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A Chicago man arrested for the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in the US capital Washington could potentially face the death penalty if convicted of murder and hate crime charges, officials said Thursday.US Attorney General Pam Bondi will ultimately decide whether to seek the death penalty for Elias Rodriguez, the suspect in the May 21 attack, federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro told reporters.Rodriguez, 31, was arrested immediately after the shooting of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and his fiancee, Sarah Milgrim, 26, outside the Capital Jewish Museum.Pirro said that in addition to two counts of first-degree murder, a grand jury has charged Rodriguez with hate crimes “because of his bias against the people of Israel.””We have a problem with anti-Semitism in this country,” Pirro said. “It’s a problem and we’re not going to tolerate it.”Rodriguez allegedly shouted “Free Palestine” as he was taken away by police after the shooting and told officers “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”FBI agent Reid Davis said Rodriguez is believed to have acted alone.”Based on his writings and communications, we believe he was a lone wolf actor motivated by anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian ideology with the goal of conducting a mass shooting to call attention to his political agenda,” Davis said.Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, was a researcher at the Israeli embassy, while Milgrim, an American, worked for its public diplomacy department. The couple were engaged to be married.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Ukraine was set for the “coming days” as US-led efforts to broker peace rumble on.The Russian president named the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a potential location for the summit with Trump, but essentially ruled out a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.The Trump-Putin summit would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021. It comes as the Republican seeks an end to Russia’s military assault on Ukraine.Three rounds of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to yield any progress towards a ceasefire. The two sides appear as far apart as ever in the conditions they have set for an end to the more than three-year-long conflict.Trump said on Wednesday that he was likely to meet Putin face-to-face “very soon”. They last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump’s first term as US president, but have spoken by telephone several times since the former reality TV star returned to the White House earlier this year.”Both sides showed interest” in a meeting, Putin told reporters on Thursday. “We have many friends who are willing to help us organise such events. One of our friends is the president of the United Arab Emirates,” he said, standing next to UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.Earlier on Thursday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that the plan to hold a bilateral summit was “at the suggestion of the American side”.”Next week has been set as a target date,” said Ushakov, adding that both sides have already agreed the venue “in principle”, without naming it.However, Washington later on Thursday denied that a venue or date had been set.”No location has been determined,” a White House official said, adding that the meeting “could occur as early as next week”. – Putin-Zelensky meeting? -Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.Russian bombardments have forced millions of people to flee their homes and have destroyed swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine.Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.At talks in Istanbul, Russian negotiators outlined hardline territorial demands if Ukraine wants Russia to halt its advance — calling for Kyiv to withdraw from some territory it still controls and to renounce Western military support.Reports of the possible summit came after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting with Zelensky, but Putin appeared to rule out direct talks with the Ukrainian leader.”I have nothing against it in general, it is possible, but certain conditions must be created for this,” Putin told reporters, adding: “Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.”Putin said in June that he was ready to meet Zelensky, but only during a “final phase” of negotiations on ending the conflict.Zelensky earlier on Thursday had renewed his call for a meeting with Putin — which he says is the only way to make progress towards peace.”It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed,” he wrote on social media.The Ukrainian leader later spoke with two of his European allies, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as he called for the continent to be included in any potential peace talks.”The war is happening in Europe, and Ukraine is an integral part of Europe — we are already in negotiations on EU accession. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant processes,” Zelensky said on social media after the call with Merz.He also said that Ukrainian, European and US security advisors would hold an online meeting later Thursday “to align our joint views”.”Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side. It is time we ended the war,” he said.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered officials to work on a new census excluding undocumented immigrants, as the White House presses Republican states to draw more favorable voter maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Trump called for a “new and highly accurate” census that he wanted based on “modern day facts and figures” gleaned from the 2024 election.”People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS,” he said in the social media post.The US Constitution since 1790 has required a census every 10 years that counts the “whole number of persons in each state” — including people in the country illegally.The next one is not due until 2030, although preparations for the enormous task are already underway.Trump did not make clear if he was referring to the regularly scheduled population count in 2030 or an earlier survey.The census is used to determine how members of Congress are elected, and the Pew Research Center estimates that ignoring unauthorized migrants in 2020 would have deprived California, Florida and Texas of one House seat each.It is also used for apportioning votes in the state-by-state “electoral college” that decides presidential elections and for allocating trillions of dollars in federal funding.Trump attempted similar moves in his first term but was blocked by the Supreme Court from adding a citizenship question to the census. The court declined to rule on whether the millions of people in the country without legal status can be excluded for the first time.Adding a citizenship question would likely undermine the accuracy of the country’s population counts, a March study in the Journal of Policy Management and Analysis showed.Experts believe it would discourage households with Latino and Asian American residents from self reporting.Trump’s call for a new census comes with state-level lawmakers and officials in Texas locking horns over proposals for a new electoral map that would likely net Republicans up to five extra House seats in next year’s midterms.Republican governors in several other states are exploring new maps ahead of the 2026 elections in a bid to protect the party’s razor-thin majority in the House, which would flip with three Democratic gains. Democrats have vowed to retaliate with their own proposals, possibly in New York and California, the country’s largest states. 

