What recent developments have occurred regarding the U.S.-backed peace plan for Ukraine?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Russia says it has yet to see an official copy of a new U.S.-backed peace plan for Ukraine. A draft proposal of the deal, crafted by White House envoy Steve Witkoff and his Russian counterpart, publicly surfaced in a series of media leaks earlier this week. NPR's Charles Maines has more from Moscow.
Amid an avalanche of media reports outlining a peace plan that critics argue skews in Russia's favor, Moscow has remained largely silent. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that while there had been contacts with the U.S., there was, quote, no process that could be called consultations on Ukraine. In fact, Peskov said Moscow had yet to receive an official copy of the U.S. proposal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also said little about the most recent U.S. diplomatic push. Instead, the Kremlin released new footage of Putin visiting a military command post as his top brass claimed new Russian advances across the front line. Ukraine disputed that assessment. Charles Baines, NPR News, Moscow.
A federal judge in the U.S. says that she will soon rule on whether to order the release of the migrant Kilmar Abrego-Garcia. He was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March and then returned. but he's still in U.S. immigration custody as the U.S. government continues to try to deport him.
Abrego Garcia has offered to go to Costa Rica, which earlier said would accept him, but his lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, says the U.S. government keeps trying to send him to yet another African country.
The fundamental question of why the government is insisting on protracted legal battles to send Mr. Abrego Garcia across the Atlantic Ocean to now four different African countries when there is a Central American country that has already offered him refugee status.
Abrego Garcia still faces human smuggling charges and a trial next year. He has denied the accusations. Stocks opened higher this morning on Wall Street at the end of a mostly down week on the markets. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 150 points in early trading.
Retail sales figures are one of many data points delayed by the six-week government shutdown. Many individual retailers have been delivering financial reports this week. The results have been mixed, but a consistent theme is that shoppers are being cautious and hunting for bargains. Stock in raw stores and the gap opened higher after both reported better than expected quarterly sales.
With a double-digit tariff on goods from Japan, the U.S. imported less from that country in October, but Japanese firms made up for it with higher sales to the rest of the world. Japan's overall exports were up 3.7 percent from a year ago. Tokyo's Nikkei Stock Index fell overnight. Stocks were also down in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Seoul. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
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