AFP USA

An Illinois man was sentenced to 53 years in prison on Friday for the murder of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in an attack deemed an anti-Muslim hate crime linked to the Israel-Hamas war.Joseph Czuba, 73, was convicted in February of fatally stabbing WadeaAl-Fayoumi and attacking the boy’s mother, Hanan Shaheen.Czuba was the family’s landlord and the attack took place a week after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.Wadea was stabbed 26 times and a serrated military knife with a 15-cm (six-inch) blade was removed from the child’s abdomen during the autopsy. Shaheen and Czuba’s now ex-wife, Mary, testified that he targeted the Muslim family after becoming agitated about the conflict in Gaza, media reported. Prosecutors said Shaheen called police in 2023 after Czuba forced his way into her bedroom and stabbed her repeatedly. She was able to lock herself in a bathroom to call for help, during which time Czuba attacked her child.”The cruelty of this morally reprehensible killer and the impact of his violent conduct on this innocent child and mother is truly unfathomable,” prosecutor James Glasgow said in a statement.Jurors deliberated for just over an hour before finding Czuba guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and two counts of a hate crime.Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Czuba to 30 years in prison for Wadea’s murder, 20 years for the attack on his mother and three years for the hate crimes, to be served consecutively, the Chicago Sun Times reported.During sentencing, the boy’s great-uncle Mahmoud Yousef asked Czuba why he did it but received no response, the newspaper said.”We want to know what made him do this,” Yousef told the judge.According to the Will County Sheriff’s Office, the victims were targeted “due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.”Joe Biden, then the US president, condemned the attack as a “horrific act of hate” that “has no place in America.”

Apple on Friday relaxed its App Store payment rules in the face of a scathing court order, with Spotify quick to reap the benefit.Apple’s update to its App Store guidelines let developers know they could now provide links to outside payment platforms, allowing people to buy apps featured in its US online shop without paying through the App Store.The rule change came just two days after a US judge accused Apple of defying an order to loosen its grip on the App Store payment system to the point that criminal charges could be warranted.Music streaming giant Spotify said Friday that Apple had approved an update “that will finally allow us to freely show clear pricing information and links to purchase” in its app in the US App Store.”In a victory for consumers, artists, creators, and authors, Apple has approved Spotify’s US app update,” the Sweden-based service said in a post on X.”Today represents a significant milestone for developers and entrepreneurs everywhere who want to build and compete on a more level playing field.”Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney shared the Spotify post along with a message of congratulations for it “being the first major iOS app to exercise its court mandated right to do digital commerce with customers free of Apple obstruction, interference, and the Apple Tax!”US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found that Apple “willfully” violated an injunction she issued at trial, with the company instead creating new barriers to competition with the App Store and even lying to the court in the process.Gonzalez Rogers ordered the injunction be enforced.An Apple spokesperson told AFP it strongly disagrees with the judge’s decision and will appeal to a higher court, but would comply.- ‘Junk fees’ -Fortnite-maker Epic launched the case in 2021 aiming to break Apple’s grip on the App Store, accusing the iPhone maker of acting like a monopoly in its shop for digital goods and services.After a trial, Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple’s control of the App Store did not amount to a monopoly, but that it must let developers include links to other online venues for buying content or services.Apple’s response to the trial order included new barriers and requirements including “scare screens” to dissuade people from buying digital purchases outside of its App Store, the judge concluded.”Apple’s 15-30 percent junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe under the Digital Markets Act,” Sweeney said in a post on X.The act, which went into effect last year in Europe, requires Apple and other US tech giants to open up their platforms there to competition.- Courting developers -Apple has made a priority of building up its services business as the Silicon Valley titan tries to reduce its reliance on iPhone sales for revenue.The unit, which includes Apple’s television and music streaming services along with iCloud data storage and App Store income, now accounts for more than a quarter of the company’s revenue.The App Store changes include letting app makers use alternate payment systems free or charge or commission, according to Apple.”Whatever revenue Apple was getting, it is not worthwhile for them to continue to look as if they don’t have the developers best interest at heart,” said Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi.Apple will be courting app makers at its annual developers conference in June.”There’s still a lot of revenue coming in from subscriptions, iCloud and more, so this is not the end of the App Store being a good source of revenue for Apple,” Milanesi said.Most apps in the App Store make their money from ads, and Apple shares in that revenue, according to the analyst.”And for smaller developers, the App Store is still the best way to reach consumers without having to invest the kind of money that an Epic Games or Spotify can invest in setting up alternative payment methods,” the analyst added.

