Lotus-eater

https://www.npr.org/2026/06/18/nx-s1-5863583/mangione-psychiatric-defense-update Luigi Mangione's lawyers withdraw plans for psychiatric defense New York — In a dramatic reversal, Luigi Mangione's legal team on Thursday backed away from a plan to use a psychiatric defense when his case goes to trial in state court in September. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murdering health insurance CEO Brian Thompson in 2024 on a Manhattan street. At a hearing only a day earlier before state Judge Gregory Carro, Mangione's attorneys confirmed that Mangione had been undergoing psychiatric evaluation. They signaled that his defense would be based at least in part on the argument that Mangione was experiencing "extreme emotional disturbance." But in a one-line letter sent to Carro on Thursday, Mangione's team said that "at this time" they no longer intend to introduce psychiatric evidence during the trial. It's unclear what sparked the shift. Mangione's team didn't respond to NPR's request for comment. Former Manhattan prosecutor and legal analyst Gary Galperin told NPR it was a "stunning reversal" for Mangione to withdraw from the psychiatric defense. "One can only speculate at this point as to the reasons," he said. "What remains, of course, at this point is the question of what defense they will pursue at trial," he added. This maneuver came after Carro ordered Mangione's attorneys to quickly share psychiatric information with prosecutors. "They need to know what the malady is that this defendant suffers and how that triggered extreme emotional distress," he said, during Wednesday's hearing. "I'm not going to let you surprise people on the eve of trial. Get it done." Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Joel Seidemann repeatedly complained that Mangione's team was "stonewalling" the prosecution by withholding medical information about his psychiatric state. "We have gotten nothing," Seidemann said. Mangione's lead attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo denied her team was delaying the court process or improperly withholding information. But legal analyst Richard Schoenstein says by withdrawing the psychiatric defense, Mangione's team "is avoiding the court deadline to produce its psychiatric evidence." According to Schoenstein, this latest move "does not entirely foreclose" Mangione's team from returning to some form of psychiatric argument during the trial, but he added that such a defense would now be far more difficult. Mangione's case has drawn worldwide attention. Legal experts say the 28-eight-year old has drawn an unusual level of public support because of his criticism of the health insurance industry. Thompson, a father of two, was CEO of UnitedHealthcare at the time of his murder. During Wednesday's hearing, Carro also indicated that a tranche of court documents would be made public that apparently relate to Mangione's potential psychiatric defense. On Thursday, Carro reversed course. In a signed order, he said that because Mangione will no longer present psychiatric evidence, "the court's previous order sealing certain transcripts, emails, and documents, remains in effect." Mangione's state trial is scheduled to begin in early September, with a federal trial expected to take place later.

BlackBerry was introduced a decade earlier and was not a smartphone; if BlackBerry played a significant role, the trend should have started soon after 2000. Android lagged the iPhone and did not become a major player until 2010. Also, while young women are more susceptible to social contagions (e.g., witches, anorexia, ROGD, etc.), I don't think that western ideas of feminism (8:55) had such a large impact simultaneously across many different cultures; ideas are not adopted and universally practiced that quickly.

Color me skeptical. Tyler Cowen's critique: "Here is the background to the debate. Here is more from Noah. Here is a thread from researcher Caitlin Myers. And here is some basic information: In 2008, 1.9% is the share of the mobile-subscribing population with an iPhone wireless subscription. As a percent of all adults that is 1.6%. In 2009, it is 4.3%. 3.6% of all adults. In 2010, 6.8%. 5.5% of all adults. Plus conception to birth takes nine months (give or take!), noting that actual family planning may make this lag far longer. In 2008 fertility rates already were falling pretty sharply. The whole “maybe the iPhone messes up your dating processes” factor also requires some time to operate, especially since iPhones as a network of many many users, and whatever negative effects on socializing you think that might have, was still to lie in the future. And what you could access on the iPhone then was far more limited than today. So when the authors talk about diffusion explaining 33–52% of the decline in the general fertility rate among American women 15–44, I still do not get how that is supposed to operate. The explanations I am hearing seem to be parasitic on world intuitions from 2026, not the time period under consideration."

Bad idea. Being stuck in the same condo together causes all sorts of problems: increased sexual harassment risk (the employer would be liable since the condo is now a worksite); medical conditions, religious practices, or simply psychological comfort that require privacy; the need for peace and quiet for adequate rest (being on the clock 24/7 is arguably a labor law violation). I would send the boss an email outlining these concerns to get him to reconsider.

Arden Villa: The Pasadena estate, which has served as a backdrop for Hollywood productions from "Dynasty" to "Billy Madison," is now available for $45 million. https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/luxury-homes/dynasty-pasadena-california-home-b0d7d44a?mod=real-estate_lead_pos1 https://robbreport.com/shelter/celebrity-homes/dynasty-estate-pasadena-1238321721/

NYC residential electricity rates are not historically high either: Inflation-Adjusted Price (In 2026 Dollars per kWh) 1996 $0.271 2001 $0.282 2006 $0.316 2011 $0.308 2016 $0.282 2021 $0.288 2026 (Current) $0.285

Because America revolted against that rat bastard, King George III, and is celebrating its 250th year of independence this year. Why should America follow Britain's lead when America was the one that saved Britain's bacon in both world wars? Britain should be following America's lead and move its Remembrance Day to coincide with America's Memorial Day and create an equivalent to America's Veterans Day in November.

