Share this story

Russia frees American prisoner before talks with the US

(NYT) — Russia released another American held on drug charges Monday, in what the Kremlin acknowledged was a goodwill gesture on the eve of talks between senior Russian and U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia. Kalob Byers Wayne, 28, was arrested on Feb. 7 at a Moscow airport on charges of carrying a small amount of marijuana. In response to a question about Wayne’s release, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, told reporters that the talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday would be about restoring relations between Moscow and Washington, and “so certain events can be viewed in this context.”

ADVERTISING

Florida man shot Israeli visitors thinking they were Palestinians

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A Florida man was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder after shooting at a vehicle with two men who he thought were Palestinians but turned out to be Israeli visitors, local authorities said.

The website of Miami-Dade County Corrections says the suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and booked on Sunday for the shooting on Saturday.

A police report shared by Miami Beach Police showed that Brafman, when interviewed by police, said that while he was driving his truck in Miami Beach, he saw two people he thought were Palestinian. He said that he then stopped, shot at and killed them, according to police.

However, the victims survived. One was shot in the shoulder and the other had a wounded forearm. They turned out to be Israeli visitors and not Palestinians, police said.

Top Social Security official leaves after Musk seeks data access

WASHINGTON (NYT) — The top official at the Social Security Administration stepped down this weekend after members of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency sought access to sensitive personal data about millions of Americans held by the agency, according to people familiar with the matter.

The resignation of Michelle King, the acting commissioner, is the latest abrupt departure of a senior federal official who refused to provide Musk’s lieutenants with access to closely held data. Musk’s team has been embedding with agencies across the federal government and seeking access to private data as part of what it has said is an effort to root out fraud and waste.

Palestinian displacement in the West Bank highest since 1967

(NYT) — A weekslong Israeli military operation across several West Bank cities has displaced roughly 40,000 Palestinians from their homes, in what historians and researchers say is the biggest displacement of civilians in the territory since the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. Israeli campaigns against armed Palestinian groups in three parts of the northern West Bank have forced thousands of residents to shelter with friends and relatives, or camp in public buildings. The Israeli military says the operation is solely an attempt to stifle rising militancy in Jenin, Tulkarem and near Tubas, targeting gunmen who they say have carried out or are planning terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.