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An American is arrested over the death of a U.S. tourist at a German castle

The Associated Press

american tourist pushed germany

Authorities say a tourist has died after a man attacked her and a companion near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany. The incident near the popular tourist attraction close to the Austrian border happened Wednesday afternoon. Frank Rumpenhorst/AP hide caption

Authorities say a tourist has died after a man attacked her and a companion near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany. The incident near the popular tourist attraction close to the Austrian border happened Wednesday afternoon.

BERLIN — Police in southern Germany are appealing for photos and videos taken by witnesses of an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which an American man allegedly pushed two women down a steep slope, killing one of them. A suspect was arrested following the attack.

German news agency dpa quoted police as saying Friday that they have so far received about a dozen submissions on a specially created website , but assume many more images were taken by tourists present at the site.

"We are looking for photographs which, by chance, show two young women and a man (approx. 30 years old) who were staying east of the Marienbruecke," Kempten police said on their website. "These persons may have been walking together or separately."

american tourist pushed germany

In this image taken from video, a suspect is taken away by two police officers near Neuschwanstein castle in Schwangau, southern Germany on Thursday. An American man has been arrested after allegedly assaulting two U.S. tourists near the castle and then pushing them down a steep slope. Eric Abneri/AP hide caption

In this image taken from video, a suspect is taken away by two police officers near Neuschwanstein castle in Schwangau, southern Germany on Thursday. An American man has been arrested after allegedly assaulting two U.S. tourists near the castle and then pushing them down a steep slope.

The Marienbruecke, or Mary's Bridge, is a popular vantage point for photos of Neuschwanstein, the most famous of the castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century.

According to the initial police investigation, the suspect met the two female tourists, Americans aged 21 and 22, on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail that leads to a viewpoint.

"The younger of the two women was attacked by the suspect," police spokesman Holger Stabik said. "The older one tried to rush to her aid, was then choked by the suspect and subsequently pushed down a slope."

The assailant then appears to have attempted to sexually assault the 21-year-old before pushing her down the slope as well, prosecutors said. She fell nearly 50 meters (165 feet), ending up close to her friend.

Both women were recovered by mountain rescuers. The 21-year-old was flown to a hospital with serious injuries and later died. The 22-year-old remains hospitalized, but is "responsive," police said.

Authorities haven't named either of the victims or given any further details.

american tourist pushed germany

People watch the Neuschwanstein castle, in Schwangau, Germany, Thursday, June 15, 2023. Frank Rumpenhorst/AP hide caption

People watch the Neuschwanstein castle, in Schwangau, Germany, Thursday, June 15, 2023.

The suspect, who likewise was not identified, remains in custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, prosecutors said, adding it wasn't clear how long he had been in the country.

The U.S. Embassy in Berlin said it was aware of the incident and the consulate in Munich was in contact with authorities.

"Due to privacy considerations, we are unable to comment further at this time," the embassy said in a statement.

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The defendant holds a book over his face as he is led into court

American man admits rape and murder of woman near German castle

Defendant, 31, met two US women on path in Marienbrücke and pushed them down ravine, prosecutors say

An American man has admitted to charges of murder and rape after he allegedly pushed two US women down a ravine, fatally injuring one of them, near Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany last year.

The 31-year-old defendant admitted to the charges during the start of his trial, the German news agency dpa reported. Defendants in the German legal system do not formally enter pleas to charges.

“The defendant has committed an unfathomable crime,” the defence lawyer Philip Mueller said in a statement. The defendant, whose name has not been released, in line with German privacy rules, confirmed that his lawyer’s statement was correct but did not answer any questions.

The defendant is charged with murder, rape with fatal consequences, attempted murder and possession of child pornography. Murder charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison in Germany.

The attack happened on 14 June last year near the Marienbrücke, a bridge over a gorge close to the castle that offers a view of Neuschwanstein, one of Germany’s most famous tourist attractions.

View of Neuschwanstein Castle from Marienbrücke.

Prosecutors say the defendant met the two female tourists, aged 21 and 22, by chance on a hiking path and lured them off the trail. They said in a statement that he apparently first forced the younger woman to the ground and tried to undress her.

When the older woman tried to help her, a scuffle ensued and the suspect allegedly pushed her down a steep slope. She fell about 50 metres (165ft) and sustained a head injury, bruises and grazes but survived.

The suspect then allegedly strangled the younger woman until she was unconscious and raped her, prosecutors said, before pushing her down the slope as well. She died.

Prosecutors said they secured a laptop and mobile phones from the suspect containing child sexual abuse material.

Authorities say the women did not know the man before they met near Neuschwanstein. The suspect was arrested shortly after the attack.

A verdict is expected to be announced in mid-March at the earliest.

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Man arrested in killing of U.S. tourist on cliff near German castle

The 30-year-old is in custody after allegedly pushing two female tourists off a cliff near Neuschwanstein Castle

american tourist pushed germany

German police arrested a 30-year-old U.S. man in the killing and attempted sexual assault of an American tourist last week near Neuschwanstein Castle , a popular tourist attraction in Bavaria.

Police said he pushed two women down a 150-foot drop close to the edge of a pedestrian bridge that overlooks the castle in southern Germany outside the village of Schwangau.

A 21-year-old woman died in the hospital after the Füssen mountain rescue service retrieved her with a helicopter, police said . Her 22-year-old friend, whom police said the suspect choked when she intervened in the attack, survived the fall. The man and both women are U.S. citizens, the Associated Press reported . Their identities were not released by officials.

This week, family members and a church leader identified the victims as recent graduates of the University of Illinois. Eva Liu, 21, died in the incident, according to the Rev. Mark Zhang of Living Water Evangelical Church in Naperville, Ill. The family attended the church and Liu’s parents told him that she had been killed, the AP reported . Kelsey Chang, 22, of Normal, Ill., survived the attack and was reportedly on a flight back to the United States on Tuesday. The suspect is from Michigan, according to the AP and ABC 7 Chicago .

According to police, the three tourists met on a hiking trail east of the Marienbrücke bridge in the German Alps, and the man lured the two women to a trail out of public view. Police suspect he attempted a sexual attack on the 21-year-old, and he choked and pushed the 22-year-old when she tried to intervene.

At Neuschwanstein, there was a rescue of multiple people from a helicopter and one was taken out in handcuffs, seemingly after they fell from a cliff and climbed over railings. pic.twitter.com/yVGqqSRlwX — Eric Abneri (@thefrownyface) June 14, 2023

The man was arrested near the scene shortly after authorities launched a search upon receiving a complaint around 2:40 p.m. June 14. The suspect appeared in Kempten District Court the following day and was taken to a correctional facility, police say.

Another visitor, Eric Abneri, who captured video of the arrest, told the Associated Press that the man appeared to have scratches on his face. Abneri and his friends also saw the rescue.

“I’m honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this,” Abneri told the AP. “It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff.”

