Updated Oct 27, 2018

DOJ: Charges against Pittsburgh shooter could lead to death penalty

Rapid reaction SWAT members leave the scene of a mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue. Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Attorney General Jeff Sessions responded Saturday afternoon to the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that took the lives of 11 people, and explained "the Department of Justice will file hate crimes and other criminal charges against the defendant, including charges that could lead to the death penalty."

The big picture: Earlier Saturday, President Trump called to "stiffen up" death penalty laws and said people who commit such crimes should "pay the ultimate price." The gunman had posted anti-semitic messages to social media just prior to entering the synagogue saying, "I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics I'm going in," on social media just minutes before the shooting," CNN reports. The gunman was wounded during the event and has been hospitalized, his condition is unclear.

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Axios
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 4:30 p.m. ET: 21,020,216 — Total deaths: 761,393— Total recoveries: 13,048,303 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 4:30 p.m. ET: 5,289,323 — Total deaths: 167,948 — Total recoveries: 1,774,648 — Total tests: 64,831,306 — Map.
  3. Health: CDC: Survivors of COVID-19 have up to three months of immunity —Fauci believes normalcy will return by "the end of 2021" with vaccine — The pandemic's toll on mental health.
  4. Business: How small businesses got stiffed — Unemployment starts moving in the right direction.
  5. Cities: Coronavirus pandemic dims NYC's annual 9/11 Tribute in Light.
  6. Politics: Biden signals fall strategy with new ads.
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Alexi McCammond
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Harris: "Women are going to be a priority" in Biden administration

Sen. Kamala Harris at an event in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In her first sit-down interview since being named Joe Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris talked about what she'll do to fight for women if elected VP, and how the Democrats are thinking about voter turnout strategies ahead of November.

What they're saying: "In a Biden-Harris administration women are going to be a priority, understanding that women have many priorities and all of them must be acknowledged," Harris told The 19th*'s Errin Haines-Whack.

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Sara Fischer
5 hours ago - Technology

Facebook goes after Apple

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

Facebook is seeking to force a face-off with Apple over its 30% in-app purchase commission fee, which Facebook suggests hurts small businesses struggling to get by during the pandemic.

The big picture: Facebook has never publicly gone after Apple, a key strategic partner, this aggressively. Both companies face antitrust scrutiny, which in Apple's case has centered on the very fee structure Facebook is now attacking.

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