The Kremlin said Thursday that a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was set for the “coming days”, with the two sides already having agreed the venue “in principle.”The summit would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, and comes as Trump seeks to broker an end to Russia’s military assault on Ukraine.Three rounds of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to yield any progress towards a ceasefire, with the two sides appearing far apart in their demands to end the more than three-year-long conflict.Trump said Wednesday he was likely to meet Putin face-to-face “very soon.””At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement has been reached in principle to hold a bilateral summit in the coming days,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying on Thursday by Russian state news agencies.”We are now starting to work out the details together with our American colleagues,” Ushakov said.The Kremlin said a venue had been agreed “in principle”, but did not indicate where the summit could take place.”Next week has been set as a target date,” Ushakov added.- Zelensky calls for meeting -Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia launched its military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.Russian bombardments have forced millions for flee their homes and destroyed swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine.Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.At talks in Istanbul, Russian negotiators have outlined hardline territorial demands if Ukraine wants Russia to halt its advance — calling for Kyiv to withdraw from territory it still controls and renounce Western military support.Moscow has also repeatedly sought to cast doubt on Zelensky’s legitimacy and ruled out a meeting between the two leaders until after the terms of a peace deal have been agreed.The announcement of the upcoming summit comes a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow.Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but Russia did not respond to that proposal, Ushakov said.”The Russian side left this option completely without comment,” he added.Zelensky earlier Thursday had refreshed his call for a meeting with Putin — which he says is the only way to make progress towards peace.”We in Ukraine have repeatedly said that finding real solutions can be truly effective at the level of leaders,” Zelensky wrote on social media.”It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed,” he added.The Ukrainian leader said Thursday morning that he had planned to hold “several” conversations throughout the course of the day including with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as French and Italian officials.s”There will also be communication at the level of national security advisors,” Zelensky added.”The main thing is for Russia, which started this war, to take real steps to end its aggression,” Zelensky added.

