 68 – Pagdulagan 16, Clarin 12, Pingol 11, Surada 10, Fabruada 5, Villanueva 5, Betanio 4, Konateh 3, Canuto 2, Cayabyab 0, Talas 0.

Quarterscores: 20-9, 32-25, 48-49, 78-68.

Arca wins Asian Youth chessfest in Bangkok

CHRISTIAN GIAN KARLO ARCA — PNA

THE Philippines’ Christian Gian Karlo Arca continued to make the country proud in the international stage as he emerged the blitz champion of the 18th Asian Youth Chess Championships in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday night.

The 15-year-old Filipino FIDE Master split the point with countryman Oscar Joseph Cantela in the ninth and final round to end up tied for No. 1 with Turkmenistan’s Serdar Bayramov with 7.5 points apiece.

But Mr. Arca took the gold via the winner-over-the-other-rule since he bested Mr. Bayramov in the third round.

It was the third medal for Panabo, Davao del Norte native after plucking a pair of silvers in the individual and team events where he teamed up with Mr. Cantela and Lemmuel Jay Adena.

Mr. Cantela missed out on a bronze after being edged out by Mongolian FM Khishigbat Ulziikhishig but lost via tiebreak while Mr. Adena finished sixth also in individual blitz.

Also delivering a medal were Arleah Cassandra Sapuan, Kate Nicole Ordizo and Beatrice Ann Bombales, who took the team bronze in the rapid side. — Joey Villar

San Beda junior tankers dominate Day 1 of NCAA 100 swimming event

ALBERT JOSE AMARO II — FACEBOOK.COM/ALBERTJOSE.AMARO

FROM the Palarong Pambansa pools, Albert Jose Amaro II has brought his act to the NCAA where he immediately harvested three gold medals for San Beda University in the juniors’ class of Season 100 swimming at the Rizal Memorial Aquatics Center.

Mr. Amaro, who made heads turn when he sniped seven gold medals in the Palaro in Cebu City last July, delivered another tidal wave of a performance right on opening day when he copped three mints.

It came in the 200-meter (m) individual medley, 100m freestyle and the 200m medley relay alongside Joart Calderon, Shiblon Montera and Nimrod Montera as the Junior Red Tankers made their presence felt early by copping four of the five golds staked in Day One.

The other one was courtesy of Nimrod Montera in the 50m backstroke.

The only boys’ gold that slipped away from San Beda was snatched by Jose Rizal University’s Luke Amber Matthew Arano, who topped the 50m backstroke.

Mr. Amaro’s arrival could be the boost in the arm San Beda has long waited for as it tries to reclaim the crown it last won in 2017.

San Beda was also dominant in the women’s side where it scooped up four of the five golds in the division while its men’s team was tied for first with College of St. Benilde with two mints apiece.

San Beda’s men’s team is eyeing its 21st straight swimming title while its women’s seeks 12th crown in a row. — Joey Villar

Philippine national football team kicks off ASEAN Championship-Mitsubishi Cup bid against Myanmar

Match on Thursday
(Rizal Memorial Stadium)
6:30 p.m. – Philippines vs Myanmar

IT’S TIME for the Philippine men’s football team’s redemption tour in the Asean Championship-Mitsubishi Electric Cup.

The Pinoy booters, who have failed to get past the group stage of the last editions of the biennial meet, take the first step tonight in a Group B opening assignment on the familiar grounds of Rizal Memorial Stadium against Myanmar.

“It’s our first game of the tournament so it’s most important, we want to set the tone in a positive way,” said goalkeeper Patrick Deyto ahead of the 6:30 p.m. fixture.

“We haven’t had home games recently so it’s a good opportunity for us to showcase how we’ve developed the last few camps. We want to really put on a good performance tomorrow (tonight).”

The squad formerly known as the Azkals last played at good old Rizal last March in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in a 0-5 loss to Iraq and spent the succeeding months on the road for competition, friendlies and camps.