Bavarian king Ludwig II ordered the construction of the Neuschwanstein Castle in the 19th century. It is one of the most visited castles in Europe .

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american tourist pushed germany

US tourist killed after man pushed her off steep slope at popular castle in Germany, police say

BERLIN — An American man has been arrested over the death of one U.S. tourist and an assault on another near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany after he allegedly pushed the two women down a steep slope, authorities said Thursday.

The incident near the popular tourist attraction happened on Wednesday afternoon near the Marienbruecke, a bridge over a gorge close to the castle that offers a famous view of Neuschwanstein.

The 30-year-old man met the two female tourists, ages 21 and 22, on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail that leads to a viewpoint, police said in a statement.

"The younger of the two women was attacked by the suspect," said police spokesman Holger Stabik. "The older one tried to rush to her aid, was then choked by the suspect and subsequently pushed down a slope. "

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The assailant then appears to have attempted to sexually assault the 21-year-old before pushing her down the slope as well. She fell nearly 50 meters (165 feet), ending up close to her friend.

A mountain rescue team reached both women. The 22-year-old was "responsive" and taken to a hospital, police said; a helicopter carried the 21-year-old with serious injuries to a different hospital, and she died there overnight.The suspect left the scene but was quickly arrested nearby. Bystander video posted online showed police leading away a handcuffed man in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap.

Eric Abneri, a recent business graduate from the University of Pittsburgh who took the video, said the man appeared to have scratches across his face.

"He did not say a single word. He didn't open his mouth; he didn't mumble," Abneri told The Associated Press. "He just walked with the police and that was it."

Abneri said he and friends reached the scenic overlook as a helicopter arrived and they saw rescuers lower themselves down to the victims.

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"I'm honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this. It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff," he said.

Abneri described it as "a very, very difficult rescue because of those cliffs and because the helicopter came mere feet above the tree line at the top of the hill."

"They did an unbelievable job," he said.

Police said the man they arrested was American and described him as also a tourist; prosecutors said the women were fellow U.S. citizens. The 22-year-old remained hospitalized Thursday, according to prosecutors.

Authorities didn't identify either the suspect or the victims or give any further details.

Police said a judge in nearby Kempten on Thursday ordered the suspect held pending a potential indictment — a process that can take months — and he was taken to jail. He is under investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and a sexual offense.

Police said they and prosecutors were focusing on trying to reconstruct exactly what happened and called for any witnesses to come forward.

Neuschwanstein, located in southern Bavaria close to Austria's border, is one of Germany's most popular tourist attractions.

It is the most famous of the castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century. Construction started in 1869 but was never completed. Ludwig died in 1886.

American woman who was pushed into a ravine near Neuschwanstein castle is out of the hospital

Image:

BERLIN — Police in southern Germany said Monday that an American tourist who was pushed into a ravine during  an attack near Neuschwanstein castle  in which her 21-year-old friend was killed has been released from the hospital.

The 22-year-old woman had tried to stop a 30-year-old Michigan man from allegedly assaulting her friend after luring them onto a trail leading to a viewpoint overlooking the famous castle, which draws more than a million tourists every year.

The 22-year-old fell nearly 165 feet down a steep slope but was able to leave the hospital Friday, police spokesperson Holger Stabik said.

Both women were recovered by mountain rescuers shortly after the attack Wednesday, but the younger victim later died of her injuries in the hospital.

The suspect, whose name like those of the victims wasn’t released due to German privacy rules, was arrested shortly after the incident. He is being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and attempted sexual assault.

Stabik said police have received about two dozen photos and videos on  a specially created website  and are appealing for anyone with additional images of the suspect and victims to come forward.

Prosecutors said the women did not know the man until the incident.

A spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office in Kempten, Thomas Hörmann, said the investigation into the incident is continuing but it may be three or four months before authorities decide on an indictment.

The Associated Press

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Suspect promised US tourists ‘romantic view’ at German castle before pushing them off cliff, police say

Eva liu, 21, died and her friend, kelsey chang, 22, was injured, article bookmarked.

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The American man police suspect shoved two US tourists into a ravine at a German castle allegedly lured them to the spot by promising to show them a romantic view.

Eva Liu, 21, died after she and her friend, Kelsey Chang, 22, were shoved into a ravine on Wednesday, allegedly by a man from Michigan .

Ms Chang survived the fall and was discharged from the hospital on Saturday.

The suspect travelled to Germany in June and appears to have met the women during an excursion organised to visit the castle. He reportedly offered to take the women to a spot he knew of with beautiful views where tourists often take selfies. The pair ended up on a narrow path overlooking the Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria.

Once there, the 30-year-old suspect allegedly tried to attack Ms Liu. Ms Chang tried to stop him, but he allegedly shoved her down the ravine. He is then said to have tried to sexually assault the 21-year-old before he threw her into the ravine as well.

  • A famous castle, attempted sex assault and a deadly shove: What happened to the American women thrown off a German cliff?
  • German castle attack: American victims in deadly Neuschwanstein tourist attack are named
  • American victims in deadly tourist attack by German castle identified as recent Illinois university graduates

Ms Liu was airlifted to a hospital where she died that night.

The women both fell approximately 165 feet. Ms Chang's fall was broken by a tree branch, which likely saved her life.

The man — so far only indentified as Troy B — has been arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, and one charge of sexual assault.

The suspect reportedly fled the scene but was later caught by police in the nearby town of Fuessen.

The arrest was captured on video; in one clip the suspect can be seen being led away by police. His face was reportedly covered in scratches, according to Eric Abneri, another American who was at the scene and who spoke to the Associated Press.

“He did not say a single word. He didn’t open his mouth; he didn’t mumble,” Mr Abneri said. “He just walked with the police and that was it.”

The suspect has reportedly refused to speak with investigators, but has been brought before a judge in a closed-door hearing in accordance with German law.

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A 30-year-old American man has been arrested in Germany after police said he assaulted two young female tourists and pushed them into a deep ravine near the fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle, killing one of them.

The violent attack took place Wednesday afternoon near the Marienbruecke bridge spanning a gorge, which offers a world-famous view of the castle.

Police said in a statement that the suspect, who has not been identified, met the two fellow tourists, ages 21 and 22, on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail that leads to an overlook.

The man then attacked the younger of the two women, police said.

When her friend tried to intervene, the American allegedly choked her and pushed her down a steep slope.

The suspect then allegedly tried to sexually assault the 21-year-old woman, before shoving her into the ravine as well.

She plummeted 164 feet and landed near her friend.

Mountain rescuers were able to reach both women at the bottom of the gorge.

The 22-year-old victim was “responsive” and taken to a hospital, police said.

A suspect under arrest for the death of an American tourist near Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.

A helicopter airlifted the 21-year-old woman to a different hospital with serious injuries, and she died there overnight.

The suspect fled the scene but was quickly apprehended nearby .

Bystander video posted on Twitter showed cops leading away a handcuffed man in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap.

