Evening Brief: Mangione Won’t Face Death Penalty, Justice Department Launches Probe in Pretti Killing, ISIS Attacks in Niger

From a federal judge boxing out the death penalty on procedural grounds in the Mangione case, to the Justice Department opening a civil rights probe into the Pretti shooting, to ISIS fighters on motorcycles hitting Niger’s main airport while the junta points fingers at Paris, this week’s throughline is the same: institutions under pressure, legal frameworks being stress-tested, and outcomes that satisfy nobody’s sense of clean resolution.

NEORON Brain Booster: Clarity in a Can

After years of punishing my system with every caffeinated concoction known to man, I finally found something that sharpens the blade without wrecking the handle.

Morning Brief: New Video Emerges in Alex Pretti Minneapolis Shooting, Starmer Visits China Amid Alliance Strains, Dollar Slides as Markets Price Rising Risk

Newly released video footage from Minneapolis has added new context to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, complicating earlier official accounts of the incident. Abroad, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has begun a high-profile visit to China as Western alliances show signs of strain and governments reassess diplomatic engagement. In markets, the U.S. dollar weakened further as investors reacted to mounting economic and political uncertainty, driving increased volatility across global currencies.