Luigi Mangione’s notes to self: 'Pluck eyebrows,' 'Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight'

NEW YORK (AP) — Pluck eyebrows. Buy less conspicuous shoes. Take a bus or a train west toward Cincinnati and St. Louis. Move around late at night. Stay away from surveillance cameras.

A to-do list and travel plans found during Luigi Mangione’s arrest and revealed in court this week shed new light on the steps he may have taken — or planned to take — to avoid capture after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killing last year.

“Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight,” said one note. “Change hat, shoes, pluck eyebrows,” said another.

The notes, including a hand-drawn map and tactics for surviving on the lam, were shown on Monday at a pretrial hearing as Mangione’s bid to prevent prosecutors from using evidence seized during his Dec. 9, 2024, arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Excerpts of body-worn camera footage of the arrest, previously unseen by the press or the public, were released on Tuesday.

Police said they discovered the notes in Mangione’s backpack, along with a 9 mm handgun that prosecutors said matches the one used to kill Thompson five days earlier; a loaded gun magazine and silencer; and a notebook in similar handwriting which he purportedly described his intent to “wack” a health insurance executive.

Mangione’s lawyers haven't disputed the authenticity of the notes or the provenance of the gun, pocket knife, fake ID, driver's license, passport, credit cards, AirPods, protein bar, travel toothpaste, flash drives and other items seized from him and his backpack.

But they argue that anything found in the bag should be barred because police didn’t have a search warrant and lacked the grounds to justify a warrantless search. Prosecutors contend the search was legal — officers said they were checking for a bomb — and that police eventually obtained a warrant.

The notes, along with other evidence highlighted at the pretrial hearing, underscore that Mangione’s stop in Altoona, a city of about 44,000 people about 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan, was only meant to be temporary.

One note said to check for “red eyes” from Pittsburgh to Columbus, Ohio or part way to Cincinnati ("get off early," it reads). The map drawn below shows lines linking those cities, as well as other possible destinations, including Detroit, Indianapolis and St. Louis.

Thompson, 50, was killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for his company’s investor conference on Dec. 4, 2024. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind and then fleeing the area. Over the next hours and days, police released photos of a suspect — first showing him in a mask and hooded coat and then his face and thick eyebrows.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The pretrial hearing, which resumes for a sixth day on Thursday, applies only to the state case. His lawyers are making a similar push to exclude the evidence from his federal case, where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Among the notes revealed this week was one with a heading “12/5” and a starred entry that said: “buy black shoes (white stripes too distinctive).”

Another, also written in to-do list style, suggested spending more than three hours away from surveillance cameras and using different modes of transportation to “Break CAM continuity” and avoid tracking. Below that, it said: “check reports for current situation,” a possible reference to news reports about the search for Thompson’s killer.

According to prosecutors, Mangione fled to Newark, New Jersey, immediately after the shooting and took a train to Philadelphia. Among the evidence shown at the pretrial hearing was a Philadelphia transit pass purchased at 1:06 p.m. — a little more than six hours after the shooting — and a ticket for a Greyhound bus, booked under the name Sam Dawson, leaving Philadelphia at 6:30 p.m. and arriving in Pittsburgh at 11:55 p.m.

A note with the heading “12/8” lists a number of tasks, including an apparent trip to Best Buy to purchase a digital camera and accessories, “hot meal + water bottles,” and “trash bag(s).” Under “12/9,” the day of Mangione’s arrest, the note lists tasks including “Sheetz," an Altoona-based convenience store chain, “masks” and “AAA bats.” Under “Future TO DO,” it listed “intel checkin” and “survival kit.”

Mangione had a Sheetz hoagie in his backpack when he was arrested, along with a loaf of Italian bread from a local deli, according to police officers testifying Monday and Tuesday. It had been raining, and the bag and items inside it were wet, the officers said. They were heard on body-worn camera footage played in court theorizing that Mangione had gotten soaked walking from the city’s bus station.

Police responded to the McDonald's after a manager called 911 to relay concerns from customers who thought that Mangione, eating breakfast in a back corner, resembled the man wanted for killing Thompson. On the call, played in court, the manager could be heard saying that because Mangione was wearing a medical mask, she could only see his eyebrows and that she searched online for a photo of the suspect for comparison.

Altoona Police Officer Stephen Fox testified on Tuesday that Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, expressed concern for the 911 caller's wellbeing. Fox said Mangione asked if police had planned on releasing her name, which they didn't. The officer recalled him saying: “It would be bad for her" and “there would be a lot of people that would be upset.”

