In the run-up to Mangione’s impending court date, his defense team is making a vigorous pretrial effort, petitioning a federal judge for a change in his courtroom appearance. They seek permission for him to trade his jail garb for civilian attire, a move aimed at altering perceptions ahead of a highly anticipated New York court hearing.

Currently housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Mangione is slated for an August 11 appearance before New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro for a status conference. This appearance has garnered significant attention, sparking discussions on trial decorum and courtroom image.

To facilitate this request, defense attorneys Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo, and Jacob Kaplan have appealed to U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett. They are asking her to instruct the Bureau of Prisons and detention center officials to allow Mangione to don civilian clothing for his court date. Their proposed wardrobe includes a suit, shirt, socks, and lace-free shoes.

Furthermore, in their filing, Mangione’s legal team also aims for the Metropolitan Detention Center to permit him to travel to the court in civilian clothes for the August 11 session. This legal maneuver is part of their broader strategy to influence courtroom narratives and public perception.

“Mr. Mangione … does not have civilian clothes to wear for the court appearance,” the filing states. “We therefore request – without objection from Judge Carro or the government – that this Court order the Bureau of Prisons and the MDC to accept” the clothing.

The filing says Carro and prosecutors do not oppose the request, a routine procedural step for defendants in federal custody appearing in another court system.

The latest filing comes as Mangione’s defense team has continued an aggressive pretrial campaign surrounding the closely watched case, challenging restrictions on media access, arguing courtroom coverage limits violate constitutional rights and seeking to livestream portions of the proceedings.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have pushed back, accusing the defense of making false and misleading claims about the court’s media policies in an effort to influence public opinion.

Mangione is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4, 2024, before fleeing the scene.

Authorities arrested him days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee recognized him and alerted police.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges stemming from Thompson’s killing.

News Media has reached out to Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, for comment.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — In response to a worsening drought, Puerto Rico is set to begin water rationing in its capital, San Juan, along with other major urban areas. The drought continues to tighten its grip on the U.S. territory, with little sign of relief.

Beginning Friday, more than 180,000 residents will experience water outages lasting for 48-hour intervals. This alternating schedule is part of Puerto Rico’s urgent attempt to manage the intensifying crisis as extreme heat advisories remain in effect.

“This situation is out of our hands,” stated Governor Jenniffer González on Tuesday, attributing the crisis to persistent weather patterns. “There is nothing to prevent this from becoming more severe.”

July marked the driest July recorded in over 120 years for San Juan, and it was the second hottest month ever for Puerto Rico’s capital.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that almost a quarter of Puerto Rico is enduring severe drought conditions, while an additional 36% of the area is facing moderate drought.

Experts have predicted a milder 2026 hurricane season, with dry conditions persisting until at least September, said María Novoa García, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Juan.

Rainfall in the next two to three weeks will be at least 50% below average, she added.

“We are seeing that El Niño continues to get stronger,” she said, referencing a natural warming cycle.

In addition to affecting parts of San Juan, the rationing will extend to certain neighborhoods in the cities of Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canovanas and Loiza.

The governor said she doesn’t know how long the rationing measures will remain in place.

Luis González Delgado, president of Puerto Rico’s water and sewer system, said large trucks would distribute potable water, with priority given to hospitals and residences for older people.

Tania Conde Sterling, president of Puerto Rico’s Association of Health Services Administrators, called for calm on Wednesday, saying that hospitals and other health centers are prepared for the rationing.

“We do not improvise at hospitals,” she said. “We have manuals of rules and procedures, as well as protocols for every type of scenario.”

The drought is worsening, but thousands of Puerto Ricans were already experiencing water shortages up to a year before for unknown reasons.

Among them is 61-year-old community leader Marcia Soler París. She said Wednesday that the rationing measures don’t really mean much because her neighborhood already was experiencing severe water shortages for months.

“It’s chaos,” she said, questioning how Puerto Ricans are supposed to prepare for rationing when they don’t have water now. “It’s truly pitiful.”

She worries most about bedridden and older people who are unable to haul heavy water buckets to their homes and apartments.

The lack of water unrelated to the drought prompted San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero to sue the island’s Water and Sewer Authority in late May, with the governor acknowledging the agency’s infrastructure has lacked investment and maintenance for decades.

Puerto Rico Rep. Domingo J. Torres García warned on Wednesday that he would go to court if he doesn’t receive a response from the water and sewer authority about what’s causing the chronic water problems.

“The people have the right to know what is happening, what the plans are and what concrete actions are being taken to address this crisis,” he said.

Puerto Rico previously implemented rationing measures in 2020 and in 2015, when some 400,000 utility customers received water only every third day.

A well-known star of infomercials has found himself in a bitter dispute with his much younger spouse. He alleges that she is attempting to push him into a nursing home to gain control of his finances.

Sam Meranto, now 94, became a household name in the 1980s through his late-night TV infomercials that showcased his expertise in guided meditation, hypnosis techniques, and self-improvement programs.

At age 51, the therapist with a focus on behavior and hypnosis, wed his second wife, Cynthia, in September 1983, after a two-year courtship.

Cynthia, who was 22 at the time of their marriage, joined Sam in managing his meditation and self-help venture based in Phoenix, Arizona.