Witness Eric Abneri, a recent business graduate from the University of Pittsburgh who shot the video, said the man appeared to have scratches across his face.

The man also allegedly choked and pushed a 22-year-old woman down a steep slope after she attempted to stop the attack.

“He did not say a single word. He didn’t open his mouth; he didn’t mumble,” Abneri told The Associated Press. “He just walked with the police and that was it.”

Abneri said he and friends reached the scenic overlook as a helicopter arrived and they witnessed rescuers lower themselves down to the victims.

“I’m honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this. It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff,” he said.

Abneri described it as “a very, very difficult rescue because of those cliffs and because the helicopter came mere feet above the tree line at the top of the hill.”

The attack took place on a popular tourist destination near the Neuschwanstein castle.

“They did an unbelievable job,” he said.

Police confirmed that the man they arrested was an American national and described him as a tourist.

Prosecutors said the victims were fellow US citizens.

The 22-year-old who survived the fall remained hospitalized Thursday.

Authorities didn’t identify anyone involved in the fatal incident or give any further details.

According to police, the attack is believed to be an "attempted sexual offense."

Police said a judge on Thursday ordered the suspect jailed pending a potential indictment — a process that can take months.

The 30-year-old is facing charges of murder, attempted murder and a sexual offense.

Police said they and prosecutors were focusing on trying to reconstruct exactly what happened and called for any witnesses to come forward.

Neuschwanstein Castle, located in Bavaria about 65 miles southwest of Munich, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.

According the castle’s website, about 1.4 million people visit the picturesque site built in the 19th century every year.

With Post wires

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A suspect under arrest for the death of an American tourist near Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.

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American Woman Who Was Pushed and Fell 165 Feet Near German Castle Is Released From Hospital

Police in southern Germany say an American tourist who was pushed into a ravine during an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which her 21-year-old friend was killed has been released from the hospital

Frank Rumpenhorst

Frank Rumpenhorst

Tourists stand on the Marienbr'cke bridge, near the Neuschwanstein castle, in Schwangau, Germany, Thursday, June 15, 2023. Authorities say an American man has been arrested in Germany after allegedly assaulting two tourists he met near Neuschwanstein castle. The attack, which occurred on Wednesday, left one of the women dead. Police said Thursday that the 30-year-old man met the two women on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail. They said the man then “physically attacked” the younger woman. (Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP)

BERLIN (AP) — Police in southern Germany said Monday that an American tourist who was pushed into a ravine during an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which her 21-year-old friend was killed has been released from the hospital.

The 22-year-old woman had tried to stop a 30-year-old Michigan man from allegedly assaulting her friend after luring them onto a trail leading to a viewpoint overlooking the famous castle, which draws more than a million tourists every year.

The older woman fell nearly 50 meters (165 feet) down a steep slope but was able to leave the hospital Friday, police spokesperson Holger Stabik said.

Both women were recovered by mountain rescuers shortly after the attack Wednesday, but the younger victim later died of her injuries in the hospital.

The suspect, whose name like those of the victims wasn't released due to German privacy rules, was arrested shortly after the incident. He is being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and attempted sexual assault.

Stabik said police have received about two dozen photos and videos on a specially created website and are appealing for anyone with additional images of the suspect and victims to come forward.

Prosecutors said the women did not know the man until the incident.

A spokesperson for the prosecutors' office in Kempten, Thomas Hörmann, said the investigation into the incident is continuing but it may be three or four months before authorities decide on an indictment.

Copyright 2023 The  Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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A man accused of pushing 2 American women off a cliff in Germany had 'deep red marks all over' as though he was 'fought back at,' witness says

  • A witness who saw police arresting the suspect said he had claw marks all over him.
  • The suspect is accused of attacking two American women at Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle.
  • He pushed both women off a 150-foot cliff, killing one. 

Insider Today

The man accused of pushing two women off a cliff in Germany, killing one, had "deep red marks all over" as though the victims "fought back at" him, a witness says. 

That witness was Eric Abneri, a 21-year-old New York native, who is traveling Europe with two of his friends. He filmed police arresting the suspect and then posted it on Twitter .

The suspect, a 30-year-old American tourist whose name has not been released, is accused of attempting to assault two young American women near Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle, a popular tourist attraction at the base of the Alps.

Related stories

"[The suspect] had deep red marks all over, not blood, but clearly he was fought back at. It showed," Abneri told Insider. Abneri added that the suspect's cuts weren't big but he had "many many small ones" that "were very visible."

Police said in a statement that the two women, 21 and 22, were visiting the castle when they met the suspect, who convinced them to follow him down a lesser-known path through the woods, according to The New York Times.

He then attacked the 21-year-old. When the 22-year-old tried to stop him, he pushed her down a 150-foot cliff, according to the Times. He continued trying to assault the 21-year-old before eventually pushing her down the cliff as well, the Times reported. 

Abneri said he first noticed something was amiss on the mountainside when he and his friends "heard a copter very loud hovering low." 

"Then we got to the top and it started to lower and three rescuers were repelling," Abneri said. "We looked around to see what was going on and I spotted a woman in blue who was laying on this log at the bottom of the cliff." 

Abneri filmed the helicopter rescue, which he also posted to Twitter . 

When he saw the cuts all over the suspect's face as he was being taken away by police, Abneri said at first he thought maybe the man had fallen too. But, after hearing the news reports, he said, "Obviously now it's very clear what happened."

Abneri said being a bystander to the incident has been "hard to process" as he and his friends continue traveling. 

The 21-year-old died of her injuries later that night, the Times reported. The 22-year-old is in stable condition and was able to speak with police. 

american tourist pushed germany

  • Main content

American Arrested For Pushing 2 Tourists Down Slope At German Castle, Killing 1 Woman

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BERLIN (AP) — An American man has been arrested over the death of one U.S. tourist and an assault on another near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany after he allegedly pushed the two women down a steep slope, authorities said Thursday.

The incident near the popular tourist attraction happened on Wednesday afternoon near the Marienbruecke, a bridge over a gorge close to the castle that offers a famous view of Neuschwanstein.

The 30-year-old man met the two female tourists, ages 21 and 22, on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail that leads to a viewpoint, police said in a statement.

“The younger of the two women was attacked by the suspect,” said police spokesman Holger Stabik. “The older one tried to rush to her aid, was then choked by the suspect and subsequently pushed down a slope. ”

The assailant then appears to have attempted to sexually assault the 21-year-old before pushing her down the slope as well. She fell nearly 50 meters (165 feet), ending up close to her friend.

A mountain rescue team reached both women. The 22-year-old was “responsive” and taken to a hospital, police said; a helicopter carried the 21-year-old with serious injuries to a different hospital, and she died there overnight.

The suspect left the scene but was quickly arrested nearby. Bystander video posted online showed police leading away a handcuffed man in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap.

 Castle Neuschwanstein, a 19th century creation by Bavaria's fairy tale king Ludwig II and world renowned tourist attraction, is pictured in Hohenschwangau near Fuessen, southern Germany, on May 9, 2011.

