Will Guillory: sources tell me and @KellyIko Source: What's the buzz on Twitter? @ Brandon Ingram has been getting bumped and bodied on dribbles throughout 3Q, but it's finally catching up to Warriors with a couple fouls - @ Update: Jordan Hawkins (back) and Brandon Ingram (ankle) are available vs. Golden State. CJ McCollum (adductor) is out - More on Jim Eichenhofer: Update: -via / November 22, 2024 for the contest -via / November 21, 2024 In the second game of a back-to-back Wednesday, . -via / November 20, 2024Topline Luigi Mangione—the 26-year-old suspect in last week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson—will plead not guilty to the charges he faces in Pennsylvania, his defense attorney Tom Dickey told reporters Tuesday, adding he expects Mangione to do the same in response to murder and other charges out of New York. Key Facts Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here . What We Know About Brian Thompson’s Murder Thompson, 50, was the CEO of the health insurance division of the $550 billion UnitedHealth Group and was in New York City on Wednesday for UnitedHealth Group’s investor meeting. He was shot from behind just before 7 a.m. on Dec. 4 outside of the New York Hilton Midtown—where the meeting was being held—and was hit in the back and right calf, after which the suspect fled the area on foot and on an electric bike. A Minnesota resident, Thompson had served as chief executive since April 2021 and had been with UnitedHealth Group since 2004. A video of the shooting showed the suspect walk out behind Thompson—who did not have a security detail—before firing multiple times. Prior to Mangione’s arrest, police said they believed the shooting was “a brazen targeted attack” and searched New York City before saying they believed the suspect had left the city on a bus. Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News “there had been some threats,” but didn’t provide details on what the threats were. Thompson had two sons, one who just graduated from high school and one still in high school. Police had been searching for the gunman by utilizing diving teams in Central Park, flying helicopters, searching through security cameras in the area, maintaining drones and using dogs. They released several photos of the suspected shooter since Wednesday. How Was Luigi Mangione Caught? New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Mangione was recognized in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and was reported to local police, who then found he had “multiple fraudulent IDs,” a U.S. passport, a firearm and suppressor similar to what was used in the murder and a “handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset.” Officers reportedly asked Mangione if he was in New York recently, which resulted in him becoming quiet and shaking, according to a description of his arrest. Though his face was largely covered in most pictures law enforcement released, officials credited the images that were circulating of Mangion for him eventually being spotted and taken into custody. Pennsylvania State Police released a new photo Tuesday morning of Mangione eating what appears to be a McDonald’s hash brown with his mask down and wearing a beanie and dark coat. They are asking for help and information about Mangione’s “travel and recent whereabouts in Pennsylvania.” A man named Larry who said he was a regular at the McDonald’s told Fox News his friend recognized Mangione and said he “looks like the shooter from New York,” but Larry thought he was kidding—“but then as it turned out, it was him.” What Has Luigi Mangione Been Charged With? He faces second-degree murder , gun and forgery charges in New York state. In New York, first-degree murder charges are reserved for killings with aggravated circumstances, such as those involving police officers, torture or if someone is hired to kill. Mangione was also initially charged in Pennsylvania with forgery, carrying firearms without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of a crime and providing false identification to law enforcement. He was ordered in his arraignment Monday night to be held without bail, and has been placed in a single cell at the “maximum custody level,” Maria Bivens, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, told CNN . The New York Times reported Tuesday afternoon that Mangione will be moved from a prison in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, to Blair County Prison, where he will wait for his New York arrest warrant to be executed. When Will Luigi Mangione Appear In Court Next? Mangione appeared in court in Pennsylvania shortly after 1:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday for an extradition hearing and said he would be fighting extradition. He was arraigned on the Pennsylvania charges Monday night, and a preliminary hearing in that state is scheduled for Dec. 23. The court docket says he requested a public defender, and the Associated Press reported Thomas Dickey, a local defense lawyer, represented Mangione at his extradition hearing. What’s Known About Luigi Mangione's Alleged Ghost Gun? A description of Mangione’s arrest notes officers found a 3D-printed pistol and 3D-printed silencer in his backpack. The pistol was loaded with a Glock magazine containing six nine-millimeter full metal jacket rounds. A loose nine-millimeter hollow point round was also found in the backpack. Authorities have said the gun and silencer are consistent with the firearm