Trump says US and Iranian officials met Tuesday, shortly after warning he may ‘annihilate’ Iran
President Donald Trump speaks to the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday Sept. 22, 2026, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
By: AAMER MADHANI, FARNOUSH AMIRI and EDITH M. LEDERER
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Donald Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials met Tuesday, an unexpected engagement that came even as he threatened in his address to the U.N. General Assembly that he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn’t reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war.
Trump told reporters that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met for about three hours with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders but he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange.
“It was a very good meeting,” Trump said. The president later added that the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something.”
Witkoff said in a posting on X that the talks were conducted through mediators who shuttled between the U.S. and Iranian teams. He added that he was hopeful the effort “will prove constructive and promising.”
‘Looksmaxxing’ influencer known as ‘Clavicular’ is charged with rape in Massachusetts
Braden Peters, better known as Clavicular (Cassidy Araiza / The New York Times)
By: LEAH WILLINGHAM
BOSTON (AP) — The social media influencer “Clavicular,” who gained a following promoting the online “looksmaxxing” trend, has been charged in Massachusetts with raping a 17-year-old girl who told police she became heavily intoxicated after he gave her alcohol at his family’s Cape Cod home.
Braden Peters, 20, is charged with rape, administering a substance for sexual intercourse and procuring alcohol for a person under 21 in the alleged May 23, 2025, assault in Chatham, according to court records. A clerk-magistrate found probable cause for the charges on Sept. 4, and a criminal complaint was issued Sept. 8.
An email and text message were sent to Peters’ publicist seeking comment Tuesday. Peters, who lives in Florida and is not in custody, is scheduled to be arraigned in Massachusetts on Oct. 14.
“We are not commenting at this time since the proper authorities are handling this,” said Andrew Moss, one of the teen’s attorneys.
Man shot by ICE, detained in Texas with a bullet in his back is back in the hospital, attorney says
Flowers and candles are seen near the site where a Venezuelan man was shot in his vehicle by an ICE officer in Austin, Texas, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
By: ANNA WILDER and JESSE BEDAYN
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Venezuelan man shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer and taken to a detention center in Texas with a bullet still lodged in his back was back in the hospital by Monday night, the man’s attorney said.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was making a DoorDash delivery in Austin on Sunday when his car was “sideswiped” twice by ICE officers in an unmarked truck, immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch told reporters earlier Monday. He was shot and taken to a hospital, she said, but was released later Sunday into ICE custody with the bullet still inside him.
Speaking by phone during a news conference, Perez had said doctors didn’t remove the bullet because it’s near his spine. He said ICE pressed for him to be released quickly from the hospital so it could move him to a detention center. He said he had received no pain medication or treatment there, and had slept on the floor, before eventually being given a “pill” by a nurse on Monday.