At another point, Fox said, a shackled Mangione stumbled while trying to keep up with the brisk-moving officer. Fox said he apologized and said, “I forgot you were shackled.”

He said Mangione responded: “It’s OK, I’m going to have to get used to it."

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in New York. (William Farrington/New York Post via AP, Pool)

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in New York. (William Farrington/New York Post via AP, Pool)

FILE - This image taken from video released by Pennsylvania State Police shows Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pa., on Dec. 9, 2024. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP)

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in New York. ( John Angelillo/Pool Photo via AP)

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in New York. ( John Angelillo/Pool Photo via AP)

This image taken from video released by Pennsylvania State Police shows Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pa., on Dec. 9, 2024. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP)

FILE - This image taken from video released by Pennsylvania State Police shows Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pa., on Dec. 9, 2024. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The first of a series of powerful storms dumped heavy rain and swelled rivers in the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday, closing roads and prompting high water rescues.

Residents in parts of Oregon and Washington grappled with power outages, flooding and school closures, while drivers navigated debris slides and water that closed roads and submerged vehicles.

Fire officials northeast of Seattle said crews conducted several rescues, using inflatable kayaks to pull people from stranded cars and carrying another person about a mile (1.6 km) to safety after they were trapped in a wooded area by rising water.

Forecasters warned that the worst was still to come, with some major rivers expected to crest later in the week.

“We're starting to see a lot of rivers begin to rise and move very rapidly with lots of runoff with the rain,” said Harrison Rademacher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Seattle office.

Rademacher described the atmospheric river soaking the region as “a jet stream of moisture” stretching all the way across the Pacific Ocean “with the nozzle pushing right along the coast of Oregon and Washington.”

The National Weather Service forecast several days of heavy rainfall along the coast and more than a foot of new snow in the northern Rockies in northwestern Wyoming. Flood watches were in effect with scattered flash flooding possible along the coast and into the Cascade Mountains through midweek.

Along Interstate 5 between Seattle and Portland, firefighters conducted five rescues for people whose vehicles were overcome by water when they attempted to drive on flooded roads, including a semitruck driver, said Malachi Simper, spokesperson for Lewis County Fire Protection District #5. Authorities also rescued a family of six from their home in Chehalis, he said, adding that the road to the house was under about four feet (1.2 meters) of water at the time. None of those rescued were injured, he added.

Police said deputies went door-to-door in certain neighborhoods to warn residents of imminent flooding, including evacuating a mobile home park along the Snohomish River northeast of Seattle. The city of Snohomish issued an emergency proclamation due to flooding, while in Auburn, south of Seattle, workers installed temporary flood control barriers along the White River.

On the Columbia River further south near the Oregon border, the city of Longview said it will open a severe weather shelter Tuesday night for anyone affected by flooding or closed streets.

Another storm system is expected to bring rain to the region starting Sunday, Rademacher said. “The pattern looks pretty unsettled going up to the holidays,” he said.

Portland transportation officials warned of an increased risk of car crashes because of hydroplaning or driving through flooded roads.

Further north, an arctic blast is affecting parts of southeast Alaska, with wind chills possibly hitting as low as minus 50 degrees (minus 45.6 Celsius) in Skagway, minus 25 (minus 31.6 Celsius) in Haines and minus 15 degrees (minus 26 C) in Alaska’s capital city, Juneau, according to the National Weather Service.

Meanwhile, a fast-moving storm tracking across the Upper Midwest on Tuesday was forecast to bring freezing rain, high winds and heavy snow.

Much of North Dakota was under a no-travel advisory because of freezing rain and slippery roads. Some schools closed or moved to virtual lessons due to the weather conditions.

Most of Montana and the Dakotas were under a high wind warning. Winds of up to 65 mph (105 kph) were expected Tuesday, said Connor Smith, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Bismarck. High winds could make travel difficult and blow around unsecured objects, Christmas decorations and already fallen snow, he said.

Wintry weather was also expected to impact the evening commute in Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, starting Tuesday afternoon and lasting into the night, said Ryan Dunleavy, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities. Parts of central and northern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin could see heavy snow, with a mix of winter weather forecast across the Twin Cities metro and southwest Minnesota, with potentially strong winds to follow, Dunleavy said.

Commuters should allow for extra time traveling, he said. The storm is expected to head into the Great Lakes region by Wednesday.

This photo provided by Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue shows a crew using an inflatable kayak to rescue two people from a vehicle that was stranded by floodwaters, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Snohomish, Wash. (Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue via AP)

This photo provided by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows debris on Interstate 90 from a rainstorm Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Washington State Department of Transportation via AP)