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The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson appears to have added fresh fuel to already tense discourse online about wealth, the role of corporations in American health care and power in society. Thompson , 50, was in New York City for an investor conference, where he was shot dead by a masked assailant. Days later, the gunman’s whereabouts and identity remained unknown as did the reason for the killing. New York City police say evidence firmly points to it being a targeted attack. Steven Downing, associate professor of criminology and media at Ontario Tech University, said some posts were celebratory in nature and that reactions may reflect people’s frustration with the health insurance industry in the United States. A thread on a Reddit community, inviting people to share their worst experiences with UnitedHealthcare, drew hundreds of comments, mostly negative, and over a thousand upvotes. “There seems to be some effect here where people are sharing their own narratives,” Downing said. “People are strangely bonding over this.” Social media users reacted to the killing, with the term ‘CEOs’ trending on the social media website X. “I’ve seen very little sort of post being sympathetic to the victim,” Downing said. “Certainly, there is an anti-elitist sentiment that we’re seeing here.” Downing said that while this is a tragedy for those who knew Thompson, the social media reaction indicates a broader anti-elite social sentiment. He said there are also posts “valourizing” the shooter. “I saw a tweet specifically mentioning Robin Hood. The parallels are not exact, but there is this class element embedded in that, like an us versus them,” he said. The shooting has shaken corporate America and the health insurance industry in particular, causing companies to reevaluate security plans and delete photos and biographies of executives from their websites, the Associated Press reported. A different Minnesota-based health care company said Friday it was temporarily closing its offices out of an abundance of caution, telling employees to work from home. UnitedHealthcare is a multinational health insurance and services company and is the largest insurer in the United States . In 2023, Thompson earned a total compensation of $10.2 million, according to a disclosure by UnitedHealth Group. It included his annual salary, bonus and stock option awards. UnitedHealthcare brought in $281 billion in revenue last year. The killing has come amid growing tensions and anger as income inequality remains a persistent challenge, and after the U.S. election saw conversations around health care and the further privatization of insurance and care access in the spotlight. Caitlin Slavens, an Alberta-based psychologist, said posts valourizing a killer may not be a genuine endorsement of violence, but may reflect misplaced anger or desperation. “In this case, the shooter may symbolize rebellion against a system people feel has failed them — like health care or insurance industries. For some, it’s easier to justify or glorify such actions than to sit with the helplessness or rage they feel toward those larger systems,” she said. Amie Grant, a therapist based in Cleveland, Ohio, said prolonged exposure to an oppressive system or situation – like being denied life-saving care – can lead to people’s collective frustrations boiling over into extreme narratives. Social media offers an easy space for people to vent. “Social media amplifies these feelings by creating echo chambers where resentment can turn into dark humor or misplaced validation,” she said. Grant said growing income-inequality, stagnant wages and rising prices have led to a growing collective anger. “Online spaces provide a fertile ground for these feelings to take root, often through humor, memes, and dark satire that make complex issues more accessible. Social media acts as a pressure valve, allowing people to articulate their frustrations in ways that feel both rebellious and communal,” she said. Feeling powerless in the face of large corporations can feel dehumanizing, Slavens said. Sharing those experiences online can be cathartic for some. “Sharing personal stories, especially about struggles with insurance companies, can be incredibly validating. It allows people to feel seen and heard while connecting with others who have faced similar experiences,” Slavens said. “For some, it’s a way to reclaim power over a situation that feels dehumanizing, turning their pain into a call for systemic change.” Matthew Polacko, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Toronto whose work focuses on the effects of income inequality on political behaviour, said anti-elite sentiments are not limited to the United States. Canada, too, has seen simmering anger since the pandemic. “It’s definitely on the rise, this dissatisfaction with billionaires, in Canada with grocery stores and the rising prices. There is this perception of collusion on their part,” he said. Where that anger goes next remains unclear. Downing said these sentiments could well snowball into populist political movements in the future. “There’s a movement towards populist sentiments,” he said. “If you look at Occupy Wall Street, there were analogous or simultaneous movements in Canada. I do think there will be (more such movements in the future).” Polacko said it’s unlikely that more violence will follow this incident. “This is more of an isolated incident,” he said, “I don’t think we have to worry about more violence happening here (in Canada). I don’t think this is likely to keep happening.”Walmart Inc. and one of its financial technology partners allegedly opened expensive bank accounts for delivery drivers of the world’s largest retailer without their consent, a U.S. consumer protection agency said on Monday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Walmart and Branch Messenger Inc., claiming they required those in the Spark Driver program to be paid through costly accounts or be fired. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Britney Spears Didn’t Actually Move to Mexico
