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Honduras Defense Official and U.S. Drug War Ally Tied to Narco-Trafficker, Notorious Mercenary Firm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

Col. Elias Melgar Urbina, a top-ranking Honduran military official and U.S. partner in joint drug war operations, has been tied to a Honduran drug trafficker, according to a U.S. Justice Department filing, and a private security company accused of assassinating land rights activists, according to eyewitness testimony and documents obtained by The Intercept.Melgar was appointed vice minister of defense by left-leaning President Xiomara Castro in 2022; he is the highest-ranking officer in the Honduran military, which is headed by Castro’s civilian nephew. Last year, Melgar met with U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, to discuss “strengthening cooperation to support mutual security goals,” according to a press release from SOUTHCOM, which runs Joint Task Force Bravo, an airbase in Honduras. “Honduras is a valued & respected security partner,” Richardson tweeted after the meeting. U.S. training of Honduran soldiers, which tapered off as the previ...

Gap, Hibbett rise; Hawaiian Electric, Nordstrom fall, Friday, 8/25/2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that are trading heavily or have substantial price changes on Friday:Workday Inc. (WDAY), up $6.30 to $231.17.The maker of human resources software reported strong second-quarter financial results.Affirm Holdings Inc. (AFRM), up $3.87 to $17.68.The digital commerce platform beat Wall Street’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings forecasts.Hibbett, Inc. (HIBB), up $7.25 to $44.11.The sporting goods chain reported encouraging second-quarter earnings.Gap Inc. (GPS), up 21 cents to $9.74.The clothing chain beat analysts’ second-quarter earnings forecasts.Domo Inc. (DOMO), down $7.34 to $9.70.The cloud-computing company gave investors a disappointing financial forecast.Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (HE), down $1.99 to $9.87.The utility suspended its quarterly dividend as it faces lawsuits over the devastating wildfires in Maui.Nordstrom Inc. (JWN), down $1.84 to $14.98.The department store’s latest results fueled concerns about more cautious consume...

The conflict in Sudan is fueling a humanitarian emergency of ‘epic proportions,’ UN aid chief says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The conflict in Sudan is fueling “a humanitarian emergency of epic proportions” that threatens the entire country, the U.N. humanitarian chief warned on Friday.Martin Griffiths also said that the protracted conflict in the African country “could tip the entire region into a humanitarian catastrophe.”Some places are already out of food, said Griffiths, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs. He added that hundreds of thousands of Sudanese children are severely malnourished “and at imminent risk of death if left untreated.”“A long conflict will almost certainly lead to a lost generation of children as millions miss out on education, endure trauma, and bear the physical and psychological scars of war,” he said, and described reports of children being used to fight as “deeply disturbing.”Sudan was plunged into chaos in mid-April when months of simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Supp...

Canada knocks off France; Basketball World Cup attendance record set on Day 1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

Canada has never medaled at the Basketball World Cup. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander evidently has his sights on changing that, and his team sent a serious message on the opening night of the tournament.Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points and Canada topped France 95-65 in a Group H game at Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday night. It cap Day 1 of the World Cup that’s also being held in the Philippines and Japan. Canada outscored France 25-8 in the third quarter, turning what was a three-point game at the half into a runaway.“I’m not surprised,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We played really good basketball today. We did the right things on both ends of the court. … When we play to our identity and the things we’ve been preaching for the last month…we can beat and play with anyone in the world. We just have to continue to get better and the sky’s the limit.”Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 points in that third quarter, and also finished with 13 rebounds and six assists. Kel...

El presidente de Ecuador ordena a las Fuerzas Armadas velar por la seguridad de los candidatos presidenciales de cara a la segunda vuelta electoral

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente de Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, ordenó a las Fuerzas Armadas que velen por la seguridad de los candidatos presidenciales de cara a la segunda vuelta electoral del 15 de octubre y en medio de una violencia sin precedentes en el país.“Queridos ecuatorianos: he ordenado a las Fuerzas Armadas del Ecuador que se hagan cargo de inmediato de la seguridad de los candidatos presidenciales Luisa González y Daniel Noboa”, dijo Lasso este jueves en la red “X”, antes conocida como Twitter.“Nuestra democracia va a salir fortalecida de este proceso electoral y para ello es fundamental que los candidatos cuenten con la protección suficiente”.¿Quién ganó y quién perdió en las elecciones de Ecuador?El 20 de agosto, los candidatos Luisa González y Daniel Noboa se impusieron en la primera vuelta de las elecciones presidenciales, informó el Consejo Electoral de Ecuador.La campaña para la primera vuelta de las elecciones en Ecuador estuvo plaga...