used in the shooting of Thompson. Have Police Named A Motive? Police have not named a formal motive in the killing of Thompson. Officers found three 9mm rounds at the scene and bullet casings had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” on them, which echo a phrase commonly used to criticize tactics insurance companies use to reject claims. At Monday’s press conference, Kenny said the three-page handwritten manifesto found on Mangione when he was arrested is in the possession of the Altoona Police Department, but that “it does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America.” Kenny also said there were no other “specific threats” to people in the document. Citing an unnamed law enforcement official, the Associated Press reported that in the document mentioned Mangione admitted to working alone, stating: “To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone.” The note added, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.” Was Luigi Mangione Reported Missing? Mangione’s mother, Kathleen Mangione, reported him missing to the San Francisco police last month. According to the San Francisco Standard, the missing person report was filed on Nov. 18 although it is unclear if Mangione was supposed to be present in the city when his mother filed the report. Although he was born and raised in Maryland, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said he has “ties to San Francisco” and most recently resided in Honolulu. What Do We Know About Luigi Mangione’s Life At Penn? Mangione graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 with bachelor's and master's degrees in computer and information science, according to social media accounts appearing to belong to him and the university’s alumni database. The Daily Pennsylvanian—Penn’s student newspaper— reported that Mangione founded the school’s Game Research and Development Environment club and that he was inducted into the Eta Kappa Nu honor society for excellence in electrical and computer engineering before graduating in 2020. A post on an Instagram account seeming to belong to him as well shows him affiliated with the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. What Do We Know About Luigi Mangione’s Time At The Gilman School? Mangione attended the prestigious, all-boys K-12 Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated in 2016 as the valedictorian. The New York Times reported his valedictorian speech described his class as “coming up with new ideas and challenging the world around it.” Mangione reportedly wrestled and played soccer while he was a student there and was captain of the school’s robotics team. A number of Mangione’s former classmates from the Gilman School told CBS News he was a “nice” kid, and one former classmate told The New York Times Mangione was “a big believer in the power of technology to change the world.” The Gilman School lists its tuition for 2024-25 high school students as $37,690 and describes its mission as working to “unlock the greatness within each boy by educating the entire boy — mind, body, and spirit.” What Do We Know About Luigi Mangione’s Time In Hawaii? In Honolulu, where police said Mangione’s last known address was, he was a member of a co-working space called Hub Coworking Hawaii, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported . Mangione would reportedly come and work at the location with his roommates from a nearby co-living space called Surfbreak. On its website, Surfbreak describes itself as a “co-living and co-working community for digital nomads and remote workers.” Surfbreak founder and CEO R.J. Martin expressed shock about Mangione’s arrest and told the Honolulu Civil Beat , “I loved this guy...In some ways I feel like my members are my kids.” According to the report, other residents of the co-living space described Mangione as a “natural leader” and said he helped found a book club in the community. Martin and another resident told the outlet that they had suggested the book club should read “Industrial Society and Its Future”—a book written by Unabomber Ted Kaczynski —as “a joke.” What Did Mangione Say About The Unabomber’s Book? A Goodreads account seeming to belong to Mangione gave the book a four-star review in January. The review written by the account—which was made private on Monday—said “It's easy to quickly and thoughtless write this off as the manifesto of a lunatic, in order to avoid facing some of the uncomfortable problems it identifies. But it's simply impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society turned out.” The review also quoted another person’s take about how “violence is necessary to survive.” The New York Times reported Tuesday that Mangione told a writer in England, Gurwinder Bhogal, he disapproved of the Unabomber’s actions, but Bhogal said Mangione “was fascinated by [the Unabomber’s] ideology, and shared his concerns about rampant consumerism gradually eroding our agency and alienating us from ourselves.” Are Mangione’s Social Media Accounts Still Up? Shortly after his arrest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X and Goodreads accounts that may have belonged to him were discovered. He also appeared to be active on Reddit, writing about back pain issues, Forbes reported . Nearly all social media accounts with reported ties to Mangione had been switched to private or taken down by platforms—with one notable exception. Mangione’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was briefly