Eric Abneri, a recent business graduate from the University of Pittsburgh who took the video, said the man appeared to have scratches across his face.

“He did not say a single word. He didn’t open his mouth; he didn’t mumble,” Abneri told The Associated Press. “He just walked with the police and that was it.”

Abneri said he and friends reached the scenic overlook as a helicopter arrived and they saw rescuers lower themselves down to the victims.

“I’m honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this. It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff,” he said.

Abneri described it as “a very, very difficult rescue because of those cliffs and because the helicopter came mere feet above the tree line at the top of the hill.”

“They did an unbelievable job,” he said.

Police said the man they arrested was American and described him as also a tourist; prosecutors said the women were fellow U.S. citizens. The 22-year-old remained hospitalized Thursday, according to prosecutors.

Authorities didn’t identify either the suspect or the victims or give any further details.

Police said a judge in nearby Kempten on Thursday ordered the suspect held pending a potential indictment — a process that can take months — and he was taken to jail. He is under investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and a sexual offense.

Police said they and prosecutors were focusing on trying to reconstruct exactly what happened and called for any witnesses to come forward.

Neuschwanstein, located in southern Bavaria close to Austria’s border, is one of Germany’s most popular tourist attractions.

It is the most famous of the castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century. Construction started in 1869 but was never completed. Ludwig died in 1886.

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American tourist killed in Germany after being pushed off a cliff

A 21-year-old American woman has died from her injuries after she and a friend were pushed down a ravine near a castle in Bavaria, Germany, according to police. The assailant, another American tourist, is now under arrest. NBC’s Keir Simmons reports for TODAY.

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German police appeal for images taken of an attack in which Americans were pushed down a steep slope

FILE - People stay on the Marien-Bridge at Castle Neuschwanstein, a 19th century creation by Bavaria's fairy tale king Ludwig II and world renowned tourist attraction, is pictured in Hohenschwangau near Fuessen, southern Germany, Thursday, June 15, 2023. A U.S. hiker who was sexually assaulted and killed in Germany last week had just graduated from the University of Illinois with a computer science degree in May. A Michigan man attacked her and a 22-year-old friend while they were hiking near Neuschwanstein castle on June 14. (Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP, File)

FILE - People stay on the Marien-Bridge at Castle Neuschwanstein, a 19th century creation by Bavaria’s fairy tale king Ludwig II and world renowned tourist attraction, is pictured in Hohenschwangau near Fuessen, southern Germany, Thursday, June 15, 2023. A U.S. hiker who was sexually assaulted and killed in Germany last week had just graduated from the University of Illinois with a computer science degree in May. A Michigan man attacked her and a 22-year-old friend while they were hiking near Neuschwanstein castle on June 14. (Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP, File)

People watch the Neuschwanstein castle, in Schwangau, Germany, Thursday, June 15, 2023. Authorities say an American man has been arrested in Germany after allegedly assaulting two tourists he met near Neuschwanstein castle. The attack, which occurred on Wednesday, left one of the women dead. Police said Thursday that the 30-year-old man met the two women on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail. They said the man then “physically attacked” the younger woman. (Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP)

In this image taken from video, a suspect is taken away by two police officers near Neuschwanstein castle in Schwangau, southern Germany, Thursday June 15, 2023. An American man has been arrested after allegedly assaulting two U.S. tourists near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany and then pushing them down a steep slope, an attack that left one of the women dead, authorities said Thursday. (Eric Abneri via AP)

Tourists stand on the Marienbr’cke bridge, near the Neuschwanstein castle, in Schwangau, Germany, Thursday, June 15, 2023. Authorities say an American man has been arrested in Germany after allegedly assaulting two tourists he met near Neuschwanstein castle. The attack, which occurred on Wednesday, left one of the women dead. Police said Thursday that the 30-year-old man met the two women on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail. They said the man then “physically attacked” the younger woman. (Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP)

FILE - Castle Neuschwanstein, a 19th century creation by Bavaria’s fairy tale king Ludwig II and world renowned tourist attraction, is pictured in Hohenschwangau near Fuessen, southern Germany, on Monday, May 9, 2011. Authorities say a man has attacked two women near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany, killing one. Police say the women were attacked Wednesday afternoon near the popular tourist site and the man fled but was arrested. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

A view of the Neuschwanstein castle, in Schwangau, Germany, Thursday, June 15, 2023. Authorities say an American man has been arrested in Germany after allegedly assaulting two tourists he met near Neuschwanstein castle. The attack, which occurred on Wednesday, left one of the women dead. Police said Thursday that the 30-year-old man met the two women on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail. They said the man then “physically attacked” the younger woman. (Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP)

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BERLIN (AP) — Police in southern Germany are appealing for photos and videos taken by witnesses of an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which an American man allegedly pushed two women down a steep slope, killing one of them. A suspect was arrested following the attack.

German news agency dpa quoted police as saying Friday that they have so far received about a dozen submissions on a specially created website , but assume many more images were taken by tourists present at the site.

“We are looking for photographs which, by chance, show two young women and a man (approx. 30 years old) who were staying east of the Marienbruecke,” Kempten police said on their website. “These persons may have been walking together or separately.”

The Marienbruecke, or Mary’s Bridge, is a popular vantage point for photos of Neuschwanstein, the most famous of the castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century.

According to the initial police investigation, the suspect met the two female tourists, Americans aged 21 and 22, on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail that leads to a viewpoint.

FILE - This photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, shows Senior Airman Roger Fortson in a Dec. 24, 2019, photo. A Florida deputy's fatal shooting of a U.S. service member has jarred the former top enlisted officer of the Air Force. In 2020, Chief Master Sgt. Kaleth O. Wright warned that his greatest fear was waking up to news that police had killed a Black airman. (U.S. Air Force via AP, File)

“The younger of the two women was attacked by the suspect,” police spokesman Holger Stabik said. “The older one tried to rush to her aid, was then choked by the suspect and subsequently pushed down a slope.”

The assailant then appears to have attempted to sexually assault the 21-year-old before pushing her down the slope as well, prosecutors said. She fell nearly 50 meters (165 feet), ending up close to her friend.

Both women were recovered by mountain rescuers. The 21-year-old was flown to a hospital with serious injuries and later died. The 22-year-old remains hospitalized, but is “responsive,” police said.

Authorities haven’t named either of the victims or given any further details.

The suspect, who likewise was not identified, remains in custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, prosecutors said, adding it wasn’t clear how long he had been in the country.

The U.S. Embassy in Berlin said it was aware of the incident and the consulate in Munich was in contact with authorities.

“Due to privacy considerations, we are unable to comment further at this time,” the embassy said in a statement.

american tourist pushed germany

american tourist pushed germany

I'm an American mom living in Germany. Here schools days are shorter and there are more vacations throughout the year.

