International

Jury finds Hunter Biden guilty of illegal possession of a firearm

The jury of the trial of Hunter Biden for illegal possession of a firearm in 2018 found him guilty on Tuesday, in a historic ruling of the first trial of the son of a sitting United States president.

Hunter, the 54-year-old son of President Joe Biden, was found guilty of the three charges against him, in a context of drug addiction, CNN and other American media reported.

The president’s son was accused of lying about his drug use in order to buy a 38-caliber revolver in 2018.

The verdict comes at a time when his father seeks re-election and less than two weeks after the guilty sentence on charges of business fraud against Donald Trump, the probable Republican presidential candidate in November.

Hunter Biden did not testify during the trial held in Wilmington (Delaware), his hometown.

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He faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, although a lighter sentence is expected, even without prison, for not having a criminal record.

The first lady, Jill Biden, attended the trial for several days to support him. The president did not show up but said that he is “proud” of his son.

“As president I do not or comment on pending federal cases, but as a father, I have an infinite love for my son, confidence in him and respect for his strength,” Biden said in a statement last week.

The process, along with another case in which Hunter faces tax evasion charges in California, complicates the efforts of the Democrats to keep the focus on Trump, the first former president to be found guilty of criminal offenses.

Hunter Biden’s past addictions were the central issue of the trial, which included the testimony of ex-partners of the president’s son.

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Last week, the prosecutor reproduced fragments of Hunter Biden’s memoirs “Beautiful Things”, recorded by himself, in which he remembers moments of his addiction in which he was desperately looking for crack.

“I was cooking (the crack) and smoking. He cooked and smoked,” says the fragment reproduced in the court, extracted from the audiobook.

In addition to being a political distraction, Hunter Biden’s legal problems have reopened old family wounds, derived from his drug problems and other previous situations.

Her brother Beau died of cancer in 2015 and her sister Naomi died when she was a child, in 1972, in a car accident in which her mother, Neilia, the president’s first wife and mother of the three, also died.

Hunter, a Yale-trained lawyer and a lobist turned artist, had the firearm in his possession for eleven days after the purchase.

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The president’s son, who has written profusely about his addiction, said that at the time he bought the revolver he did not consider himself addicted. Hunter assures that he has not used drugs since 2019.

Hunter Biden has long been in the sights of the Republicans, who promoted an exhaustive investigation within Congress pointing out corruption and influence peddling, although charges were never filed against him for that.

His businesses in China and Ukraine also served as a basis for Republicans to try to open impeachment proceedings to dismiss their father, but those efforts did not succeed.

International

Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

Luigi Mangione admitted Friday to fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance group in the United States, during an appearance before a federal judge.

The case shocked the U.S. business community and dates back to December 2024, when Mangione opened fire on Thompson, 50, on a Manhattan street. Prosecutors have described the attack as being motivated by Mangione’s opposition to the U.S. health insurance system.

“On the morning of December 4, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione said as he pleaded guilty to a federal stalking charge related to his pursuit of the executive.

Mangione, 28, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, and prosecutors have indicated that they will seek a life sentence.

In addition to the federal charges related to stalking Thompson, Mangione also faces a murder case brought by the state of New York.

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Following his guilty plea in federal court, Mangione’s defense asked a state court to dismiss the state charges, arguing that prosecuting him again for the same conduct would violate protections against double jeopardy.

“We have just filed our motion in state court to explain why the charges should be dismissed under New York’s protections against double jeopardy,” Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said Friday.

Both the federal and state cases could result in a life sentence. Two other federal charges that initially carried the possibility of the death penalty were dismissed by a judge earlier this year.

International

ICE Plan to Equip Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Raises Abuse Concerns

Plans to equip U.S. immigration agents with gloves capable of delivering electric shocks are raising concerns over potential abuses by a law enforcement agency that critics accuse of using excessive force and providing inadequate training to its personnel.

The plan involves the potential purchase of electric-shock gloves for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency primarily responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost criticized the proposal on X, arguing that the agency has already faced accusations of excessive force during immigration enforcement operations.

“As if assaulting and shooting people in the streets wasn’t enough,” Frost wrote. He also criticized the reported $20 million potential expenditure on the devices and called for greater restrictions on ICE.

The agency has faced growing scrutiny following a series of deadly shootings during immigration enforcement operations. Among the incidents were the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January who were participating in protests against the agency.

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Critics have focused on the tactics used by ICE agents when detaining immigrants, as well as allegations that training standards for newly recruited personnel have been lowered.

According to a procurement plan first reported by the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, could spend between $10 million and $20 million on the devices.

The gloves are described by the agency as tools intended for “distraction and de-escalation,” rather than lethal weapons. The system, known as GLOVE, stands for “Generated Low-Output Voltage Emitter.”

The device is manufactured by Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based company that describes its products as advanced non-lethal tools designed to protect and assist law enforcement and other personnel.

The proposal comes amid an intensifying national debate over ICE’s enforcement methods and the use of force during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

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International

Three U.S. Executions Set for Same Day as Trump Pushes to Expand Death Penalty

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 U.S. states, while three others —California, Oregon and Pennsylvania— currently have moratoriums in place.

The United States is set to carry out three executions on the same day, a rare occurrence that has not happened since 2010, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

President Donald Trump has sought to expand the use of capital punishment for what he describes as “the most heinous crimes.” In April, the Department of Justice proposed expanding execution methods to include firing squads, lethal gas and electrocution.

Tennessee is scheduled to execute Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines, 66, on Thursday. He was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of a woman, according to local media.

In Oklahoma, Carlos Cuesta-Rodríguez, 70, is scheduled to be executed for a 2003 murder.

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Meanwhile, Alabama plans to execute Jeremy Williams, 42, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.

The United States carried out 47 executions in 2025, the highest number since 2009, when 52 executions were recorded.

Florida conducted the largest number of executions last year, with 19, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, with five each.

Of the executions carried out in 2025, 39 were conducted by lethal injection. Three were carried out by firing squad and five through nitrogen hypoxia, a method that involves forcing nitrogen gas into a face mask, depriving the prisoner of oxygen.

The United Nations has condemned nitrogen gas as a cruel and inhumane method of capital punishment.