International

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump rush the last few hours courting the decisive Latin vote of Pennsylvania

The Democratic candidate for the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, visited this Monday two Latin-majority cities in the decisive state of Pennsylvania, in search of the Hispanic vote that can decant tomorrow’s elections.

The same-day visit of Harris in Allentown and Trump in Reading, two neighboring municipalities, comes after the controversy over the racist joke of a comedian at a Republican rally in New York who described Puerto Rico as a “garbage island.”

“The United States is ready for a new beginning and is ready for a new path to follow in which we see our fellow citizens not as an enemy but as a neighbor,” said the vice president during her rally.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris seek the Latin vote

Harris was accompanied by the Puerto Rican-born rapper Fat Joe, who criticized Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and recalled the controversy that the Republican unleashed during his first term when he went to Puerto Rico to throw handkerchiefs at the victims of Hurricane Maria in 2017.

“I’m talking to some undecided Puerto Ricans, especially in Pennsylvania. What else do (the Republicans) have to do to show them who they are?” Fat Joe said.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

For his part, after passing through North Carolina, Trump gave an electoral rally in Reading, with a half-full capacity, where he reiterated that if he wins tomorrow he will launch “the largest deportation of criminals in the entire history of the United States.”

The New York tycoon was preceded by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who addressed the public in Spanish. “I didn’t understand a damn word of what I was saying. But it’s great,” Trump said about his partner.

Key state

The 19 electoral votes provided by Pennsylvania, the largest of the seven hinge states, are the jewel in the crown of Tuesday’s elections, in which the polls draw such a tight scenario that making predictions is impossible.

This state of the country’s former industrial belt traditionally voted Democratic until Trump turned it around in 2016 and, four years later, Joe Biden won the Republican by a narrow margin of 80,000 votes.

All eyes are on the Hispanic vote since Pennsylvania has doubled in two decades the Latino population to 620,000 registered to vote. More than half of the population of Allentown and Reading is Latino, mostly Puerto Rican, followed by Dominicans.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

Controversy over joke against Puerto Rico

Although Trump has not apologized for the joke of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at his New York rally, a few days later he visited Allentown and promised: “I will bring the best future to Puerto Ricans and Hispanics.”

The controversy grew even more when Biden responded to the joke by describing Trump’s followers as “trash,” words that the White House qualified and from which Kamala Harris discacated herself.

The Democratic candidate will close her campaign tonight with a big concert in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), accompanied by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, while Trump will put an end to the campaign from Gran Rapids, in the also decisive state of Michigan.

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.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

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.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

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.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

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.

20260101_dengue_cubeta_728x90

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.