  • I'm an American who moved to Germany over a decade ago. 
  • I went to school in the US, but now I'm raising three kids in Germany. 
  • Here there are more short vacations sprinkled throughout the year. 

I'm an American living in Germany with my family, and it's been fascinating to observe the differences in elementary school between the US and Germany.

My oldest son has attended elementary school in Germany for a couple of years now and I worked at an elementary school here for a few years before having my own kids, so I've gotten to witness firsthand what makes the German system unique.

German elementary school is 4 years

In Germany, kids go straight from preschool (which is called Kindergarten in Germany) to elementary school; there is no year of Kindergarten as Americans know it.

When my oldest child was in his last year of preschool , he did "Vorschule ," a weekly activity to prepare the kids for going to school, such as an introduction to letters and numbers. German elementary school ends in fourth grade. From there, kids are divided into three separate school systems for grades 5 to 12.

School supplies are taken seriously

Some months in advance of my oldest child's first day of first grade, we got the list of school supplies — and it was epic. There were many notebooks that had to be a specific size and had to have a colored folder cover for various subjects. Gym shoes had to have only white soles, and every single item had to be labeled, even each individual colored pencil. Fortunately, our local stationery store is an expert in these matters, and I was able to simply hand over our supply list and receive the items.

To top it all off, German kids take a "Schulranzen" to school, a large and expensive backpack that can hold many books and supplies. Shopping for it is a rite of passage for incoming schoolchildren.

The first day of school is short and memorable

On the first day of every German school year, you'll see some new first graders staggering around carrying a "Schultute," a massive triangular cone filled with anything from sweets to books to school supplies. This uniquely German custom makes this day very memorable for new schoolkids — many Germans keep theirs forever.

Typically, the first day of school is shorter than usual, and many families do something special to mark the event. For my oldest child's first day of school, we went out to lunch together and took photos of him with his Schultute .

There are many more short-term vacations

For many kids in Germany, the elementary school day is very short compared to an American school day. Classes typically start between 7:30 and 8 a.m., and the school day is usually over between 12 and 1 p.m., but sometimes as early as 11:30.

Many elementary schools offer afterschool care where kids can do homework and play in the afternoon, but depending where you live in Germany, a spot isn't always guaranteed. Kids who have a shorter school day are assigned homework during the week. My son doesn't get homework during the week at his day school, but he will usually have some homework over the weekend to do.

Summer break in Germany is much shorter than in the US. It's six weeks in total. However, German kids have many shorter breaks throughout the year than American students. For instance, my son has two weeks off for Easter vacation and two weeks off for the Pentecost holidays in Bavaria.

Many kids get to school independently

While some kids do take a school bus or are driven to school by their parents, it's more common in German for elementary school kids to go to school either totally independently or among groups of friends.

Usually starting in second grade, kids will often walk, ride their scooters, or take public transportation to school without their parents. When I drop my younger kids off at preschool, I see hordes of elementary school kids en route to school sans grownups. Schools generally hire crossing guards to supervise the street crossings right by the school building to make sure it is safer for the students.

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I'm an American mom living in Germany. Here schools days are shorter and there are more vacations throughout the year.

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A Plan to Remake the Middle East

While talks for a cease-fire between israel and hamas continue, another set of negotiations is happening behind the scenes..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From New York Times, I’m Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

Today, if and when Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a ceasefire fire, the United States will immediately turn to a different set of negotiations over a grand diplomatic bargain that it believes could rebuild Gaza and remake the Middle East. My colleague Michael Crowley has been reporting on that plan and explains why those involved in it believe they have so little time left to get it done.

It’s Wednesday, May 8.

Michael, I want to start with what feels like a pretty dizzying set of developments in this conflict over the past few days. Just walk us through them?

Well, over the weekend, there was an intense round of negotiations in an effort, backed by the United States, to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

The latest ceasefire proposal would reportedly see as many as 33 Israeli hostages released in exchange for potentially hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

US officials were very eager to get this deal.

Pressure for a ceasefire has been building ahead of a threatened Israeli assault on Rafah.

Because Israel has been threatening a military offensive in the Southern Palestinian city of Rafah, where a huge number of people are crowded.

Fleeing the violence to the North. And now they’re packed into Rafah. Exposed and vulnerable, they need to be protected.

And the US says it would be a humanitarian catastrophe on top of the emergency that’s already underway.

Breaking news this hour — very important breaking news. An official Hamas source has told The BBC that it does accept a proposal for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

And for a few hours on Monday, it looked like there might have been a major breakthrough when Hamas put out a statement saying that it had accepted a negotiating proposal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire proposal does not meet his country’s requirements. But Netanyahu says he will send a delegation of mediators to continue those talks. Now, the terms —

But those hopes were dashed pretty quickly when the Israelis took a look at what Hamas was saying and said that it was not a proposal that they had agreed to. It had been modified.

And overnight —

Israeli troops stormed into Rafah. Video showing tanks crashing over a sign at the entrance of the city.

— the Israelis launched a partial invasion of Rafah.

It says Hamas used the area to launch a deadly attack on Israeli troops over the weekend.

And they have now secured a border crossing at the Southern end of Gaza and are conducting targeted strikes. This is not yet the full scale invasion that President Biden has adamantly warned Israel against undertaking, but it is an escalation by Israel.

So while all that drama might suggest that these talks are in big trouble, these talks are very much still alive and ongoing and there is still a possibility of a ceasefire deal.

And the reason that’s so important is not just to stop the fighting in Gaza and relieve the suffering there, but a ceasefire also opens the door to a grand diplomatic bargain, one that involves Israel and its Arab neighbors and the Palestinians, and would have very far-reaching implications.

And what is that grand bargain. Describe what you’re talking about?

Well, it’s incredibly ambitious. It would reshape Israel’s relationship with its Arab neighbors, principally Saudi Arabia. But it’s important to understand that this is a vision that has actually been around since well before October 7. This was a diplomatic project that President Biden had been investing in and negotiating actually in a very real and tangible way long before the Hamas attacks and the Gaza war.

And President Biden was looking to build on something that President Trump had done, which was a series of agreements that the Trump administration struck in which Israel and some of its Arab neighbors agreed to have normal diplomatic relations for the first time.

Right, they’re called the Abraham Accords.

That’s right. And, you know, Biden doesn’t like a lot of things, most things that Trump did. But he actually likes this, because the idea is that they contribute to stability and economic integration in the Middle East, the US likes Israel having friends and likes having a tight-knit alliance against Iran.

President Biden agrees with the Saudis and with the Israelis, that Iran is really the top threat to everybody here. So, how can you build on this? How can you expand it? Well, the next and biggest step would be normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

And the Saudis have made clear that they want to do this and that they’re ready to do this. They weren’t ready to do it in the Trump years. But Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has made clear he wants to do it now.

So this kind of triangular deal began to take shape before October 7, in which the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia would enter this three way agreement in which everyone would get something that they wanted.

And just walk through what each side gets in this pre-October 7th version of these negotiations?