The Filipinos also aim to give Spaniard Albert Capellas a winning debut in the Asean showpiece. Mr. Capellas assumed head coaching chores only last September and led the side to a 3-0 upset of Tajikistan in the King’s Cup versus setbacks to Thailand (1-3 in King’s Cup) and Hong Kong (1-3 in an away friendly).

“It will be my first game at home and we hope to surround it with a lot of people. It’s very exciting for me to play in the Mitsubishi Electric Cup and play at home and try to win the match,” he said.

Mr. Capellas assembled a 26-man crew led by veterans Mr. Deyto, Patrick Reichelt, Amani Aguinaldo and overseas-based Zico Bailey, Michael Baldisimo, Michael Kempter, Christian Rontini and Sandro Reyes.

Myanmar is out to spoil the Philippines’ plans and score a big bounceback from its painful 0-1 defeat to Indonesia last Monday in its own backyard.

“I expect a team that is aggressive, one that will try to be quick on the touch and bring the ball in front as quickly as possible,” said Mr. Capellas of the visitors. — Olmin Leyba

Salah penalty maintains Liverpool’s winning run in Champions League with 1-0 victory over Girona

GIRONA, Spain — Liverpool maintained their 100% record in this season’s Champions League and have a healthy lead at the top of the standings after a 1-0 win at Girona on Tuesday, with the only goal of the game coming from Mohamed Salah’s second-half penalty.

A sixth win from six puts Liverpool, already guaranteed at least a playoff place before kickoff, on 18 points, five ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Inter Milan and Brest, while Girona are in 30th place on three points.

Girona suffered their fifth defeat of the competition but made Liverpool work for the victory and in the opening half had chances to take the lead but were foiled by the visitors’ keeper Alisson.

Liverpool struggled against a side happy to sit back and bide their time, but found the breakthrough from the penalty spot with Salah converting in the 63rd minute after Luis Diaz was fouled.

“Six wins out of six, you can’t ask for much better than that. It’s not easy to do or there would be more teams doing it,” Liverpool defender Andy Robertson said.

“We’ve played a lot better than tonight, we weren’t at our highest level, but at this point it’s about winning the games and securing qualification.”

Girona were pinned back in the opening minutes by Liverpool’s pressure, with the visitors creating two early chances.

Defender Joe Gomez was denied his first goal for Liverpool by a reaction save from Paulo Gazzaniga from a close-range header, with the keeper also saving a shot from Darwin Nuñez minutes later.

Girona, with every player behind the ball, were happy to break on the counter-attack and Liverpool keeper Alisson, making his first appearance since early October after a hamstring injury, was soon called into action.

Daley Blind completely missed a cross on the edge of the six-yard box but the ball fell to Alejandro Frances and Alisson held his effort at the second attempt, and later punched away a shot from Miguel Gutierrez.

“We competed toe to toe, we had our chances and, well, we have to accept that we lost,” Girona’s Frances said.

“It’s time to move on. The main thing was to have chances against a great team and we had them.”

Nuñez had another effort saved when put through by Salah and Girona responded with a shot from outside the area by Yaser Asprilla which Alisson parried away for a corner, with Girona growing in confidence.

Alisson was again involved in the opening seconds of the second half, saving from Arnaut Danjuma and Liverpool struggled to break down a stubborn Girona defense before a Donny van de Beek foul on Diaz gave Salah his chance from the spot.

Salah missed a penalty in Liverpool’s last Champions League game against Real Madrid, but made no mistake this time sending the keeper the wrong way and the ball into the bottom corner.

Girona never really looked like finding an equalizer with Liverpool maintaining possession much better than in the opening half and leaving the Estadi Montilivi with all three points. — Reuters

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks edge Magic, advance at NBA Cup

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO dropped 37 points to lead Milwaukee to a 114-109 win over the visiting Orlando Magic on Tuesday, advancing the Bucks to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.

Damian Lillard tied the game at 106 with a step-back 3-pointer with 52.2 seconds to go, then gave Milwaukee the lead with a layup and four free throws in the final seconds. He finished with 28 points while teammate Bobby Portis added 22 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

Jalen Suggs led Orlando with 32 points while Anthony Black added 17. Goga Bitadze scored 12 and pulled down a game-high 14 boards.