Apple will invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, taking its total pledge to $600 billion over the next four years, US President Donald Trump said Wednesday.Trump announced the increased commitment at the White House alongside the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook, calling it “the largest investment Apple has made in America.” “Apple will massively increase spending on its domestic supply chain,” Trump added, highlighting a new production facility for the glass used to make iPhone screens in Kentucky.In February, Apple said it would spend more than $500 billion in the United States and hire 20,000 people, with Trump quickly taking credit for the decision. It builds on plans announced in 2021, when the company founded by Steve Jobs said it would invest $430 billion in the country and add 20,000 jobs.”This year alone, American manufacturers are on track to make 19 billion chips for Apple in 24 factories across 12 different states,” Cook said in the Oval Office.Trump, who has pushed US companies to shift manufacturing home by slapping tariffs on trading partners, claimed that his administration was to thank for the investment.”This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of… ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America,” Trump said. Cook later clarified that, while many iPhone components will be manufactured in the United States, the complete assembly of iPhones will still be conducted overseas.”If you look at the bulk of it, we’re doing a lot of the semiconductors here, we’re doing the glass here, we’re doing the Face ID module here… and we’re doing these for products sold elsewhere in the world,” Cook said.He gifted Trump a custom-engraved glass piece made by iPhone glassmaker Corning, set in a 24-karat gold base.Cook said the Kentucky-made glass piece was designed by a former Marine Corps corporal now working at Apple. After receiving it, Trump said it was “nice” that “we’re doing these things now in the United States, instead of other countries, faraway countries.”- ‘They’re coming home’ -Trump has repeatedly said he plans to impose a “100 percent” tariff on imported semiconductors, a major export of Taiwan, South Korea, China and Japan. “We’re going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors,” he told reporters at the White House.Taiwanese giant TSMC — the world’s largest contract maker of chips, which counts Nvidia and Apple among its clients — would be “exempt” from those tariffs as it has factories in the United States, Taipei said Thursday. While he did not offer a timetable for enactment of the new tech levies, on Tuesday, he said fresh tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and chips could be unveiled within the coming week.The United States is “going to be very rich and it’s companies like Apple, they’re coming home,” Trump said.Trump specified further that “Apple will help develop and manufacture semiconductors and semiconductor equipment in Texas, Utah, Arizona and New York.” He noted that if tech companies commit to manufacturing their wares in the United States, “there will be no charge.”Apple reported a quarterly profit of $23.4 billion in late July, topping forecasts despite facing higher costs due to Trump’s sweeping levies.

Eddie Palmieri, who revolutionized Latin music and played a major role in the salsa explosion in New York City, passed away Wednesday at the age of 88, according to the artist’s official social media account.The “legendary pianist, composer, bandleader, and one of the most influential figures in Latin music history, passed away in his New Jersey residence on Aug 6,” read a post on Palmieri’s Instagram handle, alongside a photo of the artist.Fania Records, the salsa label, mourned the star’s death, calling him “one of the most innovative and unique artists in music history.””We will miss him greatly,” it added. Born in Harlem, New York, to Puerto Rican parents, Palmieri was the younger brother of pianist Charlie Palmieri and entered the music scene at a young age. As a teenager, he took piano lessons at Carnegie Hall while also learning to play the timbales. He began performing professionally in bands, including a two-year stint with Puerto Rican musician Tito Rodriguez.Palmieri is recognized for having revolutionized the sound of Latin jazz and salsa, with a career spanning more than seven decades.In 1961, he founded the band “La Perfecta”, which redefined salsa by replacing trumpets with trombones.Four years later, his track “Azucar Pa Ti” (Sugar For You) became a dancefloor hit — and decades later, was added to the collection of the US Library of Congress.In 1975, he became the first Latin artist to win a Grammy, for his album “The Sun of Latin Music,” which won in the newly established Best Latin Recording category.Palmieri was also one of the earliest salsa musicians to adopt a political tone in his compositions. In 1969, he released the album “Justicia” (Justice), featuring lyrics that tackled inequality, social justice, and discrimination, with vocals by Puerto Rican singer Ismael Quintana and Cuban vocalist Justo Betancourt.A few years later, in 1972, he performed at Sing Sing, a prison in New York, in front of an audience largely made up of Latino and Black inmates, according to The Washington Post.”For all humanity!” Palmieri shouted through a loudspeaker in the prison yard, the newspaper reported.He added that there should be “no walls,” “no fear,” and “only one thing in life: freedom in the years to come.””He was a mentor, teacher, and tireless advocate for Latin music and culture,” read a tribute on his social media.”He inspired generations of musicians and moved countless listeners with his artistry, conviction, and unmistakable sound.” He is survived by five children and four grandchildren. His wife, Iraida Palmieri, passed away in 2014.