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — One of Colombia’s legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cartel has been deported back to the South American country, after serving 25 years of a 30-year prison sentence in the United States. A short while later, Fabio Ochoa was again a free man. Ochoa arrived in Bogota on a deportation flight on Monday afternoon, wearing a modest grey sweatshirt and carrying his personal belongings in a plastic bag. After stepping out of the plane, Ochoa was met by immigration officials in bullet proof vests. There were no police on site to detain him. Immigration officials took his fingerprints and confirmed through a database that Ochoa is not wanted by Colombian authorities. The country's immigration agency said on the social media platform X that Ochoa was “freed so that he could join his family.” “I was framed,” Ochoa claimed as reporters at Bogota’s El Dorado Airport asked if he regretted his actions. The former cartel boss smiled as he hugged his daughter, whom he had not seen in seven years, and said he would go to Medellin to live with his family. “The nightmare is over” said Ochoa, 67. Ochoa and his older brothers amassed a fortune when cocaine started flooding the U.S. in the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to U.S. authorities, to the point that in 1987 they were included in the Forbes Magazine’s list of billionaires. Living in Miami, Ochoa ran a distribution center for the cocaine cartel once headed by Pablo Escobar . Escobar died in a shootout with authorities in Medellin in 1993. Ochoa was first indicted in the U.S. for his alleged role in the 1986 killing of Barry Seal, an American pilot who flew cocaine flights for the Medellin cartel, but became an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Along with his two older brothers, Juan David and Jorge Luis, Ochoa turned himself in to Colombian authorities in the early 1990s under a deal in which they avoided being extradited to the U.S. The three brothers were released from prison in 1996, but Ochoa was arrested again three years later for drug trafficking and was extradited to the U.S. in 2001 in response to an indictment in Miami naming him and more than 40 people as part of a drug smuggling conspiracy. He was the only suspect in that group who opted to go to trial, resulting in his conviction and a 30-year sentence. The other defendants got much lighter prison terms because most of them cooperated with the government. Ochoa’s name has faded from popular memory as Mexican drug traffickers take center stage in the global drug trade. But the former member of the Medellin cartel was recently depicted in the Netflix series Griselda, where he first fights the plucky businesswoman Griselda Blanco for control of Miami's cocaine market, and then makes an alliance with the drug trafficker, played by Sofia Vergara. Ochoa is also depicted in the Netflix series Narcos, as the youngest son of an elite Medellin family that is into ranching and horse breeding and cuts a sharp contrast with Escobar, who came from more humble roots. Richard Gregorie, a retired assistant U.S. attorney who was on the prosecution team that convicted Ochoa, said authorities were never able to seize all of the Ochoa family’s illicit drug proceeds and he expects that the former mafia boss will have a welcome return home. “He won’t be retiring a poor man, that’s for sure,” Gregorie told The Associated Press earlier this month.
In a year already chock-full of excellent remakes like Persona 3 Reload and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door , it’s impressive that I can still call Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake one of the best I’ve ever played. That’s not because it sets out to redefine the 1988 NES original like Square Enix did with Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth , but because of how it strikes a nearly perfect balance between faithfully sticking to the bones of Dragon Quest III while adding modern quality-of-life improvements and a beautiful new coat of paint that make it more fun than ever to explore and battle across its surprisingly dense overworld. Dragon Quest III is a true godfather of the RPG genre, and this immensely satisfying retelling so clearly spells out why it’s one of gaming’s essential works. HD-2D Remake is fundamentally the same adventure Dragon Quest III has always been, and it’s hard not to marvel at how well its original blueprint still holds up in 2024. This is as classic as JRPGs get – the genre boiled down to its absolute essentials of rock-solid turn-based combat, atmospheric caves and dungeons filled with monsters and treasure, and a straightforward story about good versus evil that asks you to fill in a lot of the gaps with your imagination. It evokes nostalgia for a bygone era of video games in the best ways while proving it still has the stuff to hang with the fancy, modern RPGs. Despite the unabashedly old-school design, it does manage to feel new thanks to its overhauled graphics, and Dragon Quest and the HD-2D style pioneered by Octopath Traveler are an absolute perfect combination. The enemy design is amazing, with highly-detailed sprites and animations that are a joy to look at. The late Akira Toriyama’s signature style is wonderfully realized here, and battles feel more dynamic with each enemy’s lively animations for attacking and defending. Towns are delightful to explore, with stunning castles, houses, and shops that are breathtaking to look at from the outside and adorable to poke around on the inside thanks to sharp attention to detail. The dungeons all look great, too, especially with the moody lighting emitting from your hero’s lantern. Finally, the overworld feels grand to march across, and it’s all backed up with an orchestral soundtrack that fits Dragon Quest’s lighthearted, adventurous mood to a tee. HD-2D Remake doesn’t just look gorgeous, as it has great battle and class systems to match. Apart from the Hero, whose class and spot in your party is locked in from the start, the composition of the