A federal judge on Friday blocked prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive in New York in December 2024.The judge dismissed two federal charges against Mangione that could carry the death penalty: murder and using a gun with a silencer.The 27-year-old suspect is still charged with two counts of stalking in his federal case, and separately faces state-level murder charges.Friday’s decision “is solely to foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury,” Judge Margaret Garnett wrote in her opinion.Mangione could be sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted of the stalking charges. The federal trial is to begin with jury selection on September 8.Prosecutors declined to comment on the decision when contacted by AFP. Garnett has given the prosecution until February 27 to file an appeal.Mangione’s attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilotold a press briefing outside the courthouse Friday that the defense team was “very relieved,” hailing an “incredible decision.”The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, captured on surveillance video, quickly captured national attention while exposing public anger with the profit-driven US healthcare system.Mangione was arrested five days after the killing at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, some 230 miles (370 kilometers) from the crime scene, following a tip from a staff member.Friday’s decision comes after Mangione’s legal team already succeeded in having state-level terrorism charges dropped.However, Garnett also dealt the defense a significant blow on Friday — rejecting their efforts to block the use of evidence found during Mangione’s arrest.Officers who arrived at the McDonald’s searched Mangione’s backpack, finding inside a handgun, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear and a red notebook described as a “manifesto.”The defense had argued that proper protocol had not been followed during the search.Friday’s decision also marks a blow for President Donald Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, who has relaunched efforts to impose the death penalty at the federal level, reversing a moratorium during the administration of Joe Biden.A date for the state trial has not been set.Mangione — who has an avid fan base of mostly women that often attend his hearings — has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

President Donald Trump said Friday he would nominate former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to be the next US central bank chief, a move that has sparked cautious optimism among observers.The decision caps a highly publicized search for a successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom the president has repeatedly lambasted for not cutting interest rates more swiftly.Trump told reporters Friday that Warsh “certainly wants to cut rates,” but added that he did not wish to question Warsh on commitments to do so.”I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, announcing his choice.”On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down,” Trump added.Warsh, 55, was the youngest person to serve as a Fed governor, a role he held from 2006 to 2011.Trump considered Warsh for the top Fed job too during his first presidency, but eventually chose Powell — a decision he quickly soured on.Prices of precious metals — seen as safe haven investments — sank Friday in a sign that investors were reassured by Trump’s choice. The dollar pushed higher.”I think markets are broadly happy at the moment,” Atlantic Council international economics chair Josh Lipsky told AFP.”It is a pick that another Republican president may have made,” Lipsky said. “He cares about the history of the Fed, the process of the Fed, central bank independence, he’s talked about this before.”Powell’s chairmanship ends in May, and it remains unclear if he will also step down from the Fed’s board of governors, which would free up another vacancy Trump could fill.- Senate hurdle -Warsh will need to be confirmed by the US Senate, where he will face tough questions from lawmakers amid growing concerns about threats to Fed independence.Trump’s attempt to oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and his administration’s investigation into Powell over renovation costs at the bank, have sparked worries about the institution’s insulation from politics.An erosion of Fed independence could have negative ramifications for the economy, experts warn.Warsh must now get through a Senate Banking Committee hearing while “maintaining the confidence of both markets and the president,” said economist Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics.After that, he must pass a confirmation vote in the Senate with a simple majority.But Republican Thom Tillis of the banking committee reiterated Friday his plan to oppose the confirmation of Fed nominees — including the next chairman — until the probe against Powell is resolved.The panel’s top Democrat, Senator Elizabeth Warren, warned that Warsh’s nomination “is the latest step in Trump’s attempt to seize control of the Fed.”With 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats on the committee, a single Republican’s opposition could trigger an impasse.- Economic challenges -Warsh was once seen as an inflation “hawk” favoring higher interest rates to curb price hikes.But he has stepped up criticism of the Fed recently, endorsing policy positions of the Trump administration.As Trump continues to call for lower rates, analysts are monitoring if Warsh defends the bank’s independence.He will need to convince markets and policymakers that he is upholding the Fed’s dual mandate of stable prices and low unemployment — despite political pressure.Already, the Fed’s job has become increasingly challenging as US tariffs fuel worries of stubborn inflation, while the employment market cools.Policymakers walk a tightrope in deciding if they should keep rates higher to curb inflation or lower them to support the economy.With the labor market likely deteriorating further and inflation expected to ease, the next Fed chief could uncontroversially reduce rates, Tombs said.But it remains to be seen if he will still push for cuts if inflation proves sticky in months ahead.Trump’s selection ends a race that narrowed to four contenders — Warsh; Fed governor Christopher Waller; Rick Rieder of BlackRock; and Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett.