Donald Trump said he could meet with Vladimir Putin “very soon,” following what the US president described as highly productive talks in Moscow between his special envoy and the Russian leader.The potential summit was discussed in a call between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that, according to a senior source in Kyiv, included NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the leaders of Britain, Germany and Finland. “There’s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon,” Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House, when asked when he would meet the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.He gave no indication where the meeting with Putin might take place. It would be the first US-Russia leadership summit since former president Joe Biden met with his counterpart in Geneva in June 2021.The New York Times and CNN, citing people familiar with the plan, said Trump plans to sit down with Putin as early as next week, and then wants a three-way meeting with the Russian leader and Zelensky.”It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire; the pressure on them is working. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us or the United States in the details,” Zelensky said on Wednesday evening. Trump’s phone call with Zelensky came after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian leadership in Moscow earlier in the day for talks described by the Kremlin as “productive” — with Trump’s deadline looming to impose fresh sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine.”Great progress was made!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that afterward he had briefed some European allies.”Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,” he said.Minutes later, however, a senior US official said that “secondary sanctions” were still expected to be implemented in two days’ time.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Witkoff was returning with a ceasefire proposal from Moscow that would have to be discussed with Ukraine and Washington’s European allies.He also cast caution on the timeline for a Trump-Putin meeting, saying there was “a lot of work ahead,” adding it could be “weeks maybe.”- Long process -Trump, who had boasted he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office, has given Russia until Friday to make progress towards peace or face new penalties.Three rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a ceasefire, with the two sides far apart in their demands.Russia has escalated drone and missile attacks against its neighbor, a US and European Union ally, to a record high and accelerated its advance on the ground.”A quite useful and constructive conversation took place,” Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists, including AFP, after the three-hour meeting with Witkoff.The two men exchanged “signals” on their positions, Ushakov said, without elaborating.Zelensky confirmed his call with Trump and confirmed European leaders had taken part, although he did not name them.- Sanctions threat -Trump has voiced increasing frustration with Putin in recent weeks over Russia’s unrelenting offensive.The White House has not officially outlined what action it would take against Russia, but Trump told reporters it plans to impose “a lot more secondary sanctions” targeting Russia’s key trade partners, possibly targeting China.Earlier in the day he had ordered steeper tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil.Without explicitly naming Trump, the Kremlin on Tuesday slammed “threats” to hike tariffs on Russia’s trading partners as “illegitimate.”Russia’s campaign against Ukraine since February 2022 has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed swaths of the country and forced millions to flee their homes.Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce US and EU support if it wants the fighting to stop.Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Zelensky last week urged his allies to push for “regime change” in Moscow.- Nuclear rhetoric -The Witkoff visit came as Moscow-Washington tensions are running high.Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, and that they were now “in the region.”Moscow then said that it was ending a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear-capable intermediate-range missiles, suggesting that it could deploy such weapons in response to what it alleged were similar US deployments within striking distance of Russia.

Thousands of US air passengers were facing delays Wednesday after United Airlines halted many departures in the wake of a systemwide problem.So-called “mainline flights” — those moving between major hubs — were grounded for over an hour before engineers were able to get things up and running again.”We are working with customers to get them to their destinations after a technology disruption on Wednesday evening,” the airline said in a statement.”The underlying technology issue has been resolved, and, while we expect residual delays, our team is working to restore our normal operations.”The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates flight in the United States, had issued ground stops at several major airports.”We’re aware United experienced a technology issue disrupting their operations. Some delays may continue as they work through the recovery process,” the FAA said in a statement. “We’ve offered full support to help address their flight backlog and remain in close contact with United.”The orders affected airports in Denver, Newark, Houston and Chicago and only applied to United, the FAA’s website said.The outage was the latest problem to afflict America’s aviation sector.Last month Alaska Airlines suffered an IT problem that left its planes on the ground for several hours.That came after air traffic control systems went down at a Newark area airport on more than one occasion this year, shaking passengers’ faith in the system.In January a mid-air collision near Washington’s Reagan National Airport involving a passenger jet and a military helicopter claimed dozens of lives.