other three spots is completely up to you, including their classes, names, and appearances. I outfitted my party with a Thief, a Priest, and my personal favorite: the all-new Monster Wrangler, who became stronger as I found and recruited friendly monsters across the world, which further incentivized exploration. It’s a ton of fun constructing your band of heroes, and I’m honestly considering a full replay where I try something entirely different given how many classes I didn’t take advantage of. There are also opportunities to reclass later in the story while retaining all the abilities your characters have learned thus far, adding even more important decisions to consider. It’s just a shame that the personalities of your party members are all silent, blank slates as a result of that mechanical flexibility. That’s the same as it was in the original, but it makes for an RPG journey that’s much more about character builds, combat, and exploration rather than relationships, camaraderie, and story. It’s completely understandable that Square Enix would stick with the old style in this instance, as it did with almost everything else, but it’s hard not to miss the wonderful personalities of my party in Dragon Quest XI or the Party Chat feature seen in most modern entries of the series by comparison. But as someone who vastly prefers a barebones story compared to an overbearing one, I still thoroughly enjoyed Dragon Quest III’s focus on engaging directly with its RPG systems. To that end, the battles themselves are fast-paced, fun, and occasionally quite difficult. Make no mistake – this is still very much a hardcore NES-era RPG, and you need to use a balanced mix of strong attacks, healing spells, and buffing/debuffing abilities to beat some of Dragon Quest III’s toughest bosses. There are some real nail-biting moments, especially later on in the campaign, and I loved using unorthodox strategies to barely squeak by fights I probably wasn’t ready for yet. Random encounters in both the overworld and dungeons are a constant factor, but they’re always enjoyable and drop essential experience points and gold, which you’ll need as much of as you can get to reach the end credits. But if nervewracking turn-based battles aren’t your thing, there’s no need to worry. I’m incredibly impressed by how flexible HD-2D Remake is as a whole. Apart from three difficulty options you can switch between at any time (Including the Dracky Quest option, where your characters essentially can’t die), there are a ton of ways to tailor the adventure to your specific playstyle. In combat, you can speed up battle animations to get through encounters faster or watch them at normal speed to really enjoy the detailed enemy animations. You’re also given complete control over how your party behaves: In classic Dragon Quest fashion, you can give individual orders to all four party members, or choose strategies for them to execute on their own, like focusing on healing, conserving magic, or going all-out against a tough foe. It’s honestly relaxing to set the whole party to autobattle when grinding for experience points before taking control back for yourself ahead of an important boss fight. Options like these ensure the great combat remains fresh across the roughly 30-hour adventure, even with multiple sessions of grinding. That’s partially because the Dragon Quest series is pretty good at making grinding for experience points entertaining, and this remake is no exception. If you’re a fan of the series, you know that Metal Slimes are the key to leveling up fast: Enemies with low spawn rates that drop way more experience points than the average bad guy. Discovering areas of the map where Metal Slimes are more likely to appear is exciting, and the rush of adrenaline that kicks in when you see one show up in a random encounter never gets old – like pulling a rare card from a Pokémon booster pack. Plus, apart from the occasional level grind session, Dragon Quest III’s pacing is impeccable. You’re always being ushered from one new location to the next, constantly exploring new towns and dungeons while encountering fresh foes from the huge set of over 150 enemy types. It rarely retraces any of its steps – except for one specific recurring boss I won’t spoil that admittedly rears its ugly head a few too many times. This remake also goes to great lengths to ensure you’ll never get lost or stuck. The Zoom spell lets you escape a tough situation to rest at an inn pretty much whenever you want, while objective markers clearly label what you need to do next to progress through the occasionally unclear and outdated main quests. However, if you want the classic Dragon Quest III experience, you can turn these quest markers off and discover everything for yourself by exploring and talking to townsfolk. It’s a great system that makes this aged RPG more approachable and playable than ever, while also preserving that original style for those who want it. It’s an ideal way to revisit a beloved adventure, and I love the pace at which this vast world slowly reveals its secrets to you piece by piece. While I was generally a big fan of Dragon Quest III’s old-school nature mixed with the HD-2D Remake’s modern improvements, there are a couple of places it could have gone a few extra steps. Inventory management is clunky, as each of your four party members only has access to their individual item bags in combat, meaning I spent a ton of time in menus transferring items from the party’s overall inventory to their individual pockets. Managing equipment comes with similar annoyances, where it’s just a bit harder than it should be to see how equipping something will impact each character’s stats. I eventually got into a rhythm of how to fiddle with these outdated menus, but it’s one place I wish had gotten more updating. (There are also just a few enemy designs that haven’t aged especially well, and probably would have been better left in the past.)World News | 3 Fall into Ocean After California Wharf Partially Collapses Due to Heavy Surf from Major Storm
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