Or suggest that he would have a bright future as a rap artist.

I was browsing Memorial Day sales and the price of a comparable laptop that I bought last June has doubled in price due to AI driving up the price of memory chips and tariffs.

Only judges decide what's admitted as evidence, which makes them the sole gatekeepers. Jurors decide how much to weigh the evidence that is allowed to be presented to them. Scholars may influence how judges interpret the law.

It was a terrible decision by a NY court to apply NY law (which has a narrower scope to the inevitable discovery exception) to a search conducted by Pennsylvania police within Pennsylvania. On the bright side, the federal court decided to allow all of the evidence to be admitted in the federal trial. If convicted (federal prosecutors rarely lose a case), he will rot in federal prison for a very long time.

Historic D.C. townhouse owned by JFK and William Marbury (of Marbury v. Madison) has sold for $6.1 million: https://robbreport.com/shelter/celebrity-homes/jfk-dc-presidential-campaign-home-sells-1238060857/#recipient_hashed=d1c076ce027f6f576e2f6e744cebd8356ffc6e31ca901691e2401500b77c73d1&recipient_salt=fe9756824f82c003d9428447aad9c87cfcd5a74611f39545d44605355bb75958

You can buy Michael Kors's summer house on Fire Island: https://robbreport.com/shelter/celebrity-homes/michael-kors-beach-house-new-york-fire-island-1238055514/

Defamation is not a viable case if the statement is true, but a tort claim might be: public disclosure of private facts or intentional infliction of emotional distress. But the cost to litigate it would probably exceed any damages awarded unless he could prove, say, he was denied a promotion or job because of the disclosure.

Where can I find this vending machine that dispenses checks?

New entry for that table: Attack on Iran. Trading days to trough: 21. % change to trough: -7.8%. Trading days back to even: 15. (I hope the short sellers took their profits on March 30.)

Trina Turk, who was one of the ringleaders in getting the Marilyn Monroe statue moved because it is deemed to be too kitschy and titillating (while selling skimpy swimwear for women and men), is selling her Palm Springs house. https://robbreport.com/shelter/celebrity-homes/gallery/trina-turk-soleil-house-palm-springs-photos-1237766061/trinaturk_soleilhouse_ca_18/

People like her:

Retirement planning software like Boldin is useful to check how much you should convert to Roth.

Military conflicts are associated with increased market volatility, not major bear markets. Only the Arab oil embargo was associated with a long downturn that took more than 6 months to recover from: S&P 500 responses to select military interventions and hostilities since World War II Event Start date* Trading days to trough % change to trough Trading days back to even N. Korea invades S. Korea June 25, 1950 15 -12.9% 56 U.S. spy plane shot down in USSR May 7, 1960 2 -0.6% 4 Bay of Pigs invasion April 15, 1961 6 -3.0% 14 Cuban Missile Crisis Oct. 16, 1962 6 -6.3% 13 Gulf of Tonkin Incident (Vietnam) Aug. 2, 1964 4 -2.2% 29 Lead-up to Six-Day War (June 6) May 14, 1967 15 -5.6% 20 Tet Offensive (Vietnam) Jan. 29, 1968 25 -6.0% 46 Cambodian Campaign (Vietnam) May 1, 1970 18 -14.9% 86 Yom Kippur War, Arab oil embargo Oct. 6, 1973 42 -16.1% 6 years** Soviet-Afghan War Dec. 24, 1979 7 -2.3% 10 Intervention in Grenada Oct. 25, 1983 11 -2.8% 15 Lead-up to intervention in Panama Dec. 15, 1989 2 -2.2% 8 Iraq invades Kuwait, oilfields seized Aug. 2, 1990 50 -15.9% 131 Lead-up to Gulf War (Desert Storm) Jan. 1, 1991 6 -5.7% 13 Intervention in Yugoslavia (Balkans) March 24, 1999 3 -4.1% 11 U.S. spy plane captured in China April 1, 2001 3 -4.9% 7 War in Afghanistan Oct. 7, 2001 1 -0.8% 3 Lead-up to Iraq War Feb. 5, 2003 24 -5.6% 28 Russia intervention in Ukraine Feb. 11, 2022* 17 -7.4% 27 12-Day War (Israel/U.S. and Iran) June 12, 2025 5 -1.3% 7 Average of all 20 events — 13 -6.0% 28

Individuals may behave irrationally, but the market is made up of millions of people, many of whom are much smarter and better informed than you are, not to mention unemotional computer algorithms, which is why virtually no single individual has been able to beat the market over the long-term. Even Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has only matched the return of S&P 500 since 2000.

Lump-sum investing outperforms in that study due to the time-in-the-market effect since the investment is made on Day 1 of the investment year. Had the lump-sum investment been made on Day 365 of the year, it would have underperformed dollar-cost averaging. For withdrawals, the reverse logic applies. Dollar-cost averaging beats withdrawing all of your yearly expenses on Day 1 of the year because your money stays in the market longer.