US hiring slowed less than expected in April while the jobless rate remained unchanged, according to government data published Friday, buoying investors navigating the early turbulent months of Donald Trump’s second presidency.Since returning to office in January, Trump has looked to slash the number of federal employees and embarked on a trade war that many economists warn is likely to cool growth and push up inflation. With Trump’s tariff plans still in their early stages, their effect has not yet filtered through into hiring: The world’s largest economy added 177,000 jobs last month, down slightly from a revised 185,000 in March, the Department of Labor said in a statement.However, job creation was still well above the market consensus of 130,000, according to Briefing.com, and remained slightly above the average monthly gain over the past 12 months.The unemployment rate stayed at 4.2 percent, in line with expectations. US financial markets closed sharply higher on the news, with all three major Wall Street indices ending the day firmly in the green.”Markets breathed a sigh of relief this morning,” Northlight Asset Management chief investment officer Chris Zaccarelli wrote in a note to clients. “While recession fears are still simmering on the back burner, the buy-the-dip dynamic can continue — at least until the tariff pause runs out,” he said, referring to Trump’s recent decision to pause higher levies on dozens of trading partners until July to allow for trade talks. – ‘Just getting started’ -Trump took to his Truth Social account after the data was published to talk up the “strong” employment figures.”Just like I said, and we’re only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!!” the US president wrote. “NO INFLATION, THE FED SHOULD LOWER ITS RATE!!!” added Trump, who has been outspoken in his calls for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. The independent central bank has kept its key lending rate at between 4.25 and 4.50 percent for months, as it looks to bring inflation from its current elevated levels to its long-term target of two percent while keeping one eye firmly fixed on the unemployment rate.Financial markets overwhelmingly expect the Fed to extend its rate cut pause next week, according to data from CME Group. – ‘Nothing to complain about’ -Sectors that saw job gains last month included health care, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance, the Labor Department said.But federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April, bringing the total decline in the number of government employees since January to 26,000.The Trump administration is facing legal action after attempting to lay off tens of thousands of federal workers as part of an aggressive cost-cutting drive.Average hourly earnings grew 0.2 percent to $36.06 in April, the Labor Department said Friday. “There is nothing to complain about here,” High Frequency Economics chief economist Carl Weinberg wrote in a note to clients. “You cannot find any evidence of a nascent recession in these figures.”While traders may breathe easier today, many analysts have stressed that it is still early days for the new administration, and warned they still expect tariffs to cool job creation in the future. “It will be extraordinary if employment is unscathed this year by the jump in tariffs on imports, the drop in asset prices and the extreme economic policy uncertainty,” economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote in an investor note published on Monday. These factors are likely “causing many businesses to defer non-essential spending,” they added, noting that they had not yet seen any significant changes in the payroll data they track.

The United States will stage a military parade on June 14 to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army, the White House said Friday, with the event also falling on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.Trump “will honor American Veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and military history with a military parade!” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly wrote on X.In addition to the parade, the celebration of the service’s birthday will feature fireworks and a festival on the National Mall, US Army spokeswoman Heather Hagan said.”Given the significant milestone of 250 years, the Army is exploring options to make the celebration even bigger, with more capability demonstrations, additional displays of equipment, and more engagement with the community,” Hagan said.”Parade planning is actively underway, and we anticipate approximately 150 vehicles, 50 aircraft, and 6,600 soldiers,” she added.Trump had floated the idea of holding a military parade in Washington during his first term after attending a Bastille Day parade in France.It never materialized, however, after the Pentagon said it could cost $92 million and concerns were raised that tanks and other heavy military vehicles would damage the city’s streets.Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser raised similar concerns last month when asked by reporters about plans for a parade.”Military tanks on our streets would not be good,” Bowser said. “If military tanks were used they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads.”- ‘We never celebrate anything’ -The last major US military parade in Washington was held in 1991 to celebrate the end of the Gulf War.The new parade announcement came a day after Trump said he was declaring May 8 to be Victory Day for World War II and changing Veterans Day — observed on November 11 — to Victory Day for World War I.In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president downplayed the role of European countries — many of which suffered far more casualties and devastation than the United States — in the two global conflicts.”We won both Wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything — That’s because we don’t have leaders anymore, that know how to do so! We are going to start celebrating our victories again!” Trump wrote.Trump has had a contradictory relationship with US military forces, lauding their power but also claiming they were depleted and in need of rebuilding.He at times clashed with military brass during his 2016-2020 term in office and reportedly referred to fallen troops as “losers” and “suckers” — something he denied.During his second term, Trump has overseen a purge of top officers, including chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff general Charles “CQ” Brown, whom he fired without explanation in February.Other senior officers dismissed this year include the heads of the Navy and Coast Guard, the general who headed the National Security Agency, the vice chief of staff of the Air Force, a Navy admiral assigned to NATO, and three top military lawyers.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has insisted the president is simply choosing the leaders he wants, but Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the potential politicization of the traditionally neutral US military.