ExxonMobil and Chevron said Friday that they were awaiting signs of greater fiscal and legal stability in Venezuela before significantly shifting their approach to the oil-rich country.ExxonMobil, which has not operated in Venezuela since its assets were expropriated in 2007, aims to help the Trump administration understand the need to “make sure the right legal framework is in place” in Venezuela, said ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods.The comments came in parallel with the first round of oil giant earnings reports since the United States seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in early January and took control of Venezuela’s oil sector. Woods’ cautious message about doing business in Venezuela at a recent White House meeting had drawn jeers from President Donald Trump.Trump told the January 9 White House meeting with executives from ExxonMobil, Chevron and other companies that he wanted them to rapidly rebuild the country’s dilapidated oil industry and boost production by millions of barrels a day.But Woods, recounting how the company had had assets seized twice by Venezuela, told Trump’s meeting that the country was currently “uninvestable.” That comment did not sit well with Trump, who later accused the company of “playing too cute,” and threatened to block ExxonMobil from doing business there.On Friday, Woods said his comments at the White House were meant to communicate the “significant challenges that have to be addressed if we are going to achieve the priorities that the White House has,” he told CNBC. Woods also noted that Venezuela’s unusually heavy crude is costly to develop but said ExxonMobil’s experience producing similar sites in Canada made the company a logical partner in Venezuela.- ‘Stability’ -Chevron, the only US oil company that has continued to operate in Venezuela, believes the country “has the opportunity to become a more sizable part of our portfolio in the future,” said CEO Mike Wirth on an conference call with analysts.”But we also need to see stability in the country. We need to have confidence in the fiscal regime.”Chevron is producing more than 200,000 barrels per day in Venezuela and could grow volumes by up to 50 percent over the next 18-24 months, Wirth said.While the company has been viewed as in pole position to benefit from the developments in Venezuela, Wirth said he would not deviate from weighing risks and opportunity in determining how much to invest.”I try to remind people, like anywhere we invest, (that) fiscal terms, stability, regulatory predictability are important,” said Wirth.He said the company is reviewing a new Venezuela hydrocarbon law.On Thursday, Venezuela’s parliament adopted reforms that offer greater guarantees to private players, relinquishes state control of exploration, and lowers taxes.”With the right changes, we certainly could see our operations and footprint expand in Venezuela,” Wirth said.- Earnings -In terms of earnings, both companies reported lower profits due to lower crude prices, offset somewhat by increased production volumes.ExxonMobil reported profits of $6.5 billion, down 14.6 percent from the same time last year.Revenues were $82.3 billion, down 1.3 percent.Chevron reported profits of $2.8 billion, down 14.5 percent from the year-ago period. Revenues dipped 10.2 percent to $46.9 billion.Shares of ExxonMobil rose 0.6 percent, while Chevron jumped 3.3 percent.

Gold and silver prices dived Friday and European stock markets ended the week up while Wall Street pulled back with investors reassured by US President Donald Trump’s pick to take over as head of the Federal Reserve.The precious metals, viewed as safe-haven investments, had already begun sliding on reports, later confirmed, that Trump had nominated former Fed official Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the US central bank.Trump announced his choice Friday on social media, saying that Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and Fed governor, “will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best.”Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group, said the “interesting pick…may give the market some hope that Fed independence will be preserved.”Trump’s personal attacks on Fed boss Jerome Powell — set to depart in May — have fueled widespread fears among investors that the central bank’s policy independence is under threat, potentially posing an inflation risk to the US economy.- A roller-coaster week -Precious metals prices tumbled on Friday after surging in recent days when investors sought a safe haven over doubts about Trump’s policies.Gold fell as much as 12 percent at one point, retreating below $5,000 an ounce after hitting a record high near $5,600 on Thursday.Silver, which Thursday reached an all-time peak above $120 an ounce, shed around 30 percent to about $82 an ounce. Financial markets have endured a roller-coaster ride this week as traders weathered a weaker dollar, Trump’s threats against Tehran, the president’s resumption of tariff threats and a possible US government shutdown.Asian stock markets closed out the week with some hefty losses following Thursday’s tech-led retreat on Wall Street on renewed concerns over vast investments in artificial intelligence.Healthy earnings from Meta, Samsung and SK Hynix provided much cheer early in the week but Microsoft was punished over worries its costly AI program might not result in financial gains.There are fears that firms’ valuations may be a little too stretched and that markets could be in a bubble, having soared in recent years to record highs on the back of a tech-fueled rally.The dollar pushed higher on Warsh’s nomination.”Most currency strategists would argue that his nomination may be good news for the dollar, which can price out some risks of a more dovish pick,” said Forex.com’s Fawad Razaqzada.”However, for as long as policy uncertainty hangs over the US economy with Trump’s tariff theatrics, the dollar debasement narrative is likely to hold back the greenback from making a meaningful comeback.”Among individual companies, Verizon surged 11.8 percent as it reported its highest quarter of mobility and broadband subscription increases since 2019.- Key figures at around 2110 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 48,892.47 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,939.03 (close)New York – NASDAQ Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 23,461.82 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,223.54 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,126.53 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 24,538.81 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 53,322.85 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 27,387.11 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 4,117.95 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1856 from $1.1929 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3688 from $1.3772Dollar/yen: UP at 154.64 yen from 153.61 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.63 pence from 86.62 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at $70.69 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $65.21 per barrel