The visitors started strong as they held a 33-25 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, Milwaukee rallied in the second quarter and moved on top 49-47 when Lillard’s layup capped a 6-0 run.

The end of the quarter went back and forth, and Milwaukee took a 60-59 lead into halftime thanks to a last-second Lillard-to-Antetokounmpo alley-oop dunk to cap off a 7-0 surge.

Antetokounmpo scored 20 in the half while Portis had 16. Moritz Wagner led Orlando with 13 on 6-of-6 shooting, while Black had 10. Wagner wound up scoreless in the second half.

In the third, the Magic powered to a six-point lead, but the Bucks went on an 18-4 run to close the quarter and take an 80-72 lead.

Orlando started the fourth strong after scoring just 13 in the third, as a 9-2 stretch pulled the Magic within one. The visitors pulled level twice before Suggs hit a shot that gave Orlando a 104-103 edge with 1:45 to go.

Lillard’s clutch shooting then gave Milwaukee the lead before the Bucks sealed it on defense, forcing Suggs to miss what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds to play. — Reuters

Scheffler voted PGA Tour Player of the Year for third straight time

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER has been voted the PGA Tour Player of the Year for a third consecutive season, making him the first player to win the award three years in a row since Tiger Woods won three straight from 2005-2007, the US-based circuit said on Tuesday.

The world number one won seven PGA Tour events in 2024 including the Masters, defended his Players Championship, took home the gold medal at the Paris Olympics and won the season-long FedExCup title.

He maintained his number one ranking for the entire season, recorded a PGA Tour-best 16 top-10 finishes in 19 starts and did not miss a cut.

“On behalf of the PGA Tour, congratulations to Scottie Scheffler on a truly historic season, capped off with his first FedExCup title and today a third consecutive Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA Tour Player of the Year,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.

The award recipient is determined by members and Scheffler received 91% of the votes, beating out two other nominees, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy, the PGA Tour said.

Woods (11 times, most recent 2013) and McIlroy (2012, 2014, 2019) are the only players beside Scheffler to win the award three or more times. — Reuters

Yellen says Trump’s tariffs could derail inflation progress in US

JANET YELLEN

WASHINGTON — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday she was worried that President-elect Donald J. Trump’s plans to levy broad import tariffs could derail progress in quelling inflation and raise costs for households and businesses.

Ms. Yellen, at a Wall Street Journal Chief Executive Officer Council event, also said she was concerned about US fiscal sustainability and said Congress needed to look for ways to pay for any extensions of Mr. Trump’s 2017 individual and small-business tax cuts, which are due to expire in 2025.

Mr. Trump’s plans to impose new tariffs of 60% on Chinese imports and 10% to 20% on goods from elsewhere would “raise prices significantly for American consumers and create costs pressures” on companies,” Ms. Yellen said.

“So it would have an adverse impact on the competitiveness of some sectors of the United States economy and could significantly raise costs to households,” Ms. Yellen added. “So this is a strategy I worry could derail the progress that we’ve made on inflation and have adverse consequences on growth.”

Regarding the US fiscal picture, Ms. Yellen said that extension of all expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would add $5 trillion to US deficits over 10 years, and that Congress needed to find offsets to avoid an “explosion” of debt.

The Biden administration turned in a $1.83-trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the largest outside of the COVID-19 era, as debt interest costs topped $1 trillion for the first time.

“I am concerned about fiscal sustainability, and I am sorry that we haven’t made more progress,” Ms. Yellen said. “I believe that the deficit needs to be brought down, especially now that we’re in an environment of higher interest rates.”

DEDICATED STAFF
Ms. Yellen said she had a conversation with Mr. Trump’s choice for secretary, hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, and discussed the Treasury’s broad responsibilities, including for economic and tax policy, and international alliances.

She said she told him “what he would find at Treasury is a staff, and particularly civil servants, who are analytical, proficient, professional, operate with high integrity and produce analysis that can be relied on that is important to financial markets and to the economy.”