The United States will stage a military parade on June 14 to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army, the White House said Friday, with the event also falling on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.Trump “will honor American Veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and military history with a military parade!” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly wrote on X.Kelly included a link to a Fox News article that said the parade will include US troops, students from the country’s military academies, and reenactors and equipment from past conflicts ranging from the Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terror.The plan to hold a display of American military strength in the streets of the nation’s capital was reported by the Washington City Paper last month, which said the parade could stretch four miles (six kilometers) from the Pentagon to the White House.Trump had floated the idea of holding a military parade in Washington during his first term after attending a Bastille Day parade in France.It never materialized, however, after the Pentagon said it could cost $92 million and concerns were raised that tanks and other heavy military vehicles would damage the city’s streets.Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser raised similar concerns last month when asked by reporters about plans for a parade.”Military tanks on our streets would not be good,” Bowser said. “If military tanks were used they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads.”The last major US military parade in Washington was held in 1991 to celebrate the end of the Gulf War.Trump has had a contradictory relationship with US forces, lauding their power but also claiming they were depleted and in need of rebuilding.He at times clashed with military brass during his 2016-2020 term in office and reportedly referred to fallen troops as “losers” and “suckers” — something he denied.During his second term, Trump has overseen a purge of top officers, including chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff general Charles “CQ” Brown, whom he fired without explanation in February.Other senior officers dismissed this year include the heads of the Navy and Coast Guard, the general who headed the National Security Agency, the vice chief of staff of the Air Force, a Navy admiral assigned to NATO, and three top military lawyers.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has insisted the president is simply choosing the leaders he wants, but Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the potential politicization of the traditionally neutral US military.

US President Donald Trump on Friday outlined sweeping cuts targeting “woke” and “wasteful” spending in his first budget blueprint since he returned to power, while boosting defense and border security.Republican Trump aims to cut non-defense discretionary spending across the federal government by a massive $163 billion — or 22 percent — in 2026 as he digs in on the conservative, cost-cutting drive led by billionaire Elon Musk.Trump would also carry out widespread cuts to health, education, science and climate, and to foreign aid, even as he hikes funding for the Pentagon past $1 trillion.But the president’s so-called “skinny budget” is not binding and is more of a wishlist — while it faces bitter opposition from Democrats who branded it a “gut punch” for Americans.The White House described the plan as a “pretty historic effort” to reshape the federal government.”It is woke and it is wasteful, and dividing us on the basis of race and identity in the country and honestly weaponized against it,” a senior official from the Office of Management and Budget told reporters.The White House was “joined at the hip” with Musk’s DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, on the cuts, the official added.The White House provided an entire fact sheet on cuts to “woke programs”, saying it was “eliminating radical gender and racial ideologies that poison the minds of Americans” and countering “cultural Marxism.”But many of the proposed cuts would target scientific research, climate monitoring, and health agencies.The National Institutes of Health — the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, which Trump’s administration accused of promoting “dangerous ideologies” — would see its research budget slashed by nearly half. Despite seeking a 26 percent cut to the overall healthcare budget, the proposal sets aside $500 million for controversial Health Secretary and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s signature “Make America Healthy Again” plan.There would also be cuts to space agency NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and others.Trump’s budget would meanwhile continue the shuttering of the US Department of Education — a long-held dream of right-wingers who want individual states to dictate policy on schooling.- ‘Heartless’ -And it would formalize the closure of the US international development agency USAID, dramatic cuts to which have already been widely criticized around the world.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said taxpayers would no longer be “sent to unaccountable NGO’s overseas to fund programs that do not serve our nation’s interests.”The boosts for the Pentagon and Homeland Security, however, reflect Trump’s national security policies.US defense spending would rise 13 percent to what the OMB official called “truly historic” levels comparable to those last seen under Republican president Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.Homeland Security spending would rise a giant 65 percent as Trump cracks down on what he calls an “invasion” of undocumented migrants.Together the spending boost would “at long last, fully secure our border,” OMB chief Russ Vought said in a letter to Congress accompanying the budget proposal.Trump’s “skinny budget” is a summary of more detailed proposals expected later this month. Republican lawmakers will use it as a guideline as they begin drafting the 12 bills Congress has to clear each year to fund the government, but his proposals are not binding.Congress holds the power of the purse and ultimately determines federal spending through the legislative process.Republican leaders are already struggling to pass what Trump has called a “big, beautiful bill” for sweeping tax cuts.The Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, hailed the budget plan as a “bold blueprint.”Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said his party would “fight this heartless budget with everything we’ve got.””Donald Trump’s days of pretending to be a populist are over. His policies are nothing short of an all out assault on hardworking Americans,” Schumer said in a statement.