So for Israel, you get normalized ties with its most important Arab neighbor and really the country that sets the tone for the whole Muslim world, which is Saudi Arabia of course. It makes Israel feel safer and more secure. Again, it helps to build this alliance against Iran, which Israel considers its greatest threat, and it comes with benefits like economic ties and travel and tourism. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been very open, at least before October 7th, that this was his highest diplomatic and foreign policy priority.

For the Saudis, the rationale is similar when it comes to Israel. They think that it will bring stability. They like having a more explicitly close ally against Iran. There are economic and cultural benefits. Saudi Arabia is opening itself up in general, encouraging more tourism.

But I think that what’s most important to the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is what he can get from the United States. And what he has been asking for are a couple of essential things. One is a security agreement whose details have always been a little bit vague, but I think essentially come down to reliable arms supplies from the United States that are not going to be cut off or paused on a whim, as he felt happened when President Biden stopped arms deliveries in 2021 because of how Saudi was conducting its war in Yemen. The Saudis were furious about that.

Saudi Arabia also wants to start a domestic nuclear power program. They are planning for a very long-term future, possibly a post-oil future. And they need help getting a nuclear program off the ground.

And they want that from the US?

And they want that from the US.

Now, those are big asks from the us. But from the perspective of President Biden, there are some really enticing things about this possible agreement. One is that it will hopefully produce more stability in the region. Again, the US likes having a tight-knit alliance against Iran.

The US also wants to have a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. You know, despite the anger at Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, the Biden administration recognizes that given the Saudis control over global oil production and their strategic importance in the Middle East, they need to have a good relationship with them. And the administration has been worried about the influence of China in the region and with the Saudis in particular.

So this is an opportunity for the US to draw the Saudis closer. Whatever our moral qualms might be about bin Salman and the Saudi government, this is an opportunity to bring the Saudis closer, which is something the Biden administration sees as a strategic benefit.

All three of these countries — big, disparate countries that normally don’t see eye-to-eye, this was a win-win-win on a military, economic, and strategic front.

That’s right. But there was one important actor in the region that did not see itself as winning, and that was the Palestinians.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

First, it’s important to understand that the Palestinians have always expected that the Arab countries in the Middle East would insist that Israel recognize a Palestinian state before those countries were willing to essentially make total peace and have normal relations with Israel.

So when the Abraham Accords happened in the Trump administration, the Palestinians felt like they’d been thrown under the bus because the Abraham Accords gave them virtually nothing. But the Palestinians did still hold out hope that Saudi Arabia would be their savior. And for years, Saudi Arabia has said that Israel must give the Palestinians a state if there’s going to be a normal relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Now the Palestinians see the Saudis in discussions with the US and Israel about a normalization agreement, and there appears to be very little on offer for the Palestinians. And they are feeling like they’re going to be left out in the cold here.

Right. And in the minds of the Palestinians, having already been essentially sold out by all their other Arab neighbors, the prospect that Saudi Arabia, of all countries, the most important Muslim Arab country in the region, would sell them out, had to be extremely painful.

It was a nightmare scenario for them. And in the minds of many analysts and US officials, this was a factor, one of many, in Hamas’s decision to stage the October 7th attacks.

Hamas, like other Palestinian leaders, was seeing the prospect that the Middle East was moving on and essentially, in their view, giving up on the Palestinian cause, and that Israel would be able to have friendly, normal relations with Arab countries around the region, and that it could continue with hardline policies toward the Palestinians and a refusal, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said publicly, to accept a Palestinian state.

Right. So Michael, once Hamas carries out the October 7th attacks in an effort to destroy a status quo that it thinks is leaving them less and less relevant, more and more hopeless, including potentially this prospect that Saudi Arabia is going to normalize relations with Israel, what happens to these pre-October 7th negotiations between the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel?

Well, I think there was a snap assumption that these talks were dead and buried. That they couldn’t possibly survive a cataclysm like this.

But then something surprising happened. It became clear that all the parties were still determined to pull-off the normalization.

And most surprisingly of all, perhaps, was the continued eagerness of Saudi Arabia, which publicly was professing outrage over the Israeli response to the Hamas attacks, but privately was still very much engaged in these conversations and trying to move them forward.

And in fact, what has happened is that the scope of this effort has grown substantially. October 7th didn’t kill these talks. It actually made them bigger, more complicated, and some people would argue, more important than ever.

We’ll be right back.

Michael, walk us through what exactly happens to these three-way negotiations after October 7th that ends up making them, as you just said, more complicated and more important than ever?

Well, it’s more important than ever because of the incredible need in Gaza. And it’s going to take a deal like this and the approval of Saudi Arabia to unlock the kind of massive reconstruction project required to essentially rebuild Gaza from the rubble. Saudi Arabia and its Arab friends are also going to be instrumental in figuring out how Gaza is governed, and they might even provide troops to help secure it. None of those things are going to happen without a deal like this.

Fascinating.

But this is all much more complicated now because the price for a deal like this has gone up.

And by price, you mean?

What Israel would have to give up. [MUSIC PLAYING]

From Saudi Arabia’s perspective, you have an Arab population that is furious at Israel. It now feels like a really hard time to do a normalization deal with the Israelis. It was never going to be easy, but this is about as bad a time to do it as there has been in a generation at least. And I think that President Biden and the people around him understand that the status quo between Israel and the Palestinians is intolerable and it is going to lead to chaos and violence indefinitely.

So now you have two of the three parties to this agreement, the Saudis and the Americans, basically asking a new price after October 7th, and saying to the Israelis, if we’re going to do this deal, it has to not only do something for the Palestinians, it has to do something really big. You have to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state. Now, I’ll be specific and say that what you hear the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, say is that the agreement has to include an irreversible time-bound path to a Palestinian state.

We don’t know exactly what that looks like, but it’s some kind of a firm commitment, the likes of which the world and certainly the Israelis have not made before.

Something that was very much not present in the pre-October 7th vision of this negotiation. So much so that, as we just talked about, the Palestinians were left feeling completely out in the cold and furious at it.

That’s right. There was no sign that people were thinking that ambitiously about the Palestinians in this deal before October 7th. And the Palestinians certainly felt like they weren’t going to get much out of it. And that has completely changed now.

So, Michael, once this big new dimension after October 7th, which is the insistence by Saudi Arabia and the US that there be a Palestinian state or a path to a Palestinian state, what is the reaction specifically from Israel, which is, of course, the third major party to this entire conversation?

Well, Israel, or at least its political leadership, hates it. You know, this is just an extremely tough sell in Israel. It would have been a tough sell before October 7th. It’s even harder now.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is completely unrepentantly open in saying that there’s not going to be a Palestinian state on his watch. He won’t accept it. He says that it’s a strategic risk to his country. He says that it would, in effect, reward Hamas.

