Nation & World Glance
Russians cast ballots in an election preordained to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule
Voters across Russia cast ballots Saturday on the second day of an election set to formalize six more years of power for President Vladimir Putin, who faces no serious challengers after crushing political dissent over his nearly quarter-century of rule.
The election comes against the backdrop of a ruthless crackdown that has stifled independent media and prominent rights groups. Putin’s fiercest foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison in February, and other critics are either in jail or in exile.
The 71-year-old Putin faces three token rivals from Kremlin-friendly parties who have refrained from any criticism of him or his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin has cast his war in Ukraine, now in its third year, as an existential battle against the U.S. and other Western powers bent on destroying Russia.
Officials said voting was proceeding in an orderly fashion. But despite tight controls, at least a half-dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations were reported Friday and Saturday, including a firebombing and several people pouring green liquid into ballot boxes. The latter was an apparent homage to Navalny, who in 2017 was attacked by an assailant who splashed green disinfectant in his face.
A 50-year-old university professor was arrested Saturday after she unsuccessfully tried to throw green liquid into a ballot box in the Urals city of Ekaterinburg. She was imprisoned for 15 days for “petty hooliganism”, but could face further charges, according to local news outlet Ura.ru. A pensioner in the Altai region in southern Siberia was also detained after attempting to damage ballots, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported.
Man suspected of killing 3 people in Philadelphia area arrested in New Jersey, police say
TRENTON, N.J. – A man suspected of fatally shooting three family members in their Philadelphia-area homes Saturday was arrested in New Jersey after evading law enforcement for hours as police mobilized across two states, shutting down a parade and an amusement park and ordering some residents to stay in their homes.
Steve Wilson, police director for the city of Trenton, New Jersey, said the man was arrested near a house where officers had believed he was barricaded inside. He apparently left the home before the police cordon was erected, Wilson said.
Wilson added that he did not believe the suspect was armed at the time.
The suspect was identified earlier as 26-year-old Andre Gordon Jr. Authorities said they believe he killed his stepmother, his teenage sister and the mother of his children in shootings at two homes in eastern Pennsylvania’s Falls Township in the morning, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said. His children’s grandmother was injured when she was bludgeoned with a rifle.
Officials said they couldn’t yet speak to a motive for the attacks. While Gordon had had some minor brushes with the law, they were “nothing that would indicate that anything like this would happen,” Falls Township Police Chief Nelson Whitney said at a news conference.
Cease-fire talks with Israel and Hamas are expected to resume on Sunday in Qatar
CAIRO – Stalled talks aimed at securing a cease-fire in the Israel-hamas war are expected to resume in earnest in Qatar as soon as Sunday, according to Egyptian officials.
The talks would mark the first time both Israeli officials and Hamas leaders join the indirect negotiations since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. International mediators had hoped to secure a six-week truce before Ramadan started earlier this week, but Hamas refused any deal that wouldn’t lead to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, a demand Israel rejected.
But both sides have made moves in recent days aimed at getting the talks, which never fully broke off, back on track.
Hamas gave mediators a new proposal for a three-stage plan that would end the fighting, according to two Egyptian officials, one who is involved in the talks and a second who was briefed on them. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to reveal the contents of the sensitive discussions.
The first stage would be a sixweek cease-fire that would see the release of 35 hostages – women, those who are ill and older people – held by militants in Gaza in exchange for 350 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Former Tesla worker settles discrimination case, ending appeals over lowered $3.2 million verdict
SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla and a Black man who worked at the company’s California factory have settled a long-running discrimination case that drew attention to the electric vehicle maker’s treatment of minorities.
Owen Diaz, who was awarded nearly $3.2 million by a federal jury last April, reached a “final, binding settlement agreement that fully resolves all claims,” according to a document filed Friday with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
The document, which gave no details of the agreement, said both parties agree that the matter has been resolved and the case against the company run by Elon Musk can be dismissed.
The April verdict was the second one reached in Diaz’s case seeking to hold Tesla liable for allowing him to be subjected to racial epithets and other abuses during his brief tenure at the Fremont, California, factory run by the pioneering automaker.
But the eight-person jury in the latest trial, which lasted five days, arrived at a dramatically lower damages number than the $137 million Diaz won in his first trial in 2021. U.S. District Judge William Orrick reduced that award to $15 million, prompting Diaz and his lawyers to seek a new trial rather than accept the lower amount.
In November, Organ filed a notice that Diaz would appeal the $3.2 million verdict, and Tesla filed a notice of cross-appeal.
The case, which dates back to 2017, centers on allegations that Tesla didn’t take action to stop a racist culture at the factory located about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. Diaz alleged he was called the “n-word” more than 30 times, shown racist cartoons and told to “go back to Africa” during his roughly nine-month tenure at Tesla that ended in 2016.
The same Tesla plant is in the crosshairs of a racial discrimination case brought by California regulators. Tesla has adamantly denied the allegations made in state court and lashed back by accusing regulators of abusing their authority. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a similar complaint in September.