A fiery crash involving a passenger van near Yellowstone National Park has left seven people dead, US police said Friday.Detectives probing the crash said a pickup truck collided with a van carrying 14 people on Thursday evening by Henry’s Lake in eastern Idaho.”Tragically, six individuals in the van and the driver of the pickup died as a result of the crash,” a statement from Idaho State Police said Friday.Pictures in local media showed a badly crumpled red truck and a van that had been engulfed in flames.Police said an air ambulance had been called in to transport victims to hospitals “due to the severity of the injuries.”There was no information on the identities or nationalities of those caught up in the crash.Locals quoted by media said the road is usually busy because it leads to one of the entrances to Yellowstone.Millions of tourists — domestic and international — travel every year to Yellowstone, the first national park to be established in the United States, which covers portions of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.It is home to thousands of geothermal features — hot springs, mudpots, steam vents and about half the world’s active geysers, including Old Faithful.

An Illinois man was sentenced to 53 years in prison on Friday for the murder of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in an attack deemed an anti-Muslim hate crime linked to the Israel-Hamas war.Joseph Czuba, 73, was convicted in February of fatally stabbing WadeaAl-Fayoumi and attacking the boy’s mother, Hanan Shaheen.Czuba was the family’s landlord and the attack took place a week after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.Wadea was stabbed 26 times and a serrated military knife with a 15-cm (six-inch) blade was removed from the child’s abdomen during the autopsy. Shaheen and Czuba’s now ex-wife, Mary, testified that he targeted the Muslim family after becoming agitated about the conflict in Gaza, media reported. A jury deliberated for just over an hour before finding Czuba guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and two counts of a hate crime.Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Czuba to 30 years in prison for Wadea’s murder, 20 years for the attack on his mother and three years for the hate crimes, to be served consecutively, the Chicago Sun Times reported.During sentencing, the boy’s great-uncle Mahmoud Yousef asked Czuba why he did it but received no response, the newspaper said.”We want to know what made him do this,” Yousef told the judge.According to the Will County Sheriff’s Office, the victims were targeted “due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.”Joe Biden, then the US president, condemned the attack as a “horrific act of hate” that “has no place in America.”

