Health

Man arrested over insurance executive murder in New York

Published

4 months ago

December 10, 2024

This handout image released by the New York Police Department (NYPD) via X (formerly Twitter) on December 5, 2024 shows the individual sought in connection to the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. – A masked gunman shot dead top US health insurance executive Brian Thomspson outside a New York hotel on December 4 in an apparently targeted hit. Thompson was gunned down as he prepared to address investors with the gunman firing several times before using a rented bike to flee in the direction of Central Park, police said. (Photo by NYPD / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / NYPD ”

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A 26-year-old man was arrested Monday after the targeted killing of a top health insurance executive on the streets of New York, police said, crediting a McDonald’s employee in Pennsylvania who spotted a suspicious-looking customer.

Investigators were interrogating the man, Luigi Mangione, in connection with last week’s killing of a senior figure at UnitedHealthcare, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

He is being held by officers in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after being found with a weapon that New York Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny described as a “ghost gun” capable of firing 9MM rounds and equipped with a suppressor.

The man was spotted in a McDonald’s in the town some 300 miles (500 kilometers) west of New York, by someone who tipped off the authorities, Tisch added.

He also had fake IDs similar to those used by the killer ahead of the slaying as well as a handwritten manifesto about the ills of the insurance industry, The New York Times said, citing a law enforcement source.

New York detectives were headed to Altoona, Tisch said, while Chief of Detectives Kenny said that Mangione possessed material that suggested he had “ill-will towards corporate America.”

Police had been looking into the possibility that the shooter used a long-barrel veterinary gun — normally used to euthanize animals — to commit the murder.

The gunman walked up behind Brian Thompson, the senior executive at UnitedHealthcare — one of the country’s largest medical insurers — and shot him dead last Wednesday in front of bystanders, in an attack captured by a surveillance camera and since seen by millions.

Thompson was attending an investor conference in the Midtown business district.

– Ample video footage –

Detectives said the suspect fled the crime scene on foot, before riding a bike to Central Park, and later boarding a bus from a terminal in the north of the city connecting New York to surrounding states and beyond.

Police would not confirm media reports that the words “delay” and “deny” — language often used by insurance companies to reject claims — were written on shell casings found at the scene.

Video footage shows Thompson on the sidewalk outside the New York Hilton Midtown when a man in a hooded top, his lower face covered, approaches from behind, then fires several shots at his 50-year-old victim, who crumples to the ground.

An image released of the smiling suspect was obtained from a youth hostel where the gunman apparently stayed before the hit, with media reporting he had lowered his mask to flirt with a receptionist.

Authorities subsequently located a gray backpack in Central Park thought to belong to the killer containing a jacket and Monopoly money, US media reported.

AFP

Health

NAFDAC Begins Gradual Reopening of Shops at Ogbo-Ogwu Drug Market in Onitsha

Published

11 hours ago

April 11, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has commenced the gradual reopening of shops at the Ogbo-Ogwu drug market in Onitsha.

This development follows the agency’s closure of the market on February 10, 2025, due to concerns over the sale and distribution of counterfeit, unregistered, and substandard drugs.

The unsealing exercise is being led by a Deputy Director of NAFDAC, Mr. Tunji Omoyemi.

According to NAFDAC, traders whose shops meet the required safety and documentation standards are being cleared to resume business operations.

Addressing the traders, the market chairman, Mr. Ndubuisi Chukwulota, urged full cooperation with the agency to facilitate the swift resumption of commercial activities.

Credit: Anambra Broadcasting Service

Health

“We don’t train you and after spending all that money you leave our healthcare facilities” Gov Mbah begs nurses not to Japa

Published

17 hours ago

April 11, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Governor Peter Mbah

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Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah has appealed to nursing students in the state not to leave the state after graduation to curb brain drain in the state’s health sector.
The governor made the appeal during the 2024/ 2025 Maiden Matriculation Ceremony of the Nursing College, Enugu on Thursday, April 10.
He urged the students to consider the huge resources the state was committing in training nursing and midwifery students in the state and give back to the state after graduation.
Mbah, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said “japa syndrome” was completely against the policy of the state, who had been spending reasonable amount in training them.

“We don’t train you and after spending all that money in infrastructure and the first opportunity you get you leave our healthcare facilities.

“One thing we are very particular is how we improve the service conditions so that when you go through the effort of getting your certificate, you don’t leave our state.

“That is why we are training beyond just academics so that you see that this is service and if any of you can go back to our budget in 2024 and 2025, the highest investment is in education and health,” Mbah said.

Health

2025 RETREAT FOR HEALTH DIRECTORS’: PS URGES DIRECTORS’ TO UPHOLD TENETS OF EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY & SUCCESSION PLANNING

Published

2 days ago

April 10, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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Directors’ in the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare have been urged to ensure effective delivery of services within the Health Sector to the Nigerian populace.

This is considered very critical to achieving the mandate of the Ministry, as well as ensuring purposeful succession planning to sustain the Ministry’s current achievements.

Permanent Secretary Daju Kachollom mni, stated during the retreat for Directors’ in the Ministry held at the Carlton Swiss Hotel Enugu, Enugu State.

The theme is ” Strengthening Leadership for Effective and Efficient Health and Social Welfare Governance.

Addressing Directors, Daju Kachollom highlighted the importannce and objectives of the retreat for effective and efficient provision of healthcare services.

The retreat, she stated, will involve strategic planning to assess the Ministry’s current position, set long-term goals and, outline the steps required to achieve them.

Additionally, it will also foster team building, strengthen interpersonal relationships among participants, improve communication and, encourage a collaborative environment.

While defining Leadership as a driving force behind organisations, the Permanent Secretary implores the Directors’ to prioritise transparency, embrace innovation, foster partnerships and, build empowered, sustainable teams to ensure an efficient and effective system that meets its goals.

“In this regard, we must fully embrace the on-going reforms and take ownership of them.

We must adopt the principles of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025, with particular focus on the new Performance Management System (PMS), which is designed to track both individual performance and our collective contributions to ministerial and national development goals.

At its core, performance management aligns individual goals with Organizational objectives, ensuring a unifieɗ direction “; the Permanent Secretary added.

Additionally, Daju Kachollom urged Directors’ present at the retreat to prioritize mentoring and succession planning.

Mentoring and succession planning, according to her, are key initiatives to strengthen and sustain the progress achieved by the Ministry.

Major highlights of the retreat include power point presentations by the participating Directors’ in the Ministry, further affirming a deliberate intent of the top management
on enhancing leadership skills and, addressing challenges facing the Ministry while offering solutions to overcome them.