His argument is that terrorism has forced a conversation about statehood onto the table that wasn’t there before October 7th. Sure, it’s always in the background. It’s a perennial issue in global affairs, but it was not something certainly that the US and Israel’s Arab neighbors were actively pushing. Netanyahu also has — you know, he governs with the support of very right-wing members of a political coalition that he has cobbled together. And that coalition is quite likely to fall apart if he does embrace a Palestinian state or a path to a Palestinian state.

Now, he might be able to cobble together some sort of alternative, but it creates a political crisis for him.

And finally, you know, I think in any conversation about Israel, it’s worth bearing in mind something you hear from senior US officials these days, which is that although there is often finger pointing at Netanyahu and a desire to blame Netanyahu as this obstructionist who won’t agree to deals, what they say is Netanyahu is largely reflecting his population and the political establishment of his country, not just the right-wingers in his coalition who are clearly extremist.

But actually the prevailing views of the Israeli public. And the Israeli public and their political leaders across the spectrum right now with few exceptions, are not interested in talking about a Palestinian state when there are still dozens and dozens of Israeli hostages in tunnels beneath Gaza.

So it very much looks like this giant agreement that once seemed doable before October 7th might be more important to everyone involved than ever, given that it’s a plan for rebuilding Gaza and potentially preventing future October 7th’s from happening, but because of this higher price that Israel would have to pay, which is the acceptance of a Palestinian state, it seems from everything you’re saying, that this is more and more out of reach than ever before and hard to imagine happening in the immediate future. So if the people negotiating it are being honest, Michael, are they ready to acknowledge that it doesn’t look like this is going to happen?

Well, not quite yet. As time goes by, they certainly say it’s getting harder and harder, but they’re still trying, and they still think there’s a chance. But both the Saudis and the Biden administration understand that there’s very little time left to do this.

Well, what do you mean there’s very little time left? It would seem like time might benefit this negotiation in that it might give Israel distance from October 7th to think potentially differently about a Palestinian state?

Potentially. But Saudi Arabia wants to get this deal done in the Biden administration because Mohammed bin Salman has concluded this has to be done under a Democratic president.

Because Democrats in Congress are going to be very reluctant to approve a security agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

It’s important to understand that if there is a security agreement, that’s something Congress is going to have to approve. And you’re just not going to get enough Democrats in Congress to support a deal with Saudi Arabia, who a lot of Democrats don’t like to begin with, because they see them as human rights abusers.

But if a Democratic president is asking them to do it, they’re much more likely to go along.

Right. So Saudi Arabia fears that if Biden loses and Trump is president, that those same Democrats would balk at this deal in a way that they wouldn’t if it were being negotiated under President Biden?

Exactly. Now, from President Biden’s perspective, politically, think about a president who’s running for re-election, who is presiding right now over chaos in the Middle East, who doesn’t seem to have good answers for the Israeli-Palestinian question, this is an opportunity for President Biden to deliver what could be at least what he would present as a diplomatic masterstroke that does multiple things at once, including creating a new pathway for Israel and the Palestinians to coexist, to break through the logjam, even as he is also improving Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

So Biden and the Crown Prince hope that they can somehow persuade Bibi Netanyahu that in spite of all the reasons that he thinks this is a terrible idea, that this is a bet worth taking on Israel’s and the region’s long-term security and future?

That’s right. Now, no one has explained very clearly exactly how this is going to work, and it’s probably going to require artful diplomacy, possibly even a scenario where the Israelis would agree to something that maybe means one thing to them and means something else to other people. But Biden officials refuse to say that it’s hopeless and they refuse to essentially take Netanyahu’s preliminary no’s for an answer. And they still see some way that they can thread this incredibly narrow needle.

Michael, I’m curious about a constituency that we haven’t been talking about because they’re not at the table in these discussions that we are talking about here. And that would be Hamas. How does Hamas feel about the prospect of such a deal like this ever taking shape. Do they see it as any kind of a victory and vindication for what they did on October 7th?

So it’s hard to know exactly what Hamas’s leadership is thinking. I think they can feel two things. I think they can feel on the one hand, that they have established themselves as the champions of the Palestinian people who struck a blow against Israel and against a diplomatic process that was potentially going to leave the Palestinians out in the cold.

At the same time, Hamas has no interest in the kind of two-state solution that the US is trying to promote. They think Israel should be destroyed. They think the Palestinian state should cover the entire geography of what is now Israel, and they want to lead a state like that. And that’s not something that the US, Saudi Arabia, or anyone else is going to tolerate.

So what Hamas wants is to fight, to be the leader of the Palestinian people, and to destroy Israel. And they’re not interested in any sort of a peace process or statehood process.

It seems very clear from everything you’ve said here that neither Israel nor Hamas is ready to have the conversation about a grand bargain diplomatic program. And I wonder if that inevitably has any bearing on the ceasefire negotiations that are going on right now between the two of them that are supposed to bring this conflict to some sort of an end, even if it’s just temporary?

Because if, as you said, Michael, a ceasefire opens the door to this larger diplomatic solution, and these two players don’t necessarily want that larger diplomatic solution, doesn’t that inevitably impact their enthusiasm for even reaching a ceasefire?

Well, it certainly doesn’t help. You know, this is such a hellish problem. And of course, you first have the question of whether Israel and Hamas can make a deal on these immediate issues, including the hostages, Palestinian prisoners, and what the Israeli military is going to do, how long a ceasefire might last.

But on top of that, you have these much bigger diplomatic questions that are looming over them. And it’s not clear that either side is ready to turn and face those bigger questions.

So while for the Biden administration and for Saudi Arabia, this is a way out of this crisis, these larger diplomatic solutions, it’s not clear that it’s a conversation that the two parties that are actually at war here are prepared to start having.

Well, Michael, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

On Tuesday afternoon, under intense pressure from the US, delegations from Israel and Hamas arrived in Cairo to resume negotiations over a potential ceasefire. But in a statement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that even with the talks underway, his government would, quote, “continue to wage war against Hamas.”

Here’s what else you need to know today. In a dramatic day of testimony, Stormy Daniels offered explicit details about an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump that ultimately led to the hush money payment at the center of his trial. Daniels testified that Trump answered the door in pajamas, that he told her not to worry that he was married, and that he did not use a condom when they had sex.

That prompted lawyers for Trump to seek a mistrial based on what they called prejudicial testimony. But the judge in the case rejected that request. And,

We’ve seen a ferocious surge of anti-Semitism in America and around the world.

In a speech on Tuesday honoring victims of the Holocaust, President Biden condemned what he said was the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the United States after the October 7th attacks on Israel. And he expressed worry that too many Americans were already forgetting the horrors of that attack.

The Jewish community, I want you to know I see your fear, your hurt, and your pain. Let me reassure you, as your president, you’re not alone. You belong. You always have and you always will.