President Donald Trump’s proposed NASA budget released Friday puts crewed missions to the Moon and Mars front and center -— slashing science and climate programs as it seeks to shrink the agency’s funding by nearly a quarter.The plan would significantly overhaul flagship programs, phasing out the government-owned Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew capsule, and eliminating the planned lunar space station known as Gateway.It would also cancel the Mars Sample Return mission, a joint project with the European Space Agency to bring back rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover and analyze them for signs of ancient microbial life.The budget argues the effort is unnecessary, since its “goals would be achieved by human missions to Mars.””This proposal includes investments to simultaneously pursue exploration of the Moon and Mars while still prioritizing critical science and technology research,” said acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro in a statement.The White House says it wants to focus on “beating China back to the Moon and putting the first human on Mars.” China is aiming for its first crewed lunar landing by 2030, while the US program, called Artemis, has faced repeated delays.Under the proposal, SLS and Orion would be retired after Artemis 3 -— the first mission intended to land astronauts on the Moon.Critics have long called SLS bloated and inefficient, but its potential replacements —- SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn -— have yet to be fully flight certified.SpaceX chief Elon Musk is one of Trump’s closest advisors and oversees his cost-cutting efforts for the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, Trump’s pick to lead NASA, has flown to space with SpaceX twice -— raising further concerns about conflicts of interest.The administration is requesting $18.8 billion for NASA, down from $24.8 billion last year —- a 24.3 percent cut. Still, it would boost the agency’s space exploration budget by $647 million compared to 2025, with total spending on crewed lunar exploration topping $7 billion. An additional $1 billion would go toward new “Mars-focused programs.”Meanwhile, NASA’s Earth Science division would be slashed by more than $1.1 billion, cutting what the proposal calls “low-priority climate monitoring satellites.”Often viewed as a political wishlist ahead of fuller negotiations with Congress, the so-called “skinny budget” has already drawn sharp criticism.”The White House has proposed the largest single-year cut to NASA in American history,” said the Planetary Society.”Slashing NASA’s budget by this much, this quickly, without the input of a confirmed NASA Administrator or in response to a considered policy goal, won’t make the agency more efficient — it will cause chaos, waste the taxpayers’ investment, and undermine American leadership in space.”

US oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron reported lower profits Friday, reflecting the hit from falling crude prices amid global economic uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariffs.The results showed the companies remained highly profitable in the first quarter despite about a 20 percent decline in crude prices since Trump’s January return to the White House, a drop also spurred by the moves of Saudi Arabia and other crude exporters to boost output.But the environment marks a change from the surge in profits after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices skyrocketing. Both ExxonMobil and Chevron also cited weak refining margins as a negative factor in the first quarter.ExxonMobil reported profits of $7.7 billion, down 6.2 percent from the year-ago level. Revenues were essentially flat at $83.1 billion.The 2024 purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources for around $60 billion lifted ExxonMobil’s volumes from the Permian Basin, a fast-growing petroleum region in the southwestern United States.ExxonMobil also saw petroleum production growth in Guyana, which helped to compensate for headwinds in the first quarter, including “significantly weaker” refining margins, the company said in a press release.ExxonMobil said it is on track to start up 10 “advantaged projects” across its businesses in 2025.From this group, the company has already started and is ramping production at an “enormous” chemical complex in China that will serve the domestic market and will be “protected from tariff impacts,” according to prepared remarks for the company’s earnings conference call.ExxonMobil has also launched an advanced recycling unit in Baytown, Texas. Chief Executive Darren Woods said ExxonMobil’s progress in weeding out inefficient, high-cost projects means the company can “excel in any environment,” according to the earnings press release.During Friday’s conference call with analysts, Woods confirmed that ExxonMobil plans to continue to repurchase shares at a fast clip after buying back $4.8 billion last quarter.Such repurchases reduce the dividend burden after ExxonMobil’s all-stock purchase of Pioneer.”Our stock price is heavily correlated with crude and crude prices… and so it moves down with crude prices,” Woods said. “In my mind, that’s a great buying opportunity.”- Chevron tempers buybacks -At Chevron, profits dropped 36 percent to $3.5 billion, while revenues dipped 2.3 percent to $47.6 billion.The company pointed to recent production increases in Kazakhstan, the Permian Basin and in the Gulf of Mexico.Chevron plans to temper its share repurchases in the second quarter to between $2.5 billion and $3 billion after spending $3.9 billion in the first quarter.Chief Executive Mike Wirth said the moderation comes off an extremely robust pace of buybacks in 2023 and 2024.”The rate at which we’re buying shares back now is higher than at any point in our history,” Wirth said on a conference call, noting that slowing those purchases makes sense now the crude was moving to the “lower part” of the expected trading range.The oil giant could make other adjustments if the business conditions worsen, executives said.”The trade and tariff situation has been dynamic and we need to see how that manifests itself over time,” said Wirth, who pointed to the shift in oil exporters as another watch item, while adding “We’re very well prepared.” Shares of ExxonMobil dipped 0.1 percent in early-afternoon trading, while Chevron gained 1.3 percent.