A notorious drug lord is now on U.S. soil. Why “Fito” was extradited, and the federal charges he’ll face in court today.
Plus, Russia says it’s open to peace talks, but with big strings attached. Why Ukraine and its allies are not buying it.
And a glitch shuts down Alaska Airlines nationwide. What went wrong?
Notorious Ecuadorian drug kingpin extradited to US to face charges
Ecuador’s most feared drug kingpin is now in U.S. custody, facing federal charges of drug smuggling and weapons trafficking.
José Adolfo Macías Villamar — known as “Fito” — is the leader of Los Choneros, a violent criminal organization linked to assassinations and military-grade weapons trafficking.
He escaped from an Ecuadorian prison last year, where he had been serving a 34-year sentence for homicide and narcotics smuggling. Following his escape, he was recaptured in June.
He’s expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn today, where his lawyer says he will plead not guilty.
Prosecutors are asking that he remain in custody until trial, calling him a flight risk and a danger to the community.
Ecuadorian officials say Macías Villamar is the first citizen ever extradited to the U.S. from their country.
Alaska Airlines outage grounds entire fleet overnight
It’s a frustrating start to the week for hundreds of Alaska Airlines passengers after an IT outage Sunday night brought the entire fleet to a standstill.
The system went down around 11 PM Eastern, leaving passengers stuck on planes, some of them sitting on the tarmac for hours before being forced to deplane.
About four hours later, the company got things back online and resumed operations.
In a post on X, Alaska Airlines apologized for the disruption and urged passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
The outage affected both Alaska and Horizon Air flights.
As of this morning, flight trackers show at least ten cancellations and 17 delays.
No word yet on what caused the outage, but it’s the second time in a year the airline has been forced to ground its planes.
Trump faces growing pressure to fully release Epstein files
Criticism is piling up after President Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of some grand jury transcripts in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Some Republicans are calling it a step in the right direction, but say it’s not nearly enough.
Congressman Tim Burchett, who’s pushing a House vote to force broader disclosure, appeared on ABC Sunday. He said he wanted the files to be released, but cautioned the full truth may never come out.
Democrats, meanwhile, say Trump is trying to rewrite history after years of promising bombshell files that never surfaced.
Senator Amy Klobuchar pointed out that it was Trump’s own DOJ that kept most of the Epstein material sealed. She says the president is now suddenly changing tune, while still casting blame on others.
This all comes just days after The Wall Street Journal published what it says is a bawdy and explicit birthday note Trump once sent to Epstein. Trump denies he sent that letter and is suing the Journal in response.
Kremlin pushes peace talk rhetoric as drone strikes escalate
Russia says it’s open to peace, but not if it means giving up on its war goals.
Moscow is rejecting any suggestion that it’s dragging its feet. At the same time, it’s ramping up drone strikes against Ukraine.
Kyiv has now proposed new peace talks — possibly in Istanbul, Turkey — but says Russia is already laying the groundwork to stall again.
President Zelenskyy says he’s even willing to meet Russia’s Putin face-to-face.
But the Kremlin says any ceasefire must include Ukraine giving up territory and NATO ambitions, demands that the West has firmly rejected.
Japan’s prime minister stands firm after election loss; US pushes for trade deals
Shigeru Ishiba says he’ll stay on to tackle what he calls a national crisis, pointing to soaring prices, Trump’s tariffs and even the risk of a major earthquake striking Tokyo.
Ishiba says Japan can’t afford a “political vacuum” right now and vowed to keep working through the turbulence.
Meanwhile, his chief tariff negotiator is headed to Washington for an eighth round of trade talks.
This comes as U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says he’s confident new trade deals will be struck before Trump’s tariffs take effect on August 1.
Lutnick also called August 1 a “hard deadline” and said there will be no extensions as the administration prepares to enforce the sweeping new tariffs announced on what Trump called “Liberation Day” in April.
Trump pushes return to Redskins, Indians names
Finally this morning, President Trump — proclaiming “Make Indians great again” — is calling on two pro teams to revert to their old names.
The teams are the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland Guardians.
Trump calls the Commanders a “ridiculous moniker” and says he won’t back a deal to help the team build a new stadium in D.C. unless the team returns to the “Redskins” name.
Both teams dropped their longtime mascots in 2022, aiming to stop offending Native Americans.
Trump claims the football teams would be much more valuable under their old names and says a stadium deal would be “much more exciting” if it happens for the Commanders.
The Washington team is hoping to move into a new 65,000-seat stadium on the old RFK site by 2030 in a multibillion-dollar project.
Earlier this year, the federal government transferred ownership of the land to the city, paving the way for construction.