She said she told Mr. Bessent that the department’s analysis and policies related to the $28-trillion US Treasury debt market help the US economy and financial markets function better.

On the Federal Reserve, Ms. Yellen said she was a “strong proponent of an independent, and non-partisan, non-political Fed.”

Mr. Trump was free to comment on Fed policy, Ms. Yellen said, but recent Democratic administrations have refrained from doing so, while at the same time the Fed has become more communicative, providing more forward guidance about its policy logic, which has helped it steer clear of political influence.

“I think it’s a mistake to become involved in commenting on the Fed and certainly taking steps to compromise its independence,” she said. “I believe it tends to undermine the confidence of the financial markets and ultimately of Americans in an important institution.” — Reuters

China’s government says it takes ‘necessary measures’ to defend sovereignty over Taiwan

A globe is seen in front of Chinese and Taiwanese flags in this illustration, Aug. 6, 2022. — REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China’s government said on Wednesday that it takes “necessary measures” to defend the country’s sovereignty and will not tolerate “separatist” activities, as Taiwan reported another rise in Chinese warplanes near the island.

Beijing’s military has yet to comment on the military activity and has not confirmed it is carrying out exercises.

A senior Taiwanese official said the surge in activity was meant to send a political message to the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald J. Trump.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, had been expected to launch drills to express its anger at President Lai Ching-te’s tour of the Pacific that ended on Friday, which included stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam.

On Tuesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said China was deploying its largest navy fleet in regional waters in nearly three decades, posing a threat to Taiwan that is more pronounced than previous Chinese war games.

However, a US military official said China’s naval deployments in the East China Sea and South China Sea were elevated but consistent with other large exercises in the past.

Asked at a regular news briefing in Beijing about the increased military activities, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Chinese authorities were “highly vigilant to the trend of separatist Taiwan forces colluding with external forces.”

“We will absolutely not let things go unchecked. We take necessary measures to resolutely defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and safeguard the fundamental interests of compatriots on both sides,” she added, without directly confirming there were ongoing exercises.

Mr. Lai and his government reject Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

On Wednesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it detected 53 military aircraft operating around the island over the past 24 hours, as well as 11 navy vessels and eight “official” ships, which refers to vessels from ostensibly civilian agencies such as the coast guard.

Taiwan’s military had gone on alert on Monday after saying China had reserved airspace and deployed naval and coast guard vessels.

A senior Taiwan security official, offering the government’s assessment of China’s activities, told a briefing in Taipei that it took China’s military nearly 70 days to plan and deploy the current sea operations and that they were meant for the incoming Trump government and US allies, rather than specifically Mr. Lai’s visit to the Pacific.

“They are trying to draw a red line and exert authority for the new master of the White House,” the official said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

It was “extremely rare” for China to deploy sea operations of such scale at this time of the year when sea conditions are usually rough, the official said.

China has not announced any drills so far, and Taiwan’s government believes that could be because Beijing is trying to minimize the impact on two major events with Taiwanese businessmen and politicians, one taking place this week and another next week, the official added.

“It’s a carrot and stick approach,” the official said, pointing to Beijing’s annual charm offensive programs towards Taiwan, including a visit to Taipei by one of Shanghai’s deputy mayors next week.

China says the Taiwan issue is the “core of its core interests” and a red line the United States should not cross.

China has held two rounds of major war games around Taiwan so far this year. — Reuters

UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect has angry outburst as details of his life emerge

LUIGI MANGIONE, 26, a suspect in the New York City killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, arrives for an extradition hearing at Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, US, Dec. 10, 2024. — REUTERS

ALTOONA, Pennsylvania — Luigi Mangione, the suspect charged with murder in the shooting of a top UnitedHealthcare executive, briefly struggled with officers and angrily shouted while being escorted into a Pennsylvania courthouse on Tuesday, as a clearer picture of his motives began to emerge a day after his arrest ended a massive manhunt.