Apple will invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, taking its total pledge to $600 billion over the next four years, US President Donald Trump said Wednesday.Trump announced the increased commitment at the White House alongside the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook, calling it “the largest investment Apple has made in America.” “Apple will massively increase spending on its domestic supply chain,” Trump added, highlighting a new production facility for the glass used to make iPhone screens in Kentucky.In February, Apple said it would spend more than $500 billion in the United States and hire 20,000 people, with Trump quickly taking credit for the decision. It builds on plans announced in 2021, when the company founded by Steve Jobs said it would invest $430 billion in the country and add 20,000 jobs over the next five years.”This year alone, American manufacturers are on track to make 19 billion chips for Apple in 24 factories across 12 different states,” Cook said in the Oval Office.Trump, who has pushed US companies to shift manufacturing home by slapping tariffs on trading partners, claimed that his administration was to thank for the investment.”This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of… ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America,” Trump said. Cook later clarified that, while many iPhone components will be manufactured in the United States, the complete assembly of iPhones will still be conducted overseas.”If you look at the bulk of it, we’re doing a lot of the semiconductors here, we’re doing the glass here, we’re doing the Face ID module here… and we’re doing these for products sold elsewhere in the world,” Cook said.- ‘They’re coming home’ -Trump has repeatedly said he plans to impose a “100 percent” tariff on imported semiconductors, a major export of Taiwan, South Korea, China and Japan. “We’re going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors,” he told reporters Wednesday at the White House.Taiwanese giant TSMC — the world’s largest contract maker of chips, which counts Nvidia and Apple among its clients — would be “exempt” from those tariffs as it has factories in the United States, Taipei said Thursday. While he did not offer a timetable for enactment of the new tech levies, on Tuesday he said fresh tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals and semiconductors and chips could be unveiled within the coming week.The US is “going to be very rich and it’s companies like Apple, they’re coming home,” Trump said.Trump specified further that “Apple will help develop and manufacture semiconductors and semiconductor equipment in Texas, Utah, Arizona and New York.” He noted that if tech companies commit to manufacturing their wares in the US, “there will be no charge.”Apple reported a quarterly profit of $23.4 billion in late July, topping forecasts despite facing higher costs due to Trump’s sweeping levies.The tariffs are essentially a tax paid by companies importing goods to the United States. This means Apple is on the hook for tariffs on iPhones and other products or components it brings into the country from abroad.

Officials in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca accused sportswear giant Adidas of cultural appropriation after the fashion brand debuted sandals similar to a traditional design from the region.The Oaxaca Slip-On sandals were created by American fashion designer Willy Chavarria, who has Mexican heritage, but drew pushback from both state and local officials in Oaxaca, which has one of the highest Indigenous populations in the country.Oaxaca Governor Salomon Jara first addressed the issue during a press conference on Tuesday, saying the sandals were a “reinterpreted huarache model,” particularly one that was uniquely found in the state.In another instance, Isaias Carranza, a Oaxacan legislator of Indigenous Zapotec descent, wrote on his Facebook account: “The Adidas company, in conjunction with designer Willy Chavarria, appropriated a unique design of the traditional huaraches (sandals) from the people of the Hidalgo Yalalag village.”Jara also threatened to take legal action against Chavarria.”This huarache is from Yalalag…we are also going to ask our Yalalag siblings to work with us so we can file a complaint” against the designer, he said at the press conference.For its part, the Ministry of Cultures and Arts of Oaxaca said in a statement that using cultural elements for commercial purposes without the consent of Indigenous peoples was “a violation of our collective rights,” demanding that Adidas stop selling the sandals, publicly acknowledge their origin and begin a process of “dialogue and redress of grievances” with the Yalalag community.The controversy is the latest instance of Mexican officials denouncing major brands or designers using unauthorized Indigenous art or designs from the region, with previous complaints raised about Chinese fast fashion company Shein, Spanish mega-brand Zara and high fashion house Carolina Herrera.Adidas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.