By SARA MELINI Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Former Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina was released from prison after posting bond of more than $10.3 million quetzales ($1.3 million), according to his lawyer. The former president was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison in December 2022 for a bribery scheme known locally
Continue ReadingWINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities on the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. have charged two tribal members with illegally growing marijuana on the Navajo Nation, marking just the latest development in a years-long case that also has involved allegations of forced labor. Tribal prosecutors announced the charges Thursday, claiming that Navajo businessman
Continue ReadingBy NICHOLAS RICCARDI and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press PERRY, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old opened fire at a small-town Iowa high school before classes resumed on the first day after the winter break, killing a sixth-grader and wounding five others Thursday as students barricaded in offices, ducked into classrooms and fled in panic. The suspect,
Continue ReadingBy Nicole Chavez, CNN (CNN) — Black drivers in California were stopped “more frequently than expected” by law enforcement, compared to their proportion of the state’s population, according to a report released this week by the California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board. In 2022, 12.5% of traffic stops in California involved drivers that officers perceived to be Black, but Black people only represent about 5.4% of the
Continue ReadingBy HIRO KOMAE, AYAKA MCGILL and YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press SUZU, Japan (AP) — Rescue workers are braving the cold to save people still trapped under collapsed buildings in western Japan. More soldiers have been ordered to bolster the rescue operations Thursday, providing those in need with drinking water, hot meals and setting up bathing
Continue ReadingANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Supporters of an effort to repeal Alaska’s ranked choice voting system have been fined more than $94,000 after the commission that enforces state campaign finance rules found disclosure and other violations. The Anchorage Daily News reports that an attorney representing the opponents of ranked voting who were fined by the Alaska
Continue ReadingBy LARRY NEUMEISTER and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A new batch of unsealed documents pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls was released Thursday, adding several hundred pages to a trove of information detailing how the financier leveraged connections to the rich, powerful and famous to recruit his
Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES (AP) — A 53-year-old Asian elephant has been euthanized at the Los Angeles Zoo after she was unable to stand up, the zoo announced Thursday. Shaunzi, one of two female elephants at the zoo, was discovered unable to stand Tuesday night after she went down in the yard of her exhibit space. “Animal
Continue ReadingDALLAS (AP) — The family of former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson says the trailblazing Texas congresswoman died after getting an infection and accused a Dallas rehabilitation facility of neglect. Johnson, the first registered nurse elected to Congress, died on Dec. 31 at the age of 89. Les Weisbrod, her family’s attorney, said at a
Continue ReadingBy TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An armed unmanned surface vessel launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen got within a “couple of miles” of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels in the Red Sea before detonating on Thursday, just hours after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a final warning to the
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Locals are gathering near the Palm Springs Film Festival for a protest to gain visibility for Palestinian people as the Israeli-Hamas War continues. They are protesting for a permanent cease-fire. “We’re choosing to protest this event because of the global visibility”, says local activist Joshua Dunn. “Being politically active in the Coachella Valley is extremely
Continue ReadingBy MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor is proposing a nearly 10% general fund spending increase for the coming fiscal year to shore up housing opportunities, childhood literacy and health care access, with additional payouts for electric vehicles purchases. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday published the $10.5
Continue ReadingBy NICHOLAS RICCARDI and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press PERRY, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old opened fire at a small-town Iowa high school before classes resumed on the first day after the winter break, killing a sixth-grader and wounding five others Thursday as students barricaded in offices, ducked into classrooms and fled in panic. The suspect,
Continue ReadingBy EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations has issued a somber global economic forecast for 2024, pointing to challenges from escalating conflicts, sluggish global trade, persistently high interest rates and increasing climate disasters. In its flagship economic report launched Thursday, the U.N. projected that global economic growth would slow
Continue ReadingBy DAVID B. CARUSO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Almost 200 previously sealed court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein have now been made public in connection to a years-old lawsuit involving the late financier. The records released as of Friday are likely to disappoint sleuths online, where the plan to release documents prompted rumors
Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES (AP) — A 53-year-old Asian elephant has been euthanized at the Los Angeles Zoo after she was unable to stand up, the zoo announced Thursday. Shaunzi, one of two female elephants at the zoo, was discovered unable to stand Tuesday night after she went down in the yard of her exhibit space. “Animal
Continue ReadingBy HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A co-pilot accused of threatening to shoot his captain for proposing they divert their flight to get medical attention for a passenger has appeared in federal court for the first time since his indictment. Former Delta Air Lines pilot Jonathan J. Dunn was indicted Oct.
Continue ReadingSAN DIEGO (AP) — A body found inside a chest freezer at a San Diego home last month has been identified as an 81-year-old woman who had lived at the residence, officials said Thursday. Mary Margaret Haxby-Jones may have been missing or dead for up to nine years based on the investigation so far, according
Continue ReadingBy Jake Tapper, Kirsten Appleton and Rachel Clarke, CNN (CNN) — Five men came out of the van and captured a woman, ripping off her clothes as they formed a circle around her. One raped her and killed her with a knife. Then he raped her again, said Raz Cohen, a survivor of Hamas’ murderous
Continue ReadingCNN By Jake Tapper, Kirsten Appleton and Rachel Clarke, CNN (CNN) — Five men came out of the van and captured a woman, ripping off her clothes as they formed a circle around her. One raped her and killed her with a knife. Then he raped her again, said Raz Cohen, a survivor of Hamas’
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