The long-time couple is now embroiled in a heated legal conflict concerning Sam’s care and the division of their $2.6 million estate. This follows Cynthia’s petition for guardianship, as reported by Maricopa County Probate Court documents obtained by The Arizona Republic.

Cynthia, 65, claims her husband has a ‘major neurocognitive impairment’ and is ‘unable to make meaningful decisions regarding his care and finances,’ the court documents allege.

She also claimed that Sam’s adult children, whom he shared with his first wife, Maria, have stolen from their father and removed him from a care home in February without her consent. 

Sam, however, maintains that he is mentally stable and believes a conservatorship will restrict his access to money, friendships and family. He also fears that he will be sent to a nursing home to die.

The couple’s legal battle officially began on March 9 after Cynthia filed a petition for emergency appointment of a temporary guardianship and conservatorship.

Citing her husband’s ‘incapacity,’ Cynthia also asked that the guardianship and conservatorship eventually become permanent.

But the issues surrounding Sam’s health actually date back to July 2025, when he was hospitalized after suffering a bad fall and subsequently sent to a care home, the court documents revealed.

Sam seemingly hated being in the facility and flooded his Facebook page with posts and research about whether he could be held in an assisted living facility against his will if he was mentally competent.

His sons Jeffrey, 71, and Jason, 59, took Sam out of the care facility on February 10 this year and moved him into a family home, according to the court filings.

The brothers told the court they pulled Sam from the facility because Cynthia had restricted them from visiting their father there.

Cynthia claims the restriction was put in place because the brothers were allowing Sam to drive, which she claimed was unsafe, she told the court.

She further accused Jeffrey, who goes by Rico, of taking Sam on trips to the bank to withdraw money for him. 

Sam has since appointed Rico to replace Cynthia as his power of attorney – a move that Cynthia alleges the 94-year-old was manipulated into doing.

Rico disputes Cynthia’s accusations, claiming that Sam willingly signed the power of attorney documents after repeatedly begging for Rico’s help to leave the care facility.

Sam has a ‘progressive life-limiting illness’ and lacks ‘sufficient understanding or capacity to make or communicate responsible decisions,’ Cynthia’s attorney Carol Soderquist argued in a court filing.

This assertion has seemingly been disputed by Sam’s court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem, Steven L Evans, who during a July 29 hearing told the judge that Sam is in ‘remarkably good shape for a man of his age.’

Evans added that having a relationship with his children is in Sam’s best interest.

Sam is currently living in a family home in Phoenix with round-the-clock caregivers, the newspaper reported. Cynthia’s current address is unknown.

When an Arizona Republic reporter stopped by Sam’s home on June 10, a caregiver reportedly said the 94-year-old was not permitted to have visitors.

Sam, who was using a walker, managed to push past the staffer long enough to say: ‘This is my castle. I’m a prisoner in my own castle.’

Rico hired a company called Caregiving for Seniors in February to assist with Sam’s care.

The firm was fired by Sam’s court-appointed guardian and conservator Stephanie McCollum in May.

The company’s co-owner Kathy Hamilton alleged that McCollum fired them after she filed a report against McCollum with the state’s Adult Protective Services, court documents showed.

Hamilton alleged that McCollum denied Sam access to his credit cards and groceries, a claim she adamantly denies.

McCollum, in a court filing, alleged that she fired Hamilton’s caregivers because they were interfering with her temporary guardianship and conservatorship.

Maricopa County Probate Judge Kerstin LeMaire last month appointed Cynthia to replace McCollum as Sam’s temporary court-appointed guardian and conservator.

She was also named the sole trustee of his estate.

The judge on July 23 ruled that Sam, as defined by state law, is an incapacitated person and said ‘there is sufficient evidence to support an interim finding of incapacity.’

Cynthia wants a protective order issued to suspend visits between Sam and Rico. 

Her legal team argued that Rico served time after being previously convicted of federal tax evasion and that ‘there is a reasonable basis to believe that Sam’s contact with Rico will be detrimental to his health, safety or welfare – or finances.’

Cynthia also wants the power to monitor visits with other family members ‘until Sam stabilizes.’

Sam had five children with his first wife. Only three of them are still alive. He told the court that he loves his wife and children, and opposes any limits on seeing his family. 

The infomercial star has also asked to replace his court-appointed lawyer with a new attorney and is demanding a jury trial to determine whether he needs a permanent guardian and conservator.

Evans told the court that he believes Sam has the capacity to choose his own lawyer.

As of Thursday, Sam’s requests had not been granted.

The Daily Mail has approached attorneys for Sam and Cynthia for comment. Jason and Rico do not have lawyers on file, the court docket showed.

Cynthia, in a text message to the Arizona Republic on June 26, said she loves Sam and that the situation ‘has been very difficult for everyone involved.’

As anticipation mounts across the nation, the Powerball jackpot has climbed to a staggering $856 million, setting the stage for an exciting drawing this Saturday night.

This colossal sum now ranks as the eighth largest in Powerball’s extensive history, captivating both seasoned players and hopeful newcomers.

Not since the monumental $1.817 billion win on Christmas Eve 2025 in Arkansas has there been such a large jackpot in the Powerball saga, marking it as the second-largest ever claimed.

For those keeping track, Wednesday’s numbers were: 61, 60, 59, 14, 20, with the Powerball number being 25.