Man Suspected of Shooting Israeli Embassy Staffers Charged With Murder
WASHINGTON—A man suspected of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staff members has been charged with murder and other federal crimes that carry the possibility of the death penalty.
A criminal complaint was unsealed Thursday against Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, who was set to appear in court to face charges of murder, murder of foreign officials and gun crimes, as new details of the shocking attack emerged.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
32 minutes ago
- CNN
Curfew In Effect In Downtown L.A. For Second Straight Night - Laura Coates Live - Podcast on CNN Audio
Curfew In Effect In Downtown L.A. For Second Straight Night Laura Coates Live 46 mins Downtown Los Angeles is now under curfew for a second night. Mayor Karen Bass said the number of people arrested last night was 'minor,' and she hopes no one is arrested tonight. Similar protests are popping up in other major US cities, including New York, Chicago, Austin and Washington, DC. More demonstrations are planned this week.
Associated Press
39 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Weinstein jury still has 1 charge to go after partial verdict in sex crimes retrial
NEW YORK (AP) — After a partial verdict in a chaotic day at Harvey Weinstein 's sex crimes retrial, jurors are due Thursday to return to deliberations on a remaining charge — if the foreperson will join in. The jury delivered its partial verdict Wednesday, convicting the ex-studio boss of one of the top charges but acquitting him of another. Both charges concern accusations of forcing oral sex on women in 2006. The jury of seven women and five men unanimously reached those decisions last Friday, the foreperson later told the judge. The verdict was delivered Wednesday only because Judge Curtis Farber asked whether there was agreement on any of the charges. The group was stuck on the third charge: a rape accusation involving a woman who also said she had a consensual relationship with the Oscar-winning producer. Under New York law, the third-degree rape charge carries a lesser penalty than the other two counts. Weinstein denies all the charges. In an unusual exchange with the judge during some legal arguments before the partial verdict was disclosed Wednesday, he insisted it was unfair to continue the trial after two jurors came forward with concerns about the proceedings. 'I can't be judged by a situation that's going on like this,' said Weinstein, 73, saying the judge was 'endangering' him. Jury-room strains started leaking into public view Friday, when a juror asked to be excused because he felt another was being treated unfairly. Then Monday, the foreperson complained that other jurors were pushing people to change their minds and talking about information beyond the charges. The man raised concerns again Wednesday. In a closed-door discussion with prosecutors, defense lawyers and the judge, the foreperson said another juror was yelling at him for sticking to his opinion and at one point vowed, 'You going to see me outside.' 'I feel afraid inside there,' the foreperson told the judge and attorneys, according to a transcript. The judge sent the jury home for the day after the partial verdict, but the foreperson later asked to come back and recapped his concerns to Farber in court. The foreperson said he was willing to return Thursday, with Farber saying the man wouldn't be forced to go into the jury room if he didn't want to. It's unclear how deliberations could proceed if that happens, and it's equally uncertain what the court would then do. Weinstein's initial conviction five years ago seemed to cement the downfall of one of Hollywood's most powerful men in a pivotal moment for the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. But that conviction was overturned last year, and the case was sent back for retrial in the same Manhattan courthouse. Weinstein's accusers said he exploited his Tinseltown influence to dangle career help, get them alone and then trap and force them into sexual encounters. His defense portrayed his accusers as Hollywood wannabes and hangers-on who willingly hooked up with him to court opportunity, then later said they were victimized to collect settlement funds and #MeToo approbation. Miriam Haley, the producer and production assistant whom Weinstein was convicted — twice, now — of sexually assaulting, said outside court Wednesday that the new verdict 'gives me hope.' Accuser Kaja Sokola also called it 'a big win for everyone,' even though Weinstein was acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on her when she was a 19-year-old fashion model. Her allegation was added to the case after the retrial was ordered. The third accuser, Jessica Mann, was still waiting for an outcome. The hairstylist and actor testified for days — as she did in 2020 — about the rape she said she endured in a Manhattan hotel room and about why she continued to see and have consensual encounters with Weinstein afterward. 'Rape can happen in relationships — and in dynamics where power and manipulation control the narrative,' Mann said in a statement Wednesday. Weinstein also was convicted of raping another woman in California. He's appealing that conviction. The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be identified. Haley, Mann and Sokola did so.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Karen Read trial testimony ends with defense expert dismantling Lexus crash allegation
Karen Read's defense saved her strongest witness for last, experts tell Fox News Digital, bringing in Dr. Andrew Rentschler to try to debunk the prosecution's claims about how her boyfriend, Boston cop John O'Keefe, died. Jurors have the day off Thursday and will begin deliberations after receiving instructions from the judge and listening to closing arguments Friday. Read, 45, is accused of hitting O'Keefe, 46, with her 2021 Lexus LX 570 SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die on the ground with a skull fracture during a blizzard. Her defense denies that her vehicle ever struck O'Keefe, and Rentschler spent two days on the stand explaining how he came to the conclusion that O'Keefe's injuries were inconsistent with a vehicle strike on a pedestrian. "I do not believe that injury is consistent with being struck by an SUV at approximately 24 miles an hour," he testified. O'Keefe had no broken bones on his right arm, only superficial abrasions, he testified. Based on his testing at ARCCA, a crash reconstruction firm, he said that the arm should have sustained more serious damage. Rentschler said he did not believe Read's SUV could have struck O'Keefe based on his injuries and ARCCA testing. But special prosecutor Hank Brennan grilled him on cross-examination, questioning how thorough his testing was and forcing him to concede that he did not take into account shattered pieces of taillight on the ground near O'Keefe and embedded in his clothes. "The prosecutor will definitely zero-in on this in closing," said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. "The closings will be key for both parties now. Brennan and [defense attorney Alan] Jackson are both strong personalities, so this is going to be big." Brennan also revealed Wednesday afternoon that he will not call a rebuttal witness to the stand before the case goes to jurors. In what could boil down to a so-called battle of the experts, legal analysts say Rentschler was a solid choice to close out the case. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB "He methodically explained why the DA's theory of an SUV-pedestrian strike doesn't hold up," said Mark Bederow, the New York City-based attorney representing Read ally and Canton blogger Aidan Kearney. "The lack of arm injuries, the lack of holes in the hoodie, which doesn't come close to corresponding with the amount abrasions, the final location of John O'Keefe not making sense." He argued that Rentschler's showing could have prompted Brennan to "wave the white flag" rather than call Dr. Judson Welcher back to the stand for rebuttal. Welcher drew the opposite conclusion from Rentschler – testifying that in his opinion, Read's SUV clipped O'Keefe with a glancing blow, knocking him off-balance before he fell and cracked his skull. "The defense could not have finished the trial any stronger than they did," Bederow said. Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts judge and Boston College law professor, said having Rentschler go last was both a standard strategy and a good one. "What stood out is that he was steadfast that Dr. Welcher's testimony about simulating the contact was fallacious. Counterpoint: so was Rentschler's," Lu told Fox News Digital. He said both are part of a profit-based consulting industry and at points, their testing came across as absurd. "You have a disembodied arm hitting a Lexus, versus a grease-painted expert getting hit at low speed by a Lexus," he said. Cannone gave jurors the day off Thursday so the sides can hold a charging conference. The panel returns Friday for jury instructions and closing arguments.