taken down Monday evening, but X owner Elon Musk said it was done “without his knowledge” and he was looking into it. Shortly after, the account was reinstated. Mangione’s X account—which has a cover photo featuring an apparent spinal injury—had more than 300,000 followers as of Tuesday morning. Did Luigi Mangione Have A Youtube Account? A YouTube account with Mangione’s name posted a video Monday that said “If you see this, I’m already under arrest” and had a countdown that ended by hinting at more information or videos to be released Wednesday. YouTube confirmed to Forbes the page was not associated with Mangione, though, saying “the channel’s metadata was updated following widespread reporting of Luigi Mangione’s arrest, including updates made to the channel name and handle.” YouTube added it terminated three other accounts that were linked to Mangione, but said they hadn’t been active in more than seven months. What Do We Know About Mangione’s Health Issues? Mangione’s friends in Hawaii told various news outlets that he was suffering from a serious back problem that caused him significant pain. Mangione left Hawaii to get back surgery last year and then returned to Honolulu to rent an apartment. Surfbreak’s Martin told The New York Times that Mangione said his spine was misaligned and “said his lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve.” Martin added that Mangione had confided to him about not being able to date people because of his back problem as “being physically intimate with his back condition wasn’t possible.” Martin told the Times he texted Mangione after his surgery asking how it had gone and got the response “long story” without further details. Although the two had promised to catch up over the phone later, Mangione eventually went “ radio silent. ” An account on Reddit that is believed to have belonged to Mangione was active in the subreddit “r/spondylolisthesis,” where people discussed the condition in which vertebrae in the spine slip out of place. “When my spondy went bad on me last year (23M) it was completely devastating as a young athletic person,” the alleged Mangione account wrote, Forbes reported. What Is Known About The Mangione Family? The Baltimore Banner reported Mangione comes “from a prominent Baltimore family.” According to the Banner, his grandfather was a self-made real estate developer who owned country clubs, nursing homes and a radio station, and that his grandmother was “a supporter of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center” and the Baltimore Opera Company. The Mangione family has owned Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley, Maryland—northwest of the city of Baltimore—since 1986, according to the Banner. Who Is Nino Mangione? Luigi Mangione is related to Nino Mangione , a Republican representative in the Maryland House of Delegates, The Baltimore Sun reported Monday. The Sun reported the two are cousins who are friends on social media. Forbes has reached out to Mangione for comment. A statement issued on his social media accounts on behalf of the Mangione family said they could not comment on the news reports. “We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.” Further ReadingJimmy Carter, 39th US president, Nobel winner, dies at 100
All three major US stock indexes scored record closing highs on Wednesday as technology shares rallied after upbeat results from Salesforce and as comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave a late boost to the market. or signup to continue reading The economy is stronger than it appeared in September when the central bank began cutting interest rates, allowing policymakers to potentially be a little more cautious in reducing rates further, Powell said at a New York Times event. Powell's comments overall along with a Fed economic activity report added to the upbeat tone in the market, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. The Fed said in a summary of surveys and interviews from across the country known as the "Beige Book" that US economic activity has expanded slightly in most regions since early October. Powell "was very upbeat about economy, and he said we're making progress on inflation ... that's good news for stocks in general," Cardillo said. Investors expect a third consecutive interest-rate cut at the central bank's December 17-18 meeting. Salesforce jumped 11 per cent and hit an all-time high after the enterprise cloud company beat analyst estimates for third-quarter revenue and raised the lower end of its annual revenue forecast. Other cloud companies also advanced. The S&P 500 technology index hit a record closing high, along with the communication services and consumer discretionary indexes. Also in the tech space, Marvell Technology rallied 23.2 per cent and also hit a record high after the chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue above analyst estimates. An index of semiconductors rose 1.7 per cent, while Nvidia was up 3.5 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 308.91 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 45,014.44, the S&P 500 gained 36.59 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 6,086.47 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 254.21 points, or 1.30 per cent, to 19,735.12. Investors eagerly await monthly US jobs data due on Friday and jobless claims data on Thursday. Earlier Wednesday, US private payrolls data showed a modest increase in November. Separately, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed US services sector activity slowed in November after big gains in recent months. The final reading of the S&P services survey was revised lower to 56.1. "Recent economic data has pretty much confirmed the Fed will cut rates in December," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York. Friday's jobs report is "like the granddaddy of employment reports this week," he said. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.2-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 367 new highs and 79 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,372 stocks rose and 1,930 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.23-to-1 ratio. Volume on US exchanges was 13.06 billion shares, compared with the 14.89 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. We care about the protection of your data. Read our . Advertisement
In the world of Real Housewives , a 100th anniversary can only be celebrated in one way: through an utterly devastating season of absurd, yet amazing, drama. The Real Housewives of Orange County just wrapped its 18th season—the 100th Housewives season under the Bravo fold—in spectacular fashion, proving the original city still stands tall all these years later. With a former Housewife returning on the arms of a Housewife’s ex, a DUI scandal , and a shocking FBI inquiry , Orange County has known nothing but chaos since July, when the season premiered. “Authenticity is what sells, right?” Heather Dubrow , a Housewife from Seasons 7 through 11, and since Season 16, told The Daily Beast’s Obsessed. Each Housewives show has perfected its own archetype. Orange County takes viewers “behind the gates” of suburban communities, letting them see a real-life Desperate Housewives , with “creepy clown music” (as Dubrow puts it) welcoming audiences into the fold each episode. It’s not the most glamorous Housewives show; it’s the bread and butter of a tried-and-true franchise, with an ever-shifting ensemble of raw, real Housewives. “Orange County is for many people like an idea and a dream. It’s sort of the ultimate bedroom community,” said Ryan Flynn, senior VP of current production at Bravo. “It’s relatable, but it also allows us to judge.” “It doesn’t mean that we’re always going to agree with them, but at least we know why they’re doing what they’re doing and what they’re saying,” he added. Tamra Judge has been a Real Housewife since Season 3 aired back in 2007, taking a two-year sabbatical before returning in all her villainous glory for Season 17. Often credited as the Housewife who created the interpersonal drama fans think of with the franchise, Judge knows better than anyone what makes good TV—and what doesn’t. “There’s a truth teller—a villain if you want to call it. There’s a wealthy one. There’s one that plays the victim. There’s a girl in denial, one in distress. There’s an ice queen. There’s a rags-to-riches attorney,” she added. “I think that’s what makes it a great show, that we have so many different dynamics.” The Real Housewives of Orange County is experiencing a renaissance, one that seemed impossible just two years ago. On the heels of the ousting of Judge and original Housewife Vicki Gunvalson, Orange County suffered from a disjointed season made worse by COVID woes, followed by a shaky rebound attempt in Season 16. With Dubrow and Judge back in the roster, alongside fan favorite newbies like Jenn Pedranti, Orange County has finally gotten its groove back. Not since Season 10’s widely renowned cancer scam have the stakes been this high, as Shannon Beador faced the fallout of a DUI and new enemy Alexis Bellino, who served as a “mouthpiece” to Beador’s ex and Bellino’s now-fiancé John Jannsen. Meanwhile, Pedranti faced demons of her own, her engagement undercut by an FBI inquiry into her now-fiancé Ryan Bojayian, caught in the middle of the Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal. “I think that’s what’s so exciting, when you when you end the shoot of a season in a place you never expected to be when you started,” Flynn said. “It’s a roll of the dice a lot of the time. But when you find interesting women leading interesting lives, things are going to happen no matter what.” “I always find it to be one of the best sitcoms on TV. And I mean that in a really loving way,” he added. “Because I think so often we are laughing when no one is trying to make us laugh, but it is just the absurdity of life. These women have always sort of run with the mandate of ‘Think out loud and don’t be afraid to share your thoughts.’” That’s often true of Orange County , where the drama is much less manicured than its California sister, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills . In the OC, authenticity is key to all the drama. The intertwined, twisted world of Newport Beach works to the show’s benefit. The editing has grown sharper and the audience is far smarter, but it’s Housewives like Beador who keep viewers coming back for more. After all, Beador has caught herself in the middle of the drama each and every season of her run, maybe with the exception of Season 14 (if you squint). Most Housewives would cut and run filming the one-two punch that was the DUI and return of Bellino. For Beador, it was just another year around the sun. “It was a lot of hurt on my part. Yeah, it wasn’t fun,” Beador said. “But I’m hopeful that someday I can say ... that I’m grateful for it. I will say that today, I feel stronger and happier than I ever have been in my life.” A fan favorite since she joined in Season 9, Beador’s neurotic charm has lived on through her nine lemons in a bowl and inability to live anything but honestly. Ten years later, she’s as open as ever. “I remember we had a cast member one year, I think it was my third or fourth season, that called me and said, ‘I’m going to try and get pregnant this season. What’s going to be your story?’” she said. “And my answer was, ‘You know what? I’m just going to be Shannon Beador.’ And when people get tired of that? Then I’ll just check off that box, and you won’t hear from me again.” The true strength of The Real Housewives of Orange County comes in its jam-packed ensemble. That’s something the show often struggled perfecting in past years, from a revolving door of one-hit wonders to a real-life racism controversy canning one of the show’s rising stars. Orange County has more one-and-done Housewives than any other city in the franchise, and it’s one of the few to no longer have an original Housewife on its roster (although we thank Gunvalson for her multi-episode guest arcs each season. Get her on my show! ). After many trials and tribulations, the show has finally settled on a cast fans love, one that harkens back to the golden era’s undeniable chemistry. At 18 seasons, the show has more life in it now than it has in a decade. They’re the OGs of the OC, after all. Everyone else is just a copy. “It’s absolutely crazy to me, because even way back then, I thought this is going to last for a year, this is going to last for two years. And every year, I would be like, Okay, this has got to be the end,” Judge said. “And you know, it’s so surreal now as I was watching Season 3 just yesterday, and I’m like, damn, things have changed.” As the franchise has grown over 100 seasons—wardrobes have evolved beyond sky tops, social media has grown especially vicious —the ethos of the franchise has remained the same. It’s a “peek through the curtains of your neighbor’s home,” Dubrow said. “It’s the OG. [When it premiered], there was nothing like it,” she added. “I think it’s stood the test of time because most of the cast throughout the years—yes, there have been some hiccups—but most of the cast throughout the years have shown up in such a beautiful, authentic way, ready to tell their stories, for better or for worse.” That’s why women like Pedranti are so exciting to come across. An old-school Housewife in the vein of cuff queen Lynne Curtin, Pedranti bares it all on screen. She’s not shilling some bath bombs no one’s going to buy. She’s living her humble life, evictions and all. Back in the early days of Orange County , Pedranti watched the show while folding laundry. Now, strangers walk up to her at the gym and tell her they’re rooting for her relationship. “Someone told me, ‘We as a viewer want to feel like we’re sitting in your living room watching you, and we really shouldn’t be watching. We’re not watching Instagram or the Christmas card. We’re watching what goes on behind your actual closed door,’” Pedranti said. “Maybe it truly makes people feel like it’s not so bad for them. Maybe they’re like, ‘I thought I had problems, but I watched Jenn last night. God bless that girl. We’re doing alright,’” she continued. That inside look into the world of women, whether through aspirational trips or cautionary tales, has carried the franchise through 100 seasons. Through it all, as The Real Housewives of New York City rebooted with an entire cast, Dubai , Dallas , and D.C. were canceled (or paused, as coined by former New York Housewife Dorinda Medley), and Miami died and was reborn, Orange County has lived through it all. It’s like a cockroach, except people actually like it. Already, the franchise has blown past 100 with no sign of slowing down. From another perfect season of Salt Lake City to a return-to-form in Potomac , the Housewives experiment is going strong as ever. “It feels like there’s never an end to this, because these shows live on the fact that we see people grow, we see people change, and we see people come and go,” Flynn said. “I think the beauty of Real Housewives is always that natural refresher of story, of life.”Opposition warns Australia-Israel relationship at ‘lowest ebb in decades’Hail Flutie: BC celebrates 40th anniversary of Miracle in Miami
Andrew met the individual through “official channels” with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement from his office said. The businessman – known only as H6 – lost an appeal over a decision to bar him from entering the UK on national security grounds. He brought a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after then-home secretary Suella Braverman said he should be excluded from the UK in March 2023. H6 was described as a “close confidante” of The Duke. Judges were told that in a briefing for the home secretary in July 2023, officials claimed H6 had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior Chinese officials “that could be leveraged for political interference purposes”. They also said that H6 had downplayed his relationship with the Chinese state, which combined with his relationship with Andrew, 64, represented a threat to national security. A statement from Andrew’s office said: “The Duke of York followed advice from His Majesty’s Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised. “The Duke met the individual through official channels with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. “He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.” At