Hot and humid temperatures could lead to isolated thunderstorms in DC area Friday evening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

The temperate conditions that have blanketed the D.C. area recently are turning more turbulent Friday. Heat and humidity are fueling the risk for rain and potential thunderstorms in the evening.Here’s what you need to know.Much of Virginia, Maryland and all of D.C. is currently under a Level One Severe Storm risk, putting 7News First Alert Weather on STORM ALERT. From the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, a Level One risk (one out of five) means isolated severe thunderstorms are possible and are limited in duration and intensity.While it’s not as severe as the unusual Level Four risk that caused a line of tornado warnings and destructive thunderstorms earlier this month, people in the region should still be prepared for the possibility of severe weather.“We could have a few thunderstorms develop through afternoon and evening, some of which could contain damaging winds and maybe even some small hail,” 7News Meteorologist Eileen Whelan told WTOP...

Director of British Museum steps down amid controversy over thefts of ancient items

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The director of the British Museum said Friday that he would step down immediately amid investigations into the theft or disappearance of hundreds of items from its massive collection, including gold jewelry, semi-precious gems and antiquities dating to the15th century B.C.Hartwig Fischer had planned to leave the post next year but said his presence had become a distraction after questions were raised recently about whether the museum took warnings seriously. Two years ago, an art dealer contacted museum officials to report that he suspected items from the collection were being peddled online. “It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have in response to the warnings in 2021, and to the problem that has now fully emerged,” Fischer said in a statement. “The responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest with the director.”London’s Metropolitan Police are now investigating the thefts. The museum previou...

‘This is a long game’: After Roe, the fight over abortion access moves to New Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — The sanctuary in Grace Covenant Reformed Church was packed.People stood shoulder to shoulder wherever they could — near the stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible, behind the neatly lined rows of chairs that serve as pews, against a wall covered in crosses made from painted wood, wire, glass and ceramic red chiles.Bibles and hymnals rested under every seat, but they weren’t used that Monday night last September. There was no sermon, because this wasn’t a church service.Residents of Clovis, a town of some 40,000 people a mere 20-minute drive to the Texas state line, crammed into this little brick building that night to discuss a plan of action to ban abortion.Just three months earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court had issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that had legalized abortion in the U.S. for almost 50 years.As trigger laws banning the procedure began going into effect across the nation — in places includi...

Rangers hire Hall of Fame U.S. women’s star Angela Ruggiero as a hockey operations adviser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Rangers have hired Hockey Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero as a hockey operations adviser.The team announced the addition of Ruggiero on Friday along with several front office changes.Ruggiero, 43, won four Olympic medals as a defenseman for the U.S. She helped the country win gold at the 1998 Games in Nagano — the first Olympics with women’s hockey — followed by silver in 2002 and 2010 and bronze in 2006.The Michigan native skated 15 years with the national team, putting up 58 points in 61 international games. Ruggiero was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.The Rangers also promoted former NHL forward Ryane Clowe to co-senior adviser to the president and general manager Chris Drury and hired retired defenseman Paul Mara as player development assistant.Andy Hosler was hired as head athletic trainer. Hosler returns to the league after two years at Michigan State to succeed longtime trainer Jim Ramsay, who had worked in that role since the mid-1990s...

Aurora shooting suspect arrested in Georgia, accused of 2nd homicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:52:31 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A suspect who has been connected to the death of a man in Aurora was arrested in Georgia after allegedly committing another homicide. On Aug. 5, the Aurora Police Department was investigating a deadly shooting in the 3200 block of Peoria Street near the Morris Heights neighborhood. When officers arrived at a parking lot in the area, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.According to witnesses, the victim had gotten into a verbal altercation with the suspect before being shot. The suspect then fled the scene. 4 ‘armed and dangerous’ young adults wanted in shoe store robbery The Aurora Police Department Major Crimes Homicide Unit was investigating the case.On Thursday, nearly three weeks after the deadly shooting, FOX31 learned that a suspect had been arrested in connection to the case.According to the Aurora Police Department, David Kinney was identified as the suspect. Following the shooting,...