Mr. Mangione, 26, turned toward a group of reporters and yelled in part, “…completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people!” before deputies pushed him away. It was not clear to what he was referring.

At the court hearing, his defense lawyer told a judge that Mr. Mangione would oppose extradition to New York, where he is charged with murder and other crimes. That decision could delay the process by weeks but is unlikely to block his eventual transfer; for now, Mr. Mangione will remain in jail in Pennsylvania, where he faces gun and forgery charges.

His attorney, Tom Dickey, said at a news conference that Mr. Mangione planned to plead not guilty to the charges.

Brian Thompson, the chief executive officer (CEO) of UnitedHealthcare’s insurance arm, one of the largest health insurers in the US, was shot dead on the morning of Dec. 4 outside a hotel in Manhattan in what police said was a targeted attack, sparking a manhunt that led to Mr. Mangione’s arrest.

More clues about his possible motivation were coming to light on Tuesday.

When arrested, Mr. Mangione was in possession of a handwritten manifesto that offered insight into his mindset, according to police. The New York Times reported that an internal New York City police report analyzing the document concluded that Mr. Mangione viewed the killing as a justified response to what he believed to be corruption in the healthcare industry.

“These parasites simply had it coming,” the manifesto said, according to the Times.

Mr. Mangione suffered from chronic back pain that limited his daily life, according to friends, his social media postings and other news reports. His profile on X shows a background image of an X-ray with what appears to be screws and plates inserted in a lower back.

An employee at TrueCar told Reuters that Mr. Mangione worked at the car-buying website as a data engineer from 2022 to late 2023. In mid-2023, Mr. Mangione took about two months off for what the employee’s manager described as back-related issues.

The employee, who asked not to be named, described Mr. Mangione as “incredibly smart” and very friendly to his co-workers.

He said that the company offered employees health insurance through UnitedHealthcare as well as other choices, such as Aetna.

From January through June 2022, Mr. Mangione lived at the Surfbreak co-living community in Honolulu, where he led a book club and surfed, hiked and rock-climbed, the founder of the group, R.J. Martin, told the Hawaiian outlet Civil Beat.

Mr. Martin said Mr. Mangione had suffered back pain caused by misaligned vertebrae pinching Mr. Mangione’s spinal cord, and he left for the mainland at some point for surgery.

But he went “radio silent” in June or July, Mr. Martin told Civil Beat.

Mr. Mangione never showed any indication of violence, Mr. Martin later told MSNBC.

“The Luigi that I knew is completely incompatible with an assassin,” he said, describing him as funny, kind and thoughtful.

At one point, Mr. Mangione suggested Surfbreak’s book club read the manifesto of Ted Kaczynski — the US domestic bomber known as the Unabomber — as a joke, according to Mr. Martin.

On the book-themed social media site Goodreads, a poster with Mr. Mangione’s name praised Mr. Kaczynski’s book Industrial Society and Its Future as “prescient” about modern society, called him an “extreme political revolutionary” and suggested violence was a legitimate form of resistance in some circumstances.

GHOST GUN, BRAZEN ESCAPE
Mr. Mangione was spotted at a McDonald’s on Monday by an employee who thought he looked like the gunman in surveillance images released by police.

Mr. Mangione, an Ivy League graduate who was also the valedictorian of a private all-boys school in Maryland, had a loaded ghost gun — an untraceable firearm assembled from parts — and a silencer, officials said on Monday. Both the weapon and his clothing closely resembled those used by the gunman.

He also had multiple fake identifications, including a fraudulent New Jersey ID that matched the one used by the gunman to check into a Manhattan hostel days before the shooting, according to authorities.

Mr. Mangione’s family released a statement saying they knew only what had been reported in the media.

“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” the family said in a statement posted to the X account of Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”

The gunman managed to elude capture for days after the attack last Wednesday outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan.

Mr. Thompson’s murder unleashed a wave of frustration from Americans struggling to afford medical care and those who have been denied claims or care.

Mr. Thompson, a father of two, had been CEO of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021, part of a 20-year career with the company. He had been in New York to attend the company’s annual investor conference. — Reuters