Today’s episode was produced by Nina Feldman, Clare Toeniskoetter, and Rikki Novetsky. It was edited by Liz O. Baylen, contains original music by Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for The Daily. I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

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Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Michael Crowley

Produced by Nina Feldman ,  Clare Toeniskoetter and Rikki Novetsky

Edited by Liz O. Baylen

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Elisheba Ittoop and Dan Powell

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

If and when Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a cease-fire, the United States will immediately turn to a different set of negotiations over a grand diplomatic bargain that it believes could rebuild Gaza and remake the Middle East.

Michael Crowley, who covers the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The Times, explains why those involved in this plan believe they have so little time left to get it done.

On today’s episode

american tourist pushed germany

Michael Crowley , a reporter covering the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The New York Times.

A young man is looking out at destroyed buildings from above.

Background reading :

Talks on a cease-fire in the Gaza war are once again at an uncertain stage .

Here’s how the push for a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia looked before Oct. 7 .

From early in the war, President Biden has said that a lasting resolution requires a “real” Palestinian state .

Here’s what Israeli officials are discussing about postwar Gaza.

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Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Michael Crowley covers the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The Times. He has reported from nearly three dozen countries and often travels with the secretary of state. More about Michael Crowley

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IMAGES

  1. American Tourist KILLED at Germany by Pushed Off Cliff Near Castle! The

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  2. American arrested for pushing 2 US tourists into ravine at German

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  3. US tourist accused of murdering American woman on hiking trail in Germany

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  4. Eva Liu Cause of Death: American Tourist Killed at Neuschwanstein Castle

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  5. American tourist killed in Germany after being pushed off a cliff

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  6. Tourist dies after attack near Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle

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COMMENTS

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    An American man has been arrested in the death of a U.S. tourist and an assault on another near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany after he allegedly pushed the two women down a steep slope ...

  2. An American is arrested over the death of a U.S. tourist at a German

    BERLIN — Police in southern Germany are appealing for photos and videos taken by witnesses of an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which an American man allegedly pushed two women down a ...

  3. American arrested for pushing 2 US tourists into ravine at German

    Neuschwanstein, located in southern Bavaria close to Austria's border, is one of Germany's most popular tourist attractions. It is the most famous of the castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century. Construction started in 1869 but was never completed. Ludwig died in 1886.

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    Eva Liu, 21, was allegedly attacked by a 30-year-old American man she had met while hiking near one of Germany's most popular tourist sights, Neuschwanstein Castle, on Wednesday, according to ...

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    A 31-year-old American man accused of murder, center, is led into the courtroom at the regional court in Kempten, Germany, Monday March 11, 2024. An American man was convicted of murder and other charges on Monday for brutally attacking two American women at a tourist site in southern Germany last summer and pushing them into a ravine, fatally ...

  6. American man admits to attacking 2 US tourists and killing one near a

    A 31-year-old American man accused of murder is led into the courtroom at the regional court in Kempten, Southern Germany, Monday Feb. 19, 2024. An American man on Monday admitted to charges of murder and rape after he allegedly pushed two U.S. women down a ravine, fatally injuring one of them near Germany's Neuschwanstein castle last year.

  7. An American tourist has died following an attack near Germany's ...

    A 21-year-old American woman died after being assaulted and pushed down a slope by an American man near one of Germany's most popular tourist sights, Neuschwanstein Castle, in Bavaria, according ...

  8. American man admits rape and murder of woman near German castle

    Last modified on Mon 19 Feb 2024 11.44 EST. An American man has admitted to charges of murder and rape after he allegedly pushed two US women down a ravine, fatally injuring one of them, near ...

  9. Man arrested in killing of U.S. tourist at Germany's Neuschwanstein

    German police arrested a 30-year-old U.S. man in the killing and attempted sexual assault of an American tourist last week near Neuschwanstein Castle, a popular tourist attraction in Bavaria ...

  10. US woman pushed over cliff, dies, friend assaulted at German castle

    The Associated Press. 0:04. 0:37. BERLIN — An American man has been arrested over the death of one U.S. tourist and an assault on another near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany after he ...

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    Frank Rumpenhorst / AP. BERLIN — Police in southern Germany said Monday that an American tourist who was pushed into a ravine during an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which her 21-year-old ...

  12. Fatal attack near castle in Germany sees police appeal for help as U.S

    Updated on: June 16, 2023 / 9:22 AM EDT / CBS News. German police were appealing Friday for photos and video in relation to an attack near a castle in Germany that left a 21-year-old American dead ...

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    American victims in deadly tourist attack by German castle identified as recent Illinois university graduates Ms Liu was airlifted to a hospital where she died that night. The women both fell ...

  14. Tourist dies after attack near Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle

    A 30-year-old American man has been arrested in Germany after police said he assaulted two young female tourists and pushed them into a deep ravine near the fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle ...

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    BERLIN (AP) — Police in southern Germany said Monday that an American tourist who was pushed into a ravine during an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which her 21-year-old friend was killed ...

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    Police in southern Germany say an American tourist who was pushed into a ravine during an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which her 21-year-old friend was killed has been released from the hospital. ... — Police in southern Germany said Monday that an American tourist who was pushed into a ravine during an attack near Neuschwanstein ...

  18. American Arrested For Pushing 2 Tourists Down Slope At German Castle

    BERLIN (AP) — An American man has been arrested over the death of one U.S. tourist and an assault on another near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany after he allegedly pushed the two women down a steep slope, authorities said Thursday.

  19. Germany: US tourist pushes two American women into 50-metre ravine at

    Berlin: An American man has been arrested over the death of an American tourist and an assault on another near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany after he allegedly pushed the two women ...

  20. U.S. tourists pushed into ravine at German castle, American arrested

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    A 21-year-old American woman has died from her injuries after she and a friend were pushed down a ravine near a castle in Bavaria, Germany, according to police. The assailant, another American tourist, is now under arrest. NBC's Keir Simmons reports for TODAY.

  22. American tourist killed in Germany after being pushed off a cliff

    A 21-year-old American woman has died from her injuries after she and a friend were pushed down a ravine near a castle in Bavaria, Germany, according to poli...

  23. German police appeal for images taken of an attack in which Americans

    German police are appealing for photos and videos of an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which an American man allegedly pushed two women down a steep slope, killing one of them. ... a 19th century creation by Bavaria's fairy tale king Ludwig II and world renowned tourist attraction, is pictured in Hohenschwangau near Fuessen, southern ...

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  25. The Possible Collapse of the U.S. Home Insurance System

    68. Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise. Featuring Christopher Flavelle. Produced by Nina Feldman , Shannon M. Lin and Jessica Cheung. Edited by MJ Davis Lin. With Michael Benoist. Original music by Dan ...

  26. How Biden Adopted Trump's Trade War With China

    Edited by M.J. Davis Lin , Brendan Klinkenberg and Lisa Chow. Original music by Diane Wong , Marion Lozano and Dan Powell. Engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Donald Trump upended decades of American ...

  27. A Plan to Remake the Middle East

    Here's how the push for a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia looked before Oct. 7. From early in the war, President Biden has said that a lasting resolution requires a "real" Palestinian ...