The Tohono O’odham Nation says armed federal agents accompanied contractors who trespassed on tribal land this week as they began construction of an Arizona section of a border wall. The nation says the contractors violated tribal law despite a federal judge's order from June clearing the way for work to begin at the border with Mexico. Tribal officials reported that the masked agents of Customs and Border Protection blocked tribal police from removing the contractors Tuesday. The tribe had posted "No Trespassing" signs and the contractors entered tribal land without permission. Federal officials say the wall is direly needed, citing the area's history as a drug and immigrant smuggling corridor.
U.S. forces have struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two people accused of trafficking drugs. U.S. Southern Command announced the strike early Monday, and it's the first in about two months. The death toll from the Trump administration’s nearly yearlong campaign of bombing boats off Latin America’s Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific now exceeds 210 after more than 60 strikes. U.S. Southern Command says forces executed a strike on a “low-profile vessel operating along established narcotrafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific.” President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is at war with drug cartels. Critics have questioned the offensive's legality.
Police in Ecuador have seized a cocaine shipment featuring soccer star Erling Haaland's face on the packaging. The bust occurred near the Colombian border, with 469 kilograms of cocaine found in a truck. The driver was arrested, but police didn't explain why Haaland's image was used. It's common for traffickers to label shipments with celebrity images to identify networks and clients. The operation followed an anonymous tip on Tuesday. Ecuador is a key hub for drug trafficking, with local gangs working with Colombian and Mexican cartels. The shipment's value is estimated at over $11 million in the U.S.
Free agent minor league pitchers Luis Gomez and Julio Dilone have been suspended following positive tests for the performance-enhancing substance Stanozolol under the minor league drug program. Gomez was suspended for 80 games and Dilone for 60, the commissioner’s office announced. The suspensions will start when they sign with a major league organization. Dilone signed a minor league deal with San Diego in spring training after pitching last year in the independent Atlantic League and was released on Aug. 6. Gomez, a 21-year-old right-hander was released by Miami July 23. Eleven players have been disciplined this year for a drug violation.
The House Ethics Committee says it has opened an investigation into domestic abuse allegations made against Republican Rep. Max Miller. The embattled Ohio congressman is facing pressure from President Donald Trump and escalating criticism from his former father-in-law, Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno. Miller, a former adviser to Trump, is facing a deadline to decide whether to remain in the race for his Ohio congressional seat. Republicans are nervous that the allegations could cost them a seat as they try to hang on to their House majority. Before the Ethics Committee issued its statement Tuesday, Miller said he was requesting an investigation into the allegations by his ex-wife “to clear my name."
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hasn’t minced words about the larger message he’s trying to send the world with the U.S. military rai…
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho judge issued a death warrant on Thursday for the state’s longest-serving death row inmate, scheduling his executi…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A shooter stood over a 16-year-old mother clutching her 10-month-old baby and pumped bullets into their heads in a brazen a…
Russia has freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The swap comes at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine and it achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden. But it also carried a heavy price, with American Paul Whelan still detained in Russia on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government says baseless. Biden says Griner is “safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home,.” He spoke from the White House, where he was accompanied by Griner’s wife, Cherelle, and administration officials. Griner's monthslong imprisonment on drug charges brought unprecedented attention to the population of wrongful detainees.