a hearing in July, the specialist tribunal heard that the businessman was told by an adviser to Andrew that he could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, and that H6 had been invited to Andrew’s birthday party in 2020. A letter referencing the birthday party from the adviser, Dominic Hampshire, was discovered on H6’s devices when he was stopped at a port in November 2021. In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Bourne, Judge Stephen Smith and Sir Stewart Eldon, dismissed the challenge.NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A scruffy little fugitive is on the lam again in New Orleans, gaining fame as he outwits a tenacious band of citizens armed with night-vision binoculars, nets and a tranquilizer rifle. Scrim, a 17-pound mutt that's mostly terrier, has become a folk hero, inspiring tattoos, t-shirts and even a ballad as he eludes capture from the posse of volunteers. And like any antihero, Scrim has a backstory: Rescued from semi-feral life at a trailer park and adopted from a shelter, the dog broke loose in April and scurried around the city until he was cornered in October and brought to a new home. Weeks later, he'd had enough. Scrim leaped out of a second-story window, a desperate act recorded in a now-viral video. Since then, despite a stream of daily sightings, he's roamed free. The dog’s fans include Myra and Steve Foster, who wrote “Ode to Scrim” to the tune of Ricky Nelson’s 1961 hit, “I’m a Travelin’ Man.” Leading the recapture effort is Michelle Cheramie, a 55-year-old former information technology professional. She lost everything — home, car, possessions — in Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and in the aftermath, found her calling rescuing pets. “I was like, ‘This is what I should be doing,’” Cheramie said. “I was born to rescue.” She launched Zeus’ Rescues, a nonprofit shelter that now averages 600 cat and dog adoptions a year and offers free pet food to anyone who needs it. She helped Scrim find the home he first escaped from. It was Cheramie's window Scrim leaped from in November. She's resumed her relentless mission since then, posting flyers on telephone poles and logging social media updates on his reported whereabouts. She's invested thousands of dollars on wildlife cameras, thermal sensors and other gear. She took a course offered by the San Diego Zoo on the finer points of tranquilizing animals. And she's developed a network of volunteers — the kind of neighbors who are willing to grid-search a city at 3 a.m. People like writer David W. Brown, who manages a crowd-sourced Google Map of all known Scrim sightings. He says the search has galvanized residents from all walks of life to come together. As they search for Scrim, they hand out supplies to people in need. "Being a member of the community is seeing problems and doing what you can to make life a little better for the people around here and the animals around you," Brown said. And neighbors like Tammy Murray, who had to close her furniture store and lost her father to Parkinson's Disease. This search, she says, got her mojo back. “Literally, for months, I’ve done nothing but hunt this dog,” said Murray, 53. “I feel like Wile E. Coyote on a daily basis with him.” Murray drives the Zeus' Rescues' van towards reported Scrim sightings. She also handles a tactical net launcher, which looks like an oversized flashlight and once misfired, shattering the van's window as Scrim sped away. After realizing Scrim had come to recognize the sound of the van's diesel engine, Murray switched to a Vespa scooter, for stealth. Near-misses have been tantalizing. The search party spotted Scrim napping beneath an elevated house, and wrapped construction netting around the perimeter, but an over-eager volunteer broke ranks and dashed forward, leaving an opening Scrim slipped through. Scrim's repeated escapades have prompted near-daily local media coverage and a devoted online following. Cheramie can relate. “We’re all running from something or to something. He's doing that too,” she said. Cheramie's team dreams of placing the pooch in a safe and loving environment. But a social media chorus growing under the hashtag #FreeScrim has other ideas — they say the runaway should be allowed a life of self-determination. The animal rescue volunteers consider that misguided. “The streets of New Orleans are not the place for a dog to be free,” Cheramie said. “It’s too dangerous.” Scrim was a mess when Cheramie briefly recaptured him in October, with matted fur, missing teeth and a tattered ear. His trembling body was scraped and bruised, and punctured by multiple projectiles. A vet removed one, but decided against operating to take out a possible bullet. The dog initially appeared content indoors, sitting in Cheramie's lap or napping beside her bed. Then while she was out one day, Scrim chewed through a mesh screen, dropped 13 feet to the ground and squeezed through a gap in the fence, trotting away. Murray said Cheramie's four cats probably spooked him. “I wholeheartedly believe the gangster-ass cats were messing with him,” Murray said. Cheramie thinks they may have gotten territorial. Devastated but undeterred, the pair is reassessing where Scrim might fit best — maybe a secure animal sanctuary with big outdoor spaces where other dogs can keep him company. Somewhere, Murray says, “where he can just breathe and be." Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96